Opinion
Bar extensions, baptism and beer
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran A funny thing happened during our Arts Festival gone by. Actually I don’t know if funny is the correct word but read on and you can decide for yourself. I am coming from a festival event, it’s maybe 11.20 pm and I’m thinking I might fancy a drink. It’s late in …
Govt has six weeks to get its act together
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Last week I wrote about getting ready for Budget Day. This week, the focus turns to what the Fiscal Council is saying about the numbers. With six weeks to go, the Minister will stand up in the Dáil on October 6 and set out the Government’s plans for 2027. The …
Pursuit not the answer for wrong-way drivers
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON When it comes to the knee-jerk reaction to the tragic carnage in the M9 and M50, M10, M60 wrong-way driving incidents, I recall the words of an old farmer. My dad had stopped to ask directions amid the drumlins of County Down, “If I were you,” advised the …
Tell your Ma, to have me tea on the table
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Apropos Marianne Heron’s column last week about Government plans to tackle online narratives nuanced by the ‘manosphere’ being welcomed if long overdue, Eoghan Cleary, an educational expert with the Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy (Serp) Institute, says misogynistic online content has “got so bad so quickly” and …
Is Brain Fog Part of the Perimenopause? You’re Not Imagining It
BY CLAIR WHITTY IHave you ever walked into a room and completely forgotten why you were there? Or struggled to remember someone’s name or found yourself searching for words that used to come so easily? If this sounds familiar and you’re in your forties or fifties, you’re certainly not alone. One of the most common, …
Getting yourself ready for Budget Day
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Budget Day is set for Tuesday, October 6. That gives us roughly seven weeks to get our own finances in order before the minister stands up in the Dáil. The Government has already indicated that this is likely to be a tighter Budget than we’ve seen in recent years. Around …
Finding joy in the creative process
CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton Last week, Kilkenny and its surroundings overflowed with creativity during Arts Week. There was so much to see and do, with creative energy flowing in every direction. It is a wonderful annual event for both artists and the public, and it is deeply inspiring to see so many …
Why lads need lessons about equality
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON The latest plans to promote gender equality have been greeted with derision and had fun made of them. A bit unfortunate, but they have come across like a well-intentioned but misguided auntie giving out unasked-for advice and furthermore barking – or rather advising – up the wrong tree. …
iPad the launchpad to future education
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS The human rights activist Malcolm X said: “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Former Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn, speaking back in the mid-Noughties, said: “The education system will have changed enormously in the next 20 …
The story of a king and two rivers…
By John Fitzgerald For decades one of the first lessons that every Callan schoolchild learned was that a great Ard Ri (High King of Ireland) drowned here in the mid-ninth century, which is how the King’s River got its name. The fact that a community in another part of Ireland also laid claim to the …
