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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 Conor McGregor, the Luas strike and water charges.
The 5 most popular comments this week
1. Damien McDaid and 1,549 others were unhappy an article about almost topless news readers wasn’t more image-based:
one picture, ONE PICTURE?????
2. After gardaí seized cash and luxury cars in a crackdown targeting the Kinahan cartel, Stephen Todd wrote:
Fair play, hopefully it all passes safely and they make some solid arrests
That one got 1,382 likes.
3. IrishGravyTrain liked Conor McGregor’s message to his rivals after his defeat to Nate Diaz, writing:
I showed up. You showed up on twitter. Lol. Brilliant.
Some 1,346 people agreed.
4. IrishGravyTrain also takes the fourth spot (with 1,313 green thumbs) this week, for this comment under an article about striking Luas drivers:
Sack them all.
Not sure that’s the best approach.
5. Eamonn Boylan claims fifth place for his thoughts about water charges:
Water tax will be abolished..I’ll be delighted if Right2Water get what we all want, a referendum to enshrine ownership of our water supply in public hands, preventing another Irish Water fiasco in future.
That one got 1,177 green thumbs.
The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week
1. Abolishing water charges is a return to the policies that collapsed our economy (320 comments)
2. Half of Irish people think freer abortion access should be priority for next government (254 comments)
3. Conor McGregor beaten for the first time in the UFC as Diaz scores massive shock (247 comments)
4. No Taoiseach, no government: Enda resigns but will stay as a caretaker (236 comments)
5. Hundreds sign petition protesting against fox-hunting internship on JobBridge (231 comments)
Standout comments
My whole heart literally shattered in pieces. I remember nothing more that was said after that. I crumbled to the floor, shaking like a leaf and howled. How I didn’t wake the whole hotel I do not know. I literally lay in a ball on the floor howling. I wouldn’t even call it crying, because there were no tears. I was just screaming.
Michelle Ross wrote a very powerful article during the week about her brother Derek’s suicide.
Afterwards, some of you shared your own experiences of suicide, with Keith Wizzy commenting:
Thinking of you and your family. I’ve lost family, friends and my first love to suicide. The years go by and barely a day goes by without thinking of them. Thank you for using your very personal tragedy to assist Pieta House, a very worthwhile cause. I hope many of the readers will see it in their hearts to donate to this charity. You’re amazing to put your story here to help others.
Thomas Delaney wrote:
Thanks for your story. When I lost my sister to suicide I remember crying and wailing in my mother’s arms for about 3 hours straight at least. It’s indescribable and only those who have gone through it will have any idea. I think if my sister had of been in the right frame of mind and knew the pain she would leave behind, she wouldn’t have done it. That’s the thing about suicidal people though, they aren’t in the right frame of mind.
While Deborah Behan added:
What a brave article. I’m in tears here. 500 suicides a year is outrageous and we need to highlight this horrendous problem more. Imagine 500 road deaths a year? The new government really needs to prioritise this problem. Suicide is never the answer. RIP.
Stewart Lambert recently took to the streets of Dublin to ask passersby a simple question: “What has been the biggest change in your life and how did you deal with it?”
The resulting video is really lovely and you can watch it below.
It prompted a commenter called Rusty Balls to write:
People are amazing, everyone you pass may look like they have everything but they all have their own personal struggles.
Under a story about the murders of three Irish people living in Melbourne between 2012 and 2013, Eugene Tyson – one of the victim’s nephew – commented:
RIP Uncle Dermot! Was looking forward to meeting you again at my sisters wedding in Melbourne the following year. He was a funny man full of life. A fantastic jeweler. Wonderful husband to Aunty Bridgette. He is missed terribly!
An interesting conversation took place about an article on a Bus Éireann campaign to highlight the role of women in the easter Rising. liam kicked things off with this comment:
Historically, it was always considered notable how common it was for Irish women to fight alongside men. This can likely be traced back to Brehon Law attitudes that tended to hold women in equal regard to men in Ireland since time immemorial. Then the Catholic Church entered the frame and 3,500 years of equality unravelled in a matter of months, but Irish attitudes often remained.
Others weren’t happy that he spoke about the Catholic Church, with Louis Jacob writing:
I’m actually with Oran on this one. It was the industrial revolution that fixed the ideas on women that we have. The Church only provided a mechanism, as it did everywhere, Catholic or not.
Readers were impressed by 12-year-old Cork student Mia Buckley’s winning Google Doodle design to commemorate the 1916 centenary.
Elma Phudd wrote:
Excellent. And not a pint to be seen.
While Gerry Ryan deG noted:
No Spuds either
And Del Haven added:
Or leprechauns
Although, HenryHorkan did make a good point:
That cow should have two ear tags
A great video of Cork Harbour as the Fort2Fort charity cycle passed through made some people appreciate where they live, with Padraig writing:
Beautiful.We don’t know how lucky we are.That castle at 0:42 is going cheap if anyone wants to buy it.
*Googles the going rate for a castle*
Meanwhile, Niall Sheridan had this to say after a young couple set up a GoFundMe page to re-unite them across the Atlantic:
Good luck to them both! Nice to see love getting a chance! I’m 61, widowed, and in love again!
Finally, after two people in their 80s and 60s were arrested on suspicion of stealing thousands of religious items from churches in France, Strong silent type wrote:
Can you just imagine what the cross examination will be like?
While FlopFlipU added:
Holy shite
See any good comments? Email them to orla@thejournal.ie.
Suicide helplines:
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Console 1800 247 247 – (suicide prevention, self-harm, bereavement)
Aware 1890 303 302 (depression, anxiety)
Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie - (suicide, self-harm)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
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Any chance of an update on concerned citizen millionaire banker brother of FG TD who you claimed yesterday was a non political small business owner? No didn’t think so.
Good aul Hugh deleted my comment yesterday as I outed him. Good man Hugh.
*yawn*
Neal what’s yawn about this story, it was plastered all over the media yesterday that’s he was a small business man who was apolitical. He was lying about both these issues, he was the CEO for a banking fund and he is the brother of ex FG TD, Seymour Crawford.
Nothing yawn about it. Downright deceitful!!
I am outraged!
Can we have additional reporting done on your article regarding Mary Lou and this concerned citizen from yeaterday please. This is what you need to be covering not some elitist boarding school in the US.
Exactly.
What we need is a witch hunt against the private citizen who dared to criticise SF.
We need to know his name, his family history, his occupation and as many details of his personal life as possible.
We need to show people that dissent will not be tolerated.
We need to print his name as often as possible to try to intimidate others into silence.
WE NEED TO SHOW – IN CAPS LOCK – THAT WE ARE A BUNCH OF SCREAMING WHINGING BABIES WHO ARE CHRONICALLY INCAPABLE OF RESPONDING TO CRITICISM WITHOUT ASSASSINATING THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSON CRITICISING OUR POLICIES.
That’ll show ‘em.
Calm down ffs you will give yourself an ulcer. Politics is a dirty game and this was up there in the top five but SF are no strangers to doing the odd dirty trick.
A private citizen expressing an opinion publicly is not a dirty trick, Donna.
Printing his name, occupation, background and – most disgustingly – family details online IS a dirty trick.
It sends a very clear message of intimidation. “Dare to criticise us, and our fanatics will expose you”.
Shameful.
Are you saying he just happened to be walking by at that time? Did he not seek her out to confront her? Is he a FG supporter? Connected to FG?
I’ve no idea, Donna.
He could be the worst ***** in all of Christendom for all I know.
But what I do know is shooting the messenger, playing the man and not the ball and refusing to engage in any discussions or debates with someone who disagrees with you paints SF supporters in a very bad light.
Ad hominem attacks make SF supporters look like whinging toddlers.
Why not point out where he was wrong?
Try to convince us where his argument was weak?
Show us that there is a better way?
Spot on Brinster. A knee-capping will be next.
Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t vote SF no matter what they promised. Your man was a bit of a knobend. Mary loo is like Adams all talk and nothing else just the same old mantra.
Btinster , do you really think that Hugh would report the truth , that Concerned Citizen is actually Concerned Hedgefund Manager and FG TD’s brother ? It’s above his (FG) pay grade.
two weeks in a row, I won’t get my head out the door
3 in a row and you qualify to write articles on here.
Lucinda Creighton will be watching you next week. Locked up for life if you get three!
a whole article, now I’m really going to try
Richard , it’s a trick to quiten you down.They did the same to Captain Adebayor , haven’t heard from him since. Time to change your moniker from Richard Cynical to Richard Compliant.
Ah Captain A had some great comments , very witty .
That “concerned citizen” was a dirty trick by fg,labour. They will pay for it in GE.
Yeah – and hijacking every other story because someone dared to criticise Mary Lou doesn’t make you look like a whinging, screaming toddler at all.
Maybe you could try to defend the policies, rather than attack the messenger?
His Brown Thomas leather gloves and blue scarf kind of gave it away for me.
Id like to see the journo covering that fake FG supporter who went on the attack at Mary Lou ….come on Hugh
I will not be voting FG after that episode yesterday. If you can’t get votes fairly then you don’t deserve them.
If he was a plant,it’s another own goal by FG..but in fairness to ML..she engaged with him once he said he wasn’t a journalist..
Mary Lou engaged and fair play to her. It’s the SF activists who screamed blue must and immediately started the witch hunt that I have the issue with. Demanding to know who he was, what’s his family history, publishing his name for dating to speak his mind. Whinging toddlers the lot of them.
*Blue murder
The shinnerbots don’t like it up ‘em! Been a bad few days on the campaign trail, Jorry making a fool of himself with Sean Duignan….sounds like an email went out from IRA HQ this morning saying “Attack every comments board you can find”. It’s actually very funny to see.
I notice Eugene hasn’t commented so he must be still sleeping off his hangover !
have your say