Britain’s Brexit woes are a problem for Ireland
It is important for Ireland that British prime minister Keir Starmer's negotiations with the EU to reset the relationship are successful. If the Liz Truss budget was a horror show, compared to the economic disaster of Brexit it was a minor upset. In 2016, the IMF estimated that the cost to the UK of Brexit would be a loss of 4 per cent of GDP. While the UK’s current economic difficulties are due to Brexit, the Labour government feels unable to set the record straight – it doesn’t want to alienate Red Wall voters who backed Brexit. A thriving UK economy is important for Ireland – it remains a crucial market.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 06:31 UTC
A €34 hotel bed in central London? It’s possible. Just don’t use the word coffin
The foyer in London’s Zedwell Hotel is blissfully laid back: soft lighting, honey-coloured wood, people talking quietly as they check in on iPads. This is the Zedwell cocoon hotel, I’m booked into the Zedwell capsules. I go back out into the crashing glare of Piccadilly and arrive at the Capsule Hotel 20 seconds later. Inside the Zedwell capsule hotel, there’s a livelier vibe and a smaller foyer, the design is more industrial, a mix of slate grey walls and wood. Back in the Zedwell, there’s a sociable buzz in the communal bathroom with its lines of shiny white sinks.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 06:09 UTC
Vodafone and ATU win €4.6m EU backing for digital apprenticeships
Vodafone Ireland and Atlantic Technological University have won €4.6 million EU backing to develop digital training for building apprentices. Photograph: iStockphotoVodafone Ireland and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) have won €4.6 million from the European Union to develop digital training for engineering and construction apprentices in the west of Ireland. ATU, Vodafone and FifthIngenium will develop virtual construction labs allowing students to practice building using digital models, systems that simulate real building environments and 3D video streaming to teach technical skills. Vodafone and ATU noted that the Government recently pledged to promote careers in construction by expanding apprenticeships, boosting recruitment and improving training opportunities. Sheila Kavanagh, network director at Vodafone Ireland, said access to training depends on strong digital infrastructure.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 06:01 UTC
‘Nobody had heard of Ireland, it was amazing. I had to explain it was beside England’ – The Irish Times
Patricia Lyons: Her children 'missed out on the influence of Irish culture here'. “Nobody had heard of Ireland, it was amazing,” she says, adding that people would think she had mentioned “Holland” as her home country. “Even quite educated people would have no contact with Ireland or Irish people.” She would then have to explain Ireland was in fact an island beside England. Many of her women friends were college graduates who had studied abroad: “Intelligent young divorced Dominican women, against the status quo... Her children, she says, “missed out on the influence of Irish culture here”.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 06:00 UTC
Acclaimed British photographer Martin Parr dies aged 73
Martin Parr at the Guildhall Art Gallery Unseen City exhibition in London in 2016. Photograph: Emily Pennick/PA WireBritish photographer Martin Parr has died at the age of 73, his foundation has announced. Parr, who was one of the best-known documentary photographers of his time, died on Saturday at his home in Bristol, the Martin Parr Foundation said. An Instagram post said the Martin Parr Foundation and Magnum Photos “will work together to preserve and share Martin’s legacy”. At the time, Perry described him “a major player in the whole culture of photography.”Parr established a dedicated space for the Martin Parr Foundation in 2017.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 05:15 UTC
‘Ireland and the Irish Sea is equal to zero’ on the green transition, says Stena Line chief – The Irish Times
With Dún Laoghaire no longer operational, the company now departs from Dublin Port, as well as Rosslare. Affable and straight-talking, Mårtensson makes no bones about the fact Ireland and the Irish Sea are hugely important to the company. “The Irish Sea is the most important sea for Stena Line,” he says. “Ireland and the Irish Sea is equal to zero today when it comes to the green transition. “I don’t think AI will lead to less crew on our ships but we will use them more efficiently,” he says.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 05:11 UTC
Poor information depresses number of house sales, report finds
Poor information and murky bidding are depressing the number of homes sold in the Republic, a new report finds. Joanne Geary, managing director of MyHome, believes fully transparent bidding could improve how the market functions. It also argued for a conveyancing profession capable of navigating legal problems in sales and for standard information on property websites. Close to half of residential sales are on sites with online bidding or auctions, including MyHome Offers, MySherryFitz and MyDNG, among others. Their advantage is that they give buyers a transparent bidding history for the properties in which they are interested as well as allowing them to place their own offer, Ms Geary points out.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 05:11 UTC
Kerry colossus: Denis McClean remembers Con Houlihan, a giant of Irish journalism
For those of us who once toiled in the lower decks of the good ship Evening Press on the dockside at Burgh Quay, there was one voice missing from those two days that rocked Irish football in mid-November. Or how he imagined Hill 16 “as lively as the Main Street of Knocknagoshel on Good Friday” when Dublin fell to Kerry in the 1978 All-Ireland final. Fortunately, it was a promise he could not keep, Castle Island being as sacred to him as Ayers Rock to the Aborigines of Australia. Though he soldiered on elsewhere in print, he never fully got over his “feelings of loneliness and desolation when I pass by that great stranded ship between Burgh Quay and Poolbeg Street”. On his centenary at the weekend, he was fondly remembered in the many hostelries he graced with his anoraked presence, from his adopted home in Portobello to Castle Island, his final resting place beside his parents, Michael and Ellen.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 04:00 UTC
Rory McIlroy calls for Australian Open rescheduling for stronger field
Rory McIlroy acknowledges the applause after sinking a birdie putt during the final round of the Australian Open. Photograph: William West/AFP via GettyRory McIlroy has called on organisers of the Australian Open to reschedule the event in an effort to attract a stronger international field to the tournament in the future. “I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open,” McIlroy said after his final round. “Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play.”The tournament marked the end of a stellar season for the 36-year-old. In addition to his long-awaited Masters success, McIlroy won a seventh Race to Dubai title plus the Irish Open and was a member of the European team that successfully defended the Ryder Cup in the U.S. in September.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 03:28 UTC
Shades of Roy Keane’s exit as Mo Salah’s outburst puts Liverpool in difficult position
Whether it is criticism of contract negotiations, applying a little more pressure to get an agreeable deal done or, in this instance, piling more problems on Slot, Salah’s words are calculated to achieve what he wants. This has echoes of Roy Keane’s infamous MUTV interview that led to Manchester United sacking their captain 20 years ago. Team-mates were thrown under too by Salah’s entitled insistence that he has earned the position Slot has taken from him. Another post-Sunderland line from the Liverpool captain leaps out after Salah’s interview. But given Salah’s age and marked decline in form this season, that is less of a dilemma for Liverpool.
Source:The Irish Times
December 08, 2025 00:58 UTC
‘Reckless, callous attack’: Woman (60) and boy (4) killed in fire named
Mary Holt (60) and Tadhg Farrell (4) who were killed in a house fire in Edenderry, Co Offaly. The victims have been named by Gardaí as Mary Holt (60) and Tadhg Farrell (4). Arson was the main line of inquiry almost immediately the emergency services were alerted to the fire in Edenderry on Saturday night. Garda headquarters has now confirmed the house came under attack and that a double murder inquiry has begun. “This was a reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home.”Murder inquiry launched by Gardaí investigating Offaly fire.
Source:The Irish Times
December 07, 2025 23:43 UTC
Ellen Walshe wins 200m butterfly gold at the European championships
Walshe had come to Lublin in the form of her life, recently setting six Irish records (in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley) at the World Aquatics World Cup in Indiana in the US in October. In winning the 200m butterfly gold here, she produced another Irish record of 2:03.24. It’s my first gold medal on the international stage, to see my parents in the stand, it’s super special. Walshe had also stormed through to win silver in the 200m medley, her 2:04.78 just .03 off her Irish record. Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen won another gold medal there in a European record of 2:01.83.
Source:The Irish Times
December 07, 2025 23:43 UTC
Irish resident suspected of killing two in Iceland is banned from travel until February
The French woman aged in her 60s was resident in Ireland before travelling to Iceland last June, where the alleged murders were committed. She was released from custody in September but was served with a travel ban meaning she cannot leave the country. The new time limit for preventing the woman leaving Iceland has been set for January 30th, 2026. The travel ban was initially extended by a further three months, until the end of February, but this ruling was reduced by the national court this week. As suspects cannot be held in custody for longer than 12 weeks in Iceland, the woman was then served with a travel ban and must report to a police station several times a week.
Source:The Irish Times
December 07, 2025 22:58 UTC
Donald Trump and humanity’s official happiness provider team up to turn World Cup weird
Donald Trump before receiving the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize from the Fifa president Gianni Infantino, or 'Johnny' as Trump called him. Donald Trump, you’d imagine, would rate his inaugurations as the greatest events ever witnessed by humanity, ousting the moon landing from top of the list. Fifa, Rio insisted, were doing their level best to make the tournament accessible for non-millionaire tax-avoiding Dubai residents. But the high point of the whole shebang was, need it be said, Donald being awarded the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize. The occasion ended with The Village People, and the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize recipient YMCAing like a lad directing traffic.
Source:The Irish Times
December 07, 2025 22:31 UTC
AIL wrap: UCD defy expectations with rip-roaring win over Lansdowne
UCD had lost a week previously by 36-12 in Old Belvedere and after their summer exodus again fielded a team with no player older than 23. Even so, Lansdowne stayed in contention through tries by Bobby Sheehan, Jack Matthews, Greg McGrath and Harry Van Eaden before James Kenny’s score put them 38-36 ahead inside the last ten minutes. “I’m very proud of the fight shown by the boys after a week when we showed a great reaction to what had been a poor performance,” said head coach Emmet MacMahon. “It was a wild game but we managed to score different types of tries, which is always very pleasing.”In many respects, Young Munster were due a significant win after so many near misses. “We definitely deserved to win and it was our most complete performance of the season,” said a relieved and happy Munsters head coach Ger Slattery.
Source:The Irish Times
December 07, 2025 20:57 UTC