Ireland
A funny time to be Irish: The Rules of Revelation, by Lisa McInerney, reviewed
Lisa McInerney likes the rule of three. Three novels set in Cork structured around sex, drugs and rock’n’roll and, within…
Sinn Fein's hollow 'apology' for Mountbatten's murder
Prince Philip’s death presented Sinn Fein with a particular challenge, given that the IRA murdered his beloved uncle. ‘I am…
Northern Ireland's sink estates are fertile ground for fundamentalists
Northern Ireland is routinely voted one of the happiest places to live in the UK. A few weeks ago, a…
The secret of Ireland’s racing success
How Father Sean Breen would have loved this year’s Cheltenham Festival. The late parish priest at Ballymore Eustace, who owned…
Is Biden turning on Brussels?
The Joe Biden administration, headed up by a proud son of Ireland, has spent St Patrick’s Day briefing reporters in Washington…
Ireland’s love affair with horse racing
With the Cheltenham Festival close, the quest for serious punting money intensifies. I had one potential contributor identified at Kempton…
Are loyalists plotting a return to violence?
What are we to make of Loyalist paramilitary groups withdrawing support for the Good Friday Agreement over the invidious trade…
Biden and the darker side of Irish-American history
Bad history and Biden’s roots
Family secrets: Life Sentences, by Billy O’Callaghan, reviewed
Despite innovative work by younger writers, there remains a prominent strain in Irish literature of what we might call the…
Thatcher was completely right about the Euro
It was a ‘rush of blood to the head’. Its central bank would prove to be hopelessly ineffective. And cultural…
China’s rockstar-of-tech has fallen foul of Xi
FTSE indices soared as the Biden Bounce met vaccine euphoria, underpinned by the Bank of England’s announcement of another £150…
Lacrimae rerum: That Old Country Music, by Kevin Barry, reviewed
Some of my happiest fiction-reading hours have been spent in the company of Kevin Barry: two short-story collections, both prize-winners,…
What’s the real reason behind Joe Biden’s Brexit threats?
Is Donald Trump taking the Democrats’ line on Brexit and the Irish border? We might think so from the Financial…
Ireland through the eyes of a brilliant teenage naturalist
Dara McAnulty is a teenage naturalist from Northern Ireland. He has autism; so do his brother, sister and mother —…
The dangers of comparing different countries' death rates
Using differences in coronavirus death rates between countries to draw out policy conclusions is becoming a very popular pastime. Unfortunately,…
‘Irish writers don’t talk to each other unless they’re shouting abuse’: Sebastian Barry interviewed
Sebastian Barry talks to Robert Jackman about family folklore, the joy of writing playsand why he is not an ‘Irish’ novelist
Is there any better place for an EU-subsidised arts festival than Galway?
I was still digesting my delicious breakfast (kippers, poached eggs and soda bread — all local) when the sad news…
The death of the centre in European politics
Stockholm It’s hard not to feel sorry for Leo Varadkar. He positioned himself as Ireland’s champion and even ended up…
The death of the centre in European politics
What happens when times change, but parties don’t?
Ireland’s election result is bad news for Brexit
Ireland has given its own twist to the populist uprisings across Europe, with its election ushering in a grim time…
Varadkar’s election gamble backfires as Sinn Fein surge
Irish election results are being counted and it seems that Leo Varadkar’s snap election gamble has worked out as badly…
Can Leo Varadkar defy the odds to win another term as Taoiseach?
Back in October, Boris Johnson and the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met for ‘last-ditch’ Brexit talks at a hotel on the…
The persecution (and vindication) of Kevin Myers is a parable of our times
It seems seasonably suitable to celebrate good news. Unfortunately, as in most serviceable stories, for something good to happen, something…
The Troubles with Brexit
At times, it can be hard to avoid the preachy style of reviewing that talks to readers in the tone…
Do ‘Workington Man’ and ‘Worcester Woman’ decide elections?
National characters How useful is it to characterise an election with a single anthropological specimen such as ‘Workington Man’? ‘Worcester…
