Photograph: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

For months BBC journalist Aileen Moynagh was subjected to a stranger’s horrific threats

We’re losing sight of what matters in the clamour to reduce complex issues to a spaghetti western-style showdown between your side and mine. Photograph: iStock

Gap between what politicians talk about and the issues that matter is widening

Louise O’Neill: ‘I read columns of mine that I would have written 10 years ago, and I think it’s interesting how much my worldview or my feminism has really shifted’

‘It felt like a lot of people really hated me. I suppose I felt really scared a lot of the time’

Rebekah Vardy, who   is suing Coleen Rooney for libel, outside London high court. Photograph:  Yui Mok/PA Wire

It is disturbing that tales of catfighting women have caused a media frenzy

  Amber Heard testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County circuit court in Fairfax, Virginia. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Photo via AP

What hope has any alleged victim when highest court in US has declared that women are not to be trusted?

David and Stephen Flynn of The Happy Pear: The brothers thought they posted an apology last week about their cancer claims. Instead, they smirked their way through a classic ‘nonpology’.  Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill

Having thousands of Instagram followers does not turn the twins into medical experts

Psychology professor Dr Laurie Santos, whose one-time-only class ‘Psychology and the Good Life’ is the most popular course ever offered at Yale. Photograph: Stan Godlewski via Getty Images

The idea that you have to always be happy is what makes people unhappy – ironically

Martina and Sean Burke from Castlebar protesting against  the proposed Civil Partnership Bill with some of their children outside Leinster House in July 2010. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh

Ammi Burke’s Arthur Cox hearing is the latest high-profile case involving a family member

Refugees from Ukraine wait for the bus after they crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border  in Medyka, on April 8th. Photograph:   Wojtek Radwanski/ AFP via Getty

Host families are ordinary people with lives of their own. They need our help.

Chances of survival for many cancers is increasing, and the quality of life has improved. Photograph: iStock

St James’s Hospital has made huge strides in battling common cancers

The slap. By mid-morning on Monday hot takes were being formulated, retweeted, deleted. By lunchtime the interpretation had begun to splinter into factions. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The dizzying collective response is a reminder that procrastination is underrated

People will do as they like – they’ll crowd into pubs, shops and onto buses and behave as though the words ‘airborne transmission’ never entered their vocabulary. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Mass experiment infantilised five million for two years and then let them act freely

‘You can’t beat a good mare,’  Camilla tells  Henry de Bromhead and winning jockey Rachael Blackmore. Photograph:  Stuart C  Wilson/Getty

Prince Charles addresses Waterford reception in Irish as three-day trip continues

Elizabeth Boyle all along the banks of the Royal Canal, Dublin. Photograph: Laura Hutton

Elizabeth Boyle’s memoir blends sex, medieval Ireland and childhood abandonment

UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Britain’s   heel-dragging on refugees is inhumane. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/AFP via Getty

UK behaving like it just noticed its capital, nicknamed ‘Londongrad’, is full of dodgy Russian money

A video showing what appear to be lines of dead bodies – and  shared by the official account of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs –  has nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine

If you don’t want to be an unwitting part of sharing propaganda, follow these steps

The big question this year in Dingle is who is going to staff the pubs, restaurants and hotels

Ukrainian refugees   crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border in Korczowa. Photograph: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images

Russian invasion shows the western world is steeped in a thick stew of colonialist tropes

Now in Ireland you can divorce once you have been separated for two of the previous three years. Photograph: iStock

If at all possible, do the hard work outside of the courtroom to avoid a costly legal battle

A quarter of a century after the first divorces, what have we learned?

A quarter-century after divorce became legal, it is still costly, traumatic and isolating

Brown Thomas unveils its new 62,000sq ft store at Dundrum Town Centre. Photograph: Alan Betson

The opening of Brown Thomas’s new Dundrum mecca this week was jarring

Because everyone has different ideas of what’s safe, the shared cake in the office kitchen is a health, safety and HR nightmare. Photograph: iStock

Should we hug? Can I eat on the bus? Here’s a rough etiquette guide as restrictions change

Prince Andrew somehow found €14 million to pay off his accuser. Photograph: Julien Warnand/EPA

Prince Andrew hinted he'll rebrand as as a sex abuse campaigner. How much more will British taxpayers take?

This week provided proof positive, if any were needed, that housing remains the measure against which everything this Government does will be judged.  Photograph: Getty Images

One good news initiative after another failed to cheer a disgruntled public. Until housing is fixed, nothing is fixed

Victoria Beckham: the word that she uses most often to describe her own diet is ‘clean’. Photograph:  Craig Barritt/Getty Images

Everyone knows ‘clean eating’ is just dieting rebranded for the Instagram generation

The novel is a new departure for Emily Edwards, who previously wrote crime fiction under the name Emily Elgar. Photograph: Adam Luszniak

Emily Edwards on how her novel explores the grey areas of a highly contentious subject

An aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant: For nine days, the fire that started in Reactor Number 4 burned on, and the world held its breath.  Photograph: Mykola Lazarenko/ Reuters

Opposition to nuclear energy is still grounded in emotion, fear and rhetoric

Ali Faruk’s tweet about the work-and-play station went viral

Capitalism gone mad or a neat stopgap for parents? For me, it would have been life-changing

Cody Sweeney in Dunmore East, Co. Waterford. Photograph: Patrick Browne

Cody Sweeney is positive about his future. But trans people in Ireland face many challenges

Things are not going back to exactly how they were, but it’s still a toss up whether they’ll return to a better or slightly worse version of the before times. Photograph: Getty

If the Covid emergency really is over, why does it feel like such an anti-climax?

‘At one point during the session, only 26 TDs were present. There was, Miriam Lord noted, a very poor attendance from male deputies.’ File photograph: The Irish Times

Conversation on violence against women means nothing if system doesn't change

Former justice minister Nora Owen: ‘We also need to be sure that if women do become victims of assault, that every asset of the State is made available to their care.’  Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times

Three women in their 70s speak about how violence against women has evolved over time

Executive director of the WHO health emergencies programme Dr  Mike Ryan. Photograph:   Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty

Dr Ryan is appearing at the Irish Times Winter Nights festival

We’ve laid the flowers, lit the candles and asked the questions to which there are no answers.

Jennifer O'Connell: ‘Stop giving us advice on how to stay safe. Stop glamourising violent men’

 Ashling Murphy,  teacher at Scoil Naoimh Colmcille, Durrow, Co Offaly. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Jennifer O’Connell: Platitudes don’t keep women safe. We need a national strategy

According to the survey, 88 per cent of us are confident that better days lie ahead. Photograph: iStock

Latest Ipsos Global Trends survey shows we are a nation of closet optimists

Supporters of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic gather outside a government detention centre where the tennis champion is reported to be staying in Melbourne. Photograph:  Con Chronis / AFP via Getty

Two years on, we all know a Novak Djokovic and they’re increasingly hard to take

There have been reports by people who say their infection was not initially picked up with an antigen test. Photograph : Laura Hutton

Could rapid antigen tests be missing some cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19?

Marian Finucane was a trailblazer, but what followed was not so much a conquering army of other bright, opinionated women, but a slow and steady incursion. Photograph: Eric Luke

Two years after the broadcaster’s death, how much has really changed for professional women?

Protesters march to the Dublin City Council offices in protest against the proposal to build a 114 room hotel around the Cobblestone pub in Smithfield, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

A guide to surviving the inevitable rows and getting one up on your loved ones this Christmas

‘There is a universality to the traditions of the season which reminds us that, despite everything, we’re not actually that different to one another.’ Photograph: iStock

No one was worrying about what they’d get for Christmas, so long as it wasn’t Omicron

A generation ago, single-earner families could reasonably expect to be able to afford a mortgage. Now, even a couple earning two good salaries may struggle to save for a deposit

A new series on Ireland’s undersupplied rental market and the toll it’s taking on society

 Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness with Mary Lou McDonald in at the Sinn Féin ardfheis in 2016. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Party has mastered the non-apology but will need to confront its past

Orla: ‘It took such a toll physically and mentally.’ Photograph: Damien Eagers

A recent study found 8 per cent of 13- to 17-year-olds had received sexual messages online

In the first half of this year, four in every 10 first-time buyers were given money by their parents to help them to fund their deposit. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Inter-generational wealth transfers are now only happening for the wealthy

There are clear physical risks to the profusion of unregulated cosmetic procedures. Photograph: iStock

A boom in fillers among young women worries dermatologists and surgeons

Masking children is cheap, easy to implement and should help reduce transmission, but that doesn’t mean it is entirely cost-free. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Having more diverse groups involved in decision-making isn’t just about fairness, it’s about better decisions

The unvaccinated serve as lightning rods for frustrations about a health service in danger of collapse, fears about the new variant, worries about restrictions or dismay at small children in masks all day. Photograph: Alan Betson

Misplaced fear and distrust of authority must be addressed in clear Covid messaging

Inside the Mater: Dr Sinead McArdle, emergency-medicine consultant. Photograph: Alan Betson

Doctors at Dublin’s Mater hospital say the system is on the brink and lockdown looks likely

‘If people are working from ‘many homes’, it’s often because they can’t afford one home.’ File photograph: Getty Images

Airbnb’s latest intervention fails to take account of reality facing many young people

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan at a Covid-19 media briefing at the Department of Health on Wednesday. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Public would respond better to clear rules than to clamour of discordant messaging

Roadtrips in Ireland are done at a very sedentary pace.

A hidden pandemic of buyer’s remorse is sweeping through Irish homes

Adam and David King  at the family home in  Cork. Photograph:  Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

After capturing the hearts of the nation, Adam is now the inspiration for a new book

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg at the virtual Facebook Connect event at which the company announced its rebranding as Meta. Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Setting safety and privacy boundaries should not be up to Mark Zuckerberg

‘With no legal remedy for the affected homeowners, a political solution to the mica crisis will be found – which is only right, because this was a systems failure.’ File photograph: The Irish Times

Rule number one: don’t talk about the anomalies or you might have to address them

Facebook: the company seems to be hoping that a rebrand will wipe the slate clean. Photograph: Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty

Facebook knows it has an image problem. So it’s becoming a ‘metaverse’ company. A what?

What is the Facebook ’metaverse’?

‘The next best thing to teleportation’ will create 10,000 new jobs in EU over five years

‘We’re relying exclusively on slow and expensive lab-based PCR testing, instead of a test that costs about €6 in pharmacies [and] can be administered at home.’ Photograph: iStock

Many disagree with Nphet, among whom are the WHO and European Commission

Dr Chris Luke, the emergency physician who became known for his  media warnings on issues such as overcrowding in emergency departments, has written a memoir called A Life in Trauma. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

In 2011, his clumsy warning on radio about the trolley crisis drew a devastating backlash

Quite green: Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Minister for Transport would not get far using only sustainable transport

Yantian in Shenzhen, the world’s fourth busiest port. Satellite images taken of the port over the summer showed a backlog of containers at the port so big it could be seen from space. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Irish retailers say they are struggling to secure stock ahead of the busiest season

Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

The Aisling authors’ relationship grew stronger after McLysaght entered psychiatric care

If we’re rewarding teachers where’s the bonus for the pupils who were locked out of the classroom and away from their peers for eight months? Or for the parents who doubled jobbed as teachers?   Photograph: Getty Images

Fine Gael’s tendency to spectacularly misjudge the mood of the room remains undimmed

‘You’re not outside anyone’s house shouting ugly insults, maybe; you’re in their pocket shouting at them instead.’ Photograph: iStock

We're all victims of the corrosive assault on civility fuelled by abusive online pile-ons

Lucia Ryan with her three-year-old twins John and Matilda: She worries about the pressure facing parents and the “absolute heroes” who are the country’s childcare workers. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Post-Covid flexible work patterns are clashing with rigid creche hours and set fees

Michael D Higgins’s popularity means he sometimes gets away with pushing the boundaries of the presidency. Photograph: Maxwells/PA Wire

President’s refusal of invitation to commemorative service with queen is no act of healing

 Zwena McCullough (front) with Jeremiah Delaney and his father JJ Delaney, from Co Cork, during the under 40 horse plough class.Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Despite having to plough on with small crowd, many delighted to return to Co Laois event

USI president Clare Austick says students are now looking for accommodation that ‘just isn’t there.’ Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times

Covid-related shortage of housing and delayed college offers creates perfect storm

Maureen Gaffney: Her new  book’s message is that we are moving forward and developing as people right throughout our lives. Photograph: Tom Honan

The psychologist’s new book is a love letter to humanity in all its stages

 Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the Fianna Fáil think-in at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Co Cavan. Photograph: Conor McCabe/PA Wire

Micheál Martin’s failure to stamp an identity on his party has led to a damaging vacuum

Sarah Harding: the singer was brimming with life, albeit in the end making do with a much more intimate stage. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Girls Aloud was a manufactured entity. ‘Hardcore Harding’ was anything but

Lockdown seems to have created a perfect storm. The demand for dogs went through the roof when people were at home.

Pandemic tempted many to get a dog but return to office is prompting their surrender

Why do people get so wound up by Sally Rooney? It’s an interesting question, and one that reveals more about our values as a society than it does about the novelist. Photograph:  Ellius Grace/New York Times

If criticism focused on the novelist’s work, fair enough, but much is of the how-dare-she variety

Tour operators are operating on losses equivalent to 95 per cent of 2019’s business. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Experts predict Irish tourism will be in survival phase until the end of 2022

Music fans at the Electric Picnic festival in 2017: It is clear that, as far as many in the Government are concerned, Irish culture begins and ends at Croke Park. Photograph:  Niall Carson/PA

Arts sector has been ignored by cowardly Government afraid to make tough decisions

Revealing accounts by some holdouts published by The Irish Times this week show that while some are confirmed sceptics, many are merely wary. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty

Stories feed something ugly in our psyches, the idea that there are good and bad victims of the virus

Derek Leinster, founder of the Bethany Home Survivors Group, at a memorial ceremony for the children and babies who died at the home, at Mount Jerome cemetery in July 2015.   Photograph: Sara Freund/The Irish Times

‘We missed out because of our religion ... we’re still being discriminated against’

Jack Eoin Rua O’Neill: ““I knew when I got in that the swell was bigger than we thought.” Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Experienced swimmer Jack Eoin Rua O’Neill quickly got into trouble in swells

Gertie and Pat Ormond, owners of Kilcannon House B&B, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Photograph: Patrick Browne

Jennifer O’Connell’s assumptions are shattered searching for the essence of Irish B&Bs

 Simone Biles reacts after competing in the artistic gymnastics balance beam event of the women’s qualification during the Tokyo   Games. Photograph: Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

Elite sport has a women problem, and it isn’t confined to relentless sexualisation of athletes

‘Boris Johnson seems determined to weaponise unionist disquiet to put pressure on the EU, a dangerous game to play under the heat of the July sun.’ File photograph: Getty

We’re no better than Boris if we can’t resist our own version of obsession with the past

“Sexual assault has a profound impact  on every aspect of your life. It’s something you come to accept, but never forget”

Stories are the most powerful tools to change minds on social issues, says Minister Josepha Madigan

Temperature tourism: People pose for photos at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center, Sunday, July 11th in Death Valley – and the temperature continued to rise. Photograph: Roger Kisby/The New York Times

Hottest ever, wettest ever, highest ever. And it's only just beginning.

Making it work for everyone brings both challenges and opportunities

During a debate in the Dáil on sexual and domestic violence, Minister of State for Special Education Josepha Madigan said she is a survivor of sexual assault

How many more stories do we need to hear before we take action?

Would a four-day week mean  the chats around the water cooler are a thing of the past? Illustration: iStock

Would a shorter week translate into more intense working hours or the perfect work/life balance?

‘I was normal-competitive I think. If we were playing football in school I’d always make sure there was someone keeping score.’ Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

The Grand-National-winning jockey on an incredible year

Supporters  outside the Los Angeles courthouse where the hearing into the conservatorship of Britney Spears is taking place. Photograph: Allison Zaucha/The New York Times

From childhood we are inured to fables about females having their powers taken away

Novelist Eimear Ryan. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

‘Writing is in your head. Camogie is spontaneous and physical,’ says debut author and GAA player

Airbnb  pays $50 million annually cleaning up after people in their listed properties. Photograph:  Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

No woman who walked home with keys in hand for protection would think of business model

Chrissy Teigen: As long as she goes on posting, people are getting rich.  Photograph: by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE

Can the social media star come back from her admission that she was a troll? Oh yes

The best place to live

Why I love where I live, by Róisín Ingle, David McWilliams, Jennifer O’Connell and more

Eamonn Crean of the Crean family, owners of Greenhill Fruit Farm, with his daughter Analise. Photograph: Patrick Browne

The pandemic is having an effect on seasonal work this year – the return of the teenager

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar admitted Fine Gael engaged in ‘similar’ practices to Sinn Féin on door-to-door polling. File photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times

Parties’ practice of using fake pollsters goes against principle of secret ballot

Classic VW campervan photographed by James Osmond/Imagebank/iStock/Getty

Campervan sales are soaring thanks to lockdown savings and Instagram dreams of a beach lifestyle

As reopening looms, some people are stressed about resuming normality. Photograph: Getty Images

As the country prepares to reopen, there are ways to ready yourself for a return to society

British prime minster Boris Johnson with his wife Carrie Symonds married in a private wedding ceremony on Saturday, May 29th. File photograph: EPA

Catholic wedding a reminder of how the elite still get to make their own rules

One of the books  identified as problematic by a caller to Liveline this week  is Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the TV series of which stars  Elisabeth Moss. Photograph: Sophie Giraud/Hulu

Yes, schools should be a safe place, as the callers to Liveline insisted. But safe does not mean sanitised

In 1979, the average age of men getting married was 26.5; for women it was 24. By 2019, it was nearly 37 for men, 34 for women.

Coalition policy seems blind to fact many now remain single well into their 30s

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