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
Seán Kelly: Viktor Orbán's loss is the EU's opportunity for a bold move on foreign policy
Seán Kelly: Viktor Orbán's loss is the EU's opportunity for a bold move on foreign policy
We need a strong EU, capable of acting swiftly, decisively and in the interests of the vast majority of its member states, writes Seán Kelly, MEP for Ireland South

Wed, 22 Apr, 2026

Donald Trump
TP O'Mahony: Link between religion and politics in the US is unique in the West
Unlike Europe, the USA remains an intensely religious society

Wed, 22 Apr, 2026

Online abuse of politicians is a profitable business
Online abuse of politicians is a profitable business
Senator Eileen Flynn's comments on far-right use of the tricolour have made her a lightning rod for online abuse — because viral hatred is highly profitable

Tue, 21 Apr, 2026

Power must be held accountable even in moments of pressure
Power must be held accountable even in moments of pressure
Political signalling, shifts in language, and the gradual stretching of institutional norms all erode democracy 

Tue, 21 Apr, 2026

Multiethnic doctors conversation African American therapist and Caucasian surgeon physician men talking brainstorming diagnosis
Ireland is addicted to contracting away all kinds of State capacity
By treating governance as contract administration, we are letting our sovereignty erode gradually through every decision we outsource, writes Paul Davis

Tue, 21 Apr, 2026

Here are the country's most senior civil servants running Ireland
Here are the country's most senior civil servants running Ireland
As a successor was announced last week to Ireland's best-paid civil servant, we take a look at the people responsible for the day-to-day running of the Government's departments

Mon, 20 Apr, 2026

Cameroon Africa Pope
‘I’m not a politician’: Clash with Pope Leo could prove dangerous for Donald Trump
Asymmetric clash between a president who treats power in transactional terms and a pope who frames war, migration, and human dignity as matters of moral principle

Mon, 20 Apr, 2026

10-year-old Nafez fight malnutrition and brain atrophy as hunger crisis worsens in Gaza
Global food systems are under fire due to a lack of political will
Hunger and famine as a result war is a political problem, therefore diplomacy, conflict prevention, and peace-building are central to any lasting solution

Mon, 20 Apr, 2026

Pride of Ireland awards - Dublin
Philomena's Law: Campaign steps up for UK-based survivors of mother and baby homes 
Rosemary Adaser has come out of retirement to support a bill to ensure survivors in Britain are not effectively penalised for redress payments

Sun, 19 Apr, 2026

National Fuel Protest
Are disruptive protests the new political force in Ireland? Fuel blockades expose state vulnerabilities
Fuel blockades reveal a shift towards disruptive, decentralised protest tactics that challenge traditional politics and force faster government engagement

Sat, 18 Apr, 2026

From defiance to departure: 45 hours that changed everything for Michael Healy-Rae
From defiance to departure: 45 hours that changed everything for Michael Healy-Rae
A sudden reversal, internal pressure and local politics combined to trigger a dramatic exit that caught Government off guard

Sat, 18 Apr, 2026

Middle East conflict
Louise Burne: All talk, no takeover — the problem with plotting Micheál Martin’s exit
Renewed unrest within Fianna Fáil highlights growing frustration, but leadership challengers still hesitate to make a decisive move

Sat, 18 Apr, 2026

The tricolour is a powerful symbol of inclusion so let's reclaim it from those who use it to sow division
The tricolour is a powerful symbol of inclusion so let's reclaim it from those who use it to sow division
In recent days, the Irish tricolour has been raised, waved, and worn by individuals and groups who claim to speak for the people, even as they challenge the very democratic processes through which the will of the people is expressed

Sat, 18 Apr, 2026

Young Couple Arguing and Fighting. Domestic Violence Scene of Emotional abuse, Stressed Woman and aggressive Man Having Almost V
Conviction of Scottish man in wife's suicide is a landmark case
Can someone really 'choose' to end their life, when their life is lived under threats and coercion on a daily basis?

Fri, 17 Apr, 2026

Our politics can't cope with TikTok's emotional instancy
Our politics can't cope with TikTok's emotional instancy
Nobody is being deceived about the price of diesel - but the emotional register of this issue was skewed by online platforms

Fri, 17 Apr, 2026

The Mick Clifford Podcast: Is Micheál Martin's leadership in peril?
The Mick Clifford Podcast: Is Micheál Martin's leadership in peril?
Can Micheál Martin hang onto the Fianna Fáil leadership?

 Listen | Thu, 16 Apr, 2026

 Listen |
Lithuanian soldiers
Conscription is being reintroduced all over Europe — where is the debate?
Germany has introduced laws assessing young men for military service and preventing them travelling for extended periods without military consent, writes Samuel Rogers

Thu, 16 Apr, 2026

Colleagues shaking hands in business partnership meeting. Business dispute mediation.
Mediation should be the first resort for conflict resolution
Global conflict and disruption is a poison in our lives, making all of us more anxious and stressed. But there is a better way to deal with conflict, writes Róisín O'Shea

Thu, 16 Apr, 2026

National Fuel Protest
Fuel furore shows our systems are more fragile than we think
This uneasy moment demands more of us than simply sharing social media posts — we must think deeply about the systems we want, writes Orla McAndrew

Wed, 15 Apr, 2026

School costs
New Deis strategy is not radical enough
The Education Act vows to 'equality of access to and participation in education'. Today, we are nowhere near realising that, write Brian Fleming and Judith Harford

Wed, 15 Apr, 2026

Paul Hosford: Healy-Rae resignation a shock but not a fatal blow for Government
Paul Hosford: Healy-Rae resignation a shock but not a fatal blow for Government
Some in Government had questioned the utility of having a deal with Michael Healy-Rae if Danny wasn't also inside the tent

Tue, 14 Apr, 2026

A massive building under construction in NYC
Ireland has a planning system, but it's not plan-led
To understand how a genuinely plan-led system operates in practice, we need to look at the very clear planning guidelines in New York and Germany

Tue, 14 Apr, 2026

Cormac O'Keeffe: Fuel protests ignite concerns over security as EU presidency nears
Cormac O'Keeffe: Fuel protests ignite concerns over security as EU presidency nears
From the contretemps between Jim O’Callaghan and Helen McEntee, to our defence capabilities, the Irish Examiner's Security Correspondent analyses the vulnerabilities exposed by the fuel protests

Tue, 14 Apr, 2026

Conor McCabe: Protesters' grievances are real — they're bearing a heavy load
Conor McCabe: Protesters' grievances are real — they're bearing a heavy load
Responsibility for the time-sensitive targets at the heart of national policy is carried by agricultural contractors who are struggling to make repayments on loans for the necessary heavy machinery, and whose fuel bills may tip them over the edge

Mon, 13 Apr, 2026

Would Donald Trump threaten the Vatican over Pope Leo's anti-war stance?
Would Donald Trump threaten the Vatican over Pope Leo's anti-war stance?
Reports of a bizarre meeting in the Pentagon between defence officials and the papal nuncio at which the 'Avignon papacy' was mentioned are not reassuring, writes TP O'Mahony 

Mon, 13 Apr, 2026

Anti-migration policies are threatening to dismantle human rights
Anti-migration policies are threatening to dismantle human rights
We should always be wary of attempts to alter foundational rights because of temporary political pressures.

Mon, 13 Apr, 2026

Peter Magyar
Who is Péter Magyar: Hungary’s next leader energised voters but is ‘a dark horse’
Ex-government insider turned Orbán critic is authentic and passionate but his proposed policies are short on details

Mon, 13 Apr, 2026

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-WAR
Paul Hosford: Life goes on in Kyiv as Russia's war on Ukraine grinds on
Ukrainians have resisted the invading Russians for four years and sometimes that means going about your day while trying to reassure yourself about wailing air-raid sirens, writes Acting Political Editor Paul Hosford in Kyiv

Mon, 13 Apr, 2026

National Fuel Protest
Paul Hosford: Government fights back with €505m spend after social media posts fuel national crisis
Government unleashes €505m of public funds to quell protests and ward off Sinn Féin no-confidence motion 

Sun, 12 Apr, 2026

David O'Mahony: The real world is quickly surpassing any horror speculative fiction can create
David O'Mahony: The real world is quickly surpassing any horror speculative fiction can create
One writer I've come across has a dystopian trilogy finished, but says it will never see the light of day because all its twists about who runs the world have come true

Sat, 11 Apr, 2026

Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant
John Gibbons: I've changed my mind on nuclear power — we don't need it any more
Becoming energy independent is simpler than it's ever been — wind and solar have the potential to free us from endless energy shocks

Sat, 11 Apr, 2026

HUNGARY-US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-VOTE
Russia and White House doing all they can to prop up Viktor Orbán
Hungary’s ‘post-reality’ election will have global ramifications as populists on both sides of the Atlantic rush to support Viktor Orbán, their autocratic ally within the EU, writes Mick Clifford

Sat, 11 Apr, 2026

Marco Rubio,Viktor Orban
Shona Murray: EU faced with Russian trojan horse if Orbán gets re-elected
It’s been long accepted that Orban has been working alongside Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Orbán has consistently cosied up to Putin and insulted Ukrainian president Zelenskyy

Sat, 11 Apr, 2026

National Fuel Protest
How this week's protests fuelled confusion and consternation at Leinster House
Four days of unprecedented shutdown and anger have snowballed from a few posts on social media to a major problem for the Government, write Paul Hosford, Louise Burne and Tadgh McNally

Fri, 10 Apr, 2026

Fuel protests are undemocratic and respect no rules
Fuel protests are undemocratic and respect no rules
The hauliers and farmers blockading our ports and cities have real problems, but they are going the wrong way to fix them, writes Tom O'Connor

Fri, 10 Apr, 2026

FILE PHOTO An Bord Pleanala has refused planning permission for a 179-unit apartment development on the site of the Bessborough
If you want to object to building over Bessborough, you have one week
There is also no time to waste in pursuing the effective investigations into deaths and disappearances that should have happened many decades ago, and that families are still requesting

Fri, 10 Apr, 2026

Waiting for tide of public opinion to turn on fuel price protesters is a gamble 
Waiting for tide of public opinion to turn on fuel price protesters is a gamble 
The calls to engage have principally come from Sinn Féin, with Mary Lou McDonald urging the Government to rethink its position

Thu, 09 Apr, 2026

Farmers need targeted supports as they're facing most pain
Farmers need targeted supports as they're facing most pain
The average farmer faces extra costs of more than €18,000 this year — that’s many multiples of the average household, writes Kieran Coughlan

Thu, 09 Apr, 2026

Dorcha Lee: Security will be the big challenge for Ireland's EU presidency
Dorcha Lee: Security will be the big challenge for Ireland's EU presidency
New radar would allow our Defence Forces to watch in real time as our subsea cables are ripped up — they still have no capacity to intervene

Thu, 09 Apr, 2026

Irish science's surprising role in the Artemis mission 
Irish science's surprising role in the Artemis mission 
Irish scientists are in key positions in a growing sector that is becoming increasingly important to our daily lives 

Thu, 09 Apr, 2026

Housing 'affordability' means different things in rental debate
Housing 'affordability' means different things in rental debate
If the public lose confidence in ‘supply side’ responses, it seems likely they will instead focus on the demand side, ie immigration

Wed, 08 Apr, 2026

Tanaiste Micheal Martin visit to Lebanon
Our leaders must show courage in commitment to peace by keeping the triple lock
We urge the government to use this moment of heightened conflict to retain the triple lock and speak out against obvious breaches of international law and efforts to undermine the UN

Wed, 08 Apr, 2026

APTOPIX Trump US Hungary
Viktor Orbán blazed a trail for Donald Trump’s assault on independent media
As JD Vance arrives in Budapest ahead of Sunday's election, Amrit Singh writes that Donald Trump and Hungary’s prime minster are on the same page when it comes to restricting media freedom

Tue, 07 Apr, 2026

€4 for a coffee is not expensive when you consider it’s a small miracle in a cup
€4 for a coffee is not expensive when you consider it’s a small miracle in a cup
That seemingly modest drink represents one of the most complex and morally tangled supply chains on Earth, writes Colin Sheridan

Tue, 07 Apr, 2026

Congestion Charging Begins In London
Don't let what's happened in London replicate itself in Cork
The streets are our own — except when they aren’t, writes Allan Prosser

Tue, 07 Apr, 2026

Generative AI Apps
Big Tech shouldn’t be writing the rules for AI
To prevent powerful technologies, such as artificial intelligence, from being shaped solely by corporate profit incentives, democracies must establish the institutions needed to oversee them, writes Gabriela Ramos

Tue, 07 Apr, 2026