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Started the year off with chats with two of the crew behind Belfast music-streaming start-up Minm - talking about the ideas and tech behind building a platform for Irish artists, and paying them fairly for their music.

#music #streaming #ceol #arts #culture

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40824375.html

A year to the weekend of my initial #Autism diagnosis, I shared my experiences - discussing assessment, changing understandings, and post-diagnostic ups and downs.

I've since added some resources, and links to others' stories.

#ActuallyAutistic #neurodivergence #neurodivergent

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40840313.html

The pursuit of Weird Ireland is eternal, and while TikTok's CaptainBusyBollocks most certainly leans into its kitschier elements for a wider audience, I definitely vibed with the specificity of a lad getting stuck into woodturning.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40860203.html

I did one or two bits for ieFood this year, but a longform chat with Cork vegan outpost My Goodness about post-Covid strife and rebuilding, vegan mac 'n' cheese and anarcho-syndicalism is a personal fave.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/food/arid-40879379.html

I've made various efforts to cover #neurodivergence in the paper and website following my own disclosure, including interviews, short pieces and more practical bits - this one on supports at Ireland's airports is part one of an ND travel guide.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/travel/arid-40890104.html

Skip forward to the 100th anniversary of #Ulysses, where Mallow sound-artist and performance-art trailblazer Danny McCarthy marked the occasion with an installation inspired by the book's references to chamber-pots.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40895234.html

Following her entry and competition in this year's Dublin Rose proceedings, #Autistic film-maker Caoilinn Handley talked about challenging normative beauty standards, and doing her bit to open up the wider #neurodivergence conversation.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40901273.html

Went to see Sharon Van Etten with friends, and it was exactly what we all needed after the few years prior - an incredible show.

Majia Sofia took to the Opera House stage like it was made for her, too.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40902716.html

My long-suppressed inner Nirvana fanboy was in a right state after speaking with cellist Lori Goldston before her Irish tour - here, she discusses playing the legendary Unplugged show, visiting Cork with Earth, and working with David Byrne.

#music #ceol #Nirvana #Earth #DavidByrne #arts #culture

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40910399.html

Part two of the aforementioned neurodivergent travel guide included a chat about holiday planning with Thriving Autistic head of training Claire O'Neill, and a packing checklist courtesy of the wonderful AilsDHD - more on whom later.

#ActuallyAutistic

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40913510.html

A dream-come-true moment in July, as I got to hang out on Zoom with Charles Martinet ahead of his Dublin Comic-Con appearance - he talks about lucking into the audition for the voice of Super Mario in 1991, and being the voice of a generation's childhood in the decades that followed.

#gaming #videogames #supermario #nintendo #nintendoswitch

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40915463.html

Sara Prodoni and her son Ruben experienced joy and new opportunities thanks to the work of Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland and their new family member Indi - she talks about their experiences and the importance of their assistance.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40920965.html

A story and service that should have a lot more ears on them in the new year - speaking with David Redmond about his work on NCBI Live, an online radio service for the visually impaired.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40922342.html

Got to speak with Paolo Viscardi of Dublin's 'Dead Zoo' about the process of moving thousands of natural specimens into storage, renovating the Natural History Museum, sharing space with RTÉ cameras, and its reopening in September.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40929743.html

The bauld Simple Kid made his return this year, with a third long-player written and recorded in the attic of his family's home in the UK.

Following this chat, promoters got on his case about gigs, with a Whelan's date announced for Fri April 7!

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40935782.html

When the mind behind Shit London Guinness was back in Cork, ya boi caught up with him about emigration, running afoul of pub landlords, and exactly where in Cork one can find the best pint o' plain.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40941371.html

Upon the announcement of Neighbours' short-lived cancellation earlier this year, I took it upon myself to quiz academics and journalists about the history, social role, and ongoing changes in the humble medium of soap opera.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40941605.html

Visitors on Spike Island can now use an augmented-reality app to see the historic facility's stories in context - from riots and Treaty discussions, to squalid conditions and child prisoners. I spoke with its developers.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/travel/arid-40945391.html

Venturing into travel writing, myself and my partner posted up to the Boyne Valley, exploring Sonairte, Brú na Bóinne, the Trim Porchfields, and the River Boyne itself via canoe.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/travel/arid-40947386.html

Life has brought Ailín Kennedy along many paths: music, athletics, and animal sciences, as well as addiction and mental illness - but a diagnosis of #ADHD set her on course to qualify as a #neurodivergence coach, sharing her experiences with a growing audience.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40952477.html

Chats with Northern noisemakers Therapy? sprawled across two papers this year - in part one, frontman Andy Cairns talks about marking the band's anniversary two years late owing to Covid, getting back on the road, and the title and themes of their upcoming new album!

#music #ceol #arts #culture #Mastodaoine

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40956563.html

@keithbohanna TU @mike_mcgb