Poet who more than 20 books was awarded the Lifetime Achievement at the Irish Book Awards in 2014

From cruise ships to UFOs, from King Kong to a giant whale, half the sex in Japan may take place in its dazzlingly imaginative love hotels. But have some become just too seedy? Our writer checks in

"I will challenge RFK Jr. to write a poem as good as me any day of the week."

RSPB urges people to support threatened birds by cutting lawns less frequently and avoiding pesticides Fewer starlings than ever have been spotted by participants in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, raising fears for their numbers. The bird conservation charity is urging Britain’s gardeners to keep their lawns wild by not cutting them too often, and to avoid the use of pesticides, which reduce the number of insects to eat and can poison birds. Continue reading...

With the release of her Edna O’Brien documentary imminent, documentary maker Sinéad O’Shea talks about the late writer’s remarkable and often difficult life