Ireland badly needs to face up to the minimum responsibilities entailed in our independence
Now that Catherine Connolly is our 10th president, her role under Article 13.4 of the Constitution as supreme command of the Defence Forces comes into sharper focus. Although she has been sceptical and critical in relation to increased defence spending by Nato states, the plain fact is that Ireland’s Defence Forces has been allowed to atrophy over the last 40 years […]
Why is Ireland a destination of choice for asylum seekers?
Distinctions between lawful migration, temporary immigration and residence, and asylum seeking are real and important. EU citizens have a right under EU law to migrate to other member states to engage in employment and economic activity, but not simply for long-term residence by choice. Nationals of both Ireland and the UK have freedom of migration and residence. Ireland also accords limited […]
This election wasn’t a lurch to the left, but a victory for Keep The Other Lot Out politics
Given that the vast majority of important decisions for Ireland’s future will continue to be made in Government Buildings, Leinster House, the White House, Capitol Hill, and the Berlaymont in Brussels (in no particular and quite changeable order) for the next four years, rather than in Áras an Uachtaráin, the outcome of last Friday’s election should be […]
What exactly does Vladimir Putin hold over the cowardly Donald Trump?
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, was subjected to a second brutal Trump ambush in the Oval Office last Friday. This time, the cameras were not allowed to witness the idiot king’s brutish behaviour. But the Financial Times broke the story, which was based on accounts of eyewitnesses, that Donald Trump engaged in a shouting match, swearing at Zelenskiy, throwing […]
Liberals must stop adopting lazy-minded, woke stances on complex issues
I recently listened to a fascinating The Irish Times podcast interview between Hugh Linehan and Ronan McCrea, a law professor in the University College London and sometimes contributor to this newspaper, in relation to his latest book, The End of the Gay Rights Revolution. This book is a must read for anyone who is seriously interested in the effects of LGBTQIA+ activism […]
Ireland should not be told by Brussels or Washington what to do about policing speech
We have to wise up to the drift of events across the European Continent. There are many in our establishment who make the argument that Ireland needs to be at the centre of EU affairs where we can aspire to “punch above our weight”. They argue that unless we are at that centre we will […]