Opinion

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON One man’s adversity can be another’s gain, goes the saying. But the same man can benefit from adversity too. American academics and researchers who have lost jobs or funds due to Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) measures may land plum jobs here. This is …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD Abstract Art, far from having its origins in the 19th century, dates back more than 60,000 years. Research shows that Ancient Man, despite his presumed backwardness in so many other respects, made impressive art. Much of it involved symbols and patterns not far removed from those that we see in modern works by …

Chemicals that you produce naturally in your brain that are powerful pain relievers By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). There is a drug cabinet in your brain. Within this drug cabinet is one of the most powerful pain-relieving drugs of them all – and you have the power to make use of …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD You may have read about people who experienced “time slips.” This is when you visit a place with a past that tends to “visit” the present now and then… as with phantom air battles, the sound of shellfire at the Normandy beach or knights and damsels roaming about in a vivid image …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS There was a time when every Irish mother wanted a ‘good job’ for their blue-eyed boy. A ‘job for life’ but one that commanded respect in the community, so the mammy could hold her head high. If the priesthood was not the calling, and the education not …

FURTHERMORE  By Gerry Moran My brother passed away last week. My big brother. John was the oldest of our family of five; I was the youngest with three girls, Frances, Mary and Eadie (RIP) in between. Because of the age gap between us, almost a decade, John was more of a father figure to me ...

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Six months back at the table and the Government is stricken with inertia when it comes to solving the ongoing problems of health, special needs education, asylum seekers, still high energy costs and the crisis that is homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. Indeed, the lack …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part four) In Callan, LDF volunteer Seamus O Brien and his friend Sean Holden thought they’d done well, leaving the candles made from animal fat in the farmyard, to set…forgetting the sheepdogs that patrolled outside. They were in the farmhouse with their feet up on the table, drinking lemonade the kindly housewife …

BY CLAIR WHITTY I think we all love the summer, but the warm and dry weather can have a negative impact on your skin. Warm sunshine, summer breezes, pollution, or dry rooms can all affect your skin. You may need a helping hand to keep its healthy summer glow. Hydration both inside and out is …

Social connection is a potent stress buster, and this helps with pain and recovery By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). “Social support is one of the most powerful moderators of stress-related disease ever demonstrated. It is not just a matter of feeling better subjectively — social support makes your body work better”, …