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"Happy New Year!" Whoa, not so loud. The heads here are still a trifle sore from excess revelling. But, like the troopers we are, we're back at our posts to bring you a selection of the most happening new Irish web sites! As usual, all suggestions for sites are welcome -- drop us an email if you come across any sites you think we should consider. Click here if you only want to view this month's list of sites.
Full-length Real Audio and quality writing make January's picks for Ireland a worthy bunch indeed. We've even thrown in an Irish font or two, in case you'd like to do some writing of your own. Intrigued? Yeah, we thought you'd be.
How can something inept be cool? When it's Inept, one of the snazziest e-zines to come out of Ireland in a long time. With regular features like Grrrl Thang, Agriculture and Consult the Dead Parrot (it gives some sound advice), the zine offers essays with a distinct, off-kilter flair -- learn how to keep your Venus fly Trap satisfied, muse on the unnerving similarities between Chinese takeaways and casual sex, or read the writers' own take on recent albums and movies. Although some of the writers are based abroad, the majority are Irish, including the now-infamous Reverend Hellshaw.
Somewhat trapped in design hell, but nevertheless worth a peek, is the shiny new site for radio station FM104, a fave with many of Ireland's younger folk. Perhaps in an effort to catch the young-uns' attention, the designers have opted for a rather bright rainbow motif for the site, but there's still good stuff here for music fans. The Real Audio section includes full-length singles from the likes of Janet Jackson and All Saints, and there's a great group of profiles that reveal an intriguing amount of personal information about the FM104 DJ's. Plus, if you've got a hot news tip, you can submit it through the site for a chance to win 50 pounds each week.
Tired of multimedia? Feeling in the mood for some good, solid literature? A sure winner is the online collection of poetry and prose by the Dublin Writers Workshop, Acorn 5 Online. Work samples from each writer are included, along with information about the author and copyright details. It's all rather low-tech, but these essays and poems are evocative, high-quality work, well worth a look. A site that doesn't need Java to be hot.
Sporting a hot new look of its own is Cork's favourite newspaper, The Examiner. Now updated six days a week by 3am local time, the online edition includes substantial Irish and international news, plus finance and features. The sports news, while a bit thin on pictures, is ambitious: there are no less than three sections, covering football, Irish sport and international sport. Horoscope fans will also be pleased to find their daily dose of advice online. The creators of The Examiner online promise more features to come, including hourly news updates and a dedicated appointments section.
Dedicated to the physical art of Irish writing is our friend Con, who has posted a thoroughly pleasing selection of Irish typefaces on Con's Font Page. While all the fonts are distinctly Celtic in feel, they range widely in style, from the playfully modern Cinneide to the more antique Oireachtas, a rounded font reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts like the Book of Kells. The best news of all is that these are all freeware fonts, available as Macintosh Postscript and True Type fonts. Two thumbs up for being cross-platform, Con!
Alas, the muse has now left us. We'll hang about a bit to see if she flies back into the room, but I think that's probably it for this month. Tune in again in February for more!