# Read Me

All time

'When you or I sit down in a restaurant, we need to know our tips are going directly to staff'

When a customer provides a tip after satisfactory service, they should know exactly where that money goes, writes Minister Regina Doherty.

25.2k

Jun 16th 2019, 6:30 AM

Voices

Winning the Francis MacManus Short Story Competition changed my life. It's like I'm floating outside myself

I had no money or backup plan when I started writing. That’s why the call from RTE meant so much, writes Colin Walsh.

11.2k

Apr 30th 2019, 7:00 AM

Voices

Lynn Ruane: 'Now is not the time to stop listening to David Attenborough'

We don’t have time for small measures when it comes to climate change, writes Lynn Ruane.

27.2k

Apr 28th 2019, 8:30 PM

Voices

The Irish For: How Beyoncé is helping to get fadas in formation

Thanks to Queen Bé, April 2019 has been an interesting month for accessorised letters, writes Darach Ó Séaghdha.

42.5k

Apr 28th 2019, 8:30 AM

Voices

From the Garden: 'I worry about the implications of what Greta Thunberg’s saying for the cosy lives we lead'

It is remarkable to watch this young woman speak her truth to power, writes Michael Kelly of Grow It Yourself Ireland.

66.3k

119

Apr 27th 2019, 1:00 PM

Voices

Parental Leave: 'Fathers have moved on from sitting in the pub next door to the hospital - Ireland has not'

A lot of what governs Ireland is stuck in the 1960s and hasn’t moved on at all. Parental Leave is one such thing, writes Derek Power.

36.2k

Apr 27th 2019, 7:30 AM

Voices

Opinion: For years the doctors told me I was overweight but it turned out I had lymphoedema

I was on a diet from age 14 and got the diagnosis at 31. I was amazed and felt like crying as I finally knew what was wrong, writes Andrea Quigley.

99.2k

Mar 27th 2019, 7:00 AM

Voices

Opinion: When the Beatles played Dublin in 1963 John Lennon declared: ‘We’re all Irish’

Lennon’s search for rebellion was nurtured by his embrace of Liverpool’s Irish influence and the dynamic effect of the city’s seafarer culture via the movement of ideas across oceans, writes Francis Kenny.

35.7k

Mar 18th 2019, 7:00 AM

Voices

Lynn Ruane: 'It should be a source of major embarrassment to Ireland that we are yet to ratify this important treaty'

Abuse within institutions and care situations isn’t just part of Ireland’s history, writes Lynn Ruane – it’s something that is still a reality for vulnerable groups today.

38.6k

Feb 24th 2019, 8:30 PM

Voices

Opinion: Sound the alarm - a proposed EU directive on bad loans will give vulture funds a free rein

A proposed new EU Directive aims to develop a secondary market for non-performing loans and poses a serious threat to the rights of borrowers and consumers, writes Matt Carthy.

18.8k

Jan 24th 2019, 7:00 AM

Voices

'Fires at Direct Provision hotels should prompt discussion about far-right minority, otherwise the racists win'

There are clear victims here – the men, women and children who were forced to flee their homes, Dr Fiona O’Reilly writes.

18.9k

124

Jan 12th 2019, 10:27 AM

Voices

Opinion: The government should be brave and stand on the right side of history with the Occupied Territories Bill

If Ireland is committed to peace between Israel and Palestine then we must show it and pass this legislation, writes Niall Collins.

13.9k

Jan 2nd 2019, 8:30 AM

Voices

Opinion: No one should be prosecuted for personal possession of drugs

People using drugs should be dealt with exclusively via the health system, writes Tony Duffin. Let’s make the change in 2019.

14.7k

Dec 29th 2018, 4:00 PM

Voices

From the Garden: Reflecting on the year - it all went great except for the aubergines!

As usual, the aubergines were a disaster – at this stage, I think I only bother sowing them because there’s not much else to do in February, writes Michael Kelly.

6.3k

Dec 29th 2018, 9:30 AM

Voices

Previewing Ireland's economy in 2019: The stats don't lie - Ireland is doing well right now

And yet there are some potential concerns to look out for in 2019, writes Victor Duggan.

48.2k

Dec 28th 2018, 11:00 AM

Voices

Ireland in a snapshot: Donal Moloney reflects on a striking year in photography

Each week, photographer and filmmaker Donal Moloney shares a small piece of Ireland that reflects the bigger picture.

46.6k

Dec 25th 2018, 9:00 PM

Voices

Lynn Ruane: In remembrance of my friend, Graham Jones

Graham Jones, who died earlier this month, lived an extraordinary life. Here, Lynn Ruane explains about the difference he made to the people around him.

30.6k

Dec 23rd 2018, 11:00 AM

Voices

The Mueller investigation will be the political story of 2019, and other predictions for US politics

Larry Donnelly looks back on 2018 and ahead to 2019 in American politics.

16.5k

Dec 22nd 2018, 6:00 PM

Voices

Opinion: You say you love your children - so why are you stealing our futures?

15-year-old Beth Doherty is here to hold you accountable for your lack of action on climate change. ‘As an adult reading this – you have power, I don’t have any,’ she writes.

13.5k

Dec 21st 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Mary Lou McDonald: 'Leo asked where I was in the Dáil yesterday. I'm in Palestine observing the daily abuse they face'

Yesterday, the Taoiseach asked why the Sinn Féin leader was not in the chamber.

68.9k

219

Dec 20th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Opinion: Let's talk about sex and pornography - like adults do

Now is the time for a mature and sensible discussion about sex and porn. We really need mandatory modern sex education introduced in schools too, writes Caroline West.

28.9k

Dec 18th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Would you pay more for ethically sourced cocaine?

Because cocaine is illegal, if people choose to use it they have little choice but to indirectly support organised crime and human trafficking, experts argue.

29.1k

Nov 24th 2018, 4:45 PM

Voices

Processed meats can be very bad for us - so what does the future of the ham sandwich look like?

It’s been three years since the WHO released its guidelines about processed meat – so why aren’t we listening?

34.9k

Nov 20th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Worse off than their parents? The growing generation of private renters

The boom in renting and the decline in home ownership are remarkable developments in Ireland, writes Professor Tony Fahey.

49.8k

Nov 12th 2018, 6:50 PM

Voices

Forgotten by whom? The memory of World War I in Ireland

The war was never forgotten among those who had fought it or those who lost loved ones, writes historian Donal Fallon.

17.0k

Nov 10th 2018, 4:20 PM

Voices

The polls get it right, and the problem with Pelosi: 6 thoughts on the US midterms

Given the political realities, Nancy Pelosi must simultaneously do battle and business with President Trump, writes Larry Donnelly.

17.6k

Nov 8th 2018, 9:22 PM

Voices

The view from Indiana: Why the battle for the midwestern state is key to the Senate elections

The Democrats need to retain Senator Joe Donnelly’s seat if they are to have any chance of taking back the Senate, writes Eunan McKinney.

7.6k

Nov 5th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

The Irish For... Some spooky Irish words to get you in the mood for Samhain

Darach Ó Séaghdha talks us through the meaning of some spooky words like Cendail, a collective noun for the heads of one’s decapitated enemies.

38.2k

Oct 28th 2018, 8:45 AM

Voices

Opinion: 'Of course, no one ever admits to being prejudiced against Travellers'

Bigotry never openly acknowledges its existence, writes Caoimhín De Barra.

31.7k

Oct 28th 2018, 8:00 AM

Voices

What is the long-term impact of Peter Casey's result on Irish politics, if there is one?

Ireland may be resistant to the temptations of populism but we are not immune, writes Larry Donnelly.

39.1k

103

Oct 27th 2018, 8:30 PM

Voices

Should children born in Ireland to foreign parents be deported?

Barrister Anthony Moore writes about whether deportation law reform is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

42.9k

Oct 26th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

The man who spoke Irish in the British parliament

After yesterday’s cúpla focal in the House of Commons, Neil Glackin takes a look back at the first occasion Irish was spoken in the British parliament.

37.8k

Oct 25th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Why do so many Irish people think that corruption is widespread in our country when it really isn't?

It is hard to quantify grand corruption but the fact is that what evidence we have speaks against Ireland being a particularly corrupt country, writers economist and corruption expert Dr Robert Gillanders.

30.4k

127

Oct 24th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Lynn Ruane: 20 years on from the introduction of the methadone strategy, where are we now?

How effective has the strategy been and what is the legacy we are left with when so many people are on the drug for so long?

19.8k

Oct 21st 2018, 8:30 PM

Voices

Gay cake case: How the court tried to reach a fair balance between competing rights

There has been much debate and anger, some of it stemming from a misunderstanding of the Supreme Court decision, writes Aoife McMahon.

16.5k

Oct 17th 2018, 7:00 AM

Voices

Why I travelled home to vote in favour of adding 'North' to Macedonia's name

Macedonia and Greece have been involved in a decades-long dispute over the name Macedonia and Alexander the Great.

16.3k

Oct 14th 2018, 6:00 PM

# Moloney's Eye

Ireland in a snapshot: Last tango in Dublin

Each week, photographer and filmmaker Donal Moloney shares a small piece of Ireland that reflects the bigger picture.

27.7k

Oct 13th 2018, 7:30 PM

Voices

'Van Morrison's landmark album Astral Weeks turns 50 this weekend. We tracked down the musicians who played on it'

A new documentary looks at how a 23-year old introvert from east Belfast overcame the mob, US Immigration, poverty, and his own tricky personality, to make one of the most enduring and best-loved albums ever recorded.

22.4k

Oct 13th 2018, 8:15 AM