The apparent resurgence of ‘Green Politics’ at local, national and EU level has been the focus of significant commentary in recent times. For many, this is a welcome development that signals the arrival of a renewed global consensus on the various ecological and biodiversity challenges that confront us. This was certainly the reaction of the […]
A controversial sex education programme that taught children as young as six about touching their “private parts” has been withdrawn by a council in Britain following a backlash from parents. The Telegraph reports that the “All About Me” syllabus, which was rolled out at over 200 primary schools across Warwickshire, proposed that children should learn […]
Anne McCloskey is a retired GP and is also an Aontú councillor on Derry City and Strabane District Council, highlights her concerns about the current situation. I suppose it was the sight of our Bishop Donal Mc Keown, furtively going at dawn to bless the graves of the faithful departed in Derry’s main cemetery on […]
An absolutely astonishing report in the Irish Times this morning. No, scratch that. A report in the Irish Times that really should be astonishing, but of course, isn’t: Senior figures in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil believe they can progress to negotiations on a coalition government with the Green Party on the basis of the […]
The phrase ‘missing Mass’ used to refer to non-attendance at Sunday Mass and was a serious omission for any Catholic. If it was habitual it could lead to a call from the local priest. Today that would be represented as clerical policing rather than an act of pastoral outreach. In fact, in a homogeneous religious […]
One of the most shocking elements of the global response to Covid-19 has been the involuntary confinement of entire populations to their homes – barring certain exceptional activities such as essential shopping, exercise, and medical attention. Lockdown measures of this sort are usually associated with wartime, and should not be taken lightly, not only because […]
“A change in scientific opinion”, trumpets the Irish Times: “Pressure has increased on the Government to require that face masks be worn routinely by the public to contain the Covid-19 virus, in line with a change in scientific opinion in favour of the measure. Scientists and TDs have called for the change based on indication […]
Just under a week after RTE’s veteran reporter, Tommie Gorman, told the viewing public that Ireland was doing so well compared to Britain because the English “lacked people of the stature of Tony Holohan and Paul Reid”, RTE is getting a treat from the Government. What a good boy: GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE of public service […]
The race is on to produce a COVID-19 vaccine: teams are working hard and fast across the world. We all long to see a vaccine in record time – but must, of course, have an eye to ethics too. Debates on vaccine ethics tend to focus on risks, whether to participants in clinical trials, or […]
Caution, Caution, Caution – pretty much how you should respond to any news about Coronavirus these days, because the simple fact is that there’s so much we don’t know. And probably the biggest thing we don’t know is this: How many people are actually infected, and don’t know, and have never been tested, because they […]
Keelings employs over 2,000 people. Over the past century it has transformed from being a prosperous north county Dublin family farm which in 1926 began to concentrate on fruit and veg wholesale and export. It is now a vast enterprise with branches in 42 countries. One of its successful ventures has been to buy fruit, […]
One of the most remarkable achievements of the Irish government in the Covid-19 crisis has been its ability to avoid almost any hard questions for any of its actions, even when they’ve made clearly terrible decisions that would end up costing lives. Most media outlets have simply fallen into line and become mouthpieces for the […]