Ann Widdecombe defended free speech. But it’s hard to defend some reactions to her death
AI-generated memes were posted of her in her famous yellow Strictly Come Dancing costume, being dragged into hell by the devil
What Enoch Burke saga teaches us about the Irish justice system
Justice system is expected to remedy everything from poverty to addiction. It was never designed to carry this load - and does not do it well
France’s buildings are becoming unlivable amid heatwave. But air conditioning remains divisive
Air conditioning is a thorny issue but it can form part of a relatively low-carbon response to rising temperatures
Vote on three-day wait for abortion is a sign of leaders out of step with their parties
Are we supposed to believe 60,000 abortions since 2018 have nothing to do with falling school enrolments?
Loneliness influencers: The odd appeal of ‘living alone, no friends’ diaries
Solitude vloggers destigmatise being friendless – but they also normalise an unhealthy kind of loneliness
Beware ideas which offer a pseudointellectual cover for racist rioting
A book coining the ugly phrase ‘suicidal empathy’ has been on the NYT bestseller list. At its heart is the idea that ‘misdirected’ empathy is destroying western civilisation
Could incentives such as discounted summer camps help to reverse decline in birth rates?
We talk a lot about the economic cost, but the human heartache caused by involuntary childlessness is incalculable
Irish senior cycle reforms have resulted in some farcical situations
How Additional Assessment Components are working in classrooms and an increasing dependence on iPads and Chromebooks raise concerns
Struggling to get your children off Fortnite? There’s a reason for that
Games are designed to offer something to capture your attention every 40 seconds. No wonder it’s a battle
We only talk about access to abortion – never the reasons why women choose it
Abortion allows society to shrug its shoulders - towards the children of unplanned pregnancies but also to systemic pressures, from the housing crisis to the cost of living
Honeymoon for Pope Leo will eventually come to an end. As it should
His role is not to act as a counterweight to Donald Trump
Robust criticism and mockery are not the same as urging murder and mayhem
Something is seriously awry in US culture that an attempted assassination of a president is just another day in Washington
How will Catherine Connolly represent those beyond her own ideological orbit?
Already, people of faith are unsure whether the ‘all voices’ the President said she would listen to include theirs
The audacity of newbie Catholic JD Vance lecturing Pope Leo is breathtaking
It has been disconcerting to see US Catholics belatedly turning on Trump. Where was the outrage before now?
Why are religious schools seen as divisive but Irish-language schools are not?
There is a strange double standard about religion in schools as opposed to other areas of learning














