Finn McRedmond
Finn McRedmond columns
Spare me the fury about Sydney Sweeney. What I see here is a sense of humour
Is my sports betting agency feminist? And has my toaster read Das Kapital?
The Anglo-Irish relationship is best explained by a scene in Mad Men
The high-minded, snobbish claim that those on the right in Britain are above even thinking about Ireland is rather dishonest
Have podcasts like The Rest is History killed the ‘Dad Book’?
Non-fiction doorstoppers on war and politics are reportedly the most challenged segment of the book market
Dolly Parton’s death proves shared cultural reference points act as a social adhesive
Millennials, Gen Z and Boomers are united in their valorisation of the most popular woman in the world
We reached ‘peak-woke’ in 2020-2023. Today that looks ridiculous
Participants subtly try to distance themselves from their 2020-2023 behaviour in shaping groupthink mindset
How Jason Arday’s fabulous life and dramatic fall became a culture war battleground
Arday stands accused of being a charlatan, fabulist, plagiarist – allegations he denies. For Cambridge, it’s all a huge embarrassment
Ireland could look like paradise to England’s heat refugees
We are used to climate refugees escaping heat and floods - just not being uncomfortable British pensioners
The Odyssey is so conservative, I am half surprised it wasn’t written by Jacob Rees-Mogg
We have been told that the left’s grasp on the culture is all but total – yet the biggest film of the year is a Christian morality play
A capital idea: Finn McRedmond and thinking outside the Dublin box
A regional approach would see diversion of development to complementary centres like Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Sligo
Why all the anti-Dublin bias?
Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford are fine, but none is a global city. Why, then, all the anti-Dublin bias?
The hosepipe snitches of suburban Ireland: It’s just not very ‘love thy neighbour’
Every country has its psychic hang-up. Is inter-citizen policing Ireland’s?
Why it’s totally fine to hate England during the World Cup
Such tournaments are an excuse to flaunt nationalistic tendencies in a low-stakes way
Summer beach read? ‘This novel is compatible with sand’ is hardly a great selling point
As we outsource more of our thinking to the machine I am increasingly convinced “mental effort” - including when it comes to reading - is not just useful but a moral good
Will Andy Burnham’s ‘business friendly socialism’ save Britain from Farage?
The greatest case people make for Burnham is that he will make the patriotic argument against Reform at the election
Could three glasses of wine derail your life? Only if you live like Steven Bartlett
And yes, I feel as stupid writing ‘looksmaxxing’ as you do reading it. But these ideas are not as novel as they seem
I’m with Andrew Scott and Phoebe Bridgers. If you’re at a gig, put your phone away
It is rude to go to a concert only to record the entire moment on your phone – it is isolating for everyone there too
On the Leaving Cert: Students do best when they can choose subjects that best suit them
A broad education is important, especially in the early years, but by senior cycle many students are ready to build on their strengths
The Leaving Cert is dense, demanding and far superior to the UK’s A-levels
With its seven, maybe eight subjects, the Leaving Cert cherishes the value of the generalist. In the UK, a 16-year-old may be studying just three
Arsenal have become the club of the Irish diaspora
Premier League title triumph was met with an outpouring of joy from an exceedingly good-natured mob
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey isn’t evidence of a cultural void. It’s the opposite
With a little hindsight we will know what is interesting about the 2020s. It won’t be Marvel franchises, but it could be Taylor Swift
Keir Starmer is bland, stable, boring – he should have gone a long way
The beleaguered UK prime minister may not be entirely up to the moment – but as moments go, who would be?
Finn McRedmond: Let’s not cling to ugly buildings because a few Dubliners are allergic to change
Let’s not cling to ugly, unloved buildings just because a few Dubliners are allergic to change
Ireland should learn a lesson from UK’s futile efforts at pleasing Trump
It made sense for Britain to send the king rather than Keir Starmer to Washington, but it won’t make much difference
Dear political parties. Now is really not the time to talk about deposing your leader
The threshold at which politicians seek to overthrow their leader should be much, much higher than this (I am looking at you too, Fianna Fáil)
Now you can see Edvard Munch’s The Scream in ‘film form’, but why would you want to?
Talk about a solution to a non-existent problem. Or an answer to a question no one asked
Kanye West and anti-Semitism: Giving rapper stage at festival would certainly pose risk
If West were serious about atonement, he would put any thought of performing at festivals aside
The British government has no business in banning Kanye West from the country
Free-speech absolutism is the only logical position in modern democracy. Yes, even when the speech is as base and bigoted as this
The naysayers are right. Restaurants are frivolous – and that’s why we need more of them
Where else are we supposed to gossip about our colleagues over a bottle of Chianti? The basement of the Google offices in Grand Canal Dock?
Anti-Semitic attacks in Britain carry a stark warning for Ireland
When a political energy metastasises into something much darker, we have to be able to call it what it is
Zohran Mamdani has no opinion on a united Ireland. That matters more than you think
This is a story about two things: the changing nature of the left and the diminishing power of Irish America
Timothée Chalamet is right: no one cares about opera or ballet
The arts are in trouble, and what’s needed is some realism - not head-in-the-sand holier-than-thou pap
No wonder Tommy Robinson has become a Maga hero
When Maga looks at Europe, it sees a continent pushing itself to the brink with permissive migration policies
Love Bono or loathe him, we could all do with a little more of his sanctimony
If art is going to be political - and I mostly wish it wouldn’t - this is the way to do it
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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