As a child, both my grandmothers would frequently visit us, often staying for months. At every visit, my parents were happy to pay medical specialists to examine them – no matter how minute their complaint – and pamper them by serving them their favorite foods. They also created room for them by giving them a […]
The demographic news from Italy remains bad. It has in fact got worse; so bad that the President, Sergio Mattarella, has recently described it as a “problem that concerns the existence of our country”. When the head of state of your country comes out and says that the lack of babies in your country is an existential […]
A writer from the Illustrated London News describes what he sees in Clonakilty ““I started from Cork, by the mail (says our informant), for Skibbereen and saw little until we came to Clonakilty, where the coach stopped for breakfast; and here, for the first time, the horrors of the poverty became visible, in the vast […]
How should the new Sinn Fein Government spend the €14.3billion Apple Tax windfall, as they’ve repeatedly promised? #gript
During Election 2020, we heard a lot about serious concerns regarding the State’s inability to pay pensions in the future, yet very few of those discussions noted how anti-family this country has become. On RTE’s Prime Time a couple paying €1700 rent a month and doing a 12-hour day including a long commute said they […]
The annual World Economic Forum in Davos brought together representatives from government and business to deliberate how to solve the worsening climate and ecological crisis. The meeting came just as devastating bush fires were abating in Australia. These fires are thought to have killed up to one billion animals and generated a new wave of climate refugees. Yet, as with the COP25 climate talks […]
Friendships between the young and old are a win/win solution to both a growing loneliness epidemic and greater numbers of time-poor working parents. The elderly often have under-utilised time which they are happy to give, and parents and young people are often in need of their support and love. In fact, research shows that the two loneliest groups in society are the […]
Going from door to door on the campaign trail in Navan last week, I was repeatedly surprised by how many people are extremely upset and anxious about the lack of services for people with disabilities. I have a son on the autistic spectrum, and I am very aware of the sense of frustration people feel […]
Three Belgian doctors charged with unlawful euthanasia in a landmark trial were acquitted in the wee hours of Friday morning. When the 12-member jury delivered the verdict after eight hours of deliberation, the courtroom erupted in applause and cheers. The case made headlines in Belgium and around the world because it was the first time […]
The consequences of the one-child policy continue to live with China. The latest demographic news from the world’s largest country is that its birthrate has dropped to its lowest level since the Communist Party took power in 1949. According to Al-Jazeera, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics has recently released data for 2019 […]
I am a pro-life Democrat. From where I sit, I continue to be horrified by the Democratic Party leadership. They seem to be behaving in ways calculated to drive away all but the most ideologically committed members. Let’s start with Hillary’s defeat in the 2016 elections and the victory of Donald Trump. This came as […]
I was reluctant to see Greta Gerwig’s film production of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Hints of overplayed feminism permeated reviews, and surely no one could play a better Jo than Katharine Hepburn. I was glad I did. Gerwig’s original film adaptation brought this children’s classic to life in ways earlier movie versions did not. Those who […]