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Eithne Shortall: Let’s put our patterns of learned behaviour aside and let children be children

People’s tendency to clothe their interactions with youngsters in gender stereotypes helps no one, so we would do well to remember that childhood should be about fun – not their wardrobe

Eithne Shortall: The day I parked the usual glare and confronted a litter lout

Using the glare technique to admonish something objectionable someone has done in public avoids confrontation, but I shocked myself when I eyeballed a litterer – and got a positive response

Jarlath Regan: How Sonia O’Sullivan turned me from a running sceptic slob into a marathon fanatic

When Ireland’s greatest track athlete of all time offers to coach you, it’s a tough one to turn down and now I’ve changed from wondering what a ‘fun run’ was all about to being a not too shoddy plodder

Eithne Shortall: It’s all right to be proud of our basic decency and compassion

Irish people are not comfortable with self-congratulation, but showing visiting American friends the sights recently made me realise we have a lot to be proud of, both with our surroundings and as a society

Letter From America

Marion McKeone: Lady Maga’s role as advocate is no armour against far-right fury

Now that Roe V Wade has been dealt with, the Maga show must go on – with staunch backing from a most unlikely supporter. But it’s sad that drag queen Ryan Woods craves the approval of an avowed homophobic and transphobic group

Kathleen MacMahon: Power and glory now reside in corporate cathedrals of the capital

Taking a walking tour to get a measure of our capital city, it’s evident by the buildings that the corporate world has supplanted religion as the dominant power, but who gave them that power?

Anton Savage: Get your popcorn ready for the pinnacle of TV perfection

After decades of waiting, Merv Griffin’s Jeopardy! is coming to light up our tellies with its brilliant reverse-engineered format – and Stephen Fry to boot

Eithne Shortall: When tired of the daily grind, I see life through the filter of coffee

How pregnancy, combined with the pandemic and shot through with a dose of reality, helped me to slow down, extract the vital essence of the everyday and appreciate the little things

Eithne Shortall: Tending to household jobs in record time is not my forte

Ignore a task for long enough, and you’ll become blind to it – or, in my case, take half a decade to buy a turntable on which to play my extensive vinyl collection

Andrea Cleary: A toast to the ‘sober curious’ making their own way in our drinking culture

Those who choose to drink less, or not at all, illustrate that sobriety is less about giving something up and more about what you can gain in a society where alcohol still holds a lot of social power

Eithne Shortall: Like Damien Dempsey, we should celebrate the importance of being earnest

Witnessing the emotional audience reaction to the singer-songwriter’s one-man show was a heart-opening moment that the slagging Irish could learn from

Edel Coffey: Annie Mac’s club is just the ticket for those who need to be tucked up Before Midnight

Once you have to balance a good night out with parenthood and/or a career, there’s a lot to be said for shifting your starting schedule to earlier in the evening

Eithne Shortall: There’s a big gulf between the cúpla focal and fair fluency

Enjoyable and rewarding though it is, Irish takes a lot of time and effort to master – and then you need the confidence to actually use it

Kathleen MacMahon: Men for all seasons who are brave, steadfast and willing to help with the kids

We hear a lot about women and all the things they can do, but let’s not forget the admirable and heartwarming qualities of our male folk

Eithne Shortall: A storey of Dublin’s architectural gems revealed by just looking up

A stress-filled shopping trip can be lightened simply by tilting your head skyward to bring the capital’s wonderful unspoiled architecture into view

Anton Savage: Only in Ireland do topical tropes come and go with the weather

A favoured cliché of the moment is that certain subjects are never talked about, despite celebrities and other ‘experts’ banging on about their lived experience ad infinitum – until we simply stop listening

Andrea Cleary: Same old song as women still struggle for artistic recognition

With no women nominated in the Artist of the Year category in this year’s Brit Awards, it rather tiringly signals that women are considered only as ‘pop stars’ rather than ‘artists’

Sara Keating: Brigid brings stories of the power of women into the light

Brigid’s name will now mark a new bank holiday and with that it’s worth reflecting on the legends of both the Christian and pagan goddess Brigid and their enduring relevance

Eithne Shortall: A choice lesson in factors of primary importance to your child’s education

A hierarchy of desirable primary schools in Ireland exists – if only in the minds of parents, who clamour to get their kids enrolled in already over-subscribed establishments

Edel Coffey: 61-year-old Jennifer Coolidge’s success shows we should never give up on our dreams

As we get older, we can all get a little bit fizzled by life, but the award-winning White Lotus actress’s speech gave hope that our long-held ambitions can still come to pass