Tag: government
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What an Irish President actually does for a living.
The 2018 campaign to elect Ireland’s president is well and truly underway, with the electorate set to cast their votes later this October. Despite being one of the most recognisable and important figures in Irish political and cultural life, there remains a fair amount of confusion as to what the purpose of the presidency actually…
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A Karen Bradley Guide to Northern Irish Politics
To understand Northern Irish politics, it’s imperative to first understand the history of the country. In the 1600s, beginning in 1609, British Protestants were incentivised (by the promise of guaranteed arable land) to move to Ulster and colonise. Although this was common all over Ireland (which was still one country under British rule), it…
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Language is Important
As I was reading about the grand jury report on the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, one particular quote struck me. It refers to how the grand jury described the Church’s methods for covering up abuse. ‘First, make sure to use euphemisms rather than real words to describe the sexual assaults in diocese documents. Never…
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What We Can Learn From Ireland’s Lost Constitution
Darragh Roche RTÉ’s long overdue documentary on the history of women in Ireland, ‘No Country For Women,’ highlighted a reality that everyone already knew but often refused to acknowledge: that Irish laws, and our constitution, treated women like second class citizens. The sexist provisions of the 1937 Bunreacht are so well-known, they hardly need…
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You are Not An Impostor
Women of Ireland – well done. We did it. We got out there, got engaged, had conversations, and we (with the help of our male and non binary counterparts) won ourselves some of that sweet, sweet bodily autonomy. I know we had help. Yes, I know we couldn’t have done it without so and so.…