Ireland

Micheál Martin says UK asylum seekers fearful of being removed to Rwanda are seeking sanctuary in IrelandThe UK government’s Rwanda policy has been described as a “kneejerk reaction” to migration by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, who said an influx of asylum seekers could arrive in Ireland as a result.Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Tánaiste, […]

Kerry Condon plays a potty-mouthed IRA gang leader and Neeson is the quiet antihero in this action thriller set at the height of the TroublesProducer-director and veteran Clint Eastwood collaborator Robert Lorenz is now saddling up for this “Donegal western”. It is an action thriller that finds the cowboy spirit in the lush rolling grasslands of County […]

Brosnan to … Bolt? Frank Mannion’s follow-up documentary to Quintessentially British presents a grab bag of interviews – some with distinctly un-Irish personalitiesIt features a definition of “the craic” but, frustratingly, this long, meandering documentary about Irishness contains only very small quantities of actual fun. It’s a follow-up from […]

My mother, Daphne Gilbert, who has died aged 80, was a respected mathematics professor. She defied the expectations foisted on most women of her generation, successfully combining an outstanding career in teaching and research with bringing up four children.Having married at the age of 19 in the early 1960s, Daphne put her work ambitions on hold for many […]

In this adaptation of the John McGahern novel, about a middle-aged man who has returned, with his wife, to the countryside of his childhood, makeshift friendships are forged and life’s grand rhythms observed‘Does anything happen, or is it the usual?” asks a regular loose cannon in Pat Collins’ rural-set Irish drama. “Not much in the way of drama, […]

Tourists have been descending on Achill ever since Heinrich Böll wrote effusively about its inhabitants’ customs and idiosyncrasiesIn 1954, the German writer Heinrich Böll landed in Ireland for the first time, headed west and kept going till he reached the Atlantic Ocean. He was seeking a refuge from the brash materialism of postwar Germany, and found […]

Survivors and relatives of those who died in Stardust club on Valentine’s Day in 1981 wept and thanked juryForty-eight young people were unlawfully killed after an electrical fault started an inferno at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin in 1981, an inquest jury has found.The jury delivered the verdict in a coroner’s court on Thursday more than four […]

My husband, Mick Ryan, who has died aged 82, was emeritus professor of penal politics at the University of Greenwich, in London. Mick joined what was then Thames Polytechnic in 1973 to teach politics.After some early collaborative work on London Docklands regeneration and parliamentary scrutiny of European legislation, he became interested in the […]

The story of two historians unleashing evil while recording a song is a strong idea and there are good moments and performances, but it is too chaotic and unfocused to resonatePaul Duane is the film-maker who in 2011 made Barbaric Genius, a gripping documentary portrait of ex-convict, ex-vagrant and tournament chess player John Healy, whose memoir The Grass […]

The slurs that Irish troops faced in the 1970s by the Israelis, such as being called ‘half-naked savages’, can’t have been forgotten, says John RobertsRe your article (How Spain and Ireland became the EU’s sharpest critics of Israel, 5 April), I fear you may have omitted one of the principal reasons why not only Ireland, but also the Netherlands, […]

My colleague and friend Seán Hutton, who has died aged 83, made a big contribution to the life of the Irish community in Britain, first as executive director of the British Association for Irish Studies and then with the Federation of Irish Societies, latterly as its policy officer.At both organisations Seán gave great support to Irish cultural activities […]

Leaders of two nations vow to muster international support for two-state solution to Gaza crisisIreland and Spain have reiterated their intention to forge an alliance of countries that will soon recognise Palestine as a nation state.The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, vowed on Friday to muster international […]

Pedro Sánchez is first foreign premier Simon Harris will meet since becoming leaderThe new Irish taoiseach is to meet the Spanish prime minister to discuss their joint plan to recognise Palestine as a nation state and their attempts to force the EU to assess Israel’s human rights obligations as a condition of their trade deal with the bloc.Pedro […]

We would like to hear your thoughts on the country’s youngest taoiseach and what his election means to youSimon Harris has become Ireland’s youngest taoiseach after the Dáil elected him with 88 votes in favour of his appointment and 69 against. He succeeds Leo Varadkar, who unexpectedly announced his resignation last month.The new Fine Gael party […]

AI to be used by researchers to scour documents for information on women omitted from chronicles written by men about menFour centuries ago Dublin had an official city “scavenger” who was tasked with running sanitation teams to clear streets of human and animal waste. In return, the scavenger earned tolls from shopkeepers and traders.It could have […]

Leader receives seal of office, marking low-key end of Varadkar era and start of unofficial countdown to electionSimon Harris has pledged to invigorate Ireland’s ruling coalition after being elected the country’s youngest taoiseach.The Dáil voted 88 to 69 on Tuesday to anoint Harris, 37, as successor to Leo Varadkar, who unexpectedly announced his […]

So-called ‘TikTok taoiseach’ will become Ireland’s youngest ever leader when he is formally appointed by the president The vote on Simon Harris’ nomination has now started.Opposition parties are throwing (metaphorical) vinegar onto the anointment of Simon Harris as Ireland’s new taoiseach, saying he is a product of a centre-right coalition […]

Dublin politician says he is looking forward to a ‘different chapter’ after tendering resignation to presidentLeo Varadkar has said he has “no regrets” about standing down, as he officially resigned as Ireland’s taoiseach.The Dublin politician, who has been the country’s prime minister for four years, said he was looking forward to a […]

Gusts of more than 70mph recorded on Irish Sea coast, as temperatures rose above 30C in mainland EuropeStorm Kathleen brought strong winds to Ireland and the UK at the weekend, causing travel and power disruption. The storm, named by Met Éireann, developed in the Atlantic on Thursday, deepening explosively as it pushed northwards to the west of […]

A ‘meticulous door knocker’ as a councillor in 2009, 37-year-old is now poised to become Ireland’s youngest PMIn 2012 an Irish parliamentary committee hearing had degenerated into a raucous shouting match when a voice cut through the mayhem. “Chillax,” said Simon Harris. “I think everyone needs to take a step back here.”The 25-year-old […]