James Hendicott

Freelance Journalist

Ireland

I am a specialist in music, sport and travel writing, published in a host of national publications. I work regular shifts for NME and the Dublin Gazette, and contribute to the Sunday Business Post, The Irish Independent, The Irish Sun, The Technoskeptic and a number of government tourism agencies. I also work as print editor for quarterly music publication GoldenPlec Magazine.

Portfolio
RTE.ie
06/01/2019
Welcome to CONIFA - Football for the forgotten

In early June, just as the final flames of the majority of Europe's 2018/2019 football season burn out, a more obscure football tournament - one for international-ish football associations that exist outside of FIFA - will kick off in Artsakh, a disputed region of Azerbaijan.

The Technoskeptic
05/18/2016
Borrowed Time: Musical Debt in the Sampling Era

Recently, a British DJ named Martyn Webster concluded a crowdfunding campaign that saw him hand over £24,000 ($36,500) to Richard L. Spencer, vocalist and last surviving member of 60s funk and soul act The Winstons. Having handed over the cash, Webster immediately restarted his crowd-funding campaign for a second round.

Nine MSN
From mud baths to swimsuit ice fishing, Korea's cultural festivals covered

To newcomers, Korean culture can seem incredibly alien. While it can feel like shining neon futurescapes, historic references lay heavily across the landscape, manifesting in borders and bowing gestures, fermented cuisine and lush palaces. Festivals are great insight, showcasing local highlights and invariably chucking in a hefty dose of the surreal alongside a glance at the many sides of one of Asia's most unique cultures.

Europavox
Crate-digging: Where To Explore Dublin's Vinyl Revival - Europavox

Matching a wider global trend, vinyl here is very much on the rise. Record Store Day, for example, has become a Dublin music fan's Christmas, with queues outside stores for opening time and dozens of in-store live shows. In early 2018, the first new Irish record manufacturer since the 1980s opened its doors in Glasnevin, North Dublin.

Worldtravelguide
An afternoon inside Dublin's anarchist squat

"People unknown. We'll be back." That marker went up a year ago, pinned between the heavily-barred warehouses on Lower Grangegorman Road. Now, as promised, squatters have returned for a second occupation - and Squat City is opening its doors for all to see.

newstalk.com
From stats to monitoring sleep: How Dublin are preparing for the All-Ireland final

Underrated, relatively cynicism-free and fast-moving: if the key stakeholders around Dublin's camp are to be believed, ladies' football is at an all time high, and one that's arrived at speed. Dublin manager Gregory McGonigle has been around the game for a while, having made his way to the capital via a spell in charge of a successful Monaghan panel.

Bandcamp
06/23/2016
Hopes, Hollas and Heartache: The Essence of Euro 2016 in Song

"What could offer a greater statement of footballing unity than a Northern Irish band waiting to celebrate their team's first tournament appearance in their lifetime, singing about the Italian star of an English football team?" European football-soccer, as we know it in the U.S.-and music are lively bedfellows, inextricably linked since the day the first...

The Technoskeptic
10/12/2015
As Ad Blockers Rise, Online Journalism Falls

If you use ad-blocking software, those bits of code that prevent advertisements from appearing on your browser as you surf the web, you're stealing. Not in the same sense as walking into a shop, grabbing the nearest item and walking out, admittedly.

Worldtravelguide
Dublin: A history through 10 peculiar objects

From masonry and political documents to abstract art and gas masks, the Little Museum's archives can be both upsetting and humorous as they sketch a snaking line through the trials and tribulations of a city that's still coming to terms with independence.

Nine MSN
Beyond barbecue and kimchi: Korean food's weirdest must-haves

Korean food, generally speaking, is incredible. Diverse, often spicy, served in exotic styles and with the added bonus of being healthy and cheap. South Koreans eat out more than they eat in, and if you visit, you're going to want to do the same.

NME.COM
At The Drive-In's 10 Best Songs | NME.COM

Arguably the stand out post-hardcore band (yes, ever), the occasional return of At The Drive-In from newfound roles revives a real whirlwind of turn of the century anger and drive. The El Paso act are sometimes as shambolic as they are beautiful (the 2012 live return, for example, could have been less...

Travelsupermarket
10/20/2016
How to do Dublin on a budget

A cosmopolitan capital with a torrid history still writ large across its streets, Dublin is shaking off the shackles of a hard-hitting recession and regathering the easygoing buzz that made it a popular tourist haven.

The Technoskeptic
02/17/2016
For the Record, Spotify isn't so Groovy | The Technoskeptic

When Taylor Swift-arguably the world's biggest pop star-went on a personal crusade against Spotify recently, you could have been forgiven for sighing a little and wondering if she's heard the latest on Syria's refugee crisis.

Worldtravelguide
Sangram's story: Surviving Nepal's earthquake

I first met Sangram Lama in Kathmandu's Durbar Square. That was in 2009, when the squat and good-humoured hiking guide was in the city picking up custom. He took me across the Langtang valley for 10 days, climbing above 5,000m (16,404ft) for yak photos and glacial views.

Worldtravelguide
Drink, drugs and debauchery: The definitive guide to Dublin

Look, we couldn't knowingly send you to Temple Bar. Instead, local rapscallion James Hendicott drags us through the real Dublin, drink, drugs, debauchery and all. Where the locals drink The area between Aungier Street and Dame Street is Dublin nightlife's heartland: try Dame Lane in summer, or Fade Street for leftfield hipster chic.

Dublin Gazette
03/10/2016
Padraig Harrington interview

Padraig Harrington talks the mental side of golf, and how he doesn't value anything less than a win.

GoldenPlec
11/23/2015
Interview: The Prodigy

Born out of rave culture - and showing it in being equal parts heady beats and ill-disguised rage - The Prodigy 's greatest achievement is arguably pushing their music into post-90s endurance.

Independent.ie
10/13/2015
Introducing: Loah

James Hendicott A fresh face all set to make a tsunami of an impact on Ireland's music scene over the coming months is Loah, a unique, soulful voice who fuses a background in jazz with cultural influences from her own unlikely mixed influences: an upbringing shared between Sierra Leone and Maynooth.

Nine MSN
Partying in a Dublin squat? It isn't as bad as it sounds

Ireland's capital is well-known for its rustic, lively pubs, but alcohol is highly taxed making it undeniably pricey. So, with a national reputation for a healthy disregard for authority, it's perhaps no surprise the locals seek out edgy alternatives.

Nine MSN
Three budgets, three Dublin hotels

Crash pad to the stars, a class act from top to tail Housed smartly in an entire row of the distinctive Georgian-era buildings that Dublin's become famous for, the Merrion Hotel is the Dublin institution beloved of the likes of Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, all understated elegance and sparkling service.

Alternative Ulster (cover story)
12/01/2010
Something Good Can Work: The Irresistible Rise Of Two Door Cinema Club

"We broke into the rooftop pool of a hotel in Melbourne at 3am. That was great. But everything's so surreal, you're never really taken aback by anything that happens. It takes going home and telling people about it for someone to stop you and say "your life's ridiculous"

entertainment.ie
04/23/2015
TV Review: Bear Grylls' The Island brings us 'a world of unintended comedy'

The Island, it seems, is a difficult place. Set somewhere in the middle of the Pacific and filmed almost entirely by its cast, Bears Grylls latest crossover between reality TV and survival maroons 'ordinary' people amongst jungles, snakes, sting rays and - seemingly most difficult of all - each other.

GoldenPlec
03/23/2015
Modest Mouse: "I got rid of about 37 songs before we got to the studio"

“I really liked those first two records”, Brock explains, “and they hadn’t been available on vinyl in over a decade. A very long time. I don’t own a copy of some of the original vinyls. I went online occasionally as we were trying to put these records back together, and I’m like ‘we need a copy of the original record’. There’s no way I’d pay that much for this asshole’s record! I couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on the thing."

Nine MSN
Want to drink like the Irish? Here's a Dubliner's anti-tourist guide

In some of the plusher hotels in the heart of Dublin, they serve a cocktail called Black Velvet. A mix of Guinness and champagne, sounding like a slice of decadent Ireland. The Temple Bar in the city is always rammed with tourist wanting the black stuff, whipped-up with decadence.

Dublin Gazette
06/04/2015
Blind golf a perfect fit for brilliant Brill

CAROL Brill, who suffers from a rare eyesight and hearing-affecting genetic disorder, Usher syndrome, is set to be the first Irish woman to compete in the Italian Blind Golf Open in Milan this coming October. Dundrum's Brill is an active campaigner on issues surrounding Usher syndrome, having recently spoken to the Oireachtas about the debilitating genetic problem.

Nine MSN
Critters and crunch: Eating outside the box in Phnom Penh

If you've never been to Cambodia, you might associate the country with the stunning, long-abandoned temples of Angkor Wat, the brutal Khmer Rouge regime or the once dangerous abundance of landmines. They're all at the heart of the traveller experience, but they're not the only things that will stand out.