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xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_crime-law"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/crime-law/courts" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Courts</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/property" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Property</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_property" aria-label="Show Property sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_property"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/residential" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Residential</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/commercial-property" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Commercial Property</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/interiors" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Interiors</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/food" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Food</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_food" aria-label="Show Food sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_food"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/drink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Drink</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/recipes" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Recipes</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/restaurants" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Restaurants</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/health" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Health</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_health" aria-label="Show Health sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_health"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-family" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Family</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-fitness" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Fitness</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-wellness" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Wellness</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-fitness/get-running" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Get Running</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Life & Style</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_life-style" aria-label="Show Life & Style sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_life-style"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/fashion" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Fashion</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/tags/beauty/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Beauty</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/fine-art-antiques" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Fine Art & Antiques</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/gardening" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Gardening</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/people" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">People</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/travel" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Travel</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/culture" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Culture</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_culture" aria-label="Show Culture sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_culture"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/art" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Art</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/books" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Books</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/film" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Film</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/music" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Music</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/stage" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Stage</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/tv-radio" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">TV & Radio</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/environment" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Environment</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_environment" aria-label="Show Environment sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_environment"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/environment/climate-crisis" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Climate Crisis</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/technology" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Technology</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_technology" aria-label="Show Technology sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_technology"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/big-tech" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Big Tech</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/consumer-tech" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Consumer Tech</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/data-security" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Data & Security</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/gaming" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Gaming</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/science" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Science</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_science" aria-label="Show Science sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_science"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/science/space" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Space</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/media" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Media</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/abroad" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Abroad</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/obituaries" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Obituaries</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/transport" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Transport</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/motors" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Motors</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_motors" aria-label="Show Motors sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_motors"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/motors/car-reviews/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Car Reviews</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/listen/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Listen</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Podcasts</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_podcasts" aria-label="Show Podcasts sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_podcasts"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/in-the-news" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">In the News Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/inside-politics" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Inside Politics Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/the-womens-podcast" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">The Women's Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/inside-business" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Inside Business Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Ross O'Carroll-Kelly</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/the-counter-ruck" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">The Counter Ruck Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/conversations-with-parents" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Conversations with Parents Podcast</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/video" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Video</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/photography" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Photography</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" 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416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_sponsored"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/advertising-feature" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Advertising Feature</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/special-reports" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Special Reports</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/subscriber-rewards/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Subscriber Rewards</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/competitions" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Competitions</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/weather/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Weather Forecast</a></li><li class="section-menu--bottom-placeholder"></li></ul></div></div></div></nav></header><section role="main" class="b-it-right-rail-advanced__main" id="main"><div class="c-stack b-it-right-rail-advanced__full-width-1" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div id="arcad-feature-f0fJKL80l2wX2PY-15eafca4856c51" class="default__StyledAdUnit-sc-1moicrg-0 gKEhzJ arcad-feature" style="min-height:107px;--mobile-display:none;--tablet-display:block;--desktop-display:block"><div class="arcad-container width_100" style="max-width:970px"><div id="arcad_f0fJKL80l2wX2PY-15eafca4856c51" class="arcad ad-970x90"></div></div></div><div class="c-stack b-section-title" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><h1 class="c-heading">People</h1></div><hr class="c-divider b-it-divider-block"/><div id="lazy_25259" class="lazy_container"><div class="b-flex-chain"><div class="b-flex-chain__grid-container b-flex-chain__grid-container__444 has-divider gap-divider"><div class="c-stack grid-item " data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-flex-promo-list-block" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap" style="--c-stack-gap:1rem"><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__top c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/virginia-giuffre-epstein-prince-andrew-crash-bus/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Virginia Giuffre, Epstein and Prince Andrew accuser, in hospital after ‘serious’ road crash" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-3-2 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-16-9" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7CG56QP6MZDA7IYWGKNEIPSUIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8d91dac1433f04085b428a8876591c31ad65ae92b8af44f379fe12a80cc02aba&width=800&height=450" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7CG56QP6MZDA7IYWGKNEIPSUIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8d91dac1433f04085b428a8876591c31ad65ae92b8af44f379fe12a80cc02aba&width=200&height=112 200w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7CG56QP6MZDA7IYWGKNEIPSUIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8d91dac1433f04085b428a8876591c31ad65ae92b8af44f379fe12a80cc02aba&width=400&height=225 400w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7CG56QP6MZDA7IYWGKNEIPSUIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8d91dac1433f04085b428a8876591c31ad65ae92b8af44f379fe12a80cc02aba&width=600&height=337 600w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7CG56QP6MZDA7IYWGKNEIPSUIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8d91dac1433f04085b428a8876591c31ad65ae92b8af44f379fe12a80cc02aba&width=800&height=450 800w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7CG56QP6MZDA7IYWGKNEIPSUIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8d91dac1433f04085b428a8876591c31ad65ae92b8af44f379fe12a80cc02aba&width=1200&height=675 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 400px, (max-width: 800px) 50vw, 100vw" width="800" height="450"/></a></figure><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text"><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text-no-overline"><h3 class="c-heading c-heading__md text-align_left"><a class="c-link font-bold" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/virginia-giuffre-epstein-prince-andrew-crash-bus/">Virginia Giuffre, Epstein and Prince Andrew accuser, in hospital after ‘serious’ road crash</a></h3><p class="c-paragraph"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/virginia-giuffre-epstein-prince-andrew-crash-bus/">Virginia Giuffre said on Instagram that doctors had given her ‘four days to live’ after her car was hit by a school bus</a></p><div class="b-flex-promo-card__metadata"><time class="c-it-promo-date" dateTime="2025-04-01T07:58:24.694Z">Tue Apr 01 2025 - 08:58</time></div></div></div></article></div></div><div class="c-stack grid-item " data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-flex-promo-list-block" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap" style="--c-stack-gap:1rem"><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-hide b-flex-promo-card__image-square-mobile-right c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/ireland-is-a-beautiful-country-and-for-all-the-weirdness-i-find-the-people-to-be-really-helpful/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="‘Ireland is a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people to be really helpful’" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-1-1 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-3-2" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=274&height=182" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=200&height=132 200w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=400&height=265 400w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=600&height=398 600w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=800&height=531 800w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=1200&height=797 1200w" sizes="30vw" width="274" height="182"/></a></figure><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text"><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text-no-overline"><h3 class="c-heading c-heading__md-sm text-align_left"><a class="c-link font-bold" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/ireland-is-a-beautiful-country-and-for-all-the-weirdness-i-find-the-people-to-be-really-helpful/">‘Ireland is a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people to be really helpful’</a></h3></div></div></article><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-hide b-flex-promo-card__image-square-mobile-right c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/life-style/people/2025/03/31/this-trend-for-lighting-up-gardens-may-seem-an-inviting-one-but-it-needs-to-be-done-with-care/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="This trend for lighting up gardens may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with care" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-1-1 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-3-2" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/IR7YQBVOUZGQXIWOTSPTEZEVZE.jpg?focal=2090%2C1562&auth=c51911e294a513672d4e85e9e97e4d203e277b53dbccc7f131f0d40a11ffbf4d&width=274&height=182" 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class="b-flex-promo-card__text"><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text-no-overline"><h3 class="c-heading c-heading__md-sm text-align_left"><a class="c-link font-bold" href="/life-style/people/2025/03/31/this-trend-for-lighting-up-gardens-may-seem-an-inviting-one-but-it-needs-to-be-done-with-care/">This trend for lighting up gardens may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with care</a></h3></div></div></article><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-hide b-flex-promo-card__image-square-mobile-right c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/life-style/people/2025/03/31/sarah-moss-for-seven-years-i-slept-four-or-five-hours-a-night-rarely-for-longer-than-an-hour-at-a-time/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="For seven years, I slept four or five hours a night, rarely for longer than an hour at a 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c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/health/your-family/2025/03/29/unconventional-mothers-i-was-around-34-and-all-my-friends-were-having-kids-i-was-like-what-am-i-waiting-for/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="‘I was 34 and all my friends were having kids... 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href="/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-most-certainly-do-have-an-american-accent-i-tell-my-supposed-half-brother-im-from-south-dublin/">‘I most certainly do have an American accent,’ I tell my supposed half-brother. ‘I’m from south Dublin’</a></h2><div class="b-flex-promo-card__audio"><button aria-label="Listen to ‘I most certainly do have an American accent,’ I tell my supposed half-brother. ‘I’m from south Dublin’" class="c-button c-button--small c-button--primary-reverse" type="button"><svg class="c-icon" width="48" height="48" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M425 215C439.3 223.8 448 239.3 448 256C448 272.7 439.3 288.2 425 296.1L137.03 472.1C122.21 482 103.66 482.4 88.52 473.9C73.377 465.4 64 449.4 64 432V80C64 62.64 73.377 46.63 88.52 38.13C103.66 29.64 122.21 29.99 137.03 39.04L425 215Z"></path></svg></button><span class="b-flex-promo-card__audio-text">Listen | 06:13</span></div></div></div></article><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-left c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/life-style/people/2025/03/29/annie-mccarrick-murder-garda-cold-case-team-hope-new-timeline-will-lead-to-breakthrough/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Annie McCarrick murder: Garda cold case team hope new timeline will lead to breakthrough" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-16-9 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-16-9" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/XEWCAO6TA5FOJNUVQTL72TKTME.jpg?focal=1066%2C614&auth=a4558ab8079f5ffc3a714bf9127f8d4980f8c65d4d04a753de055eabbbafd4cb&width=274&height=154" 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class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/118/" class="page-link">118</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/119/" class="page-link">119</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/120/" class="page-link">120</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/121/" class="page-link">121</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/122/" class="page-link">122</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/123/" class="page-link">123</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/124/" class="page-link">124</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/125/" class="page-link">125</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/126/" class="page-link">126</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/127/" class="page-link">127</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/128/" class="page-link">128</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/129/" class="page-link">129</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/130/" class="page-link">130</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/131/" class="page-link">131</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/132/" class="page-link">132</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/133/" class="page-link">133</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/134/" class="page-link">134</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/135/" class="page-link">135</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/136/" class="page-link">136</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/137/" class="page-link">137</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/138/" class="page-link">138</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/139/" class="page-link">139</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/140/" class="page-link">140</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/141/" class="page-link">141</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/142/" class="page-link">142</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/143/" class="page-link">143</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/144/" class="page-link">144</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/145/" class="page-link">145</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/146/" class="page-link">146</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/147/" class="page-link">147</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/148/" class="page-link">148</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/149/" class="page-link">149</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/150/" class="page-link">150</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/151/" class="page-link">151</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/152/" class="page-link">152</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/153/" class="page-link">153</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/154/" class="page-link">154</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/155/" class="page-link">155</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/156/" class="page-link">156</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/157/" class="page-link">157</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/158/" class="page-link">158</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/159/" class="page-link">159</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/160/" class="page-link">160</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/161/" class="page-link">161</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/162/" class="page-link">162</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/163/" class="page-link">163</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/164/" class="page-link">164</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/165/" class="page-link">165</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/166/" class="page-link">166</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/167/" class="page-link">167</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/168/" class="page-link">168</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/169/" class="page-link">169</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/170/" class="page-link">170</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/171/" class="page-link">171</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/172/" class="page-link">172</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/173/" class="page-link">173</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/174/" class="page-link">174</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/175/" class="page-link">175</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/176/" class="page-link">176</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/177/" class="page-link">177</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/178/" class="page-link">178</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/179/" class="page-link">179</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/180/" class="page-link">180</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/181/" class="page-link">181</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/182/" class="page-link">182</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/183/" class="page-link">183</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/184/" class="page-link">184</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/185/" class="page-link">185</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/186/" class="page-link">186</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/187/" class="page-link">187</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/188/" class="page-link">188</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/189/" class="page-link">189</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/190/" class="page-link">190</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/191/" class="page-link">191</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/192/" class="page-link">192</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/193/" class="page-link">193</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/194/" class="page-link">194</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/195/" class="page-link">195</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/196/" class="page-link">196</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/197/" class="page-link">197</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/198/" class="page-link">198</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/life-style/people/199/" class="page-link">199</a></li><li class="page-item page-item-next "><a class="page-link" href="/life-style/people/2/"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="30" height="30" fill="none"><path fill="#191919" d="M23.39 15.963 13.303 26.051a1.246 1.246 0 0 1-1.762 0l-1.176-1.177a1.246 1.246 0 0 1-.002-1.76l7.994-8.031-7.994-8.032a1.246 1.246 0 0 1 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data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-numbered-list__items" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-numbered-list__item" data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><p class="c-paragraph">1</p><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/ireland-is-a-beautiful-country-and-for-all-the-weirdness-i-find-the-people-to-be-really-helpful/"><h2 class="c-heading">‘Ireland is a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people to be really helpful’</h2></a><a class="c-link b-numbered-list__item-image" href="/life-style/people/2025/04/01/ireland-is-a-beautiful-country-and-for-all-the-weirdness-i-find-the-people-to-be-really-helpful/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="" class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=274&height=182" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=137&height=91 137w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=274&height=182 274w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG?focal=2605%2C884&auth=11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652&width=548&height=364 548w" width="274" height="182"/></a></div><hr aria-hidden="true"/><div class="c-stack b-numbered-list__item" data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><p class="c-paragraph">2</p><a class="c-link" href="/your-money/2025/04/01/half-a-million-euro-for-a-moderate-retirement-the-lump-sums-you-need-to-save/"><h2 class="c-heading">Half a million euro for a ‘moderate’ retirement? 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https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/DTX2K2FUYFDE7LYNLO6YDFHSWM.jpg?smart=true&auth=0d56796afb1b62ca60de105c8a659a0f573297582ba9cca4331e0673e077aeac&width=548&height=364 548w" width="274" height="182"/></a></div><hr aria-hidden="true"/><div class="c-stack b-numbered-list__item" data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><p class="c-paragraph">3</p><a class="c-link" href="/politics/2025/04/01/irish-pharma-exports-to-us-projected-to-halve-over-five-years-in-event-of-trade-war/"><h2 class="c-heading">Irish pharma exports to US projected to halve over five years in event of trade war</h2></a><a class="c-link b-numbered-list__item-image" href="/politics/2025/04/01/irish-pharma-exports-to-us-projected-to-halve-over-five-years-in-event-of-trade-war/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="" class="c-image" loading="lazy" 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I always say to anyone coming from a tropical climate, it’s the absolute worst time to move anywhere, especially Ireland. It was just so dark. It was a huge, huge culture shock for me. It wasn’t the cold or the rain, it was the darkness.” Zoe Hunter, who moved here from Belize in 2012, is laughing. Spring, and the light, came eventually, and she has made a good life here, more recently benefiting from the light of education: aged 42, she’s doing a degree in city planning and environmental policy at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ucd/\" target=\"_blank\">UCD</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PBTAXYCKCRBOJMKUQLGH4UYGMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263940},"content":"Hunter grew up in the tiny Central American country known for inland rainforests, Caribbean coast and spectacular islands. The former British colony, independent since 1981, is “a very young democracy. It’s the same story with British colonies all over the Caribbean. They left, but they left everything in a mess.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WLFFADXIJVENJLY2ESW3QF2FHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263941},"content":"“It was kind of hilarious. I got complimented on my English so much when I moved here! Yeah, thank you. It’s my native language.” She speaks an English Creole dialect too. “My accent is very Irish now, but at first it sounded Caribbean. People would say, Oh, she sounds like <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/rihanna\">Rihanna</a>!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZDTLZDXXNGUVJMJ56ATVWTTPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263942},"content":"After two years of junior college in Belize, Hunter couldn’t afford university, and got an administration job. Then she met an Irish man. He worked in finance too, and she visited Ireland with him. Eventually, “I said I’d try it out for six months. Thirteen years and two kids later, here I am.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AB55AEICSZHV3MOVWCB424GMMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263943},"content":"With her experience, she quickly got a job in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kbc-bank-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">KBC</a> bank. “The work was not the most interesting, but they were a really, really nice bunch of people. My supervisor from then is still a friend.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EI7W23GTJFD5DJZWH4ULECW7KU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263944},"content":"After their daughter was born in 2016, they decided she would care for her at home, and the same later with their son, rather than return to the bank. “It was challenging, but at the same time I’m grateful for it, because my mom never got to do that with me. I got to share the joys as well as the challenges of being home as a parent.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"R7OSEFOD6FDBRDGWZTN3UFKUHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263945},"content":"Years later she considered returning to education and starting a new career. “Not that I was unhappy as a stay-at-home mom, but I was feeling kind of boxed in. It was time for me to take a step.” She considered waiting until her children were older, but was also conscious that “I’m getting older too! I want to get started. Covid was definitely that spark, to jump back into school. This is my first undergraduate degree ever. It’s been a real focus point, like a saving grace for me personally.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MURBMQTQJFCZNKYUNG46ZVRUTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263946},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"LDNG5B3H2FDTZNKQW3IHIR3G3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263947},"content":"As she had been out of education, she did an Access course. “I had in mind sustainability.” She did sciences. She applied for a UCD degree combining city planning and urban design with environmental policy, and was offered a place in 2022. Initially, “I had to defer because of childcare. I couldn’t find anyone. I couldn’t afford anyone.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZADEQVJZFAY7HDWYT65YBFAIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263948},"content":"But “I felt, I have set my mind to this, and the universe is helping to make it happen.” Adding to the complications, she and her partner split up, although amicably.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZHQTLDBI6NAEPERPPPVSL76TW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263949},"content":"With wonderful timing, her 28-year-old brother in Belize was taking a career break and offered to visit for a few months, as childminder, for her first academic semester. “I joked he was the ‘Manny’, the male nanny. He actually adapted to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> easier than I thought he would – easier than I did. He was really good with the kids, and they got to spend time together.” Her second semester schedule worked better for school hours, and their Dublin grandparents minded them for a day every week. Now in second year, with children nearly seven and nine, Hunter and her ex are hands-on co-parenting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAHJUYOUKRAYVMWHWOOZ7N3YSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263950},"content":"She’s busy but blossoming, and wants to spread the word about supports available for those who want to return to education after time at home with children. <a href=\"https://dublinlearningcity.ie/festival/\" target=\"_self\">Dublin Learning City Festival</a> (April 7th-9th) promotes learning for all, focusing on community-based initiatives in the Greater Dublin Area. The Think Again Scholarship, in partner institution UCD, encourages mature low-income women to return to education.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HJZMDP2U5FBPLPCBDUJVTFFCTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263951},"content":"“It can be done. It’s really hard.” For women with children, “there’s so many moving parts”. She appreciates the support but wishes there was more. “A lot of it comes down to finances, and childcare. Yes, they’re investing in us, but we are going to give back when we’ve accomplished.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y4EZ2OLERJDY3DMJZHVWFLYT3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263952},"content":"“I’ve been in Ireland for so long, I have a community. Moms of my kids’ friends have been wonderful. I have some really great friends here.” But at difficult times, “I’ve really missed my family. The biggest part of moving anywhere is being without family nearby. Sometimes I literally just want to go to my mom’s house, or to my sisters, just sit there in silence under a dark grey cloud.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3RMDT3VJBEJHJ7XEM6KH6LELY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263953},"content":"But even when things are hard, “I know this is where I’ll be. Ireland is where I’ll live.” She’s enjoying her course, and “UCD has been a great source of encouragement. The support as a mature student is just brilliant,” including from her adviser and programme director. “I think they know I’m not there for the craic”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DP6SZP2NDFFYJHELU4GFD4ASIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263954},"content":"Despite missing home, “if the kids were growing up in Belize, it would have been a different dynamic. Children here have a safe environment to express big emotions. Even before I had kids, seeing how parents interacted with their kids here, there’s just more freedom. In Belize, for a girl, she’s not supposed to be climbing trees or getting muddy. For a child, it’s respect your elders, don’t speak out of turn. Here it’s more, ‘Oh, let them be kids’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZDHJE7EG4ZGLXOKXVK5G6HQAC4","additional_properties":{"_id":"VMXT4CFGAFCBBEVPIIFQMT67W4"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"FZ4OCIP53VBBZN26PYM34UIDWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263956},"content":"On the other hand, single-sex education was “so strange”, a “weird notion”, contrasting with her own mixed-gender schooling, where friendships with “the lads” were normal from childhood.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CR3OPYMIHZHCVCQMQJWJ42BG4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263957},"content":"She finds Irish politeness strange. “I don’t know if you really like what I’ve cooked or you’re just trying to be nice! Belizeans just don’t do subtlety at all. It’s, ‘This tastes like crap, but thank you for trying’.” Here she often wonders, “Did I say the wrong thing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UR6GLNFT2ZA3TBI4236SLKUGHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263958},"content":"She’s travelled all over. “It’s a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people in general to be really helpful, really welcoming. My ex’s family, always really willing to help. Even people on the street. Some of the banter you get from just random people, I still find hilarious. All the one-liners. I have no comeback, I just laugh and appreciate how clever and well-read everyone is. I get why the country produced so many brilliant writers and playwrights.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7O3343HL2RGRTMBZHXOWM2EUAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263959},"content":"In some ways she would have liked to have raised her children in Belize, but their quality of life in Dublin is better. “We can walk to school, walk to their friends’ houses. Playgrounds nearby. They can use their bicycles, scooters. They’ve access to different sports. Belize is very dangerous. Nobody walks any more,” because of the risk of robbery. “You need a car to get everywhere.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CZCGTO63TFCQBO7P4L5JX4FMTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263960},"content":"The bus and the Luas compare favourably with Belize’s public transport options, she says. “You can walk everywhere here, you feel safe at night. Of course, the whole financial aspect is crazy at the moment.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XACA2E7FD5G6LKPD3T23R3CNUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263961},"content":"In recent years she’s noticed “the racism thing” more. “It’s become a very diverse city since I moved here, and I like that. That’s what I’m used to. But I have seen issues.” She describes “micro-discrimination”: At the pool with her daughter, who looks like her dad, and being mistaken for staff rather than a parent because of the colour of her skin. “I know she probably felt embarrassed, because she couldn’t look me in the eye afterwards.” Or her son, who is darker, being told off in a gift-shop, while his whiter-looking sister doing the same thing was not. “It left a bad taste.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M6Q3WAVYKZGWPASW6WIZLZI5XA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263962},"content":"<i>We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email </i><a href=\"mailto:newtotheparish@irishtimes.com\" target=\"_self\"><i>newtotheparish@irishtimes.com</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Deirdre Falvey"}},"name":"Deirdre Falvey"}]},"description":{"basic":"Zoe Hunter moved from Belize in Central America to Ireland in 2012"},"display_date":"2025-04-01T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Ireland is a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people to be really helpful’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY","auth":{"1":"11cdefdcd48ec9fe8af6d7806920d7282e2d02e7969d9a93afb51fac5693d652"},"focal_point":{"x":2605,"y":884},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/U2IGV74QUZH5BFRQO4BPHNAILY.JPG"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/04/01/ireland-is-a-beautiful-country-and-for-all-the-weirdness-i-find-the-people-to-be-really-helpful/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"3KNNBW5DXRHDBGRMJN3NSKY3JY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":295,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/d223c473-9714-42a5-bdf5-5a802af9358e/versions/1742822431/media/c1be9802a926302e9dbac5b9181121d1_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/this-trend-for-lighting-up-gardens-may-seem-an-inviting-one-but-it-needs-to-be-done-with-care/","content_elements":[{"_id":"SHZRYO6LEBDGLERAJYEANI4Y64","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894739},"content":"If you’ve got a garden, balcony or other outdoor space, lights are pitched as a way to add “atmosphere” and “enchantment” after dark.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L444WFNBEJGWDA5W47CGHF7PAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894740},"content":"Visit a garden centre and you’ll see all manner of electric, battery and solar-powered kit. There’s everything from storm lamps to waterproof outdoor candles, fairy lights with which to drape your trees and shrubs, and carnival bulbs to festoon your fences. There are pond lights, illuminated fountains, Moroccan-style lanterns, kerb lights, stake lights, light-up frogs and even lights disguised as rocks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCBFADRGYRB7PPC6BEWFK7TB44","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894741},"content":"Outdoor lights can be functional or pretty to look at, but they might not be great for nature, says the World Economic Forum (WEF) <a href=\"https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/light-pollution-health-climate/\" target=\"_self\">in an article published this month</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T72BJG44VVC5HBOI5QOYLRKE4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894742},"content":"Light and dark have the biggest influence on circadian rhythms, the article says. Before electric light, we lived, slept, and worked according to the sun. This rhythm is encoded into all living things, from people to plants, says the WEF.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QIQAWTLUTJEPPO3Q6IRB4PJQTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894743},"content":"In the modern era, however, we are lighting our homes, gardens, offices and streets to the point where night-time light pollution, back in 2016, covered nearly 80 per cent of the planet, according to The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a paper published in Science Advances.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F3UEXFWPRFEHRDDFJFWSDEPFYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894744},"content":"Quiet, please! The remarkable power of silence – for our bodies and our minds","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"P5TZWTXP7ND47IOSBN2N3J4UA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894745},"content":"Why is this bad? Studies show that birds, bats and insects are among those in the natural world affected by light pollution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QREDGBIEQVESFHKHUFIWJVWMK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894746},"content":"If you have a garden, birds are disturbed from sleep in it by lighting and can begin singing there before dawn, says the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), a British gardening charity. Robins especially seem sensitive to light and will extend their feeding period into the night where artificial light is present.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XX5NVJ6HRBFC5DCZWYOX6KNYJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894747},"content":"Owls may find hunting more difficult in lit, urban areas, and birds that prefer to start migration flights at night can become disorientated, the society says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZKML3HGZ7BC5TBJDX5HQGP2A3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894748},"content":"In lit areas, shorter periods of night-time darkness mean less time for foraging or hunting of dawn, dusk or nocturnal species, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2VXTUPCRFFH37OV36LO4D2LGQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894749},"content":"Lighting up your garden pond leaves frogs without a place to lay their eggs. String jaunty lights in your hedges and trees, and baby chicks and moths won’t know whether it’s day or night.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CURZDEAZDBE6VNVDSJZVH4BZHA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"PYLXAUAGN5B53ITQQRMITQOVDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894751},"content":"Under some lights, aquatic insects can mistake surfaces for water and lay their eggs there where they will fail.","type":"text"},{"_id":"52V2JLRRS5G3VLWMLSKBHITICA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894752},"content":"Lighting up your borders isn’t great either. Scientists are increasingly concerned about the decline of insects. Bees, ants and beetles are disappearing. Their loss has far-reaching consequences for entire ecosystems. Insects provide food for many birds, frogs and bats, while plants rely on insects for pollination.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LBCZTBASDZAOTIAY2OYSBRNZBY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894753},"content":"Since artificial light in gardens disrupts natural behaviour for a range of wildlife, it’s important to retain some dark areas and also question whether you really need lighting, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HTEPDCPREFCUHAMLAU6FC24BZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894754},"content":"The type, or frequency, of light seems to affect species differently. As a general rule, insects are more sensitive to short-wavelength UV, blue and green light than long-wavelength orange, red and infra-red or light, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7KC3TXIJLBCOFDD6UUDMQCOLZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894755},"content":"Dim lights, such as warm white solar-powered lights, are less likely to affect wildlife. But avoid coloured solar lights, as these seem to confuse and attract some worms, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PYLXAUAGN5B53ITQQRMITQOVDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894756},"content":"If you must use lights, position them as low as possible, and aim them downwards or towards where they’re needed, says the RHS. Turn garden lights off when not in use.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5PYDGI4BZJAI5ACTY4FPATZOOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894757},"content":"Building houses can be compatible with the creation of new habitats for wildlife","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ZLWAOQGYWNDRLPRWGTW5KMB52Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894758},"content":"Choose low-intensity lighting and warmer hues (warm white, yellow or amber), it says. Solar lighting is cheap and safe, and emits a dull glow suitable for garden use, says the society.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZBNEQTKPPZG3FIRWQ3QKEKFWU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894759},"content":"Only put lights where you really need them, says DarkSky International. Use controls such as dimmers, timers and motion sensors to make lights efficient - this will waste less energy and less of your money. If you must use lights, use warm-coloured ones where possible, and limit the use of blue wavelength lights such as white LEDs which are believed to be the most disruptive, says DarkSky.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NORC4GAIAVCANH4HNZAZWVAPYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894760},"content":"The trend for lighting up gardens as an extension of our living space may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with great care, says the RHS. A garden can be just as magical a place enjoyed in moonlight.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joanne Hunt"}},"name":"Joanne Hunt"}]},"description":{"basic":"Studies show that birds, bats and insects are among animals in the natural world affected by light pollution"},"display_date":"2025-03-31T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"This trend for lighting up gardens may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with care","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IR7YQBVOUZGQXIWOTSPTEZEVZE","auth":{"1":"c51911e294a513672d4e85e9e97e4d203e277b53dbccc7f131f0d40a11ffbf4d"},"focal_point":{"x":2090,"y":1562},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IR7YQBVOUZGQXIWOTSPTEZEVZE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/this-trend-for-lighting-up-gardens-may-seem-an-inviting-one-but-it-needs-to-be-done-with-care/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"OR4AOU4DXBFMPFVY47MNINOORU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":280,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4f6f566c-63ed-4257-8e23-57a03d97387d/versions/1742893445/media/9cd9cc5cfc7ec8fe3ceb750b3b70469d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/sarah-moss-for-seven-years-i-slept-four-or-five-hours-a-night-rarely-for-longer-than-an-hour-at-a-time/","content_elements":[{"_id":"NHI4QRVQFFDGHMX7STL3ZH3LNQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423204},"content":"A friend has a new baby. This no longer happens to me often. I started early so my sons are young adults and most of my friends’ kids are at least well into primary school. The torturous debates about controlled crying and co-sleeping, bottle and breast, spoon-feeding and baby-led weaning, seem almost quaint, though at the same time the vicious judgment of mothers’ decisions and compromises never quite fades.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VKAZGTGIOBFIHJW2FXFOVPLQ2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423205},"content":"My friend is suffering, as new mothers do, even more than 20 years ago, from too much advice. The baby’s needs are obvious and the same across time and the world: love, milk, warmth, nappies. But how to meet those needs consistently, hour after hour, is far from obvious. When the baby cries, try milk. It won’t make things worse, except that sometimes everything seems to make things worse. The goal is to avoid the baby being too tired to feed and/or too hungry to sleep, but the baby doesn’t seem to know that, and once you’ve ruled out hunger, cold, heat and a nappy change and the crying continues, the field is pretty wide. Eventually, I found, even if the initial problem wasn’t hunger or tiredness, one of them will kick in sooner or later and if you keep trying the same solutions in rotation there’ll come a moment when you’re right.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YLKB5FOTERDZFIY7N5ZUW24Q6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423206},"content":"I watch my friend trying to soothe her baby. I know she thinks she’s failing. I suspect she thinks I think she’s failing. I don’t; I think that the baby is being a baby and my friend is being a mother. I offer to hold the baby, though I know – and my friend doesn’t, yet – that a stranger’s arms, however baby-experienced, hold little comfort and even though his mother isn’t solving the immediate problem, she is now and for years will be the answer to him, because she is his mother.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5XI672MTRDA7PC2GLIFQAKCJA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"ZDOT3K6AWFCJ5CPZVCTZROBIJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423207},"content":"By the time my friends were having children, I had vowed never to offer unsolicited advice, not to anyone and especially not to new parents. There is no shortage of advice. Even 20 years ago, before smartphones, there was no shortage, and even then advice was contradictory. The important point was that whatever a mother did was wrong. Every possible course of action would harm the child, and the consequences would be all the mother’s fault. My nice GP said, “Yes, sorry, you give birth to the guilt and blame with the baby. Crap, isn’t it?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q7BEYGMO7RH2FNKFNOPHSKHDCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423208},"content":"My children did not sleep. For seven years, between the insomniac kids and the flexible but full-time job, I slept four or five hours a night, rarely for longer than an hour at a time. I’m okay on not much sleep – I had been an insomniac child and teenager myself – but I was tired. I drove with the windows open and taught my classes standing up. I went about muttering “To be tired is not necessarily to be unhappy”, and found it more or less true. I enjoyed my children and my work very much. But I was unhappy when friends whose children slept all night asked me why we didn’t just put them to bed and close the door, a course of action that had occurred to us. Other friends asked why we didn’t just bring them into our bed, which had also crossed our minds (our babies were delighted to have company and an audience for their all-nighters).","type":"text"},{"_id":"FDNOD3LNJBHY7HP3IVS43ZLFCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107993741},"content":"I found myself reflecting on the uselessness of advice while trying to support another friend. He’s been having a hard time for a long time, and lives so far away that apart from sending the occasional gift, all I can do is listen. And sometimes, when I’ve listened, I find myself saying to my husband, “I don’t know why he doesn’t just – if I were him I’d just –”, and I tell myself to shut up. It is a reasonable working assumption that if the obvious solutions worked, the problems would have been solved some time ago. The fact that the problems are obviously not solved tells us that the obvious solutions are not correct, and therefore I should go on listening. My opinion is not useful, not relevant, and in fact not requested.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q27HRFQAVFHD3HY7PLHTE3XMEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423210},"content":"No unsolicited advice. If people want to know what I would do, they’ll ask.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SARASVB4K5DGXAA2FHWBOOIKDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423211},"content":"(That said, if an infant hasn’t pooed in a couple of days, go for a onesie with feet.)","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Moss"}},"name":"Sarah Moss"}]},"description":{"basic":"I’m okay on not much sleep but I was tired. I drove with the windows open and taught my classes standing up"},"display_date":"2025-03-31T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"For seven years, I slept four or five hours a night, rarely for longer than an hour at a time","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"UFHZNEQP5FHOFO7OALTYYHCRPA","auth":{"1":"74671476de1f771b7aa81528b14159fa8ac9916d5adeafbec6c8b6801943e2f6"},"focal_point":{"x":1021,"y":738},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/UFHZNEQP5FHOFO7OALTYYHCRPA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Opinion"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/sarah-moss-for-seven-years-i-slept-four-or-five-hours-a-night-rarely-for-longer-than-an-hour-at-a-time/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"7GWCTULCU5FZTI4W4E6LLBKZ24","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":688,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/547a4e13-8af6-4131-9899-189fe9af89cf/versions/1742482988/media/2c295b6488d5d8f3ec4109cd4a6faed5_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/health/your-family/2025/03/29/unconventional-mothers-i-was-around-34-and-all-my-friends-were-having-kids-i-was-like-what-am-i-waiting-for/","content_elements":[{"_id":"A6JFLXMTKJGUJFAHRW323JTI5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418022},"content":"Karen Heffernan wouldn’t know the father of her child if he passed her on the street. What she does know is what he looked like as a baby, his height, that he is <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/denmark/\" target=\"_blank\">Danish</a>, and has a clean bill of health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQXS63TJNZCMJAB2XVU3EGFILU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418023},"content":"That’s because when Heffernan, a 37-year-old hairdresser from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/blackrock/\" target=\"_blank\">Blackrock</a> in Co <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> was in her early 30s, she began to explore the idea of intrauterine insemination (IUI), using donor sperm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EOD7VVPN4NC45KJCNUJFALB47U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418024},"content":"“I always knew I wanted a child, but my last long-term relationship ended when I was 25. I told myself, if I didn’t meet anyone I would be happy to have a child by myself, and then I hit 30 and gave myself two years to look into the option of using a donor properly. But then Covid hit,” she recalls.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FIMYJIRI7ZERNJCXN4XNVLZVEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418025},"content":"“That put a stop to socialising and going on dates. When restrictions were lifted I was around 34 and all my friends were having kids at the same time and I was like ‘what am I waiting for?‘”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EME5XF7ZCJAY5OUT7D2F4OHSYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418026},"content":"Before she went for the first consultation at a fertility clinic to discuss her options, Heffernan sat her parents Paula and Alan down to explain her plans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUPFH2LKQNDSRJRRF7J25XGUJQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418027},"content":"“I knew that taking this on as a single mother would require support. From the outset, they were 100 per cent behind my decision and my mum came with me for my first consultation,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BB2GI63F65DX3F37UF34YU2OLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418028},"content":"At a new Thérapie Fertility Clinic in Carrickmines, Heffernan was told of her options. Learning about women’s fertility and how rapidly it starts to decrease in their 30s, she knew she would be taking a chance on the donor route. She purchased three “straws” – three IUI rounds with the donor’s sperm, at a total cost of around €5,000.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4ZQ6VYEJVGYFPLL46N2ADRJBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418029},"content":"Under the Children, Family and Relationships Act (CFRA) 2015, which commenced in Ireland in May 2020, all imported donations – sperm or eggs – must be from a non-anonymous, or traceable, donor. Donors must agree to open contact with a donor-conceived child once that child reaches 18 years of age.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3NL77HSCZZAI5DIMGSCHPV2BEM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891354},"type":"image"},{"_id":"CH6U47ZPEJHIFLMFBTVZUZWEMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418030},"content":"“The donor was listed under the European Sperm Bank. In Ireland, there’s a lot of rules and regulations, so only three women in Ireland can use the same donor, and we can only use what is termed ‘open donors’, who can be contacted at a later stage by the child,” Heffernan explains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A3XMLTB63RCZ3BCHW6WKG7G6DM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418031},"content":"“I was only looking for a healthy, happy baby so that meant a donor [with] no health issues. It didn’t matter if they had brown or blonde hair, or [were] a boy or a girl.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3K57CYDBPRAITNFZ4RQVGH2M7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891357},"content":"The meaning of motherhood in a world that devalues, judges and polices it","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HEQTK5B7CNCORGG3UJWICGUPEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418032},"content":"When her first attempt with IUI failed, Heffernan decided to go for a second round, but this time she kept what she was doing under wraps. In October 2022, she found out she was pregnant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FTGDX6NFBNA4NGR72NSNA7OMH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418033},"content":"“I live alone so I was sitting in my house in shock and happy-crying. I couldn’t believe it had happened for me so quickly. I hadn’t told my parents that I had gone for the second round It was my mum’s birthday on the day I was getting the blood tests to confirm my pregnancy, so I wrote on the card ‘Love from baby H’,” she adds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"36V7URFMFBFQFECODASCQYE2DY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418034},"content":"“When I told people I was pregnant, some would ask if I was going to say how it happened. My reaction was always, of course I will, because getting pregnant from a donor is nothing to be ashamed of.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMU6WPDI3JAR3MSFO2U2NZFWII","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418035},"content":"In June 2023, her daughter was born. Heffernan sees her own family in the looks and traits of her child, now 21 months old, but has noticed some characteristics that are probably from the donor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OSYFNBDJMBA2HB32RA5J3O234Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418036},"content":"“She’s quite a tall baby. Her skin is more sallow than mine too, but she looks like my family and she’s quite active in the way I was at her age.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RVJPRMMNEVGG3IFSHWZDY4SOII","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418037},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"PAXT3GVZTJGN5FKXNKOGXWX4UM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225612},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ARWHEEAPCJHPDNO2BMSEDTOHJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225613},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IDRI4S7TZABNJP7JE6BD67GQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060690},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZB34F22KHZFCDMQAFRBLRZBM7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060691},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCHHO6WCHJAEFB2MHXTMROWSLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891368},"type":"image"},{"_id":"Z6AHF27T6VCCLDQGDP7CYJU5LU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060693},"content":"Aimee Crinion wasn’t thinking about having children when she married her partner Dave in 2009. Then aged 32, and with both of them working full-time – she as a professional dog walker and he in IT – there was plenty of time to start a family, but first they would travel, enjoy plenty of nights out and long lie-ins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PS46TQNLJNFSNHAYUNZGF46OP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418040},"content":"When the couple from Glasnevin in Dublin 9 decided to have children, they expected it to happen naturally. Except it didn’t. At 36, Crinion shared her concerns with her doctor and the couple subsequently opted for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to try to help them to conceive. Crinion knew there were no guarantees.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCMJFRC52JGTJNQB44I4M3PWK4","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"S54BJVWV6VAYTM7CRJ2E6MWER4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418041},"content":"“We went for one round at the Merrion Fertility Clinic in Dublin 2, and in our minds we were thinking, we’ll do it once. We were baffled why I couldn’t get pregnant. We were both healthy and neither of us had fertility problems – I simply wasn’t getting pregnant naturally, even with an egg reserve that wasn’t bad for my age,” she explains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ACZVVFKJXZEU7KMADEQQCN5DJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418042},"content":"“We did our first round of IVF against a background of people telling us that it never works the first time, which I thought was really pointless advice. But they were right, it didn’t work and I was desperately upset because all of my friends were married and had children or were pregnant and it consumed me – all I could see were babies everywhere. And that was all I wanted, to bring a child into the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBFCP7U3TRHRJALWOPQFTR4GVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418044},"content":"Crinion credits the strength of her marriage as the reason for getting through the first failed round. Dave was a constant support and they had each other at the end of it all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VRNWFKEWAVBPVKWME4INJDQFUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891375},"content":"‘When our last embryo failed, the clinic told us there was nothing more they could do for us’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TFQFPN46F5DHHHXIX2RSVM3FPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060698},"content":"Crinion’s father Michael became very ill during the same period, and died in October 2013. It was an incredibly stressful time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VHQZ6B5ABFFARCLHLGLZDJDOKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418045},"content":"“I found it so hard to lose him and not have been able to let him meet my kids because I always believed he would,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QMWXMF2XSBCGVIEBOQGWBXCPLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891378},"type":"image"},{"_id":"QSV65AI77VHXHOWIB6C4HWXGG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225620},"content":"In 2014, the couple decided to go for one last round of IVF.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FNQZZFBHSRFCZGUR4SWCUZPN7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225621},"content":"“I knew I didn’t have it in me to go through IVF in my 40s. We had looked into adoption but we realised we were also too old for that. I remember that day in May in the Merrion Clinic and one of the nurses there turned to me and said ‘this is going to work, you’ve done everything you can and I’m telling you, this is going to work’. She mentioned my dad, just a passing comment, and something felt different, almost like he was watching over me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TP42SG4TRBDSDEFONTO7MWGNOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418047},"content":"Having never done a pregnancy test herself for the fear of disappointment, one morning just after a blood test at the clinic while out walking her dogs, she took their call.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YGQLS7HJGFGRRKRX4TRJSGXBMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418048},"content":"“I was on Killiney Hill with six dogs running around me and all the clinic said at the other end of the phone was ‘yes’. I started screaming, ‘Finally, finally’. Me and all these dogs [were] running towards the car park to get to my van. It was magical,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NJN7Q6ZX7JCJTGOZ67D7WH2UMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418049},"content":"Her son Hugo was born in February 2015.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7J6KH4PR5BIZAJM7AIUJPJHXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418050},"content":"Content with her life, Crinion still had the option to pursue IVF, but didn’t know if she could go through the process again. Two years after her son was born, she went to the doctor with a urinary tract infection (UTI).","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCPEULIZPFFQ7J3HBYTGA3PMQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418051},"content":"“I gave the doctor a sample for the UTI test and she said, ‘Do you know you’re pregnant?’ I couldn’t process that. I remember saying something like ‘Okay ... but can you give me something for the UTI’ and then very quickly adding that I couldn’t be pregnant because I couldn’t have children naturally.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPLYDZQCSRCCNEOOMCIFXQBOUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418052},"content":"Arabella was born in November 2017, and there was no question of IVF again.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5AZB347B2JCTXDXHFAOIORBORY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418053},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4UNJFC6YTZCZJGO4ZHRCJGDD6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418054},"content":"“I do consider myself lucky. I’m 50 now with two beautiful children, a husband, a dog, and a lot of grey hair. As difficult as that path was to get here, I am very grateful for it all. I do believe my father has watched over every step.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QEMC7WRKSNE2PK6LJFWV26YVGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418055},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"WSQ6SY4C2VFYHKTQDJWWGHF2CI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418056},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NLLX5HVUJVG4HL7G2NYKC7VUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418057},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NLLX5HVUJVG4HL7G2NYKC7VUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418057},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"J2CSJ7MS7FDBVEADJ24QQ6C7BY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225635},"content":"Having raised three birth children of her own, Mags Murphy from Enniscorthy in Co Wexford is now a foster mother. Since 2018, she and her husband Danny, who also have three grandchildren, have taken in 10 foster children over short and long-term periods, with ongoing check-ins with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and support from Foster Care Ireland (FCI), an organisation that places children with foster parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S74H7VQXDNGWXGK4AZGHDLNDL4","additional_properties":{"_id":"3HLPVW22MRGNTGCY7YRT23WKLQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"TDHDI5LHKNGC3PICU5YJ3AB6VA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418059},"content":"There were 5,595 children in the care of the State last year, according to Tusla, with 91 per cent of those children in foster homes. For Murphy, these figures are heartbreaking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GOQMYMHQN5BS7BDPMRUMBDT4QA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418060},"content":"“All of these children deserve a parent, or a caring adult that can make a difference. They have done nothing wrong, and yet many carry this feeling of guilt that it was something they did,” says the 57-year-old.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LLM7OM4R6JEBFLTIK4DIZ5MPP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418061},"content":"“Even when they come into care, the children try so hard to please. They ask, ‘am I being good?’ and you’re thinking, ‘you are a child of four or five, you shouldn’t be worrying about having to be good or trying to figure out what is expected of you from adults.’ It’s very, very hard on them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TCMU5VRYHBCPDFS23KB7ZC3JJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418062},"content":"Murphy says her house has always been a lively, loud, and busy home. Her children – now 31, 35, and 37 – often had friends over. For 30 years, she ran her own childcare business for preschoolers, and over a 10-year period had 12 children from Belarus stay at Christmas or during the summer months under the Chernobyl Children’s Project International, founded by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/adi-roche-honoured-by-belarusian-orthodox-church-for-chernobyl-work-1.4571291\" target=\"_blank\">Adi Roche</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6URSK4MHVZHT5KZXUYKV3PEWVQ","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"BVBQKFWSQNHSVGVZPR2HVOJBRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418063},"content":"A self-confessed nurturer, it was after her children left home that she and Danny began to discuss fostering. Following assessments, vetting and training, they were accepted, and in April 2018 got their first placement under the “respite fostering” programme, where a child already with foster parents would come for a weekend or a week to give them and their foster parents a break.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJ3OW4EJJNF4DEE3CVDFP2JDAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418064},"content":"“At first it was like I was a doting granny because I would take this little child in on a Friday and they would return to a foster parent on the Monday, and you could really have fun with them and take them places. You didn’t have to deal with homework or the stress of school and all that goes with full foster care,” says Murphy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBC2543GQBCBHG55EJ7KCRDUAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891404},"content":"Fostering: ‘The children’s situation is so precarious – while we may not have everything to offer, we offer everything we have’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"VPRJ3PKI7ZBCJHZS7EDSJWUXJQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418065},"content":"“You would also see their behaviours and ask yourself if you could deal with that on a daily basis. But then we got our first boy and he was with us for four years. He was really lucky because he was reunited with his mum. It was a happy story. That often doesn’t happen for children in foster care.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SHUV5X6AP5HPVDIL3ZLKLUCGRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060724},"content":"It has been a challenging experience at times, too, but FCI’s link workers have offered a lot of support to the Murphys over the years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QLEGA7V75B4XOU3A6IUYCTSWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060725},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"SWDLHDJYAJHDXO3BJ4U3FRTGSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418066},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"2KAY62YA6RCTRLEFDDSVPOAOBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418067},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6MW3E3DQNDJ7EUAGQBDLO44GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418068},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MM6PKCTAA5FFHAQR2JLECPEJDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418069},"content":"Murphy has maintained contact with many of the children who stayed with her, and has framed photographs of them all on the wall in her home. Some of the children have referred to her and Danny as “Mam and Dad” when speaking about their new family in school or with friends.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7FXFTB532VHSBEIBJQ572SZUNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742465388677},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NONQS7JETRCN3PGGU3PENC2KYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418070},"content":"“When they call you Mam it’s lovely but also sort of bittersweet, because you feel a sense of loss for them,” Murphy says. “You also want them to become comfortable and confident enough to just be children.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QJELZ6NHIJB3FIGVOMEWOT6L6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742472557246},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MITTJLPIQFDW5MP6COMNSEMYLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418071},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"XE5WOH46LJGUNCI2CON3XRUPCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418072},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEMBCACW4BEYJE3S66LME5KTRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418073},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Siobhán Maguire"}]},"description":{"basic":"From going it alone to fostering, and exhaustive rounds of IVF, women share their unusual journeys in motherhood"},"display_date":"2025-03-30T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘I was 34 and all my friends were having kids... 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The Wright brothers were based there for a while. The Dayton accords, which ended the Bosnian war, were signed at the air force base close by. In recent decades, the population has shrunk a bit. It’s not in decline, but it’s not particularly prosperous either. It is like a lot of other places. It’s not that remarkable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AZ5DJD3CGZC3HESCLA62GA42IQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348168},"content":"But in the 1960s and 1970s, Dayton did experience a relatively brief, yet significant, cultural flowering. It was (and still is), the funk capital of the world.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PWXULAGU2VGD5F33EGG5QERXRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348169},"content":"Manufacturing jobs were plentiful then, while Dayton was strictly segregated: blacks in the west, whites in the east. But because of the prosperity, west Dayton became effectively self-sufficient, with its own shops and clubs, churches and high schools, which benefited from Title 1 schemes to fund the teaching of music. Those schemes were so successful that it became unusual if any young person in west Dayton wasn’t in a band.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KF3Y2W3URVCWXMZ5WLUCJ6C7RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348170},"content":"Fourteen groups from west Dayton secured deals with major record labels. There was a week when Dayton had five singles in the US Top 50. West Dayton is half the size of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cork/\" target=\"_blank\">Cork city</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6A7GT2XM2ZBQZGWWWFAVRECKQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348171},"content":"For various reasons, that golden period didn’t last. Some of the signed bands recorded many albums. Some of them only produced a few. But there were also dozens of other groups who didn’t make it nationally. Some recorded singles and had local hits. Some never got the chance to record anything. You could argue that these bands were unlucky, or not quite good enough. You could be cruel and say they were failures. Yet, in an analogous sense, the experience of the not-quite-good-enough bands is the experience of the vast majority of us.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JYDJZSRBBFHPJC5AXF2SSCEF24","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348172},"content":"We like the myth of the lone genius. But it is a myth: the genius always has families, teachers, advocates and the work of others to build upon.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NB7PBE6SBZEPBJ6RGZCML7KGCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348173},"content":"The myth also encourages a kind of hierarchical thinking, a not-so-subtle pressure on all of us to find some way of thinking of ourselves, or our children, as “special”. And it can infect every aspect of our lives: the way we look, the relationships we become involved in, how we operate on social media, how hard we work at our jobs. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be better, of course, or wanting to think of ourselves as useful. But we also have to balance that against the reality of our lives and who we are. Most of us are ordinary.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LS7QJR3NKBEPPASARSLPS47HDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742983257670},"content":"If I get ambushed by loneliness, it’s never when I’m by myself","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5DZX3NK66FEMPFNUWLHIVK4RYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348174},"content":"Most of our lives are ordinary. I’m writing these words early on a Monday morning. It never happens that I sit at my desk and the words flow out. Often I’m not sure what it is I want to say or if I’m expressing it properly. And I also know that it almost certainly won’t be the best thing in The Irish Times today. Or in the Magazine. Or even on this page.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGTZVYEMSRCPDH2ENDKTMTJZ2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348175},"content":"And while I’m trying to write there will be regular interruptions. Daughter Number Four will come in and ask for toast. A few minutes later, she’ll ask for a bowl of Cheerios, then moan like it’s the end of the world when I give her porridge. Any time now, Herself will bound down the stairs with an arm full of laundry. Later on, I’ll get the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dart/\" target=\"_blank\">Dart</a> to work at the same time and see the same faces.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZS2QDHIOVJEMZANYUQZ3DJ2R5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742983257674},"content":"My daughter’s new phone number will stay with her for life. It’s like we’ve given her an invisible, digital tattoo","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3WGUARGBVZGSFEITPPLI5VEXLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348176},"content":"Poets often encourage us to find the extraordinary in the humdrum: an idea I’ve always found a wee bit patronising. Because there’s nothing wrong with the ordinary on its own terms: you don’t need to find some hidden brilliance there. Nurses and teachers and couriers and shop assistants: the ordinary makes the planet turn. Without the unsuccessful Dayton bands, the successful ones would never have happened. We all live in the world, and we all make it.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Seán Moncrieff"}},"name":"Seán Moncrieff"}]},"description":{"basic":"Nurses and teachers and couriers and shop assistants: the ordinary makes the planet turn"},"display_date":"2025-03-30T04:50:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Let’s face it, most of us are ordinary. 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Mostly in an effort to please people. On the flip side, I’m probably less agreeable with those who are closest to me. I tell my kids it’s good to be challenged and to see different points of view. I enjoy debate, so I hope they will too. And maybe they’ll be less of a pushover when they grow up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4R5H34BGFZARXAROTKYNXDAKKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"CCGLWKTDPRHBRCXWRIOPGOXAJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468274},"content":"Louise. I don’t really think that much about it. I’m not sure why it’s Louise, and the only other time I’ve heard of a Sharon Louise is a character in Shirley Valentine – called Sharon Louise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MMUHLZXTRVDD3CSGVLGREUY3FQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where is your favourite place in Ireland?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"EM6PWVNPQZHATM4Y7GJUV3HXGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468276},"content":"This is probably a bit of a boring one, but in my back garden drinking coffee, listening to the birds. It doesn’t get much better than that little five minutes. Because it usually is only five minutes. I try to sneak out in the morning, before anyone is up, to get a little bit of the sunrise in your face. The best way to start the day – apparently it’s good for your circadian rhythm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AOWPF2YMRJFJZKFWMDVYRA4ABE","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Describe yourself in three words.</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"A66I4HZIQBBGXNCH2O574PEU3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468278},"content":"Constantly doing things.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YXIGUNTJBBGETMLBLOUB4NYCLM","additional_properties":{"_id":"WN35QIFU7NF6BOAO5S2MQFURWU"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"OC56MM2WFJHPHOW6TVBE2WKGQI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When did you last get angry?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"SDLKZ2IUMNDMDMC4JIRLZEKNMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468280},"content":"Well again, as a woman, I have a few days a month where I’m definitely less tolerant of people’s bad behaviour, so probably last week. But I’m aware of it, and I try to use it for good, to be more assertive on those days.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E5PQVHUB35ETVKKATE2POIQ2UY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"NJ6PACG56RAKLIBX22VOTCMV4Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What have you lost that you would like to have back?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"LVJWKWE4E5DLLAX4KRSTDPFJ4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468283},"content":"I would say faith. I don’t necessarily mean in a religious sense, although I don’t really have that either. I still have bucketloads of hope, but I think knowledge kills faith. I think you live, and you learn, and the blind faith that I had about lots of things when I was younger kind of seems a bit fanciful and naive to me now. I had faith in people to always do the right thing; faith in leaders to lead well; faith in people when they commit to something to follow through. Faith in people, essentially.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XRPVHK3VHBA5DOCY3Z2MRLZ4XI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your strongest childhood memory?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"HZLAXBXGRFBFPD7737A6QD77JE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468285},"content":"I have loads of them, but I was trying to picture the background in all of them and it’s a red-and-white kitchen. We got this new kitchen, back when people got new kitchens, and I remember at the time it felt like the fanciest thing in the world. Everything in the kitchen was red and white; the tiles were red and white; the cupboards were red and white. I think our delph was red and white. It was very exciting at the time. I’ve lots of memories in that kitchen.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XHWED7TTKVEHBEVPWSI7KLSCJA","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"D3ZQDLMFOFCB3DESM4XYUDE46Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468287},"content":"I am the eldest of two children, myself and my sister. I’m not sure if that’s what’s defined me, or if circumstances have. My dad died when we were quite young and I think that made me a very organised person who’s kind of inclined to take charge. Now, that could be the eldest sibling thing as well. I think it’s a way of having control over things. Of course it doesn’t mean you have control, I think it just means, in your own head, you can manage a curveball.<b> </b>I’m all about making sure I can manage the curveball.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIK7VMMYR5FBFN52TRWYCGARBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468288},"content":"RTÉ’s Sharon Tobin on her career journey: ‘I could not see myself in UCD. It just didn’t feel right for me’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YCF5ODPAJJFDHAUANNFN3JO3JY","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What do you expect to happen when you die?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"XV6QJHXWDJCCFDYIIH3N2GDDQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468290},"content":"For me, I don’t expect anything to happen, but I do expect there to be a party for everyone else. It’s probably very morbid to admit, but I do have a playlist of funeral songs on Spotify. I mean in reality they’re just songs that make me happy, or reflective of life. I hope I’ve lots of life left to live, but I think that what I’ve had so far is worth celebrating.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P7F6KGFYSJFQNCGK4F43XHVQ3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When were you happiest?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"54UGWYVKPNAXVACRPZOENRFZQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468292},"content":"I’m quite happy right now. I think when you’ve had, as everyone’s had, difficulties or sadness in the past, you try to appreciate what you have right now. I love making the most of right now. I think every second counts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5OUMLJEKPZHFFAJUNRUBEDEXOY","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"SHP2SN6WYJGEPBV23GF3WLQ76Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468294},"content":"This is quite a stretch, I’ll say Lady Gaga, because we’ve very similar noses. She won’t have to sing though, because I’ve a shocking voice. And I did see her rocking a lovely bob fringe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JXF4NDN6WFAUPCRPDYUMSW2RLI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your biggest career/personal regret?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"ZE65BUU26RFDVMSSISZ72Y7FFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468296},"content":"I don’t really do regrets. I’m all for taking an opportunity when it comes and making the best of it. There was one opportunity I didn’t take – I was offered a job in Moscow, probably 20 years ago now. At the time the salary was insane. So, on paper, it should probably be my biggest regret but actually I don’t really regret it at all it wouldn’t have been the wisest move, in the long term. But at the time it seemed really exciting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FNBBZRZRQVDKJPSIIQCAHW2NLE","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Have you any psychological quirks?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"EI5G22NCONEVDHHMEYAKEH434Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468298},"content":"I really enjoy cleaning. In my weird psychological head, an organised house means I have an organised head. So, it kind of puts things back in order for me. I don’t iron – I draw the line at that. I hang things up, I never iron.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I3ZD7JFYTVCXDBAYT725XLDIJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403437985},"content":"<i>In conversation with Jen Hogan</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jen Hogan"}},"name":"Jen Hogan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Journalist and presenter of RTÉ‘s Six One News on passing up an exciting career opportunity"},"display_date":"2025-03-30T04:45:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"News presenter Sharon Tobin: ‘My dad died when I was young and that made me inclined to take charge’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"OSD36LL6C5A25PKV3IRS2ACIC4","auth":{"1":"69e0fb429bef75d2869fe014eb46edaecdcdbcfbf0ef7bcb50e2c2befd516c38"},"focal_point":{"x":1868,"y":1882},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OSD36LL6C5A25PKV3IRS2ACIC4.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Culture"},{"name":"TV & Radio"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/30/sharon-tobin-my-dad-died-when-i-was-young-and-that-made-me-inclined-to-take-charge/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"LKYVBJASJ5CXPBECTCJVCOFGJA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":668,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/153e9f80-af98-483d-86ba-1bc156b6a46e/versions/1743070092/media/49879115e608970dffba6c8688a230aa_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/30/niamh-garvey-being-diagnosed-with-autism-at-34-you-suddenly-get-the-language-that-explains-your-life/","content_elements":[{"_id":"T6HC6QISKVDVBEH32HE2DIV7GI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618897},"content":"“As a child, I would have seen a speech therapist. I saw a developmental paediatrician. I saw a psychologist. I had a lot of challenges and nobody noticed autism,” says Niamh Garvey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZNQSXFRLBJG3BPDJ25SEJ2PHQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618898},"content":"The 38-year-old author and former nurse from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cork/\" target=\"_blank\">Cork</a> was pursuing a diploma in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/autism/\" target=\"_blank\">autism</a> studies at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/university-college-cork-ucc/\" target=\"_blank\">University College Cork</a> when “alarm bells” first started ringing. Garvey’s young daughter had recently been diagnosed with autism and, while attempting to learn how to support her child, she began an unexpected journey of self-discovery.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IQSNOPYWNJDRFMSP4HB2ODPUGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618899},"content":"“There’s no universal way to be autistic at all,” says Garvey. This is the main message she hopes to spread with her new book, Wired Our Own Way: An Anthology of Irish Autistic Voices. Garvey’s anthology features the experiences of well-known figures such as Irish footballer <a href=\"https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41376637.html\" target=\"_blank\">James McClean</a>, and fellow writers <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/naoise-dolan/\" target=\"_blank\">Naoise Dolan</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2024/04/20/nuala-oconnor-i-knew-i-didnt-want-to-die-but-something-had-to-change/\" target=\"_blank\">Nuala O’Connor</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/stefanie-preissner/\" target=\"_blank\">Stefanie Preissner</a> among its 24 contributors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HNCIPJAWBBGQXIHXM6JMMJ7UZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618900},"content":"“I really wanted to have a big range. I tried to get late-diagnosed people, people who were diagnosed in their childhood; we’ve a non-speaking writer – Fiachre Ryan; people who went to special schools; professors of universities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XM6QUK6RJBG47GJ3WLQIC2YEHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618901},"content":"Garvey herself was diagnosed four years ago, shortly after giving up her job as a nurse. She had autoimmune arthritis – “the pain just got too bad to manage a physical job”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EDDUCUWWARG2TH3734WFY3PL5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618902},"content":"Naoise Dolan: ‘I feel pressure to tell people I am autistic, in case I am too blunt’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UMYZMW4IVVAVHNLTFOY2NQVXNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618903},"content":"She remembers feeling struck by the difference in how her own autism diagnosis was delivered when compared to that of her daughter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"33KCUWKTDFAT5PAIS5L3VZ5XDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618904},"content":"“When we got told she’s autistic it was kind of like they were breaking bad news to me ... Whereas when I got diagnosed, it was completely the opposite.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QAIEED2JGZCNPA25HDCLGYKFUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618905},"content":"“The report I got was more like, ‘Congratulations, you’re autistic.’ It was like a celebration of a neurotype.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C7TXR25X75A77EV6WAMUE2XJTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618906},"content":"According to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2025/03/11/one-in-20-irish-schoolchildren-diagnosed-with-autism-a-threefold-rise/\" target=\"_self\">recent figures</a> from the Department of Education, one in 20 schoolchildren in Ireland now get diagnosed with autism – a threefold increase in less than a decade.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RBSCOHKVK5HFFEGEEG7JWGAEGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618907},"content":"Garvey echoes the views of most experts, saying that these increasing rates are largely due to increasing awareness, as well as better diagnosis and widening of assessment boundaries.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7MBYXTWERBAY7P32SNAHSVEREA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618908},"content":"Percentage of children diagnosed with autism rises threefold in less than a decade","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MJSQCJS72RBYBHKJYW2G2I3NVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618909},"content":"Of her daughter’s experience, she says: “We had her referred when she was two and we waited three years for an assessment, so she was over five and had already started school by the time she got diagnosed.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RUNUGA4465B27DFCUMEVWQF73A","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618910},"content":"When seeking a diagnosis for herself, Garvey “had to pay privately, for a start, because there is no public diagnosis really for adults in Ireland with autism”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ETXZIM7KENCYRG6OCWIN5BBIOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618911},"content":"Given the choice between self-identifying and seeking a full diagnosis, she says getting “a piece of paper” was affirming, allowing her to alleviate any doubts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5RC647T6ZDH5ALJWWJHOD5OYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618912},"content":"“I can honestly say that was the kindest thing I ever did for myself. It just completely changed my self-talk from self-criticism to self-compassion, and that’s a really common theme in this book.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWF2HVIWJVHOJCLGSGRVTHZQ5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618913},"type":"image"},{"_id":"PVH6DB3WFRGIDBRZAO4ICIILLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618914},"content":"“It just changes your whole attitude to yourself and you stop berating yourself for all the little mistakes or why you’re not fitting in ... It’s like you suddenly get the language that explains your life.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ODITH2XKAVHR5JYAFKL5CTO5H4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618915},"content":"Stressing the importance of neurodivergent representation in media, Garvey says her own view of autism was muddied by outdated portrayals of it and that “it was getting an understanding of the lived experience that changed the meaning of the facts and figures I’d been reading and turned it into something I could relate to”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B6XG6D6KHRCP5F67BVYRUDAQTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618916},"content":"Growing up, Garvey was “a very academic child ... quite independent. I was very happy in my own little world, playing with my toys, and I wasn’t a kind of a child who was having big public meltdowns or anything like that”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WRBYGZATN5E5TA5OQLD7WULQA4","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"DKIFCMYPMFB33JYFLHDP3EMIFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618918},"content":"While on reflection there were still several signs she was autistic, Garvey suggests that being a girl posed barriers to diagnosis – “Back then in the 80s and 90s, it was much more recognised in males than in girls, unless you were non-speaking.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GH2IKZQZQFB4RMF3FXJMFESNMA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618919},"content":"Conforming to societal expectations, known as “masking” within the autistic community, allowed Garvey to escape bullying in school, she says, but this too came at a cost. At the age of 17, she was experiencing what she now recognises as burnout.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5MXLV2P7XZEPZHQ75VMRBHF5UM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618920},"content":"“As a teenager, I developed a high level of masking where I was watching what other people were doing and acting it out. It probably saved me a lot of bullying but it’s exhausting because you’re not being your authentic self.","type":"text"},{"_id":"67ZIIL64JJAMJIQUAK3ZXD5ETA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618921},"content":"“I got married very young. I mean, I was 23. I look back now and even that was an alarm bell, because in my head you grow up, you go to college or you get your job – whichever one you’re choosing – and then you get married and have children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PUJYWY2XKRHIXH34CJWZURQLLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618922},"content":"“So I was following that ... I suppose I was just ticking boxes of what I thought a social expectation was. Looking back now I think it was very funny that I did that, but thankfully it worked out very well for me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IDNH3ANRDBFYHIGUCJC2NYURAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618923},"content":"Motherhood came with its own unique challenges, as moments where Garvey could self-regulate became sparse and routines were thrown off-kilter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5SKXZBA6OJDZTOX2JLC4EVC23M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618924},"content":"“I think probably the hardest time for me as a woman was becoming a mother, because for years I had allocated all this time to myself to, you know, take a walk in nature, to regulate, to read a lot of books and to journal. I just naturally spent a lot of time looking after myself ... when I became a mother I sort of lost that outlet,” she reflects.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZUMKDB2I5GD3BK7TH5DWINXGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618925},"content":"“I was really burnt out and having really bad postnatal depression ... I do think it’s more common for that to hit with women, but I think it also happens to new fathers who are autistic. We really need time to indulge in our special interests because it is what we need to regulate ourselves.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N4DKWGULHNHZVDFEPA7UFMV3PU","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"76EETBQVV5BO5JVI5XUXCDM6DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618927},"content":"Getting diagnosed has since helped equip Garvey with the tools to recognise when and how she needs to create supports.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIOG6RZYTRGAVAU7AGHUWM3AN4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618928},"content":"“If there are women who are questioning whether they’re autistic, especially mothers with young children ... it’s like this complete bombardment of your communication and sensory system, so understanding you’re autistic and understanding what triggers you allows you to create supports for yourself.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B2ZYNIOX5NBLNFMMTDU3JVULOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618929},"content":"Stefanie Preissner: ‘Motherhood is so hard, and so lonely, and so mysterious’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LVPRBFXQ5NEZPJXQB52LOBBUVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618930},"content":"For Garvey, “the two most important things were to connect with other mothers and to ask for help where you can ... The best thing I did was join a breastfeeding group”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6OU7X5VSVGZ7MNL6N2VY5X2GY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618931},"content":"Looking back on her college experience when studying nursing, Garvey recalls getting “a huge shock” walking into a class full of women.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JBDUZMA2TJHJZK233WP4UJCSLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618932},"content":"“I would’ve always been more comfortable around boys. I had three brothers and no sisters and that was probably part of it, but it’s actually quite common for autistic women to say they get on better with boys. There just isn’t the same level of social nuance.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OPAV56ZZMZFNRJETLNKR2CUHT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618933},"content":"Making friends was difficult, as was maintaining them – “I had often lost friendships and had no idea what I did wrong.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NWISFBO5NZH3BDMRMTDTMWJQSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618934},"content":"“Something I found as I was hitting my 20s was I was able to maintain the friendship in a certain structure, for example in college when I was seeing people every day, but then once the structure of college ended I didn’t know how to carry on the friendship ... I found it very hard to make friends then as an adult once all those structures fell out of place.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EQPXRP65BFBBHGL2JUCKKQ65WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618935},"content":"According to a report by Irish charity As I Am, 85 per cent of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KXSECTVZQRBTVFTFITNVG53YCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618936},"content":"“That’s not down to a lack of qualification or anything like that, but it is down to workplaces being not always set up for autistic people,” says Garvey, who recalls struggling to pass interviews when she first qualified as a nurse.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MOVKAP4VERGUTMTRDKXSKUOXNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618937},"content":"“I kept failing my interviews and I couldn’t understand it because I got a first-class honours. I did really well, I had good references ... I had to go back to a lecturer I’d had in UCC and ask what I was doing wrong.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5Q4KJOJP4BA27NMRGDZYC47O3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618938},"content":"“I just had no idea what you were supposed to do in an interview, and it seemed to come naturally to everyone else in my year. They were all walking into jobs and I was completely flunking them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"27LHUSFGZRDPFKWWRQXL5VHXJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618939},"content":"I received an autism diagnosis at 34 and sat quietly with it in some discomfort","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MBG4ZRW3UVAZ3P27B7THLRX3F4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618940},"content":"Maintaining eye contact, having to “sell yourself and make yourself look really competent”, moving away from “one-liner answers” were chief among what Garvey addressed in coaching sessions, after which she secured a job.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJ3N7NGNPNGO3F5YDZ5ZAAYQBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618941},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NL2P5T6ROBAD7CYZWBNMCFWWAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618942},"content":"“One of the biggest challenges for a lot of autistic people is not having social imagination – the ability to predict what’s going to happen or know what to expect in a social situation,” explains Garvey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXXL25E5ZFEOZA2WMZGHVCQ56E","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618943},"type":"image"},{"_id":"VFEVXBOWLRDCLGPERSZT2GJJFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618944},"content":"One way that businesses and healthcare settings can be more accommodating to neurodivergent people is by offering online booking forms, she says. Garvey identifies this as “one simple change in your surgery [which] can make all healthcare accessible to an autistic person”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6SRUWKSNORANFPBZ3B4P6SS2QE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618945},"content":"Garvey’s book was launched in Dublin this week and in Cork next week. The event in Cork on Thursday is open to the public and she has outlined <a href=\"https://niamhgarvey.com/2025/03/22/what-to-expect-at-the-book-launches-of-wired-our-own-way/\">step-by-step guides for what autistic people can expect to happen</a> if they attend on her website, <a href=\"https://niamhgarvey.com/\" target=\"_blank\">niamhgarvey.com</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LVA3WGILTNGWFCZ7SZC6CNV7LQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618946},"content":"“There’s no accommodation you can make that’s going to harm everyone else or be a problem for other people. Actually it can benefit people.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QSXWRPWMEBAHVBG3LOHBNDTIVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618947},"content":"Businesses can reap the rewards of being recommended by being neurodivergent friendly, Garvey says: “In the autistic community in Ireland, for example, parents of autistic children, we all tell each other if we have a good experience.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"G5PP5GVLTZA6XKNU4RVZ5WFVZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618948},"content":"Highlighting that autism is not a universal experience, Garvey is keen to dispel common misperceptions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"43VPSCFZSBF5NFEZIFBRPFRUNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618949},"content":"Give me a crash course in ... autism rates in Ireland","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CYXIQZ55XNBX7J2VRI7DBKOS5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618950},"content":"“I think a lot of people make mistakes in thinking that means it’s a linear spectrum ... I always picture it like a circular colour wheel and you might have a lot of one trait one day but the next day you might not have much of that trait at all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63E4ZNOFBVHEVMAHMWMF56NNPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618951},"content":"“There’s areas all throughout society where it needs to improve, but I think most of that is just down to a lack of understanding of what autism is. There’s also a lot of counter arguments thrown at autistic people that there’s over-diagnosis of autism going on and people using language like mild versus severe autism, when that can be quite offensive.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2FPSRLF45BE67EOM2EMORYATO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618952},"content":"One pattern that appears among some stories shared by contributors in Wired Our Own Way, is that people felt “if you didn’t have enough problems to be diagnosed until now, then maybe you don’t need the label of autism”, says Garvey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"55D54QBTSBARLD3AYRBXC3375M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618953},"content":"“People nearly can accuse you [of] making a lifestyle choice. It’s really not that all. It’s not a lifestyle choice, but getting diagnosed can change your life, it can really open up your way of thinking.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UBXJBJSDAFDRTGEPHQPND5TQ5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618954},"content":"<i>Wired Our Way: An Anthology of Irish Autistic Voices is edited by Niamh Garvey and published by New Island</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ella Sloane"}},"name":"Ella Sloane"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Cork author on living with autism and the release of her new book, a collection of personal essays written by autistic Irish adults"},"display_date":"2025-03-30T04:40:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Niamh Garvey on being diagnosed with autism at 34: ‘You suddenly get the language that explains your life’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RKVXZN5XHZGCZJ5UVPEPDD4L4Y","auth":{"1":"2397bfc6e2a28db127d1a7992be620244ba701b9598753ea3b76331e6b5f2240"},"focal_point":{"x":2620,"y":1225},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RKVXZN5XHZGCZJ5UVPEPDD4L4Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Your Wellness"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/30/niamh-garvey-being-diagnosed-with-autism-at-34-you-suddenly-get-the-language-that-explains-your-life/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"CGBSQWNHQVCTBIOKTSDYGXZ7RQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":657,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/742dcc4d-56eb-4ce5-9cc3-fc53643ee5fd/versions/1743090314/media/0b673591a818e206e09be7e0d1be70c2_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/adolescence-decoded-parents-have-absolutely-no-idea/","content_elements":[{"_id":"ZU4J5QYFCRH77NCT3KOAB7YKFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664155},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"DFHRPMVSEZCO3MKNWI7LILSHXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664156},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/netflix/\" target=\"_blank\">Netflix</a> drama <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/03/17/adolescence-review-a-dark-and-often-unbearable-insight-into-the-nightmarish-extremes-of-our-teenagers-lives/\" target=\"_blank\">Adolescence</a><i> </i>continues to dominate the streaming charts, and the series appears to have touched a collective nerve. Although fictional, many of the issues addressed in the drama reflect the reality of the world teenagers are growing up in, as well as some contemporary concepts <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/parenting/\" target=\"_blank\">parents</a> are struggling to navigate, or of which they may have been entirely unaware.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QMXZK2OXJCPZMKM3N2GRS3XH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664157},"content":"One talking point has been the various meanings behind emojis used by teenagers online.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BI55ICQBFFGSTAGQ46MCDOZMAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664158},"content":"In the drama, a police investigator’s son explains to his bewildered father that the various colours of “love heart” emojis can have vastly different meanings. “Red means love, purple horny, yellow ‘I’m interested, are you interested’, pink ‘I’m interested but not in sex’,” and so on.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IYBLLXUY2NA5JAG5MXC6VHBLRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664159},"content":"The “red pill” emoji is described in the show as a “call to action by the manosphere” while other emojis, such as the “kidney bean”’ are connected to the so-called “incel” movement of involuntary celibates or men who believe they are denied sex because of their looks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GFNOUQCTI5DFZIRMM5Y6QLFHLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664160},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4UFXCFJZSZATJJWPL46QB4FYKE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664161},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VUYR5MWAYJFDZLOMBY4DC4WMW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664162},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6ZMTIWO6ZG5XNFG5K3SIJ3YVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664163},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"QTV4COPTAZB6ZGNB23EF6XMWKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664164},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"EG2ZHDYUYBAF3IARGVJHFW7XOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664165},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"K5GJBPTVING2DPVX2ZS4DFCCAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664166},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NIE2JARA7JCBNE2QZ7HPX7EGEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664167},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"TOXBSNWJRZHDTP2Q2ROCJEPSLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664168},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NOLKTQXPMZGFBHMT7YJCJNHZU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664169},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"RP6FRCIKUFHBPIY7WPDFRRL5DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664170},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> teenager Olivia Paul (14) thought Adolescence “was really good”. She and her friends don’t use emojis in the same way as they were used in the drama, she says, although she is familiar with the term incel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBTWG3MDKJGNZIYB5ASAWZH2SM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664171},"content":"Adolescence on Netflix wasn’t called that by accident. This is what it means to grow up now","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"VN7CKHTN2BEZVBITD42RVAKH7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664172},"content":"She has seen misogynistic posts which have bothered her, particularly when she looks at the comments and sees people agreeing with them. “That is a big factor in how men look at women. Even younger boys seeing those comments.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"I7ENFYS7SRCPLL2LDWPU5UAF6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664173},"content":"She feels adults don’t understand that social media is important to teenagers “because it’s a space with other teenagers with teenagers’ perspectives”. And it’s a place, she explains, where teenagers can sometimes bring their solutions to adult ideas. So the Government is <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/oireachtas/2024/10/03/school-phone-pouches-opposition-criticises-grotesque-9-million-spend/\" target=\"_self\">planning to spend €9 million on phones pouches?</a> Well, some teens appear to be a step ahead.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H5ODG6IMYRD7DCOER6QRILXWRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664174},"content":"“You know the Yondr [a Californian company] pouches for phones?” she asks. “The schools will start bringing in programmes like that, but then on social media you’ll see videos joking about it, and how to open them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CF6B6X2BO5FRPP23FD3FV4S4ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664175},"type":"image"},{"_id":"NXH3EN7X2BAB5I3ZXW6PDCGT24","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664176},"content":"Olivia feels phones have probably affected teenagers’ attention spans, but “it’s just normal because everyone’s doing it”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4X6EAWYSXBC27IPXJ4KVWO24ZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664177},"content":"If parents confiscate phones as a punishment or consequence for something, Olivia says it’s really hard and upsetting for teenagers. “It feels like you’re missing out. On TikTok it doesn’t really matter because you’re just scrolling”, but “with Snapchat it’s your friends.” The feeling of being socially cut off is difficult, she explains. “It’s more about staying in contact with people. A lot of my friends don’t have their phones taken, or if they do it ends up getting given back under the time [it was supposed to be confiscated for] because they just can’t go without it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RBCPL3JFNFFTASPZIQZJPQDTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664178},"content":"She doesn’t think adults understand what a big deal posting on social media can be. “If you’re posting, because everyone can see that, you’re thinking about what everyone else is thinking about you. But then if you aren’t posting, it looks like you aren’t doing anything. So, there’s a pressure to post.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z6TBBFWXAREXZC2EWDL3SV5MSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664179},"content":"Adolescence: Five truths about our teenage boys we need to address urgently","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ECR3V4SHYZGR7IQV2FEBHDBSU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664180},"content":"Olivia’s mother Claire thought Adolescence was “a fantastic piece of TV”, but admits she had not fully understood the impact of what are routinely described as toxic male influencers. “I was aware of it, but I also wasn’t aware of it. Is that because I’m a mother of daughters as opposed to a mother of sons?” she ponders.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DIHTTBWCGRCC5FT4CMUPJJU2JM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664181},"content":"“I think on a bigger scale we have to look societally what are we doing with children and phones, and adults and phones. And what are we doing about the human contact we’re losing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIEAC5CDVZE4LGY5WR5Q5JOVPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664182},"type":"image"},{"_id":"DCSIBK3R7FEHLDFZKMJFTTLRQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664184},"content":"Eoghan Muldoon, from Sligo, is 13 and watched Adolescence with his mother, Sinéad Canney. “It was pretty good,” he says. Eoghan is the same age as the main protagonist in the drama, Jamie. Eoghan got his first phone recently and hasn’t had much access to social media.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K32E2MUXHZHC5OYD447E6IT4YU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664185},"content":"In spite of the short amount of time he has had the phone, he has already come across some misogynistic influencers. “I was kind of shocked, but also, I would see how some people would take that on. And I don’t think it’s right.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SK5OYZ3XJGBBPB2DQ5TGL7IU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664186},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-51718","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"DQALVFIDSBEP7CFBLBW5H5K7GI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664187},"content":"Eoghan believes a lot of things have changed since most adults were teenagers. “Words have changed, and emojis. Some kids do use them as secret stuff, but I don’t. Emojis are just how you feel.” He feels teenagers need to have phones by 13 or 14. “Without that … you wouldn’t be able to go out with your friends.” He thinks there is benefit to some parts of social media as it can be helpful.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T7ZPYAKEZNG27IQHIATMNHEJRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664188},"content":"“My mum does check my phone,” he explains and he accepts her reasons for that, but admits “sometimes it can be a bit annoying. But I do think it’s necessary because teenagers can do stupid stuff at times”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZY6E47HM3NDETGDNTUR5J666YA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424187392},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"URQDAIWGFBFDPGPCSMCI7ODDDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664190},"content":"He found watching Adolescence to be beneficial. “I learned that sometimes [you need] to control your anger … and to be careful on social media. It’s pretty important because it’s very dangerous to be on social media.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CV7DO6RPKRDDDJ4HTID2JJ3ZKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664191},"content":"He’s not the only one who found watching Adolescence to be a learning experience. His mother Sinéad said she had “no idea about any of that. We were just shocked to the core”. She used the opportunity to chat with her two older boys about internet safety. “I don’t allow phones in the [bed]room … and I explained that they’re just not socially or emotionally mature yet. And I said, ‘If I knew that there was going to be a gang down a certain road that will possibly mug you and beat you up, I’m not going to let you walk down that road. So therefore I’m not going to put you on an app that you’re not mature and responsible enough to be able to handle.‘”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPPBYEVGLJCAFM4YBZ5XYJVYXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664192},"type":"image"},{"_id":"UQDOBYORPRFLLKMT62U7USYCEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664193},"content":"Zoe Breen (17), from Dublin, found the series sad. Her experience of emojis isn’t as depicted in the show either, she says. But her mother Michelle Bennett says she personally panicked when she learned what different coloured hearts could represent. “I thought they were just nice colours.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q4HFINZBFJGJDPNM7QFATID5SI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664194},"content":"Adults “definitely don’t understand having contact with your friends on social media”, says Zoe. “Especially when they compare it to the level they might contact their own friends.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZAS4ECNLCFFSNG3TVOYOB7LYCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664195},"content":"“My mum might send a WhatsApp, whereas we’d use Snapchat. We post things on our stories, so people know where you are. It’s very hard to explain to them [adults] that your friends can see pretty much everything that you’re doing.” While the idea that “Big Brother” is always watching might be intolerable for many adults, Zoe doesn’t see others knowing where she is at all times as a problem. She doesn’t feel isolated in an online world as some adults believe young people to be.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FUFE6DQA25BSRNL6ENUGWUEHTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664196},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZQMYKYNFPJGQXJV7XRBP46ZMBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664197},"content":"“It’s harder for the older generation to understand that we’re influenced quite easily on social media. One person could say something, and nearly everyone could be influenced if it goes viral,” says Zoe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4MEG22K55FBXVIFQUSFGWNGKHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664198},"content":"“I don’t think you [adults] realise how much we learn from social media and how much information we take in. Sometimes I think we learn more from social media than we do in school, which is crazy but you do take in a lot of information. I find it easier to learn online.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7NFUPR3TQVAFTABUNM7GC3ZESE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664199},"content":"Michelle says she’s surprised to hear that Zoe feels she learns a lot from social media. “I don’t know whether I feel a bit sad about that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SSDXPTDAPBAWBNAIFBSW5O364Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664200},"content":"Zoe believes adults don’t realise how simple it is to make a fake account, meaning it’s very easy for parents to find themselves following what they believe to be their child’s actual social media account, when really it’s just a decoy. “Parents have no idea. They have absolutely no idea … I’d say at least 80-85 per cent of the times kids would make a fake account.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MCOUO43PSJBXPOCKA76MXHNEDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424187404},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"733RRYXATNEF5MZTNCNWXPOFPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664202},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VY4MH2GEZJEHTATBFTFKLV43TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664203},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"IDK73C52IVBRXIHIV7VFAUIWNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664204},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"DH6DR6TFXBG2RBLZCXBINKRYHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664205},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZEWATYNC5D6DECOEKBCIW6RII","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664206},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"B6GARYTHIZASLFVCXL2UFLVVQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664207},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"KEI2HAFNORAQXPPOFGCQF56OMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664208},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ED7YVFSBPJDVPBQT6IJDPXW5TE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664209},"content":"Calum (not his real name) is 16 and thought Adolescence was “really good”. He was already familiar with the meaning of “red pills” and “incels”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SRUSFTRJRD73GYP5DUMWP7B6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664210},"content":"He attends an all-boys school and sometimes hears misogyny among his peers. “It’s sort of the environment,” he admits. “Some people just say it, and you know it’s not right. And they just can’t get it into their head they’re just talking nonsense.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TBRQ6LCUH5HKPLT3VXB6OQ7RVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664211},"content":"“When you’re opening up a social media account for the first time it’s incredible how fast you can go down that red pill route of ‘I’m alone. Everyone’s against me. Everybody hates me’ sort of thing. It’s nuts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6NSA22BBP5CGBKDJBW72AZVVWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664212},"type":"image"},{"_id":"LRDJUYRT4JAEPISXFCK4ZMZGNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664213},"content":"“You’re seeing it so much, and sometimes you could have had a bad day, or something bad could have happened to you in school, and you see that on your ‘for you’ page … and you’d take it more to heart.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QY7QNCQAEBABRHT5LN4X2HDLLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664214},"content":"Calum’s teachers are very conscious of it, he says. Conversations can happen at lunchtime. “Most of the time it’s friendly banter thing. Everyone slags everyone. But sometimes it gets to a point that it gets a bit much.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WDZX6JPQURC5JG5OJ4SM6LHVUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664215},"content":"A lot of difficulties come back to the content that Jamie was seeing in this programme, “where it’s [saying] ‘women are bad. Gay people are bad. Foreigners are bad’,” he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3YMKZ4BFBGDXN3KBIHZLUAD3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664216},"content":"He doesn’t think adults realise “the amount of dangerous content you can see on social media and how quickly it can get served to younger children”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YLQIUEUTRVHBZGXANECVQAYTOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664217},"content":"Having said this, his phone is very important to him. “It’s nice to have that instant avenue of communication with all my friends. It’s like I’ve got them right there. I don’t have to ring them up. I don’t have to go and see them if they live further away.” He believes phones help with social connection, rather than the opposite.","type":"text"},{"_id":"62UCTVJPGFFTJGEPWPLZMLOEZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664218},"content":"Calum doesn’t think adults understand that teenagers can easily get around rules they may have in place about certain social media platforms, by installing and uninstalling apps ahead of parental checking. He thinks parents believe they have more control than they actually do. “It’s incredibly easy to access stuff. You can access through the browser as well.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jen Hogan"}},"name":"Jen Hogan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Young people are familiar with social media terms and concepts mentioned in the Netflix drama, and know misogyny is rife online. Their parents? Not so much"},"display_date":"2025-03-29T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Adolescence in teenagers’ own words: ‘Parents have absolutely no idea’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"P5UTL2N2G5G5PHHKETOPZFOEVE","auth":{"1":"820fab03daa201ec9b3eb4299893819904e4725102999ecb156ee3fa8f6fd9f5"},"focal_point":{"x":1752,"y":1132},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/P5UTL2N2G5G5PHHKETOPZFOEVE.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/adolescence-decoded-parents-have-absolutely-no-idea/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"3SU4XP7JIVD3DJZED2CFXSNOFA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":947,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/6b99246d-3df6-4be6-a0cd-9e4d02d58ae8/versions/1742395890/media/9437e12f480849ca6651c0937c2e9aef_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/steve-wall-when-bono-was-offered-the-medal-i-tweeted-surely-he-wont-accept-that-i-didnt-know-he-already-had/","content_elements":[{"_id":"LYMQHZMSYBBJZAP2JIA3SGWACE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808943},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/steve-wall/\" target=\"_self\">Steve Wall</a>’s big viral moment arrived in the grey days of early January when he tapped out a social media post criticising <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bono/\">Bono</a>. He was motivated to do so after the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/u2/\" target=\"_blank\">U2</a> frontman accepted a Presidential Medal of Freedom from the outgoing US president, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/joe-biden/\" target=\"_self\">Joe Biden</a> – a development that shocked Wall, lead singer with The Stunning and a successful actor with roles in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2024/03/01/dune-part-two-review-denis-villeneuve-endeavours-to-turn-high-end-pulp-into-holy-writ/\" target=\"_blank\">Dune: Part 2</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/the-witcher-season-two-brims-with-action-adventure-and-twisting-tentacled-nasties-1.4757889\" target=\"_blank\">The Witcher</a>. “He doesn’t need a medal from a man funding a genocide,” he wrote in reference to Biden’s track record in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/gaza-strip/\" target=\"_self\">Gaza</a>. His remarks, initially posted on <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk’s</a> X, took on a life of their own and ricocheted around the internet. Talk about brewing up a storm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AM6OE2U3LNGDRJCUFNITDPXEZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808944},"content":"“I was nervous about doing it. I’ve met Bono, yeah, a few times,” says Wall, who has also had success as lead singer with The Walls, a duo he formed with brother Joe when The Stunning went on hiatus. “U2 gave The Walls the support in Slane Castle in 2001. We sent them The Walls’ first album, Hi-Lo. They said they liked it. They put us on the bill. I remember meeting Bono backstage at Slane, very briefly.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C5RCPKUR2VEVFBCFWO7MXWBCBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808945},"content":"Bono would later help Wall secure a visa to the United States, for which he remains grateful, he explains from his home in Harold’s Cross, Dublin. “I needed to get an O-1 visa for America,” he says, referring to a temporary visa awarded to individuals “who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KCYGNPHFI5DXRJCJCYU4XZRZHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212840},"content":"“As part of that process, you have to get letters from people who basically [say] you’re a stand-up citizen, and somebody of worth,” recollects Wall.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HCU6NGFZGBFBBN5QQGSIBP55DE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808946},"content":"“Apparently, the more influential people you can find to do that for you, the better. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/aidan-gillen/\" target=\"_blank\">Aidan Gillen</a> wrote me a letter. And then a mutual friend asked Bono. He was the first one to deliver it. I was grateful for it. He delivered a letter saying, ‘I Bono... hereby state, Steve Wall…’ A very generous thing to do. I also sat beside him at a mutual friend’s wedding. Myself and Joe had a great conversation with him.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WTQUQ4PW2FEVRF7MDPMKGSQTFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808947},"content":"It’s a sunny lunchtime in Dublin, and Wall is enjoying a rare breather. He’s recently returned from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/northern-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Northern Ireland</a>, where he has a part in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/game-of-thrones/\" target=\"_blank\">Game of Thrones</a> spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He’s also looking ahead to shows later this year by The Stunning, the band he started in Galway with Joe – and with whom he has clocked up hits such as Brewing Up A Storm, Romeo’s On Fire and Half Past Two. But the conversation has inevitably turned to his criticism of Bono and Wall’s long-standing and vocal support for Gaza.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BQPZS2UKMFG4XKHPGLC52RJPJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808948},"content":"“I’m a member of the Irish-Palestine Solidarity Campaign and have been for quite some time – for years. I’ve been going on marches for probably 15 years or so now. I remember bringing my daughter [Tuccia], who was only five or six at the time, to a march. The unfairness of what’s been happening to Palestinian people has always been on my radar.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPCULAFHCRGFRN7KJ4YAL7X6WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212844},"content":"Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Hothouse Flowers: ‘I was quite disappointed by Bono. I don’t think Sinéad O’Connor would have done it’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IOTT4ILNAZGD7K7ELJWZBPDCAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808949},"content":"When the conflict in Gaza escalated in 2023, he noted that Bono – in theory modern rock’s great campaigning voice – wasn’t speaking out. “There are so many people who are so upset by the images we’ve been seeing. I was aware U2 weren’t saying anything. They were doing the gigs in Las Vegas at the time. People were saying on social media, ’Why isn’t Geldof saying anything, why isn’t Bono saying anything?’ I wasn’t expecting them to. When it came to the offer of this medal from Joe Biden, I thought ‘Oh, he’s not going to accept that’. The genocide was at its worst. They were talking about America sending more of these 2,000-pound bunker-busting bombs. When I saw about Bono being offered the medal, I tweeted ’Surely he won’t accept that’. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/01/04/bono-to-be-awarded-us-presidential-medal-of-freedom/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/01/04/bono-to-be-awarded-us-presidential-medal-of-freedom/\">I didn’t know he already had</a>.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HASOU6QCWNGY3MGOVFAIJ7ZJ5E","additional_properties":{"_id":"SFNQ4ERRJRH73JFBJ5BPVHUXRA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"MJF2UVUSIRD3JOJJ7KGVBV2KLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808950},"content":"Irish music is riven with invisible red lines – there are certain artists you simply don’t dare criticise (yes, they are exactly who you think they are). Wall, though, has long been willing to say the unsayable. He’s a vocal critic of Irish commercial radio, which he accuses of largely shutting out Irish musicians.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BWUNSEAGNFG3HLWAXNEZIZ6U7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390817838},"content":"“They cover their asses by playing contemporary pop acts that are signed to major labels: Wall to wall <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dermot-kennedy/\" target=\"_blank\">Dermot Kennedy</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/gavin-james/\" target=\"_blank\">Gavin James</a> ... whatever.” In 2012, he led the charge against the ghastly marketing campaign that was Arthur’s Day, which involved UK-headquartered drinks giant <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/diageo/\" target=\"_blank\">Diageo</a> working with a London PR firm to airlift British artists into Dublin to celebrate an “Irish” brand of dark beer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7DOPBFPXLZD6BHYXDAMNCZO7P4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808951},"content":"“There is always the worry that you are burning bridges and going to scupper your career,” says Wall. “Then a year or two passes, and I’ve found it hasn’t affected things. If anything, we’ve garnered some respect within the industry, where people take you seriously and go, ’Okay, we’re not going to mess with them’. You have principles.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QJEIWJ6CUBCNPK4G5IMZJ3SPSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212852},"content":"“I found it fine to speak out about things as long as you weren’t on silly rants. Even with Arthur’s Day, I was surprised how few artists backed me up. No one was saying anything. They were keeping schtum. Only a couple came out: Declan O’Rourke, Mundy, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/christy-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">Christy Moore</a>. The following year, Christy Moore came out and wrote a song, Arthur’s Alco-Holiday, which was the nail in the coffin.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKWM63PHMJC4BP5C7F2GBDQPKI","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"AEKMFYILHRB3HIDZWUYO5EKCUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808952},"content":"Wall’s fearlessness has served him well. Born in London and raised between Dublin and Ennistymon in Clare, he initially had success with songs such as Brewing Up A Storm – which, with its cascading “Da da da da” chorus, was inescapable in Ireland in the early 1990s.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NMY2LTSHLBFF3MASQMOQONUNXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808953},"content":"But in 2010, well into his 40s, he decided to reconnect with his first love – acting. Since then, his screen career has blossomed, with eye-grabbing character parts in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/hbo/\" target=\"_blank\">HBO</a> shows such as Raised by Wolves and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/netflix/\" target=\"_blank\">Netflix’s</a> <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2024/12/05/black-doves-revivew-keira-knightley-is-delightfully-sweary-as-a-devoted-wife-by-day-and-deadly-assassin-by-night/#:~:text=Black%20Doves%20review%3A%20Keira%20Knightley,by%20night%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Irish%20Times\" target=\"_blank\">Black Doves</a>, where he was perfectly cast as the emotionally brutalised hit-man father of Ben Whishaw’s character. He also popped up at the end of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/denis-villeneuve/\" target=\"_blank\">Denis Villeneuve’s</a> Dune Part 2, playing the captain of the Galactic Emperor’s personal guard – a significant part given that his Imperial Majesty was portrayed by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/christopher-walken/\" target=\"_blank\">Christopher Walken</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HHGAVAKP2JDPPJ7VLGOZPCXDVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808954},"content":"“With Dune, I got 24 hours’ notice to fly,” he remembers. “I got a call on a Wednesday morning at about 11am saying, could I fly to Budapest that night. The next morning, I’m brought to this massive sound stage and introduced to [director] Denis Villeneuve.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIVTQ6LJXBDI3FE2B6NIKK4K2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808955},"content":"It was a trip into the unknown for the actor, who was only vaguely familiar with the cult sci-fi franchise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XF2KJBYDNRDXLH3OPMOYVAGPIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808956},"content":"“I hadn’t seen the first Dune. I didn’t even know who was in it. He [Villeneuve] was such a nice man. He said, ‘Oh, Steve ... Thank you for coming at short notice. You have saved my life’. And I said, ‘I bet you say that to all the boys’. He was a really warm person. And he said, ‘Come over here, let me introduce you to your fellow cast’. And I walked over, and literally there was Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/austin-butler/\" target=\"_blank\">Austin Butler</a>, who I’d seen in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2022/06/23/elvis-tasteful-restraint-has-left-the-building/#:~:text=Film%20review%3A%20Baz%20Luhrmann's%20biopic,as%20hammer%20you%20into%20submission&text=There%20is%20a%20stubborn%20contradiction,life%20of%20Elvis%20Aaron%20Presley.\" target=\"_blank\">the Elvis film</a> two weeks beforehand. And Christopher Walken. And Villeneuve goes, ’Hey, everybody, this is Steve… He’s playing Bashar’. And they all turn around. They went, ‘Hi, Steve’. I was nervous. But I was even more nervous then. I had one line to say, but I was sh*tting bricks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KURFNNRAQFD7FJFJ6XCALZQPAI","additional_properties":{"_id":"N4WVRP52U5B5FLZZ5T4DR2R72A"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"RIJIPQRBK5DGTBZYN4MXJQOU5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212857},"content":"Steve Wall: ‘The whole music industry should be out on the street marching about this’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"6HLWGBQV2BFO3FRT4ZESA72QRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808957},"content":"An unexpected side effect of his success as an actor is that it has renewed his passion for music. “It’s the one thing where you’ve got some kind of power. As an actor you can be quite powerless. Unless you’re an A-lister being offered involvement as an executive producer. Where you’re at that stage, where you’re enough of a name where someone will back the project. When you’re an actor like myself in a supporting role, generally pretty replaceable, you can be very powerless. That’s not a nice feeling. I started out trying to be an actor before The Stunning. It’s funny – recently I’ve been reminded why I stopped it and decided to start a band. It was exactly that same feeling where somebody else has the power to point the finger and say, ’No you can’t work’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJNHVJZVAZH7BBDJIC5C7YZDY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808958},"content":"His feelings about The Stunning are complicated. Brewing Up A Storm, Half Past Two and Romeo’s On Fire made the band beloved in Ireland. However, they were unable to attract much of an international following despite major touring, which included a run supporting <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bob-dylan/\" target=\"_blank\">Bob Dylan</a> in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQRY7XRABNGXVI7BOVCUKARGSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212861},"content":"‘You just feel absolutely helpless’: The Stunning’s Steve Wall hit by ECB rate hikes","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"7VZND3ES5JD7TH7GEDDHDFGKHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808959},"content":"“We broke up out of frustration in 1994. We were funding everything ourselves through the gigs in Ireland – that funded all the trips abroad and also all our releases. We weren’t managing to get that break to get our music released abroad, to get booking agents, to get the festival circuit. Then myself and Joe formed The Walls and we had another frustrating time. Again, it was all self-financed. We didn’t intend to reform The Stunning when we reissued [1990 debut album] Paradise in the Picturehouse in 2003.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAEUN6Q3SVDGVAAIMDDKSZG6HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808960},"content":"He has thoughts about the state of the record business in 2025 – in particular, the soaring price of concert tickets. “The Oasis debacle is going from bad to worse,” he says, referring to the controversial use by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/oasis/\" target=\"_blank\">Oasis</a> of a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2024/10/01/oasis-abandons-dynamic-pricing-for-remainder-of-world-tour/\" target=\"_blank\">“dynamic pricing” model</a> for their reunion tour that resulted in punters paying hand over fist to hear <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/liam-gallagher/\" target=\"_blank\">Liam Gallagher</a> belt out Wonderwall.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MI4WJXS7WFAXRCERFMBYEAPRZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808961},"content":"“Now they’re talking that the set will be just under an hour [a claim recently made by Liam on social media, presumably in jest]. I’m kind of sniggering to myself. I have no intention of going at that kind of money. It’s horrible, the whole thing. If you spend €400 on a ticket, you want some value for money. It puts a lot of pressure on the artist to deliver.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X6A2A3T3NBG7DIWK3AN5HOIEBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"2V2TT6G6AFE2LENYN6CVOX72IQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"6GXAEFBJMRFEBISVJYXYXWR4D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808962},"content":"Wall despairs, too, for the state of modern music – especially the mewling, messianic pop to which he is exposed when out and about in Dublin. “There’s so much over-anxious, emotive singing. I’m not going to name names. You’ll know from the description who I’m speaking about. There’s so much of that stuff. It’s formulaic – music that sounds like it was made on an app. It’s horrendous – over-emotive. I cannot listen to it. I would have to leave if it was on in a shop. It’s ego-eccentric, indulgent. The melodies are like nursery rhyme melodies. You feel like saying, ’Will you please listen to a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/the-beatles/\" target=\"_blank\">Beatles</a> song, a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/radiohead/\" target=\"_blank\">Radiohead</a> song, a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/pink-floyd/\" target=\"_blank\">Pink Floyd</a> song, a Cole Porter song’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KFGB5VG7NZFN7DBA3SS3SOPWRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808963},"content":"Still, there are glimmers of light. He is full of praise for a younger generation of Irish artists such as Dublin post-punks <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/fontaines-dc/\" target=\"_blank\">Fontaines DC</a>, the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/the-murder-capital/\" target=\"_blank\">Murder Capital</a>, from Cork and Dublin, and Belfast-Derry Irish rap trio <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kneecap/\" target=\"_blank\">Kneecap</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y74W7V6BK5HLBO54QN4RHDCJQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808964},"content":"“I have huge respect for Fontaines DC and their stance on Palestine [they spoke out about Gaza at the recent Brit Awards]. I think that is so important. There are so many people – not just musicians and actors – afraid to speak out in case they are blacklisted. But there are so many people that are sitting on the fence as well – ‘Oh I don’t watch the news any more’. They stick their head in the sand. Who is going to fight the monsters? The world is now full of monsters, and they’re brazen. They’re putting their atrocities on social media – Trump is parading his ignorance in front of the world with his meeting with Zelenskiy. If everyone sticks their head in the sand, then there’s nobody to fight the monsters. And the monsters end up ruling the Earth.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RLQHHBTU6NFXRD4PF2YQZVRV34","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808965},"content":"Despite The Stunning’s lack of international success, in many ways Wall has had a gilded existence. Supporting U2 at Slane, reading lines with Christopher Walken – what a life to have lived. Yet there has been personal tragedy too: in 2017, Wall’s niece Estlin, aged just three, died in a car crash, and his brother Vincent sustained a severe and significant brain injury when he had to swerve to avoid a truck that had pulled out from behind a bus. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/steve-wall-on-his-family-s-tragedy-it-was-a-year-from-hell-1.4345693\" target=\"_self\">The tragedy has indescribably marked the entire family</a>, and, perhaps, it’s one more reason why Wall feels the need to speak out, while he has the opportunity to do so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4OXPEZNO2RAEZJKAI2GEMHECYU","additional_properties":{"_id":"JLYIDNYNRZGRDH4BULCECCLYME"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"IMHEXNUJ2BCR7AWTUDY77FM4XM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390817854},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"V7C2RXDDFJBCNLVOIBOKKKQ73M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808966},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"M477B6LE3BGUPPGJDAV7SXEK5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808967},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"3OSJOL7O3VA7LN4CRUJQYB2JRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390817857},"content":"With St Patrick’s Day behind us, he feels, for example, that “every Patrick’s weekend our Government dances a jig for the American administration in Washington”. “What’s happening in the US right now is like an updated version of the McCarthy era, but it’s even more dangerous, with the involvement of big tech companies and media organisations that are controlling what we see,” he adds. “It’s propaganda in our pockets. That’s why it’s really important for people to look at a variety of news sources, including Al Jazeera. What we’re seeing now in Gaza, in Palestine, is the death of the human soul. [...] Europe needs to pull together and let America implode, which they will. There’s another four years of this Oompa Loompa.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3IWWTYHZTFBFFCN45LLFLLJ5JA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808968},"content":"But while rarely reluctant to voice an opinion, he feels he is far mellower than earlier in his career. He used to get wound up all the time – often over the most trivial things. Today, with The Stunning playing to sell-out audiences and his acting going better than he had ever dared to dream, he is happy taking life as it comes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3DZIUNYC7ZFWZJOLKY234VLHHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808969},"content":"“I used to get upset if our album didn’t get reviewed or they did some kind of thing about ‘New Irish Music’ and we didn’t get included. Or we didn’t get airplay with the new single. Those things, I used to take to heart, because we put so much work into it. And then when my daughter was born, I changed. I gave less of a sh*t. My priority was my child. Everything changed. I felt better for it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IVPQLMQBEVDLTD7MWXWL6NZ4UM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808970},"content":"<i>The Stunning play the Olympia, Dublin, on September 13th, Dolan’s Limerick, November 28th, 29th and Cyprus Avenue Cork, December 20th</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ed Power"}},"name":"Ed Power"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Stunning and The Walls musician and actor on honesty, activism and a life in the arts "},"display_date":"2025-03-29T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Steve Wall: ‘When Bono was offered the medal, I tweeted: Surely he won’t accept that. I didn’t know he already had’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"6Y7AFDKDGBEQ5K7V45F66G2J34","auth":{"1":"12307e889a10baf1ae3fd18b3f608e2978eaa59084a7cda5e62f67a30812dc3e"},"focal_point":{"x":2155,"y":713},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6Y7AFDKDGBEQ5K7V45F66G2J34.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/steve-wall-when-bono-was-offered-the-medal-i-tweeted-surely-he-wont-accept-that-i-didnt-know-he-already-had/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"GMER73ADFJGS5MYPFSDKXK6U5U","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-most-certainly-do-have-an-american-accent-i-tell-my-supposed-half-brother-im-from-south-dublin/","content_elements":[{"_id":"K6J54TIANRDYJB5WOXZCDTAJMA","additional_properties":{},"content":"For, like, 30 seconds, I’m as quiet as Thomond Pork since 2019 and the dude ends up having to repeat himself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K43X3OGRDNBQPIAFOG4KCRR37A","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Ross, did you hear me? I said this is Brett. I’m your, I suppose, <i>half</i>-brother?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ICK5KOPE6VCKPPVMJ7GJ2VWW7E","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m sitting in the cor, in the Killiney Hill cor pork, still trying to, like, process it. I’m actually shaking, like Thomond Pork used to shake – again, before 2019.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TDKAER2X4JBDTPVB4SX4PUJWPE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Look, I’ve obviously caught you at a bad moment. Do you want me to ring you back at a more convenient time?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JZYHIQMZEZGY5PK4TUZDFYIETU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “No, it’s all good, Brett. I’m just distracted here, watching my kids kick the shit out of each other.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PYWWC5VZLFETPMU4DQYS6F7KMQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Oh, how many kids do you have?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"O73TEJSL6VD3BNOH4RRMSPZKOY","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I go, “Definitely five.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"F2SPZ3UDRNHTBEYXCQKQLH4T5Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s there, “What do you mean by definitely five?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KRP5CELZFFBJDH2O77G2LXTRYM","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “As in, five is the number I’ve paid to feed and clothe. But I’d be a focking idiot to think there aren’t more of them out there. Hennessy, the old man’s solicitor, tidies up a lot of my messes and keeps it all on a need-to-know basis.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZ7MV5CUQBD3DMA7TMBGU3CPEE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He laughs like he thinks I’m joking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MWNWCQJYRZGYHDAYTJRYLBOGDE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Sense of humour,” he goes. “Okay, that’s <i>very</i> Irish.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5D6MZ3ABZCJLMVDIBRGBTW7PE","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “So what about you? How many kids do you–?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4GKOGNXHFJFEBPCXF6IHHBFOKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s there, “Two. Boy and a girl. Both in their 20s now. Molly’s at Columbia and Dorian’s at Princeton.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YBCUWLZABGUPLWBCGA7USVVFY","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “What are they?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"I4J6HAM2IZA7FOQ3WGBZPACOWQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Are you serious?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5J6OLUIBBDLXESRKXYV2XOU6Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Yeah, no, Columbia and Princeton – what even <i>are</i> they?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3GYZTD4JE5CA5EMXBAXQAV6MZM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Er, they’re colleges,” he goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4U7UIJTDBVDJ7OT36LZT3UJKJM","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “I’ll take your word for it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KR4P43DSUVENBLQXZJIEN7TDKA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I definitely don’t feel like we’ve clicked yet.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JAHD6GV2A5DZLBYROZQ43GECIA","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “So, er, is that an American accent I’m hearing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LN7V77EWMZENHPENF3QQY6M2OY","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “It most certainly is, Brett.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSJ7Q5BJBJFW7HJB2CCMQRPWCY","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Oh, so you’ve lived in the States?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X7TCOZSBVVHY3PH3NABESDWAKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Not since I did my J1-er in Ocean City 25 years ago. But I’m <i>from </i>south Dublin. Everyone here talks like this.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEFZYSM4QNHHPPB4NCPGW4Q3XA","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Oh, right – wow!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSUOIMIZKRASFG2C6E5MRHLQHM","additional_properties":{},"content":"I think he’s more impressed by me than I am by him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPHAH22PYNG3HCU4KLS2CL6SHE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s there, “So, em, what do you do, Ross?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFM4ADKCT5ATFAVPD3OE36QEZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Okay, define <i>do</i>.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MVBW5Z5DINCZNAEDDZHXT2DYJQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “I mean for a living.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QSYQPGLVNZHCHACBLKRKR3GQQA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Now it’s <i>my</i> turn to laugh?","type":"text"},{"_id":"4QE7PCVZHFCKFALSSKXE4WHOUU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Fock-all, Brett. Sweet fock-all.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WYYIQIJ3LJFCFIEHVE3SGTVFXU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Sorry, did you say fock-all?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QXA5GTOFZ5DAPG7WPWNXMWOPEA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Yeah, no, my old man’s rolling in it. So me and gainful employment have led what you might call happy but very much exclusive lives. What about you? You don’t actually work, do you?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RSPWKM65OZBRZML5GMJ2TZLQSI","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Yeah,” he goes, “I’m actually an ophthalmic surgeon.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMYE7YQ6MZCWHKPIFQPYUYNFSM","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"M7PAXCE4YJECDOZLTTM6A7BGVQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I don’t know what that is and neither do I ask. But he obviously got his brains from his old man.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CNM7XENKM5HHFK3SR3QY2LMJH4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Fair focks,” I just go. “Fair focking focks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OQIROCL42ZDPFI5VR22XB4ONBA","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Er, thanks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XNVJZR2ANNFGFCI2WUK4YWERCI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I suddenly shout, “If you put a dent in my cor, I’ll kick you so focking hord that you’ll be wearing your orse as a hat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LU3QJMPTTBD4DNAV5RAYTVALQE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2NMWY3CBX5HKJCFCT3R4IT3QQQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Sorry, Dude, I’m just talking to my kids here,” because Brian and Leo are standing on the bonnet of the X5, going at each other toe-to-toe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XOIXW53SW5GAPEU4V2ZJAYSW6A","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “So, em, I guess the inevitable question is: do you want to meet up?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"P3GLGNSMKZFLVCJWFWMQLKGSFA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Yeah, no, whatever. Whereabouts in the States are you living?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OMAO465BCJBARC7FGSXRD3BSW4","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “New York.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C3PLJJXZR5HFPNPOJZZGV7WUAY","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I’m there, “New York, New York! The Lone Stor State!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2NFBBCKJIJCRLCQTMYBHV6WGKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Okay,” he goes, “I’m beginning to get a handle on your sense of humour.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OKQ5WJAFN5DXDPUIULU3TJOBEI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I wasn’t even joking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FOQMXAKEPFCCXMEHCUJKL47VDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “As it happens, I have to go to London for a medical conference in three weeks. I could maybe swing by Ireland on my way home.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y2A2FNIZARBRVPPY7J2C735M74","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “No, yeah, it’d be good to hook up all right. Do you want me to mention it to the old dear? Just to warn you, she’s in a nursing home. Half the time, she doesn’t even know who I am.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PMYFGAFCXZGENIA7SNJHZZRSEA","additional_properties":{},"content":"There’s, like, silence on the other end of the line.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W65EWGLT2VERFBSRALULTVPO4E","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Dude, I’m sorry if that comes as a shock to you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VBE3CGEQMBH2XICOZZUGB4YVOY","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Ross, I’ve been in touch with Fionnuala for, like, years.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TCZP23ON65DRJIXASI4AB7ZS5E","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NXYK4AZFXNADDOWPGIAC47PLFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “We reconnected. Many, many years ago.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ORJQDNZN5AQZGRNPWV4P5Z5KQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “She never said anything to me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6WZRKLR5ZRHRBL4JLVHZNWYZXU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “She’s been here, like, five or six times. She’s even met her grandchildren.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GFGRHMX4SRFE3OWB7NTVQX34AA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"WBI2PQXFSZCFXNVGURSKRTPW7U","additional_properties":{},"content":"My famous mind is suddenly cranking to life. I’m remembering all those times she went to the States to have her bra-line lifted or her buccal fat sucked out of her face and now I’m wondering was she really going to visit her secret son.","type":"text"},{"_id":"35EE6MU6DNFTRNJHW7JMQLD45A","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Certain things are storting to add up now. Like, she never came home looking any better than when she left.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L35QGD4FTNGWTEXDBMLH4OKU5E","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Well, like I said, we’ve been in each other’s lives for a number of years now.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VAXA6PBG6VDDNOPURN33JCG4FA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “You focking scrote-faced, hairy-lipped blobfish!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QBFIN2QJXNHZTH65F2J43PWHP4","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Sorry, Ross, are you talking to your children again?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UKZF3XOWZEW5FTI24E35BMOHA","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I’m there, “No, I’m not, Dude. No, I am not.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XI4I36DPMZD77LPRYADE77DFTI","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Look, we’ve obviously got a lot of catching up to do.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ONIXUFHVS5FZVI5TY2D5EBS5FY","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Yeah, no, it definitely sounds like it. Here, back up the hord drive for a minute. If you’ve been in touch with my old dear for years – and she’s visited you in the actual States – why did you never get in touch with me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S7N4HCBRWFAIBMCNLMACC7WWYQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Now <i>he’s</i> the one who’s silent?","type":"text"},{"_id":"W3CX6KBWDBBGVC46UP2YOSWUDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Dude, are you still there?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2H3Z6YN6GRCUJPIFFHCISVLKNQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Look, Ross, the truth is that Fionnuala never told me that I had a brother.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DNZ5RQ2BQZHVVEGQCH3QGI7KKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Okay, I’m not sure if something is being lost in translation here. Are you saying she didn’t mention that she had a son who played rugby to a very nearly professional standard?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PLGRAMH65RAQZMXPFCUTEC5QDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I don’t know why I throw that bit in about rugby. Maybe him mentioning that he’s a something-something surgeon has me feeling like a possible underachiever.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4AFQP4UPUJCSFHH7SOUYW4TKQQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “I’m really sorry to tell you this, Ross, but she never mentioned you in any of our meetings, or even our phone calls.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZGXVSQLUJGADPWRXPUQKPQM4M","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “That hatchet-faced horse-beast.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJEKN3KKNFBJHJ4HMJIN2YDK2I","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “As a matter of fact, when I asked her if she had any more children after me, she said ‘Thankfully no’.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"I’m actually shaking on the phone to Brett, like Thomond Park used to shake before 2019"},"display_date":"2025-03-29T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘I most certainly do have an American accent,’ I tell my supposed half-brother. ‘I’m from south Dublin’","native":""},"label":{},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EZNAZ4S6IBDEJMGYK7QFWXKPQE","auth":{"1":"74e9ec6ae3f3aca7451d26c550629f1dbe92b59cfa3f410ed096635542849d3f"},"focal_point":{"x":1454,"y":863},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EZNAZ4S6IBDEJMGYK7QFWXKPQE.jpg"},"podcast":{"embed":{"config":{"duration":373.612,"episodeTitle":"I’m actually shaking on the phone to Brett, like Thomond Park used to shake before 2019","imageUrl":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61409402444fd951a7f27e60/1673383397461-8f5dc76da6409974bd352dc3e7b7a299.jpeg","showTitle":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly","streamUrl":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/streams/61409402444fd951a7f27e60/episodes/67e679ba59009cabb299d285.mp3"}}}},"subtype":"podcast","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"},{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Podcasts"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-most-certainly-do-have-an-american-accent-i-tell-my-supposed-half-brother-im-from-south-dublin/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly","additional_properties":{"original":{"Podcast":{"podcast_logo":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/MH35IEIN5FGYNH7X3SQF3E4LBQ.jpg"}}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}}}},{"_id":"ZYUOM6VYUREYFEAMZY5LMVXEEQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":168,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/8f521b36-1d89-444a-b362-150a25676f6c/versions/1743013764/media/f46f4a3b11e704bd3a19aee686573729_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/annie-mccarrick-murder-garda-cold-case-team-hope-new-timeline-will-lead-to-breakthrough/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GGQUTQPZLZF7XKHTVTDMLCPFDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357890},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/garda-siochana\" target=\"_blank\">Garda</a> cold case investigation into the disappearance of young <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/united-states\" target=\"_blank\">American</a> woman <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/annie-mccarrick\" target=\"_blank\">Annie McCarrick</a> from her flat in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/sandymount\" target=\"_blank\">Sandymount</a> on March 26th, 1993, is uncovering a litany of errors in the original investigation. It had led to a false narrative about Annie’s last movements for 30 years until her disappearance was upgraded to a murder case two years ago and a new investigation team was appointed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P2QDB2GEV5HB3M5V536DBVT6KM","additional_properties":{},"content":"So, did Annie go walking in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dublin\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> mountains that day and end up at a gig in Johnnie Fox’s pub in Glencullen?","type":"header"},{"_id":"S3KIOPHM5BDMRL4GNPTIFRXMVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357892},"content":"Turns out those sightings were all false. Her family and the gardaí now believe that another young American woman, who had long wavy hair, was erroneously identified as Annie. Photographs extracted from videos taken in the pub that night have confirmed this.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QMDZDHGFGZC53BHBEV2NTBSGXM","additional_properties":{"_id":"5HAWNEVOCJCDLPCL7BIW2J6FTA"},"content":"Annie McCarrick’s best friend from childhood: ‘I believe she knew the person responsible for her death’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5UFKVI7M4RDF7CEP7JPF4POT2M","additional_properties":{},"content":"If that is the case, what is known about her last movements?","type":"header"},{"_id":"MURM7LQTGRGA3JKMKG5MUA3C3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357894},"content":"Well, interestingly, The Irish Times confirmed last year that a CCTV photo of her in the Sandymount branch of the AIB, which was publicised as the last definitive sighting of her on the morning she disappeared, was, in fact, taken 11 days earlier. However, a receipt with shopping from the local Quinnsworth left in her flat supports the fact that she was there after 11am on the day she disappeared.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R7ZXGV5POVBWPOH6MG5WHTPOVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"We can only imagine how difficult this is for her family and friends.","type":"header"},{"_id":"6RJW56QDGJCGHNAS4L72EDGE2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357896},"content":"Exactly, particularly since her family and friends sent several faxes in the aftermath of her disappearance, stressing how she was having significant difficulties with a young man whom she knew well. Her mother, Nancy McCarrick, who is now in her 80s, has said the gardaí didn’t listen to them at the time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JGNQEJFDQ5CDTGGH7UPFG35L44","additional_properties":{},"content":"How does Nancy McCarrick feel about the new investigation?","type":"header"},{"_id":"D6HCQAMKNZBHJPL2EHYHQ56PPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357898},"content":"She has nothing but praise for the new team’s diligence, empathy and continued communications with her. No stone has been left unturned, she has said, noting that the forensic attention to every detail – no matter how small – has been very impressive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DWFFVZHGQFA3FPWU2WY2PXBM2I","additional_properties":{"_id":"JCSH5FPUIRCAFGFMXMS5G3DIJE"},"content":"The murder inquiry into the 1993 disappearance of Annie McCarrick - is it making progress a year on?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"GCSEFGN2XVDPJJQTUVOQEJF44E","additional_properties":{},"content":"It seems like gardaí have gone back to the drawing board and started with a blank sheet again?","type":"header"},{"_id":"Y3C2FXUJLZBJLEIWRF4KWPYZRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357900},"content":"Yes, that is undoubtedly why they went to France in February to interview a man who knew Annie very well. Like so many of her friends, he was interviewed during the original investigation too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ATYYBVXO5FRBCM6NIKC4PU6GA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Surely, the passage of time is a fundamental challenge to this case being resolved?","type":"header"},{"_id":"ILHGZWNYLZBN5CCDVYOW7I3XTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357902},"content":"Yes, it is. But all they need is one little break, one person, who may have the most trivial piece of information, to come forward. That is what Nancy McCarrick prays for during her daily attendance at Mass.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Áine Ryan"}},"name":"Áine Ryan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Garda cold case investigation into disappearance of American student is uncovering litany of errors in original investigation"},"display_date":"2025-03-29T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Annie McCarrick murder: Garda cold case team hope new timeline will lead to breakthrough","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XEWCAO6TA5FOJNUVQTL72TKTME","auth":{"1":"a4558ab8079f5ffc3a714bf9127f8d4980f8c65d4d04a753de055eabbbafd4cb"},"focal_point":{"x":1066,"y":614},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XEWCAO6TA5FOJNUVQTL72TKTME.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Crime & Law"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/annie-mccarrick-murder-garda-cold-case-team-hope-new-timeline-will-lead-to-breakthrough/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"LRZRUSZSERGMXHLCYOLVHNW5YI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":112,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/ae441fa5-ce1d-4947-ace6-201c6f871ed3/versions/1743161923/media/283a29d0bfd1a8ae79ca5c8c1ec66033_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/eu-call-to-stockpile-food-and-essentials-what-would-be-in-your-72-hour-survival-bag/","content_elements":[{"_id":"LYWT33Q6ZRBNLBI3GALKASOCTI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-union\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-union\">European Union</a> has this week urged citizens to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/26/stockpile-72-hours-of-supplies-in-case-of-disaster-or-attack-eu-tells-citizens/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/26/stockpile-72-hours-of-supplies-in-case-of-disaster-or-attack-eu-tells-citizens/\">stockpile enough food, water and essentials for 72 hours</a> in case of disaster or attack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3K53RTY7W5ASNGWJBNI4ZDGB44","additional_properties":{},"content":"It is part of an <a href=\"https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_856\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_856\">EU strategy </a>to increase readiness for catastrophic floods and fires, pandemics and military attacks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7HT5TVLC3FE63DCXZBTNEVQI5A","additional_properties":{},"content":"We’d like to hear your thoughts. What items could you not survive without if disaster struck? ","type":"text"},{"_id":"A4X2SV7GPVCZ3DAITIDSDLYY4Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"In a video on her social media, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, presents an emergency bag including her glasses, her documents, a flashlight, a Swiss army knife, medicine, a powerbank, tinned food and some cash.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A66QAP3H2NH7NAHZWFMDM2UJSY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Outlining its first preparedness strategy, the<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-commission\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-commission\"> European Commission</a> said it wanted to encourage citizens to take “proactive measures to prepare for crises, such as developing household emergency plans and stockpiling essential supplies”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"22FMUMZFFVARLIDMIVHSPYE7ZE","additional_properties":{},"content":"What would be in your disaster preparedness bag? Are there any particular or unusual items you’d add to the list? Are there favourite foods you can’t do without? Is making one something you have thought about or something you will consider doing? Do you think such a call makes sense in the times we live in or does it feel like scaremongering? ","type":"text"},{"_id":"5TWEE7LEYVBNFG63YD33C54OWI","subtype":"twitter","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"IMJHZ25ABJDATKB7OAJNIPPC6M","additional_properties":{},"content":"You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4KL3SYQI5DJPBFRZTLAYX4EPQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"We will curate a selection of submissions for an article but please note we may not publish every submission we receive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OJ7G7QZQDFD5NNCVBWSH3DU73I","content":"<span class=\"contribly-contribute-v2\" data-client=\"9fc0f2a4-9bf9-4464-8b77-ec351ad0db03\" data-assignment=\"10428267-5698-44ff-abe9-72bc63f5c10b\" data-display=\"inline\"></span><script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/contribly-widgets/contribute/contribute-v2.js\"><\/script>","type":"raw_html"},{"_id":"EAHQK7N3CJGENPE46ABSZQQ674","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"free"},"credits":{"by":[]},"description":{"basic":"Have your say: European Commission advises citizens to be prepared for floods, fires, pandemics and attacks"},"display_date":"2025-03-28T11:27:37.656Z","headlines":{"basic":"EU call to stockpile food and essentials: What would be in your 72-hour survival bag? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"Y66VIY4R4NAH5H3UPJNIHAELXU","auth":{"1":"41f3a8503648f74150bbfec41cc68a8822e6e2faee82fdaf7116d8db4d0e7da2"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/Y66VIY4R4NAH5H3UPJNIHAELXU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"Europe"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/eu-call-to-stockpile-food-and-essentials-what-would-be-in-your-72-hour-survival-bag/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"G436LVRRWVGPJKUOKH3CW65KXM","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/moving-to-another-country-is-hard-youre-not-failing-if-youre-not-living-up-to-a-filtered-social-media-standard-irish-in-australia/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RWMMND6WENFQXINHFLEIEXIR4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779829},"content":"Being a TV reporter means spending a significant amount of time doing vox pops. This is where you haunt the high streets of cities and towns, politely haranguing the general public into being on telly. It fills up a news package by getting everyday people to tell you what they think about an issue, but at a great personal cost. It feels like a sales job. You can’t approach too soon in case they spot you with your microphone and cross to the other side of the road. You have to peel off in a delicate spin at the last minute before you lock eyes with them maniacally and launch into your spiel with faux enthusiasm. “Hiiiiiii!!!!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PORRSK4ZVNBJZHPJDTEFXJGYQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779830},"content":"I always felt like those faux cheery charity people who try to wave you down with their brightly coloured clipboards so they can meet their sign-up targets by making you feel bad enough about homeless donkeys who need laser eye surgery to commit you to a direct debit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5QYJG6YLNAWRP2QFU5BNYKF5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779831},"content":"“Hey there!” they say with enthusiastic friendliness on their face but a sadness behind their eyes. It is so cold on the streets and the constant rejection is wearing away at their soul.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CHMMJUJRJVHCBDO2FTTMVE4UAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779832},"content":"“Can I just ask you a questio…” was as far as I’d get before someone dismissed me with a wave. You could be out there for hours. To keep his spirits up, one camera operator I worked with invented a game of “Protestant or Catholic” for anyone who passed us. He could tell, you see. He had a gift. “Catholics don’t wear socks like that ... A Protestant would not carry a big loaf of seeded bread under their arm for the world to see,” he would say solemnly as if he was some kind of sectarian Harry Potter sorting hat.","type":"text"},{"_id":"53KLBLEE2NEB7L37CQ4KKULGPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743104784565},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"JN64UQKP6NFL7FQQORAK53N7EE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779833},"content":"The most memorable vox pop answer came from approaching international visitors in Dublin and asking them what they thought of Ireland so far.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IDZPCKE7SBC2XDYIHXSSLIAYFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779834},"content":"My cameraman immediately switched from playing “Protestant and Catholic” to “Spot the Tourist”. Which was easy enough – these were the people dressed in head-to-toe hiking gear and looking like they were about to summit Everest even though they were going to the Aran jumper shop on Nassau Street.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJDGJ2TVQVAEXOG3TZ3Q2GTDQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779835},"content":"We interrupted the holiday of a lovely older couple from Canada to ask them if their trip lived up to their expectations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TVVG67R34VA75MXLK6F4C7MGWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779836},"content":"The wife sighed, “I thought there would be more leprechauns.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FYODYCOYBVAG3O7H4UFCEAMMQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779837},"content":"“Oh you mean like more leprechaun-themed things like the Leprechaun Museum?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4OTCOSF6O5FM7OFGTTLOKMMZO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779838},"content":"No. She meant just leprechauns in general. The mythical beings. She was genuinely disappointed she hadn’t seen them out and about, waiting in line for a flat white in Costa or just popping to Penneys for a few bits before a girls’ night.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7FHHBXNFIJFV5GAMPWGA5EQ2XU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779840},"content":"I’ve been thinking of her often as I see the amount of “deinfluencing you from moving to Australia” videos floating around on <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok/\" target=\"_self\">TikTok</a> from young Irish arrivals. Some are disappointed by how expensive it is to live in Sydney. Others are discouraged by the restrictions on their working holiday visas that allow them to work for an employer for only six months, making it hard to find permanent “office” jobs. They’d been taken in by all the social media of sunrises on Bondi without realising a lot of travel influencing is a total swizz. I want to hug them all and say it’s going to be okay.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQDQZFIGPBHRTPETTVI32ZZNEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779841},"content":"The small enclave of Sydney’s east is not representative of life in Australia. Of course it’s expensive: trying to live there is like me moving to Ireland and insisting on living next to Bono in Dalkey. I’ve never been able to afford to live there. It’s okay to find it hard.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GVVLZXWWHBH7BGRTRB6S6VPOPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779842},"content":"We don’t all get up at 5am, put on active wear and go for a run on the beach. Those influencers who are hauling themselves out of bed that early can do that because they don’t work full-time jobs. They can nap at 2pm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"247QPOESSBENNCIIRBIZLBW5T4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743068582470},"content":"Brianna Parkins: ‘The Irish have a natural instinct for nosiness’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"6QJNWTBTKVFJJJDNS2EOD5BZXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743068582471},"content":"The best thing about the beach is that you can go any time of the day. Don’t let these influencers who base their day around getting a cute coffee at 7am convince you otherwise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JEMNSNMCNBAI7ILCPU2PSVJ7PM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779843},"content":"Moving to a new country on the other side of the world is really hard, even without the added bonus of visa restrictions and a global housing crisis. You’re not failing if you’re not living up to a highly filtered social media standard. Who cares what people at home think – you’re already so far in advance of everyone else who just talked about it but never followed through.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Brianna Parkins"}},"name":"Brianna Parkins"}]},"description":{"basic":"Irish emigrants in Sydney have been taken in by all the social media of Bondi sunrises without realising a lot of travel influencing is a total swizz"},"display_date":"2025-03-28T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Moving to another country is hard. 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Journeys to cities such as Oslo, Reykjavik, Hong Kong or Paris. Not because of danger, or travel stress, or extremes of temperature or culture shock, but because people will drive you to distraction telling you how expensive everything will be.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSIGA3KISFEEVINUYLTP3DJLZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474437},"content":"“Oh, it’s very dear,” was the refrain when I travelled to Norway for a short break a few years ago. “Nine euro for a beer. Maybe 11, even,” because there is nothing more Irish than spiking our cortisol levels over the price of a pint. Often, these warnings are followed by truisms about excellent public services and high wages, and more recently with dire comparisons to living in Dublin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AYYEJJPNUJAPBAR5RUV3FTOWSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474438},"content":"Coming up to a recent work-related trip to Zurich, I received the usual barrage of “very dear” warnings. And with good reason. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/switzerland/\" target=\"_self\">Switzerland</a>’s largest is regularly named as the most expensive city in the world. Food, healthcare and housing costs are through the roof, though our Zurich host explained that wages are high to meet those costs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MNJBFE52PRAMDOPTYPQ27LEDBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474439},"content":"She sympathised, unprompted, with us over the less favourable situation back in Dublin, also one of the most expensive cities in the world.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7C75L5TW6ZYNNQISRAOH3MBVPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474440},"type":"image"},{"_id":"WZAVO2VYHJG7RGN3ZKWUJ335NQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474441},"content":"I kept a running list of things we could learn from Zurich:","type":"text"},{"_id":"SZ3M3SIZUVBRFCMGVHWF7GFE5U","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"},{"_id":"4OJ5J3K26BHPRKHGWBSQ5Q3VQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474443},"content":"It wasn’t all “Zurich good, Dublin bad” though. Here’s a few lessons we have for the Swiss:","type":"text"},{"_id":"KPWH3NLJR5DJJLRMG4W2CIOBSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474444},"content":"Emer McLysaght: The best way to enjoy the hotel breakfast buffet and why I love a dry fry","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ZKKSNC5RPNFSZKCHEUOIZQSIRI","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Emer McLysaght"}},"name":"Emer McLysaght"}]},"description":{"basic":"Before a work-related trip to Zurich, I received the usual ‘very dear’ warnings. 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There’s always been a sense of moving; an underlying very transient thing in my life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2552HVBUUBFHBK3S7B2TVKTZVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"TBK24F7RTBHXBCAPLQ6ZWFDDWY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"GQJJ4F2JYFDGFOF344PXW7N4NI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388392},"content":"I’ve been to four or five different schools. I went to school on the north side for a bit – to St John Bosco’s in Cabra. I still remember that playground. I remember being very nervous on the first day – it’s very strong in my mind, standing in a row just being so nervous. I remember kids’ shoes, and the seat next to me, and I remember the concrete yard, just little parts of it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GLXSMCKMUZEJTHB5PGPJQFDWYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388393},"content":"I moved out in my late teens, early 20s, and I’ve moved house every year or two years. The longest place I’d call home is, funnily enough, my studio. It’s a studio that I’ve had on Charlemont Square for six years. It’s the longest place I’ve stayed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KMTAADIXBE73CBBWHCLV2BOTI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388394},"content":"I had a friend when I was in primary school and his dad had a studio space upstairs in his house. He was a graphic designer but did loads of illustrations, and I found that space really curious, and really cool. He brought us to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/national-gallery-of-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">National Gallery</a> with some pencils and charcoals and paper. That’s ar really key memory – sitting on the floor of the <a href=\"https://www.nationalgallery.ie/\" target=\"_blank\">National Gallery</a> and drawing whatever was in front of us.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WWNUOBMDERAUDIWH7QEQXNQPSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388395},"content":"[As a teenager] I found a pocket of graffiti artists who were very like me – curious, creative. Graffiti – street art – really tickled that itch of creativity and put me in a space with other like-minded “outsiders”. I found my tribe and leaned into it. It gave me a sense of community, I think, and purpose.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BSLLZACM25CQNIFPTVGCE4THHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263959},"content":"I was exploring Dublin through the lens of: you can go anywhere, you can literally run around, get the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dart/\" target=\"_blank\">Dart</a> out to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bray/\" target=\"_blank\">Bray</a> – pure play and creativity. This was the mid-1990s. I found [Dublin] a bit more gritty, but more open. The places I was going to wouldn’t be your usual places. Windmill Lane, down on the quays, was a little haven for spray painting. It was a very mixed space. Now it’s all been developed, and it’s lost in some way its charm for me.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEFTDAUOZBG7VD5OSZBT4UPHTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263960},"content":"Where the<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bord-gais-energy-theatre/\" target=\"_blank\"> Bord Gáis Theatre</a> is – they used to call it Misery Hill – was a big, abandoned place that we used to go and spray paint. The Travelling community lived up at the top. You [were] stepping into these spaces that were sort of forbidden in some way, and risky. There was addiction in some of the areas. Now it’s all polished. I guess that’s the way cities transform and change. But I got to see a lot of different areas of Dublin, a lot of in-between areas that people don’t explore.","type":"text"},{"_id":"65K67XWSFVEDZDQOX44XRPRXKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743425211805},"content":"Maser in Mountjoy: ‘The energy was insane. I was genuinely scared’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"S5OCW7FFDBFYXIMGB5AXQR3QNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388396},"content":"I moved to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/\" target=\"_blank\">US</a> for a few years, and then to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>. And then I came back and saw how transformed the city was. It made me realise how transient the space is. Most of the murals that I painted, even legal ones and commissioned ones, are gone. I had a studio down on Newmarket Square 15 years ago, and I painted a big “I’m a Homebird” on that wall. That space was very real, and mixed, and now it’s changed a lot. I see certain communities in there that have been fragmented, that aren’t respected.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VNJF7QIYNFBHCQEK7IFNG2RQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263961},"type":"image"},{"_id":"KH5XHZO3ONFP5NEODFFRMKF774","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388397},"content":"[Early in my career], there was a lot of travel. I’d be going to France, Germany, Australia, Hawaii, Russia, really cool places, doing artwork, painting murals. But internally I was quite disjointed. I don’t think what I was doing aligned with what felt right in me. There was a lot of burnout, emotionally and physically. It came to a point where it was like, I think I need to go home. That was counterintuitive to the progression of my career, I was worried that I was going to be stepping backwards. But I just had the need to do that. I’ve always navigated with my gut.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7KVQK47N7NFLNAKUQEKPIMS37I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263963},"content":"Street art in Ireland: The thorny issue of what is permitted","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AUZNH343R5C2VGV56SQPPTTOB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388398},"content":"I came back about seven or eight years ago and I set up Atelier Maser (I changed the name to Atelier Now a few years later). It was taking all the things I had learned from travel and creating a space that not only was a studio but also held other things that were important to me [like meditation and facilitating other artists’ projects]. That became me being rooted and grounded in Dublin. I wasn’t going backwards, it was the next chapter. And I fell in love with Ireland again because it offered me a lovely sense of place and security. I realised how safe this place was and how maybe it was the best place to have a family and call home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJJ44GOX7RC2XHETQSWWDTLWFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263965},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZYQ3VS4GHBHZPGBZH3TLQ5YRKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388400},"content":"I think Ireland has nurtured my mental health through its landscape. To be able to go out and hike and feed good thoughts and good actions – I don’t think I was able to get that in places like London.","type":"text"},{"_id":"APCULQNPMBH3DBC2F2MCIN5R74","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263968},"content":"From the archive: ‘I had a bit of a rocky year. Mentally, I just felt drained’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LL6YUHHRKBBWLPVEVV3IG7UM6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388401},"content":"My work has fallen into an abstract, contemporary expressive space, but peeling back the layers, you can look at how it’s informed by the Irish landscape. A thing I love about Dublin and Ireland is how accessible natural resources are. I was jogging by the sea this morning with the sun coming up. And then just last weekend I was up in the Dublin mountains with my son and wife. I jog to the sea and, geographically, I know I’m at the edge of something. And then I go up a mountain and look over and get a real sense of space – I get perspective and context on who I am and where I am. My work, at first glance, mightn’t be “Irish”, but it’s all informed by my locations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TKQAV6GVQBCPVGKECEJKB75CGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388402},"content":"<i>In conversation with Niamh Donnelly. This interview, part of a series, was edited for clarity and length. The best of cutting edge and contemporary art, including an installation by Maser, will be showcasedat the first Art Evolve fair, which takes place at the RDS (Industries Hall) from April 4th-6th. Full fair details and booking at </i><a href=\"http://artevolve.ie/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>artevolve.ie</i></a><i>.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[]},"description":{"basic":"Street artist Maser on landscape, life lessons and turning back to go forwards"},"display_date":"2025-03-28T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Maser: ‘I fell in love with Ireland again. It offered me a sense of place and security’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"DWQQWHH67FE6VEUAHW7RU7LW7I","auth":{"1":"bcf1e9f055654ae551a9a131b41975f9d8a4b96458922e7594b570920907bbf2"},"focal_point":{"x":1019,"y":1311},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DWQQWHH67FE6VEUAHW7RU7LW7I.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Culture"},{"name":"Art"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/maser-it-came-to-a-point-i-need-to-go-home-i-fell-in-love-with-ireland-again/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"MSFZ5S5EQ5FF7FHZ6YDB7N34AA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":32,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3ce974b6-1eb2-47fc-8ed4-6bf6623faf5f/versions/1742490584/media/0698b6843c416f46c3663dc685c23c6c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/photography/2025/03/22/the-covid-19-pandemic-in-pictures-echoes-of-a-crisis-five-years-on/","content_elements":[{"_id":"5ZUXH6MLHJF4VG3TZN4OTILNGU","additional_properties":{},"content":"We are five years on from the beginning of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/health/covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\">Covid-19</a> pandemic in Ireland, when former taoiseach <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/leo-varadkar/\" target=\"_blank\">Leo Varadkar</a> announced from Washington a series of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6BX2KTHWRJCOHJSXLN35H4SG6E","additional_properties":{},"content":"More than 9,000 Covid-related deaths were recorded in the State as people’s lives were changed dramatically. From restrictions on socialising to the wearing of face masks, these photographs portray the Irish life during the crisis. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"RWPYVL72Y5ODNBLIOBULKH65FE","additional_properties":{},"type":"image"},{"_id":"R4PFZCBMX5BZPDRGKVCOGYANRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"2FGUT446IVCQ7FBBB77IBO2FMA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"NTEOSF4BFJGZHH6XDZ4X66GDRA","additional_properties":{"_id":"W6WCYWMIYFBX3BKX4ZMJOVSLRM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"76FWORSA25C7PNB5G2RWCKSD44","additional_properties":{"_id":"MMRS7Y7R3VGKVG2NNGK2SCI4TI"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"XY6E365AWNB6JAX4EXKCEQ3P5I","additional_properties":{"_id":"MWTKU32KWJFJ5GKRZWFVWCFKNY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"2CMPAHOOIWCS3E7EAGXR42VY34","additional_properties":{"_id":"7NTHKIO2HFHSXIR5JWU27PYQOM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"HZNQUM7SJREVJNGPYJKDIJSQLY","additional_properties":{"_id":"NNQV3DLN4FAQNHI6TPXVYSKAYI"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"XVBGLMJP25HOTPUV6U6SZI4XKE","additional_properties":{"_id":"BVJDNRX74VEN5GIUCKIFOZNSWY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"AUCINDPGD5A6XNQYCNLIPSNHAU","additional_properties":{"_id":"YDGQ6ZRJ2BGULMTIMLX7W4VDBA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"MSK55SK6Z3J7O5ZQ7CNVBXMWHI","additional_properties":{},"type":"image"},{"_id":"SWTDLDU62JCEZDLDKZ2MDJA6VQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"COPMKK73LZGFBDVZKHXIVDB4TE","additional_properties":{"_id":"SD4SNZZQAZAONDQ6NBDUWLVNCE"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5HER2H2WNKZSKJUFFQ3OXDIL4Y","additional_properties":{},"subtype":"imported","type":"video"},{"_id":"EHUTIVMCFJDF5EIRIKOHTCN3QY","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[]},"description":{"basic":"From social distancing restrictions to acts of remembrance, these are defining photographs of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland"},"display_date":"2025-03-27T08:02:16.812Z","headlines":{"basic":"The Covid-19 pandemic in pictures: Echoes of a crisis five years on","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RWPYVL72Y5ODNBLIOBULKH65FE","auth":{"1":"1758a29e2b044731d511c36966b5e62ac71d3ccbddacfcad9016e40676c896b3"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RWPYVL72Y5ODNBLIOBULKH65FE.jpg"},"lead_art":{"_id":"3f07bc97-5464-4aa5-919c-65ace8fb21fa","embed_html":"<div class=\"powa\" id=\"powa-3f07bc97-5464-4aa5-919c-65ace8fb21fa\" data-org=\"irishtimes\" data-env=\"prod\" data-uuid=\"3f07bc97-5464-4aa5-919c-65ace8fb21fa\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.562\" data-api=\"prod\"><script src=\"//irishtimes.video-player.arcpublishing.com/prod/powaBoot.js?org=irishtimes\"><\/script></div>","promo_image":{"auth":{"1":"b21be337737cf3d1ea2703652c8929cb832e4ff3979505d1e6615ff9b264aa90"},"type":"image","url":"https://d2j5ip5u6h2g6o.cloudfront.net/03-25-2025/t_2f332029d1484dc2af42da35dee5c629_name_image.jpg"},"promo_items":{"basic":{"auth":{"1":"b21be337737cf3d1ea2703652c8929cb832e4ff3979505d1e6615ff9b264aa90"},"type":"image","url":"https://d2j5ip5u6h2g6o.cloudfront.net/03-25-2025/t_2f332029d1484dc2af42da35dee5c629_name_image.jpg"}},"type":"video"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Photography"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/photography/2025/03/22/the-covid-19-pandemic-in-pictures-echoes-of-a-crisis-five-years-on/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"TYGRAJZJGZEQBLDVMX4PVITLRI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":259,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/22211011-d2fc-4386-842e-7734fea5772e/versions/1743004463/media/2784f515b98af3a1556dfc72df0ba9ba_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/27/first-look-sandbox-vr-dublins-new-virtual-reality-experience-where-a-robot-bartender-serves-cocktails-after-your-game/","content_elements":[{"_id":"HDNFRU3CRRCSDHDMQUPM7YU7C4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679899},"content":"If the halls of Star Trek’s holodeck ever felt within grasp, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> just moved one step closer with the opening of its latest attraction. Sandbox VR, which its creators say was inspired by the sci-fi technology, has opened its first location in Ireland, on Dublin’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nassau-street/\" target=\"_blank\">Nassau Street</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P3DDEG53ZBB7LMORFFHLIXZOLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679900},"content":"The €4 million facility boasts five arenas where customers can gear up with virtual reality headsets, in-game weapons and experience custom-built games.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZU4OKWDVEFGUDNP6WMGN2OHOAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679901},"content":"The growing experience economy – or the selling of memorable experiences alongside Instagram-worthy moments – has long made its mark on the capital. A successful stint hosting the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2023/10/24/first-look-the-friends-tv-experience-comes-to-dublin/\">Friends experience</a> and the acclaimed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/van-gogh-dublin-an-immersive-journey-is-like-having-a-very-busy-dream-1.4881960\">Van Gogh Dublin – An Immersive Journey</a> demonstrated Dubliners are more than keen to give these sort of things a go.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVIQ2N5VNNGXHB555MAAYYRABQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679902},"content":"In fact, Sandbox VR’s Ireland and UK chief executive <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/03/24/world-leader-in-virtual-reality-experiences-to-open-flagship-dublin-facility/\">told The Irish Times</a> this week of expectations for Dublin to be its most popular location to date. So how does it shape up?","type":"text"},{"_id":"W2SBBU6DDBGJ5IDOWHCZ35CDU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679903},"content":"Descending from the busy streetscape, one is faced with enough LED lights to rival JJ Abrams’s notoriously lens flare-heavy Star Trek reboot. If <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tesla/\" target=\"_blank\">Tesla’s</a> Cybertruck designers ran loose on the world, it would probably look like this.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7MD4ASVTKJAX7GICVFINTTVUOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679905},"content":"Time to choose our game. As somebody raised on a diet of Call of Duty Zombies, Deadwood Phobia will do just fine. I’m told this shoot ‘em up is the most popular choice – and by far the scariest.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZNBG26XQBFHVE5M5C2RHN5ISY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679906},"content":"My team-mate and I strap on some wrist and hand bracelets to track our movements, and a haptic vest that vibrates when we’re being torn to shreds. The play area is generous, and once we’re confident we won’t crash into the surrounding walls, the game begins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BID74V7ZDJFTHLOI7F3GRTJZXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679907},"content":"Though the graphics aren’t lifelike, they’re pretty amazing. I look to my team-mate, who is dressed rather like Halo’s Master Chief, and we practise shooting our vibrating weapons with convincing in-game skins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"66DMM2246NFRRCWXYZIZA6OFBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679908},"content":"There appears to be a convoluted story involving a sorcerer hell-bent on something or other, but who ever played a zombie game for the plot? All we know is to shoot the baddies and rescue our friends.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VCNBUDUZTRANXEN4FU3KYPV3YY","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"NJYO6N2WHZC2ZKE4JCCFA67BWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679909},"content":"The enemies come in all manner of sizes and get right in your face. Environmental obstacles keep us on our toes too, demanding we duck and dive to survive. By the time we defeat the final boss and return to the real world, it’s clear I’ve broken a sweat.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y7TZUNY4GJHVFF5UJVYCXSW5AA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679910},"content":"The best way to describe Sandbox VR is like being sucked into one of those zombie arcade shooters one used to find in a bowling alley, Jumanji-style. It’s buckets of fun and hard not to lose oneself in the moment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCGSOUCQ6BE6HILLA64K63ALDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679911},"content":"I must note, though, if you’ve tried VR tech before and felt uneasy, this might be one to avoid. Our game lasts half an hour – a long time to be in that space.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCQNKHIMUNDNBH5MU6AA6IUX3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679912},"content":"Like an increasing number of things, this experience charges dynamic pricing. During daytime Monday-Friday, the quietest period, games cost €30 per person for a half an hour session. This increases to €37.50 during weekday evenings and Sundays, reaching €45 during “super-peak” time on Saturdays. There is an additional charge of €5 for games based on Netflix properties, including the critically acclaimed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2024/12/26/squid-game-season-two-review-tense-bloody-follow-up-ticks-boxes-if-youre-craving-more-red-light-green-light/\">Squid Game</a> and the widely panned <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2023/12/21/rebel-moon-part-one-a-child-of-fire-in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-yawn/\">Rebel Moon</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IKHAFNWTYFEOXORITR3MP3DUK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679913},"content":"If the VR wasn’t enough, Ireland’s first fully automated robot bartender is available for beverages after your session is finished. In a city where cocktails under a tenner feels like a bargain these days, €9 for a cocktail and €6 for mocktail seems acceptable – in particular with the added novelty of Toni the robot. I try the Rebel Moon Spritz which, I’ll admit, leaves me with a far better taste than the eponymous film. That’s not a high bar, but it’s a fun gimmick nonetheless.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RVMUS4BIUFGZVBZAIKD24KZYOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679914},"content":"Star Trek can’t come soon enough.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ORQWECA7ZRBEDDEAF6TVKOKD4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679915},"content":"<i>Sandbox VR opens to the public from today</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Conor Capplis"}},"name":"Conor Capplis"}]},"description":{"basic":"Sandbox VR boasts five arenas where customers can gear up and experience custom-built games - it’s like being sucked into an arcade machine"},"display_date":"2025-03-27T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"First look: Sandbox VR, Dublin’s new virtual reality experience, where a robot bartender serves cocktails after your game","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"USLTTSPMPVB5DGGMSVDGLSIF24","auth":{"1":"f1bcfe5a5cd2417bf67b7a75b568b1c6adab5528c8b3f8a53be19854f9ac5ffa"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/USLTTSPMPVB5DGGMSVDGLSIF24.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Dublin"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/27/first-look-sandbox-vr-dublins-new-virtual-reality-experience-where-a-robot-bartender-serves-cocktails-after-your-game/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"IMOBFVAD3FEE5LLCVTG7GIMX5U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":364,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/0a8010c7-746c-43f4-9857-efff548668e3/versions/1742389987/media/1b31f6199f17219122826a68b2b3b272_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/26/roisin-ingle-i-was-mortified-by-how-much-kate-middletons-message-affected-me/","content_elements":[{"_id":"SGNFGI5MAREZHK32XJDU7YMJKM","additional_properties":{},"content":"These days, most of us don’t keep diaries, but the photos on our smartphones are a sort of portal through which we can, with just a finger stroke, summon the days and months and years gone by. We can scroll back to holiday sunsets, good-hair-day selfies, random screenshots, memorable meals and family moments. Our personal visual archives are digital memory boxes communicating messages and insights from our past to our current selves. They can’t tell us the whole story, but they can tell us a lot. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5AMGFL7AVCKBMD2ZMULQNGQ3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’ve been flicking through the photos I took this time last year. It’s a typically eclectic mix. There are endless wedding and bridesmaid dresses, images grabbed from websites. (I was planning a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/01/22/roisin-ingle-after-24-years-of-non-married-bliss-and-bickering-my-wedding-was-a-whirlwind/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/01/22/roisin-ingle-after-24-years-of-non-married-bliss-and-bickering-my-wedding-was-a-whirlwind/\">wedding</a> in a short space of time and was desperate for Big Day Dress inspo.) There are selfies of me smiling while sitting in a big chair. (I was getting weekly chemotherapy in the Mater public hospital.) There are photos of my daughters and me on a night out at the theatre. (I wanted them to see it was possible to have fun even in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\">challenging circumstances</a>.) ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ECM6AR27QVCYPFTUTOSZHACPUI","additional_properties":{},"content":"In some of the photos I have long, brown hair in perfect condition. (I’d just spent a lot of money on a wig.) In other photos, I look like a middle-aged newborn baby. (I got my hair shaved off when it started falling out.) There is one photo of me, wig on, with some of my brothers and sisters at a restaurant that has since shut down. I’m grinning at the camera-wielding waiter but I had E.coli at the time because of my weakened immune system. That photo brings back the excruciating stomach pain I experienced as I tried to eat the side portion of vegetables I had ordered as a main course. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"7XERLAKQ5JHRBNMPEW5GFTD7UA","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"PIXBN2WNOJBGBGBYGFWZIFEXFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"There is no photo of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kate-middleton/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kate-middleton/\">Kate Middleton</a>, but the photos I took this time last year reminded me of her. Scrolling through them I was brought back to a moment, vulnerable, nauseous and in agony from the E.coli, watching a video she made sitting on a bench in her garden in front of a flower bed of daffodils. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"MIHOCAJNPJCLZALC7R63MLBX3Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"In the video, made one year ago this week, she revealed that doctors had found cancer in her body after abdominal surgery and that she was now receiving preventive chemotherapy. It was a surprise to me and to those close to me that I even watched her video. Part of my coping strategy back then was avoiding any mention of cancer, which was nearly impossible. It seemed to be everywhere. (It is everywhere.) Despite having cancer myself, I was actively avoiding cancer content. For some reason I forced myself to press play on her video, hoping I wouldn’t regret it. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"44OPDDOY2RE6TPOT34EU4E53QU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I did not regret it. She talked about how she was coping, in mind, body and spirit. She spoke about the impact on her children. But it was her final, carefully chosen words, referencing all of us who were facing the disease, “in whatever form”, that really spoke to me. “Please do not lose faith or hope; you are not alone,” she said. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BDBO3DHQDZHUBLYYHZXQBH62HQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I cried then, in my bed, surrounded by used tissues and books I didn’t have the concentration to read. I let myself cry for ages. I cried for her, for her children, for myself and for all of us dealing with these life-changing challenges. Afterwards, I was slightly mortified by how much a two-minute video made by a princess – a princess! – had affected me. But I was also grateful. She had tapped into something that had been previously missing. A sense of solidarity that until then I hadn’t allowed myself to feel. I realised that despite all the support I had from family and friends, I was feeling alone in the experience. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGKP7YAM4ZG6TBWRP2QEO4OGUA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I felt a little less alone after watching that video. So much so that I actually thought about writing Kate Middleton a letter. I didn’t in the end. Or maybe this is the letter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BECJOGQJUJBP3IC2DTCJTHYQHM","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"HASZ3SU6K5A23EX3WEGUN24BZI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I looked back at her video this week, noticing the flowers behind her, realising that she delivered that message around Daffodil Day last year. This is the biggest fundraising day for cancer societies and it’s happening on Friday all over this country. I avoided it completely last year, I realise now. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"AVZM4MNKPJASTFNU5NRIJW6UCY","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I am still careful about the links I click on. Google is not my friend. But one year later, still on treatment <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\">(they tell me my cancer is not curable)</a>, I am not as afraid of cancer content. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"XJO7W7DQ75C7DEGTEGXXQ6F5LQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Anyway, I cannot avoid it. A younger friend started treatment last week for her cancer. We’ve been talking and texting a lot. It has helped us both, I hope. A relative in the UK has been sharing updates of the innovative treatment she has been receiving in Germany, having been told by her doctors in the UK that they have no options left for her. A neighbour is recovering from a mastectomy and is now facing into the next stage of treatment. A dear friend is grieving her close friend who was also her guru, mentor and guide, who died from cancer recently. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZUO4IACMIFGGRC3W7KGEI5V2DI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I could, by now, write several columns about the things to say and not to say to those going through it. I could tell you the ways to help and the things that definitely do not help. But as Daffodil Day approaches, I think I will just echo this simple message from a princess: Please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEGW3NUXMRF37M64SYBBJ64OIQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<i>Daffodil Day is on Friday, March 28th. For information visit The Irish Cancer Society at </i><a href=\"https://fundraise.cancer.ie\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://fundraise.cancer.ie\"><i>fundraise.cancer.ie</i></a>","type":"text"},{"_id":"EMQCZBKNTFCYBG4ZXRNCYWGODE","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Róisín Ingle"}},"name":"Róisín Ingle"}]},"description":{"basic":"But I was also grateful. I am still careful about the links I click on but I am not as afraid of cancer content "},"display_date":"2025-03-26T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Róisín Ingle: I was mortified by how much Kate Middleton’s message affected me","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"F46HKV7VOJWH62BDKKIUYWRJS4","auth":{"1":"44bc18775301203c327428534d788e348eac3d54d7503579b47efacfe06ddd67"},"focal_point":{"x":1709,"y":653},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/F46HKV7VOJWH62BDKKIUYWRJS4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/26/roisin-ingle-i-was-mortified-by-how-much-kate-middletons-message-affected-me/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"LZUK5ZJ5HRD63GOM2GTROOMYPY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":379,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3f87d5c2-cb62-4959-94aa-0141b3336076/versions/1742819965/media/f33ad403d345b90ddc522c0cfffd89ba_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-is-irish-social-media-star-garron-noone-at-the-heart-of-a-controversy-on-immigration/","content_elements":[{"_id":"Q4GLALMATJB6JECCJK6CJBGV5Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"Who is Garron Noone and why did he disappear?","type":"header"},{"_id":"JFIVIEGQ7VAZ5LDNF5FUVGBZ5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430511},"content":"If you hadn’t encountered the name <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/garron-noone/\" target=\"_blank\">Garron Noone</a> before, it is likely you have been unable to avoid it over the last week. The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok\" target=\"_blank\">TikTok</a> comedian has <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025/03/24/garron-noone-shows-its-hard-to-find-the-words-to-talk-about-immigration/\" target=\"_self\">generated a stir online</a>, deactivating his social media accounts after posting a viral video discussing <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\">immigration</a> in Ireland. A popular social media content creator from Co Mayo, Noone had 1.7 million followers on TikTok alone. It is unclear why he decided to deactivate or delete his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/instagram\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a> and TikTok accounts. On Monday, he returned to both platforms to say he stood by his first video and was clarifying “any points I’ve seen that were taken up differently to how I meant them”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3QR4N67ISFE6BA4ODURA3HLT5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430512},"content":"Noone, who is also a musician, started his social media journey largely by posting music clips and the occasional whimsical thoughts to his Instagram page. After starting to post some of his more eccentric content to TikTok, a video in which he ranked ice creams got 40,000 views and fame was sealed. He has spoken openly about his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2024/09/28/garron-noone-i-have-had-some-people-cross-the-line-ive-had-to-go-to-the-guards-about-things/\" target=\"_self\">struggles with anxiety and agoraphobia</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGKE5XVTWRAEZN4SDMGMAT4RJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430513},"content":"The Mayo man launched his own podcast, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/review/2024/10/29/listen-im-delicious-garron-noones-food-podcast-is-the-most-irish-audio-experience-you-can-have/\" target=\"_blank\">Listen, I’m Delicious</a>, in October last year. This food-themed interview show is named after his catchphrase: “Follow me, I’m delicious.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L5IPXV2ILRB25DXYDCLXJHFEBM","additional_properties":{},"content":"What did he say that sparked so much controversy?","type":"header"},{"_id":"DEEYARZTAVCLXOWY3D5AOJ4UQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430515},"content":"While Noone’s content typically encompasses lighthearted clips about all things Irish, he chose to address <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/conor-mcgregor/\" target=\"_blank\">Conor McGregor</a>’s visit to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/03/18/why-did-donald-trump-bring-conor-mcgregor-to-the-white-house/\" target=\"_blank\">White House</a> in a video last Thursday. During his appearance, McGregor said “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness” and that “the illegal immigration racket is running ravage”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OVRSB4IM3JEWLHZL4F5ZKNBWOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430516},"content":"Noone said he had been “inundated” with messages asking him to talk about the MMA fighter’s comments on immigration.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RMMITGN6TRCUHAIUG7ISNZ6KPA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430517},"content":"After prefacing his video by saying he would need much longer to explain his views on McGregor, immigration, the Irish economy and the Government, Noone continued: “Now my opinion on Conor McGregor is irrelevant, but I don’t think he’s a good person.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSOBZ6FFCFEQDNFNG7I2CQQVHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430518},"content":"“I don’t think it’s particularly hard to find evidence of that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CAOGGW3BTRE7FHANUASWYNJ26I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430519},"content":"McGregor is appealing a civil court ruling that he sexually assaulted <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nikita-hand/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nikita-hand/\">Nikita Hand</a> in a Dublin hotel room in 2018.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXJ24FWQ7RBMFC5UNOVJXXKXAY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Conor McGregor wants court to allow new evidence from two people in appeal of civil rape case finding","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YCJQHOJI7RBT3KEMMYGWIWTK7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430520},"content":"Noone added that it didn’t surprise him “in the least” to see people agreeing with what McGregor had said during his trip to Washington.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BWJHY52U3NBN5AJHMRV4OENWOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430521},"content":"“There absolutely is an immigration issue in Ireland,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AQMTIFRDLNHULOWYQWDIOCSHZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430522},"content":"“That doesn’t mean that people feel like we shouldn’t take the refugees that we’re able to take. It doesn’t mean that people feel like people shouldn’t be able to come here for better opportunities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IKMOUPTFJVCPZPILCGBM3Z6LWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430523},"content":"“But the systems that we have in place are being taken advantage of. And that is plain to see. And the Government continually does not allow people to express their concerns about that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5V5RSTUOJEUZECYNR44KPUY34","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430524},"content":"He followed up these comments by claiming that “our towns and especially our cities are becoming much less safe”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ONCPKU3YLFGHJNEZZGY7RGVHV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430525},"content":"“Now that’s not just because of immigration, there’s a lot of factors to that. But if you can’t see that that’s happening, then you have not left your house,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"55H5BV54CBGVZOA5MUSGRHMMHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430526},"content":"Concluding his video last week, Noone said, “A lot of people in the comments are going to completely misconstrue what I’ve said here but that’s the internet for you,” ending with his usual sign-off: “Anyway, stay delicious.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RCTRBK2IVJEEXJNUUNOXLRFL7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430527},"content":"In a follow-up video, the comedian defended his comments, saying he was not anti-immigration and denouncing the far-right and extremism. He also said people should be able to express their views on immigration.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GQN4JOGCG5FMFAE75PKYRGJCAA","additional_properties":{},"content":"In his video on Monday, he said this would be the last time he would address the matter. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"52ZU4GWRIRF4BBTAZYP5HQRUDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"So what did he say on Monday?","type":"header"},{"_id":"KNF7POR53ZGSDDKSWD3D2OQJFE","additional_properties":{},"content":"Noone said he was not anti-immigrant and had never said so. He acknowledged that some of the points he had made were “too vague” and “too open to interpretation”. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ITHMKLPC2FCT5KMCIVFF4D2HZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Enough people did misinterpret it, that it’s clear to me that I definitely could have communicated it better, and that is 100 per cent on me. I absolutely should be held accountable for that,” he added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6O7BZB5B55AURDTCFP7RS27BRU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He said that if things he says are poorly communicated, they should be criticised, now and in the future. His video of last week, he said, had been misappropriated by members of the far right to “bolster their own agenda”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CNBNTI5LJD25NO2AX7V3CVYGU","additional_properties":{},"content":"The reaction to his video on the McGregor comments was “very upsetting”, leading to his decision to silence his social media accounts. Noone said he would now return to what he normally does.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ARTN5DO7FRFE7CV6R2LZQKYGZM","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDMJPFAUS5CMBNCTYWMJ6R3FL4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Back to McGregor, is there any truth claims that Irish people are a minority in rural towns?","type":"header"},{"_id":"F25V7G2BLRDDRINOJHJHUOKNDE","additional_properties":{},"content":"No, the most recent census offers evidence to the contrary. Taken in April 2022, as large numbers of Ukrainians and others came to the State seeking asylum, the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/03/22/conor-mcgregor-says-irelands-rural-towns-are-being-overrun-by-immigrants-here-are-the-facts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/03/22/conor-mcgregor-says-irelands-rural-towns-are-being-overrun-by-immigrants-here-are-the-facts/\">census results showed</a> that Irish citizens remain the majority in every town.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IPOSPBD4OVER7BHV7IF3KF6CKY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Conor McGregor says Ireland’s rural towns are being ‘overrun’ by immigrants. Here are the facts","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"SEQGWU3Q3FEJ3FQ6EVB2D7JV44","additional_properties":{},"content":"What was the reaction to the initial video?","type":"header"},{"_id":"7ER3WWAREVD4BCTCIZFSHE4L3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430533},"content":"Several fellow influencers and politicians posted on social media to voice their support and encouragement for him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NY6W66I2O5HULJA6TNYJM3VWSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430534},"content":"Sinn Féin TD <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/david-cullinane/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/david-cullinane/\">David Cullinane</a> said: “It’s sad to see Garron Noone has deactivated his social media accounts. I love his content & he is as decent as he is funny. There is not a racist bone in his body & nor is it racist to talk about immigration. Even if we do so a little clumsily. Hopefully we see him back soon.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZLO6TCUZRJD63PO5XGXNYX5DAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430535},"content":"Aontú TD <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/peadar-toibin/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/peadar-toibin/\">Peadar Tóibín</a> wrote: “The engine of democracy is the competition of ideas. The best ideas percolate to the top and become policy. The silencing of majority views by a minority is authoritarian & damages that democracy. Garron Noone is a fine comedian & should be allowed speak.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UCLUE2EPLJGKNBWF42ABMRLQRA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Garron Noone shows it’s hard to find the words to talk about immigration","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"EQ56VHVE4NFSVAVU2QBHGVM7O4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430536},"content":"Former Dancing with the Stars contestant Miriam Mullins, who has 2.2 million TikTok followers, called for an end to “this witch-hunt”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VRARKVQDFDT5A5QX6MUZ7HENA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430537},"content":"“I’m so appalled. One of my favourite people to watch and follow on TikTok, I literally sit down every evening with my cup of tea and watch Garron Noone. He’s taking down all his accounts because he’s been bullied off the internet ...","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQGQMLTY6RG25DRU6RUCEDQELU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430538},"content":"“People asked him for his opinion, he gave it, and somehow people can’t take it and go on this witch-hunt.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"J5IPWPNW5VHHDPIFD47V3WJJZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430539},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VFCRT2MRXFBTNOLBWEBYLBX52Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430540},"content":"Controversial TV personality <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/katie-hopkins/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/katie-hopkins/\">Katie Hopkins</a> also weighed in, saying in a post on X: “Don’t apologise. Don’t look back. The crowds are in advance of you, cheering you on. You ARE delicious. Katie.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6TILXF2R2JFPPFAO76MSIWAUUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430541},"content":"And despite Noone’s condemnation of the far right, a number of prominent far-right accounts on X reposted his initial video.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZZS2VDDTL5CRLCHXZITCMINS7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430542},"content":"Andrew Tate’s brother <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/22/innocent-men-dont-run-andrew-and-tristan-tate-arrive-in-romania-after-weeks-in-us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/22/innocent-men-dont-run-andrew-and-tristan-tate-arrive-in-romania-after-weeks-in-us/\">Tristan Tate</a> added his two cents, simply saying: “Garron Noone did nothing wrong.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7E2FEPFR2NAWPK53FSGR25RBW4","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"257OYQLSUNDDZJY27QOWRCZMTY","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Irish Times has attempted to contact Garron Noone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D6XJUKDTLRBWFFTR57TNU562OM","additional_properties":{},"content":"<i>*This article was updated to reflect Garron Noone’s return to social media on Monday.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ella Sloane"}},"name":"Ella Sloane"}]},"description":{"basic":"Tiktok personality is known for more light-hearted online content"},"display_date":"2025-03-25T09:32:55.466Z","headlines":{"basic":"Why is Irish social media star Garron Noone at the heart of a controversy on immigration?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"4MSIWT4Y2NAUDNKWVW5GRMCHMA","auth":{"1":"b84a54be054e5176f60888c0036fa49495a2cfe5085a051a361d476b1c72a868"},"focal_point":{"x":2612,"y":1651},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/4MSIWT4Y2NAUDNKWVW5GRMCHMA.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-is-irish-social-media-star-garron-noone-at-the-heart-of-a-controversy-on-immigration/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"DMNB7AJECVENHLLWUYFCKBL75M","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":426,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/ad0ad4b3-30e1-496b-8f0f-084a83017d21/versions/1742382257/media/2ba006500626d4065633d049f94bd26f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/a-new-yorker-in-antrim-there-have-been-frissons-of-suspicion-but-there-is-a-strong-sense-of-community/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RIJI7TF7JJHT3GEAIGRZW3SRKY","additional_properties":{},"content":"During a trip to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\">Belfast</a> in 2010, Rosie Schaap was at a big crossroads in her life. The New Yorker was grappling with the loss of her first husband, Frank, who had died from oesophageal cancer earlier that year. She didn’t know it yet, but that trip would change everything. Nine years later, Schaap was slowly settling into life in the Glens of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/antrim/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/antrim/\">Antrim</a>, making a new home in the coastal village of Glenarm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQAMQJA7VNHZVARFCFYEZTROM4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I had one remarkable encounter involving grief when I was in Belfast,” she recalls. After meeting three women in a hotel bar – “Dubliners” – and exchanging pleasantries about the cocktails they were drinking, Schaap suddenly found herself “pouring my heart out to them”. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BJS5LU233FBQNFHDMLMTGN4QSM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Something made me feel very very safe and sheltered in their company and I told them about Frank’s death and his experience with cancer. They surrounded me, I mean literally, in their arms. As wonderful as my friends and family had been in the States, it just had a different feeling. This openness to a stranger’s grief and loss.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RQKNOFJM6JCCLESWBKHWR7R43Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"“There are a lot of cliches about Ireland being particularly good at death and loss and grief, but I think like some cliches it is based soundly on the truth of experience.” ","type":"text"},{"_id":"2GKKS3KJVNFSFIFIBWIGHVB2UI","additional_properties":{},"content":"A journalist and author, these themes would later come to inspire Schaap’s memoir The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country, her memoir about finding solace in Glenarm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LUVL227G6FDX7KIPXPGBBYBM2A","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Slow Road North by Rosie Schaap: A beautiful, unsparing memoir about grief","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"74G4ZVN7Z5GHLNEIL73MAMICMI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The visit to Belfast in 2010 was not Schaap’s first time in Ireland, however; that had been in the summer of 1991. Despite many returns to the country since, this trip was the first time she ventured back up North.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DT5UQX4AAZDI5BFQGAWZOFNF5I","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It was 1991 to 2010. I waited that long to travel North again and I saw a very different place from the place I’d seen in 1991. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"XB7HOUX6AFFCTO3U2K2JQ5HX3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I’d spent a summer doing an Irish studies course in Trinity [College Dublin] and it was a ball,” she says. “It was such a great time and I made lifelong friends there. In 1991, which was some years before the peace process started up North, Trinity was pretty paternalistic about telling international students not to go up North.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZQIMKJR5L5FCPDDAMVSFL6637Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"“So I did exactly as they told me not to do, like any self-respecting 20-year-old person would, and it was eye opening. It wasn’t a great visit. When I could really afford to travel again in my late 20s and 30s, I came back to the Republic many times, but I hadn’t been up North. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"RRX3IIVJQNHA3GIIXDG53G5RKY","additional_properties":{},"content":"“As a native New Yorker, I’d lived through tense times in New York city but of course it was a different order of tension in Belfast and one I wasn’t accustomed to.” ","type":"text"},{"_id":"NKLEF4GAYVCZDCELUN3JG2KIWY","embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-52425","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"YLWQFBRXZNG2XAHRGPAVEDDI2E","additional_properties":{},"content":"A “terrific afternoon” spent with Belfast poet <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ciaran-carson\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ciaran-carson\">Ciarán Carson</a> was the beginning of a domino effect on Schaap’s life. “He gave me a tour of the Falls area where he had grown up and then he took me to the [Seamus] Heaney Centre” in Queen’s University, which the journalist would later come to know as a student and teacher. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"IH3U7ALZSNGWTPE2KJG4FEGWUE","additional_properties":{},"content":"It was on the same tentative visit back to Belfast that Schaap met and struck up a friendship with Mark. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"IZEH2JZIIRGJJA5V3RKO7LG6LE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Because I had such a great time here, I kept pitching stories to bring me back to the North. Mark became my sort of helper/fixer. If I needed a restaurant recommendation in Ballycastle or a driver.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ZNOI755SJDKTBG6UQA2UAKYII","additional_properties":{},"content":"Over time their relationship developed into something more, and the pair moved in together during Covid, shortly after Schaap’s move to Glenarm, and got married.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZ33PN56VRG63B7PGRSN4XCW2A","additional_properties":{},"content":"“We had a really great lockdown experience together. I think also the intensity of the experience of Covid had the effect of, in some way, making certain things get very real ... We celebrated our third anniversary this February.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPUYAPJF6FCAXEA4AROTAURDZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Her wedding band, a silver <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2025/03/15/claddagh-ring-revival-the-age-group-25-35-have-no-problem-lashing-out-450-for-one/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2025/03/15/claddagh-ring-revival-the-age-group-25-35-have-no-problem-lashing-out-450-for-one/\">Claddagh ring</a>, glints as she talks about the first few months of that new chapter of life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TXTNFBMKMVCB5JTMYE537WWSIE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I arrived here on 9/11 which is not the most auspicious date for a New Yorker to try to start something new in her life,” says Schaap. “At least now I have something happy to associate that day with, rather than just something very sad.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GSAUDRWD7RCMPJ5647KJSUG5MY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3Z4ERDGADZB2PF6TEZ6DXJBPO4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Schaap was on a work trip when she first became acquainted with the village she now calls home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IJJSQGPSQNGBXJMIJCLKC5DX3M","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I had been through here on a reporting trip in 2016. I knew nothing about Glenarm, but I wanted a quiet place to stay and write for a couple of days. I liked it so much on that short visit that I came back the following year for a month and I liked it even more.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VFZ6IQYVIVHOHKQ3HLMPAUVW3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"“What I didn’t know before I got here was that not only do we have the sea at one end of the village, we have a protected forest at the other end, and it was really that combination that captivated me,” she says. “After a lifetime in New York, Glenarm is what I wanted. I wanted the outdoors, I wanted wildlife and nature and just a very quiet life.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4RHHJIMHFZDW3FMWEY52OKLJUQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Although “the great majority of people have been incredibly kind and welcoming”, Schaap notes that “roots here are so deep. It’s very small and ... there have been little frissons of suspicion. You know, ‘Too many outsiders coming’”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3XUGVXQZBEDBNNOXFYI5HUC3Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"Thinking of it now as an “indoctrination ritual perhaps”, Schaap remembers a sense of paranoia was instilled by some of the village’s children initially. “When I first moved here and it was just me on my own ... some local schoolboys really made it their mission to just bang on my door and run away. I don’t think of myself as a particularly paranoid person but I didn’t quite understand the meaning of it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VXTON5EHINADFI73ASSH4HGEUU","additional_properties":{},"content":"She is now the chairwoman of Glenarm Wildlife Group and has fully immersed herself in the tight-knit local community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKROIKT3GZEBTKFLD4KXZCTVSE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“There is a strong sense of community, for sure, and community can be a very loaded word here in the North of Ireland. When you see it in its kindest, most generous, most kindest iterations it is a real thing and a positive thing. It’s not just a euphemism in those cases.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SHMXNSBC6JE5JJOGIZ72ZEZEYM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Giving the ritual of a funeral as an example, Schaap says “the way that people honour and remember and pay attention to their lost loved ones” has touched her. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"DX4RIYFEWVCCJPHKCMBNUIC6EU","additional_properties":{},"content":"“In the almost six years that I’ve lived in Glenarm, I’ve already lost some wonderful friends in the village ... Here it’s so small that you’ll go to one of the churches for the funeral and then the casket is walked through the village to one of the cemeteries. Even people who can’t come out and go, everybody stands outside their door and takes some time and I find it really moving.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"J655LOXY2BFITDNPGU4IPKHDJ4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It’s something I certainly wouldn’t have seen in New York.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"H3KVXPT7WBFEDH7BK7UO62N3T4","additional_properties":{"_id":"2BWE3BIIGVFYLJ6LESSWYE3FY4"},"content":"<i>We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email </i><a href=\"mailto:newtotheparish@irishtimes.com\" title=\"\"><i>newtotheparish@irishtimes.com</i></a><i><b> </b></i><i>or tweet </i><a href=\"https://twitter.com/newtotheparish?lang=en\"><i>@newtotheparish</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ella Sloane"}},"name":"Ella Sloane"}]},"description":{"basic":"Author and journalist Rosie Schaap found solace and community in the Glens of Antrim after the death of her first husband"},"display_date":"2025-03-25T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"A New Yorker in Antrim: ‘There have been frissons of suspicion but there is a strong sense of community’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"LVYGUMLBKVF4NKACPRPPPFO2FY","auth":{"1":"955bd78b8e3d57dd535dfb45199e61e473d235c9849eed845ed3e2f5e50fa7a9"},"focal_point":{"x":938,"y":900},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/LVYGUMLBKVF4NKACPRPPPFO2FY.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/a-new-yorker-in-antrim-there-have-been-frissons-of-suspicion-but-there-is-a-strong-sense-of-community/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"26SQKAE5SNF67OW4OVGNGUUBEI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":343,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/fbdfe91e-7084-431d-bc27-1775027ef0bf/versions/1742826329/media/2361304f149931b953c60ff2fb20301c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/elon-musks-daughter-vivian-jenna-wilson-i-do-not-actually-know-how-many-siblings-i-have/","content_elements":[{"_id":"3JLS2FE5VZFTXHIPSQDSKWFQYY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Versha Sharma, the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, said she had started to pay close attention to Vivian Jenna Wilson, the 20-year-old daughter of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\">Elon</a> and Justine Musk, around the time of last autumn’s presidential election.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6X4WNHQTMBF7PHPOXJ5BDJKOJ4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“The more that we started to learn about her from watching her <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok/\">TikTok</a>s, or just following her online, we realised that she has a really powerful and interesting and hilarious voice and a way of cutting through the noise with humour,” Sharma said in a phone interview on Friday.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6FPT6AHE6JEC3G5GJZTRQJX5MQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ella Yurman, a writer and comedian, was able to set up an interview with Wilson, leading to her first byline for Teen Vogue, which landed on the cover of a special issue. The interview spread quickly around social media as soon as it was published on Thursday.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IEXMOCQPQZHFXIED3V2I6XWOFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"In the interview, Wilson, who is a trans woman, discussed a wide variety of topics, including whether she is famous (“I don’t like saying that I’m famous because I want to do something more to deserve that fame”), her relationship with social media (“I am the Queen of Threads”), her family (“I do not actually know how many siblings I have”) and her politics (“I am constantly shifting and evolving”).","type":"text"},{"_id":"DPPKTEGFQJADTK6CCW4LGXN26U","additional_properties":{},"content":"But it was her in-depth discussion of her father that had the internet buzzing as soon as the piece was published. She addressed the debate over his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2025/01/25/teslas-rising-stock-versus-falling-brand-how-far-can-musk-push-it/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2025/01/25/teslas-rising-stock-versus-falling-brand-how-far-can-musk-push-it/\">hand gestures</a> at an inaugural event for president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\">Donald Trump</a> in January, saying, “Honey, we’re going to call a fig a fig, and we’re going to call a Nazi salute what it was.” She emphasised that she is financially independent and said she had had no relationship with Musk since 2020. She said he was “not as supportive as my mom” when she transitioned and began taking testosterone blockers. And she said she is not afraid to speak out against him despite his wealth and influence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"STA4FCZR7ZGMFKCYIQNGRPT54Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"“People thrive off of fear,” she said. “I’m not giving anyone that space in my mind.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NBJFI2KWI5C3NDBSHHBDG7KALM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Musk, who did not respond to a request for comment, has not publicly addressed the interview.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQ33M47SEZCEJMKC57FUCVVDK4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Sharma said her editorial team was aware of the potential problems of publishing a story that is critical of the richest man in the world and that “we expected there could be some reaction, but we really wanted this story to be guided by Vivian, and also to focus on who she is, beyond just his daughter”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CBUPXR3FHJFBXE6LXB4RV2STEM","additional_properties":{},"content":"The interview was conducted via Zoom, with Wilson speaking from Japan, and it involved Yurman and the Teen Vogue team speaking to Wilson several times over a period of months. To illustrate the interview, Teen Vogue arranged a photo shoot in Tokyo with photographer Andy Jackson, who took inspiration from the film Lost in Translation and various coming-of-age themes around girlhood.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4ATU7LBTLBF6VBSGNWOZ22TX64","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"J4PZT6HLT5H5PJEF2I37XR26TM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It is always very much part of Teen Vogue shoots to be bold and colourful and also capture our subjects in motion, and try as much as possible to show what life is actually like for teenagers and young people today,” Sharma said. “Vivian, of course, is a very unique 20-year-old, but she is a 20-year-old, and so we were also happy to capture her and her environment.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C3TAQ2VYZNOQERSEWMJN7YMU3U","additional_properties":{},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZCJXXU2QJZHBTMK22PTHYTNHFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"The interview is both casual, with Wilson discussing her interests and future ambitions, and serious when it comes to discussion of Musk.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7MQUUN5L25EWJNUBH56PNRCG6E","additional_properties":{},"content":"At the centre of the heated debates about transgender issues are people who just want to live their lives","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"W6AS33NF5FBHLLITEX77TV7FNQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wilson, who did not respond to a request for further comment, is not alone among members of Musk’s family who have publicly discussed what he is like behind the scenes as a person and as a parent. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/grimes/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/grimes/\">Grimes</a>, the pop star with whom he has three children, has routinely taken to the social platform X to raise issues, including a recent request that he get in touch with her to deal with an unspecified medical condition with one of their children. And Musk’s father, Errol, publicly questioned Musk’s parenting ability in a podcast interview before telling The New York Times that “the press takes things out of context” and that he and his son have an excellent relationship.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HSNCRUXXKVE43INYIVYZEM3HZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"But Wilson, in what Teen Vogue said was only her second interview – her first was with NBC last year – offered a unique perspective on Musk’s political activity, which has included attacks on the trans community. In an interview with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jordan-peterson/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jordan-peterson/\">Jordan Peterson</a> last year, Musk said Wilson, whom he referred to as his son, was “dead – killed by the woke mind virus”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RNSMMLZHZNF7BJW3J6K7IVEPSQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wilson said in the Teen Vogue interview that Musk’s politics had shifted to the right, but she emphasised that she felt it was not a major departure from his previous beliefs and that she believed her being trans was not a part of that shift.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3EJKMIKAK5CFRBWGHNQQALXYHA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Elon Musk says: ‘My Irish friends are awesome’ – but who are they?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IGMCFODW3VDPFFPSWVA3JJ22QM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Him going further on the right, and I’m going to use the word ‘further’ – make sure you put ‘further’ in there – is not because of me,” she said. “That’s insane.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFG3JP3XKZDZPIO455LIZ6UCMM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Addressing trans issues was a priority for Sharma.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HWBAPZF3JCUVEZHZIDPIUFWV4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“We want to be a resource for trans youth and any other marginalised youth who feel targeted in any way,” she said. “We’re seeing escalating attacks on their access to health care, other basic rights – just their basic identities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OFURFUGDXNDUHJJZQFX763MVDI","additional_properties":{},"content":"But both she and Yurman said they hoped to show Wilson in a much broader light.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7DVUWC22FRDD5CFR7M4IWOKZPE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“The interview is light in the way that it makes you laugh, and it’s an entertaining read, because that’s the kind of person that she is,” Sharma said of Wilson. “And she is an extremely online 20-year-old, regardless of who her parents are. And I think that comes through.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7JQEBY4LZNBBFLOKBQEXNX35VQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Yurman, who said by email that she had talked to Wilson since the story’s publication about how “surreal” the whole endeavour had been, hopes the interview gives people a real sense of Wilson.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EZA2FDTBPRCUBCBEY4DM5CFPVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I hope readers take away that Vivian, like everyone else, is a human being,” she said. “I think a lot of coverage of trans people these days, even high-profile trans people, ends up centering their transness so much that it reduces them to two-dimensional figures without interiority. Most of all, I wanted this piece to give Vivian a chance to be herself in front of the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6GHUIBLJLZDUZL3OCR5G3BW67I","additional_properties":{},"content":"This article originally appeared in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/style/vivian-wilson-teen-vogue-elon-musk.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/style/vivian-wilson-teen-vogue-elon-musk.html\">The New York Times</a>.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"name":"Katie Van Syckle"},{"name":"Benjamin Hoffman"}]},"description":{"basic":"Wilson (20) told Teen Vogue she is not afraid to speak out against her father"},"display_date":"2025-03-25T05:44:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Elon Musk’s daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson: ‘I do not actually know how many siblings I have’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"7TWU4MFYRRH5LIH73JFL2Z5FAQ","auth":{"1":"ce49b27b063ad8e796230121af6dd44e56defb99843d477afaeba72a8abc9109"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7TWU4MFYRRH5LIH73JFL2Z5FAQ.png"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"US"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/elon-musks-daughter-vivian-jenna-wilson-i-do-not-actually-know-how-many-siblings-i-have/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"VCXFO77B7RFO3IEK63AT5YKR3E","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":877,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3f49c857-2e70-4c72-a130-0a8a1a7df4e4/versions/1742812772/media/92d2a510dfe7bf4dae7442d3405d2746_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/the-inside-story-of-evie-the-us-conservative-womens-magazine-with-big-ambitions-and-sex-tips-for-wives/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TE6TKOI265GAFJWU6Z3WPQCSCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176340},"content":"“Does Brittany look oppressed to you?” Gabriel Hugoboom asked, gesturing toward his wife.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GVHD6SUCFNFH3HLM3N4RZH7WV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176341},"content":"She did not. The model, clad in thigh-high black boots, was perched on a cream-coloured couch in the couple’s new apartment, poking fun at her critics. As editor-in-chief of Evie, a US women’s publication opposed to what she calls “modern” feminism, Brittany Hugoboom has been accused of participating in her own subjugation and undermining women’s rights, claims she finds ridiculous and unfair.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5FLVRVZABAPFL55JI6YRPJJP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176342},"content":"“There are all these people that are so triggered and angry that we exist,” she said. Those seeking left-wing views had other publications to read, she added. “Why can’t there be one that offers women an alternative?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DOIOVWWYRBBO5FN4FWYFRUONBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176343},"content":"Behind her, floor-to-ceiling windows showed off a dizzying view of New York City’s skyline. The turnkey rental in midtown Manhattan was a work in progress, since half of the Hugobooms’s belongings were still in Miami, where they had lived until last month. But it was spotless, luxurious and spacious enough for them to fit their two young daughters (as well as the relatives who often fly in to help care for them) and work from home on building what they call their “feminine” business empire.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IJX2M7YRFVGGHOWYQNEICRWCDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176344},"content":"The Hugobooms, both 33, are cofounders of two companies: Evie, a glossy magazine and website that Brittany Hugoboom has described as a “conservative Cosmo,” and 28, a menstrual cycle-based wellness app backed by Silicon Valley billionaire <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/peter-thiel/\" target=\"_self\">Peter Thiel</a>. Through 28, they sell a supplement called “Toxic Breakup” for women to use after quitting hormonal birth control, and through Evie, they release limited-edition clothing – most recently, a corseted “raw milkmaid” sundress “inspired by the hardworking dairymaids of 18th-century Europe”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BOGJRQSP7VFY3LKVS33LY6PJ7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176345},"content":"“We want to build the one-stop shop for femininity,” said Hugoboom, who is the public face of both businesses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ABMBUJXZR25YPD3UYCEYOLT6YA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176346},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5XLNLBI3P5H4VDB7G3NHMBGAYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176347},"content":"Femininity does <i>not</i> mean feminism, which Hugoboom doesn’t define as equal rights but as a self-hating movement that is anti-family and anti-male – one that shames women who “choose conventional roles”. Despite running two companies, she is particularly critical of what she calls “girlboss feminism”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KJGNAO4OEJHPDFRD76RZUEFL4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176348},"content":"Her interpretation of that term – which went from broadly celebrated to roundly dismissed in the 2010s – is that it encourages women to “be just like men” to succeed in corporate fields. Such messaging, she says, has made women anxious, lonely and unfulfilled. Instead, she believes, faith, family and love, not “casual sex, careerism or ideological activism”, supply the greatest satisfaction.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z3YXSYTRRRFVDBQHF3P55VATRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176349},"content":"“I think more women want a soft life, a beautiful life, than feeling all this pressure to do all these things,” Hugoboom explained.","type":"text"},{"_id":"33OVFQV2JNG6TDEEMVWDVEVG7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176350},"content":"At first glance, Evie seems non-partisan, publishing content daily about topics such as award season red carpets and styling skinny jeans. But readers who click past “hot girl” health trends and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/adam-brody/\" target=\"_self\">Adam Brody</a> appreciation posts will find articles that promote positions that are fringe even within conservative circles – criticisms of no-fault divorce and in vitro fertilisation, for example – packaged in a fun and approachable format. (A typical Evie headline: “Amy From ‘Love Is Blind’ Is Right To Be Hesitant About Birth Control.”)","type":"text"},{"_id":"IRSPZZHYBFHUXMI7KTUC6K2V64","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"AUSNPCXHEFBARGVJEC5DRFUALA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176352},"content":"The publication assumes that the Evie reader aspires to be a wife and mother, even while it acknowledges that she has some options: She can study and work (just not at the expense of a family), she can be sexually adventurous (with her husband), and she can even delay pregnancy (by using “natural” fertility tracking methods).","type":"text"},{"_id":"26VFKFYFYVECJDLP5AYE6RK2HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176353},"content":"Evie positions motherhood as under attack, citing falling birth rates, despite polling showing that most Americans still want to have or have children. “Be a rebel. Start a family,” reads a full-page ad for Evie that depicts a shirtless man sensually kissing a pregnant belly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KIW75CSHJJFA5AIZRM44AF75JU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176354},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/steve-bannon/\" target=\"_self\">Steve Bannon</a> has gushed about Evie’s “incredible coverage.” <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/candace-owens/\" target=\"_self\">Candace Owens</a>, a prominent right-wing commentator who recently started her own media platform geared toward women, is a long-time fan; she said her first photo shoot appeared in Evie. So is Brett Cooper, a leading conservative YouTuber who hosts a show aimed at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/generation-z/\" target=\"_self\">Gen-Z</a> women. “I think they were definitely ahead of the curve,” she said of Evie.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5EPN7QYXPRECFB4MPUT4AS7724","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176355},"content":"Even critics of Evie acknowledge the appeal of its messaging. “It’s a perfectly pretty gateway drug to ideologies which exist to protect the privileged and further disenfranchise the marginalised,” Sara Petersen, author of the book Momfluenced, wrote in a Substack post.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CODYXFEHZ5A7VPLSVC45OLVWNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176356},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"PUI7TSOVWZGHTDSQ3IKSAQKCDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176357},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"W4EA7PCSGJDKZMQMJGOXWIT6LE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176358},"content":"As a teenager, Hugoboom, who was born Brittany Martinez, read popular teen and women’s magazines and participated in their model searches, once winning an Elle Girl competition. She was raised as a Catholic by parents, who often moved around the country because of her father’s job in banking, and said she became a “tradcath”, a trendy term for traditionalist Catholic, around a decade ago.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZXZXLOPBFC4NLESMKHHSVWLOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176359},"content":"Rise of the ‘trad wife’: Some women are sick of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In manifesto","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"64YYEOEWVREAZA4Y4WY6RO5XJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176360},"content":"“Now I prefer the Latin Mass,” Hugoboom said. “One of my friends is an exorcist. I love that stuff.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CMU42UTM6VBJ5HTDVX2RLDFDRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176361},"content":"Gabriel Hugoboom proposed to her in front of the Vatican. She met him when they were both 18-year-old students at the University of Dallas. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, as one of eight children of naturopath parents. “They were very MAHA, before MAHA was even a thing,” Gabriel Hugoboom said, referring to the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan of US health secretary <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/robert-f-kennedy-jr/\" target=\"_self\">Robert F Kennedy jnr</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WOGEY3OJ3NHR5EUAHWHGNSWL7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176362},"content":"On one early date, Hugoboom recalled, he took her to Whole Foods to introduce her to “real cheese” as opposed to the “American” kind.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BF4Q3JFP7BET7CWJBHTZZKESY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176363},"content":"“You probably saved me from obesity,” joked Brittany Hugoboom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ROP2GTUN3FAQZKM3DE4KVIJLPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176364},"content":"The Hugobooms eventually dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles, where she modelled for companies like Bebe and Adidas while he worked in creative development.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFZL5VYIDRBO7IC35F5Y3XNIXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176365},"content":"By the late 2010s, many women’s magazines had moved sharply to the left, influenced in part by the rising popularity of feminist online media such as Jezebel and The Cut. Hugoboom loved pop culture and fashion, but the publications she read to learn more about, say, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/taylor-swift/\" target=\"_self\">Taylor Swift</a>, also featured articles about polyamory and Marxism. And nowhere, she said, could she find much positive content about marriage and motherhood.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C2RSZGEJ7BGF3HY56YDWWTQ6JQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176366},"content":"Thus the idea for Evie Magazine was born: a stylish publication rooted in celebrating “femininity”. It would be as escapist and aspirational as any other mainstream women’s magazine – except Evie cover girls would not be politicians in power suits, but the type of women who might compete in beauty pageants two weeks after giving birth to their eighth child (which their most recent cover girl, Utah influencer Hannah Neeleman, actually did). The magazine’s name is a riff on the first woman in the Bible: “Eve screwed the world,” Hugoboom said, “and this is a new Eve who will save the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IWOAHBNWFEHHMKNDT2T3KOWCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176367},"content":"The rising popularity of the tradwife TikTok trend","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ODRM7YWNI5BYDLLUBNEDWKFORE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176368},"content":"Hugoboom said one media mogul told the couple that their concept was doomed because there was no such thing as a conservative woman, and that the best-case scenario was that women would marry conservative men and adopt their views. “I think women are a little more interesting than that, and they have their own thoughts,” Hugoboom said, still bristling years later.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXQTXZC4YBCBBM57UJLSDEEV2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176369},"content":"They officially launched in 2019, eventually raising money from private angel investors that the Hugobooms declined to name. (One investor, Brittany Hugoboom’s father, is also listed as an executive in records for Evie’s holding company.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"TZQLAM4SDJDEPMJYLVDOCXCIUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176370},"content":"“She’s Classier than Cosmo, Sexier than Refinery29, and Smarter than Bustle,” Hugoboom wrote in an article for the website Quillette announcing her new venture. Conservatives needed a magazine like Evie, she argued, because ignoring pop culture came at their own peril: “We need to involve ourselves in the creation of pop culture, and thereby help change how that category is defined.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X4KMCHWUH5G3TP3EPA4XX23POY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176371},"content":"Many of Evie’s writers have been affiliated with conservative institutions, and the website regularly publishes content that reflects today’s conservative positions, including opposition to abortion, transgender rights and vaccines, as well as support for the Trump family. People have labelled Evie “far-right”, which the Hugobooms find irritating; they repeatedly called it a “double standard”, arguing that outlets like Teen Vogue and Refinery29 aren’t always described as explicitly left. The couple, both of whom voted for president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_self\">Donald Trump</a>, said they felt that the way conservatives were portrayed in mainstream media was outdated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"72RPPWYTQXHFYCS2OTVLH2GNQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176372},"type":"image"},{"_id":"NYN6IJ7QXRFURDQMTSLFB5DEPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176373},"content":"They pointed to perspectives that are unconventional for a right-leaning publication. For example, Evie publishes adventurous and explicit sex tips, albeit with “married women only” disclaimers. Evie has advised women who say their partners pressure them into unwanted sexual acts to resist. Writers for the site have called out misogyny in online “manosphere” and “incel” communities. And Evie models wear string bikinis and crop tops because, in the words of one Evie writer, “modest isn’t always hottest”. To the dismay of some conservative readers, the sundresses that Evie has sold are so low cut that, as Hugoboom once joked on the social platform X, “side effects may include an unplanned pregnancy”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N7WSQ7JITNDNJH2JMA6ZST3MWI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176374},"content":"Hugoboom said this modern and uniquely “feminine” perspective is why they have a diversity of readers, and why they believe they were early to cover many topics that have now filtered into the mainstream, including criticism of hookup culture and the need for greater dialogue around women’s hormonal health. The Hugobooms provided The New York Times with an analysis by marketing agency Iron Light that found similar levels of Democrats and Republicans among their subscribers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAECFKBLCNGLFM2I6DKJK4BCD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176375},"content":"Laura Kennedy: ‘I don’t say I’m a feminist any more’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"GQXQWNO5BVHW5ESZASM4TZNUSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176376},"content":"In February, Evie’s social content garnered about 100 million views, according to an internal report the Hugobooms provided from the analytics tool Sprout Social. Evie’s social media following, which is about half a million people across its platforms, is significantly smaller than its competitors (Cosmopolitan, for example, has more than 4 million followers on Instagram alone), but Evie’s following showed strong growth during the same time some competitors experienced a decline, according to the limited data the couple shared.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Z2CSEDLAVDHZIM2KX5NDY7MYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176377},"content":"The Hugobooms declined to share more detailed growth data about Evie, saying the information was too sensitive because they plan to raise a second round of funding. But page views and subscribers may not be the point.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C2BXWRINLVEY3LTPOHPM6LR75A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176378},"content":"The couple said they are inspired by Glossier, the international beauty brand that had its roots in a blog with a relatively small but loyal follower count. Within a decade it was a billion-dollar business, turning out product after product.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IYGEMJN3UFBAJMLCTWB5CF5KWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176379},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUTN23ZOBZEJNGEL4DPQQOE7BI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176380},"content":"Soon after they launched Evie, the Hugobooms started brainstorming their next venture. Maybe a clean beauty brand? What about a “classically feminine” line of lingerie? They grew interested in women’s fertility because many women Hugoboom knew were having trouble getting pregnant, she said, adding that they wanted to develop a product that would “empower” women to understand their bodies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PMQHSYSRUFHRVLHMXN5BBBRXN4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176381},"content":"Through some fortuitous networking, they landed a meeting with Thiel and asked him to invest in a wellness app based on a typical menstrual cycle.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CNEYETPK5BGVFTGAPBT5QMAEM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176382},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"S74TJC2DCVHDZCFLZ6LZPXHUB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176383},"content":"“He was like, ‘And no one else is doing this?’ And it was like, ‘No, no one else,’ and he was like, ‘OK, sounds like a good idea,’” she said. A spokesperson for Thiel confirmed that he personally invested $2 million in the app, 28. (They raised $3.2 million in total.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"MRRUPJDOQZCYFNUFEASS22UOYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176384},"content":"Amid all of the toxic masculinity, no one mentions the toxic femininity that supports it","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KTYVLFPMYRAK7AH7NJB6RMOXHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176385},"content":"Natural family planning methods involve making decisions based on awareness of fertility windows. The app suggests foods and exercises for different stages of a woman’s cycle – “lazy girl glutes” and grass-fed butter during the luteal phase – along with workout videos, recipes and emotional guidance. It also pushes a message that hormonal birth control is bad for you. “Goodbye toxicity,” one advertisement reads for the birth control “detox” supplements it sells through the app.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LD44D5UJVRC45NXOACVZ4AJNSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176386},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXDV47HH2NEJTEBLEX44WEFSVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176387},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJSAXTHZE5EWNC2ZUSKL3LPT2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176388},"content":"Back at the Hugobooms’s apartment, as the sun set below the skyline, their two daughters, aged three and one, wandered in with Gabriel Hugoboom’s sister, who was on babysitting duty. The baby, dressed in pale pink, sat in Brittany Hugoboom’s lap and fed her mother cheese crunchies as she continued to talk about her businesses. The scene could have easily appeared in a mid-2010s magazine profile of a woman founder striving for a work-life balance, embodying the exact sort of feminism Hugoboom denounces.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AMVRQD7XBRFJDOXWDULGOQLTJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176389},"content":"But Hugoboom sees no tension in the fact that she is one of a growing number of woman conservative content creators whose platforms promote a return to old-fashioned gender roles, even though their own career trajectories defy those traditional norms. Nor is she particularly interested in debating whether it might not be feminism, but instead a severe lack of structural support – affordable child care, paid parental leave – that has left American women feeling unsupported and alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4JKLHPE5FRFWBEBJQ2ZW3HLNR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176390},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"KPDLH57DTBFGZL4JF4NHIVT67U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176391},"content":"Despite the years of labour she has put into building the two businesses, she insisted that she believed most women weren’t cut out for hard-charging careers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SRBTEKZZV5FN5IUBVAGSCJ4NRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176392},"content":"“I think when most women try to do that, they fail,” she said. “Then they feel upset about it, when it’s not really in their nature.” – This article originally appeared in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/style/evie-magazine.html\">The New York Times</a>.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Katie JM Baker"}]},"description":{"basic":"‘I think more women want a soft life, a beautiful life, than feeling all this pressure to do all these things,’ says cofounder Brittany Hugoboom"},"display_date":"2025-03-24T10:34:26.784Z","headlines":{"basic":"The inside story of Evie, the US conservative women’s magazine with big ambitions, and sex tips for wives","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"6OWOYVBLJBXF7XFWV76VOF3OV4","auth":{"1":"19e03fedef20f4293f874fd02081bbeff0a0af43bb7aba682bb82a49850c2ec7"},"focal_point":{"x":2785,"y":1401},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6OWOYVBLJBXF7XFWV76VOF3OV4.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Media"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/the-inside-story-of-evie-the-us-conservative-womens-magazine-with-big-ambitions-and-sex-tips-for-wives/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"OIGW6KDYQFFUZNCHF366AWULYA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":278,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/078c93b1-bfea-4400-be02-2d0ca3a51c20/versions/1742212111/media/60e85a89ef989c3b9460cce023469946_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/sarah-moss-a-reader-tried-to-needle-me-by-scoffing-at-knitting-i-was-intrigued/","content_elements":[{"_id":"37PGNTZXPRFKBJNFT7ZFHJ4MNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222842},"content":"A few weeks ago, someone who had read this column wrote to me to tell me “stick to the knitting in future”. I wasn’t upset – I don’t use social media partly to spare myself this stuff but, inevitably, worse than that still comes my way. I was intrigued by the hierarchy in his mind, where knitting was feminine, private, trivial and writing was masculine, public, important. I had offended him by confusing two creative practices, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2023/09/06/why-do-i-knit-im-not-patient-knitting-helps-me-to-wait-takes-the-edge-off-agitation/\" target=\"_blank\">by using up space in a serious newspaper with thoughts about handicrafts</a>. (Or maybe just by thinking in public while female.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"6OMOC5UT4NCJJAIXOH22H5FJ4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222843},"content":"I knit and write. I also sew and even – the frivolity of it! – embroider. Writing is more serious for me because it’s my profession and I’m better at it than needlecraft; if it’s hard to earn a living by writing, it’s much harder to do so by hand-knitting and sewing. People sometimes watch me knit for a few minutes and then ask how long it takes to make a jumper. I don’t have an answer. Months, but I knit only for pleasure while doing other things, over coffee with friends or while watching TV, never in time that could be spent reading or writing. You could sell that, people say, as if commercial value is the ultimate compliment, but I couldn’t, not for a sum that made any sense of the time required. One friend pushed me to find the number, timed a few rows of a jumper and multiplied up. The answer seemed to be about €11,000 at minimum wage, not allowing for materials. You can’t buy love and you can’t buy hand-knits, or at least not complicated jumpers made at amateur speed in fine yarn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XE6XD3Y57RC5VGAKZGXEYDOXXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222844},"content":"So, unlike writing, hand-knitting and sewing are rarely done for profit, but that doesn’t make textile art or craft trivial. “Text” and “textile” have the same root, Latin texere, to weave. For centuries, paper was made from rags, a recycling of textile into text. We spin a yarn when we tell a story, or maybe weave a tissue or web of lies. (“Tissu” is French for fabric, “weben” German for weave.) Come to that, we fabricate, which is inventing facts, not making fabric. (Latin “fabrica” from “faber”, manual work). The words for making with cloth and making with words are entangled (another textile word) from the beginning in most European languages, if not, I am told, Irish. Archaeology shows that all over the world, weaving and sewing are as old and often older than writing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSPIZOEELFDT5OMLGFNNMV5HII","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222845},"content":"Our most intimate and constant physical relationships are with cloth. The first act of care is to wrap the newborn, and in many cultures that wrapping is made and adorned in pregnancy and kept for life. The last act of care is to wrap or dress our dead, and those garments or winding cloths go with the departed where mourners cannot. In life, we are almost always touched and held by knitting and weaving, even between the sheets and under the blanket.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YWTO6AL56JBDVMKPYTTPDA7I74","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222846},"content":"Global history is shaped by our need for cloth. Manchester, where I grew up, was known as Cottonopolis in the 19th century, and we all know the immense suffering fuelling the growing and picking of that cotton. The factory workers, whose own lives were brief and brutal, went on strike in protest against American slavery. The hills surrounding England’s industrial cities are moorland, a landscape made by centuries of sheep-farming, and the rivers and streams turned mill-wheels for spinning yarn. The first computer programmes were cards to set the patterns of looms.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3VOTLNOLDFGJTLPHGMJBWEIPF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742217834040},"content":"Here’s why I’ve become addicted to knitting","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"6MVKBZKDCZHRVGJJWAAWEXAE64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222847},"content":"The silk trade carried goods, knowledge and design (and disease) across Europe and Asia to bring luxury fabrics to the courts of Europe. Flax-growing for linen shaped the landscapes of parts of Ireland, the Baltic countries and the Low Countries.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I6T2MMPFA5FAZNWEX25GQUE57A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742217834042},"content":"Why do I knit? I’m not patient, knitting helps me to wait, takes the edge off agitation","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"23HJBG2V2RBVBDTW7ICFNZMPZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222848},"content":"I learned to work with a needle before I learned to work with a pen. The pen, for me, will always come first, but I am no more ashamed of my textile literacy than my textual literacy. I am not even sure they are separable. Humans will always need stories, but come the end times – hard to not to think they may be at hand – knitting may well be more urgent than writing.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Moss"}},"name":"Sarah Moss"}]},"description":{"basic":"Knitting and sewing are rarely done for profit, but that doesn’t make these arts and crafts trivial"},"display_date":"2025-03-24T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sarah Moss: A reader tried to needle me by scoffing at knitting - I was intrigued ","native":"A reader tried to needle me by scoffing at knitting - I was intrigued"},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GI7BDVKOBFEGBI6ZSA4IOLRQM4","auth":{"1":"0e9e75dcc9b57bc3b78db443d710101ad13a67cdca8720523f17f78309a5b253"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GI7BDVKOBFEGBI6ZSA4IOLRQM4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Opinion"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/sarah-moss-a-reader-tried-to-needle-me-by-scoffing-at-knitting-i-was-intrigued/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"S5BZWAFYYRBYDGPSTXHCWSAY5U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":244,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/cd9cad2c-4599-46fa-8e8c-05a7f1e7aa1b/versions/1742397243/media/0f41852ea1b12ced29114c14ebc39da2_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-mending-is-better-than-spending/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TRSR2VGLF5GDZEQNXUJOJO5NMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733505},"content":"When something breaks, it can feel easier to just buy another one.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HDEC7Z6BRFWJBYJC34CQAF2VU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733506},"content":"We’ve been sold the idea that replacing instead of fixing is faster, but is it really?","type":"text"},{"_id":"TPBOKAW6F5CKHN7IDZZKK6DTKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733507},"content":"Take that big red wheelie travel bag you bought five years ago. For everything from family holidays to transporting bulky ski gear, it’s served you well. It’s got wheels and a retractable handle for pulling, but it’s got a shoulder strap too. It’s roomy, it has pockets in all the right places and yet it doesn’t weigh a tonne. And you can spot it a mile off on a baggage carousel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IRWXZLP2CFBHNBY6LCCJYEASYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733508},"content":"It took you ages to find this model and it is exactly what you needed. But now the zip is bust, so what do you do?","type":"text"},{"_id":"OBQCKBSE7FA7LBUSY3E7UJESMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733509},"content":"Finding the same thing means scrolling through endless options to decipher features and check measurements. You eventually find one, except it’s €20 more expensive. Then you realise the provider won’t deliver to you, or that delivery adds €10, or you have to set up a notification for when it’s back in stock.","type":"text"},{"_id":"65DN5HBYZJBLLM3AZYAVLLXWHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733510},"content":"Next is the endless string of correspondence about delivery: the warehouse has received your order; your order is being processed; your order is with the courier, it’s in transit; it’s awaiting delivery; would you like to manage your delivery?","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIJHSQJFZBCILBOY7LKFMXBVGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733511},"content":"Eventually the bag arrives, via a neighbour. It’s just not quite as good as your old one, though. It’s too much hassle to return it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HUZ3BACUNBCLHMJFH2LMF4D37Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733512},"content":"This is where <a href=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\">RepairMyStuff.ie</a> comes in. This online directory, supported by local authorities, connects people with local repair businesses, making it easy to find someone to fix everything from a watch to a computer, a lawnmower to a TV, a guitar to a handbag.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XE6FSO4LCFFIRD7WNQ7G2DN7WU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733513},"content":"Extending the life of a product, instead of buying a new one, makes a real contribution to decreasing the over-consumption of valuable natural resources.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VJTXSYZEBGVLF556GKLAQCDGA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733516},"content":"The rise of repair cafes: ‘It’s not sustainable to keep buying new stuff’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BLHZIOEPLJDF5AMF724X4HY6H4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733514},"content":"Each person in Ireland produces 586kgs of waste annually – the sixth-highest in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-union/\" target=\"_blank\">EU</a>, according to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/central-statistics-office/\" target=\"_blank\">Central Statistics Office</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJUCFELEVFHA5DBWX4HQCNQQQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733515},"content":"Growth in the Irish economy has led to a large increase in electrical and electronic waste, peaking in 2021 when more 71,000 tonnes were collected, according to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/environmental-protection-agency-epa/\" target=\"_blank\">Environmental Protection Agency</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T5XR2HQJIRG37JBNCZDXUSIHIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733517},"content":"The manufacture and distribution of a product is often the most environmentally damaging part, so by repairing, you are doing your bit for the planet – and your shopping sanity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EKKWBNJUBNHRHICZWF4USETAGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733518},"content":"By facilitating people to repair rather than replace things, <a href=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\" target=\"_blank\">RepairMyStuff.ie</a> helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and oceans, preserving our planet for future generations. It’s also a great way to support local small businesses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQXW3HV57NFVFLSLS5PZROTOZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733519},"content":"Repairing products can make financial sense too. A typical washing machine, for instance, costs €300-€400. Within five to 10 years of purchase, something will almost inevitably break. If getting it repaired costs less than €150, 50 per cent less than a new one, then repairing your washing machine makes perfect sense. Once fixed, it should then give you many more years of service.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBEOLZHRVFF5LDWQU3OJCGIL7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733520},"content":"Hit TV shows like the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bbc/\" target=\"_blank\">BBC’s</a> Repair Shop and an explosion of repair cafes demonstrate how repairing is catching on. New EU <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2024/04/23/stronger-consumer-rights-around-tech-repairs-approved-by-eu-parliament/\" target=\"_self\">right to repair laws</a> also mean consumers will soon have extended rights to have broken products such as smartphones repaired by manufacturers rather than dumping and replacing them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3PHXVQZWHJGVJMCIJHZRK45TZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733521},"content":"The law will oblige manufacturers to repair certain products, even if they fall outside of the scope of a legal guarantee. They would have to carry parts and make repairs at a reasonable cost.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EUUEN5UXFFBOTADMHFJ2BSPZWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733522},"content":"In the case of my red bag, a repair shop found on <a href=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\" target=\"_blank\">RepairMyStuff.ie</a> replaced the zip for €20. I should get another five years out of it.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joanne Hunt"}},"name":"Joanne Hunt"}]},"description":{"basic":"Mending is better than spending, and online directory RepairMyStuff.ie is a one-stop-shop that makes it easy to find local repair businesses"},"display_date":"2025-03-24T05:30:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"We’ve been sold the idea that replacing instead of fixing is faster, but is it really? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"BGC5H7SLFVHN5DGKPD455XE3VE","auth":{"1":"63b225021294a5e6940e120c7bd7f3dc3b3280fc438d3af33db1437384b24129"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/BGC5H7SLFVHN5DGKPD455XE3VE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-mending-is-better-than-spending/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"ZVNPRQ5R5BDRJDT4GKBXBXGBLQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":712,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/50c97c38-fe49-4942-8724-bb871bf5ab7a/versions/1740495539/media/15bfd443be38daa345ec269f37370d33_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/rambles-in-eirinn-celebrating-the-journalist-who-cycled-all-over-ireland-in-the-early-1900s/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EEAY6NVKTJAQHI3U5TFUY7SFOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610566},"content":"In early December 2022, William Bulfin’s grandson Michael and I made our way by car from his home in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> to visit the ancestral home of the Bulfin family, Derrinlough House in Co <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/offaly/\" target=\"_blank\">Offaly</a>. I had first read of it some decades previously, and now, finally, I was en route to visit it for the first time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LNEUTVONCZHXPHMGDPTEYTASZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662352},"content":"It had special significance for me because I had recently completed a biography of William Bulfin, author of Rambles in Éirinn, and the house in which he had been born and lived, in both his earlier and later life, and in which he died, figured prominently in its pages.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YXJI5FU4SRENFOAB4P4K7EWYKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610567},"content":"Bulfin left <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Ireland</a> for <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/argentina/\" target=\"_blank\">Argentina</a> in 1884, aged 21, and did not return on a visit until 1902. During those 18 years he worked initially as a sheep herder and foreman at an estancia (ranch) in Buenos Aires province. But then, having discovered a talent for writing, and encouraged by his fiancee, Annie O’Rourke, he turned to journalism, in 1892 joining the staff of local English-language newspaper <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Southern_Cross_(Argentina)\" target=\"_blank\">The Southern Cross</a>, of which he became manager and assistant editor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YEGTH5MKA5HGPBFQF6FSACLPUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662354},"content":"As a working journalist, Bulfin wrote his descriptive, illuminating and socially critical Sketches of Buenos Aires, depictions of life in the city at that time, as well as many articles and editorials.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZORXWFRDLVEPVBMIA52QPZSRJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610568},"content":"In January 1896 he bought out the previous incumbent and took over as editor of the newspaper. He used the earlier experiences he had working on sheep runs and as a ranch hand to compose short stories initially printed in The Southern Cross, and then as material for his collection of short stories, Tales of the Pampas, published in London in 1901, which was a critical success but sold disappointingly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"URPZ43LBQ5BCTM3OFD7WKHJ3NY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662356},"type":"image"},{"_id":"LA3LCPQGDFDLHE4HJLGTS575YY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662357},"content":"The following year, shortly after his return to Ireland, he began his bicycle trips around the country. He had become interested in cycling in the late 1890s and described in one of his sketches how a “bicycle parade” took place every Sunday morning in Palermo Park, Buenos Aires. Perhaps anticipating Myles na gCopaleen in style and content, he declared: “The bicycle is the sort of affair from which a man like Swedenborg, for example, would have extracted 12 or 14 volumes. I calculate, too, that had Herbert Spencer known the wheel, he would have constructed a synthetic library out of its endless sensuosities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZOHZEHZ3HJFHTL7WFLKAORYRCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610569},"content":"Bulfin had left his newspaper in the hands of an inexperienced assistant editor but in order to continue contributing from abroad, “with the sole object of sharing the writer’s thoughts and feelings with certain Irish exiles on the other side of the world”, he conceived the idea of cycling around the country and describing his sorties in articles sent back to the newspaper.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HWI4EGF6LRFT3GPPRFWUYKV6FY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662359},"content":"He was not the first of the Argentine Irish to compose such material. According to Thomas Murray, whose knowledge and presentation of matters Hiberno-Argentine was encyclopedic, Edward Mulhall, Irish editor of the Buenos Aires Standard, visited Ireland in 1875 and wrote a very interesting series of travel articles for his paper, some of which he headed Rambles in Ireland. Murray asserts that Bulfin followed pretty much the same course but called his work Rambles in Éirinn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3VKGMKKE5RGUNDYT5LL4QZHA7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662360},"type":"image"},{"_id":"UVJTTYJETNCS3EPXA2O3OBQEVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662361},"content":"Lest he give the impression that Bulfin plagiarised the idea, or even the work, Murray adds soothingly: “The latter was probably quite unconscious that he was in many places following in the footsteps of the former and sometimes almost copying him.” Given that Mulhall’s articles were published when Bulfin was 12 years old, it is unlikely that he ever read them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HP2K2I7N2RBIFFPENEGT6YBIMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610570},"content":"A considerable number of Bulfin’s tours were undertaken on his 1902 trip, and more on a second visit to Ireland in 1904–05. On his first sojourn he visited locations in Counties Offaly, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon, and along the Shannon, but he also made longer forays to Dublin, Sligo, Galway and to the north.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6NMRJ6NZSZE2XKWZBRDT7BAJ3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662363},"type":"image"},{"_id":"BFFCHRVPLBD3LOJ535RIKMVYDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662364},"content":"He did not always travel the full way to his destination by bicycle – as, for example on his Galway trip, when he described how he was “met off the train” by Douglas Hyde. He took his bicycle with him on occasion to use it on arrival, as on his Ulster trip, where the weather defeated two attempts to get there under his own power.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ND4FKJDB6NCMJK2RSAR223OXEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662365},"content":"The articles were already making their way back to The Southern Cross during his 1902 stay and he spent Christmas that year writing up more at Derrinlough, working eight or nine hours a day. On his return to Argentina his articles continued to be printed in the Cross for several months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J6ZKWUVPLBFMBADIDYR2NRDXVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610571},"content":"During his second trip, Bulfin went “cyc-rambling” again and composed further articles. He combined this Irish sojourn with a side visit (from and back to Ireland) to the United States, and while there, owing to a previously expressed interest, because The Southern Cross was read in North America, he visited the offices of the New York Daily News and arranged for the serial publication of 20 to 25 of his Rambles articles.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EWUEU7JZZJD7VPWZQ5IGQ32MYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662367},"content":"Irish in Argentina: Not always a successful diaspora story","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"4QAO363F7RDBRBILQ3IJ3LTM7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662368},"content":"On his voyage back to South America he was busy describing his recent experiences in Ireland, writing on board RMS Panama off Pernambuco to his wife, Annie, that he had finished his Limerick article, was ready to start on his article on Charles Kickham, and hoped to finish another six before reaching Uruguay. As the ship entered Montevideo harbour, he confirmed that he had succeeded in finishing the sixth article, “all but a few folios”, which was “over 70 columns of matter for the S Cross and all original material”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQ4XTXSFMNCB5HGRT6BPV5DW4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662369},"type":"image"},{"_id":"7ZACTWAAURFPXNZ2HYTY3UAM6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662370},"type":"image"},{"_id":"O2JTJT55KBHKNEBRUMDDKZVRVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610572},"content":"The publication in the US newspaper led to readers suggesting that his Rambles be published in book form, and there were similar suggestions from Ireland and Argentina. An offer, which included an American edition, came from Gill in Dublin, which he accepted, finalising the work for publication and checking the proofs in Derrinlough on his visit home in the winter and spring of 1906–07. Publication followed in July 1907.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OLVK757P3RCLLGWWYVOCFYFPJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662372},"content":"Reaction from the Irish nationalist press at home and the emigrant press in the US was highly favourable, though the local unionist press does not appear to have reviewed the book. Gill’s edition went into seven impressions, an Irish-language translation – Cam-chuarta i n-Éirinn – came out in 1936, and a new edition, in two volumes, was published by Sphere in 1981.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSXAFK27UNBULKJSC3TXHMW77E","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"2ZCM4QFOCFGCLJG2EGU3RHEVUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610573},"content":"On his final return to Ireland in 1909, Bulfin continued roving and writing – paying a special visit back to the north in September 1909, where many had complained that he had not done justice to the province of Ulster, with his emphasis on its industry and commercialism and “business, business, business”. He was assisted in this by the antiquarian Francis Joseph Bigger, who showed him around key locations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPYAVFMNTFE5JODFOQG3EMKXRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662375},"content":"“Sean Ghall” (Henry Egan Kenny) states in his introduction to the 1907 Gill edition of Rambles in Éirinn that Bulfin’s new and more positive vision of the north never made it to paper because it was crowded out by other work, but Patrick Callan assures us that the work was published as further instalments of Rambles in the Sinn Féin weekly edition.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPQO23X2MBHXXPGREJZVLB7K3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610574},"content":"Patrick Keohane, manager of Gill and a personal friend of Bulfin, who travelled with him to Ulster on his second visit, wrote that Bulfin had a marvellous memory, which enabled him to recall incidents and personalities “with the greatest minuteness and accuracy after the lapse of years”, and he never found it necessary to make a single note of the scenes and events “so graphically portrayed in his Rambles in Éirinn”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UACRQWR6JFHTDLN5ZQICVUFXZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662377},"type":"image"},{"_id":"VZQPDW5RFRD33EXHLIQGLL6VYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662378},"content":"When Bulfin was on a long horse-riding expedition under primitive conditions to the far west of Argentina in 1905, one of his fellow travellers, an uneducated Genoese who had learned with surprise and even suspicion that Bulfin was a writer and who had previously understood, or heard, that those who write take notes, remarked that he was making none. Bulfin answered that he was making notes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DESUVUZ3NFEPDG5QFHUNZFNWEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662379},"type":"image"},{"_id":"4ITAIW7XUFFGJDWSET4SSADURE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610575},"content":"“How can that be? You have not touched paper since we left San Rafael [several days previously].”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NFYFT6UKRBCKXBPWJRMLSPEXQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610576},"content":"“What of that? The best notes are not the ones that people jot down on paper. The best notes are the ones that soak into you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QMETSOGSXVAO5GFEFLGZ6HC7CE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610577},"content":"“Soak into you, eh?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LWW54EHR45FZNIYU5X54HZCUAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610578},"content":"“Aye, just soak in. Those are the essential things. The other things – the unimportant and valueless things – do not soak in. They stay out of your mind and do not trouble you when you come to write. And so, buenas noches.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7K2UAQ33KFEDDEMERRQG5DQZ4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610579},"content":"“Buenas noches, and may you rest well, eh,” the other answered, intrigued by this idea that all the mountains and rivers “and tales and breakfasts”, and the travellers themselves and the people in whose humble home they were then in, were all “soaking in” to this man.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FWY6UPPMSZBENHDYL3NRFGX4JE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610580},"content":"The Rambles are not presented in chronological order but in an order that Bulfin felt would give variety and interest to the reader, which the book certainly provides. Whether extrapolating on the Ireland of his day or on its history, ancient or modern, or on geographical and agricultural, social or literary aspects of the places he visited, or on his encounters with people of various social levels, the charm and humour is mixed with a biting criticism, particularly of landlordism and the Anglo-Irish, of “shoneenism”, and of the political and economic systems of his day.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAPAWTB7F5EK3NILAR2KVQ3EWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662386},"content":"Killarney then and now: Aspects recognisable from when Harry Kernoff painted them in 1943","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"XUNWGDXRBJEFZLXDRNDPMI65MU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610581},"content":"Bulfin himself believed that his “wild cycling trips” in Ireland contributed to a bout of rheumatic fever he suffered in 1906 in Argentina. On his final return to Ireland in 1909, he again took up residence in Derrinlough, having settled back in Ireland to devote himself and his pen to the cause of Irish nationalism, though he kept his interest in The Southern Cross, of which he was still proprietor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGC34POPAFAVFFJEI5KZEYOKIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662388},"content":"Sadly, following a trip to the US to raise funds for Arthur Griffith’s newspaper, the Sinn Féin daily edition, Bulfin, who was well over six feet tall, had a commanding, though benign, presence and was of an active, martial and muscular appearance, fell ill with a second bout of rheumatic fever and died in Derrinlough on February 1st, 1910.","type":"text"},{"_id":"53MN2H6CORFVHFXLMXJAY2AVVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610582},"content":"Readers of the 21st century deserve to read Bulfin’s work. Therefore, let his impressions of Ireland “soak in” to you, as the rain may soak in to those cyclists who take to the roads to follow in his wheel tracks, though cyclists are generally better outfitted nowadays than in his time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LFJ4JHXZVFPND2O5QXBYOYNGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662390},"content":"Cycling in Ireland, whether as sport or recreation, instead of simply getting from A to B, has become increasingly popular, and there is room here to perpetuate Bulfin’s memory. A Bulfin Heritage Cycle Rally, In the Wheel Rims of William Bulfin, has taken place several times over the past few years as part of National Heritage Week. One such rally, in 2021, had to be postponed due to inclement weather, an echo of Bulfin’s own experience, and suggesting, rightly or wrongly, that the weather in Ireland, at least, has not changed much since his day.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HGHRHDHQRBFDVN5W7WKAA6CJOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610583},"content":"Michael Bulfin and I reached Derrinlough in about two hours, with stops, from Dublin, something that took his grandfather a full day by bicycle. There it stood: a very large two-storey farmhouse dating back to the end of the 18th century, the main facade looking much as it did in William’s time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LPBQAB5H5BCKJIZJQRS34ZWNHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662392},"content":"<i>Rambles in Éirinn by William Bulfin is published by Merrion Press</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"TK Moloney"}]},"description":{"basic":"A journey in the wheel tracks of Irishman William Bulfin, who chronicled his bicycle tours of the country at the start of the 20th century"},"display_date":"2025-03-23T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Rambles in Éirinn: celebrating the journalist who cycled all over Ireland in the early 1900s","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"NVDWL2A3JNHHLIIO5IG26ILIK4","auth":{"1":"3e18f598cb9ee1f76874b878d4092495df01e6773c4f31a268c9888e59d5c411"},"focal_point":{"x":4950,"y":3190},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/NVDWL2A3JNHHLIIO5IG26ILIK4.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Travel"},{"name":"Sport"},{"name":"Cycling"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/rambles-in-eirinn-celebrating-the-journalist-who-cycled-all-over-ireland-in-the-early-1900s/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"NNQZWPRFVRGCTFLALLRONNTHKA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":708,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/d3a01673-0968-4f46-80fd-edd5af33589d/versions/1742472898/media/b7408d702995d3bf2fbeb0a1d496c85f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/fascinating-and-disturbing-how-our-brains-and-genetics-dictate-our-ideologies-and-vice-versa/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TP5SPQRKSRCKLAZIK62RCV2D2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043983},"content":"What if we could predict your politics with some brain scans? The political neuroscientist Dr Leor Zmigrod, the author of a compelling book called The Ideological Brain: A Radical Science of Susceptible Minds, contends that it can be done.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEJH27JURRHZ7HHRS3TFMI7QMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779557},"content":"Zmigrod has a PhD from the University of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cambridge-university/\" target=\"_blank\">Cambridge</a> and was listed in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/forbes/\" target=\"_blank\">Forbes</a> 30 Under 30 in 2020. Her book is, in some ways, the neuroscientific update of the 1950 sociology work, The Authoritarian Personality, by the Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor W Adorno and University of California, Berkeley researchers Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel Levinson and Nevitt Sanford, an attempt to define the personality types most likely to succumb to fascism in the turmoil of the last century.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BD35MDQMWNCUZFCLA2HLX4R5RA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043984},"content":"Frenkel-Brunswik is a heroine of Zmigrod’s. “She escaped <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/second-world-war/\" target=\"_blank\">Nazi</a> <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/austria/\" target=\"_blank\">Austria</a> and moved to Berkeley to start this research on what makes even children have the potential for authoritarianism, even for fascism,” she says. “And so she started creating these massive questionnaires and handing them to out to every school in the Berkeley area, getting these young children to demonstrate where they lie on a spectrum of xenophobia and prejudice.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WANS3BFXBRG2JNUDNFTUQNLAFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043985},"content":"Six decades later, Zmigrod was studying neuroscience and engaging in experiments in small, dark labs. “And I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I use all these [neuroscience] tools to study these questions about radicalisation?’ ... How is your brain affected by the ideologies you hold? What features of your brain and your personality and your cognition and maybe even your genetics, can affect what kinds of ideologies you’re predisposed to being attracted to?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RG2DQRUTXRF73HOXZJ6YOVP3CQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043986},"content":"Initially she focused her research on religious radicalisation. “Young European adolescents were being pulled into Isis,” she says. “There were these questions of why were these particular people attracted to it? Then Brexit happened as I was preparing to launch this research, and suddenly it became clear to me that the ideologies I was going to deal with were much broader and much more mainstream.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"H25JFILBARC4ZPXQMKI6PZOFIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043987},"content":"When Zmigrod refers to “ideological” thinking in her book she is, in general, defining this as “ideologically rigid” thinking. A core point in her work is that people who display cognitive inflexibility in tests mapping their ability to adjust to change also adhere to more rigid, radical and extreme ideologies. The “ideological brain” she has uncovered can be better understood in terms of “flexibility” and “rigidity” than traditional political terms like “right” and “left”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RJEKPSFNXBAMBHNBED4YYRCNHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043988},"content":"“We’re actually seeing more of a rigidity of the extremes, where both on the political right and on the political left, people, when they’re given tasks that require flexible thinking, will struggle,” she says. “We see, really consistently across different psychological tasks, that people who are cognitively rigid tend to fall into some kind of ideological extreme, regardless of whether it’s left or right.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHCE2GYBSBBAXNZJM3YUIRBAEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043989},"content":"These people can now be given brain scans which elicits a whole new realm of information that didn’t exist in the days of Else Frenkel-Brunswik. “What researchers around the world have started to discover is that people who adhere to different ideologies have brains that are slightly structured differently and function and react to the world differently.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VCLXEX3JGVAOFEXLDP4MTXOQVE","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"ACIW3V6H4FDAHNZTD3BCCIHUJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043990},"content":"She gives examples. “The amygdala, the centre in our brain that processes negative emotions such as fear and disgust and threat, is actually larger in people with conservative ideologies than people with liberal ideologies, which is fascinating.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PEP5ZA2PPZG7LGL7ZJAEQ4DTSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043991},"content":"There is even some evidence of ideological predispositions on a genetic level. “What we discovered is that across thousands of participants, that people who have genetic markers that indicate that they have a greater amount of dopamine in their prefrontal cortex [the area of the brain that is responsible for high-level reasoning] and lower levels of general dopamine levels in their striatal regions, tend to be the most cognitively flexible. And the reverse: people who have it the other way around tend to be the most cognitively rigid people who struggle when environments change.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PTSESZPMIBHI5COOLYYSLFOBGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779567},"content":"Critical thinking training can reduce belief in conspiracy theories, study by UCC psychologists finds","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WVKYDA5SDZGYJEBMZH4CIQLDU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779568},"content":"“So our genetics, affecting how our dopamine operates in each person’s brain, can affect how rigidly they process the world, which is fascinating and disturbing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LTDQDW3I3RA2DC5ADF5EV46EKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043992},"content":"Do people start out with these brain types or do they develop them over time? “There’s evidence that we have these psychological and cognitive predispositions that shape which ideologies we’re attracted to, but that also being immersed in a very rigid ideological framework is something that can affect our personalities,” she says. “It is a chicken or egg thing ... Either people with bigger amygdalas are attracted to more conservative ideologies or, if you spend a lifetime in conservative ideologies and environments, that has an impact on how your brain is structured.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3GMZ33HWBBSDMXEGAI2QG3WCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043993},"content":"More work needs to be done to establish the actual dynamic, she says. “I have joined a longitudinal study that has been following people from when they were children and they’ve been measuring their brains and personalities,” she says. “I have to wait about 20 years before we can disentangle that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OG57YVTZVVDS3GZ2Y6APDELM3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043994},"content":"There is something inherently disturbing about the notion that our politics are less a product of reason than a consequence of biological processes. Zmigrod understands the discomfort.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KOWGNGNHUFAL5EHETDJ2WUE2HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779572},"content":"“I think that a lot of people who, when they think about those big ideologies that they either might be committed to or they might be opposed to, whether it’s Marxism or patriarchy or any of these narrowly defined ideologies, feel like it’s in the air around us, that it affects everything. It’s in our culture. It’s in our language. It’s in our thoughts, but in a very vague way. I think they have an antagonism to the idea that actually maybe it’s something that we can measure and look at on the individual level ... But my hope is that the science is received in a way that shows how actually understanding the ways in which ideologies can in some way infiltrate our cognitive habits, even our neurobiology, should really just empower us to critique ideologies ... I don’t think it opposes a sociological reading or a historical one. I hope it adds this additional lens that helps us understand it all better.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KM66OVIBLJCMBKDQCUBH5BXC2U","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"QSSLOVZNZRDBPEXWKMHMT4K2EQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043995},"content":"What are the consequences of her discoveries? “I think it allows us to understand people’s susceptibilities better, because we can see that actually they not necessarily just gravitating towards extreme and sometimes hateful ideas on a whim,” she says. “There is something about the structure of those ideologies, the logic of those ways of thinking, that particularly appeals to them because of this more general way in which they understand and process and problem-solve the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZD7CKXXZXJDRZFF23OP2ZZH44A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043996},"content":"As is probably clear from this interview, Zmigrod has a preference for flexible thinking over rigidity. “I think that the research suggests that being a more flexible thinker does give you a more direct access to sensation ... your perceptual and sensory apparatus is less ... constrained or numbed than when you have a very dogmatic way of thinking,” she says. “As a psychologist I value a kind of freedom of thought and elasticity of thought. And so if you value that, I think it’s hard to see a rigid ideological way of being as being a good thing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3GT44FTKMRF6DPOFBKQGJ6Q7V4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043997},"content":"Others might look at the data and take a different position, that there is something admirable in having fixed and rigid belief systems. “Absolutely,” she says. “There are people who definitely want for there to be more conformity-minded, obedient kinds of citizens. Those are the most controllable citizens and the ones where you can probably profit from the most, both economically and politically ... Many people think [rigidity is] a very good thing and the only way to be moral and good.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BRJXY7ZDTFAAXG4MDS4DKRCZ2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043998},"content":"Would she like to see a world with less dogmatic, extreme thinking? “I think that would be a world where people can be a lot more authentic and free.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AR4JBC7IVBF6HEH6ULTUOVAKNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043999},"content":"People can change, she says. “A person’s flexibility or rigidity is not just fixed throughout their lifetime, predetermined at birth by biology,” she says. “People’s flexibility can increase and decrease throughout our lives. In moments of stress, we kind of rigidify and narrow and preserve our cognitive resources, and in other times, we can be more exploratory, more imaginative, more open. I think understanding the dynamics of how those predispositions interact with environments and situations gives us a better understanding of how people fall into these extreme worldviews and also how they can come out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6MHV5ESL6VEFRC5XVK7S2JKKHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779580},"content":"“If we maybe cultivate a general psychological flexibility in the way in which we approach the entire world and our everyday problems, that will also translate into a more tolerant, open-minded evidence-receptive way of approaching politics.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GW6EA2HYHRQZXINAVLPXEWRXLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779576},"type":"image"},{"_id":"6C2IF5UEGJE4HFEZJKLW27WEPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044000},"content":"Does the idea of someone, whether a rigid extremist or a flexible moderate, socially engineering or medicating certain types of brain away worry her?","type":"text"},{"_id":"E55ADA7QLFC73H6GDQFB75RODI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779582},"content":"“Could this science be used by malicious agents? It’s a question I’ve been thinking for a long time about, because I think any scientist should be so careful about the ethics of what you publish and the science you put out there ... I think it would be difficult to truly use the science for nefarious reasons, because the science shows how complex it all is. It wouldn’t be that simple that you could medicate people towards certain belief systems. But I also completely see what you’re saying, in that there’s a slight vulnerability there. When we’re exposing how this mechanism works, are you giving someone levers to press and to push?","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPTPI4EDPNDB5DW4ZFOV4PQWWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779584},"content":"“To some extent, I think that that is already the case when you see how authoritarian leaders use rhetoric and emotion. They are targeting these particular ways in which people respond. Stalin talked about ideological logic and rhetoric as this irresistible force that people are really drawn to. I think it would be difficult to use the science and make things worse than they are.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3P4B2EZTKBCBRDRUEWBN3CU4ZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044001},"content":"What would she like to see people do with this information? “What I hope that people take away from this is that the stakes of adopting really narrow, rigid, dogmatic ideologies are so much higher than we previously thought. Because it’s not just about political debate, it’s about forces happening within you and the kind of human being that you are, biologically and psychologically ... I hope it’s a basis for people to think really critically about the ideologies that they embrace ... Maybe this is an invitation to rethink pride in having very passionate, narrow principles, to realise what it might do to your body and how that might be reflected in your brain.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"655ACJ4E7ZCZFJDUBGH3MVXXUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779583},"content":"Obedience to authority: most of us would follow orders to do terrible things","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3VG56ZYNS5DHXGXJGFX2BMJHXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044002},"content":"Has there been any interest in her research from political figures? “Not any nefarious politicians that you might be scared of, I think,” she says. “People thinking about how to counter extremism and how to support people who are at risk are interested in this research because it helps us paint a much more comprehensive picture of what makes someone at risk and what can maybe help them get out of those kinds of extreme cycles. I can’t wait to see how the field evolves. Even in just the next decade I think it’ll be really interesting.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YYSXZ4SPGFHKJOC2XQGNY3JS3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044003},"content":"<i>The Ideological Brain: A Radical Science of Susceptible Minds by Dr Leor Zmigrod is published by Viking</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patrick Freyne"}},"name":"Patrick Freyne"}]},"description":{"basic":"Dr Leor Zmigrod has found differences in the brain structures and functions of people with different ideologies. Could this science be used by malicious agents?"},"display_date":"2025-03-23T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Fascinating and disturbing’: How our brains and genetics dictate our ideologies - and vice versa","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EW5VFSVZR5G7RPPWX4ENF5DRJE","auth":{"1":"c5b2bd1348158c21f345c3bb5615c7987df0f9aea700ce3e75699f360641294d"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EW5VFSVZR5G7RPPWX4ENF5DRJE.jpeg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/fascinating-and-disturbing-how-our-brains-and-genetics-dictate-our-ideologies-and-vice-versa/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"4IBCHJNWFZG2HGBKMRZVWBTZOQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":757,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/32973ff3-130c-4d96-b8ef-165b4e52e32f/versions/1742305739/media/b3c4eaac7f3fef761796cdb3da2acb45_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/im-not-a-plastic-paddy-we-have-irish-americans-so-why-not-irish-britons/","content_elements":[{"_id":"B4F3AHERMBFLNMVH7LYVP27G7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333952},"content":"The Cloherty siblings wear their grief lightly yet a flicker hangs in the air as we discuss the loss last year of their father, Sean. Amid their laughter at their funny tales, you notice the occasional halting moment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GILE2VRP75DKJL664ZCDSFE5RU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333953},"content":"It might be a split-second lingering of silence or a glance after recounting a particularly treasured memory – a remembrance that he has now gone. Barely 11 months after he died from cancer, it is clear Cloherty, who was 74, was loved and is missed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCN76CWLSBEDRNJW2NP5KJ3ESM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333954},"content":"His five children – Patrick, Katie, Mary, Mike and Sean jnr – have gathered in the sittingroom of the house where, with his late wife Maureen, the hard-working Connemara man raised them and where Katie now lives with her own family. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"5AEZYHGLXZGSDJH5SWGC2LPDHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333955},"content":"The scene is unmistakably Irish. The traditional fireplace looks like many you would find in rural west of Ireland. The Clohertys ferry in endless cups of tea to fuel the chat. The deceased man’s brother, Padraig, similar in age to him, sits quietly in the corner, occasionally chiming in. This family, of humble, easy-going people reminisce as the Irish like to do over their dead.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LH7DLUAWENDODJWXEN4KVYL4PE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333956},"content":"Yet this isn’t Ireland. We are in Lydiate, a neat hamlet 15km north of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/liverpool/\" target=\"_self\">Liverpool</a>. Sean Cloherty, second eldest of nine, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/emigration/\" target=\"_self\">left</a> an impoverished existence on Lettermore island in the early 1960s to move to Britain for work, before he was 16.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BKVNLUKD7VBYXB6TSX2QP2I7YI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333957},"content":"He could speak only Irish when he arrived – it would be two years before he gained fluency in English. Before he died, he recalled that, all those years ago, he “had to go to help my mother” by sending money home. Lettermore was ruggedly beautiful but harsh on its children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZL5OBKQGZGJ3G525SGEEU6RRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333958},"content":"Cloherty worked laying pipes and as a builder. He created a solid life in England where the siblings were all born. They all retain a strong sense of Irish identity after visiting Lettermore all their lives – their late mother Maureen’s father, a Loftus, was from Mayo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHLACWFYPNAHRKMZID7ALHRRUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333959},"content":"The Clohertys would be typical, engaged second-generation Irish Britons if such a term was in use – but it almost never is. In contrast with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/irish-american/\" target=\"_self\">Irish Americans</a>, there is no equivalent moniker for our nation’s kin to the east. As we discuss their Irish identity, laughter rolls in from outside where the third generation, Katie’s girls, play. Upstairs are their <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/galway/\" target=\"_self\">Galway</a> GAA jerseys.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HOX7DS7M3JFGRBSHBOVMHSEWJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333960},"content":"“Our Irishness made us proud,” says Katie in a gentle Scouse lilt. “When we were young it made us different, like we had a proper story to tell.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HRRBX55RDVBV7GIDEGL64NKDRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999194},"type":"image"},{"_id":"YRDP6EQP5RAIFGBA4C3PNUWG7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999195},"content":"Mike remembers banging on his neighbours windows when he was a kid to tease them after the Republic beat England at football – it may have been Euro 88. He defines his Irishness in terms of values and attributes – hard work, kindness to neighbours – passed on from his father.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVGSUNGRBJAPZA2NRCWRDWP6EM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333962},"content":"Katie, who has embraced the identity most keenly, did Irish studies up to master’s level at college. To Mary, “Lettermore <i>is</i> my Dad, my grandparents”. Sean jnr doesn’t see Ireland as his home, but the land of his roots – he likes to tour it on his motorbike. Meanwhile, the youngest, Patrick, describes a physical longing for Lettermore – visiting the island “grounds” him with childhood memories. Rocks are where they always were, ocean views still the same.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZE3OEH6JSVCMTKMX5R7XZ7VFDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333963},"content":"“My Irishness is a blend of a melancholic feeling mixed in with pride. I know that is an idealistic view of things, but I really feel my Irishness in the call to go back and visit,” says Patrick. They recorded their father’s story before he died as part of an oral history project, Looking Back to Look Forward, run by the representative group Irish in Britain.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JEBSXUPFR5DD3DWWAPEUZHOXHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333964},"content":"There are six million in Britain with at least one Irish grandparent – 9 per cent of the population. At the post-Brexit peak, more than 100,000 Britons per year applied for Irish passports. Yet in 2021, 565,000, less than 1 per cent of people in Britain, ticked the “White Irish” box on the census, and three-quarters of those were <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\" target=\"_self\">immigrants</a> born in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHICCISIDNBORDIIEKSFMCKHA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333965},"content":"The story of Irish emigration to Britain – such as those who came to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/3/\" target=\"_self\">London</a>’s Kilburn to “work on the buildings” – has been told often. Less is known at home about Irish Britons, the children and grandchildren of those who made the journey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RPFHYJANJNFSLGMQCY2KIHNYLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333966},"content":"Academic data suggests they are more upwardly mobile than the average British citizen. A study by Mary J Hickman, now a fellow at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, suggests their upward mobility increased if they had two parents from the Republic. Irish Britons are at the highest levels of UK government – Pat McFadden, one of the most senior British cabinet members, is a Glasgow son of Irish-speaking Donegal parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RY5DWFIUHBCOJNICIQREMNIJGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999202},"content":"Keir Starmer’s Irish strategists","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"JPJPAEK7N5CFNIHXHBZXXQGWTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333967},"content":"There is ample evidence of prominent second- and third-generation Irishness all over Britain. Yet the question remains as to why Irish Britons are less feted in their ancestral homeland than Irish Americans, and whether that makes some less enthusiastic about expressing it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OUDU3OPGBBERFE5244OVXCASPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333968},"content":"There is also a clear difference found in academic studies between the second- and third-generation Irish experience in England, where it was more prosperous, and in Scotland, where sectarianism and poverty were rife, especially around Glasgow. Scottish-Irish communities were more cloistered.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JVRXXPKHGNATRHE4XPGAREW7EE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333969},"content":"Data aside, later-generation Irishness in Britain is a feeling as much as anything. For the Clohertys, their Irish identity is clear and unabashed. For others, it is more nuanced.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LUZPWDDVVNEVBOOZYYHC6XVNOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333970},"content":"John Swaine (62), a London black-cab driver, is the son of two Irish parents who emigrated to Britain about 65 years ago. His Wicklow-born father, Joe Swaine, died aged 80 in Hertfordshire during the first wave of Covid in 2020. His mother, Meath-born Theresa, died in 2015.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PBH3O3PC4ZG6HKHDC4MFSW7QAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999207},"type":"image"},{"_id":"32YWJSGYBBGP3CYQWFTDPK7NRA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333971},"content":"Swaine is among the hundreds of thousands of Britons who are proud owners of a new Irish passport. His sense of warm regard for his parents’ homeland remains intact. But he doesn’t readily play up his Irish identity. He is not, as some are derided in the UK, a “plastic Paddy”. A more recent offshoot of this derogatory term are the “passport Paddies” who seek the citizenship they are entitled to for pragmatic reasons.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ZAJDNLDOJFTPCHEUHC774HTXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333972},"content":"Swaine is realistic about his connection to Ireland, which he has visited once in the last 45 years – a wedding near Carlingford Lough about 15 years ago. Like the Clohertys, he travelled over to see his grandparents each summer as a child. But he stopped after his late teens. No particular reason, he says. He loved it when he did visit. But Swaine sees himself clearly as an Englishman, just one with Irish ancestry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RMMHDFOI55A3PMZ5GR4LD6NMXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333973},"content":"“If I went over to Ireland now, people there would consider me English. I feel like I am English. But the other side of it is that I love the fact of my Irish background. I am proud of it. I’d never speak badly of it and if I was in company and I heard someone trashing Ireland, I’d say something.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2QXOXIR2GJBKJF5GRENQPNXX7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333974},"content":"His late father Joe was mischievous, the sort with a permanent twinkle in his eye. Swaine recalls that as he entered adulthood, he and his father would, every Christmas Day, have a facetious debate about whether the son was Irish or English: “My Dad would say ‘you’re Irish’. I’d say I was English. It was like a religious thing, this back and forth. That’s just how we were.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YN22FCBEOZAN3MK5HNEXSCLBZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333975},"content":"He wonders if this desire to delineate himself contributed towards his understated attitude to Ireland. His main motivation in seeking an Irish passport, he says, was a reaction to European Union travel rules for British people after <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/brexit/\" target=\"_self\">Brexit</a>. But rummaging through documents such as his parent’s birth certificates sparked curiosity about his heritage.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q2ZRVZFKFFB45N4LT2DDUCDSEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333976},"content":"Swaine has a decent knowledge of the basics of Irish current affairs – he is a London black-cab driver after all. He also retains an outside interest in Irish sports, although he doesn’t seek them out. “I’d chat about Irish stuff to my cabbie mates if something was on the news, but that’s about it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6LUZH5PNVGOXE235XS32LK42Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333977},"content":"Yet, unprompted, Swaine can still accurately describe from memory the 1.5km route from Enniskerry to his grandparents old house in Parknasillogue – every turn and undulation. This journalist knows his recollection to be correct because we walked the same roads, sharing that set of grandparents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5KVJCLE7XZDGXCEIJ6AO76B5RE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333978},"content":"“I haven’t thought of that since I was a kid,” says Swaine, surprised at himself. “It’s unreal how that just came into my mind. That memory or connection to Ireland was buried. It must run deep.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KB3XBJOAVNEJLDEZQUREIRMEDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333979},"content":"Swaine believes his English accent will always limit the degree of Irishness people in Ireland will ascribe to him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V7MF7E4XCFAE7PA7HX52T533QU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333980},"content":"That chimes with the experience of Morag Prunty, a London-born Irish novelist who writes under the pen name Kate Kerrigan. She has toured over the past year or so with a one-woman play, Am I Irish Yet?, about her desperate wish to be accepted as fully Irish. She now lives in Mayo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCAV4LPCKBD6BARDYIPKD545J4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999218},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5YTLZKXB3BELXIMD4MNGIEI4OE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333981},"content":"The crowd during an Irish Times visit for a matinee performance at the Liverpool Irish Centre earlier this month is mostly older women. Judging by Prunty’s interactions with audience members, they are also acutely plugged in to her message that there is a blockage in the homeland for second- and third-generation Irish Britons.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N2MJJBH5WNER5G4UJ4PEQSGKG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333982},"content":"“If you’re English and Irish at the same time like I am, it’s a bit of a problem,” she tells them. “I was born in the UK [but] always felt like I had to apologise for that ... I am not plastic.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XTFZ3LJUZBG3DFSFU23PD7M4Z4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333983},"content":"Bronwen Walter, emerita professor at Anglia Ruskin University in the southeast of England, is a retired expert on Irish migration to Britain. She co-wrote a major study of second- and third-generation Irish in Britain – the Irish 2 project, albeit two decades ago.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HQBVUGSJMJHJPKTXOXSX54SOV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999222},"content":"Diarmaid Ferriter: How the Irish became Britain’s oldest, loneliest ethnic group","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UZDKO3XTDNDT3MP5QFQSHUYOL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333984},"content":"She has written that people of Irish descent in Britain are “frequently overlooked ... certainly not feted ... and often reminded of their inauthenticity” by those of us born on the island. Yet many Irish Britons' strong sense of Irish identity perseveres, and can grow through the generations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OKNCMYXYGFFALKKHVUXWYM6RXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333985},"content":"“We often were surprised to find that third-generation Irish identity could be even stronger,” Walter told The Irish Times last week. “They had missed out on the downsides of being Irish in Britain – the Troubles, etc – and got the benefits.\"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MK45ZNY3DNAIZFMPF7ZSJ36P6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999225},"content":"‘It’s somewhat downplayed in Ireland – the trouble that the Troubles caused for the Irish living in Britain’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"N26XBHYFO5E5JDIRD3W7A2AESA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333986},"content":"Earlier this month, the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, launched an intergenerational project in conjunction with local Sacred Heart Catholic High School, in which the girls, many with Irish ancestry, filmed interviews with older first-generation London Irish about their immigrant experience.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M73HR6AJQRB5RG7R3MQ6DIO2IU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999227},"content":"Irish in London: ‘Nobody was making me stay. I could have left at any time and gone home to Sligo ... That was 24 years ago’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KN6F3X33HFAF7MR377Z7NWDK5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333987},"content":"On the day The Irish Times observes, the interviews are conducted by Year Nine students (aged about 13). They include Ellie Honan, whose roots are in Dublin and Tipperary – her mother and grandmother on her father’s side are Irish. Violet Fitzgibbon, who has two sets of Irish grandparents from Clare and Drogheda, also takes part, along with fellow student Sesina Dawit, who has no Irish ancestry but is fascinated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAB4RBUIUJDPHNRFZGW2CXUYFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999229},"content":"The ‘mockery’ dished out to the Irish with British accents: ‘Ello luv, you over on ’oliday?’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UQUK7RU6RJGSDG42TMGRCUMAVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333988},"content":"Ellie and Violet profess a strong Irish identity. Ellie sees her ancestral homeland as “a family place”. Her two most positive associations with it are “the people and the seaside”. Violet says everybody in her house supports Ireland over England in the rugby. Both girls agree that one of the biggest differentiators from the UK is that Irish people always say goodbye and thank you to bus drivers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GW4VLPX36BE7XBKTSGOCZDHDYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333990},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Mark Paul"}},"name":"Mark Paul"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Irish identity of people born in Britain, where six million have at least one Irish grandparent, can be complex and personal..."},"display_date":"2025-03-23T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"The experience of Irish Britons: ‘If you’re English and Irish at the same time like I am, it’s a bit of a problem’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"44SDXU334ZHEHKPZ3JDKG4KKWQ","auth":{"1":"45637020e4084bc1b04c97878ae9f9a7efe01f00eddcc983f86b5c9820e6d2e7"},"focal_point":{"x":3235,"y":1175},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/44SDXU334ZHEHKPZ3JDKG4KKWQ.jpg"},"overline_logo":{"_id":"DKIH44HW7VAH3JYCUZFCY2EZM4","auth":{"1":"3621094a80576cd9edf9549c0d2d7a76011c5f5dcb887e8390b004644bcf2848"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DKIH44HW7VAH3JYCUZFCY2EZM4.png"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Abroad"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/im-not-a-plastic-paddy-we-have-irish-americans-so-why-not-irish-britons/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"2SALZ2UTNBA5HC6DFJASMK6PSI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":223,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/df23ab50-a0cb-46e0-8fd6-5d833955aa7b/versions/1741788533/media/75d6d5a57487fd7c391a1b275258f8ec_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/sean-moncrieff-the-word-old-has-become-an-insult-if-youre-old-its-all-over/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GGJKCWHWQJGQZG334353BM4I7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665542},"content":"One of the early indicators that spring has arrived is the change in the sorts of people I see on the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dart/\" target=\"_blank\">Dart</a>. The foreign language students arrive: they travel in large, noisy packs, usually carrying a rucksack issued by whatever institution organised the trip. Seasoned Dart travellers keep an eye out for these groups and move to a different carriage. They take up a lot of space and the decibel level is often close to ear-splitting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5CRZZRCVRVCAXO7B7VU2VD36RY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665543},"content":"There are also people heading to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/howth/\" target=\"_blank\">Howth</a>. They carry rucksacks too, and wear waterproof jackets and sturdy boots. Some have trekking poles. Often they are carrying so much equipment they look like they are about to climb the north face of the Eiger, rather than walk up Howth Head.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KS2PLOAOYFFZZO72OPOUKQ4EFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665544},"content":"I’m generalising, but this cohort of people tend to be of retirement age. I spotted the first of the season last week, when two English women shuffled on to the packed train. Unlike the foreign language students, they were mindful of trying not to bash people with their rucksacks. There was an age gap between them; one I’m guessing was in her early 60s while the other seemed closer to 70.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KR6IFLPV4VG4RH5GEVEFSSRRYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665545},"content":"A man stood and offered the older of the two women his seat. She politely declined, and then fell into conversation with her friend about what had just happened. She wasn’t offended by the offer – this kind of thing had happened to her before – but she couldn’t remember when it had started. She wondered what it was about her appearance, or the image she was projecting to the world, that caused others to think she needed a seat more than they did. Especially now: she was dressed in hiking gear. She obviously wasn’t infirm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OVSYBYJ7TVHJDCR6MG6MY6MRRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665546},"content":"Perhaps wisely, her friend didn’t express an opinion on the matter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KMELN3L2W5BV5KK2N5A44IVESU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665547},"content":"They weren’t criticising the man who had made the offer. Nor should they have. It probably doesn’t happen as much as it used to, but I still see people who are elderly or frail or pregnant being given seats on public transport, and it is always gratifying to witness. Old-fashioned decency hasn’t completely died out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7DATYJNGXRDGFGNSGYRFXJ2NFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665548},"content":"It’s just that in this case, the man unwittingly contributed to the series of mild insults that go along with being older.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KWX43SFY6RCZXPBIAK3IZ76FIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665549},"content":"Even what I’ve written here could contribute to it. The word “older” is vague: older than who? I’m trying to avoid using the word “old”. Few seem to want to embrace that term, and you can’t blame them: it’s become definitive, damning, close to an insult. If you’re old, it’s all over.","type":"text"},{"_id":"54TGFWI7HFCTDPRBEHW6EISWOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288113331},"content":"Shouldn’t we allow ourselves grow old gracefully and not be full of fear?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3UXY7IEEEJGZ5NXUVQPGB3MMMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665550},"content":"Instead, older-than-you people have to endure a society that would rather not think about them at all. Women, especially, become almost invisible. Ageing is not treated as a natural process any more, but almost a moral failing; something that should have been resisted. To be old in public advertises that disgraceful failure: one that the non-old would rather not be close to, just in case it’s contagious.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RTCI6WDKSVBJZF5N3DNI2ANCMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665551},"content":"Not everyone acts this way. It’s well-intentioned, but the old can often be shoved into the land of cliche: we should value the elderly because they are wise (not necessarily true). They aren’t fit but “hale and hearty”. Or the worst: being described as “71 years young”. When, or if, I reach that august age and hear that phrase from someone, they can expect an unexpected meeting with the back of my arthritic hand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y57FEQIR5VCMNBLD6CZTWKRJBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288113335},"content":"The value of age: ‘l am still me with wisdom gained. My goal is to stay curious’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AJL2RECYCRAXHLHPBY7K5UKV2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665552},"content":"On the Dart, we passed a few stations and a seat became free. The older woman marched down to it, then waved to her younger friend, who accepted it gratefully and, I inferred, was the one who had really needed to sit down. There’s a difference between old and tired.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Seán Moncrieff"}},"name":"Seán Moncrieff"}]},"description":{"basic":"Ageing is not treated as a natural process any more, but almost a moral failing; something that should have been resisted"},"display_date":"2025-03-23T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Seán Moncrieff: The word ‘old’ has become an insult. If you’re old, it’s all over","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ILRNIAZH5ZH23O4USKSEJ4PT4Y","auth":{"1":"1e795949d30a528b673ce12bf053e0dce3dad3cc1e7cdea1f2218410d1361011"},"focal_point":{"x":1212,"y":681},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ILRNIAZH5ZH23O4USKSEJ4PT4Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/sean-moncrieff-the-word-old-has-become-an-insult-if-youre-old-its-all-over/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"V2CWCL4N4FD4LMB63KV5VF6KWA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":789,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/d0b0d8e6-5793-46b6-adcc-f87cefe86fdd/versions/1742398301/media/f7680e9814782ec5ed9a662c38adc9dc_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/health/your-family/2025/03/22/culture-wars-reach-the-classroom-what-is-the-best-way-to-teach-children-about-gender-and-identity/","content_elements":[{"_id":"BLCCG4S4AFABHOGAQETHS7OMBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695695},"content":"On the face of it, Sandra Adams, a Dublin-based mother of two, seems an unlikely campaigner to be on the front line of the culture wars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SMGJ62YVR5AKXGLT5C5TYWOKEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695696},"content":"“I supported the repeal referendum and marriage equality ... If anything, I’m more of a social democrat in terms of philosophy,” says Adams, who has previously worked as an arts producer and community worker.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZQTJSSJZLNFYHALJXZRULJNUX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695697},"content":"Right now, one of her main concerns is campaigning for what she calls “fact-based, scientifically accurate” education and opposing the presentation of gender identity in schools as fact.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D44WADUGNRCIRIJZ44HSO3DPD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695698},"content":"“People are entitled to believe whatever they wish. I don’t query that,” she says. “But if you go into a school and teach that ‘everyone has a gender identity’, that’s simply not true. We have to teach facts, not ideologies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6XOS7TR4FJCNPG6PJD6GII6QTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695699},"content":"“Children don’t have a stable sense of identity and can be easily influenced and manipulated. So, it’s profoundly irresponsible to say you can change sex.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EJXAQESXBZDYBE35I4RCY4PPIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695720},"content":"Karen Sugrue, a mother from Limerick, holds very different views.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H6BTSSXZYBAHPILQSVCSPMQDTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952822},"content":"A teacher, psychotherapist and co-chair of Mammies for Trans, she insists gender identity “isn’t contested science” and there is no reason to fear it being raised in the classroom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3UVWJWZF4ZE3NFXPI63N7UBWQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695721},"content":"“The World Health Organisation understands that gender is not a binary, it’s a spectrum, as does the Irish Government and the Department of Health,” she says. “They are very clear on that, so we’re on very solid ground.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"A4K5PRS5LZGETEOHMYALWPXXK4","additional_properties":{"_id":"CN36PIEA4BBAPEN7CZXALPPNIY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"YF2UB45HAJCCVLOGSRPXHDYIPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695722},"content":"She says we should teach children about diverse families and identities in an age-appropriate way, especially in light of attempts to make political capital on the back of so-called “wedge” issues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7HAF6Z4ZFJB35IBAXYUQC37CUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695723},"content":"“We saw it with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/02/05/trump-signs-order-intended-to-bar-transgender-athletes-from-womens-sports/\">Donald Trump</a>. One of the first things he did was to make an issue of gender. Not guns or drugs. It was gender. In Ireland, there are lots of bad faith political actors who will stoke up controversy on this instead of housing, health or waiting lists, which they can’t solve,” says Sugrue.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TMLIAFJZZRDIFA3J47FXVIHGCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695724},"content":"The process of drafting a new curriculum at primary level – the biggest shake-up to teaching and learning for two decades – has attracted huge levels of interest and hundreds of submissions from parents, as well as lobby groups and other stakeholders.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TD6WEWOEKRGCBDTQLBPG3TP74M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695701},"content":"On one side are both self-described liberal and conservative parents, campaign groups, religious organisations and others who argue that “radical gender ideology” is not appropriate for children and that young people with gender dysphoria need specialised and compassionate medical care, not what some term “woke indoctrination” at school.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FT27JXMOP5AUHIBLOEI4WOINDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695702},"content":"On the other are parents – of trans children in some cases – groups of academics and nongovernmental organisations who say the new syllabus needs to recognise the diversity of LGBTQ+ identities and who insist that silencing conversations around identity will have detrimental effects on the lives of many vulnerable pupils.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YOHGWPME2BCVTPWYWQJQDANZCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403564014},"content":"Gender identity not included in draft primary school curriculum","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"J5VJZQP4UJBCZJD2T6F6BZSJCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695703},"content":"The curriculum is being drafted against a backdrop of polarised online debate, viral videos with claims of highly sexualised or inappropriate curricular content, while the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/enoch-burke\">Enoch Burke</a> saga – the second-level teacher opposed to what he terms “transgenderism” and who has violated court orders to stay away from his former school – continues with no sign of a resolution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5QI5W4HWFNAWXDPJNESDLI3QEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695704},"content":"The body charged with developing the new primary syllabus is the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), a statutory body of the Department of Education.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AFVH7N35AVG6JMQHHDPRKS6ZUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695705},"content":"Policymakers say it is timely that an updated curriculum is developed to “equip our children with essential knowledge, skills, concepts, attitudes, values and dispositions” to prepare them for life further into the 21st century.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XDT4GAOW65B4VCQLDH4HVUKAEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695706},"content":"Under the draft reforms which have been several years in the making, primary school pupils will spend more time learning foreign languages as well as Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) and a broader arts curriculum, including dance and creative media.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WSLABDTEWJDRHLJWO3ZFS4FQCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695707},"content":"The “wellbeing” section of the draft curriculum is the most contentious. It includes an emphasis on relationships and sex education including new areas of learning such as consent and diversity in family structures.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MCJ5XUXX5RECRBO3KXS5QMCCNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695708},"content":"There is, however, no reference to transgender or gender-identity issues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEFB7KS3F5G7VA3GBVQXUQIUMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695709},"content":"(It <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2023/04/24/new-junior-cycle-curriculum-will-oblige-schools-to-teach-about-gender-identity/\">does feature</a> in the separate and recently updated social, personal and health education curriculum for older junior cycle students, typically aged 12-15).","type":"text"},{"_id":"IKLYDB3H2BGSDOMIUFQ5FFWALM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695710},"content":"Notwithstanding this, the NCCA noted that a “diversity of opinion was shared on gender identity and LGBTI+ terminology that do not feature in the draft wellbeing curriculum” at primary level during its consultations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TZBD4DJTUJDZDJ3KBEGIK6KRI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403564023},"content":"New primary school curriculum: the changes on the way and what they mean for children","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"G45OZQ3Z2NAWRC7ZR2WL3TZV3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695711},"content":"Many submissions, it says, were based on “misinformation or disinformation” on what is in the draft primary syllabus.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KHCHO4UUNBAR3N7HDMDVZPQZOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695712},"content":"The curriculum is due to be finalised shortly and will be sent to Minister for Education <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/helen-mcentee\">Helen McEntee</a> for approval in advance of its publication later this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L7RFCKRDDFBZXGS3VNBES5UCAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695713},"content":"Those opposed to teaching around gender identity, however, remain wary. Gender critical-campaigners point to teaching resources or tool kits aimed at primary students that teach gender identity as fact.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DTOOVIUGJFFSBJZUWCFE3HOOMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695714},"content":"Adams, for example, cites the HSE booklet Busy Bodies for teaching children aged eight to 12 about puberty, which is distributed to schools.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKCJYBKMM5BIZLSFPFFOKCPHZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695715},"content":"“As well as a biological sex, we all have a gender identity,” the cartoon booklet states. “This is how we think of ourselves as a boy, a girl, neither or both.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JGOIGWVDIRDV3EAUBW3OXT75AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695716},"content":"Adams says, whatever about curriculum reforms, teachers are being directed to “ideologically driven” tool kits for the classroom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DBVOFQHETNA6XHUV776FQNANUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695717},"content":"“We rightly trust our teachers. It’s an amazing profession – I’ve lots of teachers in my family – and they have such positive influence on children ... so this undermines the trust we need to have in our teachers.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"53HV6YZN5RFP5B7C3EWC6PPGJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695718},"content":"Other gender-critical campaigners point to an overarching primary curriculum framework document, which states that the syllabus will be “concerned with the best interest of every child, considering that they vary in their competence, language, family background, age, culture, ethnic status, religion, gender and sexual identity.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5EC2V6G7ZHTZPESUFVP6DZ7OM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695719},"content":"They question if this reference to “gender and sexual identity” means the topic will, ultimately, find its way into the classroom. An NCCA source insists this is not the case.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EF5BE63VRZAGTD2BUETNUYYC2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695720},"content":"On the other hand, groups such as BelongTo – which supports LGBTQ+ young people – say the reality is that young trans people are in primary schools in Ireland and have a right to a supportive spaces where it is safe to question their sexual orientation and gender identity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TBR4DBHHOFAQRH53QNS6EE5CSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695725},"content":"“Ignoring their existence and silencing conversations around identity will have detrimental effects on the lives of these pupils,” it says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RTSEXWYSRHPZDTZYG3J43E3KM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695726},"content":"It cites studies that show that LGBTQ+ young people face higher levels of suicide ideation and mental health risks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q7R7KKBV7JC2NDQQRYLHP7Y23U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695727},"content":"“Rather than brushing this topic under the rug, we need to ensure that schools have the capacity and confidence to support all pupils in an age-appropriate manner, including those who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity,” it says. “All pupils deserve to feel safe and supported at school.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3Y2DFBPQHBHJHLOMLK2OTKDEDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695728},"content":"Transgender Equality Network Ireland (Teni) also says there are trans children in Irish primary schools who want to feel as included as every other child, want their lived experiences to be shared with their peers and want to see themselves reflected in the curriculum just like other children do.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ERODJFHODRE7FMQVJCKNVNLLMA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695729},"content":"“Silencing and obscuring the experiences of trans children does not make those children disappear, it only brings a sense of shame and stigma to children already facing high levels of bullying and social isolation,” says Teni.","type":"text"},{"_id":"24OTJ2NY7BDD7ATJPVW7VH2VVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952855},"type":"image"},{"_id":"Y3VINNCIIVDH3LTOMCWLYNKYOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403564040},"content":"Gender identity is just one of the flashpoints around the curriculum.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PNSNPF5CFZAERIW6RJQ7TVTD5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952853},"content":"Everything from critical race theory to Irish identity have come under the microscope since the social, personal and health education (SPHE) curriculum was updated at second level for junior cycle students.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VUE4DS6I3JAV3DUZ4K7JUBHYYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695731},"content":"Last year there was <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2024/09/05/calls-for-curriculum-review-after-publisher-pulls-text-on-irish-family-stereotype/\">controversy</a> when a publisher withdrew a schoolbook to accompany the revised syllabus that portrayed a “traditional” Irish family in a way that was described by critics as prejudiced and a crude caricature.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UKEGJQJOQZEMJEFREALSWUNZUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952856},"content":"The book, Health and Wellbeing, gave two examples of representative Irish families. The first portrayed a family wearing Aran sweaters, with the children Irish dancing, eating potatoes, bacon and cabbage each day, and stated that they played no foreign sports, played Irish music, never travelled abroad and did not mix with other religions because they would be a “bad influence” on them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MF7TMF554VBJXIWOJLE6MRP4OQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695733},"content":"This family was compared with a second family, which was multicultural and travelled abroad a lot because it was a good way to learn about other cultures and societies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KO7JSUWA5CKLGTXAJSFZ7UA4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695734},"content":"A spokesperson for the Educational Company of Ireland said the depictions were “designed to help students understand the importance of diversity in our lives” but it appreciated that its approach should have been different and “caused upset and anger, even though this was not our intention”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SG2KCC22JFE5PKNTM652K3E6VQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695735},"content":"In another development, a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2024/10/24/graphic-material-on-social-personal-and-health-education-course-not-intended-for-classroom-use-says-university/\">viral YouTube video</a> with a teacher who claimed the updated SPHE course at junior cycle contained graphic and inappropriate sexual content for students has attracted almost 450,000 views. The content formed part of a Dublin City University training course for the new subject.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UKMAMKLWFGMHA5LVFLBAATKYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695736},"content":"Tipperary teacher Mary Creedon said she was horrified by some of the material, which included a video of an illustrated woman figure demonstrating masturbation and an animated “sex map” of heterosexual and homosexual couples engaged in different sex acts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CYTPW3IVKJEDTCPEUDCB4OVZDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695737},"content":"DCU later said the video “completely misrepresented” the course and that any material shared was provided only to the teachers as adults in the context of their broader education on the programme.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSW7LXYCV5AUBCJVZG3KUJXKZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695738},"content":"These areas of teaching and learning are being updated largely on foot of a government-commissioned <a href=\"https://ncca.ie/en/resources/report-on-the-review-of-relationships-and-sexuality-education-in-primary-and-post-primary-school/\">review of sex education </a>in 2019, which found that the 20-year-old syllabus was out of date, too focused on biology and did not reflect the reality of young people’s lives.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ND455XDXDRFBBB44SMGI76WSHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695739},"content":"Teenagers said they wanted a greater emphasis on issues such as consent, relationships, the effects of pornography on sexual expectations and LGBTQ+ matters.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QOWVJQQGZDJNEDS6BXOELOWPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695740},"content":"The Government pledged to develop an age-appropriate curriculum across primary and second-level schools, including an inclusive programme on LGBTQ+ relationships.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6O3G5RVKQRE7TC26DET5ZB5YN4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695741},"content":"The first step involved updating the junior cycle curriculum for social, personal and health education, followed by senior cycle last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UXII7KOXTFF75DGWF67FJW37DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695742},"content":"For the NCCA, it has been a delicate balancing act of updating the curriculum and figuring out how relationships and sexuality education should be taught in schools.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WPIBCSSXOJDENCLNZY4JAH4HUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695743},"content":"“We know these topics are sensitive and there are very strong opinions on what should or should not be in there,” says one source involved in drafting the curriculum. “We’ve researched and consulted extensively, and anything we’ve done is founded in scientific fact.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YB7XQMQEKZGYLJOYWJYO3DVKYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695744},"content":"The NCCA works by drawing on national and international research, inviting consultation, holding focus groups, discussing changes with school communities and shaping proposals","type":"text"},{"_id":"SAZZXJ6XEJB4PNSYRBUXB2KVS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695745},"content":"The changes, say sources, are aimed at promoting dialogue and discussion about these issues in an age-appropriate way with an informed teacher.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X5ZBJBBQUBAP3AJ2CUQKVOCRQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695746},"content":"Critics, however, claim the consultative processes are largely tokenistic and see only minimal changes in response to their concerns. This is rejected by NCCA sources, who point to examples of how draft and final blueprints have changed in response to consultation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OIXX2M2LDJGM5FRRGTLNEIC3AA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695747},"content":"For some of those involved in policymaking, the disputes revive memories of similar battles in the 1980s and 1990s when sex education was first included in the curriculum, amid protests and pledges by some parents to withdraw children from classes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YI45ELTF2JGULDSEBPUA25MN7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695748},"content":"“There were many of the same claims of ‘This isn’t age-appropriate’, ‘Not at this stage’ and ‘It’s not the job of schools to teach this’,” says one education source. “This [new curriculum] isn’t usurping the role of parents; they have a role and should be consulted about this.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L2GPKMUGINBTFOQLXX5GYBHIWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695749},"content":"Ultimately, says another long-standing education observer, the fact that curriculum change is generating debate is healthy sign of a vigorous democracy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T6BICT2FLFC5FBKHL2HNTL5WBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695750},"content":"“A curriculum reflects educational priorities which society, at a point in time, deems important for its young citizens,” says the source. “It embodies society’s broadly held view of what our children should learn into the 21st century. It’s only right that we have lively debates about this.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MUVUXMDB4ZAVNO4OTTMKFG7ZVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695751},"content":"Many schools say they have been quietly getting on with meeting the needs of small numbers of trans young people in conjunction with parents without controversy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5P4UR7KHJJE6LLPPNOXVQEV62I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695752},"content":"“It’s happening under the surface,” says one principal. “We work with parents. We do get emails and are forwarded messages from social media, questioning what we’re doing ... Our approach is to tread very carefully.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MKY6TNULERAGPNOFDABOFEUSTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695753},"content":"Parents have the right to opt children out of any sex education classes, which is provided for under law, but teachers and policymakers are hopeful it will not come to this.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HAPZWWWB4FEMRI3OYIVAVAG2OM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695754},"content":"“All the research shows that children will talk to their parents about anything when they are young,” says one policymaker. “In their teens it’s more about their friends and the internet ... So, if schools don’t offer something that is solid and of substance, the internet and their friends are the only source of information.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Carl O'Brien"}},"name":"Carl O'Brien"}]},"description":{"basic":"A new primary level syllabus – the biggest shake-up in two decades – is being finalised against a backdrop of polarised online debate and claims of misinformation"},"display_date":"2025-03-22T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Culture wars reach the classroom: What is the best way to teach children about gender and identity?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"P4W4IOIIVZDTNFOQTWMJYCTZME","auth":{"1":"0b86ec9a8d9c5ec2ddf4452be4b6b05d2a8da4176c6da16d330746bf3a9b1ef2"},"focal_point":{"x":4375,"y":1435},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/P4W4IOIIVZDTNFOQTWMJYCTZME.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Your Family"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Education"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"People"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/health/your-family/2025/03/22/culture-wars-reach-the-classroom-what-is-the-best-way-to-teach-children-about-gender-and-identity/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/health/your-family","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Your Family"}}}},{"_id":"7VSE4DR2QVHHJDYM7T6GPMYNNY","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-hate-my-children-too-like-how-could-three-kids-of-mine-turn-out-to-be-such-dicks/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EMNNBOWIMJEY3IHSBHO6FZ6CPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265306},"content":"So it’s, like, Paddy’s Day and me and the goys have arranged to go for our usual walk on Killiney Hill with the kids.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SYNYHA5XQ5DXNCDDG3T4OLBXDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265307},"content":"They’re already waiting for us in the cor pork – we’re talking JP with little Isa, we’re talking Fionn with Hillary, we’re talking Christian with Ross Junior and Oliver and we’re talking Oisinn with little Paavo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IVH2CCEMCNEUJCF73VQYSYVPRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265308},"content":"I open the back door of the X5 and Brian, Johnny and Leo spill out of it like lava. Brian runs straight for Ross Junior and grabs him in a headlock – his way of saying hello – while Leo trips up Oliver and Johnny pins Isa to the ground and tries to spit in his mouth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YQ32TXZHAVCYFAF52EAV6JA66A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265309},"content":"“No offence, Ross,” Christian goes, “but I despise your children.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5JGWKU6S5CATO2BPFA6ILBRXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265310},"content":"I’m there, “Yeah, no, none taken. I hate them too. Makes you wonder about the whole genetics thing, doesn’t it? Like, how could three kids of mine turn out to be such dicks? I’m still convinced that it’s a lottery.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBPUJ6TXONGGTB3TK6EWY2YMLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265311},"content":"No one says anything. It’s probably too deep for eleven o’clock on a bank holiday Monday. I can’t control how my mind works.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EMXY725DJ5GPZOT4FF5P7RGR2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265312},"content":"Oisinn goes, “Twenty-six years ago today, goys!” and none of us needs to even ask him what he’s talking about.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3RVA3WWH75GALHZQUN5EWAZ2OE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265313},"content":"Yeah, no, it’s 26 years to the day since I lifted the famous soup tureen at Lansdowne Road, on a day when great things were predicted for me, even though the people who predicted them turned out to be full of shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T7T5A25HPZEFPPO4FCERACMRZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265314},"content":"Christian’s there, “Where did you goys watch the Italy match?” because he never goes out with us since him and Lauren got back together again.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YW36ANZKVEVZBYQYU76LOTKPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265315},"content":"I’m like, “The usual Bridge.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPDGEE4FOZHYDDR3KMRPTGKJIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265316},"content":"JP goes, “You should have seen Ross. He was still taking notes in his tactics book half an hour after the final whistle.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"76INUR55KVBC5KBEGYUYN7TURE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265317},"content":"I’m there, “I filled eight pages. I photographed them and WhatsApped them to Simon Easterby. Nothing back. Not even a thank-you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCRBVKN7YVE4JAZ4X3T3AIXDMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265318},"content":"Fionn goes, “What a loss to Irish rugby your mind was, Ross.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HF7BBXSLS5BADOEZXEOYVVUCRA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265319},"content":"I don’t know whether he’s serious or ripping the piss, so I just go, “I’m going to take that as a compliment. So, Oisinn, how are things down in Brittas?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HUNKUMXQHFHBHJK2L72HH2NZNM","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"N5LIIOEDSFEKTGUKQTAZLF2QPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265320},"content":"Yeah, no, him and Magnus have bought Gerald Kean’s old gaff and they’re operating an in-patient facility to help redundant fintech employees struggling to transition back to a world without ergonomic think spaces and daylong town halls to discuss lunch options for workers with a soy intolerance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U3EU3ANNBZDBRDAVRCSTSW3TZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265321},"content":"“They’re coming at us from every angle,” he goes. “Facebook. Dell. Twitter. Accenture. We’re turning away a hundred people a week. God knows what the demand is going to be like if Trump has his way and storts bringing jobs back to America.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L6OW36G6CBHPHL77MS4APRZ3SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265322},"content":"I’m there, “I’m tempted to say fair focks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3YEIJQXZKJDMXHG66L5JZZEDCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265323},"content":"Fionn looks over his shoulder and goes, “Er, Ross, where are your children?” because – yeah, no – all of the kids are following behind us except Brian, Johnny and Leo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6VJBCP4TLVCMJGMNZOA3T7PWCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265324},"content":"I’m there, “Who cares? I’m probably better off <i>not</i> knowing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGNW3D3UPNBLBBGNW7HQK7QF3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265325},"content":"Christian goes, “And what about you, JP? How are the studies going?” because the dude has gone back to finish studying for the priesthood after giving it up, like, 20 years ago to manage Hook, Lyon and Sinker.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VK2CUFZEJBYPEACNNWMFOKGJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265326},"content":"JP’s like, “It’s going well. Although I don’t regret the years in between. It was the Lord’s will.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DZJGYFKXNVFOZBKLF32MVLB6B4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265327},"content":"“What,” I go, “that you sold thousands of young couples into a life of mortgage slavery for a three-hour daily commute to Portlaoise?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WO6S55VTP5B5XIATHVGCW5QA5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265328},"content":"He decides to let this go. I suppose forgiveness is the game he’s <i>in</i> now?","type":"text"},{"_id":"XZJJPAWO2VH27LQZ53M6DTRF4A","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"IHLRRXBXQRBIJEDP24VJHRRKNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265329},"content":"“Well,” Christian goes, “I hope when you’re finally ordained, I can ask you for a favour.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ILQAZ5RNUREGHGJYNVK3QUJVIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265330},"content":"JP’s like, “Yeah, no, sure – what?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"T72BW3CZ55DBZHYKKCHZUKBQPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265331},"content":"And Christian’s there, “I was going to ask you would you celebrate Mass – when Lauren and I get married again?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4OKK6AFNORGNZHJLJEEWR6VZ34","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265332},"content":"I’m like, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZVMDVGNP3VHLVNMALNWILXHAR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265333},"content":"JP’s there, “Well, the Catholic church doesn’t actually recognise divorce, so in our eyes you’re still married. But I’d be happy to bless your marriage. Or if you wanted to renew your vows–”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2YHNQVACVFB4PBF5ZQULN7VTNQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265334},"content":"I’m like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! You’re getting married again? To Lauren?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2S7RVHECN5HFLIGI2LUOG4UIX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265335},"content":"Christian’s there, “Yes, Ross, to Lauren.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"A7VDEGUGWBGNRJJQKVZY2ODLUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265336},"content":"I go, “Then you’re a focking idiot,” totally forgetting that their two kids are standing there. “An absolute mug. And don’t ask me to be your best man this time.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CVKK4CQMIBF2VFX442WQFFDBZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265337},"content":"He’s like, “I had no intention of it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IR7VLIY6IJHJ5GLCG3MVLY5BTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265338},"content":"I’m there, “You’re making a major, major mistake.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5J6PWVZPND3LO4MSQ4CJBKXII","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265339},"content":"I turn to go back to the cor and I hear him go, “As if you’re in a position to lecture anyone on marriage – or fatherhood. Doesn’t even know where his kids are.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z7SANTLWSNASFKVRIHSIDJQGKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265340},"content":"I walk back to the cor pork and – two fingers to Christian here – I end up finding them straight away. They basically haven’t moved from where I saw them last. The three of them are rolling around on the ground, absolutely killing each other.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G6AONILNE5GZRA35CTV7FJU6D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265341},"content":"I get into the cor and I stort her up. They can make their own way home. I’m just about to put it into drive when all of a sudden my <i>phone </i>rings? It’s a call from, like, an unknown number.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TETP5CEIGFHEHAUBCRNUNXFCGQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ross O’Carroll-Kelly: ‘Why do you want to go disinterring the past, Ross?’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"VQ4FWQOPCNER3D7VIYLUVYHFAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265342},"content":"I answer it. Naturally enough, I’m like, “Who the fock <i>is</i> this? Who rings <i>anyone</i> in this day and age?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"64UB7EJHPBF23DFS5ND6QKMBR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265343},"content":"A voice on the end of the line goes, “Is that Ross O’Carroll-Kelly?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RNZE2ZR33NHYFM6KFHZ4WVSB4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265344},"content":"It’s a dude with, like, an American accent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZM43OGOWZBBGHHP5PQSOIE4X2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265345},"content":"I’m there, “Is that you, Zebo?” because – friend or no friend – he’s an absolute focker when it comes to practical jokes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JWQSSVOBGZC5BNDE2GHVIZVZW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265346},"content":"He goes, “Zebo? Who’s Zebo?” and I suddenly realise that it’s <i>not </i>him? “Ross, my name is Brett Tucker.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KBAA7FJYQRDTBBV27MLZFCSMUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265347},"content":"I’m like, “Brett Tucker? I don’t know anyone called Brett Tucker. Is this Conor Murray?” because the dude does a very good American accent. He’s caught me out three or four times pretending that he works for the US Eagles and he wants me to go and work in the States. I actually booked a flight once.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GHGELORNUZEP7JC5J2FS3G5CGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265348},"content":"Right at that moment, Brian and Johnny pick Leo up and body-slam him down on to the bonnet of the X5.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HYIXGQ7RLJA5BKS3Z2F35UD2QI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265349},"content":"I’m like, “Watch his focking glasses! I’m not Sellotaping them together again!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CS5OUJCQSJFLRLJN5JHTSECFHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265350},"content":"And that’s when the dude on the other end of the line goes, “I was talking to Conor. My father. Ross, I’m your brother.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"Ross O’Carroll-Kelly: It’s the annual Paddy’s Day walk with the goys and the kids, and so far it’s not going well"},"display_date":"2025-03-22T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Ross O’Carroll-Kelly: ‘I hate my children too. Like, how could three kids of mine turn out to be such dicks?’","native":"‘I hate my children too. 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On a video call from her home in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>, she’s wearing a stylish off-the-shoulder white poplin top, one of her creations in collaboration with the Aligne brand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6CM5LCBJVBD3DBP63PIW35455Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069160},"content":"The day before our conversation, she hosted a lunch at her favourite London restaurant, The Dover, for an impressive list of women including the CEO of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jimmy-choo/\" target=\"_blank\">Jimmy Choo</a>, Hannah Colman. All the guests wore pieces from Day’s clothing line. There are photos from the event all over social media including one of Day posing in a red minidress beside a car branded with the name of the collaboration, Elizabeth Day x Aligne. For a woman who made her name with a podcast that examines failure, she’s giving, as the kids say, the very model of glittering and multi-hyphenated success.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ARBAPDSTQFAVXP5ATLG3F2XIFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605120},"content":"The irony that her How To Fail podcast has been the most successful thing she’s ever done is not lost on Day. We laugh about the fact that one of her closest journalist friends, Ed Cumming, likes to describe her in their text messages as “noted failure Elizabeth Day”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7VCNUHWJVFWHFSRIYOKVCH4XE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605122},"content":"Now 46, Day has spoken and written extensively about that time of her life which inspired the podcast. When it launched in 2018, she was nearing 40, carrying around the sense of “internal failure” and two years on from her divorce from former BBC news editor Kamal Ahmed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DIAHMMKWFFBU3CVZLC32FVQNUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069163},"content":"The breakdown of their marriage was precipitated by a miscarriage, one of several twists in a fraught fertility journey. On a professional level, she was doing well but she was also “newly single, childless and facing an uncertain future”. The break up and this gnawing sense that her life had not turned out the way she hoped provided the impetus for the podcast where a long list of properly famous people – from her close friend Fleabag creator, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/phoebe-waller-bridge/\" target=\"_blank\">Phoebe Waller-Bridge</a>, to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kate-winslet/\" target=\"_blank\">Kate Winslet</a> – speak to her about their failures. The podcast led to a bestselling book How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong<i>.</i>","type":"text"},{"_id":"U46OP4RFFZHZNBRVK5WEINTHKE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605124},"content":"Day has made her name and a thriving career from talking to people about the most challenging times in their lives and, crucially, about what they discovered along the way. It has had nearly 50 million downloads, while her nine novels and non-fiction books such as Magpie and Friendaholic regularly appear on the bestseller lists. Her brand is the kind with the power to sell out large theatres for live podcasts – the final date of her upcoming tour is in Dublin next month.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFEWZEYIZVFXPOUYLIRNLCSQKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605126},"content":"So has the failure mindset shifted now that she is a roaring success? Or does she still feel a failure in some ways? “I’ve definitely shifted my mindset because of what failure has taught me but I don’t feel that’s antithetical to the podcast – I’ve grown my attitude to failing. But yes, I mean, I fail every day.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKEUWSK6UZH5ZA2NPYG64UJVMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605128},"content":"How so? Let Day count the ways: “There’s part of me that still has this deep rooted insecurity that makes me hyper competitive, that wants to be higher in the podcast charts. I know it’s ego-driven and I know it’s a lack of self esteem and self validation but I feel it’s a failure of mine that I need to continually work on and be aware of.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OYGA6OTQOVEDRJZBECNJSF7ZHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605130},"content":"“Also, last week I was lucky enough to be offered this amazing trip to Spain. Yes, ‘noted failure Elizabeth Day’ was gifted a trip to this medical health spa. It was an incredible experience but it starts with you being weighed and monitored and measured, and I struggle with that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5LC3NIP4X5EV7J3FC2B3EGDI6U","additional_properties":{"_id":"YZYKSI3CEZCJ5P37OFHEOV37CA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"SGPVBU7K7ZBQJNJMHPGHVKYLJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069169},"content":"While she believes numbers on a scale don’t matter and that women “are amazing whatever size or shape, sometimes it’s really difficult if you’ve been socially conditioned by the dysfunction of the nineties to be confronted by the number on the scale, even though I know it doesn’t matter. That, for me, is a failure too.” (Later on I look up Aligne x Elizabeth Day and am pleased to discover it’s an inclusive range, the clothes go up to size 22.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"454RMV3Q75AE3DC7GOMPZ7FKA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605132},"content":"She’s not finished about her ongoing “multiple” failures. “There are those big aspects [and] then, there are smaller things – where I failed to reply to someone’s voice note or failed to meditate or failed to be present. And my new novel is out on submission in the US at the moment. I’m scared I’m going to fail to get a deal. All of that is going on in my head.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5MBZU3SFUNANPELVQQQ73256TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605134},"content":"In Spain, on that luxury <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/17/the-white-lotus-review-season-three-has-its-finger-on-the-pulse-to-an-almost-excruciating-degree/\" target=\"_blank\">White Lotus</a>-adjacent holiday, the health review showed she had 98 per cent mental stress but that she had very low physical stress. “So, I suppose, part of my failure is overthinking and also seeking to control things in order to feel safe. All of those are sort of works in progress.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5G2I3HXHNATBNLOPIJZ5TZ4KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605137},"content":"As we speak, she’s sitting in her home in Vauxhall, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>, that she shares with husband of four years, tech founder Justin Basini, and their cat, Huxley, who, at one point, stalks across the bookshelves behind her. Also in view is a large graffiti-style artwork that reads: “We don’t need their approval.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TW2UC7VDSBB6FBLSNLXAHS7W3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605138},"content":"She says: “It’s a useful reminder.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DZSWQW7AUZHLLE6EC4DMCFFW5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605139},"content":"Although English born, Day’s formative childhood years were spent in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/derry/\" target=\"_blank\">Derry</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\" target=\"_blank\">Belfast</a>, when her parents moved the family to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/northern-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Northern Ireland</a> after her dad got a job as a surgeon in Altnagelvin Hospital. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/04/13/elizabeth-day-it-took-leaving-and-returning-for-me-to-become-a-derry-girl/\" target=\"_self\">“It was profoundly shaping of me as a person</a>,” she says. “I speak with a very English accent. I never picked up the Derry accent, which is actually quite weird, and I’m not sure why. I never felt that I fully fitted in. I was, understandably, constantly asked ‘Are you on holiday?’, or ‘Are you armed forces?’","type":"text"},{"_id":"E6EDA3K7PRGSXFXSKCQHIZA5WA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069175},"content":"Elizabeth Day: 'As an English child in Belfast, I thought I was seen as the occupier'","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"55KJVT3YSZGHLKRTJLE3TWA65U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605140},"content":"“I was a bit of an outsider, which is a position of immense opportunity, because you can look at what’s going on, think about it, observe and try and understand it. I think that’s what made me a storyteller, actually. Connected to that is the fact that Ireland is such an extraordinary culture of storytellers and storytelling, and I was living in a part of Ireland that was going through this incredibly traumatic and troubled time, [which] made me aware of the stories that weren’t being told as well.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RH5GXA6P5ZAFXJW7S3WUIPSN7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605141},"content":"Day, in contrast, is an open book. Having always been public with her fertility struggles – including miscarriages, egg freezing, operations on her womb and failed IVF attempts – she is in a different place now. While not having children is, she says, “a sadness that will last a lifetime for me”, she decided to stop trying to conceive two years ago and found peace with the idea of not becoming a parent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V43CVGED4ZHYJJMW2PLSQTC6OA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069178},"content":"The turning point came after a session with a psychic recommended by her “dear friend and mentor” make-up entrepreneur and television presenter <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/trinny-woodall/\" target=\"_blank\">Trinny Woodall</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S6SZH6LCBRA6NKXXP2RIM3S7CM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605142},"content":"“If she gives me advice, I always listen very carefully. Trinny said to me, ‘I think, maybe, you should let it go.’ She probably saw my face fall and then she said: ‘If only for six months, and then you can pick up again. You probably need a break.’ She was the one who put me in touch with the psychic.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6T6QRHVROVHH3MVZYFBMHEM7TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605143},"content":"Day spoke to the psychic shortly after the devastation of a failed egg donation. She and her husband had been recommended to a top fertility clinic in Los Angeles but the year-long process of finding an egg donor was “complicated and unbelievably stressful”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WRZWYJPM7BFLJNSN6TG5DVKKSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605144},"content":"“It was not easy or aligned, looking back, but we got to the stage where there was this one fantastic embryo – like A plus, plus, plus, nailed their A levels, that kind of thing.” The couple flew over to the United States for the transfer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7YRPBPCRLZF4RM5AIFQOIBJ734","additional_properties":{"_id":"KV3LPZS6TJFSFEJKKPXATN35DA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"P3KOWNC7PRHIFAVX2AU26E4GB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605145},"content":"Day was doing “all the right things”. Eating well, not drinking alcohol, having acupuncture and being closely monitored. The embryo was transferred. Ten days later she went in for a blood test and afterwards the clinic informed her, by email, that it hadn’t worked and that she should “cease all medication”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IXDQ343LLBCKDICNGOFF5RBF5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605146},"content":"“I can’t believe they communicated that by email but also I can, because it tracks so much with the fertility industrial complex and how little they actually care at a moment in a woman and a man’s life where they need care and sensitivity.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W7JNFFQOHNFZ5H77VCOJKJK7UY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605147},"content":"It was, she recalls, “one of the lowest points of my life”. Back home in London, she was “an emotional wreck”, consumed by questions of what to do next. Should they try fertility treatment again? What about surrogacy or adoption? “But Justin already has three children so adoption was a different prospect for us. I had to be very respectful of what he wanted too and how precious our relationship was. I was so confused.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WJ7QOOQBVBAVLAQGCQAXRXJBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605148},"content":"It was at that point she consulted the psychic. “She knew straight away I was a writer. She also said I hadn’t even written my best book, which was lovely to hear.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N5TDJOKU7JFQ7K7OULZMH7O4M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069186},"content":"The psychic intuited that Day had two major romantic relationships, that her current partner’s first name began with J and that he worked in some kind of ethical finance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7WMUIM7HQJDPTJZSAJQJRR6WOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605149},"content":"Day says that 20 minutes into the consultation, the psychic asks if she does something other than writing, followed by the question: “Are you maybe a life coach talking to people about their failures?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L42QRGZ7KBC7JARELROR47VINM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069188},"content":"At this point, my credulity is stretched a bit. “Are you sure she didn’t google you before the session?” I ask Day. “She couldn’t have, she only had my first name,” she replies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DH3RA77JOBCFNCELGOSUGLYLYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069189},"content":"Elizabeth Day: ‘The way society treats women without children made me feel like a failure’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"JOSWSCCEWVHCTIFOKY3AROGHJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605150},"content":"The psychic then told her she had a sense that Day was grappling with whether to let go of a lifelong desire. When Day agreed, the psychic said: “I don’t know if it’s to do with children but if it is, I feel very strongly that in a past life you were the mother of six and it almost melted you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"I43H3ZPFH5GQ7DSEJA3SYVQQCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605151},"content":"Day says: “That’s the word she used. Melted. I looked back at my notes recently. She said: ‘This life has been offered to you to live on your own terms. And that’s why, if you’ve ever tried to have children, you might have encountered fertility issues or miscarriage, because the universe is saying ‘No, no, no. This [life] is for you.’”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2EHOUIVLDJBOVJEXYJNS2W2MMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069192},"content":"In the wake of the failed fertility journey, Day had been struggling, in particular, with the prospect of whether her life would have meaning without children. “The psychic said: ‘I promise you, you are going to have such a big life.’ She painted this beautiful picture. She said I would have meaning and legacy, that there would be children in my life and, honestly, from the moment I put down the phone from that hour-long reading, I felt at peace. I was very grateful.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HNHNBPDG7ZHG7K7XT7MMEXKLEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605153},"content":"She’s not giving the psychic all the credit, though. “Obviously, alongside that, I’ve done lots of therapy so that’s really helped me get to that point too.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSTV5XHE7FAMPHK4CBIQHFT2ZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069194},"content":"Does she believe in past lives? “Yes, I do. I believe that there is this entire spiritual plane which, as flawed human beings, we cannot hope to understand. That’s why, when we apply our human logic to it, there’s lots of rational arguments against it if you’re working through the prism of human logic, but this is a realm that doesn’t belong to that human logic. I completely believe in all of that and in something bigger and higher.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFPISIJQONA4JGDULLFPKOHKXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069195},"content":"It took leaving and returning for me to become a Derry girl","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KRNRHHVLQZCLHMABYS44M2KMIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605154},"content":"I ask how she feels that some people reading might be dismissive of her experience with the psychic. “I completely understand,” she says. “There are people very close to me who don’t get it either. Each to their own. I think people have to find their own path through this life. I just encourage people to be open minded to experiences that they might not normally expect or understand. There’s nothing wrong with not understanding something but there is something wrong, I think, with judging something you don’t understand before experiencing it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RE24C5R6BVEJXPJACNTTR6UNVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605155},"content":"In conversation, Day is funny, empathetic, smart – everything that makes her such a brilliant podcast host. And whatever about Friendaholic – the book that explored her lifelong addiction to making friends – she is something of a workaholic too. “I do love work,” she grins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"54TBHWWDB5FXZFRC6CD6WR5TOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605156},"content":"Having achieved an awful lot in the last decade, you get the sense that she has a lot more left to do. Lately, she’s been committed to expanding her podcast platform “because I need to take on all of those male podcasters, the white middle class men at the top of the charts constantly, men with unbelievably long episodes. I’m constantly told I have to make my episodes less long, like, hang on a second, how come they regularly do an hour and forty five minutes and nobody blinks an eyelid?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DH6WYOJFJFBHZO2A33DTL5P5SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605157},"content":"The blokes dominating the top of the podcast charts are “a particular bugbear”. It’s why she launched Daylight, her production company, which is focused on elevating diverse voices in podcasting. She has enjoyed taking more of a back room role, producing a podcast masterclass, or podclass, called How to Write a Book.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YMU672V45HUJCIJYI3MRBCZOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069201},"content":"Day also co-presents How To Date with relationship guru Mel Schilling, in which she uses her experiences of dating to help others. (While she has a lot of torrid accounts of dating, she met her “distractingly handsome” second husband on Hinge.) She may, she says, produce a podcast about infertility at some point.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U5GM6WKAFFCFXMQ5ZN6CZILD64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605158},"content":"Then, there’s the upcoming tour. Irish-Nigerian writer and academic <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/emma-dabiri/\" target=\"_blank\">Emma Dabiri</a> will be her guest in Dublin for the live podcast, the final date on her tour. Following the format of How To Fail, Dabiri will discuss three failures with Day. “The audience can also bring their own failures and Emma and I will be on hand to answer as best we can”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K2VUGNBE6RFIZLAQTESJQD3QLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605159},"content":"Her latest book, the one seeking a US publisher – spoiler: days after we meet, she signs a deal for it – is a sequel to her novel The Party and gave her a chance to vent on recent events in Britain. “I’m fascinated by class and what it conceals. It’s really about how we fall in love with the things that end up damaging us, with careless things and people and I include the electorate in that. There’s a political undercurrent.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XS3TNPW3VJBOBDQURNUSP3MSGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605160},"content":"Ultimately, what Day says she loves most of all “is being on my own writing books. And it just so happens that I’m lucky that life has turned out to be really interesting and multifaceted. But I never anticipated it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YE5P6NXDMJFHRG4GS6BT3XCY6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605161},"content":"Having let the idea of parenting go, she’s also been thinking more about legacy and purpose. “I’m very aware that as much as I’ve made peace with [not having children], I’ve spent the last two years working like a demon to try to compensate in some way. I’m probably compensating because I want to leave meaningful work behind. My purpose is bringing meaning to this experience of being human. Whether that is through writing and connecting with a reader, or creating podcasts and helping someone through a challenge. It’s about doing a little bit to help people feel less alone, less lost, less sad. Because we’re all connected”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IYHFW3EE7NCC3LVYBY3LYSGLAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605162},"content":"<i>Elizabeth Day will host a live episode of How To Fail at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre with special guest Emma Dabiri on April 6th: </i><a href=\"https://bgetheatre.ie/\" target=\"_self\"><i>bgetheatre.ie</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Róisín Ingle"}},"name":"Róisín Ingle"}]},"description":{"basic":"Elizabeth Day made her name with her relatable accounts of failure. The How To Fail host is now reaping the rewards of her own success"},"display_date":"2025-03-22T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘One of the lowest points of my life’: Elizabeth Day on marriage breakdown, IVF and How To Fail","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"DCYUFYQ52FDRNNUYQ7GUUYPRLU","auth":{"1":"4020e0734eaedc0191620f0f8273edb064cdae7013a1167f9db869be560cc29b"},"focal_point":{"x":487,"y":394},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DCYUFYQ52FDRNNUYQ7GUUYPRLU.jpg"},"lead_art":{"_id":"DCYUFYQ52FDRNNUYQ7GUUYPRLU","type":"image"}},"subtype":"showcase","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/author-and-podcaster-elizabeth-day-its-about-doing-a-little-to-help-people-feel-less-lost/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"YCKCJIGJJJFPBA2FV36KK4ORZU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":278,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/a6575391-ce2d-4e09-873c-fbab41c7035d/versions/1742465714/media/88391ec16801f3cb81030371298958ce_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/her-no-was-a-full-stop-she-did-not-want-to-go-home-with-this-man/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TBH24TMN5FDBZDYYTFQLHHNF6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777469},"content":"I was at a function doing what I do best, minding the bags at the table. Using my reflexes to fend off scavengers trying to snatch away our chairs. It was an event of mostly over 30s and chairs with good backs were a scarce, non-renewable resource that had to be protected at all costs. Much like the bottles of prosecco hidden under the table, far from the eyes of bar staff looking to clear them away.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YEMPQPX3AVCY7J6JOIENCDVETE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777470},"content":"On the periphery of my table was a man and a woman. I was doing what any person would do while waiting for their friends to come back from the bathroom – eavesdropping on their conversation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2I2DL7LV2NC5PIQKBVIMGVHPLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777471},"content":"It was less of a conversation and more of a sales pitch. He wanted her to leave the function and her lovely chair with the comfy back and her half-filled glass of sparkling wine from somewhere as exotic as Wagga Wagga to go back to his place. And she did not want to. At least that’s what I picked up from her saying “No, I’m going home, I have work in the morning”. To me, her “no” alone was a full stop. She did not want to leave with this man. It was not a coy “I shouldn’t” but “I am not” coming home with you.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBESENAF6JFKXHYVZAPXFTNBB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777472},"content":"But this man must have listened with different ears. He launched into a spiel overcoming her objections like he was the top graduate of a weekend sales seminar on closing the deal.","type":"text"},{"_id":"APDHXMXLSVCWXAUW6DYKWN45SE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777473},"content":"What if they went back to hers instead? No, you don’t want to do that? What if we went out for another drink? Oh you don’t want to go to another pub? Okay, I know we’ll get a bottle of wine and go down to the harbour and look at the stars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OGGY2IJNUVDYDOONMOXS2TFTVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777474},"content":"On it went. He told her it wasn’t about sex. He would just come over “for a cuddle”. She objected. Sensing he was losing the battle for hearts and minds, he walked back his position. Okay he wouldn’t come in. But could they share a taxi and he’ll just drop her off. Promising a chaste peck at the door before he whisked off into the night. A gallant gentleman on his way to the kebab shop.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SCWCOKX5NFBGXCCEFNPU4BXCEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777475},"content":"“No thanks,” she replied, explaining that as they lived on opposite sides of the city, it made zero logistical sense for them to share a taxi. He remembered his sales ABCs (Always Be Closing) and dug deep. Didn’t she know how beautiful she was? He really felt the connection between them. He couldn’t just let go when she could be his future wife.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P2M544C7URCF5NTKAKNWCD5ZVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777476},"content":"I had given up any pretence that I was not earwigging at the display in front of me. By now, I was giving my best unimpressed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/roy-keane/\" target=\"_blank\">Roy Keane</a> facial expressions. A face that could only be taken as the international sign language of “would you be well listening to all this?”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAF2WOPWTFGPVFNDXZRTX4LKU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777477},"content":"She had said no multiple times by this point. That wasn’t the problem. It was his refusal to hear it. I remembered my experiences as a younger woman when men took my “no” as the start of their negotiation and not as the stopping point. They thought I didn’t really mean it, when I didn’t want to come with them, when I didn’t want to give my number or when they were trying to kiss me. They had the mistaken and dangerous belief that some women mean “yes” when they say “no”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DUSQ2F5IYFCUVJYZ7F4Q234XFE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777478},"content":"When we talk about raising young men to respect boundaries, get consent and engage in healthy relationships we have to be more specific. We have to teach them that sex is not a thing you win. It is not the result of how well you negotiate or argue your case. It is not a thing you achieve through high sales pressure tactics. It comes from two people electing via a mutual, independent process that now is an opportune time to ride one another. A no is a no, it’s not a “not now”, a “I secretly want to” or “keep asking me, until I give in”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z455I3MM7ZHDLPLKAQSBHKUAFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777479},"content":"It’s like women are not respected enough to know their own mind. It’s the entitlement to their bodies because “I know what you really want”, and that answer is strangely sex with a man and not, say, a lovely two-week all-expenses cruise or a curly blow-dry or equal pay.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IF52Q4ESIVBBRGJWYLOZGIGNOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777480},"content":"I’m pleased to report the woman at the function did not go home with him. He was left scowling at the taxi rank at the end of the night, looking like he failed to hit his quarterly sales target.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Brianna Parkins"}},"name":"Brianna Parkins"}]},"description":{"basic":"We have to teach young men that sex is not a thing you win. It is not the result of how well you negotiate or argue your case"},"display_date":"2025-03-21T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Her ‘no’ was clear. She did not want to go home with him. Still he went on. And on","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XRKG2TW6EVH2VEE3MNGMFYCJ3I","auth":{"1":"ad491175fa553e30e60d353560b15076ddf58d2e2898800425d5960002e76569"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XRKG2TW6EVH2VEE3MNGMFYCJ3I.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/her-no-was-a-full-stop-she-did-not-want-to-go-home-with-this-man/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"HQCZESVS5NB7DCCLPWWBACAOQE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":277,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/8329b65f-b8aa-41be-ae2a-10670a79fc14/versions/1742292797/media/436f3d23800be79ddcc7dfe1ff910912_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/21/emer-mclysaght-a-middle-aged-rave-that-ends-before-midnight-ill-get-my-dancing-shoes/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TOSBWNDYYFGJTKQLOOB5AEE7EI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408194},"content":"I used to become institutionalised at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/electric-picnic/\" target=\"_blank\">Electric Picnic</a>. That’s how much I loved going to festivals. By the time Monday rolled around and I’d been sleeping in the tent for three nights surrounded on all sides by a cacophony of noise, I was loath to go home. There was nothing an 11am vodka couldn’t solve, and so what if the air mattress had a slow puncture? Isn’t that what the pump is for? I was willing to pack it all in for life in a field. I couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to call General Camping my home and subsist solely on pints of wine and massaman curry from a cardboard box.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63BZW76JABFLXK3RALSSQL6UIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408195},"content":"I was disappointed in myself then a few years ago when, at the age of 38, I made the decision to retire from music festivals. One particularly trying and rain-sodden weekend at Waterford’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/all-together-now-festival\" target=\"_blank\">All Together Now</a> convinced me that I was finally too old. Trying to haul my probably osteoporotic bones up off the ground had lost all its dignity. At all times there were young people bumping into me and it was making me cranky. Braving the portaloos at 2am wasn’t an adventure, it was a horror show. It was time to hang up my baby wipes and rain poncho and admit defeat. I came out of retirement briefly in 2023 for one night at Electric Picnic and took about three weeks to recover.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLEJUR7TABA3BALKP2LBX7P44Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408196},"content":"You like to think you’re going to be the one who doesn’t let getting older slow them down or change them. But it starts slowly, with complaints about the music in the pub being “very loud” and the group of 20-somethings in the corner “doing a lot of roaring”. Then it’s the absolute insistence of only going to places where seats are guaranteed. Any suggestion of going to an event that starts after 9pm seems ludicrous. And I don’t even have children. Slowly but surely, and without even noticing, you’re middle-aged, getting the names of bands wrong and swapping stories about friends who are really feeling the benefit of the HRT.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAE4G4R5WRASVOPZO6SZNTE4V4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408197},"content":"So, when a friend suggested celebrating <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/st-patrick\" target=\"_blank\">St Patrick</a>’s weekend at a “middle-aged rave”, who was I to say no? Before Midnight is the brainchild of Dublin-born, London-based DJ and writer <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/annie-macmanus\" target=\"_blank\">Annie Macmanus</a>, known professionally as Annie Mac. She wanted to provide the experience of going clubbing but at a time that suits people who have to get up at 6am with the kids or risk throwing off their circadian rhythm for months if they don’t get to bed until dawn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G5XRMV7JCVFVHEFXNTQ3VO6WQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408198},"content":"We travelled to Salthill in Galway for the event, which kicked off at 7pm. A sports hall in Leisureland was an odd place for a rave but what initially felt like a disco in a GAA hall soon morphed into a proper pulsing club night. Annie Mac has previously said that her audiences for these events tend to be around 75 per cent women, and this was reflected in the Galway crowd. The age range was wide, the people were friendly and, crucially, there was somewhere to sit for a little rest if you needed one. The evening ended shortly before midnight, as promised, and after a few jars in the hotel residents’ bar we were in bed shortly after 2am.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IMP5ZD2CNCMPABGHCRRPPOIZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742384871819},"content":"Annie Mac’s Before Midnight: A dance party for nightclub fans juggling children and careers","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MX55DJZQBZAMLLUJKMB7AXWKSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408199},"content":"Events like Before Midnight are increasing in popularity. Day Fever is described as “the daytime party that doesn’t ruin Sunday” and operates in venues in the UK and Ireland. It runs from 3pm to 8pm and again is hugely popular with women, probably mothers who can’t manage a late night out and an early start but also those who feel safer being out and about at more sociable hours.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PTSTPNWEWBBFZIIZQ74L6G3KLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408200},"content":"Late night socialising isn’t what it used to be anyway. There’s only a quarter of the number of nightclubs in Dublin that there were 25 years ago. Gen Z are drinking far less than millennials and boomers. The pandemic, attitudes to health and fitness and the cost of living have all played a part. It is sad to see the nightlife in our cities dwindling and the options for younger people so curtailed but it’s not surprising that events are springing up to accommodate those who want an old-school club experience but can still make the last bus home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DI5QVZND2RAVNCBYCCTEK4ICZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408201},"content":"I’m coming out of retirement again this June to attend Wicklow’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/beyond-the-pale\" target=\"_blank\">Beyond the Pale</a>, which involves three nights of camping. I’m starting Pilates and considering supplements so I can survive the weekend. My poor old bones.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Emer McLysaght"}},"name":"Emer McLysaght"}]},"description":{"basic":"Events are springing up for those who want an old-school club experience without the attendant exhaustion the next morning"},"display_date":"2025-03-21T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"A ‘middle-aged rave’ that ends before midnight? I’ll get my dancing shoes","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"VJD5KTHL45G5TAPLGSAZ7NHY24","auth":{"1":"5d5f5e1fb85d3c84dac28a6da52e28aa5ba6c70038ab9fd63ed70b992114e623"},"focal_point":{"x":2915,"y":1090},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VJD5KTHL45G5TAPLGSAZ7NHY24.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/21/emer-mclysaght-a-middle-aged-rave-that-ends-before-midnight-ill-get-my-dancing-shoes/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"IUKFBFFLF5GERBMNQOHMPVLACI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":191,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/932130b4-739a-458a-bbd5-4746c630b7d8/versions/1742483781/media/474518ad7de289ee0c3f4fc816c2c2fe_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/jfk-files-what-do-they-reveal-about-john-f-kennedys-assassination/","content_elements":[{"_id":"QAQFDTI4NFFAFEZCGFL73URBKU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What are the John F Kennedy assassination files?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"DWQL6ASPMNHNXGHGMEMN3JATFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961672},"content":"These are previously classified files relating to the assassination of former <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/\" target=\"_blank\">US</a> president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/john-f-kennedy/\" target=\"_blank\">John F Kennedy</a> in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963. The Warren Commission found that the gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone, yet two-thirds of Americans remain sceptical about the commission’s conclusions and not all of them are conspiracy theorists.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V5S6FC7K3NEYRAUS6HUMSSELRU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Why now?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"WOOMDQBCXFGSPAKGOD6D3JGDKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961674},"content":"US president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump</a> promised that, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/trump-presidency/\" target=\"_blank\">if re-elected</a>, he would release all the files to the public. He wanted to release all the files in 2017, but was persuaded by the intelligence services to hold back some for national security reasons. He has decided that now is the time for them all to be released.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V72GRE6ALNB2FPHGSNSLSGSV3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961675},"content":"As often with Trump, there was chaos. On Monday, he gave the US National Archives 24 hours to open the files.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YDN5GVZVPVG55BFMGXDQXHCUSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961676},"content":"Unredacted JFK assassination files released as history buffs hunt for clues","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HYW653MFLJHSHBQKNQZPGO32HA","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What has been released?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"623S2P22LBABHARSTVDFOQTZX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961678},"content":"The files relate not only to the assassination of Kennedy but also to that of his brother Robert F Kennedy in 1968, the father of Trump’s health secretary <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/robert-f-kennedy-jr/\" target=\"_blank\">Robert F Kennedy jnr</a>, and the assassination of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/martin-luther-king/\" target=\"_blank\">Dr Martin Luther King jnr</a> – also in 1968.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M7VSJXCGFFGIXNF6K3DPE7N57Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961679},"content":"On Tuesday, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/03/19/unredacted-jfk-assassination-files-released-as-history-buffs-hunt-for-clues/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/03/19/unredacted-jfk-assassination-files-released-as-history-buffs-hunt-for-clues/\">1,123 documents containing some 64,000 pages were released</a>. The papers are not sorted or catalogued, so researches and casual readers have to click on each one to see if they are of interest to them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OUVSSC433ZENNHP4NWVNWK7CEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961680},"content":"The New York Times’ national political reporter, Adam Nagourney, who is leading the paper’s coverage, says the manner the files were released may be a deliberate ploy on the part of the CIA to make it as difficult as possible for researchers to find out how the agency really operates.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O664FX5OJVGSLIQQRAIQ3L3TXA","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What has been discovered to date?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"OVYP2BHJXFHYFL27LPU6ZMCZAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961682},"content":"There’s an intriguing finding in one state department paper: a CIA agent, Gary Underhill, left Washington a day after the Kennedy assassination in a “very agitated” state, claiming to a friend that a CIA clique was behind the murder. Fewer than six months later Underhill was found dead in his Washington apartment, apparently having died by suicide. The confidential memo states that Underhill alleged the CIA clique was carrying on a “lucrative racket in gun-running, narcotics, and other contraband”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SPESENKPEFHCZEDYG5OR7W3QDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961683},"content":"Another document reveals the KGB had investigated Oswald and found that at no time was he one of its agents. Oswald lived in the USSR between 1959 and 1961, when he tried unsuccessfully to become a Russian citizen. But he got bored with the grimness of living in a communist state.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJUANEEO2NA5TOW54UDM7HH3SQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961685},"content":"The KGB official noted that Oswald was a “poor shot when he tried firing in the USSR”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H2IJVAW32NEKZDSKMH6F53FXXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961686},"content":"Given the incredible accuracy of the shots that killed Kennedy, this is likely to strengthen the belief that there was more than one shooter on that fateful day in Dallas.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ronan McGreevy"}},"name":"Ronan McGreevy"}]},"description":{"basic":"JFK files: Papers cover not just JFK’s assassination but also the 1968 killings of his brother Robert F Kennedy and Dr Martin Luther King jnr"},"display_date":"2025-03-21T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"JFK files: What do they reveal about John F Kennedy’s assassination?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"244X7FSSCRZI5VB6B64CLUG3HM","auth":{"1":"520e08d38fa2b7d940b8c3483f63ec0dec7a0961c730e87ba1b175068682ebbb"},"focal_point":{"x":1825,"y":837},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/244X7FSSCRZI5VB6B64CLUG3HM.jpg"}},"subtype":"analysis","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"History"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"US"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/jfk-files-what-do-they-reveal-about-john-f-kennedys-assassination/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"QKBQDD465VDPZAOE2DYYF7FUAI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":362,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/c0dfc427-c16f-4249-9adb-660da1abbffe/versions/1741871490/media/7bc135f3a0d4927ae1db5f8b55f22116_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/i-got-a-d-in-pass-maths-in-the-leaving-cert-but-i-addressed-the-society-of-actuaries-in-ireland-dinner/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TZMPUNN3CJFJRKS4W2Q2RH44TE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098265},"content":"The other night, wearing a brand new dress and with freshly painted silver nails, I stood at a podium in a room filled mostly with actuaries. Me. The eejit who got a D in pass maths in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/leaving-certificate/\" target=\"_self\">Leaving Certificate</a>. Life surprises you sometimes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DWMBRYXXUBDVPBCIFWEOOAOGJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098266},"content":"The gathering was in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin’s</a> Westbury Hotel where in the mid-1990s I’d been stood up by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/roger-moore/\" target=\"_self\">Roger Moore</a>. I’d just started out in journalism and Moore was going to be my first big celebrity interview. I waited for hours, before finally spotting him as he walked up that grand staircase. I watched him have a brief word with the receptionist before taking the lift up to his suite. As with so many other young women, it appeared <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/james-bond/\" target=\"_blank\">James Bond</a> had forgotten all about me.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EOLR5QZTF5E4PHC654BZTW74QY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098267},"content":"I wasn’t giving up that easily. I told a staff member and they called up to Moore’s room, but he said he was too tired to do the interview. The next morning there was, to my delight, a message on my work phone: “My dear Róisín, this is Roger Moore. I am terribly sorry for not meeting with you yesterday. Please accept my apologies. Perhaps we can do it another time.” We did actually, 12 years later in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>. And we laughed that he was the Spy Who Stood Me Up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2MBATRFETBAXVHTGR26264BHXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098268},"content":"I always think about Moore in the Westbury. Shaken and stirred, I thought of him again as I prepared to address the biennial dinner of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/society-of-actuaries-in-ireland/\" target=\"_self\">Society of Actuaries in Ireland</a>. “How?” a stunned friend had texted earlier when I told her what I was about to do. “Why?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6K6JTKCELRCRLCKNO2KC5HHUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098269},"content":"Well, what happened was that a few months previously, an Italian-born actuary and reader of this column called Viviana emailed and told me about an actuarial singalong that was happening in a pub in town. It was a charming email. And I do love a good singsong. Plus, my sister Rachael, who also likes to belt out a tune, is an actuary, so on the night in question I decided to just show up. Rachael, a busy CEO, was not able to go, but the joyful reaction I got from a shocked Viviana when I walked into the pub with my ukulele was so euphoric and enthusiastic that it lifted me for days.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6MFARPCQNJDLJJFQTPBJOPBTLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098270},"content":"What do actuaries sing on a night out? You might be surprised. One of them, Kevin, knew every single word of Where’s Me Jumper? by The Sultans of Ping, so that was a definite highlight. There was a bit of Abba, a dash of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bruce-springsteen/\" target=\"_blank\">Bruce Springsteen</a> and even a sort of sea shanty.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BSZWF65PBZCB7BEMUQT47GLP2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741884035990},"content":"Actuaries have a reputation for being aggressively boring – the collective noun for them is a “morbidity” of actuaries – but in my experience they are collectively, and I don’t mind going on the record with this, great craic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IL5ZJXVIVB4DP5SAJQPKNHNOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098271},"content":"Shortly after the singalong, I was asked to address the society. And for a couple of reasons – my sister was going to be there, and I wanted another invite to sing with them – I said yes. As I got stuck into my sea bass main course, I worried that my after-dinner talk was too grim. There are two certainties in life, as everybody knows, and I was planning to talk to the actuaries about one of them (not taxes). I was reassured by a glamorous actuary called Sarah. “Us actuaries love a bit of death talk,” she confided.","type":"text"},{"_id":"57D3QH465FDVLBCPTFS3EEQ5YQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098272},"content":"My speech, especially the death content, went down well. Some actuaries came up to hug me afterwards. Turns out actuaries give good hugs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QKP5COGDFVDXVD5NBYKZ2PXIBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741884035993},"content":"Should bonus points for higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert be scrapped? An academic and a student debate","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"OV3Y6PWBPJBBVPDTTPFOECUM3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741884035994},"content":"I learned a few other things that night from society president Roz Briggs. In addition to their day jobs, the actuaries are working on important issues. They are trying to address the sharp decline in girls’ performance in Leaving Cert higher level maths compared to boys. They are doing an assessment of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2024/06/04/almost-1100-excess-deaths-during-pandemic-years-in-ireland/\" target=\"_self\">excess deaths during the Covid pandemic</a> and supporting Irish citizens as they budget for financial needs in retirement. They are also trying to establish a better risk management approach to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/\" target=\"_blank\">climate crisis</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EANYOTLDUREETCQ32QSUM2LLQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098273},"content":"Afterwards, the chief executive of the society, Grimesy, (some actuaries are such good craic they even have nicknames), tells me I am an honorary actuary now. Viviana invites me for an Italian lunch in her home. I’m looking forward to the next actuarial singing night when I’m hoping to get them to do a version of Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World, just so I can hear them sing, “Don’t know much trigonometry, Don’t know much about algebra, Don’t know what a slide rule is for”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YRO7EDMKCZGIXGQIH63Q2MTJ64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098274},"content":"On my way home I wonder if it might be happening, that I am going to stop hating maths. “I’m bad at maths,” I’ve always said, but in my preparation for the actuarial event I’d come across a book called Is Maths Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths, by Eugenia Cheng. She believes that the way maths is taught is wrong, and actually contributes to an anti-maths culture. “If you think of yourself as belonging to the ‘bad at ...’ camp,” she says, “it’s not because you failed maths. It’s because maths failed you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M47KUAX3XJHW5PKNSLSEPHTMBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098275},"content":"Of course, they don’t use the word fail any more for State exams. A teenage boy of my acquaintance got 29 per cent in the Junior Cert mocks and his result read “partially achieved”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GFOULJ7TXVBQRGQMGO6SWWDSYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098276},"content":"“Partially achieve, partially achieve better,” as Beckett would likely never have said. Don’t know much about algebra, it’s true. But I could. I might. You never know. Life surprises you sometimes.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Róisín Ingle"}},"name":"Róisín Ingle"}]},"description":{"basic":"Róisín Ingle: I worried that my after-dinner talk was too grim, but my speech – especially the death content – went down well"},"display_date":"2025-03-19T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"I got a D in pass maths in the Leaving Cert but I addressed the Society of Actuaries in Ireland dinner","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XQPSB4PN3RD3FBUCMAKBOW4AHA","auth":{"1":"ac43d178eb7c496a8459ed733042a1607eb4e218fce94a51748fab2fa6b8bcd7"},"focal_point":{"x":346,"y":441},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XQPSB4PN3RD3FBUCMAKBOW4AHA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/i-got-a-d-in-pass-maths-in-the-leaving-cert-but-i-addressed-the-society-of-actuaries-in-ireland-dinner/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"6WQ7QDVQ7FH3BFU2NJBQAFJFKU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":275,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/9c91a19e-8317-4fd1-85df-476c68fc7735/versions/1741796394/media/87a80324cebe2e68ebbe1ce216ce15d5_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/eugh-dublin-always-in-a-rush-says-the-woman-serving-me-coffee-from-a-horsebox-in-cahersiveen/","content_elements":[{"_id":"64BDEBM7QFCRROV7W4R6Q2AYAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990433},"content":"Surely I’d be more contented here, in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kerry/\" target=\"_blank\">Kerry</a>. There’s a man who lives in the cottage at the end of the Earth on a cliff in Ballinskelligs, with early morning turf smoke piping out of the chimney. From his freshly whitewashed bread-loaf house, I’m sure he understands what it’s all about, as the light breakdances across the sea for him as he drinks tea or whiskey at the window. He must be in a constant state of euphoria from years of sun beams painting for him on the water – a splitting heart, a spray of baubles, a river of light snaking towards the toe of the slope he lives on.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7U5VGO6HYFB3FCUVBE26GWSXCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299018178},"content":"I decide it’s a man, because of the hand-scrawled “No entry” sign and the low-bellied car. I decide that if this man were to be presented with a photo of the Earth from space and asked if that’s where he lived he’d say with a drawl, “‘Tis of course”. When they show me the same photo, in my east coast empire of concrete and cranes, I’ll say, “So I’ve been told. Mad, isn’t it?”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NO3E4XYOVNEGZJFEDTQJLCRD2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990434},"content":"A woman in a horsebox in Cahersiveen asks me where I’m from after I ask for a coffee. I live in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dublin\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a>, I say, because I’ve lived in so many places that I’m not sure where I’m from. “Eugh, Dublin! Always in a rush.” I don’t know if she decides to toy with me then, taking 10 minutes to produce the coffee as I stand quietly alone in a drizzle.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YKZS5YG6VJHIJEVAX3X7MBY5SE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990435},"content":"She’s right. I am always in a rush.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2DTWNKCJPJF4RARVDQ7GP6V6ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990436},"content":"I’m not sure Dublin is to blame for my hastiness; it runs deeper than the city. I get nauseated by people’s languid speech. I can feel a sense of faintness come over me when someone’s voice blubs like a recording in slow motion. Come on, I’ll be thinking, come on, come on, come on. Out with it! I don’t have time for your slow mouth, your slurry syllables.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CIXWY5BWPJAHDHMW6DZ6ORW5GU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990437},"content":"Some little fairy sprinkles me with luck and I end up in a stone cottage for a week-long residency with writers’ and artists’ retreat Cill Rialaig. The power goes off. After a few hours I emerge and ask a man working on something down the road if he knows anything about the outage. Being a hair’s breadth on the right side of despondence, he says, very slowly, that the power will be back at half past five. With absolutely no change in his demeanour, facial expressions or tenor, more gloopy words drip from his mouth: “You can have a sup of tea here if you want.” He looks down, and I after him, at a whistling kettle on a fire nestled in a curve of the low stone wall he is working behind. We look at it together for several seconds like it is some dead creature that we have come across and made a silent pact to bury together.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VEYEBBJNFNBO3EWHLBJ6MAKVPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990438},"content":"There are a dozen islands scattered miles out in the green sea behind him, shards, hunks and dollops of rock to spend all day marvelling. This man is as unmoved as the ancient stones around him. It should be of no surprise that he has cobbled together an open fire in the middle of a March morning to boil water for tea on the side of this sheer slope before offering to share it with a passing stranger with the temperament of the lepping hares on the hill.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIG7VJ27MVHYZIBCDCH6KMPZXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990439},"content":"Maybe with time, Kerry could douse my frenetic soul with stillness. I could adjust to the pace of the farmers with lobster-skinned faces and deep, lethargic tones. I could learn how to lean against their aloofness like a door jamb. Over years, I would absorb their gnarliness, mirroring the knuckly, wind-shaped trees around them. They are calm, but not quite at ease. There is a heaviness that makes me feel like the people have been here for a hundred lives. They know something I don’t know. What they know is in the sea. If I could look at it for long enough, be in it for long enough, I’ll figure it out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PS2ANIS5QZCPJHXM5QJFTXWFXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299018182},"content":"What Irish people really mean when they say they’re grand, fine, okay or surviving","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"C4WIV4DSSJD7LODEZST4QUTAB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990440},"content":"I’ll go back to my beloved Dublin, and Kerry will go back to my reverie. Soon, hopefully, not too long from now, I’ll turn the corner somewhere a good way past Killorglin, where the land cleaves open and the endless horizon will wind me like a ball in the chest. When I roll around a hill near Caherdaniel, I’ll take in the expanse and briefly, I’ll understand everything, like the man in the cottage at the end of the earth.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Céire Sadlier"}]},"description":{"basic":"She’s right. I am always in a rush. I’m not sure Dublin is to blame for my hastiness; it runs deeper than the city"},"display_date":"2025-03-19T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Eugh, Dublin! Always in a rush,’ says the woman serving me coffee from a horsebox in Cahersiveen","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"YPIJCDAMRZETXOGFHHVBZBYJXE","auth":{"1":"24a21af11cef20df51c451ece53592e55a4d1be1226e3855469e7a1f74a7b655"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YPIJCDAMRZETXOGFHHVBZBYJXE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/eugh-dublin-always-in-a-rush-says-the-woman-serving-me-coffee-from-a-horsebox-in-cahersiveen/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"VWQDHEVNM5C4XNC7G6HPH72OKI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":487,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/065e0beb-d766-4983-aa6f-d21b6d8dac37/versions/1741883764/media/2cd1ab27bc88f156fcd4330520ca5b9d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/18/theres-a-lot-of-pain-a-lot-of-desperation-being-exploited-by-the-maga-movement/","content_elements":[{"_id":"X2TSHOJCNFHN7EDOY67RGYATFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026390},"content":"Samuel Rogers had a whirlwind six-week romance with an Irishman in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/united-states/\" target=\"_blank\">Boston</a> in early 2023. It turned his life in a different direction and today he’s married, living in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a>, doing a master’s in international peace studies and living with a rare disease.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V3FKEHU4ONEQ7BLJDINJPETHCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026391},"content":"Rogers is originally from a small island (about 200 households year-round) called Gibson, in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, about 90 minutes from Washington, DC. He has Irish heritage on both sides. After university in Florida, he served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in North Macedonia, working as an English teacher in a mountain village.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZD22BLLNK5CMZBJHDG4ZR44DB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156882},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"BEMM7YSB3REZFGCTGNXKHBV5HQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156883},"content":"Back in the US, Rogers was studying for a master’s in law and diplomacy at Tufts in Boston when, in March 2023, he met Ralph Hurley O’Dwyer, a doctor from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/newbridge/\" target=\"_blank\">Newbridge</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kildare/\" target=\"_blank\">Co Kildare</a>, who was doing an MSc in public health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAXQAPYCW5BCJMYAXN2BRJU6UE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156884},"content":"“It was kind of a whirlwind. We only had about six weeks in person, then we were both leaving to do separate things. But it was such a strong connection. Those six weeks, we knew that was it. I told my friends, this is it, I saw this man, I love this man. He felt the same way.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XMO7PLCBRJBRHPTTUTZ4WGTVFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156885},"content":"Rogers was heading on a government scholarship to Turkey and Hurley O’Dwyer was returning to Ireland to work in public health. “It was kind of wild. He said, ‘we are going to see each other every single month until we live together’.” And they did – a six-month long-distance relationship involving multiple transatlantic <a href=\"http://trips.to\" target=\"_blank\">trips.</a>","type":"text"},{"_id":"SDVK3YR7OFCWBL4Q4U4AZGUMNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026393},"content":"In November 2023, they got married in Boston and then moved to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VYGP2S4IC5FBXD4HA66UKJWHHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026394},"content":"Two weeks earlier, Rogers had been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition, Behçet’s disease. This is rare and serious, involving systemic body-wide inflammation, and can lead to blindness.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H4AHKCKSTREIZD23CONZCDH2SQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026395},"content":"Five years looking for a diagnosis had been a struggle, “so devastating, so taxing. My whole life sort of ground to a halt during the process. I had to drop out of graduate school. I was afraid I was going to lose my job. At doctors’ appointments oftentimes you’re made to feel you’re a problem patient, that you’re making your symptoms up. I went to dozens of specialists trying to figure out what was happening. It involved intense self-advocacy.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XLJFCZ2TN5DFVNWAW5QAQKE5EA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156889},"type":"image"},{"_id":"FYIK33LDTBHB5DLEKCRRQ5CNXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156890},"content":"”I had lesions all over my body, ulcers in my mouth. I had gone from running marathons, working 40-hour weeks, full-time school, and my whole life had stopped.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WRNHZXGVERAK7G5BEKJC4GR24U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026397},"content":"Eventually he was referred to a Boston rheumatologist who “changed my life by just listening to me, being kind and considerate and just taking my case really seriously. Within 20 minutes she had figured out what was going on. She said I could move on from the past, everything starts over. It was such a message of hope.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N747P73KINCVNNLPWLBZILNKLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026398},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLNHBJUPNFBO7OMNKX4EKJ6NOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156893},"content":"‘I had a very gut-wrenching moment as an American, watching my country self-immolate’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3XOULRUZNRCZ7JW5KC5VXTVMIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026399},"content":"He had been going through all this when he fell in love. “He is just the kindest and most supportive person. He has a Herculean patience with me, just a gentle, kind spirit. And he shows that to everyone in his life. I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I also feel really grateful to Hurley O’Dwyer’s parents and his family. I met and married their son, and then we moved into their house with my cat for over a month while we got our own home. They are so welcoming and generous and kind. His family has been truly wonderful to me throughout the whole process. I feel so supported.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SDFXPU3D7REVHNOGNYVZPY6OT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026400},"content":"As well as ulcers, Behçet’s can involve neurological complications, stroke, blindness, recurring unexplained fever, body-aches, arthritis-symptoms, crippling fatigue. “I spent weeks in bed. It was difficult to get up to drink water. Your entire body feels under attack, like swimming through jello.” Even now it can be unpredictable, but for most people if Behçet’s is controlled, a largely normal life can be lived, though it’s unpredictable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MHZJQOTNCNBC7IDKEBWY6ULJWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026401},"content":"“I’m receiving wonderful care from the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/mater-hospital/\" target=\"_blank\">Mater</a> in Dublin. My rheumatologist there is incredible.” A medication regime “has given me the space to take back my life”. He wondered about the wisdom of returning to education, but “with pacing” and support from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/trinity-college-dublin-tcd/\" target=\"_blank\">Trinity College’s</a> disability service, he’s doing a master’s. “A lot comes down to being okay with slowing down, taking breaks. I had an unhealthy attitude towards work and life, and didn’t feel worthy as a human unless I was working to the bone. I had to rewire and be okay with listening to my body and resting sometimes, because I have no other choice.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RUW3E4A7HNE6JGOSDLBEG44YFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026402},"content":"Despite navigating life with a rare disease, “I’ve been settling into life here. I love living in Dublin. It’s a beautiful city. I moved in the depths of winter. The darkness. He was working long hours, I was working remotely, and the adjustment ... it was a tough period. We for the most part feel very safe as a gay couple. Mostly it’s not even really commented on, which is really nice. Some places, when we walk around Dublin we don’t hold hands.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7EWCWODIPBDCTBLDBK3QWHOTL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026403},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"JWNKLGYIXNAJPM47YU3TZCEYIE","additional_properties":{"_id":"3LBEYUROONH5NGPWHDUXFY42AY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"BAY3443FPJCCBHTB275FSTKW34","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026404},"content":"He finds <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump</a> is often the first thing people mention to him, which is difficult because “I have a deep sense of grief about what’s happening. It can be jarring when sometimes people are laughing or making light about it, almost like entertainment. Maybe this is changing because of how serious it continues to get. There’s a lot of pain, a lot of desperation being exploited by the Maga movement. It’s sad to watch the manipulation, to watch my country undergo this, and I have trouble with people laughing, because it’s deeply painful.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ROU4JPF56VHVNPT55VD7ETER2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156900},"content":"From Mongolia to Dublin: ‘Coming to Ireland was a blessing. It was a great move for my life, I have no regrets’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CXL2J7DRXRHRRELJK4EFWYJMQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156901},"content":"“I know people who are losing their jobs, who’re really scared. I’ve had conversations with friends, people crying on the phone, who don’t know what to do. It’s a scary time.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2USHSXOU4JBNZIWRRAIJUIOOLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026405},"content":"Most aspects of moving went smoothly, though he did face that thorny “conundrum”, where you can’t open a bank account without proof of address from a utility bill, but can’t set up a bill without a bank account. (He eventually found a way around it with a waste bill, using his US account and Irish address.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"XUWHUHIW6VDYTORNOGQE5VT4CM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026406},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ECMAGH6AE5AWDJMK652SJSKRHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026407},"content":"In Boston he had MassHealth free state healthcare as his student income was low. His experience of the Irish health service has been largely positive. It can involve waits, but he’s also experienced humanity and empathy, and flexibility with appointments. He worries about what would happen “if something acute happened”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3YWBJGD2YRDCFDU5I7JUSA5MRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026408},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4HGSLWRACNDMTJUIMNKONAW34A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026409},"content":"A rare disease affects everything – career, planning, finances. “It takes you to a mental space when you have no idea what’s happening.” He’s keen on pushing awareness of rare diseases, and the need for listening and empathy, and healthcare professionals believing patients.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5NFZE4YBFVFYHPYBL3LFBH4GUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026410},"content":"He loves the M.Phil. His research area is military conscription, “an intense topic, especially in these times, with more governments considering conscription”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LQZUESUARB73BNQECJIWXH2O4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026411},"content":"This year he and his husband will return to Gibson Island for a visit and a family wedding, when his sister, living in Liverpool, marries a Frenchman.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Z4BUARWFBDEZHOVSRZEE2TW4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026412},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"IG5KWYKEL5G2NMBAYKBVG6EVEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026413},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4CL57ST4KBBTTFOIT4RG27QEXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026414},"content":"<i>We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email </i><a href=\"mailto:newtotheparish@irishtimes.com\" target=\"_self\"><i>newtotheparish@irishtimes.com</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Deirdre Falvey"}},"name":"Deirdre Falvey"}]},"description":{"basic":"Samuel Rogers’ whirlwind romance with his now-Irish husband in Boston in early 2023 led him to move to Ireland later that year"},"display_date":"2025-03-18T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘There’s a lot of pain, a lot of desperation being exploited by the Maga movement’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ICQJC6XENBEULDKEJOLO6JBQRQ","auth":{"1":"c7b920b659dc9cfba663d80e786ef846f083d32eb9d4f4e44a5187c2165bd1d1"},"focal_point":{"x":2791,"y":1124},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ICQJC6XENBEULDKEJOLO6JBQRQ.JPG"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/18/theres-a-lot-of-pain-a-lot-of-desperation-being-exploited-by-the-maga-movement/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"2RXL2XHRIFCILI4R4G4VXOV3DU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":261,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/c4614830-915b-424e-84bb-da4f759318e3/versions/1741621299/media/01b3cfed2b7cd23d009ec1a3d3800b48_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/sarah-moss-i-cycle-to-central-dublin-several-times-a-week-im-a-hypocrite-not-allowing-my-teenager-to-do-the-same/","content_elements":[{"_id":"27WE5ADEPVBHZDYBUNY6YHFM4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401870},"content":"Cycling has been my primary form of transport all my life. A bicycle was a great liberation to a free-range urban child in the 1980s, expanding exploration beyond walking distance without the expense of the bus. As a teenager, I – doubtless wrongly – felt much safer on my bike than running the gauntlet of street harassment on foot, especially late at night, and the convenience and independence of the bike was irresistible. There were no bike lanes then. There was less traffic and the cars were smaller and lighter and moving at slower speeds, but still I had near-misses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TGQAH4KS6VDXPIOFRW4N7I57LU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401871},"content":"Learning to drive made me a better cyclist the way cycling in traffic made me a better driver: in all circumstances, humans are safer when we can see a situation from someone else’s point of view.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WQDS6ZCS25GWJAFAHTDYW3OEWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401872},"content":"As an adult, cycling has given me breathing space between work and family life, exercise on busy days and a cherished, small-scale knowledge of neighbourhoods. I have an abiding horror of being late and cycling gives me control over time and motion – you don’t get stuck in traffic and it’s always the fastest way around the city.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2AZAYTZ34BF7ZN7FUQX52GANDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401873},"content":"I cycle from suburban to central Dublin several times a week. I am a hypocrite and will not allow my teenager to do the same. I know what it’s like, I say, it’s not safe, take the bus. Sure, he says, I’d rather be on the bus than under it, you do your thing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3RL5T2RCAZB43PKJLSUOTKPMXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401874},"content":"It rarely feels as if there’s much risk of being under a bus. The bus drivers are usually attentive and careful. The taxi drivers, financially motivated - like cyclists delivering food - to maximise speed and distance, seem to me another matter altogether.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXRQGEZZDVGHXGTBOFD52P4DBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401875},"content":"A couple of weeks ago I took my usual route, on which I have the luxury of maximising safety at the cost of time. Unlike a bike courier, I incur no penalty for taking five minutes to increase the chance of being home at the end of the day. (It’s a shame the drivers who accelerate past red lights and across green bike and pedestrian crossings can’t spare five seconds to increase the chance of the rest of us going home at the end of the day.) I go along the canal, where there’s not only a separate bike lane but junctions with separate lights for pedestrians and cyclists, over the cobbles round the back of Google where there are enough cyclists to make it impossible for drivers to forget to look for us, cautiously around the walkers and dancers at the Grand Canal Docks, and then up the river.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3S63VHKD3RCXTJGUDHZQ2CICLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401876},"content":"I’ve always liked this section. There’s a real, separate bike lane and few pedestrians. It feels metropolitan. There are the big ships, connecting us to the world, and the big river flowing out to all the seas. I notice the ripples and reflections in the water and try to think charitably of seagulls. I think about the film I’m going to see, the friend I’m going to meet, the class I’m going to take.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DJ2AYWA3MJHALKC2N5L6L56T4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401877},"content":"Until recently, all this came to an abrupt stop as I approached O’Connell Bridge and thought hard and fast about staying alive as I crossed that junction and cycled up towards Temple Bar, weaving around potholes under the noses of coaches and delivery trucks and aggressive drivers, watching out for tourists looking the wrong way, wondering if this was really a good idea. For the last few weeks I could see the lovely new bike lane right there, beside me, still cordoned off by signs funnelling cyclists into danger.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X57DDNNHVFCWRDRU23N2FIIO6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401878},"content":"But now, oh happy day, our new pink route is open, and it’s smooth and the sightlines are good and the junctions have been designed by someone who rides a bike and has been to Copenhagen and Amsterdam to see the future. There are still a few blocks of trouble, but at the lights, cyclists congratulate each other on our new safety (this doesn’t happen in Copenhagen or Amsterdam). Now I can think about everything I enjoy about Dublin, almost all the way home. Spring is here, there’s safety in numbers, cycling’s much better for your blood pressure than sitting in traffic and you’ll get there faster. Join us!","type":"text"},{"_id":"BTCAX75JVVAF7GUCQRQZXWG46I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401879},"content":"Unless your mother says no.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Moss"}},"name":"Sarah Moss"}]},"description":{"basic":"Now I can think about everything I enjoy about Dublin, almost all the way home, instead of worrying about getting home alive"},"display_date":"2025-03-17T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sarah Moss: I cycle to central Dublin several times a week. I’m a hypocrite not allowing my teenager to do the same ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"V4WWEC7NYRHYZDNS5ZD347VK3A","auth":{"1":"49ab2ffb890ef8a9601a1c28c402dcf355bd6a4e6c58fb5d94766bbeecb597db"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/V4WWEC7NYRHYZDNS5ZD347VK3A.JPG"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Opinion"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/sarah-moss-i-cycle-to-central-dublin-several-times-a-week-im-a-hypocrite-not-allowing-my-teenager-to-do-the-same/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"FFEIT3BXTNG4HH7GG2BPG5ANKM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":455,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/213e1f20-2b46-46eb-a7ce-a1db204da8a7/versions/1741797074/media/8a8449768804b135fc7d317bcf526102_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/siomha-ni-ruairc-growing-up-in-a-house-of-girls-i-looked-at-boys-as-aliens/","content_elements":[{"_id":"HEAPZHVLABFOFEGWL57J77AU5E","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>How agreeable are you?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"HJC6TDDEZFDQBHITJHFX6IJRII","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514672},"content":"I’m probably a bit too agreeable. I’m a bit of a people pleaser. I bow down to authority and I always want people to be happy with me. I’m trying to learn to not be so agreeable, because it’s to my detriment, really. As women I feel we’re all so conditioned to say yes and to make people happy. We were surrounded by that our whole lives – little girls are well-behaved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T7R5CSDS4NAJHCGSQ23YR5ZEBQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"AAWJEOBTDBEE7OANPJXBOLLUKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514674},"content":"My middle name is Emily, named after my grandmother, my dad’s mam. And I love it. It’s the only English language name in my name. My granny was such a wonderful, warm, caring woman that I’m delighted to have a piece of her as part of my official title.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LKWCANUUZZHZ3KW4LVJ2RPJU4E","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where is your favourite place in Ireland?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"FNIDPUUVFVDCDICPZXLJGRGKAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514676},"content":"There’s a beach on the Dingle peninsula in Kerry. It’s called Trá an Clochar and when you’re looking out you can see An Fear Marbh, the Sleeping Giant island, and it’s just the most peaceful, gorgeous beach where I have felt a higher presence again and again every time I go there. Which is odd, because I wouldn’t normally be attuned to that sort of thing, but it’s so strong on that beach you can’t help but be touched by it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YJMIICPA3FE3NN4BZYSPXBKGCU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Describe yourself in three words</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"GQYTW75A3FAHXF6EZU4SZGF4HE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514678},"content":"Loud. Cautious. Particular.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ABHM5WEBFJBFZOXRRM44UVJ3MQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When did you last get angry?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"VK4AVVJN7VHIFFLYE6BCOMSTRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514680},"content":"Just the weekend past. I present Ireland AM at the weekends, and obviously they’re early mornings on a Saturday and Sunday. I woke up a little bit late on Saturday. I had to wash my hair. And then I arrived at the studio later than I would have liked. It wasn’t obscenely late, but I’m a very punctual person and there’s a red river of fury that runs through me at any bit of lateness. I was trying to get everything organised in my bag and my bag got stuck on the handbrake. And I could have gone through the roof. It’s those inconveniences when you’re late. I can’t explain the fury that I feel when I’m delayed and it’s probably always my own fault. I probably need to work on that. I can’t abide the idea of being late to something. I break out in a sweat. It’s actually debilitating.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U3LSJ3SIWRFGBDDB64BLCHVDQY","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What have you lost that you would like to have back?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"PW2FWUHERBDNNPQEBVPIRTQXQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514682},"content":"It’s going to be quite clichéd, but time with loved ones who have passed. It would be my grandparents. I’ve lost three of my grandparents. My mamó is still around, which I’m very grateful for, and I try to spend as much time with her as I can. But you’re always going to regret not having spent more time with the people you’ve lost.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4GZAYWMATNBSLFMIPZBVURGDYM","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your strongest childhood memory?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"66Z2OEKWNNFS5KQYWZF2BKTVHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514684},"content":"It’s probably interacting with my sisters. I have two sisters. One of them is only 16 months older than me. Probably just laughing with my older sister. Uncontrollable laughing, and being given out to for not eating our dinner because we were just laughing so much. That’s really strong for me, just the divilment we got up to in everyday situations, at home in the comfort of our kitchen.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQOIHTDRENGTLNH7MO3HT5LZIQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"T5F4TB63L5FLNFP7X6M7GNVKCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514686},"content":"Oh, massively. I’m a middle child that is middle child through and through. The middle child is meant to be attention-seeking and a performer. And look at my career: I’m a dancing monkey. I’m between two girls. Growing up in a house of girls, I looked at boys as aliens, because I didn’t have that up close and personal, familial relationship with them. Whereas I thought all the girls who had brothers kind of rolled their eyes at boys. I was a little bit more enamoured of this exotic opposite sex.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VBLWRHML3VHOBDV7S36C3BHGRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514687},"content":"Grá ar an Trá: What is the point of Gráinne Seoige in this incoherent pudding of a series?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ALNGDFHNYFEM7CVHOJC2RO3R7Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What do you expect to happen when you die?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"CUJZD2NALZBBREBSI6OAPNFQYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514689},"content":"I have not much faith in anything happening once I die. I imagine it’s like when you go to sleep and you’re just not really aware of anything. You’re just not conscious, unfortunately. But that doesn’t scare me. I don’t find that daunting because I just believe that you’re not there to even find it daunting. I don’t believe in an afterlife. I can appreciate that it’s comforting to people who do believe that, and I would never disregard anyone else’s beliefs, but for me personally it doesn’t provide me with a whole amount of comfort and I’m okay with that. We would have been Mass-attenders every Sunday growing up. And I couldn’t draw a definite line of when I stopped believing. I remember being in my teens, around 15 or 16, and explaining it to my friend who had a big fear of death and saying, “but there’s nothing to be afraid of, because it’s just blackness, it’s just darkness, and then you’re just not there.” And she couldn’t get her head around it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M36F3KS6V5DP7GONVHEMAYH2DI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When were you happiest?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"G32DEP4VP5GJPBRZM6KJDZ3HNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514691},"content":"I’m only back from my honeymoon, just over a month, and if I could zap myself anywhere it would be back to a tropical island in Thailand, I have to say. Honeymoon stage, literal, physical honeymoon on a tropical island in southeast Asia, I mean you can’t really beat it. That’s been the pinnacle as of late. The wedding day before it was good as well.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3WUVNWNU25F2RO3CQ5UTS5G77A","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"4YJ4CS7ZXRH2TDX4FYA6VHPKTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514693},"content":"I’m going to suggest ones that I’ve been told. I have never thought about it myself, but I’ve been told, and I’m completely flattered by it, Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel. Do you know what, anyone by the name of Jessica I think I’d be happy with. Jessica Biel was in that really good, twisted series on Netflix [The Sinner], and she produced that as well, because she’s obviously extremely talented. I love really diving into things that are written, produced and directed by women. She’s a triple threat, so I’ll take that.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJ4TM62V3NCIZIWMBVTIZM3KIU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your biggest career/personal regret?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"KKCRLDHXNNAHVMHGOZ5GP22Z2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514695},"content":"I would be quite comfortable in saying that I don’t really have any career regrets as of yet, because of being extremely agreeable. Personal regrets? In my much more recent, mature years, I’ve become a bit more sober-curious. And I wish I’d done that younger, or at least had a better relationship with alcohol. I just feel like I was too relaxed with it. It’s probably the same story for a lot of people in this country, but I don’t think it should be as accepted as it is. I wouldn’t say I’m totally off it, just more sober-curious. I do more nights out without taking a drink at all. And I’m okay with going on nights out without drinking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWN2M52L45GWHP5V6EDHOT5AKM","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Have you any psychological quirks?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"35KW33STHFDDPJCJWASATIOT7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514697},"content":"I’m a divil for visual noise. If the place is messy I can’t sit still. But I don’t need to take everything out of the room, I just need it to be aligned. So, if there’s a few things on a table, I need their sides to be parallel to each other so that it looks neat, and my eyes are drawn to the straight lines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RIGMMUZZIRFP3HM52OMGONZHHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776073098},"content":"<i>In conversation with Jen Hogan</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jen Hogan"}},"name":"Jen Hogan"}]},"description":{"basic":"The broadcaster and co-host of the How to Gael podcast appears in the Irish language dating series Grá ar an Trá (Virgin Media One, Monday)"},"display_date":"2025-03-17T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Síomha Ní Ruairc: Growing up in a house of girls, I looked at boys as aliens","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EBZK5AFQCFCEHD4JWEAORIKAFY","auth":{"1":"2f44347e137a4d4e414ae184c7dab3ac3b8365f9a6b89dfc0f84b66ee47e6934"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EBZK5AFQCFCEHD4JWEAORIKAFY.jpeg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Culture"},{"name":"TV & Radio"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/siomha-ni-ruairc-growing-up-in-a-house-of-girls-i-looked-at-boys-as-aliens/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"YK5G3HULLRBLFGBIFUYO3ZHHWU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":558,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/e1f47f56-3e19-4bbb-83e8-ddf188a72995/versions/1741968938/media/abc8b8da95ce2ccf87ec12d743b5a877_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/2025/03/17/blindboy-on-ireland-in-2025-we-should-never-have-taken-the-blue-from-the-sky-and-put-it-in-the-ground/","content_elements":[{"_id":"PSQWSR7RFVB3HD62GXJDZIC4PI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099427},"content":"<b>This is one of a series of three articles on Ireland in 2025 including </b><a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/03/16/kelly-earley-on-ireland-in-2025-as-tends-to-be-the-case-in-toxic-relationships-i-often-feel-drained-and-taken-for-granted-by-ireland/\"><b>Kelly Earley</b></a><b> and </b><a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/\" target=\"_self\"><b>Patrick Freyne</b></a><b>.</b>","type":"text"},{"_id":"GJ7VWLTJWRDY7H5BJYOGYX67RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979782712},"content":"There’s a street in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/limerick-city/\" target=\"_self\">Limerick city</a> called Bedford Row. If you stand there in silence, watching, you’ll see a man pull the collar of his T-shirt up over his mouth when he walks. Then you’ll notice another person doing it, and another, until you realise that everybody on this street is covering their mouths and noses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B6AFC2RVAJC7DE7LB5FN4JVEYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791827},"content":"Bedford Row stretches up from Thomas Street and down as far as the river Shannon. Long ago, when Limerick had a thriving bacon industry, there were three abattoirs at the top; the blood of a hundred pigs would slosh red down the cobbles and trickle into the river. My ma remembers the smell. But now it’s paved and pedestrianised, trees line either side, and it’s our main thoroughfare for restaurants and cafes. There’s eating and drinking in Bedford Row, and on one of them peachy-coloured evenings with the long slanty sun, it’s my favourite place in the universe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"35P6LHEMDRBGNDBLPJLTWYQCEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791828},"content":"So why do people pull their T shirts up over their mouths when they walk through? Well, in the summer, the whole place stinks with the novel honk of bird shit. So much so, that in Limerick we call the street The Bird Shit District. The paving would be slippy with the grey sludge of it. The stench hangs in the ether and follows you around like a Jack Russell looking for rubs. An eggy bang that’s very difficult to pin down, a bit like that farty handshake when you open a packet of ham. There’s no smell like Bedford Row on a summer evening.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DDF7QOJPIFF43KQEWPIR3PZFYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791829},"content":"In fairness to Limerick council, they wash it down daily. But it definitely puts people off eating outside and taking in the loveliness of our pedestrianised dining street.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G2TKBQNAQJHNVLCZTHQ5MX7Y4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787239},"content":"The culprits are starlings, which I have great compassion for. They’re navigating an urban environment while trying to survive as best they can. The leafy trees along Bedford Row are the closest thing to a forest that they can find in their territory. At about 8pm, they perform what’s known as a murmuration – those swirling, synchronised flocks that look like a shoal of fish in the air.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JUAT6H3M4BGG3L75BQKDKVAQGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791831},"content":"They darken the sky over the Shannon. With no traffic, you’ll hear the whoosh of their wings above. Starlings are small little birds. Their predators are hawks and falcons, who come out at dusk to eat them. So the starlings dance together in an intimidating unified mob. I’ve watched the starlings of Limerick take the shape of a single gigantic bird to scare the hawks away. Once they feel safe, the starlings relax and settle into the trees along Bedford Row. You won’t see them, but you can hear them. The trees vibrate with birdsong and the violence of a thousand splats on paving. The smell could grow shoulders and headbutt you.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UPY7X2L2BGCHNCGRMGH2MWGXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787240},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"FZ6P4ZRNSFHLHO6JPD4W2VXAHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791833},"content":"If these trees were in a meadow, the starlings’ droppings would be regenerating the ecosystem – spreading wildflowers, fertilising the soil and improving <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/biodiversity/\" target=\"_self\">biodiversity</a>. But here? It’s wasted and washed away by the council’s brushes. They’re shitting on paving slabs. Paradoxically, they’re doing this above a street designed for outdoor dining. Humans also want to gather, eat, and talk about food, but we can’t because we’ll get shat on by a starling. And none of this is the starlings’ fault – it’s our fault for building a city where a forest once grew.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4ZW4LOIMJH3JOVUCGPATIJI5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787241},"content":"Now, why am I so obsessed with bird shit? I’m not, I’m a writer and my job is to search for stories in my environment. The story of bird shit is a story about nitrogen. Bird shit is the reason the world has a population of eight billion people. Bird shit is a story about <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/\" target=\"_self\">climate collapse</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7V3R6R4Q5FBCHIDE2YQ4JDJDAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720546},"type":"image"},{"_id":"CEPR5PKGHFE2JB5VIU47JFP6M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787242},"content":"Bird shit is incredibly rich in nitrogen, a biologically limited resource. Nitrogen is all around us: the atmosphere is 78 per cent nitrogen, and when the sun’s light reaches Earth, it collides with nitrogen gas – and this is why the sky is blue.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6B6VENMRJBFJNOSG6CATTPUG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979782723},"content":"But our ancestors couldn’t extract nitrogen from the air.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZF5LFSPY3BF6FOO57QV7IQCXRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720548},"content":"Humans discovered agriculture 12,000 years ago, marking the shift from hunter-gatherers to settled farming societies. Growing crops removed nitrogen from the soil, depleting it over time. Farmers needed to find ways to replenish nitrogen, initially through manure, then through crop rotation with legumes, which can naturally take atmospheric nitrogen and distribute it into soil. But it was never enough. By the 1500s, with the world’s population reaching 580 million, agriculture was struggling to keep up. That’s when the colonial powers – Spain, Britain, France – discovered the power of bird shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZNXZ2DKLTNCXPBK5JVZLNSAXWI","additional_properties":{"_id":"AROB2HP6JVGYDJWR34LGJO5HDQ"},"content":"Kelly Earley on Ireland in 2025: ‘As tends to be the case in toxic relationships, I often feel drained and taken for granted by Ireland’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TZHBFY3OMFCBVGXVSBP2QKWKCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787243},"content":"In <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/latin-america/\" target=\"_self\">South America</a>, certain seabirds, like the Peruvian pelican, shat so much that they created entire islands of hardened bird shit – guano. The indigenous people of Peru had been using it as fertiliser for centuries. When the Spanish colonisers saw this, they treated it like gold and stole it. Europe’s population was expanding, but farmers couldn’t produce enough food. Guano became a highly sought-after commodity, leading to a European scramble to colonise islands in the Pacific that were made of bird shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"55DHQJFTUNEOTPZUHDKCUQ6K2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787244},"content":"By the late 1800s, the world was running out of bird shit. European nations had mined every guano island they could find. A global panic for nitrogen created a scramble for bones, another rich nitrogen source. The British and French began digging up old battlefields, like Waterloo, skeletons of soldiers and horses, burning them down for fertiliser to feed the world.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QFAA66NDBRGYZBQ6IEHOOUQXOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720552},"content":"At the turn of the 19th century, the world faced a very serious crisis. With 1.6 billion people to feed and depleting access to usable nitrogen fertiliser, a global famine loomed. But then, in 1909, German chemist Fritz Haber developed the Haber Process, a method of extracting nitrogen from the air and turning it into fertiliser. This scientific discovery changed the course of history. Almost like alchemy, it created an endless supply of nitrogen from the air, to be fully exploited by the forces of capitalism.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5QLEN6LPBHDLIYW4JWOL47WUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720553},"content":"Ireland in 2025: Our progressivism was never a corporate or political pose, but a deeply felt response to our history","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LZDTS4LMRNAWVJTJGZN4BCHOHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787246},"content":"We took the blue from the sky and mass-produced the bombs that enabled mechanised warfare in the 20th century. The same process that allowed us to grow food also created powerful explosives. The Haber Process has become a driving force behind climate collapse. By pulling nitrogen from the air to create synthetic fertilisers, it supercharged industrial agriculture, allowing global food production to expand far beyond natural limits.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AN46MRJYVJDL5BVOALDLPSL3QU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791840},"content":"As a result, the world’s population exploded from 1.6 billion in 1900 to more than 8 billion today, putting immense strain on land, water, and energy resources. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2024/11/30/ella-mcsweeney-life-without-chemical-fertiliser-is-hard-for-farmers-to-fathom-but-they-could-be-in-clover/\" target=\"_self\">Farming became dependent on artificial nitrogen</a>, leading to soil degradation, deforestation, and habitat destruction. Run-off from fertilisers has polluted rivers and oceans, creating massive dead zones where marine life cannot survive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4K5CV3ZYKZDKVJTMAGWASJPLNY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099465},"content":"The Irish Times view on the latest climate report: a clear case for accelerating Government action","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HYNR6TLP3FBOLAJ2IOMSJEIMVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791841},"content":"By 2020, 91 per cent of Ireland’s land was farmland, driving biodiversity loss. Peatlands, home to 25 per cent of native species, shrank by 47 per cent. Approximately 85 per cent of EU-protected habitats in Ireland are in bad or inadequate condition, with most negatively impacted by agricultural practices such as fertiliser use and drainage. Additionally, between one-fifth and one-quarter of assessed species groups in Ireland are threatened with extinction.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G4V2IFRV45H23EFWRYOZZCDUWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791842},"content":"The intensification of agriculture has led to a biodiversity decline in Ireland, resulting in the government declaring a climate and biodiversity crisis in 2019.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXAOBDNYRVHFBDCFPIJ4U2SFYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720559},"content":"The world now faces record heatwaves, crop failures and ecosystem collapse – a much greater threat than the famines we faced before 1909. What are we doing? Are we just waiting for another Fritz Haber to save the planet with a scientific breakthrough?","type":"text"},{"_id":"WKZ5BDCK5RAGPG6HBHI4BYLHJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787247},"content":"Last week I stood on Bedford Row, staring up at the thousands of starlings sweeping above me in their murmuration. I thought to myself, ‘We should never have taken the blue from the sky and put it in the ground.’ I felt a cold splatter on my right cheek – a starling shat on my face. It dripped down towards my lip and I tasted it with the tip of my tongue. It was disgusting. I deserved it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OK4ZA4GIMBDE3E2ULSSUXZPH6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741967882680},"content":"<i>Blindboy Boatclub is an author and host of The Blindboy Podcast.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Blindboy Boatclub"}]},"description":{"basic":"The world now faces record heatwaves, crop failures and ecosystem collapse – a much greater threat than the famines we faced before 1909. What are we doing?"},"display_date":"2025-03-17T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Blindboy Boatclub: ‘We took the blue from the sky and put it in the ground’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GHVG4VTOQRF7DC2B66RADB75KM","auth":{"1":"e7916b83a737a4e316b589ece0ed57026b4722cd6fec0fde09eae1f22b0786d5"},"focal_point":{"x":1253,"y":1567},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GHVG4VTOQRF7DC2B66RADB75KM.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"People"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/2025/03/17/blindboy-on-ireland-in-2025-we-should-never-have-taken-the-blue-from-the-sky-and-put-it-in-the-ground/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Life & Style"}}}},{"_id":"PDO7OF7RJNFMVPUPSAVWME7KZE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":332,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/18dbf9e5-fd26-49af-a567-14b655b79db2/versions/1741968408/media/6524e5062d49ab4c8f6a19559904e59d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/kelly-earley-on-ireland-in-2025-as-tends-to-be-the-case-in-toxic-relationships-i-often-feel-drained-and-taken-for-granted-by-ireland/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RAHBO2NFL5CM7JYEVHPCNG3O3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099427},"content":"<b>This is one of a series of articles on Ireland in 2025. Read </b><a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/\" target=\"_self\"><b>Patrick Freyne’s essay here</b></a><b>.</b>","type":"text"},{"_id":"7QZL2MHFBBC2DHYYCSDQA4PWTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979129896},"content":"We’re living in a different Dublin. There’s no doubt about it. As a 30-year-old dividing the bulk of their time between the north inner city and Coolock, I’ve had a front-row seat to inconceivable transformation. I’ve seen the city disembowelled by austerity and the housing crisis. I’ve witnessed my hometown, Coolock, fall into national disrepute after years of industrial decline and decades of institutional neglect of its inhabitants.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GU53VEF73JD6BM5PLNOCD42WPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716655},"content":"Mass emigration has robbed me of my friends. It has robbed me of my ability to wander into town for a coffee alone and rely on the statistically-likely serendipity of a chance encounter with an acquaintance. I used to find so much joy in living in a city that is so often compared to a village. The streets might still be bustling with people (who are somehow willing to pay €5.90 for a Guinness), but it often feels like a ghost town. Friends have left for warmer weather, cheaper rent and better jobs, in cities with such dramatic time zone differences that they might as well have launched themselves into space.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JORXJJUHNJA7NBHAAL5R4M5ZTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716656},"content":"Yet, for all my cribbing and crying, I have stuck around. Despite the extent to which people my age have emigrated, there is still a great sense of intergenerational community in Ireland – which is a large part of what keeps me here. You can feel how strong it is in areas like Coolock, where I can barely make it to the shops to meet my mam without being stopped for a chat by every 90-year-old woman living in my old estate.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WKVDP23P65CJNH3Y2DKMSXGJGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979129899},"content":"When I do make it to the shopping centre, I see my mother facing the same problem, stopping and starting her procession from one end of Northside to the other, greeting every individual she sees as if she were the Lord Mayor of Coolock. It used to frustrate me as an impatient child, but now I soak it all in. It’s a good thing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZCMQ3MAHFHZTNPRQ2JRRMUXPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741613258988},"content":"There’s a great deal of solidarity between people in Coolock – despite the division and fractures in the community depicted by media. It’s a community that has been built on mutual struggles like industrial disputes and rent strikes – with Coolock playing a major role in rent strikes in the 1970s. During the 1970s when the Council wouldn’t build playgrounds, the people in Coolock came together and built them themselves.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZOXBP3V3LNFGTCZMNWRD6UBHIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741613258989},"content":"So yes, I love Ireland too much to leave. But it’s a one-sided relationship, where my devotion is rarely reciprocated. As tends to be the case in toxic relationships, I often feel drained and taken for granted.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X7TRKTIIQFG2PFCREH3SCWJTCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791815},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCVMCMS625BA5IUAYO7MTERYOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716659},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MHJNGLKBONESXF7NBG2PEJG7VU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716662},"content":"One dilemma for me as a renter in Dublin, and a tenant of a build-to-rent complex, is the fact that my landlord is one of the largest private landlords in the country. The eye-watering rent I pay every month goes into a foreign pension fund, belonging to people who’ll have the privilege of being entirely oblivious as to where their lump sum has come from when they turn 65.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y6VNJ5WI6ND7BAYDRHGIXFCEBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716663},"content":"It makes me yearn for the days of genuine social housing initiatives, when renters knew with certainty that their contributions went straight back into the Irish economy. Surprisingly, this didn’t come up much in housing debates in advance of the election. Does it speak to the lack of diversity within our Government when it comes to social class? Having seen the impact of social housing first-hand in Coolock, I view it as an absolutely worthwhile investment and one of the few options that puts something back into the exchequer, too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAWWRJJS2JGFBHDWI6ASQJAGWQ","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"WWWACIBBDNAYNKPOWHTXETCMUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716664},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"TPHYKXNV55AOPM6I3LIHDYTCM4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716665},"content":"Despite my complaints, I know I am lucky. As someone who has been burned by a ‘mom and pop’ landlord previously, my accommodation feels stable to me.There are too many risks involved with small-time landlords to feel secure in this economy. You don’t know if a small, necessary repair request will prompt the landlord to turf you out and sell up. In the past, I found myself terrified to ask for my deteriorating, creaky spring mattress to be replaced, despite the fact it was older than a Junior Cert student (and covered in as much fake tan, thanks to the previous tenant).","type":"text"},{"_id":"GW5MNWRZXZBLHN4SGSZKU3HWXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716667},"content":"Simple requests make you feel difficult and demanding, reminding you that you can be removed and replaced due to the obscene demand for rental accommodation here. Once you have been evicted, that’s when the real trouble starts. In 2022, I applied for over 100 properties in three months and was invited to just three viewings. Queues of prospective tenants wrapped around the corner before me at two of these viewings.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HA4LXK5XWRAEFMX2LZJXZTOW7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099432},"content":"Why are so many properties derelict in Dublin city centre during a housing crisis?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"K2HIRRZO6BG2JDLFSFJIRRHEQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716668},"content":"I can’t fathom how deep the fear is for families who are responsible for housing young children. I have seen people endure rodents, broken boilers and mould, while subjected to living situations that their landlords would never allow their own children to live in. For renters, the crisis informs many of the decisions we make, both big and small. It occupies so much space in my mind, even with the bit of security I have been able to latch on to.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2GEA7TZRBETJDEZSM5UQU5B7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716669},"content":"It’s hard to imagine there was once an Ireland where people didn’t have to feel this way. I’m sticking around because I’m still dreaming that someday I’ll get to see it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GM7QBSYADBC75EBWIN4MAW7JMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741967761082},"content":"<i>Kelly Earley is a writer on Substack: see kellysrubbish.substack.com</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Kelly Earley"}]},"description":{"basic":"My devotion to Ireland is one-sided; the country rarely reciprocates"},"display_date":"2025-03-16T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Kelly Earley: ‘Mass emigration has robbed me of friends and Dublin feels like a ghost town, but I’m still here’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"N3IKN4GXZJALTFLSZRRIRNOI2A","auth":{"1":"e49d8b0dd603ee35e8a7f8e688cb29560848620594feb2b5a76995cb7f63f046"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/N3IKN4GXZJALTFLSZRRIRNOI2A.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/kelly-earley-on-ireland-in-2025-as-tends-to-be-the-case-in-toxic-relationships-i-often-feel-drained-and-taken-for-granted-by-ireland/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"YZUXHUMREVBXJKIOTUI2Z4ESSY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":961,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/f97448d6-f5d4-4789-8e4f-bdc576f38a64/versions/1741362385/media/5631750f0098c1831f9e65ec3fdd8d0b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/i-dont-write-a-lot-of-personal-stuff-author-roisin-lanigan-on-being-married-divorced-and-surviving-cancer-before-her-30s/","content_elements":[{"_id":"SPNJAQPMXJBXNGS2MPTWQMZF5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030299},"content":"A decade or so ago, when Róisín Lanigan first moved to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_self\">London</a>, she would go to events and parties with other writers. The topic of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/housing-crisis/\" target=\"_self\">housing</a> would inevitably come up in conversation – how hard people had it; how difficult it was for this generation to buy homes – but when she asked her fellow partygoers where they were living, the answer tended to be something like, “Oh, my dad has a flat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"54GY56OXDNCLLORKRUJXUCKNRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030300},"content":"Lanigan herself was renting a room in Bethnal Green, having moved over from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\" target=\"_self\">Belfast</a> shortly after completing her degree in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/queens-university/\" target=\"_self\">Queen’s University</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QGKP7C3BKNAWFH3B3ACTL72SVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030301},"content":"“I had no money,” she says. “I lived on ready-salted crisps, tins of soup and bacon from Tesco. People always say that stuff like it’s dead glamorous, but it’s obviously really not. I lived in agency flats [rental property managed by letting agents]. I didn’t know anyone that lived there. They were mainly Spanish and Italian – students or young professionals like me.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQOEWSMQ4RAPLD62Z7XW4FEN5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794494287},"content":"“None of us spoke to each other. I’d leave in the morning and have to lock my door, not because they were, you know, dangerous, but we didn’t know each other.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YMN6ARGUDZEA3FUKUPPTAH5PVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030302},"content":"Lanigan grew up in a working-class family on the Falls Road. Her mother was a hotel cleaner and worked in a shoe shop. Her father was a bartender for a period, and later stayed at home looking after the children while in receipt of the dole. In Lanigan and her two younger sisters they raised what she calls “three nerds”, but no amount of academic grounding could compete with the kinds of generational wealth on show in the British capital. She began to realise that “we’re not on a level playing field here. Everyone’s kind of accessing the housing crisis in different, secretive ways”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6Z3CKA4RXZAG7HVT5PDMZLP4Q4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030303},"content":"Having now lived in more rental properties than she can count (“the longest time I’ve lived in a place is three years, and the shortest is maybe six months”, she says) and having written, as a journalist, about the strains and indignities of the housing system, it’s perhaps no wonder that her debut novel, I Want to Go Home but I’m Already Here (Fig Tree) is a take on the millennial housing crisis, in the form of a haunted house story.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIBCYD7ASRCWVL3FM3VMY2ID4U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078929},"content":"On a bright spring morning, we sit in a dead glamorous Dublin hotel to chat about it. She wears a suitably Victorian-gothic white ruffled top (she was once a fashion journalist for i-D magazine), along with a black leather skirt and knee-high boots. In her ears are Claddagh-shaped earrings, and on the palm of each hand is a tattoo of the closing lines of a Wendy Cope poem – “I love you” (right hand), “I’m glad I exist” (left hand). More on the significance of those tattoos anon, but first the novel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VDJEDCJDEJDRRFFIY7ZRNPNEWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030304},"content":"“I started it because I was reading and listening to a podcast about haunted houses, and started thinking about how haunted house stories are not actually about ghosts, they are about capital, and they’re about the financial burden of owning property,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AWE45PYF2JARRHJW6RRIQZRAGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030305},"content":"She references works such as The Shining, and The Amityville Horror, which feature families who purchase large properties and cannot leave when things begin to feel “a bit off”, because all their capital is tied up in the property.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHDER7E2VNBGNOR7XM4ZU55GA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030306},"content":"“I was thinking, oh, that’s really interesting, but what is my equivalent as a millennial? I’ll never own property, so I can’t have the traditional haunted house story.” But then she began thinking about the lived reality of renting today.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FWCKRNUDKRHD7C43QQA7PYWY7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030308},"content":"“I thought, well, I could leave my rental flat if I wanted to – if there was something really wrong with it, I could walk out – but where am I going? I have friends, but they’re in the same situation as me. They don’t own their own houses. They don’t have spare rooms. So, I’d walk out to nothing. I wouldn’t get my deposit back. I would be more financially insecure than I was previously. And also, I was thinking about how younger people tend to go into relationships and living with people quicker for the same reason – they’re like, oh, it’ll be cheaper, so I might as well.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6SRUVJBW6ZBWBAY5SIBP6CKT4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078932},"type":"image"},{"_id":"SU2V5H4IRNFOBNUJZ3KJNHCVZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030309},"content":"In the novel, a young couple, Elliot and Áine, move into a ground-floor flat in a “boujie” area of an unnamed, but London-like, city. The flat “tick[s] a lot of their hypothetical boxes”, but from the beginning, Áine has the feeling of “being in the wrong place, or watching over a place that [is]n’t hers, never meant to be hers”. The longer they stay, the more the house encroaches upon her, with its dampness, its mould, its spooky upstairs neighbours, and as the months roll by, Áine’s inner and exterior circumstances begin to blend into a nightmarish hellscape.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZWF353AOE5D2BASDOS2SS6MF7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030310},"content":"The book uses horror tropes throughout, and like most horror stories, has allegorical undertones – postcolonial tensions, the fragility of mental and physical health, the loneliness of an unstable relationship, and more, all simmer beneath the surface. The very language of the text also feels haunted – it uses a particular and sardonic lexicon associated with the contemporary housing market. (At one point Elliott accuses Áine of having “squandered” the “asset” of silence, for example.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"JOIHF4477RHE7BHWKECPBPL6ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794494298},"content":"When asked about this use of language, Lanigan brings up a phrase she often saw on rental advertisements, that she reproduced in the novel – “No DSS. No pets (sorry!)” (DSS, or Department of Social Services, refers to people in receipt of benefits.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"OX7VPQSUXNGGJO23QQKUEVS64I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030311},"content":"“I saw this phrase on every single rental thing and it used to really annoy me, but also it was just haunting,” she says. “I grew up on benefits. The idea that they were like, ‘no people on benefits, we’re not even sorry, but we’re sorry you can’t have your lovely dog‘.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ITXKHG5GPVHM5KBHMZ4PTZGFRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030312},"content":"“But that kind of thing, I think, we just absorb, and we’re like, ‘Okay’. Those kind of phrases that we don’t even unpack. Cost of living crisis. What does that mean? Things like that I wanted to put into the book.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VKMXXKMXTFGVZPC75CFRBRIPEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078938},"content":"Eimear McBride: ‘When my brother died, it was not only losing him but losing all the illusions that you were going to be safe’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HWKES67KIJASVA2K5XRNJWQSFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030313},"content":"The process of writing the book involved making character profiles of Áine and Elliot – what their star signs were, what music they liked, how they met, what they studied at university and so on – and sticking them to her walls with “renter-friendly” Blu Tack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUASTHC2JBFI3KPGAUF6DEY56U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030314},"content":"“It was quite funny, the landlord kept dropping in and out throughout. At one point he came over and I had a big cork board, and I was editing it. He was like, ‘What are you working on at the minute?’ and I was like, ‘Oh, a book about the housing crisis,’” she laughs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K3YWC3RHWBBXLJXRVTHCTW6A6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030315},"content":"“I hope he reads it,” she adds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMJRLZVJSVBI5F2NPHOLKXFE7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030316},"content":"The manuscript was completed in a blistering four months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7L22ZL74P5F7XES2EBFBYKLLD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030317},"content":"“I am quite a passionate person when it comes to the housing crisis and landlords and, like, capitalism, so I think I wrote it with anger in my heart,” Lanigan says. “And possibly, you know, there were other things that were going on at the time, and I think that’s probably why it came out so quickly, because I’m quite passionate.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AIJW5XXL7RDWZKZNYOYU6NWF2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030318},"content":"These “other things” included getting married in 2022, and divorced almost exactly a year later.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZAARDWVJ5ZDIFEBQN6LHDRCENU","additional_properties":{"_id":"RW7WGY4FRZHVZIXNE4O2RHINXY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZWXJVH627VE37PLPUHWCDI557Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030319},"content":"“I was getting married when I wrote [the book] – there’s some Freudian analysis there,” she muses, referring to the novel’s depiction of a doomed relationship.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7B7PDBX7XZD45DF755X6PD3LZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030320},"content":"“It’s hard to end something, especially when you’re young. And again, myself and my ex-husband didn’t own property together, so in a way it was easy because we didn’t have anything to split up. We were both very young; we just left it there. But in another way it was very difficult.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5DZFDZYRTFEW5POWYFX2RA5ULM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030321},"content":"The experience is one Lanigan memorialised in a scorching essay for The Fence Magazine in 2023, <a href=\"https://www.the-fence.com/the-chic-young-divorcee/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.the-fence.com/the-chic-young-divorcee/\">The Chic Young Divorcée</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LE7E2XZL2RGHHCVMDZLV6H6TYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030322},"content":"“I don’t write a lot of personal stuff; that was the only personal essay-ish thing that I’ve ever written. It was interesting, I found it easier to metabolise that experience because there were a lot of young divorces at the time … but it also made it weirder.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6JUOE7LRZ5DMNAIWVZX6VQJRUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030323},"content":"Being married and divorced having barely crested the wave of her third decade might seem like quite enough turmoil for one person, but Lanigan, now 32, seems to have lived a thousand lives. In 2018, when she was just 26, she was diagnosed with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cancer/\" target=\"_blank\">breast cancer</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SOSMMT6AZA3PINIY254EWR3RA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030324},"content":"“It was just completely out of the blue,” she says. “It was, like, a one-in-1,287 chance − like, mad numbers. I didn’t have the BRCA gene. There was no genetic reason why it would have happened. It was just bad luck really.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PG5526NZVFFRJE6PP5IMP4F6FY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"AJS5TLBYMFHUJJUBL5FGCG4TDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030325},"content":"The doctors told her she could go home to Belfast and continue to be treated in the public health service, but she was determined to stay in London.","type":"text"},{"_id":"THBAYEDUXFHOLO2GNFRD3MQC4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030326},"content":"“I remember thinking I had always felt behind my peers in London – I already felt like they could do things quicker, they found things easier, they had better access – and I felt like I was just catching up. And then I remember [thinking], ‘I’m going to be so behind all these things that I want to do now, because I’m going to have to take time out to deal with the illness.’”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DBEZS5Y4DFG4PGWJQNGHYJDUEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078955},"content":"I was completely numb and couldn’t take it in - I didn’t think I would hear the words, ‘sorry, you have breast cancer’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"X4EPVOGC6FGSHMZAG7Z3DMURB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030327},"content":"In the hot summer of 2018, during what should have been the most carefree time of her life, Lanigan was instead experiencing gruelling chemotherapy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HDYG5IMY2NBDVEETO2H2UTW4BM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030328},"content":"“It just makes you think about what you want in your life at an age where you probably don’t want to think about that,” she says. “I had to do IVF and do egg freezing ...","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZW2TWTBG6FCITORKMYQY2MJXGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078959},"content":"“It made me reconsider how I feel about how I look. I lost a lot of my hair, lost my eyebrows and my eyelashes, things like that. It was very stressful. I think what I found most stressful – which I think also kind of leads into the book – was the idea that I was a burden to people. But it feels weird – in a way, it feels like a long time ago, or like it happened to someone else, because it was so traumatic. And then in another way, it’s kind of always there.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHWP35OCD5EYDB76TQ6LIRAYC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030329},"content":"The aforementioned Wendy Cope lines tattooed on her palms (“I love you/ I’m glad I exist”, from the poem, The Orange) were a present to herself in 2022, for being five years with clear scans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JJ4IXBQZ3JBAVLSTKC4XHXX7LQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030330},"content":"“I thought it would be a nice reminder to myself that I’m glad I’m here on days when I’m spiralling, or stressed, or gloomy,” she says. “I had absolutely no idea how painful they’d be, because they are my only tattoos and apparently palms are a killer. But I really love them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2OV5G5GRFA5JLQYZSTH3NGKSM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030331},"content":"Unsurprisingly, she says the experience of having gone through cancer, “massively changed my life”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YHH526AQH5HZXNON4BAWPQ765Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030332},"content":"“It’s probably why I work so fast now. Like, I wrote this [book] in a matter of months, as I said. I’ve written a second one and it’s finished and I’m writing something else now. I’m like, ‘I have to do things, I have to do things.’”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VWEPNEBW6FAW7GZ3MJKVJJQSTU","additional_properties":{"_id":"T7JDFYHKVRD7DBBJOG6VF3QWHM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"WRFU4BILE5B4LGXCYZNE3AXOW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030333},"content":"A quick internet search of Lanigan’s name will confirm she’s not a person who likes to sit still. Having earned her journalistic chops at the youth culture website <a href=\"https://thetab.com/\">The Tab</a>, she went on to spend five years at <a href=\"https://i-d.co/\">i-D</a> magazine, before it was taken over by new owners and she and many others were made redundant. These days, her articles, which range from the cerebral to the wacky (she’s written a dispatch from the worst Tesco in London, and published a chart comparing the heights of British journalists), can be found in <a href=\"https://www.the-fence.com/\">The Fence Magazine</a>, where she is contributing editor, along with many other high-profile outlets, including this one.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LN5C35Q3NZANVMYG4QSKCSK7QA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030334},"content":"Along with the likes of Rachel Connolly, Séamas O’Reilly, Oisín McKenna and others, Lanigan is part of a cohort of Irish writers making strides in the London literary scene. Does she feel part of a rising tide?","type":"text"},{"_id":"4V7H7GQGDJDVVKJYUYNZDCYHDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078966},"content":"Rachel Connolly: ‘I presumed everybody secretly wanted to be a writer and no one got to do it’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"QKZD27AU2VEKJAYO7767BLDLQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030335},"content":"“I’ve seen both sides of it,” she says. “When I started writing fiction I remember submitting – it wasn’t this book, it was a different book – and an English agent coming back to me and just being like, ‘Irish stories don’t sell. We have enough, and they’re not really doing that well. Can you write in a less Irish way?‘”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XLLYWLVJVJFHRI2PP3AUBQCJ4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030336},"content":"Lanigan’s instinct to apologise – “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry that you hate me” – was soon replaced by the feeling that “I actually don’t think that’s okay to say that sort of thing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ED5C6CGAFRDX3IBEJDDM54KQVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030337},"content":"“And now we have the other side of the coin. When I come into contact with English editors or writers, there is sometimes a bit of an undercurrent that they’re like, ‘Oh, Irish writers are doing really well. Irish writers are winning a lot of awards right now.’ You can’t win. You’re either unpopular and unfashionable, or you’re really fashionable but it’s part of a trend.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HSRPGU4QHBH3TBXVKPZEXS4K54","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3CLG454NWZD4TJWW4OSSYZ5KAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030338},"content":"I Want to Go Home but I’m Already There was acquired in 2023, after a drawn-out process which involved a whole other novel, and two different agents. When news eventually came through that her book was going to be published, Lanigan was abroad, on a job.","type":"text"},{"_id":"53NSKIAI7ZA2FF6KXFIOVSO6OA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030339},"content":"“A lot of the jobs I’ve had are so strange to me – I was working with i-D at the time, and I was at Paris fashion week,” she says. “Someone was sick, and they were like, ‘You have to go.’ I showed up, and I was the person that stood at the back of the room with my phone, filming things.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BDVH6T7LYBDUPIIAC5BUVYDCOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030340},"content":"When a text came through to say she had landed a book deal, she had to keep a straight face and carry on filming.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XCZ2IRNYRNAHNC5XV3O5VDJ5W4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030341},"content":"“I think I went out for a drink that night by myself. In Paris, which feels so glamorous, but it really wasn’t,” she laughs. “And then I couldn’t tell anyone because it didn’t get announced for ages. It was my little secret thing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZN3VKARUXJCNJGTPZCBF3LQ3RM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030342},"content":"A year-and-a-half later, as she prepares for publication, she says she’s nervous, despite her experience publishing work as a journalist.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UJHXHXPRHJAMDDWOGAP4K3MELI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030343},"content":"“Obviously as a journalist it’s still really hard to take criticism, but you’re like, ‘Well, I’ll write something next week, and maybe they’ll be nicer about it,’ and that’s fine. With this, it took a long time to write, it’s taken a long time to come out, I have to sit with it, and I have to let people say, ‘I didn’t like this.’ And I haven’t yet learned to do that. The feedback has been really nice so far, but I am sort of waking up in a cold sweat every other night [with] this horrible feeling that it’s going to come out and no one’s going to read it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KUADIUKBE5DYVP2L7WX357F6YY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030344},"content":"I assure her people are already queuing up to buy it, especially those who are all too familiar with the grind of the rental market. We talk a little more about book promotion – how unnatural it can feel to flaunt one’s own achievements, especially given the Irish sensibility. As our time comes to a close – Lanigan has a flight to catch, back to London – I ask if there’s anything more she’d like to add or discuss.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y3D2HT5CJZHZBLN2DJM5QBD3AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030345},"content":"“Not really,” she says, sweetly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MRNZVDT375C5NJKCVAQ2I3HMOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030346},"content":"Then, with a mischievous grin: “I mean, property is obviously theft. But apart from that, no.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAFSF3QOGFHPVESMEKBODQQ6D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030347},"content":"<i>I Want to Go Home but I’m Already There is published by Fig Tree on March 20th</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Niamh Donnelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Irish author is on the cusp of publishing her debut novel, which reflects on the realities of the housing crisis for young people "},"display_date":"2025-03-16T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘I don’t write a lot of personal stuff’: author Róisín Lanigan on being married, divorced and surviving cancer before her 30s","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RCWWAIYAXZFTPJJLYDP4EST3GQ","auth":{"1":"b72711622f6e96ed593a73f5f6bad0a30238bf5389338a0e810666326c959690"},"focal_point":{"x":2162,"y":2685},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RCWWAIYAXZFTPJJLYDP4EST3GQ.jpg"},"lead_art":{"_id":"RCWWAIYAXZFTPJJLYDP4EST3GQ","type":"image"}},"subtype":"showcase","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/i-dont-write-a-lot-of-personal-stuff-author-roisin-lanigan-on-being-married-divorced-and-surviving-cancer-before-her-30s/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"WENSPXROI5GDZNTE3SRYZS26QU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":220,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/0924e383-302e-44d6-9c26-fa025d3a2480/versions/1741176584/media/0e013e410b0f18c70fc929286c32f0b3_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/sean-moncrieff-the-estate-agent-quoted-a-jaw-dropping-figure-for-what-he-thought-our-house-would-go-for/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TJ5ROC4EPNDIPKTIVLIFKKXNPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327356},"content":"It feels like it happened all of a sudden, yet the process was gradual. After years of various children staying with us for varying periods of time, they have established themselves elsewhere. Son Number One is in Colombia. Daughters Numbers One and Two live with their respective partners, and daughter Number Three just moved to London. I have a gut feeling she’s going to like it there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZB5FPOPOHJFQ7CL6BLA5KSDCBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327357},"content":"Daughter Number Four hasn’t moved out yet, her argument being that she’s only nine. That’s fair enough. But it’s good to see her older siblings leading by example. Daughter Number Four knows the clock is ticking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RBTYDDKI4JF55DYRRUP7ZWVEDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327358},"content":"The process by which the grown-up kids have moved in and out again hasn’t been strictly formal: all of them have managed to leave behind more stuff than they arrived with. This is further complicated by the fact that Daughters One, Two and Three have rejected the traditional concept of ownership when it comes to clothes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FMKKVWXW4VH7TGDS7YZNKTJ3HM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327359},"content":"In other words, they shamelessly steal from each other. And because this theft and counter-theft has been going for some years, it seems impossible for them to recall who owns what. They don’t live with us any more, yet we are the custodians of wardrobes full of clothes that none of them own, but all of them own. I have, on occasion, tried to establish the provenance of individual garments, but this has always led to long rambling squabbles, which would lead to reminiscing, to gossiping, to laughing and forgetting what my question was in the first place.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZIFGNFSWLFHQDGUJ44CWB2DDB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327360},"content":"But because parts of our home are now little more than a storage facility, it did re-spark an idea that had been loitering around the back of our minds: that we might sell the house – the idea being that we’d swap it for a place a little smaller in the same area, and shave off some of our debt.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BUOGLR4CG5EEPCAHAFW6XO5YCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327361},"content":"Seán Moncrieff: House-hunting in Dublin is like The Hunger Games. Many have simply given up","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BQGMDJ7I5BF6XJYGPMN2DGP22I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327362},"content":"Now, we’re not (completely) stupid. The reverberations of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/housing-crisis/\">housing crisis</a> are felt everywhere. We guessed we probably wouldn’t have too much trouble selling the house, but finding one to buy would be extremely tricky. At the time of writing this, there are just three houses for sale in our area. By the time you read this, they will be sold.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CS2NWWMLIJEJVMYUCZ7QAQV6VM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327363},"content":"And in fairness, the estate agent who came out to do the valuation didn’t understate that difficulty. The traditional method of selling your house and buying a new one straight away seems to be becoming increasingly rare.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RXAJ4QOFRG3XA4B3R3PIMI2VE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327364},"content":"The second part of his visit was more enjoyable. We walked from room to room, and he was hugely complimentary. Perhaps it’s something they all say, but he used the phrase ‘showhouse condition’ more than once. He finished by showing some other houses he had sold, and then quoted a jaw-dropping figure for what he thought our house would go for.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSRMYQH3CJBWVKXUTVWTF5WKWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327365},"content":"Yet after he left, we didn’t talk about it. We didn’t talk about it until 24 hours later. We couldn’t.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CDWTIP6BVEYDOGVMSYQSZ3744","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327366},"content":"Why do most Americans still believe the US to be the ‘Greatest Nation on Earth’?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"32XKHPZDGZAFXKIU2VZHX5UGB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327367},"content":"When we eventually sat down to discuss the possibility of selling, we both quickly realised why we hadn’t been in any rush to have the conversation. Both of us had been dreading the idea that the other might be keen to proceed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WAPN6A37ZF2PAB7V7WXKNOB2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327368},"content":"Because when we had showed him each room, we had told him what changes we had made: we had described the labour, the thought and the love that had gone into each part of it. And it was far more than we realised. Curiously, we were seeing our home with fresh eyes: and reminding ourselves how much we love it; how the concept of home is deeply fundamental to us. It’s fundamental to everyone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HB5GJ3KVU5FOBEARXIOSL2Q72U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327369},"content":"We wasted that estate agent’s time, but he did us a huge favour. Even if some of the rooms are stuffed with mouldy clothes, we couldn’t be luckier. Tens of thousands of Irish people aren’t so lucky. And may never be.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Seán Moncrieff"}},"name":"Seán Moncrieff"}]},"description":{"basic":"He did us a huge favour, but probably not in the way he would have hoped"},"display_date":"2025-03-16T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"The estate agent quoted a jaw-dropping figure for what he thought our house would go for","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"WFQHRTIYQJHPBPSJTV6EHT7YAA","auth":{"1":"74a351ab8110f500ca9a4778ce62755798d16f23cd377815b2d6516d53eb3902"},"focal_point":{"x":2116,"y":1636},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/WFQHRTIYQJHPBPSJTV6EHT7YAA.JPG"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/sean-moncrieff-the-estate-agent-quoted-a-jaw-dropping-figure-for-what-he-thought-our-house-would-go-for/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"RCXTBOMKHVAFFDAZCMPEESNV4U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":605,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3e186d14-5362-499a-af76-24887692d746/versions/1741702739/media/235a2f94f08e1dba82e2148ddb52a8de_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/asylum-seekers-in-dublins-east-wall-just-ordinary-decent-people-that-wanted-a-better-life-for-themselves/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RYZ545EYCZDFNIJCEV7QOLIEKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563366},"content":"Sithembiso Ndlovu stepped outside the Gateway Integration Centre on <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin’s</a> East Wall Road for the first time on the morning of December 23rd, 2022. The offices in the surrounding area had closed for <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/christmas/\" target=\"_blank\">Christmas</a> and the streets felt quiet. However, Ndlovu was nervous. She’d seen the videos of protesters outside the building she now called home and knew some in the local community did not want her there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5KKHWSA3SJFRZD2EZWVWPYVLHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563367},"content":"“We walked in twos and threes to the shop that day,” says Ndlovu. Originally from Zimbabwe, Ndlovu had arrived in Ireland three weeks previously seeking international protection.","type":"text"},{"_id":"52656JV4HBAPXLDGLAM4FLIQQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563368},"content":"“I felt threatened. I felt scared and lost. In the shops, you could see people looking at you, talking about you. It felt painful.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BPCP3XTY6JCK5POXN55IU3OCBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563369},"content":"Ndlovu was among the first group of women to arrive at the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/international-protection-office/\" target=\"_blank\">international protection</a> accommodation centre in East Wall, a few weeks after it first opened to 100 male residents on November 18th, 2022.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MXCDRK75CJCBXBFGNP46VLT574","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563370},"content":"In the days following the men’s arrival, scores of people <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2022/11/20/east-wall-residents-protest-against-new-refugee-accommodation/\" target=\"_self\">gathered outside the centre calling for residents to be sent elsewhere</a>. A video posted on Facebook on November 19th, 2022, shows crowds chanting “get them out” and “we don’t want them in our community”. Another video from the same day shows a couple of women shouting “you won’t be here for long, we’re gonna get youse out”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSMFSYANZJESJPYSAUUKH7YTAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563371},"content":"Word of the protests spread quickly, with anti-<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\" target=\"_self\">immigration</a> and far-right activists flocking to the area to make videos and speeches about the “replacement” of the Irish people. Participants from other parts of the city joined, even when some of the original protesters stepped back. In December, protesters brought Dublin’s rush-hour traffic to standstill when participants marched through the north inner city.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J5QU4NLRLJBPJP2GKKQCXZNWTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563372},"content":"By the time families started to arrive at the centre in early January 2023, the larger-scale protests had ended. However, about a dozen individuals continued to gather outside the Gateway centre every Wednesday evening, playing loud music and chanting anti-immigrant slogans, while young children watched from inside the glass building.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6EYCGBJR6JDAZG6HDFZVX66TLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563373},"content":"“I remember the kids crying seeing those men say we had to leave, that they would burn this place,” says Ndlovu. “We didn’t know what to do. I understand people’s frustration, they think we’re coming to take over their country and get everything for free. But I wish I could get them to listen to our stories and be in our shoes for a day. What pushed us from our own countries? Maybe then they’d understand.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CE4JQCXU7VDFJFCZOISVCTJGTA","additional_properties":{"_id":"CPIXVNIQPBDNJJ4FRNYS7XZRY4"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"MZISKWDFNNCWFIB4DPMIXG3LYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563374},"content":"Nearly 2½ years on from these protests, Ndlovu smiles when asked how she feels living in East Wall today. “The difference now is huge, I don’t even know how to begin telling you how huge it is.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5FLP2CB6IVESVINP4TLH2HSVK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563375},"content":"Ndlovu is referring in part to community acceptance but also to renovations at the former Gateway office block where she lives. The centre is now home to about 450 families, couples and single men and women from across the globe. The canteen area is bustling with activity the afternoon of The Irish Times visits. Across the corridor, a couple of women sort donations in what has become known as “The Shop” – a well-organised and brightly lit room lined with shelves of second-hand clothing and shoes. Down the corridor, a teenage boy focuses on his homework in the quiet study room, next door a young man picks up a letter from the designated postal room, while a toddler and his mother play in the nearby multicoloured children’s room.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4RSPITSGFC23OE3JOSELJNEWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563376},"content":"Judith Nwagazue, who arrived in the centre in early 2024, often brings her two-year-old daughter Elena and eight-month-old son Adriel to the playroom and takes part in the centre’s weekly toddler group. A single mother, Nwagazue admits caring for her children in the centre is “demanding and challenging”, particularly when she must carry them with her every time she walks down the hall to use the bathroom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CH2WA4MIOZG77HSXP3Y4NDGXLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563377},"content":"“But I am grateful to have a roof over my head and the management are great. They try really hard for us, especially the mothers with babies.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ASO4TW4FNBGJXOH24KM66OR3NA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563378},"content":"Like Ndlovu, she says she understands the local community’s concerns about new arrivals. “I don’t blame them, they’re just trying to be protective of their country. But on the other hand, I wish they could understand the reasons we came here.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WYTGUH5ZCNEAFHYHIW4LUUJMZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563379},"content":"The Gateway centre is a far cry from the images of rooms packed with bunk beds which many have come to associate with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/direct-provision/\" target=\"_self\">direct provision</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BDPFP7HDBFWFO77OMGFTOITAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563380},"content":"“We felt like direct provision had become very hidden in Ireland, you were never able to walk into a centre,” says Gateway director Sinéad Fennelly. “We didn’t want to be ashamed of this place.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Q27VVNNOBHDJLFMZW3VBWUMAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563381},"content":"Fennelly and her team, who took over the centre’s management in April 2023, have focused on removing the “office feel” of the place. “Even down to signage was important. I’ve seen in other centres the tone of signs is very rules-based and that causes tension. People had an image of the centre in their minds, they presumed it was a horror show inside. When we started welcoming people inside they were shocked.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GTWZI3TERZB2XBCOOHTJARQP2M","additional_properties":{"_id":"52FGZZI7H5B45FEY5ALCV3PD6Y"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"PJWPUVGEPNGIXOV7GGX5UISIAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563382},"content":"When they first took over, staff focused on creating “a home” for asylum seekers, while “weathering the storm” of the protests, says centre manager Declan McKenna. “It was all fear-based,” he says, reflecting on the Wednesday-evening protests, which lasted for months. “It’s fear of the worst-case scenario and the vast majority of the time that scenario doesn’t occur.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"74KMLY3QIREJ5PLHLBSNQ7QKOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563383},"content":"The centre’s core focus is “transparency and honesty”, McKenna says. “We don’t just sit in an office – we talk to the residents, we learn about their lives. We don’t even consider this direct provision, it’s a dedicated space for people to live as humanely as possible on their journey looking for international protection.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"P4QL53GJDNFFTFWDAAOOMDSKWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563384},"content":"Keen to form links with the local community, Fennelly set up a fund to help local clubs and sports groups link up with children in the centre. “We have a budget for outings and social events for the residents so we decided to put a community fund formally in place. We wanted to forge a permanent relationship with these clubs that are taking the children in.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VDOEFXXKBBEAPI5JI5XEBJBWT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595701},"content":"Alan Gannon, a brother of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/social-democrats/\" target=\"_self\">Social Democrats</a> TD <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/gary-gannon/\" target=\"_self\">Gary Gannon</a>, is community engagement officer at the centre.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YROC2ZAA4VHWBFVI2DGX2VUFEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563385},"content":"The operators of international protection accommodation centres have a “responsibility” to invest in their properties and create a positive atmosphere, says Fennelly. “It shouldn’t be secret. If you can’t open your doors you need to ask yourself why?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XWVD3LTDNBDTHPCR6YFRHXEU7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595696},"content":"International protection system records death of 14 asylum seekers last year","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5C7VM2JZ7NEUBLQWJQEVAG55TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595699},"content":"International Protection accommodation bill tops €1 billion for first time","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WE2ZXNTUEVEFLH7IIYXI7PA5XA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563386},"content":"Fennelly acknowledges a “small minority” of East Wall residents remain unhappy about the centre but says the majority now welcome residents. However, some of these people are “afraid to vocally come out and support us”, she adds. The Irish Times attempted to speak with a community member who took part in the 2022 protests but now supports the centre. After a number of rejections, local resident Derek, who preferred not to give his surname, agreed to talk.","type":"text"},{"_id":"URWFMTKO5BFEZHUUGP4L62A5WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563387},"content":"He says he joined the protests because he believed claims that his wife and daughter would be in danger walking the streets of East Wall.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZSYNPUL3EBEKHPHSXMGOD2F7M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563388},"content":"“But, in the months after that, I see how much work the people within the complex have done and how they’re integrating the men, women and children into the community,” he told The Irish Times over WhatsApp. These new arrivals, and their children who have joined local sports clubs, have been a “massive benefit” to the area, he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CWD7GJA4ZVFNFBRTD2SCER6UPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563389},"content":"“It opened people’s eyes to what we what we thought was coming in, and what actually did come in, with just ordinary, decent people that wanted a better life for themselves. All in all, I have changed my thought on all these centres. They’re a great idea.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QYFL42MS6VDC5PIDFNFIYFHZ4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"VDHALVFFQJCNDB25LFQDVT3BPA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"7SMRRTJ6TVHQHLQQMOTBAHMBXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563390},"content":"Roxanna Nic Liam, who was working in a local East Wall cafe when the rumours started circulating that a centre was opening, was one of the first local residents to join the East Wall Here For All advocacy group. She says the community felt divided for about six months. “You’d be scared to bring it up, I worried about saying I volunteered there. But most people have moved on with their lives. The hassle has died down, it’s quiet now. We’re not as needed, which is a good thing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V3CNKMRPJFFFFMLKIK4MBJYUSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563391},"content":"“I know a lot of people who took part in those protests and went on to help the kids and be very involved. I think when the kids started going to school, that was a turning point. Kids are a great way of bringing people together, they see people at the school gates, it becomes more humanised.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NN7RP74RHZDEPF5C6BXH7IUF6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595707},"content":"‘Too many people’ not entitled to International Protection applying in Ireland, Minister for Justice says","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YPAUQS4VONAD5F2GAQNHLHNWHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563392},"content":"Rebecca Kehoe, who has run Cross Cultural Conversations language classes for Gateway residents since 2023, says the initial “shameful, disturbing protests” outside the centre are a thing of the past but believes there’s still underlying discontent among some in the community. She recalls the discomfort she felt bringing an African resident for breakfast in a local cafe six months ago. “There were people looking at us, not the staff but the clientele. I felt distinctly uncomfortable and I’m sure he felt it too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HJ2XJ7N6VBB7LGW4LEXTZSFIDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563393},"content":"“The centre is established now and most protesters got tired, they had better things to do with their time. But I don’t know if that’s acceptance or that animosity is still there and hidden. It’s calm for now, thankfully.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sorcha Pollak"}},"name":"Sorcha Pollak"}]},"description":{"basic":"Fear was widespread when an international protection centre opened here in 2022; now tensions seems lower and ties are growing between residents of the centre and the wider community "},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:10:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Asylum seekers in Dublin’s East Wall: ‘Just ordinary, decent people that wanted a better life for themselves’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"46VQ4D5PLJCUBHF2XLFYPRDTKY","auth":{"1":"8bd397cff8874e87c3613d46314abfa6443834598239fadb8e3d450cf9503550"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/46VQ4D5PLJCUBHF2XLFYPRDTKY.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Dublin"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/asylum-seekers-in-dublins-east-wall-just-ordinary-decent-people-that-wanted-a-better-life-for-themselves/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"NAE5ST2DGZDBNOHN5EAUR4U6XA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":802,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/45b8f842-00f6-495b-9710-186c1e11d06c/versions/1741783173/media/6e0ede0587061ddedb2b6a1147e0d2bf_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/kieran-cuddihy-the-fight-for-eyeballs-is-a-hotter-war-than-the-fight-for-ears/","content_elements":[{"_id":"WHCWCYVSJFAC7LHJLZGNXMVK34","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788589},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kieran-cuddihy/\" target=\"_self\">Kieran Cuddihy</a> and I are chatting in Taste cafe near the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/newstalk/\" target=\"_self\">Newstalk</a> studio. We talk briefly about how I’m neurotically using two different audio recorders. He can relate. “I was interviewing <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/domhnall-gleeson/\" target=\"_self\">Domhnall Gleeson</a> recently and I forgot to turn the recorder on,” he says. “Halfway through the interview I saw it and he saw me turning it on. He was polite enough not to acknowledge it. [The clip] ended up getting 10 million views or something. Selena Gomez shared the clip because it was about the actors’ strike. It almost never existed.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFPORW3QNRH4TLXMKCZTNWYPBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788590},"content":"Cuddihy is a seasoned radio presenter at this stage but he’s happy enough to lean into his own failures for my entertainment. He anchors Newstalk’s Hard Shoulder drive-time slot and he has, as of last week, begun helming <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/virgin-media/\" target=\"_self\">Virgin Media</a>’s long-running Tonight Show. He’s nervous about that. “You’re conscious with TV that it’s an <i>active</i> watch. Every second they’re watching they’re thinking they could be watching something else. A lot of radio listenership, it’s on in the car or it’s on when you’re doing something else in the background. The fight for eyeballs is a hotter war than the fight for ears.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4IZJSCOKJFAZMPNS3IF752WJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788591},"content":"Cuddihy grew up in Kilkenny in a family of current-affairs-loving healthcare professionals. His father is a doctor. His mother is a nurse. Three of his grandparents were also trained healthcare professionals. His sister is also a doctor. Cuddihy decided to rebel and study law in UCC. Why law? “On reflection, it was probably a degree of pomposity or something,” he says. “‘This sounds like a fancy job. It sounds good. It sounds impressive.’ I’m not sure I really thought too deeply about what my day-to-day work was going to be like. And then when I was training, I kind of realised, ‘Oh, this is the day-to-day work’. It was grand. But that’s all it was.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6I3NRGO2YVFHBHAKY6Z433IW2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788592},"content":"He went on to Blackhall Place and qualified in 2009. He laughs at the timing of this. “I don’t know if you remember what things were like in 2009?” He was graduating into a recession. So instead of starting in a solicitor’s office he went to Vancouver for a year with some friends where he initially worked with a law firm but eventually started working on a building site. How was that? “We got fired because the World Cup was on at the time and we clocked in and then we went off to watch the match and went on the tear for the day. We came in the next day and our boss told us to get lost.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSLM277TNFCTNM6GCENIAGAU3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788593},"content":"When in Vancouver he also started volunteering at a community radio station. “And it was great, because community radio is just ‘let’s do everything’. ‘We’ve an hour at the weekend we need to fill – do you want to do that? ‘Do reports. Do presenting.’ ‘There’s a protest happening, go down there’. Because it’s community radio, a lot of it was social justice orientated. I remember at the time, the big row in Vancouver was about the gentrification of the Lower East Side. Lots of talking to marginalised communities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IGJLBNLG3VCANKGKQFIZJTL4FU","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"B56XDGNKWJDOTEZOAHTXOZS7ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788594},"content":"He loved it. He applied to do the journalism Masters in DCU. “The most daunting thing about it was telling my parents,” he says. “I guess they’re expecting that you’re just keeping your head above water while the economy recovers and you’ll come back and resume your perfectly acceptable career as a solicitor.” He laughs. “Ah look, they were grand. They were a bit ... ‘Are you sure about this?’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBHI6BS4GZGZPJ7YIOWUUKIM2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788595},"content":"What was the conversation like? “I want to go to this really fickle industry and start with this company that doesn’t make money or didn’t at the time and advertising budgets are contracting and it’s all being fragmented.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y75RT47F55FPTJ4FUJKHHKTYFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788596},"content":"Did he have journalistic role models? “I didn’t really have any rose-tinted fantasy about myself being a Woodward or Bernstein, which isn’t meant as a kind of a slight on anyone who does, but I just didn’t think I’d have that in me,” he says. “All that failure you need to have before you get a bit of success. It’s like missionary work, really, that type of stuff.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PRZWH6JLABEDHEEQRHGWCCXFHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788597},"content":"It was broadcasting that attracted him. He joined Newstalk, then owned by businessman <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/denis-obrien/\" target=\"_self\">Denis O’Brien</a>’s company Communicorp, as a researcher for the breakfast show with Chris Donoghue and Ivan Yates in 2011. He was soon given opportunities to fill in on air. His first presenting stint was filling in on the Business Breakfast. “I remember they had three guests on and the last guest would always be a market guest. I said, ‘How are the Asian markets looking?’ They could have said, ‘Yeah, well, they kind of tanked after Godzilla flattened Tokyo.’ And my next question would have been, ‘And the US market, what are we expecting when they open?’ I didn’t have a clue.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7P7MKDX6UNDWPIZL5N7PDEFAUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621562},"type":"image"},{"_id":"M7IXTET2OJAORJCQAWMTW2PCKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788598},"content":"When he first had to fill in on the breakfast show proper, he was terrified. “I remember we had a staff night out at the dogs in Shelbourne and I went home and slept for an hour and came into Newstalk at three in the morning and I listened to the entire previous day show from three hours, and I wrote down second by second every little marker, ‘Three minutes, 27 seconds, Chris said this’ and ‘Three minutes 50 seconds in Ivan said this.’ It was just a crutch. I had this thing on front of me, a schedule.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDIMYGRKQZEWDLB7IDJJNGHJRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788599},"content":"He became a regular fill-in presenter, eventually replacing Paul Williams for a long-term stint on the show alongside Shane Coleman. He was finally given sole custody of the Hard Shoulder programme in September 2020. Up to then Newstalk was a very personality-driven network. “They hung all the shows on the brand, the personality ... On George [Hook]’s personality ... On Ivan’s personality. The change came when myself and Andrea [Gilligan] got prime-time shows. We were the first who didn’t have any name recognition really.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JRFHWLR36NB2HPWHZADO6MGHLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788600},"content":"What did it feel like in the O’Brien days? “You can never get away from the fact that for a good 15 years, Denis wrote a cheque at the end of the year to keep it open.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLT7GXHNGVBC5ADT6MJBNJB6GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788601},"content":"Were Communicorp employees worried O’Brien might not like their reporting and might retaliate in some way? “Which he would have done against [Today FM presenter] Sam Smyth,” says Cuddihy. “He would have wielded [his power] against him and other people.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AT5YFJQT35E5FLD7NC6SIFXW2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788602},"content":"The final report of the Moriarty tribunal into payments to politicians, which strongly criticised O’Brien, was issued while Cuddihy was in the station in 2011. O’Brien has always rejected the criticisms. “I was a researcher,” Cuddihy says. “But I remember Chris Donoghue took a really strong, clear line. He was very quick to acknowledge where Denis was criticised in the tribunal and at the same time saying ‘listen, he owns this business’. I don’t think he [Donoghue] pulled any punches and I still don’t think he did, but you’d be lying if you said the thought never crossed your mind that he [O’Brien] owned the company.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6IRJ63UCVDDVPVBPBMFEDOQZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621568},"content":"Ruth Scott: I am the youngest of eight siblings. I had a curious childhood","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"7SZLM4VLIFAB3PEJWA33LSFIRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788603},"content":"I used to appear on the Communicorp stations myself until, in 2017, all Irish Times journalists were banned from their airwaves after a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/author/fintan-otoole/\" target=\"_self\">Fintan O’Toole</a> piece criticising the station. He sighs when I remind him of this ban. “I was on this committee that everyone took a turn on – a chance for the worker ants to have their say – and I remember saying I thought we shouldn’t be doing this. And I wouldn’t have been the only one. I think we thought it would go away a lot quicker but it lasted a long time ... [Newstalk presenter] <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/author/sean-moncrieff/\" target=\"_self\">Seán Moncrieff </a>started writing a column for The Irish Times when the ban was still in place. It just got silly. It was always silly.” The ban disappeared after Bauer bought the group the station was part of in 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JILDMNWXMRDTTAXP5PDMUZF4AY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788604},"content":"Cuddihy has developed his own style. He’s always on top of his brief and sounds fluent and natural on air. He doesn’t sound any different in person (some broadcasters do). He asks me whether <i>I</i> like being on radio. I say I like it more now that I’ve accepted sounding like an eejit half the time. He laughs. “Making an eejit of yourself is actually endearing. People don’t necessarily want the old disc jockey character that wasn’t a real person, who was just facsimile of a person. People want authenticity. And I think slightly making a tit of yourself the odd time makes you feel a bit more authentic. Ultimately, people want to have some sort of connection to you and that means talking about yourself as a real person – talking about your kids and what you did at the weekend and what you’re watching on telly.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CG3YXQUWJFG7DAM2R4JBJABA6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788605},"content":"Do people expect that more now in the era of podcasts and YouTubers? “I think they do ... Podcasting has started to change the tone of radio. People like the idea of being part of a conversation among friends.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QVHTN3YGNNEN7NXNJ5NQ35Q3PM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621572},"content":"Does he remember any early radio experiences that embarrass him? “The ones which were most embarrassing were where I tried to ape what other people do, where I thought: ‘the Newstalk brand is a bit abrasive and ranty and that’s what I’m going to do!’ You just come across as a slightly unlikeable dickhead. I remember a few times where an opinion was so contrived that I just felt icky doing it. I was expressing an opinion that I really didn’t hold.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"D5IUHLY7Y5GZ7CMYPRGJLD7DMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788607},"content":"What are his favourite interviews? “My favourite interviews are always normal people who are in really extraordinary situations,” he says. “People like [Cervical Check campaigner] <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2022/10/28/cervicalcheck-campaigner-lynsey-bennett-has-died/#:~:text=CervicalCheck%20campaigner%20Lynsey%20Bennett%2C%20who,the%20woman%20and%20her%20family.\" target=\"_self\">Lynsey Bennett</a>. Those people I am always amazed by. I remember as well during the ice bucket challenge going out to meet a lad, Brian, out in Lucan who had motor neuron disease. He was really into golf. He noticed his problem first walking across the golf course when he couldn’t hold his head up when he was walking ... I remember him saying that he’d be dead by the time the Ryder Cup was on. It was so awful and so upsetting. I remember those people most.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"73BDIS5OT3TEA34OCDZWPQRKKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621574},"type":"image"},{"_id":"HSRMLBNFLREIJPGUUQRWLHXHCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788608},"content":"Does he enjoy robust exchanges with politicians (I watched him engage in a few the night before on the Tonight Show)? He laughs. “They give you a bit of a short-term kick. I’m buzzing after. Your adrenalin is flowing ... but I can’t forget those other people. People who’ve been wronged by the State, people like Lynsey Bennett.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"63AKMZMPW5BCJJTURA2Q5GWSLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788609},"content":"Cuddihy lives in Kilkenny with his wife, Natasha, who has a mediation business, and their two children, Sam, aged 10 and Grace, aged eight. With a radio show five nights a week and now two television programmes on top of that, how is his work-life balance? “What serves me well is actually the commute,” he says. “It’s like a little debrief. It’s a demarcation between one another. My work-life balance, it’s not terrible ... I’m gone from 11 to half eight at night ... But I’m missing every afternoon. When your kids are young, you’re knee-deep in activities. So my wife does all of that ... It does mean that I’m conscious in the mornings of being present and at weekends of not getting sucked into my phone.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HMZHZH5TVRFTRLKSDH6H7KAN6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788610},"content":"That phone has changed everything about his job. In the past, he says, a current affairs broadcaster’s role was to inform. Now, with a personalised news machine in everyone’s hands it’s more important to help people parse and explain. “‘Here’s what you should ignore. Here’s what you should pay attention to.’ At the same time, you have to reflect that nobody’s going home and talking about all that at the dinner table. They’re talking about electricity prices. <i>Your</i> job is to point out that what’s happening in Ukraine has a huge impact on electricity prices ... I think in the past the old media world could get away with not explaining why these things matter. We can lament that fragmentation of the [media] market but I think it’s helped all of us recognise that fact that we’re not the gate keepers of the things that matter to people. You can’t assume they’re going to sit there and listen.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patrick Freyne"}},"name":"Patrick Freyne"}]},"description":{"basic":"Presenter of the Tonight Show on Virgin Media and Hard Shoulder on Newstalk on Denis O’Brien, work-life balance and embarrassing career low-lights"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Kieran Cuddihy: Newstalk hung all the shows on the brand, the personality. That changed with Andrea Gilligan and myself ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"3GP6RQPFRFEYJOTRQGWTKVEN5U","auth":{"1":"1cb98e8d1a9220034202de111fef6d238d1356a4e93f9d55d00e0387e263133a"},"focal_point":{"x":3341,"y":1047},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/3GP6RQPFRFEYJOTRQGWTKVEN5U.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/kieran-cuddihy-the-fight-for-eyeballs-is-a-hotter-war-than-the-fight-for-ears/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"GEZSSJZNE5CAZM2DISUI4HNGMI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":1173,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/1f3fa690-df23-4548-bb4d-3546a4441e76/versions/1741872732/media/900df717c6ee7cf4e5f186ad721f24ba_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/camp-shamrock-lebanon-look-at-our-own-history-we-had-a-fractured-island-not-too-long-ago/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6WBHS5GQCZGJ5MEXNRPUEQANKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924549},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"47TBCNYEDJBOTIH3NCPMP6N3DU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924550},"content":"The road to Camp Shamrock is lined with evidence of shattered lives and broken buildings, portraits of “martyrs” and piles of rubble. While some life in southern <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/lebanon/\" target=\"_blank\">Lebanon</a> has returned – supermarkets are open; cars and motorbikes hurtle along roads; people smoke and chat in the streets – destruction is also a constant. People clear rubble from their homes with shovels. Mass funerals for those who died in the war, and were temporarily buried elsewhere, have been ongoing for months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z57OGDG7GBD4HDMPSEUUWO4XAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924551},"content":"These scenes are a reminder, not just of the last 17 months of confrontation, but of the decades of violence and uncertainty even before that. For almost half a century now, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Irish</a> <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/unifil/\" target=\"_blank\">peacekeepers</a> have been present on this <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/\" target=\"_blank\">Middle East</a> fault line. Under extreme pressure, they have stood their ground.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EC5SU2DMDRE43GWQZ2LIIUMFAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924552},"content":"The latest war between <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/israel/\" target=\"_blank\">Israel</a> and militant group <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/hizbullah/\" target=\"_blank\">Hizbullah</a> broke out on October 8th, 2023, when Hizbullah fired rockets into Israeli-controlled territory “in solidarity” with Hamas. Almost a year of the ensuing conflict escalated further last September 23rd, when Israel launched an aerial campaign <a href=\"https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/04/middleeast/lebanon-israel-aerial-assault-intensity-intl/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">described by conflict monitoring group Airwars</a> as the most intense in decades, aside from Gaza. A week later, Israeli forces also began a ground invasion, with officials saying they wanted to create the right conditions to allow displaced Israeli citizens to return home. These developments would see Irish peacekeepers playing a courageous and unexpected role, right in the middle of fighting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"45AISKYMNZDFTI73G5HDX5LMJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924554},"content":"Despite requesting access during the war, it was only in late February that The Irish Times was allowed to visit Camp Shamrock, the main Irish base, to witness the work of peacekeepers in person. A tenuous ceasefire came into force on November 27th, by which time almost 4,000 people in Lebanon had been killed – including 717 women and 243 children – and more than one million displaced. Around <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-war-numbers-hezbollah-military-6f1a651ebba0a88fbdb7ca59a57acd1e\">130 people</a> were killed on the Israeli side – the majority soldiers – and more than 46,000 displaced. <a href=\"https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/israel-must-stop-killing-civilians-returning-their-homes-south-lebanon-un\">More people</a> have been killed since November and violations continue, but the roads in Lebanon’s south are much safer to drive along than they were before.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUXKVGXZRRDT7BOT3V6JWH6YJM","content":"<div style=\"min-height:295px\" id=\"datawrapper-vis-cDVwJ\"><script type=\"text/javascript\" defer src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cDVwJ/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" data-target=\"#datawrapper-vis-cDVwJ\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cDVwJ/full.png\" alt=\"Map showing location of Camp Shamrock, Lebanon\" /></noscript></div>","type":"raw_html"},{"_id":"YN4PP3DOLJDGBIO3KVN7MHCWAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924555},"content":"Camp Shamrock – or UN base UNP 2-45 – is located about 7km from the Israeli border. Its moniker is somewhat deceptive, as it is also home to Hungarian, Polish and Maltese peacekeepers. Tens of thousands of Irish have served in Lebanon since <a href=\"https://www.military.ie/en/overseas-deployments/about-overseas-deployments/#:~:text=The%20Defence%20Forces%20made%20its,ADL)%20between%20Lebanon%20and%20Israel.\">1978</a>. More than 300 are currently among around <a href=\"https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/unifil\">10,000</a> of the total forces of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/unifil/\" target=\"_blank\">Unifil</a>) – the majority on their first deployment to the country.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WXB4TBAOCJAVDGF4DGLHYZWB3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924558},"content":"In his office, Lieut Col Shane Rockett, the commanding officer of IrishPolBatt, the 125th Irish-Polish Battalion, explained the situation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PNYGWIGLM5DR3HCAFKCHKIVX4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970044},"type":"image"},{"_id":"J2QSKNVMH5C2PB55HIVWO52RHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924559},"content":"“By virtue of geography and where we are in Unifil, the Irish battalion is on the front line when it comes to any conflict out here ... We had a very difficult period … There was a lot of pressure put on us by the Israelis to withdraw from our locations.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GQEU4FFNMFCP7C4MXNUOLAUCXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924560},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/10/04/irish-peacekeepers-lebanon-latest-israel-invasion/\" target=\"_blank\">Israel repeatedly requested</a> that UN peacekeepers leave areas of combat and what they called “Hizbullah strongholds”, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu <a href=\"https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-un-must-withdraw-south-lebanon-peacekeepers-from-combat-zones/\">saying</a> “your refusal to evacuate the Unifil soldiers makes them hostages of Hizbullah” and “human shields”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WDDFJOXHTRBSJDFN32VWCIDLJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924561},"content":"“At no stage did the Irish battalion ever consider withdrawing,” said Rockett. “I suppose, like every military organisation, you plan for contingencies … So yes, Unifil did have a plan, but luckily, people at the higher echelons had a sense and decided that the best thing to do was to remain.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFKFTDBR6BFGZJTHMWQQHAQVOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924562},"content":"It was important to be “the eyes and ears of the international community,” said Rockett. “We were just carrying out our tasks. We were carrying out our role and our mission as it was given to us.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S33U4ZF3MVCT3PKRQO4UKVU64Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924564},"content":"In October, it was reported that <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2024/10/31/rocket-strikes-irish-unifil-headquarters-in-lebanon/\" target=\"_blank\">a rocket had hit Camp Shamrock</a>, although no one was injured. Rockett says it was a Hizbullah Katyusha rocket intercepted “directly overhead” by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. While the munitions exploded in the air, metal casing dropped down to the “back of the camp”. At the time, Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti said there had been more than 30 attacks on Unifil bases in a month, with around 20 attributed to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), seven deemed “clearly deliberate”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C34653FKRNDQNM2YN3TMKW6YCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970050},"type":"image"},{"_id":"XZXUOYE6FBAR7FVWPHW2USNJTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924565},"content":"Peacekeepers of other nationalities were injured during the war. On October 13th, <a href=\"https://unifil.unmissions.org/unifil-statement-13-october-2024\" target=\"_blank\">Unifil accused the IDF of “shocking violations”</a>, saying two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a UN position in Ramyah, forcibly entering. Later, around 15 peacekeepers “suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions” following “the firing of several rounds 100 metres north, which emitted smoke”. <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwylekwngz8o\" target=\"_blank\">The IDF said</a> it had been evacuating wounded soldiers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4BU5FVZHANDZVL2BDEKBNNQVEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924566},"content":"Rockett found it hard to describe the experience of being surrounded by “kinetic activity”, but “the shelling from Israel, the return fire from Hizbullah, [meant peacekeepers were] caught in the middle.” In some ways, he said, they were lucky. “At any stage there could have been a misfire, there could have been wrong co-ordinates, and a round could have hit the camp.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PWPTTJJXXBCI3KUCFKEZAUYU5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924567},"content":"Before peacekeepers deploy, they do months of training in Ireland. “Our training, the way we do military operations, it’s at a very high standard, and anything that we undertook out here during that time meant that we were always putting the soldiers safety first and foremost in our planning,” said Rockett. “However, that doesn’t stop the family members at home worrying, and it’s natural for people to worry about their loved ones out here when they’re deployed in a war zone.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5OA55A2HSNCZFEP5YN6XZULHAA","additional_properties":{"_id":"OFZ2XINPRJG5TOB6JTLE5KOJ3M"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"V4WQYRUNRZHKJCVI6N5AEVLIVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924568},"content":"Going to bunkers is known as “groundhog”. Rockett says that happened “every day” during the war. “In some cases, we would have asked people to stay there for 24 hours, 36 hours, and sometimes longer.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YNSYXGVUJNCZVNCPC3OTAHJQE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924569},"content":"Rockett said Unifil continued to report after <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2024/11/28/lebanon-ceasefire-we-have-no-windows-no-doors-but-we-can-live-not-like-other-people/\" target=\"_blank\">the ceasefire</a>, as Israeli forces held ground in Lebanon and carried out explosions. Lebanon complained to the UN on December 24th, alleging there had already been <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/19/lebanon-ceasefire-israel-destruction/\">more than 800</a> Israeli violations of the agreement. It has become commonplace to hear Lebanese people call this a “one-sided ceasefire”, though Israel has said it is targeting military targets and <a href=\"https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/katz-says-idf-will-enforce-lebanon-ceasefire-deal-forcefully-against-hezbollah-violations/\">forcefully</a> enforcing the ceasefire’s terms <a href=\"https://x.com/IsraelMFA/status/1863668750731649028\">in response</a> to Hizbullah violations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3HA77WEFBZBH7NKJJ4IJBX4MOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924570},"content":"Israel’s withdrawal was scheduled by the end of January. That was extended to February 18th and up until now Israeli forces have a presence in what they call “strategic” locations inside Lebanon. On February 18th, <a href=\"https://x.com/UNIFIL_/status/1891794765118619776\" target=\"_blank\">Unifil said</a> “another delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen … This should not, however, overshadow the tangible progress that has been made … We call on both parties to meet their obligations.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDYUDVOJCZC7TDNOIHWGQQZZSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924571},"content":"Since that date, Rockett said, there has been a “remarkable decrease in the number of explosions and small-arms fire”, but Unifil continues to report on “all violations” – including “any unauthorised overflight by either a drone or an aircraft”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSNIVRPOABDQLCQR5PPC7CRXQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924572},"content":"“There’s a lot of information out there as to where these violations occurred from but – and I hope you’ll appreciate this – I’d rather not point the finger at who was responsible,” said Rockett. He said the UN’s role is to remain “neutral” but its reports go “through the chain of command” to the UN headquarters to be debated at UN Security Council meetings, with “the political membership of the UN” then engaging the countries involved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G6Q3XJYTPRCMZLQUIVWAYACPQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970060},"type":"image"},{"_id":"AYIUI46WTFDJZJZJAPBL52JXME","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924574},"content":"Unifil’s <a href=\"https://unifil.unmissions.org/security-council-renews-unifil%E2%80%99s-mandate-demands-full-implementation-resolution-1701\" target=\"_blank\">mandate was renewed</a> for another year last August, with the UN Security Council “demanding” parties “recommit to the full implementation of all provisions of resolution 1701.” The <a href=\"https://unifil.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/old_dnn/N0646503.94e0ff00-2581-4794-bfd1-877cdf67e435.04aaa3c5-b93a-4fad-8c75-92c3d9b802a3.pdf\">resolution</a> requires the Lebanese army and Unifil to be deployed in the south, for Hizbullah to withdraw north of the Litani river and for Israel to leave Lebanon, as well as requiring the broader disarmament of Hizbullah and other non-state armed groups, with the aim of a permanent ceasefire.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZ3YXESOGNBABFSBQTFQRMDQGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924575},"content":"Potential violations by Hizbullah might be difficult to spot, Rockett said. “You’re not dealing with a uniform military force. They’re very much part of the community here.” He said Unifil relies heavily on the Lebanese army “who know the individuals in the region, who know when things are being moved”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7TRCI2TORENZOBBLN4UQXJB6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924576},"content":"In south Lebanon, the Lebanese army is Unifil’s “strategic partner”. Together, they aim to provide “security and the conditions for security”, including through manning checkpoints, doing joint patrols and occasionally assisting with training.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DQIH72KOBZCIHJTWWQRZHYE3BA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924577},"content":"Ireland is helped by what Rockett calls the “Paddy factor” – our culture makes it easy to reach out and create relationships, and to establish trust with local people, he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CDO24EXQMFETPL5HPW2M4ZU6VU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924578},"content":"The sustained relationship Irish peacekeepers have with communities close to them is clear while moving around. In Tibnin town, Ali Saad – known as “Irish Ali” – thanks Irish peacekeepers for his own education. Now 58, he runs an orphanage supported by the peacekeepers; he even used a bus donated by Irish veterans to evacuate girls when Israel’s bombing campaign escalated last September.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7SVO6FLMRCHFOEXTFSN6QDHYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924579},"content":"In Christian town Rmeish, a shopkeeper said he regularly meets Irish peacekeepers purchasing goods, while priest Najib al Amil said he has had a long and positive relationship with them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4TWDAWWPJEEJOYGKTYWCJIVPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924580},"content":"As a battalion commander, Rockett tries to regularly engage local mayors to find out what issues they are facing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IMHJ267ZXFBJFPR2C7FEMWYDWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924581},"content":"This also helps identify small projects the peacekeepers can do. Since November, Rockett said, they’ve spent nearly $60,000 restoring water or electricity, and helping “local communities just get back on their feet after the destruction of the war”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E6YLE4EUSBCARN7WHLNUBYPG5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970069},"type":"image"},{"_id":"24BACHDF6VA2DKCKBQTLBFIXCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924583},"content":"A group put on protective helmets and flak jackets to drive to Outpost 6-52, around a 25-minute drive from Camp Shamrock.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LU37NJNYWVENVKJ7OYT5AANLOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924584},"content":"This is one of 29 UN posts within 5km of the Blue Line, the de facto border between northern Israel and southern Lebanon. It became one of the most notorious UN positions during the war, because shortly after the Israeli ground invasion began, the IDF stationed tanks and military equipment around 50 metres away, reportedly using the location as a firing position. An image even <a href=\"https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-peacekeepers-lebanon-israel-hezbollah-6507568-Oct2024/\" target=\"_blank\">showed a tank pointing its barrel</a> towards the Irish base, when around 30 Irish peacekeepers remained there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4CMRI2XUREHNDUCQEOAZDTEVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970072},"content":"Irish outpost on Israel-Lebanon border resupplied after almost a month of isolation","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"JLCEFASBCBFS3M7JQDGWY7ECPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924585},"content":"On October 6th, Unifil <a href=\"https://x.com/UNIFIL_/status/1842982815539081434\">said</a> it was “deeply concerned” by this “extremely dangerous development”, calling it “unacceptable to compromise the safety of UN peacekeepers carrying out their Security Council-mandated tasks”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NVZP3NOBKNDXVIK5HYJFULJ2AA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924586},"content":"On a hill above is Maroun al-Ras, a predominantly Shia village with a population of roughly 5,000 before the latest conflict. Videos and satellite imagery <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/09/world/middleeast/lebanon-destruction.html\" target=\"_blank\">showed large parts of the village flattened</a>, with two mosques among the buildings destroyed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RQC5G3DDZFUNE6DZT5S6BEHHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924587},"content":"What is known as the Iranian gardens, around 500 metres from the Irish outpost, was the site of a <a href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/10/8/israeli-soldiers-raise-flag-in-lebanese-towns-iran\">video</a> in October showing soldiers raising an Israeli flag – drawing widespread outrage in Lebanon.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B3OFUL527VD5TJKTN6MHVFDQPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970076},"content":"The priceless Lebanon heritage sites destroyed by Israeli bombing","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"PPCLCGNKQZDC3C7SF4UOIL3J5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924588},"content":"Though the Israeli forces eventually moved from beside Outpost 6-52, Irish peacekeepers remained in a risky position. Later in October, a carefully co-ordinated operation to resupply the outpost was named Fág an Bealach (Clear the Way).","type":"text"},{"_id":"BJUWVG47LVEHREGO3BH4NK6QJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924589},"content":"When I visited, there were 27 people based in the outpost, including a cook and a medic, as well as four dogs. Electricity came from two large generators, refuelled once a week, and water to fill two tanks with a 30,000 litre total capacity was trucked in. There were three Mowag armoured vehicles and an ambulance too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D4QMH2YHUBE5DOY7Y2NREY7KTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924590},"content":"From a watch tower, we could see an Israeli patrol road; the Israeli kibbutz of Avivim is behind it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEERDBOXTRFX3KAICVGOBB2KPI","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"H6DM2L7SVFC4DLR7DIPGLNLQ2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924591},"content":"Peacekeepers noted that President Michael D Higgins visited in 2015 to officially open their recreation room. A shared bedroom included a trophy for the winner of a Fifa tournament, while chess has become popular recently, said Lieut Kyle Morgan, the 29-year-old outpost commander.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HYOFVCWRIJGJDG5DY5V5TZQBBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924592},"content":"Morgan is from Co Down, though he usually lives in Connemara with his girlfriend and son. He said he was grateful to the Defence Forces for previously supporting him through a university degree: arts with psychology and IT in Galway. “I think what we’re doing out here is very interesting … the Defence Forces is absolutely great,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A67DBOWDOZCAFITSGRP7G27O6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970083},"type":"image"},{"_id":"4GAG25MJ7ZFFXGAR2Z4EBZQ7LQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924594},"content":"Leave was cancelled during the war, but normally soldiers get three weeks at home during a six-month stint in Lebanon.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TFOWSTK52VFDBJOBJ67ULVWAWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924595},"content":"Some soldiers, like Cpl Lorna Coffey (27), from Cork, stay a full year; she is scheduled to remain until next November. Coffey is part of the military police, meaning “if anything was to go wrong in the camp that would be my job”. She works six days a week and Sunday is “my day for myself,” she says. “I go training … get food, [have] a bit of downtime that I can spend with colleagues and friends.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMHOU35X3ZBHLJWHHNJAP64F7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"T3F4O6SN4BHRZLJSENBZ5FFHPM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"QPMGOSOI35BBFOEH7VBB4UHHRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924596},"content":"Coffey is one of around 12 Irish women currently serving with Unifil. She said her family were initially hesitant, but now she knows they are proud. “When you join the army you kind of know straight away that, although you’re a woman, at the end of the day your job is a soldier.” She said that includes getting people to respect you “just as much whatever gender you are”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YVJTEZUPBJHIJAMQHOJZJ2D6QM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924597},"content":"Irish troops have not been allowed to drink alcohol in Camp Shamrock since 2021 – something all those I asked said they do not mind.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JIOR3DYFJBFENCTXFSYLY2BNXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924598},"content":"“It’s great, you don’t have to wake up in the morning with a hangover, you can go to the gym,” said Coffey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QLTWHNLRIVBC3NLKETNVEU6BSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924599},"content":"“Everyone here is generally ready to deploy, and there could be a task at a moment’s notice. So it’s very important to ensure that everyone is in the right space and ready to react,” said Comdt Tony Smith, a 28-year-old from Wexford.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FYGLV5OTMJEZ3D4FPJD3GOGOFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924600},"content":"There is a large indoor gym, but people run outside as well – the full loop around the camp is roughly 2.5-3km.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPFCAZAMSJEPNOHRVH3Y4AN4KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924601},"content":"There are other activities too, including guitar lessons, bingo and a poker competition. “It’s very important, along with the important work we have to do here, that people kind of get a mental relief as well,” said Smith.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4DLYREIFNZEXPHCZEOW5C4YL24","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924602},"content":"“The worst thing you could do when you are on your downtime is just sit in your room,” said Sgt Mark Sweeney (38) from Donegal. “We try to make sure … that they’re not lonely, that everyone’s interacting with each other.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QKWS4NCRZBDPJAQVWRDCFTNTLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970094},"content":"Three siblings from Donegal family set for deployment to wartime Lebanon","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"XJ7CLPWJQ5GETLIUG73HXOQYLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924603},"content":"Sweeney’s fiancee is back in Ireland. By May, he said, he’ll be with her and “back to normal,” but being away is “just part of the job. You do have to go overseas, and everyone knows that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RZSHPCFXRRCDJERRTBMWYYJ6SU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924605},"content":"Smith points out a memorial for Private Seán Rooney, the 24-year-old killed in December 2022 when the armoured UN vehicle he was in came under fire.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWZMUBKVYRFSDPUSH7JEIT5YE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924606},"content":"In total, 48 Irish peacekeepers have been killed in service since 1978, the youngest just 18. This month, 21-year-old Private Billy Kedian, who died in 1999, was <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/03/08/irish-soldier-who-died-protecting-others-in-lebanon-honoured-with-posthumous-medal/\">honoured</a> with the Distinguished Service Medal with Honour, for what Tánaiste Simon Harris called his “courage, bravery and the highest level of selfless devotion to duty”, sacrificing his own safety to help fellow peacekeepers to a bunker during an attack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4A4R5ONYXRASJKMZPHLWXIZYUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924607},"content":"Rockett said he can’t speak in detail about Rooney’s death, due to the ongoing investigation, “but what I will say is it was a tragic loss … There are a number of memorials we have here to him around the camp. And every tour of duty, we reflect back on Seán’s death, and indeed the death of the other 47 Irish peacekeepers.” Once a month, there is a ceremony to remember them all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CPM45DIPBE5BMEDSWBHDYD22Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924609},"content":"Hope for sustainable peace means a hope that no one else need die. In January, <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxzxd32lzvo\" target=\"_blank\">Lebanon elected a new president</a>, army chief Joseph Aoun, ending more than two years of a power vacuum. This prompted widespread celebrations, with many Lebanese people daring to dream that some of the crises afflicting their country may at least be better addressed in the future.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FBJXBBWMQFE35CER6H5RY2AEBY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"XQUMJ4IDDVA25GOG4N7WQ3MVGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924610},"content":"Yet the truth of the country’s south, and its neighbour’s north, is that there are countless broken dreams and hearts, intractable animosities and deeply held anger. Despite Hizbullah being weakened by the war, it is also not hard to imagine how more young people could be convinced into joining what is known locally as “the resistance” - not least because of what they perceive as a lack of accountability, while both sides still believe there is an ongoing threat. Graffiti in Haris, a village less than 10km away from Camp Shamrock, reads “die young, get killed :)” In Qalaouiyeh, around 21km away, what appeared to be a statue – of two missiles and a Hizbullah flag – had seemingly recently been erected.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WNC7UOBU2VGCZJTA22SWHVHCKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924612},"content":"This is Rockett’s ninth mission overseas; others included Kosovo, Liberia and Western Sahara. His first deployment to southern Lebanon was 30 years ago. In his office, he contemplated what the future could hold for this part of the world and for the UN peacekeeping mission itself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AXURC35REZCQDC5KP2WO7DPRKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924613},"content":"“It’s very hard to put a time frame on it. I think the Middle East is a complex cauldron of activities and people,” he said, thoughtfully. “And I don’t think the solution to the problems here in the Middle East are something that can come overnight. It will take decades. It will take time for people to heal, for the place to heal, and for people to accept each other in the region. And I think that’s a very difficult process … I can see the UN mission continuing for some time yet …”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ULZELARPXRFQZAQPTGNQTVF2G4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924614},"content":"“You look at our own history, you know, we had a fractured island not too long ago. And it took both sides and accepting that they’re never going to make progress if they keep fighting each other. And I think it’s the same here, and I think it’s going to take a peaceful approach where both sides acknowledge that they don’t necessarily like each other, but that they have to live in harmony.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GY6QVGREHZHBDHMNB73Z3BKDFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970105},"content":"“That sounds easier than it is but that’s the approach that people have to have. And I think they could learn a lot from Irish history and how we approached our own application of peace in Ireland.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sally Hayden"}},"name":"Sally Hayden"}]},"description":{"basic":"Having come under extreme pressure on the front line of the recent war between Israel and Hizbullah, Irish Unifil soldiers far from home are getting on with the job of peacekeeping"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Camp Shamrock, Lebanon: ‘There was a lot of pressure put on us by the Israelis to withdraw from our locations’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GOCKU374RRG3LIIJFKNXKCMYIU","auth":{"1":"fbceb51307996220a1ffac18550ccfade3cf6f6be0d5da1b8c5aef0fa213584a"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GOCKU374RRG3LIIJFKNXKCMYIU.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Middle East"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"World"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/camp-shamrock-lebanon-look-at-our-own-history-we-had-a-fractured-island-not-too-long-ago/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"HTJ3LQARMVCOLLWSUGF7UDQW4U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":243,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/527ad664-c8af-442c-b4bd-89e9c2629a8f/versions/1741604891/media/0d1d7fe531c5774fb01d80be7716e65e_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/how-to-go-green-for-st-patricks-day-without-the-environmental-toll/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6BEBL6RRARBDFIA35NSLI4ZFWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741357093730},"content":"St Patrick’s Day used to be a simple affair. Put on your green hand-me-down geansaí or gúna, maybe go to mass, perahps watch Darby O’Gill and the Little People on TV and eat as much chocolate as you can on your day off Lent. Consumerism has since taken hold and ways to mark Lá Fhéile Pádraig are myriad. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BYSYB3QIFFF3GN55L2HNRKETY","additional_properties":{},"content":"How you celebrate this national holiday can generate a lot of waste. If you want to really honour Ireland this St Patrick’s Day, here’s how to go green without the environmental toll. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"53XH6CE5KRDXNL32QCX7BITGQM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wearing of the green ","type":"header"},{"_id":"OSXSYF4NTFDQLH6EDLC3MINPJA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wear green this St Patrick’s Day and if you have kids, dress them up too, but wear something you already have. Retailers have spent millions convincing us that celebrating Christmas, Halloween and even World Book Day necessitates buying a special costume. St Patrick’s Day has become part of their sales targets too. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2XXM3FI6NAYHARH7HYIYCIL7Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"One Irish-owned fast fashion retailer is flogging everything from a ‘Let’s get the Paddy started’ T-shirt to a five-pack of St Patrick’s Day-themed thong underwear. That sequin shamrock tutu dress for kids? The 100 per cent polyester green tulle skirt can’t be recycled. Your child will wear it once and it will end up in landfill. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"P3EFNRAVVJEVDJ5TRFD7N47KFM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Day, but make it fashion! ","type":"header"},{"_id":"DEHJVAK3BNF3LOEEQOI3CMDOLM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Often depicted with a hat and crozier, St Patrick loved a striking accessory. Chances are his were made from natural materials and designed to last. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BLJLMU2SGNEGPPQKW6TVU6UQWE","additional_properties":{},"content":"Another Irish-owned food and fashion retailer lists no fewer than 70 St Patrick’s Day-related items on its website. You can choose anything from a St Patrick’s Day unicorn veil to a set of plastic press-on nails in “Irish colours and designs”. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"35JTMNARKVDMBFXK5AUOKC2NUA","additional_properties":{},"content":"There’s nothing lucky or charming about highly flammable polyurethane, plastic and metallized yarn “holiday” accessories. St Patrick’s duds didn’t need a fire safety warning, neither should yours. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"LUOJEL4CWJHCPD4E6F2YGNPRNQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Plastic bunting, strings of plastic beads, synthetic feather stoles and glittery cowboy hats, be gone, back to Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"IIDEXXSIQVGUTEHKBHTYVZDW7Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ditch the Irish stew ","type":"header"},{"_id":"42FPN34GTRBTLOJPSKRJBMVJ6Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"Restaurant menu boards this weekend will likely tout Irish stew and bacon. Meat-heavy dishes have a far greater environmental toll than vegetarian fare. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGSOFEI64JEALD577PII5LHEQM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Farming animals for meat requires space and huge amounts of water and feed, says the WWF. Producing meat creates vastly more carbon dioxide than plants such as vegetables and alternative sources of protein like grains or legumes such as lentils and beans. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"W263PFPQCFG2HBVUHFVY44JBYQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ireland is emerging from winter, but maybe hold off mowing your lawn for now","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AQ47ESFVM5BC3K5FCFGWIW3M2A","additional_properties":{},"content":"You could try greening your plate this St Patrick’s Day by swapping meat for a veggie alternative. Try colcannon - that’s mash with spuds, cabbage and spring onions/scallions - or an Indian spud massaman curry. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXOWC4STIFFLZCLNYVNY34CLVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"Take the train ","type":"header"},{"_id":"H3XGN2KXHZCN5HSAIY3NRYTDEA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Heading to the parade? Show some love for Ireland’s air quality by ditching the car and taking public transport or car pooling. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"63VNB2YN2NHIJJB7RPBWSTJOHI","additional_properties":{},"content":"Leave the snakes alone ","type":"header"},{"_id":"MDF5ANFNNRGZXFV67REVWMK7LU","additional_properties":{},"content":"Patrick banished snakes from Ireland, according to lore. Not cool, Patrick. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/biodiversity/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/biodiversity/\">Biodiversity</a> is crucial to our very existence, so just let the worms, snails, insects and birds be. Cobblelocking your drive or nuking your plot with chemicals to kill moss and weeds means you are effectively banishing wildlife from your garden. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"KFGRA6KNS5ECTCLH76NKYBSV7E","additional_properties":{},"content":"Rewilding: A meaningful response to tackling the biodiversity crisis","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"45TABW3JMBATDGOOLN7WGDRRJA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Weed killer, insecticide and slug pellets kill the food on which animals like hedgehogs and birds rely. Hedgehog numbers are in steep decline. Many are waking from hibernation right now. Females will be getting pregnant soon too. If a hedgehog or robin eats a slug that’s been poisoned, she may die. We’ve coped without snakes, but let’s not lose any more wildlife this St Patrick’s Day.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joanne Hunt"}},"name":"Joanne Hunt"}]},"description":{"basic":"Consumerism has taken hold and celebrations for our national day can generate a lot of waste"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"How to go green for St Patrick’s Day without the environmental toll","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"I6UH6GOLWFNWTATSFT4Y5SV3H4","auth":{"1":"119e4382fc9c5f392fa28964e4771682ec670eb6691a193b343e3a3941f908db"},"focal_point":{"x":1589,"y":1191},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/I6UH6GOLWFNWTATSFT4Y5SV3H4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/how-to-go-green-for-st-patricks-day-without-the-environmental-toll/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"7VD4LZYQCZDNJBRE4YG4JUL6RU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":445,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/e0e657ac-683c-45e7-bea2-a13f306af214/versions/1741773672/media/57dfc1d42ef3cf92e3de88582ae43708_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/","content_elements":[{"_id":"2Q3U23KKKZGGPCBA65Y4HDO4TA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269568},"content":"It’s probably time for another <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_self\">national</a> identity crisis. Our international political reputation nowadays is liberal, internationalist, outward facing and secular. That’s what they think of us out there (when they think of us at all beyond <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/paul-mescal/\">Paul Mescal</a>, his brother Mr <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tayto/\">Tayto</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/data-centres/\">data centres</a>). But the international direction of travel seems to be isolationist, socially conservative, reactionary, protectionist and nationalist.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YRCGHT63HVBWHPN3N6URUVL4PY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269569},"content":"It’s unfortunate timing. To quote that great philosopher <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/david-chase-on-the-sopranos-donald-trump-and-yes-that-ending-1.3751168\">Tony Soprano</a>: “I’m getting the feeling I came in at the end. The best is over.” The Irish have finally taken our place among the nations of the Earth, but we appear to have got the dress code wrong (the dress code is, apparently, Prince Harry circa 2005) and the club seems to be dissolving.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EEKSCNVUYNEIFP4EGKQD4SOFOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269570},"content":"A simplistic narrative is developing around politics: that the far right has won the culture war, the liberal world order is at an end and that politics is all about vibes and internet memes (partly because the people spinning that perspective live on the internet). The speed with which corporations in the US have put their rainbow flags and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes away might lead people to think that the liberal consensus was just about fashion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HP6MDCZ3ONH3FHFU44EQGP3NL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269571},"content":"But I don’t really believe that. And I definitely don’t believe that in the context of Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MLILK7TAHRCXZBC7USLOLQ22SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356510},"content":"In recent times we had a story we told ourselves about progression and modernisation. It started with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/sean-lemass/\">Seán Lemass</a>’s economic reforms in the 1960s and came to a head with the referendums on equal marriage and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/eighth-amendment/\" target=\"_self\">the Eighth Amendment</a>. It wasn’t a particularly contentious narrative. For the most part over the past two decades we leaned into a progressive notion of Ireland – and the main political differences around that were about the speed of change, not the direction in which we were headed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X3RW5AIJXFFYPK4N6W7XZGCBXE","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"PFXDE4VADNCNJBNXJEA2DWHB4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269572},"content":"Our situation is very different from that of most other western countries. We have famine, colonisation, civil war and mass emigration in our relatively recent history. Glorifying the past is at the heart of most right-wing populist projects, but nobody in this country yearns nostalgically for an earlier golden age. Thanks to a cavalcade of imperial domination, clerical repression and economic isolationism, almost everyone in Ireland agrees that the past was, to use a technical term, shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JX7FZ7LD7ZEZLCUXT3MEPOHSNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269573},"content":"The evidence for that is close to home for most of us. It’s in our family histories: the women locked away in laundries, the poor children sent to industrial schools, the mass emigration, the censorship, the poverty, the shame. The liberalism that emerged from all that was neither a fashion choice nor a product of a Twitter campaign. Just ask the activists who bravely campaigned on these issues before they were popular. Irish progressivism was a fight. The modern, open version of Ireland was being born for decades. It was not adopted on a whim. It was earned.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OXVLBFXXQZFZLAU7M42RSXMGU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356514},"content":"Shaping the Century: 25 brilliant Irish women in 2025","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"W4FJFNAIUFGGHMYAWB7WTWUXNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269574},"content":"And this liberal tendency was and is, unlike imported right-wing populism, indigenous. It makes sense here. Irish people’s migratory internationalism segued neatly into global capitalism not because of the capitalism part but because of the global bit. Irish people had been everywhere. Our lack of a hereditary ruling class made us suspicious of the idea of merit being concentrated near the top, so our system fosters a mild, sometimes frustrating compromise. Our experience of theocratic repression made us suspicious of punishing social norms. Our history of being discriminated against can make us sensitive to discrimination.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F53RXUYO7RE6NAURAAWOZN25RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356516},"content":"The 8th: How Ireland went through a ‘collective national moment of catharsis’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ZLKNM2QQVJEYLD2ALDUZGXMTZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269576},"content":"What we have is not perfect. I would like a more collectivist, egalitarian and socially democratic Ireland. I don’t always like how we’ve uncritically adhered to fashionable macroeconomic theories. Every gang has a little guy, who comes in after the leader has had their say, to add: “Yeah!” or “You tell ’em, boss!” When it comes to global capitalism and the bigger countries and multinational corporations that drive it, that’s largely been Ireland’s role.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2ZNSDQLOABCNLA4Q6OYITB5OOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269582},"content":"I would like us to at least try to carve our own path rather than simply follow unthinkingly in the slipstream of others. Sometimes we are too timidly technocratic. Sometimes big business seems to have a bigger influence on our plans than the people who live here. I would like to see us build our economic policy out from a sense of who we are and what we want as people rather than have it form ambiently as an emergent property of abstract geopolitics.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YDAUD6FSNBABFCR7MOMPDM3Q2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356519},"type":"image"},{"_id":"BELM5SZLOJDUVKBI5LZGQE3WKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269583},"content":"And here’s what I see when I see Irish people at their best: They are hospitable. They are funny and irreverent. They are open minded. They are well informed. They respect learning. They don’t like bullies. They want their daughters to have the same opportunities as their sons. They want to help people fleeing hardship. And they also want the help that those people can offer in return. They want doctors and nurses and home helpers for older people. They want LGBTQ+ people to be treated with respect. They want everyone to have a home and good healthcare. They care about community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IT4AYDI7KJCJND5KZTOEVWR3CE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356521},"content":"Joseph O’Connor: ‘I don’t know what modern Ireland is yet. I’m suspicious about the new sacred cows’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"RSXIJ42EFJBHREYYNYTCEJIOHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269584},"content":"This isn’t meant as complacent, self-congratulatory St Patrick’s Day guff. St Patrick was the architect of one of Ireland’s first ever vibe shifts after all; he understood a bit of self-reflection. Yes, we mess up. We can be cynical and parochial. Small concerns can overwhelm big issues on election day. We often plan well, then execute badly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H66LPMHFXJEBDMB4HQNSHSUWGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269585},"content":"But there’s one thing I’m sure of: Ireland’s progressivism was never a corporate or political pose (despite the existence of some corporate and political poseurs). It was not a shallow thing. It had very little to do with PR calculations or social media pile-ons or contemporary trends. It was a deeply felt response to our history. That history taught us something valuable. And I think we need to have the courage of our convictions now that the world is, once again, changing around us.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4JOZ7DYR5BFHNFBPA34LEG3XU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269586},"content":"This piece isn’t written for entrenched opportunists who see the changing world as a chance for Ireland to go back to something dark and small and narrow. It’s for everyone else who can remember the lived realities of the past few decades, who remember how we came to be this way. Right now, we’re sitting on the edge of Europe far from an existential military conflict and at the hub of an economic one. Things are about to get difficult. So who do we want to be?","type":"text"},{"_id":"4V3MMAF3NVCDZBBYH5C3N5AJRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741965455334},"content":"<i>Patrick Freyne is an Irish Times journalist.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patrick Freyne"}},"name":"Patrick Freyne"}]},"description":{"basic":"We are hospitable and irreverent, but also cynical and parochial. 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She says she couldn’t give two focks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H25U4W4R3RHHDPBFKJPRIVPQKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783337},"content":"But Sorcha’s like, “Well, you’d <i>better</i> give two focks. This is a serious matter. 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Is that it, Honor? Have you thought of a way to weasel out of it?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3H7A4LW3DNBTJMFPQJKCHVPDVE","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"JB6AY4VXHNAFVGGAATB5DWPG5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783347},"content":"All of a sudden, the door opens and in walks Mrs van Helsing with a face on her as long as The Stations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E7GJXNYDDRA2PGFW7FQ3NZ5WIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783348},"content":"“Good morning,” Sorcha goes – straight away trying to butter her up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ISRA3A5VH5AQVIHL6MXT7VAYZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783349},"content":"Mrs van Helsing is there, “I wish I could agree that it <i>was</i> a good morning. But I would say it’s anything <i>but</i>. When one of our students is found to have cheated in an exam, it shames us all. But when that student is the head girl of the school – ”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HBXWAD7VHRBYBB4RPMNJUHJALU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783350},"content":"“And can I just say,” Sorcha goes, “speaking as a former head girl myself, that that is not how Honor was raised. She wasn’t brought up to believe that the way to get ahead in this world is to lie and to cheat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JJQYK4GPDNEQ7G2SDZMIQCWPCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741795114151},"content":"I’m there to Honor, ‘You’ve never been good at school. I always thought you took after me’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TDC7QAC7JBAJLCSR6QIMOIZ73I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783351},"content":"Steady on, I think. She’s Charles O’Carroll-Kelly’s granddaughter. Where the fock does she think the money’s coming from to put her through this – yeah, no – institute of learning?","type":"text"},{"_id":"ASJMA5AOXBEHFIA7ANJSV4J4D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783352},"content":"Honor goes, “Can I just say that I want anything this woman says to be struck from the record on the grounds that she’s perimenopausal and emotionally unstable.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JDYGSGSLBRGQZPGDXFE57UOTG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783353},"content":"Mrs van Helsing’s there, “I would temper your tone if I were you, young lady. You’ve been caught red-handed passing off work that wasn’t your own. You are in a whole world of trouble.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IIEWKZSHLVDKNPERQCZL4MKEPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783354},"content":"And that’s when I hear the door behind me open again and suddenly I have the whiff of a Partagas Valle Verde in my nostrils.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UBPDL2SZTRGJ5DNWHDKS4H6WE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783355},"content":"“You can’t smoke that thing in here!” Mrs van Helsing goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DMQMHNHK2VGV7CB4A2ACGZCXZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783356},"content":"And that’s when I know that Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara has walked into the room.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQDQ2HACONCR5H7BSIX5T6PAAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783357},"content":"“Sorry I’m late,” he goes. “What’d I miss?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQDKO6G47RGXRECAFEV5V26H5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783358},"content":"Again, Mrs van Helsing goes, “Either put it out or take it outside.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6KKZYHQ46FG63PQQ5624MI3TVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783359},"content":"But Hennessy’s there, “I won’t be here long enough for it to bother you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JTC7TPWS5NDGFADXHJV6M6G4NM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783360},"content":"I look at Honor and she’s got a big, shit-eating smile on her face.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SEU2BDD7YJERBK734CZ5OI57JE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783361},"content":"Hennessy goes, “So what’s the charge here?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W7WLLK7M2RAQZNH4KCE3COCA6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783362},"content":"“It’s not a <i>charge</i>,” Mrs van Helsing tries to go, but you can see that she’s rattled. Most schools fear Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara like they would a typhoid outbreak. “Honor was caught passing off AI-generated work as her own.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OXUYTRFUMNBDDAOW3YHQBNGYEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783363},"content":"Hennessy’s there, “So her guilt has already been determined?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6IBUMRRAX5BRBCQQ5MNBJ3ZTDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783364},"content":"“The evidence is irrefutable.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IM4FJSCHQJAWZK4VSZTNQEIYNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783365},"content":"Not to Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara – and I’m saying that from experience.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M4QRKZUKLFG6TIF6Z35JVOIS6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783366},"content":"“Have you ever heard of the Constitution of Ireland?” he goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2AQD74FO75EODELX7J7MPVK4ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783367},"content":"Needless to say,<i> I</i> haven’t?","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZPJLKNAR6BAZFOIRTFAN2R4ZBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783368},"content":"“Under its terms,” he goes, “my client is entitled to be heard in her own defence.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZ24KDN5MJA3DJ2GYGUDFNCONY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783369},"content":"“You focking tell her!” Honor goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5F3FX2IDLJB6RC7DHO5HC4KS2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783370},"content":"Mrs van Helsing is there, “Well, let’s hear what she has to say then.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4QB4AFQ2GJE4DD3PSGB5KMBFIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783371},"content":"Hennessy goes, “Not by someone who has already decided that she’s guilty. Can I ask you to present the evidence that my client cheated?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"643D4MLZDJFF5POOJTCBNTK7SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783372},"content":"“Absolutely,” the woman goes, shuffling through her pages. “We, em, ran Honor’s essay through an AI detector – ”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7QZRH3NVFFA75A7NIYNXN57ZVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783373},"content":"“A what?” Hennessy goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5DTQ3ZIU7RBQDBYVJZLDUOSC64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741795114175},"content":"‘I haven’t come here today to listen to you badmouth my mother – the axe-faced old trout’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CRO6NZXVP5DGTA4IYBQKEKCM5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783374},"content":"“It’s a tool that examines text, searching for specific characteristics, such as a low level of randomness in word choice and sentence length, things that would be consistent with AI-generated work.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6T7UJPZD5VBMVAG73PGZ6YDN2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783375},"content":"“And what did this so-called tool find?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMEGWPSAMRALTIIDIJ5HD5C5ME","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783376},"content":"“It found that Honor’s essay was unoriginal and her voice lacked authenticity.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YVPVLXNSERCZTAK4M3EOGDX4ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783377},"content":"“And this, em, <i>tool</i>,” Hennessy goes, “much as I hate repeating the word, it’s accurate, is it?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EURNMM4NXZDPTDRACRYCQNW2TY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783378},"content":"“It guarantees 95 per cent accuracy.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHNVO3KKFNDL5KIWNUAK74ESRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783379},"content":"“Ninety-five?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2ZVI5WP32JG3RH5P4JWYCP5BS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783380},"content":"“That’s right.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3U4YKVGLUFAV7H6ALVJRIFN6ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783381},"content":"“But not 100?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"K54KEE653FE3BPG4FW6XIC7SCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783382},"content":"“Er, no.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HOAXB3TS4NBEZIKHCMR3O3PADA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"HY4POVJ36FA7XEIB7RNV2FMHSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783383},"content":"Hennessy hands me his cigar to hold, then he lays his briefcase down on the desk, opens the catches and takes out two pieces of paper.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5NQS6XMRXZB4FAOE7XOG3TZOKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783384},"content":"“Mrs van Helsing,” he goes, in his courtroom voice, “this is an essay that Honor wrote for you when she was in, I believe, second year, before AI technology was available. 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Can you read your comment about her general performance during the year?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"67Y6Z7OXBNFNXPKRJX6HBOHF3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783390},"content":"Mrs van Helsing goes, “Honor’s writing style is generic ... and lacks ... an authentic voice.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHULUTSU4NFQHEGNXV23M2B67U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783391},"content":"“Very clearly put,” Hennessy goes. “Gimme my cigar back.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FRR374BT3RE2VLQLEHULVV2DJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783392},"content":"I do what I’m told.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6VN2IB44PRDWNBRLSGE2BER4TE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783393},"content":"Sorcha’s like, “Hennessy, this is a definite <i>learning</i> moment for Honor? I’m not sure this is the lesson she should be taking from it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"35BUMCN76RHSNIIRQXECPCBGRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783394},"content":"He raises his finger to shush her.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KVDJDUVRURFUHDWQ4X6RECSQ3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783395},"content":"“Now,” he goes, “I’m going to the High Court to seek an order preventing you from issuing any penalty or punishment on my client until there has been a full hearing into what allegedly happened, for which we intend to instruct counsel. I will drag this out for months and months if necessary until my client has left this school for college.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVU2EWYE2VCS7DIYW44UJ6LE4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783396},"content":"She won’t be going to college. I think we’ve learned that much today.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CYRQDT2PABB6VHPKBCHRURNI7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783397},"content":"Hennessy puts the pages back into his briefcase, closes it up and heads for the door. And then he’s gone, leaving only a cloud of cigor smoke behind him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EDRBSEVDGBC5DEREMV4D2LCFLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783398},"content":"And all I can say is, “What a man!”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"Honor has been caught using ChatGPT and faces being expelled, or at the very least, impeached as head girl"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Most schools fear Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara like they would a typhoid outbreak","native":""},"label":{},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"76PFUHT66JBTND3MVBTHPU5NME","auth":{"1":"4df7010b0f7f8aa6338f41d1d6323edd485ecf67fd88a110b4d407fd86b41547"},"focal_point":{"x":862,"y":616},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/76PFUHT66JBTND3MVBTHPU5NME.jpg"},"podcast":{"embed":{"config":{"duration":421.828,"episodeTitle":"Honor has been caught using ChatGPT and faces being expelled, or at the very least, impeached as head girl","imageUrl":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61409402444fd951a7f27e60/1673383397461-8f5dc76da6409974bd352dc3e7b7a299.jpeg","showTitle":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly","streamUrl":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/streams/61409402444fd951a7f27e60/episodes/67d58cae1807f0dc08a35fc7.mp3"}}}},"subtype":"podcast","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"},{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Podcasts"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/most-schools-fear-hennessy-coghlan-ohara-like-they-would-a-typhoid-outbreak/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly","additional_properties":{"original":{"Podcast":{"podcast_logo":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/MH35IEIN5FGYNH7X3SQF3E4LBQ.jpg"}}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}}}}],"count":10000,"_id":"120a58313e4e6fd154a9f34c19251f936d181097b842da1df7fb6a91f70a9342"},"expires":1743520485175,"lastModified":1743520184767},"{\"feedOffset\":0,\"feedSize\":50,\"includeSections\":\"/life-style/people\"}":{"data":{"content_elements":[{"_id":"VUPDFWLBJZGSTD5J7Z6WWCHLYE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":129,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/d5a57563-f699-49f2-9a66-30678f045d1f/versions/1743494618/media/fd850453257581ed8c7616460d7558fd_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/04/01/virginia-giuffre-epstein-prince-andrew-crash-bus/","content_elements":[{"_id":"IHCS4APIN5GP5M63BRKUUXQ73Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743493891587},"content":"The woman who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against the Prince Andrew is in hospital after a “serious accident”, said her spokeswoman.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U56KBDZ2AZDJZP435IRKGW3UWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743493891588},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/virginia-giuffre/\" target=\"_self\">Virginia Giuffre</a>, who reportedly lives in Australia, <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DH0vvDKzDvu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\" target=\"_self\">said on Instagram</a> that doctors had given her “four days to live” after her car was hit by a schoolbus.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ILCRTDB5WFCAFN5VSQJKX4KQIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743493891589},"content":"Her spokeswoman Dini von Mueffling said: “Virginia has been in a serious accident and is receiving medical care in the hospital. 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I always say to anyone coming from a tropical climate, it’s the absolute worst time to move anywhere, especially Ireland. It was just so dark. It was a huge, huge culture shock for me. It wasn’t the cold or the rain, it was the darkness.” Zoe Hunter, who moved here from Belize in 2012, is laughing. Spring, and the light, came eventually, and she has made a good life here, more recently benefiting from the light of education: aged 42, she’s doing a degree in city planning and environmental policy at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ucd/\" target=\"_blank\">UCD</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PBTAXYCKCRBOJMKUQLGH4UYGMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263940},"content":"Hunter grew up in the tiny Central American country known for inland rainforests, Caribbean coast and spectacular islands. The former British colony, independent since 1981, is “a very young democracy. It’s the same story with British colonies all over the Caribbean. They left, but they left everything in a mess.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WLFFADXIJVENJLY2ESW3QF2FHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263941},"content":"“It was kind of hilarious. I got complimented on my English so much when I moved here! Yeah, thank you. It’s my native language.” She speaks an English Creole dialect too. “My accent is very Irish now, but at first it sounded Caribbean. People would say, Oh, she sounds like <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/rihanna\">Rihanna</a>!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZDTLZDXXNGUVJMJ56ATVWTTPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263942},"content":"After two years of junior college in Belize, Hunter couldn’t afford university, and got an administration job. Then she met an Irish man. He worked in finance too, and she visited Ireland with him. Eventually, “I said I’d try it out for six months. Thirteen years and two kids later, here I am.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AB55AEICSZHV3MOVWCB424GMMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263943},"content":"With her experience, she quickly got a job in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kbc-bank-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">KBC</a> bank. “The work was not the most interesting, but they were a really, really nice bunch of people. My supervisor from then is still a friend.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EI7W23GTJFD5DJZWH4ULECW7KU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263944},"content":"After their daughter was born in 2016, they decided she would care for her at home, and the same later with their son, rather than return to the bank. “It was challenging, but at the same time I’m grateful for it, because my mom never got to do that with me. I got to share the joys as well as the challenges of being home as a parent.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"R7OSEFOD6FDBRDGWZTN3UFKUHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263945},"content":"Years later she considered returning to education and starting a new career. “Not that I was unhappy as a stay-at-home mom, but I was feeling kind of boxed in. It was time for me to take a step.” She considered waiting until her children were older, but was also conscious that “I’m getting older too! I want to get started. Covid was definitely that spark, to jump back into school. This is my first undergraduate degree ever. It’s been a real focus point, like a saving grace for me personally.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MURBMQTQJFCZNKYUNG46ZVRUTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263946},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"LDNG5B3H2FDTZNKQW3IHIR3G3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263947},"content":"As she had been out of education, she did an Access course. “I had in mind sustainability.” She did sciences. She applied for a UCD degree combining city planning and urban design with environmental policy, and was offered a place in 2022. Initially, “I had to defer because of childcare. I couldn’t find anyone. I couldn’t afford anyone.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZADEQVJZFAY7HDWYT65YBFAIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263948},"content":"But “I felt, I have set my mind to this, and the universe is helping to make it happen.” Adding to the complications, she and her partner split up, although amicably.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZHQTLDBI6NAEPERPPPVSL76TW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263949},"content":"With wonderful timing, her 28-year-old brother in Belize was taking a career break and offered to visit for a few months, as childminder, for her first academic semester. “I joked he was the ‘Manny’, the male nanny. He actually adapted to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> easier than I thought he would – easier than I did. He was really good with the kids, and they got to spend time together.” Her second semester schedule worked better for school hours, and their Dublin grandparents minded them for a day every week. Now in second year, with children nearly seven and nine, Hunter and her ex are hands-on co-parenting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAHJUYOUKRAYVMWHWOOZ7N3YSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263950},"content":"She’s busy but blossoming, and wants to spread the word about supports available for those who want to return to education after time at home with children. <a href=\"https://dublinlearningcity.ie/festival/\" target=\"_self\">Dublin Learning City Festival</a> (April 7th-9th) promotes learning for all, focusing on community-based initiatives in the Greater Dublin Area. The Think Again Scholarship, in partner institution UCD, encourages mature low-income women to return to education.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HJZMDP2U5FBPLPCBDUJVTFFCTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263951},"content":"“It can be done. It’s really hard.” For women with children, “there’s so many moving parts”. She appreciates the support but wishes there was more. “A lot of it comes down to finances, and childcare. Yes, they’re investing in us, but we are going to give back when we’ve accomplished.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y4EZ2OLERJDY3DMJZHVWFLYT3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263952},"content":"“I’ve been in Ireland for so long, I have a community. Moms of my kids’ friends have been wonderful. I have some really great friends here.” But at difficult times, “I’ve really missed my family. The biggest part of moving anywhere is being without family nearby. Sometimes I literally just want to go to my mom’s house, or to my sisters, just sit there in silence under a dark grey cloud.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3RMDT3VJBEJHJ7XEM6KH6LELY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263953},"content":"But even when things are hard, “I know this is where I’ll be. Ireland is where I’ll live.” She’s enjoying her course, and “UCD has been a great source of encouragement. The support as a mature student is just brilliant,” including from her adviser and programme director. “I think they know I’m not there for the craic”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DP6SZP2NDFFYJHELU4GFD4ASIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263954},"content":"Despite missing home, “if the kids were growing up in Belize, it would have been a different dynamic. Children here have a safe environment to express big emotions. Even before I had kids, seeing how parents interacted with their kids here, there’s just more freedom. In Belize, for a girl, she’s not supposed to be climbing trees or getting muddy. For a child, it’s respect your elders, don’t speak out of turn. Here it’s more, ‘Oh, let them be kids’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZDHJE7EG4ZGLXOKXVK5G6HQAC4","additional_properties":{"_id":"VMXT4CFGAFCBBEVPIIFQMT67W4"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"FZ4OCIP53VBBZN26PYM34UIDWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263956},"content":"On the other hand, single-sex education was “so strange”, a “weird notion”, contrasting with her own mixed-gender schooling, where friendships with “the lads” were normal from childhood.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CR3OPYMIHZHCVCQMQJWJ42BG4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263957},"content":"She finds Irish politeness strange. “I don’t know if you really like what I’ve cooked or you’re just trying to be nice! Belizeans just don’t do subtlety at all. It’s, ‘This tastes like crap, but thank you for trying’.” Here she often wonders, “Did I say the wrong thing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UR6GLNFT2ZA3TBI4236SLKUGHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263958},"content":"She’s travelled all over. “It’s a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people in general to be really helpful, really welcoming. My ex’s family, always really willing to help. Even people on the street. Some of the banter you get from just random people, I still find hilarious. All the one-liners. I have no comeback, I just laugh and appreciate how clever and well-read everyone is. I get why the country produced so many brilliant writers and playwrights.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7O3343HL2RGRTMBZHXOWM2EUAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263959},"content":"In some ways she would have liked to have raised her children in Belize, but their quality of life in Dublin is better. “We can walk to school, walk to their friends’ houses. Playgrounds nearby. They can use their bicycles, scooters. They’ve access to different sports. Belize is very dangerous. Nobody walks any more,” because of the risk of robbery. “You need a car to get everywhere.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CZCGTO63TFCQBO7P4L5JX4FMTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263960},"content":"The bus and the Luas compare favourably with Belize’s public transport options, she says. “You can walk everywhere here, you feel safe at night. Of course, the whole financial aspect is crazy at the moment.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XACA2E7FD5G6LKPD3T23R3CNUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263961},"content":"In recent years she’s noticed “the racism thing” more. “It’s become a very diverse city since I moved here, and I like that. That’s what I’m used to. But I have seen issues.” She describes “micro-discrimination”: At the pool with her daughter, who looks like her dad, and being mistaken for staff rather than a parent because of the colour of her skin. “I know she probably felt embarrassed, because she couldn’t look me in the eye afterwards.” Or her son, who is darker, being told off in a gift-shop, while his whiter-looking sister doing the same thing was not. “It left a bad taste.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M6Q3WAVYKZGWPASW6WIZLZI5XA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424263962},"content":"<i>We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email </i><a href=\"mailto:newtotheparish@irishtimes.com\" target=\"_self\"><i>newtotheparish@irishtimes.com</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Deirdre Falvey"}},"name":"Deirdre Falvey"}]},"description":{"basic":"Zoe Hunter moved from Belize in Central America to Ireland in 2012"},"display_date":"2025-04-01T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Ireland is a beautiful country. 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There’s everything from storm lamps to waterproof outdoor candles, fairy lights with which to drape your trees and shrubs, and carnival bulbs to festoon your fences. There are pond lights, illuminated fountains, Moroccan-style lanterns, kerb lights, stake lights, light-up frogs and even lights disguised as rocks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCBFADRGYRB7PPC6BEWFK7TB44","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894741},"content":"Outdoor lights can be functional or pretty to look at, but they might not be great for nature, says the World Economic Forum (WEF) <a href=\"https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/light-pollution-health-climate/\" target=\"_self\">in an article published this month</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T72BJG44VVC5HBOI5QOYLRKE4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894742},"content":"Light and dark have the biggest influence on circadian rhythms, the article says. Before electric light, we lived, slept, and worked according to the sun. This rhythm is encoded into all living things, from people to plants, says the WEF.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QIQAWTLUTJEPPO3Q6IRB4PJQTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894743},"content":"In the modern era, however, we are lighting our homes, gardens, offices and streets to the point where night-time light pollution, back in 2016, covered nearly 80 per cent of the planet, according to The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a paper published in Science Advances.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F3UEXFWPRFEHRDDFJFWSDEPFYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894744},"content":"Quiet, please! The remarkable power of silence – for our bodies and our minds","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"P5TZWTXP7ND47IOSBN2N3J4UA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894745},"content":"Why is this bad? Studies show that birds, bats and insects are among those in the natural world affected by light pollution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QREDGBIEQVESFHKHUFIWJVWMK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894746},"content":"If you have a garden, birds are disturbed from sleep in it by lighting and can begin singing there before dawn, says the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), a British gardening charity. Robins especially seem sensitive to light and will extend their feeding period into the night where artificial light is present.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XX5NVJ6HRBFC5DCZWYOX6KNYJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894747},"content":"Owls may find hunting more difficult in lit, urban areas, and birds that prefer to start migration flights at night can become disorientated, the society says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZKML3HGZ7BC5TBJDX5HQGP2A3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894748},"content":"In lit areas, shorter periods of night-time darkness mean less time for foraging or hunting of dawn, dusk or nocturnal species, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2VXTUPCRFFH37OV36LO4D2LGQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894749},"content":"Lighting up your garden pond leaves frogs without a place to lay their eggs. String jaunty lights in your hedges and trees, and baby chicks and moths won’t know whether it’s day or night.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CURZDEAZDBE6VNVDSJZVH4BZHA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"PYLXAUAGN5B53ITQQRMITQOVDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894751},"content":"Under some lights, aquatic insects can mistake surfaces for water and lay their eggs there where they will fail.","type":"text"},{"_id":"52V2JLRRS5G3VLWMLSKBHITICA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894752},"content":"Lighting up your borders isn’t great either. Scientists are increasingly concerned about the decline of insects. Bees, ants and beetles are disappearing. Their loss has far-reaching consequences for entire ecosystems. Insects provide food for many birds, frogs and bats, while plants rely on insects for pollination.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LBCZTBASDZAOTIAY2OYSBRNZBY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894753},"content":"Since artificial light in gardens disrupts natural behaviour for a range of wildlife, it’s important to retain some dark areas and also question whether you really need lighting, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HTEPDCPREFCUHAMLAU6FC24BZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894754},"content":"The type, or frequency, of light seems to affect species differently. As a general rule, insects are more sensitive to short-wavelength UV, blue and green light than long-wavelength orange, red and infra-red or light, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7KC3TXIJLBCOFDD6UUDMQCOLZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894755},"content":"Dim lights, such as warm white solar-powered lights, are less likely to affect wildlife. But avoid coloured solar lights, as these seem to confuse and attract some worms, says the RHS.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PYLXAUAGN5B53ITQQRMITQOVDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894756},"content":"If you must use lights, position them as low as possible, and aim them downwards or towards where they’re needed, says the RHS. Turn garden lights off when not in use.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5PYDGI4BZJAI5ACTY4FPATZOOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894757},"content":"Building houses can be compatible with the creation of new habitats for wildlife","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ZLWAOQGYWNDRLPRWGTW5KMB52Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894758},"content":"Choose low-intensity lighting and warmer hues (warm white, yellow or amber), it says. Solar lighting is cheap and safe, and emits a dull glow suitable for garden use, says the society.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZBNEQTKPPZG3FIRWQ3QKEKFWU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894759},"content":"Only put lights where you really need them, says DarkSky International. Use controls such as dimmers, timers and motion sensors to make lights efficient - this will waste less energy and less of your money. If you must use lights, use warm-coloured ones where possible, and limit the use of blue wavelength lights such as white LEDs which are believed to be the most disruptive, says DarkSky.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NORC4GAIAVCANH4HNZAZWVAPYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107894760},"content":"The trend for lighting up gardens as an extension of our living space may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with great care, says the RHS. A garden can be just as magical a place enjoyed in moonlight.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joanne Hunt"}},"name":"Joanne Hunt"}]},"description":{"basic":"Studies show that birds, bats and insects are among animals in the natural world affected by light pollution"},"display_date":"2025-03-31T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"This trend for lighting up gardens may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with care","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IR7YQBVOUZGQXIWOTSPTEZEVZE","auth":{"1":"c51911e294a513672d4e85e9e97e4d203e277b53dbccc7f131f0d40a11ffbf4d"},"focal_point":{"x":2090,"y":1562},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IR7YQBVOUZGQXIWOTSPTEZEVZE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/this-trend-for-lighting-up-gardens-may-seem-an-inviting-one-but-it-needs-to-be-done-with-care/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"OR4AOU4DXBFMPFVY47MNINOORU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":280,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4f6f566c-63ed-4257-8e23-57a03d97387d/versions/1742893445/media/9cd9cc5cfc7ec8fe3ceb750b3b70469d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/sarah-moss-for-seven-years-i-slept-four-or-five-hours-a-night-rarely-for-longer-than-an-hour-at-a-time/","content_elements":[{"_id":"NHI4QRVQFFDGHMX7STL3ZH3LNQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423204},"content":"A friend has a new baby. This no longer happens to me often. I started early so my sons are young adults and most of my friends’ kids are at least well into primary school. The torturous debates about controlled crying and co-sleeping, bottle and breast, spoon-feeding and baby-led weaning, seem almost quaint, though at the same time the vicious judgment of mothers’ decisions and compromises never quite fades.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VKAZGTGIOBFIHJW2FXFOVPLQ2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423205},"content":"My friend is suffering, as new mothers do, even more than 20 years ago, from too much advice. The baby’s needs are obvious and the same across time and the world: love, milk, warmth, nappies. But how to meet those needs consistently, hour after hour, is far from obvious. When the baby cries, try milk. It won’t make things worse, except that sometimes everything seems to make things worse. The goal is to avoid the baby being too tired to feed and/or too hungry to sleep, but the baby doesn’t seem to know that, and once you’ve ruled out hunger, cold, heat and a nappy change and the crying continues, the field is pretty wide. Eventually, I found, even if the initial problem wasn’t hunger or tiredness, one of them will kick in sooner or later and if you keep trying the same solutions in rotation there’ll come a moment when you’re right.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YLKB5FOTERDZFIY7N5ZUW24Q6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423206},"content":"I watch my friend trying to soothe her baby. I know she thinks she’s failing. I suspect she thinks I think she’s failing. I don’t; I think that the baby is being a baby and my friend is being a mother. I offer to hold the baby, though I know – and my friend doesn’t, yet – that a stranger’s arms, however baby-experienced, hold little comfort and even though his mother isn’t solving the immediate problem, she is now and for years will be the answer to him, because she is his mother.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5XI672MTRDA7PC2GLIFQAKCJA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"ZDOT3K6AWFCJ5CPZVCTZROBIJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423207},"content":"By the time my friends were having children, I had vowed never to offer unsolicited advice, not to anyone and especially not to new parents. There is no shortage of advice. Even 20 years ago, before smartphones, there was no shortage, and even then advice was contradictory. The important point was that whatever a mother did was wrong. Every possible course of action would harm the child, and the consequences would be all the mother’s fault. My nice GP said, “Yes, sorry, you give birth to the guilt and blame with the baby. Crap, isn’t it?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q7BEYGMO7RH2FNKFNOPHSKHDCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423208},"content":"My children did not sleep. For seven years, between the insomniac kids and the flexible but full-time job, I slept four or five hours a night, rarely for longer than an hour at a time. I’m okay on not much sleep – I had been an insomniac child and teenager myself – but I was tired. I drove with the windows open and taught my classes standing up. I went about muttering “To be tired is not necessarily to be unhappy”, and found it more or less true. I enjoyed my children and my work very much. But I was unhappy when friends whose children slept all night asked me why we didn’t just put them to bed and close the door, a course of action that had occurred to us. Other friends asked why we didn’t just bring them into our bed, which had also crossed our minds (our babies were delighted to have company and an audience for their all-nighters).","type":"text"},{"_id":"FDNOD3LNJBHY7HP3IVS43ZLFCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743107993741},"content":"I found myself reflecting on the uselessness of advice while trying to support another friend. He’s been having a hard time for a long time, and lives so far away that apart from sending the occasional gift, all I can do is listen. And sometimes, when I’ve listened, I find myself saying to my husband, “I don’t know why he doesn’t just – if I were him I’d just –”, and I tell myself to shut up. It is a reasonable working assumption that if the obvious solutions worked, the problems would have been solved some time ago. The fact that the problems are obviously not solved tells us that the obvious solutions are not correct, and therefore I should go on listening. My opinion is not useful, not relevant, and in fact not requested.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q27HRFQAVFHD3HY7PLHTE3XMEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423210},"content":"No unsolicited advice. If people want to know what I would do, they’ll ask.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SARASVB4K5DGXAA2FHWBOOIKDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742841423211},"content":"(That said, if an infant hasn’t pooed in a couple of days, go for a onesie with feet.)","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Moss"}},"name":"Sarah Moss"}]},"description":{"basic":"I’m okay on not much sleep but I was tired. I drove with the windows open and taught my classes standing up"},"display_date":"2025-03-31T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"For seven years, I slept four or five hours a night, rarely for longer than an hour at a time","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"UFHZNEQP5FHOFO7OALTYYHCRPA","auth":{"1":"74671476de1f771b7aa81528b14159fa8ac9916d5adeafbec6c8b6801943e2f6"},"focal_point":{"x":1021,"y":738},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/UFHZNEQP5FHOFO7OALTYYHCRPA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Opinion"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/31/sarah-moss-for-seven-years-i-slept-four-or-five-hours-a-night-rarely-for-longer-than-an-hour-at-a-time/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"7GWCTULCU5FZTI4W4E6LLBKZ24","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":688,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/547a4e13-8af6-4131-9899-189fe9af89cf/versions/1742482988/media/2c295b6488d5d8f3ec4109cd4a6faed5_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/health/your-family/2025/03/29/unconventional-mothers-i-was-around-34-and-all-my-friends-were-having-kids-i-was-like-what-am-i-waiting-for/","content_elements":[{"_id":"A6JFLXMTKJGUJFAHRW323JTI5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418022},"content":"Karen Heffernan wouldn’t know the father of her child if he passed her on the street. What she does know is what he looked like as a baby, his height, that he is <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/denmark/\" target=\"_blank\">Danish</a>, and has a clean bill of health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQXS63TJNZCMJAB2XVU3EGFILU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418023},"content":"That’s because when Heffernan, a 37-year-old hairdresser from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/blackrock/\" target=\"_blank\">Blackrock</a> in Co <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> was in her early 30s, she began to explore the idea of intrauterine insemination (IUI), using donor sperm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EOD7VVPN4NC45KJCNUJFALB47U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418024},"content":"“I always knew I wanted a child, but my last long-term relationship ended when I was 25. I told myself, if I didn’t meet anyone I would be happy to have a child by myself, and then I hit 30 and gave myself two years to look into the option of using a donor properly. But then Covid hit,” she recalls.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FIMYJIRI7ZERNJCXN4XNVLZVEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418025},"content":"“That put a stop to socialising and going on dates. When restrictions were lifted I was around 34 and all my friends were having kids at the same time and I was like ‘what am I waiting for?‘”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EME5XF7ZCJAY5OUT7D2F4OHSYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418026},"content":"Before she went for the first consultation at a fertility clinic to discuss her options, Heffernan sat her parents Paula and Alan down to explain her plans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUPFH2LKQNDSRJRRF7J25XGUJQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418027},"content":"“I knew that taking this on as a single mother would require support. From the outset, they were 100 per cent behind my decision and my mum came with me for my first consultation,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BB2GI63F65DX3F37UF34YU2OLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418028},"content":"At a new Thérapie Fertility Clinic in Carrickmines, Heffernan was told of her options. Learning about women’s fertility and how rapidly it starts to decrease in their 30s, she knew she would be taking a chance on the donor route. She purchased three “straws” – three IUI rounds with the donor’s sperm, at a total cost of around €5,000.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4ZQ6VYEJVGYFPLL46N2ADRJBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418029},"content":"Under the Children, Family and Relationships Act (CFRA) 2015, which commenced in Ireland in May 2020, all imported donations – sperm or eggs – must be from a non-anonymous, or traceable, donor. Donors must agree to open contact with a donor-conceived child once that child reaches 18 years of age.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3NL77HSCZZAI5DIMGSCHPV2BEM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891354},"type":"image"},{"_id":"CH6U47ZPEJHIFLMFBTVZUZWEMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418030},"content":"“The donor was listed under the European Sperm Bank. In Ireland, there’s a lot of rules and regulations, so only three women in Ireland can use the same donor, and we can only use what is termed ‘open donors’, who can be contacted at a later stage by the child,” Heffernan explains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A3XMLTB63RCZ3BCHW6WKG7G6DM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418031},"content":"“I was only looking for a healthy, happy baby so that meant a donor [with] no health issues. It didn’t matter if they had brown or blonde hair, or [were] a boy or a girl.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3K57CYDBPRAITNFZ4RQVGH2M7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891357},"content":"The meaning of motherhood in a world that devalues, judges and polices it","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HEQTK5B7CNCORGG3UJWICGUPEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418032},"content":"When her first attempt with IUI failed, Heffernan decided to go for a second round, but this time she kept what she was doing under wraps. In October 2022, she found out she was pregnant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FTGDX6NFBNA4NGR72NSNA7OMH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418033},"content":"“I live alone so I was sitting in my house in shock and happy-crying. I couldn’t believe it had happened for me so quickly. I hadn’t told my parents that I had gone for the second round It was my mum’s birthday on the day I was getting the blood tests to confirm my pregnancy, so I wrote on the card ‘Love from baby H’,” she adds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"36V7URFMFBFQFECODASCQYE2DY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418034},"content":"“When I told people I was pregnant, some would ask if I was going to say how it happened. My reaction was always, of course I will, because getting pregnant from a donor is nothing to be ashamed of.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMU6WPDI3JAR3MSFO2U2NZFWII","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418035},"content":"In June 2023, her daughter was born. Heffernan sees her own family in the looks and traits of her child, now 21 months old, but has noticed some characteristics that are probably from the donor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OSYFNBDJMBA2HB32RA5J3O234Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418036},"content":"“She’s quite a tall baby. Her skin is more sallow than mine too, but she looks like my family and she’s quite active in the way I was at her age.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RVJPRMMNEVGG3IFSHWZDY4SOII","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418037},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"PAXT3GVZTJGN5FKXNKOGXWX4UM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225612},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ARWHEEAPCJHPDNO2BMSEDTOHJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225613},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IDRI4S7TZABNJP7JE6BD67GQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060690},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZB34F22KHZFCDMQAFRBLRZBM7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060691},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCHHO6WCHJAEFB2MHXTMROWSLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891368},"type":"image"},{"_id":"Z6AHF27T6VCCLDQGDP7CYJU5LU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060693},"content":"Aimee Crinion wasn’t thinking about having children when she married her partner Dave in 2009. Then aged 32, and with both of them working full-time – she as a professional dog walker and he in IT – there was plenty of time to start a family, but first they would travel, enjoy plenty of nights out and long lie-ins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PS46TQNLJNFSNHAYUNZGF46OP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418040},"content":"When the couple from Glasnevin in Dublin 9 decided to have children, they expected it to happen naturally. Except it didn’t. At 36, Crinion shared her concerns with her doctor and the couple subsequently opted for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to try to help them to conceive. Crinion knew there were no guarantees.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCMJFRC52JGTJNQB44I4M3PWK4","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"S54BJVWV6VAYTM7CRJ2E6MWER4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418041},"content":"“We went for one round at the Merrion Fertility Clinic in Dublin 2, and in our minds we were thinking, we’ll do it once. We were baffled why I couldn’t get pregnant. We were both healthy and neither of us had fertility problems – I simply wasn’t getting pregnant naturally, even with an egg reserve that wasn’t bad for my age,” she explains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ACZVVFKJXZEU7KMADEQQCN5DJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418042},"content":"“We did our first round of IVF against a background of people telling us that it never works the first time, which I thought was really pointless advice. But they were right, it didn’t work and I was desperately upset because all of my friends were married and had children or were pregnant and it consumed me – all I could see were babies everywhere. And that was all I wanted, to bring a child into the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBFCP7U3TRHRJALWOPQFTR4GVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418044},"content":"Crinion credits the strength of her marriage as the reason for getting through the first failed round. Dave was a constant support and they had each other at the end of it all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VRNWFKEWAVBPVKWME4INJDQFUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891375},"content":"‘When our last embryo failed, the clinic told us there was nothing more they could do for us’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TFQFPN46F5DHHHXIX2RSVM3FPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060698},"content":"Crinion’s father Michael became very ill during the same period, and died in October 2013. It was an incredibly stressful time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VHQZ6B5ABFFARCLHLGLZDJDOKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418045},"content":"“I found it so hard to lose him and not have been able to let him meet my kids because I always believed he would,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QMWXMF2XSBCGVIEBOQGWBXCPLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891378},"type":"image"},{"_id":"QSV65AI77VHXHOWIB6C4HWXGG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225620},"content":"In 2014, the couple decided to go for one last round of IVF.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FNQZZFBHSRFCZGUR4SWCUZPN7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225621},"content":"“I knew I didn’t have it in me to go through IVF in my 40s. We had looked into adoption but we realised we were also too old for that. I remember that day in May in the Merrion Clinic and one of the nurses there turned to me and said ‘this is going to work, you’ve done everything you can and I’m telling you, this is going to work’. She mentioned my dad, just a passing comment, and something felt different, almost like he was watching over me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TP42SG4TRBDSDEFONTO7MWGNOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418047},"content":"Having never done a pregnancy test herself for the fear of disappointment, one morning just after a blood test at the clinic while out walking her dogs, she took their call.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YGQLS7HJGFGRRKRX4TRJSGXBMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418048},"content":"“I was on Killiney Hill with six dogs running around me and all the clinic said at the other end of the phone was ‘yes’. I started screaming, ‘Finally, finally’. Me and all these dogs [were] running towards the car park to get to my van. It was magical,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NJN7Q6ZX7JCJTGOZ67D7WH2UMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418049},"content":"Her son Hugo was born in February 2015.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7J6KH4PR5BIZAJM7AIUJPJHXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418050},"content":"Content with her life, Crinion still had the option to pursue IVF, but didn’t know if she could go through the process again. Two years after her son was born, she went to the doctor with a urinary tract infection (UTI).","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCPEULIZPFFQ7J3HBYTGA3PMQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418051},"content":"“I gave the doctor a sample for the UTI test and she said, ‘Do you know you’re pregnant?’ I couldn’t process that. I remember saying something like ‘Okay ... but can you give me something for the UTI’ and then very quickly adding that I couldn’t be pregnant because I couldn’t have children naturally.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPLYDZQCSRCCNEOOMCIFXQBOUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418052},"content":"Arabella was born in November 2017, and there was no question of IVF again.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5AZB347B2JCTXDXHFAOIORBORY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418053},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4UNJFC6YTZCZJGO4ZHRCJGDD6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418054},"content":"“I do consider myself lucky. I’m 50 now with two beautiful children, a husband, a dog, and a lot of grey hair. As difficult as that path was to get here, I am very grateful for it all. I do believe my father has watched over every step.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QEMC7WRKSNE2PK6LJFWV26YVGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418055},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"WSQ6SY4C2VFYHKTQDJWWGHF2CI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418056},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NLLX5HVUJVG4HL7G2NYKC7VUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418057},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NLLX5HVUJVG4HL7G2NYKC7VUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418057},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"J2CSJ7MS7FDBVEADJ24QQ6C7BY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742315225635},"content":"Having raised three birth children of her own, Mags Murphy from Enniscorthy in Co Wexford is now a foster mother. Since 2018, she and her husband Danny, who also have three grandchildren, have taken in 10 foster children over short and long-term periods, with ongoing check-ins with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and support from Foster Care Ireland (FCI), an organisation that places children with foster parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S74H7VQXDNGWXGK4AZGHDLNDL4","additional_properties":{"_id":"3HLPVW22MRGNTGCY7YRT23WKLQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"TDHDI5LHKNGC3PICU5YJ3AB6VA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418059},"content":"There were 5,595 children in the care of the State last year, according to Tusla, with 91 per cent of those children in foster homes. For Murphy, these figures are heartbreaking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GOQMYMHQN5BS7BDPMRUMBDT4QA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418060},"content":"“All of these children deserve a parent, or a caring adult that can make a difference. They have done nothing wrong, and yet many carry this feeling of guilt that it was something they did,” says the 57-year-old.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LLM7OM4R6JEBFLTIK4DIZ5MPP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418061},"content":"“Even when they come into care, the children try so hard to please. They ask, ‘am I being good?’ and you’re thinking, ‘you are a child of four or five, you shouldn’t be worrying about having to be good or trying to figure out what is expected of you from adults.’ It’s very, very hard on them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TCMU5VRYHBCPDFS23KB7ZC3JJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418062},"content":"Murphy says her house has always been a lively, loud, and busy home. Her children – now 31, 35, and 37 – often had friends over. For 30 years, she ran her own childcare business for preschoolers, and over a 10-year period had 12 children from Belarus stay at Christmas or during the summer months under the Chernobyl Children’s Project International, founded by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/adi-roche-honoured-by-belarusian-orthodox-church-for-chernobyl-work-1.4571291\" target=\"_blank\">Adi Roche</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6URSK4MHVZHT5KZXUYKV3PEWVQ","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"BVBQKFWSQNHSVGVZPR2HVOJBRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418063},"content":"A self-confessed nurturer, it was after her children left home that she and Danny began to discuss fostering. Following assessments, vetting and training, they were accepted, and in April 2018 got their first placement under the “respite fostering” programme, where a child already with foster parents would come for a weekend or a week to give them and their foster parents a break.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJ3OW4EJJNF4DEE3CVDFP2JDAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418064},"content":"“At first it was like I was a doting granny because I would take this little child in on a Friday and they would return to a foster parent on the Monday, and you could really have fun with them and take them places. You didn’t have to deal with homework or the stress of school and all that goes with full foster care,” says Murphy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBC2543GQBCBHG55EJ7KCRDUAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742985891404},"content":"Fostering: ‘The children’s situation is so precarious – while we may not have everything to offer, we offer everything we have’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"VPRJ3PKI7ZBCJHZS7EDSJWUXJQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418065},"content":"“You would also see their behaviours and ask yourself if you could deal with that on a daily basis. But then we got our first boy and he was with us for four years. He was really lucky because he was reunited with his mum. It was a happy story. That often doesn’t happen for children in foster care.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SHUV5X6AP5HPVDIL3ZLKLUCGRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060724},"content":"It has been a challenging experience at times, too, but FCI’s link workers have offered a lot of support to the Murphys over the years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QLEGA7V75B4XOU3A6IUYCTSWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390060725},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"SWDLHDJYAJHDXO3BJ4U3FRTGSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418066},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"2KAY62YA6RCTRLEFDDSVPOAOBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418067},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6MW3E3DQNDJ7EUAGQBDLO44GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418068},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MM6PKCTAA5FFHAQR2JLECPEJDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418069},"content":"Murphy has maintained contact with many of the children who stayed with her, and has framed photographs of them all on the wall in her home. Some of the children have referred to her and Danny as “Mam and Dad” when speaking about their new family in school or with friends.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7FXFTB532VHSBEIBJQ572SZUNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742465388677},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NONQS7JETRCN3PGGU3PENC2KYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418070},"content":"“When they call you Mam it’s lovely but also sort of bittersweet, because you feel a sense of loss for them,” Murphy says. “You also want them to become comfortable and confident enough to just be children.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QJELZ6NHIJB3FIGVOMEWOT6L6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742472557246},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MITTJLPIQFDW5MP6COMNSEMYLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418071},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"XE5WOH46LJGUNCI2CON3XRUPCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418072},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEMBCACW4BEYJE3S66LME5KTRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742308418073},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Siobhán Maguire"}]},"description":{"basic":"From going it alone to fostering, and exhaustive rounds of IVF, women share their unusual journeys in motherhood"},"display_date":"2025-03-30T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘I was 34 and all my friends were having kids... 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The Wright brothers were based there for a while. The Dayton accords, which ended the Bosnian war, were signed at the air force base close by. In recent decades, the population has shrunk a bit. It’s not in decline, but it’s not particularly prosperous either. It is like a lot of other places. It’s not that remarkable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AZ5DJD3CGZC3HESCLA62GA42IQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348168},"content":"But in the 1960s and 1970s, Dayton did experience a relatively brief, yet significant, cultural flowering. It was (and still is), the funk capital of the world.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PWXULAGU2VGD5F33EGG5QERXRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348169},"content":"Manufacturing jobs were plentiful then, while Dayton was strictly segregated: blacks in the west, whites in the east. But because of the prosperity, west Dayton became effectively self-sufficient, with its own shops and clubs, churches and high schools, which benefited from Title 1 schemes to fund the teaching of music. Those schemes were so successful that it became unusual if any young person in west Dayton wasn’t in a band.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KF3Y2W3URVCWXMZ5WLUCJ6C7RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348170},"content":"Fourteen groups from west Dayton secured deals with major record labels. There was a week when Dayton had five singles in the US Top 50. West Dayton is half the size of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cork/\" target=\"_blank\">Cork city</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6A7GT2XM2ZBQZGWWWFAVRECKQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348171},"content":"For various reasons, that golden period didn’t last. Some of the signed bands recorded many albums. Some of them only produced a few. But there were also dozens of other groups who didn’t make it nationally. Some recorded singles and had local hits. Some never got the chance to record anything. You could argue that these bands were unlucky, or not quite good enough. You could be cruel and say they were failures. Yet, in an analogous sense, the experience of the not-quite-good-enough bands is the experience of the vast majority of us.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JYDJZSRBBFHPJC5AXF2SSCEF24","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348172},"content":"We like the myth of the lone genius. But it is a myth: the genius always has families, teachers, advocates and the work of others to build upon.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NB7PBE6SBZEPBJ6RGZCML7KGCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348173},"content":"The myth also encourages a kind of hierarchical thinking, a not-so-subtle pressure on all of us to find some way of thinking of ourselves, or our children, as “special”. And it can infect every aspect of our lives: the way we look, the relationships we become involved in, how we operate on social media, how hard we work at our jobs. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be better, of course, or wanting to think of ourselves as useful. But we also have to balance that against the reality of our lives and who we are. Most of us are ordinary.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LS7QJR3NKBEPPASARSLPS47HDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742983257670},"content":"If I get ambushed by loneliness, it’s never when I’m by myself","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5DZX3NK66FEMPFNUWLHIVK4RYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348174},"content":"Most of our lives are ordinary. I’m writing these words early on a Monday morning. It never happens that I sit at my desk and the words flow out. Often I’m not sure what it is I want to say or if I’m expressing it properly. And I also know that it almost certainly won’t be the best thing in The Irish Times today. Or in the Magazine. Or even on this page.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGTZVYEMSRCPDH2ENDKTMTJZ2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348175},"content":"And while I’m trying to write there will be regular interruptions. Daughter Number Four will come in and ask for toast. A few minutes later, she’ll ask for a bowl of Cheerios, then moan like it’s the end of the world when I give her porridge. Any time now, Herself will bound down the stairs with an arm full of laundry. Later on, I’ll get the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dart/\" target=\"_blank\">Dart</a> to work at the same time and see the same faces.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZS2QDHIOVJEMZANYUQZ3DJ2R5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742983257674},"content":"My daughter’s new phone number will stay with her for life. It’s like we’ve given her an invisible, digital tattoo","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3WGUARGBVZGSFEITPPLI5VEXLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742382348176},"content":"Poets often encourage us to find the extraordinary in the humdrum: an idea I’ve always found a wee bit patronising. Because there’s nothing wrong with the ordinary on its own terms: you don’t need to find some hidden brilliance there. Nurses and teachers and couriers and shop assistants: the ordinary makes the planet turn. Without the unsuccessful Dayton bands, the successful ones would never have happened. 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Mostly in an effort to please people. On the flip side, I’m probably less agreeable with those who are closest to me. I tell my kids it’s good to be challenged and to see different points of view. I enjoy debate, so I hope they will too. And maybe they’ll be less of a pushover when they grow up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4R5H34BGFZARXAROTKYNXDAKKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"CCGLWKTDPRHBRCXWRIOPGOXAJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468274},"content":"Louise. I don’t really think that much about it. I’m not sure why it’s Louise, and the only other time I’ve heard of a Sharon Louise is a character in Shirley Valentine – called Sharon Louise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MMUHLZXTRVDD3CSGVLGREUY3FQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where is your favourite place in Ireland?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"EM6PWVNPQZHATM4Y7GJUV3HXGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468276},"content":"This is probably a bit of a boring one, but in my back garden drinking coffee, listening to the birds. It doesn’t get much better than that little five minutes. Because it usually is only five minutes. I try to sneak out in the morning, before anyone is up, to get a little bit of the sunrise in your face. The best way to start the day – apparently it’s good for your circadian rhythm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AOWPF2YMRJFJZKFWMDVYRA4ABE","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Describe yourself in three words.</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"A66I4HZIQBBGXNCH2O574PEU3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468278},"content":"Constantly doing things.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YXIGUNTJBBGETMLBLOUB4NYCLM","additional_properties":{"_id":"WN35QIFU7NF6BOAO5S2MQFURWU"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"OC56MM2WFJHPHOW6TVBE2WKGQI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When did you last get angry?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"SDLKZ2IUMNDMDMC4JIRLZEKNMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468280},"content":"Well again, as a woman, I have a few days a month where I’m definitely less tolerant of people’s bad behaviour, so probably last week. But I’m aware of it, and I try to use it for good, to be more assertive on those days.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E5PQVHUB35ETVKKATE2POIQ2UY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"NJ6PACG56RAKLIBX22VOTCMV4Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What have you lost that you would like to have back?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"LVJWKWE4E5DLLAX4KRSTDPFJ4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468283},"content":"I would say faith. I don’t necessarily mean in a religious sense, although I don’t really have that either. I still have bucketloads of hope, but I think knowledge kills faith. I think you live, and you learn, and the blind faith that I had about lots of things when I was younger kind of seems a bit fanciful and naive to me now. I had faith in people to always do the right thing; faith in leaders to lead well; faith in people when they commit to something to follow through. Faith in people, essentially.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XRPVHK3VHBA5DOCY3Z2MRLZ4XI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your strongest childhood memory?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"HZLAXBXGRFBFPD7737A6QD77JE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468285},"content":"I have loads of them, but I was trying to picture the background in all of them and it’s a red-and-white kitchen. We got this new kitchen, back when people got new kitchens, and I remember at the time it felt like the fanciest thing in the world. Everything in the kitchen was red and white; the tiles were red and white; the cupboards were red and white. I think our delph was red and white. It was very exciting at the time. I’ve lots of memories in that kitchen.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XHWED7TTKVEHBEVPWSI7KLSCJA","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"D3ZQDLMFOFCB3DESM4XYUDE46Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468287},"content":"I am the eldest of two children, myself and my sister. I’m not sure if that’s what’s defined me, or if circumstances have. My dad died when we were quite young and I think that made me a very organised person who’s kind of inclined to take charge. Now, that could be the eldest sibling thing as well. I think it’s a way of having control over things. Of course it doesn’t mean you have control, I think it just means, in your own head, you can manage a curveball.<b> </b>I’m all about making sure I can manage the curveball.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIK7VMMYR5FBFN52TRWYCGARBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468288},"content":"RTÉ’s Sharon Tobin on her career journey: ‘I could not see myself in UCD. It just didn’t feel right for me’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YCF5ODPAJJFDHAUANNFN3JO3JY","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What do you expect to happen when you die?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"XV6QJHXWDJCCFDYIIH3N2GDDQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468290},"content":"For me, I don’t expect anything to happen, but I do expect there to be a party for everyone else. It’s probably very morbid to admit, but I do have a playlist of funeral songs on Spotify. I mean in reality they’re just songs that make me happy, or reflective of life. I hope I’ve lots of life left to live, but I think that what I’ve had so far is worth celebrating.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P7F6KGFYSJFQNCGK4F43XHVQ3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When were you happiest?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"54UGWYVKPNAXVACRPZOENRFZQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468292},"content":"I’m quite happy right now. I think when you’ve had, as everyone’s had, difficulties or sadness in the past, you try to appreciate what you have right now. I love making the most of right now. I think every second counts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5OUMLJEKPZHFFAJUNRUBEDEXOY","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"SHP2SN6WYJGEPBV23GF3WLQ76Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468294},"content":"This is quite a stretch, I’ll say Lady Gaga, because we’ve very similar noses. She won’t have to sing though, because I’ve a shocking voice. And I did see her rocking a lovely bob fringe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JXF4NDN6WFAUPCRPDYUMSW2RLI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your biggest career/personal regret?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"ZE65BUU26RFDVMSSISZ72Y7FFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468296},"content":"I don’t really do regrets. I’m all for taking an opportunity when it comes and making the best of it. There was one opportunity I didn’t take – I was offered a job in Moscow, probably 20 years ago now. At the time the salary was insane. So, on paper, it should probably be my biggest regret but actually I don’t really regret it at all it wouldn’t have been the wisest move, in the long term. But at the time it seemed really exciting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FNBBZRZRQVDKJPSIIQCAHW2NLE","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Have you any psychological quirks?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"EI5G22NCONEVDHHMEYAKEH434Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742405468298},"content":"I really enjoy cleaning. In my weird psychological head, an organised house means I have an organised head. So, it kind of puts things back in order for me. I don’t iron – I draw the line at that. 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I saw a developmental paediatrician. I saw a psychologist. I had a lot of challenges and nobody noticed autism,” says Niamh Garvey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZNQSXFRLBJG3BPDJ25SEJ2PHQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618898},"content":"The 38-year-old author and former nurse from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cork/\" target=\"_blank\">Cork</a> was pursuing a diploma in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/autism/\" target=\"_blank\">autism</a> studies at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/university-college-cork-ucc/\" target=\"_blank\">University College Cork</a> when “alarm bells” first started ringing. Garvey’s young daughter had recently been diagnosed with autism and, while attempting to learn how to support her child, she began an unexpected journey of self-discovery.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IQSNOPYWNJDRFMSP4HB2ODPUGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618899},"content":"“There’s no universal way to be autistic at all,” says Garvey. This is the main message she hopes to spread with her new book, Wired Our Own Way: An Anthology of Irish Autistic Voices. Garvey’s anthology features the experiences of well-known figures such as Irish footballer <a href=\"https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41376637.html\" target=\"_blank\">James McClean</a>, and fellow writers <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/naoise-dolan/\" target=\"_blank\">Naoise Dolan</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2024/04/20/nuala-oconnor-i-knew-i-didnt-want-to-die-but-something-had-to-change/\" target=\"_blank\">Nuala O’Connor</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/stefanie-preissner/\" target=\"_blank\">Stefanie Preissner</a> among its 24 contributors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HNCIPJAWBBGQXIHXM6JMMJ7UZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618900},"content":"“I really wanted to have a big range. I tried to get late-diagnosed people, people who were diagnosed in their childhood; we’ve a non-speaking writer – Fiachre Ryan; people who went to special schools; professors of universities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XM6QUK6RJBG47GJ3WLQIC2YEHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618901},"content":"Garvey herself was diagnosed four years ago, shortly after giving up her job as a nurse. She had autoimmune arthritis – “the pain just got too bad to manage a physical job”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EDDUCUWWARG2TH3734WFY3PL5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618902},"content":"Naoise Dolan: ‘I feel pressure to tell people I am autistic, in case I am too blunt’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UMYZMW4IVVAVHNLTFOY2NQVXNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618903},"content":"She remembers feeling struck by the difference in how her own autism diagnosis was delivered when compared to that of her daughter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"33KCUWKTDFAT5PAIS5L3VZ5XDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618904},"content":"“When we got told she’s autistic it was kind of like they were breaking bad news to me ... Whereas when I got diagnosed, it was completely the opposite.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QAIEED2JGZCNPA25HDCLGYKFUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618905},"content":"“The report I got was more like, ‘Congratulations, you’re autistic.’ It was like a celebration of a neurotype.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C7TXR25X75A77EV6WAMUE2XJTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618906},"content":"According to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2025/03/11/one-in-20-irish-schoolchildren-diagnosed-with-autism-a-threefold-rise/\" target=\"_self\">recent figures</a> from the Department of Education, one in 20 schoolchildren in Ireland now get diagnosed with autism – a threefold increase in less than a decade.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RBSCOHKVK5HFFEGEEG7JWGAEGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618907},"content":"Garvey echoes the views of most experts, saying that these increasing rates are largely due to increasing awareness, as well as better diagnosis and widening of assessment boundaries.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7MBYXTWERBAY7P32SNAHSVEREA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618908},"content":"Percentage of children diagnosed with autism rises threefold in less than a decade","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MJSQCJS72RBYBHKJYW2G2I3NVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618909},"content":"Of her daughter’s experience, she says: “We had her referred when she was two and we waited three years for an assessment, so she was over five and had already started school by the time she got diagnosed.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RUNUGA4465B27DFCUMEVWQF73A","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618910},"content":"When seeking a diagnosis for herself, Garvey “had to pay privately, for a start, because there is no public diagnosis really for adults in Ireland with autism”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ETXZIM7KENCYRG6OCWIN5BBIOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618911},"content":"Given the choice between self-identifying and seeking a full diagnosis, she says getting “a piece of paper” was affirming, allowing her to alleviate any doubts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5RC647T6ZDH5ALJWWJHOD5OYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618912},"content":"“I can honestly say that was the kindest thing I ever did for myself. It just completely changed my self-talk from self-criticism to self-compassion, and that’s a really common theme in this book.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWF2HVIWJVHOJCLGSGRVTHZQ5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618913},"type":"image"},{"_id":"PVH6DB3WFRGIDBRZAO4ICIILLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618914},"content":"“It just changes your whole attitude to yourself and you stop berating yourself for all the little mistakes or why you’re not fitting in ... It’s like you suddenly get the language that explains your life.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ODITH2XKAVHR5JYAFKL5CTO5H4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618915},"content":"Stressing the importance of neurodivergent representation in media, Garvey says her own view of autism was muddied by outdated portrayals of it and that “it was getting an understanding of the lived experience that changed the meaning of the facts and figures I’d been reading and turned it into something I could relate to”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B6XG6D6KHRCP5F67BVYRUDAQTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618916},"content":"Growing up, Garvey was “a very academic child ... quite independent. I was very happy in my own little world, playing with my toys, and I wasn’t a kind of a child who was having big public meltdowns or anything like that”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WRBYGZATN5E5TA5OQLD7WULQA4","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"DKIFCMYPMFB33JYFLHDP3EMIFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618918},"content":"While on reflection there were still several signs she was autistic, Garvey suggests that being a girl posed barriers to diagnosis – “Back then in the 80s and 90s, it was much more recognised in males than in girls, unless you were non-speaking.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GH2IKZQZQFB4RMF3FXJMFESNMA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618919},"content":"Conforming to societal expectations, known as “masking” within the autistic community, allowed Garvey to escape bullying in school, she says, but this too came at a cost. At the age of 17, she was experiencing what she now recognises as burnout.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5MXLV2P7XZEPZHQ75VMRBHF5UM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618920},"content":"“As a teenager, I developed a high level of masking where I was watching what other people were doing and acting it out. It probably saved me a lot of bullying but it’s exhausting because you’re not being your authentic self.","type":"text"},{"_id":"67ZIIL64JJAMJIQUAK3ZXD5ETA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618921},"content":"“I got married very young. I mean, I was 23. I look back now and even that was an alarm bell, because in my head you grow up, you go to college or you get your job – whichever one you’re choosing – and then you get married and have children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PUJYWY2XKRHIXH34CJWZURQLLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618922},"content":"“So I was following that ... I suppose I was just ticking boxes of what I thought a social expectation was. Looking back now I think it was very funny that I did that, but thankfully it worked out very well for me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IDNH3ANRDBFYHIGUCJC2NYURAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618923},"content":"Motherhood came with its own unique challenges, as moments where Garvey could self-regulate became sparse and routines were thrown off-kilter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5SKXZBA6OJDZTOX2JLC4EVC23M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618924},"content":"“I think probably the hardest time for me as a woman was becoming a mother, because for years I had allocated all this time to myself to, you know, take a walk in nature, to regulate, to read a lot of books and to journal. I just naturally spent a lot of time looking after myself ... when I became a mother I sort of lost that outlet,” she reflects.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZUMKDB2I5GD3BK7TH5DWINXGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618925},"content":"“I was really burnt out and having really bad postnatal depression ... I do think it’s more common for that to hit with women, but I think it also happens to new fathers who are autistic. We really need time to indulge in our special interests because it is what we need to regulate ourselves.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N4DKWGULHNHZVDFEPA7UFMV3PU","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"76EETBQVV5BO5JVI5XUXCDM6DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618927},"content":"Getting diagnosed has since helped equip Garvey with the tools to recognise when and how she needs to create supports.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIOG6RZYTRGAVAU7AGHUWM3AN4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618928},"content":"“If there are women who are questioning whether they’re autistic, especially mothers with young children ... it’s like this complete bombardment of your communication and sensory system, so understanding you’re autistic and understanding what triggers you allows you to create supports for yourself.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B2ZYNIOX5NBLNFMMTDU3JVULOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618929},"content":"Stefanie Preissner: ‘Motherhood is so hard, and so lonely, and so mysterious’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LVPRBFXQ5NEZPJXQB52LOBBUVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618930},"content":"For Garvey, “the two most important things were to connect with other mothers and to ask for help where you can ... The best thing I did was join a breastfeeding group”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6OU7X5VSVGZ7MNL6N2VY5X2GY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618931},"content":"Looking back on her college experience when studying nursing, Garvey recalls getting “a huge shock” walking into a class full of women.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JBDUZMA2TJHJZK233WP4UJCSLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618932},"content":"“I would’ve always been more comfortable around boys. I had three brothers and no sisters and that was probably part of it, but it’s actually quite common for autistic women to say they get on better with boys. There just isn’t the same level of social nuance.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OPAV56ZZMZFNRJETLNKR2CUHT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618933},"content":"Making friends was difficult, as was maintaining them – “I had often lost friendships and had no idea what I did wrong.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NWISFBO5NZH3BDMRMTDTMWJQSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618934},"content":"“Something I found as I was hitting my 20s was I was able to maintain the friendship in a certain structure, for example in college when I was seeing people every day, but then once the structure of college ended I didn’t know how to carry on the friendship ... I found it very hard to make friends then as an adult once all those structures fell out of place.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EQPXRP65BFBBHGL2JUCKKQ65WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618935},"content":"According to a report by Irish charity As I Am, 85 per cent of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KXSECTVZQRBTVFTFITNVG53YCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618936},"content":"“That’s not down to a lack of qualification or anything like that, but it is down to workplaces being not always set up for autistic people,” says Garvey, who recalls struggling to pass interviews when she first qualified as a nurse.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MOVKAP4VERGUTMTRDKXSKUOXNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618937},"content":"“I kept failing my interviews and I couldn’t understand it because I got a first-class honours. I did really well, I had good references ... I had to go back to a lecturer I’d had in UCC and ask what I was doing wrong.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5Q4KJOJP4BA27NMRGDZYC47O3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618938},"content":"“I just had no idea what you were supposed to do in an interview, and it seemed to come naturally to everyone else in my year. They were all walking into jobs and I was completely flunking them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"27LHUSFGZRDPFKWWRQXL5VHXJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618939},"content":"I received an autism diagnosis at 34 and sat quietly with it in some discomfort","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MBG4ZRW3UVAZ3P27B7THLRX3F4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618940},"content":"Maintaining eye contact, having to “sell yourself and make yourself look really competent”, moving away from “one-liner answers” were chief among what Garvey addressed in coaching sessions, after which she secured a job.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJ3N7NGNPNGO3F5YDZ5ZAAYQBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618941},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NL2P5T6ROBAD7CYZWBNMCFWWAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618942},"content":"“One of the biggest challenges for a lot of autistic people is not having social imagination – the ability to predict what’s going to happen or know what to expect in a social situation,” explains Garvey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXXL25E5ZFEOZA2WMZGHVCQ56E","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618943},"type":"image"},{"_id":"VFEVXBOWLRDCLGPERSZT2GJJFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618944},"content":"One way that businesses and healthcare settings can be more accommodating to neurodivergent people is by offering online booking forms, she says. Garvey identifies this as “one simple change in your surgery [which] can make all healthcare accessible to an autistic person”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6SRUWKSNORANFPBZ3B4P6SS2QE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618945},"content":"Garvey’s book was launched in Dublin this week and in Cork next week. The event in Cork on Thursday is open to the public and she has outlined <a href=\"https://niamhgarvey.com/2025/03/22/what-to-expect-at-the-book-launches-of-wired-our-own-way/\">step-by-step guides for what autistic people can expect to happen</a> if they attend on her website, <a href=\"https://niamhgarvey.com/\" target=\"_blank\">niamhgarvey.com</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LVA3WGILTNGWFCZ7SZC6CNV7LQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618946},"content":"“There’s no accommodation you can make that’s going to harm everyone else or be a problem for other people. Actually it can benefit people.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QSXWRPWMEBAHVBG3LOHBNDTIVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618947},"content":"Businesses can reap the rewards of being recommended by being neurodivergent friendly, Garvey says: “In the autistic community in Ireland, for example, parents of autistic children, we all tell each other if we have a good experience.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"G5PP5GVLTZA6XKNU4RVZ5WFVZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618948},"content":"Highlighting that autism is not a universal experience, Garvey is keen to dispel common misperceptions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"43VPSCFZSBF5NFEZIFBRPFRUNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618949},"content":"Give me a crash course in ... autism rates in Ireland","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CYXIQZ55XNBX7J2VRI7DBKOS5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618950},"content":"“I think a lot of people make mistakes in thinking that means it’s a linear spectrum ... I always picture it like a circular colour wheel and you might have a lot of one trait one day but the next day you might not have much of that trait at all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63E4ZNOFBVHEVMAHMWMF56NNPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618951},"content":"“There’s areas all throughout society where it needs to improve, but I think most of that is just down to a lack of understanding of what autism is. There’s also a lot of counter arguments thrown at autistic people that there’s over-diagnosis of autism going on and people using language like mild versus severe autism, when that can be quite offensive.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2FPSRLF45BE67EOM2EMORYATO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618952},"content":"One pattern that appears among some stories shared by contributors in Wired Our Own Way, is that people felt “if you didn’t have enough problems to be diagnosed until now, then maybe you don’t need the label of autism”, says Garvey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"55D54QBTSBARLD3AYRBXC3375M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618953},"content":"“People nearly can accuse you [of] making a lifestyle choice. It’s really not that all. It’s not a lifestyle choice, but getting diagnosed can change your life, it can really open up your way of thinking.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UBXJBJSDAFDRTGEPHQPND5TQ5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110618954},"content":"<i>Wired Our Way: An Anthology of Irish Autistic Voices is edited by Niamh Garvey and published by New Island</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ella Sloane"}},"name":"Ella Sloane"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Cork author on living with autism and the release of her new book, a collection of personal essays written by autistic Irish adults"},"display_date":"2025-03-30T04:40:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Niamh Garvey on being diagnosed with autism at 34: ‘You suddenly get the language that explains your life’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RKVXZN5XHZGCZJ5UVPEPDD4L4Y","auth":{"1":"2397bfc6e2a28db127d1a7992be620244ba701b9598753ea3b76331e6b5f2240"},"focal_point":{"x":2620,"y":1225},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RKVXZN5XHZGCZJ5UVPEPDD4L4Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Your Wellness"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/30/niamh-garvey-being-diagnosed-with-autism-at-34-you-suddenly-get-the-language-that-explains-your-life/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"CGBSQWNHQVCTBIOKTSDYGXZ7RQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":657,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/742dcc4d-56eb-4ce5-9cc3-fc53643ee5fd/versions/1743090314/media/0b673591a818e206e09be7e0d1be70c2_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/adolescence-decoded-parents-have-absolutely-no-idea/","content_elements":[{"_id":"ZU4J5QYFCRH77NCT3KOAB7YKFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664155},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"DFHRPMVSEZCO3MKNWI7LILSHXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664156},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/netflix/\" target=\"_blank\">Netflix</a> drama <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/03/17/adolescence-review-a-dark-and-often-unbearable-insight-into-the-nightmarish-extremes-of-our-teenagers-lives/\" target=\"_blank\">Adolescence</a><i> </i>continues to dominate the streaming charts, and the series appears to have touched a collective nerve. Although fictional, many of the issues addressed in the drama reflect the reality of the world teenagers are growing up in, as well as some contemporary concepts <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/parenting/\" target=\"_blank\">parents</a> are struggling to navigate, or of which they may have been entirely unaware.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QMXZK2OXJCPZMKM3N2GRS3XH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664157},"content":"One talking point has been the various meanings behind emojis used by teenagers online.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BI55ICQBFFGSTAGQ46MCDOZMAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664158},"content":"In the drama, a police investigator’s son explains to his bewildered father that the various colours of “love heart” emojis can have vastly different meanings. “Red means love, purple horny, yellow ‘I’m interested, are you interested’, pink ‘I’m interested but not in sex’,” and so on.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IYBLLXUY2NA5JAG5MXC6VHBLRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664159},"content":"The “red pill” emoji is described in the show as a “call to action by the manosphere” while other emojis, such as the “kidney bean”’ are connected to the so-called “incel” movement of involuntary celibates or men who believe they are denied sex because of their looks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GFNOUQCTI5DFZIRMM5Y6QLFHLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664160},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4UFXCFJZSZATJJWPL46QB4FYKE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664161},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VUYR5MWAYJFDZLOMBY4DC4WMW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664162},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6ZMTIWO6ZG5XNFG5K3SIJ3YVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664163},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"QTV4COPTAZB6ZGNB23EF6XMWKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664164},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"EG2ZHDYUYBAF3IARGVJHFW7XOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664165},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"K5GJBPTVING2DPVX2ZS4DFCCAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664166},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NIE2JARA7JCBNE2QZ7HPX7EGEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664167},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"TOXBSNWJRZHDTP2Q2ROCJEPSLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664168},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"NOLKTQXPMZGFBHMT7YJCJNHZU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664169},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"RP6FRCIKUFHBPIY7WPDFRRL5DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664170},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> teenager Olivia Paul (14) thought Adolescence “was really good”. She and her friends don’t use emojis in the same way as they were used in the drama, she says, although she is familiar with the term incel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBTWG3MDKJGNZIYB5ASAWZH2SM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664171},"content":"Adolescence on Netflix wasn’t called that by accident. This is what it means to grow up now","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"VN7CKHTN2BEZVBITD42RVAKH7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664172},"content":"She has seen misogynistic posts which have bothered her, particularly when she looks at the comments and sees people agreeing with them. “That is a big factor in how men look at women. Even younger boys seeing those comments.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"I7ENFYS7SRCPLL2LDWPU5UAF6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664173},"content":"She feels adults don’t understand that social media is important to teenagers “because it’s a space with other teenagers with teenagers’ perspectives”. And it’s a place, she explains, where teenagers can sometimes bring their solutions to adult ideas. So the Government is <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/oireachtas/2024/10/03/school-phone-pouches-opposition-criticises-grotesque-9-million-spend/\" target=\"_self\">planning to spend €9 million on phones pouches?</a> Well, some teens appear to be a step ahead.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H5ODG6IMYRD7DCOER6QRILXWRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664174},"content":"“You know the Yondr [a Californian company] pouches for phones?” she asks. “The schools will start bringing in programmes like that, but then on social media you’ll see videos joking about it, and how to open them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CF6B6X2BO5FRPP23FD3FV4S4ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664175},"type":"image"},{"_id":"NXH3EN7X2BAB5I3ZXW6PDCGT24","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664176},"content":"Olivia feels phones have probably affected teenagers’ attention spans, but “it’s just normal because everyone’s doing it”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4X6EAWYSXBC27IPXJ4KVWO24ZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664177},"content":"If parents confiscate phones as a punishment or consequence for something, Olivia says it’s really hard and upsetting for teenagers. “It feels like you’re missing out. On TikTok it doesn’t really matter because you’re just scrolling”, but “with Snapchat it’s your friends.” The feeling of being socially cut off is difficult, she explains. “It’s more about staying in contact with people. A lot of my friends don’t have their phones taken, or if they do it ends up getting given back under the time [it was supposed to be confiscated for] because they just can’t go without it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RBCPL3JFNFFTASPZIQZJPQDTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664178},"content":"She doesn’t think adults understand what a big deal posting on social media can be. “If you’re posting, because everyone can see that, you’re thinking about what everyone else is thinking about you. But then if you aren’t posting, it looks like you aren’t doing anything. So, there’s a pressure to post.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z6TBBFWXAREXZC2EWDL3SV5MSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664179},"content":"Adolescence: Five truths about our teenage boys we need to address urgently","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ECR3V4SHYZGR7IQV2FEBHDBSU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664180},"content":"Olivia’s mother Claire thought Adolescence was “a fantastic piece of TV”, but admits she had not fully understood the impact of what are routinely described as toxic male influencers. “I was aware of it, but I also wasn’t aware of it. Is that because I’m a mother of daughters as opposed to a mother of sons?” she ponders.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DIHTTBWCGRCC5FT4CMUPJJU2JM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664181},"content":"“I think on a bigger scale we have to look societally what are we doing with children and phones, and adults and phones. And what are we doing about the human contact we’re losing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIEAC5CDVZE4LGY5WR5Q5JOVPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664182},"type":"image"},{"_id":"DCSIBK3R7FEHLDFZKMJFTTLRQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664184},"content":"Eoghan Muldoon, from Sligo, is 13 and watched Adolescence with his mother, Sinéad Canney. “It was pretty good,” he says. Eoghan is the same age as the main protagonist in the drama, Jamie. Eoghan got his first phone recently and hasn’t had much access to social media.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K32E2MUXHZHC5OYD447E6IT4YU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664185},"content":"In spite of the short amount of time he has had the phone, he has already come across some misogynistic influencers. “I was kind of shocked, but also, I would see how some people would take that on. And I don’t think it’s right.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SK5OYZ3XJGBBPB2DQ5TGL7IU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664186},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-51718","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"DQALVFIDSBEP7CFBLBW5H5K7GI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664187},"content":"Eoghan believes a lot of things have changed since most adults were teenagers. “Words have changed, and emojis. Some kids do use them as secret stuff, but I don’t. Emojis are just how you feel.” He feels teenagers need to have phones by 13 or 14. “Without that … you wouldn’t be able to go out with your friends.” He thinks there is benefit to some parts of social media as it can be helpful.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T7ZPYAKEZNG27IQHIATMNHEJRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664188},"content":"“My mum does check my phone,” he explains and he accepts her reasons for that, but admits “sometimes it can be a bit annoying. But I do think it’s necessary because teenagers can do stupid stuff at times”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZY6E47HM3NDETGDNTUR5J666YA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424187392},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"URQDAIWGFBFDPGPCSMCI7ODDDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664190},"content":"He found watching Adolescence to be beneficial. “I learned that sometimes [you need] to control your anger … and to be careful on social media. It’s pretty important because it’s very dangerous to be on social media.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CV7DO6RPKRDDDJ4HTID2JJ3ZKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664191},"content":"He’s not the only one who found watching Adolescence to be a learning experience. His mother Sinéad said she had “no idea about any of that. We were just shocked to the core”. She used the opportunity to chat with her two older boys about internet safety. “I don’t allow phones in the [bed]room … and I explained that they’re just not socially or emotionally mature yet. And I said, ‘If I knew that there was going to be a gang down a certain road that will possibly mug you and beat you up, I’m not going to let you walk down that road. So therefore I’m not going to put you on an app that you’re not mature and responsible enough to be able to handle.‘”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPPBYEVGLJCAFM4YBZ5XYJVYXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664192},"type":"image"},{"_id":"UQDOBYORPRFLLKMT62U7USYCEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664193},"content":"Zoe Breen (17), from Dublin, found the series sad. Her experience of emojis isn’t as depicted in the show either, she says. But her mother Michelle Bennett says she personally panicked when she learned what different coloured hearts could represent. “I thought they were just nice colours.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q4HFINZBFJGJDPNM7QFATID5SI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664194},"content":"Adults “definitely don’t understand having contact with your friends on social media”, says Zoe. “Especially when they compare it to the level they might contact their own friends.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZAS4ECNLCFFSNG3TVOYOB7LYCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664195},"content":"“My mum might send a WhatsApp, whereas we’d use Snapchat. We post things on our stories, so people know where you are. It’s very hard to explain to them [adults] that your friends can see pretty much everything that you’re doing.” While the idea that “Big Brother” is always watching might be intolerable for many adults, Zoe doesn’t see others knowing where she is at all times as a problem. She doesn’t feel isolated in an online world as some adults believe young people to be.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FUFE6DQA25BSRNL6ENUGWUEHTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664196},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZQMYKYNFPJGQXJV7XRBP46ZMBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664197},"content":"“It’s harder for the older generation to understand that we’re influenced quite easily on social media. One person could say something, and nearly everyone could be influenced if it goes viral,” says Zoe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4MEG22K55FBXVIFQUSFGWNGKHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664198},"content":"“I don’t think you [adults] realise how much we learn from social media and how much information we take in. Sometimes I think we learn more from social media than we do in school, which is crazy but you do take in a lot of information. I find it easier to learn online.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7NFUPR3TQVAFTABUNM7GC3ZESE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664199},"content":"Michelle says she’s surprised to hear that Zoe feels she learns a lot from social media. “I don’t know whether I feel a bit sad about that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SSDXPTDAPBAWBNAIFBSW5O364Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664200},"content":"Zoe believes adults don’t realise how simple it is to make a fake account, meaning it’s very easy for parents to find themselves following what they believe to be their child’s actual social media account, when really it’s just a decoy. “Parents have no idea. They have absolutely no idea … I’d say at least 80-85 per cent of the times kids would make a fake account.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MCOUO43PSJBXPOCKA76MXHNEDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743424187404},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"733RRYXATNEF5MZTNCNWXPOFPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664202},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VY4MH2GEZJEHTATBFTFKLV43TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664203},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"IDK73C52IVBRXIHIV7VFAUIWNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664204},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"DH6DR6TFXBG2RBLZCXBINKRYHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664205},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZEWATYNC5D6DECOEKBCIW6RII","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664206},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"B6GARYTHIZASLFVCXL2UFLVVQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664207},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"KEI2HAFNORAQXPPOFGCQF56OMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664208},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ED7YVFSBPJDVPBQT6IJDPXW5TE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664209},"content":"Calum (not his real name) is 16 and thought Adolescence was “really good”. He was already familiar with the meaning of “red pills” and “incels”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SRUSFTRJRD73GYP5DUMWP7B6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664210},"content":"He attends an all-boys school and sometimes hears misogyny among his peers. “It’s sort of the environment,” he admits. “Some people just say it, and you know it’s not right. And they just can’t get it into their head they’re just talking nonsense.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TBRQ6LCUH5HKPLT3VXB6OQ7RVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664211},"content":"“When you’re opening up a social media account for the first time it’s incredible how fast you can go down that red pill route of ‘I’m alone. Everyone’s against me. Everybody hates me’ sort of thing. It’s nuts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6NSA22BBP5CGBKDJBW72AZVVWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664212},"type":"image"},{"_id":"LRDJUYRT4JAEPISXFCK4ZMZGNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664213},"content":"“You’re seeing it so much, and sometimes you could have had a bad day, or something bad could have happened to you in school, and you see that on your ‘for you’ page … and you’d take it more to heart.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QY7QNCQAEBABRHT5LN4X2HDLLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664214},"content":"Calum’s teachers are very conscious of it, he says. Conversations can happen at lunchtime. “Most of the time it’s friendly banter thing. Everyone slags everyone. But sometimes it gets to a point that it gets a bit much.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WDZX6JPQURC5JG5OJ4SM6LHVUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664215},"content":"A lot of difficulties come back to the content that Jamie was seeing in this programme, “where it’s [saying] ‘women are bad. Gay people are bad. Foreigners are bad’,” he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3YMKZ4BFBGDXN3KBIHZLUAD3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664216},"content":"He doesn’t think adults realise “the amount of dangerous content you can see on social media and how quickly it can get served to younger children”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YLQIUEUTRVHBZGXANECVQAYTOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664217},"content":"Having said this, his phone is very important to him. “It’s nice to have that instant avenue of communication with all my friends. It’s like I’ve got them right there. I don’t have to ring them up. I don’t have to go and see them if they live further away.” He believes phones help with social connection, rather than the opposite.","type":"text"},{"_id":"62UCTVJPGFFTJGEPWPLZMLOEZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743110664218},"content":"Calum doesn’t think adults understand that teenagers can easily get around rules they may have in place about certain social media platforms, by installing and uninstalling apps ahead of parental checking. He thinks parents believe they have more control than they actually do. “It’s incredibly easy to access stuff. You can access through the browser as well.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jen Hogan"}},"name":"Jen Hogan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Young people are familiar with social media terms and concepts mentioned in the Netflix drama, and know misogyny is rife online. Their parents? 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He was motivated to do so after the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/u2/\" target=\"_blank\">U2</a> frontman accepted a Presidential Medal of Freedom from the outgoing US president, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/joe-biden/\" target=\"_self\">Joe Biden</a> – a development that shocked Wall, lead singer with The Stunning and a successful actor with roles in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2024/03/01/dune-part-two-review-denis-villeneuve-endeavours-to-turn-high-end-pulp-into-holy-writ/\" target=\"_blank\">Dune: Part 2</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/the-witcher-season-two-brims-with-action-adventure-and-twisting-tentacled-nasties-1.4757889\" target=\"_blank\">The Witcher</a>. “He doesn’t need a medal from a man funding a genocide,” he wrote in reference to Biden’s track record in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/gaza-strip/\" target=\"_self\">Gaza</a>. His remarks, initially posted on <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk’s</a> X, took on a life of their own and ricocheted around the internet. Talk about brewing up a storm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AM6OE2U3LNGDRJCUFNITDPXEZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808944},"content":"“I was nervous about doing it. I’ve met Bono, yeah, a few times,” says Wall, who has also had success as lead singer with The Walls, a duo he formed with brother Joe when The Stunning went on hiatus. “U2 gave The Walls the support in Slane Castle in 2001. We sent them The Walls’ first album, Hi-Lo. They said they liked it. They put us on the bill. I remember meeting Bono backstage at Slane, very briefly.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C5RCPKUR2VEVFBCFWO7MXWBCBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808945},"content":"Bono would later help Wall secure a visa to the United States, for which he remains grateful, he explains from his home in Harold’s Cross, Dublin. “I needed to get an O-1 visa for America,” he says, referring to a temporary visa awarded to individuals “who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KCYGNPHFI5DXRJCJCYU4XZRZHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212840},"content":"“As part of that process, you have to get letters from people who basically [say] you’re a stand-up citizen, and somebody of worth,” recollects Wall.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HCU6NGFZGBFBBN5QQGSIBP55DE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808946},"content":"“Apparently, the more influential people you can find to do that for you, the better. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/aidan-gillen/\" target=\"_blank\">Aidan Gillen</a> wrote me a letter. And then a mutual friend asked Bono. He was the first one to deliver it. I was grateful for it. He delivered a letter saying, ‘I Bono... hereby state, Steve Wall…’ A very generous thing to do. I also sat beside him at a mutual friend’s wedding. Myself and Joe had a great conversation with him.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WTQUQ4PW2FEVRF7MDPMKGSQTFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808947},"content":"It’s a sunny lunchtime in Dublin, and Wall is enjoying a rare breather. He’s recently returned from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/northern-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Northern Ireland</a>, where he has a part in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/game-of-thrones/\" target=\"_blank\">Game of Thrones</a> spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He’s also looking ahead to shows later this year by The Stunning, the band he started in Galway with Joe – and with whom he has clocked up hits such as Brewing Up A Storm, Romeo’s On Fire and Half Past Two. But the conversation has inevitably turned to his criticism of Bono and Wall’s long-standing and vocal support for Gaza.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BQPZS2UKMFG4XKHPGLC52RJPJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808948},"content":"“I’m a member of the Irish-Palestine Solidarity Campaign and have been for quite some time – for years. I’ve been going on marches for probably 15 years or so now. I remember bringing my daughter [Tuccia], who was only five or six at the time, to a march. The unfairness of what’s been happening to Palestinian people has always been on my radar.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPCULAFHCRGFRN7KJ4YAL7X6WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212844},"content":"Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Hothouse Flowers: ‘I was quite disappointed by Bono. I don’t think Sinéad O’Connor would have done it’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IOTT4ILNAZGD7K7ELJWZBPDCAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808949},"content":"When the conflict in Gaza escalated in 2023, he noted that Bono – in theory modern rock’s great campaigning voice – wasn’t speaking out. “There are so many people who are so upset by the images we’ve been seeing. I was aware U2 weren’t saying anything. They were doing the gigs in Las Vegas at the time. People were saying on social media, ’Why isn’t Geldof saying anything, why isn’t Bono saying anything?’ I wasn’t expecting them to. When it came to the offer of this medal from Joe Biden, I thought ‘Oh, he’s not going to accept that’. The genocide was at its worst. They were talking about America sending more of these 2,000-pound bunker-busting bombs. When I saw about Bono being offered the medal, I tweeted ’Surely he won’t accept that’. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/01/04/bono-to-be-awarded-us-presidential-medal-of-freedom/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/01/04/bono-to-be-awarded-us-presidential-medal-of-freedom/\">I didn’t know he already had</a>.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HASOU6QCWNGY3MGOVFAIJ7ZJ5E","additional_properties":{"_id":"SFNQ4ERRJRH73JFBJ5BPVHUXRA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"MJF2UVUSIRD3JOJJ7KGVBV2KLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808950},"content":"Irish music is riven with invisible red lines – there are certain artists you simply don’t dare criticise (yes, they are exactly who you think they are). Wall, though, has long been willing to say the unsayable. He’s a vocal critic of Irish commercial radio, which he accuses of largely shutting out Irish musicians.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BWUNSEAGNFG3HLWAXNEZIZ6U7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390817838},"content":"“They cover their asses by playing contemporary pop acts that are signed to major labels: Wall to wall <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dermot-kennedy/\" target=\"_blank\">Dermot Kennedy</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/gavin-james/\" target=\"_blank\">Gavin James</a> ... whatever.” In 2012, he led the charge against the ghastly marketing campaign that was Arthur’s Day, which involved UK-headquartered drinks giant <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/diageo/\" target=\"_blank\">Diageo</a> working with a London PR firm to airlift British artists into Dublin to celebrate an “Irish” brand of dark beer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7DOPBFPXLZD6BHYXDAMNCZO7P4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808951},"content":"“There is always the worry that you are burning bridges and going to scupper your career,” says Wall. “Then a year or two passes, and I’ve found it hasn’t affected things. If anything, we’ve garnered some respect within the industry, where people take you seriously and go, ’Okay, we’re not going to mess with them’. You have principles.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QJEIWJ6CUBCNPK4G5IMZJ3SPSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212852},"content":"“I found it fine to speak out about things as long as you weren’t on silly rants. Even with Arthur’s Day, I was surprised how few artists backed me up. No one was saying anything. They were keeping schtum. Only a couple came out: Declan O’Rourke, Mundy, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/christy-moore/\" target=\"_blank\">Christy Moore</a>. The following year, Christy Moore came out and wrote a song, Arthur’s Alco-Holiday, which was the nail in the coffin.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKWM63PHMJC4BP5C7F2GBDQPKI","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"AEKMFYILHRB3HIDZWUYO5EKCUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808952},"content":"Wall’s fearlessness has served him well. Born in London and raised between Dublin and Ennistymon in Clare, he initially had success with songs such as Brewing Up A Storm – which, with its cascading “Da da da da” chorus, was inescapable in Ireland in the early 1990s.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NMY2LTSHLBFF3MASQMOQONUNXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808953},"content":"But in 2010, well into his 40s, he decided to reconnect with his first love – acting. Since then, his screen career has blossomed, with eye-grabbing character parts in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/hbo/\" target=\"_blank\">HBO</a> shows such as Raised by Wolves and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/netflix/\" target=\"_blank\">Netflix’s</a> <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2024/12/05/black-doves-revivew-keira-knightley-is-delightfully-sweary-as-a-devoted-wife-by-day-and-deadly-assassin-by-night/#:~:text=Black%20Doves%20review%3A%20Keira%20Knightley,by%20night%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Irish%20Times\" target=\"_blank\">Black Doves</a>, where he was perfectly cast as the emotionally brutalised hit-man father of Ben Whishaw’s character. He also popped up at the end of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/denis-villeneuve/\" target=\"_blank\">Denis Villeneuve’s</a> Dune Part 2, playing the captain of the Galactic Emperor’s personal guard – a significant part given that his Imperial Majesty was portrayed by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/christopher-walken/\" target=\"_blank\">Christopher Walken</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HHGAVAKP2JDPPJ7VLGOZPCXDVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808954},"content":"“With Dune, I got 24 hours’ notice to fly,” he remembers. “I got a call on a Wednesday morning at about 11am saying, could I fly to Budapest that night. The next morning, I’m brought to this massive sound stage and introduced to [director] Denis Villeneuve.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIVTQ6LJXBDI3FE2B6NIKK4K2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808955},"content":"It was a trip into the unknown for the actor, who was only vaguely familiar with the cult sci-fi franchise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XF2KJBYDNRDXLH3OPMOYVAGPIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808956},"content":"“I hadn’t seen the first Dune. I didn’t even know who was in it. He [Villeneuve] was such a nice man. He said, ‘Oh, Steve ... Thank you for coming at short notice. You have saved my life’. And I said, ‘I bet you say that to all the boys’. He was a really warm person. And he said, ‘Come over here, let me introduce you to your fellow cast’. And I walked over, and literally there was Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/austin-butler/\" target=\"_blank\">Austin Butler</a>, who I’d seen in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2022/06/23/elvis-tasteful-restraint-has-left-the-building/#:~:text=Film%20review%3A%20Baz%20Luhrmann's%20biopic,as%20hammer%20you%20into%20submission&text=There%20is%20a%20stubborn%20contradiction,life%20of%20Elvis%20Aaron%20Presley.\" target=\"_blank\">the Elvis film</a> two weeks beforehand. And Christopher Walken. And Villeneuve goes, ’Hey, everybody, this is Steve… He’s playing Bashar’. And they all turn around. They went, ‘Hi, Steve’. I was nervous. But I was even more nervous then. I had one line to say, but I was sh*tting bricks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KURFNNRAQFD7FJFJ6XCALZQPAI","additional_properties":{"_id":"N4WVRP52U5B5FLZZ5T4DR2R72A"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"RIJIPQRBK5DGTBZYN4MXJQOU5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212857},"content":"Steve Wall: ‘The whole music industry should be out on the street marching about this’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"6HLWGBQV2BFO3FRT4ZESA72QRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808957},"content":"An unexpected side effect of his success as an actor is that it has renewed his passion for music. “It’s the one thing where you’ve got some kind of power. As an actor you can be quite powerless. Unless you’re an A-lister being offered involvement as an executive producer. Where you’re at that stage, where you’re enough of a name where someone will back the project. When you’re an actor like myself in a supporting role, generally pretty replaceable, you can be very powerless. That’s not a nice feeling. I started out trying to be an actor before The Stunning. It’s funny – recently I’ve been reminded why I stopped it and decided to start a band. It was exactly that same feeling where somebody else has the power to point the finger and say, ’No you can’t work’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJNHVJZVAZH7BBDJIC5C7YZDY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808958},"content":"His feelings about The Stunning are complicated. Brewing Up A Storm, Half Past Two and Romeo’s On Fire made the band beloved in Ireland. However, they were unable to attract much of an international following despite major touring, which included a run supporting <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bob-dylan/\" target=\"_blank\">Bob Dylan</a> in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQRY7XRABNGXVI7BOVCUKARGSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742988212861},"content":"‘You just feel absolutely helpless’: The Stunning’s Steve Wall hit by ECB rate hikes","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"7VZND3ES5JD7TH7GEDDHDFGKHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808959},"content":"“We broke up out of frustration in 1994. We were funding everything ourselves through the gigs in Ireland – that funded all the trips abroad and also all our releases. We weren’t managing to get that break to get our music released abroad, to get booking agents, to get the festival circuit. Then myself and Joe formed The Walls and we had another frustrating time. Again, it was all self-financed. We didn’t intend to reform The Stunning when we reissued [1990 debut album] Paradise in the Picturehouse in 2003.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAEUN6Q3SVDGVAAIMDDKSZG6HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808960},"content":"He has thoughts about the state of the record business in 2025 – in particular, the soaring price of concert tickets. “The Oasis debacle is going from bad to worse,” he says, referring to the controversial use by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/oasis/\" target=\"_blank\">Oasis</a> of a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2024/10/01/oasis-abandons-dynamic-pricing-for-remainder-of-world-tour/\" target=\"_blank\">“dynamic pricing” model</a> for their reunion tour that resulted in punters paying hand over fist to hear <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/liam-gallagher/\" target=\"_blank\">Liam Gallagher</a> belt out Wonderwall.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MI4WJXS7WFAXRCERFMBYEAPRZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808961},"content":"“Now they’re talking that the set will be just under an hour [a claim recently made by Liam on social media, presumably in jest]. I’m kind of sniggering to myself. I have no intention of going at that kind of money. It’s horrible, the whole thing. If you spend €400 on a ticket, you want some value for money. It puts a lot of pressure on the artist to deliver.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X6A2A3T3NBG7DIWK3AN5HOIEBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"2V2TT6G6AFE2LENYN6CVOX72IQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"6GXAEFBJMRFEBISVJYXYXWR4D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808962},"content":"Wall despairs, too, for the state of modern music – especially the mewling, messianic pop to which he is exposed when out and about in Dublin. “There’s so much over-anxious, emotive singing. I’m not going to name names. You’ll know from the description who I’m speaking about. There’s so much of that stuff. It’s formulaic – music that sounds like it was made on an app. It’s horrendous – over-emotive. I cannot listen to it. I would have to leave if it was on in a shop. It’s ego-eccentric, indulgent. The melodies are like nursery rhyme melodies. You feel like saying, ’Will you please listen to a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/the-beatles/\" target=\"_blank\">Beatles</a> song, a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/radiohead/\" target=\"_blank\">Radiohead</a> song, a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/pink-floyd/\" target=\"_blank\">Pink Floyd</a> song, a Cole Porter song’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KFGB5VG7NZFN7DBA3SS3SOPWRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808963},"content":"Still, there are glimmers of light. He is full of praise for a younger generation of Irish artists such as Dublin post-punks <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/fontaines-dc/\" target=\"_blank\">Fontaines DC</a>, the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/the-murder-capital/\" target=\"_blank\">Murder Capital</a>, from Cork and Dublin, and Belfast-Derry Irish rap trio <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kneecap/\" target=\"_blank\">Kneecap</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y74W7V6BK5HLBO54QN4RHDCJQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808964},"content":"“I have huge respect for Fontaines DC and their stance on Palestine [they spoke out about Gaza at the recent Brit Awards]. I think that is so important. There are so many people – not just musicians and actors – afraid to speak out in case they are blacklisted. But there are so many people that are sitting on the fence as well – ‘Oh I don’t watch the news any more’. They stick their head in the sand. Who is going to fight the monsters? The world is now full of monsters, and they’re brazen. They’re putting their atrocities on social media – Trump is parading his ignorance in front of the world with his meeting with Zelenskiy. If everyone sticks their head in the sand, then there’s nobody to fight the monsters. And the monsters end up ruling the Earth.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RLQHHBTU6NFXRD4PF2YQZVRV34","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808965},"content":"Despite The Stunning’s lack of international success, in many ways Wall has had a gilded existence. Supporting U2 at Slane, reading lines with Christopher Walken – what a life to have lived. Yet there has been personal tragedy too: in 2017, Wall’s niece Estlin, aged just three, died in a car crash, and his brother Vincent sustained a severe and significant brain injury when he had to swerve to avoid a truck that had pulled out from behind a bus. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/steve-wall-on-his-family-s-tragedy-it-was-a-year-from-hell-1.4345693\" target=\"_self\">The tragedy has indescribably marked the entire family</a>, and, perhaps, it’s one more reason why Wall feels the need to speak out, while he has the opportunity to do so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4OXPEZNO2RAEZJKAI2GEMHECYU","additional_properties":{"_id":"JLYIDNYNRZGRDH4BULCECCLYME"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"IMHEXNUJ2BCR7AWTUDY77FM4XM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390817854},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"V7C2RXDDFJBCNLVOIBOKKKQ73M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808966},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"M477B6LE3BGUPPGJDAV7SXEK5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808967},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"3OSJOL7O3VA7LN4CRUJQYB2JRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742390817857},"content":"With St Patrick’s Day behind us, he feels, for example, that “every Patrick’s weekend our Government dances a jig for the American administration in Washington”. “What’s happening in the US right now is like an updated version of the McCarthy era, but it’s even more dangerous, with the involvement of big tech companies and media organisations that are controlling what we see,” he adds. “It’s propaganda in our pockets. That’s why it’s really important for people to look at a variety of news sources, including Al Jazeera. What we’re seeing now in Gaza, in Palestine, is the death of the human soul. [...] Europe needs to pull together and let America implode, which they will. There’s another four years of this Oompa Loompa.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3IWWTYHZTFBFFCN45LLFLLJ5JA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808968},"content":"But while rarely reluctant to voice an opinion, he feels he is far mellower than earlier in his career. He used to get wound up all the time – often over the most trivial things. Today, with The Stunning playing to sell-out audiences and his acting going better than he had ever dared to dream, he is happy taking life as it comes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3DZIUNYC7ZFWZJOLKY234VLHHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808969},"content":"“I used to get upset if our album didn’t get reviewed or they did some kind of thing about ‘New Irish Music’ and we didn’t get included. Or we didn’t get airplay with the new single. Those things, I used to take to heart, because we put so much work into it. And then when my daughter was born, I changed. I gave less of a sh*t. My priority was my child. Everything changed. I felt better for it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IVPQLMQBEVDLTD7MWXWL6NZ4UM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742383808970},"content":"<i>The Stunning play the Olympia, Dublin, on September 13th, Dolan’s Limerick, November 28th, 29th and Cyprus Avenue Cork, December 20th</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ed Power"}},"name":"Ed Power"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Stunning and The Walls musician and actor on honesty, activism and a life in the arts "},"display_date":"2025-03-29T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Steve Wall: ‘When Bono was offered the medal, I tweeted: Surely he won’t accept that. I didn’t know he already had’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"6Y7AFDKDGBEQ5K7V45F66G2J34","auth":{"1":"12307e889a10baf1ae3fd18b3f608e2978eaa59084a7cda5e62f67a30812dc3e"},"focal_point":{"x":2155,"y":713},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6Y7AFDKDGBEQ5K7V45F66G2J34.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/steve-wall-when-bono-was-offered-the-medal-i-tweeted-surely-he-wont-accept-that-i-didnt-know-he-already-had/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"GMER73ADFJGS5MYPFSDKXK6U5U","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-most-certainly-do-have-an-american-accent-i-tell-my-supposed-half-brother-im-from-south-dublin/","content_elements":[{"_id":"K6J54TIANRDYJB5WOXZCDTAJMA","additional_properties":{},"content":"For, like, 30 seconds, I’m as quiet as Thomond Pork since 2019 and the dude ends up having to repeat himself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K43X3OGRDNBQPIAFOG4KCRR37A","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Ross, did you hear me? I said this is Brett. I’m your, I suppose, <i>half</i>-brother?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ICK5KOPE6VCKPPVMJ7GJ2VWW7E","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m sitting in the cor, in the Killiney Hill cor pork, still trying to, like, process it. I’m actually shaking, like Thomond Pork used to shake – again, before 2019.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TDKAER2X4JBDTPVB4SX4PUJWPE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Look, I’ve obviously caught you at a bad moment. Do you want me to ring you back at a more convenient time?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JZYHIQMZEZGY5PK4TUZDFYIETU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “No, it’s all good, Brett. I’m just distracted here, watching my kids kick the shit out of each other.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PYWWC5VZLFETPMU4DQYS6F7KMQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Oh, how many kids do you have?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"O73TEJSL6VD3BNOH4RRMSPZKOY","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I go, “Definitely five.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"F2SPZ3UDRNHTBEYXCQKQLH4T5Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s there, “What do you mean by definitely five?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KRP5CELZFFBJDH2O77G2LXTRYM","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “As in, five is the number I’ve paid to feed and clothe. But I’d be a focking idiot to think there aren’t more of them out there. Hennessy, the old man’s solicitor, tidies up a lot of my messes and keeps it all on a need-to-know basis.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZ7MV5CUQBD3DMA7TMBGU3CPEE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He laughs like he thinks I’m joking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MWNWCQJYRZGYHDAYTJRYLBOGDE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Sense of humour,” he goes. “Okay, that’s <i>very</i> Irish.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5D6MZ3ABZCJLMVDIBRGBTW7PE","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “So what about you? How many kids do you–?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4GKOGNXHFJFEBPCXF6IHHBFOKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s there, “Two. Boy and a girl. Both in their 20s now. Molly’s at Columbia and Dorian’s at Princeton.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YBCUWLZABGUPLWBCGA7USVVFY","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “What are they?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"I4J6HAM2IZA7FOQ3WGBZPACOWQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Are you serious?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5J6OLUIBBDLXESRKXYV2XOU6Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Yeah, no, Columbia and Princeton – what even <i>are</i> they?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3GYZTD4JE5CA5EMXBAXQAV6MZM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Er, they’re colleges,” he goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4U7UIJTDBVDJ7OT36LZT3UJKJM","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “I’ll take your word for it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KR4P43DSUVENBLQXZJIEN7TDKA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I definitely don’t feel like we’ve clicked yet.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JAHD6GV2A5DZLBYROZQ43GECIA","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “So, er, is that an American accent I’m hearing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LN7V77EWMZENHPENF3QQY6M2OY","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “It most certainly is, Brett.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSJ7Q5BJBJFW7HJB2CCMQRPWCY","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Oh, so you’ve lived in the States?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X7TCOZSBVVHY3PH3NABESDWAKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Not since I did my J1-er in Ocean City 25 years ago. But I’m <i>from </i>south Dublin. Everyone here talks like this.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEFZYSM4QNHHPPB4NCPGW4Q3XA","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Oh, right – wow!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSUOIMIZKRASFG2C6E5MRHLQHM","additional_properties":{},"content":"I think he’s more impressed by me than I am by him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPHAH22PYNG3HCU4KLS2CL6SHE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s there, “So, em, what do you do, Ross?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFM4ADKCT5ATFAVPD3OE36QEZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Okay, define <i>do</i>.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MVBW5Z5DINCZNAEDDZHXT2DYJQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “I mean for a living.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QSYQPGLVNZHCHACBLKRKR3GQQA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Now it’s <i>my</i> turn to laugh?","type":"text"},{"_id":"4QE7PCVZHFCKFALSSKXE4WHOUU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Fock-all, Brett. Sweet fock-all.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WYYIQIJ3LJFCFIEHVE3SGTVFXU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Sorry, did you say fock-all?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QXA5GTOFZ5DAPG7WPWNXMWOPEA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Yeah, no, my old man’s rolling in it. So me and gainful employment have led what you might call happy but very much exclusive lives. What about you? You don’t actually work, do you?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RSPWKM65OZBRZML5GMJ2TZLQSI","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Yeah,” he goes, “I’m actually an ophthalmic surgeon.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMYE7YQ6MZCWHKPIFQPYUYNFSM","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"M7PAXCE4YJECDOZLTTM6A7BGVQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I don’t know what that is and neither do I ask. But he obviously got his brains from his old man.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CNM7XENKM5HHFK3SR3QY2LMJH4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Fair focks,” I just go. “Fair focking focks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OQIROCL42ZDPFI5VR22XB4ONBA","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Er, thanks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XNVJZR2ANNFGFCI2WUK4YWERCI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I suddenly shout, “If you put a dent in my cor, I’ll kick you so focking hord that you’ll be wearing your orse as a hat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LU3QJMPTTBD4DNAV5RAYTVALQE","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2NMWY3CBX5HKJCFCT3R4IT3QQQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Sorry, Dude, I’m just talking to my kids here,” because Brian and Leo are standing on the bonnet of the X5, going at each other toe-to-toe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XOIXW53SW5GAPEU4V2ZJAYSW6A","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “So, em, I guess the inevitable question is: do you want to meet up?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"P3GLGNSMKZFLVCJWFWMQLKGSFA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Yeah, no, whatever. Whereabouts in the States are you living?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OMAO465BCJBARC7FGSXRD3BSW4","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “New York.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C3PLJJXZR5HFPNPOJZZGV7WUAY","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I’m there, “New York, New York! The Lone Stor State!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2NFBBCKJIJCRLCQTMYBHV6WGKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Okay,” he goes, “I’m beginning to get a handle on your sense of humour.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OKQ5WJAFN5DXDPUIULU3TJOBEI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I wasn’t even joking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FOQMXAKEPFCCXMEHCUJKL47VDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “As it happens, I have to go to London for a medical conference in three weeks. I could maybe swing by Ireland on my way home.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y2A2FNIZARBRVPPY7J2C735M74","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “No, yeah, it’d be good to hook up all right. Do you want me to mention it to the old dear? Just to warn you, she’s in a nursing home. Half the time, she doesn’t even know who I am.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PMYFGAFCXZGENIA7SNJHZZRSEA","additional_properties":{},"content":"There’s, like, silence on the other end of the line.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W65EWGLT2VERFBSRALULTVPO4E","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Dude, I’m sorry if that comes as a shock to you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VBE3CGEQMBH2XICOZZUGB4YVOY","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Ross, I’ve been in touch with Fionnuala for, like, years.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TCZP23ON65DRJIXASI4AB7ZS5E","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NXYK4AZFXNADDOWPGIAC47PLFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “We reconnected. Many, many years ago.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ORJQDNZN5AQZGRNPWV4P5Z5KQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “She never said anything to me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6WZRKLR5ZRHRBL4JLVHZNWYZXU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “She’s been here, like, five or six times. She’s even met her grandchildren.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GFGRHMX4SRFE3OWB7NTVQX34AA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"WBI2PQXFSZCFXNVGURSKRTPW7U","additional_properties":{},"content":"My famous mind is suddenly cranking to life. I’m remembering all those times she went to the States to have her bra-line lifted or her buccal fat sucked out of her face and now I’m wondering was she really going to visit her secret son.","type":"text"},{"_id":"35EE6MU6DNFTRNJHW7JMQLD45A","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Certain things are storting to add up now. Like, she never came home looking any better than when she left.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L35QGD4FTNGWTEXDBMLH4OKU5E","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Well, like I said, we’ve been in each other’s lives for a number of years now.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VAXA6PBG6VDDNOPURN33JCG4FA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “You focking scrote-faced, hairy-lipped blobfish!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QBFIN2QJXNHZTH65F2J43PWHP4","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “Sorry, Ross, are you talking to your children again?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UKZF3XOWZEW5FTI24E35BMOHA","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I’m there, “No, I’m not, Dude. No, I am not.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XI4I36DPMZD77LPRYADE77DFTI","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Look, we’ve obviously got a lot of catching up to do.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ONIXUFHVS5FZVI5TY2D5EBS5FY","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Yeah, no, it definitely sounds like it. Here, back up the hord drive for a minute. If you’ve been in touch with my old dear for years – and she’s visited you in the actual States – why did you never get in touch with me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S7N4HCBRWFAIBMCNLMACC7WWYQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Now <i>he’s</i> the one who’s silent?","type":"text"},{"_id":"W3CX6KBWDBBGVC46UP2YOSWUDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m like, “Dude, are you still there?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2H3Z6YN6GRCUJPIFFHCISVLKNQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “Look, Ross, the truth is that Fionnuala never told me that I had a brother.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DNZ5RQ2BQZHVVEGQCH3QGI7KKI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “Okay, I’m not sure if something is being lost in translation here. Are you saying she didn’t mention that she had a son who played rugby to a very nearly professional standard?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PLGRAMH65RAQZMXPFCUTEC5QDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I don’t know why I throw that bit in about rugby. Maybe him mentioning that he’s a something-something surgeon has me feeling like a possible underachiever.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4AFQP4UPUJCSFHH7SOUYW4TKQQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"He goes, “I’m really sorry to tell you this, Ross, but she never mentioned you in any of our meetings, or even our phone calls.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZGXVSQLUJGADPWRXPUQKPQM4M","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’m there, “That hatchet-faced horse-beast.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJEKN3KKNFBJHJ4HMJIN2YDK2I","additional_properties":{},"content":"He’s like, “As a matter of fact, when I asked her if she had any more children after me, she said ‘Thankfully no’.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"I’m actually shaking on the phone to Brett, like Thomond Park used to shake before 2019"},"display_date":"2025-03-29T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘I most certainly do have an American accent,’ I tell my supposed half-brother. ‘I’m from south Dublin’","native":""},"label":{},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EZNAZ4S6IBDEJMGYK7QFWXKPQE","auth":{"1":"74e9ec6ae3f3aca7451d26c550629f1dbe92b59cfa3f410ed096635542849d3f"},"focal_point":{"x":1454,"y":863},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EZNAZ4S6IBDEJMGYK7QFWXKPQE.jpg"},"podcast":{"embed":{"config":{"duration":373.612,"episodeTitle":"I’m actually shaking on the phone to Brett, like Thomond Park used to shake before 2019","imageUrl":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61409402444fd951a7f27e60/1673383397461-8f5dc76da6409974bd352dc3e7b7a299.jpeg","showTitle":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly","streamUrl":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/streams/61409402444fd951a7f27e60/episodes/67e679ba59009cabb299d285.mp3"}}}},"subtype":"podcast","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"},{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Podcasts"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-most-certainly-do-have-an-american-accent-i-tell-my-supposed-half-brother-im-from-south-dublin/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly","additional_properties":{"original":{"Podcast":{"podcast_logo":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/MH35IEIN5FGYNH7X3SQF3E4LBQ.jpg"}}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}}}},{"_id":"ZYUOM6VYUREYFEAMZY5LMVXEEQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":168,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/8f521b36-1d89-444a-b362-150a25676f6c/versions/1743013764/media/f46f4a3b11e704bd3a19aee686573729_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/annie-mccarrick-murder-garda-cold-case-team-hope-new-timeline-will-lead-to-breakthrough/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GGQUTQPZLZF7XKHTVTDMLCPFDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357890},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/garda-siochana\" target=\"_blank\">Garda</a> cold case investigation into the disappearance of young <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/united-states\" target=\"_blank\">American</a> woman <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/annie-mccarrick\" target=\"_blank\">Annie McCarrick</a> from her flat in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/sandymount\" target=\"_blank\">Sandymount</a> on March 26th, 1993, is uncovering a litany of errors in the original investigation. It had led to a false narrative about Annie’s last movements for 30 years until her disappearance was upgraded to a murder case two years ago and a new investigation team was appointed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P2QDB2GEV5HB3M5V536DBVT6KM","additional_properties":{},"content":"So, did Annie go walking in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dublin\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> mountains that day and end up at a gig in Johnnie Fox’s pub in Glencullen?","type":"header"},{"_id":"S3KIOPHM5BDMRL4GNPTIFRXMVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357892},"content":"Turns out those sightings were all false. Her family and the gardaí now believe that another young American woman, who had long wavy hair, was erroneously identified as Annie. Photographs extracted from videos taken in the pub that night have confirmed this.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QMDZDHGFGZC53BHBEV2NTBSGXM","additional_properties":{"_id":"5HAWNEVOCJCDLPCL7BIW2J6FTA"},"content":"Annie McCarrick’s best friend from childhood: ‘I believe she knew the person responsible for her death’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5UFKVI7M4RDF7CEP7JPF4POT2M","additional_properties":{},"content":"If that is the case, what is known about her last movements?","type":"header"},{"_id":"MURM7LQTGRGA3JKMKG5MUA3C3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357894},"content":"Well, interestingly, The Irish Times confirmed last year that a CCTV photo of her in the Sandymount branch of the AIB, which was publicised as the last definitive sighting of her on the morning she disappeared, was, in fact, taken 11 days earlier. However, a receipt with shopping from the local Quinnsworth left in her flat supports the fact that she was there after 11am on the day she disappeared.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R7ZXGV5POVBWPOH6MG5WHTPOVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"We can only imagine how difficult this is for her family and friends.","type":"header"},{"_id":"6RJW56QDGJCGHNAS4L72EDGE2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357896},"content":"Exactly, particularly since her family and friends sent several faxes in the aftermath of her disappearance, stressing how she was having significant difficulties with a young man whom she knew well. Her mother, Nancy McCarrick, who is now in her 80s, has said the gardaí didn’t listen to them at the time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JGNQEJFDQ5CDTGGH7UPFG35L44","additional_properties":{},"content":"How does Nancy McCarrick feel about the new investigation?","type":"header"},{"_id":"D6HCQAMKNZBHJPL2EHYHQ56PPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357898},"content":"She has nothing but praise for the new team’s diligence, empathy and continued communications with her. No stone has been left unturned, she has said, noting that the forensic attention to every detail – no matter how small – has been very impressive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DWFFVZHGQFA3FPWU2WY2PXBM2I","additional_properties":{"_id":"JCSH5FPUIRCAFGFMXMS5G3DIJE"},"content":"The murder inquiry into the 1993 disappearance of Annie McCarrick - is it making progress a year on?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"GCSEFGN2XVDPJJQTUVOQEJF44E","additional_properties":{},"content":"It seems like gardaí have gone back to the drawing board and started with a blank sheet again?","type":"header"},{"_id":"Y3C2FXUJLZBJLEIWRF4KWPYZRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357900},"content":"Yes, that is undoubtedly why they went to France in February to interview a man who knew Annie very well. Like so many of her friends, he was interviewed during the original investigation too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ATYYBVXO5FRBCM6NIKC4PU6GA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Surely, the passage of time is a fundamental challenge to this case being resolved?","type":"header"},{"_id":"ILHGZWNYLZBN5CCDVYOW7I3XTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743005357902},"content":"Yes, it is. But all they need is one little break, one person, who may have the most trivial piece of information, to come forward. That is what Nancy McCarrick prays for during her daily attendance at Mass.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Áine Ryan"}},"name":"Áine Ryan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Garda cold case investigation into disappearance of American student is uncovering litany of errors in original investigation"},"display_date":"2025-03-29T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Annie McCarrick murder: Garda cold case team hope new timeline will lead to breakthrough","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XEWCAO6TA5FOJNUVQTL72TKTME","auth":{"1":"a4558ab8079f5ffc3a714bf9127f8d4980f8c65d4d04a753de055eabbbafd4cb"},"focal_point":{"x":1066,"y":614},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XEWCAO6TA5FOJNUVQTL72TKTME.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Crime & Law"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/29/annie-mccarrick-murder-garda-cold-case-team-hope-new-timeline-will-lead-to-breakthrough/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"LRZRUSZSERGMXHLCYOLVHNW5YI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":112,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/ae441fa5-ce1d-4947-ace6-201c6f871ed3/versions/1743161923/media/283a29d0bfd1a8ae79ca5c8c1ec66033_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/eu-call-to-stockpile-food-and-essentials-what-would-be-in-your-72-hour-survival-bag/","content_elements":[{"_id":"LYWT33Q6ZRBNLBI3GALKASOCTI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-union\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-union\">European Union</a> has this week urged citizens to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/26/stockpile-72-hours-of-supplies-in-case-of-disaster-or-attack-eu-tells-citizens/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/26/stockpile-72-hours-of-supplies-in-case-of-disaster-or-attack-eu-tells-citizens/\">stockpile enough food, water and essentials for 72 hours</a> in case of disaster or attack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3K53RTY7W5ASNGWJBNI4ZDGB44","additional_properties":{},"content":"It is part of an <a href=\"https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_856\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_856\">EU strategy </a>to increase readiness for catastrophic floods and fires, pandemics and military attacks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7HT5TVLC3FE63DCXZBTNEVQI5A","additional_properties":{},"content":"We’d like to hear your thoughts. What items could you not survive without if disaster struck? ","type":"text"},{"_id":"A4X2SV7GPVCZ3DAITIDSDLYY4Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"In a video on her social media, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, presents an emergency bag including her glasses, her documents, a flashlight, a Swiss army knife, medicine, a powerbank, tinned food and some cash.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A66QAP3H2NH7NAHZWFMDM2UJSY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Outlining its first preparedness strategy, the<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-commission\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-commission\"> European Commission</a> said it wanted to encourage citizens to take “proactive measures to prepare for crises, such as developing household emergency plans and stockpiling essential supplies”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"22FMUMZFFVARLIDMIVHSPYE7ZE","additional_properties":{},"content":"What would be in your disaster preparedness bag? Are there any particular or unusual items you’d add to the list? Are there favourite foods you can’t do without? Is making one something you have thought about or something you will consider doing? Do you think such a call makes sense in the times we live in or does it feel like scaremongering? ","type":"text"},{"_id":"5TWEE7LEYVBNFG63YD33C54OWI","subtype":"twitter","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"IMJHZ25ABJDATKB7OAJNIPPC6M","additional_properties":{},"content":"You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4KL3SYQI5DJPBFRZTLAYX4EPQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"We will curate a selection of submissions for an article but please note we may not publish every submission we receive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OJ7G7QZQDFD5NNCVBWSH3DU73I","content":"<span class=\"contribly-contribute-v2\" data-client=\"9fc0f2a4-9bf9-4464-8b77-ec351ad0db03\" data-assignment=\"10428267-5698-44ff-abe9-72bc63f5c10b\" data-display=\"inline\"></span><script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/contribly-widgets/contribute/contribute-v2.js\"><\/script>","type":"raw_html"},{"_id":"EAHQK7N3CJGENPE46ABSZQQ674","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"free"},"credits":{"by":[]},"description":{"basic":"Have your say: European Commission advises citizens to be prepared for floods, fires, pandemics and attacks"},"display_date":"2025-03-28T11:27:37.656Z","headlines":{"basic":"EU call to stockpile food and essentials: What would be in your 72-hour survival bag? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"Y66VIY4R4NAH5H3UPJNIHAELXU","auth":{"1":"41f3a8503648f74150bbfec41cc68a8822e6e2faee82fdaf7116d8db4d0e7da2"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/Y66VIY4R4NAH5H3UPJNIHAELXU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"Europe"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/eu-call-to-stockpile-food-and-essentials-what-would-be-in-your-72-hour-survival-bag/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"G436LVRRWVGPJKUOKH3CW65KXM","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/28/moving-to-another-country-is-hard-youre-not-failing-if-youre-not-living-up-to-a-filtered-social-media-standard-irish-in-australia/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RWMMND6WENFQXINHFLEIEXIR4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779829},"content":"Being a TV reporter means spending a significant amount of time doing vox pops. This is where you haunt the high streets of cities and towns, politely haranguing the general public into being on telly. It fills up a news package by getting everyday people to tell you what they think about an issue, but at a great personal cost. It feels like a sales job. You can’t approach too soon in case they spot you with your microphone and cross to the other side of the road. 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It is so cold on the streets and the constant rejection is wearing away at their soul.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CHMMJUJRJVHCBDO2FTTMVE4UAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779832},"content":"“Can I just ask you a questio…” was as far as I’d get before someone dismissed me with a wave. You could be out there for hours. To keep his spirits up, one camera operator I worked with invented a game of “Protestant or Catholic” for anyone who passed us. He could tell, you see. He had a gift. “Catholics don’t wear socks like that ... 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Which was easy enough – these were the people dressed in head-to-toe hiking gear and looking like they were about to summit Everest even though they were going to the Aran jumper shop on Nassau Street.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJDGJ2TVQVAEXOG3TZ3Q2GTDQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779835},"content":"We interrupted the holiday of a lovely older couple from Canada to ask them if their trip lived up to their expectations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TVVG67R34VA75MXLK6F4C7MGWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779836},"content":"The wife sighed, “I thought there would be more leprechauns.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FYODYCOYBVAG3O7H4UFCEAMMQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779837},"content":"“Oh you mean like more leprechaun-themed things like the Leprechaun Museum?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4OTCOSF6O5FM7OFGTTLOKMMZO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779838},"content":"No. She meant just leprechauns in general. The mythical beings. She was genuinely disappointed she hadn’t seen them out and about, waiting in line for a flat white in Costa or just popping to Penneys for a few bits before a girls’ night.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7FHHBXNFIJFV5GAMPWGA5EQ2XU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779840},"content":"I’ve been thinking of her often as I see the amount of “deinfluencing you from moving to Australia” videos floating around on <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok/\" target=\"_self\">TikTok</a> from young Irish arrivals. Some are disappointed by how expensive it is to live in Sydney. Others are discouraged by the restrictions on their working holiday visas that allow them to work for an employer for only six months, making it hard to find permanent “office” jobs. They’d been taken in by all the social media of sunrises on Bondi without realising a lot of travel influencing is a total swizz. I want to hug them all and say it’s going to be okay.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQDQZFIGPBHRTPETTVI32ZZNEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779841},"content":"The small enclave of Sydney’s east is not representative of life in Australia. Of course it’s expensive: trying to live there is like me moving to Ireland and insisting on living next to Bono in Dalkey. I’ve never been able to afford to live there. It’s okay to find it hard.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GVVLZXWWHBH7BGRTRB6S6VPOPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779842},"content":"We don’t all get up at 5am, put on active wear and go for a run on the beach. Those influencers who are hauling themselves out of bed that early can do that because they don’t work full-time jobs. They can nap at 2pm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"247QPOESSBENNCIIRBIZLBW5T4","additional_properties":{"_id":1743068582470},"content":"Brianna Parkins: ‘The Irish have a natural instinct for nosiness’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"6QJNWTBTKVFJJJDNS2EOD5BZXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743068582471},"content":"The best thing about the beach is that you can go any time of the day. Don’t let these influencers who base their day around getting a cute coffee at 7am convince you otherwise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JEMNSNMCNBAI7ILCPU2PSVJ7PM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743064779843},"content":"Moving to a new country on the other side of the world is really hard, even without the added bonus of visa restrictions and a global housing crisis. You’re not failing if you’re not living up to a highly filtered social media standard. Who cares what people at home think – you’re already so far in advance of everyone else who just talked about it but never followed through.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Brianna Parkins"}},"name":"Brianna Parkins"}]},"description":{"basic":"Irish emigrants in Sydney have been taken in by all the social media of Bondi sunrises without realising a lot of travel influencing is a total swizz"},"display_date":"2025-03-28T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Moving to another country is hard. 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Journeys to cities such as Oslo, Reykjavik, Hong Kong or Paris. Not because of danger, or travel stress, or extremes of temperature or culture shock, but because people will drive you to distraction telling you how expensive everything will be.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSIGA3KISFEEVINUYLTP3DJLZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474437},"content":"“Oh, it’s very dear,” was the refrain when I travelled to Norway for a short break a few years ago. “Nine euro for a beer. Maybe 11, even,” because there is nothing more Irish than spiking our cortisol levels over the price of a pint. Often, these warnings are followed by truisms about excellent public services and high wages, and more recently with dire comparisons to living in Dublin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AYYEJJPNUJAPBAR5RUV3FTOWSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474438},"content":"Coming up to a recent work-related trip to Zurich, I received the usual barrage of “very dear” warnings. And with good reason. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/switzerland/\" target=\"_self\">Switzerland</a>’s largest is regularly named as the most expensive city in the world. Food, healthcare and housing costs are through the roof, though our Zurich host explained that wages are high to meet those costs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MNJBFE52PRAMDOPTYPQ27LEDBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474439},"content":"She sympathised, unprompted, with us over the less favourable situation back in Dublin, also one of the most expensive cities in the world.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7C75L5TW6ZYNNQISRAOH3MBVPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474440},"type":"image"},{"_id":"WZAVO2VYHJG7RGN3ZKWUJ335NQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474441},"content":"I kept a running list of things we could learn from Zurich:","type":"text"},{"_id":"SZ3M3SIZUVBRFCMGVHWF7GFE5U","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"},{"_id":"4OJ5J3K26BHPRKHGWBSQ5Q3VQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474443},"content":"It wasn’t all “Zurich good, Dublin bad” though. Here’s a few lessons we have for the Swiss:","type":"text"},{"_id":"KPWH3NLJR5DJJLRMG4W2CIOBSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1743155474444},"content":"Emer McLysaght: The best way to enjoy the hotel breakfast buffet and why I love a dry fry","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ZKKSNC5RPNFSZKCHEUOIZQSIRI","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Emer McLysaght"}},"name":"Emer McLysaght"}]},"description":{"basic":"Before a work-related trip to Zurich, I received the usual ‘very dear’ warnings. 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There’s always been a sense of moving; an underlying very transient thing in my life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2552HVBUUBFHBK3S7B2TVKTZVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"TBK24F7RTBHXBCAPLQ6ZWFDDWY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"GQJJ4F2JYFDGFOF344PXW7N4NI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388392},"content":"I’ve been to four or five different schools. I went to school on the north side for a bit – to St John Bosco’s in Cabra. I still remember that playground. I remember being very nervous on the first day – it’s very strong in my mind, standing in a row just being so nervous. I remember kids’ shoes, and the seat next to me, and I remember the concrete yard, just little parts of it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GLXSMCKMUZEJTHB5PGPJQFDWYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388393},"content":"I moved out in my late teens, early 20s, and I’ve moved house every year or two years. The longest place I’d call home is, funnily enough, my studio. It’s a studio that I’ve had on Charlemont Square for six years. It’s the longest place I’ve stayed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KMTAADIXBE73CBBWHCLV2BOTI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388394},"content":"I had a friend when I was in primary school and his dad had a studio space upstairs in his house. He was a graphic designer but did loads of illustrations, and I found that space really curious, and really cool. He brought us to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/national-gallery-of-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">National Gallery</a> with some pencils and charcoals and paper. That’s ar really key memory – sitting on the floor of the <a href=\"https://www.nationalgallery.ie/\" target=\"_blank\">National Gallery</a> and drawing whatever was in front of us.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WWNUOBMDERAUDIWH7QEQXNQPSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388395},"content":"[As a teenager] I found a pocket of graffiti artists who were very like me – curious, creative. Graffiti – street art – really tickled that itch of creativity and put me in a space with other like-minded “outsiders”. I found my tribe and leaned into it. It gave me a sense of community, I think, and purpose.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BSLLZACM25CQNIFPTVGCE4THHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263959},"content":"I was exploring Dublin through the lens of: you can go anywhere, you can literally run around, get the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dart/\" target=\"_blank\">Dart</a> out to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bray/\" target=\"_blank\">Bray</a> – pure play and creativity. This was the mid-1990s. I found [Dublin] a bit more gritty, but more open. The places I was going to wouldn’t be your usual places. Windmill Lane, down on the quays, was a little haven for spray painting. It was a very mixed space. Now it’s all been developed, and it’s lost in some way its charm for me.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEFTDAUOZBG7VD5OSZBT4UPHTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263960},"content":"Where the<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bord-gais-energy-theatre/\" target=\"_blank\"> Bord Gáis Theatre</a> is – they used to call it Misery Hill – was a big, abandoned place that we used to go and spray paint. The Travelling community lived up at the top. You [were] stepping into these spaces that were sort of forbidden in some way, and risky. There was addiction in some of the areas. Now it’s all polished. I guess that’s the way cities transform and change. But I got to see a lot of different areas of Dublin, a lot of in-between areas that people don’t explore.","type":"text"},{"_id":"65K67XWSFVEDZDQOX44XRPRXKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1743425211805},"content":"Maser in Mountjoy: ‘The energy was insane. I was genuinely scared’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"S5OCW7FFDBFYXIMGB5AXQR3QNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388396},"content":"I moved to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/\" target=\"_blank\">US</a> for a few years, and then to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>. And then I came back and saw how transformed the city was. It made me realise how transient the space is. Most of the murals that I painted, even legal ones and commissioned ones, are gone. I had a studio down on Newmarket Square 15 years ago, and I painted a big “I’m a Homebird” on that wall. That space was very real, and mixed, and now it’s changed a lot. I see certain communities in there that have been fragmented, that aren’t respected.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VNJF7QIYNFBHCQEK7IFNG2RQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263961},"type":"image"},{"_id":"KH5XHZO3ONFP5NEODFFRMKF774","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388397},"content":"[Early in my career], there was a lot of travel. I’d be going to France, Germany, Australia, Hawaii, Russia, really cool places, doing artwork, painting murals. But internally I was quite disjointed. I don’t think what I was doing aligned with what felt right in me. There was a lot of burnout, emotionally and physically. It came to a point where it was like, I think I need to go home. That was counterintuitive to the progression of my career, I was worried that I was going to be stepping backwards. But I just had the need to do that. I’ve always navigated with my gut.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7KVQK47N7NFLNAKUQEKPIMS37I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263963},"content":"Street art in Ireland: The thorny issue of what is permitted","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AUZNH343R5C2VGV56SQPPTTOB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388398},"content":"I came back about seven or eight years ago and I set up Atelier Maser (I changed the name to Atelier Now a few years later). It was taking all the things I had learned from travel and creating a space that not only was a studio but also held other things that were important to me [like meditation and facilitating other artists’ projects]. That became me being rooted and grounded in Dublin. I wasn’t going backwards, it was the next chapter. And I fell in love with Ireland again because it offered me a lovely sense of place and security. I realised how safe this place was and how maybe it was the best place to have a family and call home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJJ44GOX7RC2XHETQSWWDTLWFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263965},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZYQ3VS4GHBHZPGBZH3TLQ5YRKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388400},"content":"I think Ireland has nurtured my mental health through its landscape. To be able to go out and hike and feed good thoughts and good actions – I don’t think I was able to get that in places like London.","type":"text"},{"_id":"APCULQNPMBH3DBC2F2MCIN5R74","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984263968},"content":"From the archive: ‘I had a bit of a rocky year. Mentally, I just felt drained’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LL6YUHHRKBBWLPVEVV3IG7UM6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388401},"content":"My work has fallen into an abstract, contemporary expressive space, but peeling back the layers, you can look at how it’s informed by the Irish landscape. A thing I love about Dublin and Ireland is how accessible natural resources are. I was jogging by the sea this morning with the sun coming up. And then just last weekend I was up in the Dublin mountains with my son and wife. I jog to the sea and, geographically, I know I’m at the edge of something. And then I go up a mountain and look over and get a real sense of space – I get perspective and context on who I am and where I am. My work, at first glance, mightn’t be “Irish”, but it’s all informed by my locations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TKQAV6GVQBCPVGKECEJKB75CGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742571388402},"content":"<i>In conversation with Niamh Donnelly. This interview, part of a series, was edited for clarity and length. The best of cutting edge and contemporary art, including an installation by Maser, will be showcasedat the first Art Evolve fair, which takes place at the RDS (Industries Hall) from April 4th-6th. Full fair details and booking at </i><a href=\"http://artevolve.ie/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>artevolve.ie</i></a><i>.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[]},"description":{"basic":"Street artist Maser on landscape, life lessons and turning back to go forwards"},"display_date":"2025-03-28T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Maser: ‘I fell in love with Ireland again. 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Sandbox VR, which its creators say was inspired by the sci-fi technology, has opened its first location in Ireland, on Dublin’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nassau-street/\" target=\"_blank\">Nassau Street</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P3DDEG53ZBB7LMORFFHLIXZOLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679900},"content":"The €4 million facility boasts five arenas where customers can gear up with virtual reality headsets, in-game weapons and experience custom-built games.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZU4OKWDVEFGUDNP6WMGN2OHOAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679901},"content":"The growing experience economy – or the selling of memorable experiences alongside Instagram-worthy moments – has long made its mark on the capital. A successful stint hosting the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2023/10/24/first-look-the-friends-tv-experience-comes-to-dublin/\">Friends experience</a> and the acclaimed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/van-gogh-dublin-an-immersive-journey-is-like-having-a-very-busy-dream-1.4881960\">Van Gogh Dublin – An Immersive Journey</a> demonstrated Dubliners are more than keen to give these sort of things a go.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVIQ2N5VNNGXHB555MAAYYRABQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679902},"content":"In fact, Sandbox VR’s Ireland and UK chief executive <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/03/24/world-leader-in-virtual-reality-experiences-to-open-flagship-dublin-facility/\">told The Irish Times</a> this week of expectations for Dublin to be its most popular location to date. So how does it shape up?","type":"text"},{"_id":"W2SBBU6DDBGJ5IDOWHCZ35CDU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679903},"content":"Descending from the busy streetscape, one is faced with enough LED lights to rival JJ Abrams’s notoriously lens flare-heavy Star Trek reboot. If <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tesla/\" target=\"_blank\">Tesla’s</a> Cybertruck designers ran loose on the world, it would probably look like this.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7MD4ASVTKJAX7GICVFINTTVUOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679905},"content":"Time to choose our game. As somebody raised on a diet of Call of Duty Zombies, Deadwood Phobia will do just fine. I’m told this shoot ‘em up is the most popular choice – and by far the scariest.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZNBG26XQBFHVE5M5C2RHN5ISY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679906},"content":"My team-mate and I strap on some wrist and hand bracelets to track our movements, and a haptic vest that vibrates when we’re being torn to shreds. The play area is generous, and once we’re confident we won’t crash into the surrounding walls, the game begins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BID74V7ZDJFTHLOI7F3GRTJZXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679907},"content":"Though the graphics aren’t lifelike, they’re pretty amazing. I look to my team-mate, who is dressed rather like Halo’s Master Chief, and we practise shooting our vibrating weapons with convincing in-game skins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"66DMM2246NFRRCWXYZIZA6OFBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679908},"content":"There appears to be a convoluted story involving a sorcerer hell-bent on something or other, but who ever played a zombie game for the plot? All we know is to shoot the baddies and rescue our friends.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VCNBUDUZTRANXEN4FU3KYPV3YY","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"NJYO6N2WHZC2ZKE4JCCFA67BWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679909},"content":"The enemies come in all manner of sizes and get right in your face. Environmental obstacles keep us on our toes too, demanding we duck and dive to survive. By the time we defeat the final boss and return to the real world, it’s clear I’ve broken a sweat.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y7TZUNY4GJHVFF5UJVYCXSW5AA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679910},"content":"The best way to describe Sandbox VR is like being sucked into one of those zombie arcade shooters one used to find in a bowling alley, Jumanji-style. It’s buckets of fun and hard not to lose oneself in the moment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCGSOUCQ6BE6HILLA64K63ALDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679911},"content":"I must note, though, if you’ve tried VR tech before and felt uneasy, this might be one to avoid. Our game lasts half an hour – a long time to be in that space.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCQNKHIMUNDNBH5MU6AA6IUX3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679912},"content":"Like an increasing number of things, this experience charges dynamic pricing. During daytime Monday-Friday, the quietest period, games cost €30 per person for a half an hour session. This increases to €37.50 during weekday evenings and Sundays, reaching €45 during “super-peak” time on Saturdays. There is an additional charge of €5 for games based on Netflix properties, including the critically acclaimed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2024/12/26/squid-game-season-two-review-tense-bloody-follow-up-ticks-boxes-if-youre-craving-more-red-light-green-light/\">Squid Game</a> and the widely panned <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2023/12/21/rebel-moon-part-one-a-child-of-fire-in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-yawn/\">Rebel Moon</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IKHAFNWTYFEOXORITR3MP3DUK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679913},"content":"If the VR wasn’t enough, Ireland’s first fully automated robot bartender is available for beverages after your session is finished. In a city where cocktails under a tenner feels like a bargain these days, €9 for a cocktail and €6 for mocktail seems acceptable – in particular with the added novelty of Toni the robot. I try the Rebel Moon Spritz which, I’ll admit, leaves me with a far better taste than the eponymous film. That’s not a high bar, but it’s a fun gimmick nonetheless.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RVMUS4BIUFGZVBZAIKD24KZYOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679914},"content":"Star Trek can’t come soon enough.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ORQWECA7ZRBEDDEAF6TVKOKD4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742984679915},"content":"<i>Sandbox VR opens to the public from today</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Conor Capplis"}},"name":"Conor Capplis"}]},"description":{"basic":"Sandbox VR boasts five arenas where customers can gear up and experience custom-built games - it’s like being sucked into an arcade machine"},"display_date":"2025-03-27T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"First look: Sandbox VR, Dublin’s new virtual reality experience, where a robot bartender serves cocktails after your game","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"USLTTSPMPVB5DGGMSVDGLSIF24","auth":{"1":"f1bcfe5a5cd2417bf67b7a75b568b1c6adab5528c8b3f8a53be19854f9ac5ffa"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/USLTTSPMPVB5DGGMSVDGLSIF24.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Dublin"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/27/first-look-sandbox-vr-dublins-new-virtual-reality-experience-where-a-robot-bartender-serves-cocktails-after-your-game/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"IMOBFVAD3FEE5LLCVTG7GIMX5U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":364,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/0a8010c7-746c-43f4-9857-efff548668e3/versions/1742389987/media/1b31f6199f17219122826a68b2b3b272_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/26/roisin-ingle-i-was-mortified-by-how-much-kate-middletons-message-affected-me/","content_elements":[{"_id":"SGNFGI5MAREZHK32XJDU7YMJKM","additional_properties":{},"content":"These days, most of us don’t keep diaries, but the photos on our smartphones are a sort of portal through which we can, with just a finger stroke, summon the days and months and years gone by. We can scroll back to holiday sunsets, good-hair-day selfies, random screenshots, memorable meals and family moments. Our personal visual archives are digital memory boxes communicating messages and insights from our past to our current selves. They can’t tell us the whole story, but they can tell us a lot. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5AMGFL7AVCKBMD2ZMULQNGQ3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"I’ve been flicking through the photos I took this time last year. It’s a typically eclectic mix. There are endless wedding and bridesmaid dresses, images grabbed from websites. (I was planning a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/01/22/roisin-ingle-after-24-years-of-non-married-bliss-and-bickering-my-wedding-was-a-whirlwind/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/01/22/roisin-ingle-after-24-years-of-non-married-bliss-and-bickering-my-wedding-was-a-whirlwind/\">wedding</a> in a short space of time and was desperate for Big Day Dress inspo.) There are selfies of me smiling while sitting in a big chair. (I was getting weekly chemotherapy in the Mater public hospital.) There are photos of my daughters and me on a night out at the theatre. (I wanted them to see it was possible to have fun even in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\">challenging circumstances</a>.) ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ECM6AR27QVCYPFTUTOSZHACPUI","additional_properties":{},"content":"In some of the photos I have long, brown hair in perfect condition. (I’d just spent a lot of money on a wig.) In other photos, I look like a middle-aged newborn baby. (I got my hair shaved off when it started falling out.) There is one photo of me, wig on, with some of my brothers and sisters at a restaurant that has since shut down. I’m grinning at the camera-wielding waiter but I had E.coli at the time because of my weakened immune system. That photo brings back the excruciating stomach pain I experienced as I tried to eat the side portion of vegetables I had ordered as a main course. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"7XERLAKQ5JHRBNMPEW5GFTD7UA","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"PIXBN2WNOJBGBGBYGFWZIFEXFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"There is no photo of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kate-middleton/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kate-middleton/\">Kate Middleton</a>, but the photos I took this time last year reminded me of her. Scrolling through them I was brought back to a moment, vulnerable, nauseous and in agony from the E.coli, watching a video she made sitting on a bench in her garden in front of a flower bed of daffodils. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"MIHOCAJNPJCLZALC7R63MLBX3Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"In the video, made one year ago this week, she revealed that doctors had found cancer in her body after abdominal surgery and that she was now receiving preventive chemotherapy. It was a surprise to me and to those close to me that I even watched her video. Part of my coping strategy back then was avoiding any mention of cancer, which was nearly impossible. It seemed to be everywhere. (It is everywhere.) Despite having cancer myself, I was actively avoiding cancer content. For some reason I forced myself to press play on her video, hoping I wouldn’t regret it. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"44OPDDOY2RE6TPOT34EU4E53QU","additional_properties":{},"content":"I did not regret it. She talked about how she was coping, in mind, body and spirit. She spoke about the impact on her children. But it was her final, carefully chosen words, referencing all of us who were facing the disease, “in whatever form”, that really spoke to me. “Please do not lose faith or hope; you are not alone,” she said. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BDBO3DHQDZHUBLYYHZXQBH62HQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"I cried then, in my bed, surrounded by used tissues and books I didn’t have the concentration to read. I let myself cry for ages. I cried for her, for her children, for myself and for all of us dealing with these life-changing challenges. Afterwards, I was slightly mortified by how much a two-minute video made by a princess – a princess! – had affected me. But I was also grateful. She had tapped into something that had been previously missing. A sense of solidarity that until then I hadn’t allowed myself to feel. I realised that despite all the support I had from family and friends, I was feeling alone in the experience. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGKP7YAM4ZG6TBWRP2QEO4OGUA","additional_properties":{},"content":"I felt a little less alone after watching that video. So much so that I actually thought about writing Kate Middleton a letter. I didn’t in the end. Or maybe this is the letter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BECJOGQJUJBP3IC2DTCJTHYQHM","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"HASZ3SU6K5A23EX3WEGUN24BZI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I looked back at her video this week, noticing the flowers behind her, realising that she delivered that message around Daffodil Day last year. This is the biggest fundraising day for cancer societies and it’s happening on Friday all over this country. I avoided it completely last year, I realise now. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"AVZM4MNKPJASTFNU5NRIJW6UCY","additional_properties":{},"content":"And I am still careful about the links I click on. Google is not my friend. But one year later, still on treatment <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2024/12/24/roisin-ingle-my-profound-challenging-surprisingly-joyful-life-changing-year/\">(they tell me my cancer is not curable)</a>, I am not as afraid of cancer content. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"XJO7W7DQ75C7DEGTEGXXQ6F5LQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Anyway, I cannot avoid it. A younger friend started treatment last week for her cancer. We’ve been talking and texting a lot. It has helped us both, I hope. A relative in the UK has been sharing updates of the innovative treatment she has been receiving in Germany, having been told by her doctors in the UK that they have no options left for her. A neighbour is recovering from a mastectomy and is now facing into the next stage of treatment. A dear friend is grieving her close friend who was also her guru, mentor and guide, who died from cancer recently. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZUO4IACMIFGGRC3W7KGEI5V2DI","additional_properties":{},"content":"I could, by now, write several columns about the things to say and not to say to those going through it. I could tell you the ways to help and the things that definitely do not help. But as Daffodil Day approaches, I think I will just echo this simple message from a princess: Please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEGW3NUXMRF37M64SYBBJ64OIQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<i>Daffodil Day is on Friday, March 28th. For information visit The Irish Cancer Society at </i><a href=\"https://fundraise.cancer.ie\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://fundraise.cancer.ie\"><i>fundraise.cancer.ie</i></a>","type":"text"},{"_id":"EMQCZBKNTFCYBG4ZXRNCYWGODE","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Róisín Ingle"}},"name":"Róisín Ingle"}]},"description":{"basic":"But I was also grateful. I am still careful about the links I click on but I am not as afraid of cancer content "},"display_date":"2025-03-26T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Róisín Ingle: I was mortified by how much Kate Middleton’s message affected me","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"F46HKV7VOJWH62BDKKIUYWRJS4","auth":{"1":"44bc18775301203c327428534d788e348eac3d54d7503579b47efacfe06ddd67"},"focal_point":{"x":1709,"y":653},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/F46HKV7VOJWH62BDKKIUYWRJS4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/26/roisin-ingle-i-was-mortified-by-how-much-kate-middletons-message-affected-me/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"LZUK5ZJ5HRD63GOM2GTROOMYPY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":379,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3f87d5c2-cb62-4959-94aa-0141b3336076/versions/1742819965/media/f33ad403d345b90ddc522c0cfffd89ba_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-is-irish-social-media-star-garron-noone-at-the-heart-of-a-controversy-on-immigration/","content_elements":[{"_id":"Q4GLALMATJB6JECCJK6CJBGV5Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"Who is Garron Noone and why did he disappear?","type":"header"},{"_id":"JFIVIEGQ7VAZ5LDNF5FUVGBZ5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430511},"content":"If you hadn’t encountered the name <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/garron-noone/\" target=\"_blank\">Garron Noone</a> before, it is likely you have been unable to avoid it over the last week. The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok\" target=\"_blank\">TikTok</a> comedian has <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025/03/24/garron-noone-shows-its-hard-to-find-the-words-to-talk-about-immigration/\" target=\"_self\">generated a stir online</a>, deactivating his social media accounts after posting a viral video discussing <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\">immigration</a> in Ireland. A popular social media content creator from Co Mayo, Noone had 1.7 million followers on TikTok alone. It is unclear why he decided to deactivate or delete his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/instagram\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a> and TikTok accounts. On Monday, he returned to both platforms to say he stood by his first video and was clarifying “any points I’ve seen that were taken up differently to how I meant them”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3QR4N67ISFE6BA4ODURA3HLT5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430512},"content":"Noone, who is also a musician, started his social media journey largely by posting music clips and the occasional whimsical thoughts to his Instagram page. After starting to post some of his more eccentric content to TikTok, a video in which he ranked ice creams got 40,000 views and fame was sealed. He has spoken openly about his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2024/09/28/garron-noone-i-have-had-some-people-cross-the-line-ive-had-to-go-to-the-guards-about-things/\" target=\"_self\">struggles with anxiety and agoraphobia</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGKE5XVTWRAEZN4SDMGMAT4RJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430513},"content":"The Mayo man launched his own podcast, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/review/2024/10/29/listen-im-delicious-garron-noones-food-podcast-is-the-most-irish-audio-experience-you-can-have/\" target=\"_blank\">Listen, I’m Delicious</a>, in October last year. This food-themed interview show is named after his catchphrase: “Follow me, I’m delicious.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L5IPXV2ILRB25DXYDCLXJHFEBM","additional_properties":{},"content":"What did he say that sparked so much controversy?","type":"header"},{"_id":"DEEYARZTAVCLXOWY3D5AOJ4UQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430515},"content":"While Noone’s content typically encompasses lighthearted clips about all things Irish, he chose to address <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/conor-mcgregor/\" target=\"_blank\">Conor McGregor</a>’s visit to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/03/18/why-did-donald-trump-bring-conor-mcgregor-to-the-white-house/\" target=\"_blank\">White House</a> in a video last Thursday. During his appearance, McGregor said “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness” and that “the illegal immigration racket is running ravage”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OVRSB4IM3JEWLHZL4F5ZKNBWOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430516},"content":"Noone said he had been “inundated” with messages asking him to talk about the MMA fighter’s comments on immigration.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RMMITGN6TRCUHAIUG7ISNZ6KPA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430517},"content":"After prefacing his video by saying he would need much longer to explain his views on McGregor, immigration, the Irish economy and the Government, Noone continued: “Now my opinion on Conor McGregor is irrelevant, but I don’t think he’s a good person.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSOBZ6FFCFEQDNFNG7I2CQQVHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430518},"content":"“I don’t think it’s particularly hard to find evidence of that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CAOGGW3BTRE7FHANUASWYNJ26I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430519},"content":"McGregor is appealing a civil court ruling that he sexually assaulted <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nikita-hand/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nikita-hand/\">Nikita Hand</a> in a Dublin hotel room in 2018.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXJ24FWQ7RBMFC5UNOVJXXKXAY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Conor McGregor wants court to allow new evidence from two people in appeal of civil rape case finding","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YCJQHOJI7RBT3KEMMYGWIWTK7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430520},"content":"Noone added that it didn’t surprise him “in the least” to see people agreeing with what McGregor had said during his trip to Washington.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BWJHY52U3NBN5AJHMRV4OENWOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430521},"content":"“There absolutely is an immigration issue in Ireland,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AQMTIFRDLNHULOWYQWDIOCSHZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430522},"content":"“That doesn’t mean that people feel like we shouldn’t take the refugees that we’re able to take. It doesn’t mean that people feel like people shouldn’t be able to come here for better opportunities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IKMOUPTFJVCPZPILCGBM3Z6LWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430523},"content":"“But the systems that we have in place are being taken advantage of. And that is plain to see. And the Government continually does not allow people to express their concerns about that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5V5RSTUOJEUZECYNR44KPUY34","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430524},"content":"He followed up these comments by claiming that “our towns and especially our cities are becoming much less safe”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ONCPKU3YLFGHJNEZZGY7RGVHV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430525},"content":"“Now that’s not just because of immigration, there’s a lot of factors to that. But if you can’t see that that’s happening, then you have not left your house,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"55H5BV54CBGVZOA5MUSGRHMMHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430526},"content":"Concluding his video last week, Noone said, “A lot of people in the comments are going to completely misconstrue what I’ve said here but that’s the internet for you,” ending with his usual sign-off: “Anyway, stay delicious.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RCTRBK2IVJEEXJNUUNOXLRFL7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430527},"content":"In a follow-up video, the comedian defended his comments, saying he was not anti-immigration and denouncing the far-right and extremism. He also said people should be able to express their views on immigration.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GQN4JOGCG5FMFAE75PKYRGJCAA","additional_properties":{},"content":"In his video on Monday, he said this would be the last time he would address the matter. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"52ZU4GWRIRF4BBTAZYP5HQRUDU","additional_properties":{},"content":"So what did he say on Monday?","type":"header"},{"_id":"KNF7POR53ZGSDDKSWD3D2OQJFE","additional_properties":{},"content":"Noone said he was not anti-immigrant and had never said so. He acknowledged that some of the points he had made were “too vague” and “too open to interpretation”. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ITHMKLPC2FCT5KMCIVFF4D2HZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Enough people did misinterpret it, that it’s clear to me that I definitely could have communicated it better, and that is 100 per cent on me. I absolutely should be held accountable for that,” he added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6O7BZB5B55AURDTCFP7RS27BRU","additional_properties":{},"content":"He said that if things he says are poorly communicated, they should be criticised, now and in the future. His video of last week, he said, had been misappropriated by members of the far right to “bolster their own agenda”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CNBNTI5LJD25NO2AX7V3CVYGU","additional_properties":{},"content":"The reaction to his video on the McGregor comments was “very upsetting”, leading to his decision to silence his social media accounts. Noone said he would now return to what he normally does.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ARTN5DO7FRFE7CV6R2LZQKYGZM","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDMJPFAUS5CMBNCTYWMJ6R3FL4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Back to McGregor, is there any truth claims that Irish people are a minority in rural towns?","type":"header"},{"_id":"F25V7G2BLRDDRINOJHJHUOKNDE","additional_properties":{},"content":"No, the most recent census offers evidence to the contrary. Taken in April 2022, as large numbers of Ukrainians and others came to the State seeking asylum, the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/03/22/conor-mcgregor-says-irelands-rural-towns-are-being-overrun-by-immigrants-here-are-the-facts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/03/22/conor-mcgregor-says-irelands-rural-towns-are-being-overrun-by-immigrants-here-are-the-facts/\">census results showed</a> that Irish citizens remain the majority in every town.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IPOSPBD4OVER7BHV7IF3KF6CKY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Conor McGregor says Ireland’s rural towns are being ‘overrun’ by immigrants. Here are the facts","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"SEQGWU3Q3FEJ3FQ6EVB2D7JV44","additional_properties":{},"content":"What was the reaction to the initial video?","type":"header"},{"_id":"7ER3WWAREVD4BCTCIZFSHE4L3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430533},"content":"Several fellow influencers and politicians posted on social media to voice their support and encouragement for him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NY6W66I2O5HULJA6TNYJM3VWSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430534},"content":"Sinn Féin TD <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/david-cullinane/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/david-cullinane/\">David Cullinane</a> said: “It’s sad to see Garron Noone has deactivated his social media accounts. I love his content & he is as decent as he is funny. There is not a racist bone in his body & nor is it racist to talk about immigration. Even if we do so a little clumsily. Hopefully we see him back soon.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZLO6TCUZRJD63PO5XGXNYX5DAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430535},"content":"Aontú TD <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/peadar-toibin/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/peadar-toibin/\">Peadar Tóibín</a> wrote: “The engine of democracy is the competition of ideas. The best ideas percolate to the top and become policy. The silencing of majority views by a minority is authoritarian & damages that democracy. Garron Noone is a fine comedian & should be allowed speak.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UCLUE2EPLJGKNBWF42ABMRLQRA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Garron Noone shows it’s hard to find the words to talk about immigration","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"EQ56VHVE4NFSVAVU2QBHGVM7O4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430536},"content":"Former Dancing with the Stars contestant Miriam Mullins, who has 2.2 million TikTok followers, called for an end to “this witch-hunt”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VRARKVQDFDT5A5QX6MUZ7HENA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430537},"content":"“I’m so appalled. One of my favourite people to watch and follow on TikTok, I literally sit down every evening with my cup of tea and watch Garron Noone. He’s taking down all his accounts because he’s been bullied off the internet ...","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQGQMLTY6RG25DRU6RUCEDQELU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430538},"content":"“People asked him for his opinion, he gave it, and somehow people can’t take it and go on this witch-hunt.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"J5IPWPNW5VHHDPIFD47V3WJJZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430539},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VFCRT2MRXFBTNOLBWEBYLBX52Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430540},"content":"Controversial TV personality <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/katie-hopkins/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/katie-hopkins/\">Katie Hopkins</a> also weighed in, saying in a post on X: “Don’t apologise. Don’t look back. The crowds are in advance of you, cheering you on. You ARE delicious. Katie.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6TILXF2R2JFPPFAO76MSIWAUUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430541},"content":"And despite Noone’s condemnation of the far right, a number of prominent far-right accounts on X reposted his initial video.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZZS2VDDTL5CRLCHXZITCMINS7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742815430542},"content":"Andrew Tate’s brother <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/22/innocent-men-dont-run-andrew-and-tristan-tate-arrive-in-romania-after-weeks-in-us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2025/03/22/innocent-men-dont-run-andrew-and-tristan-tate-arrive-in-romania-after-weeks-in-us/\">Tristan Tate</a> added his two cents, simply saying: “Garron Noone did nothing wrong.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7E2FEPFR2NAWPK53FSGR25RBW4","additional_properties":{},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"257OYQLSUNDDZJY27QOWRCZMTY","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Irish Times has attempted to contact Garron Noone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D6XJUKDTLRBWFFTR57TNU562OM","additional_properties":{},"content":"<i>*This article was updated to reflect Garron Noone’s return to social media on Monday.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ella Sloane"}},"name":"Ella Sloane"}]},"description":{"basic":"Tiktok personality is known for more light-hearted online content"},"display_date":"2025-03-25T09:32:55.466Z","headlines":{"basic":"Why is Irish social media star Garron Noone at the heart of a controversy on immigration?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"4MSIWT4Y2NAUDNKWVW5GRMCHMA","auth":{"1":"b84a54be054e5176f60888c0036fa49495a2cfe5085a051a361d476b1c72a868"},"focal_point":{"x":2612,"y":1651},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/4MSIWT4Y2NAUDNKWVW5GRMCHMA.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-is-irish-social-media-star-garron-noone-at-the-heart-of-a-controversy-on-immigration/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"DMNB7AJECVENHLLWUYFCKBL75M","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":426,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/ad0ad4b3-30e1-496b-8f0f-084a83017d21/versions/1742382257/media/2ba006500626d4065633d049f94bd26f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/a-new-yorker-in-antrim-there-have-been-frissons-of-suspicion-but-there-is-a-strong-sense-of-community/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RIJI7TF7JJHT3GEAIGRZW3SRKY","additional_properties":{},"content":"During a trip to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\">Belfast</a> in 2010, Rosie Schaap was at a big crossroads in her life. The New Yorker was grappling with the loss of her first husband, Frank, who had died from oesophageal cancer earlier that year. She didn’t know it yet, but that trip would change everything. Nine years later, Schaap was slowly settling into life in the Glens of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/antrim/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/antrim/\">Antrim</a>, making a new home in the coastal village of Glenarm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQAMQJA7VNHZVARFCFYEZTROM4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I had one remarkable encounter involving grief when I was in Belfast,” she recalls. After meeting three women in a hotel bar – “Dubliners” – and exchanging pleasantries about the cocktails they were drinking, Schaap suddenly found herself “pouring my heart out to them”. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BJS5LU233FBQNFHDMLMTGN4QSM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Something made me feel very very safe and sheltered in their company and I told them about Frank’s death and his experience with cancer. They surrounded me, I mean literally, in their arms. As wonderful as my friends and family had been in the States, it just had a different feeling. This openness to a stranger’s grief and loss.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RQKNOFJM6JCCLESWBKHWR7R43Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"“There are a lot of cliches about Ireland being particularly good at death and loss and grief, but I think like some cliches it is based soundly on the truth of experience.” ","type":"text"},{"_id":"2GKKS3KJVNFSFIFIBWIGHVB2UI","additional_properties":{},"content":"A journalist and author, these themes would later come to inspire Schaap’s memoir The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country, her memoir about finding solace in Glenarm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LUVL227G6FDX7KIPXPGBBYBM2A","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Slow Road North by Rosie Schaap: A beautiful, unsparing memoir about grief","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"74G4ZVN7Z5GHLNEIL73MAMICMI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The visit to Belfast in 2010 was not Schaap’s first time in Ireland, however; that had been in the summer of 1991. Despite many returns to the country since, this trip was the first time she ventured back up North.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DT5UQX4AAZDI5BFQGAWZOFNF5I","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It was 1991 to 2010. I waited that long to travel North again and I saw a very different place from the place I’d seen in 1991. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"XB7HOUX6AFFCTO3U2K2JQ5HX3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I’d spent a summer doing an Irish studies course in Trinity [College Dublin] and it was a ball,” she says. “It was such a great time and I made lifelong friends there. In 1991, which was some years before the peace process started up North, Trinity was pretty paternalistic about telling international students not to go up North.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZQIMKJR5L5FCPDDAMVSFL6637Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"“So I did exactly as they told me not to do, like any self-respecting 20-year-old person would, and it was eye opening. It wasn’t a great visit. When I could really afford to travel again in my late 20s and 30s, I came back to the Republic many times, but I hadn’t been up North. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"RRX3IIVJQNHA3GIIXDG53G5RKY","additional_properties":{},"content":"“As a native New Yorker, I’d lived through tense times in New York city but of course it was a different order of tension in Belfast and one I wasn’t accustomed to.” ","type":"text"},{"_id":"NKLEF4GAYVCZDCELUN3JG2KIWY","embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-52425","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"YLWQFBRXZNG2XAHRGPAVEDDI2E","additional_properties":{},"content":"A “terrific afternoon” spent with Belfast poet <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ciaran-carson\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ciaran-carson\">Ciarán Carson</a> was the beginning of a domino effect on Schaap’s life. “He gave me a tour of the Falls area where he had grown up and then he took me to the [Seamus] Heaney Centre” in Queen’s University, which the journalist would later come to know as a student and teacher. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"IH3U7ALZSNGWTPE2KJG4FEGWUE","additional_properties":{},"content":"It was on the same tentative visit back to Belfast that Schaap met and struck up a friendship with Mark. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"IZEH2JZIIRGJJA5V3RKO7LG6LE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Because I had such a great time here, I kept pitching stories to bring me back to the North. Mark became my sort of helper/fixer. If I needed a restaurant recommendation in Ballycastle or a driver.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ZNOI755SJDKTBG6UQA2UAKYII","additional_properties":{},"content":"Over time their relationship developed into something more, and the pair moved in together during Covid, shortly after Schaap’s move to Glenarm, and got married.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZ33PN56VRG63B7PGRSN4XCW2A","additional_properties":{},"content":"“We had a really great lockdown experience together. I think also the intensity of the experience of Covid had the effect of, in some way, making certain things get very real ... We celebrated our third anniversary this February.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPUYAPJF6FCAXEA4AROTAURDZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Her wedding band, a silver <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2025/03/15/claddagh-ring-revival-the-age-group-25-35-have-no-problem-lashing-out-450-for-one/\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2025/03/15/claddagh-ring-revival-the-age-group-25-35-have-no-problem-lashing-out-450-for-one/\">Claddagh ring</a>, glints as she talks about the first few months of that new chapter of life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TXTNFBMKMVCB5JTMYE537WWSIE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I arrived here on 9/11 which is not the most auspicious date for a New Yorker to try to start something new in her life,” says Schaap. “At least now I have something happy to associate that day with, rather than just something very sad.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GSAUDRWD7RCMPJ5647KJSUG5MY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3Z4ERDGADZB2PF6TEZ6DXJBPO4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Schaap was on a work trip when she first became acquainted with the village she now calls home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IJJSQGPSQNGBXJMIJCLKC5DX3M","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I had been through here on a reporting trip in 2016. I knew nothing about Glenarm, but I wanted a quiet place to stay and write for a couple of days. I liked it so much on that short visit that I came back the following year for a month and I liked it even more.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VFZ6IQYVIVHOHKQ3HLMPAUVW3I","additional_properties":{},"content":"“What I didn’t know before I got here was that not only do we have the sea at one end of the village, we have a protected forest at the other end, and it was really that combination that captivated me,” she says. “After a lifetime in New York, Glenarm is what I wanted. I wanted the outdoors, I wanted wildlife and nature and just a very quiet life.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4RHHJIMHFZDW3FMWEY52OKLJUQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Although “the great majority of people have been incredibly kind and welcoming”, Schaap notes that “roots here are so deep. It’s very small and ... there have been little frissons of suspicion. You know, ‘Too many outsiders coming’”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3XUGVXQZBEDBNNOXFYI5HUC3Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"Thinking of it now as an “indoctrination ritual perhaps”, Schaap remembers a sense of paranoia was instilled by some of the village’s children initially. “When I first moved here and it was just me on my own ... some local schoolboys really made it their mission to just bang on my door and run away. I don’t think of myself as a particularly paranoid person but I didn’t quite understand the meaning of it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VXTON5EHINADFI73ASSH4HGEUU","additional_properties":{},"content":"She is now the chairwoman of Glenarm Wildlife Group and has fully immersed herself in the tight-knit local community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKROIKT3GZEBTKFLD4KXZCTVSE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“There is a strong sense of community, for sure, and community can be a very loaded word here in the North of Ireland. When you see it in its kindest, most generous, most kindest iterations it is a real thing and a positive thing. It’s not just a euphemism in those cases.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SHMXNSBC6JE5JJOGIZ72ZEZEYM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Giving the ritual of a funeral as an example, Schaap says “the way that people honour and remember and pay attention to their lost loved ones” has touched her. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"DX4RIYFEWVCCJPHKCMBNUIC6EU","additional_properties":{},"content":"“In the almost six years that I’ve lived in Glenarm, I’ve already lost some wonderful friends in the village ... Here it’s so small that you’ll go to one of the churches for the funeral and then the casket is walked through the village to one of the cemeteries. Even people who can’t come out and go, everybody stands outside their door and takes some time and I find it really moving.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"J655LOXY2BFITDNPGU4IPKHDJ4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It’s something I certainly wouldn’t have seen in New York.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"H3KVXPT7WBFEDH7BK7UO62N3T4","additional_properties":{"_id":"2BWE3BIIGVFYLJ6LESSWYE3FY4"},"content":"<i>We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email </i><a href=\"mailto:newtotheparish@irishtimes.com\" title=\"\"><i>newtotheparish@irishtimes.com</i></a><i><b> </b></i><i>or tweet </i><a href=\"https://twitter.com/newtotheparish?lang=en\"><i>@newtotheparish</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ella Sloane"}},"name":"Ella Sloane"}]},"description":{"basic":"Author and journalist Rosie Schaap found solace and community in the Glens of Antrim after the death of her first husband"},"display_date":"2025-03-25T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"A New Yorker in Antrim: ‘There have been frissons of suspicion but there is a strong sense of community’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"LVYGUMLBKVF4NKACPRPPPFO2FY","auth":{"1":"955bd78b8e3d57dd535dfb45199e61e473d235c9849eed845ed3e2f5e50fa7a9"},"focal_point":{"x":938,"y":900},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/LVYGUMLBKVF4NKACPRPPPFO2FY.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/a-new-yorker-in-antrim-there-have-been-frissons-of-suspicion-but-there-is-a-strong-sense-of-community/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"26SQKAE5SNF67OW4OVGNGUUBEI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":343,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/fbdfe91e-7084-431d-bc27-1775027ef0bf/versions/1742826329/media/2361304f149931b953c60ff2fb20301c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/elon-musks-daughter-vivian-jenna-wilson-i-do-not-actually-know-how-many-siblings-i-have/","content_elements":[{"_id":"3JLS2FE5VZFTXHIPSQDSKWFQYY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Versha Sharma, the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, said she had started to pay close attention to Vivian Jenna Wilson, the 20-year-old daughter of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\">Elon</a> and Justine Musk, around the time of last autumn’s presidential election.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6X4WNHQTMBF7PHPOXJ5BDJKOJ4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“The more that we started to learn about her from watching her <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tiktok/\">TikTok</a>s, or just following her online, we realised that she has a really powerful and interesting and hilarious voice and a way of cutting through the noise with humour,” Sharma said in a phone interview on Friday.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6FPT6AHE6JEC3G5GJZTRQJX5MQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ella Yurman, a writer and comedian, was able to set up an interview with Wilson, leading to her first byline for Teen Vogue, which landed on the cover of a special issue. The interview spread quickly around social media as soon as it was published on Thursday.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IEXMOCQPQZHFXIED3V2I6XWOFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"In the interview, Wilson, who is a trans woman, discussed a wide variety of topics, including whether she is famous (“I don’t like saying that I’m famous because I want to do something more to deserve that fame”), her relationship with social media (“I am the Queen of Threads”), her family (“I do not actually know how many siblings I have”) and her politics (“I am constantly shifting and evolving”).","type":"text"},{"_id":"DPPKTEGFQJADTK6CCW4LGXN26U","additional_properties":{},"content":"But it was her in-depth discussion of her father that had the internet buzzing as soon as the piece was published. She addressed the debate over his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2025/01/25/teslas-rising-stock-versus-falling-brand-how-far-can-musk-push-it/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2025/01/25/teslas-rising-stock-versus-falling-brand-how-far-can-musk-push-it/\">hand gestures</a> at an inaugural event for president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\">Donald Trump</a> in January, saying, “Honey, we’re going to call a fig a fig, and we’re going to call a Nazi salute what it was.” She emphasised that she is financially independent and said she had had no relationship with Musk since 2020. She said he was “not as supportive as my mom” when she transitioned and began taking testosterone blockers. And she said she is not afraid to speak out against him despite his wealth and influence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"STA4FCZR7ZGMFKCYIQNGRPT54Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"“People thrive off of fear,” she said. “I’m not giving anyone that space in my mind.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NBJFI2KWI5C3NDBSHHBDG7KALM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Musk, who did not respond to a request for comment, has not publicly addressed the interview.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQ33M47SEZCEJMKC57FUCVVDK4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Sharma said her editorial team was aware of the potential problems of publishing a story that is critical of the richest man in the world and that “we expected there could be some reaction, but we really wanted this story to be guided by Vivian, and also to focus on who she is, beyond just his daughter”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CBUPXR3FHJFBXE6LXB4RV2STEM","additional_properties":{},"content":"The interview was conducted via Zoom, with Wilson speaking from Japan, and it involved Yurman and the Teen Vogue team speaking to Wilson several times over a period of months. To illustrate the interview, Teen Vogue arranged a photo shoot in Tokyo with photographer Andy Jackson, who took inspiration from the film Lost in Translation and various coming-of-age themes around girlhood.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4ATU7LBTLBF6VBSGNWOZ22TX64","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"J4PZT6HLT5H5PJEF2I37XR26TM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It is always very much part of Teen Vogue shoots to be bold and colourful and also capture our subjects in motion, and try as much as possible to show what life is actually like for teenagers and young people today,” Sharma said. “Vivian, of course, is a very unique 20-year-old, but she is a 20-year-old, and so we were also happy to capture her and her environment.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"C3TAQ2VYZNOQERSEWMJN7YMU3U","additional_properties":{},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZCJXXU2QJZHBTMK22PTHYTNHFU","additional_properties":{},"content":"The interview is both casual, with Wilson discussing her interests and future ambitions, and serious when it comes to discussion of Musk.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7MQUUN5L25EWJNUBH56PNRCG6E","additional_properties":{},"content":"At the centre of the heated debates about transgender issues are people who just want to live their lives","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"W6AS33NF5FBHLLITEX77TV7FNQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wilson, who did not respond to a request for further comment, is not alone among members of Musk’s family who have publicly discussed what he is like behind the scenes as a person and as a parent. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/grimes/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/grimes/\">Grimes</a>, the pop star with whom he has three children, has routinely taken to the social platform X to raise issues, including a recent request that he get in touch with her to deal with an unspecified medical condition with one of their children. And Musk’s father, Errol, publicly questioned Musk’s parenting ability in a podcast interview before telling The New York Times that “the press takes things out of context” and that he and his son have an excellent relationship.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HSNCRUXXKVE43INYIVYZEM3HZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"But Wilson, in what Teen Vogue said was only her second interview – her first was with NBC last year – offered a unique perspective on Musk’s political activity, which has included attacks on the trans community. In an interview with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jordan-peterson/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jordan-peterson/\">Jordan Peterson</a> last year, Musk said Wilson, whom he referred to as his son, was “dead – killed by the woke mind virus”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RNSMMLZHZNF7BJW3J6K7IVEPSQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wilson said in the Teen Vogue interview that Musk’s politics had shifted to the right, but she emphasised that she felt it was not a major departure from his previous beliefs and that she believed her being trans was not a part of that shift.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3EJKMIKAK5CFRBWGHNQQALXYHA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Elon Musk says: ‘My Irish friends are awesome’ – but who are they?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IGMCFODW3VDPFFPSWVA3JJ22QM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Him going further on the right, and I’m going to use the word ‘further’ – make sure you put ‘further’ in there – is not because of me,” she said. “That’s insane.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFG3JP3XKZDZPIO455LIZ6UCMM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Addressing trans issues was a priority for Sharma.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HWBAPZF3JCUVEZHZIDPIUFWV4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“We want to be a resource for trans youth and any other marginalised youth who feel targeted in any way,” she said. “We’re seeing escalating attacks on their access to health care, other basic rights – just their basic identities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OFURFUGDXNDUHJJZQFX763MVDI","additional_properties":{},"content":"But both she and Yurman said they hoped to show Wilson in a much broader light.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7DVUWC22FRDD5CFR7M4IWOKZPE","additional_properties":{},"content":"“The interview is light in the way that it makes you laugh, and it’s an entertaining read, because that’s the kind of person that she is,” Sharma said of Wilson. “And she is an extremely online 20-year-old, regardless of who her parents are. And I think that comes through.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7JQEBY4LZNBBFLOKBQEXNX35VQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Yurman, who said by email that she had talked to Wilson since the story’s publication about how “surreal” the whole endeavour had been, hopes the interview gives people a real sense of Wilson.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EZA2FDTBPRCUBCBEY4DM5CFPVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I hope readers take away that Vivian, like everyone else, is a human being,” she said. “I think a lot of coverage of trans people these days, even high-profile trans people, ends up centering their transness so much that it reduces them to two-dimensional figures without interiority. Most of all, I wanted this piece to give Vivian a chance to be herself in front of the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6GHUIBLJLZDUZL3OCR5G3BW67I","additional_properties":{},"content":"This article originally appeared in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/style/vivian-wilson-teen-vogue-elon-musk.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/style/vivian-wilson-teen-vogue-elon-musk.html\">The New York Times</a>.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"name":"Katie Van Syckle"},{"name":"Benjamin Hoffman"}]},"description":{"basic":"Wilson (20) told Teen Vogue she is not afraid to speak out against her father"},"display_date":"2025-03-25T05:44:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Elon Musk’s daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson: ‘I do not actually know how many siblings I have’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"7TWU4MFYRRH5LIH73JFL2Z5FAQ","auth":{"1":"ce49b27b063ad8e796230121af6dd44e56defb99843d477afaeba72a8abc9109"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7TWU4MFYRRH5LIH73JFL2Z5FAQ.png"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"US"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/25/elon-musks-daughter-vivian-jenna-wilson-i-do-not-actually-know-how-many-siblings-i-have/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"VCXFO77B7RFO3IEK63AT5YKR3E","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":877,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3f49c857-2e70-4c72-a130-0a8a1a7df4e4/versions/1742812772/media/92d2a510dfe7bf4dae7442d3405d2746_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/the-inside-story-of-evie-the-us-conservative-womens-magazine-with-big-ambitions-and-sex-tips-for-wives/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TE6TKOI265GAFJWU6Z3WPQCSCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176340},"content":"“Does Brittany look oppressed to you?” Gabriel Hugoboom asked, gesturing toward his wife.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GVHD6SUCFNFH3HLM3N4RZH7WV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176341},"content":"She did not. The model, clad in thigh-high black boots, was perched on a cream-coloured couch in the couple’s new apartment, poking fun at her critics. As editor-in-chief of Evie, a US women’s publication opposed to what she calls “modern” feminism, Brittany Hugoboom has been accused of participating in her own subjugation and undermining women’s rights, claims she finds ridiculous and unfair.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5FLVRVZABAPFL55JI6YRPJJP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176342},"content":"“There are all these people that are so triggered and angry that we exist,” she said. Those seeking left-wing views had other publications to read, she added. “Why can’t there be one that offers women an alternative?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DOIOVWWYRBBO5FN4FWYFRUONBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176343},"content":"Behind her, floor-to-ceiling windows showed off a dizzying view of New York City’s skyline. The turnkey rental in midtown Manhattan was a work in progress, since half of the Hugobooms’s belongings were still in Miami, where they had lived until last month. But it was spotless, luxurious and spacious enough for them to fit their two young daughters (as well as the relatives who often fly in to help care for them) and work from home on building what they call their “feminine” business empire.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IJX2M7YRFVGGHOWYQNEICRWCDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176344},"content":"The Hugobooms, both 33, are cofounders of two companies: Evie, a glossy magazine and website that Brittany Hugoboom has described as a “conservative Cosmo,” and 28, a menstrual cycle-based wellness app backed by Silicon Valley billionaire <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/peter-thiel/\" target=\"_self\">Peter Thiel</a>. Through 28, they sell a supplement called “Toxic Breakup” for women to use after quitting hormonal birth control, and through Evie, they release limited-edition clothing – most recently, a corseted “raw milkmaid” sundress “inspired by the hardworking dairymaids of 18th-century Europe”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BOGJRQSP7VFY3LKVS33LY6PJ7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176345},"content":"“We want to build the one-stop shop for femininity,” said Hugoboom, who is the public face of both businesses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ABMBUJXZR25YPD3UYCEYOLT6YA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176346},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5XLNLBI3P5H4VDB7G3NHMBGAYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176347},"content":"Femininity does <i>not</i> mean feminism, which Hugoboom doesn’t define as equal rights but as a self-hating movement that is anti-family and anti-male – one that shames women who “choose conventional roles”. Despite running two companies, she is particularly critical of what she calls “girlboss feminism”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KJGNAO4OEJHPDFRD76RZUEFL4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176348},"content":"Her interpretation of that term – which went from broadly celebrated to roundly dismissed in the 2010s – is that it encourages women to “be just like men” to succeed in corporate fields. Such messaging, she says, has made women anxious, lonely and unfulfilled. Instead, she believes, faith, family and love, not “casual sex, careerism or ideological activism”, supply the greatest satisfaction.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z3YXSYTRRRFVDBQHF3P55VATRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176349},"content":"“I think more women want a soft life, a beautiful life, than feeling all this pressure to do all these things,” Hugoboom explained.","type":"text"},{"_id":"33OVFQV2JNG6TDEEMVWDVEVG7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176350},"content":"At first glance, Evie seems non-partisan, publishing content daily about topics such as award season red carpets and styling skinny jeans. But readers who click past “hot girl” health trends and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/adam-brody/\" target=\"_self\">Adam Brody</a> appreciation posts will find articles that promote positions that are fringe even within conservative circles – criticisms of no-fault divorce and in vitro fertilisation, for example – packaged in a fun and approachable format. (A typical Evie headline: “Amy From ‘Love Is Blind’ Is Right To Be Hesitant About Birth Control.”)","type":"text"},{"_id":"IRSPZZHYBFHUXMI7KTUC6K2V64","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"AUSNPCXHEFBARGVJEC5DRFUALA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176352},"content":"The publication assumes that the Evie reader aspires to be a wife and mother, even while it acknowledges that she has some options: She can study and work (just not at the expense of a family), she can be sexually adventurous (with her husband), and she can even delay pregnancy (by using “natural” fertility tracking methods).","type":"text"},{"_id":"26VFKFYFYVECJDLP5AYE6RK2HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176353},"content":"Evie positions motherhood as under attack, citing falling birth rates, despite polling showing that most Americans still want to have or have children. “Be a rebel. Start a family,” reads a full-page ad for Evie that depicts a shirtless man sensually kissing a pregnant belly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KIW75CSHJJFA5AIZRM44AF75JU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176354},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/steve-bannon/\" target=\"_self\">Steve Bannon</a> has gushed about Evie’s “incredible coverage.” <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/candace-owens/\" target=\"_self\">Candace Owens</a>, a prominent right-wing commentator who recently started her own media platform geared toward women, is a long-time fan; she said her first photo shoot appeared in Evie. So is Brett Cooper, a leading conservative YouTuber who hosts a show aimed at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/generation-z/\" target=\"_self\">Gen-Z</a> women. “I think they were definitely ahead of the curve,” she said of Evie.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5EPN7QYXPRECFB4MPUT4AS7724","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176355},"content":"Even critics of Evie acknowledge the appeal of its messaging. “It’s a perfectly pretty gateway drug to ideologies which exist to protect the privileged and further disenfranchise the marginalised,” Sara Petersen, author of the book Momfluenced, wrote in a Substack post.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CODYXFEHZ5A7VPLSVC45OLVWNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176356},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"PUI7TSOVWZGHTDSQ3IKSAQKCDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176357},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"W4EA7PCSGJDKZMQMJGOXWIT6LE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176358},"content":"As a teenager, Hugoboom, who was born Brittany Martinez, read popular teen and women’s magazines and participated in their model searches, once winning an Elle Girl competition. She was raised as a Catholic by parents, who often moved around the country because of her father’s job in banking, and said she became a “tradcath”, a trendy term for traditionalist Catholic, around a decade ago.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZXZXLOPBFC4NLESMKHHSVWLOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176359},"content":"Rise of the ‘trad wife’: Some women are sick of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In manifesto","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"64YYEOEWVREAZA4Y4WY6RO5XJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176360},"content":"“Now I prefer the Latin Mass,” Hugoboom said. “One of my friends is an exorcist. I love that stuff.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CMU42UTM6VBJ5HTDVX2RLDFDRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176361},"content":"Gabriel Hugoboom proposed to her in front of the Vatican. She met him when they were both 18-year-old students at the University of Dallas. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, as one of eight children of naturopath parents. “They were very MAHA, before MAHA was even a thing,” Gabriel Hugoboom said, referring to the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan of US health secretary <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/robert-f-kennedy-jr/\" target=\"_self\">Robert F Kennedy jnr</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WOGEY3OJ3NHR5EUAHWHGNSWL7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176362},"content":"On one early date, Hugoboom recalled, he took her to Whole Foods to introduce her to “real cheese” as opposed to the “American” kind.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BF4Q3JFP7BET7CWJBHTZZKESY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176363},"content":"“You probably saved me from obesity,” joked Brittany Hugoboom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ROP2GTUN3FAQZKM3DE4KVIJLPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176364},"content":"The Hugobooms eventually dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles, where she modelled for companies like Bebe and Adidas while he worked in creative development.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFZL5VYIDRBO7IC35F5Y3XNIXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176365},"content":"By the late 2010s, many women’s magazines had moved sharply to the left, influenced in part by the rising popularity of feminist online media such as Jezebel and The Cut. Hugoboom loved pop culture and fashion, but the publications she read to learn more about, say, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/taylor-swift/\" target=\"_self\">Taylor Swift</a>, also featured articles about polyamory and Marxism. And nowhere, she said, could she find much positive content about marriage and motherhood.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C2RSZGEJ7BGF3HY56YDWWTQ6JQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176366},"content":"Thus the idea for Evie Magazine was born: a stylish publication rooted in celebrating “femininity”. It would be as escapist and aspirational as any other mainstream women’s magazine – except Evie cover girls would not be politicians in power suits, but the type of women who might compete in beauty pageants two weeks after giving birth to their eighth child (which their most recent cover girl, Utah influencer Hannah Neeleman, actually did). The magazine’s name is a riff on the first woman in the Bible: “Eve screwed the world,” Hugoboom said, “and this is a new Eve who will save the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IWOAHBNWFEHHMKNDT2T3KOWCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176367},"content":"The rising popularity of the tradwife TikTok trend","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ODRM7YWNI5BYDLLUBNEDWKFORE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176368},"content":"Hugoboom said one media mogul told the couple that their concept was doomed because there was no such thing as a conservative woman, and that the best-case scenario was that women would marry conservative men and adopt their views. “I think women are a little more interesting than that, and they have their own thoughts,” Hugoboom said, still bristling years later.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXQTXZC4YBCBBM57UJLSDEEV2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176369},"content":"They officially launched in 2019, eventually raising money from private angel investors that the Hugobooms declined to name. (One investor, Brittany Hugoboom’s father, is also listed as an executive in records for Evie’s holding company.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"TZQLAM4SDJDEPMJYLVDOCXCIUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176370},"content":"“She’s Classier than Cosmo, Sexier than Refinery29, and Smarter than Bustle,” Hugoboom wrote in an article for the website Quillette announcing her new venture. Conservatives needed a magazine like Evie, she argued, because ignoring pop culture came at their own peril: “We need to involve ourselves in the creation of pop culture, and thereby help change how that category is defined.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X4KMCHWUH5G3TP3EPA4XX23POY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176371},"content":"Many of Evie’s writers have been affiliated with conservative institutions, and the website regularly publishes content that reflects today’s conservative positions, including opposition to abortion, transgender rights and vaccines, as well as support for the Trump family. People have labelled Evie “far-right”, which the Hugobooms find irritating; they repeatedly called it a “double standard”, arguing that outlets like Teen Vogue and Refinery29 aren’t always described as explicitly left. The couple, both of whom voted for president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_self\">Donald Trump</a>, said they felt that the way conservatives were portrayed in mainstream media was outdated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"72RPPWYTQXHFYCS2OTVLH2GNQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176372},"type":"image"},{"_id":"NYN6IJ7QXRFURDQMTSLFB5DEPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176373},"content":"They pointed to perspectives that are unconventional for a right-leaning publication. For example, Evie publishes adventurous and explicit sex tips, albeit with “married women only” disclaimers. Evie has advised women who say their partners pressure them into unwanted sexual acts to resist. Writers for the site have called out misogyny in online “manosphere” and “incel” communities. And Evie models wear string bikinis and crop tops because, in the words of one Evie writer, “modest isn’t always hottest”. To the dismay of some conservative readers, the sundresses that Evie has sold are so low cut that, as Hugoboom once joked on the social platform X, “side effects may include an unplanned pregnancy”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N7WSQ7JITNDNJH2JMA6ZST3MWI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176374},"content":"Hugoboom said this modern and uniquely “feminine” perspective is why they have a diversity of readers, and why they believe they were early to cover many topics that have now filtered into the mainstream, including criticism of hookup culture and the need for greater dialogue around women’s hormonal health. The Hugobooms provided The New York Times with an analysis by marketing agency Iron Light that found similar levels of Democrats and Republicans among their subscribers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAECFKBLCNGLFM2I6DKJK4BCD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176375},"content":"Laura Kennedy: ‘I don’t say I’m a feminist any more’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"GQXQWNO5BVHW5ESZASM4TZNUSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176376},"content":"In February, Evie’s social content garnered about 100 million views, according to an internal report the Hugobooms provided from the analytics tool Sprout Social. Evie’s social media following, which is about half a million people across its platforms, is significantly smaller than its competitors (Cosmopolitan, for example, has more than 4 million followers on Instagram alone), but Evie’s following showed strong growth during the same time some competitors experienced a decline, according to the limited data the couple shared.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Z2CSEDLAVDHZIM2KX5NDY7MYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176377},"content":"The Hugobooms declined to share more detailed growth data about Evie, saying the information was too sensitive because they plan to raise a second round of funding. But page views and subscribers may not be the point.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C2BXWRINLVEY3LTPOHPM6LR75A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176378},"content":"The couple said they are inspired by Glossier, the international beauty brand that had its roots in a blog with a relatively small but loyal follower count. Within a decade it was a billion-dollar business, turning out product after product.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IYGEMJN3UFBAJMLCTWB5CF5KWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176379},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUTN23ZOBZEJNGEL4DPQQOE7BI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176380},"content":"Soon after they launched Evie, the Hugobooms started brainstorming their next venture. Maybe a clean beauty brand? What about a “classically feminine” line of lingerie? They grew interested in women’s fertility because many women Hugoboom knew were having trouble getting pregnant, she said, adding that they wanted to develop a product that would “empower” women to understand their bodies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PMQHSYSRUFHRVLHMXN5BBBRXN4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176381},"content":"Through some fortuitous networking, they landed a meeting with Thiel and asked him to invest in a wellness app based on a typical menstrual cycle.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CNEYETPK5BGVFTGAPBT5QMAEM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176382},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"S74TJC2DCVHDZCFLZ6LZPXHUB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176383},"content":"“He was like, ‘And no one else is doing this?’ And it was like, ‘No, no one else,’ and he was like, ‘OK, sounds like a good idea,’” she said. A spokesperson for Thiel confirmed that he personally invested $2 million in the app, 28. (They raised $3.2 million in total.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"MRRUPJDOQZCYFNUFEASS22UOYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176384},"content":"Amid all of the toxic masculinity, no one mentions the toxic femininity that supports it","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KTYVLFPMYRAK7AH7NJB6RMOXHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176385},"content":"Natural family planning methods involve making decisions based on awareness of fertility windows. The app suggests foods and exercises for different stages of a woman’s cycle – “lazy girl glutes” and grass-fed butter during the luteal phase – along with workout videos, recipes and emotional guidance. It also pushes a message that hormonal birth control is bad for you. “Goodbye toxicity,” one advertisement reads for the birth control “detox” supplements it sells through the app.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LD44D5UJVRC45NXOACVZ4AJNSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176386},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXDV47HH2NEJTEBLEX44WEFSVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176387},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJSAXTHZE5EWNC2ZUSKL3LPT2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176388},"content":"Back at the Hugobooms’s apartment, as the sun set below the skyline, their two daughters, aged three and one, wandered in with Gabriel Hugoboom’s sister, who was on babysitting duty. The baby, dressed in pale pink, sat in Brittany Hugoboom’s lap and fed her mother cheese crunchies as she continued to talk about her businesses. The scene could have easily appeared in a mid-2010s magazine profile of a woman founder striving for a work-life balance, embodying the exact sort of feminism Hugoboom denounces.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AMVRQD7XBRFJDOXWDULGOQLTJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176389},"content":"But Hugoboom sees no tension in the fact that she is one of a growing number of woman conservative content creators whose platforms promote a return to old-fashioned gender roles, even though their own career trajectories defy those traditional norms. Nor is she particularly interested in debating whether it might not be feminism, but instead a severe lack of structural support – affordable child care, paid parental leave – that has left American women feeling unsupported and alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4JKLHPE5FRFWBEBJQ2ZW3HLNR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176390},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"KPDLH57DTBFGZL4JF4NHIVT67U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176391},"content":"Despite the years of labour she has put into building the two businesses, she insisted that she believed most women weren’t cut out for hard-charging careers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SRBTEKZZV5FN5IUBVAGSCJ4NRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742813176392},"content":"“I think when most women try to do that, they fail,” she said. “Then they feel upset about it, when it’s not really in their nature.” – This article originally appeared in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/style/evie-magazine.html\">The New York Times</a>.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Katie JM Baker"}]},"description":{"basic":"‘I think more women want a soft life, a beautiful life, than feeling all this pressure to do all these things,’ says cofounder Brittany Hugoboom"},"display_date":"2025-03-24T10:34:26.784Z","headlines":{"basic":"The inside story of Evie, the US conservative women’s magazine with big ambitions, and sex tips for wives","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"6OWOYVBLJBXF7XFWV76VOF3OV4","auth":{"1":"19e03fedef20f4293f874fd02081bbeff0a0af43bb7aba682bb82a49850c2ec7"},"focal_point":{"x":2785,"y":1401},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6OWOYVBLJBXF7XFWV76VOF3OV4.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Media"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/the-inside-story-of-evie-the-us-conservative-womens-magazine-with-big-ambitions-and-sex-tips-for-wives/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"OIGW6KDYQFFUZNCHF366AWULYA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":278,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/078c93b1-bfea-4400-be02-2d0ca3a51c20/versions/1742212111/media/60e85a89ef989c3b9460cce023469946_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/sarah-moss-a-reader-tried-to-needle-me-by-scoffing-at-knitting-i-was-intrigued/","content_elements":[{"_id":"37PGNTZXPRFKBJNFT7ZFHJ4MNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222842},"content":"A few weeks ago, someone who had read this column wrote to me to tell me “stick to the knitting in future”. I wasn’t upset – I don’t use social media partly to spare myself this stuff but, inevitably, worse than that still comes my way. I was intrigued by the hierarchy in his mind, where knitting was feminine, private, trivial and writing was masculine, public, important. I had offended him by confusing two creative practices, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2023/09/06/why-do-i-knit-im-not-patient-knitting-helps-me-to-wait-takes-the-edge-off-agitation/\" target=\"_blank\">by using up space in a serious newspaper with thoughts about handicrafts</a>. (Or maybe just by thinking in public while female.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"6OMOC5UT4NCJJAIXOH22H5FJ4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222843},"content":"I knit and write. I also sew and even – the frivolity of it! – embroider. Writing is more serious for me because it’s my profession and I’m better at it than needlecraft; if it’s hard to earn a living by writing, it’s much harder to do so by hand-knitting and sewing. People sometimes watch me knit for a few minutes and then ask how long it takes to make a jumper. I don’t have an answer. Months, but I knit only for pleasure while doing other things, over coffee with friends or while watching TV, never in time that could be spent reading or writing. You could sell that, people say, as if commercial value is the ultimate compliment, but I couldn’t, not for a sum that made any sense of the time required. One friend pushed me to find the number, timed a few rows of a jumper and multiplied up. The answer seemed to be about €11,000 at minimum wage, not allowing for materials. You can’t buy love and you can’t buy hand-knits, or at least not complicated jumpers made at amateur speed in fine yarn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XE6XD3Y57RC5VGAKZGXEYDOXXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222844},"content":"So, unlike writing, hand-knitting and sewing are rarely done for profit, but that doesn’t make textile art or craft trivial. “Text” and “textile” have the same root, Latin texere, to weave. For centuries, paper was made from rags, a recycling of textile into text. We spin a yarn when we tell a story, or maybe weave a tissue or web of lies. (“Tissu” is French for fabric, “weben” German for weave.) Come to that, we fabricate, which is inventing facts, not making fabric. (Latin “fabrica” from “faber”, manual work). The words for making with cloth and making with words are entangled (another textile word) from the beginning in most European languages, if not, I am told, Irish. Archaeology shows that all over the world, weaving and sewing are as old and often older than writing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSPIZOEELFDT5OMLGFNNMV5HII","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222845},"content":"Our most intimate and constant physical relationships are with cloth. The first act of care is to wrap the newborn, and in many cultures that wrapping is made and adorned in pregnancy and kept for life. The last act of care is to wrap or dress our dead, and those garments or winding cloths go with the departed where mourners cannot. In life, we are almost always touched and held by knitting and weaving, even between the sheets and under the blanket.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YWTO6AL56JBDVMKPYTTPDA7I74","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222846},"content":"Global history is shaped by our need for cloth. Manchester, where I grew up, was known as Cottonopolis in the 19th century, and we all know the immense suffering fuelling the growing and picking of that cotton. The factory workers, whose own lives were brief and brutal, went on strike in protest against American slavery. The hills surrounding England’s industrial cities are moorland, a landscape made by centuries of sheep-farming, and the rivers and streams turned mill-wheels for spinning yarn. The first computer programmes were cards to set the patterns of looms.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3VOTLNOLDFGJTLPHGMJBWEIPF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742217834040},"content":"Here’s why I’ve become addicted to knitting","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"6MVKBZKDCZHRVGJJWAAWEXAE64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222847},"content":"The silk trade carried goods, knowledge and design (and disease) across Europe and Asia to bring luxury fabrics to the courts of Europe. Flax-growing for linen shaped the landscapes of parts of Ireland, the Baltic countries and the Low Countries.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I6T2MMPFA5FAZNWEX25GQUE57A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742217834042},"content":"Why do I knit? I’m not patient, knitting helps me to wait, takes the edge off agitation","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"23HJBG2V2RBVBDTW7ICFNZMPZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741966222848},"content":"I learned to work with a needle before I learned to work with a pen. The pen, for me, will always come first, but I am no more ashamed of my textile literacy than my textual literacy. I am not even sure they are separable. Humans will always need stories, but come the end times – hard to not to think they may be at hand – knitting may well be more urgent than writing.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Moss"}},"name":"Sarah Moss"}]},"description":{"basic":"Knitting and sewing are rarely done for profit, but that doesn’t make these arts and crafts trivial"},"display_date":"2025-03-24T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sarah Moss: A reader tried to needle me by scoffing at knitting - I was intrigued ","native":"A reader tried to needle me by scoffing at knitting - I was intrigued"},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GI7BDVKOBFEGBI6ZSA4IOLRQM4","auth":{"1":"0e9e75dcc9b57bc3b78db443d710101ad13a67cdca8720523f17f78309a5b253"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GI7BDVKOBFEGBI6ZSA4IOLRQM4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Opinion"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/sarah-moss-a-reader-tried-to-needle-me-by-scoffing-at-knitting-i-was-intrigued/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"S5BZWAFYYRBYDGPSTXHCWSAY5U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":244,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/cd9cad2c-4599-46fa-8e8c-05a7f1e7aa1b/versions/1742397243/media/0f41852ea1b12ced29114c14ebc39da2_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-mending-is-better-than-spending/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TRSR2VGLF5GDZEQNXUJOJO5NMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733505},"content":"When something breaks, it can feel easier to just buy another one.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HDEC7Z6BRFWJBYJC34CQAF2VU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733506},"content":"We’ve been sold the idea that replacing instead of fixing is faster, but is it really?","type":"text"},{"_id":"TPBOKAW6F5CKHN7IDZZKK6DTKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733507},"content":"Take that big red wheelie travel bag you bought five years ago. For everything from family holidays to transporting bulky ski gear, it’s served you well. It’s got wheels and a retractable handle for pulling, but it’s got a shoulder strap too. It’s roomy, it has pockets in all the right places and yet it doesn’t weigh a tonne. And you can spot it a mile off on a baggage carousel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IRWXZLP2CFBHNBY6LCCJYEASYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733508},"content":"It took you ages to find this model and it is exactly what you needed. But now the zip is bust, so what do you do?","type":"text"},{"_id":"OBQCKBSE7FA7LBUSY3E7UJESMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733509},"content":"Finding the same thing means scrolling through endless options to decipher features and check measurements. You eventually find one, except it’s €20 more expensive. Then you realise the provider won’t deliver to you, or that delivery adds €10, or you have to set up a notification for when it’s back in stock.","type":"text"},{"_id":"65DN5HBYZJBLLM3AZYAVLLXWHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733510},"content":"Next is the endless string of correspondence about delivery: the warehouse has received your order; your order is being processed; your order is with the courier, it’s in transit; it’s awaiting delivery; would you like to manage your delivery?","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIJHSQJFZBCILBOY7LKFMXBVGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733511},"content":"Eventually the bag arrives, via a neighbour. It’s just not quite as good as your old one, though. It’s too much hassle to return it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HUZ3BACUNBCLHMJFH2LMF4D37Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733512},"content":"This is where <a href=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\">RepairMyStuff.ie</a> comes in. This online directory, supported by local authorities, connects people with local repair businesses, making it easy to find someone to fix everything from a watch to a computer, a lawnmower to a TV, a guitar to a handbag.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XE6FSO4LCFFIRD7WNQ7G2DN7WU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733513},"content":"Extending the life of a product, instead of buying a new one, makes a real contribution to decreasing the over-consumption of valuable natural resources.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VJTXSYZEBGVLF556GKLAQCDGA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733516},"content":"The rise of repair cafes: ‘It’s not sustainable to keep buying new stuff’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BLHZIOEPLJDF5AMF724X4HY6H4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733514},"content":"Each person in Ireland produces 586kgs of waste annually – the sixth-highest in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/european-union/\" target=\"_blank\">EU</a>, according to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/central-statistics-office/\" target=\"_blank\">Central Statistics Office</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJUCFELEVFHA5DBWX4HQCNQQQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733515},"content":"Growth in the Irish economy has led to a large increase in electrical and electronic waste, peaking in 2021 when more 71,000 tonnes were collected, according to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/environmental-protection-agency-epa/\" target=\"_blank\">Environmental Protection Agency</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T5XR2HQJIRG37JBNCZDXUSIHIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733517},"content":"The manufacture and distribution of a product is often the most environmentally damaging part, so by repairing, you are doing your bit for the planet – and your shopping sanity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EKKWBNJUBNHRHICZWF4USETAGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733518},"content":"By facilitating people to repair rather than replace things, <a href=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\" target=\"_blank\">RepairMyStuff.ie</a> helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and oceans, preserving our planet for future generations. It’s also a great way to support local small businesses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQXW3HV57NFVFLSLS5PZROTOZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733519},"content":"Repairing products can make financial sense too. A typical washing machine, for instance, costs €300-€400. Within five to 10 years of purchase, something will almost inevitably break. If getting it repaired costs less than €150, 50 per cent less than a new one, then repairing your washing machine makes perfect sense. Once fixed, it should then give you many more years of service.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBEOLZHRVFF5LDWQU3OJCGIL7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733520},"content":"Hit TV shows like the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bbc/\" target=\"_blank\">BBC’s</a> Repair Shop and an explosion of repair cafes demonstrate how repairing is catching on. New EU <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2024/04/23/stronger-consumer-rights-around-tech-repairs-approved-by-eu-parliament/\" target=\"_self\">right to repair laws</a> also mean consumers will soon have extended rights to have broken products such as smartphones repaired by manufacturers rather than dumping and replacing them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3PHXVQZWHJGVJMCIJHZRK45TZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733521},"content":"The law will oblige manufacturers to repair certain products, even if they fall outside of the scope of a legal guarantee. They would have to carry parts and make repairs at a reasonable cost.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EUUEN5UXFFBOTADMHFJ2BSPZWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742485733522},"content":"In the case of my red bag, a repair shop found on <a href=\"http://repairmystuff.ie/\" target=\"_blank\">RepairMyStuff.ie</a> replaced the zip for €20. I should get another five years out of it.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joanne Hunt"}},"name":"Joanne Hunt"}]},"description":{"basic":"Mending is better than spending, and online directory RepairMyStuff.ie is a one-stop-shop that makes it easy to find local repair businesses"},"display_date":"2025-03-24T05:30:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"We’ve been sold the idea that replacing instead of fixing is faster, but is it really? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"BGC5H7SLFVHN5DGKPD455XE3VE","auth":{"1":"63b225021294a5e6940e120c7bd7f3dc3b3280fc438d3af33db1437384b24129"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/BGC5H7SLFVHN5DGKPD455XE3VE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/24/why-mending-is-better-than-spending/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"NNQZWPRFVRGCTFLALLRONNTHKA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":708,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/d3a01673-0968-4f46-80fd-edd5af33589d/versions/1742472898/media/b7408d702995d3bf2fbeb0a1d496c85f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/fascinating-and-disturbing-how-our-brains-and-genetics-dictate-our-ideologies-and-vice-versa/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TP5SPQRKSRCKLAZIK62RCV2D2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043983},"content":"What if we could predict your politics with some brain scans? The political neuroscientist Dr Leor Zmigrod, the author of a compelling book called The Ideological Brain: A Radical Science of Susceptible Minds, contends that it can be done.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEJH27JURRHZ7HHRS3TFMI7QMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779557},"content":"Zmigrod has a PhD from the University of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cambridge-university/\" target=\"_blank\">Cambridge</a> and was listed in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/forbes/\" target=\"_blank\">Forbes</a> 30 Under 30 in 2020. Her book is, in some ways, the neuroscientific update of the 1950 sociology work, The Authoritarian Personality, by the Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor W Adorno and University of California, Berkeley researchers Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel Levinson and Nevitt Sanford, an attempt to define the personality types most likely to succumb to fascism in the turmoil of the last century.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BD35MDQMWNCUZFCLA2HLX4R5RA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043984},"content":"Frenkel-Brunswik is a heroine of Zmigrod’s. “She escaped <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/second-world-war/\" target=\"_blank\">Nazi</a> <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/austria/\" target=\"_blank\">Austria</a> and moved to Berkeley to start this research on what makes even children have the potential for authoritarianism, even for fascism,” she says. “And so she started creating these massive questionnaires and handing them to out to every school in the Berkeley area, getting these young children to demonstrate where they lie on a spectrum of xenophobia and prejudice.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WANS3BFXBRG2JNUDNFTUQNLAFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043985},"content":"Six decades later, Zmigrod was studying neuroscience and engaging in experiments in small, dark labs. “And I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I use all these [neuroscience] tools to study these questions about radicalisation?’ ... How is your brain affected by the ideologies you hold? What features of your brain and your personality and your cognition and maybe even your genetics, can affect what kinds of ideologies you’re predisposed to being attracted to?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RG2DQRUTXRF73HOXZJ6YOVP3CQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043986},"content":"Initially she focused her research on religious radicalisation. “Young European adolescents were being pulled into Isis,” she says. “There were these questions of why were these particular people attracted to it? Then Brexit happened as I was preparing to launch this research, and suddenly it became clear to me that the ideologies I was going to deal with were much broader and much more mainstream.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"H25JFILBARC4ZPXQMKI6PZOFIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043987},"content":"When Zmigrod refers to “ideological” thinking in her book she is, in general, defining this as “ideologically rigid” thinking. A core point in her work is that people who display cognitive inflexibility in tests mapping their ability to adjust to change also adhere to more rigid, radical and extreme ideologies. The “ideological brain” she has uncovered can be better understood in terms of “flexibility” and “rigidity” than traditional political terms like “right” and “left”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RJEKPSFNXBAMBHNBED4YYRCNHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043988},"content":"“We’re actually seeing more of a rigidity of the extremes, where both on the political right and on the political left, people, when they’re given tasks that require flexible thinking, will struggle,” she says. “We see, really consistently across different psychological tasks, that people who are cognitively rigid tend to fall into some kind of ideological extreme, regardless of whether it’s left or right.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHCE2GYBSBBAXNZJM3YUIRBAEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043989},"content":"These people can now be given brain scans which elicits a whole new realm of information that didn’t exist in the days of Else Frenkel-Brunswik. “What researchers around the world have started to discover is that people who adhere to different ideologies have brains that are slightly structured differently and function and react to the world differently.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VCLXEX3JGVAOFEXLDP4MTXOQVE","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"ACIW3V6H4FDAHNZTD3BCCIHUJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043990},"content":"She gives examples. “The amygdala, the centre in our brain that processes negative emotions such as fear and disgust and threat, is actually larger in people with conservative ideologies than people with liberal ideologies, which is fascinating.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PEP5ZA2PPZG7LGL7ZJAEQ4DTSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043991},"content":"There is even some evidence of ideological predispositions on a genetic level. “What we discovered is that across thousands of participants, that people who have genetic markers that indicate that they have a greater amount of dopamine in their prefrontal cortex [the area of the brain that is responsible for high-level reasoning] and lower levels of general dopamine levels in their striatal regions, tend to be the most cognitively flexible. And the reverse: people who have it the other way around tend to be the most cognitively rigid people who struggle when environments change.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PTSESZPMIBHI5COOLYYSLFOBGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779567},"content":"Critical thinking training can reduce belief in conspiracy theories, study by UCC psychologists finds","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WVKYDA5SDZGYJEBMZH4CIQLDU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779568},"content":"“So our genetics, affecting how our dopamine operates in each person’s brain, can affect how rigidly they process the world, which is fascinating and disturbing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LTDQDW3I3RA2DC5ADF5EV46EKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043992},"content":"Do people start out with these brain types or do they develop them over time? “There’s evidence that we have these psychological and cognitive predispositions that shape which ideologies we’re attracted to, but that also being immersed in a very rigid ideological framework is something that can affect our personalities,” she says. “It is a chicken or egg thing ... Either people with bigger amygdalas are attracted to more conservative ideologies or, if you spend a lifetime in conservative ideologies and environments, that has an impact on how your brain is structured.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N3GMZ33HWBBSDMXEGAI2QG3WCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043993},"content":"More work needs to be done to establish the actual dynamic, she says. “I have joined a longitudinal study that has been following people from when they were children and they’ve been measuring their brains and personalities,” she says. “I have to wait about 20 years before we can disentangle that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OG57YVTZVVDS3GZ2Y6APDELM3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043994},"content":"There is something inherently disturbing about the notion that our politics are less a product of reason than a consequence of biological processes. Zmigrod understands the discomfort.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KOWGNGNHUFAL5EHETDJ2WUE2HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779572},"content":"“I think that a lot of people who, when they think about those big ideologies that they either might be committed to or they might be opposed to, whether it’s Marxism or patriarchy or any of these narrowly defined ideologies, feel like it’s in the air around us, that it affects everything. It’s in our culture. It’s in our language. It’s in our thoughts, but in a very vague way. I think they have an antagonism to the idea that actually maybe it’s something that we can measure and look at on the individual level ... But my hope is that the science is received in a way that shows how actually understanding the ways in which ideologies can in some way infiltrate our cognitive habits, even our neurobiology, should really just empower us to critique ideologies ... I don’t think it opposes a sociological reading or a historical one. I hope it adds this additional lens that helps us understand it all better.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KM66OVIBLJCMBKDQCUBH5BXC2U","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"QSSLOVZNZRDBPEXWKMHMT4K2EQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043995},"content":"What are the consequences of her discoveries? “I think it allows us to understand people’s susceptibilities better, because we can see that actually they not necessarily just gravitating towards extreme and sometimes hateful ideas on a whim,” she says. “There is something about the structure of those ideologies, the logic of those ways of thinking, that particularly appeals to them because of this more general way in which they understand and process and problem-solve the world.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZD7CKXXZXJDRZFF23OP2ZZH44A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043996},"content":"As is probably clear from this interview, Zmigrod has a preference for flexible thinking over rigidity. “I think that the research suggests that being a more flexible thinker does give you a more direct access to sensation ... your perceptual and sensory apparatus is less ... constrained or numbed than when you have a very dogmatic way of thinking,” she says. “As a psychologist I value a kind of freedom of thought and elasticity of thought. And so if you value that, I think it’s hard to see a rigid ideological way of being as being a good thing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3GT44FTKMRF6DPOFBKQGJ6Q7V4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043997},"content":"Others might look at the data and take a different position, that there is something admirable in having fixed and rigid belief systems. “Absolutely,” she says. “There are people who definitely want for there to be more conformity-minded, obedient kinds of citizens. Those are the most controllable citizens and the ones where you can probably profit from the most, both economically and politically ... Many people think [rigidity is] a very good thing and the only way to be moral and good.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BRJXY7ZDTFAAXG4MDS4DKRCZ2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043998},"content":"Would she like to see a world with less dogmatic, extreme thinking? “I think that would be a world where people can be a lot more authentic and free.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AR4JBC7IVBF6HEH6ULTUOVAKNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463043999},"content":"People can change, she says. “A person’s flexibility or rigidity is not just fixed throughout their lifetime, predetermined at birth by biology,” she says. “People’s flexibility can increase and decrease throughout our lives. In moments of stress, we kind of rigidify and narrow and preserve our cognitive resources, and in other times, we can be more exploratory, more imaginative, more open. I think understanding the dynamics of how those predispositions interact with environments and situations gives us a better understanding of how people fall into these extreme worldviews and also how they can come out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6MHV5ESL6VEFRC5XVK7S2JKKHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779580},"content":"“If we maybe cultivate a general psychological flexibility in the way in which we approach the entire world and our everyday problems, that will also translate into a more tolerant, open-minded evidence-receptive way of approaching politics.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GW6EA2HYHRQZXINAVLPXEWRXLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779576},"type":"image"},{"_id":"6C2IF5UEGJE4HFEZJKLW27WEPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044000},"content":"Does the idea of someone, whether a rigid extremist or a flexible moderate, socially engineering or medicating certain types of brain away worry her?","type":"text"},{"_id":"E55ADA7QLFC73H6GDQFB75RODI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779582},"content":"“Could this science be used by malicious agents? It’s a question I’ve been thinking for a long time about, because I think any scientist should be so careful about the ethics of what you publish and the science you put out there ... I think it would be difficult to truly use the science for nefarious reasons, because the science shows how complex it all is. It wouldn’t be that simple that you could medicate people towards certain belief systems. But I also completely see what you’re saying, in that there’s a slight vulnerability there. When we’re exposing how this mechanism works, are you giving someone levers to press and to push?","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPTPI4EDPNDB5DW4ZFOV4PQWWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779584},"content":"“To some extent, I think that that is already the case when you see how authoritarian leaders use rhetoric and emotion. They are targeting these particular ways in which people respond. Stalin talked about ideological logic and rhetoric as this irresistible force that people are really drawn to. I think it would be difficult to use the science and make things worse than they are.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3P4B2EZTKBCBRDRUEWBN3CU4ZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044001},"content":"What would she like to see people do with this information? “What I hope that people take away from this is that the stakes of adopting really narrow, rigid, dogmatic ideologies are so much higher than we previously thought. Because it’s not just about political debate, it’s about forces happening within you and the kind of human being that you are, biologically and psychologically ... I hope it’s a basis for people to think really critically about the ideologies that they embrace ... Maybe this is an invitation to rethink pride in having very passionate, narrow principles, to realise what it might do to your body and how that might be reflected in your brain.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"655ACJ4E7ZCZFJDUBGH3MVXXUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742481779583},"content":"Obedience to authority: most of us would follow orders to do terrible things","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3VG56ZYNS5DHXGXJGFX2BMJHXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044002},"content":"Has there been any interest in her research from political figures? “Not any nefarious politicians that you might be scared of, I think,” she says. “People thinking about how to counter extremism and how to support people who are at risk are interested in this research because it helps us paint a much more comprehensive picture of what makes someone at risk and what can maybe help them get out of those kinds of extreme cycles. I can’t wait to see how the field evolves. Even in just the next decade I think it’ll be really interesting.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YYSXZ4SPGFHKJOC2XQGNY3JS3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463044003},"content":"<i>The Ideological Brain: A Radical Science of Susceptible Minds by Dr Leor Zmigrod is published by Viking</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patrick Freyne"}},"name":"Patrick Freyne"}]},"description":{"basic":"Dr Leor Zmigrod has found differences in the brain structures and functions of people with different ideologies. Could this science be used by malicious agents?"},"display_date":"2025-03-23T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Fascinating and disturbing’: How our brains and genetics dictate our ideologies - and vice versa","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EW5VFSVZR5G7RPPWX4ENF5DRJE","auth":{"1":"c5b2bd1348158c21f345c3bb5615c7987df0f9aea700ce3e75699f360641294d"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EW5VFSVZR5G7RPPWX4ENF5DRJE.jpeg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/fascinating-and-disturbing-how-our-brains-and-genetics-dictate-our-ideologies-and-vice-versa/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"ZVNPRQ5R5BDRJDT4GKBXBXGBLQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":712,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/50c97c38-fe49-4942-8724-bb871bf5ab7a/versions/1740495539/media/15bfd443be38daa345ec269f37370d33_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/rambles-in-eirinn-celebrating-the-journalist-who-cycled-all-over-ireland-in-the-early-1900s/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EEAY6NVKTJAQHI3U5TFUY7SFOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610566},"content":"In early December 2022, William Bulfin’s grandson Michael and I made our way by car from his home in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a> to visit the ancestral home of the Bulfin family, Derrinlough House in Co <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/offaly/\" target=\"_blank\">Offaly</a>. I had first read of it some decades previously, and now, finally, I was en route to visit it for the first time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LNEUTVONCZHXPHMGDPTEYTASZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662352},"content":"It had special significance for me because I had recently completed a biography of William Bulfin, author of Rambles in Éirinn, and the house in which he had been born and lived, in both his earlier and later life, and in which he died, figured prominently in its pages.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YXJI5FU4SRENFOAB4P4K7EWYKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610567},"content":"Bulfin left <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Ireland</a> for <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/argentina/\" target=\"_blank\">Argentina</a> in 1884, aged 21, and did not return on a visit until 1902. During those 18 years he worked initially as a sheep herder and foreman at an estancia (ranch) in Buenos Aires province. But then, having discovered a talent for writing, and encouraged by his fiancee, Annie O’Rourke, he turned to journalism, in 1892 joining the staff of local English-language newspaper <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Southern_Cross_(Argentina)\" target=\"_blank\">The Southern Cross</a>, of which he became manager and assistant editor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YEGTH5MKA5HGPBFQF6FSACLPUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662354},"content":"As a working journalist, Bulfin wrote his descriptive, illuminating and socially critical Sketches of Buenos Aires, depictions of life in the city at that time, as well as many articles and editorials.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZORXWFRDLVEPVBMIA52QPZSRJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610568},"content":"In January 1896 he bought out the previous incumbent and took over as editor of the newspaper. He used the earlier experiences he had working on sheep runs and as a ranch hand to compose short stories initially printed in The Southern Cross, and then as material for his collection of short stories, Tales of the Pampas, published in London in 1901, which was a critical success but sold disappointingly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"URPZ43LBQ5BCTM3OFD7WKHJ3NY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662356},"type":"image"},{"_id":"LA3LCPQGDFDLHE4HJLGTS575YY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662357},"content":"The following year, shortly after his return to Ireland, he began his bicycle trips around the country. He had become interested in cycling in the late 1890s and described in one of his sketches how a “bicycle parade” took place every Sunday morning in Palermo Park, Buenos Aires. Perhaps anticipating Myles na gCopaleen in style and content, he declared: “The bicycle is the sort of affair from which a man like Swedenborg, for example, would have extracted 12 or 14 volumes. I calculate, too, that had Herbert Spencer known the wheel, he would have constructed a synthetic library out of its endless sensuosities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZOHZEHZ3HJFHTL7WFLKAORYRCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610569},"content":"Bulfin had left his newspaper in the hands of an inexperienced assistant editor but in order to continue contributing from abroad, “with the sole object of sharing the writer’s thoughts and feelings with certain Irish exiles on the other side of the world”, he conceived the idea of cycling around the country and describing his sorties in articles sent back to the newspaper.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HWI4EGF6LRFT3GPPRFWUYKV6FY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662359},"content":"He was not the first of the Argentine Irish to compose such material. According to Thomas Murray, whose knowledge and presentation of matters Hiberno-Argentine was encyclopedic, Edward Mulhall, Irish editor of the Buenos Aires Standard, visited Ireland in 1875 and wrote a very interesting series of travel articles for his paper, some of which he headed Rambles in Ireland. Murray asserts that Bulfin followed pretty much the same course but called his work Rambles in Éirinn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3VKGMKKE5RGUNDYT5LL4QZHA7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662360},"type":"image"},{"_id":"UVJTTYJETNCS3EPXA2O3OBQEVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662361},"content":"Lest he give the impression that Bulfin plagiarised the idea, or even the work, Murray adds soothingly: “The latter was probably quite unconscious that he was in many places following in the footsteps of the former and sometimes almost copying him.” Given that Mulhall’s articles were published when Bulfin was 12 years old, it is unlikely that he ever read them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HP2K2I7N2RBIFFPENEGT6YBIMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610570},"content":"A considerable number of Bulfin’s tours were undertaken on his 1902 trip, and more on a second visit to Ireland in 1904–05. On his first sojourn he visited locations in Counties Offaly, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon, and along the Shannon, but he also made longer forays to Dublin, Sligo, Galway and to the north.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6NMRJ6NZSZE2XKWZBRDT7BAJ3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662363},"type":"image"},{"_id":"BFFCHRVPLBD3LOJ535RIKMVYDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662364},"content":"He did not always travel the full way to his destination by bicycle – as, for example on his Galway trip, when he described how he was “met off the train” by Douglas Hyde. He took his bicycle with him on occasion to use it on arrival, as on his Ulster trip, where the weather defeated two attempts to get there under his own power.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ND4FKJDB6NCMJK2RSAR223OXEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662365},"content":"The articles were already making their way back to The Southern Cross during his 1902 stay and he spent Christmas that year writing up more at Derrinlough, working eight or nine hours a day. On his return to Argentina his articles continued to be printed in the Cross for several months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J6ZKWUVPLBFMBADIDYR2NRDXVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610571},"content":"During his second trip, Bulfin went “cyc-rambling” again and composed further articles. He combined this Irish sojourn with a side visit (from and back to Ireland) to the United States, and while there, owing to a previously expressed interest, because The Southern Cross was read in North America, he visited the offices of the New York Daily News and arranged for the serial publication of 20 to 25 of his Rambles articles.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EWUEU7JZZJD7VPWZQ5IGQ32MYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662367},"content":"Irish in Argentina: Not always a successful diaspora story","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"4QAO363F7RDBRBILQ3IJ3LTM7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662368},"content":"On his voyage back to South America he was busy describing his recent experiences in Ireland, writing on board RMS Panama off Pernambuco to his wife, Annie, that he had finished his Limerick article, was ready to start on his article on Charles Kickham, and hoped to finish another six before reaching Uruguay. As the ship entered Montevideo harbour, he confirmed that he had succeeded in finishing the sixth article, “all but a few folios”, which was “over 70 columns of matter for the S Cross and all original material”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQ4XTXSFMNCB5HGRT6BPV5DW4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662369},"type":"image"},{"_id":"7ZACTWAAURFPXNZ2HYTY3UAM6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662370},"type":"image"},{"_id":"O2JTJT55KBHKNEBRUMDDKZVRVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610572},"content":"The publication in the US newspaper led to readers suggesting that his Rambles be published in book form, and there were similar suggestions from Ireland and Argentina. An offer, which included an American edition, came from Gill in Dublin, which he accepted, finalising the work for publication and checking the proofs in Derrinlough on his visit home in the winter and spring of 1906–07. Publication followed in July 1907.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OLVK757P3RCLLGWWYVOCFYFPJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662372},"content":"Reaction from the Irish nationalist press at home and the emigrant press in the US was highly favourable, though the local unionist press does not appear to have reviewed the book. Gill’s edition went into seven impressions, an Irish-language translation – Cam-chuarta i n-Éirinn – came out in 1936, and a new edition, in two volumes, was published by Sphere in 1981.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSXAFK27UNBULKJSC3TXHMW77E","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"2ZCM4QFOCFGCLJG2EGU3RHEVUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610573},"content":"On his final return to Ireland in 1909, Bulfin continued roving and writing – paying a special visit back to the north in September 1909, where many had complained that he had not done justice to the province of Ulster, with his emphasis on its industry and commercialism and “business, business, business”. He was assisted in this by the antiquarian Francis Joseph Bigger, who showed him around key locations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPYAVFMNTFE5JODFOQG3EMKXRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662375},"content":"“Sean Ghall” (Henry Egan Kenny) states in his introduction to the 1907 Gill edition of Rambles in Éirinn that Bulfin’s new and more positive vision of the north never made it to paper because it was crowded out by other work, but Patrick Callan assures us that the work was published as further instalments of Rambles in the Sinn Féin weekly edition.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPQO23X2MBHXXPGREJZVLB7K3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610574},"content":"Patrick Keohane, manager of Gill and a personal friend of Bulfin, who travelled with him to Ulster on his second visit, wrote that Bulfin had a marvellous memory, which enabled him to recall incidents and personalities “with the greatest minuteness and accuracy after the lapse of years”, and he never found it necessary to make a single note of the scenes and events “so graphically portrayed in his Rambles in Éirinn”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UACRQWR6JFHTDLN5ZQICVUFXZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662377},"type":"image"},{"_id":"VZQPDW5RFRD33EXHLIQGLL6VYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662378},"content":"When Bulfin was on a long horse-riding expedition under primitive conditions to the far west of Argentina in 1905, one of his fellow travellers, an uneducated Genoese who had learned with surprise and even suspicion that Bulfin was a writer and who had previously understood, or heard, that those who write take notes, remarked that he was making none. Bulfin answered that he was making notes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DESUVUZ3NFEPDG5QFHUNZFNWEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662379},"type":"image"},{"_id":"4ITAIW7XUFFGJDWSET4SSADURE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610575},"content":"“How can that be? You have not touched paper since we left San Rafael [several days previously].”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NFYFT6UKRBCKXBPWJRMLSPEXQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610576},"content":"“What of that? The best notes are not the ones that people jot down on paper. The best notes are the ones that soak into you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QMETSOGSXVAO5GFEFLGZ6HC7CE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610577},"content":"“Soak into you, eh?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LWW54EHR45FZNIYU5X54HZCUAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610578},"content":"“Aye, just soak in. Those are the essential things. The other things – the unimportant and valueless things – do not soak in. They stay out of your mind and do not trouble you when you come to write. And so, buenas noches.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7K2UAQ33KFEDDEMERRQG5DQZ4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610579},"content":"“Buenas noches, and may you rest well, eh,” the other answered, intrigued by this idea that all the mountains and rivers “and tales and breakfasts”, and the travellers themselves and the people in whose humble home they were then in, were all “soaking in” to this man.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FWY6UPPMSZBENHDYL3NRFGX4JE","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610580},"content":"The Rambles are not presented in chronological order but in an order that Bulfin felt would give variety and interest to the reader, which the book certainly provides. Whether extrapolating on the Ireland of his day or on its history, ancient or modern, or on geographical and agricultural, social or literary aspects of the places he visited, or on his encounters with people of various social levels, the charm and humour is mixed with a biting criticism, particularly of landlordism and the Anglo-Irish, of “shoneenism”, and of the political and economic systems of his day.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAPAWTB7F5EK3NILAR2KVQ3EWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662386},"content":"Killarney then and now: Aspects recognisable from when Harry Kernoff painted them in 1943","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"XUNWGDXRBJEFZLXDRNDPMI65MU","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610581},"content":"Bulfin himself believed that his “wild cycling trips” in Ireland contributed to a bout of rheumatic fever he suffered in 1906 in Argentina. On his final return to Ireland in 1909, he again took up residence in Derrinlough, having settled back in Ireland to devote himself and his pen to the cause of Irish nationalism, though he kept his interest in The Southern Cross, of which he was still proprietor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGC34POPAFAVFFJEI5KZEYOKIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662388},"content":"Sadly, following a trip to the US to raise funds for Arthur Griffith’s newspaper, the Sinn Féin daily edition, Bulfin, who was well over six feet tall, had a commanding, though benign, presence and was of an active, martial and muscular appearance, fell ill with a second bout of rheumatic fever and died in Derrinlough on February 1st, 1910.","type":"text"},{"_id":"53MN2H6CORFVHFXLMXJAY2AVVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610582},"content":"Readers of the 21st century deserve to read Bulfin’s work. Therefore, let his impressions of Ireland “soak in” to you, as the rain may soak in to those cyclists who take to the roads to follow in his wheel tracks, though cyclists are generally better outfitted nowadays than in his time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LFJ4JHXZVFPND2O5QXBYOYNGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662390},"content":"Cycling in Ireland, whether as sport or recreation, instead of simply getting from A to B, has become increasingly popular, and there is room here to perpetuate Bulfin’s memory. A Bulfin Heritage Cycle Rally, In the Wheel Rims of William Bulfin, has taken place several times over the past few years as part of National Heritage Week. One such rally, in 2021, had to be postponed due to inclement weather, an echo of Bulfin’s own experience, and suggesting, rightly or wrongly, that the weather in Ireland, at least, has not changed much since his day.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HGHRHDHQRBFDVN5W7WKAA6CJOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1740408610583},"content":"Michael Bulfin and I reached Derrinlough in about two hours, with stops, from Dublin, something that took his grandfather a full day by bicycle. There it stood: a very large two-storey farmhouse dating back to the end of the 18th century, the main facade looking much as it did in William’s time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LPBQAB5H5BCKJIZJQRS34ZWNHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1740668662392},"content":"<i>Rambles in Éirinn by William Bulfin is published by Merrion Press</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"TK Moloney"}]},"description":{"basic":"A journey in the wheel tracks of Irishman William Bulfin, who chronicled his bicycle tours of the country at the start of the 20th century"},"display_date":"2025-03-23T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Rambles in Éirinn: celebrating the journalist who cycled all over Ireland in the early 1900s","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"NVDWL2A3JNHHLIIO5IG26ILIK4","auth":{"1":"3e18f598cb9ee1f76874b878d4092495df01e6773c4f31a268c9888e59d5c411"},"focal_point":{"x":4950,"y":3190},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/NVDWL2A3JNHHLIIO5IG26ILIK4.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Travel"},{"name":"Sport"},{"name":"Cycling"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/rambles-in-eirinn-celebrating-the-journalist-who-cycled-all-over-ireland-in-the-early-1900s/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"4IBCHJNWFZG2HGBKMRZVWBTZOQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":757,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/32973ff3-130c-4d96-b8ef-165b4e52e32f/versions/1742305739/media/b3c4eaac7f3fef761796cdb3da2acb45_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/im-not-a-plastic-paddy-we-have-irish-americans-so-why-not-irish-britons/","content_elements":[{"_id":"B4F3AHERMBFLNMVH7LYVP27G7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333952},"content":"The Cloherty siblings wear their grief lightly yet a flicker hangs in the air as we discuss the loss last year of their father, Sean. Amid their laughter at their funny tales, you notice the occasional halting moment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GILE2VRP75DKJL664ZCDSFE5RU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333953},"content":"It might be a split-second lingering of silence or a glance after recounting a particularly treasured memory – a remembrance that he has now gone. Barely 11 months after he died from cancer, it is clear Cloherty, who was 74, was loved and is missed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCN76CWLSBEDRNJW2NP5KJ3ESM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333954},"content":"His five children – Patrick, Katie, Mary, Mike and Sean jnr – have gathered in the sittingroom of the house where, with his late wife Maureen, the hard-working Connemara man raised them and where Katie now lives with her own family. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"5AEZYHGLXZGSDJH5SWGC2LPDHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333955},"content":"The scene is unmistakably Irish. The traditional fireplace looks like many you would find in rural west of Ireland. The Clohertys ferry in endless cups of tea to fuel the chat. The deceased man’s brother, Padraig, similar in age to him, sits quietly in the corner, occasionally chiming in. This family, of humble, easy-going people reminisce as the Irish like to do over their dead.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LH7DLUAWENDODJWXEN4KVYL4PE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333956},"content":"Yet this isn’t Ireland. We are in Lydiate, a neat hamlet 15km north of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/liverpool/\" target=\"_self\">Liverpool</a>. Sean Cloherty, second eldest of nine, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/emigration/\" target=\"_self\">left</a> an impoverished existence on Lettermore island in the early 1960s to move to Britain for work, before he was 16.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BKVNLUKD7VBYXB6TSX2QP2I7YI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333957},"content":"He could speak only Irish when he arrived – it would be two years before he gained fluency in English. Before he died, he recalled that, all those years ago, he “had to go to help my mother” by sending money home. Lettermore was ruggedly beautiful but harsh on its children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZL5OBKQGZGJ3G525SGEEU6RRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333958},"content":"Cloherty worked laying pipes and as a builder. He created a solid life in England where the siblings were all born. They all retain a strong sense of Irish identity after visiting Lettermore all their lives – their late mother Maureen’s father, a Loftus, was from Mayo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHLACWFYPNAHRKMZID7ALHRRUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333959},"content":"The Clohertys would be typical, engaged second-generation Irish Britons if such a term was in use – but it almost never is. In contrast with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/irish-american/\" target=\"_self\">Irish Americans</a>, there is no equivalent moniker for our nation’s kin to the east. As we discuss their Irish identity, laughter rolls in from outside where the third generation, Katie’s girls, play. Upstairs are their <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/galway/\" target=\"_self\">Galway</a> GAA jerseys.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HOX7DS7M3JFGRBSHBOVMHSEWJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333960},"content":"“Our Irishness made us proud,” says Katie in a gentle Scouse lilt. “When we were young it made us different, like we had a proper story to tell.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HRRBX55RDVBV7GIDEGL64NKDRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999194},"type":"image"},{"_id":"YRDP6EQP5RAIFGBA4C3PNUWG7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999195},"content":"Mike remembers banging on his neighbours windows when he was a kid to tease them after the Republic beat England at football – it may have been Euro 88. He defines his Irishness in terms of values and attributes – hard work, kindness to neighbours – passed on from his father.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVGSUNGRBJAPZA2NRCWRDWP6EM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333962},"content":"Katie, who has embraced the identity most keenly, did Irish studies up to master’s level at college. To Mary, “Lettermore <i>is</i> my Dad, my grandparents”. Sean jnr doesn’t see Ireland as his home, but the land of his roots – he likes to tour it on his motorbike. Meanwhile, the youngest, Patrick, describes a physical longing for Lettermore – visiting the island “grounds” him with childhood memories. Rocks are where they always were, ocean views still the same.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZE3OEH6JSVCMTKMX5R7XZ7VFDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333963},"content":"“My Irishness is a blend of a melancholic feeling mixed in with pride. I know that is an idealistic view of things, but I really feel my Irishness in the call to go back and visit,” says Patrick. They recorded their father’s story before he died as part of an oral history project, Looking Back to Look Forward, run by the representative group Irish in Britain.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JEBSXUPFR5DD3DWWAPEUZHOXHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333964},"content":"There are six million in Britain with at least one Irish grandparent – 9 per cent of the population. At the post-Brexit peak, more than 100,000 Britons per year applied for Irish passports. Yet in 2021, 565,000, less than 1 per cent of people in Britain, ticked the “White Irish” box on the census, and three-quarters of those were <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\" target=\"_self\">immigrants</a> born in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHICCISIDNBORDIIEKSFMCKHA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333965},"content":"The story of Irish emigration to Britain – such as those who came to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/3/\" target=\"_self\">London</a>’s Kilburn to “work on the buildings” – has been told often. Less is known at home about Irish Britons, the children and grandchildren of those who made the journey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RPFHYJANJNFSLGMQCY2KIHNYLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333966},"content":"Academic data suggests they are more upwardly mobile than the average British citizen. A study by Mary J Hickman, now a fellow at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, suggests their upward mobility increased if they had two parents from the Republic. Irish Britons are at the highest levels of UK government – Pat McFadden, one of the most senior British cabinet members, is a Glasgow son of Irish-speaking Donegal parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RY5DWFIUHBCOJNICIQREMNIJGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999202},"content":"Keir Starmer’s Irish strategists","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"JPJPAEK7N5CFNIHXHBZXXQGWTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333967},"content":"There is ample evidence of prominent second- and third-generation Irishness all over Britain. Yet the question remains as to why Irish Britons are less feted in their ancestral homeland than Irish Americans, and whether that makes some less enthusiastic about expressing it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OUDU3OPGBBERFE5244OVXCASPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333968},"content":"There is also a clear difference found in academic studies between the second- and third-generation Irish experience in England, where it was more prosperous, and in Scotland, where sectarianism and poverty were rife, especially around Glasgow. Scottish-Irish communities were more cloistered.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JVRXXPKHGNATRHE4XPGAREW7EE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333969},"content":"Data aside, later-generation Irishness in Britain is a feeling as much as anything. For the Clohertys, their Irish identity is clear and unabashed. For others, it is more nuanced.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LUZPWDDVVNEVBOOZYYHC6XVNOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333970},"content":"John Swaine (62), a London black-cab driver, is the son of two Irish parents who emigrated to Britain about 65 years ago. His Wicklow-born father, Joe Swaine, died aged 80 in Hertfordshire during the first wave of Covid in 2020. His mother, Meath-born Theresa, died in 2015.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PBH3O3PC4ZG6HKHDC4MFSW7QAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999207},"type":"image"},{"_id":"32YWJSGYBBGP3CYQWFTDPK7NRA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333971},"content":"Swaine is among the hundreds of thousands of Britons who are proud owners of a new Irish passport. His sense of warm regard for his parents’ homeland remains intact. But he doesn’t readily play up his Irish identity. He is not, as some are derided in the UK, a “plastic Paddy”. A more recent offshoot of this derogatory term are the “passport Paddies” who seek the citizenship they are entitled to for pragmatic reasons.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ZAJDNLDOJFTPCHEUHC774HTXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333972},"content":"Swaine is realistic about his connection to Ireland, which he has visited once in the last 45 years – a wedding near Carlingford Lough about 15 years ago. Like the Clohertys, he travelled over to see his grandparents each summer as a child. But he stopped after his late teens. No particular reason, he says. He loved it when he did visit. But Swaine sees himself clearly as an Englishman, just one with Irish ancestry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RMMHDFOI55A3PMZ5GR4LD6NMXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333973},"content":"“If I went over to Ireland now, people there would consider me English. I feel like I am English. But the other side of it is that I love the fact of my Irish background. I am proud of it. I’d never speak badly of it and if I was in company and I heard someone trashing Ireland, I’d say something.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2QXOXIR2GJBKJF5GRENQPNXX7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333974},"content":"His late father Joe was mischievous, the sort with a permanent twinkle in his eye. Swaine recalls that as he entered adulthood, he and his father would, every Christmas Day, have a facetious debate about whether the son was Irish or English: “My Dad would say ‘you’re Irish’. I’d say I was English. It was like a religious thing, this back and forth. That’s just how we were.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YN22FCBEOZAN3MK5HNEXSCLBZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333975},"content":"He wonders if this desire to delineate himself contributed towards his understated attitude to Ireland. His main motivation in seeking an Irish passport, he says, was a reaction to European Union travel rules for British people after <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/brexit/\" target=\"_self\">Brexit</a>. But rummaging through documents such as his parent’s birth certificates sparked curiosity about his heritage.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q2ZRVZFKFFB45N4LT2DDUCDSEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333976},"content":"Swaine has a decent knowledge of the basics of Irish current affairs – he is a London black-cab driver after all. He also retains an outside interest in Irish sports, although he doesn’t seek them out. “I’d chat about Irish stuff to my cabbie mates if something was on the news, but that’s about it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6LUZH5PNVGOXE235XS32LK42Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333977},"content":"Yet, unprompted, Swaine can still accurately describe from memory the 1.5km route from Enniskerry to his grandparents old house in Parknasillogue – every turn and undulation. This journalist knows his recollection to be correct because we walked the same roads, sharing that set of grandparents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5KVJCLE7XZDGXCEIJ6AO76B5RE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333978},"content":"“I haven’t thought of that since I was a kid,” says Swaine, surprised at himself. “It’s unreal how that just came into my mind. That memory or connection to Ireland was buried. It must run deep.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KB3XBJOAVNEJLDEZQUREIRMEDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333979},"content":"Swaine believes his English accent will always limit the degree of Irishness people in Ireland will ascribe to him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V7MF7E4XCFAE7PA7HX52T533QU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333980},"content":"That chimes with the experience of Morag Prunty, a London-born Irish novelist who writes under the pen name Kate Kerrigan. She has toured over the past year or so with a one-woman play, Am I Irish Yet?, about her desperate wish to be accepted as fully Irish. She now lives in Mayo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCAV4LPCKBD6BARDYIPKD545J4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999218},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5YTLZKXB3BELXIMD4MNGIEI4OE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333981},"content":"The crowd during an Irish Times visit for a matinee performance at the Liverpool Irish Centre earlier this month is mostly older women. Judging by Prunty’s interactions with audience members, they are also acutely plugged in to her message that there is a blockage in the homeland for second- and third-generation Irish Britons.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N2MJJBH5WNER5G4UJ4PEQSGKG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333982},"content":"“If you’re English and Irish at the same time like I am, it’s a bit of a problem,” she tells them. “I was born in the UK [but] always felt like I had to apologise for that ... I am not plastic.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XTFZ3LJUZBG3DFSFU23PD7M4Z4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333983},"content":"Bronwen Walter, emerita professor at Anglia Ruskin University in the southeast of England, is a retired expert on Irish migration to Britain. She co-wrote a major study of second- and third-generation Irish in Britain – the Irish 2 project, albeit two decades ago.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HQBVUGSJMJHJPKTXOXSX54SOV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999222},"content":"Diarmaid Ferriter: How the Irish became Britain’s oldest, loneliest ethnic group","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UZDKO3XTDNDT3MP5QFQSHUYOL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333984},"content":"She has written that people of Irish descent in Britain are “frequently overlooked ... certainly not feted ... and often reminded of their inauthenticity” by those of us born on the island. Yet many Irish Britons' strong sense of Irish identity perseveres, and can grow through the generations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OKNCMYXYGFFALKKHVUXWYM6RXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333985},"content":"“We often were surprised to find that third-generation Irish identity could be even stronger,” Walter told The Irish Times last week. “They had missed out on the downsides of being Irish in Britain – the Troubles, etc – and got the benefits.\"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MK45ZNY3DNAIZFMPF7ZSJ36P6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999225},"content":"‘It’s somewhat downplayed in Ireland – the trouble that the Troubles caused for the Irish living in Britain’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"N26XBHYFO5E5JDIRD3W7A2AESA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333986},"content":"Earlier this month, the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, launched an intergenerational project in conjunction with local Sacred Heart Catholic High School, in which the girls, many with Irish ancestry, filmed interviews with older first-generation London Irish about their immigrant experience.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M73HR6AJQRB5RG7R3MQ6DIO2IU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999227},"content":"Irish in London: ‘Nobody was making me stay. I could have left at any time and gone home to Sligo ... That was 24 years ago’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KN6F3X33HFAF7MR377Z7NWDK5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333987},"content":"On the day The Irish Times observes, the interviews are conducted by Year Nine students (aged about 13). They include Ellie Honan, whose roots are in Dublin and Tipperary – her mother and grandmother on her father’s side are Irish. Violet Fitzgibbon, who has two sets of Irish grandparents from Clare and Drogheda, also takes part, along with fellow student Sesina Dawit, who has no Irish ancestry but is fascinated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAB4RBUIUJDPHNRFZGW2CXUYFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742402999229},"content":"The ‘mockery’ dished out to the Irish with British accents: ‘Ello luv, you over on ’oliday?’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UQUK7RU6RJGSDG42TMGRCUMAVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333988},"content":"Ellie and Violet profess a strong Irish identity. Ellie sees her ancestral homeland as “a family place”. Her two most positive associations with it are “the people and the seaside”. Violet says everybody in her house supports Ireland over England in the rugby. Both girls agree that one of the biggest differentiators from the UK is that Irish people always say goodbye and thank you to bus drivers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GW4VLPX36BE7XBKTSGOCZDHDYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299333990},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Mark Paul"}},"name":"Mark Paul"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Irish identity of people born in Britain, where six million have at least one Irish grandparent, can be complex and personal..."},"display_date":"2025-03-23T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"The experience of Irish Britons: ‘If you’re English and Irish at the same time like I am, it’s a bit of a problem’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"44SDXU334ZHEHKPZ3JDKG4KKWQ","auth":{"1":"45637020e4084bc1b04c97878ae9f9a7efe01f00eddcc983f86b5c9820e6d2e7"},"focal_point":{"x":3235,"y":1175},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/44SDXU334ZHEHKPZ3JDKG4KKWQ.jpg"},"overline_logo":{"_id":"DKIH44HW7VAH3JYCUZFCY2EZM4","auth":{"1":"3621094a80576cd9edf9549c0d2d7a76011c5f5dcb887e8390b004644bcf2848"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DKIH44HW7VAH3JYCUZFCY2EZM4.png"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Abroad"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/im-not-a-plastic-paddy-we-have-irish-americans-so-why-not-irish-britons/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"2SALZ2UTNBA5HC6DFJASMK6PSI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":223,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/df23ab50-a0cb-46e0-8fd6-5d833955aa7b/versions/1741788533/media/75d6d5a57487fd7c391a1b275258f8ec_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/sean-moncrieff-the-word-old-has-become-an-insult-if-youre-old-its-all-over/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GGJKCWHWQJGQZG334353BM4I7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665542},"content":"One of the early indicators that spring has arrived is the change in the sorts of people I see on the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dart/\" target=\"_blank\">Dart</a>. The foreign language students arrive: they travel in large, noisy packs, usually carrying a rucksack issued by whatever institution organised the trip. Seasoned Dart travellers keep an eye out for these groups and move to a different carriage. They take up a lot of space and the decibel level is often close to ear-splitting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5CRZZRCVRVCAXO7B7VU2VD36RY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665543},"content":"There are also people heading to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/howth/\" target=\"_blank\">Howth</a>. They carry rucksacks too, and wear waterproof jackets and sturdy boots. Some have trekking poles. Often they are carrying so much equipment they look like they are about to climb the north face of the Eiger, rather than walk up Howth Head.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KS2PLOAOYFFZZO72OPOUKQ4EFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665544},"content":"I’m generalising, but this cohort of people tend to be of retirement age. I spotted the first of the season last week, when two English women shuffled on to the packed train. Unlike the foreign language students, they were mindful of trying not to bash people with their rucksacks. There was an age gap between them; one I’m guessing was in her early 60s while the other seemed closer to 70.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KR6IFLPV4VG4RH5GEVEFSSRRYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665545},"content":"A man stood and offered the older of the two women his seat. She politely declined, and then fell into conversation with her friend about what had just happened. She wasn’t offended by the offer – this kind of thing had happened to her before – but she couldn’t remember when it had started. She wondered what it was about her appearance, or the image she was projecting to the world, that caused others to think she needed a seat more than they did. Especially now: she was dressed in hiking gear. She obviously wasn’t infirm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OVSYBYJ7TVHJDCR6MG6MY6MRRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665546},"content":"Perhaps wisely, her friend didn’t express an opinion on the matter.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KMELN3L2W5BV5KK2N5A44IVESU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665547},"content":"They weren’t criticising the man who had made the offer. Nor should they have. It probably doesn’t happen as much as it used to, but I still see people who are elderly or frail or pregnant being given seats on public transport, and it is always gratifying to witness. Old-fashioned decency hasn’t completely died out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7DATYJNGXRDGFGNSGYRFXJ2NFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665548},"content":"It’s just that in this case, the man unwittingly contributed to the series of mild insults that go along with being older.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KWX43SFY6RCZXPBIAK3IZ76FIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665549},"content":"Even what I’ve written here could contribute to it. The word “older” is vague: older than who? I’m trying to avoid using the word “old”. Few seem to want to embrace that term, and you can’t blame them: it’s become definitive, damning, close to an insult. If you’re old, it’s all over.","type":"text"},{"_id":"54TGFWI7HFCTDPRBEHW6EISWOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288113331},"content":"Shouldn’t we allow ourselves grow old gracefully and not be full of fear?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3UXY7IEEEJGZ5NXUVQPGB3MMMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665550},"content":"Instead, older-than-you people have to endure a society that would rather not think about them at all. Women, especially, become almost invisible. Ageing is not treated as a natural process any more, but almost a moral failing; something that should have been resisted. To be old in public advertises that disgraceful failure: one that the non-old would rather not be close to, just in case it’s contagious.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RTCI6WDKSVBJZF5N3DNI2ANCMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665551},"content":"Not everyone acts this way. It’s well-intentioned, but the old can often be shoved into the land of cliche: we should value the elderly because they are wise (not necessarily true). They aren’t fit but “hale and hearty”. Or the worst: being described as “71 years young”. When, or if, I reach that august age and hear that phrase from someone, they can expect an unexpected meeting with the back of my arthritic hand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y57FEQIR5VCMNBLD6CZTWKRJBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288113335},"content":"The value of age: ‘l am still me with wisdom gained. My goal is to stay curious’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AJL2RECYCRAXHLHPBY7K5UKV2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741710665552},"content":"On the Dart, we passed a few stations and a seat became free. The older woman marched down to it, then waved to her younger friend, who accepted it gratefully and, I inferred, was the one who had really needed to sit down. There’s a difference between old and tired.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Seán Moncrieff"}},"name":"Seán Moncrieff"}]},"description":{"basic":"Ageing is not treated as a natural process any more, but almost a moral failing; something that should have been resisted"},"display_date":"2025-03-23T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Seán Moncrieff: The word ‘old’ has become an insult. If you’re old, it’s all over","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ILRNIAZH5ZH23O4USKSEJ4PT4Y","auth":{"1":"1e795949d30a528b673ce12bf053e0dce3dad3cc1e7cdea1f2218410d1361011"},"focal_point":{"x":1212,"y":681},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ILRNIAZH5ZH23O4USKSEJ4PT4Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/23/sean-moncrieff-the-word-old-has-become-an-insult-if-youre-old-its-all-over/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"V2CWCL4N4FD4LMB63KV5VF6KWA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":789,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/d0b0d8e6-5793-46b6-adcc-f87cefe86fdd/versions/1742398301/media/f7680e9814782ec5ed9a662c38adc9dc_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/health/your-family/2025/03/22/culture-wars-reach-the-classroom-what-is-the-best-way-to-teach-children-about-gender-and-identity/","content_elements":[{"_id":"BLCCG4S4AFABHOGAQETHS7OMBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695695},"content":"On the face of it, Sandra Adams, a Dublin-based mother of two, seems an unlikely campaigner to be on the front line of the culture wars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SMGJ62YVR5AKXGLT5C5TYWOKEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695696},"content":"“I supported the repeal referendum and marriage equality ... If anything, I’m more of a social democrat in terms of philosophy,” says Adams, who has previously worked as an arts producer and community worker.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZQTJSSJZLNFYHALJXZRULJNUX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695697},"content":"Right now, one of her main concerns is campaigning for what she calls “fact-based, scientifically accurate” education and opposing the presentation of gender identity in schools as fact.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D44WADUGNRCIRIJZ44HSO3DPD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695698},"content":"“People are entitled to believe whatever they wish. I don’t query that,” she says. “But if you go into a school and teach that ‘everyone has a gender identity’, that’s simply not true. We have to teach facts, not ideologies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6XOS7TR4FJCNPG6PJD6GII6QTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695699},"content":"“Children don’t have a stable sense of identity and can be easily influenced and manipulated. So, it’s profoundly irresponsible to say you can change sex.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EJXAQESXBZDYBE35I4RCY4PPIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695720},"content":"Karen Sugrue, a mother from Limerick, holds very different views.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H6BTSSXZYBAHPILQSVCSPMQDTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952822},"content":"A teacher, psychotherapist and co-chair of Mammies for Trans, she insists gender identity “isn’t contested science” and there is no reason to fear it being raised in the classroom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3UVWJWZF4ZE3NFXPI63N7UBWQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695721},"content":"“The World Health Organisation understands that gender is not a binary, it’s a spectrum, as does the Irish Government and the Department of Health,” she says. “They are very clear on that, so we’re on very solid ground.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"A4K5PRS5LZGETEOHMYALWPXXK4","additional_properties":{"_id":"CN36PIEA4BBAPEN7CZXALPPNIY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"YF2UB45HAJCCVLOGSRPXHDYIPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695722},"content":"She says we should teach children about diverse families and identities in an age-appropriate way, especially in light of attempts to make political capital on the back of so-called “wedge” issues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7HAF6Z4ZFJB35IBAXYUQC37CUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695723},"content":"“We saw it with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/02/05/trump-signs-order-intended-to-bar-transgender-athletes-from-womens-sports/\">Donald Trump</a>. One of the first things he did was to make an issue of gender. Not guns or drugs. It was gender. In Ireland, there are lots of bad faith political actors who will stoke up controversy on this instead of housing, health or waiting lists, which they can’t solve,” says Sugrue.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TMLIAFJZZRDIFA3J47FXVIHGCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695724},"content":"The process of drafting a new curriculum at primary level – the biggest shake-up to teaching and learning for two decades – has attracted huge levels of interest and hundreds of submissions from parents, as well as lobby groups and other stakeholders.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TD6WEWOEKRGCBDTQLBPG3TP74M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695701},"content":"On one side are both self-described liberal and conservative parents, campaign groups, religious organisations and others who argue that “radical gender ideology” is not appropriate for children and that young people with gender dysphoria need specialised and compassionate medical care, not what some term “woke indoctrination” at school.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FT27JXMOP5AUHIBLOEI4WOINDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695702},"content":"On the other are parents – of trans children in some cases – groups of academics and nongovernmental organisations who say the new syllabus needs to recognise the diversity of LGBTQ+ identities and who insist that silencing conversations around identity will have detrimental effects on the lives of many vulnerable pupils.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YOHGWPME2BCVTPWYWQJQDANZCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403564014},"content":"Gender identity not included in draft primary school curriculum","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"J5VJZQP4UJBCZJD2T6F6BZSJCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695703},"content":"The curriculum is being drafted against a backdrop of polarised online debate, viral videos with claims of highly sexualised or inappropriate curricular content, while the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/enoch-burke\">Enoch Burke</a> saga – the second-level teacher opposed to what he terms “transgenderism” and who has violated court orders to stay away from his former school – continues with no sign of a resolution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5QI5W4HWFNAWXDPJNESDLI3QEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695704},"content":"The body charged with developing the new primary syllabus is the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), a statutory body of the Department of Education.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AFVH7N35AVG6JMQHHDPRKS6ZUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695705},"content":"Policymakers say it is timely that an updated curriculum is developed to “equip our children with essential knowledge, skills, concepts, attitudes, values and dispositions” to prepare them for life further into the 21st century.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XDT4GAOW65B4VCQLDH4HVUKAEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695706},"content":"Under the draft reforms which have been several years in the making, primary school pupils will spend more time learning foreign languages as well as Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) and a broader arts curriculum, including dance and creative media.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WSLABDTEWJDRHLJWO3ZFS4FQCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695707},"content":"The “wellbeing” section of the draft curriculum is the most contentious. It includes an emphasis on relationships and sex education including new areas of learning such as consent and diversity in family structures.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MCJ5XUXX5RECRBO3KXS5QMCCNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695708},"content":"There is, however, no reference to transgender or gender-identity issues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEFB7KS3F5G7VA3GBVQXUQIUMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695709},"content":"(It <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2023/04/24/new-junior-cycle-curriculum-will-oblige-schools-to-teach-about-gender-identity/\">does feature</a> in the separate and recently updated social, personal and health education curriculum for older junior cycle students, typically aged 12-15).","type":"text"},{"_id":"IKLYDB3H2BGSDOMIUFQ5FFWALM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695710},"content":"Notwithstanding this, the NCCA noted that a “diversity of opinion was shared on gender identity and LGBTI+ terminology that do not feature in the draft wellbeing curriculum” at primary level during its consultations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TZBD4DJTUJDZDJ3KBEGIK6KRI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403564023},"content":"New primary school curriculum: the changes on the way and what they mean for children","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"G45OZQ3Z2NAWRC7ZR2WL3TZV3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695711},"content":"Many submissions, it says, were based on “misinformation or disinformation” on what is in the draft primary syllabus.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KHCHO4UUNBAR3N7HDMDVZPQZOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695712},"content":"The curriculum is due to be finalised shortly and will be sent to Minister for Education <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/helen-mcentee\">Helen McEntee</a> for approval in advance of its publication later this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L7RFCKRDDFBZXGS3VNBES5UCAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695713},"content":"Those opposed to teaching around gender identity, however, remain wary. Gender critical-campaigners point to teaching resources or tool kits aimed at primary students that teach gender identity as fact.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DTOOVIUGJFFSBJZUWCFE3HOOMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695714},"content":"Adams, for example, cites the HSE booklet Busy Bodies for teaching children aged eight to 12 about puberty, which is distributed to schools.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKCJYBKMM5BIZLSFPFFOKCPHZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695715},"content":"“As well as a biological sex, we all have a gender identity,” the cartoon booklet states. “This is how we think of ourselves as a boy, a girl, neither or both.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JGOIGWVDIRDV3EAUBW3OXT75AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695716},"content":"Adams says, whatever about curriculum reforms, teachers are being directed to “ideologically driven” tool kits for the classroom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DBVOFQHETNA6XHUV776FQNANUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695717},"content":"“We rightly trust our teachers. It’s an amazing profession – I’ve lots of teachers in my family – and they have such positive influence on children ... so this undermines the trust we need to have in our teachers.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"53HV6YZN5RFP5B7C3EWC6PPGJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695718},"content":"Other gender-critical campaigners point to an overarching primary curriculum framework document, which states that the syllabus will be “concerned with the best interest of every child, considering that they vary in their competence, language, family background, age, culture, ethnic status, religion, gender and sexual identity.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5EC2V6G7ZHTZPESUFVP6DZ7OM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695719},"content":"They question if this reference to “gender and sexual identity” means the topic will, ultimately, find its way into the classroom. An NCCA source insists this is not the case.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EF5BE63VRZAGTD2BUETNUYYC2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695720},"content":"On the other hand, groups such as BelongTo – which supports LGBTQ+ young people – say the reality is that young trans people are in primary schools in Ireland and have a right to a supportive spaces where it is safe to question their sexual orientation and gender identity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TBR4DBHHOFAQRH53QNS6EE5CSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695725},"content":"“Ignoring their existence and silencing conversations around identity will have detrimental effects on the lives of these pupils,” it says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RTSEXWYSRHPZDTZYG3J43E3KM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695726},"content":"It cites studies that show that LGBTQ+ young people face higher levels of suicide ideation and mental health risks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q7R7KKBV7JC2NDQQRYLHP7Y23U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695727},"content":"“Rather than brushing this topic under the rug, we need to ensure that schools have the capacity and confidence to support all pupils in an age-appropriate manner, including those who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity,” it says. “All pupils deserve to feel safe and supported at school.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3Y2DFBPQHBHJHLOMLK2OTKDEDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695728},"content":"Transgender Equality Network Ireland (Teni) also says there are trans children in Irish primary schools who want to feel as included as every other child, want their lived experiences to be shared with their peers and want to see themselves reflected in the curriculum just like other children do.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ERODJFHODRE7FMQVJCKNVNLLMA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695729},"content":"“Silencing and obscuring the experiences of trans children does not make those children disappear, it only brings a sense of shame and stigma to children already facing high levels of bullying and social isolation,” says Teni.","type":"text"},{"_id":"24OTJ2NY7BDD7ATJPVW7VH2VVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952855},"type":"image"},{"_id":"Y3VINNCIIVDH3LTOMCWLYNKYOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742403564040},"content":"Gender identity is just one of the flashpoints around the curriculum.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PNSNPF5CFZAERIW6RJQ7TVTD5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952853},"content":"Everything from critical race theory to Irish identity have come under the microscope since the social, personal and health education (SPHE) curriculum was updated at second level for junior cycle students.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VUE4DS6I3JAV3DUZ4K7JUBHYYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695731},"content":"Last year there was <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2024/09/05/calls-for-curriculum-review-after-publisher-pulls-text-on-irish-family-stereotype/\">controversy</a> when a publisher withdrew a schoolbook to accompany the revised syllabus that portrayed a “traditional” Irish family in a way that was described by critics as prejudiced and a crude caricature.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UKEGJQJOQZEMJEFREALSWUNZUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742394952856},"content":"The book, Health and Wellbeing, gave two examples of representative Irish families. The first portrayed a family wearing Aran sweaters, with the children Irish dancing, eating potatoes, bacon and cabbage each day, and stated that they played no foreign sports, played Irish music, never travelled abroad and did not mix with other religions because they would be a “bad influence” on them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MF7TMF554VBJXIWOJLE6MRP4OQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695733},"content":"This family was compared with a second family, which was multicultural and travelled abroad a lot because it was a good way to learn about other cultures and societies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KO7JSUWA5CKLGTXAJSFZ7UA4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695734},"content":"A spokesperson for the Educational Company of Ireland said the depictions were “designed to help students understand the importance of diversity in our lives” but it appreciated that its approach should have been different and “caused upset and anger, even though this was not our intention”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SG2KCC22JFE5PKNTM652K3E6VQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695735},"content":"In another development, a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2024/10/24/graphic-material-on-social-personal-and-health-education-course-not-intended-for-classroom-use-says-university/\">viral YouTube video</a> with a teacher who claimed the updated SPHE course at junior cycle contained graphic and inappropriate sexual content for students has attracted almost 450,000 views. The content formed part of a Dublin City University training course for the new subject.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UKMAMKLWFGMHA5LVFLBAATKYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695736},"content":"Tipperary teacher Mary Creedon said she was horrified by some of the material, which included a video of an illustrated woman figure demonstrating masturbation and an animated “sex map” of heterosexual and homosexual couples engaged in different sex acts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CYTPW3IVKJEDTCPEUDCB4OVZDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695737},"content":"DCU later said the video “completely misrepresented” the course and that any material shared was provided only to the teachers as adults in the context of their broader education on the programme.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSW7LXYCV5AUBCJVZG3KUJXKZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695738},"content":"These areas of teaching and learning are being updated largely on foot of a government-commissioned <a href=\"https://ncca.ie/en/resources/report-on-the-review-of-relationships-and-sexuality-education-in-primary-and-post-primary-school/\">review of sex education </a>in 2019, which found that the 20-year-old syllabus was out of date, too focused on biology and did not reflect the reality of young people’s lives.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ND455XDXDRFBBB44SMGI76WSHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695739},"content":"Teenagers said they wanted a greater emphasis on issues such as consent, relationships, the effects of pornography on sexual expectations and LGBTQ+ matters.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QOWVJQQGZDJNEDS6BXOELOWPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695740},"content":"The Government pledged to develop an age-appropriate curriculum across primary and second-level schools, including an inclusive programme on LGBTQ+ relationships.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6O3G5RVKQRE7TC26DET5ZB5YN4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695741},"content":"The first step involved updating the junior cycle curriculum for social, personal and health education, followed by senior cycle last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UXII7KOXTFF75DGWF67FJW37DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695742},"content":"For the NCCA, it has been a delicate balancing act of updating the curriculum and figuring out how relationships and sexuality education should be taught in schools.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WPIBCSSXOJDENCLNZY4JAH4HUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695743},"content":"“We know these topics are sensitive and there are very strong opinions on what should or should not be in there,” says one source involved in drafting the curriculum. “We’ve researched and consulted extensively, and anything we’ve done is founded in scientific fact.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YB7XQMQEKZGYLJOYWJYO3DVKYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695744},"content":"The NCCA works by drawing on national and international research, inviting consultation, holding focus groups, discussing changes with school communities and shaping proposals","type":"text"},{"_id":"SAZZXJ6XEJB4PNSYRBUXB2KVS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695745},"content":"The changes, say sources, are aimed at promoting dialogue and discussion about these issues in an age-appropriate way with an informed teacher.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X5ZBJBBQUBAP3AJ2CUQKVOCRQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695746},"content":"Critics, however, claim the consultative processes are largely tokenistic and see only minimal changes in response to their concerns. This is rejected by NCCA sources, who point to examples of how draft and final blueprints have changed in response to consultation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OIXX2M2LDJGM5FRRGTLNEIC3AA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695747},"content":"For some of those involved in policymaking, the disputes revive memories of similar battles in the 1980s and 1990s when sex education was first included in the curriculum, amid protests and pledges by some parents to withdraw children from classes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YI45ELTF2JGULDSEBPUA25MN7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695748},"content":"“There were many of the same claims of ‘This isn’t age-appropriate’, ‘Not at this stage’ and ‘It’s not the job of schools to teach this’,” says one education source. “This [new curriculum] isn’t usurping the role of parents; they have a role and should be consulted about this.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L2GPKMUGINBTFOQLXX5GYBHIWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695749},"content":"Ultimately, says another long-standing education observer, the fact that curriculum change is generating debate is healthy sign of a vigorous democracy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T6BICT2FLFC5FBKHL2HNTL5WBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695750},"content":"“A curriculum reflects educational priorities which society, at a point in time, deems important for its young citizens,” says the source. “It embodies society’s broadly held view of what our children should learn into the 21st century. It’s only right that we have lively debates about this.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MUVUXMDB4ZAVNO4OTTMKFG7ZVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695751},"content":"Many schools say they have been quietly getting on with meeting the needs of small numbers of trans young people in conjunction with parents without controversy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5P4UR7KHJJE6LLPPNOXVQEV62I","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695752},"content":"“It’s happening under the surface,” says one principal. “We work with parents. We do get emails and are forwarded messages from social media, questioning what we’re doing ... Our approach is to tread very carefully.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MKY6TNULERAGPNOFDABOFEUSTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695753},"content":"Parents have the right to opt children out of any sex education classes, which is provided for under law, but teachers and policymakers are hopeful it will not come to this.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HAPZWWWB4FEMRI3OYIVAVAG2OM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742294695754},"content":"“All the research shows that children will talk to their parents about anything when they are young,” says one policymaker. “In their teens it’s more about their friends and the internet ... So, if schools don’t offer something that is solid and of substance, the internet and their friends are the only source of information.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Carl O'Brien"}},"name":"Carl O'Brien"}]},"description":{"basic":"A new primary level syllabus – the biggest shake-up in two decades – is being finalised against a backdrop of polarised online debate and claims of misinformation"},"display_date":"2025-03-22T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Culture wars reach the classroom: What is the best way to teach children about gender and identity?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"P4W4IOIIVZDTNFOQTWMJYCTZME","auth":{"1":"0b86ec9a8d9c5ec2ddf4452be4b6b05d2a8da4176c6da16d330746bf3a9b1ef2"},"focal_point":{"x":4375,"y":1435},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/P4W4IOIIVZDTNFOQTWMJYCTZME.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Your Family"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Education"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"People"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/health/your-family/2025/03/22/culture-wars-reach-the-classroom-what-is-the-best-way-to-teach-children-about-gender-and-identity/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/health/your-family","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Your Family"}}}},{"_id":"7VSE4DR2QVHHJDYM7T6GPMYNNY","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/i-hate-my-children-too-like-how-could-three-kids-of-mine-turn-out-to-be-such-dicks/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EMNNBOWIMJEY3IHSBHO6FZ6CPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265306},"content":"So it’s, like, Paddy’s Day and me and the goys have arranged to go for our usual walk on Killiney Hill with the kids.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SYNYHA5XQ5DXNCDDG3T4OLBXDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265307},"content":"They’re already waiting for us in the cor pork – we’re talking JP with little Isa, we’re talking Fionn with Hillary, we’re talking Christian with Ross Junior and Oliver and we’re talking Oisinn with little Paavo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IVH2CCEMCNEUJCF73VQYSYVPRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265308},"content":"I open the back door of the X5 and Brian, Johnny and Leo spill out of it like lava. Brian runs straight for Ross Junior and grabs him in a headlock – his way of saying hello – while Leo trips up Oliver and Johnny pins Isa to the ground and tries to spit in his mouth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YQ32TXZHAVCYFAF52EAV6JA66A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265309},"content":"“No offence, Ross,” Christian goes, “but I despise your children.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5JGWKU6S5CATO2BPFA6ILBRXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265310},"content":"I’m there, “Yeah, no, none taken. I hate them too. Makes you wonder about the whole genetics thing, doesn’t it? Like, how could three kids of mine turn out to be such dicks? I’m still convinced that it’s a lottery.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBPUJ6TXONGGTB3TK6EWY2YMLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265311},"content":"No one says anything. It’s probably too deep for eleven o’clock on a bank holiday Monday. I can’t control how my mind works.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EMXY725DJ5GPZOT4FF5P7RGR2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265312},"content":"Oisinn goes, “Twenty-six years ago today, goys!” and none of us needs to even ask him what he’s talking about.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3RVA3WWH75GALHZQUN5EWAZ2OE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265313},"content":"Yeah, no, it’s 26 years to the day since I lifted the famous soup tureen at Lansdowne Road, on a day when great things were predicted for me, even though the people who predicted them turned out to be full of shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T7T5A25HPZEFPPO4FCERACMRZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265314},"content":"Christian’s there, “Where did you goys watch the Italy match?” because he never goes out with us since him and Lauren got back together again.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YW36ANZKVEVZBYQYU76LOTKPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265315},"content":"I’m like, “The usual Bridge.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPDGEE4FOZHYDDR3KMRPTGKJIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265316},"content":"JP goes, “You should have seen Ross. He was still taking notes in his tactics book half an hour after the final whistle.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"76INUR55KVBC5KBEGYUYN7TURE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265317},"content":"I’m there, “I filled eight pages. I photographed them and WhatsApped them to Simon Easterby. Nothing back. Not even a thank-you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCRBVKN7YVE4JAZ4X3T3AIXDMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265318},"content":"Fionn goes, “What a loss to Irish rugby your mind was, Ross.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HF7BBXSLS5BADOEZXEOYVVUCRA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265319},"content":"I don’t know whether he’s serious or ripping the piss, so I just go, “I’m going to take that as a compliment. So, Oisinn, how are things down in Brittas?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HUNKUMXQHFHBHJK2L72HH2NZNM","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"N5LIIOEDSFEKTGUKQTAZLF2QPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265320},"content":"Yeah, no, him and Magnus have bought Gerald Kean’s old gaff and they’re operating an in-patient facility to help redundant fintech employees struggling to transition back to a world without ergonomic think spaces and daylong town halls to discuss lunch options for workers with a soy intolerance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U3EU3ANNBZDBRDAVRCSTSW3TZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265321},"content":"“They’re coming at us from every angle,” he goes. “Facebook. Dell. Twitter. Accenture. We’re turning away a hundred people a week. God knows what the demand is going to be like if Trump has his way and storts bringing jobs back to America.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L6OW36G6CBHPHL77MS4APRZ3SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265322},"content":"I’m there, “I’m tempted to say fair focks.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3YEIJQXZKJDMXHG66L5JZZEDCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265323},"content":"Fionn looks over his shoulder and goes, “Er, Ross, where are your children?” because – yeah, no – all of the kids are following behind us except Brian, Johnny and Leo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6VJBCP4TLVCMJGMNZOA3T7PWCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265324},"content":"I’m there, “Who cares? I’m probably better off <i>not</i> knowing?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGNW3D3UPNBLBBGNW7HQK7QF3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265325},"content":"Christian goes, “And what about you, JP? How are the studies going?” because the dude has gone back to finish studying for the priesthood after giving it up, like, 20 years ago to manage Hook, Lyon and Sinker.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VK2CUFZEJBYPEACNNWMFOKGJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265326},"content":"JP’s like, “It’s going well. Although I don’t regret the years in between. It was the Lord’s will.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DZJGYFKXNVFOZBKLF32MVLB6B4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265327},"content":"“What,” I go, “that you sold thousands of young couples into a life of mortgage slavery for a three-hour daily commute to Portlaoise?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WO6S55VTP5B5XIATHVGCW5QA5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265328},"content":"He decides to let this go. I suppose forgiveness is the game he’s <i>in</i> now?","type":"text"},{"_id":"XZJJPAWO2VH27LQZ53M6DTRF4A","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"IHLRRXBXQRBIJEDP24VJHRRKNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265329},"content":"“Well,” Christian goes, “I hope when you’re finally ordained, I can ask you for a favour.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ILQAZ5RNUREGHGJYNVK3QUJVIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265330},"content":"JP’s like, “Yeah, no, sure – what?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"T72BW3CZ55DBZHYKKCHZUKBQPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265331},"content":"And Christian’s there, “I was going to ask you would you celebrate Mass – when Lauren and I get married again?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4OKK6AFNORGNZHJLJEEWR6VZ34","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265332},"content":"I’m like, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZVMDVGNP3VHLVNMALNWILXHAR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265333},"content":"JP’s there, “Well, the Catholic church doesn’t actually recognise divorce, so in our eyes you’re still married. But I’d be happy to bless your marriage. Or if you wanted to renew your vows–”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2YHNQVACVFB4PBF5ZQULN7VTNQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265334},"content":"I’m like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! You’re getting married again? To Lauren?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2S7RVHECN5HFLIGI2LUOG4UIX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265335},"content":"Christian’s there, “Yes, Ross, to Lauren.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"A7VDEGUGWBGNRJJQKVZY2ODLUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265336},"content":"I go, “Then you’re a focking idiot,” totally forgetting that their two kids are standing there. “An absolute mug. And don’t ask me to be your best man this time.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CVKK4CQMIBF2VFX442WQFFDBZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265337},"content":"He’s like, “I had no intention of it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IR7VLIY6IJHJ5GLCG3MVLY5BTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265338},"content":"I’m there, “You’re making a major, major mistake.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5J6PWVZPND3LO4MSQ4CJBKXII","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265339},"content":"I turn to go back to the cor and I hear him go, “As if you’re in a position to lecture anyone on marriage – or fatherhood. Doesn’t even know where his kids are.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z7SANTLWSNASFKVRIHSIDJQGKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265340},"content":"I walk back to the cor pork and – two fingers to Christian here – I end up finding them straight away. They basically haven’t moved from where I saw them last. The three of them are rolling around on the ground, absolutely killing each other.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G6AONILNE5GZRA35CTV7FJU6D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265341},"content":"I get into the cor and I stort her up. They can make their own way home. I’m just about to put it into drive when all of a sudden my <i>phone </i>rings? It’s a call from, like, an unknown number.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TETP5CEIGFHEHAUBCRNUNXFCGQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ross O’Carroll-Kelly: ‘Why do you want to go disinterring the past, Ross?’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"VQ4FWQOPCNER3D7VIYLUVYHFAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265342},"content":"I answer it. Naturally enough, I’m like, “Who the fock <i>is</i> this? Who rings <i>anyone</i> in this day and age?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"64UB7EJHPBF23DFS5ND6QKMBR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265343},"content":"A voice on the end of the line goes, “Is that Ross O’Carroll-Kelly?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RNZE2ZR33NHYFM6KFHZ4WVSB4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265344},"content":"It’s a dude with, like, an American accent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZM43OGOWZBBGHHP5PQSOIE4X2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265345},"content":"I’m there, “Is that you, Zebo?” because – friend or no friend – he’s an absolute focker when it comes to practical jokes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JWQSSVOBGZC5BNDE2GHVIZVZW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265346},"content":"He goes, “Zebo? Who’s Zebo?” and I suddenly realise that it’s <i>not </i>him? “Ross, my name is Brett Tucker.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KBAA7FJYQRDTBBV27MLZFCSMUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265347},"content":"I’m like, “Brett Tucker? I don’t know anyone called Brett Tucker. Is this Conor Murray?” because the dude does a very good American accent. He’s caught me out three or four times pretending that he works for the US Eagles and he wants me to go and work in the States. I actually booked a flight once.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GHGELORNUZEP7JC5J2FS3G5CGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265348},"content":"Right at that moment, Brian and Johnny pick Leo up and body-slam him down on to the bonnet of the X5.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HYIXGQ7RLJA5BKS3Z2F35UD2QI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265349},"content":"I’m like, “Watch his focking glasses! I’m not Sellotaping them together again!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CS5OUJCQSJFLRLJN5JHTSECFHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288265350},"content":"And that’s when the dude on the other end of the line goes, “I was talking to Conor. My father. Ross, I’m your brother.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}},"name":"Ross O'Carroll-Kelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"Ross O’Carroll-Kelly: It’s the annual Paddy’s Day walk with the goys and the kids, and so far it’s not going well"},"display_date":"2025-03-22T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Ross O’Carroll-Kelly: ‘I hate my children too. Like, how could three kids of mine turn out to be such dicks?’","native":"‘I hate my children too. 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On a video call from her home in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>, she’s wearing a stylish off-the-shoulder white poplin top, one of her creations in collaboration with the Aligne brand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6CM5LCBJVBD3DBP63PIW35455Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069160},"content":"The day before our conversation, she hosted a lunch at her favourite London restaurant, The Dover, for an impressive list of women including the CEO of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jimmy-choo/\" target=\"_blank\">Jimmy Choo</a>, Hannah Colman. All the guests wore pieces from Day’s clothing line. There are photos from the event all over social media including one of Day posing in a red minidress beside a car branded with the name of the collaboration, Elizabeth Day x Aligne. For a woman who made her name with a podcast that examines failure, she’s giving, as the kids say, the very model of glittering and multi-hyphenated success.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ARBAPDSTQFAVXP5ATLG3F2XIFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605120},"content":"The irony that her How To Fail podcast has been the most successful thing she’s ever done is not lost on Day. We laugh about the fact that one of her closest journalist friends, Ed Cumming, likes to describe her in their text messages as “noted failure Elizabeth Day”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7VCNUHWJVFWHFSRIYOKVCH4XE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605122},"content":"Now 46, Day has spoken and written extensively about that time of her life which inspired the podcast. When it launched in 2018, she was nearing 40, carrying around the sense of “internal failure” and two years on from her divorce from former BBC news editor Kamal Ahmed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DIAHMMKWFFBU3CVZLC32FVQNUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069163},"content":"The breakdown of their marriage was precipitated by a miscarriage, one of several twists in a fraught fertility journey. On a professional level, she was doing well but she was also “newly single, childless and facing an uncertain future”. The break up and this gnawing sense that her life had not turned out the way she hoped provided the impetus for the podcast where a long list of properly famous people – from her close friend Fleabag creator, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/phoebe-waller-bridge/\" target=\"_blank\">Phoebe Waller-Bridge</a>, to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kate-winslet/\" target=\"_blank\">Kate Winslet</a> – speak to her about their failures. The podcast led to a bestselling book How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong<i>.</i>","type":"text"},{"_id":"U46OP4RFFZHZNBRVK5WEINTHKE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605124},"content":"Day has made her name and a thriving career from talking to people about the most challenging times in their lives and, crucially, about what they discovered along the way. It has had nearly 50 million downloads, while her nine novels and non-fiction books such as Magpie and Friendaholic regularly appear on the bestseller lists. Her brand is the kind with the power to sell out large theatres for live podcasts – the final date of her upcoming tour is in Dublin next month.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFEWZEYIZVFXPOUYLIRNLCSQKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605126},"content":"So has the failure mindset shifted now that she is a roaring success? Or does she still feel a failure in some ways? “I’ve definitely shifted my mindset because of what failure has taught me but I don’t feel that’s antithetical to the podcast – I’ve grown my attitude to failing. But yes, I mean, I fail every day.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKEUWSK6UZH5ZA2NPYG64UJVMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605128},"content":"How so? Let Day count the ways: “There’s part of me that still has this deep rooted insecurity that makes me hyper competitive, that wants to be higher in the podcast charts. I know it’s ego-driven and I know it’s a lack of self esteem and self validation but I feel it’s a failure of mine that I need to continually work on and be aware of.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OYGA6OTQOVEDRJZBECNJSF7ZHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605130},"content":"“Also, last week I was lucky enough to be offered this amazing trip to Spain. Yes, ‘noted failure Elizabeth Day’ was gifted a trip to this medical health spa. It was an incredible experience but it starts with you being weighed and monitored and measured, and I struggle with that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5LC3NIP4X5EV7J3FC2B3EGDI6U","additional_properties":{"_id":"YZYKSI3CEZCJ5P37OFHEOV37CA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"SGPVBU7K7ZBQJNJMHPGHVKYLJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069169},"content":"While she believes numbers on a scale don’t matter and that women “are amazing whatever size or shape, sometimes it’s really difficult if you’ve been socially conditioned by the dysfunction of the nineties to be confronted by the number on the scale, even though I know it doesn’t matter. That, for me, is a failure too.” (Later on I look up Aligne x Elizabeth Day and am pleased to discover it’s an inclusive range, the clothes go up to size 22.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"454RMV3Q75AE3DC7GOMPZ7FKA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605132},"content":"She’s not finished about her ongoing “multiple” failures. “There are those big aspects [and] then, there are smaller things – where I failed to reply to someone’s voice note or failed to meditate or failed to be present. And my new novel is out on submission in the US at the moment. I’m scared I’m going to fail to get a deal. All of that is going on in my head.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5MBZU3SFUNANPELVQQQ73256TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605134},"content":"In Spain, on that luxury <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/17/the-white-lotus-review-season-three-has-its-finger-on-the-pulse-to-an-almost-excruciating-degree/\" target=\"_blank\">White Lotus</a>-adjacent holiday, the health review showed she had 98 per cent mental stress but that she had very low physical stress. “So, I suppose, part of my failure is overthinking and also seeking to control things in order to feel safe. All of those are sort of works in progress.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5G2I3HXHNATBNLOPIJZ5TZ4KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605137},"content":"As we speak, she’s sitting in her home in Vauxhall, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>, that she shares with husband of four years, tech founder Justin Basini, and their cat, Huxley, who, at one point, stalks across the bookshelves behind her. Also in view is a large graffiti-style artwork that reads: “We don’t need their approval.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TW2UC7VDSBB6FBLSNLXAHS7W3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605138},"content":"She says: “It’s a useful reminder.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DZSWQW7AUZHLLE6EC4DMCFFW5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605139},"content":"Although English born, Day’s formative childhood years were spent in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/derry/\" target=\"_blank\">Derry</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\" target=\"_blank\">Belfast</a>, when her parents moved the family to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/northern-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Northern Ireland</a> after her dad got a job as a surgeon in Altnagelvin Hospital. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/04/13/elizabeth-day-it-took-leaving-and-returning-for-me-to-become-a-derry-girl/\" target=\"_self\">“It was profoundly shaping of me as a person</a>,” she says. “I speak with a very English accent. I never picked up the Derry accent, which is actually quite weird, and I’m not sure why. I never felt that I fully fitted in. I was, understandably, constantly asked ‘Are you on holiday?’, or ‘Are you armed forces?’","type":"text"},{"_id":"E6EDA3K7PRGSXFXSKCQHIZA5WA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069175},"content":"Elizabeth Day: 'As an English child in Belfast, I thought I was seen as the occupier'","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"55KJVT3YSZGHLKRTJLE3TWA65U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605140},"content":"“I was a bit of an outsider, which is a position of immense opportunity, because you can look at what’s going on, think about it, observe and try and understand it. I think that’s what made me a storyteller, actually. Connected to that is the fact that Ireland is such an extraordinary culture of storytellers and storytelling, and I was living in a part of Ireland that was going through this incredibly traumatic and troubled time, [which] made me aware of the stories that weren’t being told as well.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RH5GXA6P5ZAFXJW7S3WUIPSN7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605141},"content":"Day, in contrast, is an open book. Having always been public with her fertility struggles – including miscarriages, egg freezing, operations on her womb and failed IVF attempts – she is in a different place now. While not having children is, she says, “a sadness that will last a lifetime for me”, she decided to stop trying to conceive two years ago and found peace with the idea of not becoming a parent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V43CVGED4ZHYJJMW2PLSQTC6OA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069178},"content":"The turning point came after a session with a psychic recommended by her “dear friend and mentor” make-up entrepreneur and television presenter <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/trinny-woodall/\" target=\"_blank\">Trinny Woodall</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S6SZH6LCBRA6NKXXP2RIM3S7CM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605142},"content":"“If she gives me advice, I always listen very carefully. Trinny said to me, ‘I think, maybe, you should let it go.’ She probably saw my face fall and then she said: ‘If only for six months, and then you can pick up again. You probably need a break.’ She was the one who put me in touch with the psychic.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6T6QRHVROVHH3MVZYFBMHEM7TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605143},"content":"Day spoke to the psychic shortly after the devastation of a failed egg donation. She and her husband had been recommended to a top fertility clinic in Los Angeles but the year-long process of finding an egg donor was “complicated and unbelievably stressful”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WRZWYJPM7BFLJNSN6TG5DVKKSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605144},"content":"“It was not easy or aligned, looking back, but we got to the stage where there was this one fantastic embryo – like A plus, plus, plus, nailed their A levels, that kind of thing.” The couple flew over to the United States for the transfer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7YRPBPCRLZF4RM5AIFQOIBJ734","additional_properties":{"_id":"KV3LPZS6TJFSFEJKKPXATN35DA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"P3KOWNC7PRHIFAVX2AU26E4GB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605145},"content":"Day was doing “all the right things”. Eating well, not drinking alcohol, having acupuncture and being closely monitored. The embryo was transferred. Ten days later she went in for a blood test and afterwards the clinic informed her, by email, that it hadn’t worked and that she should “cease all medication”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IXDQ343LLBCKDICNGOFF5RBF5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605146},"content":"“I can’t believe they communicated that by email but also I can, because it tracks so much with the fertility industrial complex and how little they actually care at a moment in a woman and a man’s life where they need care and sensitivity.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W7JNFFQOHNFZ5H77VCOJKJK7UY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605147},"content":"It was, she recalls, “one of the lowest points of my life”. Back home in London, she was “an emotional wreck”, consumed by questions of what to do next. Should they try fertility treatment again? What about surrogacy or adoption? “But Justin already has three children so adoption was a different prospect for us. I had to be very respectful of what he wanted too and how precious our relationship was. I was so confused.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WJ7QOOQBVBAVLAQGCQAXRXJBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605148},"content":"It was at that point she consulted the psychic. “She knew straight away I was a writer. She also said I hadn’t even written my best book, which was lovely to hear.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N5TDJOKU7JFQ7K7OULZMH7O4M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069186},"content":"The psychic intuited that Day had two major romantic relationships, that her current partner’s first name began with J and that he worked in some kind of ethical finance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7WMUIM7HQJDPTJZSAJQJRR6WOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605149},"content":"Day says that 20 minutes into the consultation, the psychic asks if she does something other than writing, followed by the question: “Are you maybe a life coach talking to people about their failures?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L42QRGZ7KBC7JARELROR47VINM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069188},"content":"At this point, my credulity is stretched a bit. “Are you sure she didn’t google you before the session?” I ask Day. “She couldn’t have, she only had my first name,” she replies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DH3RA77JOBCFNCELGOSUGLYLYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069189},"content":"Elizabeth Day: ‘The way society treats women without children made me feel like a failure’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"JOSWSCCEWVHCTIFOKY3AROGHJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605150},"content":"The psychic then told her she had a sense that Day was grappling with whether to let go of a lifelong desire. When Day agreed, the psychic said: “I don’t know if it’s to do with children but if it is, I feel very strongly that in a past life you were the mother of six and it almost melted you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"I43H3ZPFH5GQ7DSEJA3SYVQQCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605151},"content":"Day says: “That’s the word she used. Melted. I looked back at my notes recently. She said: ‘This life has been offered to you to live on your own terms. And that’s why, if you’ve ever tried to have children, you might have encountered fertility issues or miscarriage, because the universe is saying ‘No, no, no. This [life] is for you.’”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2EHOUIVLDJBOVJEXYJNS2W2MMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069192},"content":"In the wake of the failed fertility journey, Day had been struggling, in particular, with the prospect of whether her life would have meaning without children. “The psychic said: ‘I promise you, you are going to have such a big life.’ She painted this beautiful picture. She said I would have meaning and legacy, that there would be children in my life and, honestly, from the moment I put down the phone from that hour-long reading, I felt at peace. I was very grateful.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HNHNBPDG7ZHG7K7XT7MMEXKLEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605153},"content":"She’s not giving the psychic all the credit, though. “Obviously, alongside that, I’ve done lots of therapy so that’s really helped me get to that point too.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSTV5XHE7FAMPHK4CBIQHFT2ZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069194},"content":"Does she believe in past lives? “Yes, I do. I believe that there is this entire spiritual plane which, as flawed human beings, we cannot hope to understand. That’s why, when we apply our human logic to it, there’s lots of rational arguments against it if you’re working through the prism of human logic, but this is a realm that doesn’t belong to that human logic. I completely believe in all of that and in something bigger and higher.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFPISIJQONA4JGDULLFPKOHKXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069195},"content":"It took leaving and returning for me to become a Derry girl","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KRNRHHVLQZCLHMABYS44M2KMIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605154},"content":"I ask how she feels that some people reading might be dismissive of her experience with the psychic. “I completely understand,” she says. “There are people very close to me who don’t get it either. Each to their own. I think people have to find their own path through this life. I just encourage people to be open minded to experiences that they might not normally expect or understand. There’s nothing wrong with not understanding something but there is something wrong, I think, with judging something you don’t understand before experiencing it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RE24C5R6BVEJXPJACNTTR6UNVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605155},"content":"In conversation, Day is funny, empathetic, smart – everything that makes her such a brilliant podcast host. And whatever about Friendaholic – the book that explored her lifelong addiction to making friends – she is something of a workaholic too. “I do love work,” she grins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"54TBHWWDB5FXZFRC6CD6WR5TOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605156},"content":"Having achieved an awful lot in the last decade, you get the sense that she has a lot more left to do. Lately, she’s been committed to expanding her podcast platform “because I need to take on all of those male podcasters, the white middle class men at the top of the charts constantly, men with unbelievably long episodes. I’m constantly told I have to make my episodes less long, like, hang on a second, how come they regularly do an hour and forty five minutes and nobody blinks an eyelid?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DH6WYOJFJFBHZO2A33DTL5P5SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605157},"content":"The blokes dominating the top of the podcast charts are “a particular bugbear”. It’s why she launched Daylight, her production company, which is focused on elevating diverse voices in podcasting. She has enjoyed taking more of a back room role, producing a podcast masterclass, or podclass, called How to Write a Book.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YMU672V45HUJCIJYI3MRBCZOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742288069201},"content":"Day also co-presents How To Date with relationship guru Mel Schilling, in which she uses her experiences of dating to help others. (While she has a lot of torrid accounts of dating, she met her “distractingly handsome” second husband on Hinge.) She may, she says, produce a podcast about infertility at some point.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U5GM6WKAFFCFXMQ5ZN6CZILD64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605158},"content":"Then, there’s the upcoming tour. Irish-Nigerian writer and academic <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/emma-dabiri/\" target=\"_blank\">Emma Dabiri</a> will be her guest in Dublin for the live podcast, the final date on her tour. Following the format of How To Fail, Dabiri will discuss three failures with Day. “The audience can also bring their own failures and Emma and I will be on hand to answer as best we can”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K2VUGNBE6RFIZLAQTESJQD3QLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605159},"content":"Her latest book, the one seeking a US publisher – spoiler: days after we meet, she signs a deal for it – is a sequel to her novel The Party and gave her a chance to vent on recent events in Britain. “I’m fascinated by class and what it conceals. It’s really about how we fall in love with the things that end up damaging us, with careless things and people and I include the electorate in that. There’s a political undercurrent.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XS3TNPW3VJBOBDQURNUSP3MSGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605160},"content":"Ultimately, what Day says she loves most of all “is being on my own writing books. And it just so happens that I’m lucky that life has turned out to be really interesting and multifaceted. But I never anticipated it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YE5P6NXDMJFHRG4GS6BT3XCY6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605161},"content":"Having let the idea of parenting go, she’s also been thinking more about legacy and purpose. “I’m very aware that as much as I’ve made peace with [not having children], I’ve spent the last two years working like a demon to try to compensate in some way. I’m probably compensating because I want to leave meaningful work behind. My purpose is bringing meaning to this experience of being human. Whether that is through writing and connecting with a reader, or creating podcasts and helping someone through a challenge. It’s about doing a little bit to help people feel less alone, less lost, less sad. Because we’re all connected”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IYHFW3EE7NCC3LVYBY3LYSGLAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741707605162},"content":"<i>Elizabeth Day will host a live episode of How To Fail at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre with special guest Emma Dabiri on April 6th: </i><a href=\"https://bgetheatre.ie/\" target=\"_self\"><i>bgetheatre.ie</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Róisín Ingle"}},"name":"Róisín Ingle"}]},"description":{"basic":"Elizabeth Day made her name with her relatable accounts of failure. 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Using my reflexes to fend off scavengers trying to snatch away our chairs. It was an event of mostly over 30s and chairs with good backs were a scarce, non-renewable resource that had to be protected at all costs. Much like the bottles of prosecco hidden under the table, far from the eyes of bar staff looking to clear them away.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YEMPQPX3AVCY7J6JOIENCDVETE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777470},"content":"On the periphery of my table was a man and a woman. I was doing what any person would do while waiting for their friends to come back from the bathroom – eavesdropping on their conversation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2I2DL7LV2NC5PIQKBVIMGVHPLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777471},"content":"It was less of a conversation and more of a sales pitch. He wanted her to leave the function and her lovely chair with the comfy back and her half-filled glass of sparkling wine from somewhere as exotic as Wagga Wagga to go back to his place. And she did not want to. At least that’s what I picked up from her saying “No, I’m going home, I have work in the morning”. To me, her “no” alone was a full stop. She did not want to leave with this man. It was not a coy “I shouldn’t” but “I am not” coming home with you.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBESENAF6JFKXHYVZAPXFTNBB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777472},"content":"But this man must have listened with different ears. He launched into a spiel overcoming her objections like he was the top graduate of a weekend sales seminar on closing the deal.","type":"text"},{"_id":"APDHXMXLSVCWXAUW6DYKWN45SE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777473},"content":"What if they went back to hers instead? No, you don’t want to do that? What if we went out for another drink? Oh you don’t want to go to another pub? Okay, I know we’ll get a bottle of wine and go down to the harbour and look at the stars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OGGY2IJNUVDYDOONMOXS2TFTVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777474},"content":"On it went. He told her it wasn’t about sex. He would just come over “for a cuddle”. She objected. Sensing he was losing the battle for hearts and minds, he walked back his position. Okay he wouldn’t come in. But could they share a taxi and he’ll just drop her off. Promising a chaste peck at the door before he whisked off into the night. A gallant gentleman on his way to the kebab shop.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SCWCOKX5NFBGXCCEFNPU4BXCEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777475},"content":"“No thanks,” she replied, explaining that as they lived on opposite sides of the city, it made zero logistical sense for them to share a taxi. He remembered his sales ABCs (Always Be Closing) and dug deep. Didn’t she know how beautiful she was? He really felt the connection between them. He couldn’t just let go when she could be his future wife.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P2M544C7URCF5NTKAKNWCD5ZVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777476},"content":"I had given up any pretence that I was not earwigging at the display in front of me. By now, I was giving my best unimpressed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/roy-keane/\" target=\"_blank\">Roy Keane</a> facial expressions. A face that could only be taken as the international sign language of “would you be well listening to all this?”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAF2WOPWTFGPVFNDXZRTX4LKU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777477},"content":"She had said no multiple times by this point. That wasn’t the problem. It was his refusal to hear it. I remembered my experiences as a younger woman when men took my “no” as the start of their negotiation and not as the stopping point. They thought I didn’t really mean it, when I didn’t want to come with them, when I didn’t want to give my number or when they were trying to kiss me. They had the mistaken and dangerous belief that some women mean “yes” when they say “no”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DUSQ2F5IYFCUVJYZ7F4Q234XFE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777478},"content":"When we talk about raising young men to respect boundaries, get consent and engage in healthy relationships we have to be more specific. We have to teach them that sex is not a thing you win. It is not the result of how well you negotiate or argue your case. It is not a thing you achieve through high sales pressure tactics. It comes from two people electing via a mutual, independent process that now is an opportune time to ride one another. A no is a no, it’s not a “not now”, a “I secretly want to” or “keep asking me, until I give in”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z455I3MM7ZHDLPLKAQSBHKUAFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777479},"content":"It’s like women are not respected enough to know their own mind. It’s the entitlement to their bodies because “I know what you really want”, and that answer is strangely sex with a man and not, say, a lovely two-week all-expenses cruise or a curly blow-dry or equal pay.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IF52Q4ESIVBBRGJWYLOZGIGNOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742463777480},"content":"I’m pleased to report the woman at the function did not go home with him. He was left scowling at the taxi rank at the end of the night, looking like he failed to hit his quarterly sales target.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Brianna Parkins"}},"name":"Brianna Parkins"}]},"description":{"basic":"We have to teach young men that sex is not a thing you win. It is not the result of how well you negotiate or argue your case"},"display_date":"2025-03-21T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Her ‘no’ was clear. She did not want to go home with him. Still he went on. And on","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XRKG2TW6EVH2VEE3MNGMFYCJ3I","auth":{"1":"ad491175fa553e30e60d353560b15076ddf58d2e2898800425d5960002e76569"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XRKG2TW6EVH2VEE3MNGMFYCJ3I.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/her-no-was-a-full-stop-she-did-not-want-to-go-home-with-this-man/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"HQCZESVS5NB7DCCLPWWBACAOQE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":277,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/8329b65f-b8aa-41be-ae2a-10670a79fc14/versions/1742292797/media/436f3d23800be79ddcc7dfe1ff910912_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/21/emer-mclysaght-a-middle-aged-rave-that-ends-before-midnight-ill-get-my-dancing-shoes/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TOSBWNDYYFGJTKQLOOB5AEE7EI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408194},"content":"I used to become institutionalised at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/electric-picnic/\" target=\"_blank\">Electric Picnic</a>. That’s how much I loved going to festivals. By the time Monday rolled around and I’d been sleeping in the tent for three nights surrounded on all sides by a cacophony of noise, I was loath to go home. There was nothing an 11am vodka couldn’t solve, and so what if the air mattress had a slow puncture? Isn’t that what the pump is for? I was willing to pack it all in for life in a field. I couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to call General Camping my home and subsist solely on pints of wine and massaman curry from a cardboard box.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63BZW76JABFLXK3RALSSQL6UIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408195},"content":"I was disappointed in myself then a few years ago when, at the age of 38, I made the decision to retire from music festivals. One particularly trying and rain-sodden weekend at Waterford’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/all-together-now-festival\" target=\"_blank\">All Together Now</a> convinced me that I was finally too old. Trying to haul my probably osteoporotic bones up off the ground had lost all its dignity. At all times there were young people bumping into me and it was making me cranky. Braving the portaloos at 2am wasn’t an adventure, it was a horror show. It was time to hang up my baby wipes and rain poncho and admit defeat. I came out of retirement briefly in 2023 for one night at Electric Picnic and took about three weeks to recover.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLEJUR7TABA3BALKP2LBX7P44Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408196},"content":"You like to think you’re going to be the one who doesn’t let getting older slow them down or change them. But it starts slowly, with complaints about the music in the pub being “very loud” and the group of 20-somethings in the corner “doing a lot of roaring”. Then it’s the absolute insistence of only going to places where seats are guaranteed. Any suggestion of going to an event that starts after 9pm seems ludicrous. And I don’t even have children. Slowly but surely, and without even noticing, you’re middle-aged, getting the names of bands wrong and swapping stories about friends who are really feeling the benefit of the HRT.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAE4G4R5WRASVOPZO6SZNTE4V4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408197},"content":"So, when a friend suggested celebrating <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/st-patrick\" target=\"_blank\">St Patrick</a>’s weekend at a “middle-aged rave”, who was I to say no? Before Midnight is the brainchild of Dublin-born, London-based DJ and writer <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/annie-macmanus\" target=\"_blank\">Annie Macmanus</a>, known professionally as Annie Mac. She wanted to provide the experience of going clubbing but at a time that suits people who have to get up at 6am with the kids or risk throwing off their circadian rhythm for months if they don’t get to bed until dawn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G5XRMV7JCVFVHEFXNTQ3VO6WQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408198},"content":"We travelled to Salthill in Galway for the event, which kicked off at 7pm. A sports hall in Leisureland was an odd place for a rave but what initially felt like a disco in a GAA hall soon morphed into a proper pulsing club night. Annie Mac has previously said that her audiences for these events tend to be around 75 per cent women, and this was reflected in the Galway crowd. The age range was wide, the people were friendly and, crucially, there was somewhere to sit for a little rest if you needed one. The evening ended shortly before midnight, as promised, and after a few jars in the hotel residents’ bar we were in bed shortly after 2am.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IMP5ZD2CNCMPABGHCRRPPOIZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742384871819},"content":"Annie Mac’s Before Midnight: A dance party for nightclub fans juggling children and careers","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MX55DJZQBZAMLLUJKMB7AXWKSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408199},"content":"Events like Before Midnight are increasing in popularity. Day Fever is described as “the daytime party that doesn’t ruin Sunday” and operates in venues in the UK and Ireland. It runs from 3pm to 8pm and again is hugely popular with women, probably mothers who can’t manage a late night out and an early start but also those who feel safer being out and about at more sociable hours.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PTSTPNWEWBBFZIIZQ74L6G3KLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408200},"content":"Late night socialising isn’t what it used to be anyway. There’s only a quarter of the number of nightclubs in Dublin that there were 25 years ago. Gen Z are drinking far less than millennials and boomers. The pandemic, attitudes to health and fitness and the cost of living have all played a part. It is sad to see the nightlife in our cities dwindling and the options for younger people so curtailed but it’s not surprising that events are springing up to accommodate those who want an old-school club experience but can still make the last bus home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DI5QVZND2RAVNCBYCCTEK4ICZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742247408201},"content":"I’m coming out of retirement again this June to attend Wicklow’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/beyond-the-pale\" target=\"_blank\">Beyond the Pale</a>, which involves three nights of camping. I’m starting Pilates and considering supplements so I can survive the weekend. My poor old bones.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Emer McLysaght"}},"name":"Emer McLysaght"}]},"description":{"basic":"Events are springing up for those who want an old-school club experience without the attendant exhaustion the next morning"},"display_date":"2025-03-21T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"A ‘middle-aged rave’ that ends before midnight? I’ll get my dancing shoes","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"VJD5KTHL45G5TAPLGSAZ7NHY24","auth":{"1":"5d5f5e1fb85d3c84dac28a6da52e28aa5ba6c70038ab9fd63ed70b992114e623"},"focal_point":{"x":2915,"y":1090},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VJD5KTHL45G5TAPLGSAZ7NHY24.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/21/emer-mclysaght-a-middle-aged-rave-that-ends-before-midnight-ill-get-my-dancing-shoes/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"IUKFBFFLF5GERBMNQOHMPVLACI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":191,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/932130b4-739a-458a-bbd5-4746c630b7d8/versions/1742483781/media/474518ad7de289ee0c3f4fc816c2c2fe_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/jfk-files-what-do-they-reveal-about-john-f-kennedys-assassination/","content_elements":[{"_id":"QAQFDTI4NFFAFEZCGFL73URBKU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What are the John F Kennedy assassination files?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"DWQL6ASPMNHNXGHGMEMN3JATFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961672},"content":"These are previously classified files relating to the assassination of former <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/\" target=\"_blank\">US</a> president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/john-f-kennedy/\" target=\"_blank\">John F Kennedy</a> in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963. The Warren Commission found that the gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone, yet two-thirds of Americans remain sceptical about the commission’s conclusions and not all of them are conspiracy theorists.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V5S6FC7K3NEYRAUS6HUMSSELRU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Why now?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"WOOMDQBCXFGSPAKGOD6D3JGDKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961674},"content":"US president <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump</a> promised that, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/trump-presidency/\" target=\"_blank\">if re-elected</a>, he would release all the files to the public. He wanted to release all the files in 2017, but was persuaded by the intelligence services to hold back some for national security reasons. He has decided that now is the time for them all to be released.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V72GRE6ALNB2FPHGSNSLSGSV3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961675},"content":"As often with Trump, there was chaos. On Monday, he gave the US National Archives 24 hours to open the files.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YDN5GVZVPVG55BFMGXDQXHCUSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961676},"content":"Unredacted JFK assassination files released as history buffs hunt for clues","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HYW653MFLJHSHBQKNQZPGO32HA","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What has been released?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"623S2P22LBABHARSTVDFOQTZX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961678},"content":"The files relate not only to the assassination of Kennedy but also to that of his brother Robert F Kennedy in 1968, the father of Trump’s health secretary <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/robert-f-kennedy-jr/\" target=\"_blank\">Robert F Kennedy jnr</a>, and the assassination of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/martin-luther-king/\" target=\"_blank\">Dr Martin Luther King jnr</a> – also in 1968.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M7VSJXCGFFGIXNF6K3DPE7N57Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961679},"content":"On Tuesday, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/03/19/unredacted-jfk-assassination-files-released-as-history-buffs-hunt-for-clues/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/03/19/unredacted-jfk-assassination-files-released-as-history-buffs-hunt-for-clues/\">1,123 documents containing some 64,000 pages were released</a>. The papers are not sorted or catalogued, so researches and casual readers have to click on each one to see if they are of interest to them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OUVSSC433ZENNHP4NWVNWK7CEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961680},"content":"The New York Times’ national political reporter, Adam Nagourney, who is leading the paper’s coverage, says the manner the files were released may be a deliberate ploy on the part of the CIA to make it as difficult as possible for researchers to find out how the agency really operates.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O664FX5OJVGSLIQQRAIQ3L3TXA","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What has been discovered to date?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"OVYP2BHJXFHYFL27LPU6ZMCZAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961682},"content":"There’s an intriguing finding in one state department paper: a CIA agent, Gary Underhill, left Washington a day after the Kennedy assassination in a “very agitated” state, claiming to a friend that a CIA clique was behind the murder. Fewer than six months later Underhill was found dead in his Washington apartment, apparently having died by suicide. The confidential memo states that Underhill alleged the CIA clique was carrying on a “lucrative racket in gun-running, narcotics, and other contraband”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SPESENKPEFHCZEDYG5OR7W3QDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961683},"content":"Another document reveals the KGB had investigated Oswald and found that at no time was he one of its agents. Oswald lived in the USSR between 1959 and 1961, when he tried unsuccessfully to become a Russian citizen. But he got bored with the grimness of living in a communist state.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TJUANEEO2NA5TOW54UDM7HH3SQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961685},"content":"The KGB official noted that Oswald was a “poor shot when he tried firing in the USSR”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H2IJVAW32NEKZDSKMH6F53FXXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742483961686},"content":"Given the incredible accuracy of the shots that killed Kennedy, this is likely to strengthen the belief that there was more than one shooter on that fateful day in Dallas.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ronan McGreevy"}},"name":"Ronan McGreevy"}]},"description":{"basic":"JFK files: Papers cover not just JFK’s assassination but also the 1968 killings of his brother Robert F Kennedy and Dr Martin Luther King jnr"},"display_date":"2025-03-21T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"JFK files: What do they reveal about John F Kennedy’s assassination?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"244X7FSSCRZI5VB6B64CLUG3HM","auth":{"1":"520e08d38fa2b7d940b8c3483f63ec0dec7a0961c730e87ba1b175068682ebbb"},"focal_point":{"x":1825,"y":837},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/244X7FSSCRZI5VB6B64CLUG3HM.jpg"}},"subtype":"analysis","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"History"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"US"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/22/jfk-files-what-do-they-reveal-about-john-f-kennedys-assassination/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"QKBQDD465VDPZAOE2DYYF7FUAI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":362,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/c0dfc427-c16f-4249-9adb-660da1abbffe/versions/1741871490/media/7bc135f3a0d4927ae1db5f8b55f22116_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/i-got-a-d-in-pass-maths-in-the-leaving-cert-but-i-addressed-the-society-of-actuaries-in-ireland-dinner/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TZMPUNN3CJFJRKS4W2Q2RH44TE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098265},"content":"The other night, wearing a brand new dress and with freshly painted silver nails, I stood at a podium in a room filled mostly with actuaries. Me. The eejit who got a D in pass maths in the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/leaving-certificate/\" target=\"_self\">Leaving Certificate</a>. Life surprises you sometimes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DWMBRYXXUBDVPBCIFWEOOAOGJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098266},"content":"The gathering was in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin’s</a> Westbury Hotel where in the mid-1990s I’d been stood up by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/roger-moore/\" target=\"_self\">Roger Moore</a>. I’d just started out in journalism and Moore was going to be my first big celebrity interview. I waited for hours, before finally spotting him as he walked up that grand staircase. I watched him have a brief word with the receptionist before taking the lift up to his suite. As with so many other young women, it appeared <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/james-bond/\" target=\"_blank\">James Bond</a> had forgotten all about me.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EOLR5QZTF5E4PHC654BZTW74QY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098267},"content":"I wasn’t giving up that easily. I told a staff member and they called up to Moore’s room, but he said he was too tired to do the interview. The next morning there was, to my delight, a message on my work phone: “My dear Róisín, this is Roger Moore. I am terribly sorry for not meeting with you yesterday. Please accept my apologies. Perhaps we can do it another time.” We did actually, 12 years later in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_blank\">London</a>. And we laughed that he was the Spy Who Stood Me Up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2MBATRFETBAXVHTGR26264BHXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098268},"content":"I always think about Moore in the Westbury. Shaken and stirred, I thought of him again as I prepared to address the biennial dinner of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/society-of-actuaries-in-ireland/\" target=\"_self\">Society of Actuaries in Ireland</a>. “How?” a stunned friend had texted earlier when I told her what I was about to do. “Why?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6K6JTKCELRCRLCKNO2KC5HHUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098269},"content":"Well, what happened was that a few months previously, an Italian-born actuary and reader of this column called Viviana emailed and told me about an actuarial singalong that was happening in a pub in town. It was a charming email. And I do love a good singsong. Plus, my sister Rachael, who also likes to belt out a tune, is an actuary, so on the night in question I decided to just show up. Rachael, a busy CEO, was not able to go, but the joyful reaction I got from a shocked Viviana when I walked into the pub with my ukulele was so euphoric and enthusiastic that it lifted me for days.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6MFARPCQNJDLJJFQTPBJOPBTLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098270},"content":"What do actuaries sing on a night out? You might be surprised. One of them, Kevin, knew every single word of Where’s Me Jumper? by The Sultans of Ping, so that was a definite highlight. There was a bit of Abba, a dash of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/bruce-springsteen/\" target=\"_blank\">Bruce Springsteen</a> and even a sort of sea shanty.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BSZWF65PBZCB7BEMUQT47GLP2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741884035990},"content":"Actuaries have a reputation for being aggressively boring – the collective noun for them is a “morbidity” of actuaries – but in my experience they are collectively, and I don’t mind going on the record with this, great craic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7IL5ZJXVIVB4DP5SAJQPKNHNOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098271},"content":"Shortly after the singalong, I was asked to address the society. And for a couple of reasons – my sister was going to be there, and I wanted another invite to sing with them – I said yes. As I got stuck into my sea bass main course, I worried that my after-dinner talk was too grim. There are two certainties in life, as everybody knows, and I was planning to talk to the actuaries about one of them (not taxes). I was reassured by a glamorous actuary called Sarah. “Us actuaries love a bit of death talk,” she confided.","type":"text"},{"_id":"57D3QH465FDVLBCPTFS3EEQ5YQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098272},"content":"My speech, especially the death content, went down well. Some actuaries came up to hug me afterwards. Turns out actuaries give good hugs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QKP5COGDFVDXVD5NBYKZ2PXIBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741884035993},"content":"Should bonus points for higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert be scrapped? An academic and a student debate","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"OV3Y6PWBPJBBVPDTTPFOECUM3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741884035994},"content":"I learned a few other things that night from society president Roz Briggs. In addition to their day jobs, the actuaries are working on important issues. They are trying to address the sharp decline in girls’ performance in Leaving Cert higher level maths compared to boys. They are doing an assessment of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2024/06/04/almost-1100-excess-deaths-during-pandemic-years-in-ireland/\" target=\"_self\">excess deaths during the Covid pandemic</a> and supporting Irish citizens as they budget for financial needs in retirement. They are also trying to establish a better risk management approach to the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/\" target=\"_blank\">climate crisis</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EANYOTLDUREETCQ32QSUM2LLQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098273},"content":"Afterwards, the chief executive of the society, Grimesy, (some actuaries are such good craic they even have nicknames), tells me I am an honorary actuary now. Viviana invites me for an Italian lunch in her home. I’m looking forward to the next actuarial singing night when I’m hoping to get them to do a version of Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World, just so I can hear them sing, “Don’t know much trigonometry, Don’t know much about algebra, Don’t know what a slide rule is for”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YRO7EDMKCZGIXGQIH63Q2MTJ64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098274},"content":"On my way home I wonder if it might be happening, that I am going to stop hating maths. “I’m bad at maths,” I’ve always said, but in my preparation for the actuarial event I’d come across a book called Is Maths Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths, by Eugenia Cheng. She believes that the way maths is taught is wrong, and actually contributes to an anti-maths culture. “If you think of yourself as belonging to the ‘bad at ...’ camp,” she says, “it’s not because you failed maths. It’s because maths failed you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"M47KUAX3XJHW5PKNSLSEPHTMBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098275},"content":"Of course, they don’t use the word fail any more for State exams. A teenage boy of my acquaintance got 29 per cent in the Junior Cert mocks and his result read “partially achieved”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GFOULJ7TXVBQRGQMGO6SWWDSYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741860098276},"content":"“Partially achieve, partially achieve better,” as Beckett would likely never have said. Don’t know much about algebra, it’s true. But I could. I might. You never know. Life surprises you sometimes.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Róisín Ingle"}},"name":"Róisín Ingle"}]},"description":{"basic":"Róisín Ingle: I worried that my after-dinner talk was too grim, but my speech – especially the death content – went down well"},"display_date":"2025-03-19T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"I got a D in pass maths in the Leaving Cert but I addressed the Society of Actuaries in Ireland dinner","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XQPSB4PN3RD3FBUCMAKBOW4AHA","auth":{"1":"ac43d178eb7c496a8459ed733042a1607eb4e218fce94a51748fab2fa6b8bcd7"},"focal_point":{"x":346,"y":441},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XQPSB4PN3RD3FBUCMAKBOW4AHA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/i-got-a-d-in-pass-maths-in-the-leaving-cert-but-i-addressed-the-society-of-actuaries-in-ireland-dinner/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"6WQ7QDVQ7FH3BFU2NJBQAFJFKU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":275,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/9c91a19e-8317-4fd1-85df-476c68fc7735/versions/1741796394/media/87a80324cebe2e68ebbe1ce216ce15d5_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/eugh-dublin-always-in-a-rush-says-the-woman-serving-me-coffee-from-a-horsebox-in-cahersiveen/","content_elements":[{"_id":"64BDEBM7QFCRROV7W4R6Q2AYAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990433},"content":"Surely I’d be more contented here, in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kerry/\" target=\"_blank\">Kerry</a>. There’s a man who lives in the cottage at the end of the Earth on a cliff in Ballinskelligs, with early morning turf smoke piping out of the chimney. From his freshly whitewashed bread-loaf house, I’m sure he understands what it’s all about, as the light breakdances across the sea for him as he drinks tea or whiskey at the window. He must be in a constant state of euphoria from years of sun beams painting for him on the water – a splitting heart, a spray of baubles, a river of light snaking towards the toe of the slope he lives on.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7U5VGO6HYFB3FCUVBE26GWSXCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299018178},"content":"I decide it’s a man, because of the hand-scrawled “No entry” sign and the low-bellied car. I decide that if this man were to be presented with a photo of the Earth from space and asked if that’s where he lived he’d say with a drawl, “‘Tis of course”. When they show me the same photo, in my east coast empire of concrete and cranes, I’ll say, “So I’ve been told. Mad, isn’t it?”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NO3E4XYOVNEGZJFEDTQJLCRD2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990434},"content":"A woman in a horsebox in Cahersiveen asks me where I’m from after I ask for a coffee. I live in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/dublin\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a>, I say, because I’ve lived in so many places that I’m not sure where I’m from. “Eugh, Dublin! Always in a rush.” I don’t know if she decides to toy with me then, taking 10 minutes to produce the coffee as I stand quietly alone in a drizzle.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YKZS5YG6VJHIJEVAX3X7MBY5SE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990435},"content":"She’s right. I am always in a rush.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2DTWNKCJPJF4RARVDQ7GP6V6ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990436},"content":"I’m not sure Dublin is to blame for my hastiness; it runs deeper than the city. I get nauseated by people’s languid speech. I can feel a sense of faintness come over me when someone’s voice blubs like a recording in slow motion. Come on, I’ll be thinking, come on, come on, come on. Out with it! I don’t have time for your slow mouth, your slurry syllables.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CIXWY5BWPJAHDHMW6DZ6ORW5GU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990437},"content":"Some little fairy sprinkles me with luck and I end up in a stone cottage for a week-long residency with writers’ and artists’ retreat Cill Rialaig. The power goes off. After a few hours I emerge and ask a man working on something down the road if he knows anything about the outage. Being a hair’s breadth on the right side of despondence, he says, very slowly, that the power will be back at half past five. With absolutely no change in his demeanour, facial expressions or tenor, more gloopy words drip from his mouth: “You can have a sup of tea here if you want.” He looks down, and I after him, at a whistling kettle on a fire nestled in a curve of the low stone wall he is working behind. We look at it together for several seconds like it is some dead creature that we have come across and made a silent pact to bury together.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VEYEBBJNFNBO3EWHLBJ6MAKVPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990438},"content":"There are a dozen islands scattered miles out in the green sea behind him, shards, hunks and dollops of rock to spend all day marvelling. This man is as unmoved as the ancient stones around him. It should be of no surprise that he has cobbled together an open fire in the middle of a March morning to boil water for tea on the side of this sheer slope before offering to share it with a passing stranger with the temperament of the lepping hares on the hill.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIG7VJ27MVHYZIBCDCH6KMPZXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990439},"content":"Maybe with time, Kerry could douse my frenetic soul with stillness. I could adjust to the pace of the farmers with lobster-skinned faces and deep, lethargic tones. I could learn how to lean against their aloofness like a door jamb. Over years, I would absorb their gnarliness, mirroring the knuckly, wind-shaped trees around them. They are calm, but not quite at ease. There is a heaviness that makes me feel like the people have been here for a hundred lives. They know something I don’t know. What they know is in the sea. If I could look at it for long enough, be in it for long enough, I’ll figure it out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PS2ANIS5QZCPJHXM5QJFTXWFXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742299018182},"content":"What Irish people really mean when they say they’re grand, fine, okay or surviving","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"C4WIV4DSSJD7LODEZST4QUTAB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741714990440},"content":"I’ll go back to my beloved Dublin, and Kerry will go back to my reverie. Soon, hopefully, not too long from now, I’ll turn the corner somewhere a good way past Killorglin, where the land cleaves open and the endless horizon will wind me like a ball in the chest. When I roll around a hill near Caherdaniel, I’ll take in the expanse and briefly, I’ll understand everything, like the man in the cottage at the end of the earth.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Céire Sadlier"}]},"description":{"basic":"She’s right. I am always in a rush. I’m not sure Dublin is to blame for my hastiness; it runs deeper than the city"},"display_date":"2025-03-19T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Eugh, Dublin! Always in a rush,’ says the woman serving me coffee from a horsebox in Cahersiveen","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"YPIJCDAMRZETXOGFHHVBZBYJXE","auth":{"1":"24a21af11cef20df51c451ece53592e55a4d1be1226e3855469e7a1f74a7b655"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YPIJCDAMRZETXOGFHHVBZBYJXE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/19/eugh-dublin-always-in-a-rush-says-the-woman-serving-me-coffee-from-a-horsebox-in-cahersiveen/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"VWQDHEVNM5C4XNC7G6HPH72OKI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":487,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/065e0beb-d766-4983-aa6f-d21b6d8dac37/versions/1741883764/media/2cd1ab27bc88f156fcd4330520ca5b9d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/18/theres-a-lot-of-pain-a-lot-of-desperation-being-exploited-by-the-maga-movement/","content_elements":[{"_id":"X2TSHOJCNFHN7EDOY67RGYATFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026390},"content":"Samuel Rogers had a whirlwind six-week romance with an Irishman in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/united-states/\" target=\"_blank\">Boston</a> in early 2023. It turned his life in a different direction and today he’s married, living in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a>, doing a master’s in international peace studies and living with a rare disease.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V3FKEHU4ONEQ7BLJDINJPETHCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026391},"content":"Rogers is originally from a small island (about 200 households year-round) called Gibson, in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, about 90 minutes from Washington, DC. He has Irish heritage on both sides. After university in Florida, he served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in North Macedonia, working as an English teacher in a mountain village.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZD22BLLNK5CMZBJHDG4ZR44DB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156882},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"BEMM7YSB3REZFGCTGNXKHBV5HQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156883},"content":"Back in the US, Rogers was studying for a master’s in law and diplomacy at Tufts in Boston when, in March 2023, he met Ralph Hurley O’Dwyer, a doctor from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/newbridge/\" target=\"_blank\">Newbridge</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kildare/\" target=\"_blank\">Co Kildare</a>, who was doing an MSc in public health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAXQAPYCW5BCJMYAXN2BRJU6UE","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156884},"content":"“It was kind of a whirlwind. We only had about six weeks in person, then we were both leaving to do separate things. But it was such a strong connection. Those six weeks, we knew that was it. I told my friends, this is it, I saw this man, I love this man. He felt the same way.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XMO7PLCBRJBRHPTTUTZ4WGTVFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156885},"content":"Rogers was heading on a government scholarship to Turkey and Hurley O’Dwyer was returning to Ireland to work in public health. “It was kind of wild. He said, ‘we are going to see each other every single month until we live together’.” And they did – a six-month long-distance relationship involving multiple transatlantic <a href=\"http://trips.to\" target=\"_blank\">trips.</a>","type":"text"},{"_id":"SDVK3YR7OFCWBL4Q4U4AZGUMNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026393},"content":"In November 2023, they got married in Boston and then moved to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VYGP2S4IC5FBXD4HA66UKJWHHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026394},"content":"Two weeks earlier, Rogers had been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition, Behçet’s disease. This is rare and serious, involving systemic body-wide inflammation, and can lead to blindness.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H4AHKCKSTREIZD23CONZCDH2SQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026395},"content":"Five years looking for a diagnosis had been a struggle, “so devastating, so taxing. My whole life sort of ground to a halt during the process. I had to drop out of graduate school. I was afraid I was going to lose my job. At doctors’ appointments oftentimes you’re made to feel you’re a problem patient, that you’re making your symptoms up. I went to dozens of specialists trying to figure out what was happening. It involved intense self-advocacy.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XLJFCZ2TN5DFVNWAW5QAQKE5EA","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156889},"type":"image"},{"_id":"FYIK33LDTBHB5DLEKCRRQ5CNXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156890},"content":"”I had lesions all over my body, ulcers in my mouth. I had gone from running marathons, working 40-hour weeks, full-time school, and my whole life had stopped.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WRNHZXGVERAK7G5BEKJC4GR24U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026397},"content":"Eventually he was referred to a Boston rheumatologist who “changed my life by just listening to me, being kind and considerate and just taking my case really seriously. Within 20 minutes she had figured out what was going on. She said I could move on from the past, everything starts over. It was such a message of hope.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N747P73KINCVNNLPWLBZILNKLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026398},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLNHBJUPNFBO7OMNKX4EKJ6NOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156893},"content":"‘I had a very gut-wrenching moment as an American, watching my country self-immolate’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3XOULRUZNRCZ7JW5KC5VXTVMIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026399},"content":"He had been going through all this when he fell in love. “He is just the kindest and most supportive person. He has a Herculean patience with me, just a gentle, kind spirit. And he shows that to everyone in his life. I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I also feel really grateful to Hurley O’Dwyer’s parents and his family. I met and married their son, and then we moved into their house with my cat for over a month while we got our own home. They are so welcoming and generous and kind. His family has been truly wonderful to me throughout the whole process. I feel so supported.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SDFXPU3D7REVHNOGNYVZPY6OT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026400},"content":"As well as ulcers, Behçet’s can involve neurological complications, stroke, blindness, recurring unexplained fever, body-aches, arthritis-symptoms, crippling fatigue. “I spent weeks in bed. It was difficult to get up to drink water. Your entire body feels under attack, like swimming through jello.” Even now it can be unpredictable, but for most people if Behçet’s is controlled, a largely normal life can be lived, though it’s unpredictable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MHZJQOTNCNBC7IDKEBWY6ULJWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026401},"content":"“I’m receiving wonderful care from the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/mater-hospital/\" target=\"_blank\">Mater</a> in Dublin. My rheumatologist there is incredible.” A medication regime “has given me the space to take back my life”. He wondered about the wisdom of returning to education, but “with pacing” and support from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/trinity-college-dublin-tcd/\" target=\"_blank\">Trinity College’s</a> disability service, he’s doing a master’s. “A lot comes down to being okay with slowing down, taking breaks. I had an unhealthy attitude towards work and life, and didn’t feel worthy as a human unless I was working to the bone. I had to rewire and be okay with listening to my body and resting sometimes, because I have no other choice.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RUW3E4A7HNE6JGOSDLBEG44YFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026402},"content":"Despite navigating life with a rare disease, “I’ve been settling into life here. I love living in Dublin. It’s a beautiful city. I moved in the depths of winter. The darkness. He was working long hours, I was working remotely, and the adjustment ... it was a tough period. We for the most part feel very safe as a gay couple. Mostly it’s not even really commented on, which is really nice. Some places, when we walk around Dublin we don’t hold hands.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7EWCWODIPBDCTBLDBK3QWHOTL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026403},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"JWNKLGYIXNAJPM47YU3TZCEYIE","additional_properties":{"_id":"3LBEYUROONH5NGPWHDUXFY42AY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"BAY3443FPJCCBHTB275FSTKW34","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026404},"content":"He finds <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump</a> is often the first thing people mention to him, which is difficult because “I have a deep sense of grief about what’s happening. It can be jarring when sometimes people are laughing or making light about it, almost like entertainment. Maybe this is changing because of how serious it continues to get. There’s a lot of pain, a lot of desperation being exploited by the Maga movement. It’s sad to watch the manipulation, to watch my country undergo this, and I have trouble with people laughing, because it’s deeply painful.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ROU4JPF56VHVNPT55VD7ETER2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156900},"content":"From Mongolia to Dublin: ‘Coming to Ireland was a blessing. It was a great move for my life, I have no regrets’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CXL2J7DRXRHRRELJK4EFWYJMQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1742228156901},"content":"“I know people who are losing their jobs, who’re really scared. I’ve had conversations with friends, people crying on the phone, who don’t know what to do. It’s a scary time.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2USHSXOU4JBNZIWRRAIJUIOOLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026405},"content":"Most aspects of moving went smoothly, though he did face that thorny “conundrum”, where you can’t open a bank account without proof of address from a utility bill, but can’t set up a bill without a bank account. (He eventually found a way around it with a waste bill, using his US account and Irish address.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"XUWHUHIW6VDYTORNOGQE5VT4CM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026406},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"ECMAGH6AE5AWDJMK652SJSKRHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026407},"content":"In Boston he had MassHealth free state healthcare as his student income was low. His experience of the Irish health service has been largely positive. It can involve waits, but he’s also experienced humanity and empathy, and flexibility with appointments. He worries about what would happen “if something acute happened”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3YWBJGD2YRDCFDU5I7JUSA5MRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026408},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4HGSLWRACNDMTJUIMNKONAW34A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026409},"content":"A rare disease affects everything – career, planning, finances. “It takes you to a mental space when you have no idea what’s happening.” He’s keen on pushing awareness of rare diseases, and the need for listening and empathy, and healthcare professionals believing patients.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5NFZE4YBFVFYHPYBL3LFBH4GUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026410},"content":"He loves the M.Phil. His research area is military conscription, “an intense topic, especially in these times, with more governments considering conscription”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LQZUESUARB73BNQECJIWXH2O4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026411},"content":"This year he and his husband will return to Gibson Island for a visit and a family wedding, when his sister, living in Liverpool, marries a Frenchman.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Z4BUARWFBDEZHOVSRZEE2TW4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026412},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"IG5KWYKEL5G2NMBAYKBVG6EVEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026413},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"4CL57ST4KBBTTFOIT4RG27QEXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741877026414},"content":"<i>We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email </i><a href=\"mailto:newtotheparish@irishtimes.com\" target=\"_self\"><i>newtotheparish@irishtimes.com</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Deirdre Falvey"}},"name":"Deirdre Falvey"}]},"description":{"basic":"Samuel Rogers’ whirlwind romance with his now-Irish husband in Boston in early 2023 led him to move to Ireland later that year"},"display_date":"2025-03-18T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘There’s a lot of pain, a lot of desperation being exploited by the Maga movement’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ICQJC6XENBEULDKEJOLO6JBQRQ","auth":{"1":"c7b920b659dc9cfba663d80e786ef846f083d32eb9d4f4e44a5187c2165bd1d1"},"focal_point":{"x":2791,"y":1124},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ICQJC6XENBEULDKEJOLO6JBQRQ.JPG"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/18/theres-a-lot-of-pain-a-lot-of-desperation-being-exploited-by-the-maga-movement/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"2RXL2XHRIFCILI4R4G4VXOV3DU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":261,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/c4614830-915b-424e-84bb-da4f759318e3/versions/1741621299/media/01b3cfed2b7cd23d009ec1a3d3800b48_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/sarah-moss-i-cycle-to-central-dublin-several-times-a-week-im-a-hypocrite-not-allowing-my-teenager-to-do-the-same/","content_elements":[{"_id":"27WE5ADEPVBHZDYBUNY6YHFM4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401870},"content":"Cycling has been my primary form of transport all my life. A bicycle was a great liberation to a free-range urban child in the 1980s, expanding exploration beyond walking distance without the expense of the bus. As a teenager, I – doubtless wrongly – felt much safer on my bike than running the gauntlet of street harassment on foot, especially late at night, and the convenience and independence of the bike was irresistible. There were no bike lanes then. There was less traffic and the cars were smaller and lighter and moving at slower speeds, but still I had near-misses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TGQAH4KS6VDXPIOFRW4N7I57LU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401871},"content":"Learning to drive made me a better cyclist the way cycling in traffic made me a better driver: in all circumstances, humans are safer when we can see a situation from someone else’s point of view.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WQDS6ZCS25GWJAFAHTDYW3OEWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401872},"content":"As an adult, cycling has given me breathing space between work and family life, exercise on busy days and a cherished, small-scale knowledge of neighbourhoods. I have an abiding horror of being late and cycling gives me control over time and motion – you don’t get stuck in traffic and it’s always the fastest way around the city.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2AZAYTZ34BF7ZN7FUQX52GANDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401873},"content":"I cycle from suburban to central Dublin several times a week. I am a hypocrite and will not allow my teenager to do the same. I know what it’s like, I say, it’s not safe, take the bus. Sure, he says, I’d rather be on the bus than under it, you do your thing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3RL5T2RCAZB43PKJLSUOTKPMXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401874},"content":"It rarely feels as if there’s much risk of being under a bus. The bus drivers are usually attentive and careful. The taxi drivers, financially motivated - like cyclists delivering food - to maximise speed and distance, seem to me another matter altogether.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXRQGEZZDVGHXGTBOFD52P4DBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401875},"content":"A couple of weeks ago I took my usual route, on which I have the luxury of maximising safety at the cost of time. Unlike a bike courier, I incur no penalty for taking five minutes to increase the chance of being home at the end of the day. (It’s a shame the drivers who accelerate past red lights and across green bike and pedestrian crossings can’t spare five seconds to increase the chance of the rest of us going home at the end of the day.) I go along the canal, where there’s not only a separate bike lane but junctions with separate lights for pedestrians and cyclists, over the cobbles round the back of Google where there are enough cyclists to make it impossible for drivers to forget to look for us, cautiously around the walkers and dancers at the Grand Canal Docks, and then up the river.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3S63VHKD3RCXTJGUDHZQ2CICLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401876},"content":"I’ve always liked this section. There’s a real, separate bike lane and few pedestrians. It feels metropolitan. There are the big ships, connecting us to the world, and the big river flowing out to all the seas. I notice the ripples and reflections in the water and try to think charitably of seagulls. I think about the film I’m going to see, the friend I’m going to meet, the class I’m going to take.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DJ2AYWA3MJHALKC2N5L6L56T4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401877},"content":"Until recently, all this came to an abrupt stop as I approached O’Connell Bridge and thought hard and fast about staying alive as I crossed that junction and cycled up towards Temple Bar, weaving around potholes under the noses of coaches and delivery trucks and aggressive drivers, watching out for tourists looking the wrong way, wondering if this was really a good idea. For the last few weeks I could see the lovely new bike lane right there, beside me, still cordoned off by signs funnelling cyclists into danger.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X57DDNNHVFCWRDRU23N2FIIO6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401878},"content":"But now, oh happy day, our new pink route is open, and it’s smooth and the sightlines are good and the junctions have been designed by someone who rides a bike and has been to Copenhagen and Amsterdam to see the future. There are still a few blocks of trouble, but at the lights, cyclists congratulate each other on our new safety (this doesn’t happen in Copenhagen or Amsterdam). Now I can think about everything I enjoy about Dublin, almost all the way home. Spring is here, there’s safety in numbers, cycling’s much better for your blood pressure than sitting in traffic and you’ll get there faster. Join us!","type":"text"},{"_id":"BTCAX75JVVAF7GUCQRQZXWG46I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741627401879},"content":"Unless your mother says no.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Moss"}},"name":"Sarah Moss"}]},"description":{"basic":"Now I can think about everything I enjoy about Dublin, almost all the way home, instead of worrying about getting home alive"},"display_date":"2025-03-17T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sarah Moss: I cycle to central Dublin several times a week. I’m a hypocrite not allowing my teenager to do the same ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"V4WWEC7NYRHYZDNS5ZD347VK3A","auth":{"1":"49ab2ffb890ef8a9601a1c28c402dcf355bd6a4e6c58fb5d94766bbeecb597db"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/V4WWEC7NYRHYZDNS5ZD347VK3A.JPG"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Opinion"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/sarah-moss-i-cycle-to-central-dublin-several-times-a-week-im-a-hypocrite-not-allowing-my-teenager-to-do-the-same/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"FFEIT3BXTNG4HH7GG2BPG5ANKM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":455,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/213e1f20-2b46-46eb-a7ce-a1db204da8a7/versions/1741797074/media/8a8449768804b135fc7d317bcf526102_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/siomha-ni-ruairc-growing-up-in-a-house-of-girls-i-looked-at-boys-as-aliens/","content_elements":[{"_id":"HEAPZHVLABFOFEGWL57J77AU5E","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>How agreeable are you?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"HJC6TDDEZFDQBHITJHFX6IJRII","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514672},"content":"I’m probably a bit too agreeable. I’m a bit of a people pleaser. I bow down to authority and I always want people to be happy with me. I’m trying to learn to not be so agreeable, because it’s to my detriment, really. As women I feel we’re all so conditioned to say yes and to make people happy. We were surrounded by that our whole lives – little girls are well-behaved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T7R5CSDS4NAJHCGSQ23YR5ZEBQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"AAWJEOBTDBEE7OANPJXBOLLUKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514674},"content":"My middle name is Emily, named after my grandmother, my dad’s mam. And I love it. It’s the only English language name in my name. My granny was such a wonderful, warm, caring woman that I’m delighted to have a piece of her as part of my official title.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LKWCANUUZZHZ3KW4LVJ2RPJU4E","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where is your favourite place in Ireland?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"FNIDPUUVFVDCDICPZXLJGRGKAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514676},"content":"There’s a beach on the Dingle peninsula in Kerry. It’s called Trá an Clochar and when you’re looking out you can see An Fear Marbh, the Sleeping Giant island, and it’s just the most peaceful, gorgeous beach where I have felt a higher presence again and again every time I go there. Which is odd, because I wouldn’t normally be attuned to that sort of thing, but it’s so strong on that beach you can’t help but be touched by it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YJMIICPA3FE3NN4BZYSPXBKGCU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Describe yourself in three words</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"GQYTW75A3FAHXF6EZU4SZGF4HE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514678},"content":"Loud. Cautious. Particular.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ABHM5WEBFJBFZOXRRM44UVJ3MQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When did you last get angry?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"VK4AVVJN7VHIFFLYE6BCOMSTRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514680},"content":"Just the weekend past. I present Ireland AM at the weekends, and obviously they’re early mornings on a Saturday and Sunday. I woke up a little bit late on Saturday. I had to wash my hair. And then I arrived at the studio later than I would have liked. It wasn’t obscenely late, but I’m a very punctual person and there’s a red river of fury that runs through me at any bit of lateness. I was trying to get everything organised in my bag and my bag got stuck on the handbrake. And I could have gone through the roof. It’s those inconveniences when you’re late. I can’t explain the fury that I feel when I’m delayed and it’s probably always my own fault. I probably need to work on that. I can’t abide the idea of being late to something. I break out in a sweat. It’s actually debilitating.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U3LSJ3SIWRFGBDDB64BLCHVDQY","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What have you lost that you would like to have back?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"PW2FWUHERBDNNPQEBVPIRTQXQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514682},"content":"It’s going to be quite clichéd, but time with loved ones who have passed. It would be my grandparents. I’ve lost three of my grandparents. My mamó is still around, which I’m very grateful for, and I try to spend as much time with her as I can. But you’re always going to regret not having spent more time with the people you’ve lost.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4GZAYWMATNBSLFMIPZBVURGDYM","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your strongest childhood memory?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"66Z2OEKWNNFS5KQYWZF2BKTVHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514684},"content":"It’s probably interacting with my sisters. I have two sisters. One of them is only 16 months older than me. Probably just laughing with my older sister. Uncontrollable laughing, and being given out to for not eating our dinner because we were just laughing so much. That’s really strong for me, just the divilment we got up to in everyday situations, at home in the comfort of our kitchen.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQOIHTDRENGTLNH7MO3HT5LZIQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"T5F4TB63L5FLNFP7X6M7GNVKCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514686},"content":"Oh, massively. I’m a middle child that is middle child through and through. The middle child is meant to be attention-seeking and a performer. And look at my career: I’m a dancing monkey. I’m between two girls. Growing up in a house of girls, I looked at boys as aliens, because I didn’t have that up close and personal, familial relationship with them. Whereas I thought all the girls who had brothers kind of rolled their eyes at boys. I was a little bit more enamoured of this exotic opposite sex.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VBLWRHML3VHOBDV7S36C3BHGRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514687},"content":"Grá ar an Trá: What is the point of Gráinne Seoige in this incoherent pudding of a series?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ALNGDFHNYFEM7CVHOJC2RO3R7Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What do you expect to happen when you die?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"CUJZD2NALZBBREBSI6OAPNFQYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514689},"content":"I have not much faith in anything happening once I die. I imagine it’s like when you go to sleep and you’re just not really aware of anything. You’re just not conscious, unfortunately. But that doesn’t scare me. I don’t find that daunting because I just believe that you’re not there to even find it daunting. I don’t believe in an afterlife. I can appreciate that it’s comforting to people who do believe that, and I would never disregard anyone else’s beliefs, but for me personally it doesn’t provide me with a whole amount of comfort and I’m okay with that. We would have been Mass-attenders every Sunday growing up. And I couldn’t draw a definite line of when I stopped believing. I remember being in my teens, around 15 or 16, and explaining it to my friend who had a big fear of death and saying, “but there’s nothing to be afraid of, because it’s just blackness, it’s just darkness, and then you’re just not there.” And she couldn’t get her head around it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M36F3KS6V5DP7GONVHEMAYH2DI","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>When were you happiest?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"G32DEP4VP5GJPBRZM6KJDZ3HNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514691},"content":"I’m only back from my honeymoon, just over a month, and if I could zap myself anywhere it would be back to a tropical island in Thailand, I have to say. Honeymoon stage, literal, physical honeymoon on a tropical island in southeast Asia, I mean you can’t really beat it. That’s been the pinnacle as of late. The wedding day before it was good as well.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3WUVNWNU25F2RO3CQ5UTS5G77A","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"4YJ4CS7ZXRH2TDX4FYA6VHPKTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514693},"content":"I’m going to suggest ones that I’ve been told. I have never thought about it myself, but I’ve been told, and I’m completely flattered by it, Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel. Do you know what, anyone by the name of Jessica I think I’d be happy with. Jessica Biel was in that really good, twisted series on Netflix [The Sinner], and she produced that as well, because she’s obviously extremely talented. I love really diving into things that are written, produced and directed by women. She’s a triple threat, so I’ll take that.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJ4TM62V3NCIZIWMBVTIZM3KIU","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>What’s your biggest career/personal regret?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"KKCRLDHXNNAHVMHGOZ5GP22Z2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514695},"content":"I would be quite comfortable in saying that I don’t really have any career regrets as of yet, because of being extremely agreeable. Personal regrets? In my much more recent, mature years, I’ve become a bit more sober-curious. And I wish I’d done that younger, or at least had a better relationship with alcohol. I just feel like I was too relaxed with it. It’s probably the same story for a lot of people in this country, but I don’t think it should be as accepted as it is. I wouldn’t say I’m totally off it, just more sober-curious. I do more nights out without taking a drink at all. And I’m okay with going on nights out without drinking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWN2M52L45GWHP5V6EDHOT5AKM","additional_properties":{},"content":"<b>Have you any psychological quirks?</b>","type":"header"},{"_id":"35KW33STHFDDPJCJWASATIOT7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741893514697},"content":"I’m a divil for visual noise. If the place is messy I can’t sit still. But I don’t need to take everything out of the room, I just need it to be aligned. So, if there’s a few things on a table, I need their sides to be parallel to each other so that it looks neat, and my eyes are drawn to the straight lines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RIGMMUZZIRFP3HM52OMGONZHHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776073098},"content":"<i>In conversation with Jen Hogan</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jen Hogan"}},"name":"Jen Hogan"}]},"description":{"basic":"The broadcaster and co-host of the How to Gael podcast appears in the Irish language dating series Grá ar an Trá (Virgin Media One, Monday)"},"display_date":"2025-03-17T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Síomha Ní Ruairc: Growing up in a house of girls, I looked at boys as aliens","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EBZK5AFQCFCEHD4JWEAORIKAFY","auth":{"1":"2f44347e137a4d4e414ae184c7dab3ac3b8365f9a6b89dfc0f84b66ee47e6934"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EBZK5AFQCFCEHD4JWEAORIKAFY.jpeg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Culture"},{"name":"TV & Radio"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/17/siomha-ni-ruairc-growing-up-in-a-house-of-girls-i-looked-at-boys-as-aliens/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"YK5G3HULLRBLFGBIFUYO3ZHHWU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":558,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/e1f47f56-3e19-4bbb-83e8-ddf188a72995/versions/1741968938/media/abc8b8da95ce2ccf87ec12d743b5a877_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/2025/03/17/blindboy-on-ireland-in-2025-we-should-never-have-taken-the-blue-from-the-sky-and-put-it-in-the-ground/","content_elements":[{"_id":"PSQWSR7RFVB3HD62GXJDZIC4PI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099427},"content":"<b>This is one of a series of three articles on Ireland in 2025 including </b><a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/03/16/kelly-earley-on-ireland-in-2025-as-tends-to-be-the-case-in-toxic-relationships-i-often-feel-drained-and-taken-for-granted-by-ireland/\"><b>Kelly Earley</b></a><b> and </b><a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/\" target=\"_self\"><b>Patrick Freyne</b></a><b>.</b>","type":"text"},{"_id":"GJ7VWLTJWRDY7H5BJYOGYX67RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979782712},"content":"There’s a street in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/limerick-city/\" target=\"_self\">Limerick city</a> called Bedford Row. If you stand there in silence, watching, you’ll see a man pull the collar of his T-shirt up over his mouth when he walks. Then you’ll notice another person doing it, and another, until you realise that everybody on this street is covering their mouths and noses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B6AFC2RVAJC7DE7LB5FN4JVEYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791827},"content":"Bedford Row stretches up from Thomas Street and down as far as the river Shannon. Long ago, when Limerick had a thriving bacon industry, there were three abattoirs at the top; the blood of a hundred pigs would slosh red down the cobbles and trickle into the river. My ma remembers the smell. But now it’s paved and pedestrianised, trees line either side, and it’s our main thoroughfare for restaurants and cafes. There’s eating and drinking in Bedford Row, and on one of them peachy-coloured evenings with the long slanty sun, it’s my favourite place in the universe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"35P6LHEMDRBGNDBLPJLTWYQCEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791828},"content":"So why do people pull their T shirts up over their mouths when they walk through? Well, in the summer, the whole place stinks with the novel honk of bird shit. So much so, that in Limerick we call the street The Bird Shit District. The paving would be slippy with the grey sludge of it. The stench hangs in the ether and follows you around like a Jack Russell looking for rubs. An eggy bang that’s very difficult to pin down, a bit like that farty handshake when you open a packet of ham. There’s no smell like Bedford Row on a summer evening.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DDF7QOJPIFF43KQEWPIR3PZFYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791829},"content":"In fairness to Limerick council, they wash it down daily. But it definitely puts people off eating outside and taking in the loveliness of our pedestrianised dining street.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G2TKBQNAQJHNVLCZTHQ5MX7Y4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787239},"content":"The culprits are starlings, which I have great compassion for. They’re navigating an urban environment while trying to survive as best they can. The leafy trees along Bedford Row are the closest thing to a forest that they can find in their territory. At about 8pm, they perform what’s known as a murmuration – those swirling, synchronised flocks that look like a shoal of fish in the air.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JUAT6H3M4BGG3L75BQKDKVAQGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791831},"content":"They darken the sky over the Shannon. With no traffic, you’ll hear the whoosh of their wings above. Starlings are small little birds. Their predators are hawks and falcons, who come out at dusk to eat them. So the starlings dance together in an intimidating unified mob. I’ve watched the starlings of Limerick take the shape of a single gigantic bird to scare the hawks away. Once they feel safe, the starlings relax and settle into the trees along Bedford Row. You won’t see them, but you can hear them. The trees vibrate with birdsong and the violence of a thousand splats on paving. The smell could grow shoulders and headbutt you.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UPY7X2L2BGCHNCGRMGH2MWGXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787240},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"FZ6P4ZRNSFHLHO6JPD4W2VXAHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791833},"content":"If these trees were in a meadow, the starlings’ droppings would be regenerating the ecosystem – spreading wildflowers, fertilising the soil and improving <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/biodiversity/\" target=\"_self\">biodiversity</a>. But here? It’s wasted and washed away by the council’s brushes. They’re shitting on paving slabs. Paradoxically, they’re doing this above a street designed for outdoor dining. Humans also want to gather, eat, and talk about food, but we can’t because we’ll get shat on by a starling. And none of this is the starlings’ fault – it’s our fault for building a city where a forest once grew.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4ZW4LOIMJH3JOVUCGPATIJI5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787241},"content":"Now, why am I so obsessed with bird shit? I’m not, I’m a writer and my job is to search for stories in my environment. The story of bird shit is a story about nitrogen. Bird shit is the reason the world has a population of eight billion people. Bird shit is a story about <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/\" target=\"_self\">climate collapse</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7V3R6R4Q5FBCHIDE2YQ4JDJDAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720546},"type":"image"},{"_id":"CEPR5PKGHFE2JB5VIU47JFP6M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787242},"content":"Bird shit is incredibly rich in nitrogen, a biologically limited resource. Nitrogen is all around us: the atmosphere is 78 per cent nitrogen, and when the sun’s light reaches Earth, it collides with nitrogen gas – and this is why the sky is blue.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6B6VENMRJBFJNOSG6CATTPUG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979782723},"content":"But our ancestors couldn’t extract nitrogen from the air.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZF5LFSPY3BF6FOO57QV7IQCXRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720548},"content":"Humans discovered agriculture 12,000 years ago, marking the shift from hunter-gatherers to settled farming societies. Growing crops removed nitrogen from the soil, depleting it over time. Farmers needed to find ways to replenish nitrogen, initially through manure, then through crop rotation with legumes, which can naturally take atmospheric nitrogen and distribute it into soil. But it was never enough. By the 1500s, with the world’s population reaching 580 million, agriculture was struggling to keep up. That’s when the colonial powers – Spain, Britain, France – discovered the power of bird shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZNXZ2DKLTNCXPBK5JVZLNSAXWI","additional_properties":{"_id":"AROB2HP6JVGYDJWR34LGJO5HDQ"},"content":"Kelly Earley on Ireland in 2025: ‘As tends to be the case in toxic relationships, I often feel drained and taken for granted by Ireland’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TZHBFY3OMFCBVGXVSBP2QKWKCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787243},"content":"In <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/latin-america/\" target=\"_self\">South America</a>, certain seabirds, like the Peruvian pelican, shat so much that they created entire islands of hardened bird shit – guano. The indigenous people of Peru had been using it as fertiliser for centuries. When the Spanish colonisers saw this, they treated it like gold and stole it. Europe’s population was expanding, but farmers couldn’t produce enough food. Guano became a highly sought-after commodity, leading to a European scramble to colonise islands in the Pacific that were made of bird shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"55DHQJFTUNEOTPZUHDKCUQ6K2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787244},"content":"By the late 1800s, the world was running out of bird shit. European nations had mined every guano island they could find. A global panic for nitrogen created a scramble for bones, another rich nitrogen source. The British and French began digging up old battlefields, like Waterloo, skeletons of soldiers and horses, burning them down for fertiliser to feed the world.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QFAA66NDBRGYZBQ6IEHOOUQXOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720552},"content":"At the turn of the 19th century, the world faced a very serious crisis. With 1.6 billion people to feed and depleting access to usable nitrogen fertiliser, a global famine loomed. But then, in 1909, German chemist Fritz Haber developed the Haber Process, a method of extracting nitrogen from the air and turning it into fertiliser. This scientific discovery changed the course of history. Almost like alchemy, it created an endless supply of nitrogen from the air, to be fully exploited by the forces of capitalism.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S5QLEN6LPBHDLIYW4JWOL47WUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720553},"content":"Ireland in 2025: Our progressivism was never a corporate or political pose, but a deeply felt response to our history","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LZDTS4LMRNAWVJTJGZN4BCHOHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787246},"content":"We took the blue from the sky and mass-produced the bombs that enabled mechanised warfare in the 20th century. The same process that allowed us to grow food also created powerful explosives. The Haber Process has become a driving force behind climate collapse. By pulling nitrogen from the air to create synthetic fertilisers, it supercharged industrial agriculture, allowing global food production to expand far beyond natural limits.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AN46MRJYVJDL5BVOALDLPSL3QU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791840},"content":"As a result, the world’s population exploded from 1.6 billion in 1900 to more than 8 billion today, putting immense strain on land, water, and energy resources. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2024/11/30/ella-mcsweeney-life-without-chemical-fertiliser-is-hard-for-farmers-to-fathom-but-they-could-be-in-clover/\" target=\"_self\">Farming became dependent on artificial nitrogen</a>, leading to soil degradation, deforestation, and habitat destruction. Run-off from fertilisers has polluted rivers and oceans, creating massive dead zones where marine life cannot survive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4K5CV3ZYKZDKVJTMAGWASJPLNY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099465},"content":"The Irish Times view on the latest climate report: a clear case for accelerating Government action","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HYNR6TLP3FBOLAJ2IOMSJEIMVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791841},"content":"By 2020, 91 per cent of Ireland’s land was farmland, driving biodiversity loss. Peatlands, home to 25 per cent of native species, shrank by 47 per cent. Approximately 85 per cent of EU-protected habitats in Ireland are in bad or inadequate condition, with most negatively impacted by agricultural practices such as fertiliser use and drainage. Additionally, between one-fifth and one-quarter of assessed species groups in Ireland are threatened with extinction.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G4V2IFRV45H23EFWRYOZZCDUWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791842},"content":"The intensification of agriculture has led to a biodiversity decline in Ireland, resulting in the government declaring a climate and biodiversity crisis in 2019.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXAOBDNYRVHFBDCFPIJ4U2SFYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793720559},"content":"The world now faces record heatwaves, crop failures and ecosystem collapse – a much greater threat than the famines we faced before 1909. What are we doing? Are we just waiting for another Fritz Haber to save the planet with a scientific breakthrough?","type":"text"},{"_id":"WKZ5BDCK5RAGPG6HBHI4BYLHJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741081787247},"content":"Last week I stood on Bedford Row, staring up at the thousands of starlings sweeping above me in their murmuration. I thought to myself, ‘We should never have taken the blue from the sky and put it in the ground.’ I felt a cold splatter on my right cheek – a starling shat on my face. It dripped down towards my lip and I tasted it with the tip of my tongue. It was disgusting. I deserved it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OK4ZA4GIMBDE3E2ULSSUXZPH6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741967882680},"content":"<i>Blindboy Boatclub is an author and host of The Blindboy Podcast.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Blindboy Boatclub"}]},"description":{"basic":"The world now faces record heatwaves, crop failures and ecosystem collapse – a much greater threat than the famines we faced before 1909. What are we doing?"},"display_date":"2025-03-17T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Blindboy Boatclub: ‘We took the blue from the sky and put it in the ground’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GHVG4VTOQRF7DC2B66RADB75KM","auth":{"1":"e7916b83a737a4e316b589ece0ed57026b4722cd6fec0fde09eae1f22b0786d5"},"focal_point":{"x":1253,"y":1567},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GHVG4VTOQRF7DC2B66RADB75KM.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"People"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/2025/03/17/blindboy-on-ireland-in-2025-we-should-never-have-taken-the-blue-from-the-sky-and-put-it-in-the-ground/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Life & Style"}}}},{"_id":"PDO7OF7RJNFMVPUPSAVWME7KZE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":332,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/18dbf9e5-fd26-49af-a567-14b655b79db2/versions/1741968408/media/6524e5062d49ab4c8f6a19559904e59d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/kelly-earley-on-ireland-in-2025-as-tends-to-be-the-case-in-toxic-relationships-i-often-feel-drained-and-taken-for-granted-by-ireland/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RAHBO2NFL5CM7JYEVHPCNG3O3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099427},"content":"<b>This is one of a series of articles on Ireland in 2025. Read </b><a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/\" target=\"_self\"><b>Patrick Freyne’s essay here</b></a><b>.</b>","type":"text"},{"_id":"7QZL2MHFBBC2DHYYCSDQA4PWTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979129896},"content":"We’re living in a different Dublin. There’s no doubt about it. As a 30-year-old dividing the bulk of their time between the north inner city and Coolock, I’ve had a front-row seat to inconceivable transformation. I’ve seen the city disembowelled by austerity and the housing crisis. I’ve witnessed my hometown, Coolock, fall into national disrepute after years of industrial decline and decades of institutional neglect of its inhabitants.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GU53VEF73JD6BM5PLNOCD42WPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716655},"content":"Mass emigration has robbed me of my friends. It has robbed me of my ability to wander into town for a coffee alone and rely on the statistically-likely serendipity of a chance encounter with an acquaintance. I used to find so much joy in living in a city that is so often compared to a village. The streets might still be bustling with people (who are somehow willing to pay €5.90 for a Guinness), but it often feels like a ghost town. Friends have left for warmer weather, cheaper rent and better jobs, in cities with such dramatic time zone differences that they might as well have launched themselves into space.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JORXJJUHNJA7NBHAAL5R4M5ZTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716656},"content":"Yet, for all my cribbing and crying, I have stuck around. Despite the extent to which people my age have emigrated, there is still a great sense of intergenerational community in Ireland – which is a large part of what keeps me here. You can feel how strong it is in areas like Coolock, where I can barely make it to the shops to meet my mam without being stopped for a chat by every 90-year-old woman living in my old estate.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WKVDP23P65CJNH3Y2DKMSXGJGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741979129899},"content":"When I do make it to the shopping centre, I see my mother facing the same problem, stopping and starting her procession from one end of Northside to the other, greeting every individual she sees as if she were the Lord Mayor of Coolock. It used to frustrate me as an impatient child, but now I soak it all in. It’s a good thing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZCMQ3MAHFHZTNPRQ2JRRMUXPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741613258988},"content":"There’s a great deal of solidarity between people in Coolock – despite the division and fractures in the community depicted by media. It’s a community that has been built on mutual struggles like industrial disputes and rent strikes – with Coolock playing a major role in rent strikes in the 1970s. During the 1970s when the Council wouldn’t build playgrounds, the people in Coolock came together and built them themselves.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZOXBP3V3LNFGTCZMNWRD6UBHIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741613258989},"content":"So yes, I love Ireland too much to leave. But it’s a one-sided relationship, where my devotion is rarely reciprocated. As tends to be the case in toxic relationships, I often feel drained and taken for granted.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X7TRKTIIQFG2PFCREH3SCWJTCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741093791815},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCVMCMS625BA5IUAYO7MTERYOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716659},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"MHJNGLKBONESXF7NBG2PEJG7VU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716662},"content":"One dilemma for me as a renter in Dublin, and a tenant of a build-to-rent complex, is the fact that my landlord is one of the largest private landlords in the country. The eye-watering rent I pay every month goes into a foreign pension fund, belonging to people who’ll have the privilege of being entirely oblivious as to where their lump sum has come from when they turn 65.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y6VNJ5WI6ND7BAYDRHGIXFCEBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716663},"content":"It makes me yearn for the days of genuine social housing initiatives, when renters knew with certainty that their contributions went straight back into the Irish economy. Surprisingly, this didn’t come up much in housing debates in advance of the election. Does it speak to the lack of diversity within our Government when it comes to social class? Having seen the impact of social housing first-hand in Coolock, I view it as an absolutely worthwhile investment and one of the few options that puts something back into the exchequer, too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAWWRJJS2JGFBHDWI6ASQJAGWQ","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"WWWACIBBDNAYNKPOWHTXETCMUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716664},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"TPHYKXNV55AOPM6I3LIHDYTCM4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716665},"content":"Despite my complaints, I know I am lucky. As someone who has been burned by a ‘mom and pop’ landlord previously, my accommodation feels stable to me.There are too many risks involved with small-time landlords to feel secure in this economy. You don’t know if a small, necessary repair request will prompt the landlord to turf you out and sell up. In the past, I found myself terrified to ask for my deteriorating, creaky spring mattress to be replaced, despite the fact it was older than a Junior Cert student (and covered in as much fake tan, thanks to the previous tenant).","type":"text"},{"_id":"GW5MNWRZXZBLHN4SGSZKU3HWXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716667},"content":"Simple requests make you feel difficult and demanding, reminding you that you can be removed and replaced due to the obscene demand for rental accommodation here. Once you have been evicted, that’s when the real trouble starts. In 2022, I applied for over 100 properties in three months and was invited to just three viewings. Queues of prospective tenants wrapped around the corner before me at two of these viewings.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HA4LXK5XWRAEFMX2LZJXZTOW7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741169099432},"content":"Why are so many properties derelict in Dublin city centre during a housing crisis?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"K2HIRRZO6BG2JDLFSFJIRRHEQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716668},"content":"I can’t fathom how deep the fear is for families who are responsible for housing young children. I have seen people endure rodents, broken boilers and mould, while subjected to living situations that their landlords would never allow their own children to live in. For renters, the crisis informs many of the decisions we make, both big and small. It occupies so much space in my mind, even with the bit of security I have been able to latch on to.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2GEA7TZRBETJDEZSM5UQU5B7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741015716669},"content":"It’s hard to imagine there was once an Ireland where people didn’t have to feel this way. I’m sticking around because I’m still dreaming that someday I’ll get to see it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GM7QBSYADBC75EBWIN4MAW7JMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741967761082},"content":"<i>Kelly Earley is a writer on Substack: see kellysrubbish.substack.com</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Kelly Earley"}]},"description":{"basic":"My devotion to Ireland is one-sided; the country rarely reciprocates"},"display_date":"2025-03-16T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Kelly Earley: ‘Mass emigration has robbed me of friends and Dublin feels like a ghost town, but I’m still here’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"N3IKN4GXZJALTFLSZRRIRNOI2A","auth":{"1":"e49d8b0dd603ee35e8a7f8e688cb29560848620594feb2b5a76995cb7f63f046"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/N3IKN4GXZJALTFLSZRRIRNOI2A.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/kelly-earley-on-ireland-in-2025-as-tends-to-be-the-case-in-toxic-relationships-i-often-feel-drained-and-taken-for-granted-by-ireland/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"YZUXHUMREVBXJKIOTUI2Z4ESSY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":961,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/f97448d6-f5d4-4789-8e4f-bdc576f38a64/versions/1741362385/media/5631750f0098c1831f9e65ec3fdd8d0b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/i-dont-write-a-lot-of-personal-stuff-author-roisin-lanigan-on-being-married-divorced-and-surviving-cancer-before-her-30s/","content_elements":[{"_id":"SPNJAQPMXJBXNGS2MPTWQMZF5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030299},"content":"A decade or so ago, when Róisín Lanigan first moved to <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/london/\" target=\"_self\">London</a>, she would go to events and parties with other writers. The topic of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/housing-crisis/\" target=\"_self\">housing</a> would inevitably come up in conversation – how hard people had it; how difficult it was for this generation to buy homes – but when she asked her fellow partygoers where they were living, the answer tended to be something like, “Oh, my dad has a flat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"54GY56OXDNCLLORKRUJXUCKNRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030300},"content":"Lanigan herself was renting a room in Bethnal Green, having moved over from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/belfast/\" target=\"_self\">Belfast</a> shortly after completing her degree in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/queens-university/\" target=\"_self\">Queen’s University</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QGKP7C3BKNAWFH3B3ACTL72SVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030301},"content":"“I had no money,” she says. “I lived on ready-salted crisps, tins of soup and bacon from Tesco. People always say that stuff like it’s dead glamorous, but it’s obviously really not. I lived in agency flats [rental property managed by letting agents]. I didn’t know anyone that lived there. They were mainly Spanish and Italian – students or young professionals like me.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQOEWSMQ4RAPLD62Z7XW4FEN5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794494287},"content":"“None of us spoke to each other. I’d leave in the morning and have to lock my door, not because they were, you know, dangerous, but we didn’t know each other.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YMN6ARGUDZEA3FUKUPPTAH5PVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030302},"content":"Lanigan grew up in a working-class family on the Falls Road. Her mother was a hotel cleaner and worked in a shoe shop. Her father was a bartender for a period, and later stayed at home looking after the children while in receipt of the dole. In Lanigan and her two younger sisters they raised what she calls “three nerds”, but no amount of academic grounding could compete with the kinds of generational wealth on show in the British capital. She began to realise that “we’re not on a level playing field here. Everyone’s kind of accessing the housing crisis in different, secretive ways”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6Z3CKA4RXZAG7HVT5PDMZLP4Q4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030303},"content":"Having now lived in more rental properties than she can count (“the longest time I’ve lived in a place is three years, and the shortest is maybe six months”, she says) and having written, as a journalist, about the strains and indignities of the housing system, it’s perhaps no wonder that her debut novel, I Want to Go Home but I’m Already Here (Fig Tree) is a take on the millennial housing crisis, in the form of a haunted house story.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIBCYD7ASRCWVL3FM3VMY2ID4U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078929},"content":"On a bright spring morning, we sit in a dead glamorous Dublin hotel to chat about it. She wears a suitably Victorian-gothic white ruffled top (she was once a fashion journalist for i-D magazine), along with a black leather skirt and knee-high boots. In her ears are Claddagh-shaped earrings, and on the palm of each hand is a tattoo of the closing lines of a Wendy Cope poem – “I love you” (right hand), “I’m glad I exist” (left hand). More on the significance of those tattoos anon, but first the novel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VDJEDCJDEJDRRFFIY7ZRNPNEWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030304},"content":"“I started it because I was reading and listening to a podcast about haunted houses, and started thinking about how haunted house stories are not actually about ghosts, they are about capital, and they’re about the financial burden of owning property,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AWE45PYF2JARRHJW6RRIQZRAGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030305},"content":"She references works such as The Shining, and The Amityville Horror, which feature families who purchase large properties and cannot leave when things begin to feel “a bit off”, because all their capital is tied up in the property.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHDER7E2VNBGNOR7XM4ZU55GA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030306},"content":"“I was thinking, oh, that’s really interesting, but what is my equivalent as a millennial? I’ll never own property, so I can’t have the traditional haunted house story.” But then she began thinking about the lived reality of renting today.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FWCKRNUDKRHD7C43QQA7PYWY7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030308},"content":"“I thought, well, I could leave my rental flat if I wanted to – if there was something really wrong with it, I could walk out – but where am I going? I have friends, but they’re in the same situation as me. They don’t own their own houses. They don’t have spare rooms. So, I’d walk out to nothing. I wouldn’t get my deposit back. I would be more financially insecure than I was previously. And also, I was thinking about how younger people tend to go into relationships and living with people quicker for the same reason – they’re like, oh, it’ll be cheaper, so I might as well.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6SRUVJBW6ZBWBAY5SIBP6CKT4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078932},"type":"image"},{"_id":"SU2V5H4IRNFOBNUJZ3KJNHCVZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030309},"content":"In the novel, a young couple, Elliot and Áine, move into a ground-floor flat in a “boujie” area of an unnamed, but London-like, city. The flat “tick[s] a lot of their hypothetical boxes”, but from the beginning, Áine has the feeling of “being in the wrong place, or watching over a place that [is]n’t hers, never meant to be hers”. The longer they stay, the more the house encroaches upon her, with its dampness, its mould, its spooky upstairs neighbours, and as the months roll by, Áine’s inner and exterior circumstances begin to blend into a nightmarish hellscape.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZWF353AOE5D2BASDOS2SS6MF7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030310},"content":"The book uses horror tropes throughout, and like most horror stories, has allegorical undertones – postcolonial tensions, the fragility of mental and physical health, the loneliness of an unstable relationship, and more, all simmer beneath the surface. The very language of the text also feels haunted – it uses a particular and sardonic lexicon associated with the contemporary housing market. (At one point Elliott accuses Áine of having “squandered” the “asset” of silence, for example.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"JOIHF4477RHE7BHWKECPBPL6ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794494298},"content":"When asked about this use of language, Lanigan brings up a phrase she often saw on rental advertisements, that she reproduced in the novel – “No DSS. No pets (sorry!)” (DSS, or Department of Social Services, refers to people in receipt of benefits.)","type":"text"},{"_id":"OX7VPQSUXNGGJO23QQKUEVS64I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030311},"content":"“I saw this phrase on every single rental thing and it used to really annoy me, but also it was just haunting,” she says. “I grew up on benefits. The idea that they were like, ‘no people on benefits, we’re not even sorry, but we’re sorry you can’t have your lovely dog‘.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ITXKHG5GPVHM5KBHMZ4PTZGFRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030312},"content":"“But that kind of thing, I think, we just absorb, and we’re like, ‘Okay’. Those kind of phrases that we don’t even unpack. Cost of living crisis. What does that mean? Things like that I wanted to put into the book.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VKMXXKMXTFGVZPC75CFRBRIPEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078938},"content":"Eimear McBride: ‘When my brother died, it was not only losing him but losing all the illusions that you were going to be safe’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HWKES67KIJASVA2K5XRNJWQSFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030313},"content":"The process of writing the book involved making character profiles of Áine and Elliot – what their star signs were, what music they liked, how they met, what they studied at university and so on – and sticking them to her walls with “renter-friendly” Blu Tack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUASTHC2JBFI3KPGAUF6DEY56U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030314},"content":"“It was quite funny, the landlord kept dropping in and out throughout. At one point he came over and I had a big cork board, and I was editing it. He was like, ‘What are you working on at the minute?’ and I was like, ‘Oh, a book about the housing crisis,’” she laughs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K3YWC3RHWBBXLJXRVTHCTW6A6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030315},"content":"“I hope he reads it,” she adds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMJRLZVJSVBI5F2NPHOLKXFE7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030316},"content":"The manuscript was completed in a blistering four months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7L22ZL74P5F7XES2EBFBYKLLD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030317},"content":"“I am quite a passionate person when it comes to the housing crisis and landlords and, like, capitalism, so I think I wrote it with anger in my heart,” Lanigan says. “And possibly, you know, there were other things that were going on at the time, and I think that’s probably why it came out so quickly, because I’m quite passionate.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AIJW5XXL7RDWZKZNYOYU6NWF2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030318},"content":"These “other things” included getting married in 2022, and divorced almost exactly a year later.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZAARDWVJ5ZDIFEBQN6LHDRCENU","additional_properties":{"_id":"RW7WGY4FRZHVZIXNE4O2RHINXY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ZWXJVH627VE37PLPUHWCDI557Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030319},"content":"“I was getting married when I wrote [the book] – there’s some Freudian analysis there,” she muses, referring to the novel’s depiction of a doomed relationship.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7B7PDBX7XZD45DF755X6PD3LZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030320},"content":"“It’s hard to end something, especially when you’re young. And again, myself and my ex-husband didn’t own property together, so in a way it was easy because we didn’t have anything to split up. We were both very young; we just left it there. But in another way it was very difficult.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5DZFDZYRTFEW5POWYFX2RA5ULM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030321},"content":"The experience is one Lanigan memorialised in a scorching essay for The Fence Magazine in 2023, <a href=\"https://www.the-fence.com/the-chic-young-divorcee/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.the-fence.com/the-chic-young-divorcee/\">The Chic Young Divorcée</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LE7E2XZL2RGHHCVMDZLV6H6TYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030322},"content":"“I don’t write a lot of personal stuff; that was the only personal essay-ish thing that I’ve ever written. It was interesting, I found it easier to metabolise that experience because there were a lot of young divorces at the time … but it also made it weirder.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6JUOE7LRZ5DMNAIWVZX6VQJRUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030323},"content":"Being married and divorced having barely crested the wave of her third decade might seem like quite enough turmoil for one person, but Lanigan, now 32, seems to have lived a thousand lives. In 2018, when she was just 26, she was diagnosed with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/cancer/\" target=\"_blank\">breast cancer</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SOSMMT6AZA3PINIY254EWR3RA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030324},"content":"“It was just completely out of the blue,” she says. “It was, like, a one-in-1,287 chance − like, mad numbers. I didn’t have the BRCA gene. There was no genetic reason why it would have happened. It was just bad luck really.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PG5526NZVFFRJE6PP5IMP4F6FY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"AJS5TLBYMFHUJJUBL5FGCG4TDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030325},"content":"The doctors told her she could go home to Belfast and continue to be treated in the public health service, but she was determined to stay in London.","type":"text"},{"_id":"THBAYEDUXFHOLO2GNFRD3MQC4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030326},"content":"“I remember thinking I had always felt behind my peers in London – I already felt like they could do things quicker, they found things easier, they had better access – and I felt like I was just catching up. And then I remember [thinking], ‘I’m going to be so behind all these things that I want to do now, because I’m going to have to take time out to deal with the illness.’”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DBEZS5Y4DFG4PGWJQNGHYJDUEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078955},"content":"I was completely numb and couldn’t take it in - I didn’t think I would hear the words, ‘sorry, you have breast cancer’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"X4EPVOGC6FGSHMZAG7Z3DMURB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030327},"content":"In the hot summer of 2018, during what should have been the most carefree time of her life, Lanigan was instead experiencing gruelling chemotherapy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HDYG5IMY2NBDVEETO2H2UTW4BM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030328},"content":"“It just makes you think about what you want in your life at an age where you probably don’t want to think about that,” she says. “I had to do IVF and do egg freezing ...","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZW2TWTBG6FCITORKMYQY2MJXGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078959},"content":"“It made me reconsider how I feel about how I look. I lost a lot of my hair, lost my eyebrows and my eyelashes, things like that. It was very stressful. I think what I found most stressful – which I think also kind of leads into the book – was the idea that I was a burden to people. But it feels weird – in a way, it feels like a long time ago, or like it happened to someone else, because it was so traumatic. And then in another way, it’s kind of always there.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHWP35OCD5EYDB76TQ6LIRAYC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030329},"content":"The aforementioned Wendy Cope lines tattooed on her palms (“I love you/ I’m glad I exist”, from the poem, The Orange) were a present to herself in 2022, for being five years with clear scans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JJ4IXBQZ3JBAVLSTKC4XHXX7LQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030330},"content":"“I thought it would be a nice reminder to myself that I’m glad I’m here on days when I’m spiralling, or stressed, or gloomy,” she says. “I had absolutely no idea how painful they’d be, because they are my only tattoos and apparently palms are a killer. But I really love them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2OV5G5GRFA5JLQYZSTH3NGKSM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030331},"content":"Unsurprisingly, she says the experience of having gone through cancer, “massively changed my life”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YHH526AQH5HZXNON4BAWPQ765Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030332},"content":"“It’s probably why I work so fast now. Like, I wrote this [book] in a matter of months, as I said. I’ve written a second one and it’s finished and I’m writing something else now. I’m like, ‘I have to do things, I have to do things.’”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VWEPNEBW6FAW7GZ3MJKVJJQSTU","additional_properties":{"_id":"T7JDFYHKVRD7DBBJOG6VF3QWHM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"WRFU4BILE5B4LGXCYZNE3AXOW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030333},"content":"A quick internet search of Lanigan’s name will confirm she’s not a person who likes to sit still. Having earned her journalistic chops at the youth culture website <a href=\"https://thetab.com/\">The Tab</a>, she went on to spend five years at <a href=\"https://i-d.co/\">i-D</a> magazine, before it was taken over by new owners and she and many others were made redundant. These days, her articles, which range from the cerebral to the wacky (she’s written a dispatch from the worst Tesco in London, and published a chart comparing the heights of British journalists), can be found in <a href=\"https://www.the-fence.com/\">The Fence Magazine</a>, where she is contributing editor, along with many other high-profile outlets, including this one.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LN5C35Q3NZANVMYG4QSKCSK7QA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030334},"content":"Along with the likes of Rachel Connolly, Séamas O’Reilly, Oisín McKenna and others, Lanigan is part of a cohort of Irish writers making strides in the London literary scene. Does she feel part of a rising tide?","type":"text"},{"_id":"4V7H7GQGDJDVVKJYUYNZDCYHDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741617078966},"content":"Rachel Connolly: ‘I presumed everybody secretly wanted to be a writer and no one got to do it’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"QKZD27AU2VEKJAYO7767BLDLQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030335},"content":"“I’ve seen both sides of it,” she says. “When I started writing fiction I remember submitting – it wasn’t this book, it was a different book – and an English agent coming back to me and just being like, ‘Irish stories don’t sell. We have enough, and they’re not really doing that well. Can you write in a less Irish way?‘”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XLLYWLVJVJFHRI2PP3AUBQCJ4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030336},"content":"Lanigan’s instinct to apologise – “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry that you hate me” – was soon replaced by the feeling that “I actually don’t think that’s okay to say that sort of thing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ED5C6CGAFRDX3IBEJDDM54KQVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030337},"content":"“And now we have the other side of the coin. When I come into contact with English editors or writers, there is sometimes a bit of an undercurrent that they’re like, ‘Oh, Irish writers are doing really well. Irish writers are winning a lot of awards right now.’ You can’t win. You’re either unpopular and unfashionable, or you’re really fashionable but it’s part of a trend.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HSRPGU4QHBH3TBXVKPZEXS4K54","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3CLG454NWZD4TJWW4OSSYZ5KAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030338},"content":"I Want to Go Home but I’m Already There was acquired in 2023, after a drawn-out process which involved a whole other novel, and two different agents. When news eventually came through that her book was going to be published, Lanigan was abroad, on a job.","type":"text"},{"_id":"53NSKIAI7ZA2FF6KXFIOVSO6OA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030339},"content":"“A lot of the jobs I’ve had are so strange to me – I was working with i-D at the time, and I was at Paris fashion week,” she says. “Someone was sick, and they were like, ‘You have to go.’ I showed up, and I was the person that stood at the back of the room with my phone, filming things.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BDVH6T7LYBDUPIIAC5BUVYDCOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030340},"content":"When a text came through to say she had landed a book deal, she had to keep a straight face and carry on filming.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XCZ2IRNYRNAHNC5XV3O5VDJ5W4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030341},"content":"“I think I went out for a drink that night by myself. In Paris, which feels so glamorous, but it really wasn’t,” she laughs. “And then I couldn’t tell anyone because it didn’t get announced for ages. It was my little secret thing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZN3VKARUXJCNJGTPZCBF3LQ3RM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030342},"content":"A year-and-a-half later, as she prepares for publication, she says she’s nervous, despite her experience publishing work as a journalist.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UJHXHXPRHJAMDDWOGAP4K3MELI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030343},"content":"“Obviously as a journalist it’s still really hard to take criticism, but you’re like, ‘Well, I’ll write something next week, and maybe they’ll be nicer about it,’ and that’s fine. With this, it took a long time to write, it’s taken a long time to come out, I have to sit with it, and I have to let people say, ‘I didn’t like this.’ And I haven’t yet learned to do that. The feedback has been really nice so far, but I am sort of waking up in a cold sweat every other night [with] this horrible feeling that it’s going to come out and no one’s going to read it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KUADIUKBE5DYVP2L7WX357F6YY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030344},"content":"I assure her people are already queuing up to buy it, especially those who are all too familiar with the grind of the rental market. We talk a little more about book promotion – how unnatural it can feel to flaunt one’s own achievements, especially given the Irish sensibility. As our time comes to a close – Lanigan has a flight to catch, back to London – I ask if there’s anything more she’d like to add or discuss.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y3D2HT5CJZHZBLN2DJM5QBD3AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030345},"content":"“Not really,” she says, sweetly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MRNZVDT375C5NJKCVAQ2I3HMOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030346},"content":"Then, with a mischievous grin: “I mean, property is obviously theft. But apart from that, no.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAFSF3QOGFHPVESMEKBODQQ6D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741264030347},"content":"<i>I Want to Go Home but I’m Already There is published by Fig Tree on March 20th</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Niamh Donnelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Irish author is on the cusp of publishing her debut novel, which reflects on the realities of the housing crisis for young people "},"display_date":"2025-03-16T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘I don’t write a lot of personal stuff’: author Róisín Lanigan on being married, divorced and surviving cancer before her 30s","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RCWWAIYAXZFTPJJLYDP4EST3GQ","auth":{"1":"b72711622f6e96ed593a73f5f6bad0a30238bf5389338a0e810666326c959690"},"focal_point":{"x":2162,"y":2685},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RCWWAIYAXZFTPJJLYDP4EST3GQ.jpg"},"lead_art":{"_id":"RCWWAIYAXZFTPJJLYDP4EST3GQ","type":"image"}},"subtype":"showcase","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/i-dont-write-a-lot-of-personal-stuff-author-roisin-lanigan-on-being-married-divorced-and-surviving-cancer-before-her-30s/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"WENSPXROI5GDZNTE3SRYZS26QU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":220,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/0924e383-302e-44d6-9c26-fa025d3a2480/versions/1741176584/media/0e013e410b0f18c70fc929286c32f0b3_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/sean-moncrieff-the-estate-agent-quoted-a-jaw-dropping-figure-for-what-he-thought-our-house-would-go-for/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TJ5ROC4EPNDIPKTIVLIFKKXNPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327356},"content":"It feels like it happened all of a sudden, yet the process was gradual. After years of various children staying with us for varying periods of time, they have established themselves elsewhere. Son Number One is in Colombia. Daughters Numbers One and Two live with their respective partners, and daughter Number Three just moved to London. I have a gut feeling she’s going to like it there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZB5FPOPOHJFQ7CL6BLA5KSDCBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327357},"content":"Daughter Number Four hasn’t moved out yet, her argument being that she’s only nine. That’s fair enough. But it’s good to see her older siblings leading by example. Daughter Number Four knows the clock is ticking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RBTYDDKI4JF55DYRRUP7ZWVEDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327358},"content":"The process by which the grown-up kids have moved in and out again hasn’t been strictly formal: all of them have managed to leave behind more stuff than they arrived with. This is further complicated by the fact that Daughters One, Two and Three have rejected the traditional concept of ownership when it comes to clothes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FMKKVWXW4VH7TGDS7YZNKTJ3HM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327359},"content":"In other words, they shamelessly steal from each other. And because this theft and counter-theft has been going for some years, it seems impossible for them to recall who owns what. They don’t live with us any more, yet we are the custodians of wardrobes full of clothes that none of them own, but all of them own. I have, on occasion, tried to establish the provenance of individual garments, but this has always led to long rambling squabbles, which would lead to reminiscing, to gossiping, to laughing and forgetting what my question was in the first place.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZIFGNFSWLFHQDGUJ44CWB2DDB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327360},"content":"But because parts of our home are now little more than a storage facility, it did re-spark an idea that had been loitering around the back of our minds: that we might sell the house – the idea being that we’d swap it for a place a little smaller in the same area, and shave off some of our debt.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BUOGLR4CG5EEPCAHAFW6XO5YCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327361},"content":"Seán Moncrieff: House-hunting in Dublin is like The Hunger Games. Many have simply given up","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BQGMDJ7I5BF6XJYGPMN2DGP22I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327362},"content":"Now, we’re not (completely) stupid. The reverberations of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/housing-crisis/\">housing crisis</a> are felt everywhere. We guessed we probably wouldn’t have too much trouble selling the house, but finding one to buy would be extremely tricky. At the time of writing this, there are just three houses for sale in our area. By the time you read this, they will be sold.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CS2NWWMLIJEJVMYUCZ7QAQV6VM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327363},"content":"And in fairness, the estate agent who came out to do the valuation didn’t understate that difficulty. The traditional method of selling your house and buying a new one straight away seems to be becoming increasingly rare.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RXAJ4QOFRG3XA4B3R3PIMI2VE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327364},"content":"The second part of his visit was more enjoyable. We walked from room to room, and he was hugely complimentary. Perhaps it’s something they all say, but he used the phrase ‘showhouse condition’ more than once. He finished by showing some other houses he had sold, and then quoted a jaw-dropping figure for what he thought our house would go for.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSRMYQH3CJBWVKXUTVWTF5WKWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327365},"content":"Yet after he left, we didn’t talk about it. We didn’t talk about it until 24 hours later. We couldn’t.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CDWTIP6BVEYDOGVMSYQSZ3744","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327366},"content":"Why do most Americans still believe the US to be the ‘Greatest Nation on Earth’?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"32XKHPZDGZAFXKIU2VZHX5UGB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327367},"content":"When we eventually sat down to discuss the possibility of selling, we both quickly realised why we hadn’t been in any rush to have the conversation. Both of us had been dreading the idea that the other might be keen to proceed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WAPN6A37ZF2PAB7V7WXKNOB2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327368},"content":"Because when we had showed him each room, we had told him what changes we had made: we had described the labour, the thought and the love that had gone into each part of it. And it was far more than we realised. Curiously, we were seeing our home with fresh eyes: and reminding ourselves how much we love it; how the concept of home is deeply fundamental to us. It’s fundamental to everyone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HB5GJ3KVU5FOBEARXIOSL2Q72U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741792327369},"content":"We wasted that estate agent’s time, but he did us a huge favour. Even if some of the rooms are stuffed with mouldy clothes, we couldn’t be luckier. Tens of thousands of Irish people aren’t so lucky. And may never be.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Seán Moncrieff"}},"name":"Seán Moncrieff"}]},"description":{"basic":"He did us a huge favour, but probably not in the way he would have hoped"},"display_date":"2025-03-16T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"The estate agent quoted a jaw-dropping figure for what he thought our house would go for","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"WFQHRTIYQJHPBPSJTV6EHT7YAA","auth":{"1":"74a351ab8110f500ca9a4778ce62755798d16f23cd377815b2d6516d53eb3902"},"focal_point":{"x":2116,"y":1636},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/WFQHRTIYQJHPBPSJTV6EHT7YAA.JPG"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/16/sean-moncrieff-the-estate-agent-quoted-a-jaw-dropping-figure-for-what-he-thought-our-house-would-go-for/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"RCXTBOMKHVAFFDAZCMPEESNV4U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":605,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/3e186d14-5362-499a-af76-24887692d746/versions/1741702739/media/235a2f94f08e1dba82e2148ddb52a8de_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/asylum-seekers-in-dublins-east-wall-just-ordinary-decent-people-that-wanted-a-better-life-for-themselves/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RYZ545EYCZDFNIJCEV7QOLIEKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563366},"content":"Sithembiso Ndlovu stepped outside the Gateway Integration Centre on <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/\" target=\"_blank\">Dublin’s</a> East Wall Road for the first time on the morning of December 23rd, 2022. The offices in the surrounding area had closed for <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/christmas/\" target=\"_blank\">Christmas</a> and the streets felt quiet. However, Ndlovu was nervous. She’d seen the videos of protesters outside the building she now called home and knew some in the local community did not want her there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5KKHWSA3SJFRZD2EZWVWPYVLHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563367},"content":"“We walked in twos and threes to the shop that day,” says Ndlovu. Originally from Zimbabwe, Ndlovu had arrived in Ireland three weeks previously seeking international protection.","type":"text"},{"_id":"52656JV4HBAPXLDGLAM4FLIQQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563368},"content":"“I felt threatened. I felt scared and lost. In the shops, you could see people looking at you, talking about you. It felt painful.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BPCP3XTY6JCK5POXN55IU3OCBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563369},"content":"Ndlovu was among the first group of women to arrive at the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/international-protection-office/\" target=\"_blank\">international protection</a> accommodation centre in East Wall, a few weeks after it first opened to 100 male residents on November 18th, 2022.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MXCDRK75CJCBXBFGNP46VLT574","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563370},"content":"In the days following the men’s arrival, scores of people <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2022/11/20/east-wall-residents-protest-against-new-refugee-accommodation/\" target=\"_self\">gathered outside the centre calling for residents to be sent elsewhere</a>. A video posted on Facebook on November 19th, 2022, shows crowds chanting “get them out” and “we don’t want them in our community”. Another video from the same day shows a couple of women shouting “you won’t be here for long, we’re gonna get youse out”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSMFSYANZJESJPYSAUUKH7YTAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563371},"content":"Word of the protests spread quickly, with anti-<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/immigration/\" target=\"_self\">immigration</a> and far-right activists flocking to the area to make videos and speeches about the “replacement” of the Irish people. Participants from other parts of the city joined, even when some of the original protesters stepped back. In December, protesters brought Dublin’s rush-hour traffic to standstill when participants marched through the north inner city.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J5QU4NLRLJBPJP2GKKQCXZNWTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563372},"content":"By the time families started to arrive at the centre in early January 2023, the larger-scale protests had ended. However, about a dozen individuals continued to gather outside the Gateway centre every Wednesday evening, playing loud music and chanting anti-immigrant slogans, while young children watched from inside the glass building.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6EYCGBJR6JDAZG6HDFZVX66TLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563373},"content":"“I remember the kids crying seeing those men say we had to leave, that they would burn this place,” says Ndlovu. “We didn’t know what to do. I understand people’s frustration, they think we’re coming to take over their country and get everything for free. But I wish I could get them to listen to our stories and be in our shoes for a day. What pushed us from our own countries? Maybe then they’d understand.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CE4JQCXU7VDFJFCZOISVCTJGTA","additional_properties":{"_id":"CPIXVNIQPBDNJJ4FRNYS7XZRY4"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"MZISKWDFNNCWFIB4DPMIXG3LYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563374},"content":"Nearly 2½ years on from these protests, Ndlovu smiles when asked how she feels living in East Wall today. “The difference now is huge, I don’t even know how to begin telling you how huge it is.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5FLP2CB6IVESVINP4TLH2HSVK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563375},"content":"Ndlovu is referring in part to community acceptance but also to renovations at the former Gateway office block where she lives. The centre is now home to about 450 families, couples and single men and women from across the globe. The canteen area is bustling with activity the afternoon of The Irish Times visits. Across the corridor, a couple of women sort donations in what has become known as “The Shop” – a well-organised and brightly lit room lined with shelves of second-hand clothing and shoes. Down the corridor, a teenage boy focuses on his homework in the quiet study room, next door a young man picks up a letter from the designated postal room, while a toddler and his mother play in the nearby multicoloured children’s room.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4RSPITSGFC23OE3JOSELJNEWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563376},"content":"Judith Nwagazue, who arrived in the centre in early 2024, often brings her two-year-old daughter Elena and eight-month-old son Adriel to the playroom and takes part in the centre’s weekly toddler group. A single mother, Nwagazue admits caring for her children in the centre is “demanding and challenging”, particularly when she must carry them with her every time she walks down the hall to use the bathroom.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CH2WA4MIOZG77HSXP3Y4NDGXLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563377},"content":"“But I am grateful to have a roof over my head and the management are great. They try really hard for us, especially the mothers with babies.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ASO4TW4FNBGJXOH24KM66OR3NA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563378},"content":"Like Ndlovu, she says she understands the local community’s concerns about new arrivals. “I don’t blame them, they’re just trying to be protective of their country. But on the other hand, I wish they could understand the reasons we came here.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WYTGUH5ZCNEAFHYHIW4LUUJMZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563379},"content":"The Gateway centre is a far cry from the images of rooms packed with bunk beds which many have come to associate with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/direct-provision/\" target=\"_self\">direct provision</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BDPFP7HDBFWFO77OMGFTOITAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563380},"content":"“We felt like direct provision had become very hidden in Ireland, you were never able to walk into a centre,” says Gateway director Sinéad Fennelly. “We didn’t want to be ashamed of this place.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Q27VVNNOBHDJLFMZW3VBWUMAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563381},"content":"Fennelly and her team, who took over the centre’s management in April 2023, have focused on removing the “office feel” of the place. “Even down to signage was important. I’ve seen in other centres the tone of signs is very rules-based and that causes tension. People had an image of the centre in their minds, they presumed it was a horror show inside. When we started welcoming people inside they were shocked.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GTWZI3TERZB2XBCOOHTJARQP2M","additional_properties":{"_id":"52FGZZI7H5B45FEY5ALCV3PD6Y"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"PJWPUVGEPNGIXOV7GGX5UISIAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563382},"content":"When they first took over, staff focused on creating “a home” for asylum seekers, while “weathering the storm” of the protests, says centre manager Declan McKenna. “It was all fear-based,” he says, reflecting on the Wednesday-evening protests, which lasted for months. “It’s fear of the worst-case scenario and the vast majority of the time that scenario doesn’t occur.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"74KMLY3QIREJ5PLHLBSNQ7QKOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563383},"content":"The centre’s core focus is “transparency and honesty”, McKenna says. “We don’t just sit in an office – we talk to the residents, we learn about their lives. We don’t even consider this direct provision, it’s a dedicated space for people to live as humanely as possible on their journey looking for international protection.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"P4QL53GJDNFFTFWDAAOOMDSKWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563384},"content":"Keen to form links with the local community, Fennelly set up a fund to help local clubs and sports groups link up with children in the centre. “We have a budget for outings and social events for the residents so we decided to put a community fund formally in place. We wanted to forge a permanent relationship with these clubs that are taking the children in.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VDOEFXXKBBEAPI5JI5XEBJBWT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595701},"content":"Alan Gannon, a brother of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/social-democrats/\" target=\"_self\">Social Democrats</a> TD <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/gary-gannon/\" target=\"_self\">Gary Gannon</a>, is community engagement officer at the centre.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YROC2ZAA4VHWBFVI2DGX2VUFEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563385},"content":"The operators of international protection accommodation centres have a “responsibility” to invest in their properties and create a positive atmosphere, says Fennelly. “It shouldn’t be secret. If you can’t open your doors you need to ask yourself why?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XWVD3LTDNBDTHPCR6YFRHXEU7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595696},"content":"International protection system records death of 14 asylum seekers last year","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5C7VM2JZ7NEUBLQWJQEVAG55TQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595699},"content":"International Protection accommodation bill tops €1 billion for first time","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WE2ZXNTUEVEFLH7IIYXI7PA5XA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563386},"content":"Fennelly acknowledges a “small minority” of East Wall residents remain unhappy about the centre but says the majority now welcome residents. However, some of these people are “afraid to vocally come out and support us”, she adds. The Irish Times attempted to speak with a community member who took part in the 2022 protests but now supports the centre. After a number of rejections, local resident Derek, who preferred not to give his surname, agreed to talk.","type":"text"},{"_id":"URWFMTKO5BFEZHUUGP4L62A5WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563387},"content":"He says he joined the protests because he believed claims that his wife and daughter would be in danger walking the streets of East Wall.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZSYNPUL3EBEKHPHSXMGOD2F7M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563388},"content":"“But, in the months after that, I see how much work the people within the complex have done and how they’re integrating the men, women and children into the community,” he told The Irish Times over WhatsApp. These new arrivals, and their children who have joined local sports clubs, have been a “massive benefit” to the area, he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CWD7GJA4ZVFNFBRTD2SCER6UPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563389},"content":"“It opened people’s eyes to what we what we thought was coming in, and what actually did come in, with just ordinary, decent people that wanted a better life for themselves. All in all, I have changed my thought on all these centres. They’re a great idea.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QYFL42MS6VDC5PIDFNFIYFHZ4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"VDHALVFFQJCNDB25LFQDVT3BPA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"7SMRRTJ6TVHQHLQQMOTBAHMBXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563390},"content":"Roxanna Nic Liam, who was working in a local East Wall cafe when the rumours started circulating that a centre was opening, was one of the first local residents to join the East Wall Here For All advocacy group. She says the community felt divided for about six months. “You’d be scared to bring it up, I worried about saying I volunteered there. But most people have moved on with their lives. The hassle has died down, it’s quiet now. We’re not as needed, which is a good thing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V3CNKMRPJFFFFMLKIK4MBJYUSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563391},"content":"“I know a lot of people who took part in those protests and went on to help the kids and be very involved. I think when the kids started going to school, that was a turning point. Kids are a great way of bringing people together, they see people at the school gates, it becomes more humanised.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NN7RP74RHZDEPF5C6BXH7IUF6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741703595707},"content":"‘Too many people’ not entitled to International Protection applying in Ireland, Minister for Justice says","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YPAUQS4VONAD5F2GAQNHLHNWHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563392},"content":"Rebecca Kehoe, who has run Cross Cultural Conversations language classes for Gateway residents since 2023, says the initial “shameful, disturbing protests” outside the centre are a thing of the past but believes there’s still underlying discontent among some in the community. She recalls the discomfort she felt bringing an African resident for breakfast in a local cafe six months ago. “There were people looking at us, not the staff but the clientele. I felt distinctly uncomfortable and I’m sure he felt it too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HJ2XJ7N6VBB7LGW4LEXTZSFIDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741629563393},"content":"“The centre is established now and most protesters got tired, they had better things to do with their time. But I don’t know if that’s acceptance or that animosity is still there and hidden. It’s calm for now, thankfully.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sorcha Pollak"}},"name":"Sorcha Pollak"}]},"description":{"basic":"Fear was widespread when an international protection centre opened here in 2022; now tensions seems lower and ties are growing between residents of the centre and the wider community "},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:10:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Asylum seekers in Dublin’s East Wall: ‘Just ordinary, decent people that wanted a better life for themselves’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"46VQ4D5PLJCUBHF2XLFYPRDTKY","auth":{"1":"8bd397cff8874e87c3613d46314abfa6443834598239fadb8e3d450cf9503550"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/46VQ4D5PLJCUBHF2XLFYPRDTKY.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Dublin"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/asylum-seekers-in-dublins-east-wall-just-ordinary-decent-people-that-wanted-a-better-life-for-themselves/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"NAE5ST2DGZDBNOHN5EAUR4U6XA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":802,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/45b8f842-00f6-495b-9710-186c1e11d06c/versions/1741783173/media/6e0ede0587061ddedb2b6a1147e0d2bf_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/kieran-cuddihy-the-fight-for-eyeballs-is-a-hotter-war-than-the-fight-for-ears/","content_elements":[{"_id":"WHCWCYVSJFAC7LHJLZGNXMVK34","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788589},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kieran-cuddihy/\" target=\"_self\">Kieran Cuddihy</a> and I are chatting in Taste cafe near the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/newstalk/\" target=\"_self\">Newstalk</a> studio. We talk briefly about how I’m neurotically using two different audio recorders. He can relate. “I was interviewing <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/domhnall-gleeson/\" target=\"_self\">Domhnall Gleeson</a> recently and I forgot to turn the recorder on,” he says. “Halfway through the interview I saw it and he saw me turning it on. He was polite enough not to acknowledge it. [The clip] ended up getting 10 million views or something. Selena Gomez shared the clip because it was about the actors’ strike. It almost never existed.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFPORW3QNRH4TLXMKCZTNWYPBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788590},"content":"Cuddihy is a seasoned radio presenter at this stage but he’s happy enough to lean into his own failures for my entertainment. He anchors Newstalk’s Hard Shoulder drive-time slot and he has, as of last week, begun helming <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/virgin-media/\" target=\"_self\">Virgin Media</a>’s long-running Tonight Show. He’s nervous about that. “You’re conscious with TV that it’s an <i>active</i> watch. Every second they’re watching they’re thinking they could be watching something else. A lot of radio listenership, it’s on in the car or it’s on when you’re doing something else in the background. The fight for eyeballs is a hotter war than the fight for ears.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4IZJSCOKJFAZMPNS3IF752WJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788591},"content":"Cuddihy grew up in Kilkenny in a family of current-affairs-loving healthcare professionals. His father is a doctor. His mother is a nurse. Three of his grandparents were also trained healthcare professionals. His sister is also a doctor. Cuddihy decided to rebel and study law in UCC. Why law? “On reflection, it was probably a degree of pomposity or something,” he says. “‘This sounds like a fancy job. It sounds good. It sounds impressive.’ I’m not sure I really thought too deeply about what my day-to-day work was going to be like. And then when I was training, I kind of realised, ‘Oh, this is the day-to-day work’. It was grand. But that’s all it was.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6I3NRGO2YVFHBHAKY6Z433IW2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788592},"content":"He went on to Blackhall Place and qualified in 2009. He laughs at the timing of this. “I don’t know if you remember what things were like in 2009?” He was graduating into a recession. So instead of starting in a solicitor’s office he went to Vancouver for a year with some friends where he initially worked with a law firm but eventually started working on a building site. How was that? “We got fired because the World Cup was on at the time and we clocked in and then we went off to watch the match and went on the tear for the day. We came in the next day and our boss told us to get lost.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSLM277TNFCTNM6GCENIAGAU3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788593},"content":"When in Vancouver he also started volunteering at a community radio station. “And it was great, because community radio is just ‘let’s do everything’. ‘We’ve an hour at the weekend we need to fill – do you want to do that? ‘Do reports. Do presenting.’ ‘There’s a protest happening, go down there’. Because it’s community radio, a lot of it was social justice orientated. I remember at the time, the big row in Vancouver was about the gentrification of the Lower East Side. Lots of talking to marginalised communities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IGJLBNLG3VCANKGKQFIZJTL4FU","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"B56XDGNKWJDOTEZOAHTXOZS7ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788594},"content":"He loved it. He applied to do the journalism Masters in DCU. “The most daunting thing about it was telling my parents,” he says. “I guess they’re expecting that you’re just keeping your head above water while the economy recovers and you’ll come back and resume your perfectly acceptable career as a solicitor.” He laughs. “Ah look, they were grand. They were a bit ... ‘Are you sure about this?’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BBHI6BS4GZGZPJ7YIOWUUKIM2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788595},"content":"What was the conversation like? “I want to go to this really fickle industry and start with this company that doesn’t make money or didn’t at the time and advertising budgets are contracting and it’s all being fragmented.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y75RT47F55FPTJ4FUJKHHKTYFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788596},"content":"Did he have journalistic role models? “I didn’t really have any rose-tinted fantasy about myself being a Woodward or Bernstein, which isn’t meant as a kind of a slight on anyone who does, but I just didn’t think I’d have that in me,” he says. “All that failure you need to have before you get a bit of success. It’s like missionary work, really, that type of stuff.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PRZWH6JLABEDHEEQRHGWCCXFHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788597},"content":"It was broadcasting that attracted him. He joined Newstalk, then owned by businessman <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/denis-obrien/\" target=\"_self\">Denis O’Brien</a>’s company Communicorp, as a researcher for the breakfast show with Chris Donoghue and Ivan Yates in 2011. He was soon given opportunities to fill in on air. His first presenting stint was filling in on the Business Breakfast. “I remember they had three guests on and the last guest would always be a market guest. I said, ‘How are the Asian markets looking?’ They could have said, ‘Yeah, well, they kind of tanked after Godzilla flattened Tokyo.’ And my next question would have been, ‘And the US market, what are we expecting when they open?’ I didn’t have a clue.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7P7MKDX6UNDWPIZL5N7PDEFAUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621562},"type":"image"},{"_id":"M7IXTET2OJAORJCQAWMTW2PCKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788598},"content":"When he first had to fill in on the breakfast show proper, he was terrified. “I remember we had a staff night out at the dogs in Shelbourne and I went home and slept for an hour and came into Newstalk at three in the morning and I listened to the entire previous day show from three hours, and I wrote down second by second every little marker, ‘Three minutes, 27 seconds, Chris said this’ and ‘Three minutes 50 seconds in Ivan said this.’ It was just a crutch. I had this thing on front of me, a schedule.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDIMYGRKQZEWDLB7IDJJNGHJRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788599},"content":"He became a regular fill-in presenter, eventually replacing Paul Williams for a long-term stint on the show alongside Shane Coleman. He was finally given sole custody of the Hard Shoulder programme in September 2020. Up to then Newstalk was a very personality-driven network. “They hung all the shows on the brand, the personality ... On George [Hook]’s personality ... On Ivan’s personality. The change came when myself and Andrea [Gilligan] got prime-time shows. We were the first who didn’t have any name recognition really.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JRFHWLR36NB2HPWHZADO6MGHLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788600},"content":"What did it feel like in the O’Brien days? “You can never get away from the fact that for a good 15 years, Denis wrote a cheque at the end of the year to keep it open.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLT7GXHNGVBC5ADT6MJBNJB6GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788601},"content":"Were Communicorp employees worried O’Brien might not like their reporting and might retaliate in some way? “Which he would have done against [Today FM presenter] Sam Smyth,” says Cuddihy. “He would have wielded [his power] against him and other people.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AT5YFJQT35E5FLD7NC6SIFXW2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788602},"content":"The final report of the Moriarty tribunal into payments to politicians, which strongly criticised O’Brien, was issued while Cuddihy was in the station in 2011. O’Brien has always rejected the criticisms. “I was a researcher,” Cuddihy says. “But I remember Chris Donoghue took a really strong, clear line. He was very quick to acknowledge where Denis was criticised in the tribunal and at the same time saying ‘listen, he owns this business’. I don’t think he [Donoghue] pulled any punches and I still don’t think he did, but you’d be lying if you said the thought never crossed your mind that he [O’Brien] owned the company.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6IRJ63UCVDDVPVBPBMFEDOQZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621568},"content":"Ruth Scott: I am the youngest of eight siblings. I had a curious childhood","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"7SZLM4VLIFAB3PEJWA33LSFIRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788603},"content":"I used to appear on the Communicorp stations myself until, in 2017, all Irish Times journalists were banned from their airwaves after a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/author/fintan-otoole/\" target=\"_self\">Fintan O’Toole</a> piece criticising the station. He sighs when I remind him of this ban. “I was on this committee that everyone took a turn on – a chance for the worker ants to have their say – and I remember saying I thought we shouldn’t be doing this. And I wouldn’t have been the only one. I think we thought it would go away a lot quicker but it lasted a long time ... [Newstalk presenter] <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/author/sean-moncrieff/\" target=\"_self\">Seán Moncrieff </a>started writing a column for The Irish Times when the ban was still in place. It just got silly. It was always silly.” The ban disappeared after Bauer bought the group the station was part of in 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JILDMNWXMRDTTAXP5PDMUZF4AY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788604},"content":"Cuddihy has developed his own style. He’s always on top of his brief and sounds fluent and natural on air. He doesn’t sound any different in person (some broadcasters do). He asks me whether <i>I</i> like being on radio. I say I like it more now that I’ve accepted sounding like an eejit half the time. He laughs. “Making an eejit of yourself is actually endearing. People don’t necessarily want the old disc jockey character that wasn’t a real person, who was just facsimile of a person. People want authenticity. And I think slightly making a tit of yourself the odd time makes you feel a bit more authentic. Ultimately, people want to have some sort of connection to you and that means talking about yourself as a real person – talking about your kids and what you did at the weekend and what you’re watching on telly.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CG3YXQUWJFG7DAM2R4JBJABA6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788605},"content":"Do people expect that more now in the era of podcasts and YouTubers? “I think they do ... Podcasting has started to change the tone of radio. People like the idea of being part of a conversation among friends.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QVHTN3YGNNEN7NXNJ5NQ35Q3PM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621572},"content":"Does he remember any early radio experiences that embarrass him? “The ones which were most embarrassing were where I tried to ape what other people do, where I thought: ‘the Newstalk brand is a bit abrasive and ranty and that’s what I’m going to do!’ You just come across as a slightly unlikeable dickhead. I remember a few times where an opinion was so contrived that I just felt icky doing it. I was expressing an opinion that I really didn’t hold.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"D5IUHLY7Y5GZ7CMYPRGJLD7DMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788607},"content":"What are his favourite interviews? “My favourite interviews are always normal people who are in really extraordinary situations,” he says. “People like [Cervical Check campaigner] <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2022/10/28/cervicalcheck-campaigner-lynsey-bennett-has-died/#:~:text=CervicalCheck%20campaigner%20Lynsey%20Bennett%2C%20who,the%20woman%20and%20her%20family.\" target=\"_self\">Lynsey Bennett</a>. Those people I am always amazed by. I remember as well during the ice bucket challenge going out to meet a lad, Brian, out in Lucan who had motor neuron disease. He was really into golf. He noticed his problem first walking across the golf course when he couldn’t hold his head up when he was walking ... I remember him saying that he’d be dead by the time the Ryder Cup was on. It was so awful and so upsetting. I remember those people most.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"73BDIS5OT3TEA34OCDZWPQRKKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741866621574},"type":"image"},{"_id":"HSRMLBNFLREIJPGUUQRWLHXHCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788608},"content":"Does he enjoy robust exchanges with politicians (I watched him engage in a few the night before on the Tonight Show)? He laughs. “They give you a bit of a short-term kick. I’m buzzing after. Your adrenalin is flowing ... but I can’t forget those other people. People who’ve been wronged by the State, people like Lynsey Bennett.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"63AKMZMPW5BCJJTURA2Q5GWSLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788609},"content":"Cuddihy lives in Kilkenny with his wife, Natasha, who has a mediation business, and their two children, Sam, aged 10 and Grace, aged eight. With a radio show five nights a week and now two television programmes on top of that, how is his work-life balance? “What serves me well is actually the commute,” he says. “It’s like a little debrief. It’s a demarcation between one another. My work-life balance, it’s not terrible ... I’m gone from 11 to half eight at night ... But I’m missing every afternoon. When your kids are young, you’re knee-deep in activities. So my wife does all of that ... It does mean that I’m conscious in the mornings of being present and at weekends of not getting sucked into my phone.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HMZHZH5TVRFTRLKSDH6H7KAN6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741776788610},"content":"That phone has changed everything about his job. In the past, he says, a current affairs broadcaster’s role was to inform. Now, with a personalised news machine in everyone’s hands it’s more important to help people parse and explain. “‘Here’s what you should ignore. Here’s what you should pay attention to.’ At the same time, you have to reflect that nobody’s going home and talking about all that at the dinner table. They’re talking about electricity prices. <i>Your</i> job is to point out that what’s happening in Ukraine has a huge impact on electricity prices ... I think in the past the old media world could get away with not explaining why these things matter. We can lament that fragmentation of the [media] market but I think it’s helped all of us recognise that fact that we’re not the gate keepers of the things that matter to people. You can’t assume they’re going to sit there and listen.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patrick Freyne"}},"name":"Patrick Freyne"}]},"description":{"basic":"Presenter of the Tonight Show on Virgin Media and Hard Shoulder on Newstalk on Denis O’Brien, work-life balance and embarrassing career low-lights"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Kieran Cuddihy: Newstalk hung all the shows on the brand, the personality. That changed with Andrea Gilligan and myself ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"3GP6RQPFRFEYJOTRQGWTKVEN5U","auth":{"1":"1cb98e8d1a9220034202de111fef6d238d1356a4e93f9d55d00e0387e263133a"},"focal_point":{"x":3341,"y":1047},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/3GP6RQPFRFEYJOTRQGWTKVEN5U.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/kieran-cuddihy-the-fight-for-eyeballs-is-a-hotter-war-than-the-fight-for-ears/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"GEZSSJZNE5CAZM2DISUI4HNGMI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":1173,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/1f3fa690-df23-4548-bb4d-3546a4441e76/versions/1741872732/media/900df717c6ee7cf4e5f186ad721f24ba_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/camp-shamrock-lebanon-look-at-our-own-history-we-had-a-fractured-island-not-too-long-ago/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6WBHS5GQCZGJ5MEXNRPUEQANKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924549},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"47TBCNYEDJBOTIH3NCPMP6N3DU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924550},"content":"The road to Camp Shamrock is lined with evidence of shattered lives and broken buildings, portraits of “martyrs” and piles of rubble. While some life in southern <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/lebanon/\" target=\"_blank\">Lebanon</a> has returned – supermarkets are open; cars and motorbikes hurtle along roads; people smoke and chat in the streets – destruction is also a constant. People clear rubble from their homes with shovels. Mass funerals for those who died in the war, and were temporarily buried elsewhere, have been ongoing for months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z57OGDG7GBD4HDMPSEUUWO4XAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924551},"content":"These scenes are a reminder, not just of the last 17 months of confrontation, but of the decades of violence and uncertainty even before that. For almost half a century now, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Irish</a> <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/unifil/\" target=\"_blank\">peacekeepers</a> have been present on this <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/\" target=\"_blank\">Middle East</a> fault line. Under extreme pressure, they have stood their ground.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EC5SU2DMDRE43GWQZ2LIIUMFAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924552},"content":"The latest war between <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/israel/\" target=\"_blank\">Israel</a> and militant group <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/hizbullah/\" target=\"_blank\">Hizbullah</a> broke out on October 8th, 2023, when Hizbullah fired rockets into Israeli-controlled territory “in solidarity” with Hamas. Almost a year of the ensuing conflict escalated further last September 23rd, when Israel launched an aerial campaign <a href=\"https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/04/middleeast/lebanon-israel-aerial-assault-intensity-intl/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">described by conflict monitoring group Airwars</a> as the most intense in decades, aside from Gaza. A week later, Israeli forces also began a ground invasion, with officials saying they wanted to create the right conditions to allow displaced Israeli citizens to return home. These developments would see Irish peacekeepers playing a courageous and unexpected role, right in the middle of fighting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"45AISKYMNZDFTI73G5HDX5LMJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924554},"content":"Despite requesting access during the war, it was only in late February that The Irish Times was allowed to visit Camp Shamrock, the main Irish base, to witness the work of peacekeepers in person. A tenuous ceasefire came into force on November 27th, by which time almost 4,000 people in Lebanon had been killed – including 717 women and 243 children – and more than one million displaced. Around <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-war-numbers-hezbollah-military-6f1a651ebba0a88fbdb7ca59a57acd1e\">130 people</a> were killed on the Israeli side – the majority soldiers – and more than 46,000 displaced. <a href=\"https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/israel-must-stop-killing-civilians-returning-their-homes-south-lebanon-un\">More people</a> have been killed since November and violations continue, but the roads in Lebanon’s south are much safer to drive along than they were before.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUXKVGXZRRDT7BOT3V6JWH6YJM","content":"<div style=\"min-height:295px\" id=\"datawrapper-vis-cDVwJ\"><script type=\"text/javascript\" defer src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cDVwJ/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" data-target=\"#datawrapper-vis-cDVwJ\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cDVwJ/full.png\" alt=\"Map showing location of Camp Shamrock, Lebanon\" /></noscript></div>","type":"raw_html"},{"_id":"YN4PP3DOLJDGBIO3KVN7MHCWAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924555},"content":"Camp Shamrock – or UN base UNP 2-45 – is located about 7km from the Israeli border. Its moniker is somewhat deceptive, as it is also home to Hungarian, Polish and Maltese peacekeepers. Tens of thousands of Irish have served in Lebanon since <a href=\"https://www.military.ie/en/overseas-deployments/about-overseas-deployments/#:~:text=The%20Defence%20Forces%20made%20its,ADL)%20between%20Lebanon%20and%20Israel.\">1978</a>. More than 300 are currently among around <a href=\"https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/unifil\">10,000</a> of the total forces of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/unifil/\" target=\"_blank\">Unifil</a>) – the majority on their first deployment to the country.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WXB4TBAOCJAVDGF4DGLHYZWB3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924558},"content":"In his office, Lieut Col Shane Rockett, the commanding officer of IrishPolBatt, the 125th Irish-Polish Battalion, explained the situation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PNYGWIGLM5DR3HCAFKCHKIVX4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970044},"type":"image"},{"_id":"J2QSKNVMH5C2PB55HIVWO52RHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924559},"content":"“By virtue of geography and where we are in Unifil, the Irish battalion is on the front line when it comes to any conflict out here ... We had a very difficult period … There was a lot of pressure put on us by the Israelis to withdraw from our locations.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GQEU4FFNMFCP7C4MXNUOLAUCXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924560},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/10/04/irish-peacekeepers-lebanon-latest-israel-invasion/\" target=\"_blank\">Israel repeatedly requested</a> that UN peacekeepers leave areas of combat and what they called “Hizbullah strongholds”, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu <a href=\"https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-un-must-withdraw-south-lebanon-peacekeepers-from-combat-zones/\">saying</a> “your refusal to evacuate the Unifil soldiers makes them hostages of Hizbullah” and “human shields”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WDDFJOXHTRBSJDFN32VWCIDLJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924561},"content":"“At no stage did the Irish battalion ever consider withdrawing,” said Rockett. “I suppose, like every military organisation, you plan for contingencies … So yes, Unifil did have a plan, but luckily, people at the higher echelons had a sense and decided that the best thing to do was to remain.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFKFTDBR6BFGZJTHMWQQHAQVOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924562},"content":"It was important to be “the eyes and ears of the international community,” said Rockett. “We were just carrying out our tasks. We were carrying out our role and our mission as it was given to us.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"S33U4ZF3MVCT3PKRQO4UKVU64Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924564},"content":"In October, it was reported that <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2024/10/31/rocket-strikes-irish-unifil-headquarters-in-lebanon/\" target=\"_blank\">a rocket had hit Camp Shamrock</a>, although no one was injured. Rockett says it was a Hizbullah Katyusha rocket intercepted “directly overhead” by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. While the munitions exploded in the air, metal casing dropped down to the “back of the camp”. At the time, Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti said there had been more than 30 attacks on Unifil bases in a month, with around 20 attributed to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), seven deemed “clearly deliberate”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C34653FKRNDQNM2YN3TMKW6YCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970050},"type":"image"},{"_id":"XZXUOYE6FBAR7FVWPHW2USNJTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924565},"content":"Peacekeepers of other nationalities were injured during the war. On October 13th, <a href=\"https://unifil.unmissions.org/unifil-statement-13-october-2024\" target=\"_blank\">Unifil accused the IDF of “shocking violations”</a>, saying two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a UN position in Ramyah, forcibly entering. Later, around 15 peacekeepers “suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions” following “the firing of several rounds 100 metres north, which emitted smoke”. <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwylekwngz8o\" target=\"_blank\">The IDF said</a> it had been evacuating wounded soldiers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4BU5FVZHANDZVL2BDEKBNNQVEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924566},"content":"Rockett found it hard to describe the experience of being surrounded by “kinetic activity”, but “the shelling from Israel, the return fire from Hizbullah, [meant peacekeepers were] caught in the middle.” In some ways, he said, they were lucky. “At any stage there could have been a misfire, there could have been wrong co-ordinates, and a round could have hit the camp.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PWPTTJJXXBCI3KUCFKEZAUYU5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924567},"content":"Before peacekeepers deploy, they do months of training in Ireland. “Our training, the way we do military operations, it’s at a very high standard, and anything that we undertook out here during that time meant that we were always putting the soldiers safety first and foremost in our planning,” said Rockett. “However, that doesn’t stop the family members at home worrying, and it’s natural for people to worry about their loved ones out here when they’re deployed in a war zone.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5OA55A2HSNCZFEP5YN6XZULHAA","additional_properties":{"_id":"OFZ2XINPRJG5TOB6JTLE5KOJ3M"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"V4WQYRUNRZHKJCVI6N5AEVLIVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924568},"content":"Going to bunkers is known as “groundhog”. Rockett says that happened “every day” during the war. “In some cases, we would have asked people to stay there for 24 hours, 36 hours, and sometimes longer.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YNSYXGVUJNCZVNCPC3OTAHJQE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924569},"content":"Rockett said Unifil continued to report after <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2024/11/28/lebanon-ceasefire-we-have-no-windows-no-doors-but-we-can-live-not-like-other-people/\" target=\"_blank\">the ceasefire</a>, as Israeli forces held ground in Lebanon and carried out explosions. Lebanon complained to the UN on December 24th, alleging there had already been <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/19/lebanon-ceasefire-israel-destruction/\">more than 800</a> Israeli violations of the agreement. It has become commonplace to hear Lebanese people call this a “one-sided ceasefire”, though Israel has said it is targeting military targets and <a href=\"https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/katz-says-idf-will-enforce-lebanon-ceasefire-deal-forcefully-against-hezbollah-violations/\">forcefully</a> enforcing the ceasefire’s terms <a href=\"https://x.com/IsraelMFA/status/1863668750731649028\">in response</a> to Hizbullah violations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3HA77WEFBZBH7NKJJ4IJBX4MOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924570},"content":"Israel’s withdrawal was scheduled by the end of January. That was extended to February 18th and up until now Israeli forces have a presence in what they call “strategic” locations inside Lebanon. On February 18th, <a href=\"https://x.com/UNIFIL_/status/1891794765118619776\" target=\"_blank\">Unifil said</a> “another delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen … This should not, however, overshadow the tangible progress that has been made … We call on both parties to meet their obligations.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDYUDVOJCZC7TDNOIHWGQQZZSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924571},"content":"Since that date, Rockett said, there has been a “remarkable decrease in the number of explosions and small-arms fire”, but Unifil continues to report on “all violations” – including “any unauthorised overflight by either a drone or an aircraft”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSNIVRPOABDQLCQR5PPC7CRXQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924572},"content":"“There’s a lot of information out there as to where these violations occurred from but – and I hope you’ll appreciate this – I’d rather not point the finger at who was responsible,” said Rockett. He said the UN’s role is to remain “neutral” but its reports go “through the chain of command” to the UN headquarters to be debated at UN Security Council meetings, with “the political membership of the UN” then engaging the countries involved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G6Q3XJYTPRCMZLQUIVWAYACPQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970060},"type":"image"},{"_id":"AYIUI46WTFDJZJZJAPBL52JXME","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924574},"content":"Unifil’s <a href=\"https://unifil.unmissions.org/security-council-renews-unifil%E2%80%99s-mandate-demands-full-implementation-resolution-1701\" target=\"_blank\">mandate was renewed</a> for another year last August, with the UN Security Council “demanding” parties “recommit to the full implementation of all provisions of resolution 1701.” The <a href=\"https://unifil.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/old_dnn/N0646503.94e0ff00-2581-4794-bfd1-877cdf67e435.04aaa3c5-b93a-4fad-8c75-92c3d9b802a3.pdf\">resolution</a> requires the Lebanese army and Unifil to be deployed in the south, for Hizbullah to withdraw north of the Litani river and for Israel to leave Lebanon, as well as requiring the broader disarmament of Hizbullah and other non-state armed groups, with the aim of a permanent ceasefire.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZ3YXESOGNBABFSBQTFQRMDQGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924575},"content":"Potential violations by Hizbullah might be difficult to spot, Rockett said. “You’re not dealing with a uniform military force. They’re very much part of the community here.” He said Unifil relies heavily on the Lebanese army “who know the individuals in the region, who know when things are being moved”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7TRCI2TORENZOBBLN4UQXJB6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924576},"content":"In south Lebanon, the Lebanese army is Unifil’s “strategic partner”. Together, they aim to provide “security and the conditions for security”, including through manning checkpoints, doing joint patrols and occasionally assisting with training.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DQIH72KOBZCIHJTWWQRZHYE3BA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924577},"content":"Ireland is helped by what Rockett calls the “Paddy factor” – our culture makes it easy to reach out and create relationships, and to establish trust with local people, he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CDO24EXQMFETPL5HPW2M4ZU6VU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924578},"content":"The sustained relationship Irish peacekeepers have with communities close to them is clear while moving around. In Tibnin town, Ali Saad – known as “Irish Ali” – thanks Irish peacekeepers for his own education. Now 58, he runs an orphanage supported by the peacekeepers; he even used a bus donated by Irish veterans to evacuate girls when Israel’s bombing campaign escalated last September.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7SVO6FLMRCHFOEXTFSN6QDHYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924579},"content":"In Christian town Rmeish, a shopkeeper said he regularly meets Irish peacekeepers purchasing goods, while priest Najib al Amil said he has had a long and positive relationship with them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4TWDAWWPJEEJOYGKTYWCJIVPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924580},"content":"As a battalion commander, Rockett tries to regularly engage local mayors to find out what issues they are facing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IMHJ267ZXFBJFPR2C7FEMWYDWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924581},"content":"This also helps identify small projects the peacekeepers can do. Since November, Rockett said, they’ve spent nearly $60,000 restoring water or electricity, and helping “local communities just get back on their feet after the destruction of the war”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E6YLE4EUSBCARN7WHLNUBYPG5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970069},"type":"image"},{"_id":"24BACHDF6VA2DKCKBQTLBFIXCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924583},"content":"A group put on protective helmets and flak jackets to drive to Outpost 6-52, around a 25-minute drive from Camp Shamrock.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LU37NJNYWVENVKJ7OYT5AANLOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924584},"content":"This is one of 29 UN posts within 5km of the Blue Line, the de facto border between northern Israel and southern Lebanon. It became one of the most notorious UN positions during the war, because shortly after the Israeli ground invasion began, the IDF stationed tanks and military equipment around 50 metres away, reportedly using the location as a firing position. An image even <a href=\"https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-peacekeepers-lebanon-israel-hezbollah-6507568-Oct2024/\" target=\"_blank\">showed a tank pointing its barrel</a> towards the Irish base, when around 30 Irish peacekeepers remained there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4CMRI2XUREHNDUCQEOAZDTEVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970072},"content":"Irish outpost on Israel-Lebanon border resupplied after almost a month of isolation","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"JLCEFASBCBFS3M7JQDGWY7ECPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924585},"content":"On October 6th, Unifil <a href=\"https://x.com/UNIFIL_/status/1842982815539081434\">said</a> it was “deeply concerned” by this “extremely dangerous development”, calling it “unacceptable to compromise the safety of UN peacekeepers carrying out their Security Council-mandated tasks”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NVZP3NOBKNDXVIK5HYJFULJ2AA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924586},"content":"On a hill above is Maroun al-Ras, a predominantly Shia village with a population of roughly 5,000 before the latest conflict. Videos and satellite imagery <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/09/world/middleeast/lebanon-destruction.html\" target=\"_blank\">showed large parts of the village flattened</a>, with two mosques among the buildings destroyed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RQC5G3DDZFUNE6DZT5S6BEHHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924587},"content":"What is known as the Iranian gardens, around 500 metres from the Irish outpost, was the site of a <a href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/10/8/israeli-soldiers-raise-flag-in-lebanese-towns-iran\">video</a> in October showing soldiers raising an Israeli flag – drawing widespread outrage in Lebanon.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B3OFUL527VD5TJKTN6MHVFDQPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970076},"content":"The priceless Lebanon heritage sites destroyed by Israeli bombing","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"PPCLCGNKQZDC3C7SF4UOIL3J5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924588},"content":"Though the Israeli forces eventually moved from beside Outpost 6-52, Irish peacekeepers remained in a risky position. Later in October, a carefully co-ordinated operation to resupply the outpost was named Fág an Bealach (Clear the Way).","type":"text"},{"_id":"BJUWVG47LVEHREGO3BH4NK6QJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924589},"content":"When I visited, there were 27 people based in the outpost, including a cook and a medic, as well as four dogs. Electricity came from two large generators, refuelled once a week, and water to fill two tanks with a 30,000 litre total capacity was trucked in. There were three Mowag armoured vehicles and an ambulance too.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D4QMH2YHUBE5DOY7Y2NREY7KTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924590},"content":"From a watch tower, we could see an Israeli patrol road; the Israeli kibbutz of Avivim is behind it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEERDBOXTRFX3KAICVGOBB2KPI","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"H6DM2L7SVFC4DLR7DIPGLNLQ2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924591},"content":"Peacekeepers noted that President Michael D Higgins visited in 2015 to officially open their recreation room. A shared bedroom included a trophy for the winner of a Fifa tournament, while chess has become popular recently, said Lieut Kyle Morgan, the 29-year-old outpost commander.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HYOFVCWRIJGJDG5DY5V5TZQBBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924592},"content":"Morgan is from Co Down, though he usually lives in Connemara with his girlfriend and son. He said he was grateful to the Defence Forces for previously supporting him through a university degree: arts with psychology and IT in Galway. “I think what we’re doing out here is very interesting … the Defence Forces is absolutely great,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A67DBOWDOZCAFITSGRP7G27O6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970083},"type":"image"},{"_id":"4GAG25MJ7ZFFXGAR2Z4EBZQ7LQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924594},"content":"Leave was cancelled during the war, but normally soldiers get three weeks at home during a six-month stint in Lebanon.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TFOWSTK52VFDBJOBJ67ULVWAWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924595},"content":"Some soldiers, like Cpl Lorna Coffey (27), from Cork, stay a full year; she is scheduled to remain until next November. Coffey is part of the military police, meaning “if anything was to go wrong in the camp that would be my job”. She works six days a week and Sunday is “my day for myself,” she says. “I go training … get food, [have] a bit of downtime that I can spend with colleagues and friends.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMHOU35X3ZBHLJWHHNJAP64F7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"T3F4O6SN4BHRZLJSENBZ5FFHPM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"QPMGOSOI35BBFOEH7VBB4UHHRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924596},"content":"Coffey is one of around 12 Irish women currently serving with Unifil. She said her family were initially hesitant, but now she knows they are proud. “When you join the army you kind of know straight away that, although you’re a woman, at the end of the day your job is a soldier.” She said that includes getting people to respect you “just as much whatever gender you are”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YVJTEZUPBJHIJAMQHOJZJ2D6QM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924597},"content":"Irish troops have not been allowed to drink alcohol in Camp Shamrock since 2021 – something all those I asked said they do not mind.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JIOR3DYFJBFENCTXFSYLY2BNXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924598},"content":"“It’s great, you don’t have to wake up in the morning with a hangover, you can go to the gym,” said Coffey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QLTWHNLRIVBC3NLKETNVEU6BSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924599},"content":"“Everyone here is generally ready to deploy, and there could be a task at a moment’s notice. So it’s very important to ensure that everyone is in the right space and ready to react,” said Comdt Tony Smith, a 28-year-old from Wexford.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FYGLV5OTMJEZ3D4FPJD3GOGOFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924600},"content":"There is a large indoor gym, but people run outside as well – the full loop around the camp is roughly 2.5-3km.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPFCAZAMSJEPNOHRVH3Y4AN4KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924601},"content":"There are other activities too, including guitar lessons, bingo and a poker competition. “It’s very important, along with the important work we have to do here, that people kind of get a mental relief as well,” said Smith.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4DLYREIFNZEXPHCZEOW5C4YL24","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924602},"content":"“The worst thing you could do when you are on your downtime is just sit in your room,” said Sgt Mark Sweeney (38) from Donegal. “We try to make sure … that they’re not lonely, that everyone’s interacting with each other.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QKWS4NCRZBDPJAQVWRDCFTNTLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970094},"content":"Three siblings from Donegal family set for deployment to wartime Lebanon","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"XJ7CLPWJQ5GETLIUG73HXOQYLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924603},"content":"Sweeney’s fiancee is back in Ireland. By May, he said, he’ll be with her and “back to normal,” but being away is “just part of the job. You do have to go overseas, and everyone knows that.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RZSHPCFXRRCDJERRTBMWYYJ6SU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924605},"content":"Smith points out a memorial for Private Seán Rooney, the 24-year-old killed in December 2022 when the armoured UN vehicle he was in came under fire.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWZMUBKVYRFSDPUSH7JEIT5YE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924606},"content":"In total, 48 Irish peacekeepers have been killed in service since 1978, the youngest just 18. This month, 21-year-old Private Billy Kedian, who died in 1999, was <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/03/08/irish-soldier-who-died-protecting-others-in-lebanon-honoured-with-posthumous-medal/\">honoured</a> with the Distinguished Service Medal with Honour, for what Tánaiste Simon Harris called his “courage, bravery and the highest level of selfless devotion to duty”, sacrificing his own safety to help fellow peacekeepers to a bunker during an attack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4A4R5ONYXRASJKMZPHLWXIZYUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924607},"content":"Rockett said he can’t speak in detail about Rooney’s death, due to the ongoing investigation, “but what I will say is it was a tragic loss … There are a number of memorials we have here to him around the camp. And every tour of duty, we reflect back on Seán’s death, and indeed the death of the other 47 Irish peacekeepers.” Once a month, there is a ceremony to remember them all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CPM45DIPBE5BMEDSWBHDYD22Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924609},"content":"Hope for sustainable peace means a hope that no one else need die. In January, <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxzxd32lzvo\" target=\"_blank\">Lebanon elected a new president</a>, army chief Joseph Aoun, ending more than two years of a power vacuum. This prompted widespread celebrations, with many Lebanese people daring to dream that some of the crises afflicting their country may at least be better addressed in the future.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FBJXBBWMQFE35CER6H5RY2AEBY","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"XQUMJ4IDDVA25GOG4N7WQ3MVGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924610},"content":"Yet the truth of the country’s south, and its neighbour’s north, is that there are countless broken dreams and hearts, intractable animosities and deeply held anger. Despite Hizbullah being weakened by the war, it is also not hard to imagine how more young people could be convinced into joining what is known locally as “the resistance” - not least because of what they perceive as a lack of accountability, while both sides still believe there is an ongoing threat. Graffiti in Haris, a village less than 10km away from Camp Shamrock, reads “die young, get killed :)” In Qalaouiyeh, around 21km away, what appeared to be a statue – of two missiles and a Hizbullah flag – had seemingly recently been erected.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WNC7UOBU2VGCZJTA22SWHVHCKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924612},"content":"This is Rockett’s ninth mission overseas; others included Kosovo, Liberia and Western Sahara. His first deployment to southern Lebanon was 30 years ago. In his office, he contemplated what the future could hold for this part of the world and for the UN peacekeeping mission itself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AXURC35REZCQDC5KP2WO7DPRKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924613},"content":"“It’s very hard to put a time frame on it. I think the Middle East is a complex cauldron of activities and people,” he said, thoughtfully. “And I don’t think the solution to the problems here in the Middle East are something that can come overnight. It will take decades. It will take time for people to heal, for the place to heal, and for people to accept each other in the region. And I think that’s a very difficult process … I can see the UN mission continuing for some time yet …”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ULZELARPXRFQZAQPTGNQTVF2G4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741794924614},"content":"“You look at our own history, you know, we had a fractured island not too long ago. And it took both sides and accepting that they’re never going to make progress if they keep fighting each other. And I think it’s the same here, and I think it’s going to take a peaceful approach where both sides acknowledge that they don’t necessarily like each other, but that they have to live in harmony.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GY6QVGREHZHBDHMNB73Z3BKDFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741886970105},"content":"“That sounds easier than it is but that’s the approach that people have to have. And I think they could learn a lot from Irish history and how we approached our own application of peace in Ireland.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sally Hayden"}},"name":"Sally Hayden"}]},"description":{"basic":"Having come under extreme pressure on the front line of the recent war between Israel and Hizbullah, Irish Unifil soldiers far from home are getting on with the job of peacekeeping"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Camp Shamrock, Lebanon: ‘There was a lot of pressure put on us by the Israelis to withdraw from our locations’ ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GOCKU374RRG3LIIJFKNXKCMYIU","auth":{"1":"fbceb51307996220a1ffac18550ccfade3cf6f6be0d5da1b8c5aef0fa213584a"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GOCKU374RRG3LIIJFKNXKCMYIU.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Middle East"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"World"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/camp-shamrock-lebanon-look-at-our-own-history-we-had-a-fractured-island-not-too-long-ago/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"HTJ3LQARMVCOLLWSUGF7UDQW4U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":243,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/527ad664-c8af-442c-b4bd-89e9c2629a8f/versions/1741604891/media/0d1d7fe531c5774fb01d80be7716e65e_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/how-to-go-green-for-st-patricks-day-without-the-environmental-toll/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6BEBL6RRARBDFIA35NSLI4ZFWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741357093730},"content":"St Patrick’s Day used to be a simple affair. Put on your green hand-me-down geansaí or gúna, maybe go to mass, perahps watch Darby O’Gill and the Little People on TV and eat as much chocolate as you can on your day off Lent. Consumerism has since taken hold and ways to mark Lá Fhéile Pádraig are myriad. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BYSYB3QIFFF3GN55L2HNRKETY","additional_properties":{},"content":"How you celebrate this national holiday can generate a lot of waste. If you want to really honour Ireland this St Patrick’s Day, here’s how to go green without the environmental toll. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"53XH6CE5KRDXNL32QCX7BITGQM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wearing of the green ","type":"header"},{"_id":"OSXSYF4NTFDQLH6EDLC3MINPJA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Wear green this St Patrick’s Day and if you have kids, dress them up too, but wear something you already have. Retailers have spent millions convincing us that celebrating Christmas, Halloween and even World Book Day necessitates buying a special costume. St Patrick’s Day has become part of their sales targets too. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2XXM3FI6NAYHARH7HYIYCIL7Q","additional_properties":{},"content":"One Irish-owned fast fashion retailer is flogging everything from a ‘Let’s get the Paddy started’ T-shirt to a five-pack of St Patrick’s Day-themed thong underwear. That sequin shamrock tutu dress for kids? The 100 per cent polyester green tulle skirt can’t be recycled. Your child will wear it once and it will end up in landfill. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"P3EFNRAVVJEVDJ5TRFD7N47KFM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Day, but make it fashion! ","type":"header"},{"_id":"DEHJVAK3BNF3LOEEQOI3CMDOLM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Often depicted with a hat and crozier, St Patrick loved a striking accessory. Chances are his were made from natural materials and designed to last. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BLJLMU2SGNEGPPQKW6TVU6UQWE","additional_properties":{},"content":"Another Irish-owned food and fashion retailer lists no fewer than 70 St Patrick’s Day-related items on its website. You can choose anything from a St Patrick’s Day unicorn veil to a set of plastic press-on nails in “Irish colours and designs”. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"35JTMNARKVDMBFXK5AUOKC2NUA","additional_properties":{},"content":"There’s nothing lucky or charming about highly flammable polyurethane, plastic and metallized yarn “holiday” accessories. St Patrick’s duds didn’t need a fire safety warning, neither should yours. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"LUOJEL4CWJHCPD4E6F2YGNPRNQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Plastic bunting, strings of plastic beads, synthetic feather stoles and glittery cowboy hats, be gone, back to Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"IIDEXXSIQVGUTEHKBHTYVZDW7Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ditch the Irish stew ","type":"header"},{"_id":"42FPN34GTRBTLOJPSKRJBMVJ6Y","additional_properties":{},"content":"Restaurant menu boards this weekend will likely tout Irish stew and bacon. Meat-heavy dishes have a far greater environmental toll than vegetarian fare. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGSOFEI64JEALD577PII5LHEQM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Farming animals for meat requires space and huge amounts of water and feed, says the WWF. Producing meat creates vastly more carbon dioxide than plants such as vegetables and alternative sources of protein like grains or legumes such as lentils and beans. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"W263PFPQCFG2HBVUHFVY44JBYQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Ireland is emerging from winter, but maybe hold off mowing your lawn for now","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AQ47ESFVM5BC3K5FCFGWIW3M2A","additional_properties":{},"content":"You could try greening your plate this St Patrick’s Day by swapping meat for a veggie alternative. Try colcannon - that’s mash with spuds, cabbage and spring onions/scallions - or an Indian spud massaman curry. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXOWC4STIFFLZCLNYVNY34CLVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"Take the train ","type":"header"},{"_id":"H3XGN2KXHZCN5HSAIY3NRYTDEA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Heading to the parade? Show some love for Ireland’s air quality by ditching the car and taking public transport or car pooling. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"63VNB2YN2NHIJJB7RPBWSTJOHI","additional_properties":{},"content":"Leave the snakes alone ","type":"header"},{"_id":"MDF5ANFNNRGZXFV67REVWMK7LU","additional_properties":{},"content":"Patrick banished snakes from Ireland, according to lore. Not cool, Patrick. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/biodiversity/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/biodiversity/\">Biodiversity</a> is crucial to our very existence, so just let the worms, snails, insects and birds be. Cobblelocking your drive or nuking your plot with chemicals to kill moss and weeds means you are effectively banishing wildlife from your garden. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"KFGRA6KNS5ECTCLH76NKYBSV7E","additional_properties":{},"content":"Rewilding: A meaningful response to tackling the biodiversity crisis","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"45TABW3JMBATDGOOLN7WGDRRJA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Weed killer, insecticide and slug pellets kill the food on which animals like hedgehogs and birds rely. Hedgehog numbers are in steep decline. Many are waking from hibernation right now. Females will be getting pregnant soon too. If a hedgehog or robin eats a slug that’s been poisoned, she may die. We’ve coped without snakes, but let’s not lose any more wildlife this St Patrick’s Day.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joanne Hunt"}},"name":"Joanne Hunt"}]},"description":{"basic":"Consumerism has taken hold and celebrations for our national day can generate a lot of waste"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"How to go green for St Patrick’s Day without the environmental toll","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"I6UH6GOLWFNWTATSFT4Y5SV3H4","auth":{"1":"119e4382fc9c5f392fa28964e4771682ec670eb6691a193b343e3a3941f908db"},"focal_point":{"x":1589,"y":1191},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/I6UH6GOLWFNWTATSFT4Y5SV3H4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/how-to-go-green-for-st-patricks-day-without-the-environmental-toll/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"7VD4LZYQCZDNJBRE4YG4JUL6RU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":445,"audio_url":"https://beyondwords-cdn-b7fyckdeejejb6dj.a03.azurefd.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/e0e657ac-683c-45e7-bea2-a13f306af214/versions/1741773672/media/57dfc1d42ef3cf92e3de88582ae43708_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/","content_elements":[{"_id":"2Q3U23KKKZGGPCBA65Y4HDO4TA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269568},"content":"It’s probably time for another <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_self\">national</a> identity crisis. Our international political reputation nowadays is liberal, internationalist, outward facing and secular. That’s what they think of us out there (when they think of us at all beyond <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/paul-mescal/\">Paul Mescal</a>, his brother Mr <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/tayto/\">Tayto</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/data-centres/\">data centres</a>). But the international direction of travel seems to be isolationist, socially conservative, reactionary, protectionist and nationalist.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YRCGHT63HVBWHPN3N6URUVL4PY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269569},"content":"It’s unfortunate timing. To quote that great philosopher <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/david-chase-on-the-sopranos-donald-trump-and-yes-that-ending-1.3751168\">Tony Soprano</a>: “I’m getting the feeling I came in at the end. The best is over.” The Irish have finally taken our place among the nations of the Earth, but we appear to have got the dress code wrong (the dress code is, apparently, Prince Harry circa 2005) and the club seems to be dissolving.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EEKSCNVUYNEIFP4EGKQD4SOFOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269570},"content":"A simplistic narrative is developing around politics: that the far right has won the culture war, the liberal world order is at an end and that politics is all about vibes and internet memes (partly because the people spinning that perspective live on the internet). The speed with which corporations in the US have put their rainbow flags and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes away might lead people to think that the liberal consensus was just about fashion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HP6MDCZ3ONH3FHFU44EQGP3NL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269571},"content":"But I don’t really believe that. And I definitely don’t believe that in the context of Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MLILK7TAHRCXZBC7USLOLQ22SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356510},"content":"In recent times we had a story we told ourselves about progression and modernisation. It started with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/sean-lemass/\">Seán Lemass</a>’s economic reforms in the 1960s and came to a head with the referendums on equal marriage and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/eighth-amendment/\" target=\"_self\">the Eighth Amendment</a>. It wasn’t a particularly contentious narrative. For the most part over the past two decades we leaned into a progressive notion of Ireland – and the main political differences around that were about the speed of change, not the direction in which we were headed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X3RW5AIJXFFYPK4N6W7XZGCBXE","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"PFXDE4VADNCNJBNXJEA2DWHB4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269572},"content":"Our situation is very different from that of most other western countries. We have famine, colonisation, civil war and mass emigration in our relatively recent history. Glorifying the past is at the heart of most right-wing populist projects, but nobody in this country yearns nostalgically for an earlier golden age. Thanks to a cavalcade of imperial domination, clerical repression and economic isolationism, almost everyone in Ireland agrees that the past was, to use a technical term, shit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JX7FZ7LD7ZEZLCUXT3MEPOHSNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269573},"content":"The evidence for that is close to home for most of us. It’s in our family histories: the women locked away in laundries, the poor children sent to industrial schools, the mass emigration, the censorship, the poverty, the shame. The liberalism that emerged from all that was neither a fashion choice nor a product of a Twitter campaign. Just ask the activists who bravely campaigned on these issues before they were popular. Irish progressivism was a fight. The modern, open version of Ireland was being born for decades. It was not adopted on a whim. It was earned.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OXVLBFXXQZFZLAU7M42RSXMGU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356514},"content":"Shaping the Century: 25 brilliant Irish women in 2025","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"W4FJFNAIUFGGHMYAWB7WTWUXNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269574},"content":"And this liberal tendency was and is, unlike imported right-wing populism, indigenous. It makes sense here. Irish people’s migratory internationalism segued neatly into global capitalism not because of the capitalism part but because of the global bit. Irish people had been everywhere. Our lack of a hereditary ruling class made us suspicious of the idea of merit being concentrated near the top, so our system fosters a mild, sometimes frustrating compromise. Our experience of theocratic repression made us suspicious of punishing social norms. Our history of being discriminated against can make us sensitive to discrimination.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F53RXUYO7RE6NAURAAWOZN25RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356516},"content":"The 8th: How Ireland went through a ‘collective national moment of catharsis’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ZLKNM2QQVJEYLD2ALDUZGXMTZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269576},"content":"What we have is not perfect. I would like a more collectivist, egalitarian and socially democratic Ireland. I don’t always like how we’ve uncritically adhered to fashionable macroeconomic theories. Every gang has a little guy, who comes in after the leader has had their say, to add: “Yeah!” or “You tell ’em, boss!” When it comes to global capitalism and the bigger countries and multinational corporations that drive it, that’s largely been Ireland’s role.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2ZNSDQLOABCNLA4Q6OYITB5OOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269582},"content":"I would like us to at least try to carve our own path rather than simply follow unthinkingly in the slipstream of others. Sometimes we are too timidly technocratic. Sometimes big business seems to have a bigger influence on our plans than the people who live here. I would like to see us build our economic policy out from a sense of who we are and what we want as people rather than have it form ambiently as an emergent property of abstract geopolitics.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YDAUD6FSNBABFCR7MOMPDM3Q2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356519},"type":"image"},{"_id":"BELM5SZLOJDUVKBI5LZGQE3WKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269583},"content":"And here’s what I see when I see Irish people at their best: They are hospitable. They are funny and irreverent. They are open minded. They are well informed. They respect learning. They don’t like bullies. They want their daughters to have the same opportunities as their sons. They want to help people fleeing hardship. And they also want the help that those people can offer in return. They want doctors and nurses and home helpers for older people. They want LGBTQ+ people to be treated with respect. They want everyone to have a home and good healthcare. They care about community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IT4AYDI7KJCJND5KZTOEVWR3CE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741793356521},"content":"Joseph O’Connor: ‘I don’t know what modern Ireland is yet. I’m suspicious about the new sacred cows’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"RSXIJ42EFJBHREYYNYTCEJIOHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269584},"content":"This isn’t meant as complacent, self-congratulatory St Patrick’s Day guff. St Patrick was the architect of one of Ireland’s first ever vibe shifts after all; he understood a bit of self-reflection. Yes, we mess up. We can be cynical and parochial. Small concerns can overwhelm big issues on election day. We often plan well, then execute badly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H66LPMHFXJEBDMB4HQNSHSUWGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269585},"content":"But there’s one thing I’m sure of: Ireland’s progressivism was never a corporate or political pose (despite the existence of some corporate and political poseurs). It was not a shallow thing. It had very little to do with PR calculations or social media pile-ons or contemporary trends. It was a deeply felt response to our history. That history taught us something valuable. And I think we need to have the courage of our convictions now that the world is, once again, changing around us.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4JOZ7DYR5BFHNFBPA34LEG3XU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741690269586},"content":"This piece isn’t written for entrenched opportunists who see the changing world as a chance for Ireland to go back to something dark and small and narrow. It’s for everyone else who can remember the lived realities of the past few decades, who remember how we came to be this way. Right now, we’re sitting on the edge of Europe far from an existential military conflict and at the hub of an economic one. Things are about to get difficult. So who do we want to be?","type":"text"},{"_id":"4V3MMAF3NVCDZBBYH5C3N5AJRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741965455334},"content":"<i>Patrick Freyne is an Irish Times journalist.</i>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patrick Freyne"}},"name":"Patrick Freyne"}]},"description":{"basic":"We are hospitable and irreverent, but also cynical and parochial. When things get difficult, who do we want to be?"},"display_date":"2025-03-15T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Patrick Freyne: Here’s what I see when I see Irish people at their best","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"VPLMNR7LRREWVNN3R77AXSOCOM","auth":{"1":"3782f0f0c36ae00151b6b7418ea12436efc51b45fc7896b24592da4781f6dd26"},"focal_point":{"x":1675,"y":1082},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VPLMNR7LRREWVNN3R77AXSOCOM.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2025/03/15/patrick-freyne-heres-what-i-see-when-i-see-irish-people-at-their-best/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"PQF7AX5EOVCPDCLKFTXCB3DCE4","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly/most-schools-fear-hennessy-coghlan-ohara-like-they-would-a-typhoid-outbreak/","content_elements":[{"_id":"2LAYHEV2F5GTTAIYJ2U2JVXGCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783336},"content":"Honor says she’s not worried. She says she couldn’t give two focks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H25U4W4R3RHHDPBFKJPRIVPQKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783337},"content":"But Sorcha’s like, “Well, you’d <i>better</i> give two focks. This is a serious matter. A head girl has never been expelled, Honor – not in the 170-year history of this school.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3XE4RSNEFZHXJC6VORMSAJANIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783338},"content":"Honor turns around to me and goes, “Your wife needs to up her hormone dose.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2X4COQLKLVDLXBSDLWTE3F6EJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783339},"content":"Yeah, no, we’re sitting in the office of Mrs van Helsing, Honor’s English teacher, who caught her using ChatGPT to write an essay for her mocks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WLPWWWRNBRAC7E7GOP4CA6OMK4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783340},"content":"“At the very least,” Sorcha goes, “we’re looking at the possibility of you being impeached – ”","type":"text"},{"_id":"P7BFXBBXPRAX5GXPVH2G2RQJ4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783341},"content":"Honor’s like, “Impeached?” and she laughs in her old dear’s face.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RD5OBUZEPZDFTDZO4BFKIHSDCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783342},"content":"“Yes, impeached,” Sorcha goes, “and being stripped of your position as head girl – again, something that has never happened in the history of this institute of learning.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"K3DCAHGJR5HX7G42SMKQFEL4F4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783343},"content":"Honor’s there, “Like I said, I’m not worried.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZEN7S7WMKFFDLNCVDA2KXQQDQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783344},"content":"I’m like, “If you’re not worried, Honor, then I’m not worried.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"VNY7SALWRFFIXAXNWULHRWW2EQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783345},"content":"Sorcha goes, “Excuse me?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSN5FNSV7ZBCJAYERVEIK34XWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783346},"content":"I’m like, “I’m just saying, maybe she’s thought of a way to weasel out of it. Is that it, Honor? Have you thought of a way to weasel out of it?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3H7A4LW3DNBTJMFPQJKCHVPDVE","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"JB6AY4VXHNAFVGGAATB5DWPG5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783347},"content":"All of a sudden, the door opens and in walks Mrs van Helsing with a face on her as long as The Stations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E7GJXNYDDRA2PGFW7FQ3NZ5WIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783348},"content":"“Good morning,” Sorcha goes – straight away trying to butter her up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ISRA3A5VH5AQVIHL6MXT7VAYZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783349},"content":"Mrs van Helsing is there, “I wish I could agree that it <i>was</i> a good morning. But I would say it’s anything <i>but</i>. When one of our students is found to have cheated in an exam, it shames us all. But when that student is the head girl of the school – ”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HBXWAD7VHRBYBB4RPMNJUHJALU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783350},"content":"“And can I just say,” Sorcha goes, “speaking as a former head girl myself, that that is not how Honor was raised. She wasn’t brought up to believe that the way to get ahead in this world is to lie and to cheat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JJQYK4GPDNEQ7G2SDZMIQCWPCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741795114151},"content":"I’m there to Honor, ‘You’ve never been good at school. I always thought you took after me’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TDC7QAC7JBAJLCSR6QIMOIZ73I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783351},"content":"Steady on, I think. She’s Charles O’Carroll-Kelly’s granddaughter. Where the fock does she think the money’s coming from to put her through this – yeah, no – institute of learning?","type":"text"},{"_id":"ASJMA5AOXBEHFIA7ANJSV4J4D4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783352},"content":"Honor goes, “Can I just say that I want anything this woman says to be struck from the record on the grounds that she’s perimenopausal and emotionally unstable.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JDYGSGSLBRGQZPGDXFE57UOTG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783353},"content":"Mrs van Helsing’s there, “I would temper your tone if I were you, young lady. You’ve been caught red-handed passing off work that wasn’t your own. You are in a whole world of trouble.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IIEWKZSHLVDKNPERQCZL4MKEPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783354},"content":"And that’s when I hear the door behind me open again and suddenly I have the whiff of a Partagas Valle Verde in my nostrils.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UBPDL2SZTRGJ5DNWHDKS4H6WE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783355},"content":"“You can’t smoke that thing in here!” Mrs van Helsing goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DMQMHNHK2VGV7CB4A2ACGZCXZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783356},"content":"And that’s when I know that Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara has walked into the room.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQDQ2HACONCR5H7BSIX5T6PAAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783357},"content":"“Sorry I’m late,” he goes. “What’d I miss?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQDKO6G47RGXRECAFEV5V26H5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783358},"content":"Again, Mrs van Helsing goes, “Either put it out or take it outside.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6KKZYHQ46FG63PQQ5624MI3TVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783359},"content":"But Hennessy’s there, “I won’t be here long enough for it to bother you.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JTC7TPWS5NDGFADXHJV6M6G4NM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783360},"content":"I look at Honor and she’s got a big, shit-eating smile on her face.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SEU2BDD7YJERBK734CZ5OI57JE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783361},"content":"Hennessy goes, “So what’s the charge here?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W7WLLK7M2RAQZNH4KCE3COCA6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783362},"content":"“It’s not a <i>charge</i>,” Mrs van Helsing tries to go, but you can see that she’s rattled. Most schools fear Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara like they would a typhoid outbreak. “Honor was caught passing off AI-generated work as her own.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"OXUYTRFUMNBDDAOW3YHQBNGYEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783363},"content":"Hennessy’s there, “So her guilt has already been determined?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6IBUMRRAX5BRBCQQ5MNBJ3ZTDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783364},"content":"“The evidence is irrefutable.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IM4FJSCHQJAWZK4VSZTNQEIYNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783365},"content":"Not to Hennessy Coghlan-O’Hara – and I’m saying that from experience.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M4QRKZUKLFG6TIF6Z35JVOIS6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783366},"content":"“Have you ever heard of the Constitution of Ireland?” he goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2AQD74FO75EODELX7J7MPVK4ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783367},"content":"Needless to say,<i> I</i> haven’t?","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZPJLKNAR6BAZFOIRTFAN2R4ZBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783368},"content":"“Under its terms,” he goes, “my client is entitled to be heard in her own defence.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BZ24KDN5MJA3DJ2GYGUDFNCONY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783369},"content":"“You focking tell her!” Honor goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5F3FX2IDLJB6RC7DHO5HC4KS2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783370},"content":"Mrs van Helsing is there, “Well, let’s hear what she has to say then.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4QB4AFQ2GJE4DD3PSGB5KMBFIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783371},"content":"Hennessy goes, “Not by someone who has already decided that she’s guilty. Can I ask you to present the evidence that my client cheated?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"643D4MLZDJFF5POOJTCBNTK7SA","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783372},"content":"“Absolutely,” the woman goes, shuffling through her pages. “We, em, ran Honor’s essay through an AI detector – ”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7QZRH3NVFFA75A7NIYNXN57ZVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783373},"content":"“A what?” Hennessy goes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5DTQ3ZIU7RBQDBYVJZLDUOSC64","additional_properties":{"_id":1741795114175},"content":"‘I haven’t come here today to listen to you badmouth my mother – the axe-faced old trout’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CRO6NZXVP5DGTA4IYBQKEKCM5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783374},"content":"“It’s a tool that examines text, searching for specific characteristics, such as a low level of randomness in word choice and sentence length, things that would be consistent with AI-generated work.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6T7UJPZD5VBMVAG73PGZ6YDN2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783375},"content":"“And what did this so-called tool find?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMEGWPSAMRALTIIDIJ5HD5C5ME","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783376},"content":"“It found that Honor’s essay was unoriginal and her voice lacked authenticity.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YVPVLXNSERCZTAK4M3EOGDX4ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783377},"content":"“And this, em, <i>tool</i>,” Hennessy goes, “much as I hate repeating the word, it’s accurate, is it?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EURNMM4NXZDPTDRACRYCQNW2TY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783378},"content":"“It guarantees 95 per cent accuracy.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHNVO3KKFNDL5KIWNUAK74ESRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783379},"content":"“Ninety-five?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2ZVI5WP32JG3RH5P4JWYCP5BS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783380},"content":"“That’s right.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3U4YKVGLUFAV7H6ALVJRIFN6ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783381},"content":"“But not 100?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"K54KEE653FE3BPG4FW6XIC7SCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783382},"content":"“Er, no.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HOAXB3TS4NBEZIKHCMR3O3PADA","subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"HY4POVJ36FA7XEIB7RNV2FMHSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783383},"content":"Hennessy hands me his cigar to hold, then he lays his briefcase down on the desk, opens the catches and takes out two pieces of paper.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5NQS6XMRXZB4FAOE7XOG3TZOKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783384},"content":"“Mrs van Helsing,” he goes, in his courtroom voice, “this is an essay that Honor wrote for you when she was in, I believe, second year, before AI technology was available. Can you read the comment you’ve written next to the F grade you gave her.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QAYHY3TCKNHPVINI6WHW3QFXKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783385},"content":"She takes the piece of paper off the dude. She gives it the old left to right and goes, “Unoriginal.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"67APPMFZ6VGYPBVW2ZJZJCNEP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783386},"content":"Hennessy smiles.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B44J7IDWMBC47PCPEW4RTAMNYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783387},"content":"“Unoriginal,” he goes. “An interesting choice of word.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZLOADCBNPNFQZCPE5U3HFWLJLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783388},"content":"I’m there, “I’m proud of you, Honor.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2YBQFGMZ6BG4HMTTXMURRVAP4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1741599783389},"content":"“And here,” Hennessy goes, “is her end-of-year school report for her first year in the school. 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