ONE thing about being an island, as opposed to a landlocked country, for example like Slovakia, is the ubiquity of water. In Ireland you are never far away from it.

At last: A senior judicial appointment made by the Government without acrimony.

Back in 2009 Britain’s Liberal Democrat spokesman Matthew Oakeshott described Dublin as “Liechtenstein on the Liffey”.

The Green Party’s call on the Government to “rise to the challenge being posed by the UK, France, Germany, and Holland, and target the complete phase out of combustion engines as soon as possible” is laudable but unrealistic.

It was Mother Teresa who wrote: “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

It was Pádraig Pearse who wrote “Lord, thou art hard on mothers: We suffer in their coming and their going.”

Chief Justice Susan Denham deserves credit for her initiative in launching a review of social media and its impact on the courts.

WHEN Michel Barnier next engages with David Davis, his British counterpart for Brexit negotiations, he might have the humility to acknowledge that not everything is right with the EU and that a lot of work needs to be done if it is to become a union of independent states that we can all be proud of – with or without the UK.

CAUTION should be observed when comparing the characterisation of claims of a Defence Forces safety cover-up by Air Corps whistleblowers as “malicious” with the “disgusting” remark made by former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan in relation to Garda whistleblowers.

IT is strange to observe but gratifying to know that walking a dog in summer has the effect of keeping older people more physically active during the dark days of winter.