Most public health restrictions related to covid are lifted from today, and masks are no longer mandatory.

In IR news, An Post's CWU  members have voted to accept a 5% pay increase. Fórsa members conclude their ballot on the same deal this Friday. As information meetings for the school secretaries ballot on the WRC proposals get underway this week, regional media picks up the story, and the Ivy restaurant's sacking of wait staff trying to organise featured in the Irish Times over the weekend (and the waiters win).

Elsewhere, there were caps, gowns, jubilation and joy at Friday's UCD graduation event for SNAs. While there's still no accreditation from the Department of Education, Fórsa's SNAs are making plenty of noise about it. Watch this space.

Zen

Twice postponed since June 2020 (because of you-know-what), Damon Albarn's shows at the National Concert Hall went ahead last week. I was lucky enough to be there. Damon, and his band of exceptional musicians, were on form, performing the album The Nearer the Mountain, More Pure the Stream Flows in its entirety. The song Polaris, a sort of paean to finding navigational certainty (emotional, geographical, existential), was one of many stand out moments. Lyrically, at least, it feels like a song for our times. Click here to listen.

Have a great week. 

Niall