- Culture
- 30 Dec 25
My 2025: David McCullagh - "Hanging over the edge of Victoria Falls was pretty special (someone was holding onto my ankles)"
Broadcaster David McCullagh reflects on his 2025...
Your Hero of 2025?
Sister Stan, who sadly passed away this year. A formidable campaigner who did so much to highlight and deal with homelessness.
Villain of 2025?
A collective award for anyone who thinks a cycle lane is in fact a parking space. Putting your hazard lights on doesn’t make it okay!
Best Personal Moment?
Hanging over the edge of Victoria Falls was pretty special (someone was holding onto my ankles – not recommended without proper supervision!) We had a fantastic three-week holiday in Africa – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. Oh, and I started a new job and had a book published. But the waterfall probably wins.
Best Movie or TV show?
I really liked Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters – season 1 was so perfect, I didn’t think they could top it with season 2. But they did.
Best record?
I’m going to surprise precisely no-one by saying I was blown away by (most of) Bruce Springsteen’s Tracks II box set – seven (seven!) unreleased albums from various points of his career. I particularly liked LA Garage Sessions 83, a kind of follow-up to Nebraska, and Faithless, a soundtrack to a film that hasn’t (yet?) been made.
The rest are really good, too, apart from the Burt Bacharach-influenced Twilight Hours, which loads of critics raved about but which, in my humble opinion, is terrible. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, he released Electric Nebraska as well. I liked it...
Best book?
I got a set of Mick Herron’s Slough House books for Christmas and have read them all over the course of the year. They are absolutely brilliant, and certainly worth all the hype. Definitely worth reading whether or not you’re watching the TV adaptation, which is also very good. I haven’t got the new book, Clown Town, yet, but Christmas is coming, so here’s hoping...
What tickled your funny bone?
We went to Dara Ó Briain’s show in Vicar Street. Hilarious – still laugh thinking about some of the jokes!
• David McCullagh's book From Crown To Harp is out now. Listen to Today with David McCullagh on RTÉ Radio 1, Mon-Fri, 9am-11am.
