THE DÁIL GENERAL ELECTION saw gains for those on the left of the Labour Party. The Right2Water movement brought tens of thousands onto the streets and politicised many. The economic crash of 2008/2009 raised the political consciousness of the people with the Establishment parties’ vote dropping as a consequence. Free article

MÁS MALL is mithid mar sin fhéin go n-aithnítear anois go bhfuil géarchéim tithíochta againn sa stát seo. Ar ndóigh níl aon réiteach ar an bhfadhb seo ag páirtithe na Bunaíochta – Fine Gael/Labour nó Fianna Fáil; ach ar a laghad ar bith tá díospóireacht ann faoin bhfadhb is faoina leigheasanna a d’fhéadfadh a chur i bhféidhm. Free article

OIDEACHAS ann féin é dul thar sáile i gcomhair comórthaí na Cásca. Bhí de phribhléíd agamsa dul go San Franciscoi mbliana agus fad is a bhí mé ann d’fhoghlaim mé faoi bheirt laoch poblachtánach a bhféadfaí ‘Blockbuster’ den chéad scoth a dhéanamh as na scéalta a bhaineann leo, ach muintir Hollywood a fháil ar bord! Free article

Ó CUIREADH Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla i bhfeidhm sa bhliain 2003, tá iachaill ar gach eagraíocht phoiblí Scéim Teanga a chur le chéile agus a shocrú leis an Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta i gcomhoibriú leis an gCoimisinéir Teanga. Beartas iontach gan amhras, ach conas atá ag éirí le cur i bhfeidhm na scéimeanna iúd? An ceapa páipéir amháin iad nó an bhfuil beart de réir briathar mar dlúthchuid den choincheap? An bhfuil tú sásta leis an scéim reatha i do chontae-sa? An raibh a fhios agat go raibh scéim ann fiú?  Free article

WHILE the official political process stagnated into a phony war, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael getting involved in “negotiations” with Independents and minor parties that everyone knows can’t produce a government, the important task is to try and build a genuine alternative to the exploitative system that has caused (and continues to cause) so much misery. Free article

THE YEARS between 1912 and 1923 saw major transformation in Ireland. The evolution and militarisation of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers, the First World War, the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the subsequent Civil War all still resonate to great extent today in the politics of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It was both a violent and fascinating period in Irish history. Free article

ADVANCING RECONCILIATION is not just about healing wounds or addressing hurt and division but also about ensuring that the conditions that created and sustained the conflict in Ireland are never to be repeated. Free article

WHEN LIVERPOOL and former Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp said confidence is “a little flower that is easily crushed” he was really talking about irony – the kind of irony that produces events that are magnificent in the moment, and are gone in an instant. These days it seems we need these kinds of distractions, magnificent moments that light up our lives, give meaning to our existence and substance to our pitiful futures. Premium service article