‘No violence – we hate violence,’ Terry Hall pleaded the night The Specials played DublinPeople in the crowd in January 1981 suggested the gig was somewhere between a fracas and a fascist rallyFri Dec 30 2022 - 05:47
‘I can’t believe I said that thing about the sweat’: Prince Andrew has never been so entertainingTelevision: Prince Andrew – The Musical lands like Spitting Image soundtracked by Gilbert and SullivanThu Dec 29 2022 - 22:05
Glam foreigner wreaks havoc after marrying into stuffy royal family. Whoever could this series have in mind?Television: Marie Antoinette should be an epic account of privilege and downfall. But it becomes a triumph of powdered wigs over gripping storytellingThu Dec 29 2022 - 21:55
After Glen Hansard reaches in to pull your heart out, Imelda May’s hurricane-force cheer carries the dayTelevision: Christmas in Ireland with Imelda May and Friends is all sorts of hokey, but what would Christmas be without a sprinkling of schmaltz?Sat Dec 24 2022 - 22:45
Dirty tricks, ‘mature recollection’ and a starry-eyed Micheál MartinTelevision: There’s plenty of gossipy goodness in the second instalment of Two Tribes, Seán O’Rourke’s documentary on Fianna Fáil and Fine GaelThu Dec 22 2022 - 23:05
Two Tribes part 1: Haughey and FitzGerald square up, with Olivia O’Leary as ringmasterTelevision: Seán O’Rourke’s first big RTÉ project since Golfgate is at its best as a sort of Reeling in the Years for political anoraksWed Dec 21 2022 - 22:30
The Wagatha Christie trial was jaw-dropping. This Irish-directed dramatisation? Not so muchTelevision: Vardy v Rooney – A Courtroom Drama features lots of grim grilling of the footballers’ wives by their respective megabucks barristersWed Dec 21 2022 - 22:00
Westlife at 3Arena: One miraculous resurrection, three fashion disasters and two astonished blokes in the crowdIreland’s pop princes are playing the former Point Depot for the 72nd time in their career, in the first of three sold-out concertsWed Dec 21 2022 - 10:30
Emily in Paris review: First, World Cup defeat. Now season 3. Will France’s horreur ever cease?Television: Despite French apoplexy, season three steamrolls onwards like Kylian Mbappé hurtling into the penalty areaWed Dec 21 2022 - 08:41
His Dark Materials season 3: Not so much My First Book of Atheism as a potshot at CatholicismTelevision: Philip Pullman’s fantasy series is back for its final season. The first episode is rescued by a sparkle of the fantasticalSun Dec 18 2022 - 20:00
U2’s gobsmackingly quiffed Adam Clayton brings us on a true adventureTelevision: In his film about Francis Bacon, the U2 bassist convincingly argues that this great ‘British’ artist is a lot more Irish than we might thinkThu Dec 15 2022 - 23:15
Harry & Meghan: Shouting matches, toxic in-laws, a miscarriage – the royal bombshells finally dropTelevision: Forget Harry & Meghan Volume I. Volume II of the Netflix documentary series delivers raw, headline-generating punchThu Dec 15 2022 - 15:31
The Irish Civil War part 3: By the final credits, even narrator Brendan Gleeson sounds ready to check outOn the 100th anniversary of the war, the sprawling, three-hour documentary lacks the necessary visceral punchTue Dec 13 2022 - 22:40
The Irish Civil War part 2: into the grisly heart of brother killing brotherThe tragedy is obvious but the documentary misses out on the experiences of those who lived through itMon Dec 12 2022 - 22:40
The Irish Civil War part 1: scale of the onrushing tragedy powerfully conveyedWhile cliches are ticked off ruthlessly, this is impressive big-picture documentary-makingMon Dec 12 2022 - 09:43
The best television of 2022, and where you can still watch itFrom Bad Sisters to Andor, there’s been plenty of great viewing – plus a few high-profile disappointmentsSat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
I Am Ruth review: Kate Winslet brings Oscar-grade acting to a Channel 4 two-hander, and it doesn’t quite takeThe real heavy lifting in this dark drama comes from the star’s real-life daughter, Mia ThreapletonThu Dec 08 2022 - 23:05
Harry & Meghan: A heartfelt, gloopy – and sometimes unwatchable – plunge into Planet SussexTelevision: Amid the archive dross of the new Netflix documentary only an occasional nugget glimmersThu Dec 08 2022 - 11:14
Tommy Tiernan’s Epic West: We’ve gone peak Tiernan and it is strange and scaryTelevision: The programme goes peak Tiernan, and it is strange and scaryWed Dec 07 2022 - 22:35
Bin the bling: Ireland’s super-rich prefer discretion when it comes to luxury homes like theseTV: Selling Ireland’s Dream Homes doesn’t have Selling Sunset-style glamour, just lots of luxury homes tucked out of sight of the gawping massesMon Dec 05 2022 - 22:35
What Ireland listened to on Spotify in 2022 – and why it’s bad news for Irish musicTaylor Swift was the most-streamed artist, Harry Styles’s As It Was the most-streamed song. Only two Irish acts got a look-inMon Dec 05 2022 - 05:20
Quinn Country part 3: Consumed by bitterness, a small man sits in his Xanadu by a lonely Cavan lakeTV: ‘Why would I bother my head with Kevin Lunney?’ Seán Quinn says of the man tortured by his supporters. It is one of several extraordinary tiradesThu Dec 01 2022 - 10:55
Christine McVie: Without her trip to Ireland, the soft-pop genius might never have rejoined Fleetwood MacWhen McVie sang Don’t stop with the band during a Dublin soundcheck in 2013, it passed unnoticed in the empty venue but became a moment in pop historyWed Nov 30 2022 - 22:18
The Patient review: Domhnall Gleeson and Steve Carell strap into the rollercoaster from hellTelevision: The Irish star plays a conflicted serial killer, with Carell as his therapist, in this absorbing psychological dramaWed Nov 30 2022 - 16:21
Quinn Country part 2: It’s like Shakespeare meets Father Ted meets The Big ShortTelevision: The second part of RTÉ’s documentary shows how Quinn’s sense of manifest destiny eventually tipped into cataclysmic overconfidenceWed Nov 30 2022 - 12:36
Wet Leg review: 2022’s most sublime rock sensations deliver sparkling Irish debutTeasdale and Chambers effortlessly replicate wit and wholesomeness threaded through first albumTue Nov 29 2022 - 13:07
Quinn Country part 1: Mind-boggling wealth out of rock, rubble and a sense of destinyFirst instalment of Seán Quinn’s story leaves itself open to charge of humanising its subject and potentially straying towards puff pieceTue Nov 29 2022 - 12:12
Andrea Corr: ‘We were constantly under pressure to look a certain way’Singer’s latest album is a mix of joy and the melancholy of missing people who are no longer around the tableTue Nov 29 2022 - 05:18
Leftfield’s Neil Barnes: ‘Going through the mill is part of living’Modern electronica kingpin on being galvanised by surviving illness, having depression, being apart from Britpop and the looming release of a new album This Is What We DoTue Nov 29 2022 - 05:00
I’m a Celebrity final: Matt Hancock maintains his dignity as molluscs make a beeline for his crotchTelevision: The British MP is the first of the three finalists to be voted off the TV show as the England football star Jill Scott is crowned queen of the jungleSun Nov 27 2022 - 23:43
Hyperpop princess Namasenda: ‘I love the maximalist thing. I love when a lot of things are happening’ With fans like Charlie XCX, the Swedish artist, who is signed to fashion-forward PC Music, is going places at a dizzying dashSat Nov 26 2022 - 05:00
Late Late Toy Show: We’re all in tears when Saoibh is reunited with the friends she made at hospital Television: It wouldn’t be the Toy Show without a tear-jerker or three. Throw in munchkins, Garda Billy and the women’s soccer team and we’ve reached a state of transcendenceSat Nov 26 2022 - 01:14
The Late Late Toy Show: All you need to know, from hordes of chirruping children to a jolt of jollinessRyan Tubridy: ‘Get the treats in and prepare yourself for what I hope will be the greatest night of the year’Fri Nov 25 2022 - 09:05
Where’s Adrian Dunbar been all this time? Mother of God, at last we have our answer In My Ireland the actor’s clearly enjoying himself. But otherwise this is like being waterboarded by that guy in Temple Bar who dresses as a moth-eaten leprechaunWed Nov 23 2022 - 22:00
Wednesday: The Addams Family gets a Gen Z twist – and Tim Burton gets his mojo backTelevision: Jenna Ortega is a natural as the morbid teen Wednesday Addams. Catherine Zeta-Jones steals scenesWed Nov 23 2022 - 12:06
The single terrible word that still divides Irish people after 20 yearsTV: Saipan – Rebel without a Ball conveys the hysteria that convulsed Ireland when Roy Keane left the World Cup squad after a bust-up with Mick McCarthyMon Nov 21 2022 - 22:35
The Love Experiment: We’re just not right for each otherTelevision: On RTÉ’s new dating show, love seekers must quiz one another, Mastermind style. What was wrong with going to Sinnerz nightclub?Thu Nov 17 2022 - 22:45
I’m a Celebrity: Matt Hancock staggers on. Can he see Love Island on the horizon?Television: The former British health secretary’s arrival caused uproar last week. But opinion appears to have turnedTue Nov 15 2022 - 23:38
Bear Grylls: ‘I’m crying, my parents are crying ... I don’t think I dealt with it particularly well’Television: Louis Theroux hits his stride when he talks to the boy’s own adventure made flesh about boarding school, among other revealing topicsTue Nov 15 2022 - 21:45
‘What the effin’ hell do you think we’re going to do with that?’ How the World Cup was stolenTelevision: Who Stole the World Cup?, about the theft of the Jules Rimet trophy, features honest, decent criminals, lairy coppers and Del Boy–style narrationMon Nov 14 2022 - 23:05
Teletubbies has been rebooted. Is it still the weirdest way to spend 20 minutes?Television: The BBC original charmed kids while triggering lingering dread in their parents. Now Dipsy, Tinky Winky, Laa-Laa and Po are rebooted on NetflixMon Nov 14 2022 - 12:02
Reluctant TikTok star: Going viral was a new experience for Beach Bunny’s Lili TrifilioThe band have been compared to Olivia Rodrigo, and less plausibly, The CranberriesSat Nov 12 2022 - 05:00
The English: Ciarán Hinds is marvellously villainous. Emily Blunt dons a Mary Poppins dress and an Eli Wallach scowlTelevision: The BBC’s new series looks like a western but never particularly feels like oneFri Nov 11 2022 - 00:00
I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! Matt Hancock arrives to stunned looks. Buckle up. There’s no telling how weird this could getTelevision: ‘I can’t help thinking he should be at work,’ Chris Moyles says of the UK’s former health secretary. Boy George looks as if he might quit in disgustWed Nov 09 2022 - 23:12
Secrets from the Showroom: The Office meets Top Gear meets Glengarry Glen RossTV review: It could have been a cruise down misery boulevard, but RTÉ’s portrait of used-car salespeople is appealingly quirkyTue Nov 08 2022 - 13:56
I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! With no Matt Hancock, it’s a bungle in the jungleTelevision: Without the show’s highest-profile contestant, episode 1 feels like a phoney warSun Nov 06 2022 - 23:49
The Crown season five contains a king’s ransom of inaccuracies. But never mind thatTelevision: Truth and fiction mingle in the Netflix royal drama’s new series. Its showrunner, Peter Morgan, has never pretended otherwiseSat Nov 05 2022 - 08:01
Relentless: The Connacht Way feels like a rugby promo reel, all ruck’n’roll hagiographyTelevision: RTÉ’s hour-long film is watchable and well put together but tells us little about Connacht rugby or its fansThu Nov 03 2022 - 23:15
‘This is not easy for me at all’: Gráinne Seoige makes a deeply personal, sometimes bleak filmTelevision: In Meanapás: Meon Nua, the broadcaster doesn’t try to sell a Hallmark vision of menopause as an opportunity for renewal or self-knowledgeWed Nov 02 2022 - 22:30
First Aid Kit: ‘We couldn’t believe what was happening to us. We just kept going’Sisters are one of the decade’s greatest country rock institutions even if they hail from suburban Stockholm rather than downtown NashvilleSat Oct 29 2022 - 05:00
