Jennifer O'Connell

Violent and emotional abuse are part of the rich tapestry of wrongs done to children by the State and its agents

Their contrasting approaches elicit strong reactions because we envy their certainty of purpose

In an cruel twist of timing, swimming’s darkest hour casts a shadow over its bright present

Everyone from the World Health Organisation to wellness influencers are preaching total abstinence. But is moderate drinking that bad?

‘Only in Dubai’ goes the tourism slogan for 2025. It could hardly be more apt

Ironically, it was the actions of a vindictive US, more than anything he did himself, that resuscitated his reputation and made him a hero for press freedom

The big ideological gap is of the past seven years is between younger men and women, and the trend is remarkably consistent across disparate cultures

Things grabbing my attention this week include camogie elbows, sideline parents and how ‘woman’ still seems to be the hardest word

There is a brisk online business in breeding dogs that are best understood as snarling 65kg status symbols

Singapore Airlines flight injuries and New Delhi heat are still not enough to stop business as usual

RTÉ effectively gave presenters a choice: you can work for us or you can work for yourself, but you can’t do both. When you look at the numbers, it’s no surprise which option they’re choosing

It is worth restating that criticism of the Israeli state is not anti-semitism. But it is also the case that anti-semitism never went away, that it still exists and that it is on the rise again

There was a time when we were rightly appalled about the language used about migrants in Brexit Britain. Now it is steadily being normalised here

“She doesn’t need to be stuck inside her head on her phone. She needs to be in the real world for as long as she can,” one said

Surge dining: Would you pay more to eat a rib-eye on a Saturday than on Tuesday?

Simon Harris's social media skills have conferred on him an air of mystique among an older generation of politicians. But voters are less likely to be wowed

There was a sense they were making it up as they went along. The same can’t happen here

On paper, an inter-generational house swap made total sense. The practice was a little more difficult

Warning signs may include staying up late to watch Robbie Williams’s Netflix documentary, when you don’t like Robbie Williams – or documentaries

Article 41.2 was the scaffolding constructed around women’s lives which ensured that they remained small and confined

Revenue has its sights on social media influencers, who are about to learn there is no such thing as a free lunch. Or Air Fryer, weekend break or lifetime supply of porridge

The people to worry about aren’t the ‘unvetted males’ from Syria or Albania, but those with placards and petrol cans

Online harm is not an unintended consequence of social media. It’s baked into the design

The company town is returning as a pragmatic response to the housing crisis. But does anyone love their job so much they want to move in with it?

The decision to shut the malodorous Harbour Court amounts to a shrug from official Ireland on the other side of the river. There is a better way

The Epstein files remind us of a time when toxic attitudes to women were rife in powerful circles. Has that culture gone away?

This year was a desolate one for children - and a shameful one for adults who saw what happened and stood by

Wealth in this country has always operated like a giant pyramid scheme: but now if you don’t come from money, you’re shut out of the basic markers of adulthood

For years, there have been discussions about how to extend the vote to the Irish abroad

The Irish far right force may still be small, leaderless and ideology-free but the idea that it could gain a permanent foothold in Irish politics is no longer entirely fantastical

‘It couldn’t happen here’ was the comfort blanket we wrapped around ourselves. But that has never been true

RTÉ audience felt they knew him, and understood his values and his motives – until they didn’t

Three competing narratives emerged to explain the events leading up to his death, but only one will stick

The days are long, the years are short and the torrents of unwanted advice are interminable

Irish waters are awash with our own excrement. Historic underinvestment is blamed, so why are some upgraded plants still pumping out raw sewage?

Burke is deeply concerned about what she likes to call “the proper administration of justice” – within limits. That limit generally being when it goes her way

The difference between what men and women earn is about phenomenon of 'greedy work'

Neglected Lough Neagh is just one of example of how we mistreat the natural world

This was not a highly secretive guerrilla mission - it had been flagged endlessly on every far-right social media account for the past two weeks

A shoe brand that pins itself to ‘realness’ is on to a winner with those assailed by uncertainty