Sean Moncrieff
Columnist at Irish Times
Producer at Newstalk
Unvetted male Funkateer. Elevated neutrino readings. Talky stuff on @newstalkFM @IrishTimesMag columnist. Happier at @seanmoncrieff.bsky.social
Articles
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1 week ago |
irishtimes.com | Sean Moncrieff
So: you’re going on holiday and you want to buy a book. The problem is, you don’t often read books. Don’t feel bad about that. There’s so much stuff demanding to be consumed, we have to operate a sort of cultural triage. I can squeeze in perhaps 30 minutes of reading a day, but other than that I’m working, sleeping, eating, travelling, watching TV, having social interactions and occasionally going to the toilet. That’s why I don’t listen to podcasts. Yeah. Deal with it.
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2 weeks ago |
irishtimes.com | Sean Moncrieff
This is how it started: Daughter Number Four would ask to take little expeditions by herself. A walk around the block or a short bike ride. And, because she’s nine and we want to foster a bit of independence and resilience and all that good stuff, we’d say yes. Not that this was easy. The first few times we were in bits, glued to the front windows waiting for her to return. Then we’d have to act all cool when she got back, unharmed and totally unfazed by her solo travel experience.
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3 weeks ago |
irishtimes.com | Sean Moncrieff
I had to buy a new computer. For some, that sentence might prompt a sort of internal shrivelling as they brace themselves to be bombarded with details about processor speeds and RAM size. Others might be dying to know, or even have strong opinions on the subject. I’ll avoid all that, other than to tell you that I had to buy a new one because the old one couldn’t update from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The reasons why are far too dull to go into, though I do feel compelled to defend my old computer.
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1 month ago |
irishtimes.com | Sean Moncrieff
I love words. Professionally, they are my primary tool. Yet sometimes – more often than I would like – I question what they are good for. Sometimes, they feel like empty noises or squiggles on a screen. Take Gaza. Words seem to be failing us. The phrases we used to hear a lot – international order, international community, civilisation – seem to have been rendered meaningless. Most European countries, ourselves being one of the few exceptions, have opted for throwaway pieties.
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1 month ago |
irishtimes.com | Sean Moncrieff
I hate being sick. Obviously, no one is a fan of illness, but some people seem to be better at adapting to it, to tucking themselves into bed with a hot water bottle, Netflix and plenty of fluids. To me, that doesn’t feel like the path back to good health, but lying in bed doing nothing. I start self-accusing: are you malingering? Are you really that sick? Too sick to get up and go to the bottle bank like you said you would? Invariably, I get up and go to the bottle bank and end up feeling worse.
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On the show today: Can AI be good for education?; Death cafes; What is a size 12?; The story of Through the Barricades; Making lists of friends; @James_Proclaims reviews 'Titan' 'Stick' & 'FUBAR'; The sun's south pole
Seán Moncrieff: A lot of art leaves me cold, but this exhibition was funny, moving and depressing https://t.co/3FH9iezouR
RT @SuzanneGrennan: Great articles by @LaraMarlowe and @SeanMoncrieff in today's @IrishTimes on Caravaggio and Banksy. Well worth a read👍