Mostly they demonstrate if a candidate can remember their lines or not

Brexit showed how easily a country can tip over into something toxic and delusional

Moral grandstanding fosters anger and obscures improvements in many areas

Big gift for Christmas 2019 Ireland is the fact that it’s not Christmas 10 years ago

The perpetrators feel invincible. Lying is the default. Good luck to us all

NYT columnist briefly handing controls to her Trumpist sibling leaves readers with a problem

Fine Gael’s reaction to candidate's comments on immigration is infuriating

'Fact-free nonsense': Why would an educated young woman believe such things, never mind tweet them?

Concerns over fact that most teenagers view pornography has been known for a decade

The former US congresswoman has said she was worried that if she stayed in office, more compromising images would emerge

Fuss over voting practices is not on a par with historic political scandals

Lord Mayor’s acquiescence to Merrion Square camp puts city chief in bind

Kathy Sheridan: Ryan’s suggestion taps into perception of bubble-living urban dwellers

Taoiseach’s after-dinner jibe at Fianna Fáil was a cheap and silly potshot

Brexit mess, modern politics and the potential wisdom of myth

The clock is ticking on towards October 31st and some kind of vent is called for

Putting your foot in it: Boris Johnson’s bad manners at Élysée Palace is another example

Fearful of what? ‘Many things – people, life, swimming, bicycles, shouting, animals...’

Young America’s Foundation funding merits close ideological inspection

In a world where social media means no opinion ever goes unexpressed, the vox pop is hauling sand to the desert

Brexiteers are putting pressure on Dublin to act on something they do not care about

Next British prime minister peddles the same false hope and belief in his own centrality

New census questions inspire reflection on what a reader from the past might want to know

Leaks tell us everything about the feral rage coursing through Brexit patriots

Occasional act of assertiveness by a female contestant cannot belie all the self-regard, exterior personalities, sexual predation,(...)

Right to privacy is not so straightforward when running for prime minister of the UK

Atmosphere that pervaded the Garda and society wrecked many lives

This is a time when we can only feel a deep well of sympathy for ordinary British people

The dangled bait of a US-UK trade deal is laced with predatory controls and manipulations

Eamon Ryan and Terence Flanagan are beacons for struggle leading to success

Just 8.4% of funds flow through local government compared with Denmark’s 66%

Beleaguered street deserves the best we can offer in design and creativity

Dissidents failed to anticipate furious backlash from new generation

Declan Ganley’s response to Notre Dame fire was in stark contrast to the unity elsewhere

Some 3,000 bank workers express concern about their employers’ values

For years we craved youth in politicians. Now we have it, we should cut them some slack

Embryonic grouping is raising cash to run candidates in European elections

Good governance: Football is big business and needs to be run properly

Why are people shocked at Sinn Féin’s leader marching with a 100-year-old banner?

Group’s atrocities already notorious when ex-soldier travelled to Syria

What can be done about erosion of civility and humanity is a challenge for us all

Anyone running for office must be candid but she is also a tireless advocate for asylum seeker’s rights

Easy to see why MEPs keen to get noses in Brussels trough

Big questions remain about source of Leave campaign’s funds

Road death reduction has come a long way but there’s no room for complacency

A noxious, belligerent, misogynistic streak has leached into every social and political interaction

Boris Johnson’s showmanship must not be let reduce politics to entertainment

It’s the sheer resilience of human beings that makes the heart a wonder

Faulty assessments, unrealistic expectations and hazardous decisions are UK’s norm

Planning deadlines loom, building costs rise and not a block has been laid

Why every October, as nature is facilitating a natural adjustment to fading light, do we voluntarily hasten the onset of darkness?

In our rush to sympathise and praise we almost forgot Brexit is about immigration

Women-only posts plan triggers outrage but figures show deep-seated problem

McCabe and CervicalCheck episodes show harm done by political posturing

No heroic crusader, businessman knows very little and does not bother to find out

No individual should be allowed glide, unquestioned, through 14 years in the nation’s most prestigious job

Presidential campaigns often take a bad turn but this one is damaging the dignity of the office

Public realises bankers and politicians choose to keep them in the dark

US supreme court aspirant’s claims about his behaviour are not credible

Big political lies such as those in Brexit blight democracy by killing voters’ trust

Why can’t we just be pleased about the latest the UN development rankings?

Dissimulators, delusionals and fantasists get weeded out as competition intensifies

US president’s draft-avoider reaction to death of hero John McCain far from normal

Former president’s powerful intervention this week highlights the Church’s warped structure

Dogwhistle signal sent not by hack or clown but by former foreign secretary

A courteous, predictable and genteel version of England exists in the dreams of many who voted for Brexit

The coronation of the Leave-voting actor for his tirade about David Cameron is a new low

The behaviour of politicians such as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson reflects well on the Taoiseach

The devices are wonderful but they have evolved into a noxious antisocial habit

Latest ‘unguarded’ speech being ‘leaked’ at a moment of great vulnerability for his PM is quite a coincidence

Leavers finding rationale for their No decision under heavy challenge

Bishop Kevin Doran, John McGuirk and Declan Ganley just not accepting Yes vote

Referendum vote is set against a culture of women being shamed and silenced

Role of the church and its acolytes in public policy has cast long shadow over Irish life

Religious exploitation of toddler’s short life serves as warning ahead of vote on Eighth Amendment

Martine experienced two fatal foetal abnormalities – and made a different choice for each

Proposal shows bankers’ sense of entitlement has survived the banking winter

Belfast rape case generated charged exchanges between women

If people shrink from public debate due to its abusive tone that is a loss to democracy

Kathy Sheridan: Decent men who have influence stand up for those who don’t

A recent case in Ireland shows how workplace sexual harassment is alive and well

Cambridge Analytica exploited Facebook to get Donald Trump elected

Evangelical pulpit-thumping fanboys unlikely to be too impressed

Latest threats to supply highlight argument our politicians are too scared to make

Vested interests behind distorted Brexit reporting in British newspapers

Cyberattacks and social media threats show the benefits of traditional democracy

Kathy Sheridan: Why does Ukip’s chief dog whistler still accept a €100,000 EU salary?

Ex-‘Daily Mirror’ editor simpers where credible journalists bring predators to account

Fianna Fáil leader gives party pause for thought by rejecting easy certainties

Kathy Sheridan: #MeToo is a revolution, and ‘guilty because accused’ has kicked in

Kathy Sheridan: Ignorant shoutiness emerged as the motif of 2017

Everyone deserves a few days free of anger, home truths, sniping and whataboutery

Blustering have-your-cake-and-eat-it Brexit brigade blunders on regardless

State aged 100 near top of world rankings for education, innovation and quality of life

Infantile ideas like Ireland should pay for Border part of UK cultivating obtuseness

Common thread of responses to recent revelations is to attempt to minimise them

Laurence McKeown is using a blanket from the Maze to make a different kind of statement

Varadkar’s shared Twitter photo with a llama could be media savvy or just a bit childish

Kathy Sheridan: It is vital to distinguish targeting a gender from brutal abuse of power