Catherine Conlon

1 month ago | irishexaminer.com | Catherine Conlon

Bara Bada Bastu (Let’s Just Sauna) is the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest this year and, according to the odds, it's the ‘hot’ favourite. Saunas originated in Finland more than 2,000 years ago and were used for bathing, healing and socialising, among other benefits. Using heated hot stones to produce dry heat, they became a central part of Nordic culture.

1 month ago | thejournal.ie | Catherine Conlon

IT IS FITTING that the ‘The Climate Pope’ died during Earth Week, a week dedicated to Earth and the environment, a cause that became a rallying cry of his papacy in a world where many global leaders stayed silent. Imagine a world where all our leaders spoke as clearly as Pope Francis on climate issues.

1 month ago | thejournal.ie | Catherine Conlon

KOMBUCHA, A FERMENTED, slightly effervescent tea, has been consumed for more than 2,000 years. It is likely to have originated in Northeast China. Hailed for its health benefits, it quickly became popular across Asia before eventually making its way to Europe in the early 20th century. It took another century for it to be discovered by Hollywood. Touted by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow on the pages of Goop and Kourtney Kardashian’s on Poosh, its popularity has exploded in the last decade.

1 month ago | irishexaminer.com | Catherine Conlon

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said this week that the State will do whatever it can to accelerate delivery of the multi-billion euro Cork Luas, amid mounting calls for an end-of-decade start date. Lord Mayor Dan Boyle, who proposed a light rail route while a TD in 2006, described the recent publication of the draft route as a "point on the journey". "We need a commitment to funding and we need a timetable. It must be available in the quickest possible time." The Lord Mayor is right.

1 month ago | thejournal.ie | Catherine Conlon

EASTER IS ALMOST upon us. The supermarket shelves are bulging with Easter eggs and each child in Ireland will receive an average of six eggs, while HSE clinical lead on obesity, Professor Donal O’Shea, advised last year that they should receive one. Six or more eggs per child have been normalised at Easter – demonstrating just how skewed our toxic food environment has become.