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 3 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 5 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 8 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 4 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 9 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 Sep 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 4 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 6 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 9 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 2 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 2 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 5 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 1 2004 - 00:00
Steamed up over equine urineThis ain't no Watergate folks, not that Watergate was much shakes eitherWed Nov 3 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 Sep 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 Sep 8 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 Sep 1 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 7 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 7 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 9 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