Person: Mick Clifford

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Person: Mick Clifford

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>Deirdre McLaughlin holds a picture of her sister, Siobhán Kearney, at her home in Dalkey, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney</p>

S columnists

Mick Clifford: Judges must be allowed to set the minimum terms for murder sentences

Victims’ families question parole rules, compassionate leave, and sentencing powers as debate over justice system intensifies in Ireland

Michael Clifford

SMick Clifford: Meath house demolition raises questions about delay in enforcing another order

Michael Clifford

SMick Clifford: Gerry Adams case shows how Sinn Féin still differs from other parties

Michael Clifford

Mick Clifford: When the gender debate becomes louder than the people it affects

Refugee peoples shadows behind the fence in the refugee camp

comment-analysis

State must come to terms with its own miscarriages of justice

Michael Clifford

SMick Clifford: Farmers should be wary of overplaying their hand

School stock

Mick Clifford: In the SNA storm, who is really standing up for children with greatest needs?

A botched review of SNA allocations has exposed deeper flaws in how Ireland targets special education resources

Sun, 22 Feb, 2026

Mick Clifford: Seamus Culleton and immigrants in US today could not identify with the Allston Seven

Mick Clifford: Seamus Culleton and immigrants in US today could not identify with the Allston Seven

In recent years when such cases arose, the State was inclined towards some accommodation. The mood has since changed

Sun, 15 Feb, 2026

Mick Clifford: Long and winding road from WhatsApp messages to the Limerick garda trial

Mick Clifford: Long and winding road from WhatsApp messages to the Limerick garda trial

The probe into fixed charge notices was legal, but many questions remain — including whether it was even necessary, writes Mick Clifford

Sun, 01 Feb, 2026

Bord Bia farmers protest

S Mick Clifford: Blaming Met Éireann for floods shows performative politics is all the rage

The blaming of Met Éireann for the floods by housing minister James Browne shows performative politics is all the rage these days, writes Mick Clifford

Sat, 31 Jan, 2026

Mick Clifford: Why the Enoch Burke saga is bigger than one teacher or one school

Mick Clifford: Why the Enoch Burke saga is bigger than one teacher or one school

The Enoch Burke case highlights legal uncertainty, policy paralysis and how culture-war politics risk eclipsing students’ real needs

Sun, 25 Jan, 2026

Mick Clifford: Elizabeth Berney’s death marks the end of Ireland’s revolutionary generation

S Mick Clifford: Elizabeth Berney’s death marks the end of Ireland’s revolutionary generation

Elizabeth Berney’s death closes a living link to the revolutionary generation and invites reflection on Ireland’s past, present and political culture

Sat, 17 Jan, 2026

Mick Clifford: Put away the phones and lose yourself in these four books from 2025

S Mick Clifford: Put away the phones and lose yourself in these four books from 2025

From politics and power to sport and memoir, these books reward patience, curiosity, and time away from the scroll.

Sun, 28 Dec, 2025

Mick Clifford: The ghost of the Progressive Democrats returns to haunt Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil

Mick Clifford: The ghost of the Progressive Democrats returns to haunt Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil’s internal grumbling echoes past rebellions, but today’s dissent lacks vision, conviction, or any real plan beyond Micheál Martin

Sun, 21 Dec, 2025

Freddie Scappaticci

S Mick Clifford: Still no justice for innocent victims of the Troubles

Thirty years of violence left a traumatised society in the North, and plenty of pain and bereavement in the south and in Britain

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025

NEWS

S Mick Clifford: A tale of two Alices who have lived lives full of warmth and compassion

Just as Alice Leahy has dedicated her time to improving lives removed from community, so Alice O’Shea has seen the benefits of living in the heart of one, giving and receiving kindness

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025

Mick Clifford: Ivan Yates plays the victim while stamping on integrity of the media

S Mick Clifford: Ivan Yates plays the victim while stamping on integrity of the media

Really, nobody should be surprised that Ivan Yates doesn’t appear to give a fig about whether his blatant conflict of interest did damage

Sun, 23 Nov, 2025

UCC abandons business school: How millions in public money were spent with little to show

S UCC abandons business school: How millions in public money were spent with little to show

UCC’s halted business school plan exposes financial vulnerabilities, over-reliance on foreign student income and renewed concerns over public spending

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025

Depressed woman talking to her pchychologist closeup

S Mild, moderate, or severe? Proposed regulations for therapists proving explosive

The last decade has seen an explosion in the number of people seeking out a talking therapy — but new regulations separating counsellors from psychotherapists could present problems for both professional and patient.

Mon, 20 Oct, 2025

Mick Clifford: Catherine Connolly’s likely win signals a shift in Ireland’s political landscape

Mick Clifford: Catherine Connolly’s likely win signals a shift in Ireland’s political landscape

Catherine Connolly’s likely election as president marks not just a personal triumph, but a turning point in Ireland’s anti-establishment politics

Sun, 19 Oct, 2025

Mick Clifford: Jury is still out on whether Ian Bailey murdered Sophie Toscan du Plantier

S Mick Clifford: Jury is still out on whether Ian Bailey murdered Sophie Toscan du Plantier

Jim Sheridan’s 'Re-Creation' imagines the trial Ian Bailey never faced, reopening debate around Ireland’s most haunting unsolved murder

Sun, 12 Oct, 2025

Mick Clifford: Was it hubris that led Micheál Martin to dismiss Jim Gavin’s deficits?

Mick Clifford: Was it hubris that led Micheál Martin to dismiss Jim Gavin’s deficits?

While it appears unlikely that someone will emerge to take on a damaged Mr Martin, his departure will no longer be on his own terms

Wed, 08 Oct, 2025

Mick Clifford: Sinn Féin's rush for a border poll will do nothing for peace on this island

S Mick Clifford: Sinn Féin's rush for a border poll will do nothing for peace on this island

Sinn Féin's stampede towards a border poll will do nothing to build a new and peaceful Ireland for all citizens, writes Mick Clifford

Sun, 05 Oct, 2025

Mick Clifford: Why successive governments put landowners ahead of the common good

S Mick Clifford: Why successive governments put landowners ahead of the common good

For decades, governments enriched landowners through rezoning while failing to deliver a fair, functioning planning system

Sun, 21 Sep, 2025

Mick Clifford: Eoin Hayes and the Social Democrats' self-induced trauma

S Mick Clifford: Eoin Hayes and the Social Democrats' self-induced trauma

A photograph of Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes in blackface from 16 years ago has surfaced, and his party has reacted as if a deep, dark secret from his past had been uncovered

Tue, 16 Sep, 2025

British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference

S Mick Clifford: Simon Harris threats highlight toxic abuse of politicians on social media

While politicians are generally subjected to the worst of abuse, women across public life are targeted in a more hateful way than men

Sun, 07 Sep, 2025

Jim Gavin 30/7/2025

S Mick Clifford: A Jim Gavin run for the presidency will finally add some colour to the contest

He has mastered Gaelic football, the former Dubs boss would have to tackle what Seamus Brennan once famously described as senior hurling if he wanted to become the President, writes Mick Clifford

Sat, 30 Aug, 2025

Woman looking at houses and flats in the window of an estate agent in London, UK

S Mick Clifford: No country for young people if housing crisis is not fixed

Today’s school leavers should be better equipped that those who went before to go out in the world and make the most if it. However, inequality is draining hope

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

78th Cannes Film Festival

Mick Clifford: Bono blasted over Gaza — but was his silence actually a moral choice?

Bono’s Gaza response drew fierce backlash, but his decades of activism on Aids and poverty tell a more complicated story

Sun, 17 Aug, 2025

Terry Prone: So you’re thinking of running for the Áras... Are you out of your mind?

S Terry Prone: So you’re thinking of running for the Áras... Are you out of your mind?

Ahead of every presidential election, deluded outliers consider running. They look you fearlessly in the eye and affirm in a quiet voice that they want to make a difference. Like Mary Robinson

Mon, 11 Aug, 2025

GEMMA O’DOHERTY;

S Mick Clifford: Political leaders risk credibility by peddling unfounded conspiracy theories

Mainstream politicians adopting fringe conspiracy rhetoric risk eroding trust, fuelling division, and undermining Ireland’s democratic debate

Sun, 10 Aug, 2025

Mick Clifford: McCabe echoes in new garda whistleblower case — are lessons from tribunal being ignored?

S Mick Clifford: McCabe echoes in new garda whistleblower case — are lessons from tribunal being ignored?

New whistleblower allegations of Garda misconduct are surfacing — but just like Maurice McCabe’s case, they’re being largely ignored

Sun, 20 Jul, 2025

Excited group of college graduates throwing their hats in celebration

Mick Clifford: Third-level fee rise sparks backlash — but who is really hardest hit?

The backlash over third-level fees exposes not just political short-termism, but a deeper failure to prioritise true hardship

Sat, 05 Jul, 2025

Dublin protests

S Mick Clifford: Make Ireland Great Again marchers want to turn back the clock — but to what, and at what cost?

As anti-immigrant protests grow louder, we must ask: do we really want to return to a darker past?

Sun, 29 Jun, 2025

Mick Clifford: Trump’s war on free speech is now targeting Ireland and its media regulators

Mick Clifford: Trump’s war on free speech is now targeting Ireland and its media regulators

Trump's grip on speech and surveillance is now crossing the Atlantic, with real consequences for Ireland’s media and students

Sat, 21 Jun, 2025

Mick Clifford: Arts Council CEO Maureen Kennelly was an easy target for minister

S Mick Clifford: Arts Council CEO Maureen Kennelly was an easy target for minister

Minister O'Donovan has thrown Arts Council's Maureen Kennelly under the bus rather than properly deal with departmental dysfunction, writes Mick Clifford

Tue, 17 Jun, 2025

Mick Clifford: Carlow’s shooting tragedy forces a reckoning with how justice is administered

S Mick Clifford: Carlow’s shooting tragedy forces a reckoning with how justice is administered

The Evan Fitzgerald case highlights serious questions about garda operations, judicial transparency, and how vulnerable individuals are treated

Sat, 14 Jun, 2025

Mick Clifford: The performance of innocence — what Sunny Jacobs’ story left out

Mick Clifford: The performance of innocence — what Sunny Jacobs’ story left out

Sunny Jacobs’ tragic death prompts reflection on how truth and myth blurred in one of Ireland’s most complex justice sagas

Sun, 08 Jun, 2025

Mick Clifford: Shane O’Farrell case shows the State still protects itself, not its people

S Mick Clifford: Shane O’Farrell case shows the State still protects itself, not its people

Ireland’s justice failures are not isolated — they reflect a deeper State culture of denial, deflection, and self-protection

Sun, 01 Jun, 2025

Mick Clifford: No genocide in South Africa — but Gaza tells a different story

S Mick Clifford: No genocide in South Africa — but Gaza tells a different story

As Trump peddles racial myths in the Oval Office, a real genocide unfolds — in Gaza, before the world’s eyes

Sat, 24 May, 2025

Mick Clifford: Government needs to come clean on housing numbers

Mick Clifford: Government needs to come clean on housing numbers

In a housing crisis, information should be power — but murky statistics and unanswered questions are blocking public understanding

Wed, 21 May, 2025

FILE PHOTO Bauer Media Audio has agreed to buy Denis O'Brien's Communicorp Group for over €100m. Communicorp includes radio stat

Mick Clifford: The price of peace and pyjamas — is remote work a cultural ticking time bomb?

Remote work has transformed lives, but the loss of in-person interaction may carry unseen long-term costs, especially for Gen Z

Sun, 18 May, 2025

Mick Clifford: Coppinger’s Gript snub should concern anyone who values media freedom

S Mick Clifford: Coppinger’s Gript snub should concern anyone who values media freedom

Selective engagement with the press may feel righteous, but it risks damaging the democratic ideals politicians claim to defend

Sun, 11 May, 2025

Israel Palestinians

Mick Clifford: The ambulance massacre Israel tried — and failed — to hide

The killing of Gaza’s paramedics exposes a chilling pattern of dehumanisation and echoes of past atrocities

Sun, 27 Apr, 2025

Planning Application

S Mick Clifford: Housing crisis deepens as homeowners block developments to ‘protect character’

In a housing crisis, objecting to every development under the guise of ‘character’ protection masks deeper societal privilege

Sun, 20 Apr, 2025

Mick Clifford: Strip search claims at Leinster House protest raise real questions — and some invented ones

S Mick Clifford: Strip search claims at Leinster House protest raise real questions — and some invented ones

Dáil claims of Garda sexual violence demand real investigation — but not at the cost of facts or credibility

Sun, 06 Apr, 2025

Water bills set to rise

Mick Clifford: Water shortages in the next decade are a real possibility

Investment, political will, and a new attitude to a precious resource are critical, writes Mick Clifford

Mon, 31 Mar, 2025

Mick Clifford: Two fingers to democracy — How Michael Lowry became the Government’s biggest liability

S Mick Clifford: Two fingers to democracy — How Michael Lowry became the Government’s biggest liability

Michael Lowry’s shadow looms over the Government, exposing the fragility of political integrity and the cost of dishonesty

Sun, 30 Mar, 2025

Mick Clifford: The land of a hundred thousand welcomes — and unwelcome truths

Mick Clifford: The land of a hundred thousand welcomes — and unwelcome truths

Ireland’s global image took a hit this week as Conor McGregor, social media, and viral headlines shaped the narrative

Sat, 22 Mar, 2025

Mick Clifford: Why Ireland must face tough questions about its covid strategy

S Mick Clifford: Why Ireland must face tough questions about its covid strategy

Ireland’s pandemic response shaped lives, but did it cause more harm than good? A full, honest inquiry is overdue, writes Mick Clifford

Sun, 16 Mar, 2025