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Like many other parents, I’m very interested in the planning series in Irish Country Living.
Many politicians talk about lack of housing and affordability like it is only an issue in major cities like Dublin, but it is well and truly hitting rural Ireland hard too.
I’m a mother of two children in their 20s. They both have good jobs but it feels like the dream of home ownership in the countryside is out of their reach.
I feel guilty that I can’t help them more but construction costs and planning restrictions, as well as wealthy investors eating up swathes of land for holiday homes, makes building near impossible. If the new Government wants to deliver on their plans of a vibrant rural Ireland, they have to look at housing first.
Mary Clare, Co Tipperary
The Dock, in Carrick-on-Shannon, in partnership with Leitrim County Council Arts Office, Leitrim Sustainable Agricultural Group and Ulster Wildlife, is seeking expressions of interest for the Farm Walks project. Last year’s programme consisted of six creative farm walks, featuring a farm tour and a talk by an artist whose work resonates with that farm. Funded by the Creative Ireland Shared Island Programme, farmers interested in participating should get in touch with details about their farm. See thedock.ie
An Post postage rates are set to increase on 27 February.
A national stamp for post across the country will rise from €1.40 to €1.65, an increase of 25c.
This increase will cost a consumer sending 10 cards or letters an additional €2.50 over 12 months.
Postal prices are increasing globally due to decline in letter volumes, fixed cost networks, and inflation. Nursing and care homes will continue to receive post for free.
Do you have a favourite coffee shop? A product that has changed your life? A class you can’t live without? The Family Edit, an online platform that showcases
Ireland’s top family friendly businesses, has launched The Family Edit Awards 2025. They are calling on families across the nation to nominate their favourite business and give them some love. Businesses can also self-nominate. Nominations close
on 27 February. See thefamilyedit.ie/awards
BUMBLEance Children’s
Ambulance Service is hosting its annual fundraising campaign, ‘Brew for BUMBLEance’ on 12 March. The campaign invites people across Ireland, to host coffee mornings, tea parties and bake sales to raise funds for BUMBLEance, Ireland’s only dedicated children’s ambulance service. BUMBLEance helps thousands of families unable to access their child’s healthcare through providing nationwide medical journeys free of charge. In 2024, they served approximately 695 individual users on 2,389 trips. See bumbleance.com
Westmeath-based Breeding Waders EIP, a project to tackle the decline of breeding waders in Ireland, has recruited two female nest protection officers, a first in Ireland. Molly O’Grady and Dana Kneale are paving the way for gender balance in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sector. See breedingwaders.ie
The Irish National Stud & Gardens in Kildare is celebrating its recent opening to the public with its first foals already out in the nursery paddocks. And if you’re dying to catch a glimpse, you’ll be pleased to know that the public are welcome to roam around and see them. These may be the first of the season but a total of 280 foals were born there last year, making the stud the largest equine maternity ward in Europe.
Garden lovers will also enjoy the visit. Head gardener, John B Smyth says,“Visitors can expect to see a huge display of colour in our bumper spring season with new bulbs, new displays, and new planting combinations across the grounds of the stud, and our enhanced Japanese gardens.”
See irishnationaltud.ie
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