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    • Patrick Hillery's fine legacy

      DR PATRICK Hillery was a reserved and unassuming man who made an enormous contribution to our democracy at critical times in the various  public offices which he held over a long career in politics. His years as President of Ireland, in the days before spin-doctors and communications experts, have always been underrated. On the benchmark  so beloved of others, it can truly be said of him that he did the democratic institutions of this State considerable service in years  when the separation of powers were tested to potential breaking point. p

    • Unfinished business

      THE AGREEMENT by DCC to pay €41 million in compensation to Fyffes and other parties that suffered losses as a result of its insider trading in Fyffes shares is intended to bring an end to one of the most squalid  episodes in recent Irish commercial life. p
    Opinion

    • Robinson and Cowen start out on the right footing

      ANALYSIS: BRIAN COWEN and Peter Robinson met in Belfast yesterday for some hardnosed business dealing that should benefit Northern Ireland but is not without risk to the Republic's economy, writes GERRY MORIARTY .
       p

    • Diversity debate cannot ignore fact that family form matters

      OPINION: LAST MONTH we learned that a transgendered man in the US, Thomas Beatie, has been impregnated by artificial insemination. He has been lauded for his "selfless" act, while Oprah Winfrey hailed it as a triumph for family diversity, writes PATRICIA CASEY .
       p

    • Gross negligence behind stroke deaths overlooked

      LOGIC SUGGESTS that the deaths of many people should affect us more than the death of an individual. But reactions to death are not logical. We are stunned and terrified by the sudden, random, meaningless extinction of Paddy Ryan-Corr's young life by a bolt of lightning. We are heartbroken that the shadow of death has fallen over the luminous intelligence of Nuala O'Faolain, writes Fintan O'Toole . p

    • Better to plan for major emergencies however unlikely they may seem

      FIRST, SOME perspective: The Government does not think that a major national emergency is any more likely now than in the past. Of course the people of New York did not expect the awful events of September 11th, 2001, nor did the people of southeast Asia expect the tsunami. People do not expect the unexpected, writes Willie O'Dea . p

    • Why atheism can't be more than just a matter of opinion

      RITE AND REASON: MOST OF the atheism that is around assumes that to "believe in God" is to suppose there to be, beyond the worlds we know, one more strange thing, for the existence of which there is no evidence, writes DR NICHOLAS LASH. p

    • Outdated family laws must move with times

      THEY SAY that you should start by carrying a bag of flour if you want even the merest hint of the 24/7 lifelong responsibility that is the decision to raise a child, writes QUENTIN FOTTRELL . p

    • Life is just a bowl of nettle soup . . . or should that be cherries?

      SHAGGY DOG: THE PHRASE to grasp the nettle means to face a difficult situation positively and with confidence. Stinging nettles are painful when brushed against and can bring a person out in a nasty rash, but for centuries they have been known for their healing and nutritional value, writes ALBERT JACK . p
    An Irishmans DiaryBack to Top

    • An Irishwoman's Diary

      THE OSPEDALE Italiano stands foursquare on a city block on Jamal Abdel Nasser Avenue in central Damascus, across from an arcade of shops near bustling Jisr al-Abyad Square. Since its founding as a dispensary in 1913, the hospital has survived the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, two world wars, the Arab revolt led by Lawrence of Arabia, French colonial rule, the Syrian independence struggle, Arab-Israeli warfare, numerous coups d'état and two US-led wars on neighbouring Iraq, writes MICHAEL JANSEN . p
    Martyn Turner's CartoonBack to Top

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