comment and analysis

This is my father and it's the first time we met
This is my father and it's the first time we met
Because our independence matters to us
Budget 2027: Disabled people deserve the chance to live an ordinary life in the community
Independent living needs to mean having a home and having the right support

Thu, 01 Oct, 2026

diversify Asian multi-ethic white collar worker busy working in office workstation in open plan
Budget 2027 must give disabled people real choice
Investing more effort and money into employment for people with disabilities would help so many people, writes Tomás Murphy

Thu, 01 Oct, 2026

Depressed Young Caucasian Man Holding Prescription Medication
We ask people who are suicidal to stay — but what happens then?
Moving on from 'talk to someone' means establishing what happens after a suicide attempt — the reality is that the systems don't work, writes Orlaith Dunleavy

Thu, 01 Oct, 2026

A view of the protest outside the Oireachtas buildings 30/9/2026
Paul Hosford: Questions for FAI go far beyond Israel games
Some on the committee have speculated in private that the Israel debacle over the weekend was a welcome dead cat for the FAI

Wed, 30 Sep, 2026

More than half us older people are bankrolling kids and grandkids
More than half us older people are bankrolling kids and grandkids
Finding it difficult to cope with rising house prices and poor pay doesn't mean young people aren't resilient — are we supposed to let them live in poverty to teach them a lesson?

Wed, 30 Sep, 2026

Drumcree Orange Order parade
Mick Clifford: Drumcree shows the road back to the dark days in the North is a short one
The current tensions in Portadown bring back the dark days of routine killing in Northern Ireland for Mick Clifford

Wed, 30 Sep, 2026

APTOPIX Iran War Strait of Hormuz
Energy security in an age of disruption 
Every economy needs energy, but the resources that provide it are distributed unevenly

Wed, 30 Sep, 2026

Drumcree Orange Order parade
‘How did I not know?’: Growing up in Ireland without learning the full story of Drumcree
A post-Good Friday Agreement generation grew up with peace as normal – but what happens when inherited history suddenly feels present again?

Tue, 29 Sep, 2026

Middle East conflict
Fuel excise cuts won't fix hauliers' problems
Ciarán Casey argues the State should change the way it taxes fuel

Tue, 29 Sep, 2026

Ireland must be ambitious for people living with dementia
Ireland must be ambitious for people living with dementia
While awareness and understanding of dementia have evolved, continued action remains vital during World Alzheimer's Month and beyond, writes Andy Heffernan

Tue, 29 Sep, 2026

Professorships at technological universities help level playing field in higher education
Professorships at technological universities help level playing field in higher education
The announcement removes a limitation on the ability of technological universities to compete for leading talent

Tue, 29 Sep, 2026

A family of Caucasians at the playground. Winter weekend getaway. Young woman with a baby boy 5 years old.
Finland's childcare is state-run, cheap, and plentiful — why can't Ireland do it?
We feel incredibly privileged to have this excellent system for our kids, and the thought of having to go back to Ireland to try and navigate the system there was a major factor in us choosing to stay in Finland, says Dan Nickström

Tue, 29 Sep, 2026

Drumcree Orange Order parade
Drumcree dispute shows Northern Ireland’s troubled past still threatens its peace
The two governments will be hoping the standoff can be defused so the ghosts of the past can no longer haunt today’s still emerging Northern Ireland.

Mon, 28 Sep, 2026

Disabled Adult People Travel In Wheelchair At Airport
Rights of disabled people in international protection must not be forgotten by the State
People with disabilities within the system face isolation as they struggle without supports to connect to their new communities

Mon, 28 Sep, 2026

Family volunteering cleaning up plastic waste from lake
Parenting must be political in the shadow of climate change and the planet our children will inherit
New motherhood made me more aware of the world we are leaving to our children — but I thought even then we had more time

Mon, 28 Sep, 2026

Fianna Fail think in - Tullamore
Law Society calls for independent mediator as legal aid row set to roll on
Fears over payment in complex cases and solicitors selectively choosing cases threatens the efficacy of our courts system, writes Liz Dunphy

Sun, 27 Sep, 2026

Sleeping homeless person
Paul Hosford: Homeless numbers continue to rise — but where is the outrage?
It's not that people don't care. It's that the problem has persisted for so long that it has become difficult to imagine how it might ever be resolved

Fri, 25 Sep, 2026

Irish schoolchildren deserve the sort of food others are eating
Irish schoolchildren deserve the sort of food others are eating
We should be proud that every child has the chance to be fed in Irish schools each day, but the universality of our school meals programme is being eroded

Fri, 25 Sep, 2026

Jennifer Horgan: We need to look at arts vouchers for teens through an equality lens
Jennifer Horgan: We need to look at arts vouchers for teens through an equality lens
Little Johnny in Christians or in Blackrock College does not need a voucher to go to the cinema for a few weeks on the trot, but little Johnny attending a Deis school might need a great deal more than that

Fri, 25 Sep, 2026

Openness built Ireland’s economy — perceived hostility to migrants will undermine it
Openness built Ireland’s economy — perceived hostility to migrants will undermine it
Making the path to citizenship longer and more onerous signals to prospective global talent that Ireland is less welcoming than its neighbours

Fri, 25 Sep, 2026

HSE decision not to publish report into disability services a snub to families caring for adult children
HSE decision not to publish report into disability services a snub to families caring for adult children
In choosing not to publish the report, the HSE has greatly angered ageing caregivers of adult children, who were hoping to use it to start a conversation and seek a secure future for their loved ones when they die

Thu, 24 Sep, 2026

AWS Cloud Data Centre Facility, Belgard Road, Tallaght,
Households are paying the price for energy-guzzling data centres
Data centres increased wholesale electricity costs in Ireland by €360 for the average household between 2015 and 2023

Thu, 24 Sep, 2026

Republic of Ireland Media Conference and Training Session
Colin Sheridan: Before the Israel matches, Ireland are to play a country recovering from war
Nearly two decades after independence, Kosovo has arrived in international football. But what, exactly, is it?

Wed, 23 Sep, 2026

Woman hand holds wooden house in the form of heart against the sun
One big push to end homelessness by 2030: Why hope is not naivety but a necessity
Our policy work consistently demonstrates that homelessness is not inevitable. Policy choices can reshape this reality

Wed, 23 Sep, 2026

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee comments
Mick Clifford: Helen McEntee needs to explain how she attempted to protect the whistleblower
Former justice minister Helen McEntee may have serious questions to answer, says Mick Clifford

Wed, 23 Sep, 2026

Marie Keenan: Blaming defence solicitors for justice woes is unfair
Marie Keenan: Blaming defence solicitors for justice woes is unfair
Our research shows that blaming defence solicitors for the ills of the criminal justice system, including adjournments and delays, seems to be grossly unfair, writes professor Marie Keenan

Wed, 23 Sep, 2026

Why don't Iranian people 'rise up and fight'? Because in Tehran, it's a different story
Why don't Iranian people 'rise up and fight'? Because in Tehran, it's a different story
If anything, the ongoing war is uniting a divided country against the foreign invaders. Washington seems a long way from grasping this point, writes Hossein Hamdieh

Tue, 22 Sep, 2026

APTOPIX France EU Canada
Canada is knocking on Europe's door — Ireland should answer
Both Canada and Europe know the risks of economic and security dependence upon the United States

Tue, 22 Sep, 2026

Marian Keyes' writing is a powerful force for social change
Marian Keyes' writing is a powerful force for social change
Women's commercial fiction — or chick lit as it is dismissively called — helps to shape society in subtle ways, writes Dr Maria Butler

Tue, 22 Sep, 2026

UN General Assembly
Peace begins with leaning into our human relationships
My experience is that diversity brings a transformational energy that all benefit from, and in turn peace can thrive everywhere, writes John Smith, CEO of Nano Nagle Place in Cork City

Mon, 21 Sep, 2026

'People in power...are living in the '50s in their head': Calls for publicly-funded childcare
'People in power...are living in the '50s in their head': Calls for publicly-funded childcare
Gráinne Ní Aodha talks to women who believe the private-led model of childcare has left parts of rural Ireland in the lurch as they are not densely populated enough for operators to be financially viable

Mon, 21 Sep, 2026

European and local elections
Limerick’s mayoral model is a national test Ireland needs to get right
The election of a mayor with responsibility for Limerick City and county could lead the way for a more effective type of local governance in Ireland

Mon, 21 Sep, 2026

Vaccination Queue
Ancient smallpox DNA found in Chile reveals new clues about how the deadly virus reached the Americas
Ancient viral fragments from Chile provide new clues about smallpox’s arrival in the Americas and its evolution into a human-only virus

Sat, 19 Sep, 2026

Artificial Intelligence AI Assistant Apps - ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, Meta AI, Grok
Fear of AI is the best advert OpenAI and Anthropic could hope for
ChatGPT and Claude developers may benefit from AI dread ahead of their expected IPOs: A threat to jobs promises revenues to justify their valuations, and existential risk provides a pretext to curb competition

Fri, 18 Sep, 2026

An Garda Siochana Monument of Remembrance
Mick Clifford: Justice department must account for its actions with Garda whistleblower in 2023
There is no allegation that the then justice minister acted with nefarious intent. But a serious error occurred when her office sent Det Supt Brian O’Reilly's file back to An Garda Síochána

Fri, 18 Sep, 2026

Anthropic AI Slowdown
What Dario Amodei’s recent call for a pause on AI gets wrong
Calls for greater governance of AI are sensible, but we must ensure developers are not awarded excessive influence

Fri, 18 Sep, 2026

Farming protest
Trespassing hunters who front for criminals eyeing up equipment a major concern for farmers
The concerns about thefts in particular comes as rural dwellers feel that their areas are being neglected when it comes to gardaí on the beat

Thu, 17 Sep, 2026

Antonio Guterres
The UN cannot — and need not — wait for consensus on issues critical to democracy
Reaching a consensus takes time, and negotiations can produce compromises that do not adequately address the problems they were supposed to solve. That is why governments and their citizens have long turned to smaller 'coalitions of the willing' in cases where consensus is not possible

Thu, 17 Sep, 2026

TOPSHOT-NEPAL-DISASTER-FLOOD
Who is responsible for Nepal’s tragedy?
The devastating floods in Nepal demonstrate what happens when reckless development puts climate-vulnerable communities in harm’s way, writes Nischal Dhungel

Thu, 17 Sep, 2026

File Photo Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe has settled his legal action against the Garda Commissioner and Tusla for an undis
Mick Clifford: Eight years after Maurice McCabe, nothing has changed for Garda whistleblowers
After the Maurice McCabe case, a clean-up operation in which whistleblowers were to be accommodated and listened to within An Garda Síochána was initiated and a new office to accept protected disclosures was established. However, emerging reports suggest the prevailing culture within the force still exists

Wed, 16 Sep, 2026

Rural Ireland Thinks: Just over half of people in rural Ireland consider themselves religious
Rural Ireland Thinks: Just over half of people in rural Ireland consider themselves religious
Just over a third of respondents to the Irish Examiner/Ipsos B&A poll said they attended Mass weekly

Wed, 16 Sep, 2026

Displacement-Shelter-Gaza-Islamic-University
Ireland willingly allowed me to study here — I'm asking for the same for other Gazan students
As a Palestinian student given the opportunity to study in Ireland, Sondos Alfayoumi's future changed for the better. She asks that the Government offers that same gift to others

Wed, 16 Sep, 2026

Russian military exercises off coast of Ireland
Neutrality is not a shield: Ireland is not ready for the next spy 
Ireland, with its technology multinationals, intellectual property and seat at the EU table, is a target of real and growing interest to hostile states like Russia, writes Tony Geraghty, retired commander of the Irish Naval Service

Wed, 16 Sep, 2026

Social Democrats think-in
Louise Burne: Social Democrats cannot hide Eoin Hayes for the next three years
Eoin Hayes has once again derailed a Social Democrats think-in

Tue, 15 Sep, 2026

Variety's 2025 Power Of Women
Marina Hyde: Are you outraged by Sydney Sweeney — again? More fool you
Today it’s a silly sports betting ad, but I can’t see anything she’s done that’s worth this ire. She’s in her 20s: she does dumb things. Enjoy!

Tue, 15 Sep, 2026

New Taoiseach appointed
Elaine Loughlin: The coalition parties have work to do to win rural Ireland back
Irish Examiner poll finds two thirds of people living in rural Ireland feel independent TDs represent them best

Tue, 15 Sep, 2026

Latest

Suzanne Harrington
Suzanne Harrington

Lifestyle

Lunchtime News

Newsletter

Get a lunch briefing straight to your inbox at noon daily. Also be the first to know with our occasional Breaking News emails.

Revoiced

Newsletter

Had a busy week? Sign up for some of the best reads from the week gone by. Selected just for you.

Listen

Most Read

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited