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A short history of mummers, straw boys and Wren Boys

From mummers to wren boys, the practice of rambling from house to house in rural Ireland lifted isolation for many communities at Christmas

A red Christmas poinsettia plant

How Irish growers turn poinsettias into iconic Christmas plants

A Muppet Christmas Carol

What Christmas movies reveal about social change over the decades

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Meet the characters from a golden age of children's TV in Ireland

Children's Television

Two female students with mobile phone

Why does AI dominate 2025's words of the year lists?

Word of the Year

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A short history of extreme weather events at Christmas in Ireland

Mother charging electric car in front of house, holding toddler boy in arms. Woman holding charger, plugging in charging port.

Your essential guide to buying an electric car in 2026

A Roman Feast (Saturnalia), Second Half of the 19th cen.. Found in the Collection of J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Saturnalia: The raucous ancient festival replaced by Christmas

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Claus for concern: should we be worried about Santa's health?

singers group choir

Can social isolation and loneliness be reduced through music?

An inmate reads a book in the library of the special Violent Inmates Unit at the Fleury-Merogis prison, some 30 kms south of Paris, on June 21, 2023. Fleury-Merogis houses a "Unite pour Detenus Violents" (UDV - Violent Inmates Unit), one of ten across Fra

The French book prize where the winner is selected by prisoners

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Why we can't help but love cheesy Christmas movies

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

Cad é an scéal leis an nGaeilge?

A composite photo created by combing 47 phots that have been oriented to match the star position and show how meteor showers originate from the same point relative to the stars. The Aurora were very active causing the sky to the south to be coloured green

Look up: the amazing sights of the Irish night sky in winter

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 17: Fallon Sherrock of England throws against Ryan Meikle of England in their First Round match during during day three of the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on December 17, 2024 in London, Engl

How exactly did darts become such a phenomenon?

More Brainstorm

Christmas

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A short history of extreme weather events at Christmas in Ireland

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Why we can't help but love cheesy Christmas movies

'This is a time that those who are grieving dread, as they are forcibly corralled into that brightly lit tunnel that is the modern Christmas season'. Photo: Rolling News

How the Wexford Carol gave me respite and solace at Christmas

'There are things you can do to manage your experience if you plan to spend time by yourself over the Christmas'. Photo: Stock-Asso/Shutterstock

6 ways to reduce loneliness this Christmas

Woman in Christmas hat and green sweater catching Christmas gift boxes against the yellow wall.

Why are some people gift-wrapping ninjas and others aren't?

So you want to know about what happens on Christmas Eve, do you?

Can scientists answer kids' questions about Santa Claus?

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Claus for concern: should we be worried about Santa's health?

Nature

The Christmas bird coming to a garden near you

Why do we associate robins with Christmas?

"In Celtic times, people brought holly inside in the winter months to ask for the blessings and protection" Photo: Getty Images

The 12 plants of Christmas

The little wren at large. Photo: Michael Finn

How the wren became the king of all birds

Coral garden found at 1220 m water depth from the Whittard Canyon in 2017.

The awesome deep sea corals off Ireland's coasts

A zebrafish shows off its go-faster stripes. Photo:Ian Grainger/Shutterstock

How animals got their spots and stripes

Audio

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

Cad é an scéal leis an nGaeilge?

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

Where are the future strongholds of Gaelic games?

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What will Irish towns look like in the future?

Drone

From toys to wars, where will you encounter drones next?

Is time really on your side as the song goes?

Where does the time go?

A worker walks past stored wind turbine blades at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast in 2008. Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

What can be done with 11,000 tons of used wind turbine blades?

Rainwater harvesting encourages public involvement in water conservation efforts. Photo: Getty Images

Why you should be collecting and using rainwater

More Audio

Ireland

A composite photo created by combing 47 phots that have been oriented to match the star position and show how meteor showers originate from the same point relative to the stars. The Aurora were very active causing the sky to the south to be coloured green

Look up: the amazing sights of the Irish night sky in winter

Children warming up before sport

Why almost every sport in Ireland faces a crisis of volunteering

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What will Irish towns look like in the future?

May 1922: The last of the British troops leaving Dublin after the signing of the Anglo-Irish treaty. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

What if the British army had launched 'Z Day' in Ireland in 1921?

The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West (1770)

How two Co Meath men made a mark in 18th century America

Editor's Choice

Cian's Kennels therapy dog

How your family dog is more than just a friend to sick children

All you need to know about the evolution of the spice bag

Gay Byrne on The Late Late Toy Show in a Christmas jumper

How to reinvent Christmas jumpers as icons for Irish craft

Christmas Jumper

Conceptual illustration in green tones, featuring a central, prominent speech bubble, surrounded by a matrix of smaller, semi-transparent speech bubbles.

Ní thuigim: does AI even understand Gaeilge?

How Munster rugby and French soccer fans strike the right note

AI apps on mobile phone including DeepSeek, Gemini and ChatGPT

How to detect text which has been written by ChatGPT