If a Tree Falls by the Liffey and Nobody Wants to Hear, Does that Mean There are no Trees in the Quays?
The Irish Judicial Oath : ''In the presence of Almighty God I do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and power execute the office of Judge of (whichever court) without fear or favour, affection or ill-will towards any man, and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws. May God direct and sustain me.'' In 2017, Trump political advisor Kellyanne Conway introduced the world to the notion of 'alternative facts'. Mocked at the time, the notion caught on and is now widely used by those in power (have a look at 'Post-truth' on Wikipedia), most recently in the bizarre (but fruitful) political weaponization of an unremarkable coronavirus. A lie can become a truth, if that is what someone with clout wants it to be. Reality can be adjusted to serve the gods who walk among us. I am a liar and a crook. That is the overriding truth in our case, the only reality that matters. It is suppor...