Selling treaty a tricky task for govt
Some within government are already dramatically proclaiming that the forthcoming vote on the EU's Fiscal Treaty will be the biggest challenge the Irish people have faced since the adoption of the...
View ArticleSpirit of Irish people will surely hasten a brighter dawn for our country
As St Patrick's Day, or Lá le Phádraig, approaches, it might be a good time to try to define who we are and where we stand. We can only hope that this courageous and enduring nation will not be defined...
View ArticleWhere now for the people of Slane?
The community of Slane is still absorbing the news this week that its hopes for a bypass of the village has been shot down by An Bord Pleanala. Many people are still in shock that concerns over...
View ArticleEmigration should not always be seen as a tragedy; it can be an opportunity
Who better to speak about emigration than a former emigrant? Me. I'm talking about beautiful Putney by the Thames in London in 1960-'61.
View ArticleCoherent language strategy needed in schools
There is now a widespread belief that improved foreign language proficiency would allow more Irish people to find work at home and would open up more markets to Irish companies abroad.Indeed, a recent...
View ArticleCounty Council planning fee structure needs changes
Ireland and the Meath economy are in a deep recession. We have been for the past four years and, under this government's austerity policies, will likely remain so for some years to come.
View ArticleFallout from the Mahon tribunal
A number of local authorities, including Meath County Council, could yet be subjected to reopened inquiries into planning issues as the fallout from the Mahon Tribunal report continues to reverberate...
View ArticleWill we get an invoice? Will we f***?
Someone of Minister Phil Hogan's physical stature could easily attract the soubriquet "Big".
View ArticleTackling suicide in the community
Untimely accidental deaths are rightly described as tragedies. But tragic is a word quite often used to describe another form of death - the taking of one's own life.
View ArticleWe must do all we can to help protect the local retail trade
At a funeral ceremony in Drogheda last week, Fr Denis Nulty described aspects of the life of the deceased, businesswoman Catherine (Kay) Crimmins (née Lenihan from Duleek), who, with her husband...
View ArticlePut sick children first in new hospital debate
Dublin's Mater Hospital site could once again become the preferred location for the new National Children's Hospital under a new proposal which will allow the height and scale of the structure to be...
View ArticleWater the new controversy this week - but be thankful we have plenty of it
Just a few kilometres across the sea from Ireland, the English newspaper The Guardian ran a headline on Monday: 'Wildlife and farming disaster warning as drought spreads across England'.
View ArticleBold moves needed to help households drowning in debt
Just how difficult week-to-week life has become for many Irish families is evidenced by this week's Irish League of Credit Unions survey which shows nearly 47 per cent of household in the country have...
View ArticleRole of mothers should always be celebrated in ever-changing world
The words of mothers everywhere echo down the years as a cry for help in the face of mountains of family chores and the daily grind of being mother - sometimes father - part-time counsellor,...
View ArticleReferendum challenge for the government
Just as the country prepares to start seriously debating the pros and cons of the EU's Fiscal Stability Treaty, two political events in different parts of Europe have thrown the cat among the pigeons...
View ArticlePolitical classes leap on bandwagon seeking cardinal's resignation
Whenever we Irish have occasion to use the phrase "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", you can guarantee a hail of bricks to come flying through the air.
View ArticleRegaining public's trust must be priority for RTE
State broadcaster RTE is this week licking its wounds after the publication of the damning report into the now infamous 'Mission To Prey' programme by Prime Time Investigates, described as the gravest...
View ArticleBoost for region's tourism sector as its ship comes in
The unusual sight of the arrival of a cruise ship with 122 passengers at Drogheda Port on Monday presents the region with an unusual, but potentially very lucrative boost to local economies suffering...
View ArticleGrowing belief that growth should accompany austerity
Events are unfolding with increasing rapidity across Europe this week as the eurozone debt crisis looks like it may be about to come to a head, with debt-laden Greece under huge pressure to form a...
View ArticleWhy remembering Famine victims has an indelible place in Irish psyche
On 30th May 1847, a contingent of 110 emigrants from County Meath set sail across the Atlantic to Canada in a ship called the Ajax.
View ArticleSecuring a 'yes' vote is crucial to our future
As is very often the case with EU-related referendums here, claim and counter-claim by both sides of the argument has left people scratching their heads as they contemplate how to vote on 31st May.
View ArticleLocal eyes and ears still the best weapon in battle against burglars
Two fairly recent burglaries in Meath - at Kilberry and Castletown - where homes were broken into and property stolen, although luckily incurring no injury, must have given residents some food for...
View Article'Don't knows' hold key to referendum result
With a huge number of undecided voters yet to make up their minds about which way they will vote in this week's referendum on the Fiscal Stability Treaty, the outcome is likely to be a much closer-run...
View ArticleMixed signals on possible bank debt deal
In the aftermath of the referendum on the fiscal stability treaty, the focus now needs to return to promoting economic growth and recovery and increasing stability, both in Ireland and the eurozone as...
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