Irish Independent Life

13/01/2026

Having been given a major refurbishment, this spot on Drury Street has really stepped up its game, writes our critic

While it was great to see the old Central Hotel on Exchequer Street relaunch recently as The Hoxton, it’s not the only hotel in the area to have had a bucket of money thrown at her in order to cater for what is now being called the Creative Quarter, once the centre for the wholesale fashion indust...

13/01/2026

Tom Bermingham was a keen gardener, and exposure to dust from gardening and home renovations saw him ultimately diagnosed with a little known chronic fungal disease

In 2021, Wexford local Tom Bermingham intended to save the seeds of his decaying sunflowers for replanting next season.

13/01/2026

Everyone’s talking about: Collagen banking – what is it and will it give me youthful, glowing skin? https://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/everyones-talking-about-collagen-banking-what-is-it-and-will-it-give-me-youthful-glowing-skin/a1013770741.html

12/01/2026

‘We want to treat eating fibre like going to the gym. However, I wouldn’t recommend benching 60kg on your first trip – your body will be screaming’ https://www.independent.ie/life/food-drink/recipes/healthy-eating-we-want-to-treat-eating-fibre-like-going-to-the-gym-however-i-wouldnt-recommend-benching-60kg-on-your-first-trip-your-body-will-be-screaming/a1806623637.html

12/01/2026

Making life-shaping decisions at 17 or 18 is challenging for anyone – it is no surprise young people need support, guidance and emotional steadiness

As another school term gets into full swing, the topic of conversation in 6th Year classrooms and across many households is career and college decision-making. With the first round of CAO applications due to close within weeks, many young people are beginning to fret. It’s an anxious time, but it ...

12/01/2026

'I have tried everything – I have their clothes laid out, their breakfast on the table, their bags packed and their lunches made. I have the type of job that has no flexibility and we depend entirely on my income. What advice can you give?'

Question: I am at the end of my tether with my three children. They are eight, 11 and 13 and every morning it is a giant battle to get them up out of bed and ready for school. I have tried everything – I have their clothes laid out, their breakfast on the table, their bags packed and their lunches...

11/01/2026

Sandra Walsh was a stalwart of the Dublin fashion scene for many years, then in 2012 returned to her first career as a nurse. However,she’s now combining both passions thanks to a lovely interior feature of her stunning new home in county Louth

When people downsize, they usually stay in the same area as they had previously been living but in a bid to make life easier, they move to a smaller house. Sandra Walsh and her husband Barry did things differently – they not only moved to quite a large house, they even moved to a different county....

11/01/2026

Eight years on from the health scare that changed his life, the columnist, broadcaster and finance consultant is starting a new chapter – beginning with his latest book, How to Achieve Financial Freedom

Eoin McGee arrives and spots my copy of his new book immediately. It’s the first time he has seen it. “Can I have a look?” the Irish Independent personal finance columnist and host of RTÉ’s How to be Good with Money says, excitedly thumbing through my copy of How to Achieve Financial Freedo...

10/01/2026

In a sea of two-hander podcasts, their ‘I’m Grand Mam’ has managed to stand out from the crowd. Here, the pair talk about the instant connection when they met, how they landed Paul Mescal as a guest and why Kirby’s move back to Dublin almost derailed their friendship and working relationship

Since they birthed their podcast I’m Grand Mam on a boozy Budapest flight nearly seven years ago, Kevin Twomey and PJ Kirby have enjoyed several pinch-me career moments.

09/01/2026

'Full praise to the National Economic and Social Council whose report into our economic future – including declining birth rates – was launched at a point in the year when many parents are looking at their bank accounts and thinking, either I am the victim of a large-scale invoice fraud or I should probably have had fewer kids'

?If I was going to make the suggestion that people should have more kids, I’d aim for a point in the calendar when families are feeling upbeat and positive, like coming to the end of the school year before the endless promise of the summer hols, or coming to the end of the summer hols when you fin...

09/01/2026

In a year-long project, photographer Ruth Medjber is asking 365 ordinary people to share their extraordinary tales

I meet Pat Barrett in the Gravediggers pub in Dublin on what was supposed to be a quiet afternoon, but I don’t think that pub ever has a quiet spell. I’ve known Pat for over 22 years. We first met while working in a record store on Henry Street. We sit in the snug, get a round in and chat like i...

09/01/2026

'I made some jokes, describing myself as middle-aged when we all started working together... I know I started it, but it’s beginning to feel mean-spirited'

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