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Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Things for teens to do in Dublin city centre during the holidays
We're past the halfway point of the school summer holidays and boredom is setting in. The annual sun getaway abroad is behind many of us and most parents have to work full-time. Kids can do summer camps, but teens can be tricky - and costly - to keep entertained. These spirited youngsters want to do stuff on their own, which is handy; but it's also nice to join them occasionally, when time allows. Surprisingly, one of the best places for family activities to suit teens is Dublin city centre. With a number of new attractions, it's become a teen-friendly capital. It's now home to some brand-new top entertainment options. These attractions - all opened this year - have positioned Dublin as a great city for family fun. I went out with my son Luc, 15, and his pals, to try them out. Here's what we thought of them. (L-R Sarah Clancy, CEO Little Museum of Dublin, Mary Stack of Fáilte Ireland, Emma Blain, Lord Mayor and First Citizen of Dublin) Little Museum of Dublin The capital's quirkiest museum has just re-opened after a €4million renovation that took a year to complete. It's a new-look, modernised refit that brings the museum - located in a Georgian mansion on iconic St Stephen's Green - into the 21st century. However it has retained its ethos as a 'hospitable, historic and humorous welcome to Dublin.' Visitors are first brought into a special screening room for a fully immersive introduction video, which features a cheeky Molly Malone. The tour is a crash course in Dublin history, carried out with wit, wisdom, eccentricity and charm. It's an educational and entertaining activity for teens - a bit wacky and never boring. The tour is less than an hour, moves at pace and is easy to grasp, and explanations like how Dublin went from "Irish village, to Viking Town, to English city, to proud European capital." There's plenty of humour, and the teens were delighted by effervescent young guide Saul, a world-famous Irish dancer who treated us to a jig around the room. It's highly cultural, with plenty of mentions of some of the city's most impressive figures such as Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, Maureen O'Hara and Bono. It also reveals lesser-known tales of the city, such as how both the British and Irish sides in the 1916 Rising agreed to a ceasefire every day to allow the ducks to be fed in Stephen's Green. This one will amuse young culture vultures. I enjoyed the nostalgia of artefacts from the recent past, such as Callcards and Dublin Millennium milk bottles. Family tickets are €45; student entry is €16. Lane7 Stepping into Lane7 on Dublin's Clarendon Row is like stepping back into the 1980s. This is a bowling and gaming venue with a retro vibe, which the younger gang seem to find amusing. For me, it's nostalgia - for them, it's 'Leisureplex, but 80s' as they deemed it. Lane7 is far more swish than Leisureplex and is definitely set up for a night out, or a place to bring a date, or just a cool hangout. It's all graffiti walls and neon lights and funky bar areas. All the old-skool games are here, and many have an American flavour. There's a slick bowling lane, a photo booth called the Kissing Booth, and beer pong. There's also darts, which was the biggest hit with this competitive bunch, and it's interactive, so the board does the 'math' for you. Classic arcade games include Space Invaders and you can also shoot hoops in a basketball toss game or play ice hockey on a board. The bar serves food and drink - with a large cocktail menu - but has a very strict age policy for alcohol, so no worries there for younger visitors. The Dundrum venue is bigger and has more games such as pool and shuffleboard, but to have a place like this to go in the city centre is special. A great, budget-friendly place for young people to meet friends and have fun and more social teens in particular will love it. World of Illusion Dublin World of Illusion This is a place for young scientists, or those with curious minds. A trip to the World of Illusion at Dublin's Central Plaza will leave you fascinated by how our perceptions of the world can be changed by our environment - light, colour, patterns and movement. Up to 70 visual illusions and interactive exhibitions are here to experience, and some of them are mind-blowing. We all loved the Vortex Tunnel, which is simply a static bridge in a dark room. However, add swirling lights and it creates the illusion of movement. So those crossing it feel like they're being thrown about, even though nothing is moving. The infinity mirrors in the Infinity Room is mesmerising: you're in a room the size of a large cupboard, but it feels like it goes on forever. The large kaleidoscope allows you to see your face as a kaleidoscopic pattern, while in the Ames room, you appear to change size, depending on what position you're standing in. The gravity-defying exhibition makes it appear as though you're being blown vertically in the wind, while the head-on-a-platter installation makes it appear as though you're about to be eaten for dinner. The entire visit to the World of Illusion takes no more than an hour and a half, and there is plenty of wonder to discuss afterwards. Student entry is €18.70, while a family ticket is €63.75. For more information, see Sandbox VR It's amazing that a VR venue of such a size is in the city centre. Usually they're far out in the suburbs, involving a hike through traffic, so it's really convenient for it to be so accessible. But Sandbox is another level. It's not just some warehouse where you go to shoot up zombies, this is a social day out in the world's most advanced virtual reality experience. We played Red Light Green Light, based on the Netflix hit Squid Game, and it's all so hyper-real, it feels like you're inside the game. Teens who love tech and gaming adore this place. We were kitted out with the most high-tech VR headsets, 3-D precision body trackers, custom hardware, sensors and haptic vests. All you could hear from the room was the screams and shouts of six teenagers having the time of their lives. They hadn't even left the building when they were planning their next trip back. One of the big draws is Toni, Ireland's first robotic bartender. After the game, players can head for the comfortable bar area for a few cocktails and mocktails. As we drank them, we got to watch footage of our game, showing us both in the real world and the VR alternative universe. With a total capacity of 150 people, Sandbox occupies 11,000 square feet of the new development, Grafton Place, at 39 Nassau Street, just steps away from Grafton Street. Prices vary from €30 to €50 per person, depending on whether the visit is peak or off-peak. Sandbox VR opens from 10am until 11pm to 12pm, seven days a week. For more of the latest breaking news from the Irish Mirror check out our homepage by clicking here.
Irish Daily Mirror
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dublin's best new entertainment hotspots - from VR to "mind-blowing" illusions
We're past the halfway point of the school summer holidays and boredom is setting in. The annual sun getaway abroad is behind many of us and most parents have to work full-time. Kids can do summer camps, but teens can be tricky – and costly – to keep entertained. These spirited youngsters want to do stuff on their own, which is handy; but it's also nice to join them occasionally, when time allows. Surprisingly, one of the best places for family activities to suit teens is Dublin city centre. With a number of new attractions, it's become a teen-friendly capital. It's now home to some brand-new top entertainment options. These attractions – all opened this year – have positioned Dublin as a great city for family fun. I went out with my son Luc, 15, and his pals, to try them out. Here's what we thought of them. Little Museum of Dublin (L-R) Sarah Clancy, CEO Little Museum of Dublin, Mary Stack of Fáilte Ireland, Emma Blain, Lord Mayor and First Citizen of Dublin The capital's quirkiest museum has just re-opened after a €4 million renovation that took a year to complete. It's a new-look, modernised refit that brings the museum – located in a Georgian mansion on iconic St Stephen's Green – into the 21st century. However, it has retained its ethos as a 'hospitable, historic and humorous welcome to Dublin.' Visitors are first brought into a special screening room for a fully immersive introduction video, which features a cheeky Molly Malone. The tour is a crash course in Dublin history, carried out with wit, wisdom, eccentricity and charm. It's an educational and entertaining activity for teens - a bit wacky and never boring. The tour is less than an hour, moves at pace and is easy to grasp, with soundbytes like how Dublin went from 'Irish village, to Viking Town, to English city, to proud European capital'. The "Tara's Palace" dollhouse which is on display at the Little Museum of Dublin. It's a large, Georgian-style dollhouse, inspired by Irish houses, that took master craftsmen over 20 years to build and furnish. (Image: SAM BOAL/COLLINS) There's plenty of humour, and the teens were delighted by effervescent young guide Saul, a world-famous Irish dancer who treated us to a jig around the room. It's highly cultural, with plenty of mentions of some of the city's most impressive figures. These include Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, Maureen O'Hara and legendary U2 frontman Bono. It also reveals lesser-known tales of the city, such as how both the British and Irish sides in the 1916 Rising agreed to a ceasefire every day to allow the ducks to be fed in Stephen's Green. This one will amuse young culture vultures. I enjoyed the nostalgia of artefacts from the recent past, such as Callcards and Dublin Millennium milk bottles. Family tickets are €45; student entry is €16. Lane7 Lane 7 Dublin Stepping into Lane7 on Dublin's Clarendon Row is like stepping back into the 1980s. This is a bowling and gaming venue with a retro vibe, which the younger gang seem to find amusing. For me, it's nostalgia – for them, it's 'Leisureplex, but 80s' as they deemed it. Lane7 is far more swish than Leisureplex and is definitely set up for a night out, or a place to bring a date, or just a cool hangout. It's all graffiti walls and neon lights and funky bar areas. All the old-skool games are here, many with an American flavour. There's a bowling lane, a photo booth called the Kissing Booth, and beer pong. There's also darts, which was the biggest hit with this competitive bunch, and it's interactive, so the board does the 'math' for you. Lane 7 features state-of-the-art bowling lanes, immersive darts, retro arcade games, and a cocktail bar Classic arcade games include Space Invaders and you can also shoot hoops in a basketball toss game or play ice hockey on a board. The bar serves food and drink – with a large cocktail venue – but has a very strict age policy for alcohol, so no worries there for younger visitors. The Dundrum venue is bigger and has more games such as pool and shuffleboard, but to have a place like this to go in the city centre is special. A great, budget-friendly place for young people to meet friends and have fun and more social teens in particular will love it. World of Illusion World of Illusion Dublin This is a place for young scientists, or those with curious minds. A trip to the World of Illusion at Dublin's Central Plaza will leave you fascinated by how our perceptions of the world can be changed by our environment – light, colour, patterns and movement. Up to 70 mind-blowing visual illusions and interactive exhibitions are here to experience. We all loved the Vortex Tunnel, which is simply a static bridge in a dark room. However, add swirling lights and it creates the illusion of movement. So those crossing it feel like they're being thrown about, even though nothing is moving. The infinity mirrors in the Infinity Room is mesmerising: you're in a room the size of a large cupboard, but it feels like it goes on forever. The large kaleidoscope allows you to see your face as a kaleidoscopic pattern, while in the Ames room, you appear to change size, depending on what position you're standing in. The gravity-defying exhibition makes it appear as though you're being blown in the wind, while the head-on-a-platter installation makes it appear as though you're about to be eaten for dinner. The entire visit to the World of Illusion takes no more than an hour and a half, and there is plenty of wonder to discuss afterwards. Student entry is €18.70, while a family ticket is €63.75. For more info, see Sandbox VR Sandbox VR is a socially immersive gaming experience combining full-body motion capture and high-quality haptic It's amazing that a VR venue of such a size is in the city centre. Usually they're far out in the suburbs, involving a hike through traffic, so it's really convenient for it to be so accessible. But Sandbox is another level. It's not just some warehouse where you go to shoot up zombies, this is a social day out in the world's most advanced virtual reality experience. We played Red Light Green Light, based on the Netflix hit Squid Games, and it's all so hyper-real, it feels like you're inside the game. Teens who love tech and gaming love this place. We were kitted out with the most high-tech VR headsets, 3-D precision body trackers, custom hardware, sensors and haptic vests. All you could hear from the room was the screams of six teenagers having the time of their lives. They hadn't even left the building when they were planning their next trip back. One of the big draws is Toni, Ireland's first robotic bartender. After the game, players can head for the comfortable bar area for a few cocktails and mocktails. As we drank them, we got to watch footage of our game, showing us both in the real world and the VR alternative universe. With a total capacity of 150 people, Sandbox occupies 11,000 square feet of the new development, Grafton Place, at 39 Nassau Street, just steps away from Grafton Street. Prices vary from €30 to €50 per person, depending on whether the visit is peak or off-peak. For more of the latest breaking news from the Irish Mirror check out our homepage by clicking here
Calgary Herald
31-07-2025
- Calgary Herald
Temple crash victims in ICU were weeks away from moving into their new home
Article content They spent that anniversary in the ICU. Article content Article content In the early hours of Monday, July 21, the couple had been on their way to the airport so Jonathan could travel for work. On their drive, a man driving a blue Ford F-150 in the wrong direction for the road struck a pedestrian, kept driving, and collided with the couple's vehicle head-on. Article content Article content The pedestrian struck by the vehicle was killed. Article content Article content Jonathan suffered a broken pelvis, clavicle, and legs, a collapsed lung, and injuries in his liver and bowels that required surgery. Taylor was faced with a completely shattered left knee, broken legs and arms, and a brain bleed that has fortunately not caused permanent damage. Article content Kevin Luc has known Jonathan since middle school. He was with him less than 12 hours before the crash, when Jonathan left early to be well rested for the early morning. 'I was just on the way back from daycare, from dropping off my daughter, and I got a call,' Luc said. Article content He didn't understand the severity of the crash at first, and hadn't fully processed it even when it was more thoroughly explained. He went to see them that same day. Article content 'They're always smiling, they're always happy. They have this warmth around them, and so seeing them in that state when they were on day-one, was just awful to see,' Luc said. Article content Article content 'John and Taylor are literally the, the most caring, compassionate, giving couple that I know,' he said. They'll always make time for you, make time for the people that are around them, despite being incredibly busy with their lives.' Article content The young couple had been only weeks away from taking possession of their new home. That's no longer the case. Article content 'Instead of staring out your window, looking at your backyard, you're instead staring at these harsh fluorescent ceiling lights,' Luc said. 'The bed that they were imagining waking up side by side with each other, they're now separated by sterile hospital beds in ICU units, apart from each other.' Article content Luc started a GoFundMe campaign to help support the family and their expenses. Article content 'Morgan, which is Taylor's sister, had to fly in from Fort Saint John, had to take this emergency flight just to see her sister, even though she's a mother of four,' he said. Their father has been driving in from Brooks to spend time with the couple in hospital.
Reuters
30-07-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
What are the main issues facing new Renault CEO Provost?
PARIS, July 30 (Reuters) - Incoming Renault ( opens new tab CEO Francois Provost will take the helm of the French automaker at a time when it is beginning to show cracks in its recent success, revising down its full year profit forecast earlier this month due to weaker sales volumes. Below are some of the challenges ahead for Provost when he takes over on Thursday. While Renault has been largely protected from U.S. tariffs because it does not sell in the United States, it has been indirectly hit by increased commercial pressure as European competitors looking for new markets outside the U.S. step up efforts to sell in the French firm's home region. The company reported zero growth in second quarter sales volumes, and warned of weak sales performance in June. It is also facing rising competition from Chinese entrants, both in electric vehicles and hybrids. Analysts at Barclays say Renault may have seen slower price-mix momentum in the first half of the year. The company is scheduled to report full results for the first half on Thursday. With sluggish growth in Europe where Renault sells more than 70% of its cars, it needs to expand in emerging markets. It has already outlined plans to invest 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to launch eight new models under the Renault brand for non-European markets by 2027. It will also target developing less cyclical businesses beyond autos, such as EV charging and financial services, as part of a mid-term strategy which former CEO Luca de Meo had aimed to unveil later this year. Conscious that its small size does not allow it to fund the development of electrified and autonomous vehicles, Renault has set up numerous partnerships, including with China's Geely in Korea and in combustion and hybrid engines around the world, and with Volvo Group in electric vans. However, this strategy has raised concerns among unions that the company could lose its in-house know-how and its independence. Renault, ranking only 15th in volumes globally, is frequently the subject of rumours of a tie-up with larger peer Stellantis ( opens new tab. Partnerships with Geely also have some worried about potential leverage by China, though Renault's main shareholder, the French state, says the tie-ups do not compromise the company's ability to remain independent. Under de Meo, Renault launched one of the biggest product renewals in its history, with a record 10 launches and two facelifts last year. It is planning another seven launches and two facelifts in 2025, including of the Renault 4 and the Dacia Bigster, and eight more in 2026, according to sources familiar with the matter. Key to increasing market share, new launches also require significant investment in marketing and industrial fine-tuning to deliver cars on time, at the right quality. A leader in Europe's high profit commercial vehicles market, Renault's van sales plunged by 29% in the first half due to a softer economy, and an overhaul of its models and product offering. One of Renault's top priorities is to get its credit rating back to investment grade to attract new investors, while also boosting its market cap, currently only at 10 billion euros versus Stellantis' 23 billion euros. Renault's debt is rated Ba1 by Moody's and BB+ by S&P Global, one notch below investment grade. Since starting to rebalance its partnership with Nissan (7201.T), opens new tab in early 2023, Renault has done three share sales, and reduced its stake in its Japanese partner to 35.7% (17.05% held directly and 18.66% via a trust). It will need to find the right time to sell more, made more challenging by Nissan's financial and operational difficulties. It will also play a role in Nissan's overhaul, particularly if the Japanese company decides to sign a strategic partnership with another manufacturer. Renault opposed recent plans for a tie-up with Honda because it considered the financial terms were not generous enough. ($1 = 0.8721 euros)
France 24
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Cannes 2025: Cara Delevingne on the power of women
Arts Editor Eve Jackson reports from the Cannes Film Festival, highlighting the return of Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne with their new film "Young Mothers". The film offers a raw, intimate look at five young women navigating early motherhood in a communal home. Through their struggles, the Dardennes explore themes of resilience, solidarity, and liberation from generational hardship. Eve also contrasts this with Iranian director Saeed Roustaee's harrowing portrait of isolated single motherhood. She's joined by social media journalist Stella Elgersma to share some festival highlights and behind-the-scenes moments.
