The global community united in side-splitting gales of laughter As I got older,” Ed West writes in his recent book Small Men on the Wrong Side of History: The Decline, Fall and Unlikely Return of Conservatism, “I came to accept all my political stances are effectively based on irrational feelings of annoyance about smugness and sanctimony.” […]
The strongest argument made at the last Presidential Election for the re-election of Michael D. Higgins was that he constituted a safe pair of hands. He is, after all, an experienced politician and statesman, who knows the constitution inside out. He has many years of experience in front-line politics, and is well suited to carrying […]
It’ll be a real tragedy if, the very first time a species from another Galaxy hears the voice of an earthling, the first message they get is from Communist China encouraging them to read the little red book. In fact, there’s a very real danger that they will read it, and conclude that the earth […]
I have worked with buyers on the issue of modern slavery in supply chains for much of the last decade. Modern slavery is a very real issue. Globally, it is estimated that some 40m people are enslaved or subject to forced labour conditions. Many, many more work in deeply exploitative conditions. I have looked into […]
Religious freedom and political freedom are woven from the same cloth. Reflecting on Irelands experience under the cosh of the Covid-19 pandemic there are very real reasons for concern. The scientific evidence justifying authoritarian edicts restricting freedom of movement and of religious practise– enforced by an unsettling show of armed force–have not been properly set […]
There are several ways by which a person might illegally immigrate to Ireland. They might, for example, come here on a temporary work visa that entitles them to be in the country for a period of time, and then stay here long after that visa has expired. They might simply sneak in on the back […]
The country’s private hospitals are empty, and the owners of those hospitals are being paid one hundred and fifteen million euros a month, by you, the taxpayer, to keep them that way. Meanwhile, 2.2million Irish people are paying private health insurance so that they can avail of these private hospitals if, and when, they fall […]
Normal People, the serialization of the book by Sally Rooney, is billed as the great lockdown escape that has galvanized the country. According to RTE, that is scarcely open to argument and indeed many TV critics have gone along with the creators’ own assessment. According to the hype, it is a beautifully told, ‘coming of […]
All around the world, and not just in developed countries, fertility rates are plummeting. For many people, including dedicated demographers, large families and healthy fertility rates belongs to a bygone era. Many have also become skeptical of the fact that the Christian faith can still have the seemingly magical power of keeping fertility rates up. […]
One of the interesting phenomena associated with the virus lockdown is the alacrity with which certain people have embraced the whole notion of extending state control over further parts of civil society and individual behaviour. It is also noteworthy that far from this being opposed by the left, many of that persuasion have embraced all […]
A profoundly shocking news clip from Al Jazeera has again raised the disturbing practice of ‘screening out’ people with Down Syndrome before they are born. The clip, posted by disability awareness group, Don’t Screen Us Out, shows a spokesperson for Chinese biotech company BGI Genomics talking up the company’s ability to provide screening tests for […]
The school has apologised. The child’s mother, a Mrs Taylor, is tremendously upset. Not that you could blame her: A mum is ‘fuming’ over her 11-year-old daughter’s school work which asked children to define hardcore pornography – among other ‘inappropriate’ topics. Children in Years 7, 8 and 9 at Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull were […]