Like many other families we went for a walk after Christmas. The rain from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day had turned the streets/paths into a pool of puddles to the delight of my children. It was a fantastic distraction as they would walk five kilometres easily jumping from puddle to puddle. As the children were…
Egyptian pharaoh’s mummy digitally unwrapped for first time The mummified body of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been studied for the first time in millennia after being digitally “unwrapped”. The mummy of Amenhotep I, who ruled from 1525 to 1504 BC, was found at a site in Deir el-Bahari 140 years ago. However, archaeologists have…
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health has been considerable with a marked a rise in loneliness and social isolation over the past 18 months. While studies show that all ages of the population have been affected, it points to a disproportionate impact on younger adults who have felt the brunt of Covid…
Living Laudato Si At COP26 in Glasgow there were many disappointments especially in the failure of our world leaders to act with the urgency that is needed to respond to the ecological crises we face. Many people came away disappointed, frightened and in despair. However, there was another COP26 story which I witnessed and that…
Using mechanical tools improves our language skills Our ability to understand the syntax of complex sentences is one of the most difficult language skills to acquire. In 2019, research had revealed a correlation between being particularly proficient in tool use and having good syntactic ability. A new study, by researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Université Claude…
Mindful Living We are all called to live life to the full. That calls us to live beyond the limitations of the ego. Psychology teaches us that in the first part of our life we need to develop the ‘ego’, as part of our survival instinct. We need a healthy and balanced ego, which provides…
“Lily please stand up,” I asked my daughter during Sunday Mass. Her reply: “Mammy, I don’t want to. You know I am not into it like you are!” This happened to me a while ago. My youngest daughter wanted to sit when others stood, she sat when others kneeled. When I encouraged her (at the…
Italian tries to dodge Covid jab using fake arm An Italian man who wanted a coronavirus vaccine certificate without actually having the jab tried to play the system by presenting health workers with a fake arm, an official said. Despite the realistic skin colour, nobody was fooled by the silicone limb, and the man –…
Sweet Treats One Christmas food tradition I enjoy is a bread from Germany called stollen. It is a sweet bread with marzipan, currants and sultanas in it, and is really delicious toasted and buttered. I absolutely love having cinnamon rolls for special occasions, and thought that a cinnamon roll would be the perfect way to…
A Parent’s perspective My 11-year-old son has been asking me for ages “When are we getting the chocolate calendar?” For a small child the promise of a treat every day right up to Christmas seems very appealing. Even adults can see Advent as a time to stock up early on sweets and goodies, anticipate all…
Dr Kevin McCarroll
Maria Byrne