If in Dowd

The presidential election is getting ample coverage at the moment and something crossed my mind after noticing a tweet asking a candidate whether he was pro-life or pro-choice... The referendum on the 8th amendment passed triumphantly, but the debate on access to abortion is far from over: Some disappointed voters are trying to challenge the result  but without damning evidence showing that the referendum's outcome was "materially affected", they won't succeed. More importantly, the proposed piece of legislation which was scrutinised in the campaign must be debated, perhaps amended and eventually passed. Interestingly, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are giving their TDs and Senators a free vote on the legislatio n . One of the few constitutional powers of an Irish President is the ability to refer a bill to the Supreme Court if the President feels that the bill may be unconstitutional. A 7-judge Supreme Court will then sit and review the bill to consider whether it ...

Pope Francis In case you've been living under a rock and starved of wi-fi for the past couple of months, you'll be aware that the Pope is coming to Ireland this summer. He'll be hosting a big summer bash known as the World Meeting of the Families (except the single-parent families or the gay ones, of course). This culminates in a very, very big mass in Dublin's Phoenix Park on Sunday August 26th. The last time a Pope said mass in the Phoenix Park, there were over million people in attendance. This mass has been the source of scandal over the past number of days which I will explain presently. Tickets are available for free through this site . The catchy and instantly-hashtaggable 'Say Nope to the Pope' campaign took off in recent days. To be honest, calling it a 'campaign' would be giving it an air of legitimacy which I believe it does not merit, so lets be real. It's a  Facebook event  set up encouraging people to claim free tickets with no...

"Over the coming years, your bodies will be changing." It was 2012, in an uncomfortable primary school classroom. This was it: the day that everyone had been anticipating for years. We heard whispers of what to expect from siblings over the weeks prior. We were nervous, anxious and very giddy. We were getting 'The Talk' . For those not from Ireland, 'The Talk' is the colloquial expression for the introduction sexual education class that primary school students receive at around the age of 12. It's an afternoon in which the girls go red as beetroots at the mention of menstruation and the lads hide their smirks and giggles with their jumpers when shown diagrams of the male anatomy. Unfortunately in my case and in the case of my classmates our introduction to sex education was the practically the extent of our sexual education. There's a reason that it's labelled 'the' talk, in the singular, I suppose. Over the 6 years following, we had p...

Across the country, the ballot boxes are being closed in the referendum on the 36th amendment to the Irish constitution. The referendum will decide whether to retain or replace the 8th amendment to the constitution, which endows the unborn with the equal right to life of the mother. This amendment was introduced by referendum in 1983 in light of the liberalisation of other countries' abortion regimes. Following the seminal US Supreme Court decision in  Roe v Wade,  there was a concern that the Irish Supreme Court could follow suit and legalise abortion in Ireland. Here's an excellent video from the Irish Times chronicling how and why the amendment was introduced and its effects over the past 35 years. Today it has been reported that the turnout in certain constituencies is  remarkably high , and has eclipsed that in the marriage equality referendum. One affluent, young area near where I live is reported to have a turnout of 73%. In contrast, a constituency 4...

Source: The Sun - https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/nintchdbpict000351308634.jpg?strip=all&w=960 I don't know if your perception of a good evening's entertainment is watching people with intellectual disabilities being mocked on television? It certainly isn't mine. Channel Four's The Undateables  advertises itself as a "documentary series following people with challenging conditions who are looking for love." The title itself portrays the protagonists of this show as having such "challenging conditions" to the extent that they are rendered "undateable". According to Wikipedia, a spokesperson for the show defended criticism about the show's condescending name, stating that it is the public's perception that these people are 'undateable'. I do not identify as a member of the public, if this is the case. Furthermore, if this is the genuine public perception, would it not perhaps be more constructive...

Recently a controversial Twitter account by the name of ' RTE Secret Producer ' has emerged. Its premise: a brave RTE staff member stands up against their employer and sets out to expose the hidden culture which prevails within the organisation. It sounds like a plot to a low-budget thriller. The account has spurred much debate and has riled up many of the anti-RTE cynics who inhabit our country. Moreover, some of the Irish media - in competition with RTE and unlike RTE, not subsidised by the license fee - are probably happy to have a go at their media nemesis. I have a few thoughts about this Twitter account... First of all  I have read Facebook comment after Facebook comment praising this mystery staffer for their bravery and for being the good Samaritan to expose the ' flawed ' organisation. Although when one examines the level of 'exposure' through the Twitter account, one notices that this secret producer's ramblings amount to little more th...

'The Leaving ' is ingrained in the Irish psyche. It's an experience that characterises life as an Irish person. Engage anybody in conversation - somebody in the local shop, a friend of the family's, even a passerby on the street. If you admit your age and stage of education they'll immediately tilt their head to the right slightly in a gesture of sympathy, aware of the backbreaking workload that burdens you, before sighing and letting out the " Well we all had to bloody do it " line. 'The Leaving' is a common experience that we have all been conditioned to endure. Although there's a sense of unity about it: we all struggled, we all persevered, we were all overwhelmed by it. No matter how academically gifted, how determined or how meticulous, the Leaving Cert represents a substantial hurdle in life. I don't think I'd do it justice by simply labelling it a 'state examination'. I'm in the middle of that roadblock. In a...