Opinion
Speaking truth when silence feels safer
CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton Whilst studying Shakespeare, I was struck by the role of the fool or jester. Protected by humour and wit, jesters criticised people and circumstances without fear of punishment. Their sharp, veiled observations exposed a monarch’s weaknesses, reminded powerful rulers of their limits and expressed truths that advisers often …
Back to Focus with theHerbtender- Natural Support for Busy Minds
BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you struggling with your memory and recalling information? Maybe this is because you are back at college after the long summer break and now you realise that your concentration and focus is on the floor and that you can’t retain information. Or maybe you have brain fog and find you can’t …
Coins and paintings at the Power House…
By John Fitzgerald The Power House in Callan hosted a three-day exhibition of coins, old photographs, and artwork focusing on aspects of local history. Retired farmer Philip Lynch, who mounted the display, is well known as a historian, raconteur, and teller of wonderful yarns, but he’s also a keen artist and a lifelong numismatist- or …
Close encounters with ‘man’s best friend’
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran I love looking at dogs looking out car windows. Lowered car windows. They look so happy, so delighted to be looking out at the world go by with the wind in their hair and a plethora of odours wafting past their ultra-sensitive nostrils – new mown hay, silage, diesel fumes, whatever. …
Sorry Simon, Budget figures just don’t add up
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Budget Day is next Tuesday when Ministers Simon Harris and Jack Chambers will stand up with an €8.5 billion package and plenty of talk about “making work pay”. The tax change that now seems almost certain is a rise in the point at which a single person starts paying the …
Teens to get an extra helping of culture
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON On the face of it, giving cash-strapped 16-year-olds a card worth €100 to buy into culture from next year sounds like a great idea. It could foster autonomy, encourage teens to get off their phones and social media, and get out there to participate in events and purchase …
Janet… and The Only Way Out Is In
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Saturday, October 10 is World Mental Health Day, a day intended to raise global awareness, end mental health stigma and advocate for better mental health support systems. Just three days before World Mental Health Day, Janet E Sahafi will launch her new novel which is based around this very subject – …
Don’t shut the door on your mortgage arrears
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR One of the headlines last week said more than 12,000 mortgage accounts had fallen into arrears for the first time. That is not quite what the Central Bank of Ireland published. At the end of June there were 12,315 family-home mortgages in what the bank calls early arrears, behind by …
Diana: Earl Spencer’s lament for his sister
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON The death of Princess Diana on August 31, 1997 is a date that, like the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, people recall where they were when they heard the devastating news. The tragedy of her death after a high-speed chase by paparazzi in the Pont de …
The goal of a level playing pitch
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS A week can be a long time in politics, but within three days in the world of sport a lot can happen. Just three days after Katie Taylor bowed out after a lifetime of glorious achievement, Sports Minister Patrick O’Donovan was once again talking of a “realistic” …
