Common Ground

Evolving Islands: Ireland & Britain - a special series from The Irish Times exploring the complex relationship between the two

For a united Ireland to work messy compromises will be needed, but we can’t gift Irish identity to the far-right

For a united Ireland to work messy compromises will be needed, but we can’t gift Irish identity to the far-right

Many far-right groups in Ireland now appropriate traditional symbols of Irishness and present themselves as guardians of a ‘pure’ Irish nation

By Ross NeillSun Apr 27 2025 - 06:00

What does Northern Ireland’s reaction to the death of Pope Francis say about attitudes?

What does Northern Ireland’s reaction to the death of Pope Francis say about attitudes?

Protestants as well as Catholics lined up to sign book of condolences in Belfast

By Freya McClementsSat Apr 26 2025 - 06:00

The last confession of ‘Disappeared’ IRA man Joe Lynskey – a priest recalls, more than 50 years on

The last confession of ‘Disappeared’ IRA man Joe Lynskey – a priest recalls, more than 50 years on

For the first time, an Irish priest tells the story of the confession he heard from Joe Lynskey shortly before he was murdered by the IRA a half-century ago

By Mark HennessySat Apr 26 2025 - 06:00

John FitzGerald: Irish unification would hit South harder than 2008 crash

John FitzGerald: Irish unification would hit South harder than 2008 crash

Republic’s prosperity may make a united Ireland look attractive to many in the North but but the cost would be very high for southerners

By John FitzGeraldFri Apr 25 2025 - 06:00

Fewer secrets: less harm - A poetic history of the Irish in Leeds

Fewer secrets: less harm - A poetic history of the Irish in Leeds

Ian Duhig on an anthology he co-edited inspired by Leeds Museums’ 19th-century Irish holdings

By Ian DuhigThu Apr 24 2025 - 05:12

‘This is for everyone’: Rory McIlroy transcends orange-green divide in all-island game of golf

‘This is for everyone’: Rory McIlroy transcends orange-green divide in all-island game of golf

Golf dominated everything in Northern Ireland this week following McIlroy’s Masters win

By Freya McClementsSun Apr 20 2025 - 06:00

Irish and British futures are codependent and entangled

Irish and British futures are codependent and entangled

Worldview: Running through contemporary debates is a battle between those who say reconciliation should come before constitutional change and those who argue for the reverse

By Paul GillespieSat Apr 19 2025 - 06:04

Rory McIlroy’s wish to be identified as Northern Irish is typical of his generation

Rory McIlroy’s wish to be identified as Northern Irish is typical of his generation

Support for Sinn Féin is growing in the North, but support for a united Ireland isn’t. This is not as strange as it might seem

By Stephen CollinsFri Apr 18 2025 - 06:00

Failure to connect electricity systems on island of Ireland has led to higher prices and greater emissions

Failure to connect electricity systems on island of Ireland has led to higher prices and greater emissions

Given our dependence on electric power, delivery of modern interconnector should be faster than one built in wartime

By John FitzGeraldFri Apr 18 2025 - 06:00

Why does Northern Ireland lag the South on public health and education?

Why does Northern Ireland lag the South on public health and education?

Rising infant mortality an indicator ‘society is going down’, says public health specialist

By Seanín GrahamFri Apr 18 2025 - 06:00

Plans to restrict BBC Sounds outside UK delayed

Plans to restrict BBC Sounds outside UK delayed

BBC seeking to ensure radio stations can be found on other platforms ahead of shift

By Mark HennessyThu Apr 17 2025 - 19:22

Stakeknife report finds ‘no deliberate attempt’ by MI5 to withhold material from Operation Kenova

Stakeknife report finds ‘no deliberate attempt’ by MI5 to withhold material from Operation Kenova

Review conducted after hundreds of files not shared with Operation Kenova investigating team

By Seanín GrahamThu Apr 17 2025 - 15:12

Ireland’s rugby exiles in Britain: Meet the Jack Charlton-style granny hunters

Ireland’s rugby exiles in Britain: Meet the Jack Charlton-style granny hunters

Ireland is too small a rugby nation not to tap into the talent pool of its emigrant population across the Irish Sea

By Nathan JohnsThu Apr 17 2025 - 14:22

Latest controversy to engulf Stormont is over the definition of ‘controversial’

Latest controversy to engulf Stormont is over the definition of ‘controversial’

Current row is over Irish language signs at Grand Central Station - but brace for more of the same

By Newton EmersonThu Apr 17 2025 - 06:00

Northern Ireland retailers bearing ‘a lot of pain’ due to red tape, says NI Chamber

Northern Ireland retailers bearing ‘a lot of pain’ due to red tape, says NI Chamber

The UK prime minister Keir Starmer will next month host EU leaders at a landmark post-Brexit summit

By Freya McClementsThu Apr 17 2025 - 06:00

More Northern Ireland students likely to apply for college places in the Republic this year, says Minister

James Lawless says changes made to CAO qualifying conditions will make it easier for northern students to study in the South

By Mark HennessyWed Apr 16 2025 - 21:01

‘A handful of hopefuls can create change’: George Mitchell passes on the torch to a new generation

‘A handful of hopefuls can create change’: George Mitchell passes on the torch to a new generation

Former senator addresses students at Queen’s University Belfast about a future of hope

By Mark HennessyWed Apr 16 2025 - 19:00

Senator George Mitchell: Northern Ireland’s peace must evolve. And if it is here to stay it must be shared

Senator George Mitchell: Northern Ireland’s peace must evolve. And if it is here to stay it must be shared

'I am not talking here in riddles. I am talking of unionists and nationalists, North and South, learning to give each other’s traditions space and time in order that we can flourish side by side. No domination. No dynamite'

By George MitchellWed Apr 16 2025 - 17:00

Omagh bombing inquiry: State reaches deal clearing way for information to be shared

Omagh bombing inquiry: State reaches deal clearing way for information to be shared

Memorandum sets out arrangements for ‘lawful disclosure of material from government departments’

By Mark HennessyTue Apr 15 2025 - 15:57

ESRI report highlights growing North-South prosperity gap

ESRI report highlights growing North-South prosperity gap

Republic’s economy ahead of Northern Ireland in nearly every metric

By CantillonTue Apr 15 2025 - 06:00

‘Worrying’ quality of life gaps growing every year between North and South, says report

‘Worrying’ quality of life gaps growing every year between North and South, says report

Infant mortality is rising in Northern Ireland and life expectancy there is worse than in the Republic

By Mark Hennessy and Eoin Burke-KennedyTue Apr 15 2025 - 00:01

Workers in Republic pay twice as much tax as those in North but are still better off, says ESRI report

Workers in Republic pay twice as much tax as those in North but are still better off, says ESRI report

Trade between North and South has increased since Brexit

By Mark HennessyTue Apr 15 2025 - 00:01

New appeal made to find IRA victim 50 years on

New appeal made to find IRA victim 50 years on

Information sought on the location of remains of Seamus Maguire

By Mark HennessyMon Apr 14 2025 - 00:01

Irish-America crucial in ‘great cause’ of Irish unity, Leo Varadkar tells US audience

Irish-America crucial in ‘great cause’ of Irish unity, Leo Varadkar tells US audience

Former taoiseach stresses importance of Irish-American voice in ‘political project of our generation’

By Mark HennessyFri Apr 11 2025 - 00:01

Ireland and UK increasingly seen as global ‘safe zones’ for investors, Taoiseach says

Ireland and UK increasingly seen as global ‘safe zones’ for investors, Taoiseach says

Two governments provide stability that is appealing for investment, Micheál Martin says

By Mark HennessyThu Apr 10 2025 - 18:02

UK has to pick a side between the US and the EU - and Northern Ireland is stuck in the middle

UK has to pick a side between the US and the EU - and Northern Ireland is stuck in the middle

Rather than seeing a US trade deal as entrenching the sea border, some unionists hope Trump’s new world order might sweep the Windsor Framework away

By Newton EmersonThu Apr 10 2025 - 07:08

Titanic Belfast lost 2,000 bookings in one phone call: how new Brexit visa rules are hitting Northern Ireland tourism

Titanic Belfast lost 2,000 bookings in one phone call: how new Brexit visa rules are hitting Northern Ireland tourism

From this month, holiday visitors to UK from EU member states other than the Republic must apply for £16 visa

By Mark HennessyTue Apr 08 2025 - 06:00

People will have 31-day window to pay bill for UK state pension buyback

People will have 31-day window to pay bill for UK state pension buyback

Irish people who worked in the UK are entitled to purchase voluntary national insurance contributions to either secure or enhance a UK state pension

By Dominic CoyleSat Apr 05 2025 - 06:00

Paul Brady: ‘There’s a huge coterie of Irish nationalists who don’t want a United Ireland’

Paul Brady: ‘There’s a huge coterie of Irish nationalists who don’t want a United Ireland’

The singer has been reflecting on his life to compile The Archive, his new box set. It’s been a rich, rewarding six decades in music

By Róisín IngleSat Apr 05 2025 - 05:45

Unionists and Sinn Féin have ‘common goal’ of making NI work, says Ulster Unionist leader

Unionists and Sinn Féin have ‘common goal’ of making NI work, says Ulster Unionist leader

SF must make idea of Irish unity ‘look attractive to people in Dublin and Limerick and Galway’, says Mike Nesbitt

By Mark HennessyFri Apr 04 2025 - 18:42

‘The new visa is going to put the kibosh on things’: Northern Ireland’s tourist industry braces for impact of travel changes

‘The new visa is going to put the kibosh on things’: Northern Ireland’s tourist industry braces for impact of travel changes

From April 9th, the introduction of a £16 tourist visa raises unique problems for the North, since nearly 70% of its visitors arrive in Dublin and travel across the Border

By Mark HennessyFri Apr 04 2025 - 07:00

Nigel Farage gears up for Reform UK’s ‘big moment’ in May 1st elections

Nigel Farage gears up for Reform UK’s ‘big moment’ in May 1st elections

Council and mayoral votes and crucial Westminster byelection will give clearer picture of whether Farage’s party can meet the hype

By Mark PaulTue Apr 01 2025 - 16:26

Unionist politicians must stop yearning for a flawed past, or ‘one that never was’

Unionist politicians must stop yearning for a flawed past, or ‘one that never was’

Using statistics to defend the union will have little persuasive power

By Graham SpencerMon Mar 31 2025 - 21:51

Boy’s letter about not being able to play outside after Bloody Sunday touched taoiseach, new State records show

Boy’s letter about not being able to play outside after Bloody Sunday touched taoiseach, new State records show

Derry boy Cormac Quigley’s note arrived during some of the darkest days of the Troubles

By Mark HennessyMon Mar 31 2025 - 15:54

US tariffs: For distillery north of the Border, the picture is further complicated by Brexit

US tariffs: For distillery north of the Border, the picture is further complicated by Brexit

‘You add tariffs on anything coming from the US whiskey industry, then that is a major issue,’ says Wild Atlantic Distillery cofounder

By Freya McClementsMon Mar 31 2025 - 06:00

Fionnula Flanagan: I remember the ‘No Irish or dogs’ signs. I didn’t want to live in a country that took that attitude towards me

Fionnula Flanagan: I remember the ‘No Irish or dogs’ signs. I didn’t want to live in a country that took that attitude towards me

Put off London, the actor went instead to the US, where she spent 50 years as one of Ireland’s most prominent screen presences

By Donald ClarkeSat Mar 29 2025 - 05:33

John Hemingway obituary: Last surviving Battle of Britain pilot

John Hemingway obituary: Last surviving Battle of Britain pilot

He was shot down twice in the space of eight days, but went on to outlive all his contemporaries

Sat Mar 29 2025 - 00:15

Joe Lynskey Disappeared case: ‘When he came out of the monastery he came out for the cause. And the cause executed him’

Joe Lynskey Disappeared case: ‘When he came out of the monastery he came out for the cause. And the cause executed him’

Maria Lynskey had the funeral arrangements in place for her uncle before her family’s hopes of finding his remains were dashed for the second time in a decade

By Seanín GrahamFri Mar 28 2025 - 17:00

Reforms that undermine Belfast Agreement will be ‘dangerous’, experts warn

Reforms that undermine Belfast Agreement will be ‘dangerous’, experts warn

Northern Ireland facing a ‘mounting list of problems in healthcare, public finance and other aspects of good governance’, new report says

By Mark HennessyFri Mar 28 2025 - 13:23

How UK social welfare reforms hit Northern Ireland

How UK social welfare reforms hit Northern Ireland

About a quarter of adults of working age in Northern Ireland get disability payments

By John FitzGeraldFri Mar 28 2025 - 06:00

The big story from Northern Ireland no one is talking about

The big story from Northern Ireland no one is talking about

The latest bombshell population data heralds a shocking reversal of demographic fortunes

By Newton EmersonThu Mar 27 2025 - 06:00

Would a united Ireland really say goodbye to the BBC?

Would a united Ireland really say goodbye to the BBC?

No better example of the complex relationships not just between North and South but between Ireland and Britain than our intertwined media ecologies

By Hugh LinehanMon Mar 24 2025 - 12:30

The experience of Irish Britons: ‘If you’re English and Irish at the same time like I am, it’s a bit of a problem’

The experience of Irish Britons: ‘If you’re English and Irish at the same time like I am, it’s a bit of a problem’

The Irish identity of people born in Britain, where six million have at least one Irish grandparent, can be complex and personal...

By Mark PaulSun Mar 23 2025 - 06:00

Excitement, boredom, but most of all, duty - the reasons southern Protestants fought in World War II

Excitement, boredom, but most of all, duty - the reasons southern Protestants fought in World War II

With death of John Hemingway, Ian d’Alton examines motivations of ‘The Few’

By Ian d'AltonThu Mar 20 2025 - 21:36

Duo to be extradited to North in connection with murder of RUC man 50 years ago

Duo to be extradited to North in connection with murder of RUC man 50 years ago

High Court rejects argument that handover would amount to an abuse of process

By Ryan DunneThu Mar 20 2025 - 16:47

At home the DUP spurns Irishness, but when abroad it embraces it

At home the DUP spurns Irishness, but when abroad it embraces it

The party’s code-switching in the US recently plays to negative stereotypes of unionism as a shallow identity. But could it be a response to a deeper shift?

By Newton EmersonThu Mar 20 2025 - 06:00

More Guinness diplomacy from Keir Starmer as he hosts Irish party in Number 10

More Guinness diplomacy from Keir Starmer as he hosts Irish party in Number 10

Eclectic guest list included drag queen Blu Hydrangea, broadcaster Dermot O’Leary and Olympic swimming champion Daniel Wiffen

By Mark PaulWed Mar 19 2025 - 22:46

Four former British soldiers charged over Belfast shootings 50 years ago

Four former British soldiers charged over Belfast shootings 50 years ago

One of the accused is charged with the murder of Patrick McVeigh at the height of the Troubles

By Alan ErwinWed Mar 19 2025 - 14:54

State fails in appeal bid to block Senator’s claim over ‘secret’ Irish airspace policing deal with RAF

State fails in appeal bid to block Senator’s claim over ‘secret’ Irish airspace policing deal with RAF

Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell claims in High Court case deal exists and should be disclosed to the Dáil

By Fiachra GallagherTue Mar 18 2025 - 16:21

Last known Battle of Britain pilot, Irishman John Hemingway, dies aged 105

Last known Battle of Britain pilot, Irishman John Hemingway, dies aged 105

Born in 1919, the Dubliner flew Spitfires during the Battle of Britain

By Ronan McGreevyMon Mar 17 2025 - 23:50

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