MUSIC: SOLAS QUARTET ON TOUR
Solas Quartet's nationwide tour visits Manorhamilton, Ennis, Cork, Dublin and Castleconnell from 19th to 25th November, as part of the National String Quartet Foundation's autumn season. The programme includes Schubert's Quartet in A minor Rosamunde, Grażyna Bacewicz's String Quartet No.3 and a trio of musical premieres written by Solas Quartet members: Katherine Hunka's Into the clear air (2025) and Marja Gaynor's Siúil a Rúin & Paul's Steeple - find out more here.
BOOK: SUNDAY MISCELLANY
A beloved Irish institution, RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Miscellany has been woven into the lives of listeners for over half a century. Following on from the bestselling 2023 anthology, this new collection brings together some of the best broadcasts of the past three years, arranged in calendar months. Featuring a spectrum of writing talent, from household names to striking new voices, it offers solace, joy and entertainment for all seasons. Edited by Sarah Binchy, featured writers include (deep breath) Jan Carson, Niamh Campbell, Dermot Bolger, Aingeala Flannery, Paul Howard, Louise Kennedy, John MacKenna, Rosaleen McDonagh, Liz Nugent, Joseph O'Connor, Olivia O’Leary, Glenn Patterson, Donal Ryan and more (New Island)
EVENT: QUIET LIGHTS
Cork’s much-loved winter festival returns for its sixth year, shining a spotlight on boundary-pushing Irish and international artists working across folk, traditional and experimental sounds. Set in Cork’s most cherished venues, including Live at St Luke’s, Triskel Arts Centre, Coughlan’s, MTU Cork School of Music, and plugd, headliners include Icelandic collective Múm, performing a rare live show, Ireland’s singular folk voice Lisa O’Neill; and the bold, genre-defying English songwriter Rich(ard) Dawson, joined by an exceptional line-up of artists and intimate shows across the city - find out more here (Various venues, Cork City, 20th – 23rd November 2025)
STREAMING: TRAIN DREAMS
Based on the novella of the same name, Train Dreams is a portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly changing America of the early 20th Century. Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy star a film from Sing Sing co-creator Clint Bentley that "contains all the wondrous, devastating layers of an entire life". Listen out for an incredible score from Bryce Dessner, to boot. Egerton and Bentley talk to RTÉ Arena below (Netflix, now streaming)
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
PANTO: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Legendary Irish panto dame Joe Conlan, celebrating his fourth decade in the business, plays Nanny Potts in this year's all-singing, all-dancing Gaiety Christmas panto, the tale as old as time that is Beauty and The Beast. The run has already been extended well into January, and with good reason, The Gaiety have been delighting young audiences for over 100 years with their panto spectaculars (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, 23rd Nov - 18th Jan. 2026)
Hear The Culture 5 every Friday on Aedín in the Afternoon on RTÉ lyric fm, from 1pm - listen back here
