Worst impulses of populism won’t be quelled by numbers and dataIreland is vulnerable to the populist wave cresting over Europe. As Remainers learned in the UK, expecting cool logic to triumph over emotion is a mistakeThu Jan 11 2024 - 05:45
Emojis were already a generational minefield. Now they’re a legal oneAll of a sudden emojis are fraught with risk and capacity for grave misunderstanding. This is what happens when our language evolves so rapidly it starts collapsing under the weight of ambiguityThu Jan 04 2024 - 06:00
I don’t want my flat white served with a hot take on the Middle East crisisConsumption habits have become tools to signal factionalism. It is not enough to maintain a private sense of morality over the events of the world. It has to be on display: where you choose to buy your coffee, what pop stars you listen toThu Dec 28 2023 - 06:20
Even on the shortest day, we refuse to succumb to darkness. That’s a cause for hopeDespite what feels like the irredeemable sadness of the world, we seek out beauty, friendship, fairy lights - and wine that costs too muchThu Dec 21 2023 - 06:15
Why do we insist on feeling aggrieved that Britain would want to honour Irish citizens?That Britain wants to acknowledge the impact the Irish have on its society should be a very basic source of prideThu Dec 14 2023 - 06:15
Hot takes on the Dublin riots by Russell Brand, Steve Bannon and Brexit Britain are hard to takeThe only thing it demonstrates is that if you see globalist plots in everything, you’ll see it on the streets of DublinThu Dec 07 2023 - 06:00
Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator - Does the BBC think viewers need to be patronised into enjoying history?Finn McRedmond: BBC’s ‘landmark’ documentary Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator seems desperate to turn the Roman emperor’s life into a parable for our timesFri Dec 01 2023 - 05:15
Forget Taylor Swift or Giorgia Meloni. There’s one outstanding candidate for Person of the YearThinking about 2023 through the lens of its towering individuals is a good practice in much-needed introspection. So, who might make the cut?Thu Nov 30 2023 - 06:00
Let’s not be precious about Napoleon’s distortion of facts - all historians are telling a story Historical fiction is that canvas, waiting to be smudged and abused until something true emergesThu Nov 23 2023 - 06:00
Cameron failed when it mattered. So why is he back?Rishi Sunak presents himself as an agent of change, but bringing back the man who triggered Brexit is a hugely retrograde stepThu Nov 16 2023 - 06:00
Maybe the kindest thing to do for The Simpsons would be to shelve itThe Simpsons managed to be more real than any of its contemporary competition combined. But it has run its courseThu Nov 09 2023 - 06:00
Friends was not a show about the 90s, it was a show about the timeless march to adulthoodMatthew Perry’s death is a reminder that TV can speak to universal truths while not being desperately serious or immediately relatableThu Nov 02 2023 - 05:45
Politics on the Edge; The Abuse of Power; The Right to Rule: Tory shape-shifting and buck-passingA Memoir from Within by Rory Stewart; Confronting Injustice in Public Life by Theresa May; Thirteen Years, Five Prime Ministers and the Implosion of the Tories by Ben Riley-SmithSat Oct 28 2023 - 05:00
Britney’s gossipy celebrity memoir contains a serious hidden messageThe weight of the contradiction - to be a child dressed as an adult, to be an object of allure and contempt - broke something in herFri Oct 27 2023 - 06:00
Finn McRedmond: Perhaps Ireland is not as European as it thinksThe next few years will provide us with a hard pill to swallow: Ireland has more in common with Britain than it does with BrusselsThu Oct 26 2023 - 06:00
Fear of being cancelled for having the wrong views is killing student politicsEveryone has bad ideas. We should judge people not for having them, but for their ability to grow out of themThu Oct 19 2023 - 06:15
The popularity of Taylor Swift and Barbie has nothing to do with feminism and everything to do with girl power The celebration of straightforward and uncomplicated femininity is a reaction to the prevailing cultural norms of the 2010sThu Oct 12 2023 - 06:30
David Beckham has sold his privacy to Netflix. I’m not buying itMore than a money-spinner, this documentary is a masterstroke in brand managementFri Oct 06 2023 - 07:00
Finn McRedmond: Do women really need their own museum?If a woman’s contribution to the history and formation of this island is not big enough to stand alongside men, then perhaps it is not big enough to warrant a place in a museum at allThu Oct 05 2023 - 06:00
It’s true all dog breeds bite, but I’d take my chances with a corgi over an American XL bullyThe central tension of liberal politics has found a new, gnashing, mauling frontThu Sept 28 2023 - 06:00
Electric bikes might be fun and flashy but, let’s face it, they’re not really bikesWhat was the point of decades-long campaigning to implement cycling-infrastructure in Dublin - only to quickly fill these lanes with motorised vehicles?Thu Sept 21 2023 - 06:30
Labour governing in London and Sinn Féin in Dublin would reframe Anglo-Irish relationsBrexit has disrupted the careful equilibrium in Northern IrelandThu Sept 14 2023 - 06:30
RTÉ has lost an asset in Ryan Tubridy but a good career probably awaits in BritainNow that Tubridy is teasing a move across the Irish Sea, the realisation might dawn: RTÉ has lost an asset, but a good career likely awaits in BritainThu Sept 07 2023 - 06:30
‘Typical Ryanair’ is a well-worn phrase, but why do we take so little pride in the Irish airline?UK air traffic chaos was a reminder of how much Ryanair gets rightThu Aug 31 2023 - 06:30
Finn McRedmond: Easier to outline America’s myriad faults than engage with its triumphsNobody enjoys a bit of anti-Americanism more than Americans. But it would be a mistake to indulge in cynicismThu Aug 24 2023 - 06:15
Modern languages are in crisis in the UK, while Ireland grows more multilingual US and UK are losing their facility in foreign languages while Ireland expands its rangeThu Aug 17 2023 - 05:00
Greta Thunberg is wrong on one thing - mainstream politicians do care about tackling climate crisisItching for full-scale societal upheaval is unlikely to provoke necessary technological progressThu Aug 10 2023 - 05:00
Barbie is neither an anti-man romp nor an intelligent musing on a woman’s place - it’s a boreIt has no point of view, no message and no understanding of who its audience is. If this is Hollywood’s best shot, the big screen is in troubleThu Aug 03 2023 - 06:30
London is no longer an economic Eden compared to Dublin, it just wears its faults more gracefullySneering at the mess Brexit has wrought on the British economy is as pompous and navel-gazing as any Brexiteer is capable of. Because when Britain gets poorer Ireland suffers tooThu Jul 27 2023 - 05:00
Arts degrees don’t deliver quick returns on investment, but they’re not supposed toIt is perfectly obvious that Ireland does not owe all of its 21st-century success to its technological revolution. Instead, its technological revolution owes much to Ireland’s long and esteemed tradition in the artsThu Jul 20 2023 - 06:30
Finn McRedmond: Why does Taylor Swift generate so much sneering cynicism?There’s no faster way to provoke ire in a certain type of man than to claim her as her generation’s Bob DylanThu Jul 13 2023 - 06:00
Finn McRedmond: We should not expect contrition from Michael D HigginsSeveral times the President has shown he cares little about the limitations of his officeThu Jul 06 2023 - 06:07
Finn McRedmond: Elton John at Glastonbury a reminder of better, weirder eraOur world can feel terribly one-note: western politics driven primarily by men in sharp suits, all presidential in natureThu Jun 29 2023 - 06:00
Ozempic: We may be on the brink of solving a decades-old crisis with a single medicineIt is easy to assume the world is getting progressively worse. And then along comes a huge leap forward in science or medicine to challenge the miseryThu Jun 22 2023 - 07:00
This is Europe: The Way We Live Now – Cross-border complexitiesBen Judah uses human stories to explore the idea of a coherent European identitySat Jun 17 2023 - 05:00
Finn McRedmond: Elizabeth Gilbert has pulled a novel because it is set in Russia. What a shameEat, Pray, Love author had opportunity to make a stand against idea that novels should be treated as ethical instruction manualsThu Jun 15 2023 - 05:45
Finn McRedmond: The tragic irony of the TikTok therapistBy fostering market for phone-based mental health treatment, tech companies bandaging wound they helped createThu Jun 08 2023 - 05:00
Prince Harry: The unravelling of a sad tale about a man driven to despair by his hatred of the mediaFinn McRedmond: Harry claims he is bringing this case to draw attention to journalistic malfeasance. But it seems bigger to him than thatTue Jun 06 2023 - 18:24
Finn McRedmond: Ireland, of all countries, shouldn’t be too quick to celebrate the decline of religionWithout parishes and shared activity like church-going, society may become coarser, more atomised, preferring individuality over communityThu Jun 01 2023 - 04:45
Finn McRedmond: What Martin Amis teaches us about our politicsThe culture wars are not a diversion - they are the language, the style, of politics. One does not exist in a separate realm to the otherThu May 25 2023 - 04:45
Finn McRedmond: Reaction to Matt Barrett’s quips speaks volumes about the great British sense of humourWithout wishing to be glib, the Anglo-Irish relationship is probably resilient enough to weather this oneThu May 18 2023 - 05:00
Finn McRedmond: Covid was a new contour in an existing culture warWhat we have learned, if anything, is that most people are basically decent and shouldn't be under the thumb of extremists. And that the harsher the lockdown, the worse its knock-on effectsThu May 11 2023 - 05:15
Brexit was ‘a structural shock’ to the British-Irish relationship, says British ambassadorPaul Johnston believes Ireland manages to combine a great deal of pride in being a successful modern republic with a great deal of underlying affection for the UKSat May 06 2023 - 05:00
Finn McRedmond: The worst party of the year celebrated the worst person in fashion. That is exactly as it should beArgument that we should not worship a man who was a jerk misses the point. Karl Lagerfeld, the controversial choice for Met Gala, was brilliant because he was not niceThu May 04 2023 - 05:00
The tricky late-20s: some friends are all about marriages and mortgages while others are still going to all-night raves Finn McRedmond: Our mid- to late 20s can be difficult, some friends talk about their marriages and mortgages while others are still going to all-night ravesSun Apr 30 2023 - 05:00
English nationalism has nothing on the Irish varietyMost things we in Ireland allege to be products of England really are British. Contrast with the visuals of Biden’s grand tour: shamrocks, Irish dancers, green draperyThu Apr 27 2023 - 05:00
Where has the rock star male novelist gone?The #MeToo movement has made men in literature more cautiousThu Apr 20 2023 - 05:00
Don’t dismiss Charles III’s coronation as a trivial spectacleEvery nation needs its mythology to forge national identity and the Monarch is part of that in BritainThu Apr 13 2023 - 05:00
We risk losing our cultural legacy if we constantly cater to changing sensibilitiesThe trouble with the contemporary ethos is that almost by definition it is liable to change - it always has been. And then what?Thu Apr 06 2023 - 05:00
Highest dramas of Brexit may finally be over as Britain becomes boring againFinn McRedmond: Whatever bug that infected British politics over the past few years might finally be on its way outThu Mar 30 2023 - 05:00
