O'Gorman makes very bad choiceColm O'Gorman has been one of the most articulate, coherent, impressive people in public life here in a long timeWed May 03 2006 - 01:00
Penalty points lunacyDrivers of motor vehicles in Ireland, Britain, Australia, Uganda and Kenya are required to drive on the left side of the road…Wed Apr 05 2006 - 01:00
Crime stats not worth the fussWe have a crime problem. Every country in the world has a crime problemWed Mar 15 2006 - 00:00
Now that would be a watershedThe killing of Donna Cleary on Sunday morning was an abomination, but Michael McDowell wants us to regard it as a "watershed". …Wed Mar 08 2006 - 00:00
Break up these media monopoliesCanWest, the Canadian media firm that owns 45 per cent of TV3, casually announced on Monday that it is to sell its shareholding…Wed Jan 18 2006 - 00:00
Labour's 'difference' a pretenceEvery now and again the good and the wise wring their hands over the apathy there is about Irish politics, particularly among…Wed Jan 04 2006 - 00:00
Oh, what excitement awaits us!January 2006: Mary Harney announces four more trolleys for the hospital service, making in total 2,394 trolleys, 93 more than…Wed Dec 28 2005 - 00:00
Not seeing wood from the treesRemember Ivor Callely? A hyperactive outsider who got into a spot of bother and had to resign as a junior minister? Small, darkish…Wed Dec 21 2005 - 00:00
Guessing between lines of lawThe Constitution is not what Fine Gael thinks it is. Or even what Fianna Fáil thinks it isWed Nov 30 2005 - 00:00
Right time for a press councilThere was a discussion on radio on Sunday about the "threat" posed to freedom of the press by the proposed statutory press council…Wed Nov 09 2005 - 00:00
Put ideals before interestsVincent Browne: Four weeks ago in these columns I was critical of the Government's commitment of €1 million in aid to the victims…Wed Oct 12 2005 - 01:00
An abject gesture of submissionJohn O'Shea is quite right about the ludicrousness of Ireland sending aid and troops to help with disaster relief in Louisiana…Wed Sept 14 2005 - 01:00
Impressive act of reparationThe new pope, Benedict XVI, visited the oldest synagogue in northern Europe during his trip to Germany last Friday.Wed Aug 24 2005 - 01:00
Time for a little horse sense, AvrilThere is a delight in seeing our social betters get themselves into such botherWed Aug 10 2005 - 01:00
Sex crime figures are worthlessMichael McDowell spoke about the crime figures released on Monday as though none of the recent insight into criminality here …Wed Jul 20 2005 - 01:00
Culpability needed for ruined livesKathleen O'Malley was aged eight when she was sent to Mount Carmel orphanage in Westmeath in 1950Wed Jun 29 2005 - 01:00
Democracy goes out the windowThe triumph of modern capitalism is to persuade people who are excluded from decision-making that they are the decision makers…Wed Jun 22 2005 - 01:00
Making the people sovereignThe estimable "think-tank for social change" is to publish an audit on democracy in Ireland shortlyWed Jun 15 2005 - 01:00
Taxation: the hidden agendaWhat passes for politics here is now all about shaping up to an election still two years away.Wed May 18 2005 - 01:00
Making Blair pay for warOn March 1st, 2003, Peter Goldsmith, the UK attorney general, wrote a brief note to Tony BlairWed May 04 2005 - 01:00
Micheal, a few simple questions...A simple question for Micheál Martin: how can you claim to have known nothing about the residential charges problem when your…Wed Apr 27 2005 - 01:00
It will be a stimulating papacyJoseph Ratzinger sure as hell made a big play for the job in St Peter's on Monday when he was allowed a party political broadcast…Wed Apr 20 2005 - 01:00
Kofi 'eyes' may fall on deaf 'ears'Another crisis is looming for the United Nations and for Kofi Annan. This time Kofi is in big troubleWed Apr 06 2005 - 01:00
Tribunals are skating on thin iceThe judgment of Adrian Hardiman of the Supreme Court in the case taken by Cork property developer Owen O'Callaghan against the…Wed Mar 23 2005 - 00:00
Greatest theft since Plantation and no hullabalooBy far the greatest theft in Irish history since the Plantation has occurred over the last 30 years and has involved the larceny…Wed Mar 09 2005 - 00:00
Poll shows SF survives bashing by mediaOn two facing pages of last Saturday's Irish Independent (the compact edition) there appeared a column by Bruce Arnold headed…Wed Mar 02 2005 - 00:00
Unable to see good from badThe media's triumphal feeding on the jailing of Ray Burke has been nauseous, for often it was this same media and often these…Wed Feb 02 2005 - 00:00
How much does Bertie know?On Sunday, January 9th, Bertie Ahern, commenting on the £26 million Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, said on the This Week RTÉ…Wed Jan 19 2005 - 00:00
Catastrophe averted in North in '74Ireland came close to catastrophe 30 years ago in ways unsuspected by most of us who were around then.Wed Jan 05 2005 - 00:00
Opinion of President unalteredMary McAleese's referral of the Health Amendment Bill to the Supreme Court caused me to waver on my estimation of her as President…Wed Dec 29 2004 - 00:00
Deal marks an end to rebellionThe prospect of Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams concluding an agreement to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland is tantalising…Wed Dec 01 2004 - 00:00
Steamed up over equine urineThis ain't no Watergate folks, not that Watergate was much shakes eitherWed Nov 03 2004 - 00:00
Pro-poor strategy neededYesterday's Irish Times advised that the new Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, is adopting a "conservative" stance on the forthcoming…Wed Oct 27 2004 - 01:00
The futility of pulling punchesPat Rabbitte published a pamphlet last July that deserves more attention than it has obtained so far.Wed Oct 20 2004 - 01:00
Hobson's choice in US electionIt is disappointing there is no effective political challenge in America to a policy that seems to outsiders so ruinous not just…Wed Oct 13 2004 - 01:00
Who is the best person for a job?When the personnel of the reshuffled Cabinet and junior ministers is announced this afternoon, one thing is clear: those who …Wed Sept 29 2004 - 01:00
Michael D. can convert the nationEnda Kenny spoke in Mullingar on Monday about a "message", "sent out" (aren't they all?) by the recent local and European elections…Wed Sept 08 2004 - 01:00
Benefits in presidential campaignIt is not just because Mary McAleese has been a bland and uninspiring President that she should be challenged in NovemberWed Sept 01 2004 - 01:00
Bland Maca must goMary McAleese has dismantled the office of President established by her immediate predecessor.Wed Aug 25 2004 - 01:00
Coming down with tribunalsThere is a coming row over tribunals, once we get a glimpse of the total costs that have mounted and the liability of the State…Wed Jul 07 2004 - 01:00
US policy included tortureIn a characteristically self-regarding claim on June 26th of last year, George Bush said: "The United States is committed to …Wed May 12 2004 - 01:00
One minute for victims of massacreOn Friday evening last about 400 Rwandans, at the National Stadium in Kigali, were preparing for the commemoration ceremonies…Wed Apr 07 2004 - 01:00
Quelling the anger of IslamThe bereaved and wounded from Thursday's massacre in Madrid will take little comfort from the observation that the nature and…Wed Mar 17 2004 - 00:00
Bertie, the party, and a duty of careBertie Ahern's studied obfuscation yesterday of questions concerning corruption and Fianna Fáil is merely a continuation of a…Wed Feb 11 2004 - 00:00
Envoy's life dedicated to peaceMichael Courtney was a disappointment to many of us who were at UCD with him in the mid-1960s.Wed Dec 31 2003 - 00:00
Saddam may spill the beansTwenty years ago next Saturday, Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein held a secret meeting in BaghdadWed Dec 17 2003 - 00:00
Crime of Limerick's privationMichael Noonan resurfaced on television on Sunday night to call for the emergency response unit to be based in Limerick to deal…Wed Nov 26 2003 - 00:00
No hard questions put to FG Vincent BrowneThere are some good things to say about the three-hour television documentary series on Fine GaelWed Jul 09 2003 - 01:00
'Stakeknife' reporting a scandalThere have been media disgraces on both sides of the Atlantic these past two weeksWed May 21 2003 - 01:00
