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Noel Doran

Noel Doran

__The Irish News

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Carla Lockhart and the Pan Nationalist Front that never was

Carla Lockhart and the Pan Nationalist Front that never was

WHILE curious events during July are not unknown here, I did not expect a debate instigated by a DUP MP to prompt recollections of my eldest child’s...

27.07.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

The DUP has sat on RTÉ’s sofa before – why not again on Kielty’s Late Late Show?

WHEN Patrick Kielty ran the credits at the end of the final Late Late Show of the season in May, there were plenty of suggestions that not only would...

13.07.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Noel Doran: How Belfast’s Sandy Row has gone from ‘Heart of the Empire’ to a hollowed-out heartland

TRAVELLING around the cities and towns of Ireland, both north and south, often involves encounters with adjacent areas which are either thriving or,...

06.07.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Noel Doran: The Jeffrey Donaldson I saw in south Down

The dark shadow of Jeffrey Donaldson will hang over both Stormont and Westminster for many years after he is sentenced in September for his appalling...

29.06.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Brexit was Farage’s triumph — and unionism’s disaster

When Nigel Farage dropped in to the offices of The Irish News for a chat some 13 years ago, I struggled to maintain a fixed grin as he set out in...

22.06.2026 20

The Irish News

Noel Doran

The same streets, the same hatred, just a different target

THE long and troubled history of Belfast and its hinterland is epitomised by the way in which adjoining streets have been at the centre of two of the...

15.06.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

John Hume, Gerry Adams and the day that reshaped northern nationalism

IT was on this day a quarter of a century ago that a profound change took place in northern nationalism, with the UK general election count...

08.06.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Noel Doran: Still crazy about Paul Brady, Paul Simon and those golden oldies after all these years

You probably know you are getting old when you look back at the concerts you enjoyed most over the last year and realise they all involved exceptional...

01.06.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

If King Charles can respect Irish culture, why can’t the DUP?

IT will be some months before a programme is confirmed for next year’s state visit to Ireland by King Charles, but it can be expected that the tone...

25.05.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why has Fianna Fáil never been a truly all-Ireland party?

IF the recent plans of some figures in Fianna Fáil had come to fruition, it would have celebrated the centenary of its launch at the weekend by...

18.05.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

With Stormont heading for the rocks, unionism’s strategy is hard to fathom

During this week next year, if Assembly elections go ahead as scheduled, everyone with an interest in the political process would normally be fully...

11.05.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Without ‘McDowell’, journalism will never be the same again

JIM McDowell’s funeral took place at the weekend and, while his death is above all an immense loss to his family, I am not at all sure if journalism...

04.05.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why do we not care about our historic buildings?

THERE is a blandness to many of the newer, large commercial and residential centres across Ireland, north and south, which verges on the depressing,...

27.04.2026 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Trump’s Irish Open should be out of bounds for politicians

A REVILED US lawyer who died nearly four decades go might not be expected to have a central influence on one of the main Irish sporting events of the...

20.04.2026 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why flags divide us but the Irish language need not

THERE is a large housing estate adjacent to a scenic area of Belfast which has regularly featured in best kept civic awards, and where the residents...

06.04.2026 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When Downtown Radio ruled the airwaves – and I was briefly its duty news editor

IN the modern media landscape, with a massive range of platforms constantly updating their output, it is difficult to convey the scale of the impact...

30.03.2026 60

The Irish News

Noel Doran

From shamrocks to Shock and Awe: my trip to the White House

SOME aspects of the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington can be open to parody, but there were developments during last week’s...

23.03.2026 60

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Why unionist outrage over the GAA rings hollow

IF GAA regulations still prevented British soldiers and northern police officers from joining today, it would be completely understandable if the...

16.03.2026 60

The Irish News

Noel Doran

John Taylor still enjoys creating a stir at 88

JOHN Taylor is well used to having his opinions directly questioned, but what cannot be disputed is that his range of political experience – which...

09.03.2026 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Noel Doran: From frontline to footnotes – a history of our Secretaries of State

THE incredible Peter Mandelson scandal is still unfolding on both sides of the Atlantic, and, together with last week’s seismic Manchester...

02.03.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Jon Burrows has a choice whether to save Stormont

JON Burrows has had much to say since he became Ulster Unionist leader last month at a remarkably early stage in his political career, while so far...

23.02.2026 100

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Tony Blair, the Orange Order and the day Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness tried skateboarding

WHILE Tony Blair has become used to facing heavy criticism from a range of sources during his lengthy and contentious public career, arguably the most...

16.02.2026 60

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Happy birthday May, it was a privilege to share tea with you

09.02.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Is Leo Varadkar paving the way for a new consensus on Irish unity in Dublin?

03.02.2026 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When the world is in chassis, we miss voices like Éamon Phoenix

26.01.2026 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Returning, remembering and having to say goodbye

19.01.2026 60

The Irish News

Noel Doran

It’s time to let the train take the strain again

29.12.2025 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

GAA shows way to honour the tricolour

22.12.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Crowded city bars, but country pubs closing

15.12.2025 100

The Irish News

Noel Doran

City Hall stirs once more with new faces but fewer punches

08.12.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

There is no ‘rising tide’ of immigrants. There is only racism

01.12.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

DUP appears determined to avoid learning from mistakes of past

25.11.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Coming from a big family can take you a long way

18.11.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Are unionists just repeating their mistakes of 40 years ago?

10.11.2025 30

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Is anger the only way Gavin Robinson’s DUP can respond to the modern world?

03.11.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

When did we all become such aggressive drivers?

21.10.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Are the tectonic plates shifting on a border poll?

14.10.2025 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Interest in Middle East is not merely symbolic

06.10.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Starmer is struggling – but is he the least worst PM for Ireland?

23.09.2025 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Is there light at end of tunnel for Crumlin Road courthouse?

15.09.2025 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Gavin gambit makes for intriguing Irish presidential election

08.09.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

From hope to failure: how Maze Long Kesh became a symbol of division

25.08.2025 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Bridging a cross-border dream pursued for generations

18.08.2025 50

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Billy Wright, ‘Crip’ McWilliams and a 30-year-mystery

12.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

This must be the last presidential election where northern citizens are denied their vote

04.08.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

Reflections on a rare - and civil - meeting with the Orange Order

29.07.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

There will never be another Michael D Higgins

14.07.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

We will always be grateful to George Mitchell

07.07.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

A quarter of a century on, the PSNI risks losing what made it work

30.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran

What would Jimmy make of today’s calibre of Stormont MLA?

23.06.2025 40

The Irish News

Noel Doran