Breda O’Brien: Irish people need to talk about deathCapitalism seems to have left us unable to deal with suffering in a meaningful waySat Jul 29 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Why are we okay with not helping east Africa?African countries used to be on our radar because Aunty Kitty, the nun, was out there helping mothers deliver babies who would starve without our helpSat Jul 22 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Des Hanafin transcended media caricatureExtraordinary political career was driven by concern for weakest in societySat Jul 01 2017 - 05:00
Exam reforms in England and Ireland are very differentEngland has gone for long, demanding exams; we have shortened ours dramaticallySat Jun 24 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Questions remain about detained pregnant teenagerOutrage about detaining an expectant woman ignores possible consequencesSat Jun 17 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Countering extremism requires new responsesReligious literacy and willingness to have difficult conversations would be a startSat Jun 10 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Shiny, secular Ireland still fails childrenAs our past is systematically vilified, are we blind to the darkness in the present?Sat Jun 03 2017 - 05:00
Spin machines whir as presidents meet Pope FrancisPhoto opportunities with pontiff do not equate to sharing his moral visionSat May 27 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: I can’t remember labour but I’ll never forget the vomitingHyperemesis, a condition of pregnancy, is like having a bad vomiting bug – for monthsSat May 20 2017 - 05:00
Restructuring voluntary advice bodies is arrogant and unwiseCitizens’ information services and Mabs face change to top-down organisationsSat May 13 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Time to defy mob mentality over religious ordersToxic nature of commentary over St Vincent’s echoes previous groundless allegationsSat May 06 2017 - 05:00
Citizens’ Assembly shows its callousness in abortion voteOnly eighth amendment can prevent horror scenario of abortion up to birthSun Apr 30 2017 - 13:40
Breda O’Brien: Foreign funding buys undemocratic influenceThe recent revelations regarding Glen’s financial governance mask a bigger problemSat Apr 22 2017 - 05:00
Terrorism and repression leave Egyptian Christians vulnerableBreda O’Brien: Pope’s visit may focus attention on plight of isolated minorityThu Apr 20 2017 - 16:41
Breda O’Brien: Child welfare system is too dependent on courtsFocus on guardians ad litem misses bigger issue of overly adversarial systemSat Apr 08 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Educate Together disingenuous on disadvantageEducation body skews debate by claiming some schools ‘eligible’ for Deis statusSat Apr 01 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Tebbit is wrong to say forgiveness wasn’t earnedMartin McGuinness: British politician’s remarks underestimate ex-IRA leaderSun Mar 26 2017 - 11:18
Breda O’Brien: Pope Francis must prioritise child safetyPontif espouses ‘zero tolerance’ policy on abusers, but little has changed on the groundSat Mar 18 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Fallen men never toiled in a laundryTuam scandal shows the vice most characteristic of any age is often dressed up as virtueSat Mar 11 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Government is holding back educationInstead of trying to solve ASTI row, bullying tactics are being used on teachersSat Mar 04 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Desmond Connell was a complicated manCardinal was seen as a good man in an ill-suited role, but the truth is more complexSat Feb 25 2017 - 05:00
If Zappone was a bishop the media would have hung her out to dryThose the media approves of are naive, those it dislikes are deemed negligentSat Feb 18 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Citizens’ Assembly is being misled on abortionThe assembly is badly compromised by choice of speakers and framing of issuesSat Feb 11 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Reflex rejection of Trump as risky as adulationReaction to US president’s Supreme Court pick shows dangerous polarisationSat Feb 04 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Ignoring inconvenient facts is fake news tooWhile sales of Orwell’s ‘1984’ soar, media ignores book on abortionist Kermit GosnellSat Jan 28 2017 - 05:00
Breda O'Brien: Move against denominational schools not a good ideaProposals likely to damage minority Christian traditions and cut diversitySat Jan 21 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Teenagers are not that internet savvyYoung people are easily duped when evaluating information on social mediaSun Jan 15 2017 - 09:39
Civility and respect beat political correctness every timeDenying a platform to those who disagree with you drives dissent undergroundSat Jan 07 2017 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: Charlie Brown and the real meaning of ChristmasGently but explicitly religious, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is a holiday classicSun Dec 25 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Give women real choices around childcareMajority of mothers do not want full-time work, so why is Zappone acting as if they do?Sun Dec 18 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Ireland about to take a wrong turn on educationCountries such as Sweden are now questioning the value of enquiry-based learningSun Dec 11 2016 - 06:00
Harris should meet parents of babies with life-limiting conditionsMore support services needed for parents who choose to continue with such pregnanciesSat Dec 03 2016 - 03:00
Breda O’Brien: Why did so many women say they had symphysiotomies?Sensationalist consensus may overlook one third of applicants who never had procedureSun Nov 27 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: breaking the silence on climate changeIrish people may not realise how important the conversation is on climate changeSun Nov 20 2016 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: People of faith need to uncouple from TrumpUS religious right’s view of president-elect mirrors left’s stance on Hillary ClintonSun Nov 13 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: We need to talk about pornIf your child goes online, the question is not if but when they will access pornographySun Nov 06 2016 - 06:00
We must stop looking at addiction as a moral failingPublic debate is needed on best ways to intervene in chaotic lives of addictsSat Oct 29 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Work gets under way for papal visit to DublinThe World Meeting of Families will reflect Pope Francis’s focus on familySat Oct 22 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: All sorts of families need all sorts of childcare helpGovernment shows it is out of step by deciding some choices are more worthySat Oct 15 2016 - 05:00
Breda O’Brien: The world must tackle the epidemic of lonelinessAlthough the deaths of the McCarthy brothers in their home raise important questions, loneliness in general is on the rise in the western worldSun Oct 09 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: The right to choose reinforces patriarchyDesignating a child as chosen radically alters the unconditional nature of parental loveSun Oct 02 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Zappone has got it wrong on childcareIncentivising people to send children to a crèche ignores many other optionsSun Sept 25 2016 - 11:19
Breda O’Brien: US struggles to find an honest candidate for presidentThe best bet seems to be a car salesman and professional magicianSat Sept 17 2016 - 00:27
Breda O’Brien: The amazing hypocrisy of the pro-abortion lobbyA ‘rogue clinic’ has been accused of deceiving women, but pro-choice clinics tell lies tooSat Sept 10 2016 - 06:00
Breda O’Brien: Problems at Oberstown must be addressedCampus and staff not able to cope with transfer of young offenders from St Pat’sSat Sept 03 2016 - 01:00
Rose’s comment on ‘Eighth’ blurs lines of light entertainmentDouble standards in the media have become increasingly obviousSat Aug 27 2016 - 01:00
Breda O’Brien: Why terminology matters when it comes to pregnancy loss‘It would be wonderful if we could discard flawed terms like fatal foetal abnormality and incompatible with life’Sat Aug 20 2016 - 14:35
Breda O’Brien: A modest proposal to ease the back-to-school pain‘When people complain about the high cost of education, they are primarily complaining about the high costs of textbooks, uniforms and outings’Sat Aug 13 2016 - 00:01
Breda O’Brien: Negativity around Irish church not the norm worldwideWorld Youth Day showcases the other side of catholicism and religous lifeSat Aug 06 2016 - 01:00
Breda O’Brien: Proposed changes to the way religion is taught make no senseApparently, learning about religion is fine but not prayingSat Jul 30 2016 - 12:37
