Bordered by the locally popular Chapel laneway with the river Nanny crossing underneath and situated in a quiet part of the town of Tuam in the West of Ireland, I visited this meticulous garden of remembrance dedicated to Anne Marie McHugh. Anne Marie was born in Tuam on April 15th 1966 and was working on the 84th floor of Tower Two, New York on September 11th 2001 when tragedy struck. Her remains were never recovered. For the complete article, click on the Continue Reading button below.

Providing online news content goes a step further with the official launch of News Corp iPad-only newspaper, The Daily. This accelerating move to online content cuts traditional costs for newsprint delivery and labour and underlines the company strategy of finding an effective approach to charge for online content. It is the latest in a series of moves to counteract declining newsprint circulation and print advertising revenue and is consistent with the stated goal of the company to charge for all online content. For the complete article, click on the Continue Reading button below.

In this season of Lenten abstinence, the imminent publication of a white paper on local government reform will be sobering stuff for members of local authorities. Incumbent Minister Gormley will no doubt continue to favour more powerful regional authorities at the expense of County Councils, City Councils and Town Councils. The infamous McCarthy report even when taken in moderation is no cure either as it advocates the abolition of both regional authorities and Town Councils to provide a single local authority structure of government. In the context of these proposed reforms; recent clarion calls for more locally devolved powers by aspiring members of the Tuam Town Council could yet become the plaintive cry of a political landscape laid to waste by the double whammy of latter day McCarthyism and the economic imperative of cost effective local government. For the complete article, click on the Continue Reading button below.