HAVVK make anxiety sound beautiful, writes Dean Van Nguyen. "How do you engage a part of the brain that people fear, in a way that engrosses and rather than repulses?"

In Phibsborough, an artist dives into childhood memories, with beeswax and human hair: Richmond Road Studios recently bid farewell to the Phibsborough Shopping Centre with a last exhibition, as they head to a new home.

Amid delays with permit renewals, an immigrant doctor in Ireland can't travel to visit his seriously ill mother. The fix for the backlogged system? “It has to be more people assigned to it,” says Colm Burke, the Fine Gael TD.

A Dublin City Council planner threw cold water on a plea to publish info online about planning enforcement cases. "We comply with the statutory requirements in maintaining a register, and there is no requirement to have it up online," she said at a meeting last week.

The Oireachtas is leaning into Microsoft for its comms, even as other European governments abandon US tech. Switching to the US big tech provider, for phone systems and more, comes at a time of fierce debate about tech sovereignty.

A new plan envisions Dublin City Council helping to fill creche spaces with actual creches. And possibly setting up a council-owned, not-for-profit childcare delivery company.

Dublin City Council's chief executive says his team gave the wrong timeline when they hurried councillors to vote on a Mountjoy Square park redesign. “I do believe in this project, but it is hard to stand over that when we were given unsound advice," said one councillor.

In Donabate, locals complain that their library has shrunk. The town's library moved into Ballisk House earlier this year, but it's falling well short of what people expected, they say.

Pointing to process, council officials say they can't allocate bit of big masterplan lands for Traveller homes. "It's a slap in the face of inclusivity ... in this city, if we can move to develop nearly 5,000 units and we can't even develop one new site of Traveller" housing.

In Stoneybatter, there's an annual tour of local cats – from the gentle giant to the chicken thief. Those joining the "cat crawl" got a map marked with the cats' locations and names across nearly 20 households.

What's put the brakes on plug-in solar in Ireland? There's resistance from companies that stand to lose out, but there are also some real, but solveable, safety issues to get a handle on, say experts.

The make-up of new board to guide city-centre regeneration suggests a focus on business and property development. “Thousands of people live in the city, and it appears they have been overlooked,” says Noel Wardick, CEO of the Dublin City Community Co-op.

Councillors, after back and forth, voted to rezone lands in Finglas and Santry for housing. In both cases, councillors pushed changes to the planned variations that they said were meant to force the construction of not only housing, but other infrastructure there too.

A debut album finds inspiration in an evocative object, the breakfast roll. “It’s an indulgent thing, a fry-up, rammed into a luxury baguette. It felt like such a symbol of contemporary Ireland, and the perfect identity for the project.”

A new scheme to tempt parents to switch to re-usable nappies launches today. Dublin City Council is partnering with Voice Ireland on the project, which aims to help reduce the mountain of disposable nappies that are helping fill the country's bins.

What's put the brakes on plug-in solar in Ireland? There's resistance from companies that stand to lose out, but there are also some real, but solveable, safety issues to get a handle on, say experts.

The make-up of new board to guide city-centre regeneration suggests a focus on business and property development. “Thousands of people live in the city, and it appears they have been overlooked,” says Noel Wardick, CEO of the Dublin City Community Co-op.

Does Irish Water even know how much water data centres are using? Much of the debate around data centres has focused on electricity, but the gap in figures for their water use has started to draw more attention – and breed mistrust.

Even as Ireland gets harsher with people seeking asylum, anti-immigrant groups rail against new asylum law. Academics and politicians say that’s because, for a small cohort, there’s an existential risk in admitting to their audience that the rules have hardened.

Barred by EU sanctions from exporting hi-tech chips to Russia, Ireland is sending them in heaps to Israel. Intel has a plants in both Leixlip and Israel. It's a major employer and taxpayer in Ireland, where its executives meet pretty regularly with senior government figures.

Councillors, after back and forth, voted to rezone lands in Finglas and Santry for housing. In both cases, councillors pushed changes to the planned variations that they said were meant to force the construction of not only housing, but other infrastructure there too.

Dublin City Council's chief executive says his team gave the wrong timeline when they hurried councillors to vote on a Mountjoy Square park redesign. “I do believe in this project, but it is hard to stand over that when we were given unsound advice," said one councillor.

A debut album finds inspiration in an evocative object, the breakfast roll. “It’s an indulgent thing, a fry-up, rammed into a luxury baguette. It felt like such a symbol of contemporary Ireland, and the perfect identity for the project.”

Even as Ireland gets harsher with people seeking asylum, anti-immigrant groups rail against new asylum law. Academics and politicians say that’s because, for a small cohort, there’s an existential risk in admitting to their audience that the rules have hardened.

In Donabate, locals complain that their library has shrunk. The town's library moved into Ballisk House earlier this year, but it's falling well short of what people expected, they say.

In Stoneybatter, there's an annual tour of local cats – from the gentle giant to the chicken thief. Those joining the "cat crawl" got a map marked with the cats' locations and names across nearly 20 households.

Pointing to process, council officials say they can't allocate bit of big masterplan lands for Traveller homes. "It's a slap in the face of inclusivity ... in this city, if we can move to develop nearly 5,000 units and we can't even develop one new site of Traveller" housing.

In Cherry Orchard, a park makeover is moving closer – with a 400 metre running track, 500 trees, and more.

Summer School 2026 is this weekend! Ticket status: -Navigating local govt: sold out -Launching your small publication: 1 left -Mastering FOI: a few left - Local govt in concrete (walking tour): a few left - Who owns that derelict building?: a few left -Tracking councillors' votes: a few left

For two years, North Central has been the only council area without a boxing development officer. It's needed to keep kids busy who aren't interested in the usual team sports, says a councillor.

Kilmore West is still clogged with overflow parking from Beaumont Hospital, but is a solution in sight? The roads are so blocked that a fire trick, headed to an emergency, couldn't get through a few weeks ago, said a councilllor at a recent meeting.

Flashback: it's time for Fingal to take legal action to stop Manna drones flying from Coolmine base, councillor says.The council rejected a planning app for the base, but that hasn't stopped the company, which says it is still flying and "considering the next steps available to us". (10 June 2026)

Gardaí’s budget for PR and communications has boomed. Is that good? It depends on how its used, say academics who study policing – on what kinds of interventions and stories are pushed.

The council is readying to apply for planning for a new pitch at Donore Avenue in the Liberties, councillors at the South Central Area Committee heard this week.

Twelve years in, experimental metal band Earthslayer are ready to take their apocalyptic sound to the live circuit. They're preparing to release their as-yet-untitled sophomore record.

The RTB told a woman who is homeless that it will close her case because she can’t provide an address.

The council should do urgent repairs for its tenants within five days. So why do its logs show urgent jobs taking more than six months?

The revolt continues in Dublin 7 over proposed shift from bags to bins. The change is part of the council's efforts to stop foraging foxes and hungry gulls from from tearing open bags left out for collection, scattering rubbish.

Barred by EU sanctions from exporting hi-tech chips to Russia, Ireland is sending them in heaps to Israel. Intel has a plants in both Leixlip and Israel. It's a major employer and taxpayer in Ireland, where its executives meet pretty regularly with senior government figures.

This week, the Reuters Institute at Oxford published this year's edition of its annual Digital News Report. Among the findings: "social media and video networks are for the first time the single most widely used way of accessing online news (used by 54% of all respondents)". But ... 1/

We just moved our newsbox from George's Arcade down to The Saint in Inchicore, so now you can get your pints, your tacos (from Tacos Lupillo) and your local news all in one spot.

For two years, North Central has been the only council area without a boxing development officer. It's needed to keep kids busy who aren't interested in the usual team sports, says a councillor.

The RTB told a woman who is homeless that it will close her case because she can’t provide an address.

In Cherry Orchard, a park makeover is moving closer – with a 400 metre running track, 500 trees, and more.

Kilmore West is still clogged with overflow parking from Beaumont Hospital, but is a solution in sight? The roads are so blocked that a fire trick, headed to an emergency, couldn't get through a few weeks ago, said a councilllor at a recent meeting.

The council is readying to apply for planning for a new pitch at Donore Avenue in the Liberties, councillors at the South Central Area Committee heard this week.

The council should do urgent repairs for its tenants within five days. So why do its logs show urgent jobs taking more than six months?

The revolt continues in Dublin 7 over proposed shift from bags to bins. The change is part of the council's efforts to stop foraging foxes and hungry gulls from from tearing open bags left out for collection, scattering rubbish.

Twelve years in, experimental metal band Earthslayer are ready to take their apocalyptic sound to the live circuit. They're preparing to release their as-yet-untitled sophomore record.

Gardaí’s budget for PR and communications has boomed. Is that good? It depends on how its used, say academics who study policing – on what kinds of interventions and stories are pushed.