Ireland

BritBox's latest is a perfectly pitched and painfully funny new addition to the canon of works about Irish alcoholism

Obsession with the Protocol has handed the advantage to Sinn Féin

If Sinn Fein can reach across the old divides, victory in a border poll could be within its grasp

The left wing politician Clare Daly is no stranger to controversy, but this time her anti-war rhetoric is being used as ammunition by Russian media

Having reinvented itself, the party is now poised to redraw the political map of the island of Ireland

The author’s debut novel was born out of rage against the way mothers are expected to do it all. It’s about two characters battling pressure, trauma and grief. But, ultimately, it could be anyone’s story - and it is

The arrangement comes with many advantages, even for Unionists who hate it the most.  Northern Ireland’s Unionists are extremely angry right now, with some reason. A Conservative government and indeed movement with which many sympathised – just trying to ‘get Brexit done’ – has ended up building a trade barrier down the Irish Sea. That […]

Ireland’s former ambassador to the UK BOBBY McDONAGH says political tensions mean many of his compatriots have found it much tougher to lend their support this time When the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, made a state visit to the UK in 2014, he expressed the hope that the England football team would “go all the […]

The fate of a Dublin building which was the setting for a James Joyce story raises interesting questions about property closely associated with literature There are few cities that come to literary life in the manner of Dublin on Bloomsday. June 16 every year, the date in 1904 on which the events of James Joyce’s Ulysses unfold, […]

Against the backdrop of Sinn Féin’s seemingly inexorable electoral rise and the prospect of a border poll also increasing, MAX McGUINNESS reviews a timely book on the political history of the IRA Over the past four decades, Sinn Féin has built one of the most extensive and effective political machines in Europe. Having originated as a front for the Provisional IRA, […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY has high praise for author Rónán Hession, a unique talent able to tell gently-paced tales of gentle characters Rónán Hession is a tonic for our times. In fact, you know what, he might even be the tonic for our times. I don’t say this lightly. When I read the Dubliner’s debut novel Leonard and […]

How the best rugby union players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland come together to bring unity. It really shouldn’t work. Every four years, the best rugby union players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are brought together for a couple of months to take on one of the sport’s southern hemisphere giants. New Zealand, […]

As Northern Ireland passes a low-key landmark, Irish author and journalist MATT COOPER sees signs that the 100-year-old country is moving away from the tribal scars of its past, even if that complicates its future One hundred years on from the political partition of the island of Ireland and a Northern Irish identity seemingly is taking hold at last among […]

A United Ireland does not mean simply assimilating the North into the Republic. Everything must be on the table Despite all the contemporary difficulties that we face on this island, and indeed across these islands, 23 years on from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement there is a clear sense of hope for a […]

While Indyref2 still looks the most likely end of the UK as we know it, and the SNP makes headlines, another constituent part’s fate is in the balance. Compare the British government’s approach to Scotland and Northern Ireland as it attempts to address the chaotic consequences of Brexit. The post-Brexit mood in both Scotland and […]

Ireland’s prime minister is to hold talks with US president Joe Biden as the traditional St Patrick’s Day engagement goes online. The Taoiseach traditionally travels to Washington DC for St Patrick’s week to hold a series of high-level meetings with the most powerful political figures in the US. But the pandemic has prevented Micheal Martin […]

AstraZeneca has insisted its coronavirus vaccine is safe, after concern around blood clots prompted Ireland to become the latest European country to suspend use of the jabs. A review of available safety data in more than 17 million people who have been vaccinated across the UK and EU has shown no evidence of increased risk, […]

It has few fans, but the Northern Ireland protocol is going nowhere. The focus must be on dialogue  – not rhetoric – to make it work, says Irish politician Neale Richmond. For many of us, there is no such thing as a good Brexit, particularly those of us in Ireland, proportionately more impacted than any other EU member state, […]

Irish politician NEALE RICHMOND on how Ireland has reacted to Brexit. After more than four years of protracted negotiations and preparations, the Brexit transition period ended and reality has begun to set in. Queues at ports and airports, customs charges and trading issues are now the norm for consumers and businesses in Ireland and Britain alike. […]

Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has called upon Ireland to fill the void left by the UK’s departure from the Erasmus programme.  With the UK’s withdrawal confirmed following Brexit, Kelly – a long-time advocate of the initiative – urged Irish colleges to take advantage of the country’s new-found status: “16,000 EU students participate in an Erasmus in the […]

Leave EU’s website has been suspended after the EU registry behind the domain address blocked a move from the Brexiteers to switch its registration to Ireland to avoid losing the .eu suffix. The group, founded by Brexiteer Arron Banks and supported by former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, attempted to move the registration from the […]

Leave.EU’s decision to register themselves in Co. Waterford, Ireland is very unwelcome, concerning and more importantly, requires rigorous scrutiny.  While some commentators may have allowed themselves a wry smile at the irony that an organisation set up to take the UK out of the EU have themselves decided to remain within the bloc, the irony and mild humour should not […]

At the very moment the Irish border reaches its centenary it is about to enter a new era, as Brexit finally comes into full effect. IAN WALKER presents a birthday biography. In May 2018, Jacob Rees-Mogg – then chairman of the hard Brexit Tory pressure group the ERG – declared: “I don’t think my visiting the Irish border is really […]

Irish prime minister Micheal Martin has said that “Britain needs Europe, and Europe needs Britain”. In a criticism of Boris Johnson’s handling of Brexit talks, he said the Taioseach was critical of Boris Johnson’s threat to deploy Royal Navy vessels to patrol the seas around Britain if there is no deal. “All of that type of […]

Irish politician NEALE RICHMOND on his sadness as the end of the Brexit transition period nears. When the people of the United Kingdom voted narrowly to leave the EU in 2016, it felt for us in Ireland like they had gone and shot themselves in our foot. There is no such thing as a good […]

Ireland’s deputy leader said he believes Boris Johnson would be willing to make concessions to get a post-Brexit trade deal, claiming his politics is closer to the “liberal” view he took as mayor of London. Leo Varadkar said the European Union and the UK have “more to gain and more to salvage” from an agreement […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY warns that writing may become the preserve of the elite if Britain doesn’t value and support its authors in an ever more precarious trade. Ireland has always had a more enlightened attitude to its writers and artists than the UK and this was emphasised last week by the announcement from the Irish minister […]