Wanton quirkiness, perennial liveliness and an endearing touch of shabbiness have always been part of Phibsboro's innate appeal. It was where I wanted to live as a DCU student in the late nineties, instead of the gentler, more refined environs of Drumcondra where I was instead. Phibsborough was where the cool kids hung out, with an ice rink, a surfeit of charity shops and good pubs like The Hut, where the Johnny Cash Appreciation Society were in situ on a Sunday night. And then there was McGowan's, where young love was almost certainly guaranteed to bloom, especially after a few drinks.

In a random (and completely unscientific) study I asked several people to name five of the best known statues in Dublin. Merrion Square’s Oscar Wilde was name checked, as was Patrick Kavanagh’s canal bank sit‐down. Some confusion reigned as to where Molly Malone had been repositioned from Grafton Street (she now wheels her wheelbarrow on Suffolk Street) but each and every person questioned mentioned the iconic bronze statue of rock star Phil Lynott, who left us for the great stage in the sky 33 years ago ‐ January 4th, 1986, to be precise. While the immortalisations of Daniel O’Connell, James Connolly, Charles Stewart Parnell or James Larkin went unmentioned in our (again to be stressed, unscientific) poll, one might take this as less of a lack of interest in Dublin’s political history, and more of an indication as to the special place the Thin Lizzy frontman continues to hold in Dubliners’ hearts. A poet and a rocker, the Brummie‐born lead singer and bassist, who grew up in Crumlin, remains one of the city’s most beloved sons.

If you’re not entirely sure what the Internet of Things (IoT) is, or if you haven’t even heard of it yet, that’s alright. Essentially, the IoT is a connection of devices to the internet, whether that’s your washing machine or your house alarm and everything will be ‘talking’ to the other. On a micro level, that might mean that your alarm clock will tell your coffee machine that it’s time to start brewing a pot when you get up; on a macro level the possibilities are infinite, including making cities smarter.

The Irish diaspora is renowned around the globe. Our ex-patriots exert a powerful influence on how this small country is seen by the rest of the world – and in 2017, the last year for which figures are available, 30,800 people left home to join it. But hang on: in the same period about 27,400 returned to Ireland – a marked increase over the previous year. So why, all of a sudden, are we seeing a return of the Irish? Everyone has different reason for coming home, of course. We talked to Natasha, 25, about what prompted her return to Dublin after almost three years of travelling. I feel like your early 20s are precious for either of two different route

What sets Europe’s largest culinary school apart? The School of Culinary Arts, DIT Cathal Brugha Street has been blazing trails for almost 80 years. Dublin.ie met with the Head and Assistant Head of the school, Dr Frank Cullen and Mike J. O Connor to find out what sets Cathal Brugha Street apart and what the future and the move to DIT’s new centralised campus at Grangegorman hold. The School opened its doors in June 1941 as Saint Mary’s College of Domestic Science. In the 1950s the college changed to cater to the needs of a growing tourism industry, becoming the Dublin Colle