Articles
Essays, reviews, and commentary on literature, history, politics, and ideas.
Yes We Can! Or Can We?
Who is the Moses who will lead Europe? Marsh’s candidate is Germany. Not ideal, Marsh knows, but better than nothing, he seems to say.
Mass Manipulation
Though manipulation is as old as Adam and Eve and the serpent, it has taken on a new salience in our time. Social media has democratised manipulation, putting techniques of persuasion and deception, once monopolised by large corporations and states,…
Tyranny of Choice
In recent decades, Ireland has experienced a profound transformation from a society shaped by religious and communal authority towards one defined by individual autonomy. Sophia Rosenfeld’s book serves as an excellent catalyst for rethinking this paradigm.
Marilyn Monroe at 100
‘Please don’t make me a joke,’ she pleaded in her last recorded interview, although, by then, the portents were dark.
Covert Operations
Investigative journalist Ian Cobain uncovers Whitehall’s secret efforts to manipulate the Fourth Estate.
When More is Less
This colossal volume of Heaney’s poems ‘almost disguises the fact that he is a poet by entombing his lyric in a mass of annotation, exegesis and “uncollected” poems’.
Massacre in Dunblane
He never married, had no children, lived alone. He had few friends, and kept none for long. He ran a small DIY shop and was a keen photographer. He was also interested in guns.
John McGahern’s World
The deliberate blurring of inside and outside is central to McGahern’s vision, the writer at once being absorbed in his surroundings and yet stepping back to articulate what goes without saying on the daily round.
The Slaughter of the Trees
A new poem by James Harpur
Rereadings 2: Dreyfus Returns
Ruth Harris reflects on her prize-winning study of the notorious Dreyfus case, ‘The Man on Devil’s Island’, and discovers new, fascinating parallels with our times.
The Odd Couple
A new study of the intense rivalry between Charlie Haughey and Garret FitzGerald suggests it may have ended up being a force for good for the country as a whole.
Getting One’s Hands Dirty
Must politics be kept separate from morals or can they be reconciled?