While Halloween is full of spooky fun for us, it can be a frightening time for our four-legged friends. Unexpected visitors, scary costumes and sudden bangs of fireworks can leave dogs feeling anxious and unsettled. Dogs Trust Ireland has some simple advice to help keep tails wagging this Halloween. Walk your dog before dark, keep chocolate and sweets safely out of reach, and take care when opening the door to trick-or-treaters to prevent an escape. Avoid dressing your dog in uncomfortable costumes and let them relax in a familiar, cosy space if the festivities become overwhelming. For extra help, try Dogs Trust’s free Sound Blanket, a collection of specially designed sounds to help mask fireworks noise. Find it on YouTube and Spotify. See dogstrust.ie/dog-advice/life-with-your-dog/seasonal/halloween
Do you have an amazing recipe that family and friends ask you to make each year? Irish Country Living are asking readers to share their favourite festive recipes for the chance to win a Sheridans Luxury Hamper (valued at €250) from Sheridans Cheesemongers, just in time for Christmas. The hamper features a selection of fine continental and Irish cheese, savoury and sweet snacks, luxury condiments and two bottles of wine: a Domaine Guillot-Broux Mâcon-Villages and a Palistorti Rosso Tenuta Di Valgiano. The winning recipe will also be featured in our Christmas edition of Irish Country Living Food. To enter, email your recipe along with a few lines on why it is so loved to
ICL@farmersjournal.ie before 5 November 2026. Sheridans Cheesemongers offer a range of Irish and fine food hampers for Christmas and offer nationwide delivery. See sheridanscheesemongers.com
What happens when virtual reality becomes more appealing than real life? Cork Arts Theatre explores our increasingly complicated relationship with technology in Girl in the Machine, running from Thursday 12 November to Saturday 21 November. Written by Stef Smith and directed by Éadaoin Fox, the drama follows an overworked lawyer who becomes hooked on a virtual reality headset, caught between the real and digital worlds. Starring Isolde Fenton (pictured above) and Stefan Brennan-Healy, the play is the final production in the theatre’s 2026 programme. Performances take place at 8pm, with Saturday matinees. Tickets cost €18-€22 plus a booking fee. See corkartstheatre.com
The Gap by Debbie Lavelle-Doyle, Castlebar, Mayo.
Only now I understand the
meaning of wilderness,
brown bent that our female
patron would twist and turn into
a symbolic singage of strength.
Where the sky falls down
and envelopes its limbs around you, so as to allow you to look
up and not down.
Winter fires filled with the black
product of its earth, warming
generations without question
of mother nature.
Streams becoming rivers down from the mountainside where moisture would never be missing from this part of the world!
Flora holding on to that brown
autumnal hue beneath heaven’s breath like steam from
a warm Irish stew.
Fauna knowing no boundaries,
kissing the farm animals who are
“rayfeeding” far away from shelter, seeking attention from an odd
human that saunters by.
I listen to the parallel traffic busily bustling to their destination,
the county capital.
And I wonder, what if they
took this side road.
Do they even know the mystery
of a back road, the peace and
tranquility that awaits
up The Gap.
Do you have a book, event, product, craft, business, or local initiative that celebrates rural life in Ireland? The Country Vibes pages in Irish Country Living are always looking for unique finds and community happenings to share with our readers. Whether it’s a new book release, an upcoming festival, a handmade product, a farm diversification project or a special event in your area, we’d love to hear about it. Send us details, photos, and contact information for consideration. We can’t guarantee coverage, but we’re always keen to discover the people, places, and ideas bringing vibrancy to rural Ireland. Please send to Country Vibes icl@farmersjournal.ie or eroche@ irishcountryliving.ie
Do you have a piece of poetry inspired by the countryside and farming? Please send in your best work for consideration for the weekly Poetry Corner. We’re looking for short poems that captivate, inspire and reflect the landscapes, traditions, and culture of rural Ireland in the past or the present. About 200 words or so is the ideal length. Please send your poetry to icl@farmersjournal.ie or post to Irish Country Living, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12.