Una, speaking on Liveline from sunny Maspalomas in Gran Canaria, told Joe Duffy that she and her son had the biggest row they've ever had before she left because he didn't think she should be going. He told her, when she spoke to him from the plane, that she was unbelievable. Now, Una is enjoying blue skies, warm weather and sea views.  

"I'm in a private complex, where my apartment is and I have a beautiful, sealed–off–with–glass pool, heated… I have my own patio, where I have my lounger and my seating and my table, where I can have my breakfast outdoors." 

Una walks the promenade with Ryan Tubridy every morning, she told Joe. Mas Palomas is cheaper and safer than anywhere in Ireland, Una maintained, when Joe put it to her that the advice from the government and the NPHET is not to travel beyond 5km unless it's for essential reasons.  

"I'm taking my life in my hands every time I go out to walk at home – narrow roads and the weather. When it was frosty, you could break a leg… And I can live here way cheaper than I can live at home." 

"If envy had a fragrance", Joe said to Una, "I'm oozing it at the minute. And it's not Chanel No 5."  

Frank – who travelled to Gran Canaria between Christmas and New Year's – went further, telling Joe that life in the Canaries is better for his mental, as well as his physical health: 

"I've got some underlying health conditions and this is a far, far safer place to be than in Ireland." 

The 14-day incidence rate in the west of Ireland is almost ten times that of the county he's in in Gran Canaria, according to Frank. He had to have a PCR test done before travelling to the island and will have to have another one before returning to Ireland. Frank and his wife aren't in a holiday complex like Una, they're renting an apartment in a picturesque valley. There's a 10 o'clock curfew, but as Frank told Joe, he's not so much into clubbing these days, so that doesn't bother him. 

"You’re not suffering any mental anguish, the weather’s good, the pubs are open and the hairdressers are open." 

Mary called in to give her opinion on Una and Frank's decisions to travel abroad during lockdown – and she wasn't happy. 

"I'm appalled. I think those people are a disgrace, an absolute disgrace. They're talking about their mental health. What about the remainder of the country, what about our mental health?" 

Mary – and she wasn't alone in this by any means – seemed to be making the point that we're all supposed to be in this together and Una and Frank have gone and looked after themselves.  

"It's a nightmare, the Coronavirus. People are ill all the time and people are dying. And the point about it is, that is never going to change if we have people like those couples who are on the air now talking to you, Joe." 

Frank's advice to Mary – "Get a flight out here and you'll feel much better" – did not go down well with her: 

"How dare you. How dare you... No, I won't get a flight out. Yes, I would love to. Yes, my children would love to not cancel their holidays… But the point of it is, we will adhere to the rules... Regardless of your age, or health or anything else, I think you're being extremely selfish." 

Peadar came on to say that he too, thinks that Una and Frank are being selfish and he had one fervent hope for their return to Ireland – that they get hit where it hurts: 

"We can't even go to holiday within our own country and these people are boasting about being in the sun. Now, I hope that Frank and Una, when they return to Ireland, that their names are red-flagged and that they'll pick up another €500 fine." 

An emotional Delores from Dublin came on to tell Una and Frank how she hasn't been able to hug her daughter, who has special needs, since March last year and that travelling to Gran Canaria in breach of the lockdown restrictions is a slap in the face to people observing the restrictions. She told Joe: 

"I think their moral compass is incredibly skewed. My 23-year-ol daughter is autistic. She's in residential care and I haven't hugged her since March last year. Because I'm not allowed. Because I have to stand at the door. So, I'm finding it very hard to listen to the gleeful conversation you're having about the view." 

You can hear more from many very exercised callers and two very relaxed holiday-makers on the full Liveline programme, by going here. 

Niall Ó Sioradáin