The 2021 Formula 1 season provided exhilarating action from start to finish. But as always, there could only be one winner. This specific championship battle was between Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen, and 7-time F1 champion and Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton.

The High Court on Friday has upheld a legal challenge to works proceeding on a cycling infrastructure trial on the Strand Road in South Dublin, RTÉ News is reporting. The proposed works would have restricted cars and other motorised traffic to a single lane outbound coming out of the city, with the space created as a result being used to implement a 2 way segregated cycle lane. This scheme would have been initially put in place as part of a 6 month trial.

Following on from the highly popular book, ‘Home: Why Public Housing is the Answer’, which was published in 2019, Sinn Féin TD and Spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin, has written his second consecutive book on the topic. This is the latest book of intrigue and is available in most local bookshops.

We are all downhearted, tired, upset and sad, about the events of the last 14 months and the UEFA Euro 2020 is a welcome distraction. With the first match due to start on Friday, the 11th of June at 8pm with Italy versus Turkey which is being held in Rome. 

'Beast of No Nation' is a popular song that was released in 1989 by Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo. Apart from the harmonic blend of musician instruments on the track, the lyrics of the song shed light on previous statements made by the current president of Nigeria, who was head of state from 1983–85.  

The sun shines down on the streets of Dublin city on the last Saturday of May. For the first time in what feels like forever, the city is alive with the sounds of music, chatting and of course, the occasional chant. Groups of friends descend on the city looking for a good time and a sigh of relief, but where to?

As employers call for changes around the rates Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), coupled with staff shortages, poses the question: is it time to fast track the living wage proposal?

Last week, the GAA amended its rules on requiring players to respect the Irish flag and national anthem, making them stricter than was previously the case. According to the Irish Examiner, the rule has been reworded so that “teams shall stand to attention respectfully facing the flag for the full duration of the anthem.”

Developments in Kildare, where so-called REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) bought up houses in bulk, in a housing estate, resulted in REITs competing with first-time buyers. 

The ever-escalating crisis which has emerged since hostilities between Israeli armed forces and the Palestinian minority ensued, has led to widespread condemnation and international outcry. Talks have since shifted from discussing ceasefires to seeking a permanent solution to the issues which continue to face the most complicated region on the planet.

In the past week, there has been a strong reaction to the headline on the Daily Mail and Extra.ie on Monday, the 3rd of May, that students are practically ‘lying in bed’ picking up 125 million in the Pandemic Unemployment Payment loophole. According to Extra.ie, ‘thousands of students are raking in hundreds of euro a week in a Pandemic Unemployment Payment loophole that allows them to claim benefit… The cash – ranging from 203 to 350 euro a week – was meant to support people laid off due to pandemic disruption… But students realised they could claim the benefit and 47,000 third-level students make up the current 403,095 PUP recipients’. One senior Minister was angry at the prospect that students were receiving the PUP who said that ‘having 47,000 students lying in bed enjoying the PUP grant is an astonishing number’.

When it first emerged that the Government was planning to end direct provision, which is contained in the Programme for Government, by December 2024, it was a move that was welcomed by many people, particularly those who are in direct provision and people who have been in direct provision in the past. But, at the same time, it is a move that will require significant work by the Government to pursue an alternative to the failed system of direct provision.