Search Results for 'Simon Murphy'

Christmas has crept up again. A time for joy to the world, and peace among men or, conversely, of panicked late night shopping, and the anxiety that accompanies the realisation that you have exactly seven minutes before shops close. It's Christmas Eve, and you are empty-handed (aside from, if you are like me, a few little presents that you accidentally got for yourself). That perfect gift has eluded you once more, and all the time you thought you had, as you browsed nonchalantly, has vanished into the ether. Aimless wandering is one thing, but the real challenge comes when setting out with a specific, particularly hard to please person in mind. This can lead to blind panic, often resulting in decidedly bad choices. I aim to, at best, give something of practical use to the recipient, preferably something that they wouldn't buy for themselves, or, at the least (and this is perhaps the last refuge of the desperate), to knock a laugh out of them. Some notable failures include impulsively bought jewellery, assorted DVDs (which now lurk, mockingly, on the shelf, still clad in their original cellophane), and a festive geansaí, which, upon opening, was immediately earmarked for return. One year out of frustration and laziness I bought a friend a book that I suspected she would never open, but that I wanted to read. After an appropriate waiting period I 're-gifted' it to myself, and everyone was happy – I got the brownie points and the goods. This year I hope to avoid the blunders of the past, and furnish my nearest and dearest with things that will, without hyperbole, change their lives for the better.

THE COLOURS Fringe Festival programme runs from Saturday June 26 to Friday July 2 and will feature an array of theatre shows, music gigs, and street events.

MÚSCAILT, NUI, Galway’s 10th annual arts festival runs from Monday February 8 to Friday 12 and contains many music, art, performance, and film events for students and the general public to enjoy.

Dúnán (Little Fort) is an innovative new development of contemporary dwellings set in the environs of an ancient ring fort on the outskirts of the historic town of Thomastown overlooking the basin of the beautiful meandering River Nore.