As an Irish Jew my Star of David is no longer a badge of pride but a mark of shame
I’m aware that by writing these words, I’ll alienate members of my family, friends and wider community
Weekend
Stories that appear in the Weekend section of The Irish Times print edition
The environmental cost of that debs dress
Some schools are taking a stand against the cost and the waste of the debs treadmill
My son is clearing out his childhood things – but these items he knew I’d want to keep
I saved my favourite wax crayon colours for special occasions that never came. Now they bring me back to my own childhood
Jerry Fish: ‘I’m a London-born Dub but I discovered most of my DNA is from exactly where I now live’
The musician talks about the last wolf in Ireland, long-term grief and his happiness at being a father
Why bobs, perms and beehive hairstyles reveal the stories of women’s lives
The hairstyles of the last century reflected the changing place of women in Irish society, writes historian Katie Blackwood
Brian Rowan: the ‘long and difficult journey’ to decommissioning in the North
Twenty years after the IRA declared its war was over, previously unseen documents from Brian Rowan’s personal archive tell the story of the hard road to peace
Counting the cost of food waste: ‘People don’t have enough to eat not due to lack of production, but lack of access’
Campaigners believe the Government can do more to increase surplus food donations
Middle-aged, middle-class cocaine use: ‘Even if he stopped today, I don’t know would we ever get him back’
Once seen as a young person’s drug, cocaine has become much more prevalent among older age groups and across all strata of society, at weddings, in pubs and at work events
Des Geraghty: ‘The real problem in fascism is the people who are insecure’
Having produced a new film on his hero James Connolly, the former trade union leader reflects on his activism and idealism
An answer to Ireland’s housing crisis is right behind us
Yimbyism: in North America, families taking the housing crisis into their own hands and building in their gardens, so why not here?
Whales in Irish waters face a new threat
The sprat needed to feed whales are at risk of extinction because of overfishing
Red kites have thrived since reintroduction, but motorists remain a threat to their safety
Éanna Ní Lamhna outlines the plight of a majestic bird and clears up confusion around the ichneumon
Working from home ‘trending upwards’ despite moves to bring workers back to the office
Ciara O’Brien on a new survey on Ireland’s use of technology that also reveals scepticism about AI
Why did the EU sign a tariff deal overwhelmingly favourable to the US?
The EU made many concessions in negotiations and got little in return
Drugs like Ozempic aren’t changing negative narratives around diet and weight
Getting thin to succeed in a fat-phobic society is still an understandable individual solution to a structural problem
How to save water: The average Irish person uses 133 litres a day
Water isn’t an unlimited resource, and getting clean, safe water to our taps has its costs
Eating disorders: What are they and how do they affect patients?
Reason why people develop such disorders is unknown but low self-esteem and trauma are among them
Naomi Moore: ‘I’d love to go back to having no fear of anything’
The chief executive of Windmill Lane Recording Studios talks about summer childhood, family values, and being born ‘under a lucky star’
So many jobs are a laughable waste of time. The greater part of any job is learning to look busy
We’ve inherited a strange cultural hangover from better times: the idea that the thing you do to survive should also double as your identity and source of pride
Tracing the real people in Brian Friel’s ‘first great Irish play’
'Stock characters' in Philadelphia, Here I Come! were not only familiar Irish small-town figures, but inspired by real people
A lesson from The Godfather as Wall Street backs crypto assets it once dismissed as a ‘fraud’
Bitcoin is backed by nothing except hype but early adopters made vast wealth. Now they want to protect their own interests
Bob Geldof: ‘I never read about myself. I can’t stand the stupid f**king things I say’
The singer and campaigner on how music is no longer a pillar of social protest and why it’s no surprise Live Aid sprang from the Irish community
Pine martens: One of Ireland’s rarest wildlife species in recovery
Shrinking woodland, persecution and poison at the start of the 20th century led to its near extinction
How Substack is upending media: ‘It is seriously challenging the old-guard message that people won’t pay for writing’
Big-name writers Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Paul Krugman and Tina Brown have flocked to the platform
The tiny ‘eggs’ in this field bird’s nest fungus are spore-bearing structures
Eanna Ní Lamhna on whether a particular ladybird is good or bad, a blackbird with a white head and a rare violet sea snail
How eating disorders are changing: ‘I’m not the stereotype. I’m a man, I’m plus-sized’
People with complex eating disorders face challenges in their illness, in accessing treatment in Ireland and on the road to recovery
In pictures: Breaking barriers through art
Connecting Artists exhibition showcases artists from neurodivergent community or with intellectual disabilities
The recycling scheme hitting the right note: how hundreds of instruments are being rehomed
About 370 instruments have been put back into tune under a council initiative
Going to the Gaeltacht as an adult: All of the giddiness of a teenage trip with none of the awkwardness
The schedule is split between classes, social events, cultural evenings and getting to know the area
Ireland’s ‘film censor’ Ciarán Kissane: ‘My mother told me I watched too much TV and now I watch movies for a living’
Director of Irish Film Classification Office on the magic of scuba diving, being a glass-half-full person, and his grandfather’s sudden death
How Leonard Cohen fans are putting pressure on the Greek island of Hydra
In recent years, there have been signs of attempts to cash in on the Cohen connection that have dismayed some locals and visiting fans
I saw ‘selfies’ with puffins being taken on the Saltee islands. People should keep their distance
For nature to flourish humans need to engage with wild creatures. But if that engagement involves disturbance, damage may be done
New Laureate for fiction Éilís Ní Dhuibhne: ‘I was part of a movement of women writers of Ireland’
The new Laureate for Irish Fiction on language, grief and how reading a book as Gaeilge isn’t as hard as you think
Let’s inconvenience some oligarchs before we come for exhausted mothers
What’s sustainable for the planet is unsustainable for individuals trying to survive capitalism, or so it feels
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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