Laura Kennedy

1 day ago | irishtimes.com | Laura Kennedy

Few of us have a healthy relationship with our phones. Chatting with a writer friend recently, I realised that even the people rejecting the ubiquity of smartphones (and there aren’t many) are in that camp with the rest of us. As we sat outdoors on a crisp autumnal Australian day, the sun hitting my back and its 23-degree heat calming my bones, she ruined everything. “I got rid of my iPhone!” my friend said, staring at me over a cup of coffee with unsettling ocular intensity.

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Laura Kennedy

Homesickness creeps up on you stealthily, though you would think you could feel it coming. I awoke this morning realising that it had somehow wriggled between my ribs during the night and there it sat, its cold, smooth, bottom-heavy weight tugging invisibly like the lead sinkers we attached to a fishing line as kids. I hadn’t anticipated it or noticed its approach, but I’ve lived away from home long enough to know that it is an inevitable part of the experience.

2 weeks ago | worksopguardian.co.uk | Laura Kennedy

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565Visit Shots! nowVolunteers are vital to Bassetlaw Foodbank. Each day individuals choose to give their time to work towards a common goal, to support Bassetlaw residents facing food insecurity, writes Laura Kennedy, supporter engagement manager​ at Bassetlaw Foodbank. We’re incredibly lucky to have close to 100 volunteers supporting all projects across the organisation. Volunteers are at the core of everything we do.

4 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Laura Kennedy

“I read your article in the paper a few weeks back.” An older lady has come up to me with a slightly disapproving tone in her voice. Oh no, I think. Who have I offended now? Her accent is distinctly Irish, but flecked with Australian cadence. The sort of accent an Irish person might develop after decades of living here in Australia. The earthy notes of a midlands accent occasionally soar off at the end of a word, shooting upwards with the sort of warm climate tonal optimism Australians have.

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Laura Kennedy

St Patrick’s Day can be a bizarre day for Irish people, and never more so than this year. As Taoiseach Micheál Martin guffawed “that’s a good answer” to US president Donald Trump’s description of the Irish housing crisis as a “good problem” and a symptom of Ireland “doing so well”, it’s hard to say precisely where we stand on the diplomacy front.