News
Why Irish in two minds about the role of AI
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming business, creating excitement and anxiety about the future of work. While some fear AI will replace jobs, others see it as a tool for greater productivity and creating new career opportunities. Two recent reports, however, paint contrasting pictures of how AI is perceived in Ireland …
Let’s hear it for SMEs, our biggest employers
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Small they may be, but Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy. Like physical spines they support the country, providing more than two thirds, yet they don’t get much coverage, and, when they do, the focus is often on their struggle to survive and …
Ireland Reads: A national celebration of reading
Throughout February and especially on Ireland Reads Day, February 22nd, we’re calling on people across Ireland to get lost in a good book. We invite you to discover the joy of Communal Reading at the Silent Book Club, which will take place in Mayfair Library on Saturday 22nd February. Executive Librarian Sophie Walsh says “This will be …
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – KILKENNY POETRY BROADSHEET ISSUE 2025
Kilkenny County Council Arts Office is delighted to announce the annual call for submissions for the twenty-fifth issue of the Kilkenny Poetry Broadsheet. This year is special as we celebrate 25 years of publications. To mark this milestone, the broadsheet will feature 25 poems, one for each year of publication. The Arts Office is busily …
Where undocumented Irish now stand with Trump
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS I am that guy that always gets stopped by airport security after I have walked, nonchalantly I imagine, through the Green Area. I have nothing to declare, nor am I smuggling contraband. But I always get stopped. I must have that kind of demeanour, or whatever. In …
White pepper, ‘goody’ and food for thought
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran A funny thing happened in the supermarket the other day. Actually, it wasn’t so much funny as strange and it wasn’t so much strange as unusual. I’m doing a bit of shopping and on my list is pepper – white pepper. I’m partial to white pepper, especially on a tomato, a …
The retirement options for company directors
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR For company directors, planning for retirement often takes a backseat to the demands of building and running a successful business. Years of reinvesting profits and prioritising growth, retirement planning often only coming into focus when the business is well-established and generating surplus funds. The good news is that Revenue provides …
The true worth of the stay-at-home parent
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS I’m rewatching the unsurpassable seven-season Mad Men (Netflix) about the embryonic world of advertising on New York City’s Madison Avenue in the early 1960s. It’s even better than I remember from my first viewing six years ago. There’s more than a passing nod to John F Kennedy …
The words toxic and masculinity need a divorce
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON There is a kickback going among some men who feel that their masculinity is under attack. At the same time there are courses online and in person about how to be a man, which might not appeal to the macho types who feel their manhood is under threat. …
Loreto Secondary School – ‘Women in time to come will do much’
Photos :- Tom Beirne The Loreto Secondary School on the Granges Road held an Academic Awards Ceremony for Students and their families who achieved outstanding academic results in the Leaving Certificate, Junior Certificate & Leaving Certificate Applied for the past academic year 2024. The whole School Community event celebrated the 35 Leaving Certificate students who achieved over 550 points …
