On the 20th September, the Sunday Times released their newest Behaviour and Attitudes Poll. In it, one of the most striking statistics was that Sinn Féin were polling at 50% in the 18-34 years category. I think this is an acknowledgement of younger people’s lack of faith in the current government and more.  General Election 2020 In the lead up to the 2020 General Election, Sinn Féin was unsure of its standing. It put forth 42 candidates for the election, half that of the parties of the last confidence-and-supply government: Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. They went on to take 37 of those 42 co ..read more

With the passing of John Hume, the people of Ireland knew we had lost one of our greats. The upset it caused did not stop at our shores, it touched people around the globe. Hume was undoubtedly an icon of peace, but more than that he was a relatable and responsible politician, who understood the importance of listening and bringing the people along with you. These key components of his political style ought to be at the forefront of politics today; during this fearful global pandemic yes, but into the future too. Ireland is yet again crippled with fear in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Br ..read more

I think it is universally agreed that 2020 has not been the best of years, for some more than others. Thankfully I have not struggled too much with my mental health thanks to having parents who are relatively open-minded and reasonably comfortable when talking about mental health. They’re also not particularly strict by the standards of many African parents, which makes my experience more positive than a number of my friends. Nevertheless, from time to time, there have been issues that have affected me. This year in particular has been a gut punch and I have struggled numerous times this year ..read more

After three years in college, I have just graduated with a degree in English and History. Although I’m so grateful and excited to have reached this milestone, I initially had many fears about leaving the comforting routine of college and entering a world of uncertainty. Graduating is scary enough as it is but graduating during a worldwide pandemic brings fears and roadblocks I never imagined. However, accepting things as they are and letting go of expectation has helped me to change my mindset and regain some perspective. Finishing college For starters, my graduation day looked a lot different ..read more

If you are working and are told to self-isolate or diagnosed with COVID-19, you can now apply for a COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit payment of €350 per week. Who is entitled to Enhanced Illness Benefit? You can receive Enhanced Illness Benefit if you are an employee or self-employed and if you live in direct provision. If you are sick for another reason or self-isolating because you are medically vulnerable, you can apply for standard Illness Benefit instead. Who can apply for Enhanced Illness Benefit? You can apply for enhanced Illness Benefit, if you: Are suspected of having COVID-19 ..read more

I strongly believe now more than ever that we need to look at what we want from our country and where we want our country to be heading. It is now coming up to Christmas and it is an extremely tough time for people all over the country. Announcing COVID-19 restrictions Recently, NPHET announced a Level 5 Restriction guideline for the government. This was announced in the media on a Sunday night. This is when many parents are preparing their children for school, people are getting ready for work, and trying to deal with the idea of Halloween being different for their children and our country th ..read more

Every morning as I’m sipping a glass of orange juice and tucking in to breakfast, I scroll through social media pages, as I’m sure many of you do too. No matter if I’m super enthusiastic about the day ahead, or dreading whatever chores there are to come, I’m faced with the same messages. “Just be optimistic!”, “Look on the bright side!”, or “Positive vibes only!” Every time I see those overly cheerful exclamation marks I wonder who in this world really experiences nothing but positivity. Well, here’s my answer – no one.  What is toxic positivity?  Toxic positivity is when you pretend ..read more

Like many people right now, I’ve recently started working from home. Not only is this a new experience in itself for me, but it’s also a brand-new job. I’d already heard of people struggling to adapt to this situation – lacking motivation, getting easily distracted – but up until now, while in my old retail job, I thought these were silly complaints. As it turns out, I’ve already begun to see these signs in myself. I’m already much less motivated than I was a few weeks ago, and sometimes I struggle to maintain focus. The routine of getting up and getting a bus to work, as tiring as it was at t ..read more

Long before the “Social Dilemma” documentary was released on Netflix, I had questioned my interactions with social media. I was dependent on my social media, like a new-born child depends on their parents for love and nurture. It sounds incredibly alarming when put it like so, but that was the enormity of the problem.  Looking at how I use social media After some deep reflection and ample amounts of denial, I finally decided to say I had a problem with my social media use. I was engaging in this particular activity every day and unfortunately in my opinion it was remarkably unhealthy. The ..read more

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of talking about gender identity in schools is awkwardness. Not because it’s an awkward topic, nothing could be further from the truth in my mind, but because in my experience it is so rarely spoken about that people don’t know how to. Just last week I was asked for the first time ever what my gender pronouns are. I was so shocked by the question that it took me a few moments to register what was actually being asked. The real question is why it has taken twelve years in the education system for me to have an opportunity to answer, and I think ..read more