I was 12 years old when I played against Cora Staunton for the first – and mercifully – last time. It was a game between Breaffy and Ballintubber and to be eligible, you had to still be in national school. It was the spring of 1994.

In a previous existence, many moons ago, I had some great fun poking fun at a Fianna Fáil party of its time that was going around with little more cohesion than a bunch of headless chickens.

I rarely venture to Dublin now. Too much noise, too much traffic, too much hassle. On the rare occasions when I have to visit our capital city, to tell the truth, I can’t wait to get away from it.

Something curious is happening in the prosperous suburbs of Ireland. Sales of camping equipment have surged among individuals who have no interest in traditional camping.

When did you last say your prayers? It’s a cheeky question to ask, I know. Because, like the question – have you stopped beating your wife? – it makes all kinds of presumptions. Not least that people don’t pray. Or that prayer has any value.

Like the foreboding storm in Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, the atmosphere across the United States is electric with anxiety.

There is no better weekend in the west of Ireland than the August Bank Holiday. It is the most switched-off time of year we have. It is the day when the ball is thrown in on the month when things slow down.

It’s high summer in Achill and that means many things. The sun is not guaranteed (if only) but the roads are busy, the campsites and holiday homes are full and the tourist season is in full swing.

I went AWOL there for two weeks but not much happened. The genocide in Gaza continues unabated and now the Israeli people have added starvation and famine as weapons to their killing machine. Tanks and bombs are not enough.

If I started this article by saying that before we get into it, we’ll take it handy for the first few sets, any reader from the west of Ireland will instantly recognise the reference to one of our greatest institutions, The Saw Doctors.