
STEINBECK FESTIVAL 2026
Northern Ireland’s finest interviewer, Mark Carruthers, brings his incomparable skills to bear in conversation with award-winning journalist and author Sam McBride about the provocative and timely book For and Against a United Ireland, co-written with Fintan O’Toole. Sam McBride is Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph and the Sunday Independent, and a contributor to The Economist. Formerly Political Editor of The Newsletter, he has produced a BBC documentary on the Northern Bank robbery and is a regular broadcaster and commentator. His work is known for its clarity, rigour, and insight into Northern Irish politics and public life. Together, the book examines one of the defining questions of our time, presenting informed arguments from both sides of the constitutional debate in a balanced and accessible way.