Another week comes to an end… it’s becoming more difficult to interrupt the monotonous rhythm of lockdown. My weekly grocery order is delivered by a new person, Liam, who is a very Irish man in stature and personality, probably a few years older than me. As he’s unloading the bins of blue plastic bags containing my items, he chats me up asking where I was from (know...

Tensions have flared up over the Northern Ireland Protocol that was part of the Brexit agreement. The Northern Ireland Protocol — part of the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement — was created to ensure there is no hard border on the island of Ireland and therefore preserve the Good Friday Agreement of the late 1990s. The protocol pushes the border between Ireland the UK out to the...

It’s another grey, chilly, hazy/foggy day in Dublin — good weather for focusing on the next lessons in my CMA study programme. However, I didn’t get out at all yesterday, so I’m determined to go for at least a short walk this afternoon. By default I head towards Stephen Green, walking down Grafton Street. On the way I stop into Bewley’s Oriental Cafe for a chai...