COLUMN:Michael Hand- Penny Lane may have saved my bacon


“COME out in the name of the Law” is a phrase I would associate with 1930’s black and white gangster movies. I still shudder with disbelief to think it was addressed to me as a nine-year-old boy. When I was at school in the 1960’s it was considered essential if you were to have any […]

COLUMN:Michael Hand-Don’t worry about what people think


ONE of the most recurrent phrases I heard my mother say when I was young was: “What will the neighbours think?” She often compared me to the children in other people’s families with the assumption that they were better behaved than me. I knew that in most cases they were not. It was a disease in […]

COLUMN: Michael Hand- Epidemic of anxiety in our world


THERE is an epidemic of anxiety in our world today. The majority of people that I see concerning their mental health are struggling with anxiety and looking for a tablet to take it away. Sadly no medication is effective long-term with anxiety. The first thing to say about anxiety is, anxiety is normal and most people […]

COLUMN: Michael Hand- It’s OK to be gay


I WAS speaking with a young man in his twenties recently who is gay and could not accept it; in fact, he said that he hated being gay and regrets that he is not heterosexual. This was not an isolated incident. I have come across quite a few gay people who struggle to accept their sexuality, yet […]

COLUMN: Michael Hand- Retirement is overrated


I WOKE up this morning to the sound of heavy rain and hailstones. It was a wet, windy Monday in April and I was delighted to be going to work. I thought to myself how lucky am I that I am still working at 66 years of age, when most people my age are retired, because […]

COLUMN: Michael Hand- Face your fears


THERE is an excellent book by M. Scott Peck called “The Road Less Travelled” where he draws on the experiences of his career as a psychiatrist, to guide us through the difficult, painful times in life by showing us how to confront our problems through the principle of discipline. The opening sentence is: “Life is Difficult”. It […]

COLUMN: Michael Hand- Incensing the priesthood


During my seven years studying for the priesthood at Maynooth Seminary, there were occasions when the powers that be could have questioned the appropriateness of my suitability. Indeed there were several incidents, had they come to light, the authorities would have had good grounds to expel me. But like Al Capone being caught for tax evasion, my […]