The extravagant plan for a whitewater rafting centre in Dublin appears to have sunk beneath its machine-made waves. And good riddance to that. But the derision poured on this one rather mad scheme should not rule out the idea of building a major sports centre in our capital city’s docklands. The proposed site at George’s […]
I have just returned from staycation with my extended family in a house we rented through Airbnb. It was a lovely house and I would be happy to go back to it but I’m not sure if the Government will let me. The people who own the house, a couple in their seventies, live in […]
The Government says it will examine the system for appointing Special Envoys to the United Nations. That shouldn’t take long because there isn’t one. Ministers identify an issue they want to highlight at the UN and come up with someone they think would be perfect for the job. If they can get the Cabinet to […]
A mother went on radio to tell how her daughter had suffered from stress because of the uncertainty about when First Holy Communion ceremonies would be allowed. They hadn’t been able to book a hotel,she explained. They had thought of calling in caterers for a celebration at home but could not do even that because […]
I am enjoying the Olympics much more than I had expected. The lack of real audiences takes away some of the atmosphere and it must be disappointing for the contestants who have worked so hard to get to Tokyo only to find it a city under lockdown. There is no Olympic village for them to […]
There will soon be more plastic than fish in the sea, says the World Economic Forum. I wonder who is doing the counting? Indestructible plastic drifts from beach to beach and it is hard to get those pesky fish to stay still. But it’s no laughing matter. A scientific group called the Ellen MacArthur Foundation […]
Micheál Martin narrowly avoided the dubious distinction of being the first Fianna Fáil leader not to become Taoiseach. That unwanted title seems likely to fall on whoever succeeds him as head of the party. I never rule out anything in politics, but it is hard to see Fianna Fáil ever again becoming the senior partner […]
Will you still wear a mask when the Covid restrictions are finally lifted? This has become a hot issue in England, where Boris Johnson is preparing to abandon all the Covid rules at one go. It has divided that country between those who cry “Right on Boris – give us back our liberty!” and those […]
For fifteen months I have supported the Government’s regime of Covid restrictions. But enough is enough. The latest pronouncement on indoor eating and drinking isn’t a policy, it’s a shambles. The damage it will do goes far beyond pubs and restaurants. It has killed the mood of optimism that was growing in step with the […]
In 1964, Ivan Morrison formed a band with four other lads from around Belfast. I knew a couple of them. We weren’t mates, for they were a few years older and, in your teens, three or four years is a huge gap. But I knew them to see, was friends with somebody’s brother, and I […]