Ireland
Lefties don’t know anything about farming
The artists and hippies are re-wilding their land, which is to say doing nothing at all to it and watching…
Irish voters have refused to erase the family
It’s not been a particularly good weekend for the political establishment in Ireland. Two constitutional changes have been rejected by…
Ireland is falling out of love with Sinn Fein
Is the Sinn Fein star starting to wane? Support for the party has hit its lowest level for four years…
No laughing matter: accusations of transphobia wrecked Graham Linehan’s life
The comedian found himself out of work and out of his marriage when he challenged the transgender ideology that to be a man or women is about choosing an identity
I have moved into a house in Ireland I viewed once, then bought
With families chatting in the seats around me, a young girl knitting across the aisle, I gripped the arm rests.…
Why did this brilliant Irish artist fall off the radar?
Sir John Lavery has always had a place in Irish affections. His depiction of his wife, Hazel, as the mythical…
Wing and a prayer
The Miracle Club, which is about a group of Irish women who travel to Lourdes, has a magnificent cast –…
Pretending to be himself
Seamus Heaney’s letters are full of energy and joie de vivre, but a darker note persists as the pressure of celebrity grows, says Roy Foster
Quiet brilliance
The author once takes a big issue and, with her characteristic quiet brilliance, illuminates it in a small homely setting
The changing face of Ireland
A dead poet’s dangerous aura continues to haunt his daughter and 23-year old granddaughter in this story of an unhappy family set in rapidly changing Ireland
Ireland’s most polite bank robber
There should really be a special word for it: that vicarious fragility you feel when hearing of a minor decision…
Tabloid fever
A tabloid journalist desperate for a scoop pursues a young Irish mother whose daughter is rumoured to have killed a child. But is there any truth in the story?
Real life
‘You certainly gave us a run for our money,’ said the village elder, serving us with what appeared to be…
The twists keep coming
Murray’s immersive, beautifully written mega-tome about a family in a small town in Ireland is as funny as it is deeply disturbing
Craic up
When did the Irish lose their sense of humour?
The BB wants to put my dream farm on a skip
‘Have you got your passport? Your phone? Your wallet?’ The builder boyfriend patted his pockets and told me not to…
Real life
A bay mare was standing over a foal curled up sleeping at her feet. Yawning and struggling to keep her…
