Stop demonising one-off rural housing. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by neighbours
If town and village life is so much more sensible and attractive, why do so few people choose to live over the shop?
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell columns and stories
Gerry Hutch is a smart man. He knows what he’s doing with immigration comments
Gerry Hutch knows he can gain ground by saying what other politicians won’t say, but what a growing part of the electorate wants to hear
Decent Irish people have concerns about migration. If we don’t listen, populists will
Politicians are often reluctant to speak about migration for fear of being accused of racism. No such inhibitions trouble putative populist conservatism
Covid and school closures
The official ‘schools are safe’ mantra was patently false to those living it
Michael McDowell’s Covid response critique ignores the central clinical reality
The lesson from Covid is not that strong public-health measures should never be used again
We must never repeat the colossal damage we inflicted on ourselves during Covid-19
Travel from Youghal to the Beara Peninsula,140-160km, was lawful, but travel from Shankill to Bray on a shopping expedition was a crime
Orbán’s defeat is a ‘dunt in the snot’ for Trump - and a lesson for Ireland
Peter Magyar’s win strengthens the hands of EU members who regard the union as a partnership of sovereign states
There’s a Bermuda Triangle of dereliction in Dublin. The solution lies in Leinster House
We are well past the point at which ‘pilot’ implementation projects and ‘independent’ special-purpose vehicles are put on some vague delivery schedule
War in the Middle East has cooled enthusiasm of conservatives for an Irish Trump
Cracks are appearing in the so-called ‘conservative’ alliance, nationally and internationally
Michael McDowell allows his obvious disdain for Binyamin Netanyahu to colour his judgment
Israel is not engaged in a ‘war of expansion’ in Lebanon
Next Dáil could have 185 TDs, Seanad told, as McDowell seeks referendum on numbers cap
No fear that TDs will be ‘sitting on each other’s laps’ in Dáil any time soon, says Minister of State
US and Israel have inflicted long-term damage on themselves in their war with Iran
Binyamin Netanyahu seems intent on obliterating Israel’s international standing
New pilot project sees Ireland processing asylum applications in line with EU migration pact
Officials meeting 12-week timeline for ‘safe-country’ cases and those with less than 20 per cent acceptance rate
Donald Trump is mad, bad and dangerous. Only the midterms can save the US now
One Congress member is even apparently tabling a Bill to allow the US president to serve a third term
If Putin was wrong to invade Ukraine, Trump is wrong to invade Iran
Trump called for demonstrations against the regime and promised demonstrators support from the US. They demonstrated; they died in their thousands
Curling and dead drummers leave me cold
Media have become obsessed with personality and trivia. Quality journalism needs input, analysis and judgment
An independent Irish State was never a foregone conclusion. Nor is a united Ireland now
Courage and statesmanship brought about an Irish state. Those qualities will be needed again if the North is to vote for unity
What is in the new Defamation Bill and how will it change rules on press freedom?
Key reforms include abolition of juries in defamation cases and more protections for journalists
Ireland has a lot of skin in the game of international politics
What might a prime minister Nigel Farage say or do in relation to Northern Ireland?
Irish people fail to understand how fragile our electricity supply is
We have ruled out nuclear and gas exploration, and stalled on wind energy. Our dependence on gas energy will continue until 2050 at the earliest
Do we have to watch this chainsaw-massacre political horror movie to its end?
Border forces have been deployed in the American heartlands – masked, camouflaged and bristling with firearms
The worse Trump behaves, the more room there is for optimism
Are the scales of Maga delusion finally falling from the eyes of Trump voters?
The ground is increasingly fertile for an Irish Maga
The emergence of a hard right in Irish politics was apparent during the run-up to last year’s presidential election
Golden years: Colm Keena on why Dublin was the best place to be growing up in the 1970s
What surprised me was how much I liked the guns - and I also learned how to throw grenades
It’s worth asking again why Sinn Féin sent a delegation to Maduro’s inauguration
Is the ugliness of the Trump regime in Washington mirrored in Sinn Féin’s ambitions for a hard-left Chavista socialist republic in Ireland?
Is the Wood Quay monstrosity finally going to be demolished?
Could a magic wand finally reverse this gross example of urban vandalism, or will the Green lobby and preservationists intervene?
Should the super rich get to opt out of paying taxes in the country that enriched them?
He has his critics, but unlike many others among Ireland’s immensely wealthy, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary has always intended to remain tax resident here
Trump’s disturbing National Security Strategy should be required reading
‘Establishing and expanding’ access in strategically important locations in the hemisphere is a declared aim
Trump isn’t a peace maker, he’s a piece taker
Russia wants a piece of Ukraine. America wants Greenland and the Panama Canal. Israel wants to a piece of Gaza, and so on
Sinn Féin should study its own political history before demanding Herzog Park be renamed
Raymond McCreesh Park was given its name in 2001 following a proposal by the party
Filibustering or scrutinising? Slow passage of the defamation Bill through the Oireachtas
Legislation seeks to end to lawsuits designed to stymie comment and coverage on particular individuals or organisations
Should we re-roof the Rock of Cashel?
Ireland is dotted with ruined castles. Where is the vision for them?
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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