Even an experienced postman would be fearful of this dog. He was big, black and barking loudly. But despite her fright the canvasser stayed put until the door was opened.

There was a time when, as a journalist, you were almost afraid to say Denis O’Brien’s name out loud given his penchant for taking people to court, writes Alison O’Connor

The best way to help our girls and boys is to develop their sexuality in a healthy manner, writes Alison O’Connor. 

Tolerance for listening to someone who holds the opposite view to your own on abortion depends, I find, on the day, the hour and the speaker, writes Alison O'Connor.

It’s an unlikely pairing, I know, but my mind has been drifting between former president Mary McAleese and former footballer Jamie Carragher.

A politician I know told me the other day he gave up smoking following a concerted campaign from his seven-year-old daughter, writes Alison O'Connor.

If I live to be 100 I will never forget that first time hearing my baby’s heartbeat while having a scan. It was, and remains, the best sound ever.

Alison O’Connor believes he showed belated wisdom in not going to the country back in December. But all he needs at the moment is a valid, or valid enough, reason to throw us all into a general election campaign.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the introduction of voting rights for women and their right to stand in parliamentary elections Culture Minister Josepha Madigan singled out the legacy of Countess Markievicz.

Abortion is not as black and white as people might portray it, and ‘there is a lot of grey’ in this profound, complex moral issue, writes Alison O’Connor.