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 […]
On Saturday last, Prof Gerry Kileen of the Zero Covid group was a guest on ‘Saturday with Katie Hannon’ on RTÉ where he claimed that 1 in 30 school children would be hospitalised with Covid. In conversation with the presenter, Kileen said he was concerned about the reopening of schools and disagreed with NPHET’s assertion […]
Vicky Wall says that the loss of her baby daughter brought her to realise that sometimes, even amongst the enormous pain and heartbreak of infant death, the small things also mattered. “When Líadán was born, she was so tiny. Beautiful and precious and perfect, but tiny. We took her home from the hospital in a cuddle […]
Last October, after an extensive and supportive media build-up, the Dáil voted on a bill proposed by the Socialist TD, Gino Kenny seeking to legalise Assisted Suicide in Ireland – ensuring doctors could end the lives of patients. At that time, a majority of TDs backed the legislation by 81 to 71 votes. Four out […]
Two hours. Two whole hours? Why on earth would anyone bother taking two hours out of their lives to watch two irrelevant Royals whinge about how mean everyone is to them and how hard their pampered, cosseted lives are? I suppose we’re in the middle of a never-ending lockdown, and no-one’s made a new movie since Old God’s Time but […]