The Central Statistics Office on November 13th released the consumer price index for this year, which shows a 2.9% increase in the inflation rate over the last 12 months, which is the fastest and highest rise of inflation since March of 2024.
The increase will affect the prices of food items such as dairy and pastries. The price of poultry and meat increased by 6.6% which will affect the price of viands such as Chicken, beef, and turkey.
Meat prices at dunnes – Photo By: Synoah Penaflorida
Aside from household staples, an increase of 7.7% in health insurance, 3.7% in electricity, and 3.6% in rent was reported in the current figures.
Going around Dublin city centre, TheCity asked a few people how much they will be spending this Christmas.
Economist, Dr. Clare O’Mahony, will also be commenting on the hiking prices this holiday season.
We are in the 21st century, there are many international NGOs dedicated to human rights, and yet the death penalty still exists in some countries. One of them being China, and it is exactly there were the latest death sentence was decreed.
On 28 Sep, China’s former minister for agriculture, 63-year-old Tang Renjian, was sentenced to death on corruption charges, with a two-year reprieve.
But why? What are Chinese citizens views on that? The City aimed to find out in this podcast.
Irish dancing is an underrated sport in Ireland that has multiple aspects to it including pressure for success, emotional strain, sense of community, politics and beauty expectations.
Aoibhinn Gannon from Sligo a former Irish dancer from the ages of three to seventeen spoke on the interlinked nostalgia and unspoken realities of the Irish Dancing world.
Today’s episode dives into a topic that is relevant to many people, but often goes under the radar—taking the Leaving Certificate outside of the traditional school setting.
Did you know that every year, around 5 to 10% of the 60,000 students sitting the Leaving Cert in Ireland are adult learners or external candidates? That means approximately 3,000 to 6,000 people are taking these important exams after leaving the conventional school system. Many do it through alternative pathways, like the Back to Education Initiative or Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme, but some, like our guest today, are navigating this journey independently.
Joining me is Séamus O’ Riordan, a 19-year-old who has decided to take on the Leaving Cert outside of school. We’ll be hearing about his motivations, the challenges he’s faced, and his unique perspective on preparing for such a significant exam without the traditional classroom structure.
Dylan Kerrigan is joined by David Rispin from the ‘WeAreMeath’ podcast to discuss Meath GAA’s successful 2021 and the counties aspirations for 2022.
With the Meath minor team winning their first All-Ireland in 29 years and the Meath ladies winning their first ever Senior All-Ireland title, 2021 can be deemed as one of the most successful sporting years for the county to date.
Listen to Jake Hurley review the latest and greatest in Irish music
Irish music is arguably in the best place it’s ever been, with new releases pushing the envelope week on week in a variety of genres. Jake Hurley presents The City Selects – a run-down of five of the most exciting Irish tracks released in the past month.
Elkin – Tuesday
Irish duo Elkin continue their evolution from the folksier sounds of their earlier career towards the forward-thinking electro-pop they’ve presented on recent releases with Tuesday – a track detailing a relationship prematurely fizzling out with a disappointing mid-week breakup.
Producer Lullahush adds his touch future-bass indebted synth-scapes and elaborately layered vocal processing.
Lemonade Shoelace – Autopilot Paradise
Newcastle, Co Down artist Ruairí Richman, now known by his Lemonade Shoelace moniker, shares the relentlessly upbeat and sunny sounds of Autopilot Paradise – a track calling to mind the hazy psych-rock of his musical idol Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. Recorded at Richman’s home studio, Autopilot Paradise is built around hazy synth pads and a driving bassline that underpins Richman’s dreamy reverb and echo-drenched vocals delivering the hook’s memorable pop melody.
NEOMADiC featuring shiv – Waves
NEOMADiC have been a fixture on the Irish hip-hop since 2017’s The NEOMADiC Tape, with a career that’s seen them frequently appear on the festival circuit and support left-field rap legends Souls of Mischief and Pharoah Monch.
Ahead of the release of their upcoming AFTER DARK, they have shared Waves, which features the duo trading witty bars over a Kaytranada indebted beat – all jazzy synth pads, swung drums and booming 808s. The pair are joined by guest vocalist shiv, who confidently delivers smooth melodies throughout the track.
Ugolino – Early Hours
Dublin hip-hop duo Ugolino, made up of vocalist Shane Richardson and producer Oran Hurley, are another exciting prospect from the city’s booming rap scene. On Early Hours the duo present a remarkably well-formed debut, featuring introspective lyricism from Richardson, ornate jazzy production from Hurley and pristine additional vocals courtesy of Leah Tierney. The track culminates as Richardson waxes lyrical over a cathartic burst of drums and brass that add urgency to his laconic flow.
Willhouse feat Fynch & Sick Nanley – So Sorry
Up-and-coming hip-hop producer Willhouse enlists Burner Records MCs Fynch and Sick Nanley for So Sorry – a track that displays both rappers preternatural abilities for crafting witty, reference-laden verses touching on everything from The Simpsons and Malcolm In The Middle to Nirvana’s Nevermind.
Willhouse provides a melancholy sonic environment for the MCs to shine through a vocal sample he has altered and supported with nicely swung, J Dillaesque drum programming.
18 year old Sophie Doyle Ryder is making a name for herself in the Irish music scene. Photo by Ray Keogh
At just 18 years old, Sophie Doyle Ryder already has four singles under her belt. Her third single Too Much made it to number nine on the top 100 Irish Artists on Irish Radio.
Ryder writes all of her own music and says that, while lockdown has been tough (her first headline show has been postponed four times in the last year), it has allowed her to throw herself into writing more songs than ever.
“When all this does end, I have no issues just releasing as much music as I want and doing as many gigs as I want because I have all these songs that I’ve written,” says Ryder.
Her music has drawn comparisons to other artists like Anne-Marie and Rihanna, and while she welcomes the comparisons, Ryder is also putting her own individual style into her songs.
As she waits for the go-ahead for her first headline show in Whelan’s music venue in Dublin, Ryder is already looking to the future, with hopes to release an EP in early August and a full album planned for 2022.
As a Malahide native, Ryder has one important goal for the future.
“The one place, before I die, I hope I can play Malahide castle … that would just be a dream.”
Hugh Foley embraces his AIG 2020 Irish Amateur Close Championship Trophy which he won at Sandy Hills Links, Rosapenna GC, County Donegal. Image courtesy of Hugh Foley
Listen to Liam Daly in conversation with Hugh Foley
The past year has been difficult for everyone, and the world of amateur sport has unfortunately been put on hold. Many of us have felt bereft losing our favourite past times – something that is hugely important for both physical and mental health.
For those battling tooth and nail to make their sport a source of income, the prolonged wait has been a huge blow.
With the courses closed for a huge portion of the year, golfers like Hugh Foley of the Royal Dublin Golf Club on Dollymount Strand have had to bide their time, and try to maintain a high level of mentality and physicality for the approaching season.
Podge Henry, the host of the Podgecast. Image courtesy of Podge Henry
Like many people bored in lockdown, I discovered Podge Henry through one of his many viral videos on TikTok. At the moment, Henry has over 1.7 million likes on his page which has allowed him to have a career on various media platforms, firmly securing his status as an Irish influencer.
Henry’s main project at the moment is The Podgecast, a podcast where he interviews a different guest every episode and has open and honest conversations with them.
“From doing the podcast, I’ve realised that I enjoy mediating conversation or hosting people and letting them be the centre of attention.
“I much prefer when I’m talking to someone else and interviewing them. I just find that so much more enjoyable and just having a conversation. As someone else described it, the podcast is an earwig into a conversation with me and someone else,” Henry reflects.
Starting a podcast has become a popular pandemic pastime – is oversaturation a worry for Henry?
“I don’t think it’s oversaturated because people are putting the work in and there’s so much variety.
“It’s great as well because I can ask people for a hand or for advice and there’s so many people in Ireland who are creating such great podcasts.
“Come back to me in a couple of months and I’ll be like ‘get them off’,” he jokingly adds.
“I always feel kind of guilty because the pandemic has benefited me in a few ways, because people are consuming more content but also for me, it’s what got me doing the podcast regularly. I said ‘listen, I have to start going weekly and get guests’, and that’s when I really noticed the podcast growing.”
“The podcast is an earwig into a conversation with me and someone else”
Podge Henry
However, he also acknowledges the hardships that the last year has brought him too.
“You know, like everyone, there’s moments during the last couple of months where I have had times where I didn’t feel up for it or maybe wasn’t feeling myself, as everyone has, by trying to adapt and it’s been very tough.
“I know for myself that I often find it kind of hard to maybe open up or if I’m down, it’s sort of that Irish ‘oh I’m fine’ way of thinking,” Henry continues. “I think it’s about surrounding yourself with people who are able to talk. That’s one of the things that I’m lucky, very lucky to have, is people around me who understand me enough to know when I’m down. It’s definitely something that I don’t take for granted.”
The podcaster also shares his goals to promote topics related to mental health more on his show.
“It’s something that I’d like to do more on,” he says, “like more specific episodes with that focus. I had Rosanna Purcell on the podcast and we talked about body confidence and I definitely try to link it in the episodes and I try to do it as naturally as possible.
“I’d love to do live events where I can donate the money to a charity of some sort. Something that I’d love to be more able to do when the lockdown lifts is to give back a bit more,” he says.
Podge Henry cradling his Podgecast merch. Photo courtesy of Podge Henry
Henry has also been involved in a number of different sponsorships and campaigns. More notably, he participated in the AntiViral campaign at the end of 2020.
“I enjoyed getting behind it because they promoted the good of the people between the age bracket of 18 and 24, where people were following the guidelines,” he tells me.
“At the time, the media were giving a lot of bad press to the young people of Ireland and this is to promote the good that they were doing. It was also an incredible experience to interview Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn.”
Additionally, the internet personality also discusses his opinion on internet culture in 2021.
“Cancel culture is a funny one because it’s so broad,” he states. “I don’t really think it’s a blanket term. I think that you see it more now that it’s happening every day.
“In terms of being redeemed, it’s really down to the individual and is a case by case basis. It shouldn’t be focused on ending someone’s career, it should be focused on educating that person and other people as well.”
“Cancel culture shouldn’t be focused on ending someone’s career, it should be focused on educating that person and other people as well”
Podge Henry
Podge and I finish up our conversation by discussing the successes that the internet has brought him, such as “the podcast reaching 12,000 downloads in November, which of course in comparison to other people’s podcasts might not be that much at all. But for me, when I compared it to the year before, I had just over 1,000 so that was cool. It’s just those little goals where you kind of realise what you’ve achieved afterwards that I enjoy.”
Henry optimistically looks to the future. “A lot of opportunities that I got last year weren’t really ones that I saw happening, but I’m so happy that they did. So, I hope to keep the podcast up and hopefully more opportunities will present themselves.”
Ceara Carney protesting at the Department of Agriculture with Animal Rebellion – a subgroup of Extinction Rebellion. Photo courtesy of Animal Rebellion Ireland
Prior to the pandemic, Extinction Rebellion were one of the biggest groups at the forefront of climate activism, making headlines worldwide. But ongoing lockdowns saw them forced to take a step back and rethink their plans.
“We are very much on the way back with some new tactics and we can’t wait to get back to the streets in huge numbers again”
Ceara Carney
Actress, podcast host, and activist Ceara Carney wants to make it clear that the group hasn’t gone anywhere.
“Our main tactic of mass mobilisation was taken away from us,” she explains. “But we’ve had some activists and rebels throughout the pandemic and lockdowns constantly meet to figure out our strategy going forward.
“We had our People’s Assembly meeting a few weeks ago where there were 116 people on a Zoom call and we came out with some visions of where to go next. We are very much on the way back with some new tactics and we can’t wait to get back to the streets in huge numbers again.”
Carney attending a protest with Extinction Rebellion and Irish Wildlife Trust to highlight overfishing in Irish waters. Photo courtesy of Ceara Carney
For the past year, activism hasn’t quite looked like it used to – large scale protests have been replaced with smaller actions and social media posts.
After dousing the building with red paint, the two spray painted phrases such as “no more empty promises” along the exterior.
The activists explained that the purpose was to highlight the lack of action from the government in response to the global climate crisis.
Carney portrays a sea goddess at Killiney Bay as part of a campaign to raise awareness for rising sea levels. Photo courtesy of Ceara Carney.
Following the live stream, many people took to social media to express their disgust at the act of vandalism.
“People were just really upset that this historical building had been destroyed, and the irony of that just gets to me,” Carney says.
“If we don’t change, and the government doesn’t change, that building could be subject to water damage from rising sea levels because Dublin is a coastal city. So if people really cared about that building they would be putting pressure on their government too to act now and fight the climate crisis. Nothing like that will matter if we keep going the way we are going.”
If you are interested in getting involved with Extinction Rebellion, email welcomexri@protonmail.com
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