Opinion
Seasonal Tips for Kids- Ears, Nose, and Throat
BY CLAIR WHITTY As the seasons change and everyone gets back into the rhythm of school, creche, and family routines, it’s worth having a few simple essentials in your cupboards so that you are prepared. Children can be unsettled by minor ear, nose and throat complaints, and a blocked nose, tickly cough or irritated throat …
Thanks for the memories…
By John Fitzgerald Callan had an impressive line-up for this year’s Heritage festival. Two retired Mercy sisters gave a tour of the former convent chapel, a building hailed in the National Inventory of Architecture as a structure of Regional Importance due to its exquisite stone masonry, Gothic Revival design, and features that include ornate terracotta, …
Car, heating, the mortgage… all driven up
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Diesel has gone above €2 a litre at many petrol stations. The AA puts the extra cost for a typical driver at around €235 a year. Home heating oil is up 44% on the year. A 1,000-litre fill is about €550 dearer than last winter. Food, for once, is relatively …
We must lift children out of poverty
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Child poverty sounds like a phrase which should belong back in Victorian times in tales like Charles Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’ or involve Tom the dirty chimney sweep in Charles Kingsley’s ‘Water Babies’. Hungry orphan Oliver has to live by his wits as a thief, while the luckless Tom …
Freedom and the price that comes with being wired up
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It was the French philosopher Descartes who declared, “I think, therefore I am.” Today, it would be more apt to declare, “I am wired, therefore I am.” Today if you are not wired, you do not exist for those who are. Like radio and television in the …
The “Busiest Street in Town”
By John Fitzgerald (Part four) Concluding the story of Callan (with a special focus on Upper Bridge Street) in Seamus O’ Brien’ s youth. Parts one, two and three can be read elsewhere on the Observer website In number twenty-six Upper Bridge Street lived a Mrs. Shelly and her son, Jack. Mrs. Shelly’s maiden name …
Supporting Irish Natural Beauty
BY CLAIR WHITTY Today I want to share with you some of my favourite Irish skincare products because many of you are interested in shopping locally and buying quality Irish brands. Supporting Irish and local brands is about more than buying Irish. It helps support the people, families and communities behind these businesses, while celebrating …
Mud, music, mayhem and flower power
CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton My son, Jack, got me an Electric Picnic ticket. Always up for adventure, I embraced the challenge! It was a fascinating weekend in so many ways and all roads were leading to this musical mecca of the moment. A tribal gathering of the good, the bad and the …
Stress management and a dead cow!
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Stress is a killer. We all know that. Folks who smoke 20 fags a day know full well that stress is the real killer, not nicotine. Men who drink six pints of porter every night know bloody well that stress is the killer, not alcohol. But seriously, we daren’t ignore nicotine …
Perimenopause – Understanding the Changes and Supporting Your Body
BY CLAIR WHITTY Perimenopause is something every woman will go through, but for many of us it can come as a surprise. It usually starts in our 40s, although it can begin earlier, and it’s the time when our hormones start to fluctuate before menopause. These hormonal changes can affect us in many different ways, …
