‘I would now identify as Irish rather than British. It was a very proud day when my Irish passport showed up’

Composer Stephen McNeff was born in Belfast, then grew up in south Wales. His Irishness has become increasingly important to his identity

Fintan O’Toole on his career: ‘You had to learn to live with the fact that some people despised you’

The Irish Times columnist has made a new documentary about his life for RTÉ. Here he looks back on a career that he began as the Michelangelo of Tipp-Ex

Diana Rigg: the husky voiced, leather-clad star who made England hip

Throughout her long acting career Rigg retained the electric irony that made her such a phenomenon in the 1960s

Ute Lemper joins Irish celebration of Bertolt Brecht

Gig of the week: Line-up includes Camille O’Sullivan, Meow Meow and Gavin Friday

Aosdána functions as way of hiding fact that arts funding is shamefully low

If sector was funded to level of European norm there would be no need for allowances

Dead Dog in a Suitcase review: An abrasive, ragged comic opera

Galway International Arts Festival: However crude the satire, nothing can compete with reality in 2019

Epiphany and Dead Dog in a Suitcase: theatre shows to catch this week

Druid Theatre Company stages Brian Watkins’s new play Epiphany, a serious comedy with Joycean inspiration, Cornwall’s Kneehigh turn The Beggars Opera on its head

US voters’ capacity for being appalled by Trump is waning

A relaxation of civic mores is a deadlier threat to democracy than the president

An ordinary bloke with many talents: Remembering Jer O’Leary

‘Will forever be remembered for his unstinting political activism’ - President Higgins

Theatre highlights of the week

Tough choices: audiences get to elect their own prince in Pan Pan’s brilliant alternative take on ‘Hamlet’ at the Abbey; while Veronica Dyas, Bertolt Brecht and Maxim Gorky share a Mother in Dyas’s new production ‘My Son My Son’

Acclaimed Hungarian director swaps the stage for anti-Orban activism

Orban's allies see Arpad Schilling as a threat to national security

Slack Bay (Ma Loute) review: flesh-eating French class comedy is an acquired taste

Juliette Binoche heads a bizarre cast of characters in this deeply odd lampoon

Hanns Eisler: Lieder Vol 1 review - featuring Holger Falk, baritone, and Steffen Schleiermacher on piano

Ten of the best shows at the Edinburgh festivals

From Alan Cumming singing about Liza Minnelli to a heart-stopping play about depression, this year’s festival has had it all