As of 17th April, 302 people have died from the virus in community care settings, which is 62% of all Covid-19 deaths, with 253 of those in nursing homes. Each day, we read on the news about how many cases and deaths there have been, how the curve is flattening, and whether we can ease […]
Some of you are probably too young to remember what happened all the way back in January of 2020, which feels like it was about two decades ago at this point, but it’s worth remembering anyway: Former Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has rejected claims that “shadowy figures” play a key role in the running […]
An interesting report in the Examiner the other day that, with all the Coronavirus news, got a little bit overlooked. But it’s genuinely surprising that it’s taken this long for something like this to be floated: A number of Fine Gael ministers do not believe a government can be formed and that a second general […]
In the days following Leo Varadkar’s address to the Nation on St Patrick’s Day, there was a flurry of chatter online as journalists, politicos and those outside the bubble shared their thoughts and reactions. Most of the coverage was undoubtedly positive, much of the public seemingly reassured that the Government and the Taoiseach are making […]
Last week I asked “What next for the Soldiers of Destiny?” and since then, at near break neck pace, the path to government has become clearer. The Leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have agreed to enter detailed negotiations, as equal partners. The ongoing national emergency posed by COVID-19 has provided the political fig […]
When I was in my mid-twenties, journalist Justine McCarthy wrote a vicious article attacking me in the Irish Independent. Actually there were two articles, over two consecutive weeks, both a big splash covering the front page of what was then the weekend section of the paper. I was reminded of that hatchet-job, and of winning […]
The chances of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Fein coming together to form a national government are, let’s face it, almost zero, for the simple reason that politicians probably feel that it would probably disadvantage all three parties. But that may well be wrong, and, more importantly, leaving the politics out of it, there’s […]
On Saturday, more than three weeks will have passed since the General Election, and Ireland still has no obvious Government in sight. It is now expected that the next attempt by the Dáil to elect a new Taoiseach may not take place until the end of March. Yesterday, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín noted the somewhat […]
I don’t vote Sinn Féin and I imagine I never will, but I shouldn’t need to post that disclaimer before pointing out how utterly ridiculous it is to compare the public rallies the party is hosting to the Nazi marches in Nuremberg. Making that comparison, and warning darkly about public gatherings amounting to “a campaign […]
One of the great arts of spin is to ensure the dominant question of the day is that which you alone have the perfect answer to. Sinn Fein’s artful capacities in this regard have been to the fore since the election verdict. The party has correctly claimed that this verdict was a desire for change […]
If you’re like me, you may have felt chills the first time you watched the 1999 movie “The Sixth Sense”. Without revealing the superb twist for those of you who have not watched it, the film revolves around six-year-old Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osmont) whose mother thinks he is disturbed. Psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) […]
This article was published in the Burkean before the General Election, now with another possible GE on the horizon, we share it with our readers _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Finding it difficult to make sense of #GE2020? Going by the fact that on a good day, about one […]