Editorial Comment
Tight lines as the lakes open up after the winter
Thu, Feb 12, 2026
All winter long in my childhood, our three lake boats lay like part of the furniture of the yard — upturned shapes against the shed wall, collecting frost and leaves, holding their silence. They were parts of our livelihood in those lean mean seventies, though as children we thought of them as playthings. From October to February they hibernated, dripping dry after months of wave and rain, their floorboards stacked indoors nearby, their oars resting like folded arms. I often imagined them talking to one another in the dark — trading stories of sudden squalls, of rocks struck in shallow bays, of whispered confidences between gillie and angler, of trout that flashed silver in the half-light before lying still on the ribs beneath the boards.
Local News
The Galway traffic question
Thu, Feb 12, 2026
While the country has many ongoing problems admittedly, there is little any of us can do right now, as ordinary citizens, to resolve them, other than exercising our vote at the next election to enact change. That is our democratic prerogative.
National News
Galwegian artists deserve pay certainty
Thu, Feb 12, 2026
This is the demand of Galway city councillor Níall McNelis (Lab) who has welcomed the Government’s decision in Budget 2026 to make the State’s pilot Basic Income for Artists (BIA) scheme permanent this month, but warned that serious questions remain unanswered about how it will operate.
