I will remember a man who was kind and witty and not the crass headlinesOpinion: The sordid and detailed reports added greatly to the suffering of Tom O’Gorman’s friendsSat Jan 18 2014 - 00:01
Why I was so disappointed by Mary McAleese’s comments on gay priestsOpinion: The church teaches that sexuality is ordered towards a certain goalSat Jan 11 2014 - 00:01
Christmas Day fire was a shattering blow but softened by the kindness of strangersOpinion: Community values often provide a shelter in adversity that the State cannot replicateSat Jan 04 2014 - 00:01
The people’s pope is challenging us to emerge from our comfort zonesOpinion: Everyone seems to love Francis and everyone wants to co-opt him to their own agendaSun Dec 22 2013 - 00:01
In the charity sector, let’s not punish the many for the sins of the fewOpinion: If charities are to raise money successfully, they need to professionaliseSat Dec 14 2013 - 00:01
To view ‘Forbes’ ranking as good news is to confuse the market with societyOpinion: A global economic system based on maximising profit is obviously flawedSun Dec 08 2013 - 00:01
The Minister for Education is not going the right way about implementing changeOpinion: Junior Cycle reform requires more thought and better training for teachersSun Dec 01 2013 - 00:01
Constant media scrutiny means there can be no more heroes as of oldOpinion: We are becoming more cynical but still have a need for visionary, inspiring figuresSat Nov 23 2013 - 07:03
Fundamental issues raised by review of Murphy report need to be airedOpinion: ‘Naming and shaming’ of those who dealt with complaints may have violated principles of natural justice, priests’ review arguesSat Nov 16 2013 - 00:01
A proper debate on the merits of taking children into care is long overdueOpinion: Adversarial system associated with court setting is of questionable valueSun Nov 10 2013 - 00:01
Incidents involving Roma children highlight our attitude to the dispossessedOpinion: If we condemn recent actions but fail to support integration we are being hypocriticalSat Oct 26 2013 - 00:01
Green shoots of renewed faith a sign that the church is coming back from the brinkOpinion: New emphasis on importance of lay participation the key to revivalSat Oct 19 2013 - 00:01
Latest report provides more evidence that change in law not needed to save SavitaOpinion: Hiqa identified general lack of ‘basic, fundamental care’Sat Oct 12 2013 - 07:10
Mater hospital nuns must stand up to bullying – as they have done beforeOpinion: People would support the Mercy sisters financially with any legal costsSat Oct 05 2013 - 00:01
If you want to see political reform, write it in on your ballot paperOpinion: It is a measure of how disillusisoned we are that the Government’s cynicism no longer shocks usSun Sept 29 2013 - 00:01
Pope’s compassion opens way to second look at church teachingInterview emphasises mercy, not legalismSat Sept 21 2013 - 01:30
Preventing war ‘is 60 times cheaper than fighting it’Threat of US strikes may have been averted, but war goes onSat Sept 14 2013 - 01:00
Stakeholders in education should unite against the divide and rule strategyOpinion: Labour trying to pose as if it is no more than an interested bystanderSat Sept 07 2013 - 00:01
Ignoring a persecution, not only in Egypt, that is happening in plain sightOpinion: After Egyptian security forces cleared three sit-in camps, the reprisals were concentrated disproportionately on ChristiansSat Aug 31 2013 - 00:00
Our inability to teach basic values is at the heart of the storm over social media abuseOpinion: Sexual intimacy should be reserved for mature, committed relationshipsSat Aug 24 2013 - 00:01
Will Pope Francis’s popularity survive the discovery that he will not shun tradition?Pontiff emphasised forgiving and forgetting, but in the Google age is anything forgotten?Sun Aug 04 2013 - 01:00
Pro-choice campaigners ignoring threats to women’s lives posed by abortionAttitudes appear to be hardening to the degree that any abortion must be facilitatedSun Jul 28 2013 - 18:00
Suicide still bears a sadly lethal stigma despite our greater ease talking of itSat Jul 20 2013 - 01:00
Proponents of legislation were successful because they told simple storiesWe owe the brave few so much more than we can ever repaySat Jul 13 2013 - 01:00
Fatally flawed legislation will not put abortion to bedAnalysis: We are now dependent on the courage of individuals to rail against abortion BillSat Jul 06 2013 - 13:00
Drinks industry strategy relies on recruiting young drinkers to their brandThe aim of sponsorship is to ‘piggyback’ on sport’s positive imagesSun Jun 30 2013 - 01:00
More focus on the home will enable us to live real lives, not ones dictated by corporationsWomen have been manipulated to fill the emptiness with the pleasures of shoppingSat Jun 22 2013 - 01:00
Savita report stresses failure to record symptomsCascade of failures at Galway hospital highlightedSat Jun 15 2013 - 00:00
Party whip system prioritises loyalty at the expense of conscienceTDs risk being cast out for following the stated principles of their partiesSat Jun 08 2013 - 06:00
Let’s not pretend we are shocked by stressed staff treating children badlyColumn: Quality childcare has taken second place to ensuring women can be ‘productive’ members of societySat Jun 01 2013 - 06:00
Passing flawed legislation on abortion would confirm groupthink of Irish eliteColumn: Most of our legislators have shown themselves incapable of hearing anything that does not chime with introducing abortion on the grounds of suicideSun May 26 2013 - 06:00
Needs of children trumped by politics and economicsColumn: Despite all our rhetoric about cherishing children, cultural factors stand in the way of progressSun May 19 2013 - 06:00
Our treatment of those who can’t pay their debts is misguided and destructiveColumn: The Central Bank’s proposed framework for restructuring debts at least makes an attempt to see people as human beingsSun May 12 2013 - 06:00
Abortion legislation is enough to make you weep for this benighted little countryColumn: In what other instance would the Government consider killing another human being because a mother is in distress?Sat May 04 2013 - 06:00
Evidence showing ‘no mental health benefit to abortion’ cannot be ignoredColumn: Those who believe abortion should be available in Ireland are ignoring scientific evidence in favour of faith-based dogmaSat Apr 27 2013 - 06:00
To oppose gay marriage is not necessarily a bigoted positionThoughtful conservatives are not bigoted, intellectually inferior or vile: they just see the balance of values differentlySat Apr 20 2013 - 06:00
Any decent society prioritises children and people most in need of careOpinion: Sometimes the people who need it most receive neither justice nor mercySun Apr 14 2013 - 10:00
Young people should be told that sex is not just another recreational activityOpposition to violent and degrading porn is an issue on which conservatives and progressives can uniteSat Apr 06 2013 - 06:00
No family should be left alone to deal with a child’s terminal illnessRespite and homecare packages should be available to all regardless of locationSat Mar 30 2013 - 06:00
Inhumane asylum-seeker system needs radical reformPeople living in ‘direct provision’ centres are lonely, fearful and sometimes malnourishedSat Mar 23 2013 - 06:00
‘Transitional’ pope could radically reform the churchFrancis will not change core church teachings, but he may have new prioritiesSat Mar 16 2013 - 06:00
Surrogacy is a legal and ethical minefield and must be bannedIn the recent surrogacy case involving twins where the genetic mother’s sister acted as a surrogate, I was struck by one aspect…Sat Mar 09 2013 - 00:00
Benedict's warnings show there is no smoke without fireThe general reaction of young people to the news that Pope Benedict XVI was retiring reminded me of something that happened when…Sat Mar 02 2013 - 00:00
State must apologise for dire conditions of Bethany HomeDr James Deeny was chief medical adviser to the government from 1944 to 1962, with periods of secondment to the World Health …Sat Feb 23 2013 - 00:00
Benedict achieved what few manage - to voluntarily give up power with graceWhen Pope Benedict became pope, Fintan O’Toole happened to be standing in as a radio host on the daySat Feb 16 2013 - 00:00
Every section of society let Magdalene women down‘There is no single or simple story of the Magdalene laundriesSat Feb 09 2013 - 00:00
Schools struggle to maintain vital mental health support as cuts biteIt is profoundly ironic that the Government is launching mental health promotion guidelines at a time when cutbacks are seriously…Sat Feb 02 2013 - 00:00
Sobering message about suicide few in Ireland want to hearDanny Healy-Rae thinks that people should be able to drink a couple of pints and drive home, but only on quiet country roadsSat Jan 26 2013 - 00:00
Cheap food a tasty delusion hiding high costs and lack of sustainabilityOne of the things most likely to make you feel old is to be asked by a younger colleague who Larry Goodman wasSat Jan 19 2013 - 00:00
Simplified link of abortion with suicide could normalise taking one's own lifeSome very clear findings have emerged from the Oireachtas committee hearings on abortion in the wake of the expert group report…Sat Jan 12 2013 - 00:00