Summer School 2025

We're running a little summer school on Saturday 28 June and Sunday 29 June at 10-13 Thomas Street, in the Digital Hub, in Dublin 8.

In five two-hour sessions, members of our team will work with groups of up to 15 people on skills and knowledge that could be used in journalism, but also just by Dubliners who are involved in their communities and trying to make the city a better place.

You can sign up now, via this page, for any or all of the sessions:

• Master FOI and AIE requests to get documents from your government – with Dublin Inquirer deputy editor Lois Kapila
• Navigate local government, to learn who does what and where to go to push for positive change in your neighbourhood – with Dublin Inquirer deputy editor Sam Tranum
• Learn neighbourhood research, to figure out who owns that derelict building, what BusConnects changes might be coming, and more – with Dublin Inquirer deputy editor Lois Kapila
• Collect and and map local data – with Brian Rogers, urban researcher, technologist and builder of collisiontracker.ie
• Launch your own small publication and earn from it – with Dublin inquirer co-founder Sam Tranum

There are more details and links to buy tickets below.

Tickets are €50 per class, but thanks to a sponsorship from Imbibe Coffee Roasters, we’ll be able to make several tickets available per class at no cost, for people who are not in a position to pay but want to attend.

We were very happy to receive a €2,500 grant from Imbibe to support the summer school. They’re a small independent business in Dublin 8. We like the way they’re run – it’s thoughtful and strikes us as a very fair way to run a business.

They give away a share of their turnover each year to causes and projects they want to back, including through community grants in the Dublin 8 area, like the one supporting our summer school. Check out their bio and give them a follow if you feel so inclined.

The classes

1. Mastering FOI and AIE requests. Freedom of Information requests and Access to Information on the Environment requests are two useful tools to get records out of public bodies. Dublin Inquirer deputy editor Lois Kapila will walk you through how to make an initial request, how to file an appeal for an internal review, and how to appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner, offering tips and examples from her years of experience with this process. This class will be on Saturday 28 June, from 10am to 12pm, at 10-13 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. You can get your ticket here.
2. Navigating local government. Trying to figure out who is responsible for what and how to contact them to push for change and improvement can be difficult. Dublin Inquirer editor Sam Tranum will offer a primer on the structure of local authorities like Dublin City Council, the difference between what council staff do, and what elected councillors d0. How to find out who your councillors are and watch them at work on committees and during full council meetings. What information the councils publish publicly, and how to find it. And more. This class will be on Saturday 28 June, from 1pm to 3pm, at 10-13 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. You can get your ticket here.
3. Learning neighbourhood research. Have you been wondering who owns that derelict building in your area, or what BusConnects changes might be coming through? In this class, Dublin Inquirer deputy editor Lois Kapila will show you how to use public records to answer questions about your neighbourhood. So you can weigh in on issues on if you wish. Or just to satisfy your curiosity. This class will be on Saturday 28 June, from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, at 10-13 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. You can get your ticket here.
4. Collecting and mapping local data.  Learn how to gather and display geolocated data from around your community. From local stories, to urgent public issues, learn how to put your data on the map and share it. This class will be on Sunday 29 June, from 10am to 12pm, at 10-13 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. You can get your ticket here.
5. Launching your own small publication. From finding a market, to choosing a platform, and means of distribution, and possible ways of making money from your effort, and the nuts and bolts of running a company. In this class, Dublin Inquirer co-founder Sam Tranum will talk through the practicalities of starting a small publication, in print, on a website, on social media, or as a newsletter. This class will be on Sunday 29 June, from 1pm to 3pm, at 10-13 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. You can get your ticket here.

The people

Lois Kapila is co-founder and deputy editor of Dublin Inquirer. Before that, she wrote for the Times of Central Asia in Bishkek, Washington City Paper in Washington DC, and The Statesman in Kolkata. She was shortlisted for Orwell Prize for Journalism and Prix Europa's European Journalist of the Year in 2019. 

Brian Rogers is researcher and technologist at UCD’s Spatial Dynamics Lab focusing on urban mobility and climate action. 

Sam Tranum is co-founder and editor of Dublin Inquirer. Before that, he worked as a reporter for daily newspapers, covering local government at the Charleston Daily Mail in West Virginia and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Florida, and then as a reporter for energy business newsletters from Energy Intelligence in Washington DC, before taking a role as a sub-editor at The Statesman in Kolkata, and teaching journalism at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek.

Directions

All sessions will be in Studio 2, in 10-13 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. It's on the Digital Hub campus, near-ish the corner of Crane Street, on the south side of Thomas Street, across from the Masonry Building.

It's a short walk down the road from the James's Luas stop, or across the river from the Smithfield one. It's on several bus routes. And there's plenty of bike parking around.