Finn McRedmond

Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford are fine, but none is a global city. Why, then, all the anti-Dublin bias?

Every country has its psychic hang-up. Is inter-citizen policing Ireland’s?

Such tournaments are an excuse to flaunt nationalistic tendencies in a low-stakes way

As we outsource more of our thinking to the machine I am increasingly convinced “mental effort” - including when it comes to reading - is not just useful but a moral good

The greatest case people make for Burnham is that he will make the patriotic argument against Reform at the election

And yes, I feel as stupid writing ‘looksmaxxing’ as you do reading it. But these ideas are not as novel as they seem

It is rude to go to a concert only to record the entire moment on your phone – it is isolating for everyone there too

A broad education is important, especially in the early years, but by senior cycle many students are ready to build on their strengths

With its seven, maybe eight subjects, the Leaving Cert cherishes the value of the generalist. In the UK, a 16-year-old may be studying just three

Premier League title triumph was met with an outpouring of joy from an exceedingly good-natured mob

With a little hindsight we will know what is interesting about the 2020s. It won’t be Marvel franchises, but it could be Taylor Swift

The beleaguered UK prime minister may not be entirely up to the moment – but as moments go, who would be?

Let’s not cling to ugly, unloved buildings just because a few Dubliners are allergic to change

It made sense for Britain to send the king rather than Keir Starmer to Washington, but it won’t make much difference

The threshold at which politicians seek to overthrow their leader should be much, much higher than this (I am looking at you too, Fianna Fáil)

Talk about a solution to a non-existent problem. Or an answer to a question no one asked

If West were serious about atonement, he would put any thought of performing at festivals aside

Free-speech absolutism is the only logical position in modern democracy. Yes, even when the speech is as base and bigoted as this

Where else are we supposed to gossip about our colleagues over a bottle of Chianti? The basement of the Google offices in Grand Canal Dock?

When a political energy metastasises into something much darker, we have to be able to call it what it is

This is a story about two things: the changing nature of the left and the diminishing power of Irish America

The arts are in trouble, and what’s needed is some realism - not head-in-the-sand holier-than-thou pap

When Maga looks at Europe, it sees a continent pushing itself to the brink with permissive migration policies

If art is going to be political - and I mostly wish it wouldn’t - this is the way to do it

Technological progress is giving us the means to forsake the very traits that make us human

Calling for him to quit is like thinking better trainers will make up for all those runs you failed to go on

It has been helpful for Ireland, too. But Morgan McSweeney’s reign could be coming to screeching halt

Mark Carney won’t change Trump’s mind about anything. But Philip Glass might

Gossip wins, always. The ancient Romans knew it — and so does Donald Trump

State-driven attempts to shut down a corner of the public realm are wrong

In 2026, I am not interested in 50 ways to make my life ‘easier’ but instead plan to truculently dig my heels in

Foreign media is flooded with criticism for the country that used to “get its way”

Someone, somewhere, has spent years, perhaps their whole life, pulling a book together. The reader gets to spend weeks reading it, and perhaps their whole life thinking about it

Keir Starmer’s new Substack only proves the point

American journalist had a dream job with New York magazine. Then she fell for one of her subjects. That’s when her problems started

Catherine Connolly’s keepy-uppies, Paddington’s values and ‘Miggledy’s’ dogs: this toddler-babble must stop

When civility leaves politics, everyone starts hating politicians, and that’s not an easy problem to solve

The reality media ecosystem is in a doom loop. TV begets fame, which begets a downfall, which begets tragedy, which begets more TV, and more fame

I cannot help but bristle at those who take solace in boring politicians, as evidence of a stable system

The centuries-deep tradition of the artist trading in metaphor is gone, as Allen breezily lyricises about her infidelitous husband’s bag of sex toys