The word “respect” is arguably the most powerful word in life. If you apply it to any part of your daily interaction with others, it can only bring about good. Respect others. Respect authority. Respect nature. Respect yourself.

A father spoke from the altar recently at the funeral of his teenage son who had taken his own life. His son, he said, had been bullied.

My heart sinks deep when I hear of the trauma people are put through as a result of bullying

The scourge of human existence is the presence of bullying. My heart sinks deep when I hear of the trauma people are put through as a result of bullying or to put it another way, lack of respect for another human being. That father’s eulogy should be read out in secondary school classrooms this week.

In a world where anything seems possible now, the very idea that schoolyard bullies still exist angers me. You can be the highest achiever in life, in school, in work, in sport, but it means nothing if you’re not respected, if you’re bullied. It’s the root of all evil and the fact that young people’s lives are made a misery by others taking pleasure in making it a misery should be criminalised if proven beyond doubt.

How much of our mental health issues are as a result of bullying in some shape or form, and the absence of respect?

This week we have been reminded about mental health. How much of our mental health issues are as a result of bullying in some shape or form, and the absence of respect? If bullying was treated as totally socially unacceptable, there would be less pain in our world.

Lack of respect for others seeped onto the football field at an underage match in Wicklow last weekend. Based on a chaotic video taken by a bystander, it is difficult to put into context what exactly happened so it’s a little unfair to comment as such. However, what’s not disputed is the fact that punches were thrown by grown adults in the presence of young children.

I’m loathe to pitch one sport against another and it’s unfair to come down on the GAA seeing that it is a sport which ironically doesn’t do segregation

On Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ radio last Monday, Claire read a text from a listener who played rugby in their teenage years and they said they remembered the name of the each referee that officiated at their matches – his name was “Sir”.

I’m loathe to pitch one sport against another and it’s unfair to come down on the GAA seeing that it is a sport which ironically doesn’t do segregation, and considering the horrendous abuse meted out at soccer matches, but there have been too many anecdotes of rowdiness from the sidelines from jumped up parents at juvenile matches for the GAA not to take action. The lack of respect for referees in particular is outrageous, considering that it’s an amateur and volunteer-based organisation.

A farmer who respects his or her animals and the land they farm will do better than those that don’t

I have always taken the line never to use the referee as a scapegoat for my team’s poor performance. The vast majority of analysis of any match my team has lost has concluded that the better team won and nothing to do with the aggregate of refereeing decisions during the match.

It all comes back to that word: respect. A farmer who respects his or her animals and the land they farm will do better than those that don’t. It’s simple. We need to reapply its simplicity to our daily lives in the helter skelter world of social media where so many of us now virtually live our daily lives. Social media has been the catalyst to so many people filtering the meaning of “respect” from their daily discourse. Actually, why is it not called “unsocial media”? If we tried to apply respect to everything we do, undoubtedly we would be the better for it.

Ninja scooters

Wondering if it is mandatory for one to dress from head to toe completely in black clothing before riding an electric scooter on the road? Asking for a friend.