Opinion

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Gazing upwards as I walk down my local high street I am looking, not at the sky, but at the first and second floors above the shop fronts. Some house offices, a few are apartments but many wear a general air of neglect. Piles of boxes and torn …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Whole health– what is that exactly? Well, it’s a balance of physical, mental and spiritual health… but how are they linked and why do they matter? Let’s dive in. If your physical health isn’t at an optimal level, this can affect your mental health and vice versa. Whether it’s that your energy …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD Fennelly’s of Callan is renowned as a creative hub. It lived up to that image again over St Patrick’s Weekend with an Open Mic that showcased a broad spectrum of talent and artistry. The event was hosted in a part of Fennelly’s (a former pub and undertakers’) that once served as the Hearse Room: Funerals departed from it for …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part two) At Callan Court Judge Pat Cody’s expression changed from one of treasonable contentment to a deep frown when two teenagers appeared before him accused of stealing hay from a barn in Bolton. He sentenced them to fourteen days each and a “severe whipping”. The judge took a serious view of the offence, …

THE LAST WORD By Pat Coughlan The announcement of the passing of former US President Jimmy Carter sent me scurrying to find my copy of his 2006 book on Palestine. Carter made a notable impact with his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, challenging beliefs about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Carter highlighted Israel’s separation barrier, comparing it …

FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran I like a bit of theatre and the theatre that I especially like is a One Man/One Woman show perhaps because it’s in the back of my mind to write and perform one someday. Mind you, that thought has been in the back of my mind for 40 years now. But, …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR When purchasing goods or services in Ireland, you are protected by tough legal rights under Irish and European Union (EU) legislation. The Consumer Rights Act, introduced in 2022, strengthened these protections by ensuring that you, as a consumer, receive accurate information, have access to redress options if issues arise, and …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON As though to resolve the argument about when Spring starts a dozen daffodils opened their trumpets in my garden on St Bridget’s Day. Snowdrops may have grabbed the headlines for February as the stars of Co. Carlow’s Snowdrop Gala but daffodils have a longer season, from February through …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS The celebrating of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honour of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as Mothering Sunday. Once a major …