We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
IRELAND: SHE HAS her moments, but sometimes things happen that really make her shine.
2013 had its ups and downs, but there were plenty of times that restored our faith in this small isle, just when things were getting a bit rough.
Here’s some of our favourite moments.
The hot summer weather that took us all by surprise
We were very surprised.
(Pic: Imgur)
But we LOVED it.
(Yes, that's Ireland)
We really, really loved it.
Looking at the late Donal Walsh's incredible legacy
The young teen sadly was fighting cancer, but selflessly did lots of work to try and curb the rate of teen suicide.
(HSE Ireland/YouTube)
When a family rescued 30 sharks on a beach
Yes, sharks.
(jeffgartland1/YouTube)
... And this dog was rescued after falling down a cliff in Dublin.
(His name was Luca)
When 40 neighbours stopped three men burgling the home of an elderly man
They put them under citizen's arrest.
Pic: Google Street View
When Ireland's women's rugby team won the Grand Slam
Legends.
Video: RTÉ
When this man dressed as Commander Hadfield for the Dublin City Marathon
The astronaut even sent him a thank-you message.
HMV reopened after we thought we'd never get it back
Goodbye, HMV Grafton St. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire
We thought it was gone forever. We were wrong.
The hurler who was told he'd never play again - but did
Good man, Conor Phelan.
(nemetonSPORT/YouTube)
When Superquinn assured us their sausages were not going to disappear
Nothing is going to change. NOTHING.
When someone got back at a sexist 'UCC birds' Facebook page by setting one up about actual birds
And no one got into a flap about it.
Roy Keane and Martin O'Neill teamed up, and everyone was happy!
All credit to the bad cop and bad bad cop.
Video: GodTVOfficialChannel/YouTube
When an engagement ring was found after being lost in Lidl
Good Samaritans rule.
The film director who wouldn't let Motor Neuron Disease stop him
Simon Fitzmaurice is determined to make his first feature film, My Name is Emily, and his family are there every step of the way.
When this autism assistance dog was found after going missing for 24 hours.
The Ennis dog warden even stayed up overnight to look for Darcy the dog.
Pic: Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland
Emotional homecomings
Is someone chopping onions over there? No one does reunions like us.
(DailyEdge.ie/YouTube)
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Nice to live long but only in good health…..People are living now typically into their 90′s but often the last decade is in bad heath and house bound….
@John003:
Bad diet and too much alcohol.
No moderation in things anymore.
@Niccolo Saccho: or just dementia quite often. Most older people have eaten quite healthy as the range of crap around today simply didn’t exist back when they were younger. Convenience food etc didn’t exist. You just eat your meat veg and potatoes
Isn’t it crazy to think that the entire world’s population has been replaced since he was born. Imagine knowing that there isn’t a single person still living on this planet, who was around when you were born.
And as for the experiences he has had, the things he has lived through, and seen from 1900s til now. What a guy! RIP.
Apparently his mother and father are heartbroken.
If only we could all live that long…..
@The Dublinist: Only if you are fit and have your own mind. Dreadful otherwise.
@The Dublinist: I don’t think I could handle your comments for that length of time…..
@Peadar Ó Gréacháin: Thanks very much.
@The Dublinist: the government wouldn’t want the pension bill
He had a good innings all the same.. (never understood that comment)
@Maggie O’Connor: Cricket!!
@Maggie O’Connor: Still cricket…
The Spanish would do anything for a day off. The most work shy Western Europeans.
@Fabio Dillon: and the longest living; there may be something in that too..
@Fabio Dillon: Only fools and horses work.
Man not well
@Philip Farrelly: he’s not not well he’s dead.
Now that was witty Phil..
Was it Billy Connolly who said something along the lines of, “They say jogging every day adds an extra 10 years to your life, what they don’t say is the extra 10 years come when you’re stuck in a bed and pi**ing yourself”?
Every oldest person must be cursed with bad luck – they never hold the title for long
Was his passing sudden?
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say