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Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke

The Irish News

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Sophie Clarke: Northern Ireland has become a real staycation destination

Sophie Clarke: Northern Ireland has become a real staycation destination

Like a lot of people during the pandemic, my family bought a dog. Five years later, Ferdy has accidentally become the central decision-maker in almost...

saturday 10

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Being in your 20s in Northern Ireland is nothing like the sitcoms promised

Sophie Clarke: Being in your 20s in Northern Ireland is nothing like the sitcoms promised

I don’t know about anyone else but every time I open social media lately, I seem to be met with another major life announcement. Engagements....

09.05.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Claire’s vs Sephora - what the loss of a Belfast high street staple says about how childhood is changing

If you grew up or were a parent in the early 2000s, chances are a trip to Claire’s Accessories was a regular occurrence. Claire’s was a...

02.05.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

The north has its problems, but it’s full of decent people

THERE was a genuinely lovely news story this week about a man from Co Down sacrificing his personal best at the Boston Marathon to help a fellow...

25.04.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: A TV recipe that isn’t working for our great local chefs

FROM the wealth of cooking shows on television, Great British Menu has always been my favourite. For those unfamiliar, it’s a high-stakes...

18.04.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why the ‘not all men’ argument misses the point on violence against women

THERE has been a fair amount of discussion this week after some push-back against the idea that men, or society more broadly, should feel any sense of...

11.04.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why more people in their 20s (like me) are still living at home in Northern Ireland

I turned 25 this week. It is around this age that people start to ask the same questions: what do you do, who are you with, where do you live? The...

04.04.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why Northern Ireland struggles to back its own talent

Last week I attended the annual Queen’s University Fashion Society showcase where student designers presented work shaped by identity, place and...

28.03.2026 20

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why are we queuing for chain restaurants like Wingstop and Chick-fil-A while Belfast’s best independents struggle?

THERE is something oddly revealing about the queues that form whenever a new chain restaurant opens in the north. Over the past year we have watched...

21.03.2026 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Belfast’s transport system is failing the city it wants to become

Over the last few days, while taking a somewhat unreliable bus service into Belfast city centre, we have stopped at a set of traffic lights beside a...

14.03.2026 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: A tale of two cities: Why Belfast can’t ignore Derry’s revival

One of the best subject lines you can see land in your inbox on a quiet day in the office often begins with two simple words: press trip. It can mean...

07.03.2026 50

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: The Belfast buildings we walk past every day – and why they must be saved

Earlier this week I found myself standing inside a building I had walked past hundreds of times without ever really noticing. The Scottish Mutual...

28.02.2026 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Anthony Boyle, Lola Petticrew and the rise of Northern Irish actors on screen

THE Irish Film and Television Academy Awards took place last night, with a good representation of Northern Irish actors among the nominees,...

21.02.2026 50

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Closure of historic Co Antrim business signals the cost of convenience

Earlier this week it was announced that the historic, family-run Ballymena shoe shop McKillens will close its doors after 100 years in business....

14.02.2026 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

£86,000 to enforce a four-dog limit at a Northern Ireland council - but will it actually work?

08.02.2026 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

‘Belfast’s bars and restaurants look busy - but short-sighted decisions ignore the quiet reality’

30.01.2026 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Brooklyn Beckham’s Instagram fallout highlights a troubling new trend in modern family life

24.01.2026 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

How Stranger Things’ Conformity Gate revealed our fear of thinking differently

11.01.2026 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: January’s wellness noise is doing more harm than good

05.01.2026 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why we struggle to say we did something well

27.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why does society keep silencing the next generation?

20.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

The rise of ‘performative chill’: Why we’re exhausted from pretending not to care

13.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

The Christmas consumerism machine is costing us more than money

07.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why your screen time is ruining screenwriting

30.11.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Northern Irish accents aren’t exotic or incomprehensible and it’s time people stopped pretending they are

23.11.2025 50

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Wicked: For Good review - Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande lift an otherwise disappointingly flat second act

20.11.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why having a boyfriend isn’t embarrassing... even if Vogue thinks it is

15.11.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why fireworks are fun for you – but hellish for our pets

08.11.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Is Belfast’s nightlife dying? Why a once-iconic club scene is struggling to survive

25.10.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Casio’s AI pet Moflin might be cute – but it’s no replacement for the real thing

20.10.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Lola Young is the latest example of how the music industry lets its stars burn out

04.10.2025 50

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Are food influencers ruining our towns and cities’ ‘hidden gems’?

27.09.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Why ‘shrekking’ shows just how low our dating standards have fallen

21.09.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

It’s time to admit Wuthering Heights doesn’t belong on screen

13.09.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Ozzy Osbourne’s legacy deserves better than cheap shots

06.09.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

The unwritten rules we’re forgetting and why it matters more than ever

30.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Strictly’s so-called ‘nepo baby’ isn’t the contestant you think

24.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Why autumn feels like the real start of the year

16.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Is Michaella McCollum’s comeback a sign of a broken fame culture?

09.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

When careers collide: The Paddy Kielty and Cat Deeley split raises a key question about modern relationships

02.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Progress in Pride: Why we still have work to do for our LGBTQ+ community

26.07.2025 50

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

From The Open to Oasis: Why true fans keep losing in the battle for event tickets

19.07.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke: Forty years after Live Aid, has fundraising lost its power to unite?

THIS weekend marks the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, the landmark 1985 concert that became a defining moment in the history of humanitarian...

13.07.2025 50

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Glastonbury had its usual chaos, but Lewis Capaldi gave it soul

05.07.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

As Glastonbury kicks off, I’m choosing comfort over camping

29.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why Big Zuu is the role model we didn’t know we needed

22.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla was a statement, but was it the right one?

15.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why everyone is obsessed with Labubu: The viral toy taking over TikTok

08.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Why my fear of driving feels more justified than ever

01.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke

Ireland needs Bruce Springsteen to bring back Eurovision glory

27.05.2025 30

The Irish News

Sophie Clarke