Putting on an outdoor music festival in Ireland: ‘The bands saw they weren’t going to be up on the back of a truck in Portlaoise’Be it Glasonbury or Forest Fest, a good line-up is key for any music festival. How do Irish organisers attract the biggest names?Tue Jun 03 2025 - 05:20
Housewife of the Year review: A reminder that Ireland of the 1970s and 80s was no country for women of any ageContrast between picture the women presented beside ‘Uncle Gaybo’ and present-day selves is strikingMon Jun 02 2025 - 22:45
Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful review – Like Bangerz without the bangers, or Flowers without the bloomThe star’s first album for two years is an ambitious yet ultimately patchy, underwhelming recordFri May 30 2025 - 10:54
And Just Like That... Season 3 review: Nostalgia served up like a gift box of premium cupcakesTelevision: The sequel to beloved Sex and The City series finds its groove, but still relies on original trioThu May 29 2025 - 14:15
Nessa Barrett in Dublin review: A star on the rise in need of time to find her voiceTikTok singer with a cult fanbase has a few good songs, but needs to up her game if she’s to shed the ‘internet famous’ tagTue May 27 2025 - 12:30
Death Valley review: Timothy Spall effortlessly commands the screen but this BBC drama strugglesTelevision: Cosy crime series set in Wales is well intentioned but an odd character pairing fails to deliverMon May 26 2025 - 15:49
The Last of Us finale review: A nerve-shredding, bloody conclusion that leaves us wanting more, and soonTelevision: The series has delivered a riveting portrayal of the tragically unintended consequences that can flow from revengeMon May 26 2025 - 06:00
Tyler, the Creator at 3Arena review: A brilliantly evocative, provocative performance Hip hop’s one-time bete noire stands before the adoring Dublin crowd older, wiser, sadder and sweeterSun May 25 2025 - 12:27
Sirens review: An anaemic White Lotus cover that hits the right notes but has no tune of its ownSirens, starring Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon, exists in a heightened realityFri May 23 2025 - 10:16
Clarkson’s Farm review: Muddy escapades galore on latest serving of Jeremy Clarkson’s rural reality showTelevision: Former Top Gear presenter is like an old tractor that refuses to die – mucky but very ready for dutyFri May 23 2025 - 06:00
Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band: Land of Hope & Dreams review – A roiling, righteous anti-Trump onslaughtStay true to what we believe in, the great blue-collar bard urges on this live EP recorded in ManchesterFri May 23 2025 - 05:03
Nine Perfect Strangers review: The only people likely to be traumatised by this moribund thriller are the viewersTelevision: Kidman does her best, but this year’s cast of dysfunctional one-per-centers make for a threadbare bunchThu May 22 2025 - 11:05
Burkitt review: Beautiful documentary about life of pioneering Fermanagh cancer researcherTelevision: Film-maker Éanna Mac Cana, who has been treated for the lymphoma named after Burkitt, deftly traces a remarkable lifeWed May 21 2025 - 22:30
Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Kneecap show their soulful side as they trudge through the Arctic snowTelevision: Episode filmed before recent controversy features the rap trio wending their way across FinlandWed May 21 2025 - 22:30
Aisling Bea on Who Do You Think You Are? – Likeable comedian gets emotional at tales of family role in Irish freedomTelevision: Bea sees the funny side of a British crew helping her to learn of her family’s involvement in the Easter RisingTue May 20 2025 - 11:59
Forget Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+: 18 of the best free and paid subscriptionsThere’s more to cultural life than Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+ for those who want to think outside the goggleboxMon May 19 2025 - 05:02
Skye Edwards of Morcheeba: ‘I heard that Madonna came to one of our gigs – and that Ozzy Osbourne’s a big fan’The music press might not always have appreciated Morcheeba, but other artists did. Thirty years into their career, the band’s new album is one of their bestSat May 17 2025 - 05:05
Damiano David: Funny Little Fears review – Eurovision-winning Måneskin frontman goes solo with a beautifully overwrought LPThe Italian has given himself every chance of making it as an over-the-top troubadourFri May 16 2025 - 05:09
Eurovision 2025: When is Ireland’s semi-final on, what are Emmy’s chances and how does voting work?All eyes are on the Swiss city of Basle for the second semi-final of this year’s Eurovision. Can Ireland win glory with Norwegian singer Emmy Kristiansen?Thu May 15 2025 - 08:24
Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Leo Varadkar has to get halfway up a mountain with Lyra before he lets his guard downTelevision: A former taoiseach and a Cork popstar make for a curious couple on this South African survival challengeWed May 14 2025 - 22:35
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story review – A chilling gaze into a monstrous, soulless voidNetflix series review: It’s hard to see how we needed another documentary about this murderous couple, yet here we areWed May 14 2025 - 05:30
Bad Nanny review: Incredible story of fraudster Samantha Cookes skilfully told in excellent documentaryTelevision: Chirpy Englishwoman was exposed as a serial fraudster, but only after taking in a long list of victimsMon May 12 2025 - 22:35
‘RTÉ said we don’t have any problem with Emmy. We have an Irish writer on the team’: Ireland’s Eurovision singer from NorwayNorwegiam singer Emmy on representing Ireland in Basle for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest and how she and song cowriter Larissa Tormey have engineered Laika Party to grab the attention. But can they triumph? Sat May 10 2025 - 06:23
Alicia Witt: ‘It was a scene that got cut from the movie. I did kiss Madonna in rehearsals’Ahead of a musical performance in Dublin, the actor and songwriter talks about grief, her formative friendship with David Lynch and her encounter with Harvey WeinsteinSat May 10 2025 - 05:15
Arcade Fire: Pink Elephant review – Win Butler and co release the biggest damp squib of their careerIt’s hard to escape the sense that this is Butler’s ‘shame walk’ album after the allegations that engulfed him in 2022Fri May 09 2025 - 10:07
A Deadly American Marriage review: Excruciating documentary gives Jason Corbett’s killers Molly Martens and her father a platform and megaphoneTelevision: Molly and Thomas Martens reassert their own allegations and bizarre fabrications as Corbett’s children also feature in filmFri May 09 2025 - 08:01
Tarrac na Farraige review: RTÉ documentary about fishing livelihoods is both stunning and heartbreaking Television: Engaging portrait of a way of life that may soon be gone forever is like a love letter to the gorgeous Irish coastlineThu May 08 2025 - 19:30
Good American Family review: An eye-poppingly bizarre true story that fails to come to lifeTelevision: Series starring Ellen Pompeo commits the egregious sin of attempting to send the viewer to sleep at every turnWed May 07 2025 - 15:03
Eric Church: Evangeline vs the Machine review – Student of the heart’s crookedness plays it straightAlbum showcases Nashville veteran’s expressive baritone and flair for beautifully arranged songs that revisit classic country themesFri May 02 2025 - 05:04
The Four Seasons review: Tina Fey and Steve Carell’s drama has stumbled upon an intriguing new premise - the midlife crisisTelevision review: Mean-spirited and pessimistic portrait of three couples going through midlife malaise is devoid of laughsThu May 01 2025 - 05:30
Genius Game review: David Tennant’s new show deserves to be sent to dunce’s corner Television review: Doctor Who star’s baffling new show is a shameless Traitors rip-off Wed Apr 30 2025 - 21:30
Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes review - Horribly riveting retelling of police killing an innocent manTelevision: If only Irish drama displayed the same willingness to unpack our own scandals and dark secretsWed Apr 30 2025 - 14:00
TV coverage of Pope’s funeral: Ceremony filmed with splendid cinematic minimalism by Italian TVTelevision: Viewers treated to abundance of drone shots of Francis’ simple wooden coffin from high aboveSat Apr 26 2025 - 15:46
Ghost: Skeletá review – Hair-metal tribute pop minus the killer tunesThe rare moment of magic can’t compensate for the carnival of cringe on the Swedish band’s sixth albumFri Apr 25 2025 - 05:05
You’s final season review: Penn Badgley does his best but there is no saving this honking disappointmentTelevision: This Netflix show is so deliriously cheesy that nobody could take it seriously. The series ending feels like a mercy killingThu Apr 24 2025 - 15:48
Andor season 2 review: Irish actors shine in taut Star Wars prestige TV Television: Disney was slightly off kilter with season 1 but is back on course with latest additionWed Apr 23 2025 - 12:40
Dragon Hearts: Moving insight into a world where mortality meets dragon boat racingTelevision: Documentary follows people with experience of cancer who have embraced the ancient sportMon Apr 21 2025 - 19:30
Sugababes in Dublin review: A steamroller of peerless pop and sisterhoodFounding band members Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy replace old tensions with collective joyMon Apr 21 2025 - 12:05
The Last of Us drops a bombshell for the TV ages. Did that really just happen?Television: This is like Logan Roy’s death in Succession, or perhaps even the Red Wedding in Game of ThronesMon Apr 21 2025 - 06:00
Self Esteem on the music business: ‘It’s things like dressing rooms with only a urinal which make women give up’For Rebecca Lucy Taylor, performing as Self Esteem has been a way of unpicking years of anger at the way the industry operates Sun Apr 20 2025 - 05:16
Julien Baker & Torres: Send a Prayer My Way review – Understated campfire-country album crackles with songwriting chemistryDarkness and light combine impressively on a beautiful LP on which two talented musicians coexist in harmonyFri Apr 18 2025 - 05:06
Netflix applying its binge-watch formula to Jason Corbett’s killing is not a surpriseStreamer has been building its true crime franchise for a decade. But is it always a good thing?Fri Apr 18 2025 - 05:00
The Stolen Girl: Bingeable, fun and instantly forgettable child kidnap potboiler with Denise GoughTelevision: Irish actress plays mother of child who disappears during a sleepover in a friend’s house Wed Apr 16 2025 - 12:21
The Last of Us review: Prepare to be shocked by this compelling new seasonTelevision: Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay are back as adoptive father and daughter with the show’s zombie game stronger than everMon Apr 14 2025 - 21:00
Your Friends & Neighbors: Jon Hamm is hilarious in this riotous, satirical rompTelevision: Story about a rich white American manages to transcend social commentary Fri Apr 11 2025 - 13:06
Bon Iver: Sable, Fable review – From carefree Supermac’s fan to angsty melancholy and, now, romantic yearningAdvance press described Sable, Fable as Bon Iver’s “sexiest” album yet, which is misleading. There’s a lot of romantic yearning, however, as Justin Vernon traces the arc of a relationship from infatuation to connection to contentment, a journey that he explores via blissed-out yacht rock (Everything Is Peaceful Love) and fuzzy Radiohead-style dirge rock (If Only Could Wait, a duet with Danielle Haim)Fri Apr 11 2025 - 05:21
Black Mirror review: Two standout episodes in a largely dreary and predictable new seasonTelevision: Charlie Brooker’s future-shock science fiction may be surplus to requirements. Could any future be any more shocking than our present reality?Thu Apr 10 2025 - 06:00
The White Lotus finale review: Viewers may be relieved to finally check outTelevision: Is showrunner Mike White sliding towards sentimentality in season 3? It’s been a wild ride – but viewers may be relieved to finally check outMon Apr 07 2025 - 22:30
Safe Harbour review: Jack Gleeson and his moustache steal gangland drama from a menacing Colm MeaneyTelevision review: with Colm Meaney, Jack Gleeson and Charlie Murphy, Safe Harbour's top-notch cast almost covcer the cracks of laboured tale of drug dealers that isn’t Irish enough to feel genuinely homegrownSun Apr 06 2025 - 22:10
Thurston Moore live in Dublin review: Beautifully overcast set is brooding one moment, bucolic and balmy the nextThe iconic indie-rock guitarist debuts his Guitar Explorations of Cloud Formations suite as part of the New Music Dublin festivalSun Apr 06 2025 - 11:34
