As I write this, they are still counting the ballots that were cast in yesterday’s EU Fiscal Stability Treaty Pact Thingy Referendum. Already it is obvious that this was a crushing victory for the Ye...
The Hundred Days refers to the period of time between Napoleon’s return from exile on 20 March 1815, to the re-restoration of Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815. It is actually 111 days, but the pithiness of...
(SPOILER ALERT don’t read this if you haven’t seen Gone Baby Gone. Instead, go watch Gone Baby Gone) Gone Baby Gone could have been poorly acted, dreadfully written and awfully directed and it still ...
“Like many liberal American Jews I basically avoid thinking about where Israel is going. It seems obvious from here that the narrow-minded policies of the current government are basically a gradual, ...
It may come as a surprise to some that I have certain sympathy for Cardinal Brady. Knowing the ‘right thing’ to do, is very much like defining pornography, in that one can only be certain what the ri...
I criticise the country I live in, on an almost daily basis. It is mired in so much self-inflicted catastrophe and neurosis that I sometimes can’t help feeling contempt for it. It is healthy for me t...
I was writing a blog post about an article written by a journalist I particularly dislike and as I was struggling to construct a pithy and blistering assault on her silly argument, I got distracted b...
As appeared in Letters - Kerryman - 25 April, 2012 editionSir,Henry Gaynor (April 18) disputes the necessity and justification for Gender Quotas in our Elections. He does this by asking some very int...
This is the second time I have responded to an article written by Richard Waghorne on the subject of marriage equality. This one is much easier because Mister Waghorne said nothing new in his attack ...
I have so successfully kept my mind away from the Stability Treaty Referendum, that I hadn’t even realised that the Treaty is called the Euro-Plus Pact. Name aside, what I can gather, is that we are ...
Who could not be moved by the plight of the three brave women who related their story on The Late Late Show (20 April 2012)? To be told that their unborn babies were incapable of living outside the w...
“A “secular” education sets out to produce citizens, consumers and functionaries rather than mature beings animated with affection and curiosity. No longer will our children be told they are Christ’s...
I started writing a novel just after this Christmas. It’s going very well. Thirteen hundred words in four months. It’s not going very well at all. I can knock out thirteen hundred words in an afterno...
There has been an interesting debate going on in London of late and I don’t mean the race to the Mayorship. No, it seems that a Christian group wished to promote the idea of a cure for homosexuality,...
There is a little kerfuffle going on in the Catholic Church in Ireland at the moment. To understand it one need only rearrange the words I’ve underlined. The debate is between those who would say, as...
Deep down, I am an incredibly shallow person. I really am. I enjoy Two and a Half Men. It may not be my favourite sit-com, but I never miss an episode. To be honest, I rarely miss any episodes of any...
Hello, my name is Paul and I am a militant secularist. I am a secularist because I crave the protection and equality afforded me by the separation of Church and State and I am a militant because I am...
Patrick sighed in mild annoyance as he lent over to turn off the alarm. Only the glow of the digital display brightened the pitch black bedroom on this February morning. It was hours yet till sun ris...
I watched ‘The Help’ recently and it moved me to tears. That doesn’t necessarily mean The Help was a great film. I find that as I get older I cry very easily. In this instance though, it is a good fi...
I am a huge fan of The West Wing. It is as close to a perfect dramatic experience as one could hope to encounter. It was also a wonderfully educational series, or so I thought. Due to President Bartl...
When I first came to the realisation that all is grey, I thought myself most mature. I was slow getting there and it still doesn’t come naturally to me, but it certainly makes engaging with issues mo...
I’m not a big fan of TG4. It does show Golden Girls, which is obviously great, but it insists on its GAA coverage being strictly As Gaeilge. For a monoglot GAA supporter, this is most frustrating. Of...
I’ve written over one hundred posts so far and I think it is safe to say, that in at least half of them, I refer to me being an atheist. I find it difficult to not talk about being an atheist. I thin...
I wrote a post some time ago, about The Property Tax. In it I was scathing about those politicians who were opposing this tiny new tax for populist reasons. I also offered the opinion that this Gover...
(This is a guest blog I wrote for the 50 50 Group)It surprises me that I support legislation which insists political parties run more women candidates. It surprises me because it is an example of som...
Liverpool visited Old Trafford yesterday. It did not go well. They were poor and deservedly lost. I’m not going to write about the nature of that loss or what may be deduced from that performance bec...
There are several indignities one must endure, when one is an atheist living in a Catholic Country. Mostly small ones, if that Catholic Country is democratic. There are discriminations and scorn, but...
There is a great deal wrong with our country. This economic crisis, following so soon after and caused by, an extended period of self-indulgent glee, is proving very difficult to endure. For those of...
“Referendum: If voters want to cut off their nose to spite their face, it’s their nose and their face. Politicians please note.” I read this tweet recently, about The Fiscal Pact and was vexed by it....
“In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred, We, the people of Éire, Humbly acknowledging all ...
You are no longer following . Undo?
English
Suomi
Svenska