Dublin City Centre is awash with franchised mini-supermarkets and convenience stores, all of which…read moreare happy to charge astronomical prices on basic items of immediate neccesity. Those of us rich in knowledge (but not in pocket) make our basic daily puRchases at the SU shop in Trinity College, located just inside the front gate, under the arch and to the left. As it's a student shop, prices are kept to as near as cost as possible and newspapers are half price!

I am pretty much obsessed with Totally Dublin, a free monthly newspaper that is chock full of great…read morestuff. The publication is aimed at a hip crowd that goes on often and always wants to know what events are around the corner. It's been around for 5 years, and I hope it lives to see many more milestones in years to come. The listings are broken up into categories like live gigs, theatre, weekly clubbing and one-off clubbing, so you'll have no trouble finding something cool to do each month. They also have venue, club night and restaurant reviews that are humorous and informative. While Totally Dublin is essential for finding out what's going on around the city, it's also a great read otherwise, with lots of well-written content, articles, band/artist interviews and more. The staff is probably young and doesn't take themselves too seriously, and this is reflected in the style and content, which is funny and interesting. It's the kind of cultural newspaper that I actually read cover to cover and sometimes even keep (it's that good!). It's distributed at businesses around the city and if you spot on, do not hesitate to pick it up!

Every cultural city needs a magazine like Totally Dublin. A free, independent paper, written and…read moredesigned by a team of in-the-know Dubliners who bust their asses just so we can pick it up at the local shop and have something fun to read while waiting for our pizza or drinking our coffee. Each issue features interesting interviews, event picks, reviews and travel pieces, music/culture/art-related stuff and plentiful samplings of local flavour and is therefore useful for locals and a fine introduction to Dublin for visitors. Their listings section comes in handy when in the pub with friends who want to check out a gig but don't know where to go and their website is a great addition to the printed publication with its easy-to-use listings calender. If you join their facebook group you'll get the newest issue in the mail, even before it hits the streets, so you'll never have to miss out on any Dublin event. Whether the issues covered fit your areas of interest or not, the staff deserves a big pat on the back for delivering a cool-looking issue every single month. Hope they'll manage to keep up the good work for years to come!.

It's not Christmas at our place till the RTE Guide runs its special edition. Every year the good…read morefolk at the Guide deliver the Christmas compendium to the flicks and specials coming to Irish TV over that laziest of winter weeks. While lying prone on the couch, chugging hot chocolate and cramming ourselves with cheese plates, chocolates and mince pies we have just enough strength to flip through the guide to see what's on... and it never disappoints. Oh, there's interviews and year-end updates too, but I'm reading for the time tables and hoping to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at least three more times!

The RTE Guide is like a national institution really. I remember when I was growing up we would get…read moreit every Thursday and then fight over who got to look at it first. Obviously we didn't have a whole lot going on in our lives! My parents still get it and I had a read of it the other day when I was at home. It's great for checking out what's on TV and it's also pretty jam packed with news, features, recipes and gossip. All in all, a pretty good buy.

So what's up in Dublin for the weekend? LeCool has your answer…read more Filling the space where EventGuide left with it's January 2009 departure, this online local mag is the best place for offbeat events happening all around the City Centre. There's hot links for blogs and online art, real life shows and exhibitions, plus great ideas for stop off points if the Dublin touring excitment is wearing thin. What really rocks your humble reviewer's socks here is that LeCool covers the week, with great recommendations for cinema, kareoke and more from LeSunday to LeSunday. Event prices do vary but it's all as set through the venue itself. Forget the usual Friday night pub thing, LeCool has something better in mind for you!

Yep, this is what you've been missing. Been a subscriber of…read moreother city's lecool for several years now and even if you dont live there it s still a decent read and wonderful insight into any city. It' cherry-picks the bestest of the best each week in Dublin and points you on your way to cultural, hedonistic, gourmet or just damn fine nirvana. Subscribe and feel better already

Phonic is a fun free monthly newspaper similar to Totally Dublin but a bit more out-there. Ok, a…read morelot more out there. They have venue write-ups and band interviews too, but the content is mostly if not all satirical takes on contemporary life as opposed to actual articles. A recent article "You're Hired!" suggested such jobs as nun, president or inanimate object. So, you get the idea. The interviews and gig write-ups are less tongue-in-cheek but I don't read them that thoroughly. They have weekly and one-off gig listings too, but not nearly as comprehensive as Totally Dublin's.

Stellar magazine is a young, glamorous new publication from the Irish publications powerhouse, VIP…read more Headed up by Michael O Leary, their other publications include Kiss (like Stellar's little sister) and VIP (the ultimate society mag in Ireland). It was set up, I would think, to rival the likes of British Glamour and cosmo, and it doesn't fall short of the mark. It's heavily similar to the likes of those glossies and the only thing original about it is its content. But as far as Irish magazines go, it's really quite good. It's aimed at 18-34 year olds and covers anything celeb/beauty/fashion related and since it was launched last year, it's done quite well. I would buy it quite regularly and it gets a thumbs up from me.

I actually really like this magazine. I didn't think i would but it was recommended to me by a…read morefriend and now i'm considering a subscription.

S+P is one of Ireland's leading monthly social magazines, dahling…read more Full of the latest fashion, events and social happenings from around the country, this glossy mag is never missed by the ladies who lunch and the latest up-and-coming 'it' girls. Its audience would definitely be the wealthier of the Irish folk and is bought by every hairdresser in the country, as clients love to have a look and 'see who's in it this month.' It's complete fluff - you wont be finding any hard hitting articles in it - but if you're happy looking at 'celebs' posing with champers in their hand at the latest book launch, private members club or horse racing meet, then you wont want to miss it.

Think of S&P as a printed Bebo for Ireland's upper classes…read more Sure, this slick glossy is an excellent reference for style and trends seen only here, and the empire is expanding with Living and Wedding editions... but those society pages seem to get the most attention. I think it's got something to do with the fact that most of S&P's readership appear in those party snaps. There Snochta, Osin and Fiacra are captured in all their style-making glory, grinning for the camera and raising their champers. How very... very. Spot a group of girls flipping through the latest issue and at least one of them will probably be in there somewhere.

With the wide range of glossy fashion/lifestyle magazines you'll find at the local newsagent, why…read moreshould you pay for Image? Well, if you're not much for glamour-shopping and stylish ladies, maybe you shouldn't. And if you are hooked on beauty-tips and celeb-secrets there are better magazines on the shelves. Image is no W or Vogue but for an Irish fashion mag it's a pretty good one, and useful for the season fashion trends, that is, if you are the kind of girl who cares what's "in" or "out". I'm not a huge fan but I do like to browse through Image, mostly for their editorials. Each issue features amazing state-of-the-art photo spreads shot and produced by Ireland's top fashion photographers, make-up artists and stylists. Fab! I pick it up every time at the shop just to take a look at the gorgeous pics (never feel the need to buy it though).