A tale of two countries. First, the United Kingdom: A FOUR-STAGE plan could see England’s coronavirus restrictions completely lifted by 21 June, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced. And now, the place that was once part of the United Kingdom, and where at least one writer for a website you are currently reading is […]
Last week, we treated you to a taste of one of the many conferences and workshops which you pay for in order for others to tell you to buck up your ideas. Specifically, groups like the Immigrant Council of Ireland are worried that you aren’t woke enough to the level of diversity they think necessary. […]
These are tough times for everybody in Ireland, and indeed, in many countries around the world. Many businesses are shuttered. Many people, having seen their jobs rendered too dangerous by covid legislation, are not working, and are on income supports. Governments themselves, in fact, are having a tough time of it: With the collapse in […]
It is no surprise that Ulster Bank is finally winding down and exiting the Irish market. The Bank has shown great commitment to Ireland and to maintaining an active presence in the Irish banking market, especially over the last decade. It has invested serious capital in writing-off losses, in technology and in corporate restructuring. The […]
Whatsapp groups have, for many people, been a vital social outlet during the long months of the Covid era. One of mine is quite eclectic: There’s a Corkonian, a Galwegian, a Cavanman, and various Dubs. So it was interesting to see the Cavan man – an avid walker – start a conversation over the weekend […]
Nigeria has a problem. A big problem. For many years now, a radical Islamist insurgency has roiled its northeast. Boko Haram (literally “books are forbidden”), a terrorist group affiliated with ISIS, and several other actors in its mould, have brutalised the residents of these regions, particularly Christians, taking many lives and displacing millions. The defeat […]
Last month, it was reported that Bill Gates, the billionaire businessman and activist on climate issues, had been buying farmland in the United States to the extent that he now owns the biggest amount of farm acres in America. Gates, who is one of the richest people in the world, has quietly bought up 242,000 acres of […]
Writing on the (belated) conviction of John McClean, the Terenure rugby coach, John McGuirk raised important questions around how and why McClean managed to avoid sanction or prosecution despite the basic facts of the matter being known to all and sundry for at least 30 years. Why, McGuirk asks, did it take the actions of […]
“It’s like the children have disappeared”. Aidan O’Rourke is pulling no punches. The lockdown of children’s sports, he says, is causing “disappearing personalities, children withdrawing entirely within themselves, right up to severe mental health, self-harm.” The GAA All-star recognises that sport might not “be a silver bullet to stop all that” but says the […]
There’s some consternation in the media this morning that the Taoiseach would make such an important and newsworthy announcement in an exclusive interview with, of all papers, the Irish Mirror. But while our friends in the Irish Times and the Independent might be a little sniffy that they didn’t get the scoop, my own view […]
A powerful interview on the steps of the criminal courts, yesterday afternoon, after former Terenure College Rugby Coach, John McClean, was sent to prison for eight years. Damien Hetherington, one of his victims, was in court to hear the verdict, and stepped in front of the cameras when it was all over. The whole thing […]
Illegal drug use is the scourge of cities, towns and rural villages right across the state. Gone are the days when the problem was confined to major urban areas. In fact, nowadays hard-core drug use is approaching something like routine. It is also the source of endless heartbreak for families, parents and children whose […]