This new year, embrace boredom as a temporary relief from mental slavery
We have to learn to scroll better. Not through our phones, but through our minds and our emotions
Christmas
Christmas, done and dusted. But what can I do to cut down on waste next time?
Irish households were snowed under by packaging this Christmas. Here are some tips for reducing the burden in 2026
The hidden savings in new year’s resolutions: From cigarettes to coffee
CSO data shows households can save thousands annually by cutting everyday habits
Censoring Sinn Féin Christmas card ‘a step too far’, NI officials told after staff complaints
Some social security workers ‘offended’ by card from local Sinn Féin office thanking them for their work
’Tis the season to feel bloated, so have you benefited from a fart walk yet?
Our bowels move well on their own, but perform even better when we move
Solitude is a rare chance to think. Loneliness is when the inner dialogue is unbearable
We don’t get much practice at Hannah Arendt’s version of solitude these days, with all the phones and Netflix and tubs of ice cream to distract us. But we should try it
Go shooting, drink wine, sing in a chorus – and other life advice from a politics journalist
Sing in a choir, make something with your hands, shoot real or clay pigeons, go to a church, dance if you really must
Southern California cleans up after the wettest Christmas season in recent history
As much as 430mm of rain fell, leaving householders stranded and knocking out power for thousands
The in-between days from Christmas to new year are a time to embrace imperfection
Being grateful for our bodies and the way they enable us to experience the world can be an act of quiet rebellion
Warning: These 2025 TV shows and films contain scenes of a workplace nature
I’m taking a break from the ‘gradual erosion of self-worth’ and staying firmly in outie mode
Leopardstown races: Faux fur, fake tan and f-f-f-freezing temperatures
The going was yielding, the punters soft-to-heavy after Christmas excess
‘I thought it would be jammers’: St Stephen’s Day sales get off to a leisurely start in Dublin
With five minutes to go before opening, a queue suddenly formed outside Brown Thomas, with menswear proving the most popular
The most Ukrainian town in Ireland: ‘We had to get used to each other’s culture’
An influx of refugees to Cahersiveen in Kerry brought challenges but many benefits to the local community
Only 5% of people ask for a receipt to return unwanted Christmas presents
Four in 10 consumers never include a gift receipt when giving presents, survey finds
Amandaland review: This engaging and funny one-off is the pick of Christmas Day viewing
Television: Christmas is about excess and familial angst, but also tenderness and tears, and all of the above are combined in perfect portions here
First Christmas babies of 2025 arrive at Ireland’s maternity hospitals
Newborns bring festive joy to families
‘The people that run this are absolutely amazing’: Music and companionship at RDS Christmas dinner
Around 400 people attend event in its 101st year, organised and run by more than 200 volunteers
Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in first Christmas sermon
Leo laments conditions for homeless across globe and conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali and Thailand and Cambodia
‘Mum just went for it ... she didn’t need any convincing’: Christmas swimmers brave the cold
High waves at Forty Foot see bathers move to nearby Sandycove and the ‘absolutely freezing’ water of Dublin Bay
‘There’s definitely a difference in the spuds’: The Irish spending Christmas in ‘County Coogee’
Coogee’s seafront filled with those missing home and family, waiting for morning to arrive in Ireland to call home
Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan feature in first Peaky Blinders movie teaser trailer
Irish actors to appear alongside new series cast members Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Roth
‘The feeling came back, the one I had been successfully avoiding for so long: shame’
Christmas Number One, a short story from the award-winning Greek-Irish author Soula Emmanuel
‘For fans of’ music: 2025 has been a phenomenal year for Irish artists
Tony Clayton-Lea reflects on a phenomenal year in the annals of Irish music
We’ve done all we can for now. This is the time for standing still and seeing out the year
There’s an understanding that we’ve done all we can for now. It’s a time for standing still and seeing out the year
Michael Harding: It doesn’t surprise me that I always went for therapy coming up to Christmas
When I was almost 13, I faced the festive season in stoic silence, knowing loss for the first time
More than 1,000 motorists detected speeding on National Slow Down day
Road fatalities total 186 as of December 23rd, 19 more than in same period in 2024
Santa tracker live 2025: Watch Santa’s progress as he delivers Christmas presents across the world
Where is Santa now? Track his journey as children worldwide count down the hours to Christmas morning
Whatever happened to joy to the world? You have to look hard
We can see with our own eyes how unmitigated ignorance, hatred and dehumanisation can turn a democratic country into a polarised hellscape in just a few years
I don’t need diamond rings or shiny things. Give me something broken and glued together with love
I’ve always fantasised about being the kind of woman who is given or buys herself precious things. It’s just not me, though
A visit to Belfast’s only soup kitchen to see how they’re helping the homeless this Christmas
Demand has never been greater, according to The People’s Kitchen founder and co-ordinator, Paul McCusker
‘If I can help someone, I will’: the Dublin woman who has been providing Christmas dinners for 39 years
Margaret Brown (80s) from Sandycove has been organising a festive feast for those in need since 1986
Oh, the treacherous lengths we go to in pursuit of ‘feeling Christmassy’
We go to treacherous lengths in pursuit of ‘feeling Christmassy’. But what are we actually looking for in all of these baubles?
Nine Irish walks packed with history
From Tipperary to Sligo, get your steps in our Irish countryside and discover those stories behind the scenes
The perfect Christmas leftover sandwich: Foodies share their sambo secrets
From ramekins of gravy for dipping, to white bread purists, to each their own perfect sandwich combination
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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