Hospitality is best experienced in person, of course, but reading Jennie Moran’s book is a close-run second.

Two years ago, almost 40% of Americans believe civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years. It might be less likely here, but our country’s disintegration into irreconcilable factions is very worrying.

Freedom is certainly not free if protecting one person’s freedom means destroying the freedom of another

We’re all post-shame now — post-shame, post-guilt, post-recrimination — so even if you think you can shame someone, you can’t.

Joe Biden has to beat Donald Trump the hard way. Old-fashioned campaigning, standing on a soapbox when he has to, fighting for every single vote.

When acknowledging a wrong done to others, it may feel right to bring your own feelings centre stage. But don't. It's not about you.

The behaviour of gardaí is now both under intense scrutiny and potentially subject to serious disinformation campaigns

On Tuesday, the words Christine Keegan had prepared for the inquests, but never got to deliver, were put on the Dáil record by Taoiseach Simon Harris

When I was a small boy, I spent my breakfast time every morning before school studying the back of the cornflakes box, a hypnotic cardboard scene filled with colourful cartoon figures. It was daydreaming in the most harmless way.

Amal Clooney has spent her working life chasing down Islamic State war criminals. Yet, when it comes to the genocide on her doorstep, she chooses not to use her voice

Ignoring threats and staying put is not an option for us. We must help one another to see these threats more clearly

For many people, a day eventually dawns when you decide not to visit the city centre at all — simply because it’s not worth it

We could wake up some morning and find the far right has planted a foothold in our democracy while we were all looking the other way

It would be no bad thing if everybody who professes to care about standards in public life paused right now to reflect on where this might be going

Quiet messaging by the Greens, if you can even call it messaging, is at odds with all other political parties and Independents, who as the general election draws nearer will be battling to drown each other out

It's dying, not death, that's the difficult part

THE anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which fell on Sunday, is a date that continues to resonate for many reasons, not least because of the deep hubris in claiming the state-of-the-art ship was “practically unsinkable”.

Right now, the sign everyone is interested in is any hint of the next general election, writes Paul Hosford

I get it now — why my dad would spend whole afternoons watching black and white cowboy films. I can see him, sitting in our small television room. Brown couch, legs up, one foot rubbing the other. Orange peels on his stomach.

If city councillors are reporting their own injuries as a result of lack of maintenance, then surely there is a problem here

At last, the Government seems intent on implementing a system in which a judge can decide on a minimum term, writes Mick Clifford

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission must examine the marketing practices used to sell 'must-have' products to children

Just before midnight last Saturday, Israelis saw the matter-of-fact announcement on TV: Iran had just launched hundreds of missiles. Thus began what may have been the eeriest two hours in Israel’s recent history

The chronic outrage, the same old faces on the front bench, and Mary Lou McDonald's portentous tone are leaving floating voters cold

 Currently, an aggregate of opinion polls puts Independents on the same level as support as Fianna Fáil, at around 18%