Stories

The Nancy's, Ardara print framed in oak on a whitewashed kitchen wall above a scrubbed timber worktop, beside a black cast iron range
Nancy's, Ardara: seven generations, and the widow the pub is named after
The sign over the door says Charles McHugh. Everyone calls it Nancy's, after the woman who took it on when he died. Read more...
The Tigh Neachtáin print framed in oak on a plaster wall above deep blue panelling, beside a worn leather armchair and a brass lamp
Tigh Neachtáin, Galway: the corner everyone gives directions by
Open since 1894, in a house that belonged to the man who wrote the first animal welfare law onto a statute book anywhere. Read more...
The John Kehoe print framed in oak, hanging in a Georgian Dublin hallway
John Kehoe, South Anne Street: a grocery that never quite stopped
Licensed in 1803, fitted out in the late 1800s, and left alone since. The mahogany drawers behind the counter used to hold tea, rice and snuff. Read more...
The Bulman, Kinsale, printed and framed in oak on deep green panelling beside a leather armchair
The Bulman, Summercove: the pub ten feet from the water
Out past Kinsale, under Charles Fort, the road drops to the water and stops at an orange building. What we found out about it, and the one thing we could... Read more...
Framed family photographs hung on a deep green wall in an Irish home
Cold, damp and dark: the three problems in every old Irish house
Cold walls, condensation and low winter light. The three problems every old Irish house has, and the cheap decorating half of each answer. Read more...
A fringed wool throw over the arm of an old armchair in a dark green room, with low window light across the wall
The good throw: how to buy wool that lasts
Most throws sold in Ireland are acrylic and pill within a season. What wool actually does, what the certifications mean, what a good one costs here, and how to keep... Read more...
The cliffs at Mizen Head, West Cork, the most southerly point of Ireland, looking down on the sea
West Cork in September, when it goes back to being itself
The crowds go home, the sea is still warm and the light gets better. Where to go in West Cork in September, from people who live here. Read more...
A dark green wall hung with framed pictures around an ornate mirror
April and the Bear, and why we rate it
Siobhan Lam started online in 2014 with her own typographic posters. A decade on it is one of Ireland's best interiors shops. What we take from how she did it. Read more...
A West Cork cottage parlour with exposed beams, pine panelling and a green armchair in afternoon light
The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, explained
Up to €70,000 to do up an empty house. What the Croí Cónaithe grant pays, who qualifies, the ten-year clawback, and the two things people get caught by. Read more...
Framed pictures hung on a deep green wall in an Irish home
The autumn 2026 colour shift, and what it means for an Irish sitting room
Earthy heritage shades, a warmer white and colour drenching. What the autumn 2026 colour shift actually means for a small Irish room with bad winter light. Read more...