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
Iran US Key Oil Facilities
Donald Trump’s Iran war has cost Americans at least $11bn already — and that’s just the start
Nobody knows how or when this war will end, but Americans will find themselves far poorer because of it, writes Arwa Mahdawi

Wed, 18 Mar, 2026

Lebanon Iran
Ali Larijani was ruthless — and clear-eyed about west’s implacable hostility to Iran
A 2006 Guardian interview with Iran’s slain security chief now reads as a grim warning of the conflict that killed him

Wed, 18 Mar, 2026

Defence Forces must pay deserving cadets their true worth
Defence Forces must pay deserving cadets their true worth
Cadets are paid far lower than the enlisted soldiers they work beside for the first five years — this anomaly would be indefensible in any other profession, writes Conor King

Wed, 18 Mar, 2026

Israel Palestinians Gaza
Every Gazan student in Ireland is haunted by what they cannot express
We are like children in the dark, feeling for another being made of flesh and not just a ghost. We tell each other without words: You are still here, writes Abdallah Aljazzar

Wed, 18 Mar, 2026

Taoiseach visit to US
St Patrick's Day: A carnival in Ireland, just another sideshow in Donald Trump's circus
Like many another visiting leader, Micheál Martin was left sitting in silence as Trump held forth in his White House

Tue, 17 Mar, 2026

Taoiseach visit to US
Paul Hosford: Getting out of Oval Office unscathed as good as Micheál Martin could have hoped
Under pressure at home to raise the legality of the Iran war as well as the ongoing situation in Gaza, few would envy Micheál Martin's position in having to deal with the US president on St Patrick's Day

Tue, 17 Mar, 2026

Taoiseach visit to US
Tadgh McNally: Micheál Martin may face storm during Oval Office meeting with Trump
Severe storm warning in Washington DC is not the only threat hanging over Taoiseach's Oval Office shamrock ceremony

Tue, 17 Mar, 2026

What value do Irish fans get out of unrequited love affair with Man Utd?
What value do Irish fans get out of unrequited love affair with Man Utd?
The only ticket hotter these days than a Manchester United game is seeing an old player reminiscing about a decades-old match, writes James McDermott

Tue, 17 Mar, 2026

Shannon makes us complicit in Trump and Israel's illegal war
Shannon makes us complicit in Trump and Israel's illegal war
The Government would do well to listen to President Catherine Connolly's message on peace in this unstable time — our neutrality is severely endangered

Tue, 17 Mar, 2026

APTOPIX Lebanon Israel Iran
Ireland has deep ties to Lebanon and we cannot abandon its people
We cannot ignore the people of Lebanon being pushed to breaking point by the expansion of Israeli occupation and its bombing of the country

Tue, 17 Mar, 2026

Ian Huntley missing girls
Enda Brady: Nobody will mourn depraved murderer Ian Huntley
'A special place in hell' awaits double child-killer — and that's according to his own daughter

Mon, 16 Mar, 2026

An education or a meal: A choice no mother should have to make
An education or a meal: A choice no mother should have to make
A landslide destroyed the farmland where one woman used to earn a living, and now some days she has to decide whether they will eat or whether her daughters go to school.

Mon, 16 Mar, 2026

Children's dependence on electronic products
Giving smartphones to infants is morally wrong
We shy away from being seen to judge people these days, but giving a smartphone to an infant or toddler is unacceptable, bad for their development, and yes, morally wrong

Mon, 16 Mar, 2026

Nuclear explosion, mushroom-shaped cloud of exploding atomic bomb. Radioactive fire flames, atom bang. Nuke energy, power, deton
Colin Sheridan: Ireland needs to become a nuclear power — now that would be the bomb
We will never be capable of defending ourselves from invasion. We need an actual deterrent, and it can’t involve exposing our adversaries to The 2 Johnnies

Sun, 15 Mar, 2026

James Patrice in drag for a Mother’s Day campaign does not make me angry. I’m angry at men in suits
James Patrice in drag for a Mother’s Day campaign does not make me angry. I’m angry at men in suits
The declaration by certain men on the political right that James Patrice in a dress is somehow a threat to Irish motherhood would be laughable if it wasn't so stupid, writes Sinéad O'Moore

Sun, 15 Mar, 2026

Limerick garda trial: If there’s nothing to see here, why does it still matter?
Limerick garda trial: If there’s nothing to see here, why does it still matter?
Acquittal of five gardaí after lengthy Limerick trial prompts fresh questions about investigations, prosecutions and morale within the force

Sun, 15 Mar, 2026

Taoiseach visit to US
From Rocky Balboa to Ronnie Delany: Taoiseach's US trip kicks off with sporting theme
Ronnie Delany, Rocky Balboa and the World Cup all played a part in the Taoiseach's trip to Philadelphia, writes Tadgh McNally 

Sat, 14 Mar, 2026

Reflections of a blow-in after 25 years living in Cork
Reflections of a blow-in after 25 years living in Cork
Ahead of St Patrick's Day, Vittorio Buffacchi reflects on his two and half decades living in Cork and the connection between identity and place

Sat, 14 Mar, 2026

Future Cork: There is immense potential in Cork if the city turns toward the river
Future Cork: There is immense potential in Cork if the city turns toward the river
Monika Jain argues Cork should reclaim its River Lee waterfront and streets to create healthier, more vibrant public spaces

Fri, 13 Mar, 2026

UK-Ireland summit
Paul Hosford: Keir Starmer steers clear of controversy on Cork trip
British prime minister stayed on safe ground, highlighting his honeymoon in Ireland, his time spent pulling pints of Guinness — and his 'grá' for Declan Rice

Thu, 12 Mar, 2026

The Mick Clifford Podcast: Scott Lucas on the war in Iran and how it all might end
The Mick Clifford Podcast: Scott Lucas on the war in Iran and how it all might end
Scott Lucas talks about how this might end and why so much comes back to sentiment in the USA towards a president who appears to live in his own world

 Listen | Thu, 12 Mar, 2026

 Listen |
Council AI study
'Exploit every vulnerability’: rogue AI agents published passwords and overrode anti-virus software
Rogue artificial intelligence agents have worked together to smuggle sensitive information out of supposedly secure systems, in the latest sign cyber-defences may be overwhelmed by unforeseen scheming by AIs.

Thu, 12 Mar, 2026

Iran US Key Oil Facilities
Maybe Trump's war will finally wean us off our oil dependency
In the 1970s we had no choice but to queue for petrol. In 2026 there is a host of alternatives — the war in the Gulf should be the final push we need to renewables

Thu, 12 Mar, 2026

GAVIN TOBIN
Government playbook in Air Corps scandal copies all the others
The State's response to decade-old Air Corps chemical exposure scandal is clearly one of 'deny, delay, die'

Thu, 12 Mar, 2026

General Election Ireland 2024
Mick Clifford: Decision not to prosecute gives Michael Lowry chance to play the victim
The decision by the DPP not to bring charges against the Independent TD from Tipperary over the findings from the Moriarty Tribunal reflects the high standard of proof required

Wed, 11 Mar, 2026

A round peg forced into a square system: The reality facing one Cork special school
A round peg forced into a square system: The reality facing one Cork special school
Carrigaline Community Special School highlights the consequences of opening new schools without the therapy and resources students need

Wed, 11 Mar, 2026

Rosary in Girl's hands
The 'choice' not to practice religion is a myth in Irish education
There is a striking irony in how Irish people discuss America’s freefall into theocracy, undergirded by a rise in Christian nationalism — we treat it like fascism, while blithely ignoring our own almost entirely doctrinal education system

Wed, 11 Mar, 2026

Displaced Palestinian children receive lessons inside a tent in a camp for displaced people in the Yarmouk area of ??Gaza City.
Deadly violence and war are devastating the Middle East
The strikes by Israel and the United States will create even further devastation in places like Palestine and Lebanon

Wed, 11 Mar, 2026

Coast Guard helicopter crash
The State has not acted on the lessons from the crash of Rescue 116
The Department of Transport promised to learn from the Rescue 116 tragedy. FOI records show it did not, writes Gareth O'Brien, a member of the North Runway Technical Group

Wed, 11 Mar, 2026

Elon Musk is wrong about empathy — and Irish film proves it
Elon Musk is wrong about empathy — and Irish film proves it
Maybe instead of bringing shamrocks to the White House this year, our Taoiseach should be sharing our stories as a colonised people, writes Amy-Joyce Hastings

Tue, 10 Mar, 2026

Louise Burne: Government adopts a ‘wait and see’ approach on oil prices
Louise Burne: Government adopts a ‘wait and see’ approach on oil prices
Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers repeatedly ruled out energy credits and it is believed that the Government does not see energy credits as the answer either

Mon, 09 Mar, 2026

A male patient consults with a doctor about prostate cancer or some other disease.
Free GP care for all sounds noble, but it could ruin what makes Irish healthcare great
Without a huge increase in GP numbers, Ireland's primary healthcare system risks replicating Britain's NHS, where unhurried, preventive, relationship-based care has been abandoned, and which has been paying the price in overcrowded waiting rooms and worsening outcomes ever since

Mon, 09 Mar, 2026

Experts and voters agree that green space in cities has major health benefits 
Experts and voters agree that green space in cities has major health benefits 
More walking and cycling infrastructure, a congestion charge, and space for nature are key to unlocking Cork's potential — and our health 

Mon, 09 Mar, 2026

Paula McGovern: Put down the cupcakes — women in business are still far from equal
Paula McGovern: Put down the cupcakes — women in business are still far from equal
International Women's Day in many workplaces is marked by celebration but little to challenge an entire business ecosystem that's designed for men, writes Paula McGovern

Sun, 08 Mar, 2026

Donald Trump
Marion McKeone: Trump’s war with Iran reveals chaos inside the White House war room
Trump’s chaotic leadership and conflicting advisers risk turning a volatile Iran conflict into a wider Middle East catastrophe

Sat, 07 Mar, 2026

Who are the runners and riders in the Galway and Dublin by-elections?
Who are the runners and riders in the Galway and Dublin by-elections?
Paul Hosford fills in for Mick Clifford to run the rule over the Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections with Louise Burne and Tadgh McNally

 Listen | Fri, 06 Mar, 2026

 Listen |
Intelligent Caucasian girl hold academic books
What good is an arts degree in the age of AI?
The emergence of AI stands to make expertise in the arts and humanities even more valuable than they already are, writes Máiréad Moriarty

Fri, 06 Mar, 2026

1950's housework
As a boomer, I’m shocked by Gen Z’s attitude towards women — something has gone very wrong
The new research that suggests older people have more progressive views on women’s rights than younger generations is deeply concerning

Fri, 06 Mar, 2026

Football Training Celebrations
Kids' activities are starting to feel like a cult — I'm out
Instead of packing our children's schedule with activities, maybe we could allow them some time out for themselves, writes Laurie Morrissey

Fri, 06 Mar, 2026

Leo Callanan: Reading can be fun, I promise
Leo Callanan: Reading can be fun, I promise
Reading for pleasure is something young men tend to lose as they move into adulthood

Thu, 05 Mar, 2026

Man using ChatGPT in the mobile phone. This app is a chatbot based on Artificial Intelligence developed by OpenAI. ROSARIO, ARGE
Quit ChatGPT now, your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism
As a historian, I’ve studied the major consumer boycotts of history. We can take down ChatGPT and send a powerful signal to Silicon Valley

Thu, 05 Mar, 2026

The loneliness of the long-term justice campaigner
The loneliness of the long-term justice campaigner
Ensuring governments and large companies are held accountable for their failures is often far more difficult than it should be, writes Clodagh Finn

Thu, 05 Mar, 2026

Will the great educational talking shop result in a plan or just more homework?
Will the great educational talking shop result in a plan or just more homework?
Every challenge we face comes from a lack of investment. When is the Government going to act on that?

Wed, 04 Mar, 2026

Bringing the stories of 23 remarkable Irish women to life
Bringing the stories of 23 remarkable Irish women to life
Filmmaker Darina Clancy, in collaboration with Irish Examiner columnist Clodagh Finn, has made a TV documentary about 23 formidable women who changed people's lives in Ireland and abroad

Wed, 04 Mar, 2026

Senior Friends in Cafe Together
Irish groups can have input into new UN treaty on older persons
Opportunities to feed back on major policy initiatives that could change the face of ageing don't come along very often — we must seize this one and use it 

Wed, 04 Mar, 2026

Cruelty of our deportation system raises many questions 
Cruelty of our deportation system raises many questions 
Deportation is legal but holding migrants with violent prisoners and withholding medication is not the correct way to do things

Wed, 04 Mar, 2026

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