Mary Kenny
Independent.ie
Ireland
Contact Mary
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Mary:
I never foresaw our 1970s feminism becoming the mainstream movement it is today
I sometimes receive emails, or even occasionally get stopped in the street, by women saying “thank you for all you have done for women”. For this kindness, I feel both grateful and unworthy. I was just one of a group of women who, back in the 1970s, launched the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement, which seems to have put feminism on the map. → Read More
From John and Mary to Romeo and Phoebe – how our popular baby names have evolved
Names given to Irish babies are certainly more varied than they used to be. Rian and Éabha, Noah and Grace, Theo and Fiadh, Adam and Caoimhe have superseded the more predictable patterns of John (or Seán) and Mary, which led the pack in 1972. → Read More
Homework’s best lesson is about life and not just about our standards in education
The headlines said that President Michael D Higgins wanted a “ban” on school homework. He wasn’t quite that dogmatic – but he did make a suggestion that time at school “should get finished at school”; and when pupils come home, they should be “able to use their time for other creative things”. → Read More
We should drop the phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ and find positive ways to let boys be boys
Here’s a conundrum: when I was young, there was plenty of sexism around. Women were excluded from all kinds of spheres, and episodes such as the “wolf-whistle” (in Dublin, there was also a tongue-click sound) were commonly directed towards women. → Read More
Oldies of the world unite – and take feisty, glamorous Joan Collins as your role model
The world of 2023 has many woes and sadnesses, but if there is one thing that cheers me up, it’s a picture of Joan Collins taking a swimming dip in California over the recent festive season. → Read More
At Christmas, keep the family peace – the rows aren’t worth all the hurt that follows
There are families that are paragons of mutual love and support. There are siblings who will go to the ends of the earth for each other – women who will be surrogate mothers to a sister’s child, brothers who will defend one another to the hilt. → Read More
Let’s face facts – the wealth and success of Ireland today owes much to the English language
The sums of money currently rolling into the Irish Exchequer are amazing – revenues are hitting a record this year at €23bn. An American financial source predicts that this tax take will climb to €26bn shortly. The State has never been so rich. → Read More
Rejoice! At long last, the tiresome process of airport security is set to be overhauled
It was just a short city break to Copenhagen with my son, earlier this year. As we went through security at Gatwick, the operator took up my little plastic bag of permitted cosmetics, removing each mini-item, examining make-up, mini-shampoos, and tiny containers of cleansing rose-water with the forensic eye of a laboratory investigator looking for deadly toxins. → Read More
An Irish passport is highly prized – but it shouldn’t be just a flag of convenience
I’VE always encouraged people of Irish heritage to apply for an Irish passport; and this month, as we have been informed by Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, such encouragement has reached unprecedented success. → Read More
Stricter laws simply don’t deter problem drinkers. An alcoholic will always get hold of liquor
Public health doctors have been objecting to the proposed liberalisation of the licensing laws – pubs and clubs will be allowed to stay open until the small hours, and there are concerns that revellers will be reeling home at 6am after a night of heavy drinking. → Read More
Critics call it damaging drivel, but latest series of ‘The Crown’ will attract record numbers of viewers
So, who will be watching the new series of The Crown, which will be on Netflix from November 9? Probably as many people – more than 17 million – who watched the last confected drama about the British royal family. → Read More
None of us benefits from the divide between generations, but the gap only seems to be getting wider
I suppose the “generation gap” must always have existed to some extent – did not Shakespeare refer to “crabbed age and youth”? – but patterns of living in Britain are showing there has been an expansion in divisions between old and young over the past 30 years. → Read More
Grand hotel that is The Shelbourne reflects Irish society and history
German television has been airing a series of programmes about grand hotels across Europe – hotels which especially symbolise the history of the country in which they are placed. → Read More
Dear old dining room has gone well out of fashion in the design of modern homes
Alas agus ochone: the dining room, once the sign of formal respectability for the bourgeois household, is no more. Fewer and fewer homes now under construction or for sale contain a dining room, according to a study by a British property group, Rightmove, and it’s likely to be a similar situation in Ireland. → Read More
Despite aching limbs and advancing years, Pope Francis must set the standard by soldiering on
For more than a year, there have been persistent rumours of Pope Francis’s imminent resignation: pictures of the pontiff in a wheelchair during his recent Canadian trip have enhanced such speculation, along with his own references to failing health. → Read More
Can snobbery be outlawed? A group of psychologists recommends it should be
It’s a given now that in any civilised society there are laws aimed at preventing discrimination on grounds of race, gender, age, pregnancy and sexual orientation. → Read More
Reform the Catholic church’s structure, yes, but don’t forget its beauty and spirituality
The “next chapter” of the Catholic Church in Ireland will be a very different one from those which went before, says Archbishop Eamon Martin. The consultation among the faithful – known as the Synodal Pathway – whose findings will be published next month will unveil a profile of Irish Catholicism which is much in contrast to what went before. → Read More
Everybody loathes Boris Johnson now, but I still have loyalty to a rascally fellow wordsmith
Just about everyone seems to loathe Boris Johnson right now, from those who once hired him – Sir Max Hastings, formerly of the Daily Telegraph, has said Boris “cares for nothing but his own fame and gratification” – to an Irish priest friend who sent me an email yesterday referring to “the human horror that is Boris Johnson … that man represents EVIL in so many different ways”. → Read More
The ‘change’ in attitudes to menopause is welcome – but it’s now wrongly viewed as a disease
When I was in my 20s, my aunt called me “disgraceful” for using the word “menopause” in mixed company. → Read More
Why there’s good reason to mark Father’s Day – even if you don’t have a card to send
The adverts have been piling into my inbox since last week – while the shops have been full of suggested gifts – urging us to mark Father’s Day, celebrated in 48 countries on the third Sunday of June. → Read More