EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we take a look at all the best comments left on the site by our readers over the past seven days.
This week there was a lot of talk about potential Luas strikes, self-harm and St Patrick’s Day.
The 5 most popular comments this week
1. Dave Murray had this to say about Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy criticising Transdev over its (now scrapped) plan to use private buses during Luas strikes:
Murphy is backing the wrong horse here and, in doing so, may be damaging his own political future.
That comment got 1,837 green thumbs.
2. Under the same story, TheBull got 1,630 likes for this remark:
Yup. This could actually finish off the AAA. I’m yet to meet anybody who supports the drivers. Not one single person.
3. Critical_Thinker is not happy about the salary paid to RTÉ’s top-earning presenter, getting 1,377 green thumbs for this comment:
Ryan Tubridy on almost a half a million euro a year is one of the most baffling and sickening things I’ve ever read.
4. After Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams was unable to attend a St Patrick’s Day event at the White House due to an ‘administrative error’, Beachmaster had this to say:
I’m sorry sir, but there is nobody named Jarry on the list.
Some 1,333 people liked that one.
5. james was impressed by ex-Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall’s young looks, writing:
Hopefully they find his secret anti aging formula.He has a daughter in Uni he looks about 19!
That comment got 1,266 likes.
The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week
1. ‘Hearing a prayer at the start of the new Dáil grated against my nerves’ (371 comments)
2. ‘Abortion on demand’ phrase pushes idea women will get abortions as easy as choosing a Netflix movie (329 comments)
3. Secret Service regrets “administrative input error” that kept Gerry Adams from White House event (307 comments)
4. Possible breakthrough in Luas dispute as Transdev cancels private buses (276 comments)
5. ‘It is devastating’: Residents of Dublin estate facing ‘mass eviction’ (240 comments)
Standout comments
After a plan to ensure people who self-harm get the help they need in hospitals was announced during the week, VF_sandy had this to say:
Well the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda are doing this years. I brought my daughter into casualty on 2 occasions a few years ago (she was aged 16-17yrs). One for cutting & second time for overdose of her anti-depressant meds. The staff wear brilliant & wouldn’t discharge her until a psychiatrist came from St Bridgets in Ardee to assess her. It’s the follow up of counselling that stinks. We waited over 18 months for an emergence app & the counsellor let her walk out without trying to get my daughter to go back, just pointed out that there was a ling waiting list. Thank god for Pieta House, who helped her manage her self harming. Private counselling about a year later got her back on track with her life. It was a long few years, but, thankfully she is doing great now.
Thanks for sharing.
Denis Molony wrote a lovely tribute to Eoghan Culligan, one of the six young people who tragically died in Berkeley in California last summer, who was a member of Ballyboden St-Enda’s club.
It prompted Emer Caffrey to write:
such a moving tribute to a fine young man and credit that is due to his parents. Good luck to Ballyboden St. Enda’s
While Sam Barkley commented:
Hard to believe a year has passed since this awful tragedy which has changed the lives of so many. Wishing the survivors every best wish for the future.
When news emerged of the death of magician Paul Daniels, many of you shared your memories of him.
Ted Logan commented:
You’ll like this, not a lot! RIP Mr. Daniels – thanks for bringing magic to my childhood.
And Fizzy O’Terrapy added:
25 years later and we STILL have bits of that magic set turning up randomly around the house..now THAT’S what I call an authentic magic set.. RIP Mr Daniels
Meanwhile, the UK government announced in its budget that £12 million (€15.2 million) from the so-called ‘tampon tax’ will be diverted to women’s charities for the year ahead.
The news came after a food bank in Darlington in the north of England organised a campaign lobbying MPs to make tampons and other sanitary products available for free.
Darlington Salvation Army said that some women resorted to using “old socks, handkerchiefs, newspapers” during their periods as a matter of necessity.
Del Bear had this suggestion:
Not surprising, Tampons and sanitary towels are actually quite expensive. A box of tampons can cost up to €6 which to a homeless person is a lot of money. It’s not something I had ever considered before that homeless women often have to go without basic sanitary products. There are many clinics that hand out free condoms, so maybe they could do something similar with sanitary products?
In the week of Cheltenham, a horse in a three-piece suit upped the style stakes.
We take our pun hat off to Fran Heavey, who had this wonderful observation:
Would have thought that was a Louis Cappalland
Under the same article, Drew TheChinaman :) made this very good point:
Auction it off for charity afterwards…
It’s not like the horse can be seen next year in the same outfit.
It was, of course, St Patrick’s Day on Thursday and we had a quiz to mark it. One of the questions centred on 17 March being the date our patron saint is believed to have died.
It started the below exchange, which we quite enjoyed.
Although, we have to point out to Ian Begley that the Ice Age in fact ended on 19 July, as clearly set out below.
Speaking of St Patrick’s Day, Alan Kennedy had this to say about the food gifts given by caretaker Taoiseach Enda Kenny to US President Barack Obama to mark our national holiday:
No Tayto?
For shame, Enda!
On the subject of food, when Dublin takeaway chain Camile announced it was starting doing delivery food for dogs, Vladimir Vasyectomy gave us an insight into his home life:
Last night when I was ordering a pizza, my Boxer shouted, ” No olives on my half…..!! ” – he hates them.
On another note, some fine weather and a gorgeous sunrise got us all a bit excited during the week:
Finally, we’ll leave the last word to Tweety McTweeter who had this to say about last week’s top comments:
I must have made 20 comments on The Journal this week, each one more charming and insightful than the last and I don’t even get a mention. This is yet more anti-poultry bias from The Journal.
I can assure you Tweety, I love chicken – I eat it all the time.
See any good comments? Email them to orla@thejournal.ie.
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