Opinion
Echinacea: Nature’s natural immune support as viral infections rise
BY CLAIR WHITTY With winter well underway, viral infections are placing noticeable pressure on Irish hospitals as flu, COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses circulate widely, resulting in increased hospitalisations in recent weeks. I know that many of you are seeking natural ways to support your immune defences, so you can stay out of hospital. Echinacea …
New Year tonics that don’t cost a cent
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON We live in uncertain times. Imagine if President Trump gave Ireland the same treatment he applied to Venezuela — sending in planes, helicopters, and agents to whisk Micheál Martin and Simon Harris away in their PJs to stand trial for activities which are not in America’s interest, like …
Wait, Mr Postman, is there a letter for me?
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS When I was a young journalist in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe in the late ’70s, I would regularly write home to my parents of my adventures in a country at war — and that I was okay. They were more like missives: a dozen foolscap pages every other week, typed …
Burnout: Life overloads you!
CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton I hope that everyone has had a good rest over the holidays. However, I am not foolish enough to think that this is the case for all. For many people Christmas and New Year can be simply exhausting if you’ve been juggling family, work and all that goes …
Seventy really can be the new 50
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Auto-enrolment came in earlier this month, copper-fastening pension contributions and drawing attention to that arbitrary line drawn across our later lives. There are around one thousand people every week in Ireland tumbling over that cliff edge called retirement. Currently there are a million of us in that ‘old’ …
Happiness … and listening to your heart
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran You know those self-help publications and soppy little books of wise quotations that populate the shelves of our book stores this time of year? Well I love them. I collect them. Not alone do I collect them but friends give them to me – usually as a Christmas present. And God …
That we have lived at all is the miracle
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It seems like it was only yesterday that I wrote in this column… Where did that year go, with a new one upon us? Now, here I am again, wondering where the last 12 months went. I may not be any the wiser, but I am, unfortunately, …
Recreation in Old Callan
By John Fitzgerald (Part four) Peter Roughan, the local newspaper columnist, wrote a lot about the Waltons…one of the long-established families in Callan. Larry Walton was in America at the time that Peter wrote his weekly Callan Man looks Back column. But Larry’s name never failed to come up in fireside conversations back in his …
Another year of living dangerously
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR As the dust settles on 2025, the Irish economy stands out as one of the brightest spots in a turbulent global landscape. Defying early fears of trouble from US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, the country recorded exceptional growth, record foreign direct investment (FDI), and buoyant corporate tax revenues. Yet …
Natural health trends for 2026
BY CLAIR WHITTY Every year there is a new trend or exciting new product in the natural health world. I wonder what we can expect to see in 2026? I did a little research and it looks like our gut health and digestive wellness will be one of the main areas of health concern and …
