Opinion
US Tariffs: why we’ll be alright on the night
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Around the world leaders are warning about a looming debt crisis. Last year Germany’s leader Friedrich Merz pointed out that countries like France, Italy, and Spain owe more money than their economies make in a full year. France’s government collapsed last year while trying to cut spending by €60 billion …
Carrying on in the face of uncertainty
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Listening to Paschal Donohue is usually soothing. The Finance Minister is reassuring, his tone almost like a lullaby but the other day he startled me. In an interview on Newstalk, commenting on the current state of affairs, he said that uncertainty now was greater than during Covid. While …
The Beep: call him what you will, he still rocks
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS BP Fallon once told me that he was to Rock ‘n’ Roll as a stamp was to an envelope. It’s also quoted in a new documentary, BP Fallon: Rock ‘n’ Rill Wizard featuring Bob Geldof, Adam Clayton, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant which premiered at the Galway …
Ageing Gracefully
BY CLAIR WHITTY Healthy ageing is something that I often get asked about. Most of us, including myself, think about how our skin and hair looks. Aching joints, tiredness, changes in gut health, or sluggish memory are also reminders to us that we are ageing. So, is there anything that we can do to slow …
Recovering from pain
A gradual return to normal movement and activity helps in recovery from pain By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). Astronauts have a lot to teach us about recovering from pain. After months in zero-gravity in the international space station, aches and pains are a guarantee for most astronauts when they step back …
Beer, bees & the joys of barbecuing!
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran There’s nothing quite like the smell of a barbecue, nothing quite like the whiff of charcoal wafting on the balmy summer air. And that’s it as far as I’m concerned. What do I mean – that’s it? I mean I like the smell of a barbecue. End of story. Don’t ask …
How housing plan delay causes concern
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Ireland’s housing market is under strain with property prices rising 7% in the three months to June 2025 driven by a continual shortage of homes. According to MyHome.ie the average asking price reached €395,000 nationally with Dublin sellers seeking €495,000 and regional prices hitting €340,000. The report, authored by Bank …
Callan’s Field of Dreams…
BY JOHN FITZGERALD Callan’s Moat Field Heritage Trail is a major attraction, a jewel of the South East. And the field once encompassed a magical castle on a hill! Norman invaders built Callan Motte, known locally as the “Moat”, in about 1217. It was a wooden castle situated on top of an artificially created mound of …
Beating the sky-high cost of social homes
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Last month the plug was pulled on Government contracts for building social homes due to value for money concerns. And the price involved? One million euro a unit – they couldn’t be serious! But they were: plans for 500 social homes in Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Sligo were …
Debate on assisted dying still very much alive
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Terminally ill people in England and Wales are to be given the right to an assisted death in a recent historic societal shift that will transform end-of-life care. MPs narrowly voted in favour of a private member’s Bill introduced by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater, which could become law …
