Beware ideas which offer a pseudointellectual cover for racist rioting
A book coining the ugly phrase ‘suicidal empathy’ has been on the NYT bestseller list. At its heart is the idea that ‘misdirected’ empathy is destroying western civilisation
Breda O'Brien
Breda O'Brien columns
Could incentives such as discounted summer camps help to reverse decline in birth rates?
We talk a lot about the economic cost, but the human heartache caused by involuntary childlessness is incalculable
Irish senior cycle reforms have resulted in some farcical situations
How Additional Assessment Components are working in classrooms and an increasing dependence on iPads and Chromebooks raise concerns
Struggling to get your children off Fortnite? There’s a reason for that
Games are designed to offer something to capture your attention every 40 seconds. No wonder it’s a battle
Mandatory abortion waiting periods do not create compassion, they create extra distress
Women facing fatal foetal diagnoses have almost always reflected extensively before presenting for care. These are not casual decisions
Abortion is the only healthcare service on which the law imposes a waiting period
The mandatory waiting period is an unacceptable, demeaning and patronising
We only talk about access to abortion – never the reasons why women choose it
Abortion allows society to shrug its shoulders - towards the children of unplanned pregnancies but also to systemic pressures, from the housing crisis to the cost of living
Honeymoon for Pope Leo will eventually come to an end. As it should
His role is not to act as a counterweight to Donald Trump
Robust criticism and mockery are not the same as urging murder and mayhem
Something is seriously awry in US culture that an attempted assassination of a president is just another day in Washington
How will Catherine Connolly represent those beyond her own ideological orbit?
Already, people of faith are unsure whether the ‘all voices’ the President said she would listen to include theirs
The audacity of newbie Catholic JD Vance lecturing Pope Leo is breathtaking
It has been disconcerting to see US Catholics belatedly turning on Trump. Where was the outrage before now?
Religion and Irish in schools
No Irish language organisation teaches that non-Irish speakers will go to hell
Why are religious schools seen as divisive but Irish-language schools are not?
There is a strange double standard about religion in schools as opposed to other areas of learning
Road death statistics are incomplete unless they include all who died
Jax’s Law would recognise babies who die in the womb as victims in road traffic collisions
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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