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 Irish Water (again), the CRC (again), losing pets, isolation rooms and fathers’ rights.

So here, in no particular order, are the standout comments from the week that was.

The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week

1. Foxhounds killed after being hit by Iarnród Éireann train (450 comments)

2. Revealed: Autistic children locked in unsupervised ‘isolation rooms’ for hours (301 comments)

3. Leitrim county councillors vote to ban fracking (269 comments)

4. 79-year-old jailed for three months over Shannon protest (235 comments)

5. Column: Tragic case of newborn boy highlights unmarried fathers’ lack of rights (230 comments)

The 5 most popular comments this week

Image: Flickr/DFPFagan

1. The most popular comment this week was simple but it resonated with a huge number of our readers. Leslie Alan Rock, under a story about Irish Water, said:

Exempt from f.o.i. just proves how corrupt it all is

He received 7,082 green thumbs.

2. On the same article, where Phil Hogan exclaimed that an agency could not be made out of thin air, Fatray Kennedy called for protests, a sentiment which at least 5,355 people approved of.

Imagine instead if the outrage on social media and ringing joe Duffy everybody took to the streets in protest.
They would be the end of Irish water.

3. It was one of our most-read stories of the week and it certainly got you talking. After reading about the poor, young man who got himself into a bit of bother after a bicycle crash, Harygarford noted that:

He wasn’t complaining for the first 5 weeks!

That was in relation to the cyclist who had an erection for seven weeks but did not present to hospital for five weeks. He received 2,228 thumbs up for the comment.

4. Last Saturday, we shared an image discovered in the 1983 State Papers which showed Penney’s dedication to helping the Irish economy. Kevin Leon Shore was given 2,135 green thumbs for his analysis:

If it wasn’t for Penney’s and aldi the people of Ireland would be naked and starving

5. Fergal Reid had a fair question – which at least 1,992 wanted to ask as well – on a piece about a ban on ‘clocking car mileage’.

This isn’t currently illegal??

Some of the best comments left on the site this week

There was much discussion under a poll about how employer’s should treat staff who have recently lost a beloved pet. Hugh Conaghan shared his heartbreak:

When my pet Labrador died after 14 years in our family we were devastated.

I remember the feeling when my sister contacted me and having to console my mother. It is amazing how they become part of our lives. He was always there at the centre of our attention whether it was running around excited on Christmas morning because we were all up so early or the year he ran off with a full ham and slept for about a day. No I didn’t expect a day off with pay to mourn his loss but I’m not ashamed to admit that I took two at my own expense because I was heartbroken.

On an article announcing the sad passing of actor Roger Lloyd-Pack (aka Trigger from Only Fools and Horses) many of you recalled your favourite lines from the BBC sitcom. Dee4 got plenty of green thumbs for remembering this line:

Trigger: I’ve maintained it for 20 years. This old broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.”

RIP, class actor

(YouTube: BBC Comedy Greats)

This week’s Burning Question dealt with a fiercely controversial issue. Should you dig down to the second layer of the biscuit tin or chocolate box before the first is finished? You overwhelming said this was a ‘definite no, no’ (Editor’s Note: You’re all mean, joyless Treat Police). But at least you’re not sonny black, who did this to his special someone:

I opened a tin of roses last night and took all the ones I like and cello taped the lid back on.I’m going to do the same with a tin of Jacobs USA biscuits tonight.When she finds out she will kill me but it’s too much fun.

Readers seemed to really enjoy our science columnist Conor Farrell’s explainer on why Pluto was demoted and is no longer considered a planet (aw!). We, at TJ HQ, equally enjoyed this exchange between Simon Eales and Emily Elephant – for the humour and because we remember the rhyme too.

At school we were taught the phrase My Very Easy Method just Speeds Up Naming Planets to remember all 9 of them. How is it done now with only 8?

Everyone was delighted that the nine dogs that were on ‘death row’ at Carrick Dog Shelter were saved after our reporter Michelle Hennessy wrote about their tragic stories. Not only did it inspire people to rescue the animals, it also spurred others to help in their own ways.

Paul thomas told us:

That’s great news after reading that story during the week I set up a direct debit to donate to a dogs trust once a month it’s not much but I hope it helps a little.

While, Emma fitz said:

Great news, ill happily donate food, blankets, bed etc to any of the people who took in the dogs. I so loved the collie in the first picture. Have a dog like him who is currently asleep on the ‘forbidden’ couch! Well done to all involved.

TheJournal.ie revealed the misuse of isolation rooms in some primary schools this week. The government is now reviewing the situation. Jonathan Savino, a parent of an autistic child, had this to say following the shocking account of events:

My son has Asd, and to be honest he is awesome, he is also way smarter than most mainstream kids, he has an iq in the 140′s and he is only 5.He has a lot to give the world, and believe it or not our world would be worse off with out autism. Famous people on the autism spectrum include Albert Einstein, Lionel Messi, Nickolai Tesla, Isaac Newton, Daryl Hannah, David Bryne, Gary Numan, probably Kanye West, Thomas Jefferson, James Joyce, Susan Boyle and many more high profile acclaimed academics, inventors, Scientists, artists, sports stars, actors and musicians of note. The truth is this, with out Asd we would be nowhere near as advanced as we are. These children see the world from a whole different perspective to you and I, and think in a way that most are not capable of. They can learn a lot from mainstream kids and mainstream kids can learn a lot from them. Our education system should leave no child behind ever!!!!

And no child should be locked in an isolation room/cell ever.

Underneath Asd, Asd kids are the same as other children. Imagine how traumatic it would be for your child to be locked in a cell, or for you to be locked in a cell. Don’t think it would be any less traumatic for a child with Asd.

I would also like to say that just because some one is different doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included.

Tragedy struck a Dublin family this week when a young pregnant woman went into cardiac arrest. She delivered her baby but died shortly after. The newborn had severe brain damage and was being kept alive in a maternity hospital. Because the parents of the child were not married, the father was not deemed the legal guardian and could not make decision about its care or when to turn off life support. The High Court did this instead. Margot Doherty explained the legal situation in her column and Fiona Ward shared her personal story, calling for change:

When my baby boy was born he needed emergency surgery. I was in an awful state physically and mentally yet the surgeons would only speak to me and the consent forms were pushed under my nose to sign while my fiance stood beside me. He was completely ignored. He had to relay everything the surgeons said and what I had signed back to me because I was so doped up on painkillers I couldnt remember anything!! It was an awful experience for him things need to change!!

Finally, in another poll this week, we asked people about their holiday plans. This answer from Kieran Casey got us all chocked up – sad and happy, all at the same time.

Yes I’m going home to beautiful Ireland..

Spot any good comments? Send them through to us by email at sinead@thejournal.ie.