Time to knuckle down and write that short storyLOOSE LEAVES: The Francis MacManus short-story competition gets its timing so rightSat Dec 10 2011 - 00:00
Tubridy's toy story hit the spot, but piercing tale sounded hollowTV REVIEW: PUT ASIDE THE bread and circuses theory for a minuteSat Dec 10 2011 - 00:00
The friendly face that can work wonders when times are hardTV REVIEW: HERE’S HOW to get richSat Dec 03 2011 - 00:00
Toy Show serves up seasonal giddiness, great performancesGIANT DINOSAURS, a doll that poops green gunge, an inflatable Dalek-shaped bicycle — they were just some of the stars of last…Sat Dec 03 2011 - 00:00
Joseph O’Connor wins Irish Pen AwardLOOSE LEAVES: Joseph O’Connor (pictured) is to receive the 2012 Irish Pen Award – Irish Pen is part of the international organisation…Sat Dec 03 2011 - 00:00
What Larry, Aaron, Declan, Kate, Stephen and Heather did nextTV REVIEW: ANYONE WHO saw Departure Day , RTÉ’s poignant and timely documentary last January, which featured people as they …Sat Nov 26 2011 - 00:00
Christmas books at the bookiesLOOSE LEAVES: Although we can’t see anyone wandering into their local bookie’s to put a few quid on what will be the bestselling…Sat Nov 26 2011 - 00:00
Oops, they did it again: a hint of deja vu in this comedy of errorsTV REVIEW: THE TWO-PART documentary Crisis: Inside the Cowen Government (RTÉ1, Monday) looked slick and promised much but told…Sat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
Loose LeavesCongratulations to our book-award winners Belinda McKeon and Anna Carey, two regular reviewers on these pages, were winners …Sat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
There's murder on the streets - and boredom on the hustingsTV REVIEW: IN ONE OF the more chilling scenes in the new series of the gangland drama Love/Hate (RTÉ1, Sunday), two thugs chase…Sat Nov 12 2011 - 00:00
Travel the world, see new places - must be a complete nightmareTV REVIEW: EVERYONE’S a criticSat Nov 05 2011 - 00:00
Wacky plot twists straight out of 'Dallas' - or a presidential debateTV REVIEW: RIVETING TV, wasn’t it? Those of us who dutifully watched every single presidential debate and were mostly turned…Sat Oct 29 2011 - 01:00
Come fly with Maggie, Kate, Laura . . . and Mary McAleeseTV REVIEW: IF WE have to suffer yet another TV debate – and it appears we do, because everyone has to get a telly slice of the…Sat Oct 22 2011 - 01:00
When Mike met Marian: it warmed up, eventuallyTV REVIEW: David Norris could have produced those letters and no one would have paid a blind bit of noticeSat Oct 15 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsAUTUMN is a time of major bird migration – tens of thousands of swallows are already making their way from Ireland where they…Sat Oct 15 2011 - 01:00
No offence? Not !*~#*!@!* likely‘I WOULD FULLY EXPECT to be on Joe Duffy during the week,” Simon Delaney says about the forthcoming run of Jerry Springer: The…Tue Oct 11 2011 - 01:00
Who's the winner? With Browne in the chair, there's no debateTV REVIEW: AT THE very least, a debate needs several lecterns and a bit of argy-bargySat Oct 08 2011 - 01:00
A smart Sandymount renovationDUBLIN 4 €1.24M Back on the market after a decade, this Victorian end-of- terrace house, for sale for €1Thu Oct 06 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsWorld Space Week : World Space Week begins on Tuesday and runs until October 10th, and it’s a week designed to turn our attention…Sat Oct 01 2011 - 01:00
From Klingon to the cúpla focal, the words speak for themselvesTV REVIEW: TRICKY BUSINESS, languageSat Oct 01 2011 - 01:00
Ballsbridge grandeur has new price tagDUBLIN 4: €2.2M : This sensitively renovated redbrick, has period details and a terrace that overlooks the gardenThu Sept 29 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsNATIONAL Trails Day is on Sunday October 2nd and while many of the brilliant events around the country – everywhere from Cape…Sat Sept 24 2011 - 01:00
How the other half gives - it's philanthropy without the flashTV REVIEW: RTÉ’S VERSION of the hit Channel 4 series The Secret Millionaire could just as easily have been called The Lovely…Sat Sept 24 2011 - 01:00
Roomy penthouse with Ailesbury viewDUBLIN €1M: SINCE it was built in the 1970s, the St Anne’s development on Ailesbury Road, across from Donnybrook church, has…Thu Sept 22 2011 - 01:00
One forensic documentary beats two cliche-ridden cop dramasTV REVIEW: ONE THING is for certain: you’re not going to come away from a Mary Raftery documentary feeling happy and uplifted…Sat Sept 17 2011 - 01:00
A queen of crime fiction holds courtLoose leaves: Even though the sun was beating down last Saturday, crowds of book-lovers opted for the cool darkness of the Pavilion…Sat Sept 17 2011 - 01:00
Loose leavesGreen noir writers converge in New York Every time this column bumps into any of our top crime writers they are either en route…Sat Sept 17 2011 - 01:00
Loose LeavesBOOKER BOOKIES: Even if you think the Man Booker longlist is just a marketing wheeze and that the real business of the prize…Sat Sept 10 2011 - 01:00
It's not 'Hell's Kitchen', but these chefs need to turn up the heatTV REVIEW: THE OPENING episodes of the much-hyped MasterChef Ireland (RTÉ2, Tuesday and Thursday) – the presenters Dylan McGrath…Sat Sept 10 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsORGANIC WEEK: National Organic Week begins on Monday and while there are many foodie events – some adult only – it also provides…Sat Sept 10 2011 - 01:00
Watch your language - unless, of course, you're in a 1980s dramaTV REVIEW: ‘I’M GOING TO make up the cripple’s bed,” said the former Irish international rugby player Trevor Brennan early on…Sat Sept 03 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsSmall Lives: Photographs can explain to children in a second what no amount of words can.Sat Sept 03 2011 - 01:00
At this ancestry roadshow, there may be gold in those old genesTV REVIEW: THE ANNUAL genealogy roadshow rolled into the dome in Tralee and frocked up for two long – and boy were they long…Sat Aug 27 2011 - 01:00
Too nice to be a model citizen? It's more interesting to be a RoseTV REVIEW: POOR GORGEOUS, smart HannahSat Aug 20 2011 - 01:00
Religion and power with the Corleones of the RenaissanceA look at The Borgias on SkyMon Aug 15 2011 - 01:00
Duncannon Sand Sculpting FestivalGO KIDS: Anyone who has ever attempted to build the perfect sandcastle will be in awe at the sheer artistry on display at the…Sat Aug 13 2011 - 01:00
Rioting youths? Call in the Irish Countrywomen's AssociationTV REVIEW: THE MOST powerful images on TV this week proved that context and content are everythingSat Aug 13 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsScience shows If going to a science gallery sounds not-very-holidays then it’s only because you haven’t been to Pearse Street…Sat Aug 06 2011 - 01:00
Back to the slums of old Dublin - and not a whiff of Celtic mistTV REVIEW: IT’S ONE OF those inevitably true TV equations: the more times a presenter tells you how much fun a programme is, …Sat Aug 06 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsThere’s one month left in the school holidays which means there’s only one more chance for families to take advantage of the …Sat Jul 30 2011 - 01:00
Zip wire in Lough KeyGO KIDS: This column is reluctant to recommend anything we haven’t already triedSat Jul 16 2011 - 01:00
Dig too deep and what you find might be too much to stomach Get stuck into . . .TV REVIEW: IF EVER A SERIES was crying out for an American version, it was Who Do You Think You Are? (Monday RTÉ1).Sat Jul 16 2011 - 01:00
Copycat 'Killing' makes for tantalisingly tense viewingTV REVIEW: It seems a faithful reimagining, despite the transatlantic transplantSat Jul 09 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsKinsale Arts Week: From now until the end of the summer, it seems every town and village has some sort of arts event or week…Sat Jul 09 2011 - 01:00
A revolution as familiar as yesterday's mashed potatoesTV REVIEW: ENOUGH WITH the cookery shows. We’re full. Had enough. Couldn’t manage another biteSat Jul 02 2011 - 01:00
Go KidsUp the Junction in Clonmel The children of Clonmel don’t have to be told that their 10-day festival is onSat Jul 02 2011 - 01:00
Reworking a classic, one tear at a timeIt may be missing the melodrama of the original, but a remake of 1940s Oscar-winning classic ‘Mildred Pierce’ shows television…Mon Jun 27 2011 - 01:00
