Children’s Corner There’s a lot to be learnt about how certain objects interact with water. It can also raise a of questions. Fruit for example, why do certain fruits that look big float, while a smaller fruit might sink? One of the biggest factors here is density. When trying to guess if an object will…

The hippocampus, deep within our brain, gathers and organises short term memories, laying down the synaptic pathways for long term memories. Every time we recall a memory we travel down that synaptic pathway and the more we do so, the stronger and more lasting the memory becomes. Memories have the capacity to shape attitudes and…

Family homes across Ireland have been transformed into makeshift schools, thanks to the coronavirus epidemic. Our own home school has three pupils on the roll, along with an enthusiastic toddler who joins in from time to time. Our daily routine involves having all pupils up and breakfasted by 8 in the morning. This allows them…

Half the time I couldn’t tell you what day of the week it is. I can’t get my head around the notion that we are at the end of May but I know without doubt that this Sunday is Pentecost. Pentecost crowns Easter, bringing the liturgical season of Easter to a close and powerfully reminding…

A Parent’s Perspective   My daughters all love the film, Pride and Prejudice. Times may have changed, but there’s something timeless and appealing about the spirited Elizabeth Bennet and the dashing, debonair, Mr Darcy. It is the perennial theme of a great love, a story that never grows old, boy meets girl, there are some…

Children’s Corner   In these days of lockdown many parents are doing their best to keep their children occupied and up to date with their education. With schools being out of the equation it can be daunting to teach children subjects that may not be a parent’s strong point: like science. However, there are fun…

The newly arrived swallows swoop across the evening sky; happy heralds of summer. They have journeyed from Africa to our eaves, where they will nest for the summer. Our little valley has become rewilded in recent years, with acres of new woods springing up nearby us. Buzzards and falcons now regularly soar overhead. Trout frequent…

Why is the food better during a lockdown?” my son asked. Unsure what sort of a back-handed compliment this was I simply replied, “It is not that the food is better, it is just that it’s the highlight of the day now!” And it is certainly true that food has taken on a new significance.…

In those dim and distant pre-lockdown days, I remember having the liberty to take non-essential journeys. One such frivolous expedition saw me set out on a beautiful spring morning for Tipperary. When the kids asked where I was going, I fobbed them off with an excuse. In fact, I was going to see a man…

How are your Easter Alleluias going? Is it, as Leonard Cohen would say, a holy or a broken Alleluia? It has been strange these weeks since Easter not being able to go to Mass and sing those vibrant, uplifting hymns to proclaim the resurrection. In some ways it feels as if we are still living…