Person: Caldragh Carrick

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

columnists

McBride was author of insincere letter to Pope

I had assumed that former Taoiseach, John A Costello, a devout Catholic, had written the Uriah Heep-type letter of cloying humility and obsequiousness to Pope Pius XII.

Hysterical US now an armed police state

A sobering thought: from Cowen to Katie

Time to face down internet bullies

Whilst I am no fan of Israel and its policies towards Palestinians, the decision by traditional group Dervish to pull out of a short tour there because of ‘venom’ directed towards them on a social media site is regrettable.

Wed, 09 May, 2012

Another flawed agreement

Long after the Mahon Tribunal is forgotten the consequences of another piece of paper is smouldering to ignite at some near future time.

Sat, 24 Mar, 2012

Issuing the bonds

I have just issued a €100 personal bond for the household charge which will not be payable until 2025.

Fri, 23 Mar, 2012

No Party the right option

I wonder if it’s time for a new political party to be formed?

Sat, 03 Mar, 2012

Asylum seekers decrease

STATISTICS just released reveal that the number of asylum seekers to Ireland has decreased significantly.

Thu, 05 Jan, 2012

Tea Party welcome

FIRST of all, it was driving on a deflated tyre which produced a blow-out that tried to do her in, and now it is the fault of anti-Roman Catholic Church voters who misunderstood her.

Mon, 31 Oct, 2011

A distinguished group?

READING the many signatures of former attorney generals on a letter to you makes me wonder what collective noun could be used to describe such a distinguished bunch.

Tue, 25 Oct, 2011

FG and peace process

THE hysteria emanating from Gay Mitchell and some other high-profile members of his party against Martin McGuinness’s candidacy for president confirms the wide-held belief that there would have been no true peace process or Good Friday Agreement if Fine Gael had been in power.

Tue, 04 Oct, 2011

Speech hits wrong note

JOHN O’DONOGHUE’S sour losing speech in the magnificent sports hall he said he helped build, summed up the magisterial delusions of the man.

Tue, 01 Mar, 2011

Dawn of a new era

DUBLIN’S Drumcondra mafia or northside gurriers as I preferred to call them have finally been cleared out, and as a bonus, no Greens today.

Mon, 28 Feb, 2011

The snow must go on

WHEN Labour gets into coalition will they give us a Minister for Snow as the late great Michael O’Leary was once dubbed.

Tue, 07 Dec, 2010

Beggar my neighbour

SOME opposition politicians and economic pundits have been likening the bailout negotiations with the EU and IMF to a poker game in which the government had played badly.

Tue, 30 Nov, 2010

No dignity

AFTER his performance in the latest television ad for the News of The World, is ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern aware of what “dignity of office” infers?

Wed, 06 Oct, 2010

Gloating media

THERE seems to be some glee at Seán FitzPatrick’s bankruptcy in the media and elsewhere.

Wed, 14 Jul, 2010

Cardboard country

NOW that we have life-sized cut-outs of garda cars on roadsides in Co Kildare when can we expect cardboard versions of gardaí on our streets, decoy health professionals in our hospitals and elsewhere.

Mon, 21 Jul, 2008

Housing iceberg

THE ludicrous attempt by estate agent ‘experts’ to promote an optimistic outlook for a greatly overblown housing market is akin to listening to people prattle on about the quality of the equipment on the bridge of the sinking Titanic.

Thu, 21 Feb, 2008

Late opening

AFTER Belfast, is the proposed Dublin IKEA store now a case of “too much, too late”?

Thu, 20 Dec, 2007

Cold and inhumane

THE cold and calculated way the information about the unfortunate additional 97 women was disguised in the overall cancer review patient figures given to the Oireachtas Health Committee was indecent and inhumane.

Sat, 24 Nov, 2007

Horses for courses

WAS Frank Dunlop’s horse any relation to Shergar?

Tue, 06 Nov, 2007

Time of danger

I PRESUME the Government and various lobbyists will be keeping statistics on the number of people killed or maimed in car carnage involving provisional licences between now and next June?

Tue, 30 Oct, 2007

Where to begin

US President George W Bush is to be lauded for speaking out about human rights violations in Cuba.

Mon, 29 Oct, 2007

Harps and crowns

THERE seems to be a campaign by certain individuals suggesting the replacement of our national flag with a design featuring a harp.

Sat, 06 Oct, 2007

Satire with a message

TG4’s and director Declan Recks’ The Running Mate is the most refreshing piece of television drama and satire I have seen in years.

Sat, 29 Sep, 2007

Late Late Show looks a bit like old times

THE nights are closing in and the Late Late Show is back in revitalised form.

Sat, 15 Sep, 2007

Bridge the gap between sculpture and aesthetics

THERE are already too many scaffold-type structures along the Liffey without adding an ungainly 48-metre lattice work by Anthony Gormley.

Wed, 05 Sep, 2007

Dublin looks west

SINCE the foundation of the State, generations of politicians and governments have been promising to drain the Shannon.

Tue, 28 Aug, 2007

Newsreaders accused of security lapse

MORE and more in recent times I hear TV and radio newsreaders, and other commentators, talking about our ‘police’ when discussing crime and other matters.

Fri, 24 Aug, 2007

Playing the role of victim: an expert’s view

A WEST Belfast audience was recently told by the Taoiseach’s man in the Seanad, Eoghan Harris, that “cultivation of victimhood is not going to bring any peace to this country”.

Mon, 13 Aug, 2007

Call time on last orders

THE attempt to curb excessive drinking and late-night street violence by reducing the hours of licensed premises is useless and will never work. In some instances, it exacerbates the problem.

Fri, 03 Aug, 2007

Minority rule

I VOTED to get rid of a tiny, unrepresentative, extremist political party — the PDs — and had presumed it would not be joined by another — The Greens.

Fri, 15 Jun, 2007

Road to recovery

ROAD deaths are down 23% since the start of mandatory tests. Gaybo and Co, keep up the good work.

Mon, 11 Jun, 2007

Dopey attitude

I JUST love this New Ireland hypocrisy.

Thu, 24 May, 2007

Euro tunnel-vision

JOHN WATERS’ explanation for Ireland’s dismal Eurovision performance is akin to some years ago when the English were continually losing major international soccer games.

Tue, 15 May, 2007

Hidden agenda

ONCE again a teenage girl’s dilemma is being manipulated by adults who should know better.

Thu, 03 May, 2007

News from elsewhere

ONCE again the media is dominated by another self-induced American tragedy.

Mon, 23 Apr, 2007

Driven to death

IF we erected memorials to victims of automobiles at the location of the tragedy in the same way we remember those lost by boats or aircraft, our country would now resemble a necropolis.

Mon, 09 Apr, 2007

Apply raffle rules to phone-in shows

PREMIUM rate’ (highway robbery) phone-in or text calls to TV or radio stations should require a promoter’s licence similar to those needed for the public selling of lottery or raffle tickets.

Fri, 30 Mar, 2007

Central issue

AS a one-time producer of audiovisual experiences for interpretative centres like the new one at the Cliffs of Moher, we in the business used to aptly call some of them ‘interruptive centres’.

Sat, 10 Feb, 2007

Toxic risk from ASBOs

ASBOs — like asbestos before them — are being hailed as a cheap, wonderful, fireproof and insulating substitute by their promoters.

Fri, 12 Jan, 2007

Enticed to mediocrity

SO, the 2007 election is over already. Not since rates on domestic property were abolished in 1977 (which local government and businesses are still paying dearly for) have I seen such an attempt at enticing an electorate.

Sat, 09 Dec, 2006

Let’s bring closure

THE Stardust fire victims’ DNA exhumation is to be welcomed.

Tue, 05 Dec, 2006

Shannon return

IN view of the American public’s opinion of the Bush administration, will the Government now return Shannon airport to civilian control?

Mon, 20 Nov, 2006

International Rules test should be banned

I WATCHED the so-called International Rules test delayed telecast from Croke Park here in Perth. It seems to me there were no rules.

Tue, 07 Nov, 2006

Reverse takeover

DID you hear the one about the tax exile whose fortune was made from the private sale of a State asset who then tried to stop the open and public takeover of another State asset by a man who lives, pays and works in this country?

Fri, 20 Oct, 2006