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How words can have many meanings when we speak in Irish English

Figurative language is the term for the many linguistic devices we consciously or subconsciously draw upon in our conversations

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The 'privacy paradox' when it comes to smartwatches & health data

A cat on the lap of its owner

What owning a cat does to your brain (and theirs)

The Brian Boru bridge connecting Killaloe, Co Clare with Ballina, Co Tipperary.

Can the carbon impact of concrete be reduced?

drawing meetings

How drawing is a good way to take notes in a meeting or classroom

Work and careers

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Trapped on the farm: how pension gap keeps older farmers at work

a woman in bed with an alarm clock beside her

These 5 pieces of advice could be making your insomnia worse

AI apps on mobile phone including DeepSeek, Gemini and ChatGPT

A guide to AI models: do you know your ChatGPT from your Grok?

Artificial Intelligence

An image of an Asian hornet on a punnet of grapes

Why Asian hornets remain a significant risk for Irish nature

Livestock were in danger of being cursed or stolen and had to be protected with rituals

A guide to piseogs, Ireland's sinister folk magic spells

Cheerful young woman relaxing on sofa uses laptop in hotel room. City of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, travel Asia concept

Are 'quiet holidays' influencing your workplace?

Work and careers

A man in a waiting room

Putting a CV together? Why honesty may not be the best policy

Work and careers

Oasis fans outside Croke Park in Dublin before Saturday's concert

How Oasis & Taylor Swift fans have more in common than you think

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Why the Tailteann Games are returning this month

Tailteann Games

Waves crash onto the shore in Bantry Bay, on the south-west coast of Ireland on the morning of January 24, 2025, as storm Eowyn brings winds of 100 mph to the UK and Ireland.

Is the Atlantic ocean's "wobble" a warning for Ireland?

More Brainstorm

Work & Careers

'When negativity becomes the norm and the workplace becomes a daily battleground, this could be the push you need to start looking for a way out.' Photo: Getty Images

Are you stuck in the wrong job? 5 signs that it's time to move on

Work and careers

Woman sitting by the window sill against illuminated city skyline at night, using laptop in the living room at home. Lifestyle and technology

Why are so many Americans obsessed with working?

Work and careers

Working from home in pyjamas

How do you deal with a work day that never ends?

Work and careers

'There are many reasons why you should not come to work if you are sick.'

Do I have to work when I'm sick?

'Rustout is mental and emotional decline caused by repetitive, mundane tasks and ongoing professional stagnation.' Photo: Getty Images

Are you experiencing rustout at work?

Work and careers

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How can you improve the decisions made in the workplace?

Work and careers

side view of office booths with empty desks and lamps, one has a computer, no people.

Is 'career catfishing' going on in your workplace?

Work and careers

Your Money

Stacks of euro coins next to a pink piggy bank

All you need to know about pension auto-enrolment in Ireland

Housing estate in south Dublin, Ireland.

What's the price of a home in your area?

Property Price Index

Woman going over her finances

Are you being ripped off by the 'loyalty penalty'?

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Why are Irish homes paying the most for electricity in Europe?

Stock image of a happy senior couple at the beach.

Could more time off when young compensate for later retirement?

Work and careers

Audio

British Army soldiers on patrol in the Bogside in Derry in August 1971. Photo: DARDE/AFP via Getty Images

It's 1970 & Irish army are plotting to invade Northern Ireland

A worker walks past stored wind turbine blades at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast in 2008. Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

What can be done with 11,000 tons of used wind turbine blades?

'When faced with a decision to repair or replace, people often chose to buy new home appliances rather than repair the ones they own'. Photo: Getty Images

How we're tricked into buying new home appliances

A Child of Prague statue in the window of a Co Clare home. Photo: John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

Why is the Child of Prague statue associated with Irish weddings?

Meet Padraig, Paddy and Paudi. Photo: Getty Images

Where have all the Patricks gone?

Richard Morgan competiting at a rowing tournament in Boston in 2018. Photo: Concept2 https://www.concept2.co.uk/

How 92 year old Richard Morgan became a rowing world champion

The colourful tale of the Elephant House on Dublin's O'Connell St

More Audio

Weather

Are your knees better than Carlow Weather at predicting changes in the weather? Photo: Lee Hudson/Alamy

Can your aching joints really predict the weather?

"Weather is fascinating, captivating and dangerous to the unprepared, which is why we forecast it." Photo: Getty Images

How weather forecasts can predict much more than rain

Waves crash onto the shore in Bantry Bay, on the south-west coast of Ireland on the morning of January 24, 2025, as storm Eowyn brings winds of 100 mph to the UK and Ireland.

Why Ireland's mild weather won't protect it from climate change

Cirrocumulus cloud in a blue sky. Photo: Getty Images

Cloudspotting: Here are the 10 main cloud types in the sky

'The naming of storms, streets or buildings is a complicated and risky business precisely because names are not just benign words'

Why naming storms is a risky business

Editor's Choice

Saint Finbarr's Oratory on Barra Lake

What ancient Irish monks can teach us about slowing down

Photos of recent topping-and-filling of subterranean cellars in William Street in Limerick’s Newtown Pery

The story of Limerick city's Georgian cellars and culverts

couple sitting outdoors at sunset

Soulmates: 'the most dangerous concept in dating since apps'

Blood moon over Dalkiey Island of the coast of Dublin.

Look up: A guide to the Irish night sky in autumn

The wild anti-colonial boys: Kneecap's irreverent use of language and symbols help redefine and remodel once feared ideas.

Why Kneecap have become poster boys for Irish anti-colonialism

5 snapshots of life in 1600s Ireland (including a crocodile)