And of the London residents who did move from London to live elsewhere, many did not go far. Hotspots around the M25 such as Chigwell, Chatham and Caterham also rose in popularity among homeowners exiting London. Escaping: London residents are flocking to Chigwell in Essex, new data showsA hefty 53 per cent of buyers in Chigwell, Essex, came from London, representing a 33 per cent increase year-on-year. Basildon and Thorpe Bay in Essex, Gillingham in Kent and Luton, Bedfordshire also proved a hit with London capital fleeing the capital and moving elsewhere this year, according to the analysis. Most London residents stay reasonably close to the capital when moving elsewhereWhere are London residents steering clear of?

By August of this year, job vacancies had declined to seven million while the S&P had climbed to almost 7000. Two years ago, he stepped aside to launch his latest venture, ‘Skill Stack,’ a skills and leadership development streaming platform. “There is something very, very clean about the transaction and the problem that recruitment companies solve is a very acute need. Everyone will need to create value and share that value with customers, this is an example of an evergreen skillset. How to question is the root of all understanding, the root of problem-solving, the root of curiosity.

Is it time to ban fireworks displays? Pet owners worry as New Year’s Eve approaches, and urge people to sign a petitionA survey shows that more than half of dogs feel fear at the sound of fireworksDogs can be terrified by the noise and flashes from firework displays. Photo: GettyArlene Harris Today at 06:30Animal owners have already had to deal with the stress of trying to calm their terrified pets during Halloween fireworks displays, but with New Year’s Eve likely to feature more of the same, many are hoping for a reduction, or a complete ban, of events of this kind.

Miriam Donohoe: Why I uprooted myself from a comfortable life in Ireland at age 61 to volunteer in UgandaAs I spend this Christmas at home, I carry the transformative lessons of the year with meMiriam Donohue with Jimmy, who is one of Hospice Africa Uganda’s longest patientsMiriam Donohoe Today at 06:30When I walked through the departure gates at Dublin Airport last January to fly to Kampala to volunteer with Hospice Africa Uganda (HAU), I was overcome by excitement and fear.

Members of Dublin Fire Brigade put out a small fire after an appliance caught fire in South Dublin. Photo: Mark CondrenA member of the Dublin Fire Brigade at Tara Street station after receiving an emergency call. People in this job are very passionate and like helping people and problem-solving.”Members of the Dublin Fire Brigade at a small house fire in South Dublin. We have a lot of accidents with scramblers, e-bikes and cars.”Members of the Dublin Fire Brigade check their tanks after dealing with a fire in South Dublin. Members of the Dublin Fire Brigade check their tanks after dealing with a fire in South Dublin.

I love kids and want to become a mother, so why are my friends not inviting me? I’m the only one in my friend group who doesn’t have children and I’m starting to feel left out. In the early days, when a couple of my friends had kids, we all got invited to their christenings and birthday parties. Now, I see the parties I don’t get invited to on Instagram. It’s so hurtful.

Kateryna is from Khymelnytski in western Ukraine and arrived in the Co Kerry town with her mother Iryna Yuzkova and grandfather Viktor Yuzkov. Maurice Fitzgerald, principal at Coláiste na Sceilge in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, with deputy principal Ann Marie Killen (left) and Ukrainian support staff Lolita Egberipou and Nataliia Lebedieva. Photograph: Alan LandersAssisted by some Ukrainian women with teaching backgrounds, the classes helped the Ukrainian students to improve their language skills. [ A Ukrainian in Dublin: ‘People are less direct in Ireland. Overall, she feels the town has coped well with the influx of newcomers and the Ukrainians have been “well received”.

Guinness owner Diageo saw its embattled chief executive Debra Crew step down “by mutual agreement”. Photograph: Eric LukeThe billionaire Irish owners behind Barchester Healthcare were the big winners of 2025. The Irish company has paid $270 million NZD (€132 million) to acquire a 65 per cent shareholding in Alliance. Chief executive Cathal Fay has presided over a remarkable expansion for the business. The year had another big break for another Wicklow native Dalton Philips, the chief executive of Dublin-based food group Greencore.

The Countdown concert matinee (4pm) features DJ Shelly Gray and performances by Florence Road and Biird. Within a year, bolstered by the addition of Owen Cardiff and Cliff Deane, Picture This sold out three shows at the 3Olympia Theatre, in Dublin. These sold-out shows (part of seven Home for Christmas gigs) and more than 450 million Spotify plays demonstrate that. Are you really going to be hypnotised into thinking you’ve won the lotto, or that you’re a gorilla or a leprechaun? It also encourages viewers to ponder what happens to the land and, to an extent, the community when such a business disappears.

Moves by Trump on tariffs and trade could impact Irish economic growth next year. Now the latest figures show that growth continued apace in the Irish economy and corporation tax keeps rolling in to the exchequer. A weaker US dollar - another one to watch in 2026 - was a greater cost for many Irish exports. Irish growthThere had been signs – particularly from jobs market data – that the Irish economy had hit a softer patch in the second half of this year. So there will be a fuss when the figures come out and more talk of “Leprechaun economics” – the famous phrase coined by US economist Paul Krugman when Irish figures first went off the charts in 2015.

We only have to look at the way the great institutions of the United States have been shredded by Donald Trump in a little over a year. Closer to home, the experience of the UK over the past 10 years shows how a wrong turn such as Brexit can lead to political chaos and economic decline. By contrast Ireland has, for the present, remained a bastion of political common sense and continuing economic stability with continuing budget surpluses. Of course, Opposition politicians and the media have a duty to highlight the problems facing society. This involved short-term pain for many but, as the Central Bank pointed out recently, household wealth has doubled since the crisis.

A cannonball, a “ghost ship” and the remains of a vessel carrying 43 tonnes (43,000kg) of gold were among the items washed up on Irish shores in recent years. It is their job to take possession of wrecks, assess their value and, if possible, help find their owners. Receivers of wreck are also required to deal with abandoned vessels close to shore but below the waterline. The captain’s parrot survived and flew to shore, only to be shot by a farmer the following year. In February 2020, a receiver of wreck took possession of the MV Alta after it ran aground near Ballycotton, Co Cork.

A large amount of retailers went into sales well before Christmas, having just come out of the Black Friday sales four weeks earlier. Then there were the mid-season sales, the summer sales, the previous mid-season sales and the winter sales of 2024/25. The real need is for an education programme focusing on how best to achieve sustainability and pushing the idea of buying less, but buying better. If, over the course of a sales period, there are more reductions in prices, the prior price retailers show has to be that same lowest price before the first of the sale price reductions is applied. Things can get mixed up during sales periods and price tags can be erroneous.

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan was signed in October and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council the following month. Disarming Hamas and demilitarising the Gaza Strip is the most contentious clause in the second phase of the ceasefire. The militant group, even when it conditionally accepted the Trump peace plan, made it clear it would not disarm. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Getty ImagesNetanyahu raised doubts over whether an international force would be able to complete the task of disarming Hamas. “Our friends in America want to try to establish an international force that will do the job,” he said.

Ciaran Mullooly has no problem admitting he spent his first few months as an MEP “lost” in the European Parliament. “The first six months was very difficult, but I love it now,” Mullooly says. JoinedMullooly says things got a lot easier when he joined Renew, the European political grouping that includes Fianna Fáil, French president Emmanuel Macron’s camp and several other centrist parties. The Independent Ireland MEP says he is still “living out of a suitcase” during the week, staying in hotels or serviced accommodation. MEPs should be a bridge between what was going on inside the EU system and local organisations or constituents, Mullooly says.