It’s early days, but the hope is that in a few years this could evolve from a promising discovery into a routine screening tool for older adults, helping people live longer, healthier lives, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

Growing older is everyone’s future - let’s make it a good one, says Liz Downes, Vice Chair of the National Network of Older People’s Councils and Chair, Cork County Older People’s Council

It drives me mad that there is still so much ignorance around the subject of prostate cancer, despite all the publicity highlighting the need for early detection and intervention, says TREVOR LAFFAN. 

Surgery can address some vision problems - not not all, says Zachary Smith, an optometrist with Midland Eye, based in the UK

It’s still all too common to find TV comedies, films, and ad campaigns involving a family that casts the dad as the stooge, says JOHN DOLAN. 

Ahead of Stress Awareness Day on November 2, MIRIN MOONEY, a Cork-based psychotherapist and coach, explains the symptoms, and provides ways you can curtail it in daily life

Manchán Magan was a dreamer, but in a beautiful and deep-meaning way. His head was full of positivity and a grá for everything in our landscape and culture that’s worth preserving, writes JOHN ARNOLD. 

If Dingle is Ireland’s ‘greenest place’, what about Cork’s ‘greenest community, greenest school and greenest garden?’ asks CATHERINE CONLON

Maybe now’s a good time to remind ourselves that our ancient Celtic heritage of Samhain should ideally not be confused with the cynical, commercialised, make-a-quick-buck American version being touted by the retail sector.

When Cork man WILLIAM McCARTHY was taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment, he says he received the very best of care across the board from all its dedicated workers

Some may have felt the budget fell flat, but Cork is in a position to benefit from its innovation-focused initiatives, says Meadhbh Costello, Senior Policy Executive in Ibec

Contemplating the sheer volume of plastic the holiday produces each year truly frightens us, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

Nose-picking is a habit that is generally seen as unpleasant, but harmless. However, the activity might not be as risk-free as previously thought, writes TREVOR LAFFAN

Cork student AMY O’BRIEN outlines her recent work to end period poverty and child marriage as part of the group PLAN

Dear reader, I am facing into my first presidential election as a voter next Friday - and am feeling ripped off all over again, writes JOHN DOLAN. 

Polls shows a fifth of us are afraid of clowns - here’s why, says Christopher Paul Jones, phobia expert, and author of Face your Fears - 7 Steps To Conquering Phobias And Anxiety

Amazing isn’t it that, though Shakespeare died over four centuries ago and wrote his plays in an English idiom far removed from the present day - his work remains enduring, indeed popular.

October is ADHD Awareness Month, and while conversations about it are becoming more mainstream, stereotypes and misconceptions persist, says MIRIN MOONEY

When it comes to housework, ÁILÍN QUINLAN says she has started to notice things she never saw before.

An event in Cork city next week will provide a stage for local youths to discuss matters affecting their lives, says CONNOR KNAPP, of Cork City Comhairle na nÓg

There’s something grounding about a landline, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX, who says she's hoping a landline might even curb her own phone addiction. 

The arts are our ticket to enriching children’s lives, says BRENDA GRIFFIN, teacher and Home School Community Liaison at Blarney Street School in Cork city, ahead of its Arts Week ’25

While 78% of funerals were coffin burials within the Cork city division in 2024, more and more people are looking into alternative options when it comes to planning that final farewell, writes TREVOR LAFFAN. 

SECAD is celebrating its 30th anniversary. CEO RYAN HOWARD looks back at the establishment of the partnership and reveals what he has learned from communities over three decades.

Billy Duggan was born way back in 1803 and lived through some truly turbulent times before passing away in February, 1915, writes JOHN DOLAN. 

Popular in many European cities, a bike bus is a community effort aimed at getting children to school safely while cutting traffic, says CATHERINE CONLON, a public health doctor in Cork

I was a bit sceptical about all these Greek gods and myths but not anymore, writes JOHN ARNOLD. 

The VAT reduction applied to all restaurants in the budget means sales of unhealthy takeaway food will continue to soar while local restaurants struggle to compete, says DR CATHERINE CONLON, a Cork public health doctor

Tucked away in the far corner of the very top shelf of a book-shelf, so high up I can’t even reach without standing on a stool, is the diary I started when I was 10.

A know-your-rights article by Cork City Citizens Information, detailing social welfare supports that are available to struggling farmers

When Storm Éowyn damaged Holyhead Port earlier in the year, we caught a glimpse of how vulnerable that dependence makes us. One big storm could knock out our food supply significantly, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX. 

AMY O’BRIEN, of Cork, was selected to represent Ireland at the Youth Vision Conference 2025 in Amsterdam. Here. she relates what she said there - and what she learned

October is Mental Health Awareness Month, and while we’ve come a long way in being more open about it, stigma remains, says MIRIN MOONEY, a Cork-based psychotherapist and coach

Many of today’s adults seem to me to be clueless when it comes to having any awareness of how to behave respectfully, writes TREVOR LAFFAN. 

We are lucky to still have plenty of evidence of Murphy’s brilliance all around us. We really should have a statue of him too in Cork, writes JOHN DOLAN. 

Without investment in Early Years, Cork children will pay the price, says Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland

On Tuesday, May 7, 1720, 31-year-old James Cotter was hanged in Cork. The next day his body was interred in the family vault in Carrigtwohill.

A new monthly event in Cork is set to challenge the conventions of the wellness industry by transforming personal healing into tangible collective action for the people of Gaza, say STELLA TEMIRATI and the Rebel Wellness team

"We used to blame the church, communism or lack of education for repression and judgmentalism. Now we’re doing it ourselves," writes Áilín Quinlan. 

This weekend, a housing protest in Cork city will allow people to tell the government how angry they are about the crisis, says Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central

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?