#greg-walsh

[ follow ]
#irish-literature
Books
fromIndependent
3 days ago

My husband died suddenly. One final task remained: to publish the book he'd spent 25 years of his life working on

Editing a book on James Joyce took over two decades of research and writing, followed by three and a half years of editing.
#grief
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago
Books

Into the Wreck by Susannah Dickey review an immersive exploration of grief

The novel 'Into the Wreck' explores a family's grief and complex dynamics following the death of a father shaped by silence and the Troubles.
fromThe Walrus
2 months ago
Writing

Two Poems | The Walrus

A widow keeps her late husband's underpants as haunting, domestic relics while a ghostly presence from him recedes as she starts intimacy with someone new.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago

Into the Wreck by Susannah Dickey review an immersive exploration of grief

The novel 'Into the Wreck' explores a family's grief and complex dynamics following the death of a father shaped by silence and the Troubles.
Cancer
fromIndependent
1 week ago

'Writing allows me to face what is happening now. And what is happening now is that I'm dying'

Gabriel Rosenstock faces mortality with peace, relying on poetry and philosophy for support during his battle with terminal cancer.
Writing
fromThe Atlantic
21 hours ago

The Feeling of Becoming Less and Less of a Person

The advent of the smartphone marked a significant shift in human perception and relationships, altering the human sensorium since June 2007.
fromIndependent
1 week ago

Meet the Kerry Japanese artist bringing sean nos and Irish language to life for a new generation

Amano De Londra Miura showcased her stunning sean nós talents live on TV, putting the Irish language back on the map and highlighting its cultural importance.
London music
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

Bryan Dobson: 'I have a wonderful letter written by my father to his mother-in-law when my parents got married'

Bryan Dobson stated, 'After nearly four decades at RTÉ, I found retirement to be a new chapter, filled with family time and personal projects.'
Media industry
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

'He was the greatest broadcaster we've ever had' - Brolly, Spillane and O'Rourke reunite in tribute to Michael Lyster

The star-studded trio were box-office television on The Sunday Game during the GAA championship for nearly three decades, ably assisted and guided by Lyster's genius as host.
LA Kings
#memoir
fromIndependent
4 days ago
Books

Louise O'Neill: 'I wanted to write the book that I'd like to have read in the early days of my break-up'

Louise O'Neill reflects on her journey through a memoir, addressing her eating disorder and the impact of beauty ideals.
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago
Books

Enough of this me me me': Blake Morrison on memoir in the age of oversharing

Memoirs have evolved to embrace candor and vulnerability, allowing anyone to share their personal stories of trauma and identity.
fromIndependent
4 days ago
Books

Louise O'Neill: 'I wanted to write the book that I'd like to have read in the early days of my break-up'

Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

Enough of this me me me': Blake Morrison on memoir in the age of oversharing

Memoirs have evolved to embrace candor and vulnerability, allowing anyone to share their personal stories of trauma and identity.
London politics
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

Shane Ross: My father almost completely cut me out of his will as he felt I had lost the run of myself and become utterly obnoxious

Government actions are targeting savings set aside by parents for their children.
Writing
fromThe New Yorker
2 days ago

He Wrote a Book About Interviewing. Here's His Interview.

Ben Lerner's 'Transcription' explores memory, language, and technology through the lens of a writer's relationship with his mentor.
fromwww.npr.org
3 weeks ago

Keith O'Brien talks about his latest book, 'Heartland'

You know, this story is a bit different, right? We always do the Bird-Magic thing where we combine the narratives of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. And really, what I wanted to do with this book was just tilt the camera a little bit differently, change that perspective and zoom in on that origin story in rural Indiana in the 1970s.
LA Clippers
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

'You need to probably prepare yourself for the notion that you'll be broke': Mick Flannery on his parents' reaction to his career choice

"I haven't heard him sing yet," Flannery confesses, in answer to the burning question, when we sit down after a rehearsal in Nuns Island theatre in Galway.
London music
Arts
fromArtnet News
3 weeks ago

How the Yeats Sisters Turned Ireland's Saints Into National Icons

Lily and Lollie Yeats were revolutionary artists who shaped Irish national identity and visual culture at the turn of the 20th century, collaborating with prominent women artists through enterprises like Dun Emer Industries.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
4 days ago

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
#irish-film-industry
fromIndependent
3 weeks ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard,' says 'Harry Potter' star Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

fromIndependent
3 weeks ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard, it makes me proud,' says Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

fromIndependent
3 weeks ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard,' says 'Harry Potter' star Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

fromIndependent
3 weeks ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard, it makes me proud,' says Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

Media industry
fromIndependent
3 weeks ago

Marty Morrissey: 'I miss my mum every day. She was a great woman, a mad rebel from Cork'

Marty Morrissey, an RTÉ GAA correspondent, reflects on his childhood in the Bronx, his mother's loss, and his aspirations for a Dancing with the Stars return.
fromConde Nast Traveler
3 weeks ago

In Remote Western Ireland, Travel Moves at Its Own Pace

You get this feeling when you enter the Burren's limestone landscape. It has an energy, and a history that permeates. A dynamic entrepreneur, MacNamara champions slow food at her Galway restaurant, Ard Bia, and slow fashion through her homespun label, The Tweed Project.
London food
Music
fromPitchfork
3 weeks ago

Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen Cover Pogues Songs for Shane MacGowan Tribute Album

Bruce Springsteen covers Shane MacGowan's 'A Rainy Night in Soho' for a new tribute album featuring over two dozen artists, accompanied by a personal note praising MacGowan's timeless genius and historical significance.
#poetry
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago
Books

The best recent poetry review roundup

The collection features unrhymed sonnets exploring the relationship between landscape, language, and human experience amidst themes of illness and trauma.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago
Books

Roger McGough: How often do I have sex? Hang on, I'll find out Alexa, how often do I have '

Roger McGough is an 88-year-old Liverpool-born poet, performer, radio host, and author who values family, humor, and accessibility in poetry.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

The best recent poetry review roundup

The collection features unrhymed sonnets exploring the relationship between landscape, language, and human experience amidst themes of illness and trauma.
fromPortland Monthly
4 weeks ago

The Wet: Brian Doyle's Rain Journal

You know, how on a crystal autumn morning everything seems lit up from within, the air sharp as glass, everyone grinning at the startling poem of it all? Then it begins to rain and by the middle of the afternoon it's still raining, and I go for a walk and my shoes get soaked and for the life of me I can't find my umbrella, and I realize with a sinking feeling that The Wet is upon me, moist and insistent.
Portland
Beer
fromTasting Table
4 weeks ago

13 Haunted Irish Pubs From Around The World - Tasting Table

Irish pubs are reputed to be haunted by spirits and ghosts, with establishments like Kyteler's Inn and Grace Neill's featuring documented paranormal activity and historical tragic events.
Books
fromAnOther
6 days ago

Djamel White's Novel Is Irish Fiction's Gangland Answer to Heated Rivalry

Djamel White's debut novel, All Them Dogs, blends crime fiction, romance, and tragedy, featuring a complex protagonist navigating the criminal underworld.
Music
fromConsequence
3 weeks ago

Shane MacGowan Tribute Album 20th Century Paddy Announced, Bruce Springsteen Covers "A Rainy Night in Soho"

Major artists including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Hozier reimagine Shane MacGowan's songs on the tribute album '20th Century Paddy,' released November 13th via Rubyworks.
Writing
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 weeks ago

I've learned first-hand how evil is tolerated': Colm Toibin on living in the US under Trump

A character's decision to return home is influenced by political climate and personal connections.
fromThe New Yorker
3 weeks ago

Paul Mescal's Starter Pack of Cultural Essentials

I remember seeing it in drama school. I remember being so profoundly moved by it. I remember being so frightened by the performances in terms of seeing both sides to the thing that I think for most of us is, the most alive thing in our life, which is these, like, romantic relationships and the kind of inception of those things and the death of those things.
Film
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

What a viral speech in Ireland reveals about colonial history and Caribbean English

Jamaican English origins trace primarily to southwest England, East Anglia, and Monmouthshire rather than Ireland, despite popular perceptions of Irish linguistic influence.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 weeks ago

The News from Dublin by Colm Toibin review subtle short stories about being far from home

The stories in Colm Toibin's collection explore themes of displacement and the emotional complexities of living away from home and loved ones.
Writing
fromIndependent
3 weeks ago

Tanya Sweeney: I thought publishing my first book would be a life-defining moment - but it just made me more insecure and more jealous

Achieving a lifelong dream of publishing a book creates an anticipated moment of complete fulfillment and validation.
fromIndependent
1 month ago

From life coaching to painting lighthouses... what are former TDs doing after a life in politics?

The 24/7 grind of a politician is not for the faint-hearted as the likes of Simon Coveney and Catherine Martin will tell you. Former TDs who stood down or lost their Dáil seat at the last general election say why they haven't looked back.
Miscellaneous
Writing
fromElite Traveler
4 weeks ago

Life Lessons With Author David Coggins

Living an interesting life requires embracing improbable efforts, starting from the ground floor in unfamiliar pursuits, prioritizing face-to-face conversation, and developing deep attachment to specific places.
fromHyperallergic
1 month ago

The Irish Do It Best

The Irish government will give 2,000 artists unrestricted weekly stipends in a program officials described as a "recognition, at government level, of the important role of the arts in Irish society." After a successful three-year pilot, the Irish government made its basic income program for artists permanent. Similar pilots have been launched here in the United States, but they're supported primarily by the nonprofit sector.
Arts
Music
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Declan Lynch: The Greatest Irish Song of All Time is Dearg Doom by Horslips. And the Liveline Seamus Culleton silence continues

The Táin by Horslips was selected as RTE Choice Classic Irish Album for 2026, with endorsements from Will Leahy and John Creedon.
Philosophy
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Fionnan Sheahan: In liberal Ireland, you can now expect to be Catholic-shamed for having ashes on your forehead

An Ash Wednesday ritual performed in memory of a devout father was interpreted as 'far right' despite being a private act of remembrance.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Plan to turn Irish borderlands into Unesco region of literature'

A literary heritage initiative aims to rebrand the Ireland-Northern Ireland border as a Unesco region of literature, creating nine guided routes through 11 counties associated with major writers like Yeats, Beckett, and Heaney.
Health
fromIndependent
1 month ago

'I'm nothing if not resilient' - author Cathy Kelly on overcoming sexual assault, bulimia, divorce and cancer

Cathy Kelly, nearing 60, was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2023 but is recovering well and feels relieved after a recent health scare.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

A Beautiful Loan by Mary Costello review a profound exploration of the inner life

From the outset, in the novel's prologue, Anna tells us she is determined to account for herself and her life. But we are to expect no ordinary narrative, concerned only with actual events, evidence-based or relying on historical data. No, Anna is interested in the climate of the psyche and the vibrations of the soul. Can it be that the very things we cannot quantify or rationalise are what make life meaningful?
Books
Books
fromHarvard Gazette
1 month ago

That's a book? - Harvard Gazette

Italo Calvino used tarot card decks as a computational system to generate interconnected narratives, predating modern AI by decades and demonstrating how structured systems can create complex literary works.
Writing
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Yiyun Li on Stories That Happen Twice

Retrospective narrative reveals how stories gain completeness through the knowledge of future events, transforming present moments into layered reflections on fate and identity.
Europe politics
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

The Country That Made Its Own Canon

Sweden released a national culture canon, sparking controversy over national identity as immigration rises and the nationalist Sweden Democrats gain political influence.
#artistic-pride
Arts
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Dublin Gothic review epic losers' history' of the city traces 100 years of family life

A century-long Dublin tenement saga tracks four intertwined families, exposing recurring trauma to women amid political upheaval, poverty, addiction, and cultural caricature.
UK politics
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Fionnan Sheahan: Morgan McSweeney was the only Irishman to buy into the Mandelson myth - and he has paid the price

A 2000 dinner at Iveagh House between Irish and British ministers erupted into a heated dispute between Brian Cowen and Peter Mandelson.
Miscellaneous
fromIrish Independent
2 months ago

'A brilliant operator and a great character' - tributes to journalist Paddy Clancy who has died aged 82

Veteran Irish journalist and broadcaster Mr Clancy, who had a six-decade career and presented It Says In The Papers for three decades, has died.
from48 hills
2 months ago

Live Shots: 'Finnegan's Wake' summons Irish ghosts to SF Mint - 48 hills

Finnegan's Wake: An Immersive Ghost Story, presented by 13th Floor Theater, plunges audience members into the beautiful, dysfunctional Finnegan-Plurabelle family. Scenic designer Treigh Buchet, lighting designer Meghan Schultz, and ephemera designer Michelle Josette Crashette transfigure the San Francisco Mint into an Irish family home on the banks of a mystical river. Audience members are free to explore the spaces before the show begins with libation in hand. When the dinner bell rings, the show commences.
Arts
fromIndependent
2 months ago

Eilis O'Hanlon: Stick to praising Paul Mescal, Jessie - it's better than pontificating on politics

Buckley's tribute to her Hamnet co-star at the Critics' Choice awards was better than the preaching we often hear The identity of Jessie Buckley's husband is wrapped in more mystery than the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant, or why anyone watches Mrs Brown's Boys. It is known that his name is Freddie, that he is British (which is not his fault) and he works in mental health. His surname and age have never been revealed.
Film
Music
fromIndependent
2 months ago

Tanya Sweeney: 'My Twitter timeline was full of fans calling me a misogynist and a slut-shamer'

Close engagement with media and music industries reveals the rise of superfans influencing culture and inspiring creative works.
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

Julian Barnes' playful new book is also his 'official departure'

An aging writer confronts mortality, memory, and repetition while considering retirement and revisiting past relationships through fiction blending autobiography and invention.
Arts
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Paul Williams: 'The Monk' play would have been so much better without thing - Gerry Hutch himself

Rex Ryan's one-man show The Monk reveals exceptional multi-role theatrical talent despite a bizarre criminal appearance in the prologue.
Writing
fromOpen Culture
2 months ago

Hear James Joyce Reads From Ulysses and Finnegans Wake In His Only Two Recordings (1924/1929)

Ulysses examines Dublin and language, portraying words as two-faced with immediate meaning and historical, mythic resonances within journalism and rhetorical performance.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Mary Gaitskill Reads "Something Familiar"

Mary Gaitskill performs "Something Familiar" from the March 2, 2026 issue and has published eight fiction books, including Veronica and the essay collection Oppositions.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Cameo by Rob Doyle review a fantasy of literary celebrity in the culture war era

Perky, satirical portrait centred on a globe-trotting Dublin figure whose sensational life—crime, drugs, sex, espionage—and pettiness lampoon contemporary literary culture and celebrity.
Writing
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

Joseph O'Neill on Why a Story Should Be Like a Poem

People conceal shameful deeds and also quietly perform unrecognized good acts; withholding specifics preserves mystery and influences how others perceive moral character.
fromwww.newyorker.com
2 months ago

Joseph O'Neill Reads Light Secrets

Skip to main content Illustration by The New Yorker; Source photograph Michael Lionstar Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google | Wherever You Listen Sign up to receive our weekly Books & Fiction newsletter. Joseph O'Neill reads his story Light Secrets, from the January 26, 2026, issue of the magazine. O'Neill is the author of a story collection and five novels, including Netherland, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2009, The Dog, and Godwin, which was published in 2024.
Books
Writing
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

"Light Secrets," by Joseph O'Neill

Hidden rumors and secrets complicate a lunch between friends, revealing humor, vulnerability, and a belief that everyone has concealed darkness and hidden goodness.
Books
fromIndependent
2 months ago

'I don't see there is any point retrospectively criticising people for the way that they behaved' - 'Butcher Boy' novelist Patrick McCabe

Patrick McCabe remains rooted in Irish counter-culture while engaging with communal rituals and symbols.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh review uniquely funny writer holds court

The extended footage of Welsh in conversation is certainly engaging, as he discusses his writing and the movies it created, and his own youth in Edinburgh. Some of the rest of the interviewees aren't quite so gripping, however, and the film is padded out with a fair bit of redundant anecdotage from people on the subject of getting hilariously wasted in Irvine's company or at least his approximate vicinity.
Books
Books
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

'Even the Dead' wraps up John Banville's smart, moody mystery series

Quirke mysteries combine noir darkness with literary prose, following a Dublin coroner confronting trauma, moral ambiguity, and hidden crimes in 1950s settings.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

More heartache than Hamnet?: Maggie O'Farrell's best books ranked!

The ghost of a previous lover is always a challenge, particularly if you (mistakenly) believe that she's actually dead. This is the unenviable situation for Lily, the protagonist of O'Farrell's second novel, who is swept off her feet by dashing architect Marcus and in short order moves in with him. Lily takes his assurances that her predecessor Sinead is no longer with us to mark a more permanent absence;
Books
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

A Biography Without 'The Boring Bits'

Sophia Stewart poses a choice that many biographers struggle with: "what to do with the boring bits."
Books
Books
fromHarvard Gazette
2 months ago

The stories behind the books - Harvard Gazette

Harvard's library collection includes books that use layered images, movable elements, and raised type to create interactive, tactile, and accessible reading experiences.
#george-saunders
Books
fromThe Nation
2 months ago

George Whitmore's Unsparing Queer Fiction

A 1987 novel titled Nebraska uses the state's flat, isolating landscape to frame a family chamber drama that serves as an oblique allegory of AIDS.
Books
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

Why 'Vigil' author George Saunders often revisits death in his work

K.J. Boone, a dying oil tycoon, is visited by ghosts confronting his climate-denying legacy while a woman named Jill comforts the dying.
Books
fromwww.newyorker.com
2 months ago

Tessa Hadley Reads John McGahern

Tessa Hadley reads John McGahern’s 'Gold Watch'; she has published thirteen books including Bad Dreams and After the Funeral, and won the 2016 Windham-Campbell Prize.
fromJezebel
2 months ago

Jezebel's February Book Pick: A Story Collection About Living in the Shadow of the Troubles

Liadan Ní Chuinn was born in Northern Ireland in 1998, the year the Good Friday Agreement ended the Troubles, the decades of violence stemming from England's occupation of Ireland. Other recent fiction about the Troubles-the novels and Trespasses , the TV show Derry Girls (all excellent)-is set firmly in the last century, relegating the violence to history. Ní Chuinn's work does the opposite: Their new book of short stories, Every One Still Her e, is set in contemporary Northern Ireland.
Books
Books
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

February may be short on days but it boasts a long list of new books

February brings multiple commemorations and a wave of new, translated and genre‑blending book releases that invite readers to dive into fresh literary work.
Books
fromWIRED
2 months ago

'Infinite Jest' Is Back. Maybe Litbros Should Be, Too

Infinite Jest, a 1,079-page novel set in a near-futuristic North American Superstate, receives a 30th-anniversary paperback reissue.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Glyph by Ali Smith review bearing witness to the war in Gaza

Glyph confronts Israeli apartheid and genocide in Palestine, using Petra and Patch's names, etymology, and imagery to intensify ethical and linguistic urgency.
Books
fromThe Walrus
2 months ago

"It's Not Something I'm Squeamish About": Heated Rivalry Author on Writing Explicit Sex Scenes | The Walrus

Rachel Reid experienced a rapid surge in visibility, sales, and professional opportunities after the TV adaptation of Heated Rivalry, creating both excitement and overwhelm.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Valeria Luiselli on Sound, Memory, and New Beginnings

Field recordings and attentive listening are integral to narrative creation, shaping the writing process and immersive listening experiences.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

The Writer's Magic Trick

A writer is a kind of magician. Their job is to create living, three-dimensional people out of the ordinary stuff of ink and paper. This is no easy task, because readers can't literally hear, touch, or observe a character. Everything that defines a human being in real life-the physical space they occupy, or how they smell, feel, and sound-is stripped away, replaced by description. But authors have one major, mystical advantage: They can show you what's happening inside of someone's brain.
Books
fromAnOther
2 months ago

A Reading List by Ocean Vuong: Part One

Because, let's face it, creative work does require some form of faith. It is a tumultuous thing to launch an idea into a vast nothingness and hope that it makes a light bright enough to be found by others. Luckily, these luminaries were my light, and I hope they may become yours as well, and - more so - that these snippets lead you to more of their work.
Books
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

How Do You Write About the Inexplicable?

Rational skepticism coexists with a persistent tendency to personify evil and read coincidences as omens.
[ Load more ]