BY CLAIR WHITTY Iron is an essential mineral that your body needs every day. It plays a central role in making haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body. Iron is also involved in muscle function, energy production, normal growth and development, the production of some hormones, and supports normal …

By John Fitzgerald The Kilkenny Heritage Walkers marked another milestone on Saturday. Marianne Kelly led them on their 750th outing, exploring more of the city’s hidden and overt cultural gems. I joined them for the occasion. The weather was favourable. A freezing cold morning had given way to autumn sunshine. A blessing, everyone agreed. Afterwards …

FURTHERMORE  By Gerry Moran Forgive me if I tend to go on a bit about dementia. There are two reasons for this. One, my older brother John suffered with it for several years before passing away in 2025:Two, I’m understandably concerned that it may be genetic or hereditary, although anything I’ve read to date suggests …

CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton I came across a term I hadn’t heard before, “Radical uncertainty,” popularized by two economists, Kay and King. Some things like throwing a dice or betting have certain odds that make outcomes vaguely possible. Radical uncertainty applies where possible future states can’t be defined; the difference in other …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON If you want to see sectarianism in action look no further than the 35 Orangemen who want to march the Garvaghy Road in Portadown and the Republican residents who oppose them. It’s an insidious ‘them and us’ division which can affect everything from failure to provide effective government …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS In his warning about a sustainable economy, Tánaiste Simon Harris recently paired major wars and our ageing population as twin threats to our fiscal health. And then, before I had time to digest my imminent annihilation by a misguided drone on a ghost housing estate or that …