The Underhanded Neo-Gombeens
I had a chat once with my old landlady about the meaning of that word 'gombeen' prompted by Varadkar appearing on the telly one evening. She said “I don't think there's any gombeens left anymore.” She spoke as if it...
Aontú: Friend or Foe?
The Potential of Tóibín-ism: Ten years since the economic crash, Irish politics is a graveyard of parties that have attempted to fill an imagined political vacuum. Reports of the death of our two (and a half) party state have been...
The Catholic Right Needs to Unify in Order to Survive
Political commentators often espouse the view that the ‘Catholic Right’ in modern ireland is a coherent bloc with political heft. A bloc with influence enough left over to bring about much of what it seeks in policy. This is a...
Fine Gael’s Housing Crisis
Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis has provided a discordant note to the official government narrative that we are somehow living in a golden age. The figure of 10,000 homeless is only the tip of the iceberg. For a generation of renters...
A Vanishing Ireland
The Great Famine of the 1840s was undoubtedly the most catastrophic event in Ireland's history. With an estimated one million dead and another million lost to emigration, the population of the island fell by around 25% in the space of...
Lessons from Fiction: Sauron and the State
The Lord of the Rings ranks as one of the greatest works of fiction of all time. Few great stories would be complete without a great villain – and J.R.R Tolkien’s masterpiece is no exception. In Sauron, the eponymous Lord...
Andrew Yang: Next President of the United States?
Donald Trump has been an interesting president. Since his election in 2016, he has served as a voice (though not a very eloquent one) for a growing Right-wing across the western world. A voice for people who are unhappy with...
Atlanticism and Ireland’s Post-Brexit Dilemma
Brexit and the English Connection: In cynical geopolitical terms, Ireland exists as the Western European equivalent of Belarus. An English speaking cultural appendage of Anglo-America surviving off FDI and with a monetary policy set in Brussels. For all the fanfare...
Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv
Why Ireland should recognise Israel’s capital. I feel the need to preface this article with a few statements. I am not pro-Israel, I am not someone who always argues Israel’s corner, and I hold some very serious grudges with that...
Populism in Our Local and European Elections
A populist is defined as “a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of the ordinary people.” This may be one of the most abused terms in the history of politics. We in Ireland suffer...