Biography: Colum Kenny has produced an intelligent and wide-ranging biography of a character that still divides opinion

As Marita Conlon-McKenna’s Under the Hawthorn Tree – a children’s novel about the Great Famine – celebrates its 30th anniversary, its author returns with The Hungry Road, a harrowing look at the same topic, but this time very much for grown-ups only

Rachel Clarke’s medical memoir is at its strongest when it deals with her work in a hospice

Poor Sad Childless Jen is over. All hail Hot Happy Childfree Jen, in possession of a brand-new Sag award and the undying love of her famous ex

This week, Arun Kapil of the Irish-based Indian food firm Green Saffron (greensaffron.com) has three spicy dishes for you to try

The British melancholic dance-pop legends are still bringing it after 35 years

The comedian has spent his career walking the tightrope between visionary and attention-seeking edgelord. Embracing the darkness, he says, appeals to him more than trying to become a better person

For many years a source of generously-priced and exceedingly drinkable wines, this stretch of central France is poised to have its moment in the sun

As we celebrate the year of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, Susan Kent explores Florence Nightingale’s impact on healthcare – and the lessons modern Irish health policy could take from her approach

Fiction: Douglas Kennedy’s 14th novel is well written, but strangely lacking in passion

While climate change is leading many of us to think twice about jumping on carbon-emitting planes to get to our destinations, some travellers have already taken the matter into their own hands and are now travelling by train, ferry and even cargo ship

With the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras celebrating its 25th birthday, the cream of Ireland’s young musicians will be in the spotlight on February 8

Delicious fish dishes and friendly staff mean eating in this new Cork restaurant is good for the stomach and for the soul

The American author’s first novel is a compelling and readable tale of contemporary racial attitudes in the US

The weight-loss guru teams up with her husband for a new show set in the Algarve

Deliverance director John Boorman is behind the project which will rival Ardmore and Troy studios

Reviewed: The Personal History of David Copperfield and The Grudge

Author Jeanine Cummins, whose brilliant novel American Dirt centres around her Mexican characters’ quest to get into America, has been accused of cultural appropriation. But surely the whole point of fiction is to imagine worlds outside our own experience?

Irene Kelleher’s new play serves as a cathartic release of one woman’s pain