Shane Horgan: On My Culture Radar

Watching his sister in Catastrophe can be a bit cringy, says TV3’s Six Nations panellist

Current favourite book
I'm reading Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir by the American comedian Norm Macdonald. He was the last stand-up to perform on Letterman, which is the best piece of stand-up I've seen. I'm infatuated with him at the moment – I didn't know about him until recently, so as a result I've gone really in-depth. The book is a comic novel and it's very funny. It takes elements of his life, but as the title suggests, it's not a memoir.

Artist
I was lucky enough to meet an artist called Antony Micallef a little while ago. My art knowledge isn't sophisticated enough to describe his work but he's a modern artist who works with heavy oils. I went to his studio and the experience blew my mind as I'd never seen the inside of an artist's studio before or been talked through the process of making art. It was incredible to see the way he works.

Actor
Cillian Murphy is incredible in everything he's done, he's consistently good. I can't take my eyes off him. I love how broad his work is. Batman was a mainstream film but he did something really sinister with the character of the Scarecrow. He was also great in Breakfast in Pluto, and his character in Peaky Blinders was brilliant.

Podcast
I'm biased, but Second Captains is my favourite podcast, certainly from a sporting context. I've also been listening to Jon Ronson's Butterfly Effect. He looks at things in a slightly alternative way, and this podcast series is about the effect of the mass consumption of porn. It's really interesting, and they episodes are only around 30 minutes each so you go through the series in no time.

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Social media 
I like Hadley Freeman, the Guardian journalist; Seth Abramson, who's insightful about American politics, especially on Trump and the Mueller investigation; and Rob Delaney, who works with my sister [Sharon Horgan, on Catastrophe]. He used to be more prolific, but I think he puts it in his shows now instead of giving it away for free.

City
I've lived in London for six years and really enjoy it, but I spend a lot of time in Dublin too and there's so many cool restaurants and bars now. It seems to have gotten better and better in the last few years.

Comedian
I'm a huge fan of David O'Doherty. I'd know David relatively well and I've seen him live a number of times, I absolutely love him.

TV show
I really enjoyed Peaky Blinders, and Catastrophe is a big favourite in our house. Because it's my sister on screen it can sometimes be a bit cringy, especially if I watch it with my parents.

Restaurant
In Dublin, I've been to the Delahunt a couple of times and I like it there; the space is great and the food is really nice. In London, there's a place called My Neighbours the Dumplings in Clapton which is delicious. There's a small bar downstairs, and upstairs they serve dim sum. You tick what you want on a form and hand it in, then they bring out all the small plates to you.

Film
The last couple of films I've seen are the The Death of Stalin, and then Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which I really enjoyed in a blockbustery, Christmas kind of way.

Play/musical
Like the rest of the world, the musical I really want to see is Hamilton, which is now showing in London. Over a year ago, I was in New York and someone mentioned it to me, so I really naively rang up the box office asking for tickets for next week only to be told there was an 18-month waiting list for it. So that's top of my list to see.

Shane Horgan joins TV3’s Six Nations panel, with coverage from today