It could be the final Seanad election, but for now it’s Irish politics as usual. Candidates for the upper house are lobbying hard for the votes that can help rebuild parties and save careers, writes KATHY SHERIDAN
We were certainly so fortunate to have such a hard working and committed team of campaigners and we certainly know in our hearts that we could have done no more in our bid to win a seat for Labour in Laois-Offaly on this occasion.
I love politics but I don’t want to be another career politician. However, I desperately want to do something about the mess we are in. I want to stop complaining and take positive action instead. I believe that the Labour Party led by Eamon Gilmore is the best way to achieve this.
Inspired by the arrival of the Rainbow Travellers to the Slieve Bloom Mountains in the summer of 1993, The Buddha of Ballyhuppahaun by Johnny Renko (aka journalist, John Whelan) is strongly influenced by the satirical classics Gulliver’s Travels and Animal Farm and also draws on the parables and philosophy of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
It’s like a scene from Dances with Wolves. A young woman with braided blonde hair rides a pony, bare-back across the camp, chased by screeching barefoot children and skinny black and white barking dogs. Smoke wafts in the damp morning air, drifting out across the heather, the forest and mountains that surround and shelter this secluded site.
John Whelan (49) - who is vying to snatch a Dail seat in the outgoing Taoiseach's Laois-Offaly constituency - canvasses at the speed of lightning. After his team of 16 "red coats" arrive in an area, they quickly disperse and knock all doors while John tries to personally greet all of the householders on the doorsteps. [...more]
With Libya so much in the news this old black and white pic which I came across yesterday has a special resonance. It was taken back in 1979 when I was a junior reporter on the staff of the Leinster Express. Two Libyan lads were over with us through an NUJ exchange programme - I wonder where are they now and how have they survived that madman Gaddafi. [...more]
Recently got a lovely letter from Labour Party President, Michael D Higgins in the aftermath of the general election. It was most heartening and I was delighted that Michael D took the time to do so. [...more]
Laois Surf Club held it's annual general meeting last week where members set out a busy schedule of surf trips as their main priority for the year. Top of the list is the Club's international trip this season and following on from expeditions to Biarritz and Portugal the 2011 overseas surf destination is Cornwall. [...more]
Every day is a school day and so it was in Limerick yesterday (April Fool's Day!!). Some very interesting discussions with councillors on the future of the Seanad and closer to home for them was the thorny issue of a boundary extension for Limerick City Council. [...more]
AN article in The Hot Press in 1994 saw journalist John Whelan give a dashing account of his time among the Rainbow People gathering in former Yugoslavia. He spoke of digging latrines, campfire sing-alongs and a fierce ecological sensibility that sometimes superseded practical considerations. [...more]
The public are now crying out for an early election and are completely disgusted with the carry on in the Dail over the past week. An angry electorate are further infuriated by what they see as the childish and selfish behaviour of the Government which has disgraced politics, damaged our international reputation and so farcical has been the conduct of the Government parties that it has turned Leinster House into a pitiful circus. [...more]
As a Party which espouses the highest standards of free speech, it is with some reluctance that I write this letter on behalf of the Portlaoise Labour Branch. We are challenging the gross inaccuracies, imbalance and bias in recent articles concerning the Labour Party by your reporter Joe Barrett. [...more]
The problems created by 'ghost estates' will continue to haunt communities and the construction industry unless they are tackled in a determined and holistic way. Walking away from this issue is not an option and therefore any further delay in getting stuck in and fixing it is futile. [...more]
I am grateful for the confidence and trust being placed in me by the Labour Party here in Laois-Offaly and I don't take it lightly or for granted and I want to assure you that I will do everything in my power to justify that confidence and earn that respect. [...more]
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