Only five days remain until polling stations open for the country’s first nationwide elections in almost 4½ years. Many voters will be thinking seriously over this bank holiday weekend about what choices they might make in the European, local and – for Limerick residents – mayoral contests.
There is no shortage of options. Some 73 candidates are vying for 14 seats in the European Parliament. An estimated 2,169 are in contention in 166 local electoral areas. And there are 15 contenders for the brand new office of Limerick mayor. Our political team has profiled the three European constituencies, with Jack Horgan-Jones on the sprawling five-seater of Ireland South, Harry McGee on the even more enormous Midlands-North-West and Cormac McQuinn on the fight for the four seats on offer in Dublin. At the moment it looks as if Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin should be well placed to take at least one seat apiece in each constituency, but history tells us that elections to the European Parliament can often throw up surprises.
Meanwhile, Europe Correspondent Jack Power gives his analysis of what makes a successful MEP and looks at the records of Ireland’s sitting representatives, 10 of whom are standing again this time.
There is widespread concern across Europe about the risks of election interference, manipulation and disinformation. At a time of heightened sensitivity over immigration issues, Crime and Security Correspondent Conor Gallagher investigates how far-right groups successfully shape false narratives around asylum seekers and crime. He describes the process by which a false story can be rapidly amplified on social media, where it may be seen by thousands.
There was a significant political event across the Atlantic this week when Donald Trump became the first US president to be convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty of covering up documents relating to a hush money payment. Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan has been following the trial from start to finish and reports this weekend on its aftermath and what it might mean for November’s presidential election.
While politics at home and abroad dominated the week, you’ll find hundreds of new stories across all subject areas on irishtimes.com this weekend.
At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Friday, 59-year-old Gerard O’Brien, a Circuit Court judge from 2014 until earlier this year, was sentenced to four years in jail for sexually assaulting six young men and boys in the 1990s. The offences occurred between 1991 and 1997, when O’Brien was a teacher at CBC Monkstown in Co Dublin. For a detailed examination of O’Brien’s life, his trial and his offences, read this piece by Eimear Dodd and Claire Henry.
In Opinion, Mark O’Connell reflects on the fencing-off of a section of the Grand Canal in Dublin and the wider policy stance it represents. He writes: “The fencing-off of the canal seems like the ineffectual effort of a Government, looking rightward over its shoulder at an increasingly extreme anti-migrant movement, to appear ‘tough on immigration’ –– to inject what Simon Harris called ‘a degree of common sense’ into asylum policy. (Of all the concepts beloved of centre-right politicians, few seem to me to be more abstract, and even vaguely mystical, than ‘common sense’.)”
In the same section, Cliff Taylor sets out the dangers for Ireland in the coming subsidy war, while Lara Marlowe reminds us how wars usually end: from exhaustion.
One of those wars – Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine – continues to threaten not only that country but the security of Europe itself. In the latest in his series of powerful on-the-ground dispatches, Daniel McLaughlin speaks to people who have stayed in Kharkiv – at least for now – as the frontline comes ever closer to Ukraine’s second city.
If you want to book a treat or two for the summer months, Friday’s list of 100 great places to eat around Ireland this summer offers a huge choice of dining options, from food trucks to formal restaurants, many with sea views or particularly nice outdoor spaces – and a quarter of them are newly opened.
For those who prefer to eat at home, Mark Moriarty has a couple of mouth-watering recipes for spicy barbecued foods: a short rib with chimichurri and spiced slaw and a chicken shawarma with flatbread and tzatziki.
Elsewhere, in this interview with Martin Doyle, author Kevin Barry tells the “long, bitter story” of how he became one of Ireland’s finest and most influential writers.
If you’ve never forgotten a passport or booked a flight to the wrong airport, Jan Carson’s fine essay about her lifetime of travel “disasters” will make you realise you’ve been missing out on golden opportunities for adventure.
Finally, some of the best writing in The Irish Times is supplied by you, our readers. Two Letters to the Editor stood out for me this week: “white collar, privileged” worker Connor Holbert’s account of why he won’t be staying in Ireland much longer, and Prof Chris Fitzpatrick’s perceptive satire telling us “how not to build a public hospital”.
Have a good weekend,
Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
Editor
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