Bel Canto
Going for a song
In true bel canto, the only important thing is the voice, the song
A festival of losing
Will the Republic of Ireland ever face up to its problems?
Fair pay is a fiction
Public sector workers are chasing a fantasy
Art sales slump
Real world issues have quenched the post-COVID euphoria
Only abortion is like abortion
Don’t tack on abortion to create an impression of progressive goodness
The 300 Years’ War
How conflict over land ownership shaped conflict over Ireland
Idiot voters
Badenoch’s team aren’t idiots. Not like the voters
Fear and loving
Cricket in the West Indies has not been the same since the loss of Malcolm Marshall
The expensive problem with the minimum wage
Higher wages for some, perhaps, but joblessness for others
Sean Scully in France
He’s been showered with honours and awards — yet plenty of people can’t stand his work
An actor’s story is a late career marvel
Cleverness is a virtue in itself but is never sterile or without purpose
Feminist rehab for mean girl Mahler
You’d have thought the Head Muse of old Vienna had enough on her plate
