Month: Oct 2021

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Cutting turf 1903 in Kiltoom, Co Roscommon. Hard enough work but great camaraderie in the bog. A meitheal or group of neighbours usually got together. Here one man is at the foot of the bog or the ‘cois’ in Irish levelling the ground with a shovel. Turf would also be spread here to dry as well as on the bank. The other man has the turf spade called a slean or also a ‘slane’ in parts. The donkey with creels is used as is the wooden barrow to move the turf to dry ground. Small bits of soda are called ‘caoráins’ (keerains). Now thanks to EU regulations turf cutting like this is banned. Down at the bottom of the bog when cutting, the turf would be black and when dry be as good to burn as any coal. It would be like cutting butter and I often saw my father doing it barefoot in Kerry. Using the slean was a very skilled job. In the right pair of hands it was a joy to watch the rhythm of the movements, pure poetry. Memories!!!

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Sister of Jim O’Callaghan TD, Miriam, has landed herself in hot water again following her interview of Varadkar on RTE Primetime. Viewers are angry at her soft approach on the New stripping back on COVID-19 restrictions announced by Government this week. Viewers wanted to know why and how these decisions came to be with details of how they will operate. Too many Questions NOT asked the viewers left frustrated and angry. Instead Varadkar waffled his way through a PR exercise. Some viewers felt that co-presenter Sarah McInerney, would have been the best person to take on Varadkar