Pat Leahy columns
A blueprint is a detailed plan which can be followed to build something. Harris is promising it by the time of the Fine Gael ardfheis in November. It’s not going to happen
When Jackie Healy-Rae first emerged, a sophisticate in FF remarked he’d never get elected, not least because he looked like he combed his hair with a pork chop
Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan
The Occupied Territories Bill might not be the biggest issue involving relations with Israel in the coming months
Galway West and Dublin Central votes suggest emergence of significant electoral force to the right of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan
No matter what the substantial anti-Micheál Martin faction says, his will be big shoes to fill
We can’t have all the short-term solutions we want and all the long-term investment we want
A greater degree of left unity and/or a sizeable alternative to the right of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil would be a new and unpredictable dynamic
Artificial intelligence will bring significant changes in the world of work, and soon present very considerable political challenges
Sinn Féin has been working hard at showing the world that it has recovered its mojo
The decent people who protested last week have a choice to make next time they’re on the streets
Every political problem faced by recent governments has been solved – to a greater or lesser extent – by finding money to throw at it. What happens if that dries up?
Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan
This is the way our politics works now – a constant stream of demand and response
Tom Wright, who worked in the Biden administration, believes the president is in ‘a real bind’ in Iran
Bollocking the president of the United States on St Patrick’s Day is probably not what the people want their political leader to do
Coalition leaders will not relish Dublin Central and Galway West contests. Just ask Keir Starmer
Taking services away has greater political cost than not providing them in the first place
Gerry Hutch, who plans to run in a byelection, has been a central figure in organised crime in Dublin
Instead of action, Ministers can take refuge in process. But public patience is wearing thin
On and on it goes, every week: more spending is the only solution to every problem facing the country. Nobody ever says we can’t afford it
Irish Government will try to follow the rugby coaches’ advice and control the controllables
Plenty of energy, as evidenced by the recent ‘Irlforum’, but no sign of a breakthrough
Challenge for the putative alliance is to show the public that they can co-operate consistently on substantive issues, beyond political posturing
There is a recurring dilemma of politics – how to get politicians to do what’s best for the longer term and unpopular in the short term?
Sing in a choir, make something with your hands, shoot real or clay pigeons, go to a church, dance if you really must
Not yet having the numbers to push the button, his opponents within Fianna Fáil are now hoping to harry him to destruction
One important thing that happened in 2025 was something that didn’t happen – the monstering of the Irish economy by Trump’s tariffs
Ireland’s neutrality doesn’t bother EU allies. Our inability to defend ourselves does
Patrick O’Donovan, Jim O’Callaghan and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill have shown they are not afraid of rattling cages
Right now, Sinn Féin are the bookies’ favourites to win the next general election, but you might as well ask Mystic Meg
Unless it can make rapid progress in facilitating homebuilding, the Coalition will have no future. Nor, frankly, will it deserve one
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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