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 […]
They’re looking for volunteers: 1,112 volunteers, to be precise. Half will be given the vaccine, half won’t. They’ll check back in a few months and see how many from group A got the virus, compared to how many from group B. What’s interesting about this are the ethical questions involved. Obviously, the greatest good for […]
Could the Church hierarchy be cosying up to the Chinese Communist Party? Ben Scallan comments #gript
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 premature baby girl born in England has successfully fought off the coronavirus. Born eight weeks early, and weighing just 3lbs 5oz (1.5kg), baby Peyton was diagnosed with Covid-19 just three weeks after she was born. Her mum Tracey Maguire spoke to BBC News, recalling the moment her tiny baby girl baby was tested for […]
“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 […]
A Tipperary TD has said that nursing homes are still being told by the HSE that they will only be provided with protective clothing and equipment where they have a confirmed case of Covid-19. The virus has hit nursing homes hardest in the crisis with almost 60% of deaths occurring in nursing or care homes. Several […]
Journalists like Fintan O’Toole say “Humans are the virus” from the earth’s perspective. TIM JACKSON comments on why he’s wrong #gript
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 […]