Latest news with #Daly
Hamilton Spectator
12 hours ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
No gavel needed: Pat Daly steps down after four decades on Catholic board
It took several prompts and iterations for Catholic trustees , with the help of ChatGPT, to create the perfect parting prayer for Pat Daly . A lot has changed in three decades, but the chair seat hasn't. Now, after 34 years, Daly, who has helmed the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board since 1991, is stepping down. 'Through tireless days and steadfast years, he served with faith, with hopes and fears,' trustees read in unison from the text brought by trustee Mark Valvasori. 'A shepherd strong, with heart and soul, committed to the common goal.' Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board chair Pat Daly is stepping down after 34 years. It's the end of an era for the board — and for Daly, whose 40-year run as Ward 7 representative comes to an end on Friday. He was first elected in 1985, replacing his father on the board after the elder Daly's death. Daly was elected to the top job several years later, and is believed to be the longest-running chair in the province's history. 'It seems like yesterday,' Daly said following his final board meeting on Tuesday evening, at which trustees bid him a heartfelt farewell. 'Your hard work, insight and integrity have left a lasting mark,' said Ward 10 trustee Mary Nardini, who has worked with Daly for more than 20 years. 'You'll be missed, but we know you'll continue to make a difference wherever you go.' Longtime Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board chair Pat Daly at his final board meeting on June 17, 2025. At 67, Daly has accepted the top job at the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) after the current executive director announced plans to retire. Daly has a long history with the organization, including eight years as its president. He starts on Monday. A round of applause erupted in the Mulberry Street boardroom, and trustees presented Daly with an award. 'Whatever small contribution I've made, it's only as a result of the friendship, the partnership … of the men and women around this board,' he said. 'We have done amazing things.' And he's never once had to use his gavel to maintain order, he said, raising it to demonstrate. It's still unclear how his vacant Ward 7 seat will be filled. Historically, the board has opted to appoint a trustee — the cheaper option — over holding a byelection, Daly said. The last municipal vacancy — Ward 4 at the public board — was filled via a byelection in January with a little more than two years until the next election, which is set for October 2026. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
'There's great satisfaction in hearing your own tunes played': Jackie Daly turns 80
Jackie Daly, accordion legend, composer, Gradam Ceoil recipient, and renowned joke-teller, may already have the honour of putting the Lucrative into Sliabh Luachra, if only as one of his vast collection of puns. But as the Kanturk native celebrates his 80th birthday this weekend, now ranked among his proudest achievements is the title of the Man who put the Planxty into the Sliabh Luachra tradition. Steeped in the music of the Cork-Kerry border, whose tunes he first learned from fiddle master Pádraig O'Keeffe's past pupil Jim O'Keeffe, Daly has long made his own mark on the area's tradition as one of the finest purveyors of its polkas and slides, airs, reels, hornpipes, and jigs. In a career playing and recording with Dé Danann, Buttons & Bows, Arcady, and Patrick Street, and with duet partners including Séamus Creagh, Kevin Burke, Máire O'Keeffe, and Matt Cranitch, Daly's broader musical credentials on both accordion and concertina are impeccable. When public performances were curtailed during covid lockdown, his talents as a composer flourished and a trickle of new tunes became a torrent, culminating in the 2022 publication of The Jackie Daly Collection of 227 original works. Between the jigs and the reels are four planxties, reflective of the Irish harp melodies associated with Turlough O'Carolan, described by Daly as 'a little bit classical'. 'They never seemed to be part of the Sliabh Luachra tradition, so in my collection there's four of them and one of them is getting popular now – it's called Planxty Luachra,' he says. Among his musical accomplishments thus far, he adds: 'At the moment the one I'm most proud of is the planxty because it wasn't done before.' Considering the possibility that in another 80 years academics might pontificate on the origins of this Sliabh Luachra 'planxty tradition', he quips: 'I don't know if they will or not. We'll harp on that later. 'But I love the slides and polkas. There's three [self-composed] polkas - The Cat on the Half-Door, Pauline's Panache, and Joe Burke's – that have got popular now and a lot of people are playing them together. There's great satisfaction in hearing your own tunes played.' Beyond his new compositions, Daly has been helping to shape traditional music for decades through his arrangements, ornamentation, and reinterpretations of existing tunes, many becoming so well known that they are now themselves the standards. 'I should bring out another collection,' he says. 'There's lots of tunes that are not in the book because of the fact that I put extra parts to established tunes. They've become popularised as well, so in the future maybe I'll do something about that.' Already mulling the title of such a volume, he tells a tale of how a Sligo-Leitrim version of the tune The Bucks of Oranmore once earned the disapproval of musician John Kelly. 'Connie Connell was playing it in Dublin and John Kelly said to me 'what's that?'. He said 'Jackie, The Bucks should not be interfered with.' So I'm thinking of calling my book 'Jackie Daly and the ones he interfered with'.' All joking aside, in interpretations of tunes Daly respects the tradition and if he adds anything to the tune it's always in context, according to his long-time collaborator, fiddle player Matt Cranitch. 'On the recording that he did with Dé Danann on The Mist Covered Mountain, the set of reels The Cameronian and The Doon - and The Doon is a well-known Sliabh Luachra tune - every single note on that is a workshop in musical integrity,' says Cranitch. 'When an ornament is put in, they have incredible effect and meaning and this kind of thing doesn't happen by accident. It happens from his lifetime of music and the genius of the man himself.' Daly's lifetime in music is a world tour of festivals, concerts, and sessions from America to Japan, from Kanturk to his current home in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, and of friendships and acquaintances, famous names, and fond memories. In four 'fantastic' years from 1978 with Dé Danann 'we played a lot in America and bluegrass festivals where they'd never heard Irish traditional music before and it went down a bomb,' he recalls. He went on to perform at 'a big festival in Milwaukee, one in Chicago, in Boston, lots of them, and the Catskills I did 13 years on the trot. I've even done a few tours of Japan.' Of all his collaborations, however, Daly acknowledges accordion-fiddle duets are his 'favourite kind of music' as the instruments 'go so well together'. Influential in popularising C#D, rather than B/C accordion tuning, he says: 'I was the first person to start tuning my box 'dry', as they call it; not using an awful lot of tremolo on it, so it fits in better with the fiddle - and some people even find it hard to differentiate between the fiddle and the box with that kind of tuning.' Eavesdropper, his 1981 duet album with Kevin Burke, earned great critical acclaim and his eponymous 1977 album with Séamus Creagh is for many people one of the seminal recordings of Sliabh Luachra music. Though a native of Westmeath and a former showband electric guitarist, he and Daly were both into the same things – 'music and music and music' – and Creagh fell in love with the Sliabh Luachra style. Séamus Creagh and Jackie Daly provided one of the seminal recordings of Sliabh Luachra music. Picture: Domhnall Ó Mairtín Daly, a fitter by trade, had joined the Dutch merchant navy at 18. 'I was also in Denmark in the late '60s and unfortunately I had a bad experience,' he says. 'I met my wife in Denmark when I was doing a training course and we got married but she passed away a year after. And that's when I packed up my work as a fitter and sold my house in Little Island. 'I started busking on the street and shortly after that I met Séamus Creagh and we took off together, which was great.' Regular fixtures together at The Gables and The Phoenix in Cork, Daly also recalls other gigs in far-flung corners. 'Lovely weekends when we'd play in Dingle on Saturday nights and Sundays we'd do Sherkin Island.' Creagh had taken on the job as the local postman on the Co Cork island. Though profoundly affected by the loss of his wife, her death also 'made me see that you should be doing the things that you love - and I loved music since I was a child', says Daly. Still doing what he loves, between gigs with Cranitch in Beara, Kenmare, and Ballydehob, Daly was back in Miltown Malbay last week, where he plays Friday sessions with fiddle player Eileen O'Brien. In Kerry, what Cranitch terms Daly's 'fiddle sensibility' derived from his early O'Keeffe influences, ensures 'when World Fiddle Day happens in Scartaglin every year he has a position of honour among all the fiddle players in the sense that he's considered to be part of that tradition'. This year, that connection was celebrated in Scartaglin with a tribute to Daly in advance of his 80th birthday this Sunday, his tunes taking centre stage with a new generation. 'They had a concert in my honour,' he says. 'All the musicians went up - a lot of them were young people - and played tunes of mine. It was beautiful to sit there and listen to them.' Jackie Daly is joined by Matt Cranitch, Eileen O'Brien, and Paul de Grae at the Gleneagle, Killarney, on June 27; support by Teorainn. See: Jackie Daly is joined by Matt Cranitch (left), Eileen O'Brien, and Paul de Grae at the Gleneagle, Killarney, on June 27 Jackie Daly: Question of Taste Current reading? My Oedipus Complex by Frank O'Connor. I love his writing. He was a very intelligent man and had a beautiful way of expressing himself. I read an awful lot and I go to the library every week. Current hobbies? I do crosswords all the time. I had a brain haemorrhage about 30 years ago and I was told that if you keep your mind busy, that's good. I do Sudoku as well. I had three aneurysms but I think my memory has improved slightly over the years and I still have the names of all the tunes. Current listening? I listen to any music that I consider to be good, but pop music I hate. The Beatles were good. Myself and Alec Finn took Hey Jude and made a hornpipe out of it and Alec got a letter from McCartney saying it was the best version of it that he came across. It's beautiful as a hornpipe – it's so melodic. What's important in your life right now? The news these days is bad. But I love going for walks and I do meditation. I love meeting people, talking to people - and yes, telling jokes.
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
Dublin's Mater Hospital launches new AI centre
Dublin's Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) has launched a new Centre for AI and Digital Health which will use artificial intelligence (AI) to solve clinical problems across the hospital. Based at the Mater's Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare, the new hub will also engage in research to develop AI-driven solutions to improve patient care and outcomes. According to the Mater Hospital, the new centre is helping it to reduce emergency department waiting times, assist in diagnostics and automate time-consuming tasks. The research projects include AI-driven automation to help to identify suitable patients for clinical trials in oncology, and a generative AI tool that can convert lumbar spine CT images into synthetic MRI images. Another project is focussed on reducing the number of cardiac fluoroscopy video x-ray images, and subsequently the radiation exposure to both the patients and clinical staff, through real-time AI generated images. In the Mater's radiology department, AI is assisting in the rapid notification of suspected pathologies, like stroke and fractures, which are being correctly flagged within two to three minutes of the scan being completed, with an accuracy rate of over 90%. "AI has the power to transform how we deliver healthcare," said Erin Daly, Operations Manager for the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare. "At the Mater Hospital, we are developing AI solutions that directly improve clinical processes, whether it's streamlining workflows, assisting in medical research, or helping doctors make faster, data-driven decisions," Ms Daly said. The Mater said it is focused on responsible and ethical implementation of AI with robust data protection and management frameworks being developed to ensure patient safety and privacy. "AI in healthcare must be implemented with care, accountability, and a clear focus on improving patient outcomes," said Josephine Ryan Leacy, CEO of the Mater Hospital. "The Mater Hospital's Centre for AI and Digital Health is focused on ensuring that AI is developed and deployed in a way that prioritises patient safety, transparency and real clinical benefits," Ms Leacy said.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Contentious major projects bill falls under microscope as Liberals rush it through
OTTAWA – Provisions in the federal government's controversial Bill C-5 that would allow the executive branch to skirt laws in order to push forward major projects are likely to survive a court challenge, some constitutional experts say. But others warn the proposed law would allow Ottawa to flout its constitutional duty to consult with First Nations under Section 35 of the Constitution. The bill has become a magnet for criticism as the Liberal government moves to push it through the House of Commons by the end of this week. The legislation would give the federal cabinet the ability to set aside various statutes to push forward approvals for a small number of major industrial products, such as mines, pipelines and ports, if the government deems them to be in the national interest. Paul Daly, chair in administrative law and governance at University of Ottawa, said that while the provisions giving the executive more power are controversial, they're likely to survive a court challenge. 'This bill probably is constitutional,' he said. 'It is unlikely that a court would invalidate this as violating the Constitution.' Sections 21 to 23 of the bill allow the executive branch to bypass existing rules and processes in 13 laws — including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Indian Act and the Impact Assessment Law — through a regulatory process that does not need to be approved by Parliament. These sections are what's known in the legal community as 'Henry VIII clauses' — a reference to a King who preferred to govern by decree rather than through Parliament. Courts have not found these to be constitutionally invalid, Daly said, adding there are guardrails in the legislation. He said Charter rights and the duty to consult will continue to apply to the legislation. 'It's similar in character to the carbon tax legislation from a few years ago, where the Supreme Court said the Henry VIII clause was constitutionally valid. And I suspect that a court, if this statute were challenged, would come to the same conclusion,' Daly said. His faculty colleague Errol Mendes, another law professor and constitutional expert, also said by email that he thinks the clauses can be defended constitutionally. But Anna Johnston, a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, said sections 22 and 23 and 'very worrisome' because they could allow the federal cabinet to exempt a pipeline or some other project from the Species at Risk Act. And she said she thinks it gives the federal government too much leeway on the Crown's duty to consult with Indigenous peoples on decisions that affect them. 'If I were Canada's lawyers, I would have advised them strenuously against this bill,' she said. 'That consultation has to be meaningful and I worry that, especially under the timelines that this government wants to make these decisions, that this bill is basically circumventing the government's constitutionally required duty to consult.' The bill aims to speed up the approval process for major projects so that cabinet can render a decision in two years at the most. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said it takes too long to push major new projects through 'arduous' approval processes. 'Canada is a country that used to build big things,' Carney said when the bill was introduced on June 6. 'In recent decades, it has become too difficult to build new projects in this country.' Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Friday that the legislation must be studied thoroughly since it can suspend various laws and regulations relating to language, First Nations rights, the environment and threatened species. 'The government seems to want to avoid scrutiny on the bill, which by itself is worrisome,' he said in English when speaking to reporters in the House of Commons foyer. 'How could we go forward with such a huge bill with huge consequences for Quebec and Canada without at least doing what we have been elected to do, which is studying, thoroughly, this bill in committee?' Speaking on background at a technical briefing for journalists, federal officials said that while the government has no intention at this time to draft regulations that would bypass those laws, the legislation does give it a lot of flexibility. NDP MPs Leah Gazan, Alexandre Boulerice and Lori Idlout wrote to government House leader Steven MacKinnon on Friday to formally request that the bill's study be slowed down to provide for more debate in the House. 'Failure to uphold constitutional obligations and environmental standards at a time when we are experiencing a climate emergency will have the opposite effect of developing Canada's economy and sovereignty, and will only lead to conflicts in the courts,' they wrote. 'In its current iteration, Bill C-5 violates Canada's constitutional obligations under Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982 that recognizes and affirms Aboriginal treaty rights by giving the governor in council the ability to sidestep constitutional obligations.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The bill is expected to undergo an unusually fast one-day study by the House transport committee Wednesday afternoon and evening. The government expects to pass the bill by the end of Friday. The federal Conservatives have argued the bill does not go far enough. Conservative Natural Resources critic Shannon Stubbs said in the House on Friday that the 'anti-energy, anti-development' Liberals should repeal the 'no-new-pipelines' Bill C-69, passed by the Justin Trudeau government. She said the Impact Assessment Act it created heaped difficulties on energy sector projects and prevents them from going ahead. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Contentious major projects bill falls under microscope as Liberals rush it through
OTTAWA — Provisions in the federal government's controversial Bill C-5 that would allow the executive branch to skirt laws in order to push forward major projects are likely to survive a court challenge, some constitutional experts say. But others warn the proposed law would allow Ottawa to flout its constitutional duty to consult with First Nations under Section 35 of the Constitution. The bill has become a magnet for criticism as the Liberal government moves to push it through the House of Commons by the end of this week. The legislation would give the federal cabinet the ability to set aside various statutes to push forward approvals for a small number of major industrial products, such as mines, pipelines and ports, if the government deems them to be in the national interest. Paul Daly, chair in administrative law and governance at University of Ottawa, said that while the provisions giving the executive more power are controversial, they're likely to survive a court challenge. "This bill probably is constitutional," he said. "It is unlikely that a court would invalidate this as violating the Constitution." Sections 21 to 23 of the bill allow the executive branch to bypass existing rules and processes in 13 laws — including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Indian Act and the Impact Assessment Law — through a regulatory process that does not need to be approved by Parliament. These sections are what's known in the legal community as "Henry VIII clauses" — a reference to a King who preferred to govern by decree rather than through Parliament. Courts have not found these to be constitutionally invalid, Daly said, adding there are guardrails in the legislation. He said Charter rights and the duty to consult will continue to apply to the legislation. "It's similar in character to the carbon tax legislation from a few years ago, where the Supreme Court said the Henry VIII clause was constitutionally valid. And I suspect that a court, if this statute were challenged, would come to the same conclusion," Daly said. His faculty colleague Errol Mendes, another law professor and constitutional expert, also said by email that he thinks the clauses can be defended constitutionally. But Anna Johnston, a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, said sections 22 and 23 and "very worrisome" because they could allow the federal cabinet to exempt a pipeline or some other project from the Species at Risk Act. And she said she thinks it gives the federal government too much leeway on the Crown's duty to consult with Indigenous peoples on decisions that affect them. "If I were Canada's lawyers, I would have advised them strenuously against this bill," she said. "That consultation has to be meaningful and I worry that, especially under the timelines that this government wants to make these decisions, that this bill is basically circumventing the government's constitutionally required duty to consult." The bill aims to speed up the approval process for major projects so that cabinet can render a decision in two years at the most. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said it takes too long to push major new projects through "arduous" approval processes. "Canada is a country that used to build big things," Carney said when the bill was introduced on June 6. "In recent decades, it has become too difficult to build new projects in this country." Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Friday that the legislation must be studied thoroughly since it can suspend various laws and regulations relating to language, First Nations rights, the environment and threatened species. "The government seems to want to avoid scrutiny on the bill, which by itself is worrisome," he said in English when speaking to reporters in the House of Commons foyer. "How could we go forward with such a huge bill with huge consequences for Quebec and Canada without at least doing what we have been elected to do, which is studying, thoroughly, this bill in committee?" Speaking on background at a technical briefing for journalists, federal officials said that while the government has no intention at this time to draft regulations that would bypass those laws, the legislation does give it a lot of flexibility. NDP MPs Leah Gazan, Alexandre Boulerice and Lori Idlout wrote to government House leader Steven MacKinnon on Friday to formally request that the bill's study be slowed down to provide for more debate in the House. "Failure to uphold constitutional obligations and environmental standards at a time when we are experiencing a climate emergency will have the opposite effect of developing Canada's economy and sovereignty, and will only lead to conflicts in the courts," they wrote. "In its current iteration, Bill C-5 violates Canada's constitutional obligations under Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982 that recognizes and affirms Aboriginal treaty rights by giving the governor in council the ability to sidestep constitutional obligations." The bill is expected to undergo an unusually fast one-day study by the House transport committee Wednesday afternoon and evening. The government expects to pass the bill by the end of Friday. The federal Conservatives have argued the bill does not go far enough. Conservative Natural Resources critic Shannon Stubbs said in the House on Friday that the 'anti-energy, anti-development' Liberals should repeal the "no-new-pipelines" Bill C-69, passed by the Justin Trudeau government. She said the Impact Assessment Act it created heaped difficulties on energy sector projects and prevents them from going ahead. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
