Walking through history If you’re looking for a chance to experience traditional Irish culture while having a blast, then check out Irish Heritage Week. A great opportunity to explore your background, it will be held at places all around the nation from August 18 to August 26. Many national and hundreds of local communities participate…
It was a deep summer’s dusk as the hills of West Cork unfolded before my weary eyes. I was driving home from England for a holiday with my three oldest children, while my wife took some quiet time with the new baby. The girls in the back slept. Seán, sitting in the front, was entranced…
Science of Life I awoke this morning to the radio announcing that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education has recommended that vending machines that dispense junk food and sugary drinks in schools should be banned. We are constantly bombarded with advice through the media on how to foster and maintain good physical and mental health…
A family harvest festival Where can you go to experience agriculture, fashion, and sculpting all in one place? The Claremorris Agricultural Show may be just the thing for you. Hosted in the Claremorris Athletic club, it’s been run every year since 1904, only interrupted three times. Taking place on Sunday, August 5, there will be…
I’m struggling with parenting. Why? I think it is because I now find myself in the strange position of parenting adults. Our youngest turned 18 recently so we now have a family of adults and last weekend we had them all home. Not only that, but our three daughters had their boyfriends home with them…
Sweet Treats When my family get together, there is usually a lot of cake involved. From apple tart, to meringues with cream, you can guarantee something sweet will be centre stage on our table. One of our family favourites is coffee cake. Ingredients Sponge cake -200g plain flour -225g caster sugar -227g butter, softened -1…
Soar your way to Bray for the display With summer comes long days and warm nights, and what better way to enjoy a summer night than watching the sky come alive with planes and acrobatic feats? At the Bray Air Display at the Bray Seafront, the whole family can sit and enjoy a dazzling display…
A Parent’s Perspective We’ve all been enjoying the recent, uncharacteristically hot, weather. It’s not the typical Irish summer when you can breakfast in the garden, head to the beach several days in a row and, instead of a rainy few weeks in Ballybunion or Bundoran, it’s been more like the Costa Brava. The glorious…
I would hesitate to plot a graph projecting the expansion of my belly. However, my wife, a doctor, has no such qualms. When, last Friday, she carefully plotted the dimensions of her late-pregnancy belly on a graph, they were slightly less than they should have been. This can mean the baby is not getting quite enough…
Green Fingers If our heatwave persists until August, the amount of jobs you can do in the garden will be down to the bare minimum, but there is still work to be done. Don’t be tempted to do too much at once, take breaks, drink fluids and remember, “no man ever drowned in his…
William Reville
Bairbre Cahill
Maria Byrne
Paul Gargan