It’s very difficult to change a perception of anything once it becomes established in popular culture. It always seems to me that Irish people like that we have some link and heritage with the Vikings. They come from an era that was pre Anglo-Norman, who of course became the permanent […]

Following on from last month’s issue, Kieran Doyle reflects further on a road trip in the USA.  In the previous issue, I explored my perception of American patriotism, which was very much aligned to their military past and indeed present. Their role as kingmakers in the foreign policy of other […]

The academic philosopher Julian Baggini claims the ‘fundamental basis of reasoning about matters of fact is empirical – based on observation and experience’. Simply put, observing the evidence for yourself. Once we undertook a decision to travel to the States, we undertook a historical road trip, observing, the great pillars […]

The Israel invasion of Gaza has caused a huge reaction worldwide. Yet despite the tens of thousands of civilian deaths, it has been allowed to run for five months unabated. Over the next two issues, I want to explore the history and politics of this conflict, to bring a deeper […]

The opening line in Charles Dickens’ much-loved novel, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ is the often quoted one – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. Has it ever been any other way? The narrative of the book spanned the run-up to the French Revolution, […]

On November 23, 2023, Dublin bordered on the brink of anarchy. The riots fuelled by far-right propagandists and lit by criminal opportunists, racists and anarchists engulfed Dublin for a few scary hours. Scary, not by virtue of scale or duration, but because something like this, was happening in Ireland. Three […]