Reports of Justin Timberlake being arrested, Eamon Ryan stepping down, and Paul Mescal sporting shorts have seen the aforementioned men snatching news headlines for a variety of reasons this past week. Concurrently, Pink stirred up a buzz on Instagram in Ireland by seemingly ‘soaring’ over the Aviva, much to the overwhelming joy of her followers. As we approach the middle of June – a period frequently known for its lighter news stories – there was no shortage of trending topics in the past week.
The following is a roundup of what has been drawing my attention for the past several days:
1. Paul Mescal, the embodiment of ‘less is more’ in shorts, has not gone unnoticed in the media sphere this week. A notable shift in the spotlight occurred when radio presenter Oliver Callan, who isn’t exactly known as a style guru, took to RTÉ Radio 1 to critique Mescal’s style at Milan Fashion Week. “It simply does not work,” Callan emphatically stated, showing surprise as he noted the unconventional pairing of short shorts, black Gucci loafers and white socks. Personally, I’m all for expressing oneself through attire.
2. The advent of Covid saw a change in how we work, and on a few occasions, I found myself on Zoom calls with men who had mastered the art of multitasking by juggling work-related matters while caring for their babies. Witnessing such scenes was quite impactful – men stepping up to fulfill their child care duties while managing work in these trying times. Interestingly, not a single female colleague was seen fitting this description. Does this mean that no woman had to navigate this complex intersection of work and parenting?
It’s barely the case. The fear of perception is what keeps women consistently knocking at the unbreakable glass ceiling. I recalled this when Eamon Ryan, the Green Party leader, publicly announced his resignation to spend a greater amount of time caring for his children, including a son who has special needs. The frank conversation about parenting is much appreciated, with the hope that more males will emulate Ryan’s path. Pat Leahy and Bernice Harrison bring light to the reasoning and circumstances surrounding his decision in their In The News Podcast.
Eamon Ryan’s unexpected resignation, what are the reasons behind it?
Additionally, Patrick Freyne conducted a thought-provoking interview with Hungarian-Canadian doctor and writer Dr Gabor Maté, during his time in Ireland for a lecture at Dublin RDS. Maté mentions a research focusing on young males in America with stern views about international warfare, against abortion and pro capital punishment.
“After undergoing therapy, their hardened stances mellowed,” explained Maté. “Many of these stringent views are tied to past traumas. People often defend against their own fragility. When you expose your vulnerability and cease the defence, you become more understanding of others.”
Recent discoveries from the investigative series Horses – Making a Killing, aired on RTÉ, exposing the horrific and intolerable truths about horse welfare domestically and overseas continue to resonate. In response, Suzanne Campbell provides an introduction to the industry in Ireland, using her personal experiences as a horse owner and capturing the grave situation eloquently from the start: “Ireland doesn’t have a horse welfare issue. It’s a human issue.”
Noteworthy. Polite. Proficient. Controlled. These are the adjectives Commandant Paul Togher used to portray Cathal Crotty, an active Irish soldier who assaulted a woman without cause on the streets in 2022, rendering her unconscious. As reported by David Raleigh on Thursday, catthy was awarded a suspended sentence, with Judge Tom O’Donnell feeling compelled to acknowledge the merit of Crotty’s guilty plea in the assault of Ms Natasha O’Bien. Credibility? Although this article maintains the decorum often associated with courtroom reporting, it should incite anger for anyone with a belief in justice.
In case you missed it.
Justin Timberlake’s recent arrest for allegedly drink driving, despite contesting that he’d only consumed one martini, made headlines all over the globe. The embattled pop star didn’t receive much public sympathy for this incident.
The high point of the week was the performance of pop icon Pink at Aviva Stadium. She wowed the crowd by soaring across the stadium on a zip wire. Being there, Shauna Bowers spoke of the impressive spectacle of inflatable flamingos on wheels, trampolines, sparkles, fire, dazzling dancers and how the abundance of visuals made it challenging to decide where to pay attention to.
In other news, Susan Dominus from The New York Times took a deep dive into our relationship with alcohol. And one of her takeaways might surprise booze lovers. Citing experts, she made the point that the best amount of alcohol to consume for health purposes, astonishingly, is none.
The most-read stories of the week included a tragic workplace accident of 17-year-old Reece Donoghue, the decision of Brianna Perkins to leave Ireland due to exhaustion, three gay men targeted in Phoenix Park by a group of six men with knives, a landlord ordered to pay a €17,500 fine after threatening to evict a tenant forcibly and Nina Carberry’s decision to leave the European Parliament drawing attention to their seemingly uncaring attitude.