There were all sorts of rumours and speculation as the polls closed in the Dublin Bay South bye-election. The slightly higher turnout in Ringsend and Pearse Street as compared to the places where people dress up for dinner, apparently, had some pundits predicting that Lynn Boylan of Sinn Féin was going to emulate Mark Ward […]
I have a lovely dog but she is a bit headstrong and erratic. For nearly a year, I couldn’t take her anywhere unless she was on a lead but gradually, over time, I would let her off the lead on walks along the footpath for an increasing among of time. Bit by bit she became […]
The saga of the ownership and governance of the National Maternity Hospital has generated much heat and contributed to a further dimming of the light – particularly in magnifying the distaste that exists for anything with a religious association. The direct victims of this – both through political posturing and media manipulation – have been […]
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that Ireland should step up its role in the European Union, and supported the EU receiving more money, as well as more powers in the area of health. The remarks were made in an address to Fianna Fáil party members this week. “I believe that the union must be able […]
Right, cards on the table, and feel free to boo at the screen if you are so minded: This writer is backing England on Sunday. Not quite to the extent of wearing an England shirt (in the part of Monaghan were I grew up, that would invite a bullet, and to the kneecap only if […]
Yesterday the Irish Government made a truly extraordinary announcement: under plans they propose to put into legislation, indoor hospitality will return in Ireland on July 26th. But only for those who have been fully vaccinated. If you are vaccinated, like me, then you will be able to sit indoors in a restaurant or a pub. […]
The great puzzle about the lockdowns has been how support for the restrictions has divided along class lines. In general, low income earners, especially manual workers, oppose the lockdowns strenuously, while high income earners – the laptop class – seem to support it strenuously. This class divide, the elite versus the workers, is reflected in the […]
This year marks 100 years since foundation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its Czechoslovak counterpart – KSČ (Communist Party of Czechoslovakia). Both parties set off with the same ”Leninist” pattern but their current shape is quite different from each other. Both parties organised terror in their countries, which cost thousands of lives in […]
There was a time when humanity’s heroes were almost invariably the champions of freedom. In politics, philosophy, story-telling, and beyond, our idols were those who fought the good fight so that people could live free and in peace. It was viscerally understood, by all of us, that freedom was a good thing and that no […]
Last night the Government succeeded in passing a last minute amendment to the Finance (Covid and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 that will allow institutional investors, otherwise “vulture funds”, to avoid paying stamp duty on housing units if they agree to lease them to local authorities. This represents a huge concession to the investors who have […]
There is good news here, and bad news. The good news is now that we are a rogue state, the chances of the Americans deciding to launch a pre-emptive strike and liberate us from the tyranny of NPHET or whoever have increased dramatically. The bad news is that it is unlikely that many serious people […]
It is not hard to feel sympathy for the organisers of the Dublin Marathon. Speaking to Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk’s Hard Shoulder last evening (an item in which yours truly also featured), lead organiser Jim Aughney said that the cancellation was not because the organisers lacked faith in the vaccine programme, or personally believed in […]