The return to Borris, and while the sun was not splitting the stones like last year, it was warm enough that the lawn was filled with people sitting around and relaxing. As […]
Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas 2014 – Saturday 14-06-14 – Review
Bloomsday Festival 2014 Events
Can you remember when Bloomsday was only a day? Seems a long time ago now, right? At this stage it’s bordering on a week full of events, celebrating the man with the […]
Updike – Adam Begley – Book Review
Updike by Adam Begley – Review by Dan O’Neill There’s a passage Adam Begley’s ‘Updike’, a comprehensive and engaging book, that refers to John Updike joining a Recorder group to meet up […]
Things to do in Dublin (9-06-14 – 15-06-14)
The World Cup kicks off this week, and there will be two camps, those who will be trying to catch every second, and those who will learn to hate their television. I […]
A Taste of Chlorine – Bastien Vivès- Book Review
A young man has problems with his back. His physiotherapist tells him that there is only so much he can do in his weekly sessions, and that he’ll have to start getting […]
Things to do in Dublin (2-06-14 – 8-06-14)
In terms of festivals around Dublin, it’s a relatively quiet week, but there is the John Ford Symposium with screenings and talks around the city about the great man. A little further […]
The Son – Jo Nesbø – Audible Review
The Son by Jo Nesbo – Review by Helen O’Leary Translated by Charlotte Barslund. Read by Sean Barrett. Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø is known best for his popular crime novels about Inspector […]
Walking Dead – All Out War – Volumes 20 – 21 – Review
Contains vague Spoilers, go read it first! – All Out War # Issues 115-126 This is a series of issues in which Rick unites a number of small communities who all suffer […]
Johnny Vegas in Conversation – Dublin Writers Festival – Review
The title of this talk was ‘Johnny Vegas in Conversation’ but in truth, Johnny wasn’t in the building. Michael Pennington is Johnny Vegas, but not the way he sees it. He has […]
Claire Keegan & Bernard MacLaverty – Dublin Writers Festival – Review
Claire Keegan & Bernard MacLaverty – Dublin Writers Festival – Review by Helen O’Leary Sun May 25 / 2pm. Venue: Smock Alley This event brought together two accomplished short story writers to […]
Things to do in Dublin (26-05-14 – 1-06-14)
The Dublin Dance Festival (May 20th – 31st) is the main event of the week, but we also hit the band holiday weekend, and there’s some fun looking events including Down with […]
Sebastian Barry, Anne Enright & Hugo Hamilton – Dublin Writers Festival – Review
Sebastian Barry, Anne Enright & Hugo Hamilton – Translating Ireland – Review by Helen O’Leary Held in The Printworks, Dublin Castle. Chairperson: Doireann Ní Bhriain This event brought together three interesting and […]
Free Events at DWF – Pat McCabe (23-05-14) & Adrian Crowley (24-05-14)
There are a huge amount of events in the Dublin Writers Festival, and many of them are free! Yep, that’s for nada, zilch, diddly squat. Check through the web site to find […]
The Sports Gene – Talent, Practice and the Truth about Success – David Epstein – Book Review
‘The Sports Gene – Talent, Practice and the Truth about Success’ David Epstein – Review by Dan O’Neill Born to Run What makes an elite athlete ‘elite’? In the Nature versus Nurture […]
Ray Davies – Dublin Writers Festival – 19-05-14 – Review
As Joseph O’Connor said himself, it is best for an interviewer to stay impartial, but that was never an option here! Joseph admitted to having a poster of the Kinks on his […]
Peter Fallon & Declan O’Rourke – Dublin Writers Festival – Smock Alley Theatre – Review
This brought together the poet and the troubadour, Peter Fallon and Declan O’Rourke. They are quite different in age and in their chosen professions, but they have a similar perspective on life […]
John Kelly & Lia Mills – Dublin Writers Festival – Smock Alley – 17-05-14 – Review
John Kelly and Lia Mills. Smock Alley Theatre, Saturday 17th – Review by Helen O’Leary This reading brought together writers John Kelly and Lia Mills, whose new novels explore Dublin past and […]
Things to do in Dublin (19-05-14 – 25-05-14)
The Dublin Writers Festival is in full swing, with some great talks and gigs around the city. This week includes Ray Davies, Sebastian Barry, Johnny Vegas among many others. Two new festivals […]
Gruff Rhys – Whelans – Dublin Writers Festival Review
I’m sure the Writers Festival has had many historians over the years. Learned Professors who spent many years in dusty halls of records and libraries honing their skills to become known as […]
Grandville: Bete Noire – Bryan Talbot – Book Review
The Badger is back! This is the third instalment of the series concerning the badger detective. This tale begins with LeBrock and Ratzi being called to Paris to investigate a murder that […]
Festival of Writing & Ideas 2014 – Borris, Co. Carlow – Preview
Details of this year’s Festival of Writing and Ideas have been released, and once again it’s pretty impressive. The festival takes the form of a series of interviews/ discussions between formidable adversaries! […]
The Film Club – David Gilmour – Book Review
‘Film Club’ – Buy a Ticket – Review by Dan O’Neill Fathers and Sons – a perennial topic for artists and fabulists since biblical times. What makes for a good relationship? As […]
Things to do in Dublin (12-05-14 – 18-05-14)
So, this week it’s all about the Dublin Writers Festival for me at least! It’s quite an exciting line up, with Sebastian Barry, Johnny Vegas among many others. The Docklands Summer Festival […]
My Age of Anxiety – Scott Stossel – Book Review
Fear and Trembling – ‘My Age of Anxiety’ – Review by Dan O’Neill By most reckonings, Scott Stossel has had and is having a successful life. He went to Harvard, is married […]
Coldbrook – Tim Lebbon – Book Review
Coldbrook – Review by Mary Donnelly In a CERN type experimental laboratory in the Appalachian mountains a “breach”, a door between worlds, is opened, all living things that come through are zapped […]
Temporary Gentleman – Sebastian Barry – Book Review
Jack McNulty is the Temporary Gentleman, a retired Irish soldier who served in the British Army during the Second World War. His story is also based on the maternal grandfather of the […]
American Smoke – Iain Sinclair – Book Review
American Smoke by Iain Sinclair – Review by Cormac Donnelly In “American Smoke” Iain Sinclair traces a path through the landscape of the United States and the channels of his memories, searching […]
Celebrating Seamus Heaney – National Concert Hall – 23-04-14
In truth, no one night could encompass the effect that someone like Seamus Heaney has had on Ireland. It’s an impossible task to take on, but the lovely night at the National […]
All That Is Solid Melts Into Air – Darragh McKeon – Book Review
All That Is Solid Melts Into Air by Darragh McKeon – Book Review by Helen O’Leary There are several things that particularly appeal about this debut novel that is set in April […]
No More Workhorse 