Opinion
White pepper, ‘goody’ and food for thought
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran A funny thing happened in the supermarket the other day. Actually, it wasn’t so much funny as strange and it wasn’t so much strange as unusual. I’m doing a bit of shopping and on my list is pepper – white pepper. I’m partial to white pepper, especially on a tomato, a …
The retirement options for company directors
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR For company directors, planning for retirement often takes a backseat to the demands of building and running a successful business. Years of reinvesting profits and prioritising growth, retirement planning often only coming into focus when the business is well-established and generating surplus funds. The good news is that Revenue provides …
The true worth of the stay-at-home parent
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS I’m rewatching the unsurpassable seven-season Mad Men (Netflix) about the embryonic world of advertising on New York City’s Madison Avenue in the early 1960s. It’s even better than I remember from my first viewing six years ago. There’s more than a passing nod to John F Kennedy …
The words toxic and masculinity need a divorce
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON There is a kickback going among some men who feel that their masculinity is under attack. At the same time there are courses online and in person about how to be a man, which might not appeal to the macho types who feel their manhood is under threat. …
The Basics of Health
Our bodies are complex, but it’s the simple things that matter for health By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). It often seems like health is a very complicated thing, that becoming and staying healthy is only for those of us with immense discipline. However, it is the simple things that give us …
Tom Brennan: The People’s Publican!
BY JOHN FITZGERALD Kilkenny mourned the passing of a great publican last week. Tom Brennan, who ran Phelan’s Bar in Parliament Street, had served the tipplers of the city since he began pulling pints there in the 1960s. His many loyal customers underwent a different grieving eight years ago when Tom unexpectedly said goodbye to …
To what extent is Ireland an equal society?
THE LAST WORD By Pat Coughlan As our elected representatives begin the business of the 34th Dail, there will be many references to the past including to the Proclamation of 1916 – a document that states: “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens.” But to what …
Why we urgently need to get back to assisted dying
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS The Coalition’s Programme for Government is decidedly guarded on many proposals, with much use of the words ‘explore’ and ‘consider’ instead of ‘will’. It is also deafeningly silent on some contentious matters. Such matters, however, aren’t going away any time soon. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted …
Dancing and Boxing in the Old Fashioned Way
BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part Two) Like many Irish people in the fifties, Jimmy Walsh emigrated to England. He worked in a steel plant for three years, devoting every spare moment to his passion for boxing. He trained in the evenings after work and, together with fellow Callanite, Johnny O’ Donovan, boxed his way across London, winning numerous titles. …
Simple Exercise Habit
Exercising to maintain health for those who sit a lot By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). So many of us lead lives that require us to sit for long periods almost every day. The good news is that it is certainly possible to lead healthy lives, even if sitting takes up a …
