From ‘Brown Eyed Girl' to ‘Heyday': The greatest Irish feelgood hits of the summer
All hail the Irish summer anthem. Ironically, for a country that isn't always blessed with the brightest summers, we've had our fair share of infectious sunshine bops.
Some of them soundtracked holidays and international football tournaments, others dominated chart playlists and defined entire music careers.
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Chris Wasser
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Irish Post
42 minutes ago
- Irish Post
Tax incentives lead to boom in Irish film and TV industry
IRELAND'S film and television industry has undergone a major transformation thanks to some of the most generous tax incentives in the world. Once considered a challenging environment for filmmakers, the country now hosts a thriving sector that contributes over €1 billion to the national economy each year and supports around 10,000 full-time jobs, according to Screen Ireland. Key to this success is the country's Section 481 tax incentive, which offers a 32% tax credit on eligible production costs. This generous rate has attracted major international productions to Irish shores, making it more cost-effective to shoot in Ireland than in traditional areas like Los Angeles. Actor Rob Lowe, whose American quiz show The Floor is filmed in Bray, County Wicklow, recently said, "It's cheaper to bring 100 people to Ireland' than to shoot in California. In May 2025, the Irish government introduced an even more attractive option for smaller-scale local productions: a 40% tax credit for Irish feature films with budgets under €20 million. To qualify, projects must include Irish or EEA nationals in key creative roles such as director or screenwriter and be screened in Irish cinemas for at least five days. The enhanced incentive was approved by the European Union and came into effect in July 2025. This tax policy shift brings Ireland in line with Britain's new Independent Film Tax Credit and aims to strengthen indigenous filmmaking, which has already produced internationally acclaimed works like The Quiet Girl ( An Cailín Ciúin ) and The Banshees of Inisherin, both Oscar-nominated. Irish-language content in particular is thriving, with recent hits like Kneecap and the upcoming Fréwaka , the first-ever Irish-language horror film, showing an appetite for culturally specific storytelling. A €1 million development fund, Maointe, has also been launched to support Irish-language projects across film, TV, and animation. For director Dearbhla Walsh, who helmed the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters, the return to Ireland has been personally and professionally rewarding. 'It was incredibly exciting for me to come home and tell a story that I really felt I understood,' she said. Bad Sisters, which earned actress Sharon Horgan an Emmy nomination, is just one of several recent Irish productions to gain global recognition alongside Normal People, Bodkin, and The Apprentice. Industry veterans like Alan Moloney, co-founder of Big Things Films with Cillian Murphy, credit Screen Ireland's strategic focus on developing local talent and attracting international productions as the cornerstone of the industry's success. Big Things Films has already delivered award-winning projects such as Small Things Like These and is producing the upcoming Netflix film Steve . Moloney is also leading the development of what will become Ireland's largest film and TV studio in Dublin. Despite external pressures such as the Hollywood writers' strike and recent threats of US trade tariffs on foreign-made films, Irish filmmakers remain confident in the industry's resilience. 'We came through Covid intact. We came through the strike intact. We'll come through this intact,' said Moloney. There has also been a noticeable shift in the type of content being produced. Ruth Treacy, producer at Tailored Films, notes that Irish cinema has evolved beyond traditional rural or domestic dramas. 'The level of ambition changed,' she said. 'It's not necessarily about looking inwards at ourselves, but more about looking outward at the world.' The animation sector is booming as well, employing over 2,500 people full-time and gaining increasing international traction. For many in the industry, Ireland's deep creative tradition continues to be a key asset. 'I don't want to go too far down the cliché of saints and scholars, but I do think that Ireland is a creative nation,' said producer Rebecca O'Flanagan of Treasure Entertainment. For Ciarán Charles Ó Conghaile, co-founder of Galway-based Fíbín Films, the industry is just beginning to realise its potential. 'There's a richness to the Irish language. But I think it's not about the language; it's the storytelling,' he said. 'I'm just excited about the stories that have yet to be told.' See More: Alan Moloney, Film, Film Industry, TV Industry, Tax
Sunday World
an hour ago
- Sunday World
Kneecap to face no further action over Glastonbury performance as cops drop probe
The Irish rappers had been under investigation with officiers reviewing video footage and audio recordings. Feile unveil a new mural in the Hawthorn Street area of west Belfast on August 11th 2023 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Police have confirmed that no further action will be taken following a review of Kneecap's performance at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Avon and Somerset Police said it will be taking 'no further action' on the grounds that there is 'insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence'. The investigation was announced in June after officers reviewed video footage and audio recordings from the sets of Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan at the festival. On Friday, the Belfast group posted an screenshot of a redacted email from a senior investigating officer on social media, confirming that 'no further action' would be taken. Feile unveil a new mural in the Hawthorn Street area of west Belfast on August 11th 2023 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 18th In the caption of their post, Kneecap said: 'One element of the political policing intimidation attempt is over. 'We played a historic set at Glastonbury. Whole area closed an hour before due to crowds. A celebration of love and solidarity. A sea of good people at the world's most famous festival.' Avon and Somerset Police said: 'An investigation has been carried out into comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap's performance at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday 28 June. 'Detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service during their enquiries and after that advice, we have made the decision to take no further action on the grounds there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence.' During Bob Vylan's performance, rapper Bobby Vylan chanted 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)', while a member of Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance. Band member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May with a terrorism offence relating to displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, during a gig in November 2024. The group recently performed at Glasgow's O2 Academy, in a gig which sold out in 80 seconds. They were due to perform at TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, but their set was axed after concerns raised by police. Earlier this week they announced new tour dates to play their 'biggest run of shows ever' across Scotland, Wales and England. Their tour will start in Bournemouth on November 14 before moving on to Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow. Kneecap will also perform in London at the previously announced show at OVO Arena Wembley on September 18.
Sunday World
an hour ago
- Sunday World
Sinead O'Connor was working on blues album before sudden death, pal reveals
'Not long before she passed she was going to take the blues road, singing the blues, and she asked me to produce the album,' Don tells me. SINEAD O'Connor is featured on a new single called Cinderella recorded with her friend Irish blues legend Don Baker that has just been released. In an exclusive interview, Baker also tells the Sunday World how Sinead had been learning the guitar and working on a blues album before her sudden death two years ago on July 26. Last year, at the age of 75, Baker was thrilled to land a deal with a German record label. One of the songs he gave them was Cinderella, which had been a track on an album he released over a decade ago called My Songs, My Friends. 'One day in the car with Sinead I put on a CD of stuff I was working on and that was one of them. I had called it Kings,' Don reveals. 'She said, 'I'd f**kin' love to record that.' I obviously told her I'd love her to record it. So we later recorded it for the album, My Songs My Friends. Don Baker 'She kept calling the song Cinderella because there's a line in it that goes, 'Cinderella was a junkie and full of pain, ain't that the truth we're all the same.' 'She thought the line was brilliant. So we just changed the name to Cinderella because that's what everybody seemed to be calling it, 'Oh I love that song, Cinderella.' 'Cinderella is about something that is never spoken about, which is love and sex addiction and co-dependency. Sinead O'Connor 'We talk about heroin addiction, alcoholism, gambling addiction, but you rarely see a discussion about sex addiction and love addiction and co-dependency. It's a huge problem for society and she saw that.' Baker forged a close bond with Sinead through the years, although he reveals that they had a falling out and a making up in the years before she died. 'Not long before she passed she was going to take the blues road, singing the blues, and she asked me to produce the album,' Don tells me. 'I put a band together for her, we went in to the studio and I think we had about five tracks recorded…and then she went AWOL. 'I couldn't get in touch with her. She had gone to Europe without telling me. I'm sorry to say we had a bit of a falling out over that. 'But eventually the hatchet was buried and we were ok, I'm glad to say. I wouldn't like that on my conscience after she passed. 'That was the only hiccup I had with her and a lot of that was my impatience as well. I bear 50 per cent of the responsibility for that. 'I was always into her. She was a great woman. She did more for emancipation than anyone I know. She had a John Lennon type of thing in her. She always spoke the truth. 'We remember her ripping up the photograph of the pope because of all the abuse of the Catholic Church in Ireland. 'That's the real enemy,' she pointed out. 'I do think she wasn't far off the mark there. I wouldn't have had the guts to do it, but she did. So she stood up for injustice anywhere she could and I really liked that about her. I had huge respect for her. 'She didn't pick the songs I wrote for commercial reasons, she took songs I wrote because of the meaning, because of the lyrics. 'The first song of mine that she recorded was one called Woe To The Holy Vow, which hits out at the Catholic Church because of all the abuse. 'I got to know her quite well. I used to call out to her house because I was teaching her guitar in recent years. We had a laugh together as well. 'I saw the dark side to her too and, God love her, she suffered with bipolar and it's a horrible thing. If that wasn't in Sinead's way she would have been an even bigger force to be reckoned with.' DON Baker's song, Cinderella, featuring Sinead O'Connor is now available on Spotify and all music platforms. See the video now on YouTube. REVIEW ASLAN have taken the baton from their much-loved singer and songwriter Christy Dignam and are powering ahead with new music featuring Lee Tomkins on vocals. The fans embraced their first original release with Billy McGuinness revealed how they were surprised to see a new, young following at their Olympia where fans were singing back the song, Hear Your Call. This weekend they've released the follow up, A Hand To Hold, and it's guaranteed to become another Aslan anthem at live gigs. BRIEF IRISH alt-rock trio NewDad will release their long-awaited new album in September, the band announced this week. It was written over the past two years and we get a taste with their latest single and video, Roobosh, now available. BRIEF IRISH jazz and blues singer Mary Coughlan is back with a new single, Lumberjack, featuring Ultan Conlon. 'The first time I heard Ultan singing the song it broke my heart,' Mary says. 'I asked Ultan if I could sing it.'
