Common Ground

Evolving Islands: Ireland & Britain - a special series from The Irish Times exploring the complex relationship between the two

Garret FitzGerald had flaws but he also had something novel: a vision for Ireland

He badly mishandled the abortion referendum in 1983 and failed to oversee the legalisation of divorce in 1986, but what he always had was a vision

Thousands of Irish women who lived in UK may be in line for pension windfall

People who were married, widowed or divorced as well as those who took time out to care for family among those affected

The Irish Constitution: Leading judge on how it could impact the drive for a united Ireland

The Constitution, designed to achieve unity, ‘may ultimately complicate that ambition’, not ‘because it was weak and inflexible’ but ‘rather because it was sufficiently flexible and strong’

Ex-SAS commander in North: ‘The idea that we played hard and fast with the law is nonsense’

Former British special forces soldiers reject allegations the regiment was central to a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy during the Troubles

Saved by a stranger: The 100-year-old Irish man in London

Michael Hopkins was let down by the Irish system as a child and the British system as an elderly bachelor. Then he met a photographer at a bus stop

It’s ironic how it took a Corkman to teach UK’s Labour to sound like English patriots

It has been helpful for Ireland, too. But Morgan McSweeney’s reign could be coming to screeching halt

George Mitchell-Jeffrey Epstein links: why is former US senator’s name being removed at Queen’s?

The speed at which Queen’s severed ties with its former chancellor has drawn support - and criticism

North-South electricity price comparisons face scrutiny amid claims of Republic ‘price gouging’

Cross-Border cost differences far from clear but questions are being asked of State’s regulator

Whisper it, but is Keir Starmer quietly reversing Brexit?

Six year after leaving the EU, the UK is navigating a delicate balancing act on trade and diplomatic ties with Brussels, as well as Washington and Beijing

EU ‘used Ireland as a battering ram’ against Britain. It’s time to undo the damage

The implication that Brexit has been a setback for unity runs counter to received wisdom, but it makes sense

Fading trust hitting Stormont’s ability to deliver, report says

Belfast-based think tank Pivotal says Northern Ireland’s ministers seem to be operating individually, not collectively

Lyric Theatre at 75: ‘It was as improbable then as it is now. It took real vision’

The Belfast cultural institution began life in 1951, when the indomitable Mary O’Malley formed Lyric Players Theatre

Author Dave Rudden: ‘My earliest memory is passing a Border checkpoint, at once fascinated and terrified by the soldiers’

The Cavan-born author on new novel Sister Wake, his Doctor Who books and the ‘highest compliment’ he gets from young readers

Irish government ‘right’ on concerns over discredited North legacy law, British MPs told

Commons approves remedies as legislation on immunity for Troubles-era killings breaches human rights

Loyalist paramilitaries ‘community workers by day, terrorists at night’ – former PSNI chief

George Hamilton tells Westminster how loyalists are behaving in ‘same coercive, controlling way’

Economic inequality is worsening in Northern Ireland, report says

Study from Ulster University Economic Policy Centre shows Belfast now well ahead of other regions economically

‘I’m the most Irish person you will meet with an English accent’

I’m the most Irish person you will meet with an English accent, says Jacqueline O’Donovan

Newry is evolving into a commuter hub for Dublin. The strain is already showing

Residents say inadequate infrastructure leaves the city badly prepared for population growth

Presbyterian Church’s failure to protect most vulnerable leaves it in a state of crisis

Rite & Reason: Angry members of the faithful point the finger of blame at a theologically hardline group of men

File describing Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly as IRA leader returned to National Archives

Historian disputes Minister’s assertion that withdrawal of file was ‘normal’

Ulster Banner shows Ireland’s Call was not such a bad idea after all

Division on identity pollutes sport again, this time it is on North’s Commonwealth Games team’s flag

Newry the new Malmo? Cross-Border hub might ease Dublin’s housing crisis, report says

Model could follow Swedish city, which is home to commuters who work in nearby Danish capital

Turning Newry into a Dublin dormitory town: now there’s an idea

A new house that might sell for €400,000 in Mullingar would be €150,000 cheaper north of the Border

‘We haven’t had one bad experience’: Why cross-Border trade has leapt fourfold since Brexit

InterTradeIreland offers assistance, including up to €21,500 to put a salesperson on the ground in the other jurisdiction for a year

Naming IRA spy Stakeknife would help recruit more Catholics to PSNI, committee hears

PSNI chief expresses frustration at UK government’s refusal to name Stakeknife

Drew Harris says prosecuting his father’s IRA killers would make little difference

Former Garda commissioner says short sentences they would receive would not ‘weigh the scales’ for 1989 murder

Government withdraws file alleging Gerry Kelly IRA leadership role from National Archives

Letter written by senior Garda Noel Conroy outlined group’s most influential figures in 1996

The Irish Revolution: How the diaspora helped make independence an international affair

New collection of essays dwells comprehensively on role of Irish overseas during revolutionary period

Kevin Kilbane: The record needs to be set straight about the Saipan film. We were not a pub team on tour

Cartoonish film is funny but the record needs to be set straight on a few falsehoods

UK and Ireland are both being reminded of their fragility. This should bring them closer

North and south share several specialisms, especially on cyber security. Could this be an area of co-operation across the Border and the Irish Sea?

‘Some nights I do not sleep’: Families remember 16 sectarian killings in 24 hours in North

Relatives reflect on 50th anniversary of Kingsmill, O’Dowd and Reavey murders

British army morale at ‘low ebb’ in Crossmaglen months before ceasefire

Barracks required construction work to boost security and lack of heavy casualties was ‘due to luck’

Slow progress a feature of North’s early powersharing that endures to this day

Executive struggled under weight of paperwork and protracted decision-making process

Unionist legal challenge to Anglo-Irish Agreement sparked panic in Dublin and London

McGimpsey brothers claimed treaty was unconstitutional under Articles 2 and 3 of Irish constitution

Republican no-go areas for Protestants in rural Northern Ireland, loyalists claimed

Tensions in 2002 worse than any time since 1969, loyalist representatives told Bertie Ahern

Studio Ulster: ‘We can create environments that are impossible to find anywhere else’

Studio Ulster, which opened earlier this year in Belfast, offers film-makers cutting-edge technological capabilities

State carried out secret study on asking UN to make Northern Ireland a trusteeship

Confidential report on inviting peacekeepers to North was ‘very helpful’ to minister Garret Fitzgerald

British ID card plan caused concern for Irish citizens in UK before being abandoned

Idea, revived by current PM Keir Starmer, led to fears for identity rights under Good Friday Agreement

There’s just one problem with Ulster Scots. Unlike the Irish language, it doesn’t exist

There is a great deal of cynicism about Ulster Scots among unionists. Many consider it a desperately contrived counterweight to Irish

The most remarkable thing about Britain’s €650m Erasmus deal is the lack of outrage

The move may help Labour appeal to those aged 18-24 where its support has collapsed

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