We need a citizens' petition on debt dealSomething crucial is missing from the most important negotiations this State has engaged in since the Belfast AgreementTue Feb 05 2013 - 00:00
Don't be misled by our nation's pervasive disappointmentThere used to be a near-fatal game called drink-along-a-Dallas, where you had to knock back a glass of something strong every…Tue Jan 29 2013 - 00:00
Eileen Gray: the third great Irish genius of modernismFrom the narrow path around Cap St Martin on the French Rivera, you can barely see the most important work of Irish architecture…Sat Jan 26 2013 - 00:00
Poor pay a high price when it comes to cheap meatThe whole meat burger saga reveals something extremely serious – the existence of a two-tier regulatory systemTue Jan 22 2013 - 00:00
This time it really is a war to save civilisationIn the developed world we rather causally use the term “culture wars” to mean the clash of styles or modes of expressionSat Jan 19 2013 - 00:00
Rory nails his colours firmly to Nike's mastRory McIlroy won’t play for Ireland in the 2016 Olympics – and he won’t play for BritainTue Jan 15 2013 - 00:00
Politicians should stay silent about art until they understand itThe Nazi analogies came thick and fast on Monday night in AthloneSat Jan 12 2013 - 00:00
Irish history in 100 objects: lessons we have learnedThe choice of the final item for our series divided opinion. Here's the solutionSat Jan 12 2013 - 00:00
A History of Ireland in 100 Objects: Decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle, 2005It is a mass-manufactured commodity, as iconic in its own dark way as a Coca-Cola bottle or an iPhoneSat Jan 12 2013 - 00:00
Democratic scrutiny is dead in the DáilThe best way to bring Irish politics into disrepute is simply to describe itTue Jan 08 2013 - 00:00
My lifelong love affair with 'Oliver!'I can, I hope, maintain a cool, critical detachment about most pieces of theatreSat Jan 05 2013 - 00:00
The Anglo Irish Bank sign, 2000-2011A History of Ireland in 100 Objects On April 20th, 2011, a small crowd gathered at St Stephen’s Green in Dublin to watch this…Sat Jan 05 2013 - 00:00
Ten things that helped make life worth living in 2012CULTURE SHOCK: Here, not exclusive and in no particular order, are 10 things that helped to make life worth living in 2012.Sat Dec 29 2012 - 00:00
What's another (terrible) year?As the great philosopher Johnny Logan once asked, What’s another year? What’s another year, he sobbed, for someone who’s lost…Sat Dec 29 2012 - 00:00
An Abbey production haunted by two ghostsEvery adaptation has to face the ghost of the originalSat Dec 22 2012 - 00:00
Bloody Sunday handkerchief, 1972A History of Ireland in 100 Objects The plain white handkerchief is distinguished only by the small letters spelling out “Fr…Sat Dec 22 2012 - 00:00
A civilised society takes care of citizensThe difference between decency and indecency is luck. In a decent society, you don’t have to be luckyTue Dec 18 2012 - 00:00
Washing machine, 1950sA History of Ireland in 100 Objects The wringer on top of this washing machine makes it look laborious, but in the 1950s its…Sat Dec 15 2012 - 00:00
Kenny's dead words fail to convinceAt 9.16 pm on the night of the budget, the Dear Leader appeared on televisionTue Dec 11 2012 - 00:00
Emigrant's suitcase, 1950sA History of Ireland in 100 Objects In the 1950s one of the most popular Irish songs was Sigerson Clifford’s gently nostalgic…Sat Dec 08 2012 - 00:00
Fundraising frustration? The Minister has a wizard schemeCULTURE SHOCK: The Budget confirmed what we already know: that we have the most philistine Government in the history of the …Sat Dec 08 2012 - 00:00
Key errors of crusade against abortionHere are five key statements repeatedly made by anti-abortion campaigners. Every one of them is factually wrong:Tue Dec 04 2012 - 00:00
The oddly public secret life of Jack B YeatsIreland’s greatest painter, Jack B Yeats, had a secret lifeSat Dec 01 2012 - 00:00
Ireland still great place for shysters and scam merchantsThe late Larry Hagman gave us the greatest single moment in Irish television history, and it wasn’t in DallasTue Nov 27 2012 - 00:00
Boyne coracle, 1928A History of Ireland in 100 Objects: When people first came to Ireland, about 9,000 years ago, it was almost certainly in skin…Sat Nov 24 2012 - 00:00
'Quietly' does it: a pub play with potent purityCULTURE SHOCK: There is life in the old dog yetSat Nov 24 2012 - 00:00
'Democratic renewal' beyond parodyYou have to feel sorry for Mario Rosenstock, Paul Howard or anyone else who tries political satire in IrelandTue Nov 20 2012 - 00:00
Making heavy weather in MiamiFintan O'Toole reviews Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Cape, 720pp, £20Mon Nov 19 2012 - 10:54
When is an abortion not an abortion?COMMENT: Savita and Praveen Halappanavar walked unknowingly into Ireland’s grey zone of hidden realities, unspoken truths and…Sat Nov 17 2012 - 00:00
'Anglo: The Musical'? It's a demo on stageCULTURE SHOCK: Ideally, a piece of political theatre should be both brilliantly theatrical and potently politicalSat Nov 17 2012 - 00:00
Rejected coin design, 1926A History of Ireland in 100 Objects In January 1926 the minister for finance, Ernest Blythe, told the Dáil that the new Irish…Sat Nov 17 2012 - 00:00
Time to move past north-south mythThere is an old, probably apocryphal story about a Dublin 4 grandee, a well-connected denizen of the world bounded by University…Wed Nov 14 2012 - 00:00
Time to move beyond the northside-southside mythThere is an old, probably apocryphal story about a Dublin 4 grandee, a well-connected denizen of the world bounded by University…Wed Nov 14 2012 - 00:00
We need to make a stand on IBRC debtSo, we’ve now given Irish children a right to have their voices heard on matters that affect themTue Nov 13 2012 - 00:00
All the world's a stage, but not everyone gets accessOne of the more admirable achievements of Irish writing is that it broke new ground for people with disabilitiesSat Nov 10 2012 - 00:00
Time to honour a forgotten vow to the nation's childrenThe children’s rights referendum is a chance to fulfil our abandoned promiseTue Nov 06 2012 - 00:00
What kind of a country is this?THERE IS, IN THE approach to the centenary of the 1916 Rising, a concern with how the declaration of the republic is to be remembered…Sat Nov 03 2012 - 00:00
Schools plan will end in formalised apartheidThe Minister’s approach to primary school patronage is inimical to the idea of a republic, and will be disastrousTue Oct 30 2012 - 00:00
Stroke City cuts a dash through politics of programmingCULTURE SHOCK: FEW FESTIVALS contain their contradictions in their titlesSat Oct 27 2012 - 01:00
'Titanic' launch ticket, May 1911A history of Ireland in 100 objects: Shortly after noon on May 31st, 1911, a huge crowd gathered at the Harland and Woolf shipyard…Sat Oct 27 2012 - 01:00
Irish society is colluding in its own destructionCAN A country die of shame? Probably not – but Ireland is making a good effortTue Oct 23 2012 - 01:00
Minority report: can theatre avoid the fate of classical music?CULTURE SHOCK : SITTING ON THE bus on the way home from a Dublin Theatre Festival show last week, I suddenly started thinking…Sat Oct 20 2012 - 01:00
A history of Ireland in 100 objects: GAA medal, 1887This gold medal was presented to a Limerick player, PJ Corbett, after the first all-Ireland Gaelic football championship, in …Sat Oct 13 2012 - 01:00
Despair at 'Dorian', feast on 'Famine'CULTURE SHOCK: PERHAPS WE’VE been spoiledSat Oct 13 2012 - 01:00
