Elvis Costello drops Oliver’s Army over racist slur
The 1979 song was inspired by a trip the singer made to Belfast during the Troubles
Shane MacGowan: I can’t concentrate on music when I can’t even walk across the room
The singer’s new limited edition book of artwork, lyrics and school essays will start at about €1,150
Fairytale of New York: The surprising story behind The Pogues’ Christmas anthem
Thirty-three years on, it’s perhaps the greatest Christmas song ever. Here’s how it was made
Shane MacGowan’s birthday party leaves brown eyes streaming
If a bomb went off at the National Concert Hall gig that would have been it for the Irish music scene
Shane MacGowan's 60th birthday concert: Johnny Depp, Nick Cave and more
Tickets for the January National Concert Hall gig, which features a stellar line-up, go on sale this Friday
Muldoon’s Picnic: a variety show from a Pulitzer winner
‘It’s one of our most basic instincts; to listen to a song, listen to a poem – even in this era when people have their noses stuck in their tablets, it still works’, says the poet Paul Muldoon
Get your own poem on Poetry Day Ireland
As part of today’s celebrations, Lewis Kenny will be writing personalised verse at Poetry Ireland’s HQ
What's the best gig ever to take place in Ireland?
A new book asks music critics and fans that very question, and as you'd expect, the answers vary widely
How to write a Christmas hit and get rich (fingers crossed)
Can just anyone write a Christmas hit and essentially ‘win the lottery’ by coining it on royalties every December? Patrick Freyne and Anna Carey certainly hope so. Here's the story of their entry in the Christmas FM song contest
What’s your perfect present?
Some well-known people tell Conor Pope about their best and worst gifts ever
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