Although Christmas is a special time of year no matter what age you are, it’s especially exciting for children. Here are my top 5 magical things to do with your kids this Christmas… 1. Decorate: Everything – Children are often drawn to colours and pretty things so there’s no curbing their enthusiasm when it comes to Christmas. Even though it’s […]

10 years ago

This chap found a unique way to celebrate the crack of dawn at Newgrange today. The website of the world heritage site tells us: “As you wait in the darkness of Newgrange passage tomb, on the very spot where people stood some 5,000 years ago, the first rays of the winter solstice sun creep in […]

10 years ago

Seven-year-old Oisín O’Driscoll, who tragically died in a suspected murder-suicide, will be laid to rest in his dad’s hometown of Bray on Friday. Oisín was found alongside his 37-year-old mother Sinéad Higgins, originally from Westport, in their West London home last week. Ms. Higgins was a registered nurse and working as a medico-legal advisor at the Chelsea and […]

10 years ago

It’s little wonder that Santa looks so round and jolly as new research has found that he will consume 5.7 million calories and a whopping 1.6 million units of booze this Christmas Eve in Ireland. Shur it’d be rude not to offer the man a drink when he’s working so hard. Research from the folks […]

10 years ago

Move over Jamie, there’s a new chef in town and he’s soooo cute! The latest addition to the Oliver clan, 4-month-old River, made his TV debut alongside his family in his dad Jamie’s Christmas TV show. Jamie’s Ultimate Christmas featured baby River alongside Jamie and Jools Oliver and their other children Poppy (14), Daisy (13), […]

10 years ago

Is your sitting room in need of a little TLC ? This New Year, Johnstone’s Paint want to give you give you the perfect sitting room to enjoy with family and friends. So, we have teamed up with them to give away a fantastic luxurious room makeover worth €3,000. The prize includes a design consultation […]

10 years ago

Dublin City Council have given the green light to plans that will see the occupied Apollo House demolished in favour of a €50 million redevelopment plan. The proposed development includes offices, shops, and restaurants, but does not include any housing. The owners of Apollo House have stated that they are “worried about the health and safety” of […]

10 years ago

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland launched its Rape Crisis Statistics and Annual Report yesterday. With over 13,000 calls to 11 Rape Crisis Centres last year, the report shows the importance of the centres as essential safe places for disclosure and support for survivors of sexual violence. The report indicates that of those using Rape Crisis Centres, 65 […]

10 years ago

Apollo House is a formely vacant property in NAMA’s portfolio. It has been opened up by Home Sweet Home, a coalition of different housing groups to take people off the streets. The group have provided a glimpse into life inside Apollo House with a short clip posted to YouTube. A vacant NAMA controlled office block […]

10 years ago

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) have sacked thirty Junior and Leaving Certificate examiners this year for breaching strict protocol. A further six have been demoted and seventeen have received an official warning. According to The Irish Times a total of fifty-three examiners were found to have breached strict marking rules for the secondary school exams. A spokesman for the SEC told […]

10 years ago

Brought a Christmas purchase home only to discover that it’s faulty? Recently found last year’s gift voucher only to find it has expired? How well do you know your consumer rights? We spoke to The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to help shed some light on common consumer myths. From premature deposits to misplaced gift vouchers to sales […]

10 years ago

If you have enough energy left after finishing your Christmas shopping, we’d recommend being a little naughty this festive season and having a jolly end to the day. To help you, we’ve put together a list of five festive sex positions and let’s just say you won’t be yelling “ho ho ho” but rather “oh […]

10 years ago

As the Home Sweet Home group continue to occupy Apollo House, a disused Dublin office building currently accommodating 31 homeless people, figures released by the Central Bank show that the housing and homeless crisis is continuing to deepen. The figures show that more than four family homes are being repossessed every day. By the end of […]

10 years ago

Ireland’s Fittest Family has become almost as popular a spectator sport in my house as a hurling match. Alright, I said almost. Yesterday saw Mairead Ronan welcome us to the exciting final in Dublin’s Docks where we watched the Cummins clan from Tipperary win €15,000 and the coveted title of Ireland’s Fittest Family 2016. Since exploding onto […]

10 years ago

Were you a fan of The Worst Witch series of books back in the day? Rather unbelievably, Jill Murphy’s pre-Hogwarts stories about the jinxed Mildred Hubble was first published in 1974. Mildred might now be over 40 but she’s about to make a comeback… Controller Cheryl Taylor has commissioned an ambitious re-imagining of the much loved Jill Murphy […]

10 years ago

What better way to celebrate St. Stephen’s night than with a boozy hot chocolate? We came across this delicious recipe on Metro and we CANNOT wait to make some (when we say some, we obviously mean loads). All you need is: Your normal powder-made hot chocolate 15ml coconut vodka 15ml Baileys Irish Cream 7.5ml vanilla […]

10 years ago

A new study has found that babies who are genetically at risk from asthma have a 27 percent decreased risk of developing respiratory symptoms if they are breastfed. The research, which was recently presented at the European Respiratory Society’s International Congress in London, sheds new light on the interactions between genetics and the environment when it comes to asthma. The study […]

10 years ago

Rob Kardashian has taken to his various social media accounts in the last number of hours to express his heartbreak that fiancée Blac Chyna has left him and taken baby Dream with her. The 29-year-old younger brother of Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe posted messages on his Instagram announcing that Chyna has left the family home just one month […]

10 years ago

Holly Willoughby wins best Christmas jumper ever as far as we’re concerned. The This Morning presenter has posted a self-deprecating selfie to her Instagram of the festive garment which features two appropriately placed Christmas puds and her nickname ‘Willaboobies’. The picture has managed to rack (ahem) up 47.7k likes. Ledgebag. Holly and Phillip hosted their last episode of This Morning yesterday. […]

10 years ago

A 24-year-old woman has given birth to a healthy baby boy at London’s private Portland hospital after using frozen ovarian tissue removed when she was jus nine. The BBC have reported that Moaza Al Matrooshi is thought to be the first woman in the world to have a baby after having an ovary frozen before the onset of […]

10 years ago

We recently reported the heartbreaking story of a terminally ill five-year-old boy who passed away in the arms of Santa Claus. Now, it has been alleged that the Santa in question, 60-year-old Eric J. Schmitt-Matzen, may have fabricated the entire event. The 60-year-old who often plays the part of Santa Claus, alongside his wife Sharon as […]

10 years ago

The Despicable Me 3 trailer is out and the movie looks set to appeal to those of us born in the best decade ever, the 1980s. Gru, his Minions, and the Anti-Villain League are coming back to our screens and this time they are up against the coolest bad guy yet. The brilliantly-named Balthazar Bratt is a former ’80s […]

10 years ago

Pink, who announced that she is expecting her second child last month, has posted a stunning photo of herself and her growing bump on her Instagram account. The 37-year-old singer and her retired BMX pro hubby Carey Hart (41) married in 2006 and welcomed their daughter Willow in June 2011. The cute 5-year-old provided the hands cuddling […]

10 years ago

A drinks company in the UK is advertising what could possibly be the best job in the world, as they search for a ‘gintern’ to get paid £20,000 a year to travel Europe drinking gin. The company, with the self-explanatory name ILoveGin, started advertising the position last August but have yet to fill the enviable role. They […]

10 years ago

Do you love your cat butt (see what I did there) struggle with your moggy’s lack of modesty? Fear not, the Twinkle Tush is here to save the day. This rear-end adornment for your feline friend is actually a joke gift from the designers behind the Cat Crib. Although you can buy the glittering gem, the makers […]

10 years ago

London-based mummy-vlogger Tova Leigh, who has more than 30,000 followers, says that there’s no such thing as a mama who never loses it. The mum-of-three espouses a ‘life is short’ philosophy about parenting: “Even though I also cry often (like, very often), I do try to keep it light and laugh, because life is just just […]

10 years ago

In a year that has seen oversharing taken to new levels by parenting bloggers, we may have just hit a new low. Say hello to the poo selfie… Sophie Cachia, who blogs as @theyoungmummy and has a tagline that reads “boobs, pubes and all”, recently posted a sweet photo of herself cuddling her little boy. […]

10 years ago

Foster mum and mental health blogger Rachel Hillestad, recently posted a picture of a Cookie Monster toothbrush to her Facebook page in a moving tribute to her eight-year-old foster child. A writer who blogs on everything from her emergency hysterectomy at 32, Sensory Processing Disorder, twin loss, depression, anxiety, OCD to raising foster kids and letting them move on, Rachel […]

10 years ago

It may not be a full-on SATC reunion but rumours are rife about a Samantha Jones spin-off and Kim Cattrall just added a lot more fuel to the fire… Although tongues have been wagging about a third movie since the (slightly dodgy) sequel hit cinemas, Kim has *just about* confirmed that something is in the […]

10 years ago

Ok people. This is turning into a serious problem. Last week we had the worrying news about the remake of 80s classic Beaches. Now Hollywood is turning its attention to the 90s. That’s right folks, they’ve remade Baywatch. The Hoff has officially been replaced by Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron’s abs. But the movie-makers have stuck […]

10 years ago

Although One Direction’s Liam Payne is yet to comment on girlfriend Cheryl’s rumoured pregnancy, it looks like the 23-year-old is feeling more than a little protective of his other-half. Last night, Liam took to his  Twitter account to slam X Factor judge Louis Walsh (who was on the panel both times Liam auditioned for the show). Liam didn’t @ the […]

10 years ago

You may find this hard to believe but my six-year-old son recently declared that “Waterford was better than Disneyland Paris.” And I have to concede, after spending an absolutely magical family weekend at Winterval, we certainly had just as good a time as we did in the French capital! In 2012 a small group of volunteers […]

10 years ago

The Gardaí’s Serious Crime Review Team have opened a new cold case investigation into the disappearance of Trevor Deely, who went missing after attending a Christmas party on the 8th of December sixteen years ago. After enjoying his office party at Buck Whaley’s nightclub on Dublin’s Leeson Street, the then 22-year-old Trevor Deely set off for […]

10 years ago

If you thought that Modern Family star Sofía Vergara’s battle for the fertilised embryos she has with her ex Nick Loeb couldn’t get any weirder, it just did. A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the eggs, who have already been named ‘Emma’ and ‘Isabella’. The embryos were created in 2013 following two unsuccessful rounds of IVF treatment. The couple […]

10 years ago

Researchers from a German University have found that exercise may help to improve sperm quality. Behzad Maleki of Justus-Liebig University and his colleagues found that men who engage in moderate exercise between three and five times a week improve their sperm count and quality, according to a new study published in Reproduction. With many couples struggling to conceive due […]

10 years ago

Sean Matthews, 10, from Tallaght in Dublin, was left devastated after his little dog Mojo escaped from the family home last month.  Sean, who has autism, was finally reunited with his beloved dog last weekend, with help from a homeless couple. The young boy’s mum, Tara Matthews, now wants to raise money to help the […]

10 years ago

It really is the most magical time of the year. For the lucky among us who get to spend it with loved ones, and kids, the excitement is palpable. The wonderment at Santa coming, opening pressies and staying in your jammies all day. For parents, though, it can be exhausting and stressful too: combine very early wake-ups with present-buying, tipsy family members, over-tired kids, and hangovers…. […]

10 years ago

Storm Keating announced yesterday that she is expecting her first baby with husband Ronan.   The 35-year-old Australian television producer married the ex-Boyzone star in August 2015 and has revealed that the baby was conceived on their wedding anniversary. It will be a fourth child for Ronan, 39, who is already dad to Jack, 17, Missy, […]

10 years ago

Do you have a wild stallion at home who you’d like to saddle up for Christmas? The creators of Pony Up Daddy say that this, er…human saddle…is the fun new way for parents and grandparents to give pony rides like never before! Quite. Pony Up Daddy, the winner of The National Parenting Centre’s ‘Seal of Approval’, is […]

10 years ago

Newly-crowned queen of the jungle Scarlett Moffatt has revealed exactly how she plans to spend her expected £1million windfall from tv deals and endorsements. The 26-year-old Gogglebox star from Durham beat Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas and comedian Joel Dommett to the jungle throne, by winning I’m A Celebrity at the weekend. The down-to-earth northern lass, who recently […]

10 years ago

Singer Paloma Faith has taken to Instagram to share her joy at becoming a first-time mum. The former The Voice mentor wrote that she underwent an emergency Caesarean after a difficult labour and expressed her thanks to the hospital staff. Paloma went on to praise the UK’s NHS as one of the country’s greatest achievements: “After a difficult labour […]

10 years ago

Australian über-blogger and mum-of-four Constance Hall is postponing her much anticipated UK and Ireland tour.  The 33-year-old artist and parenting blogger from Perth, Australia, took to her Facebook page yesterday to say that both she and the family are too exhausted for the trip to go ahead as planned. Since launching her Facebook page in 2015 and […]

10 years ago

A US judge has sentenced Justin Ross Harris to life in prison without parole for the death of  his 22-month-old son Cooper, who died after being left in a hot SUV in June 2014. Last month, a jury convicted Harris of malice and felony murder and other charges for intentionally leaving little Cooper in the […]

10 years ago

Do you remember how Closer Online revealed the names of the women most likely to fall pregnant in 2016? Well, they’ve done it all over again for 2017. How they worked it out was they looked at the average age that a woman gives birth to her first child in the UK – this was […]

10 years ago

“My body was completely broken, but I didn’t realise I would never see him again.” These are the words of Gillian Treacy, mother of four year old Ciarán who was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver in April 2014. Gillian’s story and that of her husband Ronan, the Emergency Services who attended […]

10 years ago

Ho, Ho, Ho! What has Aunty Ali gotten you for Christmas? A bountiful array of festive telly delights that’s what! You lucky duckies. We all know the true meaning of Christmas. That’s right, watching television. This year’s Christmas line-up will have you glued to the sofa just like the Royle Family. Highlights include Mary, Paul, […]

10 years ago

The stars of Sky’s 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy, Baz and Nancy Ashmawy, have just revealed the locations for Cadbury Chocolate’s ‘Cadvent Convoy’. Ireland’s favourite mother and son duo today revealed the chosen route for the chocolate-filled Christmas truck, following two weeks of public voting. Kicking off today with a large launch event in Grand Canal Dock […]

10 years ago

Ben Carter will only drink from a specific blue Tommee Tippee cup, but the particular style went out of production twenty years ago, so Dad Marc looked to social media for help. To most people, it’s just an everyday child’s sippy cup, but for 14-year-old Ben Carter from Devon in the UK, it is the […]

10 years ago

Prepare yourselves because American cable and satellite television channel Lifetime have just released the official trailer for their remake of 80’s weepy Beaches. Grammy Award winner Idina Menzel, who voiced Frozen‘s Elsa and the song that just won’t Let It Go, plays CC Bloom, the role made famous in 1988 by Bette Midler. Coincidentally, Wind Beneath My Wings […]

10 years ago

Santa’s reindeer have got themselves a Christmas nixer this year. A Domino’s Pizza branch in Japan plans to deliver pizza by reindeer in preparation for expected snowy conditions. As with the company’s ordinary delivery bikes, the reindeer will be equipped with a GPS driver-tracker device that can check the delivery status in real time. Training is now […]

10 years ago