Ian O'Doherty

You must be joking: Trump, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, can't even keep peace amongst his own staff

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Peace in our time - Donald Trump style

I think we've all accepted that 2020 is just drunk out of its mind and needs to get its coat and go home. The world has gone completely topsy-turvy since March and if this year was a person, we'd all have a barring order against it.

Quiet pint: John Joe Quinn in McGinn’s Hop House in Woodquay, Galway

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John Joe reminds us to be careful about jumping to conclusions

It was the picture that seemed to paint a thousand words - and none of them good.

Quiet night: ‘Could the death of our traditional and world famous pub culture be one of the changes wrought by this major health crisis?’

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion What if they allowed all of our city pubs to open again - and nobody came?

Let the confusion continue. After numerous rumours about the hastened reopening of so-called "wet pubs", Tánaiste Leo Varadkar appeared to pour some cold water on the idea in front of the media yesterday.

Tied up in knots: Wearing a Jamaican-flag bikini, Adele took to Instagram with the caption: 'Happy what would (normally) be Notting Hill my beloved London'

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion If race-baiters get their own way, we'll all be living in ethnic boxes

Sometimes you just can't win. Ask Adele.

Protest: A Black Lives Matter demonstrator holds a scimitar in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where violent protests have taken place in recent weeks. Photo: Jim Vondruska/Reuters

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion As US descends into mob rule ahead of vote, president will benefit most

As we wave goodbye to a summer we would all rather forget and face into a winter which promises to be memorable for all the wrong reasons, the pre-election mood in the Divided States of America is becoming uglier than ever.

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You know things are weird when Jedward are the voice of reason

Forgive me for mentioning the rapidly approaching winter, but a thought struck me the other day.

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Even when we get back to normality, will we remember what normal was?

I was talking to a friend the other day - yes, I actually do have some - and he admitted that he had no desire to go back to the pub.

Family rift: Kellyanne Conway has quit as Donald Trump’s aide after her teenage daughter’s angry tirade. PHOTO: REUTERS

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Ian O’Doherty Opinion Lecturing Democrats clearly haven't learned the lessons of four years ago

Just when you think things couldn't get even more difficult for Donald Trump, he has now had to accept the resignation of one of his closest advisers, Kellyanne Conway.

The truth is out there: Mulder and Scully in The X-Files

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I want to believe the US is about to tell us the truth about UFOs

Like most reasonably mature and secular people, I don't believe in ghosts.

Many elderly people cocooned over the lockdown

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We're in this together? Try telling that to the over-70s who followed the rules

I was speaking to a neighbour the other day and it's fair to say that she wasn't in the best of form.

Frustration: Video of high jinks at Dublin venue Berlin D2 at the weekend left people across the country incensed. PHOTO: GARETH CHANEY/COLLINS

Ian O'Doherty Opinion Footage from Berlin D2 is a stark reminder that we're not all in this together

Is there something in the water around Dame Lane?

Joe Biden will duel with Donald Trump for the presidency (AP)

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Get the popcorn in - this US election is going to be hilarious

I've often said that politics is too important to take seriously - we need to have a bit of levity amid all the despair.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Pity poor Harry and Meghan - the world's most oppressed couple

I must admit, I've never paid much attention to the British royal family.

Privacy issues: Harry and Meghan’s search for seclusion has led them to Santa Barbara, a favourite hunting ground for the US paparazzi

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Pity poor Harry and Meghan - the world's most oppressed couple

I must admit, I've never paid much attention to the British royal family.

Covered: A woman wearing a face mask leaves a Starbucks in Belfast Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion The more we rush to get things back to normal, the longer it will take to get there

I took my usual stroll up to the shops on Sunday to buy the newspapers. Halfway up the road, I stopped in my tracks and slapped my forehead in frustration - yet again, I'd left the house without something I needed.

Be careful what you say and do - it will be used against you in 20 years

It's a rare day in Ireland when everyone can agree on something. With John Hume's passing this week, it seemed we had found one of those days.

Pub doors have been locked since March. Photo: REUTERS/Lorraine O'Sullivan/File Photo

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We can wave goodbye to the traditional pub

The decision to delay Monday's planned reopening of 'wet' pubs wasn't much of a surprise. But it was a kick in the teeth for 3,500 establishments that have been shut down since the middle of March. Now many of them will never open their doors again.

Gone but not forgotten: The plinths at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel after its owners opted to remove the iconic statutes. PHOTO: COLLINS PHOTOS

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion In the age of cancel-culture madness, common sense is a radical position to hold

There's an old adage that when America sneezes, Ireland gets a cold.

Ab fab: Richard Bruton shows off his six-pack in Howth

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It's never good news when the nanny state flexes its muscles

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Hang on - is that Vladimir Putin?

Brolly good: Seamus and Sue Watters from Crossmaglen refuse to let the rain spoil their day out as they enjoy a coffee in the rain on Berkeley Road in Dublin. PHOTO: FRANK McGRATH

Ian O'Doherty Opinion The national mood is always linked to the weather - and it's been nothing but rotten

Now is the summer of our discontent.

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion The national mood is always linked to the weather - and it's been nothing but rotten

Now is the summer of our discontent.

Nothing Else Matters: Metallica were the first band to go after Napster for 'stealing' their songs

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Q closes and cassette tapes return? This is one very weird year

Another one bites the dust.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin leaves after the first face-to-face EU summit since the COVID-19 outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium July 19, 2020. John Thys/Pool via REUTERS

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Let's be honest for once - 2020 is a bust, but if we're not careful, 2021 could be just as bad

We're only a few weeks into the life of this new Government and, it's fair to say, things haven't been going well for them.

Masked man: Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrives for a Cabinet meeting at Dublin Castle. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Let's be honest for once - 2020 is a bust, but if we're not careful, 2021 could be just as bad

We're only a few weeks into the life of this new Government and, it's fair to say, things haven't been going well for them.

Making it up on hoof: Micheál Martin’s Coalition Government has had a rocky ride from the beginning

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Let's be honest for once - 2020 is a bust, but if we're not careful, 2021 could be just as bad

We're only a few weeks into the life of this new Government and, it's fair to say, things haven't been going well for them.

Summer school date: Mary Kenny created a Twitter storm after asking if she needed to quarantine in Ireland. Photo by Tony Gavin

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Mary Kenny, a summer school and desperation to find something new to gripe about gave us the best silly season story in years

There was a time when being a journalist, or even a rakishly handsome columnist (ahem), was rather difficult during the slow summer months.

Ecstasy: Ray Houghton scores against England in Stuttgart in Euro 88. PHOTO: SVEN SIMON

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Thank you, Jack - you were responsible for the greatest single moment of my life

As the old saying goes, nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

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Restaurant no-shows are really taking the biscuit - time to make them pay

After enduring months of enforced isolation as a result of the lockdown, it was no surprise that people wanted to let loose and relax last weekend.

Murky pool: JK Rowling has come in for criticism after expressing her views on transgender issues

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Witch hunt against Rowling shows the mob is never happy

Oh, what a tangled web they weave.

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Bad TV and 80s music: our quirky lockdown obsessions

Banana bread. Connell's chain. Sourdough starters. Joe Wicks. There was just something about lockdown that encouraged us to become utterly obsessed with random things. And some of our obsessions were a little more random than others. Here, four Irish Independent writers reflect on the fixations that have helped them pass the time: