Category: CURRENT AFFAIRS
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Please watch your step, you’re on thin ice
There’s an episode of The Simpsons in which Mr Burns brings the staff of the power plant to a resort up in the snow-capped mountains for a bonding weekend. As these things also tend to be in real life, the few days were dominated by tasks which had to be done, at a minimum in…
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Suspect charged with Hunt family murders
A 26-year-old male has appeared in court in Cambridge, England, charged with the murders of the wife and two daughters of BBC and Sky Sports Racing commentator and broadcaster John Hunt on July 9th last. Kyle Clifford, of Enfield, North London, was thought to be the boyfriend of Louise Hunt (25) either at or shortly…
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Caffeine, a calculator, a cart load of nostalgia and a catastrophic lack of sleep
That, ladies and gents, is an armchair view of and a survival kit for the rigors of an Irish General Election. He says as he begins keyboarding this piece at 2:28am on a Monday night/Tuesday morning. All a guilty pleasure. In one of life’s great contradictions, you’d have thought the introduction of E-Voting machines would’ve…
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We need to talk about the Burkes… No, seriously
What you are about to read is like nothing ever produced in this space. But have there ever been folk like those referred to in the above headline? Think about how the circus surrounding Co Mayo family began. Then compare and contrast that to what it has morphed into. Basically, the root of the issue…
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Never mind the bullsh** – treat yourself to a night with Christy
At some point either towards the end of my ‘career’ in primary school and in the early stages of life at the next level, I took quite the chiding – and absolutely not all of it was light hearted – from my contemporaries regarding my musical preferences. The bugbear seemingly being that I was too…
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Dynasties re-ignited, some others broken and bullsh** bubbles burst
Politics can be a dangerous business. There was a time the threat only came from nosey curiosity, jealousy and political point scoring. Now, though, there is a clear and present danger to not only politicians themselves, but their spouses, families and homes. Already this year we have seen bomb scares at the home of Justice…
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The seismic Irish political development of the current era
There are occurrences in world history which – no matter how long may have passed since them – (a) you will never forget where you were when they happened and (b) will remain part of public discourse long after they actually happen. Now, part a of the above may not apply in this case, but…
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John Bruton
I have absolutely no doubt some eyes will pop out of heads – certainly locally and perhaps further afield – that what appears hereafter was produced by the occupant of this seat. Now read on… That’s OK. However, there could never be a better or more apt illustration of the foibles of judging a book…
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Support your man by all means but be mindful of how you do it
No secret has ever been made of how grateful yours truly feels to have many who were once heroes admired from afar become treasured friends. Yes, a lot of them are, shall we say, ‘colourful’ characters but then, it would be my genuine belief that if there wasn’t a bit of a maverick in myself,…
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Damien P. O’Reilly 1983-2023
My late father always reckoned Tom Yourell was one of the best judges of character he ever came across. In other words, if the nearest I ever knew to a grandfather got a vibe about someone, time would usually prove him to be right. It’s something I’d like to think I’ve inherited from the old…