Columns - Irish Examiner

Ronan Mullen

Bush likely to win for the very reasons many here don’t like him

NOBODY is claiming victory yet. There is a long way to go in the US presidential campaign. Plenty of time for controversy, tremors in the economy, rumours of scandal and swings in the polls.

Wed, 08 Sep, 2004

Why focus on Smith when at least two others are ripe for the chop?

THE former Minister for Justice Seán Doherty made an interesting comment during a recent interview on RTÉ.

Wed, 01 Sep, 2004

John Kerry is looking weakest on the election battleground he chose

WHERE did John Kerry spend Christmas of 1968? Vietnam, it seems. Which is not what he has been saying for 25 years.

Wed, 25 Aug, 2004

Blair has two trumps to play for a third term: time and the Tories

JUST the other day I was in a small airport in a remote part of Argentina. On the wall was a prominent tribute to the local pilots who died during the 1983 effort to “reclaim the Malvinas”.

Wed, 21 Jul, 2004

Have you heard the one about the overly-cheery lawyer politician?

EVERY Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States wants to be John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Which is not surprising, given that Kennedy was the last Democrat to enjoy the status of national icon.

Wed, 14 Jul, 2004

How prayer and practicality mean so much to the poor of Argentina

PRESIDENT McAleese smiled down as our neighbour lifted the tarantula. He did it so effortlessly.

Wed, 07 Jul, 2004

Recognising non-married couples would dilute the status of marriage

IT would be an exaggeration to say that Fine Gael’s new policy document on civil partnership aims to abolish marriage. But the overstatement would only be slight.

Wed, 30 Jun, 2004

You saw it as it happened — an honest man mugged by the media

NOTHING illustrates the cruelty of modern politics like the stitching up of Royston Brady in the run-up to the European elections, and his eventual vindication when it was too late to do him any good.

Wed, 23 Jun, 2004

Fianna Fáil must rekindle its long-lost grassroots activism

DAITHÍ DOOLAN says the election was over at Christmas. The newly-elected Sinn Féin councillor for Dublin’s South East Inner City felt confident going before the people.

Wed, 16 Jun, 2004

Those who underestimate Reagan just don’t understand intelligence

WHAT was the secret of Ronald Reagan’s success? Was it his timing and theatricality? His charisma? His optimism? His circle of advisers? Or was it that, time after time, people underestimated him?

Wed, 09 Jun, 2004