Green Fingers “It’s March, the month of many weathers and also the start of the gardening season. The longer days with sun shine and wind will mean that ground conditions will start to improve. It’s time to get out and get a start on the jobs that need doing. Get into your beds and borders…
Baby Bumblebees bear the brunt of pesticides The growth of baby bumblebees’ brains can be damaged by certain pesticides, according to research by Imperial College London. Bees that had been affected by pesticides showed significantly impaired learning abilities compared to that had not. This was tested by seeing if the bees were able to associate…
It was a moment of madness. Just as Storm Jorge charged towards the Irish coast, I spontaneously booked a holiday cottage perched just yards from the West Cork coastline. I felt the whole family needed a getaway, after a remarkably busy few weeks, and since our Christmas holidays were marred by one of the kids…
Medical Matters The coronavirus has taken centre stage and dominated daily news headlines as the number of cases and countries affected continues to rise. To date, over 3000 deaths have occurred globally but this is small compared to the fatality due to seasonal influenza which can be as high as 500,000 annually. Fears and concerns…
St Patrick, the most famous of the Patron Saints of Ireland worldwide. Not quite hailing from Ireland himself but from the United Kingdom, he is credited with driving the ‘snakes’ out of Ireland. Or bringing Christianity to the Island and pushing out Paganism if you’d like to be more literal. One might wonder if he…
Something different for St Patrick Parades can be great for some, but standing for long periods of time with young kids is never ideal – especially in big crowds. If you’re looking for something different to do with the family this St Patricks Day there are plenty of events to choose from around the country.…
Sweet Treats Churros are a traditional Spanish treat made with dough similar to a choux pastry which is piped into cylinders and deep-fried. They are crunchy and golden on the outside but wonderfully soft on the inside. If that doesn’t sound indulgent enough, they are then coated in cinnamon sugar. A definite crowd pleaser! Ingredients:…
Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman who had a deep sense of her spiritual nature, once wrote: ‘Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others.’ We all experience suffering at some stage in our lives. Yet, meditation helps…
Like many others, I was deeply distressed to learn of the recent revelations concerning Jean Vanier. He was a person whom I much admired and about whom on numerous occasions I have written glowingly, so the news about him shook me deeply. What’s to be said about Jean Vanier in the light of these revelations?…
I was listening the other day to the radio and an Irish conductor was talking about being asked by Elmer Bernstein to work on the music for Martin Scorsese’s film The Age of Innocence. Things were not sounding as they should and the conductor was trying to listen intently to isolate the problem. Behind him…
Paul Gargan
Dr Kevin McCarroll
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Bairbre Cahill