academic study on the creation of Northern Ireland finds that the prevailing mindsets of a hundred years ago are little changed

Printmaker Owen McLoughlin chooses the tracks that inspire him in his work

Whether it’s exciting new fiction, an absorbing murder mystery, current affairs or historical events that help you relax and get away from everyday life, we have the best reads for you

The singer/songwriter from Mullingar chooses ten tunes that have inspired him over the years

A collection of speeches by Michael D Higgins emphasises his commitment to social justice and the European project, but the formal and academic language used fails to convey Higgins’s natural charisma and humour

The Dublin-based singer/songwriter picks the ten tunes that mean the most to him

A new book about Northern politics’ endless recriminations is ambitious, but undermined by the blandness of too many interviewees

The bodhrán player with the traditional quintet from Antrim picks the tunes that have inspired him

The death of the handshake has been greatly exaggerated, as Ella Al-Shamahi’s lively history of the greeting demonstrates

Despite the dangers and unspeakable punishments if caught, there was no shortage of double agents willing to infiltrate the IRA during the Troubles

The Australian indie folk-rocker pick the tunes that have inspired him

Ray O’Hanlon, editor of the Irish Echo in New York writes about his subject with great passion, from legislative about-turns to the pain of the undocumented

The Northern-based singer/songwriter picks the tracks that mean the most to her

Journalist Derek Scally draws some sobering conclusions in this multi-layered study of Irish Catholicism

The Cork-based singer-songwriter picks the tunes that mean the most to him

Founded nine years ago in Wexford by the late Noel Whelan, the Kennedy Summer School was host to a variety of speakers, 15 of whose papers are reproduced in this entertaining book

Bríd McGowan, who performs under the name Brídín, chooses the tracks that have inspired her over the years

In a short but bracing polemic, David Baddiel argues that anti-Semitism thrives, even among progressives who regard themselves as anti-racist

The alternative pop artist reveals the songs that have inspired her over the years

Jack Frimston, aka Feeka, lists the tracks that have inspired him over the years