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Fri, Sep 20, 2019
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Christy Dignam: ‘When I thought I had six months left, I remember just wanting to see my family. That’s all I wanted to do.’ Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times Christy Dignam: ‘Nearly all the people I started with are dead’
  • Music
  • Patrick Freyne
  • September 20, 2019, 06:01

Interview: The Aslan singer pulls no punches about drug addiction, sex abuse and cancer

The best graphic novels of 2019 so far The best graphic novels of 2019 so far
  • Books
  • Seamas O'Reilly
  • September 20, 2019, 06:00

Ice cream horror, hardboiled crime, LA dreams and the best film never made

Dermot Bannon's vision for utopian Ireland, one kitchen extension at a time Dermot Bannon's vision for utopian Ireland, one kitchen extension at a time
  • Culture
  • Patrick Freyne
  • September 20, 2019, 08:11

Bannon reimagines the lives of two soon-to-be-married sixtysomethings like only he could

Jane Austen’s family in Ireland: how they shaped politics and society in the North Jane Austen’s family in Ireland: how they shaped politics and society in the North
  • Books
  • Sophia Hillan
  • September 20, 2019, 06:00

The author’s relatives married into some of the major Irish political families of the time

Liam Gallagher: Why Me Why Not review – Cheap but potent Liam Gallagher: Why Me Why Not review – Cheap but potent
  • Music
  • Tony Clayton-Lea
  • September 20, 2019, 08:14

Review: For all his flaws, he can hold a tune, and this second solo effort is full of them

The movie quiz: Which director failed to get Daniel Day-Lewis an Oscar? The movie quiz: Which director failed to get Daniel Day-Lewis an Oscar?
  • Film
  • Donald Clarke
  • September 20, 2019, 06:00

Also: Scarlett Johansson's roles, the Golden Lion winner, and a Nicole Kidman, film

Tove Lo: Sunshine Kitty – Shaking off past with pulsating synths Tove Lo: Sunshine Kitty – Shaking off past with pulsating synths
  • Music
  • Louise Bruton
  • September 20, 2019, 08:00

Sweden’s pop bad gal’s latest album feels like light at the end of the drug-fuelled tunnel

Mercury Prize 2019: ‘F**k Boris’ stunt overshadows Dave’s win Mercury Prize 2019: ‘F**k Boris’ stunt overshadows Dave’s win
  • Music
  • Ed Power
  • September 19, 2019, 23:02

The rapper Dave wins for his album Psychodrama in a highly politicised ceremony

Six of the best films to see in cinemas this weekend Six of the best films to see in cinemas this weekend
  • Film
  • Donald Clarke
  • September 20, 2019, 05:30

New this weekend: Ad Astra, The Farewell, Rambo: Last Blood

David Cameron: ‘I’d hate people to think I don’t worry desperately’ David Cameron: ‘I’d hate people to think I don’t worry desperately’
  • TV, Radio, Web
  • Peter Crawley
  • September 19, 2019, 22:32

‘I thought we had a winning hand,’ the former British prime minister tells the BBC

Latest Film

New this week: Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood Latest movies reviewed: All films in cinemas this week rated
Daniel Day-Lewis is to be awarded a knighthood after being named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Photograph: Ian West/PA Wire The movie quiz: Which director failed to get Daniel Day-Lewis an Oscar?
The outer limit: Brad Pitt in Ad Astra Six of the best films to see in cinemas this weekend
  • Oscars race: who are the real contenders and who have blown their chances?
  • New Lord of the Rings television series to be made in New Zealand

Film Reviews

The Farewell

 
Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood. Photograph: Lionsgate Rambo: Last Blood

 
Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish star in The Kitchen The Kitchen

 
Brad Pitt plays a cool-headed, emotionally-stunted astronaut Ad Astra

 

TV & Radio

‘Well, that didn’t work out, did it?’ Cameron said to colleagues the morning after the Brexit vote. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid, WPA Pool /Getty Images David Cameron: ‘I’d hate people to think I don’t worry desperately’

‘I thought we had a winning hand,’ the former British prime minister tells the BBC

Kingley’s presence alone tells you most of what you need to know about the plot Ben Kingsley in a knowing, enjoyable neo-noir series on TG4
Crime and Punishment: Aaron, one of two prisoners the cameras follow at the dismal HM Prison Winchester The prisoners whose sentences could last forever
  • Peaky Blinders: a return to its roaring, raging best
  • Seinfeld streaming rights bought by Netflix

Latest Music

Sweetener: Ariana Grande’s world tour is coming to Dublin’s 3Arena this month. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/Getty Ariana Grande at 3Arena, Dublin: Everything you need to know

Going to see Ariana? Here are the timings, the set list and the essential things you need to know

Christy Dignam: ‘When I thought I had six months left, I remember just wanting to see my family. That’s all I wanted to do.’ Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times Christy Dignam: ‘Nearly all the people I started with are dead’
Dave with the 2019 Mercury Prize. Photograph: Ian West/PA Wire Mercury Prize 2019: ‘F**k Boris’ stunt overshadows Dave’s win
  • Mercury Prize 2019: Can Fontaines DC win in a year of protest music?
  • Moya Brennan: ‘I never claimed to be a traditional singer’

Album Reviews

Liam Gallagher: Why Me Why Not

 
Tove Lo: Sunshine Kitty

 
The Atrix: Dublin 1979-1981

 
Tebi Rex: The Young Will Eat The Old

 
Little Hours: Now the Lights Have Changed

 
Girl Band: The Talkies

 

Latest Books

Norah Hill Ward; Somerset Ward; Eva Mulholland Saunderson; John Saunderson; Henry Mulholland, Lord Dunleath; Norah Ward Mulholland, Lady Dunleath. Image reproduced by permission of Lord and Lady Dunleath and Cassandra Wedd Jane Austen’s family in Ireland: how they shaped politics and society in the North

The author’s relatives married into some of the major Irish political families of the time

A genre best served cold: ice cream horror. The best graphic novels of 2019 so far
The Wall by John Lanchester is this week’s Irish Times Eason offer
  • Dublin Book Festival: a place to discover the story behind the stories
  • Mining the horrors of children at work in the Victorian era

Book Reviews

Fly Already: Sharp, action-packed short stories
The Anarchy: Appalling and enriching – but not in equal measure
Two Souls: Paramilitary and punk the divergent paths of Troubles youth
The Contested Identities of Ulster Catholics: trying to capture a community on the move

Stage

Collapsible: Essie is the precarious subject in Margaret Perry’s play. Photograph: Bronwen Sharp/Martha Hegarty Collapsible review: Monologue on a precarious existence

Dublin Fringe Festival: A young woman pursues some sense of self in a troublingly unstable world. Can she hold it together?

It’s Not About Love: the show is most effective when spilling raw and affecting truths. Photograph: Adam Matthews It’s Not About Love review: Shakespeare meets pop in a mixtape of memories
On Ice: Grotenhuis performs on an ice rink, surrounded by her life’s possessions. Photograph: Jeroen Broeckx On Ice review: A poignant show that lightly skates over millennia
  • Some Names Were Changed review: Noble purpose obscured by theatrical indulgence
  • Afloat review: Bickering and biscuits as Dublin drowns

Art & Design

Niamh O’Malley, Untitled (barrier), detail. Photograph: Ros Kavanagh. Image courtesy of the artist. An absorption with substance and finish, as antidote to a fast-paced world

Aidan Dunne: Finding a handle on Niamh O’Malley’s new sculptures at the RHA

Damnatio Memoriae, Conor O'Grady This week’s best art exhibitions
Winter Cherry Tree, Makiko Nakamura, 2019, oil and metal leaf on linen, 41X41cms Art in Focus: Makiko Nakamura – Winter Cherry Tree
  • Dorothy Cross teams up with Lisa Hannigan for new Heartship art project
  • Insider art: finding release through creativity in Irish prisons

Unthinkable

In seeking esteem, do we pretend we’re something we’re not in order to get other people to admire us? How can I distinguish between my needs and wants?

Unthinkable: Economist and philosopher Adam Smith encourages us to reflect on ‘how much is enough’

‘Judging that a certain course of action is irrational is always relative to a host of other contextual considerations’ Photograph: iStock Why there will never be a cure for irrationality
Pointing the finger: Shame is necessary, because it enforces essential social morals. But endless shame is emotional cruelty. Photograph: Getty Images When is it okay to shame another person?
  • Why does time fly? Maybe you’re not paying enough attention
  • Has mindfulness become just another wing of capitalism?

Michael Viney's Another Life

Illustration: Michael Viney Poisoned and preyless: obstacles to rewilding Ireland with eagles

Restoring the golden eagle to the west has found the limits to bringing back a carnivore

“Like our neighbours, we once depended wholly on the stream, piped to the house by gravity from one of its higher pools.” Nature takes refuge as drought dries the landscape
“The view from the top balcony can be sublime.” Illustration: Michael Viney Clifftops have given me some of the high point of my life
  • For peat’s sake, our uplands need rain – just not too much at once
  • Michael Viney: The beauty of weeping beeches

Heritage

‘For a smart, charming young woman like Maeve Brennan, able to waltz her way into the pages of Harper’s Bazaar and the New Yorker, the choice between Ireland and exile cannot have required much agonising.’ Maeve Brennan, a writer who was at home in neither Ireland nor America

From the archive: ‘Irish literature’s best-kept secret ... everyone should be reading her’

The 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon was marked this year Why are we so obsessed with anniversaries?
The contents of an American food parcel in December 1946. Photograph: Daily Herald Archive/SSPL/Getty Images. Rationing in 1940s Ireland: Drapers protest over clothes restrictions
  • Hotelier plans new Iveagh Markets Quarter in Dublin’s Liberties
  • Iveagh Markets ‘unsafe’ and in ‘advanced state of dereliction’

Tuarascáil

Aisteoir de chuid Phléaráca Chonamara i nDún Eochla, Inis Mór, i 1997. Grianghraph: Joe O’Shaughnessy Oidhreacht an Phléaráca

Cothrom an ama seo i 1991 a reáchtáladh an Pléaráca den chéad uair

Robert Mugabe i Harare na Siombáibe an tseachtain seo caite. Grianghraf: EPA/STR Cogadh na Talún
Déardaoin seo caite, ghlac mic léinn Choláiste Lú i nDún Dealgan páirt in agóid faoin laghdú agus an imeallú a dúradar atá tar éis teacht ar líon na n-ábhar atá á múineadh trí Ghaeilge sa scoil. Grianghraph: Alan Betson In am dul i ngleic leis an ‘lúb ar lár’
  • An scrios mór
  • An Ghaeilge ar bhord na hidirbheartaíochta?

Sponsored

Did you think festival season was over? It’s only just beginning Did you think festival season was over? It’s only just beginning

Summer may be coming to an end, but festival season continues right through the autumn season in Ireland. Book a short break at one of the many fantastic Irish festivals on offer this autumn

South Africa: wildlife, wine country and out-of-this-world adventure awaits South Africa: wildlife, wine country and out-of-this-world adventure awaits

From wine tasting to shark diving, we meet the Rainbow Nation’s local experts and discover a dream bucket list of experiences

Subscriber Only

A genre best served cold: ice cream horror. The best graphic novels of 2019 so far
Etgar Keret uses speech to carry us along, recognising it as a kind of duet, a call and response. Photograph: Adam Guz/Getty Images Poland/Getty Images Fly Already: Sharp, action-packed short stories
The East India Company funded local wars, rewarded winners, punished disloyalty, left historic cities devastated and thousands dead. The Anarchy: Appalling and enriching – but not in equal measure
Atlantic Podcast A three-part series exploring the mystery of Peter Bergmann - the man who came to Sligo to disappear
 
Dublin Fringe Festival 2019 Reviews, news and interviews from the capital city's biggest and most diverse festival
 

Most Read in Culture

1 Dermot Bannon with Tipperary clients Mary Hayes and Joe Kenny. Photograph: RTÉ Dermot Bannon's vision for utopian Ireland, one kitchen extension at a time
2 Christy Dignam: ‘When I thought I had six months left, I remember just wanting to see my family. That’s all I wanted to do.’ Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times Christy Dignam: ‘Nearly all the people I started with are dead’
3 Cellist Peadar O' Loinsigh and ballerina Niamh O' Flannagain at the launch of Culture Night 2019. Photograph: Tom Honan/ The Irish Times Culture Night: Your guide to the best events in Dublin and around Ireland
4 Dave with the 2019 Mercury Prize. Photograph: Ian West/PA Wire Mercury Prize 2019: ‘F**k Boris’ stunt overshadows Dave’s win
5 Norah Hill Ward; Somerset Ward; Eva Mulholland Saunderson; John Saunderson; Henry Mulholland, Lord Dunleath; Norah Ward Mulholland, Lady Dunleath. Image reproduced by permission of Lord and Lady Dunleath and Cassandra Wedd Jane Austen’s family in Ireland: how they shaped politics and society in the North
6 Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood. Photograph: Lionsgate Rambo: Last Blood: Gruesome violence, archaic patriotism – and more than a bit racist
7 A genre best served cold: ice cream horror. The best graphic novels of 2019 so far
8 Fontaines DC: the Irish band are shortlisted for the Mercury. Photograph: Paulo Nunes dos Santos/New York Times Mercury Prize 2019: Can Fontaines DC win in a year of protest music?
9 Richard Dawkins: ‘I think the exceptionalism of humanity needs examining.’ Photograph: Don Arnold/Getty Richard Dawkins: ‘Brexit is now a religion. They don’t mind if they destroy the country’
10 Daniel Day-Lewis is to be awarded a knighthood after being named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Photograph: Ian West/PA Wire The movie quiz: Which director failed to get Daniel Day-Lewis an Oscar?
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On My Culture Radar

John Spillane: On My Culture Radar John Spillane: On My Culture Radar

The singer-songwriter on Mick Flannery’s musical, Damien Dempsey’s collaboration with Katie Tempest, classic film Il Postino and Cillian Murphy’s piercing eyes

Lisa Harding: “handles a profoundly difficult issue with absolute care and multitudes of heart”
The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book, Harvesting by Lisa Harding
 

Culture Videos

Ad Astra - official trailer2:26 Ad Astra - official trailer
Here's a sneak peek inside Ireland's newest museum, MOLI4:26 Here's a sneak peek inside Ireland's newest museum, MOLI
Extra Ordinary - official trailer1:48 Extra Ordinary - official trailer
Hustlers - official trailer2:05 Hustlers - official trailer
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Game of Thrones: The epic fantasy’s final season News, reviews, recaps and interviews about television’s biggest series
 
Shelved: a selection of books by Irish women writers. Might some of these names figure in the final 12?
Women writers Putting Irish women writers back in the picture
 

Galleries

Fans in the crowd for Kodaline on the main stage at Electric Picnic on Sunday night. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times Electric Picnic 2019 in pictures: three days of music, mayhem and magic
Hozier performs on the main stage at Electric Picnic on Friday. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times Electric Picnic 2019: Day one in pictures
Vote 100 Celebrating a century since Irish women won the right to vote
 
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