Columns - Irish Examiner

Ryle Dwyer

How Ted Heath showed more political courage than our leaders

ONE of the more surprising features of the newly-released State papers was the eagerness of British Prime Minister Ted Heath to establish a power-sharing executive in the North with an all-Irish dimension.

Sat, 03 Jan, 2004

Even in this age of spin, Bertie is the author of his own bad image

LAST week Bertie Ahern was in the news over a representation made by his office on behalf of a quarry owner suffering from cancer. One of Bertie’s staff wrote a letter to a council official pleading that the quarry should not be shut down, because the owner is in ill health.

Sat, 27 Dec, 2003

Let’s tackle it now before a few bad apples rot the garda barrel

PETER CORY, the Canadian judge who was appointed to investigate suspected police collusion in eight murders in both the North and Republic, has produced his reports.

Sat, 20 Dec, 2003

When things might get totally out of hand it’s best to stand idly by

THE most disconcerting aspect of the Barron Report into the investigation of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974 was the discovery that material has gone missing from the files of the Department of Justice.

Sat, 13 Dec, 2003

Decentralisation is a smokescreen that could turn into a time bomb

By Ryle Dwyer FIANNA FÁIL promised that, if they were returned to power, only 20% of workers would be paying the highest rate of tax.

Sat, 06 Dec, 2003

Sinn Féin set to take on mé féin movement south of the border

ONLY time will tell if this week’s elections will mark a watershed in Northern politics. It looks like the Democratic Unionists will be the biggest party in the new Assembly, with the right of selecting the First Minister.

Sat, 29 Nov, 2003

JFK was great for Irish-America, but his political legacy is debatable

MOST people who are old enough remember where they were this day 40 years ago. I was heading for Des Moines, Iowa, when a couple of women got on the bus.

Sat, 22 Nov, 2003

Jeanie Johnston repays her dues and now she’s Riverdance on water

BEFORE Denis Reen took over the Jeanie Johnston project the whole thing was virtually dead in the water.

Sat, 15 Nov, 2003

Ireland’s Call: an anthem to lift the spirit of any true republican

THERE was a bit of brouhaha on the airways this week after Martin Ferris’s replacement on Tralee Town Council proposed a motion condemning the decision by the IRFU not to play Amhrán na bhFiann at rugby internationals abroad.

Sat, 08 Nov, 2003

Long shadow of the hierarchy still hangs over Government Buildings

THE Government described the recent meeting with Cardinal Desmond Connell and five other members of a delegation from the hierarchy as having been “a useful exchange of views”, and it has agreed to continue contacts with the hierarchy, which has been calling for a reference to God in the new EU constitution, as well as demanding an end to stem cell research.

Sat, 01 Nov, 2003