FEW places capture the turbulent history of Ireland quite like Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. Established in 1832, this vast burial ground has become the final resting place of politicians, revolutionaries, writers, soldiers and ordinary Dubliners. Behind its imposing headstones and peaceful avenues lie stories of rebellion, political division, body-snatching and attacks on national monuments.

THE island of Ireland embraces Halloween like nowhere else—it is the Home of Halloween, don’t forget. It all goes back more than 2000 years ago to the ancient Celtic harvest festival of Samhain, which heralded the coming of winter, a time when light turned to darkness and the veil between this world and the next was thinnest!

ON THE afternoon of March 11 1597, Dublin experienced one of the most devastating accidents in the history of the city. A huge quantity of gunpowder—being stored beside the River Liffey—suddenly exploded with enormous force. The blast killed 126 people, destroyed or severely damaged dozens of houses and the shockwave of the blast even damaged the tower and cracked the medieval bells of nearby Christchurch Cathedral.

STANDING proudly on the north side of St Stephen’s Green, the Shelbourne Hotel is one of Dublin’s most famous landmarks. For more than two centuries, its elegant rooms and corridors have witnessed political upheaval, revolution, romance and social change.

"I AM of Ireland… come dance with me in Ireland,” declared Erin’s greatest poet, WB Yeats. It is hard to overestimate the significance of Yeats to the development of modern Ireland. The Sligo poet was the artistic father of the Irish Literary Revival, and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre, which put Irish creativity at the centre stage of the emergent cultural Nationalism in the late 19th century.

A MAJOR exhibition exploring five decades of movement between people from the island of Ireland and Britain—and their enduring connection to both places—is coming to Belfast for the first time this summer.

BELFAST. June 2026. Burnt out homes. Terrified families fleeing in the night. We’ve been here before. A knife attack by Hadi Alodid, a Sudanese asylum seeker in Nationalist North Belfast, triggered anti-immigration riots by Union Jack clad mobs. Loyalist-led pogroms are not new, but their target is. Catholic Irish have been replaced by people of colour.

KEEPING on the theme of 18th century rogues, perched atop Montpelier Hill in the Dublin Mountains, the Hellfire Club is one of Ireland’s most famous historic ruins.

FOR hundreds of years traditional music has been a huge part of Irish culture. With the exception of a period of decline in the 1940s to 1960s driven by the Church exerting control over ‘too much enjoyment’ of the people, it has largely been in a healthy state.

THIS columnist’s weekend centred around a trip to Manchester for the Northern Games youth tournament with hundreds of young footballers to play in competitions across two days hosted by Lancashire GAA.

IN THE Dublin of the late 18th century, a peculiar and troubling phenomenon took hold among a segment of the city’s privileged youth. Known as the ‘Pinking Dindies,’ these young men, drawn largely from wealthy or aristocratic backgrounds, became synonymous with disorder, intimidation, and casual violence.

I WAS selected to be part of team Scotland to represent young people on behalf of our jurisdiction at the inaugural UK-Ireland Youth Forum. The forum acts as means to represent the opinions of young people across UK and Irish politics, to share perspectives and ultimately influence the policy.

AT 37 years old and having just won a second La Liga title in Spain, Robert Lewandowski, the Barcelona and Poland striker, attributes his playing longevity —at least in part—to following what’s known as the ‘reverse diet.’ Basically it means that he consumes his dessert first, before turning to his main course.

THE Men’s National Football League can be seen—from the outside at least—like the weigh-in before a heavyweight title fight. The pugilists get close, look each other square in the eye with maybe some shadow-boxing or actual pushing, before stepping off the stage knowing that the real deal is just around the corner.

LONG before the fictional exploits of Dumas’ Three Musketeers, the fishing village of Rush, County Dublin, produced its own trio of real life adventurers whose story rivals any Hollywood epic. At the centre of it stood Luke Ryan, an Irish privateer and smuggler whose audacious career during the American War of Independence made him one of the most notorious raiders ever to prowl British waters.

AS I watched my daughter, Eva, take part in her last blitz of the season with Glasgow Gaels at Toryglen Regional Football Centre in the shadow of Hampden Park, I allowed myself some time to reflect on what was a year of milestones for us as a family in GAA terms. 2025 marked her first foray into the world of Gaelic Football, initially training with the Gaels under the watchful eye of their highly skilled and dedicated coaches before moving onto playing in blitzes. She loves t

DUBLIN is truly a city of two names, Dubh Linn and Áth Cliath, each reflecting a distinct part of its ancient past. The English name ‘Dublin’ derives from the Gaelic ‘Dubh Linn,’ meaning ‘Black Pool,’ itself adapted from the Viking Dyflin. The name refers to the dark tidal pool where the River Poddle met the River Liffey, a spot that now forms part of the gardens of Dublin Castle.

DUBLIN is home to two medieval cathedrals, namely Christ Church and St Patrick’s. They stand less than one kilometre apart, but in 18th-century Dublin they stood worlds apart. Just beside and underneath Christ Church lay a district with a name as foreboding as its reputation, ‘Hell.’

ON MARCH 12, 1925, the newly formed State police force, An Garda Síochána, launched a large-scale raid on Dublin’s notorious red-light district, the Monto, an operation ordered by Garda Commissioner William Murphy.

“COME all ye young rebels and list while I sing, for love of one’s country is a terrible thing…” who reading this has not heard or indeed sang these words?