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.
FROM THE OUTSIDE, Olympic hurdler Thomas Barr had a spectacular year. But – just as with the rest of us more pedestrian types – what lies beneath is always more complicated.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie he reflected on 2016 as “a mixed year – it finished off on an absolute high note in that I came fourth in the Olympics… but it was my toughest year as well as my best year on the track”. Preceding that stunning Rio performance was a year of “stress and struggle with injury”, a battle to finish his Master’s thesis and the breakdown of his long-term relationship, he says. (See video above for more.)
He has high hopes for 2017:
I just want to make sure that this year is going to be just as good, if not better, than last year when it comes to performing on the track. But also off the track, I want to maintain a good personality and a good rapport with the media and the Irish public.
We spoke to some other high-profile Irish people who have had a big year about their highlights – and their goals for 2017.
Louise McSharry, broadcaster and journalist
2016 was the year of giving birth to me. I found out I was pregnant in January and had our baby, Sam, in October. I didn’t love pregnancy, but the ends have certainly justified the means. He is an absolute joy.
In August, my book, Fat Chance, was published. A sort of paper baby, if you will! It was wonderful to see my hard work come to fruition and even better to find that, despite my trepidation, people enjoyed what I had produced. Despite gloomy world events, I will always look back on my 2016 fondly.
My resolution for 2017 is to be better at replying to email! I have an awful tendency to write responses in my head without actually sending them.
Ruth Negga, Golden Globes-nominated actress
I don’t have [resolutions] because whenever I do I have a sort of badness in me that intentionally breaks it about two hours later.
I have to do flim flam on it – isn’t that from Forty Coats? When you say the opposite of what you mean? It’s kind of a trick you play on yourself – or I play on myself.
John Halligan, Minister of State for Training and Skills
2016 has been the year of ‘new politics’, a case in point being the Medicinal Cannabis Bill passing unopposed to the Committee Stage. Opening up the debate on progressive topics like this bodes well for democracy.
My goal for 2017 is to bring my own Dying with Dignity Bill to the Dáil.
Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland
From a work perspective 2017 is going to be a really critical year. As we come to end of 2016 we’ve seen the continuing failure of the international committee to respond to conflicts such as the one in Syrian and the horrendous impact they have had, from Aleppo to Yemen. A focus for 2017 will be trying to force reforms, particularly on the UN Security Council which has appalling failed to address these issues.
We are also in the midst of the Citizens’ Assembly process and there is a lot of work for everybody engaged on the issue of the Eighth Amendment. We hope that it will go beyond this, to the Oireachtas with a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
On a more personal level the last six months have been intensely busy and the two things I do most to maintain a work-life balance and a level of self-care are to run as much as I can and cook as much as I can.
Those two interests are about to merge next year. I took part in Celebrity Masterchef and that is going out in January this coming year. I was already passionate about cooking but this has made me infinitely more passionate about it.
I made some great new friendships on the show and one of those great new friends is Holly Carpenter. That is where the running is coming in – we are going to do the Bray Cliff Run for Amnesty in April next year.
The more I can run, the more I can eat!
Evelyn Cusack, Deputy Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann
We’re still studying climate change and possible change and there’s still a lot that isn’t understood. What we do know is that we are polluting the planet very badly – so I’d like to maybe start a campaign or do more to create awareness of pollution from plastic.
It takes over 200 years to disintegrate and it’s actually choking up the wildlife in the sea. Seriously. It’s a very problem. If you go into canteens, supermarkets, the amount of plastic we use… If people really want to recycle, they should be aware of plastic so much more than even paper because paper can disintegrate.
On a lighter note, I really hope we get a nice summer. You see every year Irish people hope for a good summer, but a good summer is an exception.
Matt Cooper, broadcaster and author
My 2017 promise is to broadcast coverage on The Last Word about Donald Trump’s presidency that is informed by the same horror and scepticism as we suffered during his election campaign. Unless, of course, he changes. Which he shows no sign of doing.
I’m not going to fall for the argument that he has his mandate, not when his appointments to date show that he could be even worse than we had feared in the performance of his duties. As for back here in Ireland…
Enda Kenny, Taoiseach
My personal resolution is to get a few hours sleep and wake up refreshed to continue the battle for Ireland that lies ahead.
Annalise Murphy, Olympic silver medallist sailor
The highlight of 2016 was definitely the actual medal race at the Olympic Games in Rio – that and the medal ceremony and then being with the whole team and my family afterwards. It’s been a bit overwhelming since then – it never really calmed down. After London, there wasn’t much interest but the medal makes a big difference. The awards and things like that can be stressful – and I don’t know anyone who would be really comfortable with it all – but it is great to be recognised.
I miss the structure and routine of training so I’ll be sitting down and setting down a proper plan to get back into it in 2017. Everything will point towards the World Championships in August. Performing well there will be my main goal for the year. It’s been nice to have a break but I know I have to put in a lot of hard work.
My motivation has still been pretty good – going to the gym and training every day but it’s a completely different level. Right now, I can catch up with friends and fit other things in like talking to kids in schools. Before the Olympics, it was train, sleep and eat – that was it.
Alan Kelly, Labour TD
My Christmas plans involve getting more time to cook. I love cooking. I did my Leaving Cert at 16 and went to UCC so I was very young. When you’re away from home you tend to learn to cook, wash and iron quick so I have always had an interest in cooking.
I will spend more time with my children. I am going to Bunratty Castle this Sunday for a spectacular Christmas event, I love it. Then spend a bit of time with my parents, my friends from college – we are going to meet up for one night and outside of that, do a bit of cooking and I actually have an awful lot of political stuff that needs filing, a whole garage full of stuff so I will probably do that.
My New Year’s resolution is not to give as many interviews.
Interviews by Susan Daly, Christina Finn, Daragh Brophy, Sinead O’Carroll, Aoife Barry, Ryan Bailey.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I will watch the washing machine instead at least the result will be clean and won’t deceive me
Be nice to watch a potential leader of Fine Geal do some actual debating after all these years of not having a leader who will go on live TV. Can’t stand either one but would like them to put their case forward even if it’s just so we can point them to it when they deviate from what they say. As they surely will.
If it ended with a duel with pistols then I’d tune in for the last few minutes!
I could go for that!
@Setrakian: What about a UFC match, or a head to head and would Leo prefer that?
@Setrakian: Swords?
I’d watch it if i had a vote but no i don’t.
Why would FG agree to doing it? They’ve enough problems without airing their dirty laundry like that. Anything could come out if it got contentious.
no, lifes is too short.
Think I’ll just comment on The Journal about them instead….
I will follow the journals live updates
A resounding no.
Ask him you’re. Simon.coveney@oir.ie
I’ll be far too busy watching my toe nails growing…more productive too
@Colm Moran: Like the echo from a toilet bowl…
How is it relevant when we don’t have a say? Get on with choosing a leader, and whomever it is can state your case at the next General election
If your a member of Fine Gael you get a vote.
Get lost Leo -Get lost Simon-Get lost Fine Gael.
One of these guys is going to be our next taoiseach. It’s very relevant to our lives. I’m interested in what they have to say. I’ll definitely watch a debate if it happens.
@Bennythekid: Bilderberg will slap you on the wrists for that lol.
@Bennythekid: What the fcuk would they debating about? at the end of the day blueshirt policy will still be the same. Save all the trouble and just toss for it. Ye 2 tossers tossing.
@Rónán O’Suilleabháin: Leader fight off last about 6 weeks and nothing will be done, both of those wannabe curates will be getting their lies prepared for them by now. And the “winner” will be left in charge. Kenny is such a lame duck and these two are hopeless.
@Jack Bowden: Health is our priority, we are going to make reforms to give Ireland a world class health service.
Housing is our priority, we are going to bring in new legislation to alleviate the housing situation in Ireland.
Old people are our priority, we will work hard to ensure that those who have worked hard all of their lives can grow old in comfort.
Young people are our priority, we will invent in our youth because an educated workforce is best for Ireland in the long term.
The sqeezed middle are our priority, we will put measures in place to ensure that the tax take is fair and that all citizens get a decent living wage.
etc, etc, etc, etc,
And once they get in they’ll suddenly forget all of the above. Now you don’t have to watch.
I never thought I’d ever say I would rather watch The Ray D’Arcy Show.
That’s a tough one…
@Beachmaster: Take that back
@Beachmaster: If it clashes with the late late then I guess it will be tg4 that night and even though I dont speak Irish it will make more sense than the other 2.
Its like trying to decide between two equally priced brands of bottled water.
Simon Varadkar, Leo coveney can’t see the difference myself.
Id rather wash my hair and get an early nite thanks.
” Would you watch Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar going toe-to-toe in a live debate?” No seriously watching 2 privileged politicians telling us how their going to make things better for the citizens of Ireland. No chance my priority would be cutting my toe nails….
Not really interested on who is the best performer, it’s about who can get something done…….
37% said yes? Can we get a fact check on that please?
Fake news
@alan: Lol,
Frape news!!
Why no option for: I’d rather stick nails in my eyes?
I would rather watch paint dry.
It’s finally happened. The first to take a poll. Can you tell me why I picked NO yet 100% of 1 vote are for yes?? Something fishy here!
TV3 can’t be serious? Who gives a damn!
Can we just have Fianna Fail back in power already? Like the prodigal son, they will return to the top of Irish politics.
No.
Coveney,Varadkar and Bruton appear to be the three front runners.
Well, what have they got in common?
All were privately educated.
None of them ever did a real days work in their life.
They don’t mix with the ordinary man in the street.
They are so far removed from the realities of life. None of them could empathise with the those who have to lie on a hospital trolley, those who are waiting to be housed or anyone who has has fallen on hard times. They are all silver spoon merchants who have never experienced any hardships.
What the country needs is a man or woman of the people.
Who do you suggest? Boysd Barrett? Paul Murphy?
I suggest you should familiarise yourself wit the topic?
This idea is intuitively appealing but then what exactly do you want? These people do have jobs: their job is to represent us.
There is indeed a debate these days that politicians are not representative of the society they are supposed to represent, but you’d have to admit there is a conundrum here.
We offload the difficult decisions to them. This is their job. We expect them to be trained to know the dossiers, because they’re meant to act as our delegates. A carpenter may know the hardships of carpentry, and plausibly the accompanying hardships of holding on to the job and the mortgage or rent, but you would not honestly expect them to be able to make complex calculated decisions on the economy, right?
So the problem is to find those politicians who have an intuitive feel for the man in the street, and yet also possess the intellect so that we can trust them on the complex stuff.
Let them fight it out on this very issue. They need to be close to ordinary people on the one hand, but on the other hand they have to be capable of understanding a shitload of issues that most of us would either be incapable of grasping or simply not want to be bothered with.
No.
I’d rather drive a bus blindfolded up the Karnali highway while tripping on magic mushrooms.
@Emmet O’Keeffe: Well, you have the trip sorted already.
Sorry but I have a pair of socks I’d rather wash, than waste time watching two neutered, toothless sheep circle each other aimlessly, while the rest of their flock follow their current gormless leadership over the cliff, clearly marked Irish Water Danger Stay Away!
@Jarlath so funny but true
No. Politicians should run the country correctly not just stand on live TV and share insults
@kevin murphy:if it got personal I think we d all watch
If there was an interactive fact check and an option for questions from the public
I’m right wing. I’m more right wing than you.
I’m a true blue FG. I’m a new FG and more FG than you.
I believe in neo-liberal free market economics. I believe in neo-liberal free market economics even more than you.
At least we both believe in Boston more than Berlin.
Find it hard to see photo here of them 2…
Bring back repeats of The Paul Hogan Show from ’80s co-starring Leo W@nker.
Waste of time. The 25000+ ordinary members of the party are only getting 25% of the vote, whereas around 70 FG politicians are neing given 65% of the say. The contest will be decided long before any telivised debate.
There isn’t a vacancy yet. For either one of them to agree to a leadership debate before Kenny fires the starting gun would be political suicide.
“Varadkar told the Irish Examiner that he would be ‘happy’ to take part in a live debate with his rivals for the leadership.” (http://www.thejournal.ie/tv3-fine-gael-debate-3263637-Feb2017/)
I might be mistaken but this seems pretty close to creating a vacancy.
What would be the point !
Both are as FG as the other. A debate of personalities is pointless if they both follow the same party policies.
This is a joke by TV3. Only person worth watching in such a scenario would be Vinny Browne as the compare.
Who cares about two dopes.
Vera and Ava: Both of you should be the leading story today. I wish you and your daughter the very best of luck. Andi
Where’s the “I would rather gouge out my own eyeballs” option?
To use that famous Irish phrase: I will, yeah!
Or as Mrs Brown says.. “That’s nice”
Not interested in what either has to say because past experience shows that it would all be a pack of lies. Instead I can watch many other shows that have to decency to state upfront that they are fiction.
No. They don’t represent the majority of this Country.
And who does? There is no majority
Why would I bother whoever gets in it’ll still be same old, same old. Nothing ever changes in Irish politics it just lurches from one scandal to another scandal and on and on. Feels like we’re on 0if Magic Roundabout
Vatman versus Dr. Strange, what a movie that would be lol.
I’ve always wanted to see 2 almost identically sized snakes simultaneously begin to consume the other, from the tail end at the same speed to see the confusing outcome. I can’t picture it, that would be the only fascination in watching those morons who stood by Enda for years.
I have no interest in who leads FG
They are pathetic in my view
But I would like to point out that the media seem to show a bias toward L.V.
In the photos and images put forward on all articles of this type
Have a closer look
Leo called to my parents door a few years back while canvassing. I answered the door and he was very charming and he quickly realised he had gone to uni with my sister. He was so nice!! Oh!!! “Tell her I said hi” bla bla bla. .. a few months later I met him on grafton st. I said hi and said well done on appointment .. he looked a little confused. I went to remind him who I was and he said he knew who I was. And quickly barked he had no time. You wouldn’t talk to a dog like he talked to me and he does a good job of hiding who he really is in front of the cameras..
I’d rather watch paint dry than fg rubbish
Its not a general election. Public don’t have vote. Too much time spent on this. Just change leader & get on with it & do job elected to do.
Toe to toe in a boxing ring
Dumb and dumber and not an ounce of real life experience with any of them. They are only virgin blotting paper for neoliberal globalisation.
Well if it replaces any of the soaps dished out each night yes I’d find it more entertaining. If
I’d rather watch ryan turbridy.
Liar liar the best liar wins and the public get fooled again
Yawn zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
@FlopFlipU:Well said!
ONLY if they fight in the style of Kirk v Spock in the original Star Trek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rl46Dpy-P4
I’ll wager 400 quatloos on ……….
That MS Paint job on the photo.
Toe to toe, it is not celebrity dancing again yikes.
Cianan , have you been drinking ?
No. There is only so much level of crap I can take assaulting my ears!
Vote Kang… no.. wait…..vote Kodos!
No thanks. I would rather be shot with balls of my own $hyte.
maybe
No thanks. I’d rather be shot with balls of my own $hyte.
have your say