Standing in a crowd, we watched as President Higgins laid a wreath at the plaque before a minute’s silence was observed. The shot of a cannon punctuated the silence, making one or two observers jump. A disgruntled tourist muttered to …
Features
A pensive peninsula
In the Land of the Morning Calm, one writer navigates her way across an island far removed from our own.
One of the first questions you are asked in South Korea is how old you are. This is not to offend but rather to try and understand your social order to other people. If you are older than the person …
Why we should stop trivialising PMS
When does thinking it’s “that time of the month” fail to cut it?
Last December, I attended two counselling appointments within six days of one another. The first was an emergency appointment. I hadn’t wanted to go. In fact, I didn’t want to do anything at all. I was suffering from anxiety, panic …
Wise enough to play the fool
Far removed from the clowns of our childhood, Danielle Olavario uncovers the ancient history of The Fool
True to form, Raymond Keane arrives at the interview wearing glasses with frames thick and black, at first glance making it seem like he was a performer wearing Groucho glasses. He does not seem to recognise how apt this coincidence …
What the Puck?
What is the “Fair of the He-Goat”?
Illustration by Sinaoife Andrews
Every year for three days in mid-August, an unusual festival takes place in the small town of Killorglin, Co Kerry. The Puck Fair (from the Irish Aonach an Phoic, which means “Fair of the He-Goat”) …
A crime against consumers
Is it your imagination or are your favourite products really getting smaller?
Reducing the size of products sold to consumers without reducing the price the same has now become standard practice in most businesses. This deceitful process, commonly known as ‘Shrinkflation’, increases the price level of goods per unit as a result …
A visit to Sarajevo
Comhall Fanning reminisces on his trip to the interesting, vibrant, and historical city of Sarajevo
My friend Ali and I, both embarking on a year off-books in Austria, decided to leave Ireland a few weeks early and travel around the Balkans before taking a bus to Austria. One of the most interesting cities we visited …
The future of micro-messaging
Jack Eustace examines China’s dominant messaging app and where it might be going next
The Chinese name for WeChat is Wēixìn, which translates literally to “micro-message”. The app’s actual existence stands in direct contradiction to its name, as WeChat is anything but micro.
Released in 2011 by Tencent Holdings Limited, the app presents …
Establishing an identity
What goes into making it in the modern music scene?
Onstage, Identity Thief are electric. Bouncing with an energy that you don’t expect from anyone over the age of twelve, they occasionally remind me of five overcharged bumper cars. Disorientating, but fun. The band consists of Luke Dunne on drums, …
The novelist’s noose
A history of writer’s block and why it strikes when it does
In 1804, Samuel Taylor Coleridge lamented that “completely has a whole year passed, with scarcely the fruits of a month. – O Sorrow and Shame…I have done nothing!” Coleridge was most productive throughout his twenties, after which he suffered from …