Bríd O’Meara Bríd O’Meara from Aware talks about how to build emotional resilience Resilience is a key factor in life, and something which we can all work to develop and enhance, according to Bríd O’Meara, Director of Services with Aware. “Resilience can be considered an ongoing process in life, rather than something you have or…
Tom and Madeline McCully Tom and Madeline McCully describe their marriage encounter weekend We’ve been married for 46 years, and 39 years ago our lives were transformed when we made a Marriage Encounter Weekend. We were seven years married and like many a happily married couple found ourselves in a bit of a rut. While…
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and it’s not just an occasion for sending cards ‘sealed with a loving kiss’. It’s just another opportunity to get your finger out and make some seasonal crafts. Because heart prints and heart designs are so popular, you can make almost any Valentine craft at any time of…
Some people find February a slow month in the garden, but it shouldn’t be. Spring will arrive before you know and everything will need doing at once. So make the most of February as it is your last chance to finish winter-work and get a head start on Spring. Clear your beds and borders of…
When I was a child, both my parents were in the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. Thirty or 40 years ago, almost everyone in Ireland knew about the Pioneers and a fair few were members. I’d guess that if you mentioned the Association to a group of young people today, there’d be a few blank expressions.…
I recently overheard a woman saying she withdew her child from the school choir, in a church school, on the basis that there were “too many churchey songs”. Yet there was no animosity in this slightly eccentric criticism, it was simply that her child preferred musicals. Here in England, faith is a personal matter – to…
January begins with new promises and resolutions for the year. One of the most popular new year’s resolutions is to eat more healthily, especially if you enjoyed lots of selection boxes and chocolate coins over the festive season. It can be hard to break out of a habit of eating sweets and chocolate but you…
As you look forward to the year ahead, I am sure that like many others you have made resolutions and hope to keep to at least some of them. Parents have a the most responsible job in the world because your every action, gesture and word impacts on your children. When you stop to think…
Baking with ground nuts is so much fun compared to using flour. But there is a little flour included in this recipe to help the cake rise. This cake is also delicious made with hazelnuts and orange zest instead of the pistachios and lemon. You can make the cakes without the icing too if you…
At various times over recent years I have worked with young people preparing for the oral Irish exam in their Leaving Certificate. Apart from the challenge of developing a level of fluency in Irish most of the students also face the challenge of developing and expressing their own opinions. Our education system does little to…
Erin Fox
Paul Gargan
Maria Byrne
Bairbre Cahill