Opinion

Friday 20 July 2018

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pictured as he arrived before the start of the Cabinet meeting at Derrynane house, Co Kerry. Photo: Frank McGrath

Taoiseach clings to his 'Brexit bright side', but we must now hope sense prevails

So, we continue - as we must - to prepare for the worst. Looking at the utter political chaos surrounding Brexit in the London parliament it is hard to see much cause to hope for anything like a best case outcome.

Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor has targeted a range of gender issues. Photo: David Conachy

Analysis

Universities told: the minister is watching

Mary Mitchell O'Connor is very blunt in her summation of gender diversity in universities and higher education institutions.

Eoghan Harris

A bit nicer to the Brits but a bit nastier to Israel

Last week, we got some clarity on Brexit and the Presidency and saw the Seanad at work.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet the crowds (Brian Lawless/PA)

Ruth Dudley Edwards

A successful pilot run for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

'The fawning over #HarryandMeghan has been pretty nauseating," tweeted The Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland last Wednesday. "For clarity, Meghan is no feminist if we care about all women's rights. They're a vestige of feudalism and not the company progressive people should keep. A lot of people should have known better."

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Photo: PA

Analysis

Dissies target 'traitors' - just like Adams did

Gerry Adams has called for a meeting with the group which left an explosive device in the driveway of his home in west Belfast on Friday evening, so that they might explain their actions. "That's my direct appeal to them," he declared at a press conference yesterday. "Give us the rationale for this action."

Dan O'Brien

May offers new clarity on UK's Brexit trade-offs

Many areas of public and private life involve trade-offs. How cross-border commerce happens is a topical example.

Last week Boris Johnson quit as UK foreign secretary, his attempts to secure a hard Brexit frustrated. Photo: Bloomberg

Comment

Europeans fear death of a dream as UK shuffles aside

Brexit is a vital question in Poland, it is not just an academic consideration. "We have 700,000 Poles stuck in the UK and, when Britain leaves, what is going to happen to them?"

‘Copper Face Jacks: The Musical’ where ‘zillions of culchie-jackeen gags go down a storm’. Picture:Arthur Carron/Julien Behal Photography

Comment

This musical goes beyond the cringe with the gay jokes

People in Ireland love to laugh, the comedian Kevin Hart once said, before adding that we also love broad comedy.

‘Thatcher objected to the importation into the nest of parliamentary sovereignty of the referendum cuckoo in a country lacking a codified constitution’

Colm McCarthy

UK dilemma over Brexit is beginning to morph into a constitutional crisis

Following the Chequers meeting of the cabinet-before-last (two senior ministers quit in the aftermath), the UK government's latest plan for Brexit was released as a White Paper.

Sinead and Keith Tighe with their son Daniel, who requires constant care. Photo: Mark Condren

Comment

Mother's life a constant fight for her severely disabled son

Daniel Tighe is only 11 years old, but he is a strong boy and is intellectually disabled, too. By the time he has finished growing, he might stand seven feet tall - but even now, before he reaches his teenage years, his mother Sinead has grown accustomed to receiving an onslaught of slaps as her beloved son's frustration turns into aggression.

The Russian president has armies of internet trolls

Comment

Putin can get away with murder, so nothing much will happen

Tomorrow, after he has enjoyed a break for golf in Scotland, the President of the United States will meet in Helsinki with a man he hopes will become his friend. At the moment Vladimir Putin is a 'competitor', although in quite what manner Donald Trump has declined to spell out.