Enda Kenny is getting a little more than he bargained for on Twitter this week: a campaign designed to highlight abortion rights in Ireland has women tweeting the Taoiseach some hilariously intimate details about their period. The movement, using the hashtag #repealthe8th, is the brainchild of comedian Grainne Maguire, who kicked it off on November 2 […]

11 years ago

Catholic primary schools will be forced to set aside time to introduce children to faiths and traditions from around the world if recommended changes to the curriculum are adopted.  A new consultation paper launched by The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) suggests that a subject called Education about Religion and Beliefs and Ethics should be […]

11 years ago

While many companies around the world continue to view pregnancy with vague hostility, one Utah company is celebrating mums-to-be on its staff with a $2,000 shopping spree.  Business date start-up Domo came up with the idea last year when an assistant to CEO and founder, Josh James was expecting her first child. James realised how expensive […]

11 years ago

From the cover of Rolling Stone to The New York Times, there’s no escaping Adele right now, but the elusive songstress wasn’t always so utterly cool.  Long before the mum-of-one chased pavements to super stardom with her album 19, followed up with the barn-storming 21 and returned to dangle her upcoming 25 under our noses, […]

11 years ago

One of our favourite bloggers reminded us just how nice it is to laugh until you very nearly wee yourself today.   New York Times columnist Jenny Lawson, aka @TheBloggess kicked off one of the most amusing Twitter wars in ages by sharing this embarrassing moment: One by one, everyday humans just like us started […]

11 years ago

Olivia Mai Typrowicz and her husband Bartek are parents to Anya (6) and Nicholas (4). The Dublin-based couple run The Stork Exchange, a brilliant business that hires all the bulky equipment that a little one might need for the duration of their trip… right from the Airport.  “Convenient, safe, clean, customer-orientated, family-friendly – those are the words that […]

11 years ago

The Pope has called on business leaders to place a stronger focus on maternity leave and supporting women who are starting families.  Speaking to an audience of Christian Union of Italian Business Executives, Pope Francis highlighted that women who reveal their pregnancy to their boss or manager are frequently fired or offered paltry maternity leave to […]

11 years ago

If (like me) you appear to have missed Sober October, it might be worth planning a few dry weekends in November before the Christmas party bus fires up its engine.  New research shows that abstaining completely for just four weeks can result in a long list of very real health benefits. In fact, keeping that […]

11 years ago

A stateless child is now born every ten minutes, the United Nations has warned.  According to the latest UN refugee agency report, the conflict in Syria and the global migrant crisis has intensified the problem. As thousands continue to risk their lives in search of a safe future for themselves and their families, children born […]

11 years ago

Everyone’s a Fruit and Nut case, as the song goes, but real fans of the iconic Dairy Milk chocolate bar will be shocked to hear the recipe is about to be changed for good. Cadbury have announced plans to add (wait for it…) sultanas to the mix to ‘add more variation’. Raisins have traditionally provided […]

11 years ago

The Irish mammy is a fountain of knowledge.  She can tell you how long to boil a ham for and what size pot to use. She has 10 cures for colic, each one more obscure than the last; countless uses for flat 7-Up and the sacred family recipe for enough of those triangular egg salad […]

11 years ago

Women have long been warned to clean up their lifestyle if they’re trying to get pregnant, but one in three men are unaware that drinking, ageing, obesity and STDs can adversely affect their sperm.  According to a new poll of 2,000 men, almost half of respondents didn’t know that excess alcohol consumption could harm their fertility. […]

11 years ago

You can put off the search for a winter coat for another few days; the unseasonably mild weather is set to continue until midweek.  Much of Ireland was bathed in sunshine over the Halloween weekend, with temperatures climbing as high as 16 degrees, compared to November averages of between eight to 14 degrees. All good […]

11 years ago

Model Chrissy Tiegan went through a tricky time when she and her superstar hubbie John Legend first started trying for a baby. Now however, with their first long-awaited bundle of joy on the way, Chrissy is doing what every pregnant woman is entitled to do: kicking back, relaxing her diet and indulging some of those […]

11 years ago

I’ve always been of the belief that if they didn’t want us to eat pizza in our yoga pants then they wouldn’t have made them so damn comfortable. Mine even have a tiny pocket for holding the garlic dip on the long walk from the kitchen to the couch.  Other, more pedantic, folk however seem […]

11 years ago

Yearning for a romantic city break or a winter weekend away with the girls? If so, now is the time to book those tickets: Ryanair has just launched its winter sale, with flights available for just €9.99 one way. Reduced airfares for travel in November, December, January and February are available to book now on […]

11 years ago

A court has heard how a ten-year-old boy managed to save his sister from the clutches of an abductor in Cullohill, Co Laois in March.  The horrifying ordeal began when the girl, 11, and her twin younger brothers were playing in a rural area. Explaining the events to Portlaoise Circuit Court, Garda Anne Marie Deegan said one of […]

11 years ago

Good news for chocolate fans: Cadbury is bringing back one of two long discontinued retro favourites.  The catch? You have to help them decide which one gets resurrected and which is abandoned forever to confectionery lore. The two bars up for public vote are the Marble, a smooth bar of decadent praline (this one was […]

11 years ago

Oh, David. Just when we think you couldn’t get any cuter, you go and pull another sweet dad move and we’re besotted again. When he’s not dad-joking with the boys or mortifying his teenager, Mr Beckham can always be found chilling with his pride and joy: his daughter Harper. Now the world’s hottest father-of-four has allowed […]

11 years ago

China’s controversial one child policy is about to be scrapped, but it’s not all good news for families. The ruling Communist Party plans to loosen up the restrictions… to allow for a maximum of two children per couple. China will “fully implement a policy of allowing each couple to have two children as an active […]

11 years ago

The witching hour is almost upon us, and with mid-term break in full swing, everyone’s had a little extra time to plan those costumes this year.  There’s still three days to go, so with a little inspiration you can still get crafty and make this year’s characters the most ghoulish yet. With that in mind, […]

11 years ago

Here’s a secret: You don’t have to be the neighbourhood Nigella to wow visitors with your own homemade treats. In fact, you don’t even need to own an oven to convince everybody of your culinary prowess. Yep; the unbridled adulation of your friends and family can be yours in no time in return for a […]

11 years ago

The majority of women who contacted the organisers of the ‘abortion pill bus’ were pregnant mothers who couldn’t afford more children, say organisers.  The bus, which travelled around Ireland for the last two days offering information on how to buy abortion pills, as well as online consultations with Women on Web founder Dr Rebecca Gomperts, is […]

11 years ago

Children living in polluted cities will live with the health effects of early lung damage for the rest of their lives, according to a new study.  A UK study of 400 London-based children aged between eight and nine revealed those living in areas with high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), emitted from diesel cars, have up […]

11 years ago

Tired of lugging a buggy everywhere, folding and unfolding every few hours just to get in and out of the car? Well we’re happy to report there are a bunch of engineers working on that problem. In fact, they’ve just come up with a solution: the latest baby stroller on the market weighs just 9lbs […]

11 years ago

If ever there was a perfect time to embrace Americana, in all its Instagram-able, folksy glory, it’s Halloween. The weather is mild and sunny, the afternoons are bathed in golden sunlight and the kids are off school for mid-term – it’s the perfect opportunity to seize the day, go out and make some memories. A […]

11 years ago

A little boy’s homemade dinosaur videos have made him a viral sensation, after hundreds of thousands of nostalgic grown-ups subscribed to his Youtube channel.  The boy’s efforts at creating epic amateur clips, filmed on his dinosaur diorama table, were highlighted on Reddit by user Jouletheif. Having noticed he only had 22 subscribers, Redditors the world over […]

11 years ago

Those first tentative words uttered by your very own genius offspring are magical indeed. Capturing them on camera to coo over for years to come is imperative… but, as this dad found out, they don’t always make for the wholesome magic moment you were hoping for. This talkative baby is attempting to say ‘sock’. Predictably, […]

11 years ago

How to be the guest that keeps on giving

11 years ago

Ah weddings. In Ireland we attend approximately 27.5 of them per calendar year, spending 75 per cent of our disposable income on gifts, outfits and booze in the process.  No matter how many Big Days you attend however, until you decide to get hitched yourself you will never know the strange flights of fancy and […]

11 years ago

The summer’s rumoured Prosecco drought put the fear of god into fizz fans everywhere, but leading supermarkets have come up with a tasty alternative should the bubbles run out over Christmas.  Not to be outdone by fancy rivals Marks & Spencer, who conjured up a Winterberries and Prosecco snack complete with edible sparkles during the […]

11 years ago

As life rumbles on and experience teaches us this and that along the way, it’s easy to forget that children, for all their excited babble, really know very little when it comes to the ways of the world. Sometimes it takes thirty years to figure out something that could have been very useful in primary […]

11 years ago

Anyone with kids knows that daily embarrassments are par for the course. As a parent, you need a thick skin, selective hearing and a getaway plan to survive the pure mortification of the many situations you will no doubt find yourself in, thanks to your spirited offspring.  That said, we feel for this poor father, […]

11 years ago

The 1970s are back, baby, and the first thing in the wardrobe that’s due a major overhaul? Your long-neglected bottom half, that’s what.  Happily, flares are the key to the look, so it’s time to say goodbye to the staple skinnies-in-every-colour for the time being. We know it won’t be easy. It’s been 15 years […]

11 years ago

There’s something about autumn afternoons that makes a comfort food brunch or lunch even more appealing than usual.  Right now we’re on a constant hunt for recipes that are made for whipping up in a cosy kitchen, wearing woolly socks and your husband’s ancient hoodie, and devoured with a big pot of tea. Key to […]

11 years ago

Whether you’re blending broccoli into a pasta sauce or cramming fruit smoothies full of kale, making sure kids get the recommended amounts of green vegetables is a full time job.  In the dash to dress up and disguise the good stuff however, you might be missing one important fact: kids like stuff that seems wild […]

11 years ago

If your kids are just about to graduate from velcro to shoelaces, be aware your teaching methods might be a little outmoded. It seems there’s another way to tie those laces… and it’s significantly faster than what you’re used to. In fact, it could shave hours off your life when all those seconds are added […]

11 years ago

Families who rely on public transport have been plunged into chaos this morning, as the train drivers’ strike gets underway. Commuters have been forced to put that Friday feeling on hold as they get to grips with long delays – all services that were due to depart between 6am and 9am have been cancelled, with […]

11 years ago

A leading health expert has called on schools to take children on a one mile walk or run during the school day in an effort to tackle the obesity crisis.  Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) in the UK, believes the 15 minute exercise period would be a cheap […]

11 years ago

UPDATED 16:46: A teacher and a pupil have died and two other victims remain in critical condition after a terrifying attack on a school in Sweden. A masked man armed with a sword is said to have entered the Kronan school in Trollhättan, west Sweden this morning, causing chaos as horrified students ran screaming from the […]

11 years ago

Aer Lingus will launch its first flight between Dublin and Hartford Connecticut next September, offering holidaymakers a straightforward route to the tourist mecca that is New England. Home of the first ever Dunkin’ Donuts, and boasting an impressive 20 per cent of the United States’ historical landmarks, New England comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode […]

11 years ago

Landlords may soon need to come up with evidence to support any increase in rent, according to new plans being considered by the Government. As part of measures designed to help regulate the rising cost of private rented accommodation and ease the housing crisis, a landlord would be required to show his or her tenant figures […]

11 years ago

Aer Lingus is relaunching three transatlantic services, starting with five weekly flights from Dublin to Los Angeles in May next year.  The airline, bought by British Airways owner IAG during the summer, is also reintroducing its New Jersey (Dublin-Newark) route, which was cancelled in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. A third route, Dublin to Hartford, Connecticut, […]

11 years ago

Taking just one yoga class a week could dramatically boost your chances of getting pregnant, particularly if you’re undergoing IVF. Those mountain poses and downward dogs aren’t just incredibly effective at toning your limbs and easing away muscle tension, they also lower anxiety levels – something doctors now believe is key in improving fertility. Previous […]

11 years ago

The term ‘pay rise’ may have been reduced to dirty word status over the last seven years, but the good news is it’s making a triumphant return to popularity, with the majority of Irish companies planning on offering raises next year. According to the latest survey by employers group IBEC, seven out of ten companies […]

11 years ago

The number of teenage pregnancies has dropped by almost 50 per cent in the last five years. According to the latest figures, released within the annual Central Statistics Office ‘Yearbook‘, only 23 babies were born to mothers aged 15 and under in 2014, with a total of 1,250 babies born to teenage mothers. While would-be parents […]

11 years ago

Have you ever spent so much time with a toddler you actually forgot how to converse with an adult? Have you ever accidentally scolded your partner like you’d scold a naughty child? Hey, it happens. Now the moms of The BreakWomb comedy collective have joined forces to imagine what it would be like if we […]

11 years ago

A Dublin dad who promised to take part in the Dublin Marathon if his son’s missing monkey was recovered is staying true to his word… despite suffering a painful back injury. Desperate dad Sebastian Hamilton originally took to the Internet in May after he managed to lose four-year-old Matthew’s backpack containing some toys and his beloved stuffed […]

11 years ago

New Girl star, singer-songwriter and all round girl crush Zooey Deschanel has finally revealed the name of her three-month-old daughter. The star, 35, told People that her first child with husband Jacob Pechenik is named… Elsie Otter. Answering the first question on everybody’s lips, Deschanel confirmed: ‘Otter, like the animal,’ Hubbie Jacob helpfully added: ‘Sea otter.’ So […]

11 years ago

Nothing brightens up a dull autumn morning like the promise of sweet, sweet confectionery, so Dublin’s newest donut dealers picked the ideal day to unleash their sugary, warm offering on hungry commuters this morning. Aungier Danger, 37 Aungier Street is a new deli with a major selling point: an insane array of decadent donuts made […]

11 years ago