Opinion

BY CLAIR WHITTY This is the time of year when the kids are sent home from school or creche with coughs, colds, stuffy nose, or sore throats. Ear issues can be a problem this time of the year too, with itchy or blocked ears causing discomfort. Take a look at some of the Otosan Fortuss …

By John Fitzgerald (Part four) (Carmel Kealy’s recollections of life in early 20th century Callan provide a fascinating insight for people of present and future generations. Part one, two and three can be read on the Observer website.) Johnnie Roughan did odd jobs around the town and was fond of a jar. He was noted …

FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Christmas is coming. Coming! Christmas has been coming since the last of the ‘Trick or Treat’ kids skipped down our driveway with monkey nuts, sweets and some loose change. In fact, Christmas was coming even sooner. I saw Christmas cards in a certain supermarket in mid-October. Ridiculous! The first time I …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR This year’s Black Friday (November 28) will be quieter, according to PwC. A recent survey of 2,000 Irish consumers shows planned spending falling 14% to €283 from €329 in 2024. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (73%) intend to spend the same or less than last year. And only 14% expect …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON If I were a working parent with crèche-going children, I would be praying for an available granny. Or maybe I would think of migrating to France where ecoles maternelles for three-t0-six-year-olds are State funded and free and crèches for under 3s are generously subsidised. Headlines about threatened crèche …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It would be laughable if it were not serious. I think of The Three Little Pigs, the story I tell my granddaughters, and how the Big, Bad Wolf “huffs and puffs and blows their house down”. There was a lot of political huffing and puffing when the …

By John Fitzgerald (Part three) (Carmel Kealy’s recollections of life in early 20th century Callan provide a fascinating insight for people of present and future generations. Part one and two can be read on the Observer website.) Trades and crafts flourished in Callan. Carmel admired even as a youngster the skilled woodcarving evident in the …

BY CLAIR WHITTY The festive season is upon us and you might be trying to find an interesting and different gift for a loved one, a friend, your neighbour, or your Secret Santa. Don’t despair, we have lots of ideas to share with you. Let’s start with a Gift Voucher. These can be purchased from …

CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton The festive season is nigh and it’s a sad fact that violence against women is a serious feature of Irish society. For many women, home is not safe. During lockdown, countless women and children were stuck in houses with bullies and domestic violence soared. The statistics for Women’s …

By John Fitzgerald (Part two) (Carmel Kealy’s recollections of life in early 20th century Callan provide a fascinating insight for people of present and future generations. Part one can be read on the Observer website.) It was Carmel’s father, Pat Maher, who built the houses on the Callan Green in 1914-at the behest of the Town …