Advertisement

Readers like you keep news free for everyone.

More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.

Support us today
Not now
Thursday 23 March 2023 Dublin: 7°C

Latest

All time
Voices
Opinion: 'McGuinness ended up in a better place, bringing his party, followers and society with him'
Irish politics lost a major political figure today, writes David McCann.
Voices
Opinion: 'Brexit and a weak economy mean that Northern Ireland has little time to be stuck in neutral'
It’s game over for the current Executive just six months after the Assembly election, writes Dr David McCann.
Voices
One of the key people in the making of modern Ireland turns 100 today
TK Whitaker was just 39 when he took on the challenge of leading a dark and depressed 1950s Ireland into a brighter future.
Voices
One of the key figures in shaping modern Ireland turns 100 today
TK Whitaker was just 39 when he became secretary at the Department of Finance.
Voices
Northern Ireland’s peace is Ireland’s peace, we've all benefited and all of us must make sure we keep it
As the South approaches the next election pressure needs to be placed upon politicians to re-engage with the peace process.
Voices
Column: An era has truly come to an end in Northern Ireland with the death of Ian Paisley
Historically it is appropriate to remember that substantial figure has gone and it is worth just remembering his substantial contribution to our politics.
Voices
Opinion: Reynolds was utterly instrumental to the peace process – it is no small achievement
As I sit here in Belfast, there are no British soldiers patrolling the streets and paramilitaries no longer conduct massive bombing campaigns because of the leadership of people like Albert Reynolds.
Voices
Opinion: A simple 'how to' guide for the new Minister for Foreign Affairs
Gilmore’s light touch approach to Northern Ireland was one of his biggest misjudgements as a minister. Here are the three things his successor should consider…
Voices
Opinion: In Northern Ireland, we are literally lurching from crisis to crisis
David McCann says now is the time for action from Dublin and London who should intervene and assist political leaders in Northern Ireland.
Voices
Column: Bold gestures are necessary for a genuinely inclusive Northern Ireland
As President Michael D Higgins takes part in an historic trip to the UK, we should reflect on what other valuable gestures could help heal old wounds, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Let's consider Albert Reynolds' legacy on the anniversary of his election
Reynolds was in office less than three years, yet his legacy still resonates today, writes David McCann. So just what should we remember about one the country’s shortest serving leaders?
Voices
Column: Failure of Haass talks highlights two serious problems in modern Northern Ireland
The ‘silo mentality’ of Stomont doesn’t solve controversial issues or give the public confidence in politics – and it’s the reason Haass came up against a brick wall when he tried to forge common ground, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: What is Jack Lynch's legacy?
Despite the highs and lows of his political career, former Taoiseach Jack Lynch was still described as “the most popular politician since Daniel O’Connell”, writes David McCann on the 14th anniversary of the death.
Voices
Column: The Celtic Tiger mauled Ireland, so why are NI politicians trying to mimic it?
The fascination some politicians in Northern Ireland have with the Republic’s boom years is creating some strange political bedfellows and confusing policies, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Today's officials should look to TK Whitaker’s approach as they consider economic problems
TK Whitaker’s approach to public service shows that ‘thinking outside the box’ can be invaluable in solving political, social and economic issues – he remains one of the most remarkable figures of Irish public life, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: If the rumours are true and Peter Robinson steps down, who will replace him?
There has been some speculation that Peter Robinson’s time as First Minister may be coming to an end. David McCann takes a look at the two ministers that are tipped to fill his boots.
Voices
Column: There should not be any 'no go' areas for politicians in Belfast
The contemptible attack on Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir put the worst aspects of Belfast city on display last week. Do we really want a city where the mayor is seen as an enemy simply because he comes from the other community? asks David McCann.
Voices
Column: Northern Ireland and the dangers of the ‘mission accomplished’ narrative
Riots in Belfast during the 12th July overshadowed glimmers of hope shown in places like Derry. Either way, Northern Ireland will ultimately sink or swim based on the actions chosen in the months and years ahead, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: There's a case for a United Ireland but it doesn't lie in voodoo economics
If we want to end the partition between the Republic and Northern Ireland, then we need to embrace some realistic solutions for the economic future, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Remembering 'Garret the Good' and his legacy on Irish politics
In today’s poll-driven political culture we sometimes forget that to fail sometimes, you at least have to try. While Garret Fitzgerald did have failures, he also had the courage to do what he thought was right, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Obama's speech was an insight into the current state of politics in Northern Ireland
Speaking directly to the next generation of Northern Ireland, like Obama did, is what we need, says David McCann, who writes that it is the duty of younger people to get ready, take charge and drive the agenda forward.
Voices
Column: The victims of the Troubles were not 'collateral damage' and they deserve justice
The introduction of a bill that would ban people convicted of serious offences from being appointed as a special advisor to a minister in Northern Ireland has raised more serious questions: who are the victims of the Troubles – and have we forgotten them?
Voices
Column: Three things modern politicians should learn from the Lemass era
Séan Lemass is one of the few Irish leaders whose popularity transcends political parties – but his path wasn’t always an easy one. Modern politicians could learn a lot from his approach to politics, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Why are people disengaging with politics in Northern Ireland?
Following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, more than 70 per cent of people turned out to elect the first assembly. Fast forward 15 years and the people seem disenchanted, but why, asks David McCann.
Voices
Column: Few politicians have courted controversy and adoration like Thatcher
In Ireland, we tend to think of Margaret Thatcher as either the prime minister who let the hunger strikers die or the pragmatist who signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement. David McCann wonders if this is too narrow a view.
Voices
Column: Not enough has been done to uphold the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement
It’s true Northern Ireland has come a long way over the last fifteen years, but we cannot afford to hang the ‘mission accomplished’ banner over the peace process, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: The Government could learn from the mistakes of Cosgrave's National Coalition
On the 40th anniversary of the election of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition that ended a record sixteen years of Fianna Fáil government, David McCann reflects on what lessons the current government should take from its predecessors.
Voices
Column: To move on from the Troubles we have to face the past with compassion
Behind each death of the Troubles are real, grieving people – many of whom have been waiting for the truth for far too long, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Border poll? Frankly, now isn’t the time
Calls for a vote on reunification betray an ignorance of the real issues affecting Ireland today, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Viewed from abroad, Ireland’s reconciliation is a success story
David McCann travelled to Korea, a partitioned country with a chequered economic history. The view from there is very different, he writes.
Voices
Column: Real reform is being overlooked in the deficit scramble
There was broad consensus that our political system needed major change, writes David McCann – but that now seems largely forgotten.
Voices
Column: ‘Surely it’s time Ireland embraced the memorial poppy’
It’s not about choosing sides – Ireland should lose its timidity and commemorate fallen Irish soldiers, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Ireland has to stay neutral on Scottish independence
We’ve always decried interference into our affairs on this island – it would serve us well to afford the same approach to the 2014 referendum in Scotland.
Voices
Column: Why sorry is the hardest word
How can a government be asked to apologise for something in recent history when the full facts have yet to be disclosed, writes David McCann.
Voices
Column: Why is Alan Ryan's funeral the face of republicanism?
If politicians don’t want the masked men marching in a funeral cortege to continue being seen as the real face of republicanism, writes David McCann, they need to change the conversation.
Voices
Column: Surely Loyalist marchers want a better image than this?
The violence during parades in Belfast last weekend have David McCann pondering the need for Unionism to appeal to Catholics as well as Protestants.
Voices
Column: It’s 30 years since GUBU. Now THAT was a political battle.
University of Ulster politics academic David McCann recalls the events of 1982 – and says we’ve never seen such a politically-charged atmosphere in this country since that turbulent year.
Voices
Column: Sinn Féin is partitionist when it comes to party policy
Can SF hope to represent voters on a 32-county basis, asks David McCann, when they can’t keep their policies aligned north and south of the border?
Voices
Column: The British government is facing separation anxiety
But this isn’t about Ireland for a change as the Falklands and Scotland look to upcoming referendums on their future, writes David McCann from the University of Ulster.
Voices
Column: Jack Lynch's victory 35 years today was a PR one...
…But while the watershed campaign gave Fianna Fáil a landslide in 1977, writes David McCann, the triumph was short-lived and carries lessons for us today.