Opinion
Let’s get focused for your exams
BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you studying for exams and struggling to retain what you are learning? This is a common problem that many students experience. There may be several reasons why this is happening. Start with a healthy diet and include complex carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Include meat, fish and dairy if …
Lessons for the future in our classrooms
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS The exceptionally high level of engagement in the national Primary School Survey, with more than 200,000 parents and guardians submitting responses, alongside strong participation from school staff and boards of management, surprised even Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton. This significant response marks an important step in ensuring …
Loneliness and the bus keep communities connected
Loneliness, social isolation and the war in the middle East. Everything is connected. We are all inter-dependent and I always think of Edward Norton Lorenz’s “Butterfly Effect” or Chaos Theory. A small action like a butterfly flapping its wings in one place can cause massive eruptions in another part of the world. If a butterfly …
Callan’s Ancient Mariners
By John Fitzgerald Looking over the Big Bridge in Callan today, you can admire the scenic beauty of the Moat, or the rolling green sward of the historic meadow. But you won’t see a single boat navigating the serene or choppy waters of the King’s River. How different from the scene that would have greeted …
Why a lasting answer needs more than subsidies
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Last week we all woke up to near-empty petrol pumps and businesses on the brink. What began as scattered complaints on social media after the Easter bank holiday exploded into a full-blown national crisis. Fuel depots were blockaded, along with the country’s only oil refinery at Whitegate in Cork. For …
Pints of black … at back-to-back
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran And so the list goes on… That illustrious sporting list, the list (and this is just a sample) that goes: where were you when Packie saved and David O’Leary scored? Where were you when Katie won Gold? When Kelly won Gold twice? And now: where were you when Rory won back-to-back …
What we can do to offset the fuel crisis
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Maybe it’s time to look for a silver lining in the oil crisis caused by Trump’s war on Iran, current talks aside. Could choking of supplies in the Straits of Hormuz be the kick in the pants we need to make us less dependent on fossil fuels and …
Please, no more deaths by the Grace of law
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Questions about the dangerous use of scrambler bikes have been asked in the Dáil since 2005. In 2010, then Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 allowed Gardaí to seize scrambler bikes in breach of road traffic legislation. Scrambler …
Teas With Benefits
BY CLAIR WHITTY Herbal teas are a fantastic way to support your health. They’re easy to take and it’s not another pill or supplement that you have to swallow. You can control how many cups you drink and can vary them to suit your needs. Herbal teas are a regular part of my health care …
Ghosts and fairy folk in Callan
By John Fitzgerald Reminiscing on the people who lived in Callan years ago, the acclaimed newspaper correspondent Peter Roughan also commented on those who were supposed to be in it, but probably weren’t. “Then again, there’s no smoke without fire”, he cautioned, and if smoke was ever seen rising from the back of the Moat, …
