PATRIOTISM is one of those old, crusty ideas the great value of which is not entirely realised until its place in the public consciousness reaches a low ebb.

THE news that 28 members of our defence forces have tested positive for drug use has — as if it were needed — again underlined the all-pervasive nature of this growing problem in our small country.

WE SEEM to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to get others to behave like ourselves or to share our beliefs in the things and ideas we hold dear.

THERE are few animals as seductive as a puppy or a kitten in a pet shop basket a weekend before Christmas.

MOST families will know of the great emotional and practical challenges involved in offering the endless support needed by a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister or even a neighbour’s child, born with intellectual difficulties.

IMAGINE if solicitor Michael Lynn, who is being sought over property debts of about €60 million, was a young man from a poorish urban neighbourhood where the only fashion decision necessary would be which colour hoodie to wear.

The extravagant pay increases awarded by the Higher Review Body to high earners in the public service was a form of “benchmarking”, as many of those covered by the report — including judges, chief executives of semi-state companies and agencies and university presidents — were excluded from that process.

One hand giveth, the other taketh away. Fine Gael yesterday raised the ridiculous (and worrying) situation facing primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

THOUGH the days leading up to Christmas can be a time of great pressure and some considerable frustration for parents, the vast majority of people consider parenthood a wondrous privilege and one of the — if not THE — defining factors of their lives.

CHRISTY HENNESSY’S life story and death were defined by being born the youngest of nine children in Tralee, Co Kerry, 62 years ago.