Suicide should not be glamorised

Fri, Oct 05, 2012

The finality of death is like no other ending.
It is not like the end of a career, or a marriage, or a relationship, because these are all endings that can be replaced or substituted.

We will have our victory dance

Fri, Sep 28, 2012

They came, they conquered, and they had a mighty fine party to celebrate their only second ever All-Ireland title.

Final fever is descending upon us

Fri, Sep 21, 2012

The adrenaline is pumping, coursing through the veins. The team picked. Tactics discussed. Donegal’s performances analysed. Bags packed. Don’t mess with the routine. Be sure to include a miraculous medal. And that’s just the fans.

The devastation of suicide

Fri, Sep 14, 2012

Suicide is devastating for everybody involved. It is a sensitive subject that has been avoided in the pastand is a well known problem in Mayo. Many people say the high rates of suicide in the west are due to the bad weather and many people living isolated in rural areas. They may not receive attention or have access to support agencies that deal with issues such as depression or suicide. Of course the reasons for suicide are impossible to pin-point as they are so personal to each victim. The only way the high suicide rates can be reduced is by now helping those that can still be helped, for example, people who have suicidal thoughts or inflict self harm. To have somebody available, in a comfortable environment, to lend a sympathetic ear to a person’s problems without them being criticised or judged would greatly help everyone and promote a healthy community for all.

Dear Sam, we’re ready for you now

Fri, Sep 07, 2012

Ten points down and a massive come-back being orchestrated by the Dubs. Perched on the edge of our seats, hearts thumping in chests, expletives escaping from our mouths, breathing stalled. Could our worst fears ever be realised? Could our county withstand such a harsh reality? The answer to that is no? Could our boys recover? Who knows and thankfully now we will never have to wonder because the mighty Mayo men were magnificent last Sunday.

Come out from behind the shadows

Fri, Aug 24, 2012

Citizen journalism has been propping up mainstream media for the last few years and it is encouraging to see the public taking such an interest in the process of news gathering and reporting. But while journalism is a highly regulated profession, who regulates the bloggers?

Nothing thorny about the Mayo Rose

Fri, Aug 17, 2012

Who doesn’t love a rose? They are colourful, delicate, if not a little prickly.

Should there be a second act in some sporting lives?

Fri, Aug 10, 2012

Even if you have no interest in the sport or even little understanding of why someone would step into a ring and voluntarily have somebody else do their damnedest to hurt you for eight or nine minutes, you have probably still found it hard not to have been impressed by the way that Katie Taylor et al in the Irish boxing team have lifted the sprits of the nation over the past week.

No change to means test terms for student grants this year — Kenny

Fri, Aug 10, 2012

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny this week has welcomed clarification by the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, that there are to be no changes to the means test terms for student grants for the coming 2012/2013 academic year.

Castlebar woman in JCI Outstanding Young Persons of the World Final

Fri, Aug 10, 2012

Castlebar’s Aisling Neary has made her way through to the final 20 in the Outstanding Young Persons of the World competition, which is being run by Junior Chambers International. Neary, who is from Rathbawn in Castlebar, has been nominated under the humanitarian/voluntary leadership section. After qualifying as a nurse she joined Health Action Overseas and worked with children in an orphanage in Romania, before travelling in Australia and providing nursing to families living in the underdeveloped Australian bush.