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 the Rose of Tralee, the first day of school, and the wonderful Louise McSharry.
So here are the standout comments from the week that was.
The 5 most popular comments this week
1. The runaway top comment of the week came from Liam is ainm dumb who got 3,311 green thumbs after Maria Walsh opened up about her sexuality, revealing she is gay and proud.
Word has it the BAI want a hetreosexual Rose of Tralee winner named also in the interest of balance..
2. On the same topic, Tim Kearney brought the humour down a notch but still got 2,812 thumbs up.
I hope the escort wasn’t bragging about anything to his buddies… :-)…
3. Cosmological needed more assurance – and he got it through 2,272 green thumbs after commenting on a story about how small Ireland is.
My girlfriend assures me that size isn’t everything.
4. Hands up who does this? At least 2,255 of you agreed with ronan‘s statement about what Irish women want Irish men to know.
When a girl says, “no I’m not ordering dessert ..but I might just taste yours” it means they are going to eat at least 85% of your dessert.
5. Tom Red was angry about a case of animal cruelty and 1,773 of our readers agreed.
Name ,
Shame
And jail the Bast**d who did this…
How could anyone do this to a man’s best friend?????…
I’d love to met up with the “person” who did this…
The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week
1. Bailiffs evict Castleknock pensioners ahead of court hearing (354 comments)
2. Thousands expected to turn out for same-sex marriage rally in Dublin (317 comments)
3. Public sector average wages are €300 per week higher than private sector (287 comments)
4. Large-scale pro-choice rally planned for Dublin this afternoon (286 comments)
5. Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh reveals that she’s gay (275 comments)
The big issue
Yesterday, there was much talk in the Ireland and the UK about the food served in hospitals. There were very different experiences discussed in our comments thread.
Anne Clarke said:
My daughter was in hospital a few times this year the food they serve to children is appalling. Nuggets and chips which were burnt. Frozen pizzas that were burnt. Sausages burnt. If ypur recovering from an op surely the food should be nutritious. Cheap easy frozen food.
John Tobin had the opposite experience:
My wife recently had to have a stint in two hospitals and I have to say the food she received and the staff were excellent.
First thing…..there was always a choice and you could choose a healthy option there was also a vegetarian option that was more often than not healthy, and also the pandered to everybody’s request. The girl next to my wife requested a salad every day and they sorted it for her.
The option of chips was there but you didn’t have to choose it.
Puns and jokes of the week
A word play in French, anyone? Swoon.
Mais qui garde la garde?
Well played, John Ward.
And, another one from our Facebook page on Apple’s very secret product launch next month. Thanks, Caeliv Donnelly.
New gadget that takes the creases out of clothes – it’s called the iRon
Some of our favourite comments
Lots of children across the country had their first day at school this week. Including, little Noemi Clim here. Awwww.
Aoife McCarrick‘s day was particularly special.
My son’s first day was today also – we ended up running late but got there just in time but had our little girl who will be starting next year with us who was not happy at first. My son was fine and happy to play with other people that he knew from before. I was emotional, luckily a friend gave me a big hug. My husband was a lot better than me. We went through a lot to have our two (am a 7+ year oesophageal cancer survivor and it is coming up to the anniversary of my diagnosis) so it was always going to be very emotional day. We we will have the same again next year when our little girl starts…
But others were seeing their little ones at an even more grown up level. John Tobin got emotional at his sister’s debs.
You think it’s bad now!!! I’ve just watched my little sister (14year age gap) go to her debs tonight! It’s seems like only a click of a finger since I was playing football with her as a two year old! She’s blossomed into a lovely young lady and looked absolutely stunning in her dress. She off into adulthood and I can still see the two year old image of her as I look at her. Time goes so fast, all you can do is be there for them, and enjoy them as they grow through their experiences!
And Sam Bartell saw his eldest have her last ‘first day of school’ as she starts Sixth Year.
Took a photo this morning of my eldest’s last first day of school. Dont know where the years have gone but 6th year and the leaving cert make her almost grown. Scary thing is she has more teenage years behind her than ahead but i still she her very first day walking in those doors, brand new uniform, all smiles and hair in pigtails. Years go too fast
Ryan Carroll got a bit flirtatious with the gardaí. And we liked it.
It says something else as well, and it’s why I’m so glad to see it so prominent in the news: It’s a GOOD story about the police. With all the bad stuff you hear you never hear the good.
It never makes front page news when they do 100 good things every day, just the one hot head who beats a suspect or performs an unwarranted search can poison someones mind against them forever.This is real policing, not the sledgehammer US approach, this way the the community has your respect not your fear, that doesn’t have to mean you’re soft but it does mean brute force is not your first option but your last, that’s the ethos you were founded on and those of you at this station have done justice too it. As US police gun down unarmed civilians and then come into their community in the form of militarized storm troopers beating up protesters you’re gaining your community’s trust and respect.Now if you could just loan me the officer on the far left for a …cultural exchange…
We got some bad news this week as our friend and former colleague Louise McSharry revealed she is to start treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer. The support in the comments section was heartwarming and inspirational.
Alex Hankey revealed she is going through a similar experience, but took the time to send Louise her best.
I was told I had Hodgkin’s just last week and I am sitting in the hospital bed after my first round of chemo yesterday waiting to go home. It’s extremely curable. I was told on the qt by a nurse that if you had to pick a cancer to get, most, would choose this. Best of luck to her and I hope her first round is as successful as mine! Because I know the unknown is the worst part!
In fact, there were so many people who shared their cancer stories with Louise – and with us.
Catherine Sims saw her son through the disease eight years ago.
Louise desperately sorry to hear this. Your funny talented pretty and most of all determined so I know you will not only meet this challenge head but you will win. In the maw time when you are feeling low come on the journal and we will cheer you up. I will be thinking if you. My son was 18 when he was diagnosed with a different cancer . He is 26 now and still going strong.
Finally, the founder of the Sunday Business Post Aileen O’Toole offered her support.
Sorry, Louise, to hear about your diagnosis. I haven’t heard your interview with Ryan Tubridy yet – I plan to play it back later on – but from all the reaction you seem to be strong.It’s 20 years ago this month since I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was told that the chemo would render me infertile – I had two young sons at the time, so it wasn’t a big deal. But I proved my medics wrong and became pregnant a few months after I finished my treatment. My daughter is about to go to college.The outlook for those who are diagnosed with lymphoma is so much better than it was when I was diagnosed. There has been a quantum leap in the effectiveness of what’s in the chemo “cocktail.” If you need to have a chat at any stage over the coming months, please get in touch.
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