Good morning and welcome to this week’s IT Sunday for June 5th 2022; a collection of some of the best Irish Times journalism from the past week.
We start this week with Harry McGee’s long read into an incident 40 years ago that by a series of extraordinary coincidences would worm its way to the core of the then government, lead to the resignation of the attorney general and almost topple the shaky administration of taoiseach Charles J Haughey.
Forty years later the effects of this extraordinary sequence of events involving Malcolm Daniel Edward Macarthur are still rippling outwards. (There is also a seven-episode podcast series on the case, the first two of which can be heard here.)
This week saw the passing of the first 100 days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Initial expectations that Russia would swiftly overwhelm its smaller neighbour have been replaced by a conflict that shows no sign of ending swiftly, although the fighting is now focused on an attritional struggle around the Donbas region.
Our correspondent Daniel McLaughlin, who spent much of this period in Ukraine, looks back on the first three months, and also how the initial rush of solidarity and unity from western states is being tempered, as evidenced by the EU’s struggle this week to agree on a partial oil embargo against Russia.
This “indicates how hard it will be for western states to maintain unity on sanctions if fuel and food prices continue to rise into the autumn and winter,” he writes.
Last weekend, long queues for departures and chaotic scenes at Dublin airport – which saw more than 1,400 people miss their flights – were described as an embarrassment that had damaged Ireland’s reputation internationally.
But while Ireland focused its ire on Ireland, others appear more sanguine about the state of us, and the way we view our country can bear little resemblance to how it is viewed from the outside.
A selection of Irish Times correspondents this week examined the difference between how residents perceive their country and how it is viewed from overseas.
There is a political element to the shambles too, writes Political Editor Pat Leahy, with the Government – already struggling with the delivery of public services – desperate to lay responsibility squarely at the door of the DAA.
“It is one of the functions that politicians least welcome — to be answerable for the failures of public bodies (and even in some cases for private enterprises, like banks) that they do not control. But it is one from which they cannot escape.”
Among the articles selected for you this week is a column from Roisin Kiberd who examines the Depp-Heard trial.
She notes that for weeks the trial exerted its lurid siren call, “pulling us in, inviting each commenter to bring their individual torments and anxieties to the table”.
Kiberd writes: “Until now, I’ve resisted doing exactly that. But waking up on Thursday, the morning after the jury ruled in Johnny Depp’s favour, I felt a kind of quiet and pernicious hopelessness — one that’s hard to express, for fear of being pinned to a single side of the conflict, or being labelled a brainwashed victim of ideology.
“I don’t particularly identify with Amber Heard, not that I need to identify with her, or even like her to take her allegations seriously. Much like those grey courtroom videos, the evidence presented during the trial did not portray her in a flattering light. But she and I have a diagnosis in common, borderline personality disorder.”
In his column David McWilliams examines the extent to which the pandemic has changed the way we work and how freedom from structures of traditional jobs are empowering a section of the workforce.
“The hairdresser is at her wits’ end. She’s never been so busy but can’t get staff for love nor money. The latest job interviewee’s demands are a sign of the times. A potential colourist named her price: two days a week only in the salon; only working every other Saturday; paid daily in cash.”
This week relationships expert Trish Murphy responds to a letter from a woman who is struggling to stop yearning for a loving relationship and be content with her “pretty great life”.
“I broke up with my ex three years ago. It was a great relationship and I thought we would go the distance . . . but things did not work out. I’m now 39. I’m still single, living in a (wonderful) house share in Dublin. I’ve gotten a promotion at work and my career is going great. I would love to meet someone and have a deep and intimate connection. It’s not happening. . . How do I manage my own sadness and disappointment?”
As always there is much more on irishtimes.com, including extensive coverage of a busy weekend of sport which includes a disappointing start for Ireland in the Nations League, the Leinster Hurling Final, and a comfortable win for Leinster in the quarter final of the United Rugby Championship.
And don’t forget you can check out more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.
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Stay safe and well.
