Andrew Lynch | Business Post

Andrew Lynch

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Ailbhe Reddy reveals her musical inspirations

The Dublin singer-songwriter on the tracks that mean the most to her, from Fiona Apple to Arcade Fire . . . and John Denver

Cathal Brugha: The complex man behind the fanatical revolutionary caricature

Daithí Ó Corráin and Gerard Hanley’s exhaustively researched and engaging biography reveals an intelligent, but ultimately flawed figure in Irish history

Robocobra Quartet reveal their musical inspirations

Ryan Burrowes and Chris W Ryan of the Belfast post-punk collective have a new album out and sat down to discuss the music that shaped their creative path

Chums – The elitist breeding ground that spawned Britain’s modern-day ruling class

Simon Kuper of the FT takes a deep dive into the culture of the upper-crust public schools and university that produced Boris Johnson and ten others of the UK’s 15 post-war prime ministers

Tanya Blount and Michael Trotter jr on their musical inspirations from Barbra Streisand to Eminem

The Michigan duo who make up the blues outfit the War and Treaty play their Irish debut at Whelan’s this Wednesday. Here, they pick the ten tracks that mean the most to them

Living with My Century: A deeply humane memoir from a trailblazing female academic

Eda Sagarra, a former Professor of German at Trinity College Dublin and the first-ever registrar at an Irish or British university, has written an intelligent account of her upbringing, travels and life in academia

Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921: Searing analysis of USSR’s birth not for faint-hearted

Antony Beevor’s latest doorstopper, about the Russian Revolution and the chaos that followed it, teems with tales of gory cruelty

Jazz star Camilla George picks the tracks that shaped her

The saxophonist counts Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis and Michael Brecker among her artistic inspirations

Bessborough: Interviews with survivors highlight the horrifying statistics from a house of pain

Deirdre Finnerty’s sombre and often deeply moving book tells the stories of the young women who endured years inside one of Catholic Ireland’s most notorious institutions

John McSherry of the Olllam picks the tracks that shaped his creative path

The Belfast-born piper plumps for John Martyn, Joni Mitchell, the Bothy Band and others as his artistic inspirations

Wild Rivers on their musical inspirations – from Charli XCX to Big Thief

The acclaimed Toronto pop-folk outfit pick the ten tracks that mean the most to them

United Nation – Consideration of a future united Ireland gets bogged down in recent past

Frank Connolly’s new book runs with the principle of ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ on the thorny subject of Irish reunification

Rhythm Nation: Fiachra Treacy on his musical inspirations from the Cure and Joan Armatrading

Wicklow electro-pop band Columbia Mills’ third album will be released later this year. Here, lead singer Fiachra Treacy talks about the music that has influenced him over the years

Kilmichael – the dangerous business of digging for facts about a still-contested ambush

Eve Morrison was threatened and misled when researching the 1920 IRA ambush in West Cork that left 18 RIC men dead and injured

Rhythm Nation: Daragh Lynch on his musical influences from Planxty to Nirvana

Daragh Lynch of folk band Lankum has built up an eclectic list of collaborators over the years and will perform a gig with Scottish singer and multi-instrumentalist Iona Zajac at the National Concert Hall on June 16

Book review: Tales from the Fraud Squad – Enjoyable reminisces from a Garda straight shooter

Willie McGee’s memoir is an unpretentious but enjoyable collection of anecdotes about a lengthy career of criminal investigations

Book review: Pandemonium – An incisive account of how Ireland dealt with Covid

In an impressive feat of investigative journalism, Jack Horgan-Jones and Hugh O’Connell go behind the scenes to tell the story of how our public representatives fought hard, and sometimes against each other, to contain the nightmarish situation of the pandemic

Rhythm Nation: Tim Edey on his musical inspirations from Capercaillie to Sharon Shannon

The folk star, who is performing as part of a Music Network tour of Ireland until May 13, talks about the songs that have had the greatest influence on him over the years

Book review: An Accidental Icon – the eventful and sometimes absurd life of a ‘true queer hero’

Norman Scott, a gay man in a hostile and homophobic 1960s/70s Britain, became notorious when he accused Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe of attempting to have him killed but, as his memoir attests, there were many other shocking and tragic events in his life

Rhythm Nation: Emmitt Cawley on why his influences include Drake, Tori Amos and Bill Withers

The South African-born dancer will appear with NDT 2 at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre next month