Review 2023

Great mare Honeysuckle her racing career in fitting style for trainer Henry De Bromhead on a bittersweet day at Cheltenham

Wexford’s survival in the Leinster Hurling Championship seemed a lost cause as they prepared to take on Kilkenny in May. But Darragh Egan’s team defied the doom-mongers

Matthew Perry and Tina Turner were among those who died in 2023

The Republic of Ireland captain and Arsenal star Katie McCabe showed her true quality with a memorable piece of magic in the victory over Albania

Ireland’s sportspeople used to be good at losing. Finally the ‘wee Tricolour’ has become a force to be reckoned with

Opinion: Johnny Waterson’s moment of the year

Pragmatists in Sinn Féin have accepted privately that a left-led government is unlikely and their most viable path to power is in a coalition with Fianna Fáil

It was a truly memorable World Cup victory for Irish rugby but though South Africa lost that seismic battle they went on to win the war

In a year jam-packed with great recipes, these are the dishes you couldn’t get enough of (Spoiler alert: no-fuss winter warmers and comfort food were the order of the day)

Gaza and Ukraine dominate news in the western world, yet more than 50 other conflicts continue around the globe

Cork captain Amy O'Connor took ten shots at goal and ended up with a total of 3-7 in an All-Ireland final display for the ages

Going through my columns for 2023, some themes emerge: the rise of Darwin Nuñez; Stephen Kenny’s fall; Evan Ferguson’s form and Manchester City’s resilience

A depiction of Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ, stolen from an Odesa museum in 2008, has for years been embroiled in controversy over its theft, dramatic recovery and, most importantly, its origins as an authentic painting by Caravaggio himself

Trials told of brutal attacks on schoolteacher Ashling Murphy and Donegal mother Jasmine McMonagle by their respective killers

Orla Tinsley: As I fought for life, the joy and magic of seeing Mariah Carey live, suspended in time, was something that could live forever

Ireland in 2023, as seen through the lens of the satirical website Waterford Whispers News

Amid a litany of awful global news, from climate disasters to war in Ukraine and Gaza, Ireland remained remarkably stable and successful

As their achievements in 2023 confirm, the base level of performance for Irish women in sport is so much higher than before

From Aussie Rules to athletics, sailing to soccer and everything in between, 2023 has been a spectacular year for Ireland’s sportswomen

Falling inflation and the prospect of lower interest rates point to better times for consumers in 2024 though more competition in banking would help

Who made the best Irish album? Which act recorded the best Irish song? Can anybody beat Lankum and CMAT? Our critics have made their choices

Productions of classics appeared to be aimed at long-time theatregoers, yet this year the Arts Council warned of a decline in young people attending plays

The biggest difficulty was deciding what to leave out

An obsessive viewer surveys a year of ups and downs and finds there was an awful lot that was worth watching

Barbenheimer of course features, but most of the year’s finest flicks did not exactly run box office attendants off their feet