Latest news with #Sandycove
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘I have tried to be honest and frank including mistakes and regrets as well as triumphs' – Leo Varadkar set to publish memoir this September
He signed a six-figure book deal with Sandycove, an imprint of the publisher Penguin, last year following a bidding war for the rights to his autobiography that involved nine publishers. The former leader of Fine Gael, who resigned as both taoiseach and party leader in a shock announcement last April, said he has 'tried to be honest and frank' in his account. The book, which is titled Speaking My Mind, will be released on September 11. 'I served in government at one of the most interesting periods in history - the aftermath of the economic crash, Brexit, transformative referendums and the pandemic,' he said, sharing the cover of the book to social media earlier today. "The book is both personal and political and I hope it will give the reader new insights into that time. I have tried to be honest and frank including mistakes and regrets as well as triumphs.' Mr Varadkar was awarded the title of 'Hauser Leader' at Harvard University's Kennedy School's Centre for Public Leadership earlier this year, where he is currently guest lecturing. In a statement released by his publisher when he signed with them last year, Mr Varadkar said: 'I am really enjoying writing my story and I was keen to do so while it was still fresh in my head. It's as much a personal memoir as it is a book about political history. "There is so much people know already about my time at the top but there is almost as much that they don't. I have the freedom now to say things I could not while holding office and I have enough distance to reflect on the mistakes I made as much as what was achieved.' The former Fine Gael leader was elected to the Dáil in Dublin West in 2007 at the age of 28. He contested the party leadership election following the resignation of Enda Kenny in 2017 and was elected taoiseach that year at the age of 38. Mr Varadkar is one of a number of former taoisigh to publish his memoirs, including Brian Cowen and the late Albert Reynolds. In 2008, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern agreed a €400,000-plus publishing deal with Cornerstone Publishing, a subsidiary company of US publishers Random House.
BreakingNews.ie
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- BreakingNews.ie
Clamping company order to compensate man after his car was damaged during tow
Dublin clampers have been ordered to compensate a motorist for repairs after his car was damaged during towing last year. Oscar Adonis Marchat, of Elton Park, Sandycove, Dublin, won a small claims case against Dublin Street Parking Services Ltd. Advertisement He told Judge Peter White at Dublin District Court that he had to bring the civil action due to his car getting towed away in the city on July 16th last year. Mr Marchat testified that he had no issue with that and paid the fine, and the vehicle was unclamped. However, he told Judge White it showed a "failure signal" and would not start. The judge queried whether an anti-theft device was triggered to immobilise the car. Mr Marchat said that was not the issue, and his garage found that the steering column was damaged, "and that forced the car to shut down". Advertisement Judge White heard Mr Marchat was left with a €553 repair bill, which he referred to the clampers, asking them to pay. He alleged they responded by saying they needed a private investigator and had to appoint someone to interview him and contact his garage to look into his complaint. Ireland Revealed: Cork's illegal parking blackspots with o... Read More But by late summer they had not got in touch about seeing the car. "I tried to follow up multiple times," the motorist said. Finally, he said, the investigator had told him he had come off the case and to deal directly with the parking company again. Mr Marchat got his car fixed at his own expense and provided documentation from his garage, a quote and an explanation for the damage. With no defence entered by Dublin Street Parking Services Ltd and noting the evidence furnished, Judge White accepted that the steering column was damaged during towing and granted Mr Marchat a decree for the full repair amount.
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
The Episode by Mary Ann Kenny: Moving memoir about loss and healing exposes troubling frailties in mental health services
The Episode: A True Story of Loss, Madness and Healing Author : Mary Ann Kenny ISBN-13 : 978-1844886869 Publisher : Sandycove Guideline Price : £18.99 On a fine April morning in bright sunshine, Mary Ann Kenny's husband died suddenly while out jogging near their family home. John, the stay-at-home dad, had brought the children to school, popped in his earphones and gone out for a run. The Episode begins and nothing will ever be the same again. 'The first indication I had that something was wrong was when I glanced at my phone at around 1.45pm and noticed six missed calls.' It is the prelude to a descent into grief, psychosis and months of hospitalisation before a journey back to health and happiness. This is a story that tells many interconnecting and inter-related stories. Chief among them is the life of a family devastated by the sudden death of a father and husband and the traumas it triggers. We read about the limitations of mainstream psychiatry , the protective role played by family and friends, the tenacity of the human spirit and the exceptional bravery of Mary Ann Kenny. READ MORE [ The fall of an ancient tree is a sad occasion. It marks the death of a living monument Opens in new window ] [ Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt: a portrait of the sensualist as a young man Opens in new window ] Kenny's strength is demonstrated by her capacity to endure a catastrophic loss, crippling depression and the inadequacy of mental health services. This unflinching account serves as a strong illustration of her courage. She gains access to her medical files and quotes from her medical notes throughout the book. This provides the reader with a visceral, near-tangible sense of the world she was thrown into on the day her husband never returned home. She paints a painful picture of committed professionals operating in a psychiatric system preoccupied with risk. It is a system that focused on the symptoms resulting from the trauma she experienced, as opposed to the trauma itself. Over the course of her engagement with mental health services, the real episode - the devastating loss of her husband - is virtually never spoken about. This failure to truly acknowledge Kenny's devastating loss is as bewildering as it is distressing. Her tenacity and resilience, on the other hand, can only be described as utterly epic. This deeply personal and moving memoir offers wisdom and inspiration. It does more than that, too, addressing issues of urgent public interest. Mental health professionals and policy makers would benefit from reading it. Paul D'Alton is a clinical psychologist and associate professor of Psychology at UCD.
