menu_open Columnists

TheJournal

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The doctor is in: Skin cancer rates in Ireland are predicted to rise - how can you avoid it?

From sunscreen to skin checks, there are simple actions that can dramatically reduce the growing burden of skin cancer in Ireland, writes Dr Michael...

yesterday 3

TheJournal

Dr michael willoughby

Refugee Family Reunification: Don’t make parents wait years to hug their children

Proposed changes to family reunification rules risk prolonging the trauma of separation for refugee families in Ireland, writes Niall O’Keeffe of...

yesterday 10

TheJournal

Niall O’keeffe

Digital Euro: It's not 'tech for tech’s sake' - it could change how consumers handle money

Minister Robert Troy recently confirmed that the Digital Euro will be a priority during Ireland’s EU presidency, but is it just more Brussels jargon?

previous day 7

TheJournal

Nick Charalambous

Ireland’s cultural moment: A new generation of artists and storytellers reshapes Irish identity

As the world celebrates Irish culture, a new generation is redefining what Irishness means today, writes Finian Murphy.

previous day 10

TheJournal

Finian Murphy

The hidden wounds of war: How PTSD and trauma from conflict can present and be treated

Beyond the headlines of airstrikes and geopolitics lies a quieter crisis: the lasting trauma inflicted on societies living through conflict, writes Dr...

monday 9

TheJournal

Dr Stephen Mcwilliams

Fast fashion: Ireland has a textile waste problem — and your charity bag won’t fix it

We buy more clothes than almost anywhere in Europe, yet most of what we discard is exported, dumped or disappears into an opaque global system.

monday 10

TheJournal

Solene schirrer

The final hours: An Irish Cancer Society night nurse on the quiet privilege of end-of-life care

As Daffodil Day approaches, Richard Keane shares what it means to care for patients and families through the last hours of life.

15.03.2026 7

TheJournal

Richard keane

Money Diaries: A part-time administrator who is a carer for her son, who has a disability

This week, our reader is juggling all that life brings as a carer of a child with a disability.

15.03.2026 8

TheJournal

The Journal Reader

Ireland and the Oscars: A story of talented nominees, nearly a century old

As Jessie Buckley shines ahead of this year’s Oscars, Dr Eoin Kinsella traces Ireland’s earliest nominees and winners.

15.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Dr Eoin Kinsella

Dr Catherine Conlon: Why do we not pay for mothers and other carers to stay at home?

As youth mental health declines, we must recognise the value of caregiving and give families the time and security to care for their children, writes...

14.03.2026 9

TheJournal

Dr Catherine Conlon

Surrealing in the Years: Solution to the housing crisis was in the French Riviera all along

It’s always in the last place you look, eh?

14.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Carl Kinsella

The rise of the Irish sauna: Heat, cold plunges and a new kind of social ritual

Outdoor saunas are appearing across Ireland as people seek wellness, community and moments of quiet in an increasingly fast-paced world, writes...

14.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Stephen o'rourke

Taoiseach at the White House: Another perilous St Patrick's Day ahead for Micheál Martin

As war with Iran inflames global tensions, Micheál Martin’s White House visit will test the limits of diplomacy – and the wisdom of knowing when...

13.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Larry Donnelly

U-16s social media ban: Protecting kids online shouldn’t mean killing privacy

As governments consider banning children from social media, critics say the focus should be on regulating tech companies and algorithms — not...

13.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Andrea Horan

A self-inflicted wound: Low cadet pay is damaging the Defence Forces

If Ireland wants high-calibre Defence Forces leaders in the future, it must start paying cadets properly, writes RACO chief Conor King.

12.03.2026 8

TheJournal

Lt Col Conor King

The Great Paddy's Day Getaway: There's one for every politician in the audience this year

As ministers fan out across the globe to promote Ireland, Jason O’Sullivan asks if the annual diplomatic tours are smart soft power – or a...

12.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Jason o'sullivan

The Mental Load: The parenting work that no one sees, mostly done by women

Even in households where chores are shared, the invisible ‘thinking work’ of parenting still falls to women, writes Niamh O’Reilly.

11.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Niamh Oreilly

John Charles McQuaid: The Archbishop who ran Ireland returns to our screens

A new TG4 documentary revisits the formidable late Archbishop who shaped the Republic, clashed with reformers like Noel Browne, and ruled Irish moral...

11.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Darach Ó séaghdha

Iran and fuel hikes: Yet another sign that remote working works in a volatile world

With oil prices rising again, pushing workers back into daily commuting risks piling more costs onto already stretched households, writes Labour’s...

11.03.2026 10

TheJournal

George Lawlor

Ireland’s food security illusion: The Iran war has exposed our dependence on imports

As Trump’s war threatens fertiliser supplies, the collapse of Ireland’s fruit and vegetable sector leaves us dangerously reliant on fragile global...

10.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Michael Kelly

Opinion: Be careful who you aim your anger at when it comes to diesel prices

Global tensions are biting but Irish taxes mean the State takes €1.30 of every €2 you spend at the pump.

10.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Paddy Comyn

School places: Ireland doesn't have a shortage of school places, it has a shortage of inclusion

For families of disabled children, the fight for an education is often really a fight for belonging, writes Lucinda Murrihy.

09.03.2026 9

TheJournal

Lucinda Murrihy

Money Diaries: A 38-year-old accountant on $185K living in Melbourne

This week, our reader is living a busy life in Melbourne, managing work, childcare and socialising, while also trying to buy a decent car.

08.03.2026 10

TheJournal

The Journal Reader

Neale Richmond: From Ethiopia to Sudan, rape is still a weapon of war

On International Women’s Day, the testimonies of women in wartorn nations reveal the devastating reality of sexual and gender-based violence.

08.03.2026 20

TheJournal

Neale Richmond

Is she roadworthy?: The NCT queue nearly broke me before the car did

Gwen Loughman’s simple NCT retest becomes a full-body stress event involving box breathing, rogue delivery vans and the terrifying possibility of...

07.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Gwen Loughman

Surrealing in the Years: Is it the biblical End of Days? Yeah, sure, why not?

What’s the difference, at this point.

07.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Carl Kinsella

Money and motoring: There is a never-ending appetite to charge car owners for everything

What does appear to be true is that we are all paying for years of bad planning, writes our resident expert.

07.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Paddy Comyn

Iranian woman in Ireland: We would rather risk US intervention than be forgotten by the world

Samieh Hezari explains what nearly five decades of repression, exile and unanswered pleas for help from the international community have done to the...

06.03.2026 20

TheJournal

Samieh hezari

Seachtain na Gaeilge: Ní amháin gur rud cultúrtha í an Ghaeilge, is rud tábhachtach í ar bhonn proifisiúnta

Tá go leor gairmeacha ar fáil na laethanta seo trí mheán na Gaeilge agus caithfidh an rialtas cinnte a dhéanamh go bhfuil na scileanna teanga ann...

05.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Félim Ó maolmhána

Retired Irish general: Ireland's neutrality, the threat of war and the illusion of security

Trump’s strike on Iran signals the end of the rules-based illusion — and Ireland is unprepared for what follows, writes General Ger Aherne.

05.03.2026 30

TheJournal

Brigadier general ger aherne

UK-US Special Relationship: Starmer may be no Churchill, but Trump is no Roosevelt

From Suez to Iran, the history of the UK-US alliance shows that ties survive bruised egos, bruising wars and unpredictable presidents, writes Sydney...

04.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Sydney Nash

Dubai influencers: The entitlement, denial and moral vacuum in the so-called 'safest city'

As the death toll climbs, some Western expats in Dubai fret about golf courses, bottled water and weight-loss injections, writes Caoilfhionn Gallagher...

04.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Caoilfhionn gallagher kc

Tom Clonan: Trump’s war on Iran is a death blow to the rules-based order

03.03.2026 20

TheJournal

Tom Clonan

Trump’s Iran gamble: Could this be the war that splits MAGA?

03.03.2026 20

TheJournal

Marion Mckeone

The Irish For: Baby names - Rían’s fada and the myth of the ‘neutral’ name

02.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Darach Ó séaghdha

Money Diaries: A software engineering manager on €140K living in the east of the country

01.03.2026 10

TheJournal

The Journal Reader

The Bee Guy: This rainy season has nearly washed us away

01.03.2026 10

TheJournal

Paul Handrick - The Bee Guy

Drowning in plain sight: Thousands of sharks, skates, seals and dolphins are dying in tangle nets

01.03.2026 30

TheJournal

Pádraic Fogarty

The 2026 graduate job hunt: It's not a hopeless labour market, but it is harder

28.02.2026 20

TheJournal

Sarah Geraghty

Renter beware: I set my novel in a two-tier housing nightmare that came true

28.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Edel Coffey

Motoring: Why the Chinese car has gone mainstream

28.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Paddy Comyn

The AI arms race: Are we sleepwalking into the abyss?

27.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Jason o'sullivan

Weight training: Midlife is not about decline, it can be the turning point for your health

26.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Stephen o'rourke

Trump's State of the Union: The night was long, the impact short

25.02.2026 20

TheJournal

Larry Donnelly

Special Needs Assistant: We are not 'just SNAs' - we are the calm in the chaos

25.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Oneesa mcweeney

Racism broadcast to millions: From the Baftas stage to sporting arenas, we still have far to go

24.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Leon Diop

SNA cuts U-turn: This has exposed the deep faultlines in our education system

24.02.2026 10

TheJournal

Derval Mcdonagh

Two fronts, one fight: How Ukrainian women are holding the line in wartime

24.02.2026 20

TheJournal

Iryna koval

The bruises we don’t question: When domestic abuse happens to men

23.02.2026 150

TheJournal

Alison comyn

Money Diaries: A marketing freelancer on €20K living in Co Wicklow

22.02.2026 20

TheJournal

The Journal Reader