Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole columns
Fintan O’Toole: There’s a reason why Ireland votes for leftist presidents and right-of-centre governments
There are five things the left needs to do now to capitalise on Catherine Connolly’s win
Catherine Connolly deserves her landslide victory, but it’s a hollow crown
She has a tough task ahead: speak for the established State, represent a radical opposition to it and give hope to those who are increasingly disenchanted
For and Against a United Ireland by Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride: Arguing to end apathy of ‘undecideds’
Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride demonstrate the importance of free and reasoned deliberation
Catherine Connolly is going to win. Heather Humphreys needs to be a better loser
Fine Gael candidate must know her cheap shot at independent rival comes with heavy price tag
A Catherine Connolly presidency would be an alternative to official Ireland
In Heather Humphreys, we have a candidate who is harmless. And In Catherine Connolly one who has the potential to do some harm, but also to do good
Budget 2026: What’s another year to a hungry two-year-old?
Nobody disagrees on the value of a second tier of child benefit. So why has it not been introduced? Lethargy
What on earth was Micheál Martin thinking? Jim Gavin clearly wasn’t ready
Getting your followers to agree to a proposition that makes no sense is the ultimate ego trip
‘I would have loved to have been a stay-at-home dad’: Fintan O’Toole on fatherhood
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
Catherine Connolly should keep her inner Basil Fawlty under wraps
Accusing our EU allies of being proto-fascist warmongers is not a winning strategy
Barack Obama in Dublin: There is ‘no military rationale for continuing to pummel Gaza’
Former US president tells a capacity crowd at 3Arena that both sides are in a ‘prison of the past’
How is it possible to live with the knowledge that you have facilitated mass murder?
One term encapsulates the way Israel and its enablers are dealing with the genocide in Gaza: instant amnesia
The really nauseating thing about the Ryder Cup is how seamlessly it will all happen
Imagine the war cabinet that would have been assembled if paediatric spinal surgery was a global spectator sport
The presidential election needs a candidate I wouldn’t vote for: Maria Steen
There are still a lot of orthodox Irish Catholics and people of other faiths who share their views on issues like abortion, homosexuality, gender and marriage
Ireland was once the tradwife capital of the world. Worse, they were happy
Or so they said. But surrendering to oppression can be a form of contentment
The pain and shame that Bertie Ahern caused this country are not forgotten
Does Fianna Fáil really want to nominate him for the Áras and deliver us a sharp reminder of what that felt like?
Fintan O’Toole? Johnny Logan? Liveline asks the nation, one by one, who should be president
Radio: The phone-in canvasses so many people that it might just qualify as a poll of voting intention for the entire country
Sinn Féin may reject commemorating the Normans, but there are some suspiciously Saxon names in its ranks
Take a look at centuries of Irish revolutionaries and you’ll find links to Norman history
We in Ireland forget how recently we were the ‘crap-job’ migrants
If we were serious about stopping people coming here to work in low-paid jobs, we would have to be willing to do three things
Gaza is also a war on the human instinct for compassion
When we learn to shut down pity, we summon the pitiless to power
Ireland in the 1980s was bloody awful, but there was at least one good reason not to emigrate
Galway’s Druid theatre company had a superb, stubborn belief that a basket case of a nation could also be a Moses basket
Magic coins fill the coffers of paranormal Ireland
State coffers beefed up by huge corporation tax takes, but Government knows it can’t rely on money tree to live forever
TV guide: the best new shows to watch this week
July 19th-25th: including Mrs Robinson, Karen Pirie and Baz Luhrmann’s Faraway Downs
Tuam is a microcosm for Ireland’s history of discarded bones
The excavation that began on the site of the mother and baby home yesterday is making history in a double sense
Ireland has a proud history of opposing anti-Semitism
Outrage at the collective torture of Gaza is linked to our historical opposition to oppression
I have had more wives than Henry VIII. It’s news to me too
Artificial intelligence has trouble distinguishing fact from fiction, so it has to spew out absurd ‘factoids’ instead
Nuclear weapons have been in the Middle East for decades – not in Iran, but in Israel
Israel successfully created a reality distortion field in which the possible (Iran might get nuclear weapons) obscures the actual (Israel already has them)
Official documents are quietly disappearing from departmental websites. Why?
The range of departments engaged in this alarming disappearing act suggests it is not accidental
At a time when the boom is even boomer, this statistic should mortify us
The stark fact is that there are students sitting Junior and Leaving Cert exams today who went to bed hungry last night
Event guide: Pulp, Beyond the Pale, Cork Midsummer and other best things to do in Ireland this week
Ireland event guide for the week June 7th–13th, 2025: The best movies, music, art and more coming your way
Netanyahu’s big lie is that ‘They’ are not really the same species as ‘Us’
Right from the start of his assault on the population of Gaza, this has been Netanyahu’s mantra
Letters to the Editor May 28th: On Leaving Cert delays; offshore energy and Jayne Mansfield
One hopes there is more commonsense to go around
If there’s so much buyer’s remorse about Brexit, why is Nigel Farage the rising figure in UK politics?
Ten years on, an angry tribe sees itself as more English than British - and Ireland must stay alert to the dangers
If you want to see how democracies cede to autocracies, watch as US universities bend to Trump
If a rich and famous institution such as Columbia doesn’t stand up for itself, what chance have millions of ordinary people?
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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