Columns - Irish Examiner

Louise O’Neill

Louise O'Neill: 'It doesn’t matter if a young girl is saying yes. It’s an adult man’s job to say no'

This is important. Adolescence is a time for exploring your sexuality in a healthy, safe way. That doesn’t give adults the right to take advantage of that.

Wed, 01 Jul, 2020

Louise O'Neill: 'Growing up as a white child in a predominantly white environment, race wasn’t something I gave much thought to'

As white people have been forced to acknowledged the ugly truth of white supremacy, I have found myself wondering if this is how men felt during the #MeToo movement.

Fri, 19 Jun, 2020

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Opening Gala - Arrivals

Louise O’Neill: ’So, tell me. What are your concerns about allowing trans women to be called women?’

In the middle of a global pandemic and a long over-due reckoning with the systemic racism that underpins our societal structures, JK Rowling, the author of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series, decided to share an article on Twitter ...

Wed, 10 Jun, 2020

Erica Cody: 'But I can’t be racist, I have a black friend!'

Regular readers – I know you might have turned to this page and expected to see my face on the masthead.

Fri, 05 Jun, 2020

Louise O'Neill: 'Imagine if we'd been put into lockdown in the 90s, with two TV channels and the one house phone'

AT THE beginning of all of this — you know, society burning to the ground — I reminded myself how fortunate we were that this pandemic had happened in 2020.

Wed, 27 May, 2020

Louise O'Neill: 'I looked at my own life and tried to see where I could improve in my efforts to become more sustainable.'

When I was a child, the hole in the Ozone layer was the environmental disaster that everyone was worried about.

Sat, 23 May, 2020

There is no secret trick to writing a novel

It’s November, which means it’s National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is the brainchild of Chris Baty, a freelance writer based in San Francisco. The project started in July 1999 with only 21 participants, before moving to November the following year to “take advantage of the miserable weather”.

Sat, 03 Nov, 2018

I love Halloween, the most Irish of festivals

I’VE been most unhappy about the unseasonably warm weather this October — thank you, climate change, writes Louise O’Neill.

Sat, 27 Oct, 2018

West Cork Women Against Violence centre fighting on behalf of us all

Last month, I spent a morning at the West Cork Women Against Violence centre (WCWAV) in Bantry, writes Louise O’Neill.

Sat, 20 Oct, 2018

Louise O'Neill: Sometimes people who are struggling can behave in ways that are hard to understand. What do we do when we are confronted by that?

The news that a documentary on Back to Black, Amy Winehouse’s seminal album, is due out next month was so exciting that I immediately started listening to her music on repeat.

Sat, 06 Oct, 2018