Ian O'Doherty

Ireland has a problem with America. Irish politicians and the country’s establishment would, of course, deny this. They would point to the fact that 35 million Americans claim Irish descent, and that the Irish and American governments enjoy their own version of a ‘special relationship’, involving an annual presentation of a shamrock at the White House

When I was a child, we went to Romania. This was the late 1970s, and my father jumped at the chance of a trip to see Ceausescu’s workers’ paradise in action.

Ireland is gearing up for its general election this Friday – and what started out as a relatively moribund campaign seems to have finally kicked into gear The two main bones of contention remain the housing crisis and immigration. To the frustration of many voters, politicians refuse to accept these issues are linked A large

Only a broad coalition of the Left, with Sinn Fein as the main party, was ever going to stand a chance of changing the natural order.

I had a rather strange feeling when I was leaving my polling centre on Friday afternoon.

It really does begin earlier every year, doesn't it?

‘Tis the season of goodwill to all men. Except for the Irish and Israelis, that is, who have seen their already frosty relationship plunged into positively freezing temperatures this weekend with Israel's decision to close its embassy in Dublin.