Irishblogs.ie
Observing the Irish blogosphere since 2005
Observing the Irish blogosphere since 2005
One tweet.
Not a document, not a law, not a sanction — just a phrase, released into the digital sky where millions of algorithms catch every comma.
And yet that’s enough for markets to tremble, for an electric pulse of fear to run through the veins of the global economy.
The irony is that the 21st-century economy has become a living organism that reacts not to facts, but to tone.
Not to events, but to the mood of the one who speaks.
It takes only one person — standing at a podium of power or posting on X — to say, “We’re reconsidering trade with China,”
and billions of digital nerve endings across the planet begin to twitch.
Every trader in London, every investor in Warsaw, every neural network on Wall Street hears that phrase as a command.
And in that instant, as if from the pulpit, the god of modern markets declares:
“Let there be panic.”
And panic comes — not because the world has fallen,
but because it believed it could.
In the shadow of the MacGillycuddy Reeks, a rare stretch of Irish countryside has come onto the market — 266 acres of scenic farmland at Derrynafeana, Glencar, Co Kerry.
Here, where the ancient paths of shepherds have become part of the famed Kerry Way hiking trail, every bend of the road opens to views of Lough Acoose and the rugged, weather-carved hills of southwest Ireland.
The guide price is €550,000, making it one of the most talked-about rural listings this autumn. The sale is being handled by Tom Spillane & Co., a long-established auctioneer based in Killarney.
Community Connect receives boost from the Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards
Families across Ireland will benefit from a major act of generosity, as Community Connect, the country’s first Baby Bank charity, has been awarded €5,000 in the latest Movement for Good Awards draw, supported by Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland.
The charity, with hubs in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, and Athlone, is dedicated to helping expectant mothers and new parents by providing practical support and essential baby supplies. From nappies and clothing to prams, blankets and hygiene products, Community Connect ensures that no child is left without the basics needed for a safe and healthy start in life.
National Heritage Week 2025 is here — and it’s more than a festival, it’s a reminder of who we are.
When you walk past a ruined abbey in the mist, hear fiddle music spilling from a pub, or see schoolkids trying a céilí for the first time, you don’t need statistics to know that Irish heritage runs deep. But numbers can still surprise: a new survey by Ecclesiastical Ireland has found that 88% of people across the country feel a strong personal connection to our heritage.
That’s not nostalgia — that’s identity.
The conflict in Gaza, now nearing its second year, may be entering a decisive phase. US President Donald Trump has delivered his starkest message yet, warning Hamas that it has until Sunday evening, 6 p.m. Washington D.C. time (11 p.m. Irish time) to accept his peace proposal or face what he described as “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before.”
Ireland is bracing itself as Storm Amy sweeps across the country, bringing dangerous winds, heavy rainfall and widespread disruption. Met Éireann has placed a Status Red wind warning for Donegal from 4pm to 6pm, while an Orange warning covers Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo until 10pm. A nationwide Yellow warning for wind is also in force until midnight, with Galway and Kerry additionally under a Yellow rain warning. A Red marine alert is active from 2pm to 8pm, forecasting “violent” storm force 11 winds along the Atlantic coast. The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management has warned of a significant flooding threat in Kerry’s mountains, west Cork, west Limerick, as well as Donegal, Galway, Leitrim and Roscommon. Keith Leonard, director of the NDFEM, urged people to stay cautious, pointing out that even after the storm passes roads may remain flooded and trees could be down.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail toward Gaza in 2025, carrying not only boxes of food and medicine but also the heavy burden of the world’s conscience. This mission, envisioned as a lifeline for the besieged enclave, has triggered diplomatic storms, military threats, and deep emotions across the globe.
For the 2.3 million people trapped inside Gaza, this convoy is more than ships on the horizon. It is a symbol of hope breaking through the endless cycle of blockade, bombardments, and deprivation.
Ireland is a country where food and hospitality are not just services, but stories. Behind every plate of seafood chowder, every slice of brown soda bread, every pint of Guinness poured in a creaking pub lies history, pride, and a sense of welcome.
On 30 September 2025, Dublin’s InterContinental Hotel hosted the Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards, Ireland’s longest-running independent hospitality awards. Winners are chosen after year-round anonymous visits, making them not just polished showpieces, but places that deliver genuine excellence every day.
For tourists, these awards are the perfect map of where to eat and stay in Ireland in 2025. For locals, they shine a light on gems worth celebrating — from five-star castles to neighbourhood cafés, from fine dining experiments in Dublin to farmhouses in Connemara.
Here is your full guide to Ireland’s best restaurants, hotels, pubs, and producers for 2025 — and why you should visit them.
US President Donald Trump has said that America’s major cities could be used as “training grounds” for the military, describing unrest at home as the nation’s “enemy from within.”
Speaking at a tightly guarded gathering of hundreds of senior officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Trump argued that deploying troops in cities would help restore order and “straighten out unsafe places.”
Wexford Festival Opera 2025 runs from 17 October to 1 November and once again Ireland’s south-east will become a stage for rare operatic treasures. For audiences unable to travel, RTÉ will broadcast the main productions live on RTÉ lyric fm and stream them on RTÉ Culture. This combination ensures that the magic of Wexford reaches both local listeners and opera fans across Europe.
Ireland has launched a new public consultation on its Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy 2026–2028, inviting citizens, businesses, and organisations to contribute ideas on how the country can accelerate its transition from a “take–make–waste” model towards a sustainable circular economy.
President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have confronted America’s top generals and admirals, attacking diversity measures and ordering stricter fitness standards during a surprise summit in Virginia.
Childcare in Ireland has long been a topic of debate — not only for parents struggling with rising costs, but also for policymakers trying to balance public funding and private provision. From Dublin to Galway, Cork to smaller towns, families face very different realities depending on where they live and which type of service they choose.
The trial now unfolding in Belfast is already being described as the courtroom drama of the decade. It’s a story where billions, politics, and personal ambition collide. At its heart are two men once considered pillars of Northern Ireland’s professional and business elite: Frank Cushnahan, 83, a trusted adviser with deep political connections, and Ian Coulter, 54, a solicitor whose career had long been seen as unshakable. Both now stand accused of orchestrating dishonesty in one of the most controversial deals in Ireland’s financial history — the £1.1 billion (€1.26 billion) sale of Nama’s Northern Ireland loan book, known as Project Eagle.
A New Start for Gucci
September 2025 marked an unexpected turning point for Gucci. While the fashion world was waiting for Demna Gvasalia’s debut only in March, the brand suddenly dropped a 28-look collection and the short film The Tiger. This surprise instantly turned the launch into a cultural event: everyone was talking about Gucci again — from fashion insiders to the wider public.
For Gucci, it was a matter of survival. After the departure of Alessandro Michele, the house was searching for a new language. Demna, known for blending shock, irony, and social commentary, offered a solution: pulling Gucci out of crisis through radical reinvention.
Nearly half of US companies in Europe expect worsening relations, but Ireland sits at the very heart of the debate
Michaelmas in Ireland: how the traditions of St Michael faded and why they still matter to us today
September 29 has long been marked in Ireland as the Feast of St Michael and All Angels — Michaelmas. Today it may seem like just another autumn day, but for centuries it was one of the most important markers in the Irish calendar: a time of payments, contracts, fairs, food and folklore.
Three adults killed in Tallanstown as Gardaí arrest man in his 30s — questions raised about family pressures and mental health support in Ireland
Ireland has been rocked by another family tragedy, this time in the rural community of Tallanstown, Co Louth. Gardaí confirmed that two men and a woman, all members of the same family, were found dead in a house on Monday morning. A man in his thirties has been arrested at the scene.
A deep sense of shock hangs over Finglas this week after the deaths of a father and his five-year-old daughter, discovered on Saturday evening in their family home at Heathfield Terrace. Gardaí have confirmed they are treating the case as a murder-suicide.
Ní hamháin gur féile é Oíche Shamhna i gCorcaigh. Bíonn an chathair ag ullmhú le seachtainí: páistí ag déanamh mascanna páipéir, ealaíontóirí ag péinteáil cinn ollmhóra, agus comharsana ag fiafraí: “An mbeidh an Dragon of Shandon níos mó i mbliana?”
Nuair a thagann oíche an 31 Deireadh Fómhair, cloisfidh tú drumaí i bhfad uait. Bailíonn slua mór: mic léinn i gcóistí, teaghlaigh le páistí, daoine scothaosta le soilse beaga i lámha. Ansin tagann sé: an Dragan Shandon, ollphéist solais agus páipéir, cruthaithe ag lámha áitiúla.
Tá boladh toit agus cnónna rósta san aer, braon báistí ar na sráideanna — fíor-atmaisféar Oíche Shamhna i gCorcaigh. Ní paráid amháin é, ach féiniúlacht chathrach.
The Irish presidential election will take place on 24 October 2025. While the role of president carries limited executive power, the office has enormous symbolic weight. The president is the voice and face of Ireland, at home and abroad, and the choice reflects how the nation sees itself.
Toghchán Uachtaránachta 2025 in Éirinn ar 24 Deireadh Fómhair. Faigh amach faoi na hiarrthóirí — Heather Humphreys, Jim Gavin agus Catherine Connolly — agus na ceisteanna móra: an Ghaeilge, géarchéim tithíochta, athrú aeráide agus cothromas sóisialta.
Ar feadh na nglúnta, bhí rithim ar leith ag Aoine san oíche in Éirinn. Bhí deireadh na seachtaine tagtha, caitheadh na cótaí orainn, agus shiúlamar isteach sa teach tábhairne le haghaidh pionta agus gáire. Ní raibh sé i gcónaí faoi na deochanna féin — ba é an scíth, an comhrá agus an ceangal sóisialta a bhí tábhachtach. Tá an nós sin fós beo, ach le blianta beaga anuas tá deasghnáth eile ag dul i dtaithí orainn: an tráthnóna Netflix.
Ag an gcéad amharc, is rud simplí é. Casann tú an teilifís, scrollaíonn tú beagán, roghnaíonn tú seó. Ach tá sé i bhfad níos mó ná siamsaíocht amháin anois. Tá sé tar éis éirí mar chomhartha cultúrtha, mar bhealach chun ár gcuid ama saor a chur i bhfráma, agus mar theanga nua chomónta againn i saol atá gnóthach agus torannach.
Ireland has introduced a striking new weapon in the fight against gambling harm: a voluntary card-blocking tool that allows customers to disable all gambling payments from their debit cards. Under the scheme, “customers will be able to instantly disable gambling payments with a simple ‘switch’ function,” a move launched by the Irish Banking Culture Board in concert with AIB, Bank of Ireland, and PTSB.