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Noel Doran

Noel Doran

__The Irish News

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Why has Fianna Fáil never been a truly all-Ireland party?

Why has Fianna Fáil never been a truly all-Ireland party?

IF the recent plans of some figures in Fianna Fáil had come to fruition, it would have celebrated the centenary of its launch at the weekend by...

yesterday 10

The Irish News

Noel Doran

With Stormont heading for the rocks, unionism’s strategy is hard to fathom

With Stormont heading for the rocks, unionism’s strategy is hard to fathom

During this week next year, if Assembly elections go ahead as scheduled, everyone with an interest in the political process would normally be fully...

11.05.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Without ‘McDowell’, journalism will never be the same again

JIM McDowell’s funeral took place at the weekend and, while his death is above all an immense loss to his family, I am not at all sure if journalism...

04.05.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why do we not care about our historic buildings?

THERE is a blandness to many of the newer, large commercial and residential centres across Ireland, north and south, which verges on the depressing,...

27.04.2026 10

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Trump’s Irish Open should be out of bounds for politicians

A REVILED US lawyer who died nearly four decades go might not be expected to have a central influence on one of the main Irish sporting events of the...

20.04.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why flags divide us but the Irish language need not

THERE is a large housing estate adjacent to a scenic area of Belfast which has regularly featured in best kept civic awards, and where the residents...

06.04.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When Downtown Radio ruled the airwaves – and I was briefly its duty news editor

IN the modern media landscape, with a massive range of platforms constantly updating their output, it is difficult to convey the scale of the impact...

30.03.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

From shamrocks to Shock and Awe: my trip to the White House

SOME aspects of the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington can be open to parody, but there were developments during last week’s...

23.03.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why unionist outrage over the GAA rings hollow

IF GAA regulations still prevented British soldiers and northern police officers from joining today, it would be completely understandable if the...

16.03.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

John Taylor still enjoys creating a stir at 88

JOHN Taylor is well used to having his opinions directly questioned, but what cannot be disputed is that his range of political experience – which...

09.03.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Noel Doran: From frontline to footnotes – a history of our Secretaries of State

THE incredible Peter Mandelson scandal is still unfolding on both sides of the Atlantic, and, together with last week’s seismic Manchester...

02.03.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Jon Burrows has a choice whether to save Stormont

JON Burrows has had much to say since he became Ulster Unionist leader last month at a remarkably early stage in his political career, while so far...

23.02.2026 100

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Tony Blair, the Orange Order and the day Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness tried skateboarding

WHILE Tony Blair has become used to facing heavy criticism from a range of sources during his lengthy and contentious public career, arguably the most...

16.02.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Happy birthday May, it was a privilege to share tea with you

09.02.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Is Leo Varadkar paving the way for a new consensus on Irish unity in Dublin?

03.02.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When the world is in chassis, we miss voices like Éamon Phoenix

26.01.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Returning, remembering and having to say goodbye

19.01.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

It’s time to let the train take the strain again

29.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

GAA shows way to honour the tricolour

22.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Crowded city bars, but country pubs closing

15.12.2025 100

The Irish News

Noel Doran

City Hall stirs once more with new faces but fewer punches

08.12.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

There is no ‘rising tide’ of immigrants. There is only racism

01.12.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

DUP appears determined to avoid learning from mistakes of past

25.11.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Coming from a big family can take you a long way

18.11.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Are unionists just repeating their mistakes of 40 years ago?

10.11.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Is anger the only way Gavin Robinson’s DUP can respond to the modern world?

03.11.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When did we all become such aggressive drivers?

21.10.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Are the tectonic plates shifting on a border poll?

14.10.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Interest in Middle East is not merely symbolic

06.10.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Starmer is struggling – but is he the least worst PM for Ireland?

23.09.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Is there light at end of tunnel for Crumlin Road courthouse?

15.09.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Gavin gambit makes for intriguing Irish presidential election

08.09.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

From hope to failure: how Maze Long Kesh became a symbol of division

25.08.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Bridging a cross-border dream pursued for generations

18.08.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Billy Wright, ‘Crip’ McWilliams and a 30-year-mystery

12.08.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

This must be the last presidential election where northern citizens are denied their vote

04.08.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Reflections on a rare - and civil - meeting with the Orange Order

29.07.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

There will never be another Michael D Higgins

14.07.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

We will always be grateful to George Mitchell

07.07.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

A quarter of a century on, the PSNI risks losing what made it work

30.06.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

What would Jimmy make of today’s calibre of Stormont MLA?

23.06.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

From UDA meetings and ‘Ulster Says No’ to pizza slices and craft beer, the changing face of east Belfast’s Newtownards Road

16.06.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Forty years on from Slane, Springsteen still speaks for the people

09.06.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

The astonishing rise and incredible fall of Iris Robinson

02.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Turning strangers into friends, Sally O’Neill epitomised Ireland’s compassionate heart

26.05.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

May the Lord in His mercy be kind to Belfast

19.05.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Divided societies do not prosper – as Trump could learn from us

12.05.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

I often think about the dead on the 4.55 from Ballymena, and how easily I might have joined them

05.05.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

The little-known figure who arguably did more than anyone in Ireland to preserve the union

28.04.2025 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When will Gordon Lyons make his first visit to a GAA match?

15.04.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran