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What's behind the enduring popularity of the Fleadh Cheoil?

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann

Grassroots efforts and a folk revival have made the Fleadh Cheoil the 'cultural magnet' it is today

4 August 2025; Brendan Cummins of Tipperary competing in the Senior Hurling competition during the M. Donnelly GAA Poc Fada All-Ireland Finals at Annaverna Mountain in the Cooley Peninsula, Ravensdale, Louth. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

A short history of the All-Ireland Poc Fada competition

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What happens next to the 18,000 shipwrecks off Ireland's coast?

Low water levels at a reservoir

Why wasn't winter rain stored to prevent summer water shortages?

Getting away from it for the bank holiday weekend. Photo: RTÉ

All you need to know about bank holidays in Ireland

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6 of the most dangerous fashion trends in history

Wide shot of woman browsing through bookshelves in antique bookstore while exploring during city vacation

Why you keep buying books you don't read – and why it feels good

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

Mayo supporters celebrate after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park in Dublin

Is crowd noise really worth an extra score to a team?

Colleagues arguing in office. Angry businessman yelling at his collegue

Does a sweary boss make you work harder (or want to quit)?

Work and careers

Dublin , Ireland - 26 July 2026; Mayo manager Andy Moran, left, and Kobe McDonald celebrate after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

What the pundits got wrong and Mayo got right on Sunday

a patient and doctor consultation

Why statins aren't the answer to heart disease

Female Dispatcher Feeling Overwhelmed After Difficult Call Having Headache From Stress

Why tracking employees doesn't make them any more productive

Work and careers

Protesters during a demonstration against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's defense minister, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, July 16, 2026. The abrupt dismissal of Fedorov, a popular minister and one of the architects of Kyiv’s successful drone

What's behind rows in Ukraine between politicians and military?

More Brainstorm

Ireland

Daniel O'Connell from Daniel O'Connell: The Emancipator documentary

Why did Budweiser use Daniel O'Connell in newspaper ads?

Do you still have your iodine tablets?

The story of Joe Jacob, Marian Finucane and the iodine tablets

A Child of Prague statue in the window of a Co Clare home. Photo: John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

Why is the Child of Prague statue associated with Irish weddings?

Early map of Ballyshannon by John Baxter, c. 1600 (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)

The rise and fall of Ballyshannon port

stonelifters co waterford may 2015

Why a 115kg stone from Waterford is finding a new home in Boston

A sign for architect and civil engineer Frederick Higginbotham in the Sackville Street rubble after the 1916 Rising. Sackvi

How the 1916 Rising cost €200m in compensation claims

Republic of Ireland supporters cheer on their team as the players are brought by open top bus from Dublin Airport to the city centre after the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy. Photo: Getty Images

Why Irish people sing 'Ole Ole Ole' when they're happy

Audio

They don't make 'em like this anymore: Red Dead Redemption 2 from 2018. Photo: PR

The golden age of video games is over

Macsweeney's Feast, An Irish Banquet. After John Derricke's The Image Of Ireland. From The Book Short History Of The English People By J.R. Green, Published London 1893. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Meet the Bart Simpson of 16th century Ireland

Medieval Ireland

Children playing on Harold Road during a Dublin 7 Play Street initiative in June 2023. Photo: Jenny Fearn.

Why we turned a Dublin street into a playground

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

Ken Howard, King Billy and the Brits (1978).

Why did British army employ an artist in Northern Ireland?

More Audio

Your Money

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Why your takeaway is going to cost more, even after July VAT cut

Knock Ryanair

Stronger airline passenger rights are coming, but who will pay?

Close up image of an electricity bill

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

Electricity Prices

Top down picture of university students studying in a circle, sitting on red chairs and using laptops, books and notepads (Getty Images)

Do you need an 'admin night' with friends to fix your finances?

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?

Portrait of two young beautiful women friends sisters wearing black trench coats, sitting at table outside red cafe, talking chatting laughing spending free time having fun. Relationship, travelling.

How 'doom spending' is about more than just consumer behaviour

'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

Nature

'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

Gnathothlibus casementi – a species of Hawkmoth named in honour of Roger Casement. Photo: Eitschberger & O’Hanlon, 2023

Vipers, butterflies & parrots: the secret life of Roger Casement

'Dogs have owners, cats have staff.' Photo: Getty Images

How cats first made their way into our hearts and homes

High waves due to Storm Bram in Tramore

How Irish weather lore shows importance of paying heed to nature

Viewed from the Antrim Coast Road the village of Cushendun on a beautiful Spring day with the gorse blooming in the hedgerows. County Antrim, Northern Ireland

What's the real deal with hedgerows in Ireland?

Editor's Choice

A person using a hose to water plants in their garden

Will a hosepipe ban really change your behaviour around water?

Hemlock Water Dropwort found on Bettystown Beach in Co Meath ( Meath County Council)

Why you shouldn't put Hemlock water dropwort in a curry

Ostriches roam through a field on a Ostrich breeding farm on in Oudtshoorn on July 28, 2025. In an unusual consequence of Donald Trump's tariffs, cowboy boots "made in the USA" will suffer from the 30% tariff starting on August 1, 2025 targeting South Afr

The bizarre story of Britain's failed ostrich empire in Nigeria

A wildfire at Slievenamon as seen from an army helicopter

How wildfires impact our indoor air quality

Can 19th century reading guides teach you to sit properly?

Is time really on your side as the song goes?

Where does the time go?