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 …
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 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 …
A throwaway problem
Caoimhe Gordon reports on the proposed governmental levy of 10 to 15 cent on each takeaway drink
During my youthful musings on the collegiate version of myself, I always pictured myself striding with purpose through the bustling city streets, clutching a takeaway cup of caffeinated fuel to get myself through the day.
Despite the fact that I …
Wholesome Catholic fun
An unexpected past lies deep at the heart of one of Ireland’s primary institutes of art and progress
Located in the centre of Temple bar, the Irish Film Institute (IFI) is a centre of art and culture. While it’s central mantra is to preserve, exhibit, and educate, a surprising past lurks in its foundations. Since its start in …
Stepping from the heavens
What does humankind hope to glean from venturing to the stars?
“I know the whole world is watching now. I wish you could see what I can see. Sometimes you have to get up really high to understand how small you are… I’m going home now.”
With these words, on …