Democracy, as some of you will know, is a Greek word which means “rule by the people”. “Irish Democracy”, on the other hand, is an English phrase which means “rule by the right sort of people”: Quotas for young people in politics, similar to gender quotas, and lowering the voting age to 16, were among […]
Since 2012 at least 800 sex offenders have been released from Irish prisons with little or no effective safeguards in place for those whom they may wish to harm, including children. This is according to the Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Denis Naughten, who, yesterday challenged the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee on the glacial pace […]
If there was an award for “brass hypocrisy”, to borrow Mattie McGrath’s term, then Sinn Féin would be short odds favourite to land the spoils. McGrath was referring to the party’s call to move Dáil proceedings back to Leinster House – after they had previously refused to support him at a Business Committee meeting where […]
If and when you finally snap and murder that annoying neighbour of yours who won’t stop playing house music into the early hours of the morning, you have a new defence at the ready when you go before the judge: “I didn’t murder him, m’lud, I just assisted him to die” Anyway, that’s what euthanasia […]
This poll, it should be stressed, is from the UK, and not Ireland. But do we really think public opinion here would be drastically different? 62% of Britons – and all ages ranges – say they would support the introduction of a curfew between 10pm and 5am as a measure to prevent a second coronavirus […]
In MacHale Park in Castlebar last weekend, three GAA fans were escorted out of the grounds by Gardaí, during the semi final encounter of Breaffy and Westport. Three lone supporters standing in empty stands that could easily hold 25,000 people were a public health safety. Mayo Journalist Michael Commins, expressing the same frustration that Mayo […]
Credit to Hugh O’Connell in the Independent for this scoop, though some readers may have missed it since it is near the end of his report: The Nphet advice was given to the Government last Thursday and included new guidelines for pubs to follow when they reopen. This includes a ban on any live music […]
The media campaign for euthanasia appears to be well under way at the moment. While various broadcasters and columnists have been issuing a call for a debate on this issue, it’s very difficult to see what we are being presented with as anything other than a push for euthansia. It is displayed almost too neatly […]
Hardly a surprise. There are a few certainties in life: the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and the Labour Party is always in favour of the next lefty social change thing, whatever that might be. And predictably enough, this time, it’s euthanasia: The Labour Party has thrown its support behind the […]
It is a fact that yesterday, a significant number of Irish students were awarded results in their leaving certs that their own teachers did not think they deserved. To some extent, this happens every year. Yours truly, for example, fluked a B1 in biology that was thoroughly undeserved, and passed higher level maths when honestly, […]
Last week we learned that Ireland’s birth rate has fallen by almost 25% in the last five years. That includes all births registered here. Like most other European countries, we now have a birth rate well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to replace the population. In the more immediate term, we face the challenge […]
For several weeks now Ireland has been in a strange place with Coronavirus, wherein the numbers of people with confirmed cases has been consistently creeping up, but the number of people in hospital and intensive care has remained flat, and there have been barely any deaths. This has exposed a real tension at the heart […]