We must fulfil duties if any of us are to have rights
When I was studying for my Arts degree in Economics and Politics at UCD in the early 1970s, we had a choice whether to take either Statistics or else Roman Law and Jurisprudence as the third leg of our degree. One look at the Statistics course materials convinced me to take the other option. And […]
Implausible to suggest amendments will have no serious consequence
Tomorrow the broadcast media moratorium on the referendums to be held on Friday will come into effect. And for me what has been a hectic engagement with media of all kinds – here and elsewhere – over the last number of weeks will have come to an end. Voters will have a calm period of […]
I’m voting No-No as reckless amendments will only cause uncertainty
Last week Minister Roderic O’Gorman had an extensive and searching interview with Hugh O’Connell in these pages in which he blandly asserted that critics of his referendums were wrong. As I read the piece, it became increasingly clear that it’s the referendums that are “wrong” – not their critics. We are being asked by two […]
Government says that referendums are important but nothing will change
I do not always agree with the political views of Una Mullaly as expounded in these pages. But I am in definite agreement with her suggestion that the referendums on 8th March should be occasions when citizens exercise their sovereign right under our constitution to decide if their basic law should be amended in the […]
Referendum is a recipe for chaos and uncertainty
There are still two weeks to go before the citizens of Ireland decide whether to amend our constitution by the 39th and 40th amendments. Posters have appeared on lampposts carrying the inane message “Family and Care Yes”. Ministers and some lazy-minded commentators keep using the wholly untrue and intentionally misleading claim that the Constitution states […]
No true republican should wish for the failure of Northern Ireland
Like the majority of people in this State, I believe in republican government. And I favour an Ireland in which all Irish people — North and South — are happy to share their sovereignty within the European Union rather than have the island divided between the Republic and the United Kingdom. Similarly, opinion polls in […]