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There has always been something risqué in overhearing a conversation which was not intended for our ears. It carries the potential of knowing another’s thoughts without, either you having to share yours with them or their knowing that you are aware of their thinking. The possession of such information gives the recipient the edge in […]

Earlier this month the U.K. press hailed as a scientific discovery that if you feed a youngsters brain with porn they will develop a sensitive area which will “light up” to such stimuli. Dr Valerie Voon, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University and a global authority on addiction, expressed astonishment as the results were similar to […]

The US of A that bastion of democracy has been stumbling to an almost ungovernable state for the last couple of weeks. Fortunately after 16 days of shutdown and just before the money ran out, normal service was resumed – at least till next year when it could all happen again. In good government the […]

The Testament of Mary Word on the Week 12th October 2013. With the Man Booker Prize for literature coming for grabs next week it is hard for fellow authors to resist the temptation to pick the winner. That the lot has, for at least one scribe, fallen on Colm Toíbín’s novella “The Testament of Mary” […]

It was the only way the Government could “do” the Lotto – flog it! The windfall profits exceeded the anticipated price by one third producing a total of €405,000,000! The deal with the conglomerate Premier Lotteries Ireland permits ongoing State involvement via the Post Office which continues as one of the partners. So the country […]

It’s the topic that crops up every time we meet, it is the weather. Whether it is at the Annual Ploughing Championships or waiting for the Luas it is the opening gambit to nearly every conversation. This week saw the publication of the latest reports compiled by a myriad of scientists confirming that global warming […]

This week we have been able to listen to the Pope pondering and this gives us the chance to ponder the Pope. No other religious figure commands such authority or influence over his people. As a result his brand becomes the flavour of his time. He could be called the “big picture Pope”. His message […]

It would be hard to motor from Dublin to Aberdeen, Scotland, as we did last week, without noting the presence of flags. In Ireland they adorn anything from lampposts to blocks of flats. In Scotland they were more evident on cars and houses. In both countries the “Union Jack” was being flown to denote an […]

The death of Seamus Heaney yesterday has triggered an avalanche of words providing an appropriate covering for our best known contemporary poet. Potted biographies and eulogies compete with each other in the newspapers, while Presidents and Poets recall their encounters with Seamus. Not to be outdone, a taxi-driver on our Vox-pop radio show recounted presenting […]