Éamon de Valera

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From ‘thundering disgrace’ to ‘housing disaster’ – how Irish Presidency moved from fringe to heart of politics

How did a lucrative political pre-retirement course, with free luxury lodgings in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, move to become part of the mainstream political agenda?

Mary Crilly, sexual violence victims’ rights campaigner, is granted the freedom of Cork

A crusader for the rights of sexual violence victims has been honoured with one of the nation's highest honours.

Assassins’ bullets on a London street led Ireland down the long and bloody road to Civil War

On June 22, 1922, British Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson unveiled a memorial at Liverpool Street station in London to the 1,200 men of the Great Eastern Railway Company who had died in the Great War.

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John Downing Opinion Half a century after his death, the shadow of Cardinal John Charles McQuaid lingers over a much-changed land

WE ARE precisely 11 months short of the 50th anniversary of the death of John Charles McQuaid at Loughlinstown Hospital, Co Dublin, on April 11, 1973.

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John Downing Opinion The Irish pub can offer warmth and cheer, as I was reminded in Vienna this past week

My “favourite Irish pub” in Brussels, way back when, was run by a Moroccan Jew and his Danish girlfriend. I say favourite because it was – by a country mile – the most spurious, un-Irish hostelry I have ever encountered.

Colin Murphy Opinion Anglo-Irish Treaty lessons could point a way forward for Russia and Ukraine

History haunts our understanding of the war in Ukraine. As Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper put it: “There’s one thing that Ukrainians, ordinary Russians, Vladimir Putin and westerners all have in our heads during this conflict: the Second World War”.

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What Lies Beneath: Shining a deserved light on an artist and friend of the poor

Sarah Cecilia Harrison Self Portrait

Poll: Sands beginning to shift on Irish neutrality

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced us to consider where we stand when it comes to global affairs — and today’s Sunday Independent/Ireland Think poll today reveals very clearly the significant divisions in Irish society when it comes to foreign policy.

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Eoin O'Malley Opinion Time for us to throw off Ireland’s fictitious flag of neutrality

Lenin memorably observed that: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

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Frank Coughlan Opinion Despite gloomy predictions, radio continues to hold its own

This is a memory that ages me. Reaches back to a time on the cusp of transformation. That moment when a jaded and careworn Ireland was about to be challenged by a new, brasher one.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Our many decent men must not be blamed for society’s ills

Sir — As the wife of a decent man, mother of two good sons, sister of a man of integrity and aunt of eight kind and upright nephews, I feel compelled to write in defence of men.

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Political almanac 2022: The ‘nu’ variant, pigeon English and a united Ireland – of sorts

THE political year ahead will be dominated by Covid-19 (again), Brexit (again), Sinn Féin hogging the polls (again) and the Coalition parties squabbling internally (again).

Fearghal McGarry Opinion A century since the Treaty, it’s time to reconsider the history of transformation

From the Dáil’s ratification of the Treaty, to the outbreak of the civil war, to the dawning of a new border across the island, 1922 saw the transformation of Ireland.

Truce to Treaty Part 8: After Dáil majority approved peace plan, de Valera threatened bloodshed

On January 7, 1922, Dáil Éireann approved the Anglo-Irish Treaty, by 64 votes to 57. On June 16, 1922, voters, in a general election in the 26 counties, firmly endorsed its decision.

Colum Kenny Opinion Truce to Treaty Part 7: They did not ‘sign the Treaty’ so London agreement left Dáil free to say yes — or no

The final days of the Treaty talks were chaotic. They included a mad dash back to Dublin, and a long last session with the British that stretched past midnight.

A very bookish row: how a little literary feud exploded into large-scale uncivil war

As historian, author and UCD professor Diarmaid Ferriter waits to see if his latest work, Between Two Hells: The Irish Civil War, wins him yet another Irish book award later this month, his previous ‘literary feud’ with writer Tim Pat Coogan is still making waves all these years later.

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Colin Murphy Opinion Big Tech’s engines of discontent must be curbed if civil society is to survive

One hundred years ago tomorrow, the Treaty negotiations began in London. That Treaty was the most polarising event in Irish history. So why does it often feel like public discourse has never been as polarised as now?

Truce to Treaty Part 5: Irish cheer talks, optimism in London

Thousands of Irish emigrants thronged Euston railway station in London. They came to support negotiators arriving by train from Holyhead. Bands played The Soldier’s Song and marched behind cars carrying Treaty delegates through cheering Irish crowds.

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John Downing Opinion Donncha Ó Dúlaing – the ‘grandfather of RTÉ radio’ and voice of many generations

He was long ago affectionately dubbed the “grandfather of RTÉ radio” and, throughout a 51-year broadcasting career, his distinctive lilting north Cork voice was a calling card instantly recognised by generations of listeners.

Truce to Treaty Part 3: Pragmatic Dev views partition as inevitable

It was, wrote one reporter, “the most memorable gathering that has been held in Dublin in our recent history”. The post-Truce Dáil met for the first time on August 16, 1921, in Dublin’s Mansion House. In a “pitiless downpour”, members of the public queued to be admitted and many had to be turned away. Inside a crowded Round Room, the new TDs stood up. They recited together an oath to “support and defend the Irish Republic”.

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John Downing Opinion A decade after Enda Kenny tore into the Vatican trust issues remain stubbornly to the fore

The big picture view of the Irish State’s relationship with the Catholic Church bears out the writer James Joyce’s belief that the new Irish State would swap British rule for Rome rule.

Truce to Treaty Part 1: Weary from war, the people wanted peace

The first week of July 1921. At long last a truce looks likely. Weary from the War of Independence and the Black and Tans, people are hopeful. Sinn Féin is meeting southern unionists. Two men arrive for key peace talks at Dublin’s Mansion House.