Welcome to this week’s edition of the Student Hub email digest. In this issue we report on the reaction to recent revelations about abuse at Blackrock College. We look at the execution of republican prisoners by Free State forces during the Civil War, tá alt ag Alan Titley ar chúrsaí aeráide, and we look at claims made about the illegal drugs industry in Dublin. We also examine how new gambling laws will look once they come into force and Frank McNally writes about an ancient Irish custom.
‘Survivor-led’ inquiry being examined to investigate sexual abuse in schools: The Government is considering a “survivor-led” inquiry into the handling of child sexual abuse in schools, according to Minister for Education Norma Foley.
A century on: How the executions of the Civil War scarred many families: In Kilmainham Gaol near the archway to the Stonebreakers Yard, where the leaders of the Easter Rising were executed, is a plaque which many visitors do not notice. It remembers four men who were executed in what was the old female exercise yard, on November 17th, 1922 – James Fisher (18), Richard Twohig (19), John Gaffney (19) and Peter Cassidy (21).
I mbolg an éisc: Labhair Dia le Ióna agus dúirt: ‘Éirigh! Gread leat go dtí cathair mhór Sharm el-Sheikh agus fógair oracal ina n-aghaidh, mar is ann atá tiarnaí an domhain cruinnithe le chéile, mar tá mallaitheacht ina mbriathra agus ní fada eile a mhairfidh an domhan.’
Illegal drugs industry probably one of ‘largest employers’ in north Dublin, Dáil told: The illegal drugs industry is probably one of the “largest employers” in the north Dublin area, the Dáil has been told. Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe called for a “realistic approach to the drugs industry in this city” and said that if there was ever a war against drugs “we have lost it”.
Gambling laws: How will new rules for bookies, casinos and online work? Big changes have taken place over the past two decades with the growth of online betting, a proliferation of new betting products and online games such as poker and roulette. We look at how the new rules will work.
Three Steps to Heaven - Frank McNally on an ancient Irish funeral custom: Reading a 1980s memoir, by the late Sunday Press journalist Bill Kelly, recently, I was struck by an old phrase he used: “trí coiscéim na marbh”.
The Love Experiment: We’re just not right for each other. Montrose is dabbling in the arcane arts with The Love Experiment (RTÉ2, Thursday, 10.15pm), a yeasty mix of dating show and psychological investigation. Each week two sets of singletons are seated opposite one another and handed a questionnaire. Contained therein are 36 teasers crafted in the 1990s by a psychologist, Arthur Aron, to “promote intimacy” and “create the conditions of love”.
Miriam Lord: It’s the most elite list in town, but who’s made it on to the Kremlin’s naughty steppe? Fear and panic gripped Leinster House on Wednesday. Ashen-faced TDs and Senators feverishly refreshed their phones as the afternoon wore on. Anxious glances in the corridors. Urgent whispers in corners. Nervous tension in the Members’ Bar. You could have cut the air with a Babushka’s dumpling knife.
Hancock’s jungle jaunt lays bare his sheer shallowness: Former British health secretary’s decision to welcome the clammy embrace of reality TV shows him up as a politician without substance.
‘They think we’re all diddly-dee and made of potatoes, and drink pints for breakfast’ Irish in London: The stereotyping isn’t welcome, but living in such a diverse city gives you the freedom to be yourself, say Brian Gillespie and Kate Gleeson.
The American teacher who survived Russian occupation of Kherson by pretending to be Irish: He stayed indoors to evade Russian patrols, watching movies on his laptop. On sunny days, he strolled in a small, walled courtyard. Afraid to be seen, he peeked cautiously from behind curtains, watching as Russians moved in across the street.
Tesco’s weird take on Irishness, Boots’ night-bus terror: The Christmas TV ads, 2022. Patrick Freyne: John Lewis’s skateboarding ad is moving. Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot is still theologically perplexing.
