Opinion
Supplements tips for marathon training
BY CLAIR WHITTY This time of year, many of you, not me I have to say, will be training for a marathon. I am sure that you will have a good training program in place and won’t need advice from me about that. But maybe these tips could be helpful for some of you. For …
Avoiding hefty mobile bills when abroad
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR We have all heard the horror stories about people receiving hefty phone bills after a trip to the sun. Tens of thousands being billed for downloading and streaming fees. To combat this, a scheme called ‘Roam Like At Home was put in place and the EU renewed the scheme for …
School Days revisited
“She hit me with the heel of her shoe” BY JOHN FITZGERALD Continuing the story of corporal punishment in an Irish town in the 1930s and 40s: I also interviewed Jimmy Walsh of Mill Street, Callan. Jimmy told me he was punished severely by a nun at the local convent. In addition to words of …
Mep Clune – new eu rules to enhance online safety coming into force
Fine Gael MEP for Ireland South, Deirdre Clune has welcomed new EU rules designed to curb potentially harmful practices carried out through online service providers and large social media platforms such as Amazon, TikTok and Facebook. MEP Clune, a Member of the European Parliament’s Internal Market & Consumer Protection Committee said, “on the 25th August, …
Low back pain: Fix the problem and you won’t have to worry about the pain
BY EOIN EVERARD It’s gotten a bit confusing how we sometimes look at our health. When pain strikes the low back we usually think we just got a new problem or injury. But why then was coughing, shaving, or doing the laundry, so different this time? These are things we do every day. Rarely is …
Imagine if Humphrey Bogart had vaped
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS A lifetime ago I argued that to smoke was to be cool and hip like those idols in the Saturday matinee. I mean, be honest, what would Bogart and Bacall and Casablanca have been like were it not for those off-grey wisps trailing across Bogie’s face as he …
No room at the inn for a Constitutional Amendment
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON At first encounter the idea that a right to housing should be included in the Constitution doesn’t make sense. Surely, it’s absolute nonsense to make a promise to house citizens when there are 60,000 families on the waiting list for housing or double that if the number of families …
Rounders
BY MICHAEL O’LEARY Last year, The Young Irelands Rounders Tournament took place in Gowran for the very first time and it was a major success with several teams participating. It’s back once again this year in a shortened version, and at time of writing it is scheduled to take place next Wednesday evening in Gowran …
Learning the hard way: The stick and the leather
BY JOHN FITZGERALD Part 2 Continuing the story of corporal punishment in a County Kilkenny school: previous articles and all subsequent ones can be read on the Kilkenny Observer website… Recalling his school days in Callan Sean Holden had a vivid recollection of one teac her who struck moratl dread into every pupil. “T’was while …
Get ready for Back to School
BY CLAIR WHITTY It’s back to school time already, what a fast year. Many of you will be busy getting school books and uniforms sorted. After a busy summer you might be considering giving yourself and your kids an energy boost before going back to school. Or maybe your concern is how to support their …
