BY JOHN FITZGERALD PART ONE The day started unpromisingly, with black clouds threatening to unleash a deluge, but these gradually gave way to a clear blue sky and the balm of warm sunshine- real pattern weather, as the man on the gate put it. There was excitement among pattern committee men and women. Donnacha O’ Dualin, Radio Eireann’s noted folklorist …

THE LAST WORD By Pat Coughlan It was 1974. I had moved to Dublin where I had a job and got my first flat. I was getting used to Dublin, and particularly its taste for music. Being from the country I regularly got asked “What do you get when you play a country and western …

FURTHERMORE  By Gerry Moran The sum of €5.60. That’s the price of my pint in my local. My ‘poison’ is a pint of Rockshore Lager. If I head out the door, walk twenty yards to my left that pint will cost me €6.10. Should I head up town, about half way up High Street, that …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Being asked for directions while holidaying in La Belle France was a surprise. At first, I took it as a compliment, maybe I looked like a Frenchwoman, with that chic, je ne sais quoi air. But non, what made me look like a local was the fact that …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR The Budget introduced changes to the Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) thresholds, marking the first major adjustments in five years. CAT is a tax on gifts and inheritances that many individuals will face on receipt, now exacerbated by the rising property values across Ireland. Thresholds were increased across the three major …