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Women’s trauma is a national scandal

Every so often a radio phone-in show opens a Pandora's Box and out pours a hitherto hidden trove of stories that shock the listener. We thought we had heard it all when it came to reproductive healthcare in Ireland after the many shocking stories that led to repeal of the eighth amendment. But all week, call [...]

2019-04-11T15:16:10+00:00 April 11th, 2019|Categories: Opinion, Print|Tags: , , , , , , |

Our health system is held together with sellotape

The unspeakably tragic death of Marie Downey and her newborn son Daragh in Cork University Maternity Hospital this week has yet again thrown under the spotlight the appalling resourcing of our health service and the conditions under which staff are expected to manage critical incidents. I have spoken to nobody this week who is not haunted [...]

2019-04-02T07:51:05+00:00 April 2nd, 2019|Categories: Opinion, Print|Tags: , , |

Change is possible but we have to prove we want it

Sustainability has been a buzz word in consumer products for a few years now, but most of us have done little more than pay lip service to the environment. Now, though, a growing movement to help halt climate change is being led by teenagers, and women activists. For the past few months, young people worldwide have [...]

2019-03-29T21:41:12+00:00 March 29th, 2019|Categories: Opinion|

The zombie apocalypse is all around you

I’ve got some news for you. The zombie apocalypse is happening all around you. But until you’re infected, you don’t even know. Watch out for the signs. Irritability. Mismatched socks, or even shoes. Unbrushed hair. Vomit stained clothing. An inability to concentrate. An urge to seek out caffeine and high calorie food substances. And a vague, [...]

2019-03-07T20:36:40+00:00 March 7th, 2019|Categories: Personal, Print|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Two’s company

They say two’s company, and when I was in the throes of SPD with my second pregnancy, that thought went around and around in my head. While some people love being pregnant, I wasn’t one of them, but I knew it would be worth it. As an only child, I consoled myself with the knowledge that [...]

2019-02-27T11:12:08+00:00 February 28th, 2019|Categories: Personal, Print|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Follow diet advice? You may as well trust your gut

Sometimes when you’re scrolling mindlessly through your social media feeds, something jumps out at you that challenges your world view to such a degree that you begin to seriously question everything you thought you knew. While the social media companies do their best to prevent this from happening - working hard to make sure we see [...]

2019-02-05T21:11:50+00:00 February 7th, 2019|Categories: Opinion, Print|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Second time round, pregnancy is a different ball game

A bit like Batman watching Gotham city, I spent much of September observing the movements of boats and planes around Cork Harbour. Batman might be nocturnal, but if they’d given the job to Catwoman she’d have worked it around pregnancy and new motherhood no problem - being awake night and day is part of the deal. [...]

Upcoming events

I love the opportunity to meet people at live events and I am lucky that I am asked to do a really wide range of events in different areas - corporate, environmental, social, political and, well, fun! Over the next couple of months I have some really exciting events coming up and I hope to meet [...]

Fyre and Brexit have a lot in common

A scam benefiting a few rich chancers, supported by some orange squares. The pernicious influence of ‘positivity’ and ‘getting things done’ flying in the face of all realism. A determination to do the impossible, against all expert advice. And leaving the innocent inhabitants of an island nation penniless and unhappy after a lot of goodwill and [...]

The best a man can get?

Gillette has been marketed for donkey’s years as ‘the best a man can get’. It’s a pretty simple slogan - our product is better than the others, you should buy it, end of. But the slogan has been repurposed for the post #MeToo era in a way that is causing absolute outrage among a certain cohort [...]

2019-01-17T21:57:31+00:00 January 18th, 2019|Categories: Opinion, Print|Tags: , , , , , , , , |