Maggie and himDamian Barr grew up poor but wanted more from life. So Margaret Thatcher made sense to him. He has changed – but the British PM still dominates his memoir of his 1980s childhoodSat May 03 2014 - 01:00
Elections collections: one man’s campaign to preserve posters‘Some of the stuff from the referendums is real social history. The scaremongering involved is unbelievable’Sat Apr 26 2014 - 01:00
How to make music and influence nobodyPatrick Freyne recounts how he lost his twenties to a bandSat Apr 26 2014 - 01:00
Fassbender and stars attend ‘Frank’ opening in DublinFilm inspired by Jon Ronson memoir depicts both joyous creativity and mental collapseFri Apr 25 2014 - 12:19
Slaying, knitting, musical Vikings: Beware!St Anne’s Park was invaded by Viking fans re-enacting the Battle of ClontarfSun Apr 20 2014 - 16:13
A humdrum finale for two detectives and a loud start to a desperate doAn implausable change of heart and a barrage of existential nonsense give the lie to ‘True Detective’Sat Apr 19 2014 - 01:00
‘I embody Ireland when I play the harp’Harpists have had mixed fortunes since their early medieval heyday. Now Cormac de Barra is helping to restore the instrument’s status. As part of his efforts, he tries teaching it to an ‘Irish Times’ journalistSat Apr 19 2014 - 01:00
Science friction: imagining the futurePatrick Freyne imagines the kind of space-age future he would like to live in. Spoilsport Science Editor Dick Ahlstrom tells him which of his dreams might become reality. Illustrations by Matthew GriffinSat Apr 12 2014 - 01:00
Okay, so the apocalypse is here. Dog-food sandwich, anyone?Don’t panic: survival specialist Lewis Dartnell has written a handy guide to surviving the end of the world as we know it and ‘rebooting’ the planet. It’ll be grandTue Apr 08 2014 - 01:00
Mark Thomas: rebel with guffawsFor 30 years, Thomas has plied a form of comedy rooted in political activism, journalism and situationist pranks. In his new show he attempts to change the world, one act of minor dissent a timeTue Apr 01 2014 - 01:00
Jon Ronson: ‘I still see myself as marginal’The writer often focuses on people who live in irrational bubbles, such as Frank Sidebottom – but then, it’s a state of mind he has personal experience ofMon Mar 31 2014 - 01:00
Kasparov warns of endgame in UkraineFormer world chess champion eager to talk politics on Dublin visitSat Mar 29 2014 - 07:36
Women putting women centre-stageOrganiser of Lady and Trans Fest explain the politics behind the eventSat Mar 29 2014 - 01:00
Blood, gore, nudity and incest: another night in front of the TV‘ Game of Thrones’ is about to return for its fourth season. Its stars talk about working on the epic television seriesSat Mar 29 2014 - 01:00
How the smoking ban was wonOn March 29th, 2004, the Republic became the first country to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants and all other workplaces. It was the end of a long battle between pro- and anti-smoking forcesSat Mar 22 2014 - 01:00
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name . . .Crosscare Cafe in Dublin’s inner city is a meeting place for the whole communitySat Mar 15 2014 - 01:00
How you can help fix IrelandFive social entrepreneurs – people who apply business acumen to social problems – give their views on ways to make Ireland a better placeSat Mar 15 2014 - 01:00
Educated woman WLTM the boss of my dreamsAt Jobcare’s Network to Getwork event, unemployed, highly skilled professionals can ‘speed date’ with potential employersTue Mar 11 2014 - 01:00
David Baddiel: ‘It was weird being depressed and having to go on TV’On the comedian’s mind are anti-Semitism and how it is not really considered racism, his experience of fame as ‘a constant puncturing of the moment’, and doing stand-up againMon Mar 10 2014 - 01:00
‘Not every man can be a Hunk of Desire’The Hunks of Desire have been in the media after a court case arising from an alleged incident at an Ann Summers party. So what’s life like for Ireland’s male strippers?Sat Mar 08 2014 - 01:00
I believe I can fly: Patrick Freyne takes to the skies over IrelandOur man takes the controls of a 14 tonne flight simulatorFri Feb 28 2014 - 14:23
Rail rage: the commuter who turned ‘blind fury’ into a bookDominic Utton’s rage at a train company was fodder for his debut novelMon Feb 24 2014 - 01:00
Dublin council initiative is a walk in the parkEveryone gathered for last week’s outing was there for a stroll and a chatSat Feb 22 2014 - 01:01
Doll and Em: you’ll laugh, you’ll projectile cryLifelong friends Dolly Wells and Emily Mortimer make their relationship awkward in a new sitcom, the latest comedy to feature people portraying distorted versions of themselvesMon Feb 17 2014 - 01:00
Noble failures celebrated in unique Dublin showTCD Science Gallery exhibition is inspirational and thought-provokingSat Feb 08 2014 - 01:00
Fighting a five-day fireVile fumes, fleeing rats, explosions . . . The first firefighters on the scene of last weekend’s huge fire at the Oxigen recycling plant in west Dublin describe what they encounteredSat Feb 01 2014 - 01:00
Temple Bar Exchange forced to close its doorsThis week the arts space Exchange Dublin were asked to hand their keys back to the Temple Bar Cultural TrustSat Feb 01 2014 - 01:00
The Good Wife: the best-made, most nuanced show on televisionThe show teases out troubling issues of race, gender, class and privilege – underestimate it at your perilMon Jan 27 2014 - 01:00
24 hours on O'Connell Street: DaytimeAll Irish life is here: workers, addicts, preachers, buskers, tourists, revellers, friends and lovers. A weekend on Ireland’s main street starts off gentlySat Jan 18 2014 - 01:00
The sky’s the limit when Dunsink Observatory comes within stargazers’ orbitIf you like the BBC’s ‘Stargazing Live’ programme, head to north Dublin for the real thingSat Jan 18 2014 - 01:00
My weekend on O’Connell Street: what I learnedAs the newspaper seller Austin Cregan says, ‘All human life is here’Fri Jan 17 2014 - 13:00
The meming of life: internet oddness, from Sad Keanu to Hitler catsWeb culture has opened our eyes to comical felines, careful whispers, hijacked reviews of a canvas print of Paul Ross, epic fails, planking and owling, and ‘erotic’ fan fictionTue Jan 14 2014 - 01:00
Magic show just Blaine strange while ‘Sherlock’ weaves an intriguing webTelevision reviewSat Jan 04 2014 - 01:00
Ray Winstone: more than a macho manThe actor has played many geezers, thugs and hard men, but the list belies a complex approach to masculinityFri Dec 27 2013 - 01:00
Driving home for ChristmasGetting drunk with old acquaintances, competing with toddlers, and being verbally abused by the we-never-left brigade: just some of the rituals when you’re back for the holidaysSat Dec 21 2013 - 01:00
An old hand at Christmas tree salesAt 82, tree seller Paul Sexton isn’t ready for the chop just yetSat Dec 14 2013 - 07:01
Love/Love: from Nidge weasel to nice guyFilming ‘Love/Hate’ opened Tom Vaughan-Lawlor’s eyes to how some of Dublin’s poorest communities live, prompting him to work with BarnardosFri Dec 13 2013 - 01:00
Video: Our man on red carpet (for the first time)Patrick Freyne tries his luck at doorstepping the stars of 'Anchorman 2'Tue Dec 10 2013 - 01:01
Undocumented: the paperless ChristmasThree illegal Irish workers in the US, and three undocumented immigrants in Ireland, describe the harsh realities of living an unofficial lifeSat Dec 07 2013 - 01:00
A home for the homeless: ‘I put a smiley face on my stump. Life’s life’Sophia Housing’s Cork Street Project in Dublin is a community offering support and living quarters to formerly homeless people. Two residents share their storiesFri Nov 29 2013 - 01:00
Magical mystery tour: ‘The public weren’t aware the Beatles had changed’Paul Howard chats to ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ collaborator Gerry Harrison about Tara Browne (the reputed subject of ‘A Day in the Life’), 1967 and LSDMon Nov 25 2013 - 01:00
‘This is not afternoon telly, nowhere else will broadcast this’Due to funding problems, Dublin Community Television is to cease broadcastingSat Nov 23 2013 - 01:00
From tragedy to pop-culture punchlineReinventing Kennedy to suit books, TV and film has blurred his significanceFri Nov 22 2013 - 01:00
The help: Irish-styleMany cleaners, au pairs and carers live in the shadows of Irish life: hired by word of mouth, engaged without contracts, paid below minimum wage. How do this vulnerable group see their adopted country?Sat Nov 16 2013 - 01:00
What does the future have in store for us?More psychonomics. More TED-talking CEOs. Less job security. And no unionsTue Nov 12 2013 - 00:30
What’s the difference between a comedian and an economist?Boundaries between the funny folk and money folk dissolve at Kilkenomics FestivalMon Nov 11 2013 - 14:40
Foolhardy theorists brace themselves in Kilkenny as quick-wits plan for last laughMaking economists uncomfortable is part of what the Kilkenomics Festival is all aboutSat Nov 09 2013 - 11:54
Funny formula: the sums in ‘The Simpsons’Simon Singh’s book looks at complex maths gags in Springfield and in ‘Futurama’. So then, why do the Simpsons live at No 742?Wed Nov 06 2013 - 01:00
In the shadow of the bombThe most consistent risk of nuclear disaster has come not from warmongering politicians but from computer glitches and human error. A loose wire could have triggered an apocalypse, says Eric Schlosser, the ‘Fast Food Nation’ author, whose new book, ‘Command and Control’, is about the management and politics of nuclear weaponsSat Nov 02 2013 - 01:00
