Happy Christmas

There’s something about Christmas that makes the world seem a little kinder and more magical. It’s that spirit of an Irish Christmas that we’ve tried to capture in the pages of this bumper two-week issue, starting with Irish illustrator Marie-louise Fitzpatrick’s sweet Christmas story of a family and their dog... who just cannot get to sleep on Christmas Eve, with the excitement and anticipation of the big fella’s visit... follow the story from the cover right through the magazine. As well as putting together your essential guide to the TV and radio highlights over the weeks ahead and previewing hundreds of movies, we’ve also got Catherine Fulvio’s Christmas countdown, Dr Eddie Murphy looking at our tribal loyalties and we’ve caught up with some Irish people who made a huge impact this year, like Vicky Phelan, the O’brien’s racing dynasty, Gavin James, Graham Norton...

From all of us at the RTÉ Guide to you and yours, Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh go léir.