NO, its not Stephen’s Green or Eyre Square or even Milltown Malbay. This session of traditional Irish music is taking place in Japan. The video was posted by the Irish Embassy in Japan who spotted the musicians playing a lively set of tunes which on a lunchtime stroll in Yoyogi Park in the capital. “On lunchtime […]
President Putin moves to support traditional marriage by adding it to the Russian constitution and, predictably, the UK’s ‘impartial public service broadcaster’ paints it in as negative a light as possible. Apparently unable to accept that another country might hold different values from their own, the BBC insist it cannot be to do ‘with reflecting current values […]
As I write this, two big pieces of news are filtering through from the world of sport: First, the Spanish equivalent of the Premiership, La Liga, has been suspended after Real Madrid players were quarantined. The news comes after a Juventus player in Italy, Daniele Ruggani, tested positive for the illness last night: LaLiga has […]
An interesting, even fun, conundrum for us all to ponder while we spend our days in Coronavirus induced isolation – is this card received by Newstalk’s Dr. Ciara Kelly yesterday creepy and sinister, or well-intentioned and nice? Is she over-reacting absurdly, or is she right to be a bit perturbed? https://twitter.com/ciarakellydoc/status/1237746828264771584 Let’s consider the evidence. […]
“Let’s hear it for ordinary, unremarkable women,” ran a headline in the Sunday Telegraph on International Women’s Day. Below it, Lauren Libbert, a single mother and freelance journalist lamented the fact that IWD celebrates “outstanding” women instead of the “normal” ones who keep the show on the road without any fanfare of publicity. That is, […]
Every general practitioner has lonely elderly patients whose check-ups double as social events. They have few other occasions for interacting with people. Why not enlist the healthcare system in identifying people who are at highest risk for social isolation or loneliness? According to a major report from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, […]
Like most twenty-somethings these days, I’m something of a podcast addict, which is why, recently, I listened to the podcast ‘The State of Us’ with journalist and influencer Rosemary McCabe, in an episode called “Baby Fever”. I should start by noting that I follow Rosemary on Instagram. She’s very likeable, candid and honest about her […]
Rob Bilott has just become a partner in Taft Stettinius & Hollister, a large law firm representing big corporations, when Wilbur Tennant asks for his help. Tennant is a farmer from Rob’s home town in West Virginia and he wants to sue DuPont, the giant chemical corporation. Tennant says that toxic waste discharged into a […]
Suíomh de mhór-mhainistir Éireannach ab ea Gleann Dá Loch ar bhunaigh Naomh Caoimhín í atá suite taobh le Páirc Náisiúnta Shléibhte Chill Mhantáin. Mar a thugann an logainm le fios tá sé suite i ngleann a bhfuil dhá loch ann. Tá cloigtheach, séipéil chloiche agus croiseanna maisithe i measc na bhfothracha. Tá ionad cuairteoirí faoi stiúir Oifig […]
I’ve been reflecting on the care and love my grandfather received at the end of his life. He passed away barely a week ago, with two of his daughters (my mother included) at his side, after living a full 84-year life. He was an ambitious man, a photojournalist who forwent family life to travel the […]
Poor Pope Francis has had something of a torrid week of it. It began with the announcement that the Pontiff has been struck down by a mystery illness and was confined to bed. It approaches its end with an unwelcome letter in the post from Ireland’s most high profile Catholic. Of course, it seems fairly […]
Bedside gatherings at a Canadian euthanasia are normally an adults-only affair. But one doctor suggests that young children would benefit from becoming involved. In a blog entry at a University of British Columbia site, Dr Susan Woolhouse, who has been involved in some 70 “assisted deaths”, says “My past experiences during my palliative care rotations reassured […]