There had been a double booking in the Dawson Street branch of Waterstones on Tuesday night in Dublin, but no one seemed in the slightest concerned and both readings were full. Fintan O'Toole was reading from his new book, A Traitor's Kiss, and gave everybody there a crash course on the life of its subject, Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
It was a flying visit for Fintan who is currently living in New York, where he is working as theatre critic for the New York Daily News. Unusually, he described working in the Big Apple as "Very calm. And very unlike The Irish Times." He had been on Pat Kenny's show talking about the book earlier in the day, and had pre-recorded Start The Week on BBC Radio 4 with Melvyn Bragg. Meanwhile, another audience had gathered to hear Palden Gyatso read from his book, Fire Under The Snow, with the help of translator Tsering Shakya. Palden is a Tibetan monk who was imprisoned and tortured for 33 years by the Chinese forces in Tibet. When he was released, none other than the Dalai Lama told him he should tell his story, and Fire Under The Snow is the result.