#Opinion
Maeve Higgins: Irish women in comedy - I see you, I hear you and here's how we can change things
Irish comedian Maeve Higgins offers support to Irish women in the industry on the back of revelations about the behaviour of some male comedians.
Opinion: The programme for government is like a visit from Santa for cyclists
Cycling advocate Martina Callanan says now is the time to embrace cycling as the answer to so many modern lifestyle problems.
Britain is a nation that can no longer agree on what ‘Britishness’ means
Peter Flanagan says the UK is having an identity crisis, fuelled by a government that doesn’t listen to science and an education system that ignores its history.
Opinion: We should have tackled climate change 20 years ago but the second best time is now
Environmentalist John Gibbons says the programme for government, for all its imperfections, is the best step forward in at least a decade.
Maeve Higgins: This week's Supreme Court case could shape how Ireland deals with climate change for years to come
The Supreme Court is hearing an important appeal by Irish climate activists today and tomorrow.
Opinion: 'There are some unsolved murders which dominate the public consciousness'
Ralph Riegel on why he wrote about the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in a new book.
Ciarán Cuffe: There's an extraordinary opportunity here for the Greens in government
The Green Party MEP says, ‘When the planet is burning, it is not a time to argue over the colour of the fire engine.’
Cocooning through Covid-19 with CF has taken focus but I have never felt better
Benat Broderick, who has cystic fibrosis, has been cocooning at home and says he’s grateful for the time to focus on his health and wellbeing.
'We've heard of moneylenders meeting customers at the post office as they collect their social welfare'
Dr Olive McCarthy and Dr Noreen Byrne of UCC say while new Central Bank rules for moneylenders are welcome, they don’t go far enough.
'From the moment a hate crime is reported, the hate element is filtered out by the system'
Grace Tierney of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties is living in the US through lockdown and witnessing the Black Lives Matter protest. She says Ireland must ask itself the hard questions.
'I live in Direct Provision and our kids are not immune to racial discrimination'
Owodunni Ola Mustapha tells her own story and that of the children in DP who have suffered racist abuse.
Opinion: 'Conditions for Travellers have been difficult in the Covid-19 shutdown'
Bernard Joyce of the Irish Traveller Movement says more needs to be done to protect Travellers during this pandemic and beyond.
'Racism is the knee on our neck, making it hard to breathe'
Seeing that police man kneeling George Floyd’s neck, that’s an image of what it feels like living in Ireland sometimes, writes anti-racism activist Diane Ihirwe.
Wellness Wednesday: Worry is of no use to anyone, especially now in a time of crisis
Counsellor Trish Farrell offers some tips to avoid worry during this time of change.
Larry Donnelly: Trump is a mess but he can still win the election because of a weak Democratic party
Larry Donnelly says the Democrats’ surrender to big donor money in the last 30 years has weakened its credibility.
Master of the High Court: 'Restructuring SMEs through examinership is needed in these tough times'
Master of the High Court, Edmund Honohan says SMEs always bear the brunt of recession, and this time things need to change.
Five weeks in lockdown in hospital is tough - and the food makes it worse
A patient with cystic fibrosis, for whom nutrition is key to health, shares her hospital food experience.
'Boris Johnson has presided over a broken Kingdom in which Covid-19 has been able to flourish'
Peter Flanagan says Johnson’s failure to sack Dominic Cummings is just another in a long line of disastrous moves for the UK.
NPHET needs to move faster to find ways to allow us visit our loved ones in nursing homes
Dublin woman Therese Bruton’s mother is in a nursing home. She says enough is enough, they need to see their loved ones.
The government's Covid-19 childcare plans, while noble, will not benefit children
Karen Clince of Tigers Childcare says there is another way to provide childcare safely, and she has some suggestions.
Using all of our health service facilities has helped against Covid-19. Any change to that should be handled carefully
Dr Ciarán Ó Riain says the current system is necessary if we are to maintain healthcare for all and protect patients in any future infection waves.
Covid-19 took our festival trade, so this summer people are using our tents in their back gardens
Pamper the Camper founder Shane Ó Ciardhubhaín says Covid-19 blew the festival business away for 2020, so they’ve worked fast to adapt.
Larry Donnelly: An erratic Trump now leads a US further divided by Covid-19
Donnelly says voters this year will believe in Trump the straight-shooter or Trump the perpetually offended narcissist.
Chef Shane Rigney shares a chicken noodle salad and coconut cream layer cake
Shane Rigney, owner of Riggers D8 in Inchicore, Dublin, says it’s been a slog working through the shutdown, but he’s grateful they’re still going.
View from a teacher: So far we’ve been putting out fires, but it's time for proper solutions
One secondary school teacher says now is also an opportunity to reimagine a new way of educating Irish students.
Wellness Wednesday: How mindfulness and staying grounded can help during the Covid-19 pandemic
This week, Helen Byrne of The Mindfulness Centre and Kathryn Crowley, yoga teacher and artist share their thoughts on maintaining wellbeing.
Larry Donnelly: 'US politics may have lost civility, but online discourse here is no better'
Larry Donnelly charts the decline in civility in US politics and says Irish conversations online hint of a growing intolerance here.
Gerry Adams: 'It's up to the UK government now to address the cases of other internees'
Gerry Adams welcomes the UK Supreme Court quashing today of his conviction for attempted Maze Prison escapes in the 1970s.
Wellness Wednesday: 'Distress around Covid-19 is not a mental illness. It's an understandable reaction'
Psychotherapist Gerry Cunningham urges us to use the supports available.
'We cannot just flatten the curve, we need to crush it. Wearing masks will help'
Professor Gerry Killeen has worked on the control of malaria and zika viruses in the past. He says we should all be wearing masks.
Are others really breaking the shutdown rules? Or is it just our perception?
Behavioural expert Dr Shane Timmons says our internal bias can dictate our perception of shutdown compliance.
'Lockdown, disability and me': One man shares his thoughts on the Covid-19 shutdown
James Rickard has Cerebral Palsy. He says this shutdown has reminded him of the importance of connection.
Larry Donnelly: Has America finally had enough of Trump?
Trump was on track to take a second term, but Covid-19 has changed everything, writes Donnelly.
Olympian, author and fitness expert Derval O'Rourke shares some healthy recipes
Derval offers some simple tips for maintaining health and well-being during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Remembering Bewley’s: Once 'the heart and the hearth of Dublin'
Donal Fallon reflects on the end of an era, as Bewley’s cafe on Grafton street prepares to close its doors.
'Europe must emerge stronger from this crisis': A message from EU Presidents von der Leyen, Sassoli and Michel
On Europe Day, marking the Schuman declaration in 1950, the three presidents of the EU, Commission and Parliament share thoughts on Covid-19 and the future for Europe.
Opinion: 'The HSE should reverse centralisation policy to avoid disastrous waiting lists'
Dr Naveed Abbas argues that peripheral hospitals should return to doing more complex surgeries once this emergency has passed.
Opinion: 'Those with intellectual disabilities have not featured in discussions around coronavirus'
Much of the discussion and planning around Covid-19 was not relevant or appropriate to our populations in institutional care, writes Seamus Cowman.
'The pharmacy is playing a key role in the care of the community during Covid-19'
Pharmacist Steve Philips describes life behind the counter during the pandemic.
'Children love cycling and the quieter roads right now offer them a chance to learn'
Allison Phillips of the Green-Schools programme argues that the shutdown is helping families embrace cycling, within 2km of home, on quieter roads.
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