WEEKEND BIG READ: Does Ireland need a new political party?

No new entity has challenged the political hegemony for long without imploding, so it is hard to see where an alternative to Civil War politics will come from, writes Michael Clifford

IS there anybody out there looking for something different in the political arena? Are you among the multitudes thirsting for a new party in which to invest your mandate? We are told the time has never been better for a new political party to establish itself.

This week’s results in the Meath East by-election were the latest straw in the wind.