I am very sad to hear of Conor Gearty’s death. An enormous loss. He was a distinguished human rights lawyer and academic and a man of deep faith. He was a vital part of the Catholic conversation in Britain. At dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. This is his diary from Bayreuth in this week’s Tablet.

Superb riposte by Olivia O’Leary in the Irish Times to Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and her plan to investigate RTE coverage of the Gaza conflict.

Michel Barnier to be French PM

This had passed me by: the Irish seaside sauna. Brilliant Jude Webber piece in the FT

A letter in today’s FT says British aerospace was in poor shape by the 1960s and that it owes everything to Airbus (for which also read Concorde)

In a week of depressing Irish public opinion on events in Israel and Gaza, a stunningly good Fintan O’Toole commentary for the Irish Times on the culturally and historically complex connections between Ireland, Israel and Palestine.

From this week’s Tablet: a Catholic perspective on Jon Fosse, this year’s Nobel literature prize winner (Fosse’s work is deeply defined by his Catholicism)

Pleased to hear Irish fans belt out The Cranberries ‘Zombie’ after the match against Scotland. Here is the FT’s Jude Webber on the cultural politics of it and on how Zombie became an Irish rugby anthem.