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Tom Collins

Tom Collins

The Irish News

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The Seanad is a rest home for failed politicians - it’s not the place for Conor Murphy to push for Irish unity

On the face of it, Conor Murphy’s ambition to pursue his political career in Seanad Éireann fits Sinn Féin’s island-view of politics. There is...

08.01.2025 20

The Irish News

Tom Collins

We got the pope we needed at the time we needed it

When I was a kid I coveted a small plaster bust that had pride of place in my granny’s display cabinet alongside souvenirs of holidays in Bray and...

24.12.2024 4

The Irish News

Tom Collins

UU award cannot disguise its neglect of north-west

It would be churlish not to applaud Ulster University which has been named ‘University of the Year’ by the Times Higher Education magazine. So...

04.12.2024 3

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Joe Biden on wrong side of history again over Netanyahu support

Once again Joe Biden is on the wrong side of history. His continued support for Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the imponderables of modern times....

27.11.2024 10

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Trump represents a clear threat to Ukraine’s freedom

To some extent it has become the forgotten war. Russia’s outrageous attack on Ukraine almost three years ago dominated the headlines for the first...

19.11.2024 1

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Trump win brings end to the American Dream

It was midnight and the polls on the east coast of the United States were about to close. By then I’d had enough of the idle chatter that passes...

12.11.2024 2

The Irish News

Tom Collins

If Trump wins, the United States as we know it is lost

Two things are certain about today’s general election in the United States: if Kamala Harris loses, she will concede gracefully; if Donald Trump...

05.11.2024 2

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Tech oligarchs are making a mockery of the news

Somewhere in The Irish News archive is an article I wrote in the 1990s criticising the media treatment of loyalist protests and questioning the...

29.10.2024 2

The Irish News

Tom Collins

America on a precipice as election day looms

In any normal society there would be no doubt about the outcome of the tussle for the United States presidency between Kamala Harris and Donald...

22.10.2024 2

The Irish News

Tom Collins

We need to have a grown-up debate about assisted dying

When I Googled ‘assisted dying’, a link to the Samaritans was top of the list of websites presented to me by the computer algorithm. “Help is...

16.10.2024 1

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Claire Hanna and the lightbulb moment for the SDLP

You are about to hear a ‘dad joke’. How many folk musicians does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer: Five. One to change the bulb, and four to...

08.10.2024 1

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Unshackled Netanyahu playing Biden for a fool

The empty seats said it all. When Benjamin Netanyahu turned up to address the world at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week,...

01.10.2024 4

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Translink needs to mind its language

One of my favourites on the BBC series Dragons’ Den was Hilary Devey, a no-nonsense, plain-speaking businesswoman from Bolton. She rarely missed...

10.09.2024 2

The Irish News

Tom Collins

Claire Hanna must help make us ‘a nation once again’

Mike Nesbitt must be wondering what he has done to deserve his fate, condemned once more to take on the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party. He...

03.09.2024 1

The Irish News

Tom Collins

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