Culture Night 2024 featured thousands of events up and down the country. According to some estimates a quarter of the population or 1.7 million people attended free arts and culture events on September 20. Around 30 of those audience members were in the back room of Kinsale’s glorious Tap Tavern. […]
Samhain is the first of four cross-quarter celebrations which occur at exact mid-points between the equinoxes and the solstices, marking the arrival of Winter (Samhain), Spring (Imbolc), Summer (Bealtaine) and Autumn (Lughnasa) respectively. All these traditional festivals have corresponding Christian celebrations. In early November, at the time of Samhain, All […]
In the 1930s, school children across the Irish State were tasked by the Irish Folklore Commission with collecting local lore. With Halloween around the corner, Pauline Murphy treats us to some of the spookier stories submitted by schoolchildren in West Cork. In his story, John Shorten, 13, from Curravarahane […]
The eagerly-anticipated Leap Scarecrow Festival returns this year, running from October 21 to November 3. Renowned for its one-of-a-kind scarecrow competition, this annual event, attracts visitors from far and wide who come to enjoy the weekend of Halloween-themed fun, creativity and community spirit. The scarecrow displays, ranging from hilarious to […]
Despite technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the sophistication of computers, it is a fact that the human brain is generally more accomplished at pattern recognition. A child can easily see an animal-shaped cloud in the sky, but a computer has no chance. If you have DNA tested you will start […]
October is breast cancer awareness month and with statistics stating that one in seven women in Ireland will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, it is a rare person that has not had their life touched by it in some way, either personally or through someone they love […]