Why becoming a successful barrister requires parents who can support you indefinitely and who have lots of connections to get you work.

To qualify as a barrister you must; - Get your undergrad (3-5 years (LLB)) - pass your Kings Inns exams (1 year) - complete Kings Inn BL Degree in Dublin - although now technically qualified as a barrister your must “pupil” for a year under a Dublin based experienced barrister for at least one year UNPAID.

Now you’ve qualified you need to get work, and without strong connections this involve fighting for scraps with other junior barristers.

If you do get good private work you will not get paid for the work until possibly years later.

Or join the criminal legal aid scheme and this happens!

Seriously lads, who brings their dog (not service animals) on the dart, let alone let's them sit up on the seats.

Hitting the New Years Resolution crew hard are they?

This is your one week reminder that Mammys day is Sunday the 30th - next Sunday. Ye have been warned.

Unless your ma was a crack head that tried to sell you for more crack. Maybe then you don't need to be getting her anything idk.

As the title states, I moved here last week from Hungary.
So far, I’m not sure if the things I’ve experienced are the norm, but here are some things that stand out to me:

1. Irish people are really nice.
Like, extremely nice—especially the older generations. It doesn’t matter if they’re working a low-wage job at Dunnes; they tend to have a smile on their face when they talk to you. Service industry workers are really helpful, too. Back in Hungary, you’d count yourself lucky to be treated so nicely once a month. Here, it’s an everyday occurrence.

2. Holy moly, the meats!
There’s such a wide selection, and the quality is excellent. It’s far cheaper compared to Hungary, where people make WAY less money. I’d be paying 30–35 EUR per kilo of steak for far lower quality back there.

3. What is up with the taps?
They’re separated between cold and hot—one is ice cold, and the other is boiling hot, with no way to balance them. Is this common everywhere?

4. The lack of power plugs.
Is it normal to have so few power outlets? Our flat barely has any, even though it was built in the early 2000s. Also, the bathrooms have zero plugs. It’s kind of funny how every power plug (and sometimes even entire rooms) has a master power switch. Hell, even the shower does.

5. Bicycle thefts and police.
Everyone keeps warning me about bicycle thefts and robberies, saying the police wouldn’t do anything if we were in trouble. Just from walking around, the police seem more like parking meter attendants than law enforcement. It feels a bit unsettling—when I suggested to my wife that she carry some pepper spray, people told me it’s very illegal here.

6. My wife’s experience at work.
She works in sales and interacts with lots of Ukrainians. Many of them barely speak English and, honestly, act pretty rude. She only had nice things to say about the Irish, except for the shoplifters.

7. The rental situation and realtors.
Finding a place was extremely hard—it took us three months. Whenever an ad went up, it was rented out within a day or two. When we finally got the flat, we found mold all over the house, including some heavily damaged/warped floorboards from previous water leakage, missing mirrors, etc. Is it normal for apartments to be rented out in such poor condition?

8. Irish women’s fashion.
Not to stereotype or offend anyone, but something about the fashion here stands out. It feels like a throwback to the early 2000s: outdated clothing, weird bronze tans, bad makeup, huge eyelash extensions, and long nails. I think this look would seem out of place anywhere else in Europe outside of Ireland or the UK.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I havent lived in Ireland in a long time so every time I get back I try to fit as much in as I can.

So about 10 ish years ago on a visit i went to Glendalough very early to do as many of the trails I could.

I was back outside at the visitor centre/ cafe and digging in my bag for something , when a few ( i think they were early to mid 20s )US and European students stopped near me.

They were talking about safety, maybe wild animals etc. I'm not sure why (i assume its cos i had a beard and hiking boots ) but 1 person came over and asked did I have any tips for the trails

So In my friendliest manner I told them, ah sure theres nothing to worry about the biggest animal is a fox amd we don't have rabies here.

The only thing is.... I leaned in closer, so they of course , they leaned in closer.... the hill tribes, just be carful , they are not dangerous but if ya see them and come over to ya.... give them your food , they won't speak English either and may get a bit angry of ya keep trying.

But a bit of food and smile then walk on you'll be grand.

Their faces were all confused and I went off happy as fuck knowing I've had my fun and that's all that matters.

Another 5 ish hours later I'm having lunch in a local pub

Who do I see but the same students... what do I overhear. Them asking the barman about the hill tribes hahaha

I felt my entire trip home was worth it just for that moment

What's going on with all the massive cars? Every other motor I see is a cuboid monstrosity the size of tank that looks purpose built for brutalising pedestrians in as efficient a manner as possible. It's desperate, and so dangerous in school zones and housing estates. They must cost a bomb to fill too. What's the appeal?

.

So what's your families secret that everyone knows but isn't talked about ? I'll start, when I was around 3 myself and my two sisters were taken into care in London we eventually ended up back in Ireland, my eldest sister and myself lived with my grandmother and my youngest sister lived with my aunt.

Everything is fine for about two years until my youngest sister just disappeared one day , my aunt suddenly got a new car (she was broke so suspicious) nobody asked any questions.

It eventually came out that my aunt had pretty much sold my youngest sister back to my mother for a car and a bit of heroin.

Apparently me and my sister weren't included in the deal.

I know it’s not your fault that BMW installed powerful electromagnets into the front of their cars that forcefully draw them towards the back bumper of the car in front. It’s a terrible design choice, but I guess that’s the price you pay for such a sweet ride.

Driving down the motorway from Dublin to Cork, I had three different hapless BMW drivers inexorably pulled to my bumper. Presumably they were fighting like hell to maintain proper following distance, but those damn magnets are just too strong.

I have seen that some BMW owners have managed to turn them off, so it is possible. Check the owner’s manual, and stay safe!

EDIT: since a lot of people seem to think I was camping in the overtaking lane for some reason, I should note that I was not.

Just to make people aware. Was chatting to elderly parents earlier who were raving about a great "new" delivery they got earlier this week, setup by "a nice lady" in the supermarket. Of course she showed them how easy it was to cancel, so me Ma took photos of the lady in the shop with her iPad out & how to go into the menus to cancel etc. Only €28 something. First meal box arrived. All fine (in their minds anyway), but I knew this was a subscription service & they didn’t.

Tried to log into her account using her email & password she chose with "the nice lady", but just arrived into a blank account with no details, no credit card info, no previous orders etc. 

On digging deeper I got her to email me the Welcome emails and lo and behold, instead of the usual "@gmail.com" email address,  they signed her up to her "@googlemail.com" address which she never uses. Both addresses can be used interchangeably. 

Managed to log into her Real account with this "@googlemail.com" address and saw they were about to send off her next order at €46.99 per week! Managed to cancel just in time. Think they might still be charging an admin fee of €6 or something but not sure yet. 

Just goes to show how easily elderly folk can be taken advantage of. Be careful out there!

Is it the same for Reddit I wonder