MusicGlastonbury 2025: Neil Young pulls out of festival claiming it is ‘under corporate control’ of BBCYoung says BBC wanted him and his band to ‘do a lot of things in a way we were not interested’By Sian CainThu Jan 02 2025 - 12:30
StageBrian Friel’s plays to be brought home to cross-Border communities that inspired themFive-year project will stage each play in a setting relevant to its theme and in the season it was setBy Caroline DaviesThu Jan 02 2025 - 11:07
Subscriber OnlyRepublic: Britain’s Revolutionary Decade 1649-1660 by Alice Hunt – England’s brief flirtation with a royalty-free constitutionHistory of Cromwell’s experiment with republicanism is restricted to England and debating chambers of London
TV & RadioMissing You review: another hard-nosed lady cop with a scorched-earth personal life from Harlan CobenNetflix review: While the cliches are ticked off one by one, the UK-set whodunnit with a convoluted plot and soap opera-level acting is pleasing hokum from mystery writer Harlan Coben
Subscriber OnlyWar Horse: ‘I forget that Joey is being manipulated by people. They’re breathing, making sounds and moving like a horse would’A new stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel brings the kinship of boy and beast alive in a triumph of theatrical storytelling
Lessons in philosophy from Sally Rooney’s latest novel that can help us make sense of the worldUnthinkable: The ideas of Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein on language and reality surface in Intermezzo, and the relationship between the two philosophers mirrors that of Rooney’s two principal characters, brothers Peter and IvanBy Joe Humphreys
Subscriber OnlyThe Movie Quiz: What is the only 2024 film in the box office top 10 that’s not a sequel?
Glastonbury 2025: Neil Young pulls out of festival claiming it is ‘under corporate control’ of BBCYoung says BBC wanted him and his band to ‘do a lot of things in a way we were not interested’By Sian Cain
Bob Dylan, the rebellious troubadour, film star, icon and enigma: A guide to the movies’ true shapeshifterThere’s something unique about Bob Dylan’s big-screen presence. Over seven decades, he has been ubiquitous, but never predictableBy Alissa Wilkinson
Skinner: New Wave Vaudeville – Spasmodic shot of art rock walks the tightrope between high culture and backstreet scuzz By Ed Power
One Leg One Eye review: Forget Fairytale of New York. This is a soundtrack of the real Irish ChristmasIan Lynch and George Brennan offer a wonderful ghost-train ride through droning electronica, warped uilleann pipes and spirals of unfiltered noiseBy Ed Power
The Pogues at 3Arena: Applause rang out into the night, the crowd singing their way out on to the quaysA stacked line-up including members of Fontaines DC, Lankum and The Mary Wallopers delivers a brilliantly infectious performanceBy Una Mullally
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reach divorce settlement after eight-year bitter disputeJolie filed for divorce in 2016 after she alleged Pitt was abusive to their children
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: ‘One of the references I have when I talk about Nickel Boys is the Magadelene laundry mothers in Ireland’Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor missed out on an Oscar for her role in King Richard. It will be no surprise if she’s nominated again for RaMell Ross’s acclaimed new filmBy Donald Clarke
Beezel review: This queasy horror set in an impressively creepy Massachusetts house is pulp as pulp should be By Donald Clarke
Nickel Boys review: You’ll never have seen anything like this daring, heartbreaking chronicle of abuse and inequality By Tara Brady
Republic: Britain’s Revolutionary Decade 1649-1660 by Alice Hunt – England’s brief flirtation with a royalty-free constitutionHistory of Cromwell’s experiment with republicanism is restricted to England and debating chambers of LondonBy Neil Hegarty
Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These is Ireland’s bestselling book of 2024Colm Tóibín, Johnny Sexton, Sally Rooney and Graham Norton also feature in the top fiveBy Martin Doyle
Missing You review: another hard-nosed lady cop with a scorched-earth personal life from Harlan CobenNetflix review: While the cliches are ticked off one by one, the UK-set whodunnit with a convoluted plot and soap opera-level acting is pleasing hokum from mystery writer Harlan CobenBy Ed Power
The Traitors review: riotously addictive gameshow is piled high with murder, mystery and statement capesTelevision review: Much of the fun with The Traitors from the BBC is in how seriously it takes itself. A creepy castle in the Scottish Highlands helps with the ambience, too. RTÉ will probably be set the new Irish version at Limerick JunctionBy Ed Power
The Late Late NYE Show review: Patrick Kielty rises above some mystifying moments with a good line in take-no-prisoner jokesTelevision: Despite blink-and-it’s-over conversations with wildly mismatched guests, this New Year’s Eve special is much better than 2023’sBy Ed Power
Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+: 10 of the best new shows to watch in JanuaryIncluding American Primeval, The Rig, Severance, Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action and Goosebumps: The VanishingBy Kevin Courtney
Brian Friel’s plays to be brought home to cross-Border communities that inspired themFive-year project will stage each play in a setting relevant to its theme and in the season it was setBy Caroline Davies
War Horse: ‘I forget that Joey is being manipulated by people. They’re breathing, making sounds and moving like a horse would’A new stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel brings the kinship of boy and beast alive in a triumph of theatrical storytellingBy Sara Keating
Hamad Butt: Apprehensions review – A prophet of dread wielding precise, precarious instrumentsArt: The British-Pakistani artist died 30 years ago, at just 34. His work is being rehabilitated with the help of the Irish Museum of Modern ArtBy Tom Lordan
The art of 2024: 10 of Ireland’s best exhibitions of the yearFrom big group shows exploring topics as vast as time to small but beautifully formed solo painting exhibitions, art has rewarded on many levels this yearBy Gemma Tipton
