I was watching the championship hurling match between Kilkenny and Cork a few weeks ago and the true meaning of words and language hit me. The game was on RTE and, if my memory is accurate, the hurling pundits were Henry Shefflin, Anthony Daly, and Ken McGrath from Waterford. McGrath was a great hurler, one […]
Category Archives: Blog
Besmirching the Tricolour
Something I’ve noticed lately on certain social media sites, such as Twitter and YouTube, is the use of the Irish tricolour in the profiles of certain individuals who hold views ranging from xenophobia to racism. These keyboard warriors, most of whom hide behind a fake name, feel free to spout hateful bile about the State, […]
2 Bank Holiday Weekends, 2 Banners-Just Politics?
I’ts an easy one to make. The connection between the simplistic thinking demonstrated by Mary Lou McDonald’s carrying of a banner “England get out of Ireland” in New York on St. Patrick’s Day and the crude, one-dimensional thinking which led to riots in Derry at Easter culminating in the death of Lyra McKee is discernible. […]
Why “Moral turpitude” Is Good
I came across a report in the newspaper this morning, a court report of a psychiatrist who had been struck off the medical register by the President of the High Court, Mr. Justice Peter Kelly. The learned Judge found that the consultant psychiatrist was guilty of professional misconduct and “moral turpitude” for being involved in […]
3 Types of Individual That Test My Patience
I come across all types of individuals every month, some of whom exhaust my patience to varying degrees. Firstly, there is the freeloader, the person who thinks you should be perfectly happy to review and assess their circumstances and advise whether they have a case or not. If you find they have they will pay […]
I’m Not for Everyone
If you are the man who rang four times in an hour to speak to me for “10 minutes” about whether you have a case or not, having been told you need to arrange a consultation, I’m not for you. If you are the woman who “is nervous about paying for legal advice unless I […]
Ready for School (the saddest thing)
It was the saddest thing I heard in a long time. The teacher asked the little lad where he was the previous day, told him the whole classed missed him. The little lad told her he was up and ready for school at the usual time but nobody else in the house got up until […]
The Rule of Law-The Rats Fly From It
The Rule of Law. I don’t suppose you think about it too much, do you? Maybe you do, but it’s probably not at the top of your priorities. Me too; in the normal day to day struggle I am not much occupied with it. Sometimes, though, events intrude and jar my mind, and force me […]
Words Really Do Matter (Why I Hate the Absurd Overuse of This Word)
I don’t know when exactly this particular word entered into usage in the way that it has but like all these trends it came from the United States. And it drives me bananas. Pass the sick bucket, please. The word I refer to is “super”. The use of the word “super” in describing something as […]
Athens Greece, 2018-Observations, Things to Do and Places to Visit in Athens
The first thing that struck me coming into Athens from the airport was the graffiti. It was everywhere: walls, shop fronts, roller shutters, the sides of buildings, on columns, gates, anywhere you cared to look. After a few days you stop noticing it and take it for granted because that’s how it is in Athens; […]