How people in the media, creative industries and further afield are managing to work during covid19

By Matthew Geraghty

I spoke with a number of people in media, creative industries and academia, and asked them all the same question- how are they managing to work, or not during this challenging time?

1). Suzanne Lynch, Washington Correspondent with The Irish Times

‘Just less than three weeks ago, I was in the oval office to cover the meeting between Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Donald Trump. Within 24 hours, the situation in Washington had changed dramatically. New restrictions were introduced for journalists covering the White House and the US began a series of lockdowns.'

' While some of my work had always involved writing from home, I am now at my desk at home in Washington each day, as only a small number of journalists are permitted to attend the White House coronavirus taskforce briefings, and all events on Capitol Hill have been cancelled.’

‘I am still receiving email correspondence and updates from the White House, various members of congress on Capital Hill and the US State Department and Commerce Department which keeps me up to date on what’s happening policy wise in the city.'

2). William Murray, Artist and Chef at Currabinny

‘I am lucky in one way in that I should be used to self initiating my own schedules, structures and timelines. In another way it seems the unknowns and unknowables of this pandemic can lead to a whole host of anxieties, distractions and general confusion that makes doing anything constructive seem a little futile. You really have to hold onto the hope that this will all pass eventually, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, however long that tunnel is.’

William's working from home set-up, featuring his cat Diana is far left, above.

3). Mark Lynch, Editor at Student Independent News

‘Covid19 caused a couple of problems for us, starting with our volunteers. Suddenly, all of our writers were plunged into uncertainty surrounding their studies and exams. Stress increased tenfold for students, so it was difficult to get people to prioritise SIN, which is completely understandable.’

‘Second, as it was such a rapidly changing situation, it was difficult to remain up to date on everything. An example of this was the situation of student nurses on placement. We had a whole article prepared about them not being paid, and then suddenly, it had to be flipped entirely when the announcement came that they would be paid for placement.’

4). Jane Fogarty, Visual Artist, Dublin

‘I’m struggling to make new work, my studio has been closed and my apartment is very small. I work in egg tempera which is paint made from egg and I’m finding it difficult to get eggs in the supermarket. I am managing to stay creative with other side projects, working with clay a bit and making a quilt.'

5). Eoin Daly, Lecturer in political theory and constitutional law at NUI Galway

‘I’m finding it challenging to combine (working) with parenting responsibilities but I am lucky to have a quiet attic room to work in.’

Eoin's working from home set up is centre, above.

6). Áine Kenny, Munster Business Hub reporter at The Irish Examiner

‘My work from home set-up is fairly basic, I have my laptop and my notebook, with an old alarm clock radio so I can listen to the news. Working from home has been challenging because I miss the buzz of the newsroom, but we have all adapted very well and use the likes of WhatsApp and Google Hangout to communicate. The news agenda is dominated by one topic (Covid19) which is quite unusual, usually we would be covering different stories every day and even every few hours.’

Aine's working from home set up is far right, above.

How are you managing to work and study from home during this unprecedented time? Get in tough through the comments below or DM us on any of our social media pages!