Brainstorm | Opinion, Analysis, Reports, Features | RTÉ

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Jeff Buckley and me: the story of the singer's 1992 Irish show

Buckley's prep for the Trinity Ball, his first ever European show, involved drinking tea, eating Mikado biscuits and watching The Late Late Show

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How long will it take for my solar panels to pay for themselves?

Woman out walking caught in storm

The truth about energy in your 20s, 40s and 60s

Blanket bog in Killarney National Park

Why is Ireland home to so many bogs?

19th century threatening letter

How to write a 19th century threatening letter

Claddagh Ring

The fascinating history of the Claddagh ring and its creator

"As an economist, I must admit to thinking about rationality more often than romance". Photo: Getty Images

Is a romantic Valentine's Day worth the economic investment?

St Valentines Day

GREENBRAE, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 12: Boxes of Valentine's Day chocolates are displayed on a shelf at a CVS store on February 12, 2025 in Greenbrae, California. Valentine's Day chocolates could cost up to 20 percent more this year as cocoa prices have surg

Why is Valentine's Day chocolate getting so expensive?

Street of newly built houses and townhouses

Could adding plants to your driveway help reduce flood risk?

Stressed businessman experiencing a headache while working on a laptop in a modern office (Image: Getty Images)

What's the logic behind the spelling mistakes you keep making?

open window house

What is 'house burping' – and is it really good for your health?

Yeah, I'm a black cat, what about it? Photo: Getty Images

Why Friday 13th superstitions are all in your head

AI apps on mobile phone including DeepSeek, Gemini and ChatGPT

The hidden costs for your brain from using ChatGPT

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Why did a riot happen at the Abbey Theatre in February 1926?

Doctor looks at the 3d scan of the jaw on the computer in office near X-ray room

Why are only 12% of radiographers satisfied with their jobs?

More Brainstorm

Nature

A Dublin seagull contemplates a move to Cork. Photo: Liam Cleary/EyeEm/Getty Images

Why Cork gulls aren't as vicious as Dublin ones about your food

Some of our native plant species, including the Nettle-leaved Bellflower (pictured) are at risk of extinction "in a relatively short time frame." Photo: Getty Images

Here are 6 Irish native plants you may never see again

'In almost all cultures, owls have been accorded a special significance – sometimes as symbols and talismans of wisdom, sometimes as messengers from the dead, sometimes as an embodiment of evil.'

Inside the spooky, stealthy, fascinating world of owls

High waves due to Storm Bram in Tramore

How Irish weather lore shows importance of paying heed to nature

A Grey wolf mother with her young pup in Canada. Photo: Getty Images

Why it's too soon to bring wolves back to Ireland

outdoors nature winter

7 reasons to go outside to engage with winter's natural wonders

"Eskers (from the Irish eiscir) are sinuous ridges of sand and gravel deposited within tunnels carved by great rivers at the edge of the ice sheet during the last glaciation". Esker Monastery, Esker, Athenry, Co Galway. Photo: Larry Morgan

Ireland on ice: how the Ice Age influenced our placenames

Work & Careers

woman on phone during meeting

What does it really mean to be present at work?

Work and careers

' The best you can do is continue to build skills that are valuable and transferable and to realise that other generations have successfully weathered these changes.'

Note to Generation X workers: the workplace is always changing

Work and careers

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What happens when AI takes over HR?

Work and careers

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How fractional employment roles are redefining the workplace

Work and careers

'The benefits and drawbacks of hybrid working are still contested because there is insufficient evidence from which bosses can determine when, where and for whom hybrid working is beneficial.'

What are the workplace trends we're going to see in 2026?

Work and careers

Your Money

'Concerns have been expressed that independent ATMs are not currently regulated by the Central Bank and there are fears that fees for cash withdrawals at these ATMs could soon be introduced.' Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Why a cashless society may never emerge in Ireland

'It may be helpful to get to know your own relationship with money, your "financial attachment style" before you try to understand someone else's.' Photo: Getty Images (stock image - photo posed by models)

How to talk to your partner about money

Close up image of an electricity bill

Up, up and away? How electricity suppliers calculate your bill

Electricity Prices

Banks face numerous cyber threats that can compromise the security of their apps. Photo: Getty Images

How secure are your banking apps?

Avocados were added to the CSO shopping basket in 2017. Photo: Unsplash

How we spent our money in 1980 compared to now

Concept of cash envelopes system for savings, Euro banknotes in a craft envelope for categories.

Do you know what financial terms mean without asking ChatGPT?

'We are enrolled, encouraged and urged to become financialised citizens today, investing in the pensions market to supplement the state pension.' Photo: Getty Images

A short history of the old age pension in Ireland

Audio

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How long will it take for my solar panels to pay for themselves?

Participants at the Cearta Irish-language protest marching from Parnell Square

Cad é an scéal leis an nGaeilge?

Aer Lingus pilots on parade at Dublin Airport in the 1960s. Photo: Independent News and Media/Getty Images

Why Ireland sought to stop US airlines landing at Dublin Airport

Supporters make their way down Jones' Road before 2025 All-Ireland hurling final

Where are the future strongholds of Gaelic games?

'While electric SUVs are certainly better for the climate than conventional ones, they still suffer from many downsides.' Photo: Getty Images

Why the reign of SUVs on Irish roads should end

More Audio

Editor's Choice

Simone Kirby as Ursula Sweeney in RTÉ drama Resistance, a character based on real-life spy Josephine McCoy

The story of Josephine McCoy, the IRA spy in the British barracks

War of Independence

AI apps on mobile phone including DeepSeek, Gemini and ChatGPT

The hidden costs for your brain from using ChatGPT

How long commutes are impacting third-level students

'When eviction reaches this scale, it becomes a signal that the system itself is failing to provide basic housing security'. Photo: RTE

'We're seeing eviction rates not seen in Ireland since the 1850s'

Blanket bog in Killarney National Park

Why is Ireland home to so many bogs?

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Sir Edward Carson's statue can be seen as the sun sets at Stormont on September 10, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A political crisis has erupted in the province following the murder of former IRA member Kevin

Did unionist leader Edward Carson play hurling as a youth?