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Ian O'Doherty

Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol comes into force in Ireland in January. Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Does minimum alcohol pricing do any good? Ask the Scots

Some of you may recall — however reluctantly — the bleak midwinter that was January. The weather was miserable, anxiety still filled the air and everyone was even more cheesed off than they would normally be in the first week of the new year, which, I’m sure we can all agree, is always the grimmest time. We were all broke after Christmas, people were worried about job security and there was a sense that we had spent such a long time living under lockdown that we would never get back to normal. So what did our illustrious lords and masters in the Dáil do to make our lives a little easier?

The Leaving Cert causes a lot of undue mental stress and worry. Photo: Lucky Business

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Ian O’Doherty Opinion World has changed, but just like death and taxes, the Leaving Cert is always with us

As the class of 2022 sit down this morning for their first English exam, we should all have a degree of sympathy for those people who have to go through the meat grinder that is the Leaving – a gruelling, stressful and frequently pointless exam that will, apparently, decide how you live the rest of your life. A businessman or a pauper? A success in life or an abject failure doomed to spend your days sweeping the streets?

Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson and his Tory government clearly do not understand the ‘your word is your bond’ phrase in light of his dismissal of a treaty that he signed up to. Photo: Reuters/Henry Nicholls/Pool

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Ian O'Doherty Opinion Dishonourable political spoofery proves this Tory government simply cannot be trusted

Your word is your bond. That is the simplest, yet also the most profound, sentiment any of us can ever have. It means, essentially, that when someone agrees to something, they will then behave in an honourable fashion and comply with the agreement that has been reached. It’s a vital part of the day-to-day communication between us, the little people, but it’s even more crucial when it comes to international treaties.

Prince Charles and Camilla visit the Irish Cultural Centre to mark its 25th anniversary ahead of St Patrick’s Day, in London. Photo: Arthur Edwards/Pool

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Ian O’Doherty Opinion Maybe it is time to give St Patrick’s Day the credit it deserves – other countries do

What’s in a name? When it comes to our national feast day and the celebration of our patron saint, it would appear that the answers are more complicated than the question. For example, if someone calls it merely “Paddy’s Day” there is a good chance they are from Dublin. If someone insists on referring to it as “St Patrick’s Day” there is a good chance that they are Catholic and rural.

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