Opinion
Some thoughts at being 70 – or thereabouts!
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran And so I have reached the venerable age of 70. Plus vat! Was going to write the venerable OLD age of 70 but, as everyone knows, 70 isn’t old anymore. Everyone knows that 70 is the new 60! Being 70 may also be the age when you delude yourself. About your …
Strangers in the plight that robs us of ourselves
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Over the course of – what was it? – weeks, months, perhaps only days, a stranger came to live among us. He looked familiar, like someone I had once known and, yet, it was not he. He did not appear to recognise me. Not a flicker. His …
Driving down death toll on our roads
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON An increase in disregard for drink-driving laws and less traffic safety enforcement by Gardaí have happened at same time as an increase in the number of fatal road traffic accidents. Hardly a coincidence, is it? Tragically the number of deaths on our roads rose last year to 184, up …
So then customer, will that be card or cash?
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Is cash on the way out? Last August in the UK, cash was in such short supply that the Treasury moved to protect public demand for physical money by announcing that banks would be fined for failing to provide free access to cash withdrawals for consumers and businesses. Recently I …
Love is in the air
BY CLAIR WHITTY Love is in the air, I don’t think we have to wait to celebrate love, happiness, and appreciation for each other until Valentines Day! We can celebrate any day we like. Here are some gift suggestions for someone you love. Chocolates are always a great gift idea. Booa Booja Hazelnut Crunch chocolate …
“These boots were made for walkin’ ”
Civic reception for heritage group BY JOHN FITZGERALD A civic reception for the Kilkenny Heritage Walkers celebrated the group’s achievement in boosting interest in local history and the stories of our treasured “Old Medieval City.” Mayor Joe Malone welcomed a large gathering of seasoned walkers on Saturday. The group recently marked the occasion of its …
Old time fun and games
Dancing Lancers in West Street PART FIVE BY JOHN FITZGERALD Over the decades of the twentieth century, Callan exiles in New York and other American cities spoke sadly and thoughtfully of another time and place…out of sight but not out of mind… They cast their minds back to when they danced lancers in the middle …
House Ireland: plenty of room to improve
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Architect Dermot Bannon’s Room To Improve came up for mention a couple of weeks ago. I think we could do with a Dermot type to give Ireland a make- over. The place is like a house which is stuck in a time warp and where the rooms are no …
Court rule gives credence to what family means
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS The recent Supreme Court ruling in favour of a man who was denied access to the widower’s pension because he was not married to his long-term partner described his three-year battle to be given the State entitlement as a “fight for equality”. In a landmark appeal judgment, …
Thighbones, kittens, hedgehogs and civilisation!
Years ago Margaret Mead, an American anthropologist, was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilisation in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilisation in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) …
