Irish Examiner view: A very welcome easing of rules

Fighting the pandemic - we still have a roll to play so let's behave responsibly

Callum O'Donovan is excited about a return to work today at The Edge Hair Design, Emmet Place, Cork. Patrons will have a temperature check on arrival and the premises has been remodelled with discrete perspex screens now in place and fully air-conditioned. Picture: Larry Cummins

And so it begins... or at least another step on what will hopefully, and finally, be a journey to a new kind of normal is taken today when the longed-for, phased resumption of myriad services and events begins. Friends, relatives, and even work colleagues who have not met, physically at least, for months may do so. Inter-county travel, busier public transport, and bigger outdoor gatherings all usher in a kind of normality, reminding us all of the old certainties we’ve missed far more than we could ever have imagined.

Larger groups of mourners at funerals, larger wedding parties, and busier religious services will be welcome, not just for themselves but for the optimism they symbolise.