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Bike sheds, Molly Malone and ghost buses: the things we talked about in 2025

latest 5

The Irish Times

Justine Mccarthy

Whatever happened to joy to the world? You have to look hard

Last year at a Christmas gathering, a merry soul grabbed this guest’s arm and wondered why the media are such unmerciful joy killers. Just as he...

yesterday 10

The Irish Times

Kathy Sheridan

Should the super rich get to opt out of paying taxes in the country that enriched them?

Every so often, we read reports concerning the distribution of wealth among private individuals, nationally and globally. These reports often show...

yesterday 10

The Irish Times

Michael Mcdowell

Ireland’s Christmas story is still underpinned by separation anxiety

On this day in 1988, The Irish Times was carrying the usual seasonal interviews with people who had come home for Christmas. One of them, the actor...

previous day 3

The Irish Times

Fintan O’Toole

Eoin Lenihan’s Vandalising Ireland proposes an idiosyncratic new direction for Ireland

In this season of goodwill, let us give thanks that there is one thing on which both left and right agree: globalisation is broken. The left will...

monday 10

The Irish Times

Joe Humphreys

Manchán Magan’s ability to fuse present and past defined a rich year in the arts

As we retreat for Christmas, and hopefully pile up with books and other art, it’s a good time to take stock of a year in Irish culture. What struck...

monday 10

The Irish Times

Una Mullally

This is the week when ‘lapsed Catholics’ and ‘spiritual but not religious’ go to church

During the Christmas season, people often achieve enough distance from their daily stress to allow room for some kind of spirituality, whether it be...

21.12.2025 40

The Irish Times

Breda O&x27Brien

What’s behind the Trump administration’s war on typefaces?

“There’s no typeface for irony,” various editors over the years have told me reproachfully, as their red pencils scored out my attempts at...

21.12.2025 20

The Irish Times

Patrick Smyth

A decisive showdown over Micheál Martin’s leadership might be best for everyone

They might not launch heaves like they used to, but maybe that’s just as well. Because while Fianna Fáil’s psychodramas may be entertaining to...

21.12.2025 3

The Irish Times

Pat Leahy