Category: Uncategorized
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Why do the good have to die young?
Up to last week Keelin Shanley was a name from RTE radio and television. A presenter and reporter. And then she died from breast cancer last Saturday, aged 51. As news of her passing filtered through the airwaves the following day, tributes started to pour in from all corners. From colleagues to politicians from all…
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Joseph Shabalala and Paul Simon
Quite a few seasons back, along with many other folk, I purchased an album of music entitled ‘Graceland’ by the US singer/songwriter Paul Simon. A great collection of songs, the album also provoked a huge amount of controversy when it was released in 1986. It was at a time when the system of apartheid was…
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My good friend, the radio
the radio I was disappointed to hear of the cuts announced a few weeks ago by the BBC. The BBC is one of the worlds great institutions. Radio, in particular, is my favourite form of media communication. The cuts will hit at least one of my favourite programmes. My attachment to radio has nothing to…
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Election Earthquake
My Good Self did not see it coming. I feel out of step with the rest of the population. Small wonder I never made it in political punditry. It would appear that Sinn Féin themselves did not see the full extent of it coming either. An historic day as Sinn Féin secured the highest first…
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Housing, Health and the Count
The Irish people have spoken. As predicted it looks like a ‘neck and neck’ three horse race between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. Exit polls indicated the most important issues to the Irish electorate were housing and health. Reassuring that fundamentals were prioritised. And so the ballot boxes were opened yesterday morning and…
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Learning from mistakes
Telling the truth is not always good for your health. And so it proved to be the case for Doctor Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who noticed the appearance of a new SARS like virus a few weeks ago in Wuhan Central Hospital, China. After warning his university colleagues of the danger, he was censured by…
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Can Pete do it?
So who is Pete Buttigieg? For one thing he seems to be the winner, by a minute margin, of the Iowa Democratic Party caucus. Could he be the man to knock Mr. Trump off his perch and get hold of the keys to the White House? Aged 38, he is a decorated army veteran and…
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Doing the right thing
And so the inevitable came to pass and Donald Trump was acquitted by the US Senate and his impeachment trial came to an end. The only shining light in the whole murky process was the decision by the Republican Utah Senator, Mitt Romney, to cross party lines and vote with his conscience to convict Trump.…
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Listen to Lombardi
Whilst waiting to watch ‘Match of the day’ last Saturday night I caught an advertisement for a preview of the upcoming American fotball Super Bowl match in Miami. I watched the programme, presented by the excellent Mark Chapman of BBC Sport fame. The game itself was due to air at a slightly unsocial hour the…
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The Leaders Debate
So the time had come for the Big Three to square up to one another. No, for once it was not Federer, Nadal and Djokovic who were doing battle. Rather Leo, Micheal and Mary Lou. Or should I say Mary Lou, Micheal and Leo? The latest opinion poll has Sinn Fein as top dogs, with…
Blind light 