Opinion

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 …

CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton I was going to write about homeless, when it occurred to me that we could all be homeless if we don’t look after our one true home…. Mother Earth. This is where everything we hold precious has ever happened. All our ancestors, achievements, events in history, cultures…. It’s …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Trilogy is known for its natural skincare formulations, and as most of you know, I love this skincare range. It has been my go-to skincare product range for many years now. I love this time of the year because Trilogy always bring out a lovely range of Limited Edition and great value …

By John Fitzgerald (Part One) Carmel Kealy’s memories of Callan in the first part of the 20th century provide a valuable record for present and future generations of townspeople. She has inspired young and old alike with her multi-faceted word pictures. Carmel Maher was born in 1906 in Modeshill, located halfway between Callan and Mullinahone. …