Banner
Editorials

    • Implications of Nally verdict

      The verdict by a Dublin jury in the retrial of Pádraig Nally has sent a dangerous signal to society. The Travelling community has the right to feel hard done by. By finding Mr Nally not guilty of the manslaughter of John Ward in Co Mayo in October, 2004, the jury broke new ground in deciding what could be regarded as reasonable force or an imminent threat in hostile circumstances. It is not surprising that the verdict is extremely divisive: welcomed by Mr Nally's supporters and by some local politicians and condemned as "a licence to kill Travellers" by a representative of the Ward family. p

    • EU enlargement

      The European Union has kept open a commitment to enlarge its membership at its summit in Brussels, even though the process is to be made more stringent for Turkey, Croatia and the countries in the western Balkans to which it currently applies. p
    Opinion

    • Government right to stand firm on Bupa

      I am not a supporter of Mary Harney's efforts to increase the private element of our health service. But I strongly support her firm stand in relation to community rating and risk equalisation for private health insurance. p

    • Harney unfairly criticised over long-stay care proposals

      Occasions where our politicians manage to set out detailed plans for the future are rare, but this week was one of them. Mary Harney could have lobbed the hot potato that is the funding of long-stay care for the elderly out past the next election; it would have been the easier and more political approach. Instead, characteristically, Minister for Health Mary Harney had the courage to publish radical proposals in the lead into the election, writes Noel Whelan p

    • No little girl dreams of becoming a prostitute

      At least four children have lost their mothers due to the murders of women working in prostitution in Ipswich. Other families have spoken of their grief at losing their daughters first to drugs, then to the murky world of prostitution, and finally to violent death. Yet some people will continue to cling to the potent mythology of the "happy hooker" and go on speaking of "sex workers" and "freely chosen careers". p

    • What chance has a Traveller offender before an Irish jury?

      The Nally verdict suggests a deepening gulf between Travellers and the rest of society. Kathy Sheridan , who followed the case from the start, examines possible reasons p

    • Crime and controversy cast shadow over Government

      Inside Politics: The political atmosphere in the last few days before the Dáil adjourned for the Christmas recess was not what the Government had planned. p

    • Battle of ideas about Europe lies behind shift in terminology

      WorldView: From "absorption" to "integration". Behind this terminological shift concerning its capacities lies an important battle of ideas and policies about the definition of Europe and the future enlargement of the European Union. p
    An Irishwoman's DiaryBack to Top

    • An Irishwoman's Diary

      The dusty little bus trundled into the small oasis town of Tadmor, in the middle of the Syrian desert, and I felt I'd come home: it was the eve of the winter solstice and, far from Newgrange, I had come here instead, to make my annual obeisance to the rising sun, writes Mary Russell. p
    Martyn Turner's CartoonBack to Top

    • Click on image to view larger version

    Weekly Index
    MPrice Watch
    TEducation
    Health
    WCommercial Property
    Motors
    An Teanga Bheo
    TProperty
    Science Today
    FThe Ticket
    SMagazine
    News Features
    Weekend
    Obituaries
    Archive
    Click a date to view the paper on that day
    PreviousNext
    MTWTFSS
    Advertisement
    Crosswords and Sudoku
    PuzzlesSudoku and interactive Irish Times crosswords
    What does this mean?
    What is Premium ContentIndicates Premium Content, which is available to subscribers.
    PDF downloads
    PDF downloads Download today's front page or TV listings page as they appear in The Irish Times
    Article Index
    Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat