Ireland’s Christmas story is still underpinned by separation anxiety
The Gaybo Christmas call was a necessary national ritual, one that turned private pain into public joy
Gay Byrne
Late Late Toy Show: Patrick Kielty ‘now at the zen buddha stage’ in third year as host
Dr Seuss’s Christmas favourite The Grinch will be theme for the annual RTÉ broadcast
RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan on family, feminism and fame in her candid new memoir
The Prime Time presenter reflects on politics, loss and life lessons in a fast-paced and enjoyable book
Terry Prone: ‘Charlie Haughey grasped me by the knee and told me I was a rude b**ch’
Terry Prone writes about giving media training to Charles Haughey when he was leader of Fianna Fáil
‘Tony O’Reilly should have been president of Ireland’: Jeffrey Archer on life, books and his God-given gift
Former Tory politician on his new novel End Game and - to the chagrin of his publisher - his secret final novel out next year
Mike Murphy: ‘It should have been the RTÉ payments scandal, not the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal’
Broadcaster talks about Roy Keane and the mothers of Cork, angry Trumpite golfers and finding a fan in Martin McGuinness
Rose of Tralee 2025 review: Another batch of warm, likeable overachievers makes for slightly plodding TV
Hosts Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas have negligible chemistry
Race for the Áras: Mike Ryan and Bertie Ahern among names circulating but parties wary of ‘knee-jerk’ selection
Irish presidential election campaign momentum hits doldrums amid fears of chilling effect on prospective candidates of personalised attacks
Gavin Friday: ‘U2 and I are almost like brothers – you very rarely blow smoke up your brother’s ass’
The musician on positive changes in Ireland, his enduring friendship with Bono and co, and how he never made money until Jim Sheridan came calling
Remembering Housewife of the Year, deadbeat husbands and patronising Gay Byrne
One woman’s husband walked out on her without a word soon after the competition
Housewife of the Year review: A reminder that Ireland of the 1970s and 80s was no country for women of any age
Contrast between picture the women presented beside ‘Uncle Gaybo’ and present-day selves is striking
Paul Brady: ‘There’s a huge coterie of Irish nationalists who don’t want a United Ireland’
The singer has been reflecting on his life to compile The Archive, his new box set. It’s been a rich, rewarding six decades in music
‘The holy men thought it was vulgar and obscene’: Irish jazz pianist Jim Doherty on 70 years in music
The musician, whose jazz ballet suite Spondance is about to be re-released, is as important to jazz as John Banville is to literature, Robert Ballagh to art and Gay Byrne to TV
At home there’s an apron with the slogan ‘Calor Housewife of the Year 1985′
The reality for participants in the Housewife of the Year contest was a far cry from the aspirational tradwife trend on Instagram
Housewife of the Year: A wistful celebration of a generation of Irish women who competed for £300 and a gas stove
Ciaran Cassidy’s fine documentary is filled with much sadness but also allows a fair degree of celebration
Kathleen Watkins obituary: broadcaster, author and one half of the original power couple
She loved how their friends teased her husband, Late Late Show host Gay Byrne, and she would laughingly tell them to “leave my Gaysie alone”
Kathleen Watkins: Funeral Mass remembers a woman whose life was a ‘hymn of love’
Broadcaster and wife of Gay Byrne was immensely talented and beloved by many people, her funeral mass was told
Róisín Ingle on Kathleen Watkins: She loved life, poetry and Gaybo. Conversation flowed from her like music
Kathleen Watkins was one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met
Kathleen Watkins, broadcaster and author, has died aged 90
Tributes paid in Dáil to Watkins, who was the first continuity announcer on RTÉ and was married to Late Late Show host Gay Byrne
John Creedon: ‘I was always being sent away, not because they didn’t love me, but because they couldn’t cope’
Broadcaster and author reflects on an unusual childhood in Cork, constant low-level anxiety and presenting Winning Streak without understanding the rules
Collison brother buys period pile in heart of Dublin 4′s embassy belt
Plus: Dublin New Year’s Eve celebrations to be split in two across traditional city lines; Phil Hogan’s exclusive Brussels club; and the new plan for Terenure Synagogue
Ludwig review: David Mitchell is perfect as nerdy sleuth in comic thriller stuffed with laughs
Television: This agreeably chortle-filled show is the perfect midweek distraction
In My Own Words review: Billy Connolly retains his twinkle in affecting and celebratory documentary
Television: Scottish comedian is both emotional and phlegmatic as he looks back on his life and career
Michelle McDonagh: Writing the book, Ann Lovett, and her heartbroken sister Patricia, were at the forefront of my mind
McDonagh, author of Somebody Knows, talks about inspirations for her writing, her new podcast and more
There is a grim Irish tradition of arson, from burning big houses to burning refugee centres
Accommodating asylum seekers and refugees is a medium-sized infrastructure problem in danger of imminent political contamination by the far right
Dear Gay: Letters to The Gay Byrne Show - a myth-destroying mirror to show the Irish who we are
A consummate professional communicator, late broadcaster Gay Byrne gave his listeners a safe platform on which to speak about anything, while at key moments lightening the atmosphere
Patrick Kielty prepares for Late Late Toy Show debut, as RTÉ flagship recovers from behind-the-scenes clashes
Late Late Show’s new host is about to present the biggest show of the season – and has to do it amid reports of tensions behind the scenes
Terry Prone: ‘I never do parties, dinners. I’ve always been reclusive and shy’
The communications guru, writer and broadcaster’s memoir is full of contradictions, just like the woman herself
Podcast: Hugh Linehan reviews Patrick Kielty’s Late Late debut
In the News podcast: jokey monologue got the laughs but the usual suspects filled the guest list
Patrick Kielty’s Late Late prep: Butterflies, politics and a message from Tubs
RTÉ chatshow’s excited new host is aiming for a ‘loose’ and ‘fun’ tone on tonight’s big debut
John Bowman: Even during RTÉ's darkest hour, its public service ethos has prevailed
Critics of RTÉ should not ascribe the blame for its most spectacular fall from grace solely to the hybrid funding model
Tubridy’s fall from grace has been jaw-dropping. But behind the persona is an individual in an isolated place
A week of controversy over covert payments to Ryan Tubridy has raised many questions about the future of the national broadcaster
Diarmaid Ferriter: Culture of ‘open secrets and secret secrets’ has always surrounded RTÉ pay
Broadcaster has a long history of paying large sums to its star presenters while running up hefty institutional deficits
Don’t force the audience to clap in time. Plus nine other golden Late Late rules for Patrick Kielty to live by
Patrick Freyne: It’s Ryan Tubridy’s final Late Late Show tonight. Here’s everything the new host needs to know for guaranteed success
‘After years saying ‘This eejit again’, your Da is clearly the best person for The Late Late Show’
Patrick Freyne: Yes, this was always Gay Byrne’s show, but I do have some thoughts as to who the next host should be
Ryan Tubridy wrestled with The Late Late Show as long as he could. Who will take it on next?
RTÉ flagship chat show is a demanding, often unwieldy, format battling a decline in TV viewership – whoever inherits the job will soon realise it’s not easy
Deirdre Purcell, popular novelist and broadcaster, dies at 77
President Higgins leads tributes to former Abbey actor
Irish Times view on the passing of radio stars: Voices from a golden age
There is great virtue in having some things about which a nation can largely agree
RTÉ’s failure is not only financial, it is cultural
With low-brow copies of low-grade British shows, Montrose insults Irish youth
Sideline cut: Irish society would be lost without its RTÉ mothership
Gay Byrne’s passing may show how its relevance has diminished but it remains a national institution
Miriam Lord: So long, Uncle Gaybo, even in death you got it right
Heady mix of light-entertainment stalwarts and RTÉ luvvies wedged into wooden pews
Gay Byrne ‘made a difference in our world. Our society will be forever in his debt’
Bob Collins funeral eulogy: full text
Your memories of Gay Byrne: ‘I feel like part of my childhood has died’
Irish Times readers pay tribute to the groundbreaking broadcaster, who died on Monday
RTÉ statement: Plans to ‘address key issues and fight for its future’
Company planning substantial job cuts and 15 per cent pay cut for high-earners
Funeral mass of Gay Byrne to take place in Dublin on Friday
Bryan Dobson to present ceremony coverage which will be aired on RTÉ and online
Bono on Gaybo: ‘If you didn’t get on the Late Late, you didn’t feel you existed’
The Late Late Show Gay Byrne Special: A night of bittersweet memories and classic footage
‘An abiding memory was his kindness’: My two summers working with Gaybo
Peter Hamilton on working with Gay Byrne on For One Night Only
Róisin Ingle: The Gay Byrne I knew – a friend, a mentor, a hero
We are a better, more mature, kinder country now because of Gay Byrne
Fintan O’Toole: Gay Byrne held the key to Ireland’s locked room of secrets
There is no other country in which light entertainment could lead into such dark territory
Gay Byrne: The right man at the right time for Irish society
Broadcaster played a key role in the opening up of media that enabled change
Gay Byrne was a loyal, if questioning Catholic all his life
Byrne was the creation of two immovable forces of the mid-20th century – mother and church
Gay Byrne: how he broke taboos and shook up conservative – and liberal – Ireland
He lit the fire which engulfed guests in controversy, then sat back and watched the blaze
Gay Byrne: ‘I am no different to hundreds of thousands of people who lost money’
Despite sitting at the top of the ratings at RTÉ, he lost his savings twice, 20 years apart
How the Late Late Show opened the door to sex, divorce, contraception and feminism
‘Controversies reflect an Ireland struggling to emerge from the post-independence social and economic doldrums’
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices