Soapbox

Tag: politics

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Bible Ireland

    Darragh Roche    Thank God the Bible is leaving Irish politics U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently cited the Bible in defence of the inhumane policy of separating immigrant children from their parents. Quoting from St. Paul, the pre-eminent early Christian theologian, Sessions reminded sceptics that earthly laws should be obeyed. Since imprisoning children in…

  • Making the switch to new political parties

    Pádraig Lohan     Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are the political equivalent of a major phone company. We’re frustrated with the service they’re providing. We rant and moan that they clearly don’t care about us. Yet somehow, when we reach the end of the contract, we continue to give them our money (okay, votes).…

  • 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.…

  • Populist politics – An age old legacy

    An article by Cliff Taylor in the The Irish times advocating a neutral budget for 2015 has caused … well, absolutely no reaction whatsoever, partly because he wrote the same article this time last year. It does however raise a few interesting points that bear consideration. He argued for what would be a classic case…