“Caution must be the watchword here”, we heard on RTE Radio One yesterday morning, as the nation’s beleaguered leader took to the airwaves with RTE’s own Claire Byrne to discuss, amongst other things, the great national re-opening plan. Reading that opening paragraph, you might think that it was the Taoiseach who told Claire Byrne that […]
No, seriously now, what were they thinking? The Bourne Election has just been released @DeirdreConroyIE @JohnLahart @lichamber @NiallCollinsTD @NiamhSmythTD @Fiona_Kildare @MarcMacsharryTD @PaulMcauliffe @cardagh @fiannafailparty #TeamDeirdre #ByElection2021 pic.twitter.com/LetEurASXz — Jim O'Callaghan TD (@OCallaghanJim) May 23, 2021 As a piece of political communication, the only redeeming feature of this video is that it is so bad that […]
About three weeks ago, we reported on a lengthy report and investigation by US Science writer Nicholas Wade, which suggested that the preponderance of the evidence suggests that Covid 19 did not, as scientists have suggested for nearly two years, transmit naturally from bat to human being. Instead, his work suggested, the evidence seems stronger […]
Before we get to the meat of this article, let us begin by noting this moment of remarkable arrogance from the Health Minister: “The Health Minister said it’s “distasteful” that legal firms are already planning on suing the State on behalf of patients whose data has been breached. “I think it has been a little […]
Life being what it is, all of us will endure suffering, loss, grief, and hardship at some point during our time in this world. Very few of us, thankfully, will ever know pain like that suffered by Andrew McGinley. To lose one child is a cause of unimaginable grief. To lose three, and to lose […]
Irish politicians have long been amongst the worst sufferers in the world of that great political pandemic: do-something-itis. When ever there is a crisis, something must swiftly be done, to demonstrate to the public that the politicians understand the crisis, and have a plan. Last night, just days after the public outrage about investment funds […]
Imagine, for one fleeting moment, that an eminent scientist who had regularly appeared in the media throughout the pandemic took to social media one day to declare that having considered the matter, he had developed suspicions – without any evidence, mind you – that the Covid vaccines might cause autism in children. Do we think […]
Begun, the wailing and grinding of teeth has, amongst Ireland’s political class. Who the villain is depends on whether you are in Government, or opposition. If you are in Government, the villain is Aer Lingus, as one Limerick Fine Gael TD took to social media yesterday to assert: Devastating decision by @AerLingus to close cabin […]
It is not really the done thing, in Ireland, to criticise Judges. When, in December of 2019, this writer published a piece arguing that it was time to impeach Judge Martin Nolan, and remove him from the bench, legally minded friends warned that the article had gone too far. Judicial discretion and independence, after all, […]
In many ways, this might be the least surprising story of the century. After all, who would be surprised at the idea that a computer nerd, who suddenly finds himself the richest man in the world, might develop a taste for the ladies? The New York Times reports that Gates had at least one affair, […]
Towards the tail end of the Trump Presidency, there was much consternation amongst pro-choice people, and much celebration amongst pro-life people, at Trump’s successful replacement of iconic liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with star conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Amongst those who watch the Supreme Court, the perception was that the move would […]
See the opposite side of this debate, with Tim Jackson, at this link. To understand the reason why Israel does not tend to listen to Irish criticism of its approach to security, we should go back twenty years or so. In the year 2002, 239 Israelis were killed by Palestinian suicide bombers. Between 2002 and […]