Knowing when to quit is a truly inhuman quality. Just ask Joe Biden or Andy Murray
It is incredibly easy for people to detect when they are at a nadir – the trenches of their career or stardom. But it seems a much harder task to identify when you are at your peak
Where is Ireland’s Gareth Southgate, our non-political unifying force?
I have been wondering recently why he has no Irish equivalent. It is not Michael D Higgins, not Bono
Don’t blame Jill Biden for her husband’s refusal to bow out of the campaign
Media coverage of Jill Biden as the last bulwark against the authoritarian nightmare of Trump is exactly the kind of thing that - rightly - puts voters off
The coronation of Keir Starmer and Labour will carry nothing of 1997’s new dawn
The UK general election’s outcome is all but assured, yet there is a sense that not too much will actually change in the years ahead
Lamentations of ‘broken’ Britain are hollow when you see what’s happening elsewhere in Europe
Lamentations of onlookers about Broken Britain, total crisis and irreversible damage are hollow when you see what’s happening elsewhere in Europe
Austrians taunting the French with baguettes is the kind of nationalism we can all get behind
Football is a good outlet for defanged nationalism but light-hearted spaghetti japes should not be mistaken for signs of unity in a fractured continent
Nigel Farage, the most impactful UK politician in a generation, who has failed seven times to be elected
To reduce Nigel Farage’s influence to his legislative heft in the House of Commons seriously underestimates his impact
We don’t need to relate to politicians but they do need to know a Taylor Swift song
As Trump and Johnson show us, relatability is a juvenile value in politics, and a hollow aspiration
Keir Starmer is ‘in love’ with Ireland. It will take more than that to repair the relationship
Things are looking up for Anglo-Irish relations. But Ireland’s diplomatic model has to work just as well with Tories as it does with a well-disposed Labour. Otherwise the country is exposed, reliant on the whims of personality
No matter what anyone says about Tony O’Reilly’s motivations, he knew how to live a full life
O’Reilly and Springsteen understand a similar truth about the world - you can’t start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart
Bambie Thug should not have been making statements on Ireland’s behalf
Whatever the nature of Bambie’s protest - and of course they are right that Netanyahu’s actions in the Gaza strip are abhorrent and deplorable - it was an inappropriate time, place and medium
Jerry Seinfeld is right that TV comedy isn’t funny any more - just not about why
The comedian blames “PC crap” and the “extreme left” but spineless sitcom isn’t solely product of the so-called Great Awokening of the 2010s
Has single-sex education had its day? Jen Hogan and Finn McRedmond debate
More schools are moving towards co-education, and research suggests teenagers are in favour of it. But do they really know what’s best for them?
Harvey Weinstein’s conviction overturned: is that it for #MeToo?
The movement’s mantra – believe women – was a powerful corrective to a society that was too happy to dismiss their stories. But seven years of hindsight on, we can understand its failings with greater clarity
In class-ridden Ireland, the worst thing to be is posh
Food and culture need enthusiasts and tastemakers. Certain types of culture are valuable because they are challenging