Martina Devlin

Experiment: Sweden has tried ‘herd immunity’ but it is seen by many health experts as dangerous

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Martina Devlin Opinion Herd immunity keeps resurfacing but it's dangerous and flawed and distracts from need to cooperate with public health measures

Let it rip, says the herd-immunity brigade. Hive off those inconvenient old people and allow the rest of society to resume their rightful role at the economic coalface.

Green Party influence: Minister for Biodiversity Pippa Hackett with Green Party leader Eamon Ryan in Dublin city centre yesterday. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins

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Martina Devlin Opinion We'll aim to winter this one out, but Covid cannot leave us frozen as Brexit and climate change lurk

Knowledge is slender and hard-won compared with ignorance, which is vast and dangerous, observes the writer Rachel Cusk in her essay Coventry, from the collection by the same name.

The right road: Cycle paths are going to be more common in our towns and cities. Photo: Garrett White

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Martina Devlin Opinion It's time to get on our bikes and accept the personal and societal benefits of cycling

The best advice I have received was to take a day out from life occasionally. It's reclaimed time, something salvaged just for yourself. When I surrender myself to a stolen day, often it includes a cycle - partly because it's a form of transport in which dawdling along, admiring the sights or pausing for a coffee break is not frowned upon.

Following the rules: A woman in a face mask walks at Baggot Street in Dublin’s city centre yesterday. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

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Martina Devlin Opinion Covid is testing our social contract - we must react by prioritising common good

It was Thomas Hobbes, the 17th-century English philosopher, who wrote: "Hell is truth seen too late." In his masterwork, Leviathan, he argues that peace and unity are best achieved through social contract.

In power but not in charge: Taoiseach Micheál Martin is facing criticism within his own ailing party

Martina Devlin Opinion Divided Coalition has frittered away our unity of purpose to fight the pandemic

An attack of de Selbyism has broken out in Cabinet circles. The tell-tale symptom is a build-up of black air - darkness spreading - whenever ministers mention anything to do with the new strategy for living with Covid-19.

Destructive: British prime minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings. Photo: Simon Dawson/Reuters

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Martina Devlin Opinion Johnson and Cummings are wreaking chaos without care for law, reputation - or others

Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics, at the heart of which lies the principle that order and chaos are not necessarily polar opposites. Dominic Cummings appears to have imported this theory into the British political system.

Wrong tone: Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has used an ‘it’s for your own good’ approach. PHOTO: FRANK McGRATH

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Martina Devlin Opinion Telling pubs to keep details of who ate what will just eat up what's left of public goodwill

It's sometimes said each actor gives the public their own Hamlet and not Shakespeare's. Similarly, on the political stage, every Taoiseach offers up their own version of leadership.

Apology: Phil Hogan resigned as European commissioner for trade this week after attending the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner last week. Photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

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Martina Devlin Opinion Sorry seems to be the hardest word - if you are too arrogant to accept you were wrong

Phil Hogan wouldn't have landed himself in such a pickle if he'd taken the precaution of consulting the 12th-century rabbi and philosopher Maimonides, a leading Torah scholar during the Middle Ages.

Saga: Dara Calleary (left) stepped down as Agriculture Minister, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin was less than clear in his message. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

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Martina Devlin Opinion Coronavirus is smart - unlike, unfortunately, some people who are in positions of power

Sooner or later life shows its claws, says Russian writer Chekhov in his short story Gooseberries. We have just seen a demonstration of that. Containing the spread of Covid-19 remains a work in progress, actively thwarted by a toxic fusion of disarray and rule-flouting from our political class.

'Trumpery': Tánaiste Leo Varadkar criticised Sinn Féin this week on Twitter. Photo: Gerry Mooney

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Martina Devlin Opinion 'Ireland of equals' out of reach for women judging by Varadkar's self-serving tweets

Wistful speculation about a reconfigured world after the pandemic can be heard. Granted, it would make worthwhile use of a crisis - but let's not hold our breath, judging by the bounce-back to business as usual following the 2008 economic collapse.

Beauty: The Burren’s natural attractions are clear – but Martina’s holiday was lacking the usual céad míle fáilte

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Martina Devlin Opinion Our tourist industry has a captive staycation audience - but it's fluffing chance to wow us

Pull on the green jersey and have a summer holiday at home, urges the Government - staycation for Ireland. August needn't be a wicked month if everyone spends some spare cash on Irish turf while recharging their batteries.

Trouble ahead: Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan voted against the Government. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

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Martina Devlin Opinion 'Something's missing' as time grinds on with little hope of Coalition finding stickability

Time has an elastic property and can fly or crawl, gallop or drag. In the Lewis Carroll classic, 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', she asks: "How long is forever?" And the White Rabbit answers: "Sometimes, just one second."

‘Give us the money’: Bob Geldof and Midge Ure at Live Aid in London, in 1985. Photo: Getty

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Martina Devlin Opinion Government needs a compelling argument to convince us to spend our way out of trouble

Has lockdown left you with some mattress money? An unexpected nest egg? Crack it open and spend it for Ireland. Go shopping, dine out, book a weekend break to boost retailers and the hospitality sector, urges the Government.

Driven out: Barry Cowen spent 17 days as agriculture minister before being sacked. PHOTO: ROLLING NEWS.IE

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Martina Devlin Opinion When Taoiseach sacked Cowen, he showed Wild West Fianna Fáilery won't be tolerated

Usually politicians clamour for media exposure and complain about not getting enough. Their faces on TV, voices on radio, names in print - can't happen too often for their liking. But Barry Cowen has had too much of a good thing.

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Martina Devlin Opinion With compliance fraying at the edges, all the sacrifices we made may be for nothing

I saw my family for the first time since before lockdown last Sunday. We didn't do much - drank coffee, ate a simple meal, swapped news, traded novels, handed out some overdue birthday presents, broke into a leftover Easter egg - but it was magical.

Capable politician: Losing moderate unionist voice Ian Marshall from the Oireachtas is a mistake

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Martina Devlin Opinion Aspirations for shared island suffered blow when unionist voice was left off Seanad list

When Ian Marshall was making his maiden speech in the Seanad two years ago, where he held a seat as the voice of moderate unionism, he turned to an unexpected source of inspiration - his neighbour Seamus Mallon.

Unionist left off Seanad list warns of 'disconnect with North'

Ian Marshall, the first Northern unionist in seven decades to be elected to the Seanad in 2018, has criticised the deafening silence from Micheál Martin's new Government following his omission from the upper chamber.

Bobby Storey spent more than 20 years of his life in prison. Photo: PA

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Martina Devlin Opinion The Bobby Storey enigma: separating myth from reality and a hypocritical divide between Ireland's north and south

WE IRISH are a people enamoured by plucky underdog myths. Cúchulainn defending Ulster against Queen Maeve’s Connacht hordes. King Billy on his white horse saving Ireland from Rome Rule. Ulster’s blood sacrifice at Gallipoli and the Somme. Modern Ireland rising like a phoenix from the death throes of the 1916 revolutionaries.

Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and the DUP’s Arlene Foster are working together against the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Kelvin Boyes/PA

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Martina Devlin Opinion Dáil Éireann shamefully remains a man's world - and guess who reaps the benefit?

Simone de Beauvoir famously said men had a narrow interpretation of what counted as truth.

Courage: Margaret Hutchinson and Helen O’Donoghue, daughters of convicted rapist James O’Reilly. Photo: Collins Courts

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Martina Devlin Opinion O'Reilly abuse survivors are role models - not just for Traveller women but for us all

Imagine being a child. Completely without power. Imagine if Daddy, who's meant to love and keep you safe, does unspeakable things to you sexually - things you don't even have a name for. Then imagine how you might look for help. What to do to get it stopped. Who you could tell. This secret is so appalling you can't possibly hide it.

Protests: Elizabeth Monteiro pleads with police officers at a barricade during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd in Boston. Photo: Reuters/Brian Snyder

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Martina Devlin Opinion As American dream becomes a Trumpian nightmare, we can only hope voters wake up

Trumpland is a world where a passport stamped Caucasian is needed, preferably with the male box ticked too. Anyone lacking the foresight to be born white can expect difficulties.

People power: People at a Black Lives Matter protest rally outside the US Embassy in Dublin. Photo: Damien Storan.

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Martina Devlin Opinion Shameful direct provision conditions should keep our leaders off high horse on racism

Racism can be overt - like a knee on another human being's neck. Or insidious - like corralling people with few choices in life into shoddy, ill-equipped direct provision centres and shrugging off complaints with words to the effect that nobody forced them to come here.

Talks: Anne Costello, Nursing Homes Ireland director, and Tadhg Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland, attend a committee meeting on the Covid-19 response at Leinster House in Dublin.
Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

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Martina Devlin

Martina Devlin Opinion Herd immunity keeps resurfacing but it's dangerous and flawed and distracts from need to cooperate with public health measures

Martina Devlin Opinion We'll aim to winter this one out, but Covid cannot leave us frozen as Brexit and climate change lurk

Martina Devlin Opinion It's time to get on our bikes and accept the personal and societal benefits of cycling

Martina Devlin Opinion Covid is testing our social contract - we must react by prioritising common good

Martina Devlin Opinion Divided Coalition has frittered away our unity of purpose to fight the pandemic

Martina Devlin Opinion Johnson and Cummings are wreaking chaos without care for law, reputation - or others

Martina Devlin Opinion Telling pubs to keep details of who ate what will just eat up what's left of public goodwill

Martina Devlin Opinion Sorry seems to be the hardest word - if you are too arrogant to accept you were wrong

Martina Devlin Opinion Coronavirus is smart - unlike, unfortunately, some people who are in positions of power

Martina Devlin Opinion 'Ireland of equals' out of reach for women judging by Varadkar's self-serving tweets

Martina Devlin Opinion Our tourist industry has a captive staycation audience - but it's fluffing chance to wow us

Martina Devlin Opinion 'Something's missing' as time grinds on with little hope of Coalition finding stickability

Martina Devlin Opinion Government needs a compelling argument to convince us to spend our way out of trouble

Martina Devlin Opinion When Taoiseach sacked Cowen, he showed Wild West Fianna Fáilery won't be tolerated

Martina Devlin Opinion With compliance fraying at the edges, all the sacrifices we made may be for nothing

Martina Devlin Opinion Aspirations for shared island suffered blow when unionist voice was left off Seanad list

Unionist left off Seanad list warns of 'disconnect with North'

Martina Devlin Opinion The Bobby Storey enigma: separating myth from reality and a hypocritical divide between Ireland's north and south

Martina Devlin Opinion Dáil Éireann shamefully remains a man's world - and guess who reaps the benefit?

Martina Devlin Opinion O'Reilly abuse survivors are role models - not just for Traveller women but for us all

Martina Devlin Opinion As American dream becomes a Trumpian nightmare, we can only hope voters wake up

Martina Devlin Opinion Shameful direct provision conditions should keep our leaders off high horse on racism

Martina Devlin Opinion Let's use this time to recalibrate how we care for our elderly - and help them stay at home

Martina Devlin Opinion In this age of equality, blatant inequality has left women more open to fall-out from virus

Martina Devlin Opinion Dithering politicians have kept us in limbo for 100 days - we can't let this happen again

Martina Devlin Opinion Why abandoning the Leaving Cert is the wrong decision at the wrong time

Martina Devlin Opinion Our country is tight-knit - but stresses of lockdown could see social fabric fray

Martina Devlin Opinion Intensive caring and good dose of common sense will deliver a superior design for life

Martina Devlin Opinion How our neglect turned nursing homes into forgotten frontline of a Covid-19 war