Ireland is often accused of being a boring place for young people. It’s often wet and rainy, and the outdoor activities lacklustre. Here is a list of 10 activities that might keep you occupied this Winter season.
Visit the Gingerman pub. You may not think it from this stunning display, but this is actually a pub. This could be a great stop off for any 12 pub-partakers.
Visit the Guiness Storehouse. You’d be surprised how many Irish natives haven’t seen it yet.
Here’s one for the non-drinkers. Kilmainham Gaol is a great daytime activity for the history nerds.
Go to a sauna. They’re everywhere nowadays!
Find your new favourite restaurant. This is Mama Yo on Camden St.
Try a new bakery. There’s one on every corner, you’d be kept busy for a while.
Matcha is the new craze at the moment and Dublin is quite good at keeping up with the trends.
Find your new go-to bar. “The usual, please.’
George’s Arcade, Grafton St, Henry St. There’s so much fun jewellery to look at everywhere.
10: Go to the Howth Cliff Walk. Ideally save this one for one of the less rainy days.
An assessment released this week by the Department of Finance shows increasing concerns for Ireland’s future economy and society, with an emphasis on the housing market.
Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohue, launched “Future Forty: A Fiscal and Economic Outlook to 2065”, which models over 2,000 scenarios for Ireland’s future over the next forty years. The models are based on national and international trends.
‘Future Forty’ includes a fiscal analysis of how the age demographic will impact Ireland over the next four decades. The assessment shows that the old age dependency ratio has increased, and fertility rates have declined over the past 38 years. The assessment states, “A rising old-age dependency ratio increases pressure on public finances, by raising costs for age-related expenditure. Over the long term, a smaller workforce relative to the total population will pose fiscal challenges and potentially constrain economic growth.”
Demographic trends show that migration will have both positive and negative impacts on the issue. Inward migration can help to alleviate the challenges of our ageing population by filling skill gaps and reducing labour shortages. However, an influx of migrants will pose challenges to the government through the increased demand for infrastructure and public services. ‘Future Forty’ states that this may cause delays in family formation which, in turn, lower birth rates.
Source: assets.gov.ie
The above graph shows population projections from 1996-2022 and includes estimates up to 2057.
The assessment includes a report on housing, which states that it is expected that demand for housing will peak in the early 2030s and will not ease until the 2040s.
Rachel Dunne, a 32-year-old special needs assistant told The City, “I’d be more inclined to emigrate than to wait another 20 years until I can purchase my own home.” Ms. Dunne and her partner have been renting in Dublin for the past 6 years. “We’re lucky to be in the position to afford rent in Dublin, but I just want to paint my own walls without having to ask someone,” she said.
Depending on immigration and fertility rates, it is projected that the population will reach between 5.9M and 7.9M by 2065. Notably, the report states that the current government plans to build 300,000 more houses by 2030.
The main scenario in the ‘Future Forty’ document is referred to as the ‘Central Scenario’. The ‘Central Scenario’ is a model that anticipates a change in household size preference due to changes in demographics over the coming years. Suppliers are predicted to shift from providing family-friendly housing units to units more suitable for single occupants.
Source: assets.gov.ie
The above graph is a representation of projected future housing expenditure and its relative GNI. The ‘Central Scenario’ takes social housing, HAP, and RAS into consideration.
Housing expectations in this scenario are entirely dependent on the 2030 supply target being met.
Charleen Murphy, 27, is an Irish influencer and podcast co-host of “Hold My Drink” alongside fellow influencer and best friend, Ellie Kelly.
Charleen Murphy (left) and Ellie Kelly (right) at one of their Vicar St. live shows in October 2023. Photo: Alison Gussago
Charleen’s career started back in her secondary school days when Suzanne Jackson,
The owner of the beauty brand ‘SOSU by Suzanne Jackson’ hosted a talk at her school which Charleen attended and was immediately inspired.
However, Charleen did not immediately begin her career as an influencer. She studied Childcare at DIT, which she eventually dropped out of as she realised it wasn’t the right path for her. Charleen then started taking social media more seriously, however, she didn’t expect to gain such a large following as she has today and said, “I did it out of the love of fashion and beauty.”
Charleen’s influencing career went on to grow enough to start receiving brand deals. For example, she has recently worked with Coca Cola, PrettyLittleThing, and even Garnier. However, Charleen’s first-ever brand deal was with ‘SOSU by Suzanne Jackson’. Due to the fact that this brand was her inspiration to start this career, it was expected that Charleen would reach out to SOSU herself, however, it was SOSU that reached out to Charleen. This really kickstarted her career as an Irish influencer.
Though being an influencer does come with great benefits such as brands deals, brands trips, and receiving PR, Charleen reveals that social media isn’t all what it seems. Though Charleen is currently in a relationship with Dano Mandroiu, she says that single life as a public figure is hard as “If I were single now, I would be worried people would be looking to be in a relationship with me for a certain thing; just to say they’re richer or something.” She also says that she’s grateful that her boyfriend, Dano, is in the public eye as a footballer, meaning he relates to her feelings on this more. However, Charleen doesn’t express the same concerns with friendships “My friends now are people I’ve known from before, there’s a couple I know from now, but I know that they’re real.” Charleen expressed that she hasn’t had any bad experiences with other Irish influencers, as they are quite a tight-knit community in comparison to the USA for example.
Though sharing details of your life is part of being an influencer, Charleen finds it hard to believe that so many people are interested in her personal life. “You feel like you’re always proving yourself to people.” Charleen spoke about the struggles of social media and how you can never keep everyone happy., “People want something to hate you over.” Charleen reveals that she had to delete Twitter due to the amount of hate she was receiving on the platform. Being so open on social media also allows people to form opinions and assumptions about you., Charleen says that she has had strange rumours made up about her by people she doesn’t even know. “There was a rumour I smashed a glass over someone’s head.” Charleen says that she didn’t expect “people being so nosy” about what goes on in her personal life and that she must be cautious of who she trusts with personal information.
Charleen has also been open on social media about having cosmetic procedures done, however, she is cautious about it as she has a young, impressionable audience. “When you make big decisions, you have to think about that yourself and how you’re going to announce it online.” Charleen does not keep it a secret that she has had a breast augmentation and rhinoplasty, however, she is careful about how much she shares about her experiences with them, as her audience consists mostly of teenage girls. “I’d be wary about it. I don’t post loads about it. I don’t want it to look like I just go around getting loads of stuff done,” she said.
However, despite these negatives of social media, Charleen does love her job and acknowledges that the hate she gets could be worse., “I’m really lucky the hate that I do get is never really about my appearance.” Charleen saidys that despite the challenges that social media brings, for example, thinking of new content, she wouldn’t have it any other way. She enjoys the “freedom and flexibility of it” and the opportunities that being an influencer brings. Charleen co-hosts a podcast with fellow influencer Ellie Kelly called “Hold My Drink”, which started in 2021 and recently had 2 sold-out live shows at Vicar St. She has done campaigns with BooHoo, NastyGal and KASH Beauty, and expresses that they are all “brands I actually love”. In April 2023, she also went on a brand trip to London with Netflix for the show ‘Bridgerton. She expresses how grateful she is that she has these opportunities as part of her career, “things like that are just mad, they’re like little ‘pinch me’ moments.”
Only a small number of Claire’s accessories stores will remain open in Ireland following a recent filing for bankruptcy.
Claire’s accessories, an international high-street chain known for its earrings, hairbands, and the ultimate accessories store for young girls, is closing its doors. The retail giant will have a reduced presence in local shopping districts, but several stores remain around the country.
The company originally filed for bankruptcy in August 2025 and is now in its final stages of closing its doors, with sales of up to 20% and more off certain items.
Investment firm ‘Modella Capital’ saved the company from bankruptcy. However, many of Claire’s stores across the country are still facing closure, leaving the high streets with vacancies to fill, which may not seem enticing to buyers in the current economic climate.
“Some of the other shops around town are closing, the ones in the Ilac shopping centre and Santry are closing, but we never had any intention to close,” said a sales assistant from the St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre branch, who did not wish to be identified.
Some of the other Claire’s stores outside of Dublin, which will be closing, include branches in Limerick, Drogheda, and Mullingar. Counties such as Limerick will be left with zero Claire’s stores following their closure.
According to the sales assistant at the St. Stephen’s Green branch,“We’re actually hiring for staff at the moment.”
The St. Stephen’s Green branch, which remains up and running in the City Centre is of significant size and certainly will make up for the closure of their Ilac Shopping Centre branch.
The appearance of the shop may indicate that they are closing due to huge reductions on items, but TheCity was told the sale is standard procedure at this time of year. Claire’s branches facing closure are clearly marked with ‘CLOSING DOWN SALE’ signs.
Photo: Alison Gussago
The closure of such a prominent high-street brand shows that regardless of popularity, retailers need to constantly be adapting to consumer demands to survive in this economy. With the influence of social media, young girls are no longer interested in the products that were popular among their age demographic 10 years ago.
As seen from the picture above, Claire’s has had the same iconic purple branding for many years. However, is the target market looking for something more grown-up, like the products they see their favourite influencers and Tik Tokers using?
The closure of the store is another representation of how the cost of living is affecting businesses in Ireland. Despite Modella Capital buying out several of Claire’s stores across the UK and Ireland, there is still a large number of people working in branches which are due to close down who did not have their job saved by the investment firm.
With the closure of such a significant high-street chain leaving an empty space in the iconic Ilac Shopping Centre, there will be a challenge to fill the vacancy with a store that entices the public.
A record number of 60,946 students have been given exemptions from studying Irish in secondary school as of September 2025, .according to TG4’s current affairs programme ‘As Láthair’,
There is speculation that the main reason for this unprecedently high figure comes as a result of an influx of young people immigrating into Ireland in recent years.
Leaving cert student Anna Caldwell tells The City, “I personally didn’t have the option to get an exemption since I’m born and raised in Ireland with no learning disabilities, but I would if I could. The language is taught terribly.” Caldwell says the way in which the language is taught is difficult and uninteresting for students.
Exemptions are typically granted to individuals who have special education needs or have come from abroad.
The Department of Education and Youth has said that the current number of exemptions equates to 1 in 7 children having permission to be excused from studying Irish. The current figure of 60,946 is up by more than 5,000 in comparison to the previous 2023/2024 school term.
The Department of Education and Youth has expressed concerns for the pressure that is put on schools, especially principals, when an exemption is not granted.
Conradh na Gaeilge, an online forum for the Irish speaking community, says the exemptions are “being granted too easily.” According to the forum, the current system is failing due to the overuse of exemptions and the disadvantages for those with learning disabilities.
Conradh na Gaeilge are advocating for a reformed curriculum which would allow for tailored learning in an effort to include late arrivals to the Irish education system, and to help students with literacy and comprehensive challenges.
“The system is definitely outdated, and I can see students’ lack of interest in it. It’s very grammar based. It could be more enticing if it involved more visual learning such as Irish films or even some more story books involved,” said Sinéad Byrne, and Irish and P.E. secondary school teacher.
The rate of exemptions has increased yearly and has almost doubled in the past 6 years, with 33,476 students recorded to have been exempt in 2019.
Dublin Independent Fashion Week took place this year from 22nd-29th September with an array of events around the City. Alison Gussago reports on two of the weeks’ events.
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