According to an RTE puff piece about its adult, animated satire series, Fantasy Ireland, we Irish ‘can laugh at ourselves’ and poke fun at ‘our sacred cows’. ‘No topic is off limits’. Yeah, right as we are wont to say down in Cork. The only thing that is the stuff of fantasy here is the […]
The taxpayer funded state broadcaster RTÉ has apologised after receiving 600 complaints over a supposedly humourous sketch that was aired during its New Year’s Eve countdown show. There was an outpouring of criticism of the clip and Archbishop Eamon Martin called for it to be removed from the station’s player because it accused God of […]
In their wonderfully tolerant and egalitarian fashion, RTÉ, the Irish State broadcaster, apparently thought it would be hilarious to air a “comedy” segment accusing the Christian God of being a rapist who forces himself on “young girls.” The Waterford Whispers segment, which aired on the night of New Year’s Eve on RTE One’s “NYE Countdown […]
The facts about the shooting in Hartstown today (Wednesday 30th), as currently known, are straightforward, and distressing. George Nkencho, a man of African origin, in his late 20s, entered a Eurospar shop in Hartstown and threatened staff with a large knife. One staff member is currently in hospital after being seriously injured. The Gardai were […]
Prof Ray Kinsella has provided a succinct appraisal of what the Brexit deal means for Ireland – not so much in relation to economic matters, but as a reflection of where the Irish state and the island as a whole stand in relation to the EU as a political entity. He notes in particular how […]
At this stage, the proverbial dogs in the street know that the Irish media is in crisis. With the setting up of the Future of Media Commission it seems that we are going to have a national conversation of sorts about just where the Irish media is going. The real question at this stage is […]
The EU blinked. There’s no point in attempting to put a gloss on it. You know the kind of thing: “This is not a time for triumphalism…” On the contrary, yes, it is. Europe should celebrate the Free Trade Agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson because it is a vindication of what democracy is about, and […]
Handel’s Messiah was the soundtrack to Christmas Day in our house. It was a bit, or more likely totally, above our heads but it gradually, over many years, soaked up the strangeness and wonder, the mysterious otherworldliness of Christmas. The smells and tastes, the treats, the novelties that the kindly Santa left for us on […]
As Niamh pointed out here several weeks ago, those cancelling the Christmas are in good company. Cromwell would not be the sort of chap you would normally name check when issuing decrees. Nor would the Bolsheviks, Nazis and the current Chinese regime who have also attempted to out rightly suppress the most important celebration in […]
The HSE and the Government provide details of the daily number of confirmed Covid patients in hospitals as well as the number admitted and discharged in the previous 24 hours. The daily data for these measures are available to view at their website[1] since mid-March to early April. I speculated that the admissions and discharge […]
Forty-five years ago, the English rock band Supertramp released the album Crisis? What Crisis? It was almost universally panned by critics as an assault upon the ears of anyone unfortunate enough to hear it. But I reckon that despite these musical misgivings, it remains the album of choice for the various Christmas parties held by […]
There’s “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted”, and then, of course, there’s Irish Government advice, which could best be described as “locking Shergar’s stable door tomorrow, in case he’s stolen”. Like, this is quite incredible: THE HSE HAS issued updated advice for anyone who has arrived in Ireland from Britain since 8 […]