As we noted last week on Gript, the result of the Dublin Bay South bye-election, where the media set the posh against the privileged, was never going to be much of a surprise. The constituency is one of the wealthiest areas in the country. As far as gated houses and disposable incomes are concerned, DBS is not so […]
Bye-elections are a curious beast, not least because with just one electoral area, and therefore a smallish number of candidates, the focus of politicos becomes hyper-intense. There’s gangs of them digging for gold, or even votes, in the leafy streets of Dublin Bay South at the moment. Ministers are pictured getting down with the party juniors […]
From the government to Sinn Féin and the hard-left: all the parties who cheered on the lockdown are equally to blame for the mounting job losses and rapidly-approaching economic devastation caused by their unquestioning approach to the Covid crisis, where the only challenge put by most of the Opposition was usually for even more stringent, […]
This week has seen extraordinary and unsettling scenes across Dublin city, as Gardaí drew batons to clear young drinkers off South William Street, and clamped down on other parts of the city. Apparently groups of young people were forced to leave St Stephen’s Green and other areas, so they all drifted down to South William […]
To read the opposite side of this debate, with my colleague John McGuirk, click here _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Buying a home is by far the most difficult and stressful purchase most people will ever make. Scrimping and saving for a deposit; traipsing around to view houses; persuading the bank to […]
We were told, weren’t we, that repealing the 8th would make this a better, more caring, more compassionate country – especially for women. Three years since the referendum that’s certainly not the case. Last month, a heavily pregnant, homeless woman was beaten so savagely in Dublin city centre that she lost her baby. That pregnant women are homeless […]
This morning, the hashtag #LeoTheleak is trending on social media. The Shinbots were up early then. Yesterday, or the day before, it was #Shinners or something wearily familiar, because, as we all know, Fine Gael are now well able to take the fight to the enemy on Twitter. It’s all mostly so trite and nauseatingly […]
Yesterday, a cavalcade of cars made their way around Ballymurphy in West Belfast. The small streets were crowded as a whole community celebrated a vital, historical ruling. Photographers captured the jubilant, delighted faces: neighbours hugging each other in the bright sunshine, relief and joy and tears and smiles from the families who had waited so long for this day. White […]
“There’s nobody living that can tell anyone where to put the grace notes,” Joe Éinniú once told an interviewer. The best songs had to be learned over years of listening, and sung with great passion and deep feeling. He preferred the laments – Caoineadh na dTrí Mhuire, Anach Chuain, Úna Bhán – the great Conamara […]
Curiouser and curiouser. The Central Statistics Office has now issued an updated analysis of deaths in Ireland and they’ve reported excess deaths during the Covid crisis as in a range “between 2,034 and 2,338”. This means that, even allowing for the fact that the analysis covers a period of time which is straddling two winter peaks […]
Irish is officially the first language of the State, but it rarely feels that’s actually the case. Despite the fact that 40% of our citizens are able to speak Irish, while 21% of people, according to the last Census, speak Irish daily outside the education system, Gaeilge rarely seems to be afforded the respect it […]
Last week, RTÉ apologised to Minister Paschal Donohue because they asked him a slightly difficult question around children’s shoes. The apology, and the speed with which it was delivered, does not bode well for the future of robust journalism in this country – and should give pause to the headlong rush to ensure taxpayer funding […]