In Irish politics the main parties agree on almost everything, writes John McGuirk Speaking to the Sunday Times at the weekend, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar declared that the election campaign which is now underway would be “a once in a generation moment”, and “as important for the country as the campaigns of 1977, and 1997”.…

Voters are being asked to let the Assembly resume while major changes have been already wrought in the North without their agreement, writes Pól Ó Muirí   Nothing happens and then everything happens. After a three-year hiatus, Northern Ireland’s regional assembly is back. It had become a running, and sour joke, amongst many that members…

Letter from Rome Pope Francis called recent tensions between the US and Iran following the killing of General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad “particularly troubling” last Thursday, warning that they risk triggering a “vaster conflict”. Escalation between the two nations, the Pope said, risks “compromising the gradual process of rebuilding in Iraq, as well as setting…

Perhaps because Westerners tend not to take religion terribly seriously, seeing it as a private affair on par with other hobbies such as quilting or canasta, religious persecution tends to register in the Western mind only in its most spectacular form. If a bomb goes off in a church on Easter Sunday, for instance, causing…

Notebook Fr Bernard Healy I always tell visitors to Rome that they should rise early on at least one morning to visit St Peter’s Basilica when it opens, because that’s when it attracts pilgrims rather than tourists. So it was that I met an American friend and her family there just as the bells were…

When the history of Ireland in the decade of 2010-2020 is written, one picture will surely dominate: the photograph of thousands cheering outside Dublin Castle as the results of the abortion referendum were announced. Some participants were, literally, dancing in the streets. The picture has already illustrated the front cover of David McWilliams’ recent history…

The View I have always found the New Year to be a very poignant time. The old year always seems very precious, as I remember wonderful moments and recall again those who have left us to go home to the Father who loves us all. The New Year seems but a moment yet to come, with…

Both conservatives and liberals misunderstand what reform is, Austen Ivereigh tells Chai Brady Respected Papal biographer Dr Austen Ivereigh has discussed criticism in Ireland of Pope Francis regarding his efforts to reform the Church, saying not all profound, positive change is solely doctrinal. Reacting to former Irish president Mary McAleese’s critique of the Pope’s efforts…

It’s unfair to say that all deaths in World War I were futile, writes David Quinn The World War I drama 1917 took away two of the big prizes at the annual Global Globe awards at the weekend, namely Best Picture and Best Director. To judge from the reviews so far, it is a wholly…