I am writing this article from Strasbourg where I am attending the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Most people are aware of the European Parliament and how it decamps each month from Brussels to Strasbourg (at great expense) to hold some of its sessions. That monthly convoy is a legacy of the establishment…
A view from the Seanad The Trump/Vance vs Zelenskyy dust-up in the White House was widely portrayed as an ambush of a tired and strained war-hero by a cynical and narcissistic duo bent only on self-aggrandisement. But with the wisdom of hindsight, it seems that Zelenskyy played his hand very badly that day. In old-style…
I didn’t know what subjects to study when I started at UCG in 1988. I tried out different classes in first year and settled on English and French for the degree. I had a nagging regret through in my second year that I hadn’t taken Gaeilge. But there were other ways to improve at Irish,…
Respect for human dignity is why I am in politics. I was early out of the blocks to oppose the Government’s attempt to dilute respect for ‘mothers’ in the Irish Constitution and to equate ‘marriage’ with ‘other durable relationships’. This Bill had passed through the Dáil with the minimum of scrutiny. Not so in…
I didn’t know what subjects to study when I started at UCG in 1988. I tried out different classes in first year and settled on English and French for the degree. I had a nagging regret through in my second year that I hadn’t taken Gaeilge. But there were other ways to improve at Irish,…
I was honoured to speak at a ‘Catholic Careers Summit’ for young people recently in Dublin’s Larkhill-Whitehall parish. This event brought young adult Catholics together to think about their careers in the context of their faith. What would be the challenges for living their faith while practising their chosen profession? And what opportunities might their work offer to bring themselves…
Take a €14 billion Apple windfall. Mix in the best-ever corporation tax returns, and what do you get? Election speculation. Lots of it. With Government coffers so awash with cash, the temptation may be too great for the Taoiseach. We may be days, or possibly weeks away from starters’ orders. Why wait until the spring, when another overpriced bicycle…
A view from the Seanad Before going into politics, I spent a brief period practising at the Bar. Going in and out of the Bridewell courthouse, I was often struck by the bold inscription above me: ‘Fiat Iustitia Ruat Caelum’, i.e. ‘Let Justice be Done though the Heavens Fall’. It is an important statement of intent that should apply to every…
Our President, Michael D. Higgins, let himself and the rest of us badly down with his recent comments about protests at public libraries. Sensible people are concerned about the highly inappropriate and sexualised, not to say obscene, material being pushed at children in the 12-17 year old children’s sections these days. Not the President, though. He referred…
The World is Big and I’m so Small’, is the title of a children’s book that I’ve never read. Maybe I should pick it up sometime. I suspect a lot of voters, as they prepare their list for the European and local election candidates, feel a bit daunted by the list of problems facing the…