We should be wary of spending too much time analysing daily case numbers, but since we all do it anyway, here’s an interesting observation here from HSE supremo Paul Reid: The positivity rate in testing has now come down over the past 8 days. The number of close contacts is now down to an avg. […]
Who’s going to win the American election? With a week to go, the polling and the data all point in one direction, and yet the lessons of 2016, alongside the enthusiasm for President Trump’s campaign, all point in another. Losing campaigns, of course, always point to polling errors and massive enthusiasm for their side right […]
Is professor John A. Lee an expert in infectious diseases? Not quite. He’s a pathologist – he studies causes of death and the effects of diseases and injuries. He’s pretty qualified, but by no means a world leading expert. Still, he was more than qualified enough, apparently, for a guest slot on Prime Time last […]
Fair warning: What you are about to read is not objective journalism. Declan Ganley has been my friend, and my colleague, for thirteen years, give or take. When it comes to this subject, I have a conflict of interest, and it is very important to state that right here in paragraph one, so that you’re […]
By now, readers will be familiar with the single strongest argument against Ireland’s impending level five lockdown: Cases are rising, yes, but hospitalisations, and deaths, remain low, notwithstanding the thirteen fatalities reported yesterday. Is the low number of deaths and hospitalisations, as some argue, a glitch? Or is it part of a wider pattern that’s […]
There’s probably been no more contentious subject in Ireland over the past six months or so than the question of mandatory facemasks. There are bigger questions, sure, on which the population is more evenly divided – lockdown or no lockdown; schools open, or schools closed; the infernal debate about “wet pubs”, and so on. But […]
As the country moves into level 5 restrictions once again, the rules are clear for everybody: Shops and businesses are closing. The Dáil continues to sit in the National Convention Centre, so that they can socially distance. Mass is too dangerous to be said. Going further than five kilometres from your own home is to […]
Look, maybe it’s just me being a sap, but there has been something wonderfully moving about the efforts of the people of Dingle to find their friend, mascot, and tourist-friendly local attraction over the past few days. Nothing less than a naval task force was assembled at the end of the Dingle Peninsula to search […]
An interesting bit of polling courtesy of Ireland Thinks and the Mail on Sunday: 🚨Poll🚨Ireland Thinks/Mail on Sunday Question: Should the country move to Level 5 restrictions? Yes: 51%No: 41%Undecided: 9% (Yes I know that it adds up to 101%, but that is what is reported. 🙃) 17th October 2020 — Ireland Votes | #Vote2024 […]
Like a lot of centre left parties around the world, Jacinda Ardern’s New Zealand Labour Party entered the recent New Zealand election pledging to raise taxes on the rich. At first glance, New Zealand Labour and it’s leader is everything the Irish left dreams of having here in Ireland – a young, unabashedly liberal, female […]
Last night, at around midnight, the absolute capstone on this dreadful year popped up on my facebook page, as it did on facebook pages around the country: A message from a facebook page in Dingle devoted to Fungie the Dolphin, saying that the poor chap had probably kicked the bucket. “Well”, I thought”, “Flip”. Except […]
Some necessary background, before we get into the story: Yesterday, an advert appeared in the Irish Times, setting out some facts and figures in relation to Covid 19 in Ireland. The advert did not provide all the facts, nor did it seek to put them in context. As an advert, it was very clearly trying […]