This article will consider the potential for political and public-health mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis, since confirmation of the first case in Ireland on 29/2/2020 to the time of writing 12/4/2020. I will begin with a brief outline of some of what is known about the Covid-19 virus, and what is known about Coronaviridae in […]
The coverage given to Trump is by design of course, as journalists the world-over try to dig his grave ahead of November’s election, but the dereliction of duty in holding our own political class to account is inexcusable.
Social media giant, Facebook, is under fire again for using biased ‘fact-checkers’ to label reporting as ‘fake news’. The New York Post, one of the most long-established newspapers in the U.S., hit back at Facebook this week saying that the platform’s “‘fact-checkers’ are the real fake news after censoring Post story”. As the newspaper explained: […]
As a former Gaelscoil Principal, I am very aware of the challenges that families are confronted with as they try to meet rising educational costs while maintaining a good standard of healthy living for their children. This is a situation that is almost certainly going to get much more difficult in the coming months and […]
In light of the Irish media’s widespread praise for yesterday’s Sunday Times article outlining the failures of the British Government, it might be worth taking a look at events in a similar timeframe closer to home. “38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster”, was the headline of the Sunday Times piece. Here’s what was happening […]
Alcohol Action Ireland has a name that makes you think it’s run by, and operated by, concerned citizens who are worried about the public health risks of too much drinking. When it appears in the media, as it did yesterday, you, the ordinary person, are supposed to think that you’re hearing from a group of […]
The burdens of high office are great indeed. Yesterday, as the UK media were salivating over a hard-hitting report in the Sunday Times into mistakes made by Boris Johnson’s Government, Ireland’s flagship Sunday Newspaper was publishing this interview with Simon Harris. Behold, the standard of questioning Irish politicians can expect to face, these days: Two […]
In the week before Easter, Life Institute (for which I am a spokeswoman) launched a campaign seeking to ensure older people would not be denied life-saving care in this crisis, because decisions regarding the allocation of critical care should never be based solely on age. Events since then have given fresh urgency to the initiative. Disturbing […]
As of 17th April, 302 people have died from the virus in community care settings, which is 62% of all Covid-19 deaths, with 253 of those in nursing homes. Each day, we read on the news about how many cases and deaths there have been, how the curve is flattening, and whether we can ease […]
One of the most effective public service messages of the coronavirus pandemic must a musical number by Ugandan artists Bobi Wine and Nubian Li. The reggae-style “Corona Virus Alert” is so catchy it makes hand-washing and staying home seem like the coolest things to do. The latest stats on Uganda show that the country has […]
As Irish politicians scramble to help every group and organisation on earth other than its own citizens, you’d be forgiven for wondering who they actually represent. Simon Coveney, Fine Gael Minister for Foreign Affairs, courted controversy on Thursday when he announced that Ireland would be quadrupling its contribution to the World Health Organisation. #Ireland strongly […]
While the Sex Pistols, led by John Lydon (Rotten) whose mother was from Cork whose father was from Galway, are recalled by many as an ephemeral almost circus act – and that is how they ended up after Lydon left – there was a lot more to them. Lydon, unlike most leading punks – or […]