Only 63% of babies in Ireland are breastfed at birth. Countries like the U.S, Australia, and Sweden achieve initiation rates of more than 90%, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX

More than 5,000 children in Ireland have no home, says Cian Dalton, Community Fundraising Officer, Focus Ireland (Cork) - and the Shine A Light Sleep Out event next month will help highlight this. 

An online event will offer advice to people who have conditions such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, to mark World Stoma Day this week

Social influencers have taken on the role of advertisers in modern society, says TREVOR LAFFAN - but should we really be listening to them and heeding their words?

It's been an underwhelming presidential campaign thus far, says JOHN DOLAN, who wonders if we should set a voter threshold for the next incumbent to enter the Áras

As visitors to the Cork city sanctuary are warned to avoid contact with sick or dead birds, DR CATHERINE CONLON, a public health doctor in Cork, explains what bird flu is, and how it may affect humans

From what I know, cows were always milked here; 200 years ago, before the ‘Great’ Famine, every farm had three or four to provide milk and butter for the family, writes JOHN ARNOLD. 

A new initiative launched in Cork this week aims to promote the use of Irish Sign Language, says NIECY O’KEEFFE, a Cork member of the Deaf community

Yes, I had the flu. Yes, I was feeling rotten. The worst of the symptoms had passed but the virus left me weak as a cracked egg and mean as a snake,' writes ÁILÍN QUINLAN. 

Children today are growing up surrounded by screens. Cork-based Pádraic Vallely, Senior Philanthropy & Development Manager at Rethink Ireland, says we urgently need to invest in active play

Autumn has arrived with a drop in temperatures. Ciara O’Gorman, Development Manager with South Munster Citizens Information Service, discusses additional supports available to assist with heating costs

Amidst the discussions about VAT rates for restaurants, tightening the public purse, and protecting jobs, I have heard little about how investing in children and young people must be placed at the centre of Budget 2026., writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

Persistent shoplifters should be named and shamed, and their photos should be posted in public and shared among other retailers, says former garda TREVOR LAFFAN

September is Pain Awareness Month, and here MARGARET DONNELLAN talks to Cork city woman Irene Hegarty about how she lives with “severe, constant pain”

After his stint on hit TV show The Traitors Ireland, Cork contestant Andrew Moloney tells JOHN DOLAN he has no 'daddy issues' at all!

Singing is about confidence, connection, and culture, says Caoimhe O’Brien, who runs Music Mad, a female-owned music school based in the Marina Commercial Park here in Cork

On what would have been his 88th birthday, Corkman Dick Roche was finally brought home to the place he was born, relates JOHN ARNOLD

A ‘Know Your Rights’ article by Cork City Citizens Information, detailing the Free Energy Upgrades (Warmer Homes Scheme) provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)

After a perfect trip away, ÁILÍN QUINLAN had planned some TLC on her homecoming... but life always gets in the way, doesn't it?!

Pressure is building on our classrooms – and 42% of Cork primary school children learn in overcrowded classes of 25 pupils or more, says ANNA HORAN, INTO President

With hopes all but dashed of a Cork candidate this year, KATHRIONA DEVEREUX suggests four Corkonians who could run for the Áras in 2032...

An Oireachtas committee is due to discuss possible changes to cannabis laws, but, says DR CATHERINE CONLON, health risks, addiction, and higher healthcare costs must be factored into the debate

On the road, in the skies, online, and on the streets, rage seems to be the order of the day, says TREVOR LAFFAN

In an era of AI disruption, multi-generational workforces, and constant organisational change, the need for human-centred leadership has never been greater, Alison Hodgson, newly appointed Country Market Director at CIPD Ireland, tells MARY CUMMINS

The punk has thrown his hat into the ring as a contender for the Áras, and JOHN DOLAN traces Bob Geldof's connection to Leeside

When Cork man Gerry Kelly decided to speak out about his experience of prostate cancer, his daughter GERALDINE KELLY admits she cringed at times, but he has made a huge difference, she says

His has been a remarkable career and life as an educator and guide to so many young people, says JOHN ARNOLD of Cork man Dan Leahy

A new city park could be a haven for nature, kids, teenagers and all the citizens of Hollyhill, Knocknaheeny and Fairhill, says CATHERINE CONLON

I know this particular road very well and I was driving quite cautiously....Perhaps that’s what saved my life, writes ÁILÍN QUINLAN. 

A ‘Know Your Rights’ update from South Munster Citizens Information, focusing on recent changes to organ donation laws in Ireland

A Cork Volunteer who died in 1922 will be saluted in his home town of Youghal this weekend, says MIKE HACKETT, when a pipe band will re-enact his funeral procession 103 years later.

KATHRIONA DEVEREUX shares 10 things she learned about Dev while making RTÉ’s Dev: Rise + Rule. 

A damning recent report on the approach of gardaí to speed patrols made grim reading for former garda TREVOR LAFFAN

People considering the next step in their career should consider university- accredited micro-credential courses in offshore wind, writes Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland

Stories and memories in the rural communities of Cork can stick around long after the characters involved have departed, says JOHN ARNOLD

An update from South Munster Citizens Information, focusing on the rights available to people in private rented housing as regards increases in rent

What officialdom seems to forget in this dispute, is that these people are the lynch-pins of every school, says ÁILÍN QUINLAN

Resilient Cork businesses are having to navigate an uncertain business environment, says Paul O’Connell, Area Managing Partner at business advisory and accounting firm Xeinadin

Fed up with watching the young generation abandon books for screens, Echo columnist ÁILÍN QUINLAN has decided to do something about it. She explains the reasoning behind a Cork event she has organised

Admire or abhor him, there are few people who have had as much influence on Irish life as Éamon de Valera, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX

I have a small, framed photograph at home that I glanced at last week and it set me off, writes TREVOR LAFFAN. 

A Cork programme offers students a great opportunity to develop new ideas and foster entrepreneurship, says Carole O’Leary, Programme Manager of Student Inc. at MTU

In his weekly column, JOHN DOLAN shares the story of a Cork man who completed an extraordinary challenge to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. 

Last month, John and Fionnuala Desmond, of Inniscarra, went to Tanzania with World Vision Ireland to meet their sponsored child. Here, they recall the deeply moving and eye-opening experience

Imagine if Napoleon was a hurler on the ditch when the Ballybricken Estate team played Kilmoney of Carrigaline in December, 1829, writes JOHN ARNOLD. 

An event next month will celebrate a century of great reading material, says Sinéad Neville, Head of Publishing at Cork University Press

Recent research found that more than one in three first-time mothers were being given drugs to artificially accelerate their labour, when there appeared to be no requirement for it to be used, writes ÁILÍN QUINLAN. 

Vaping in childhood is a ‘gateway’ to cannabis and cigarettes – further restrictions of marketing and sales of vapes are an urgent priority, says DR CATHERINE CONLON

A ‘Know Your Rights’ update from South Munster Citizens Information, focusing on renewing your driving licence

Far from thinking the city is broken, I think Cork is thriving, albeit with plenty of room for improvement, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

There is an Irish woman who would be great for the Áras, just like Jacinta Ardern was for New Zealand, says CATHERINE CONLON

While sleeping apart has traditionally been seen as a sign of marital trouble, some experts suggest it’s time to revisit that outdated thinking so we can all get a good night’s sleep.

Paying under €300 for the length of the Premier League season, as I am, is a reasonable deal - and I know this because I wrote an article about how much I was paying to watch Premier League soccer 18 years ago on this very page... and it was much more. 

A summer placement at PepsiCo in Little Island was a great way to expand the knowledge of UCC student Rachel Burke. MARGARET DONNELLAN finds out about the programme

I’m old-fashioned and I do accept that many people nowadays only get their ‘news’ digitally, but does this mean that in another decade or three, conversation - the actual art of talking - will be largely forgotten?

ÁILÍN QUINLAN has details of a dog agility contest at the Clonakilty Showgrounds this weekend. 

Ahead of the Leaving Cert results on Friday, MICHELLE FLYNN, Career Guidance Counsellor and Career Advisor at www.careerhub.ie, has tips on what to do and the next stage for students

As the final céilí of the season takes place at The Lough tomorrow, KATHRIONA DEVEREUX pays tribute to the weekly event where teens dance with grannies and everyone has a ball

The Government must put the health and safety of the people ahead of money, and remove VAT on SPF products, says Peter Horgan, Labour councillor for the Cork City South East Ward

Nationally, there are 5,552 inmates in a prison system with a capacity for 4,672 prisoners... how do we resolve this, asks TREVOR LAFFAN

The Japanese don’t tolerate big cars that put children and pedestrians at risk, so why should we, asks DR CATHERINE CONLON, a public health doctor in Cork

The government simply cannot allow any delay to the four-year apprenticeship to be normalised, writes JOHN DOLAN. 

With grocery prices going up, DR CATHERINE CONLON shares ideas on how to reduce food bills, tackle obesity, and improve health

From an early age, Clare was an extrovert with her radiant smile and bright and bubbly personality. Though from a Catholic family, she herself admitted the ‘practise of the faith’ was not uppermost in her mind, writes JOHN ARNOLD. 

To mark World Relaxation Day this week, Dr Heather McKee, one of Europe’s leading behavioural science experts, shared some tips on how you can have a calmer life

Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book became famous and, to this day, believe it or not, is viewed not only as an early classic but also as a still fabulous guide to life, politics, and relationships.

Cork has a bright culinary past, present, and future - and the Cork On A Fork festival starting tomorrow is just one taster of that, says Cllr Fergal Dennehy, Lord Mayor of Cork

Is the right of airports and airlines to increase their profits greater than the right of citizens and residents to a quiet environment, asks KATHRIONA DEVEREUX.

Cork Heritage Open Day this weekend is a chance to celebrate the city’s past and remember its diversity and community, says Niamh Twomey, Heritage Officer in Cork City Council

Covering a book in human skin is a gruesome thought and, thankfully, my mother never went to that extreme, writes TREVOR LAFFAN. 

We’ve all seen the statistics, but they still have the power to stop us in our tracks: Cork has lost more than 360 pubs since 2005 - more than one in three licensed premises - and there is no sign of an end to the decline.

Cork’s EU Commissioner has the power to switch off internet algorithms that endanger our society, says Dr Johnny Ryan, Director of Enforce, a unit of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties

In this prize-winning essay, Rachel Barry, a student at Bruce College, Cork, marks the 250th anniversary yesterday of the birth of ‘The Liberator’ Daniel O’Connell

Around 1915, along with a cousin, Johnny Murphy decided to emigrate, to ‘take the boat’ to England in search of more lucrative employment. Both men walked to Cork city with their bag on their back with plans to board the Innisfallen on the quayside.

Some may take them from granted, but libraries remain a keystone of Cork society, says JOANNE DWYER

Bear with me, says ÁILÍN QUINLAN, as she writes about the cowboys and the ranch. 

Living in Cork city, we are fortunate to be surrounded by plenty of others who see the crucial importance of good food as a core component of health and happiness, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

Rising food prices must be addressed, not ignored, by government, says Dr Tom O’Connor, a Cork economist and former Head of Department at MTU

As the warmer months arrive and Cork residents turn their attention to home and garden improvements, local gardaí are urging householders to stay vigilant against bogus traders who target unsuspecting home-owners, writes TREVOR LAFFAN. 

It’s time for a new approach to finances, says Joanne Keane, CEO of LIA - the Centre of Excellence for the education and development of finance professionals in Ireland

What a time to be alive and in Cork that must have been, writes JOHN DOLAN. 

Maybe, just maybe my big ‘break’ might come in beautiful West Cork on Tuesday or Wednesday, writes JOHN ARNOLD. 

Under EU and Irish law, you have certain rights when travelling by air with European airlines. These are set out in this Know Your Rights article by Cork Citizens Information. 

Think twice before you slap a label on somebody, man or woman, writes ÁILÍN QUINLAN. 

What you do - and don’t do - in your thirties can have a huge effect on later life, says Robert Whelan, of Rockwell Financial

If you happen to be on the roads of West Cork this summer, and pass by another person, it’s tradition - indeed, it’s nigh on compulsory - to give ‘The Salute’, says TINA PISCO

There’s something off about a gang of lads lashing into bottles of booze beside toddlers lashing into sandcastles, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

Going through airport security is a bit of a chore at the best of times, but the process can be confusing due to changing rules in the various airports, says TREVOR LAFFAN

As the centenary race launches today, JOHN DOLAN reflects on how Fastnet Rock off the coast has become legendary in the annals of Cork - and sailing - history

A North Cork school wants parents to sign up to a pledge to keep smartphones away from primary school children, says JOANNE DWYER

11 years after they were abolished, there is a compelling case to restore Town Councils, says Dr Aodh Quinlivan, of the Centre for Local and Regional Governance at UCC

Despite feeling the pain of defeat on Sunday, JOHN ARNOLD was uplifted by the tributes to the late Tipperary hurler Dillon Quirke in the aftermath

Ireland is caught in a crossfire of international opinion on Gaza - and Áilín Quinlan wonders which direction the country will take

As she reflects on her first year as a student, AMY O’BRIEN, of Mitchelstown, has advice for anyone about to start college

The second best place to be to watch the All-Ireland hurling final on Sunday was the Páirc Uí Chaoimh fanzone. KATHRIONA DEVEREUX relives her experience there with her family on a chastening day for Rebel fans...