Breda O'Brien: Ireland is not quite as secular as it pretends to beWe now draw a distinction between the deserving and undeserving believersSat Sept 07 2019 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: We need to mobilise our empathy to save the planetThe complicated ethics of trying to live sustainably cause some of us to just give upSat Aug 31 2019 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Legacy of Muckross nuns lives on foreverFar from corrupt religion, these nuns inspired as strong female role modelsSat Aug 10 2019 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Boris Johnson’s infidelity shows how some sexism gets a free passBritish prime minister’s living arrangements are modern sexism, not progressSat Aug 03 2019 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Child’s voice ignored in surrogacy debateCommittee prioritises doctors and academics over donor-conceived peopleTue Jul 30 2019 - 12:57
Parents need to grasp dangers of children’s online activityParents can unwittingly allow children wander in a treacherous online worldSat Jul 27 2019 - 06:00
Being religious is now a countercultural identityChristianity is no bulwark against new tribal identities dominating discourseSat Jul 06 2019 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Smartphone addiction is a great danger we must resistTechnology giants wean us on their apps and glowing screens. It is time to take actionSat Jun 29 2019 - 06:00
Questions to be answered about Holles Street casePanel to examine abortion on grounds of alleged fatal foetal abnormalitySat Jun 22 2019 - 06:00
Breda O'Brien: The pain of the Leaving Cert should be spread out over two yearsAs a teacher, I have always known how tough the exams are. Reform is overdueSat Jun 15 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: Aontú’s superpower seems to be invisibilityTrump bluster mops up media coverage at expense of small social justice partiesSat Jun 08 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: Irish culture needs to learn how to deal with griefWe often fail to recognise that grief can result from major losses other than deathSat Jun 01 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: State must start nurturing marriagesGovernment embraces divorce when it should help low-conflict wedded couplesSat May 25 2019 - 02:00
Figures suggest surge in abortions post-repealIf the trend continues, more than 5,000 preborn children will be deadSat May 18 2019 - 02:00
Pro-life votes in upcoming elections can lay groundwork for future progressVoters who care about the right to life must send a message to smug pro-choice partiesSat May 11 2019 - 02:00
No one loves election posters but the alternatives are worsePosters have downsides but online targeted advertising has serious drawbacksSat May 04 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: Persecuted Christians merit progressives’ supportWest often neglects anti-Christian bias, seeing them as unenlightened leftoversSat Apr 27 2019 - 02:00
Rebuild Notre Dame as a living church, not as a tourist attractionThe cathedral touches the longing for something more in all of us. It must be rebuilt to honour the reason it was built in the first placeSat Apr 20 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: History is a pillar of society’s wellbeingEducationalists marginalise history as a subject out of short-term utilitarianismSat Apr 13 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: Divestment of schools requires more to be builtDespite media messages, Catholic parishes are mainly benign presences in schoolsSat Apr 06 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: GPs are ignoring democracy on abortion issuesDoctors’ group is demanding members fall into line without expressing their concernsSat Mar 30 2019 - 02:00
Even invisible illnesses deserve to be recognisedFibromyalgia sufferers want the State to recognise the many costs associated with itSat Mar 23 2019 - 02:00
Breda O'Brien: More questions than answers about Islamic radicalisationLisa Smith is emblematic of a problem facing many countries – how to integrate radicalised MuslimsSat Mar 16 2019 - 02:00
Macron is no saviour of EuropeBreda O’Brien: Macron exemplifies elitist privilege that alienates people from EUSat Mar 09 2019 - 02:00
Reform of Catholic Church must come from the topClerics in denial about abuse should learn from failures in Ireland and USSat Mar 02 2019 - 02:00
Denying women access to legitimate choices and hopeA UK council thinks women should be protected from people offering leaflets on abortionSat Feb 23 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: State hits vulnerable and elderly with more taxSupplements for gut health and macular degeneration not fair game for VAT hikesSat Feb 16 2019 - 02:00
Breda O'Brien: Pressure of mock exams reflects unhealthy societyLack of exam system reform does not explain stress levels endured by studentsSat Feb 09 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: There is nothing ‘objective’ about sex educationThe State wants to force religious schools to go against their ethos on the issueSat Feb 02 2019 - 02:00
Breda O'Brien: Racist frame too small for the full pictureA smirking American teen is treated as evil personified. Where were the adults?Sat Jan 26 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: The Benedict Option – or how to save ChristianityRod Dreher believes a sixth-century saint holds the key to strong Christian communitiesSat Jan 19 2019 - 02:00
Breda O’Brien: Marriage should not just be for the middle classesIf marriage is still an aspiration, the odds should not be stacked against working classSat Jan 12 2019 - 05:00
Tax injustices for caring relationships have not gone awayReaction to couple’s decision to marry to avoid inheritance tax does nothing to redress inheritance injustices for othersSat Jan 05 2019 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Catholics must step up the fight against our hollow cultureThis has been a terrible year for Catholics, but it has also offered a guide to the futureSat Dec 22 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Women in politics are denied their own identitiesAnnegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s promotion in Germany has highlighted lazy stereotypesSat Dec 15 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Kate O’Connell's shocking outburst is part of an oppressive cultureFine Gael Deputy's triumphalist remarks in the Dáil on abortion are the new realitySat Dec 08 2018 - 05:00
A new political movement in Ireland is long overdueThere is an appetite for change and Peadar Tóibín may be the politician to make it happenSat Dec 01 2018 - 05:00
Breda O'Brien: Why the sexual future belongs to men like TrumpPorn is so normalised Stormy Daniels made headlines for losing her luggageSat Nov 24 2018 - 05:00
European army would be no way to honour ArmisticeConflict-resolution networks required rather than European fighting forceSat Nov 17 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Abortion railroading is a threat to our democracyNo pro-life amendments have been permitted in the legislation for terminationsSat Nov 10 2018 - 05:00
Targeting Travellers never harmed a politician yetThe condemnation of Peter Casey’s ill-informed views was hypocriticalSat Nov 03 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Mothers bombarded in anxiety-riddled eraSocial media sets unrealistic role models while State gives women scant supportSat Oct 27 2018 - 05:00
Romero’s example should encourage Catholics to cherish all lifeThe archbishop was murdered because he wouldn’t compromise on the message of the gospelsSat Oct 20 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Modern values make climate disaster more likelyWestern culture is in direct conflict with the urgent need to take collective actionSat Oct 13 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Abortion legislation will force GPs out of healthcareIf doctors are legally bound to act against their conscience they will leaveSat Oct 06 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Government's latest housing plan is doomed to failureLand agency’s reliance on market rather than social entrepreneurship is not radicalSat Sept 29 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Attempts to liberalise abortion under wayThree-day ‘cooling off’ deemed demeaning and freedom of conscience under fireSat Sept 22 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Tech giants are undermining democracyWe need more emphasis on philosophy and accountability, not more efficiencySat Sept 08 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Francis needs to answer the questions and fire bishops who cover up abuseOrdinary Catholics are angry and in near despair due to the worldwide failure of the institutional Church to institute transparent mechanisms of accountability for the cover-up of abuse of children by clergySat Sept 01 2018 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Pope Francis is promoting a radical economic visionCatholic social teaching seeks to change a world where profit is pursued at any costSat Aug 25 2018 - 05:00