Opinion

BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you looking for an Irish brand product for a friend or loved one. Here are some of our favourite Irish brands. Local honey is always popular; you might choose one from our selection of Wexford honeys or we can create a beautiful hamper with two or three from our range. Holos …

FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran You f****d up DJ. F****d up real bad. You lied to people. Stole their money. Abused their trust. Exploited their generosity. Their humanity. And their vulnerability. You’ve been labelled as evil. I don’t think you’re evil, DJ Carey – I think you’re a flawed human being like most of us but, …

CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton You are what you eat. If you eat junk food, you construct your cells with rubbish. No wonder there is so much chronic illness globally, followed by medical prescriptions to try to heal the symptoms. It’s an unending, tragic revolving door of cause and effect which doesn’t deal …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON We are being told to eat less red meat for environmental reasons. But there is an alternative, with a forest-to-fork appeal, which we could eat more of with a clear conscience. Venison, once a staple in Irish diet, is making a comeback. “Definitely, in the last two years, …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It used to be that the only two certainties in life were death and taxes. Now, we can add two more. One, the heavy rainfall across Kilkenny and other counties recently is not necessarily enough to offset damage being done to farming by drought: and, second, as …

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 …