Opinion

PART 1 BY JOHN FITZGERALD Last week I concluded the story of what happened to Jim Bolger of Callan when the Tans snatched him from Tom Nolans’s bus and drove him to the dreaded Woodstock House outside Inistioge…Tan HQ. Many other men and women equally felt the oppressor’s wrath in those dark days. The Tans took a special interest in …

Stress is misunderstood – it is normal and healthy but can cause problems By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). Stress is a perfectly healthy part of being alive. In fact, without a strong stress response, we wouldn’t be alive today to complain about all the stress in our lives! Stress & Survival …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you feeling nervous or stressed about your exams? It is normal to feel a bit nervous, anxious, or panicky. It’s not a problem unless it’s affecting your sleep, concentration, or cognitive ability. Here are some tips to help you deal with stress/anxiety so you can perform your best. Take time to …

Small, consistent changes can result in healthier levels of inflammation By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). The inflammatory state of the body is important for health – particularly in the long-run. As you have read in my previous articles, a healthy baseline level of inflammation in the body significantly reduces the risk …

PART 3 BY JOHN FITZGERALD Following the Friary Street ambush, the Tans stopped Tom Nolan’s bus which was returning to Callan from Kilkenny. Jim Bolger of Callan (formerly from Castlecomer) was aboard. He’d been taking driving lessons from Tom Nolan as he intended to drive a lorry and a threshing set for the Co-op in Callan. Unfortunately for him, he was wearing …

BY CLAIR WHITTY It’s that time of year when the weather should be warming up and we are beginning to shed the layers of winter clothes. But then we do, we notice how pale and washy we look, well at least I do, and we notice the few pounds that have piled up over the …

FURTHERMORE  By Gerry Moran Friday, May, 17 1974. I am sitting in my bedsit in Home Farm Road in Dublin’s Drumcondra. It’s sometime after five o’clock and I am cramming as students do when exams loom large on the horizon; cramming because I didn’t exactly haunt the library of Saint Patrick’s Training College, just down …

THE LAST WORD By Pat Coughlan When it comes down to it, throwing your vote in the local elections is a massive deal. It’s not just about picking who gets to sit in the big chair; it’s about having a say in the nitty-gritty of what’s happening right in your own backyard. Across Ireland, particularly …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON A change seems to have crept in, gradually the way leaves unfold in Spring. Like the green of April, it’s a pleasant change full of promise. I am talking about the renewed enthusiasm for Irish. It seems to crop up everywhere. There’s a friend who now teaches three …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS At my supermarket checkout I hear a young woman say: “It won’t be long now ‘til the summer school break. And I have so much to organise.” I gather we’re talking summer camps or the Gaeltacht for the children. Heading home, Drivetime – with that consummate journalist …