Category: Articles
University of Limerick’s SU Mandate: Death of Democracy on Irish campuses
On Wednesday, February 21st, the University of Limerick Students’ Union voted to campaign for the repeal of the 8th Amendment. The union’s official paper, An Focal, reported that a total of 256 UL students turned out to vote on whether...
Putting the Irexit Conference into Perspective
Back in 2009, Irish voters were going to the polls in the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Ireland had voted no to this treaty in 2008 but as was the case with the Nice referendum, the authorities of the...
Ireland’s Nuclear Future? An Assessment
The embryonic Irish nuclear industry met its demise on the Wexford shoreline over the political furore surrounding attempts made by the Irish government to construct a total of four nuclear power plants to meet the country’s burgeoning energy needs. A...
The Conservative’s Guide to Trinity’s 2018 SU Elections
For over a week now, the excitement has been building up. First you had the hoards of students waving flyers in your face every time you walked through the Arts Block or the Hamilton Building. Then came the profile picture...
The Neo-European Empire: Why Louis Hoffman’s Analysis of the EU Falls Short
It’s funny how times change. At the dawn of the 20th century, Europe was the hub of a number of different global empires, such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Britain, all of which were vying for the control of the world’s...
Ireland’s Questionable Attitude towards Israel and their Embassy
The recent news that Israel is considering closing its embassy in Ireland as part of an overall reduction in its diplomatic footprint is disappointing, but understandable. Should the decision to close the embassy be made, we will be the only...
The Escalating War over Freedom of Speech on Campuses
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” - George Washington In February, 2016, American conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro spoke at the University of California, Berkeley to...
Judging 80’s Ireland
The long overdue apology by an Garda Síochána issued last month to Joanne Hayes, whose life was blighted forever by the almost forgotten “Kerry Babies” scandal, has triggered a thoroughly risible campaign to re-write recent Irish history. The media coverage...
The Burkean Interviews the Pioneer of Brexit, Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage, the man who was at the centre of one the world’s most important political movements of the last decades, had just arrived in Dublin a couple of hours ago. He had come to Ireland to speak at a...
The Curious Case of the Canadian Psychologist
One day I requested Jordan B. Peterson’s first book, Maps of Meaning, from the university library stacks. I already had an electronic copy and watched the whole lecture course, so the hassle was probably a waste of time, but I...