Welcome to IT Sunday, your weekly digest of the best reporting and writing from The Irish Times exclusively for our subscribers.
The Government reaches its one-year anniversary today, and despite early doubts about its prospects it feels like the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Greens Coalition “has found its feet”, writes Pat Leahy.
In an assessment of the Government's first 12 months in office, he says there is still an unease in the Varadkar-Martin relationship.
“I don’t think he [the Taoiseach] 100 per cent trusts Leo, says one person. I don’t think anyone does, actually.”
Harry McGee provides a ministerial scorecard for some of the Cabinet's heavy-hitters.
Scores will be given to the other Ministers in an article for subscribers on Monday.
More than 40 per cent of the adult population is now fully vaccinated, but concern has surfaced about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca jab to deal with the Delta variant of Covid-19.
It means people in their 60s are now more exposed than younger cohorts who received a different vaccine, writes Fintan O'Toole, highlighting "a contradiction" at the heart of the rollout. "Those who did what they were told on vaccines now feel like eejits," he says.
Jennifer O'Connell looks at the power dynamics behind the rise and fall of Britney Spears. "What kind of society makes baiting women in the public eye until they break apart not just a blood sport but a lucrative industry?" she asks.
In sport, as the Euro 2020 knockout stages continue, Ken Early asks whether Spain can reinvent themselves by not passing the ball so much, while Gerry Thornley talks to Brian O'Driscoll about 'Speargate' and all other things Lions.
It’s an ideal time of year for nature watching so this week The Irish Times produced a guide to identifying Irish trees by leaf, flower, fruit and shape.
It's available in English and Irish, with expert notes by Éanna Ní Lamhna and an introduction by Paddy Woodworth.
You staycation guide continues, with Fionn Davenport giving top tips on what to do in Donegal, and Damian Cullen providing a family-friendly guide to Roscommon.
Why is classic French food so hard to find in Irish restaurants? So asks Corinna Hardgrave in a review of Bresson in Dublin's Monkstown, which doesn't disappoint.
In personal relationships, Roe McDermott offers advice to a woman in her 50s who is concerned about how her partner's depression is affecting their sex life.
This week's book reviews include a crime fiction roundup, led by Laura Lippman's Dream Girl – "the darkly comic thriller of the season". Mary Lawson's A Town Called Solace and Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss also pass muster with our reviewers.
As always there is much more on irishtimes.com, and don't forget you can check out more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.
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Stay safe and well.