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TheJournal.ie

Huawei's flagship phone has plenty of features, but is it worth €429?

It’s been edging closer to a definitive flagship phone, but does the P8 match its more illustrious rivals?

Score: 7/10

Verdict: Huawei’s latest flagship tries to match the biggest players but its software prevents it from achieving this.

NOW THE THIRD-LARGEST handset manufacturer in the world, Huawei has slowly built up a reputation for providing good mid- and low-range devices. It’s a decent position to be in considering how competitive the space is.

This year saw it take its latest step into the high-end market with the Ascend P8. The company’s phones already represented good value on the cheaper end of the market but how does it fare in a crowded field featuring the likes of Samsung, HTC and OnePlus?

Look and feel

Going for an aluminium casing, the 5.2-inch screen device is just about the right size for it to be manageable one-handed and it does feel thin – just that bit thinner than the Samsung’s Galaxy S6 or the iPhone 6 – but it doesn’t feel as snug as other handsets.

While you have to concentrate a little more on grip, it slides into your pocket without much hassle and the aluminium design does give it a premium feel.

The placement is straightforward. Headphone jack at the top, USB port, speakers and fan at the bottom. The right-hand side is where the volume and power buttons are, as well as slots for your SIM and micro SD cards. Meanwhile, the left side is left clean.

Huawei GIF 1 physical.gif TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

Software

Running on a modified version of Android Lollipop 5.0, Huawei’s version is pretty standard but there are a few iOS inspired choices built into its Emotion UI.

It’s a mixture of the nice (animations when turning off your phone) and bland (the iconography used for apps and widgets), but it lacks the polish you would find on other phones.

Moving between sections is smooth and it skips from one task to another with relative ease, but it doesn’t create a coherent experience of its own.

Photo 3 The side of the Ascend P8. Both SIM and SD slots are located on the same side. TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

The design choices that are nice tend to be optional, lesser features like taking screenshots. Instead of pressing the volume and power buttons, you tap the screen with your knuckle.

You can also screenshot a portion of the screen by drawing a circle or shape with your knuckle, but it’s difficult to master and it will take many attempts before it recognises your action.

Huawei GIF 2 screenshot TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

The other ‘nice in theory but lacking in practice’ feature is the ability to find your phone by calling out for it.

In theory, this is great if you’ve misplaced your phone as calling out a select phrase will activate it – but the reality isn’t as smooth.

For one, the voice function is limited to just that and ringing up contacts, the other problem is how it will activate at random times when you’re talking. There were some instances where it activated mid-conversation, resulting in it being turned off within moments.

If there’s a real criticism to these small design features as a whole, it isn’t the execution but their usefulness. Huawei is pushing them as selling points for the phone, but it feels odd when standard features like an app tray are absent.

Hardware

Using a Kirin 930 processor, two quad-core CPUs, and featuring 3GB of RAM, the P8 is capable of handling almost any task you throw at it.

It doesn’t quite match the speed of the Galaxy S6, and performance on the most demanding games can be a bit patchy in places, but it’s does a good job considering the price point.

The screen is sharp but falls a bit short of the biggest players. Still, it performs admirably, it’s bright and responsive and unless you’re swapping from an S6, you won’t notice the difference.

Huawei GIF 4 optimisation TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

One problem is battery life. A 2680 mAh battery doesn’t exactly scream long-life, and to combat that, the P8 alerts you to any battery-intensive apps running in the background. That’s handy to have but it means you have to be more wary of resource-intensive apps since they can drain your battery quickly.

You’ll get a day out of it from normal use, but heavier use will see you looking for a charger come evening time.

Camera

Another fusion of iOS principles and Huawei’s own twists, the P8′s camera is the strong point of the P8. On the surface, the auto camera app is stripped down to its basics, allowing you to just take photos without worrying about quality.

Part of that is down to what Huawei’s calling the world’s first four-colour RGBW sensor, allowing it to change brightness depending on the environment, and image stabiliser.
What that means is in auto mode, you will capture some good photos with little effort.

Huawei Ascend P8 Photos
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  • Huawei Ascend P8 Photos

    Source: quinton
  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

  • Huawei Ascend P8 photos

It’s a little strange that pro features like adjusting ISO can only be found by diving into settings, but you have a wealth of other features available like ‘Watermark’, ‘Super night’ (for low-light situations) and ‘Director mode’ which allows four Android phones to shoot a video from four different angles.

The front-facing 8MP camera also deserves a mention thanks to its beauty features, which can thin your face, smooth out your skin and increase the size of your eyes. Provided you keep the adjustments small, they can help, but going too far can present you with a stick-thin, bug-eyed monstrosity that will haunt somebody’s nightmares, if not your own.

As far as efforts go, Huawei’s camera features go beyond what you would usually expect from your smartphone and while some don’t work as well as you would like, there’s still a lot to work with.

Photo 2 TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

Is it worth getting?

The P8 is probably one of the best phones to come from Huawei so far. Yet while it has positives like its price point and camera, it doesn’t quite match what the other big players have to offer.

No one feature makes or breaks the P8 but you’re left feeling that it doesn’t quite manage to be more than the sum of its parts. The software is its biggest issue and if Huawei can iron out the problems with future updates, then it can really start thinking about matching its rivals.

The more you use it, the more you feel Huawei is one or two phones away from properly matching the big players. Until then, it’s just a step below what the likes of Samsung and Apple are offering, and that’s a pity as there are some nice ideas nestled within it. Maybe its rumoured Google Nexus phone will tell a different story.

Pros
- Attractive price compared to similar flagships.
- Premium design.
- Both front and rear end cameras are packed with features.
- Good screen.

Cons
- Uninspired software design.
- Doesn’t break any new ground.
- Battery life isn’t exactly great.

The Huawei Ascend P8 costs €429 (without contract) and is available in Meteor (bill pay: Free – €149) and eMobile (Bill Pay pre-order). It will also be available in Three and Carphone Warehouse later this month.

Read: One of the annoying problems with taking photos could be a thing of the past >

Read: Here’s how you can get your phone’s music to turn itself off >

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14 Comments
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    Mute Ronan Faherty
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:07 PM

    Can it not just be called “the national children’s hospital”

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    Mute Brendan Hughes
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:34 PM

    @Ronan Faherty: or if a name must go on it give it an Irish name. Cú Chullain Ospideal na leannì

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:36 PM

    @Brendan Hughes:
    I can see that just rolling off the tongue….

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    Mute Jeanniejampots
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:56 PM

    @Ronan Faherty: no because that’s already what Tallaght is and this is a new entity.

    12
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    Mute Robert Jones Smith
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:32 PM

    @Ronan Faherty: Hospital Mc Hospitalface

    114
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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:08 PM

    Oh FFS. Perspective please labour. The choice of name won’t endanger children. Building it in a location already crippled with traffic issues at peak times will.

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    Mute George Oscar Bluth
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:17 PM

    @The Risen: where would you have built it?

    17
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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:41 PM

    @George Oscar Bluth: green field site possibly blanchardstown.

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:42 PM

    @TonyF: Westport maybe? Or where are you suggesting?

    6
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    Mute Dave Harris
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:43 PM

    @The Risen: yeah, the m50 is a breeze to drive most if the time. (Only a person who hasn’t driven the m50 in the few years would suggest blanch)

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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:50 PM

    @Diarmuid the 15th:

    twitter.com/urrfadder

    Diarmuid
    @urrfadder

    Joined October 2017

    Banned again dermo?

    58
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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:02 PM

    @Diarmuid: Those aul plastic bullet guns don’t fire themselves you know, they have to aimed,

    36
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    Mute Steve Mac
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:03 PM

    @Dave Harris: I’m on the m50 regularly. I suggest Blanchardstown.

    55
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    Mute Joe Harbison
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:05 PM

    @TonyF: Tell that to Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry’s parents.

    18
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    Mute were jammin
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:06 PM

    @The Risen: Are you sure Diarmuid has only been banned 14 times? He was up to 13 a few months ago if I recall correctly……

    31
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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:55 PM

    @were jammin: LOL! Looks like you hit a nerve. Dermos throwing his adorable little name calling tantrum.

    34
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    Mute were jammin
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:07 PM

    @The Risen: Yes, quite abrasive and childish to be honest. I’ll report it after the weekend……WJ out

    21
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    Mute For Connolly
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:10 PM

    @Diarmuid: nonsense!

    I detest everything SF, the IRA and their trolls stand for. They are a threat to our democracy.

    FC out….

    25
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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:15 PM

    LOL!

    Another sim card down the tubes dermo?

    Just for the record folks, the real For Connollys twitter account is at the following…..

    twitter.com/ForConnolly

    22
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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:19 PM

    @were jammin: Were Jammin. Oft imitated, never emulated.

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    Mute For Connolly
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:24 PM

    @The Risen: remember that usurper troll account you also ran was banned many moons ago werejammin… rofl

    FC out…

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    Mute Paul Kelly
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:37 PM

    @George Oscar Bluth:
    In the Phoenix Park on the site of St Mary’s hospital.

    The new Alder Hey is a stand alone children hospital in a parkland location as is the new Melbourne children’s hospital.
    Funny how they don’t need to be colocated with an adult hospital.

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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 29th 2017, 10:01 PM

    LOL! Can’t see the stupidity of using ‘FC out’ twice one after the other.

    Silly goose.

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    Mute Christine O'Reilly
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    Oct 30th 2017, 3:46 AM

    @Joe Harbison: sorry but what has that got to do with the new children’s hospital???

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    Mute Padraic Courtney
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    Oct 30th 2017, 8:43 AM

    @The Risen: “By the time I get to Phoenix “

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    Mute Liam Ó Cuinneagáin
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:10 PM

    Tír na nÓg !

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:11 PM

    @Liam Ó Cuinneagáin: I like it. It works on a few different levels, however tongue in cheek.

    35
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    Mute Brendan Mason
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:17 PM

    The Four Hour Traffic Jam Children’s Hospital.

    71
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Oct 30th 2017, 8:47 AM

    @Brendan Mason: the article claims St James’s is on the outskirts of Dublin city center! Ha!

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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:12 PM

    Can we just build it and then worry about the name? #spinoversubstance

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Oct 30th 2017, 8:46 AM

    @Jarlath Murphy: the problem with it having the exact same name as another major hospital will plague it and all the research and trials and accomplishments it makes until it changes its name or no longer exists. Ridiculous that this is not foreseen and avoided.

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    Mute Séamus Longshanks
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:11 PM

    Agree, it is an artificial name with no meaning.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:10 PM

    Someone suggested that the hospital be named when it is actually constructed.

    Others have suggested that it be called the AIB or Bank of Ireland Children’s Hospital in recognition of the marvelous and good humanitarian works done by the Banks in Ireland.

    I might suggest The Children’s New Hospital but it has to be a special name.

    53
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    Mute Stephen Maher
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:19 PM

    Brendan is allways Howlin but nobody is listening.

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    Mute winston smith
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:33 PM

    On first impression ‘Phoenix’ just doesn’t do it for me.

    52
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    Mute xor
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:37 PM

    Talking about names, Labour is a bad name for the “Labour” party!

    58
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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:14 PM

    @xor: Labour is a terrible name for a party that gleefully cheered austerity measure after austerity measure and then justified it to themselves by talking about “Tough Decisions” which affected them and their unvouched expenses not one iota while sneering about dregs and expensive phones!

    I will never vote Labour ever again!

    68
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    Mute Ted Murray
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:18 PM

    @xor: __ That would be like the old British socialist newspaper that changed its name from The Daily Worker to The Morning Star. The Alf Garnett line was that they had to change the name because most of the people reading it were on benefits, and never had a job in their lives.

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    Mute Barry morcom
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:30 PM

    can’t see why they don’t call it ‘ The vastly over budget and completely in the wrong place children’s hospital’ think that’s more appropriate….

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    Mute Davy Boy
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:13 PM

    The Phoenix centre is the name of the new mental health hospital in Dublin 7 but I sure they know that

    35
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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:23 PM

    If they are going to name it after someone it should be “Cathrine Corless children’s hospital”!

    36
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    Mute Colin Masterson
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:12 PM

    Keep it simple. “Lir”..then the kids are the children of lir..

    35
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    Mute Irish Cottage Rental
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:00 PM

    National Children’s Hospital. Nothing else to say.

    30
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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Oct 29th 2017, 11:24 PM

    Labour party seem the public outrage on twitter etc and jumped on the bandwagon. They have 0 credibility on issues effecting the familys of this country after betraying them when in government 2011-2016.

    27
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    Mute Triona Murphy
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    Oct 30th 2017, 12:28 AM

    Brendan Howlin thinks the name is bizarre?? Most of us are far more worried that the location and model of care are bizarre! All decided when labour were in Government! My favourite name is “The Hames in St James”

    23
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    Mute Paul Coughlan
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    Oct 29th 2017, 10:24 PM

    And the Labour Party is trying to rise from the ashes. LABOUR PHOENIX

    11
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    Mute Dónal MacAonghusa
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:11 PM

    It is a sh*t choice … and probably will be changed ..Katie Taylor children’s hospital after this weekend is the best choice … but called it something like ICH and when some thing worth while happens or when someone dies change it…. all this cr*p and nothing done so far

    25
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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:30 PM

    @Dónal MacAonghusa: Agreed .. just build it!

    18
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 29th 2017, 10:30 PM

    The test will be whether or not sick children are ever admitted to this planned hospital.

    10
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    Mute alphanautica
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:13 PM

    It should be named The Mayo Clinic after all the fine nurses that come from the proud county of the country’s best ever Taoiseach managing from economic crisis back to economic health.
    Surely this won’t cause any confusion, our Mayo came first.

    9
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    Mute Eric De Red
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    Oct 29th 2017, 7:26 PM

    A stupid place for a hospital and now a stupid name to go with it.

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    Mute Paul Byrne
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:57 PM

    They should just call it The Children Of Ireland Hospital.

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    Mute ED
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    Oct 29th 2017, 11:01 PM

    We do have the Phoenix park so saying it has no link to Irish history isn’t really accurate..

    And actually that’s one reason to reconsider the name, you wouldn’t want some taxi man bringing a sick kid to the park instead of the hospital or GPS making the same mistake.. A unique easy to say and remember name is important.

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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:42 PM

    It’s hardly a burning issue. However, is it not really close to the Phoenix Park? Or maybe we should rename that too

    6
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    Mute Slim Browne
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    Oct 30th 2017, 11:58 AM

    I reckon they shud name it the “this shudnt have been built here childrens hospital”

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    Mute Paul Kehoe
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:19 PM

    Tir na Og

    3
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    Mute Brian O Reilly
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    Oct 30th 2017, 7:17 AM

    May be put the future name up for grabs to get funding via Advertising Revenue”,The Diageo,”sounds good.

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    Mute John Scott
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    Oct 30th 2017, 8:04 AM

    Maybe the Moan Joan Kelly Hospital

    2
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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:40 PM

    Stupid name phoenix ,was this not the name of a alcohol beverage ,lets give its name to someone out of our history books ,the wolf tone childrens hospital ,a hospital which through the fullness of time will serve all the nations children ,from all political and religious spectrums and all parts of the island of ireland

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    Mute Jun Stone
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    Oct 29th 2017, 8:23 PM

    Ah give it a rest, some people have f u c k all to give out about.

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    Mute joe
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    Oct 29th 2017, 9:41 PM

    Who gives a shit about the name! The last cation probably makes sense in fairness.
    It’s close to an existing hospital, not too far from the m50 and is accessible by rail + Luas from all major cities in the country

    5
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