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Andrew Lynch

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Kez on her admiration for Springsteen’s honesty and why she has to dance to Arcade fire

Out of the Blue: Gripping story of the woman who should never have been British PM

Lively and colourful biography of Liz Truss details how the woman who served just 49 chaotic days at 10 Downing Street had a shrewd knowledge of her personal limitations, but combined it with a wild overestimation of her political abilities

Books of the year: the critics’ choice

The task of choosing from the bulging shelves of your favourite bookshop can be daunting, but our reviewers John Walshe, Andrew Lynch and Andrea Cleary are here to help – naming the books that stood out from the crowd in 2022, along with their overall favourite in each category

Paranoid Visions on compelling listening and proper DIY music

The post-punk band have been to the forefront of Ireland’s DIY music culture for four decades. Peter Jones and Deko Dacha reveal which artists and songs have most inspired them.

Ireland’s Call: Detailed map plots passage through tortuous Brexit labyrinth

Stephen Collins diligently plots Ireland’s impressive handling of the onerous path through never-ending negotiations

Living With Ghosts: Thoughtful, melancholy book assesses North’s post-traumatic stress

Ex-BBC security correspondent Brian Rowan’s book is not a memoir, he says, but an attempt to quantify the effects of decades of political violence on not only himself, but Northern Ireland as a whole

Clare Sands on the power of the fiddle and faraway places

The ‘fearless fiddler’, singer and composer reveals which tracks, from Stéphane Grappelli’s playful gypsy jazz to Bonobo’s rhythmic Gnawa, have inspired her

Noraid: Solidly researched but strictly academic history of the group that bankrolled the IRA

Robert Collins’s narrative on the controversial Irish American organisation is flawlessly sourced, but lacks the human drama

Celine Byrne: ‘I believe that music holds memories’

The Irish soprano reveals the songs that mean the most to her and which relay back to someone in her life

An Enemy of the Crown: Colourful confirmation of what we already knew of Haughey’s extraordinary charisma

Dublin author and barrister David Burke’s well-researched but highly speculative follow-up to Deception and Lies focuses on the MI6 campaign to sully the Fianna Fáil leader’s reputation

Seamus Fogarty on the sheer shock value of Captain Beefheart

The alt-folk and electronica artist's musical influences include Mississippi John Hurt, Captain Beefheart and Rozi Plain

Never Better: Journalistic memoir a sincere account of life at the newsfront

Tommie Gorman’s autobiography reminds us of the former RTÉ man’s talent for getting people to open up to him, but the book is light on much gossip or revelations about politicians or colleagues

Anna Mullarkey on working with wonderful musicians on her debut album

The Galway composer and performer reveals the inspiration behind Falling and her musical influences including Bjork, Declan O’Rourke and Máirtín O’Connor

A Republican Riddle: Provocative portrait of the middle-class Dubliner who came to lead Sinn Féin

Bombastic and never dull, this unauthorised biography by Shane Ross is a thorough investigation of Mary Lou McDonald, but ultimately is big on commentary rather than revelations

Aaron Mulhall on the rhythmic feel of John Francis Flynn

The King Kong Company drummer lists among his influences musicians from punk band The Chats to traditional Irish acoustic group Olllam

Louise Mulcahy on the music that inspires her

Uilleann piper Louise Mulcahy cites her musical influences from her father and fellow traditional musician Mick Mulcahy to Amy Winehouse

Impressive study on what a united Ireland might look like

Professor Brendan O’Leary’s book is big on intellectual firepower, but it can feel a little too technical on a matter that is often highly emotional for unionists and nationalists alike

The Yank: Valuable insight into the mindset of an unapologetic former IRA man

Former US marine John Crawley considers the Good Friday Agreement a sell-out, but his evident sincerity to ‘the cause’ makes him a surprisingly sympathetic narrator

Philip King on the music that inspires him most

The film-maker, broadcaster and founder of rock band Scullion on the unforgettable Captain Beefheart and Irish greats Sean Ó Riada, Rory Gallagher and Planxty

The Storm is Here: How mass delusion fuels the actions of America’s far right

In a fascinating but depressing book, journalist Luke Mogelson spends time with far-right movements in America and endeavours to explain their grievances and why they have been taken in by crackpot conspiracy theories