Through his fearless challenging of the institutions of power in the 1980s, Des O’Malley was instrumental in the modernising of the state and in bringing about the end of the era of golden circles and vested interests

The comments by President Higgins on the proliferation of sports betting ads and the huge damage inflicted on families by gambling deserve our close attention

The logical conclusion of Boris Johnson’s wish to 'trust people to be responsible and to do the right thing’ is that if you get Covid-19, it’s your own fault

In its eagerness to stoke up anti-Sinn Féin sentiment in Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael appears to have cleared a path to a Dáil seat for the Labour senator

The refusal by a number journalists and public figures to apologise for propagating an unfounded and damaging rumour is deeply disturbing

The homeowners in the mica scandal must be compensated, but the taxpayer deserves some consideration too

The effectiveness of the vaccines is threatened whenever a new variant of the coronavirus emerges, but the world’s richer countries seem to be more concerned about life returning to normal

As the various city authorities tie themselves in knots over bins, it highlights the need for a proper debate about the state of our capital, and for a directly elected mayor

A Fine Gael councillor dismissed child benefit in colourful terms last week, but a payment for sex could improve our wellbeing, and possibly the economy too

Failure to protect health infrastructure is literally a matter of life and death, as the HSE found out last week

Last week's verdict that the ten people killed by the British Army in August 1971 were innocent of wrongdoing was a reminder that in the North, some things just don’t go away

Last week’s debacle – where almost an entire housing estate intended for first-time buyers was snapped up by an investment firm – could spark a disaster for the parties who maintain the status quo

Eoghan Murphy had to be shielded from a hostile crowd at the 2019 election count, Leo Varadkar has Garda protection from death threats, and Hazel Chu has expressed fears for her daughter’s safety. Things have gone too far

It’s been clear for some time that Britain has little interest in Northern Ireland, which means it has failed to notice some interesting recent developments

The trial in the US of Derek Chauvin for the murder is being live-streamed, but we should be very wary of going down a similar road in this country

If the son of the world’s most powerful politician can publicly acknowledge his dependency struggles, it may encourage others to do likewise – especially here in Ireland

Fairness matters, and the rollout risks being undermined by a sense of injustice at preferential treatment for those in the know

The decision of the government parties not to support unionist Ian Marshall’s Seanad candidacy shows how far behind the curve they are

Even though the CAB continues to examine the tribunal’s findings, Judge Moriarty did the state some service as his reports changed the law, informed policy and prompted a cultural change

From racial bias to miscarriage, family stress and bereavement, Harry and Meghan’s openness in their Oprah interview will help a lot of people process their own traumas