The Irish pub has conquered the world. But what comes next?
A new academic collection, The Irish Pub: Invention and Re-invention, edited by Moonyoung Hong and Perry Share, gathers 20 essays tracing the pub from its Irish origins to its global reinvention across Korea, Lapland, Greece and beyond.
The book tackles the big question too: as coffee shops, gyms and at-home drinking chip away at pub culture in Ireland, can the local survive? Reviewers are calling it essential reading for anyone who loves Irish culture.
Full story at the link in bio.
🎬 Five Irish-led films are premiering at Cannes 2026 — and the talent on show is something else.
From Barry Keoghan opening Directors' Fortnight in Butterfly Jam to Michael Fassbender competing for the Palme d'Or in Hope, Irish stars are lighting up the French Riviera this month.
Add in Anthony Boyle's Enda Walsh drama, Eanna Hardwicke's mystery Ancestors, and the Screen Ireland thriller Daughter of Eden — all premiering in the next two weeks — and it's a massive moment for Irish cinema.
Full story at the link in bio.
As conflict, power and security return to the centre of global debate, University College Cork is offering a rigorous online route into strategic thinking.
The MA in Strategic Studies (Online) at UCC is a two-year, part-time programme delivered entirely online. Led by US politics expert Dr Clodagh Harrington, it covers terrorism, nuclear proliferation, peacekeeping, non-state actors, and the evolution of strategic thought, drawing directly on historical analysis to illuminate present-day security challenges.
The programme is designed for working professionals. Students include those in government, diplomacy, defence and international organisations, as well as anyone with a strong personal or academic interest in how conflict and power operate internationally.
Among the graduates is Marcella Smyth, Ireland's Consul General to the South Western United States, who described the course as a direct professional benefit.
Applications are open. Link in bio to find out more!
#UCC #ad #UniversityCollegeCork #IrishEducation #StrategicStudies #OnlineLearning #IrishAmerica #Ireland #InternationalRelations #GlobalSecurity
One of the most extraordinary places on earth has reopened its doors.
Sceilg Mhichil, also known as Skellig Michael, has reopened to visitors for the 2026 season on May 9th. Ireland's Office of Public Works confirmed the reopening, with access dependent on favourable weather and sea conditions.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site sits 12km off the Kerry coast. At its summit is St Fionán's monastery, one of the earliest Christian foundations in Ireland, built by monks in the 6th century. They carved beehive-shaped stone huts into the rock face — 618 steep, uneven steps from the sea — and lived there until the 13th century. Many of those huts still stand today.
FYI! Admission is free but access is only through licensed boat operators who hold a permit from the OPW. Numbers are strictly limited to protect the site. Children under 12 are not permitted.
Nearby Little Skellig is the second-largest gannet colony in the world.
Full details at the link in bio.
There’s no one way to experience County Waterford. From the dramatic cliffs of the Copper Coast to the trails of the Comeragh Mountains, Waterford is all about discovering what adventure means to you.
Whether it’s sea swims, coastal walks, mountain hikes, food trails, or exploring the streets of Waterford, Visit Waterford’s “Find Your Wild” campaign helps match you with the perfect experience through its interactive trail quiz.
Tap the link in bio to take the quiz and start planning your next Irish adventure.
Tag who you’d bring.
@visit_waterford #ad #Ireland #Waterford #FindYourWild #VisitWaterford #IrishTravel #DiscoverIreland #TravelIreland #ExploreIreland
Ireland now officially has the highest household electricity prices in the entire European Union.
According to Eurostat, Irish electricity prices per kilowatt hour are more than 40% above the EU average, surpassing Germany and Belgium. The average Irish household now pays around €480 more per year for electricity than the EU average.
PrepayPower, which has 240,000 customer accounts, has confirmed it will raise electricity prices by 8.8% from June 1, with gas going up by 10.6%. Last month, Energy Minister Darragh O'Brien warned electricity prices could increase by as much as 9% over the summer months.
Energy expert Daragh Cassidy says the breakdown is worth understanding: "If you have an electricity bill for €100, around €30 to €35 goes to the cost of the gas or the wind and the things that make the electricity, while the other €60 to €65 is going on all these other charges."
An interconnector being built with France — expected online in 2027 — may help Ireland tap into cheaper electricity from abroad.
Full story at the link in bio.
Craic Comedy Fest is back in Astoria with a stacked lineup led by Siomha Hennessy 🎤🍀
From Irish wit to fresh voices in stand-up, this year’s show brings together comics from across the scene for one night at The Wolfhound. Hosted by Aidan Kelly, with performances from Abby Govindan and Paige Gallagher.
Free entry, but RSVP is required. Link in bio for tickets and full details.
Ireland is full of surprises — and not all of them are in the guidebook.
Beyond Kilmainham, the Cliffs of Moher, and Newgrange, there are some genuinely bizarre places waiting for you across the island.
In Dublin, the vaults beneath St. Michan's Church contain the mummified remains of Irish families from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, perfectly preserved by dry limestone air. Nearby, Christ Church Cathedral's medieval crypt hides a mummified cat still chasing a mummified rat, famously referenced in Finnegans Wake.
In Co Wicklow, Victor's Way is a 20-acre woodland filled with enormous black granite Indian sculptures, each representing a phase of human life. In Co Cork, the Irish Sky Garden is a giant grass crater designed by American artist James Turrell — lie on the central plinth and see the sky perfectly framed above you.
And in Cork City, a butter museum tells the surprisingly fascinating story of Ireland's most important food export, including a 1,000-year-old keg of butter.
Full guide at the link in bio!
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has confirmed that the two Irish women evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius are home safe and in good health.
The pair were on board the Oceanwide Expeditions cruise ship when a hantavirus outbreak killed three passengers and left others seriously ill. They followed isolation protocols throughout and were flown back to Ireland on a government jet on Sunday night, landing at a military air base in west Dublin before being transferred to a HSE facility for quarantine monitoring.
Speaking in Waterford on Monday, Martin said: "We wish them well, and we appreciate the tolerance and patience that they have shown through what has been a very trying period. Public health specialists are on top of that and working with all concerned."
The ship docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning. The WHO has now confirmed nine cases of hantavirus on board, with two more under investigation. The women will need to quarantine for up to six weeks. The risk to the wider public remains low.
Full story at the link in bio.
Americans are moving to Ireland at a pace that almost nobody predicted.
Ireland's Central Statistics Office recorded 9,600 Americans moving to Ireland in the 12 months to April 2025, up from 4,900 the year before. That is a 96% increase in a single year.
The Republic of Ireland now ranks fourth in Country Navigator's 2026 Global Talent Report, with 55,020 annual US relocation searches and 673.9 American migrants per 100,000 people. Ireland sits behind Canada, New Zealand and the UK, but ahead of Spain, Japan and Portugal.
The reasons are consistent: shared language, cultural familiarity, and a deep pool of multinational employers based in Dublin and across the country. But researchers note that the real adjustment often comes after the move, when communication styles, decision-making, and daily work life turn out to be subtly different from what Americans expected.
For those making the leap, Ireland appears to be worth it.
Full story at the link in bio.
If P.S. I Love You made you cry, wait until you visit where it was filmed.
The 2007 film starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler was shot almost entirely on location in Co Wicklow, and every one of the locations is open for you to visit.
Blessington Lakes, also known as Poulaphouca Reservoir, is where Holly and her friends take their boat trip. Kilruddery Estate, the 800-acre country house on the outskirts of Bray, is the Irish getaway house. Sally Gap, the remote heather-covered mountain crossroads in the Wicklow Mountains, is where Holly and Gerry first meet. Ballysmuttan Bridge on the River Liffey, now known as the P.S. I Love You Bridge, is where the couple walk hand in hand shortly after. And Lacken Village is where they share their very first kiss.
All of it is within an hour of Dublin. All of it is as beautiful in real life as it looks on screen.
Full guide at the link in bio.
Seven in ten Irish people think the EU should become more independent from the United States.
A new poll by European Movement Ireland, conducted by Amarach Research across the island of Ireland, found that 71% of respondents want the EU to seek greater strategic autonomy from the US. The findings come amid shifting geopolitical currents and ahead of Ireland's upcoming EU Presidency.
Support for EU membership remains high at 82%, but has fallen sharply from a peak of 93% in 2019. Just 45% of people say the EU is moving in the right direction, down from 58% in 2023. The top concerns driving dissatisfaction are migration, economic and regulatory issues, and questions around sovereignty.
The poll also reveals striking pro-European sentiment in Northern Ireland, a decade on from Brexit. Some 73% of people there say they would vote to rejoin the EU if a referendum were held tomorrow. And 59% of respondents in Ireland say they would support a united Ireland within the EU.
Cost of living is the top concern across the island, cited by 58% in Ireland and 45% in Northern Ireland.
Full story at the link in bio.
