Columns - Irish Examiner

Louise O’Neill

When did trolling become so readily acceptable? And why do we continue to allow it to happen?

I imagine that these trolls are waiting for me to make a mistake, to say or do something stupid that they can use to humiliate me with.

Sat, 27 Aug, 2016

To be a Rose was to have made it in life

Why do they insist on providing male escorts? Why do they think a woman in her twenties would need to be chaperoned?

Sat, 20 Aug, 2016

When someone describes me as ladylike, I am always deeply offended

A few years ago, unable to get a taxi after a concert at the O2 arena in Dublin, my friends and I decided to walk back into town. 

Sat, 13 Aug, 2016

Our roles in a relationship should be determined by individual strengths and talents rather than gender

I would never attempt to speak for all women, because there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ woman.

Sat, 06 Aug, 2016

When you’re apologising for apologising, then you know you have a serious problem

After a recent break-up where I had my heart broken for the first time, I sat in front of my therapist and sobbed solidly for an hour. 

Sat, 30 Jul, 2016

I knew I would be vilified if I started to talk about other women in crisis pregnancies

It’s time for Ireland to grow up and stop pretending that Irish women don’t have abortions. They do. They always have and they always will. 

Sat, 23 Jul, 2016

Apparently, having sex on the first date means you will be shunned

Having sex on the first date is nature’s way of weeding out assholes with a deeply engrained Madonna/whore complex.

Sat, 16 Jul, 2016

I can attempt to be charming and cute but underneath all of that, my bones are hewn from iron

“Dear Louise, I was raped five years ago and I have been in counselling ever since. After reading your book, for the first time in five years I thought — maybe it was not my fault.”

Sat, 09 Jul, 2016

No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land

There can be no denying the fact that we are living in frightening times. 

Sat, 02 Jul, 2016

People must acknowledge their role in a culture where violence against LGBT people exists

THE difficulty with writing a column with a longer lead time than I’m used to (with this column, it’s ten days) is that I’m often wary of writing about a particular event or incident.

Sat, 25 Jun, 2016