Opinion

BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part three) As the European war and our own “Emergency” dragged on, an Irish wise-cracker parodied a Vera Lynn song of the time, Bless ’em All, with his commentary on the latest rationing headache: “Bless De Valera and Sean McEntee, they gave us black bread and a half ounce of tea”. McEntee was Ireland’s wartime Minister …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part two) Apart from black-marketing during the “Emergency”, people resorted to unusual ways of easing the pain of rationing. In Callan, Seamus O’ Brien came across a group of County Council workers on the Clonmel Road who, he learned, had developed a procedure for ensuring that every tea-break would be enjoyable…even if it …

Furthermore By Gerry Moran Things are hotting up on the green baize in Sheffield as I write. The Snooker World Championship final is about to take place in the famous Crucible Theatre which is to snooker what Croke Park is to Gaelic games and what the CYMS Hall was to us young snooker players back …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR First Holy Communions and Confirmations are upon us again marking not only a spiritual milestone but also an opportunity to encourage financial literacy in our children. The amount of money children receive is mind-blowing, into the thousands in many cases representing their biggest financial windfall to date and providing parents …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON It’s that time of year again, time to go wild and think about the birds and the bees, especially the bees. In Britain No Mow May is set to silence the seasonal whirring of lawn mowers – well some of them. Here the No Mow movement has the …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS A week may well be a long time in politics but my recent week went far too fast. The week my son and his American wife and my two granddaughters came to visit – the first time I had seen them in almost two years. Madeleine (6) …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part one) A few months ago I recounted how Callan man Seamus O’ Brien, a future newspaper correspondent, took the train with friends to Dublin for the famous Thunder and Lightning All-Ireland of 1939. While the storm had been belting away over Dublin that day, the Dail was in session to tackle the deadly …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you studying for exams, and worrying about all the information you will need to recall? This is a common problem that we get asked about at this time of the year. You are not alone in this. Lack of sleep, stress, work overload, inadequate diet, not drinking enough water, and simply …

THE LAST WORD By Pat Coughlan Asthma in Ireland is a silent struggle, often overshadowed in the policy landscape. Despite its prevalence, the Government has yet to formally recognise asthma as a disability, leaving many without the support they desperately need. Politicians, both local and national, ignore the issue. This oversight not only limits access …

Furthermore By Gerry Moran We don’t normally talk about the Pope in the pub. Soccer, rugby, horses, hurling – yes. But the Pope – no. One night in March 2013, however, was an exception. That night we had a new Pope. It was Wednesday night, the night the Pope was elected, so we were ‘full …