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Colum Kenny: Don't tar all RTE with one brush -- it's time to move on

RTE's managing director of radio, Clare Duignan, let fly at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications when senators and deputies had a go at RTE.

Colum Kenny: The state must get its house in order for tax to work

Those who think that the new household charge of €100 is too much to pay are in for a shock. A report last week indicated that property tax may soon leap from €100 per year to more than €200 per year for every €100,000 that your property is worth.

Colum Kenny: The Vatican sees Ireland as a disgraced and busted flush

'This is an Irish Reformation -- Catholics turning quietly Protestant, but without necessarily changing church'

Colum Kenny: We need global treaties to match world realities

You cAN commit a crime in the US without ever leaving Ireland. And you could find yourself being airlifted to America, shackled and jailed for it.

Colum Kenny: Life or death - when parents don't get to choose for their child

His parents do not agree that their young son has to die. Using the internet, his father has found a doctor who will treat the boy for $30,000 on a Caribbean island.

Colum Kenny: RTE should seize TV50 opportunity

RTE seems set to wallow in sentimentality and soft focus as it celebrates 50 years of its own TV service.

Colum Kenny: A warm faith makes us all stronger

This Christmas Eve, some of us will do what Irish families have done for generations. Light a candle at the window and go out in the dark to attend Mass. It is Christmas, and old traditions still have a place in our hearts.

Colum Kenny: No matter how it spins the story, Government cannot probe media

I agreed with my colleagues on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to refer RTE's Mission To Prey programme to the BAI Compliance Committee for its consideration last week.

Colum Kenny: Who's asking the tough questions?

THE media handed it to Fianna Fail on a plate last week, and the party that wrecked Ireland gobbled it up. Across the country, on local radio, in print or on the national airwaves, FF backbenchers and once unknown candidates got airtime that they couldn't buy. And FF used it to distance itself from its own organisation. It wasn't me, your honour.

Colum Kenny: What difference will Pope's men make?

When the Pope's men arrive in Ireland, what difference will it make? And to whom will they listen? They are due here any time before the end of next month.

Colum Kenny: 'You never got to like it?' The answer to that sinister, suspicious, insinuating, abusive question remains 'No'

'You never got to like it?" That was one of the remarkable questions put to Brendan Boland when he was interrogated by priests in 1975 after reporting to the Catholic Church his sexual abuse at the hands of Fr Brendan Smyth.

Colum Kenny: Recession-hit media must not be taken for granted

When you sup with the devil bring a long spoon, says an old proverb. And British politicians learnt last week that their spoon was too short when they supped with Rupert Murdoch. Irish politicians, please note.

Colum Kenny: Christ himself preached that the truth will set us free

A SURVEY released last week shows that the majority of Irish Catholics find teachings of the Catholic Church on some matters, such as sex and women priests, irrelevant or wrong.

Colum Kenny: Travellers thrive but cupla focal in decline

Despite the recession, and despite renewed emigration, more than 4.5 million people now live in the Republic of Ireland. That is up 348,000 since 2006, and up more than 600,000 people in just 10 years. Only 2.8 million lived in the Republic in 1961.

Colum Kenny: Broadcasting code means there will be no excuse for mistakes

Whatever the rights and wrongs of how RTE produces particular programmes, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has been preparing (since before the recent rows erupted) a new Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality for all broadcasters.

Colum Kenny: Kenny may envy the hero's welcome given to Cosgrave

Did Chicago's Cardinal Francis George mean to snub Enda Kenny? George denies it, but a report last weekend in Chicago's Sun-Times suggested otherwise.

Colum Kenny: Travellers are largely to blame for their negative image

IF Travellers want to be treated like everyone else, then they should not goad and incite one another into violence or beat one another up for power and money in front of their children.

Colum Kenny: A President for the people must keep it plain and simple

How is your paradigm? If you do not even know what a paradigm is, then last week's speech by Michael D Higgins may have passed you by. And that would be a pity. Because he wants to be a President for all the people, and he was saying something useful.

Colum Kenny: Creative chaos the stamp of his genius

TO SAY that Aengus Fanning was easy to deal with would be an overstatement. He could be formidable, a potent mixture of old decency and intellectual impatience. But an encounter with Aengus was never less than bracing, and frequently rewarding.

Colum Kenny: Face of hope for all that might have been

We forget this week in 1922 at our peril. Ninety years ago tomorrow, Arthur Griffith was elected president of the Dail in a brand new Irish Free State (thus filling the position that would later become known as Taoiseach).

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Dublin Sightseeing Reaches New Heights

Ireland’s most iconic venue, Croke Park Stadium, announced the opening of the much anticipated Etihad Skyline tour on the roof of the historic ground. Sponsored by Etihad Airways and opening to the public on Friday 1st June, the tour offers access to a unique Croke Park rooftop walkway and spectacular panoramic views of Dublin city.

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McAreavey suspect accuses police

Avinash Treebhoowoon, 30, confessed to police about his involvement in strangling Michaela McAreavey, but now insists he was forced to sign the statement.Treebhoowoon and co-accused Sandip Moneea, 42, deny murdering the 27-year-old teacher on her honeymoon at the Legends Hotel.

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