Eithne Shortall | Business Post

Eithne Shortall

Column writer - Business Post Magazine

Eithne Shortall: Let’s put our patterns of learned behaviour aside and let children be children

People’s tendency to clothe their interactions with youngsters in gender stereotypes helps no one, so we would do well to remember that childhood should be about fun – not their wardrobe

Eithne Shortall: The day I parked the usual glare and confronted a litter lout

Using the glare technique to admonish something objectionable someone has done in public avoids confrontation, but I shocked myself when I eyeballed a litterer – and got a positive response

Eithne Shortall: It’s all right to be proud of our basic decency and compassion

Irish people are not comfortable with self-congratulation, but showing visiting American friends the sights recently made me realise we have a lot to be proud of, both with our surroundings and as a society

Eithne Shortall: When tired of the daily grind, I see life through the filter of coffee

How pregnancy, combined with the pandemic and shot through with a dose of reality, helped me to slow down, extract the vital essence of the everyday and appreciate the little things

Eithne Shortall: Tending to household jobs in record time is not my forte

Ignore a task for long enough, and you’ll become blind to it – or, in my case, take half a decade to buy a turntable on which to play my extensive vinyl collection

Eithne Shortall: Like Damien Dempsey, we should celebrate the importance of being earnest

Witnessing the emotional audience reaction to the singer-songwriter’s one-man show was a heart-opening moment that the slagging Irish could learn from

Eithne Shortall: There’s a big gulf between the cúpla focal and fair fluency

Enjoyable and rewarding though it is, Irish takes a lot of time and effort to master – and then you need the confidence to actually use it

Eithne Shortall: A storey of Dublin’s architectural gems revealed by just looking up

A stress-filled shopping trip can be lightened simply by tilting your head skyward to bring the capital’s wonderful unspoiled architecture into view

Eithne Shortall: A chance encounter with an anti-immigrant rally left me furious and heartbroken

It was hard to know what was worse about the protest in Dublin city centre – the look of dread on the non-white faces watching, or the complete ordinariness of the faces shouting incendiary chants

Eithne Shortall: A choice lesson in factors of primary importance to your child’s education

A hierarchy of desirable primary schools in Ireland exists – if only in the minds of parents, who clamour to get their kids enrolled in already over-subscribed establishments

Eithne Shortall: Thanks to a small child, I know all about telehandlers and backhoe loaders

I’m immersed in the world of my three-year-old son whether I like it or not and am now an expert in construction machines, dinosaurs and PAW Patrol

Eithne Shortall: Emigrants know that things would be different, if they ever decide to come back

Coming home for Christmas inevitably ends in a heavy-hearted departure and awareness of impending homesickness, coloured by the artifice of nostalgia

Eithne Shortall: All I want for after Christmas is to be free from social media

We’ve heard of Movember and Veganuary: what we need now is a name for a month without the endless making of little films and sharing of every thought

Eithne Shortall: This month’s ailment is acute seasonal overcommitment

So, you’re absolutely going to make every single social event crammed into your ‘fuller-than-Santa’s-sack’ diary? Well, ho ho ho . . .

Eithne Shortall: Santa delivers his magic in myriad mysterious ways

How each family receives gifts at Christmas, if any, and the manner of their arrival is a matter of personal choice – so the man in red works his wonder to suit us all

Eithne Shortall: We could be laughing all the way to the bank – or the divorce courts

Going all in on a joint account and doing away with your own can test more than your finances, especially if you’re not used to being called to account on your own spending

Eithne Shortall: Let’s hear it for the local corner shop

Small, family-run independent newsagents are often quite literally the cornerstone of our communities, but they need our support to keep their doors open

Eithne Shortall: Finding peace in the great white hope of a sparkling set of teeth

In a week of troubling pains and panes, when absolutely nothing seems to be going right, precious time out comes from the strangest of places

Eithne Shortall: Getting hot and bothered over a tumble dryer is a waste of energy

Winter is coming – along with potentially sky-scraping utility bills – but government messaging on what not to do to keep house and home warm and dry is useless without practical suggestions on feasible alternatives

Eithne Shortall: Christmas blows in on a harsh wind, but it may bring a perfect storm this year

Okay, it’s only the beginning of November, but after all the restricted festivities of recent years, it’s not too early to look forward to this Christmas and a chance to reconnect with the people who matter most