The 1950s : Ireland in Pictures

In the midst of Lockdown, confined to his local area, John Connell canoes his local river. During his meander downstream, John (author of the bestselling memoir, The Cow Book) reflects on his travels, his past relationships and his battle with depression, as well as on Irish folklore, geopolitics and philosophy. 'Quietly triumphant.' Donal Ryan

In an uncertain era, is it time to look again at the possibility of a United Ireland?

Art honours the world, and criticism honours art, even - perhaps especially - when the critic sets out to destroy. The bad review is hardly ever written out of mere spite. In most cases, the motivation is disappointed idealism. Critics are people who love art and who hate to see it traduced. Hence the critic's sempiternal cry: You're doing it wrong. What the critic wants is for you to do it better. In You're Doing It Wrong, Kevin Power explains how he became a critic and what he thinks criticism is.