Fergus Finlay: We can all be armchair critics, or we can all join the battle

Even as it looks right now that the numbers are turning in the right direction, there is enormous danger still

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will know the Government made a serious mistake at Christmas - but every single one of us wanted to ease up. Picture: Julien Behal Photography

I hate snow. I’m the only member of my family who does — WhatsApp pictures on Sunday morning demonstrated great excitement among grandchildren at the prospect of getting out into it. But for me, snow means cold and sludge and bad things.

Years ago I slipped on snow and fell into a bank of it, only to discover a broken bottle buried deep within. It ripped my forearm open and I spent days picking shards of broken glass out of my skin. Years after that my sister and I were trapped in a car on the M3. A motorway no less, with cars slipping and sliding all over the place. We were agonisingly close to the point where it meets the city, but it took seven hours to navigate the last couple of miles.