Columnists Anton Savage: Turns out holding grudges requires a good memory and a strong work ethicThe essence of holding a grudge lies in remembering what the person actually did to you, so that you can arrange your face in the appropriate way
Columnists Jarlath Regan: It may be aggressively windswept and rain-sodden, but GAA is our beautiful gameLove for the GAA passed us by, until the passion and purpose hit home during an intense and dramatic school county championship
Columnists Eithne Shortall: Recycling is a load of old rubbish unless we all do it A recent sting by a citizen journalist has me questioning our country’s disgraceful waste management system
Letter From America Marion McKeone: Trump’s dramas playing out like a final season of Law & Order The never-ending saga sees more and more former allies of the ex-president turn against him
Opinion Eithne Shortall: Drug use is rampant. We should legalise most of itThe only people who benefit from the status quo are the criminal gangs who have gained immense wealth and power from selling it
LIFE & ARTS Jarlath Regan: I swore I’d never run a marathon. Now I’m in it for the long haul The power and the glory of seeing thousands of true, brave hearts make it to the finish line is a sporting experience beyond any other
Column Eithne Shortall: The writing’s on the wall in the terrifying tale of AI ‘writers’ versus humansWith ChatGPT and other generative AI becoming increasingly sophisticated, writers now face their works being swallowed whole, chewed up and spat out by the software as eerily familiar stories
Letter From America Marion McKeone: Joe Biden now has a chance to make history, but will he seize it?The US president will need to persuade both Israel and America that recommitting to a two-state solution is the path to peace – but he may focus instead on containing the immediate situation
Column Anton Savage: There’s no need for celebrity public laundry washing when we have NetflixForget the high-profile personal spats, all Jada Pinkett Smith needed to do to effectively castrate ‘husband’ Will was invite a ‘documentary’ team in
Column Eithne Shortall: Segregating children by gender is just weird – and schools are starting to agreeSingle-sex schools instil stereotypes, isolation, artificiality and awkwardness that can last a lifetime; thankfully, they seem to be on the way out
Letter From America Marion McKeone: America seems to be sleepwalking towards the edge of an abyssThe implosion of democracy in the House chamber is just one symptom of a far deeper malaise, a nihilism that has polluted every organ of government
Column Jarlath Regan: The onion of nonsense that contains the answer to my sneaker addiction has many layers and begins with Michael JordanI used to collect every pair of runners that I couldn’t afford as a kid. But at least these days I actually wear them, after a recommendation by my running coach, Sonia O’Sullivan
Letter From America Marion McKeone: Forget the Empire State building, tourists now make a beeline for NY rat tours The population of the pests has exploded and enterprising locals are now giving tourists the latest Big Apple ‘experience’ while a $170,000 rat tzar has been hired to deal with the issue
Column Anton Savage: Irish bin bags are a load of rubbish – it’s time we went down the American route They have it right stateside when it comes to super-sturdy refuse sacks and tin foil, while we struggle on with our paper-thin alternatives
Column Jarlath Regan: How can I lecture my kids on school behaviour when I was a half-assed smart-alec?My style of educational application won’t cut it in today’s system of continual assessment, monitoring and always-on WhatsApp groups
Column Eithne Shortall: Bikes help kids learn to navigate the twists in the long road to independenceYour offspring gaining the ability to cycle is a big moment for both parent and child – the start of the bumpy journey towards adulthood
Column Eithne Shortall: Time to change the story on kids’ bestsellers being dominated by non-Irish authorsIrish authors are high up the list of bestsellers for adults in Ireland, but the top ten children’s books mostly feature non-homegrown writers despite there being plenty of quality choices available here
Letter From America Marion McKeone: Disaster vultures quick to swoop on Hawaiians’ miseryPredatory speculators made rich by lowballing the vulnerable with pitiful cash offers for distressed or destroyed properties already have their sights on those who lost their homes in Lahaina’s deadly wildfires
Column Jarlath Regan: Regrets, I’ve had a few, but none like the buyer’s remorse of my seven-year-old selfBefore the days of returning unwanted purchases, what presented as an opportunity of a lifetime could cost far more than the initial price
Column Anton Savage: Watch out for the wok wave that’s about to wash over usResistance is futile; when wok mania hits, you’ll be snapping up incresingly expensive ones