Brainstorm | Opinion, Analysis, Reports, Features

Flora Kerrigan: Dream Maker (images reproduced with permission of the Irish Film Institute Irish Film Archive).

Could a box of 8mm amateur film reels change Irish film history?

Despite Flora Kerrigan's youth at the time of her filmmaking, her work demonstrates someone ahead of her time and at the forefront of a transformative period in Irish society

Film • 24 Oct

How votes are counted in an Irish presidential election

The ins and outs of counting the votes in an Irish presidential election, as we prepare to vote in our 10th head of state

Presidential Election 2025 • 22 Oct

Jack o lantern candle standing on a rock

Is Halloween the new St Patrick's Day festival?

A new scheme is currently being promoted in major international markets like the US, to draw visitors to designated Halloween 'hubs' by 2030

Halloween • 16 Oct

How Basic Income for the Arts scheme is a win for all

The socioeconomic benefits of supporting artists through this scheme is worth €100 million to Irish society

Basic income • 13 Oct

The zombies are on the march. Photo: Danilo Urbina https://www.flickr.com/photos/hojas_cayendo/

Could you survive a zombie apocalypse?

Humans can imagine beating vampires but zombies are a much different matter

Zombies • 13 Oct

"In 1926, students were expected to use a result that you might teach to undergraduates today, so on the face of it, the exam was harder."

Have Leaving Cert maths' questions got easier or harder?

An archive of Leaving Cert maths' papers tells a fascinating story of how the exam has changed since 1925..

Maths • 13 Oct

A person takes shelter under an umbrella in Dublin during Storm Darragh in December 2024. Photo: PA

A short history of destructive Irish storms

We can learn from the impacts of past storms to better adapt to the destructive effects of future storms

Weather • 03 Oct

Storm Éowyn takes aim at Bantry Bay in January 2025. Photo: Getty Images

Rain, floods & storms: why weather conditions are getting wetter

With Storm Amy set to bring severe and damaging gusts, we can all clearly see the effects of climate change on Ireland's weather events

Weather • 03 Oct

The stormiest winter on record for Ireland to date was 2013-2014, while Storm Ophelia in 2017 left €70 million worth of damages in its wake.

Why have we seen so many storms in Ireland in recent years?

A very high level of storminess has meant more frequent and intense storms hitting the country

Weather • 02 Oct

16th-century Irish kern mercenaries on the right, with gallowglasses on the left Courtesy of Albrecht Dürer.

How the mantle cloak set fashion trends in Medieval Ireland

A highly valued item of durable clothing at home, the cloak was what made the notion of 'Irishness' visible and distinct in Europe

Medieval Ireland • 30 Sep

Why Moldova's election is important for Europe and Russia

Moldovans head to the polls on Sunday in an election whose outcome will be of crucial interest to both Moscow and Europe

Moldova • 29 Sep

How do you create a bike-friendly neighbourhood?

Here's a checklist for communities who want to take action on traffic congestion, pollution and green transport in their area

Podcast • 30 Sep

5 snapshots of life in 1600s Ireland (including a crocodile)

The quirks and complexities of Irish life in the 1600s are captured in a treasure trove of stories and documents collected by William Molyneux

History • 19 Aug

An unrecognizable person using the glucose monitor on the arm, checking the mobile app for more blood sugar level data. The wearable health sensor interacts with a smartphone application, highlighting modern health technology and remote monitoring applica

The rise, fall and renaissance of electrochemistry

The once unfashionable science which began with a dissected frog is now behind a vast array of indispensable modern innovations

Science • 07 Aug

A View of the Four Courts © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Meet the 'quack lawyers' who were at large in 19th century Dublin

Caricatures and satirical prints lampooning the legal profession for its chicanery were hugely popular in Georgian Dublin

History • 07 Aug

Are hot Irish days worsening due to climate change?

A climate attribution study has found that last month's mini-heatwave can be linked to human-influenced climate change

Climate Change • 08 Aug

Still standing, lads: Sitric Silkenbeard founded Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin in 1028

Why Sitric Silkenbeard is the greatest Dubliner of all time

He may be seen as one of the baddies of Irish history thanks to the Battle of Clontarf, but Silkenbeard built Dublin into a cosmopolitan city

Sitric Silkenbeard • 31 Jul

The Irish Naval Service's new patrol vessel the Fionnghuala in action. It's the first vessel built in Ireland for the Irish Navy since the LÉ Eithne in 1984

3 threats for Ireland's new maritime security strategy to examine

The strategy comes at a time when Ireland stands at a critical juncture in defining how it will protect one of Europe's largest sea areas

Maritime security • 30 Jul

Scene of courtly love, detail from Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 848 Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift (Codex Manesse), fol. 249v, c. 1300 – 1340. (public domain).

Meet the independent, fierce, proactive women of medieval Ireland

Translators of medieval romances reshaped stories to portray Irish women as more independent and proactive than their English counterparts

Medieval Ireland • 28 Jul

"Failure to uphold principles around democracy, pluralism, equality and respect for human rights damages the EU's reputation and credibility, both inside the bloc and internationally." Photo: Getty Images

What next for Europe in an increasingly unpredictable world?

Europe faces a triple global crisis with Gaza, Ukraine and Iran that reflects different facets of the breakdown of international order

Europe • 23 Jul

27 April 2025; Jason Forde of Tipperary in action against Niall O'Leary of Cork during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 2 match between Cork and Tipperary at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Where are the hurling and football strongholds in Ireland?

GAA clubs are found in every corner of Ireland, but you'll find surprising pockets of football clubs in so-called hurling counties and vice-versa

GAA • 17 Jul

View of la Rochelle in 1627. 19th Century engraving. (Photo by: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Inside the world of ducking & diving 18th century Irish merchants

These businessmen successfully navigated the grey zones of contraband, clandestine trade and smuggling from Youghal to Havana

History • 08 Jul

Bryan Johnson Don't Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever

All you need to know about transhumanism

Transhumanism might appear to be the stuff of science fiction but advances in medicine, engineering and bioscience are bringing it closer to reality

Transhumanism • 07 Jul

1736 painting of Sir Hans Sloane by Stephen Slaughter

Meet Hans Sloane, the Co Down man who brought the banjo to Europe

The legacy of the collector who brought the banjo (and hot chocolate) to Europe is overshadowed by his involvement in the slave trade

History • 01 Jul

Huanta in Peru where George Ryan found himself in 1768. Drawing: William Lewis Herndon from Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon made under Direction of the Navy Department (Public domain)

Meet George Ryan, the Tipperary Don Quixote in 18th century Peru

The Tipperaryman's adventures as a grandee at large in South America involved everything from coca collection to debt collecting

History • 27 Jun

Maynooth University