Person: Gareth O'Callaghan

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Person: Gareth O'Callaghan

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>‘Imagine if you were offered the keys to a comfortable cottage in the Burren for the month of January... However, there’s no Wi-Fi or television.’ File picture</p>

columnists

Gareth O'Callaghan: Why solitude still matters in an always-connected Ireland

A January reflection on solitude, nature, and why constant connection is eroding our inner lives and sense of self

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Gareth O'Callaghan: A Christmas letter to my 10-year-old self about curiosity, kindness and growing up

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Gareth O'Callaghan: Christmas, belonging and the quiet loneliness many of us carry

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Gareth O'Callaghan: Vaccination is vital for people with chronic illness as covid and flu season returns

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Gareth O'Callaghan: New York Irish keep their heads down this Thanksgiving due to ICE

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SGareth O'Callaghan: The enduring magic of radio as RTÉ unveils new presenters and a new era

Could this be a sexual revolution? No, it's RTÉ Radio 1's new schedule

S Could this be a sexual revolution? No, it's RTÉ Radio 1's new schedule

Launching a schedule of such magnitude on Ireland’s most-listened-to station is a huge gamble, but the early signs are encouraging, writes Gareth O'Callaghan.

Mon, 10 Nov, 2025

Mental health survey

Gareth O'Callaghan: Suicide leaves behind so many unanswered questions for loved ones

Suicide is not a natural end to a life well lived, and it leaves a mark on everyone who encounters it

Sat, 25 Oct, 2025

File Pics Gerry Ryan Inquest Begins Today 10/12/2010.

Gareth O'Callaghan: Fifteen years on, Irish radio is still trying to replace Gerry Ryan — and failing

Fifteen years after his death, Gerry Ryan’s raw honesty, empathy, and irreverence still define what great Irish radio should sound like

Sat, 18 Oct, 2025

Senior men past retirement age relax and enjoy their hobbies on a sandy beach.

S Gareth O'Callaghan: We are afraid of getting old because it means becoming invisible

A friendship born in a supermarket during covid revealed how fear of ageing is really a fear of invisibility and disconnection

Sat, 11 Oct, 2025

An anxious adult man reading bad news on his phone while sitting on a couch

Gareth O'Callaghan: Auden's 'age of anxiety' has never been more relevant

When it comes to social media, safety and freedom are poles apart, writes Gareth O'Callaghan

Sat, 04 Oct, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel

Gareth O'Callaghan: Free speech, hate speech and the lessons from Jimmy Kimmel and Charlie Kirk

From Frederick Douglass to Jimmy Kimmel, the debate on free speech and its limits reveals democracy’s fragility and strength

Sat, 27 Sep, 2025

Garth Brooks Croke Park 9th Sept 2022

S Gareth O'Callaghan: The night Garth Brooks looked 35 again — and why it still stays with me

As weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy surge in popularity, one writer weighs fear, stigma and the lure of quick fixes

Sat, 30 Aug, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: The romance of rail travel dies somewhere between Limerick Junction and Platform 8

Gareth O'Callaghan: The romance of rail travel dies somewhere between Limerick Junction and Platform 8

Gareth O'Callaghan’s account of a chaotic Cork–Dublin train journey paints a damning picture of Irish Rail’s reliability and standards

Sat, 02 Aug, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: How disgraced Olympic coach George Gibney escaped prosecution — until now

Gareth O'Callaghan: How disgraced Olympic coach George Gibney escaped prosecution — until now

George Gibney promised Olympic glory to young swimmers — but decades later, his victims may finally get their day in court

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

Photo of LIVE AID

Gareth O'Callaghan: Live Aid captured the imagination while causing a lot of controversy

Too many people look the other way; whatever Bob Geldof's critics might think of him, thankfully he didn’t

Sat, 12 Jul, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Why Ireland’s next president must be more than a household name

Gareth O'Callaghan: Why Ireland’s next president must be more than a household name

As speculation swirls about celebrity candidates, we risk forgetting what truly defines a transformative and courageous Irish president

Sat, 05 Jul, 2025

MISSING BOY PHILIP CAIRNS AGE 13...

S Gareth O'Callaghan: Unanswered questions haunt Philip Cairns case decades later

Gardaí’s decision not to upgrade Philip Cairns’ disappearance to a murder case raises troubling questions 40 years on

Sat, 21 Jun, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: A woman's house should be a home — not a place of fear and fatal control

Gareth O'Callaghan: A woman's house should be a home — not a place of fear and fatal control

From coercive control to murder, Gareth O'Callaghan explores what drives men like Richard Satchwell to kill their partners

Sun, 08 Jun, 2025

FILE PHOTO An Bord Pleanala has refused planning permission for a 179-unit apartment development on the site of the Bessborough

Gareth O'Callaghan: Tell us what’s going on at Bessborough — we have a right to know

Despite promises and official statements, Ireland has yet to fully investigate where nearly 900 Bessborough babies are buried

Sat, 31 May, 2025

Cell phone break up

Gareth O'Callaghan: Cool in 1976, crushed in 2024 — where did teen joy go?

Despite Ireland’s academic excellence, one in three teenagers feel unhappy — and the digital age may be to blame

Sat, 24 May, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Is Pope Leo XIV the spiritual leader America needs with Trump in power?

Gareth O'Callaghan: Is Pope Leo XIV the spiritual leader America needs with Trump in power?

As America reels from Trump’s return and global tensions rise, Pope Leo XIV could offer more than spiritual guidance — he may be the world’s needed moral compass

Sat, 17 May, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Recording tragedies like Luke Hyde's should carry criminal penalties

Gareth O'Callaghan: Recording tragedies like Luke Hyde's should carry criminal penalties

A disturbing shift has emerged in Irish society — one where filming human tragedy trumps helping, or even feeling

Sat, 10 May, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: How violence and racism drove me away from football – and still keeps others out

Gareth O'Callaghan: How violence and racism drove me away from football – and still keeps others out

One terrifying night of football violence in 1985 left lasting scars — and shows why racism in sport still thrives

Sun, 20 Apr, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Why Ireland must protect the presidency from political vanity and empty celebrity

Gareth O'Callaghan: Why Ireland must protect the presidency from political vanity and empty celebrity

Ireland has had three transformative presidents since 1990 — will the next one uphold their legacy or fall short?

Sat, 05 Apr, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Asking for Angela shouldn’t be necessary — so why is it?

Gareth O'Callaghan: Asking for Angela shouldn’t be necessary — so why is it?

Toxic masculinity, online hate, and institutional failures are fueling violence against women — how can society stop the cycle?

Sat, 22 Mar, 2025

Donald Trump has found a new weird friend in Conor McGregor. Yes, we should all be worried

S Donald Trump has found a new weird friend in Conor McGregor. Yes, we should all be worried

Summit between a felon and the man found by a jury in a civil rape case to have assaulted a woman shows that wealth and power can buy friends and influence

Tue, 18 Mar, 2025

FILE PHOTO: Cemetery workers and funeral agency workers in protective masks transport a coffin of a person who died from coronav

Gareth O'Callaghan: Apart from how to wash our hands, we've learned nothing from covid

Five years after Covid, we claim life is back to normal — but is that a sign we’ve learned nothing?

Listen | Sat, 15 Mar, 2025

The Trump dictatorship debate and the dangerous parallels we can no longer ignore

S The Trump dictatorship debate and the dangerous parallels we can no longer ignore

Donald Trump’s second term is unfolding with eerie echoes of history — are we ignoring the lessons of the past?

Sat, 08 Mar, 2025

'My shows made RTÉ €50m. Now I resent paying my licence fee'

'My shows made RTÉ €50m. Now I resent paying my licence fee'

Gareth O'Callaghan says RTÉ is an organisation that hasn’t been sustainable for years

Tue, 18 Feb, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: The changing face of Amsterdam — why locals are pushing back against sex and drug tourism

Gareth O'Callaghan: The changing face of Amsterdam — why locals are pushing back against sex and drug tourism

Amsterdam’s locals are growing tired of sex and drug tourism. Is it time for the city to change course?

Sat, 08 Feb, 2025

Donald Trump

Gareth O'Callaghan: Donald Trump has opened the door for people to weaponise mental health at work

My lasting impression of Donald Trump will be his nasty belittling attempts to defeat people whose only violation was to say the word 'no', writes Gareth O'Callaghan

Sat, 01 Feb, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: I’m so glad I took a chance to get away from this repressed country

S Gareth O'Callaghan: I’m so glad I took a chance to get away from this repressed country

Many of us made the decision to leave Ireland because we didn’t like being told how to live, what to believe, and what we could or couldn’t do or be

Sat, 25 Jan, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: When life is difficult, reach for nature rather than self-help books

S Gareth O'Callaghan: When life is difficult, reach for nature rather than self-help books

We can spend years of our lives hoping to find the holy grail of self-help books, only then to realise it’s been right there all along in the mountains and beaches and forests

Sat, 18 Jan, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Finding purpose and meaning in life is where we must all begin

Gareth O'Callaghan: Finding purpose and meaning in life is where we must all begin

Brendan Kennelly’s poem transformed an unexpected moment of raw grief and vulnerability, played out before a nation of television viewers, into a moment of restoration

Sat, 11 Jan, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: Twixmas is often a time we'd prefer to forget

Gareth O'Callaghan: Twixmas is often a time we'd prefer to forget

That state of suspension between Christmas and new year is a time of reflection, including memories we would prefer to forget — there's no getting away from the fact 2024 has been a sad year for humanity

Sat, 28 Dec, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: Finding comfort in the mystery of grief during the Christmas season

Gareth O'Callaghan: Finding comfort in the mystery of grief during the Christmas season

As we grow older, we become more cynical, which is sad. Cynicism is not healthy, but, thankfully, strange things happen at Christmas that are beyond our control, writes Gareth O'Callaghan

Wed, 25 Dec, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: You don't have to be living rough to feel the pain of homelessness

Gareth O'Callaghan: You don't have to be living rough to feel the pain of homelessness

For someone like Jim, it’s not the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time he dreads most. His wife is dead, his son is homeless, and he lives alone in an empty house that was once a family home.

Sat, 14 Dec, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: Nothing has changed politically in 50 years

Gareth O'Callaghan: Nothing has changed politically in 50 years

There are many similarities between the Fianna Fáil leader of five decades ago, Jack Lynch, and the man who is about to become taoiseach, Micheál Martin

Sat, 07 Dec, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: Will RFK Jr’s health policies be as dangerous as his conspiracy theories?

Gareth O'Callaghan: Will RFK Jr’s health policies be as dangerous as his conspiracy theories?

Apart from being the quintessential covid protester, he believes the CIA has infiltrated the US media, and that pesticides in drinking water are creating ‘sexual dysphoria’ in young men

Sat, 30 Nov, 2024

General Election Ireland 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: People are wondering if they will bother to vote at all

The biggest shock next week could be the number of politicians who lose their seats. Nor would it surprise me if the turnout was the lowest ever

Sun, 24 Nov, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: Posters present us with new faces spinning same old yarns

Gareth O'Callaghan: Posters present us with new faces spinning same old yarns

Most of the brochures that have come through my letterbox in recent days are no different in content — promises, platitudes, and pleas — to those that arrived five years ago. All that has changed on many of them is the candidate

Sat, 16 Nov, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: How much longer can we avoid nuclear war?

Gareth O'Callaghan: How much longer can we avoid nuclear war?

Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, but verbal rumblings are getting louder at the prospect of another world war — a war that could not only end all wars but also civilisation

Sat, 09 Nov, 2024

Watching movies and series with smartphone. On demand (VOD) service. Future multimedia technology in mobile phone. Man pressing

Gareth O'Callaghan: In a world of constant connection, our phones are doing our thinking for us

We’ve lost what we once called free time, when we would read and reflect, or escape into our thoughts and memories

Sat, 02 Nov, 2024

Alfred Smith Dinner

Gareth O'Callaghan: Catholics and Republicans slowly becoming joined at the hip

The historic Al Smith black tie dinner is an event held annually at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to raise funds for Catholic children’s charities in the New York archdiocese

Sat, 26 Oct, 2024

Lonely Tramp

Gareth O'Callaghan: We're all in this together? Tell that to those living in absolute misery

We like to believe that Victorian poverty and the shocking history of our own beggarly past are behind us. Far from it

Sat, 12 Oct, 2024

Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates Mass At Nationals Stadium

S Gareth O'Callaghan: Priests are having affairs — is it really such a shocking fact?

I have never seen any sense in the vow of celibacy. It has always struck me as biologically and emotionally unnatural. So why won’t the Catholic Church allow its priests to marry?

Sun, 06 Oct, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: It took losing a close friend to realise I need to mind my health

Gareth O'Callaghan: It took losing a close friend to realise I need to mind my health

Doctors call prostate cancer, among others, the silent killer — it’s worth adding cholesterol to that list

Sat, 21 Sep, 2024

School stock

S Gareth O'Callaghan: The shocking start to my school years would impact me deeply

'I have very few happy memories of my time at school'

Sat, 07 Sep, 2024

Gareth O'Callaghan: We’re facing a fearful future if radicalisation is allowed fester

Gareth O'Callaghan: We’re facing a fearful future if radicalisation is allowed fester

Unfortunately, Ireland still mostly basks in an illusory mindset that the Patty Hearsts of this world don’t exist here

Sat, 31 Aug, 2024