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Festive frights around a blazing fire: it’s time to revive the Christmas ghost story
From All Hallows’ Eve to the winter solstice, readers used to eagerly receive visitations of uncanny spirits in print form
John Montague: A Poet’s Life by Adrian Frazier: ‘ruthless intimacy’
Adrian Frazier’s no-holds-barred biography of the American-born Irish poet acknowledges the cost of a life turned ‘into the achievement of poetry’
A Dante for Ireland: Exile and purgatory reinvented for the dislocated
Colcester, Florence, Belfast and elsewhere all intermingle in Philip Terry’s version of Dante’s Purgatorio
MORE CULTURE
From Baby Reindeer and The Traitors to Bodkin and The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In: The best and worst television of 2024
The glory days of streaming are over, but TV has never been more unpredictable
The Movie Quiz: Hackman, Spacey, Eisenberg: Who has played Lex Luthor the most often?
Plus: Which is the only Bond film to feature the singer of the theme song in an acting role?
‘What is the point of this rubbish?’: At Newstalk, the spirit of grumpy old men lives on in the unlikeliest places
Radio review: Breakfast host Ciara Kelly seems to court listeners who once complained about the PC brigade but now prefer to decry the woke mob
Eight books by Irish authors for children and teenagers, all perfect for Christmas
Christmas reads for everyone from little adventurers to teen romantacy fans
The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World by David Graeber: Intense flares of thought from a brilliant mind
This chunk of writing spanning 30 years provides an ideal entry point to new readers of Graeber, while for those returning to his ideas, the pleasure is in the writing
Funeral of ‘eternal legend’ Dickie Rock attended by hundreds in Dublin
Fr Brian D’Arcy leads Cabra church service and jokes Rock would be ‘delighted to see a full house for his last gig’
Gregg Wallace accused of sending ‘gross’ texts and ‘creepy’ voicemails to young female reporter
MasterChef presenter has stepped back from the television show amid allegations of misconduct
100 Years of Solitude review: A woozy, feverish watch to be savoured in bite-sized portions
Television: Lavish adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s 1967 novel is both meditative and steamy, sometimes to the point of hilarity
Elton John: Legalising cannabis is one of the greatest mistakes of all time
Veteran musician has been sober for 34 years and has helped other celebrities to get clean
No Good Deed review: Even Lisa Kudrow can’t save this pre-Christmas turkey of a dark comedy
Television: LA suburbia-set series is just too miserable to make viewers laugh. It’s like the grimmest ever season of Location, Location, Location
Queer review: There’s not a trace of William S Burroughs in Luca Guadagnino’s hugely disappointing adaptation
A vacuous film that frequently feels like an overstyled catalogue shoot
Festive frights around a blazing fire: it’s time to revive the Christmas ghost story
From All Hallows’ Eve to the winter solstice, readers used to eagerly receive visitations of uncanny spirits in print form
Tori Amos: Diving Deep Live – An A-grade tour of the singer’s lesser-spotted B-sides and deep cuts
Few cut a more fascinating figure than Amos, whose stage performances have long offered a more profound and esoteric experience than her studio work
John Montague: A Poet’s Life by Adrian Frazier: ‘ruthless intimacy’
Adrian Frazier’s no-holds-barred biography of the American-born Irish poet acknowledges the cost of a life turned ‘into the achievement of poetry’
Wake up, people: Here’s what the mainstream media don’t want you to know about Christmas
From Santy and selection boxes to Christmas pudding and Mariah Carey, these are some of the truths you won’t hear elsewhere
Chasing the Light review: This agreeable Irish documentary is all peace and healing. Then something disturbing happens
Receiving a limited theatrical release, Chasing the Light is worth seeing on the big screen to savour breathtaking vistas of the Atlantic coast
‘It was a surprise’: Late Late Toy Show star Abiha prepares to see Mariah Carey in Las Vegas
Clonsilla girl had no idea she would be invited to US before she closed show with All I Want for Christmas is You
Paul Mescal to star in Beatles film, Ridley Scott says
Rumours suggest actor will play Paul McCartney, with Barry Keoghan also linked to four-film biopic
Eurovision issues new code of conduct after controversy involving Bambie Thug and Israel
Several issues arose this year, including the disqualification of Netherlands’s entrant Joost Klein
The Bibi Files: Scathing portrait of Binyamin Netanyahu’s alleged history of backhanders
Alexis Bloom’s documentary, using leaked footage of police interrogations of the Israeli prime minister, paints a murky picture
Paul Mescal sells clothes on Vinted to raise money for Pieta
Mescal is donating outfits worn on his Gladiator II press tour, including a custom hand-painted jumper
Brian Cox on costars, politics and death: ‘I feel I’ve upset a few people over the years’
Succession star Cox, who recently found out he’s 88% Irish, is often betrayed as grumpy, but he may be one of life’s great enthusiasts
A Dante for Ireland: Exile and purgatory reinvented for the dislocated
Colcester, Florence, Belfast and elsewhere all intermingle in Philip Terry’s version of Dante’s Purgatorio
The Music Quiz: Which Irish island is part of the title of Bretonese musician Yann Tiersen’s new album?
Plus: How many Spotify streams did Taylor Swift accrue this year?
The best new books to leave under the tree this Christmas
Ten books published in 2024 that will make perfect presents for the readers in your life