The World Cup draw yesterday was a demonstration of FIFA’s priorities. But regimes have recognised since its inception the influence of the competition. Jonathan Wilson talks to Dion Fanning about the power and the glory of the World Cup.
It turns out Irish football could still make the whole country feel alive — all it needed was Troy Parrott in Budapest to remind us. This is the story of how that feeling slipped away, and why its comeback hits so hard.
The director general of the BBC and the CEO of BBC News both resigned last weekend. Peter Oborne talks to Dion Fanning about the crisis engulfing the BBC and why Donald Trump is paying attention.
Ireland’s shock win over Portugal offered more than a route to World Cup qualification — it delivered a rare, cathartic night when belief returned, however briefly, to a team and its long-suffering supporters.
Frank McNally has been the chief writer of the Irishman’s Diary in The Irish Times for nearly 20 years. In a new memoir, he recalls growing up in Monaghan and why he felt the column should have been retired after Kevin Myers left the paper.
Eimear Ní Bhraonáin’s new book lays out the curiosities and patterns in the disgraced hurling star’s character long before he embarked on a life of deception, and dissects the playbook he tailored to each victim in disturbing detail.
Ten years ago, a response to the Abbey’s programme to mark the 1916 centenary launched the Waking the Feminists movement. Sarah Durcan was one of the organisers and she talks about a new book on the movement.
Ireland have a nondescript manager, with a team that plays non football and yet many still cling to the idea that good times might be just around the corner.
Should Jim Gavin have been held up to more scrutiny when he was managing Dublin? The difference between sport and politics is a story of power and control.
Garret Fitzgerald spoke of Charles Haughey’s ‘flawed pedigree’, but the two men shaped modern Ireland. Eoin O’Malley talks to Dion Fanning about the era when the two men dominated Irish life.
© 2026 Currency Media Limited
