Here's why you should join a cycling club in Ireland this summer

Thomas Heeny shares the long list of benefits that come from joining your local cycling club. If you are feeling inspired by Irish cyclist Ben Healy's Tour de France stage win, now is the perfect time to join a social cycling group. Similar to running …

We visited one of Ireland’s finest golf resorts and left the clubs at home

After a two night stay in the stunning surrounds of the Killeen Castle estate in Co Meath, I couldn’t help but wonder if the golfers would prefer to keep this little-known gem to themselves. Located to the north-west of Dunshaughlin and Ashbourne, the most …

Double take: The pitfalls of meeting recent opponents in an All-Ireland hurling final

There is surprise that the Cork-Tipperary rivalry has taken so long to arrive on hurling’s biggest stage, especially as there have already been five all-Munster finals since such a fixture became a possibility in 1997. Hurling first took the plunge to …

Cork forwards carry a torch into All-Ireland final that was first lit by Fitzgerald, Fitzgibbon and Hennessy

In a corridor of Midleton Hospital Kevin Hennessy rounds a corner followed by an outbreak of laughter. A nurse is pushing his electric wheelchair and Hennessy has passed some remark about the driving. Over the years, penalty points have mounted up on …

Locations of ‘healthiest’ and ‘least healthy’ children’ in Ireland revealed in new CSO stats

John Daly: Frenzied quest for All-Ireland final tickets requires guile, craft and outright bribery

The hunt for a spot in Croke Park is an Irish rite of passage up there with scoring big in the Leaving Cert Cartoon by Graeme Keyes Right around now the heart rate of 164,000 people in four different counties will probably be nudging the needle into the …

John Mullane’s All-Ireland final player ratings – who should win this decider on paper?

Having a mixed bag this season in contrast to last year's heroic saves. While his shot-stopping might not be as hot as last season, his puck-outs are still as important as ever and they set Cork on their way.

‘There’ll be plenty of joking no matter who wins or loses’ – divided loyalties in club on Cork-Tipperary border ahead of ...

Barry Lyndon turns 50: Is Kubrick’s epic, filmed in Ireland, a folly or a masterpiece?

Some 20 years ago, I was invited round to Sir Ken Adam’s house in Knightsbridge for a conversation about a new book on his work as a production designer. I knew I was in the right place when I saw his Rolls-Royce parked outside the grand stucco porch. One …

Ireland’s bakery boom: How did we get from cream slices to €5 croissants?

There’s an oven in Cabra, Dublin 7, that’s older than most of the people queuing for its wares. Seventy years of stone and heat, still turning out brown bread and apple tarts for locals who grew up on its birthday cakes and now buy christening sponges for …