Hilary McGrath
Stories by Hilary McGrath
Below are recent stories by Hilary McGrath
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Published: 13 Apr 2011 16:59
Warning to aspiring rural dwellers: beware of those planning laws
One day, Mama Pig called her three piggies together for a little chat. For by now, her children were no longer little and Mama, in her wisdom, had decided that it was high time they went out into the big, bad world and learned how to fend for themselves. Besides, they had her driven mad.
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Published: 8 Apr 2011 09:59
Opinions divided on the Bull - but that's how it should be
There is no surer method of evading the world than by following art, and no surer method of linking oneself to it than by art.
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Published: 23 Mar 2011 16:59
Even with the best of intentions, is change really possible?
As soon as it became apparent that Ireland had been reduced to mere scrap metal through a strict regime of neglect and abuse, Fine Gael have sworn blind that they, and only they, could get this machine going again.
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Published: 2 Mar 2011 16:59
Maybe it's our Celtic blood; maybe it's our Catholic upbringing; maybe it's the innate attraction towards the archetypal God. Or perhaps it's nothing more than human weakness. In any case, most of us need and yearn for some sort of spiritual guidance at some point during our lives.
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Published: 23 Feb 2011 16:59
Idiotic whinging will be forgotten in 'Brat Camps'
Whinging: a complete and utter waste of time and .... oh so boring. When a child engages in this tiresome, irritating behaviour to the point that you are about to put him on e-Bay, you can always try a good night's sleep.
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Published: 16 Feb 2011 16:59
Recession has afforded us the chance to take stock of ourselves
Okay, so none of us wished for this terrible recession; we really and truly believed that the good times were here to stay and that we would never have to worry about work, or money or bills ever again.
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Published: 9 Feb 2011 16:59
Political correctness contributes nothing to suicide prevention
Political correctness. The plague of modern society. And in an era when freedom of speech is lauded, we can see that speech is anything but free. Yes, the price of speaking one’s mind can indeed be very high – especially when the PC brigade are as ubiquitous as intestinal worms in your average domestic cat.
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Published: 19 Jan 2011 16:59
Flash Gormley and the planet of the damned
On an isolated planet, many light years away from civilisation, a calamity was unfolding.
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Published: 12 Jan 2011 16:59
Can one politician really cure the ills of our health service?
If Margaret Thatcher deserves the title 'The Iron Lady’, Mary Harney should probably be known as 'The Titanium Lady’.
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Published: 6 Jan 2011 10:29
Citizens crave new political thinking for a brighter future
One thing I always make a point of doing around Christmas time is to pour a glass of wine (keeping the bottle nearby), sit down at the open fire, forbid, under threat of death, all and any interruptions, and phone my friend, Vivien, in Alberta for a long, rambling chat.
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Published: 15 Dec 2010 16:59
Clowns to the left, jokers to the right…
Sigmund Freud theorised that human behaviour results from how the mind is organised. He claimed that people frequently let slip notions and ideas from their unconscious through their speech and actions.
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Published: 8 Dec 2010 16:59
Terror is not an aphrodisiac, lads...especially in this weather
I will be the first to admit that there are some things men do better than women. Despite the hysterical, often completely unreasonable claims from feminist quarters, men are, indeed, better at some things than women; nature just made it so.
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Published: 24 Nov 2010 16:58
Some things are more important than the economy
There is something uniquely beautiful about this country of ours. I don’t mean just the obvious tourist attractions like the Ring of Kerry and Newgrange.
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Published: 17 Nov 2010 16:59
Government has got to be a bit more courageous and fair
Everyone has a talent. My husband happens to have a particular flair for all things mechanical – engines, transmissions, torque converters – they all get his oil flowing.
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Published: 3 Nov 2010 16:59
How much value do we place on good parenting?
Your children are not your children.
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Published: 20 Oct 2010 16:59
Desperate times call for equally desperate measures
It was with bewilderment that I read in this newspaper last week the carry-on of three of our councillors at a meeting of Navan Town Council the previous week.
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Published: 13 Oct 2010 16:59
Beware the Solpadeine police in this nanny state of ours
Thou shalt not kill’. I’m sure that hidden beneath a rock at the foot of Mount Sinai is a little caveat to this law.
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Published: 29 Sep 2010 16:59
You can't put a price on a human life
Once in a while, something so absurd and ridiculous happens that makes you realise that we are, indeed, living in a mad, mad world.
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Published: 22 Sep 2010 16:59
It's not easy raising a child in the Catholic faith today
Every time I think the Catholic Church takes one step forward, there they go - 10 giant steps backwards.
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Published: 15 Sep 2010 16:59
Men don't have a monopoly on domestic violence
Tom arrives home from yet another night out with the lads. Not able to hold his drink, he staggers across the room with just a sideward glance at his wife, Mary.
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Published: 1 Sep 2010 16:59
Thankfully, somebody cherishes our children
One of life's greatest vexations is the fact that the most apt words one can think of to vent one's anger are considered taboo.
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Published: 18 Aug 2010 16:59
Once upon a time in a truly blessed land, money flowed like a stream of honey from the heavens. For this was a very special land - far more sacred and exalted than any other.
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Published: 11 Aug 2010 16:59
It wasn't just the banks - we did this to ourselves
Okay. You are up to you neck in debt. Your house is worth half the value of your mortgage, which is in arrears and you have not one penny in savings.
