Video

On the canvass: ‘As long as we have someone from Longford in the Dáil; one person’

Health hero: Mary Nally founded Third Age Ireland, a national voluntary organisation which provides services, social activities and volunteering opportunities for older people

In a world of plastic jeans and kitten heels, the fashion sweatshirt is a welcome relief

The Irish Times will be partnering with the festival on Saturday with a programme of talks and debates

Our critical picks of the very best of what’s on in the capital and around the country this weekend and beyond

Awareness of cultural isolation a motivating factor for setting up classes

The Aran island culture festival blends its seamless mix of art and talks, food and music with the idyllic landscape

The Drop Everything cultural biennial will soon take over Inisheer with art, music, and a specially built sauna

Small changes saved big money in a Dublin fire station showing how green principles pay off

Trust the locals; offer something different; and hire a good graphic designer. Jim Carroll talks to festival organisers to find out what makes their events thrive

The fuss over Fleadh Cheoil’s clumsy association with Shell highlights how tricky it can be to find ‘a good fit’ in difficult times

The beauty of the biennial Drop Everything is its location on an Aran Island that hums with possibility

We were sniffy at first, but the community aroma of Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food & Wine is too tempting to resist

We asked some of our creative catalysts for advice on how they do what they do