Referenda are an important part of our political culture. They are a profoundly democratic way of making fundamental decisions about how our society is run. They also provide an opportunity to discuss, debate and become more informed about important issues such as the European Union. Of course referenda have their downsides. As polling day approaches, exaggerated claims and outright lies abound, on both the Yes and No sides. Free article

Hate crime is on the rise in the Six Counties. Sectarian attacks by loyalists against Catholics still predominate but the mindset that produces such attacks is now also targeting others on the basis of their ethnicity, their status as immigrants or their sexuality. Free article

In a globalised world, who owns media, communication and information resources is a crucial issue. What we listen to, read and watch has never been more important. Regulating who controls these news media resources is vital. Yet in Ireland the real significance of the ongoing battle between Independent News and Media's (INM) Tony O'Reilly and Communicorp's Denis O'Brien for control of the newspaper group has been largely ignored by the news media. The focus has been on reporting the financial minutiae and the personality clash rather than the big picture implications of who will control the media in 21st century Ireland. Free article

LISTENING TO RTÉ's Pat Kenny and Seán Whelan on Tuesday morning I suddenly realised who the main players on the Yes side of the Lisbon debate are. It's not bumbling Enda Kenny, ranting Dick Roche, IBEC's sidekick Eamon Gilmore or any of the people from the Yes political parties. Free article

ANYONE who has ever visited New York, or indeed any of the big American cities, will probably be aware of the huge role that the GAA plays in the lives of Irish people, both those new to the Diaspora and into second, third and even more distant generations. Ciara was certainly amazed at the fact that you could emerge from a train at Van Courdlant having travelled up through Harlem and the Bronx with all the noise and frisson and sometimes hint of danger that that entails and suddenly be walking down a quiet road as though you were approaching Parnell Park on a balmy summer evening. Free article

ROBERT EMMET is one of the best remembered Irish patriots but less well known are his comrades who were also executed for their part in the Rising of 1803. Emmet was put to death on 20 September 1803 in Thomas Street. Prior to that, from 1 to 17 September, Dublin had seen the execution of 14 men. Six more were executed after Emmet, two in Dublin, two in Downpatrick and two in Carrickfergus. Free article