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Dave Oconnell

Dave Oconnell

Connacht Tribune

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Far-fetched excuses will catch you out every time

Far-fetched excuses will catch you out every time

A Different View with Dave O’Connell There’s a very popular pub in Salthill called the Office and there’s also at least one other – that I...

24.01.2025 10

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

The power of teachers to lay the foundations for life

The power of teachers to lay the foundations for life

A Different View with Dave O’Connell Outside of parents, nobody can influence the path your life takes as much as an inspiring teacher, whether...

17.01.2025 20

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Buying albums helps get the money to the artists

Buying albums helps get the money to the artists

A Different View with Dave O’Connell By any yardstick, the owner of Spotify, Daniel Ek, enjoyed a fairly good year in 2024 as his personal wealth...

10.01.2025 20

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Queuing for a kiosk just to phone home

A Different View with Dave O’Connell It was the Christmas Day phone call that brought it home; a simple WhatsApp call to the aunt spending the...

03.01.2025 20

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Charles Mitchel – decent man with no airs of a star

A Different View with Dave O’Connell Back when RTÉ television was just coming of age – celebrating its 21st year on air in 1982 – two young...

25.12.2024 9

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

For all the news you never knew you needed to know

A Different View with Dave O’Connell For as long as I can remember, I’ve read and loved newspapers; even back in boarding school, I used to breach...

20.12.2024 6

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Can Mescal do for Gladiator gear what he did for togs?

A Different View with Dave O’Connell The sportswear manufacturers, O’Neill’s, reported a fifteen per cent drop in revenue for the year just...

13.12.2024 30

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Democracy is the biggest winner in every election

A Different View with Dave O’Connell It’s a privilege to live in a country where democracy can be seen at work – and an election count is the...

05.12.2024 6

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

When the Frank and Walters were thrown out of Walford

A Different View with Dave O’Connell In the way that you should never meet your heroes, you should also never look behind the curtain if you...

28.11.2024 10

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

A flame that flickers but will never go out

A Different View with Dave O’Connell Back in the early 1980’s, in Rathmines’ College of Commerce supposedly training to be a journalist, a few...

21.11.2024 7

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Political departures on a number of different fronts

A Different View with Dave O’Connell It’s been a week for political departures – and Galway for sure has lost a couple of people who made a...

14.11.2024 5

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

DDP and lessons in life learned from a true pro

A Different View with Dave O’Connell The best education isn’t always consumed in the classroom – and, as with everything, sometimes the best...

07.11.2024 20

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Doing the decent thing in time for it to really count

A Different View with Dave O’Connell The death of former Galway Rovers player/manager Tommy Callaghan on the morning of the club’s last home game...

31.10.2024 5

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Taking time away from the glare of the tablet screen

A Different View with Dave O’Connell Wistfully wishing that you could turn back the clock to a time before social media, gaming, and instant access...

24.10.2024 3

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

The rapidly changing face of children’s birthday parties

A Different View with Dave O’Connell There was a time when the essence of a children’s birthday party was twenty rugrats belting each other...

17.10.2024 5

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Light goes out but the beat goes on

A Different View with Dave O’Connell To all who knew him, he was just Viggy – no need for formalities because Viggy suited him to a tee…the...

10.10.2024 2

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Whatever format, Marty is well capable of conducting himself

A Different View with Dave O’Connell At first glance, it should be like trying to mix oil and water – an evening with the RTÉ Concert...

03.10.2024 7

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Flicking to kick our way to dreams of Wembley epics

A Different View with Dave O’Connell There was no good reason that Subbuteo should ever have been a success; little one-inch footballers mounted on...

26.09.2024 5

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Different sort of support for sports stars of the past

A Different View with Dave O’Connell The reason we love sport is because of the extremes it throws up; the chasm between winning and losing –...

19.09.2024 3

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Lloyd Cole proves the dreams do come true

A Different View with Dave O’Connell When you were a small fella tuning into Radio Luxembourg or the fledgling 2FM on your plastic earpiece, it...

12.09.2024 7

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Uphill battle in banning smartphones for teens

A Different View with Dave O’Connell he irony of youngsters looking for expensive mobiles almost as soon as they can walk and talk is that the...

05.09.2024 2

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

School day memories as a new academic year begins

A Different View with Dave O’Connell It’s funny how – even more than 40 years after exiting the gates for the final time – the return to...

29.08.2024 10

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

New season, new dreams – and echoes of old memories

A Different View with Dave O’Connell It’s the time of year when hope springs eternal, when the old slate is wiped clean, the failings and...

22.08.2024 4

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Hard to see the justification for Croker ticket price hike

A Different View with Dave O’Connell For all of those giving out about the price of All-Ireland Final tickets, the truth is that we’d probably...

15.08.2024 5

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

ABBA Voyage was unreal – in every sense of the word

A Different View with Dave O’Connell In terms of the weirdest experiences you could image, few would rival a jam-packed musical arena where fans...

08.08.2024 10

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

Letting the train take the overnight strain

A Different View with Dave O’Connell Maybe it was a subliminal ambition triggered by some version of Murder on the Orient Express or perhaps...

01.08.2024 10

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell

In praise of grandparents and their role in our lives

A Different View with Dave O’Connell I never knew any of my four grandparents because they were all gone to their reward before I was born, and...

25.07.2024 10

Connacht Tribune

Dave Oconnell