He, and the country, need proper direction with a clear message delivered by one person, preferably a leader, says Trevor Laffan

Commercial fleets can help boost the green revolution, says David Savage, Associate Vice President, UK & Ireland for Geotab, the world’s largest commercial telematics company.

A year ago, nearly 80% of us approved of the State’s response to Covid. Now it’s down to a bare 43%. And Áilín Quinlan says she is joining the 43%

There are too many mixed messages coming from government and health experts, and our Taoiseach needs to take charge, says John Dolan

We are far too reliant on plastics, and need to wean ourselves off them, says Professor Michael Morris, Director of the SFI funded Advanced Materials and BioEngineering (AMBER) Centre

The pandemic has provided a blueprint for a new education system, says Joe Baguley, Vice President and EMEA Chief Technology Officer at VMware

With Covid restrictions set to lift, John Arnold is plotting a week of getaways

As Olympian runner Ciara Mageean joins GOAL Wellness Week alongside some of Ireland’s top experts, she shares her tips on how running can benefit both mind and body

Depression and other illnesses must not be confused with being generally fed up with lockdown life, says Colette Sheridan

The new President of UCC Students' Union can set a great example to other young people, says Kathriona Devereux

As the pub trade recently marked the anniversary of closure, Chairman of Cork Vintners’ Federation of Ireland Michael O’Donovan asks what is the plan to get the hospitality sector reopened

Funerals in a time of Covid have been fraught affairs, but it was even tougher in famine times, says Trevor Laffan

The motor industry has dealt with the pandemic, and is ready to roar back into life, says George Mills, Managing Director of Johnson & Perrott Motor Dealerships.

After giving up coffee for Lent, John Arnold explains his love for the stuff, and how it has changed for him down the years

ONE of our proudest boasts as a community will be if we can become known as an age-friendly one. Of course, in a large number of ways, Cork is age friendly, but we must always seek to advance in terms of services and facilities.

When she got the idea in her head for a splurge, Ailin Quinlan let her heart rule her head...

The new President has not faced the same scrutiny here as his detested predecessor, says John Dolan

On the day allocated to raising awareness of autism issues, the woman behind the Rainbow Club in Cork city tells RITA WRAY how much is being done on that front — and what more needs to be done going forward

Women have suffered disproportionately in the pandemic, and the new world offers a chance to correct unfairness, says Karen O’Reilly, founder of Employflex and Employmum

LAST Sunday morning, I plucked three sprigs of palm from the remains of the hedge at the front of the house. I remember 50 years ago there was a strong box-palm hedge there under the tall trees.

Boys could learn skills such as cooking in lockdown, while girls learn practical skills, says Colette Sheridan

The Grow It Forward campaign is a great way to commune with nature during lockdown, says Karen O’Donohoe, of Ladysbridge, Cork, who is GIY’s Director of Development

Should areas of the country where Covid cases are low be opened up, asks an Echo reader

Preventing the destructive warming of our planet will be dirty work - but someone has to do it, says Kathriona Devereux

After a difficult year, Cork Business Association is to host a glamourous Cork Business of the Year Awards and President’s Dinner online next month, says Kate Ryan, of Flavour.ie

A Cork company has collaborated with the HSE to create videos in different languages to inform the public about the pandemic, says GRAHAM CLIFFORD, CEO of Translate Ireland

What makes a person a thug and criminal, and can parents or society play a role in stopping then, asks ex-guard TREVOR LAFFAN

Using a national lockdown as a sledgehammer — when swathes of Cork are free of Covid — is nuts, argues JOHN DOLAN

John Spillane's tune about cherry trees lifted Ailin Quinlan's mood in a difficult week

Whether you’ve had to smash your piggy bank, or been sitting on cash during lockdown, VICKY SHAW looks at how to be a savvier saver

If Con O'Brien hadn't pulled out of emigrating to New Zealand, John Arnold would never have known Nora O'Brien, who died last week

The Leaving Cert class of 2021 are to be offered free access to a technology platform which matches secondary school students with the best-fit college course for them, in a bid to to reduce drop-outs, writes NATHAN MAYES, YOONI

A report promoting consent and preventing sexual violence has been published for the higher education sector. ELLEN O’SHEA, Athena SWAN Administrator at Munster Technological University, tells us more

The 'Dying with Dignity' Bill presents a chance for a discussion on a matter of crucial importance to us all, says Kathriona Devereux

Almost a year into the support local campaign she started last April, MARIAN O’GORMAN, Champion Green founder and Kilkenny Design CEO, says green shoots are sprouting for SMEs on the back of their innovation, hard work and perseverance

There were three banks in my home town of Cobh once upon a time,  soon there will be just one, so says Trevor Laffan

Men need to ask themselves some serious questions about how they view women, treat women and talk about women, so says TIMOTHY O’MAHONY, reflecting on the Sarah Everard case

If we are really facing the possibility of a fourth wave, the government need to start cracking down on people not obeying restrictions, says Ailin Quinlan

Ireland's murder rate is low and falling, and technology means we have never been safer on our streets, says JOHN DOLAN

Children’s Ambulance charity BUMBLEance are calling on people to take part in their Run, Walk and Roll - 180km challenge in March and April. Here the charity tells us more about their work and the current fundraising drive

In his weekly column John Arnold looks at the planned closure of Bank of Ireland branches around the country

Peig Sayers bored the arse off us at school, but she's worth remembering, says Colette Sheridan

Kathriona Devereux looks at the environmental impact of a €20 million flood relief scheme of the Bride

Happiness has been proven to resist infection: as the vaccines lift our moods, here’s how you can stay positive, says David O’Sullivan, of the School of Applied Psychology at UCC

Trying to keep ourselves safe while coping with lockdowns, school closures, home-schooling, quarantines, and working-from-home is guaranteed to play havoc with sleep patterns, says Trevor Laffan

A marshall plan for mental health is needed now, says PETER HORGAN, Labour Party Local Area Rep Cork City, as a number of different people in our society need proper support in dealing with the many different effects of Covid

In his weekly column John Dolan 

An online safety commissioner must be established to protect children’s rights, so says TANYA WARD, CEO of the Children’s Rights Alliance, who awarded the Government an overall C- grade in their Report Card 2021

In his weekly column John Arnold publishes the full 'transcript' of an interview he did with Opera 'Windfree'

In her weekly column Colette Sheridan looks at the scandal involving Ireland's illegal adoptions

Cork's infection-suppressing performance has been great... but let's not let our guard down in the coming weeks, says Kathriona Devereux

Work must begin now on the successor to the Government’s Strategy for Women and Girls, Cork’s Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard has said.

On International Women’s Day, KAREN O’REILLY, of Employmum and Employflex, talks about a common theme they encounter, called the shame of ‘secret parenting’

Those who think prison is soft have maybe changed their tune in the past year, suggests TREVOR LAFFAN

TRAVELLERS are still waiting to see the benefits in their lives of their recognition as an ethnic group granted to them in 2017. This is very disappointing to know and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.

How much longer can this ultra-stance last, asks John Dolan in his weekly column

Ailin Quinlan tells us how she continues to be outraged at some people's behaviour  during major efforts to get Covid numbers down here

A plan for 600 new homes in Old Whitechurch Road forms a central plank in a policy to provide more accommodation, says Brian Geaney, Cork City Council Assistant Chief Executive

In his weekly column John Arnold recalls honeymoon plans, cancellations and hopes of a return to Fuengirola

Exercise doesn’t help us lose weight - according to a new book - writes Colette Sheridan

Rehab Group, Ireland’s largest disability organisation, recently acquired Aspect, a Cork-based service which helps people on the autism spectrum to live independent lives. Director of Care with Rehab Group, Grainne Fogarty tells us more

The seven-year development of Perseverance cost $2.7 billion, a price tag that makes many wince, says Kathriona Devereux

The pandemic is increasing the risk of intimate relationship abuse against young women, says Women’s Aid CEO Sarah Benson, as they launch a new campaign highlighting the issue

Daily life in our nursing homes has been tough for residents and staff, says TERESA O’DONOVAN, activity coordinator at Cramers Court nursing home in Belgooly.

How's your memory? Trevor Laffan has been looking at some memory exercises to keep him sharp!

Does Taoiseach Micheál Martin think we can only handle the truth when it’s bad news? Asks John Dolan in his weekly column 

Should politicians really be getting a pay rise during this pandemic, asks Ailin Quinlan

Mental health awareness and promotion will form a part of Local Enterprise Week, with the Local Enterprise Cork City line-up featuring Daniel O’Mahony and Michal Sikora, of Da Silly Heads, as the duo explain here

John Arnold recalls the bravery and heroism of those who died at Clonmult, a century ago

Haven’t we already been forced to give up nearly everything that makes life worth living? So why give up something for Lent, writes Colette Sheridan

Cork Mental Health, a charity serving Cork for more than 60 years, has produced new tool kits to help 5th and 6th pupils navigate the challenges facing their age group, writes MARTINA RYAN, Education Officer, Cork Mental Health Foundation

The enormous scientific effort that led to Covid-19 vaccines may be for nothing if we fail to distribute the vaccines fairly, so says Kathriona Devereux

The public are starting to feel despair at the constant lockdowns, while messaging from the government has become shambolic, says SARAH O’DWYER

South Munster Citizens Information Service has launched a Wellness Policy and Programme designed to promote workplace wellbeing among staff, writes Information Officer and Wellness Champion George Forde

I WAS sitting in my car recently outside a hospital in Cork waiting for my wife. It was a dirty evening, pouring with rain.

A post office on Cork's northside closes for good next week, marking the end of an era, writes John Dolan

Her car insurance has gone up this year, despite months in lockdown where she's not been driving it, so says Ailin Quinlan

The pandemic has demonstrated that remote and flexile employment can work successfully, but having policies around the Right to Disconnect can help people enjoy a better work/ life balance, says Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune

In his weekly column John Arnold recalls the loss of a friend, Margaret O'Keeffe (nee) Smiddy, who died last Friday, the day her sister Gabrielle Heskin was being buried and their brother Dominic passed away just a few weeks earlier. 

We all need a bit of levity during this pandemic, so says Colette Sheridan

An estimated 1.5 billion children and young people have had disrupted access to education during the pandemic, writes Kathriona Devereux

When a loved one dies, there are many sections of the Department of Social Protection and Department of Health a family has to go through to organise their affairs, says Labour TD, Sean Sherlock, who has called for a ‘Tell us Once’ system

Trevor Laffan

The Taoiseach's annual visit to Washington on St Patrick's Day has been called off - but had he been invited by the President, he should have ignored the naysayers and gone, says John Dolan in his weekly column

As lockdown three fatigue sets in, Ailin Quinlan decides to give yeast baking a go.

Cork Counselling Services reported an unprecedented 30% increase in the number of new service users in 2020 says Betty Quinlan

In his weekly column John Arnold reflects on this time of year, traditions missed due to Covid, but brighter times ahead

As we live in these extra-ordinary times, it behoves us to reclaim what the word ‘love’ means in its broadest sense, so says Colette Sheridan

The move by the HSE to provide lactation breaks for all breastfeeding mothers returning to work after mat leave, up to their child's second birthday, is a great move, says KATHRIONA DEVEREUX

Cork social enterprises have been called on to apply for funding to address Ireland’s greatest social challenges, writes Padraic Vallely, Rethink Ireland’s Business Development and Political Engagement Manager

For mroe than 15 years Trevor Laffan visited Belarus regularly. Here he recalls 

As she navigates a gloomy February, Ailin Quinlan talks about how our police force put a smile back on her face

Recent comments by Ursula von der Leyen and Emmanuel Macron about the safety and efficacy of some Covid-19 vaccines may put off large swathes of people from having the jab, fears John Dolan

Despite opposition, the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme will serve Cork, its people and businesses well, says Dr John Martin, a chartered engineer with over 15 years’ experience in the field of flood risk management

Women provide the vast majority of care — paid or unpaid — therefore, investment in care is key for women’s equality, says Director of the National Women’s Council (NWC) ORLA O’CONNOR