Nationwide fuel protests in Ireland are now in their fourth day – and the government has put defence forces on standby to help police clear vehicles blockading roads and fuel depots.

The protestors, primarily farmers, hauliers, and others who drive for a living, are causing “significant disruption” that threatens “critical supplies”, said The Independent. They are angry at the sharp rise in diesel and petrol prices, caused by the conflict in the Middle East, and are demanding “immediate government intervention” to protect the risk to their livelihoods.

With the International Monetary Fund warning that the world will experience diesel and jet fuel shortages “for some time”, there are signs, and concerns, that the protests in Ireland are spreading beyond its borders.

What did the commentators say?

The Irish government finds itself “locked in a highly polarised debate with an implacably opposed group”, said Johnny Fallon in The Journal. The protestors see it as a “straightforward”: they can’t afford fuel, and any “lack of political will” to cut costs means the government is “corrupt” or “misallocating funds”. But the government needs “sustainable, fact-based, long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes”. The wider public, “though sceptical of the protests”, is growing “impatient” for “meaningful government action.”

Over in Britain, the markets are “already reacting as if shortages are coming”, said Hannah Barnes in The New Statesman. “If they do materialise, they are likely to spread through the economy in ways that go far beyond queues at petrol stations”. And “the longer the disruption continues”, the bigger the impact on food prices, in particular. Some experts are already predicting a challenging winter ahead, with protests more than a possibility.

Protests at fuel shortages and rising prices for diesel have already spread to France, said Radio France Internationale. Landscaping firms have blockaded ring roads around Nantes, road-freight firms have organised protests in Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand, and fishermen in Corsica have been blocking the island’s six main ports. Nearly one in five French petrol stations were temporarily out of at least one type of fuel after the Easter weekend.

Last month in Germany, a “convoy of around 50 trucks drove through” Cottbus in protest, said Agnieszka Kulikowska on Trans.INFO. “Tensions are also becoming increasingly visible in Italy”, where truckers have protested in Ravenna.

What next?

“A situation that not long ago was described as difficult is now being openly called an existential crisis by many business owners,” said Kulikowska on Trans.INFO. “The protests that are just beginning may only be the start of a broader movement.”

If governments and industry regulators do not ease pressures on businesses, the next steps could be “far more radical”. “One thing is certain: road transport – the lifeblood of the European economy – has reached a critical point.”

Nothing about these impeccably designed hotels is ordinary. With their architecture, decor and aesthetics, each property welcomes you into a thoughtfully curated world. Every detail tells a story and enhances your stay.

Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland

Go back in time at Ashford Castle. Built in 1228, the estate was purchased by the Guinness family in the 1800s and used to “entertain guests — among them, George V — and display the family’s wealth and influence,” said Country Life. Now part of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, Ashford Castle remains “luxury personified,” its common spaces filled with “rich fabrics” and “glittering chandeliers.” The 83 guest rooms each have their own individual designs. A standout is the King’s Room, featuring “plush” seating, a “sumptuous” velvet four-poster bed, dramatic floral wallpaper and a fireplace.

Hotel Château Du Grand-Lucé, Loire Valley, France

This “impressive” 18th-century chateau is a shining example of neoclassical architecture, where “grandeur is still the order of the day,” said the Michelin Guide. Think extravagant toile and damask wallpaper, limestone and French white oak flooring, crystal chandeliers and heavy curtains tied back with impressive tassels.

No two rooms are alike, with the Barron Suite being the crown jewel. It boasts 17-foot-tall ceilings, a private library filled with classic French literature and the marvelous Salon Chinois, a sitting room named in honor of the chinoiserie-style paintings by prominent French artist Jean-Baptiste Pillement that adorn the walls.

La Valise San Miguel, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Tucked away in a “vibrant” corner of San Miguel de Allende is La Valise San Miguel, a “surrealist sanctuary” designed to “pay tribute” to the city’s history of art and culture, said Condé Nast Traveler. The property’s bold blend of “psychedelic installations and famous furnishings” by Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg mixes seamlessly with mid-century furniture and “rich textiles.” Guests have six “completely unique” suites to choose from, and each one has a “standout” design feature, like a domed shower or white-stucco fireplace “adorned with Aztec monkeys.”

L'oscar, London, England

With Oscar Wilde serving as his inspiration, French interior designer Jacques Garcia gave new life to an old Edwardian baroque-style church, turning it into an exquisite boutique hotel dripping in gilded decor and rich silk, damask and velvet fabrics. Both Wilde and Garcia are “known for decadence, in different ways,” and L’oscar is “nothing if not decadent,” said the Michelin Guide.

The 39 guest rooms and suites and common areas are decorated in “hyper-saturated jewel tones,” with objets d’art on every surface and gorgeous Lalique bird-shaped lights illuminating the corners. Some original details remain, like opulent plastered ceilings and terra-cotta panels.

Leela Palace Jaipur, Jaipur, India

The attention to detail at Leela Palace Jaipur is extraordinary. Inspired by “Indian royal heritage,” the property is all about “opulence,” with marble corridors, hand-painted ceilings, frescoes and “impressive” flower displays” in the rooms and common spaces, said The Independent.

Even dinner is an extravagant affair. Jamavar (formerly known as Mohan Mahal) is the hotel’s signature restaurant, filled with 3,500 hand-cut mirrors that make the candlelight dance. The menu focuses on traditional Rajasthani cuisine with a modern twist, and between the food and ambiance, dining here is a “truly spectacular experience.”

Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

When you arrive at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, expect to “nearly strain your neck trying to take in all the splendor,” said Condé Nast Traveler. The hotel opened in 1876 as The Oriental, and over time the property has expanded while retaining much of its original charm.

The lobby alone is a dream, with its “lattice woodwork, cascading florals, giant birdcage-style chandeliers and printed sofas.” Inside the rooms, you’ll find a “British East Indies aesthetic” based on “Bermuda pink, sea green or creamy yellow,” along with teak and leather furnishings and fresh orchids.

Romeo Roma, Rome, Italy

Rome’s past and present blend together beautifully at Romeo Roma. Zaha Hadid Architects transformed the 16th-century patrician mansion into a “striking” hotel where materials include “polished Macassar ebony,” and steel and glass are “teased into a riot of swirling, curving and overlapping forms,” said The Telegraph.

Contemporary art work, frescoes and artifacts discovered during the property’s restoration, including a marble head of the Roman empress Livia Drusilla, are also on display. You can get a glimpse of ancient times in the pool — it has a transparent base so swimmers can look down at the archaeological remains of Ripetta port.

Royal Palms Resort and Spa, Phoenix, Arizona

Desert decadence looks different at Royal Palms Resort and Spa. The 1929 Spanish Colonial mansion anchoring the property “stands in sharp contrast” to the “bland, corporate architecture” of area chain hotels, said the Michelin Guide. Hand-painted tiles, antique furnishings and oriental rugs “defy the usual pastel Southwesternisms” and give the resort a “distinctly Mediterranean feeling.” The grounds are just as stunning, and even on the hottest summer day guests feel at ease walking through the lush, shaded gardens planted nearly 100 years ago.

Spier Hotel, Stellenbosch, South Africa

The recently renovated Spier Hotel puts a chic spin on farmhouse style. It’s clear the design “prioritizes comfort,” with “plush linens” and gas fireplaces in rooms plus a “curated selection of artworks” like “delicate botanical drawings” and “mosaic murals,” said Travel and Leisure. Nearly every item and material, down to the jacquard throws and table placemats, was made in — or sourced from — South Africa. Spier Hotel is part of the Spier Wine Farm, and check-in takes place in its wine bar.

In Northern Ireland, where the Irish language is a proxy battleground between Unionists and Nationalists, dual-language signs have become a “key point of contention at Stormont”, said the BBC.

In October, Belfast City Council approved a draft policy to promote its use in public life, with bilingual signs across its facilities and official buildings. Sinn Féin hailed it as a “historic milestone” for a long-marginalised language.

But unionists objected, triggering a mechanism to “scrutinise the legitimacy of the decision”, said the Belfast Telegraph. Communities minister Gordon Lyons claimed some were using the language as a “weapon of cultural dominance”. The legal action has now arrived at the High Court.

A ‘greening’ of Ulster?

“What was once dismissed as a fading tongue is undergoing an exhilarating and vibrant revival”, said The Irish Times. North of the border, Belfast is leading the way. Bilingual street signs, permitted in Northern Ireland since the peace process, previously required approval by a two-thirds majority of residents. That was typically reached only in majority-Catholic neighbourhoods. But Belfast reduced the approval threshold to just 15% in 2022.

The dual-language signs are sparking anger in some areas “badly scarred by the Troubles”. “In a land where territory has long been marked by murals, flags and kerbstones daubed in national colours, they see the rollout of Irish signs as a ‘greening’ of Ulster by nationalists.” Existing bilingual street signs in the capital “have been vandalised more than 300 times in five years”, according to the BBC.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill and her deputy have been “unable to agree a joint position” on the latest Belfast policy, and won’t mount a challenge to the High Court action, said Irish News. Justice McLaughlin has reserved judgment on the legality of the policy, saying: “I’ve got an awful lot to think about.” Until then, the draft proposal remains on hold.

Irish language ‘imposed’

Irish was declared the first official language of the Irish Free State in 1921, but in the six counties that remained in the UK as Northern Ireland, the language continued to be suppressed and treated with suspicion by the authorities. Less than 2.5% of the population in Northern Ireland speaks it daily, according to 2021 census figures.

However, the government, which “suppressed Irish for decades, is now openly boosting it”, said The Washington Post. The Identity and Language Act of 2022 bestowed official, protected status on the Irish language in Northern Ireland and overturned a ban of almost 300 years on its use in court.

Last year, Stormont appointed Northern Ireland’s first Irish language commissioner to promote its use across public bodies. Irish-language schools and classes are growing in popularity, “even among Protestant parents”, marking a “stark shift in attitudes about culture, identity and heritage that are gaining pace throughout Belfast”.

The language has “scored cultural breakthroughs”, said The Guardian. Popular Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap, who sing primarily in Irish, “have given the language a punk cachet” and are credited with sparking increased uptake in classes.

“However, beneath all this buzz lies a battleground,” said The Irish Times. The Irish language remains “highly politically charged across Northern Ireland”. Unionist leaders reject “what they see as an erosion of their identity and traditions”.

“There are some who wish to see Irish imposed on the whole society,” Clive McFarland, a spokesperson for the Democratic Unionist Party, told The Washington Post. They are “trying to make Northern Ireland less like the United Kingdom and more like the Republic of Ireland”, with the goal of a referendum on reunification.

Spotting a travel center with rows of gas pumps and a large convenience store is a welcome relief on any road trip. You can fill the tank then stretch your legs while searching for the perfect snack and a souvenir or two. Finding a one-of-a-kind facility, like Pops 66 Soda Ranch in Oklahoma or Barack Obama Plaza in Ireland, guarantees an even better experience. Refuel your car — and stomach — at one of these unique rest stops.

Barack Obama Plaza, Moneygall, Ireland

At this “tribute” to former President Barack Obama, whose maternal lineage traces back to Moneygall, travelers can purchase gas, food and shirts that declare “Is Féidir Linn” (“Yes We Can” in Gaelic), said Atlas Obscura. Dozens of tour buses stop by the visitor’s center every day, giving sightseers the chance to pick up some souvenirs and take photos next to the bronze statue of the president and former first lady Michelle Obama. The plaza opened in 2014, three years after Obama visited the village and quipped that he was of the “Moneygall O’bamas … I’ve come home to find that apostrophe we lost somewhere along the way.”

EddieWorld, Yermo, California

If you see a giant ice cream sundae covered in sprinkles and topped with a cherry, you’re in the right place. This 70-foot sculpture (it’s built on top of a water tank) greets visitors to EddieWorld, the largest gas station in California.

Its market and food area is also massive, filled with rows of candies, chocolates, nuts and dried food and stations where you can order fresh pizza, sushi, burgers, sandwiches, coffee, homemade popcorn and jerky. Take your treat to eat on the road, or stay awhile and dine on the patio (be sure to check out the Los Angeles Lakers memorabilia on display before heading out).

Iowa 80, Walcott, Iowa

Iowa 80 feels like a mini city. Billed as the world’s largest truck stop, it offers almost everything a long-haul driver might desire, including a dental office, chiropractor, dog wash and dog park, movie theater, barber shop, museum and six fast-food restaurants. One highlight is the “famous” Iowa 80 kitchen, a family-owned buffet serving “hearty Midwest cuisine,” said the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Another is the giant store selling “necessities and oddities,” including some “quirky tchotchkes” that celebrate Iowa.

Last Exit AUH (Abu Dhabi) Bound, Dubai

This looks like the last gas station on Earth, and that’s entirely by design. Last Exit AUH (Abu Dhabi) Bound has a post-apocalyptic theme and is filled with abandoned cars, monster trucks and war rigs straight out of “Mad Max.” There’s also a paintball park, go-kart area and food trucks selling burgers, Nashville fried chicken, coffee drinks and desserts like saffron milk cake.

Pops 66 Soda Ranch, Arcadia, Oklahoma

Need a caffeine boost? Pops 66 Soda Ranch has you covered. At this “weird, wonderful roadside attraction,” visitors will find more than 700 fizzy flavors, said The Takeout. Settle in for a bite at the restaurant, which has a substantial menu featuring a dozen different burgers, sandwiches, salads and desserts like root beer bread pudding (you can also pick any of the sodas in the store for a float). Before you drive off, snap a picture or two in front of the massive 66-foot-tall soda bottle in the front, a nod to Pops’ place on Route 66.

Taste Perthshire, Bankfoot, Scotland

If you buy one item at Taste Perthshire, make it this: a bag of feed. Highland cows are the main attraction here, and while you can admire them for free, it’s much more fun to hand-feed the hairy cows. After making sure the cows eat, head to the restaurant for a meal or afternoon tea, then pick up some tartan accessories, Scottish souvenirs and a bottle of whisky from the gift shops.

Brace yourselves, said Harry McGee in The Irish Times (Dublin): “Storm Catherine is about to hit the Irish political landscape.”

Our next president will be the outspoken socialist politician Catherine Connolly, who won Friday’s election by a landslide with 63.4% of the vote. And though the role of president may be largely ceremonial, there are a number of reasons Connolly could still make waves, said Pat Leahy in the same paper – her far-left views, for a start.

The Irish-speaking former barrister is critical of the EU and Nato; wants to ringfence Irish neutrality from what she calls Western “militarism”; has accused the UK and US of enabling genocide in Gaza; and has called on the Irish government to prepare for a united Ireland. Combine all that with the fact nearly 40% of voters want the president to play a more active role and speak out on issues, and there’s a real chance the interaction between the government and the Áras an Uachtaráin – or Viceregal Lodge, as the president’s official residence used to be known – “may be about to enter a new and distinctly less congenial phase”.

‘A kick in the pants’ to the establishment

Some see Connolly’s victory as evidence Ireland “has gone stark staring mad”, said Eilis O’Hanlon in The Irish Independent (Dublin). And certainly she’s guilty of “militant kookiness”. She opposed sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime in 2018; she thinks Hamas should have a role in governing a future Palestinian state if elected; she thought nothing of employing a member of a republican party who’d been convicted of firearms offences. Yet the election of an “outsider” such as Connolly “is neither insane nor irrational” – it is “a logical response to the times we live in”. Irish voters are in the mood to deliver “a kick in the pants” to the establishment.

“Anti-immigration rage” is driving some of the discontent, said Finn McRedmond in The New Statesman. Last week, violent riots erupted outside the Citywest migrant hotel in Dublin, following reports a ten-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted by an asylum seeker. “Precipitous demographic change” caused by record asylum applications has turned parts of the country into a “powder keg”.

But as if oblivious to the febrile nature of the times, the governing coalition’s Fine Gael party chose to field an uncharismatic “middle-ground” candidate in the form of Heather Humphreys, said Gerard Howlin in The Irish Times. A serial cabinet minister, Humphreys presented herself as “capable”, but at the same time totally devoid of any “daring and imagination about where the country should go”.

Authenticity: the political zeitgeist?

Connolly, by contrast, more than meets “the zeitgeist in politics right now”: it is one that prizes “authenticity” above all else, said Mick Clifford in the Irish Examiner (Cork). She didn’t apologise when challenged on her various left-wing credos – her belief in open borders, for example – she “doubled down”: and the voters applauded her for it. Her election could “mark a turning point in Ireland’s anti-establishment politics”.

Actually, Ireland’s presidency has been trending this way for years, said Shawn Pogatchnik on Politico (Brussels). Formerly a quiet “sinecure for senior statesman backed by the dominant Fianna Fáil party”, the role has evolved to become an important counterweight to the government of the day – particularly so under outgoing incumbent Michael D. Higgins, who has spent the past 14 years “expanding what the president is allowed to say and do”, openly condemning Israel for its war in Gaza, for example.

But Connolly could take things to another level. Her equivocation on Ukraine and strident opposition to wider European security moves (she has compared Germany’s current plans to boost defence spending “with Nazi militarisation in the 1930s”) could make life very difficult for Micheál Martin’s government, already caught between the competing demands to maintain Ireland’s vaunted neutrality and to support the EU’s efforts in Ukraine. At the very least, her forthrightness could generate some extremely awkward headlines in Brussels.

Elections this week in Ireland and the Netherlands were disrupted by AI deepfakes as the post-truth future that experts have long warned about came one step closer.

Newly elected Irish President Catherine Connolly survived a doctored video showing her supposed withdrawal from the election on the eve of voting, while Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders was forced to apologise for a fabricated video distributed by two of his party’s MPs depicting centre-left opponent Frans Timmermans being arrested.

Since deepfakes first emerged in 2017 as “incel-produced nonconsensual porn”, concerns have “snowballed into panic” when their political consequences became apparent, said The Guardian. AI “slopaganda” is here to stay and promises to influence our lives “for better or for worse”.

What did the commentators say?

“AI-generated content is being deployed to sway minds,” said Politico. Fake content in the recent Irish and Dutch elections “exposed significant gaps” in structural efforts to ensure accuracy and to prevent the exploitation of the electorate.

Some voters “may have been surprised” to see Connolly’s name on the ballot sheet after a video appeared that said: “I announce the withdrawal of my candidacy and the ending of my campaign”. It included convincing material with two well-known TV presenters discussing the implications of the removal of a fake bulletin on national broadcaster RTÉ.

In the Netherlands, AI fakes “overshadowed” what was a pivotal election, where the “plethora” of minority parties means “finding a majority will not be easy”, said Channel 4 News. The landscape is ripe for exploiting division. Voters are “tired of the constant mudslinging” and “tit-for-tat” debates.

Only a week before, the Dutch data regulator had expressly warned voters against using AI chatbots to inform their decision, saying online platforms issue “unreliable advice and push them towards two major parties on opposite ends of the political spectrum”, said Reuters.

This is not just a Dutch problem. Advances in technology have made it easier than ever for individuals to create election-altering fake videos, said Abbas Yazdinejad and Jude Kong on The Conversation. The rapidly evolving landscape is bursting with videos that are “shockingly simple to create and near‑impossible to detect”. The implications are stark and require urgent intervention. The “myriad” disinformation threats could “erode public trust” and spell the end of conventional political election contests.

We’re at an uncomfortable crossroads. With electorates becoming increasingly drawn to short-form video content, voters are caught between online platforms that are “not foolproof” and accelerating technology that “continues to improve”, said EU Observer.

Deepfakes by “bad actors, political parties and candidates themselves” have become a “feature” of global politics. There has been plenty of commentary warning voters of deepfake imagery, but only recently are we seeing it slip consistently into election campaigns and criticism.

What next?

The Irish presidential election may be “small potatoes” compared to other elections around the world, said Futurism. However, the lack of regulation twinned with greater reliance on AI to sift through information in this election emits a “glaring signal” to Meta and other social media companies that electorates are “incredibly vulnerable” to “malicious interference”.

Going forward, legal particulars need to become more defined and easier to implement, said Politico. Though there is no legal framework on digital likeness rights that is EU-enforced, there is an EU-specific law regarding “labelling” artificial intelligence, which could be a “big part of the response”.

Next month, Brussels is due to put forward an initiative concerned with “upholding the fairness and integrity of election campaigns against foreign manipulation and interference”. However, this is not expected to contain “any binding legal requirements”.

“Swagger, menace, a modern soundtrack, actors walking in slow motion while wearing stylish hats...” Yes, Steven Knight, the creator of “Peaky Blinders”, is back with a new drama, only this time it’s not a gangland tale set in prewar Birmingham, but a “Succession”-style piece, loosely based on fact, set in 19th-century Dublin, said Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph. It opens in the year 1868, and Benjamin Guinness, who built his family’s enterprise into a brewing behemoth, has just died. He has left behind three sons and a daughter, and it’s not clear who stands to take the reins of the business.

The series begins with a mass brawl as the brewery’s Catholic and Protestant workers prepare to smash their fists against each other during the funeral cortege, said James Jackson in The Times. You may slightly roll your eyes as the music of Fontaines D.C. blasts out, and you realise you’re in for another “rip-roaring” costume drama. “But then something happens. With a dash of ‘Downton’ as well as ‘Succession’, the mix of familial scheming and wider political ruptures (in this case anti-British hostility) starts to coalesce” into something that is dark and really quite quaffable.

The family’s plight is hard to take seriously and the republicans “are drawn cartoonishly”, said Rebecca Nicholson in the Financial Times. It’s all “a little soapy” – and, like a pint of stout, it “requires a bit of patience”. The first two episodes are a bit of a slog, but “House of Guinness” eventually settles into “something a little more smooth and robust”.

Fifty years ago this week, one of Ireland's most popular music groups became the target of a terror attack in which three of its members were killed by loyalist paramilitaries posing as British Army soldiers.

A "controversial" parade due to take place in Northern Ireland this weekend "risks stepping over the line into the glorification of terrorism", said the BBC. Fifteen bands and hundreds of people are expected to take part in the Harris Boyle 50th Anniversary Memorial parade in County Armagh, in memory of one of the perpetrators of the Miami Showband Massacre.

Who were the Miami Showband?

The Miami Showband were a touring cabaret band formed in 1962, who became one of the biggest stars of Ireland's showband scene. An evolution from the travelling big bands of the 1940s and 1950s, showbands offered a more contemporary pop and easy listening sound, playing to packed houses across the length and breadth of the island of Ireland.

The Miami Showband's name was inspired by the first venue they played, the Palm Beach Ballroom in Portmarnock, north of Dublin. They had seven number-one hits in Ireland and performed Ireland's entry in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing joint fourth. They also played in Northern Ireland, and had also appeared on UK television programmes.

What happened?

On 31 July 1975, the band were travelling home to Dublin after a concert in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, when they were stopped by a group of around 10 men in uniform at what appeared to be a British Army checkpoint. In fact, the "soldiers" were all members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, a loyalist paramilitary group. Four of them were also serving in the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment.

The attackers ordered the band members to line up at the side of the road while they attempted to place a bomb on the tour bus. It's believed that the plan was for the bomb to detonate once the van passed into the Republic of Ireland, framing the band members as IRA bomb smugglers, attracting bad publicity for the Republican cause and prompting stricter security measures at the border.

However, the explosive detonated prematurely, killing two of the paramilitaries, including Harris Boyle. The surviving gunmen then opened fire on the band, murdering lead singer Fran O’Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty and trumpet player Brian McCoy. Two other members of the band, Des McAlea and Stephen Travers, were injured but survived.

Were the killers brought to justice?

In 1976, two men were jailed for 35 years in connection with the murders. Imposing the longest life sentences in Northern Ireland history, the judge said "killings like the Miami Showband must be stopped" and hinted that the death penalty would have been imposed had it not been recently abolished.

A third attacker, former British Army soldier John James Somerville, was convicted in 1981 for his involvement in the killings, as well as a separate sectarian murder. All three declined to name their accomplices and their identities remain unknown. They were released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

In 2019, Netflix documentary "ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre" brought the killings back into the public eye, following survivor Stephen Travers' fight to bring the killers to justice and keep the memory of his bandmates alive.

There's the sound of banjos, fiddles and tin whistles everywhere, as Irish trad music enjoys a roaring resurgence.

It's resonating "fiercely" with young people, who "roar out the lyrics" in pubs under the "looming threat that we might run of out of Guinness", said The Independent. One venue owner compared the phenomenon to Beatlemania, as "clamouring" fans of Irish folk flock to see their favourite trad acts.

'Changing the face of trad'

The success of Ryan Coogler's vampire film "Sinners", which features Irish ballads and reels aplenty, has helped put the genre in the spotlight. More widely, Irish indie folk band Kingfishr are topping the charts, while acts like The Mary Wallopers and Lankum are also helping to connect younger audiences with these traditional sounds.

We're "changing the face of trad" but "keeping the tradition there, too", all-female trad group Cailíní Lua told The Irish World. The "stereotype" is of "lads in Aran jumpers and beards", band member Tara Brady said. People "can't believe" that women could form a trad band, but there's a "strength" and a "power" in that.

Lisa Canny, from the 11-piece trad group BIIRD, told Image magazine that trad "needed a new image" to ensure that it "connects with everyone" and reaches audiences "in a contemporary way".

'Subconscious protest'

The popularity of Irish folk sounds could also be a "subconscious protest against the rise of AI and the forced homogenisation of our musical palettes", said The Independent. It is, perhaps, the equivalent of young people "ditching their iPhones in favour of a Nokia 3210", because they've realised that new "doesn't always mean better".

Young people have been "starved of communication, of human interaction", button accordionist and "trad legend" Máirtín O’Connor told the paper. Folk music is "very much music of human interaction, celebration and commiseration", and "quite the opposite" of "isolating technology". People feel "oversaturated by screens", particularly after the isolation of the Covid pandemic, said singer-songwriter David Keenan. We're entering an "era of romanticism", and looking at culture again.

For young people in Ireland, traditional music offers a "reaffirmed sense of national identity and pride", said Image. It's not that "we were lacking in patriotism before" but, for a time, we "found the outside world more alluring". Now, BIIRD's Lisa Canny told the magazine, "the focus has started to come back in".

Fundamentally, trad is popular because it's "very inclusive, egalitarian" and "everyone gets the chance to play it", Jason O'Rourke, who plays a 1920s vintage concertina, told the BBC. It's no wonder it's become a "global phenomenon".

Irish citizens will go to the polls on Friday to choose a new government, and it's far from certain who will lead the next administration

With days to go, the incumbent centrist coalition of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, led by Taoiseach Simon Harris, looked set to regain enough votes to continue in power. But a "brusque exchange" between Harris and a voter on the campaign trail has really "churned the waters", said Mark Landler in The New York Times.

In an election likely to be defined by issues of immigration, housing and jobs that could result in a bigger-than-usual vote for independent candidates, it may well be some time before the make-up of the next government is known.

What did the commentators say?

Given Ireland's unusual proportional-representation voting system, candidates are elected "slowly", said David Blevins and Conor O'Neill at Sky News. And, with no party having "fielded enough to win a majority", there will certainly be a coalition government.

This "peculiarly Irish race" favours Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the parties that have "produced every prime minister" since 1922, said Shawn Pogatchnik at Politico. "The two big legacy parties," said Melanie McDonagh in The Spectator, "manifestly have more in common than not."

Sinn Fein has "gained momentum" but is "limited by a lack of coalition partners", said Jill Lawless at The Washington Post, just as it was when it won the popular vote in 2020. It has also recently "been dogged by a series of allegations of inappropriate behaviour", said The Guardian's Justine McCarthy. It is unlikely to find an ally among the two big parties, who are wary of its "leftist policies and historic links to the Irish Republican Army", said Lawless.

All three parties are likely to feel the heat of some voters "turning on them" in favour of one of "several smaller parties" and an "assortment of independents" who have all taken up positions away from the centre ground.

Sinn Fein, in particular, is being "stung by the anti-immigrant sentiment" that has swept Ireland. Its leaders, having "largely shunned the nativist language of populist and right-wing parties", are seeing some of their base "peeling away" to independent and fringe candidates, added The New York Times' Landler.

For Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, there's likely to be backlash over their perceived lack of answers to the housing crisis. This is "among the main concerns of voters", with many "basing their first-preference intentions" on party stances on this issue, said Jade Wilson and Conor Pope in The Irish Times.

And, for Fine Gael, it could be Harris' "moment of Veep-grade awkwardness" on the campaign trail that weakens them most, and unseats him as Taoiseach, said Pogatchnik at Politico.

What next?

Whoever is able to form a coalition will have a slew of issues to deal with. As well as the housing crisis, high prices and the cost of living remain "a key concern", said Jon Henley in The Guardian.

Then there's healthcare funding, the "hot-button" issue of immigration, and the "less vexed" question of how to spend the €14bn of tax money coming to the country from Apple after an EU high-court ruling.

Any election result leaves Irish politics in a "strange blend of continuity and flux", said Eoin Daly on The Conversation. While the recent coalition governments have kept a "façade of relative stability", the nature of the electoral set-up points to a "longer-term trend towards discord and disintegration" – something that will be "familiar across much of the European continent".

The most probable outcome is a Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil coalition, in tandem with a smaller party. All the independents together "could get up to a fifth of the vote", said The Spectator's McDonagh, and any conservative independents who sign up with a Fianna Fáil / Fine Gael coalition "may be the tail to wag the government dog".

Taoiseach Simon Harris, says McDonagh, may get "more than he bargained for" in calling this election.

At its southwestern tip, Ireland frays and fragments into a series of mountainous peninsulae and wild islands that are home to some of its most treasured cultural sites and richest coastal habitats. In April this year, scattered parts of the area, including large offshore reefs, were designated as the country's eighth national park and first marine national park, said Mike Unwin in The Guardian.

I visited several bits of the Kerry Seas in the course of an enchanting road trip, which took in three easy boat tours. This corner of Ireland is a "top" whale-watching destination, with both minke and fin whales seen regularly in summer, and humpbacks – their "showier cousins" – in the autumn. The park's greatest "jewel" is Skellig Michael, a vertiginous island that was "the very edge of the known world" for the monks who inhabited it from the sixth to the 12th centuries. Featured in the Star Wars films as Luke Skywalker's sanctuary, it is an "otherworldly" place. Beneath its breathtaking pyramidal peak there stands a ruined church, alongside six beehive-shaped monastic cells in which European storm petrels nest today. Scarcely less magical are the Blasket Islands, which lie off the end of the Dingle Peninsula. They were abandoned in the 1950s, but the memoirs written in the late 19th century by several of their inhabitants, including Tomás O'Crohan and Peig Sayers, are now key works in the Gaelic canon. 

The view as I drove along the Dingle Peninsula itself was "stunning", with "mist spilling over the mountains inland and cloud shadows scudding over a slate-and-silver sea". I passed "hidden coves, proud headlands and iron-age ruins", and at each bend I was confronted with another "fabulous" Atlantic vista. Later, I saw huge bluefin tuna "ploughing after shoaling mackerel" in the waters off Kinsale (which lies outside the park). But nothing beat the boat trip out to Great Blasket, as dolphins and grey seals crowded around us and a minke whale passed by, its "long gleaming back" like a "submarine" surfacing among the waves.

The Irish government is under pressure to come clean about a decades-old secret agreement with the UK for RAF aircraft to defend Irish airspace in an emergency.

Although "never officially confirmed", the Anglo-Irish deal is understood to allow UK jets to "intercept threats" in Irish airspace, said Sky News.

Sinn Féin, the main opposition party in Ireland, is now demanding more transparency on the precise nature of the arrangement to ensure it's not in breach of Ireland's neutrality. Independent senator Gerard Craughwell, a veteran of both the British and Irish armed forces, has also launched a High Court case that would force the government to put the details before the Irish parliament.

'Naval chokepoint'

It is official policy in Dublin "to refuse to publicly discuss" Ireland's air defence arrangements with the UK or the presence of RAF interceptors in Irish airspace, said The Irish Times. But interviews with political, diplomatic and military figures suggest that the agreement "goes back over 70 years to the early days of the Cold War".

The first agreement was drawn up in the early 1950s, when tensions between the USSR and the West were "near boiling point". Although neutral, Ireland was concerned it was "wholly unequipped" to detect or intercept any Soviet airborne threat. That threat was more than theoretical, because Ireland was next to the waters known as the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, a "naval chokepoint" that would be "vital to control if hostilities broke out between the two superpowers".

So, in 1952, Irish officials signed an agreement that would allow the RAF to enter Irish airspace if it detected a Soviet threat, formalising a similar arrangement in place during the Second World War. However, Ireland's neutrality and its location on the west of Europe meant "the threat of Russian bombers rarely kept politicians or civil servants up at night".

During the Troubles, a second secret agreement was drawn up, allowing British helicopters to travel up to three miles into the Republic of Ireland for counter-terrorism surveillance and pursuits of suspects.

Then, after the September 11 attacks, Ireland "woke up" to the fact that commercial aircraft could potentially pose "just as much of a threat as a hostile power", so it was agreed that RAF jets could intercept and shoot down aircraft in Irish airspace.

That dimension of the agreement was crucial because the only aircraft Ireland had that were capable of air-to-air defence was the Pilatus PC-9, a propeller-driven trainer acquired by the Air Corps in 2004. It had much in common with aircraft used as far back as the Second World War.

'Effectively defenceless'

In addition to demands for increased transparency, there are also calls for Ireland to become more self-reliant in the air. A report from the Commission on the Defence Forces in 2022 found that Ireland was effectively defenceless on land, sea and in the air and it called for a new air squadron that would give Ireland its own "quick reaction alert" system, allowing it to respond to threats in its own airspace without relying on London.

But it is "not as easy as just buying aircraft", said The Irish Times. "Vast infrastructure" would be needed, including ground controllers, primary radar and a completely new training regime.

After decades of "chronic underinvestment" in its military, Ireland lacks a primary radar system capable of detecting military aircraft once they turn off their transponders, said Sky News.

In 2020, Russian Tupolev TU-95 "Bear" aircraft twice entered Irish-controlled air space before being escorted away by RAF jets, said the BBC. This "type of provocation" has "become more and more common in recent years", said The Irish Times.

"In the face of an increasingly belligerent Russia" the nation's air defence capabilities are "at their lowest point in decades".

Ireland's justice minister complained that migrants from the UK had started crossing the border into the Republic in order to avoid being deported to Rwanda. Helen McEntee claimed that 80% of recent asylum seekers had come from Northern Ireland; days later, the new Taoiseach, Simon Harris, said his government would be introducing a law to override an Irish court ruling that the UK is unsafe for asylum seekers owing to the Rwanda plan, with a view to sending migrants back. However, Downing Street insists that it has "no legal obligation" to accept them.

The Home Office said this week that it has begun detaining the first migrants identified for deportation to Rwanda, and confirmed that the first one-way flights would leave within nine to 11 weeks. However, it also admitted that it has been unable to locate 3,557 of the 5,700 asylum seekers due to be deported, because they're not obliged to report to Border Force.

An extraordinary gambit

"The Irish do like a laugh," said The Sun. How else to explain Dublin's ludicrous plan to send its asylum seekers to Britain? Since we left the EU, France has refused to take back those who reach the UK in small boats. Yet Simon Harris seems to think that Britain can be compelled to accept those who make it to Ireland. "A pointless new law will apparently enforce it. How? Britain won't allow it."

It's an extraordinary gambit, agreed The Times – but Harris is wrestling with an issue that has become toxic in Ireland, as it has in Britain. There have been arson attacks on proposed hostels for asylum seekers, hundreds of whom were living in a "tent city" in central Dublin until it was cleared this week. 

Still, that migrants are fleeing to Ireland suggests that the Rwanda plan is having its intended deterrent effect. Even that is not clear, said The Independent. The Irish have provided no data to back up their claim about migrants fleeing the UK; and boats are still crossing the Channel. What migrants may be deterred from is reporting to Border Force on arrival – which would "come as a surprise to no one".

A week of hypocrisy

"For connoisseurs of hypocrisy and irony in politics", the past week has been "one to treasure", said Dominic Lawson in the Daily Mail. Days after France's President Macron labelled Sunak's Rwanda plan a "betrayal of European values", the largest grouping in the European Parliament proposed its own scheme to send asylum seekers to "safe third countries". And then Ireland triggered this diplomatic spat. 

During Brexit negotiations, Dublin repeatedly insisted that there could be no hard border between the North and the Republic, saying it would undermine the Good Friday Agreement. Yet now the Irish government is complaining that this border is too porous. In doing so, it has presented a problem without a solution, said Sean O'Grady in The Independent. The 310-mile border in question is "basically invisible and imprecise even to the locals, let alone someone fleeing Mogadishu". The idea that Dublin could send migrants back to Northern Ireland and never see them again is for the birds.

Dublin insists it does have the right to return asylum seekers, as part of a reciprocal deal made in 2020, said Nimo Omer in The Guardian. The UK says the deal is not legally binding, and it has never been used. Put on hold during the pandemic, it has been delayed again by the Irish high court's ruling in March that the UK cannot be designated as a safe place. 

Dublin's workaround – which may not work, but may persuade voters that it is "doing something" – is to introduce a law that designates the UK as a safe place. Sound familiar? It ought to, said Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph. After all, the Rwanda law does the same thing for that country, and is a similarly "cynical distraction". 

By making the immigration debate all about the "relatively tiny" number of people arriving in the UK on small boats (29,437 last year), Rishi Sunak is hoping that voters will continue to overlook the "vast number" arriving on our shores legally (672,000 net last year). "Who does Sunak think he's kidding? Quite plainly, it's us."

'Proof of concept'

The first failed asylum seeker was sent from the UK to Rwanda this week. The man had signed up to a voluntary relocation scheme in which migrants who cannot be returned to their own countries are offered £3,000 to go to Rwanda. The scheme is separate to the enforced deportation plan; but officials said it was "proof of concept".

Those due to be deported to Rwanda have been detained in cities including Glasgow, Bristol and Birmingham, The Guardian reports. Several were detained after turning up for what they thought were routine Home Office appointments.

As the war between Israel and Hamas nears the six-month mark, the global community remains divided between support for Israel and support for the Palestinian people. Muslim-majority Middle Eastern countries continue to back the Palestinians and most Western governments are standing by Israel, but there is an outlying European Union nation that has consistently shown strong support for the Palestinians: Ireland. 

Nearly 80% of Irish people back the Palestinians and think that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to the most recent polling. This high level of support for the Palestinian people may come as a surprise to those looking in from the outside, given that Ireland is a majority-white, majority-Catholic country situated more than 2,000 miles away from the Middle East.

While many people in the EU and other Western countries are rallying behind the Palestinians — and support for Israel is slowly declining — Ireland's public backing of the Palestinians is among the highest outside of the Middle East. This support is not new, either — in 1980, Ireland became the first EU country to back the creation of a Palestinian state. Why is Ireland so united in its support for the Palestinian people? 

What did the commentators say?

The root of the support can largely be traced back to historical similarities between the region of Palestine and Ireland. Both are former colonies of the United Kingdom; Ireland gained independence in 1921, while the British ceded Palestine upon the creation of Israel in 1948. Northern Ireland, which remains part of the U.K., also experienced widespread violence from the 1960s to the 1990s during a paramilitary conflict known as The Troubles. 

As a result, many people in Ireland say their "experience of British occupation — as well as their own sectarian conflict, and 18th-century famine — gives them empathy and shared history with the Palestinian struggle," Lauren Frayer and Fatima Al-Kassab said for NPR. And beyond the Palestinians, many in Ireland "identify more with the Global South's experience of imperialism and colonialism," Frayer and Al-Kassab said. 

Sympathy for Palestinians is "rooted in Ireland's history," Niall Holohan, a former Irish diplomat to the Palestinian Authority, said to The Guardian. The Irish people "feel we have been victimized over the centuries. It's part of our psyche — underneath it all we side with the underdog," Holohan said. He also noted that Ireland's small Jewish population of around 2,500 people — or 0.05% of Ireland's total population — makes the country's Palestinian support more visible. Ireland has become a "template for Palestine" that has "undoubtedly shaped how people from Ireland engage with postcolonial conflicts," Jane Ohlmeyer, a history professor at Trinity College, said to The Guardian. 

The "apparatus of occupation — armed military patrols on city streets, military checkpoints, segregated cities and separation walls — that shape daily life today in occupied Palestine" is very similar to the "one once utilized by the British in Northern Ireland," Aisling Walsh said for Al Jazeera. This is the main reason as to "why the people of Ireland widely identify with and eagerly support the Palestinians."

What next? 

Beyond public opinion, lawmakers throughout Ireland have also been somewhat of an outlier among EU countries in their support for the Palestinians. Politicians "across Ireland's political spectrum were among the first in Europe to call for the protection of Palestinian civilians and denounce the scale of Israel's response," The New York Times said. 

Those at the top of the government have expressed sentiments standing with both Israel and Gaza. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he "strongly believed that Israel had the right to defend itself, but that what was unfolding in Gaza 'resembles something approaching revenge,'" the Times said. He has since called for a cease-fire from Israel and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Irish President Michael D. Higgins has also condemned Hamas' attacks on Israel while criticizing Israel's response. 

Varadkar is set to meet with President Joe Biden on Friday for their annual St. Patrick's Day celebration. That meeting will be used to tell Biden "how Irish people feel, and that is that we want to see a cease-fire immediately, for the killing to stop, the hostages to be released without condition, [and] food and medicine to get into Gaza," Varadkar told reporters. 

Many people will use the day as "an excuse to attend a parade, visit an Irish pub, drink a Guinness, or maybe even dye a well-known river green", said USA Today, but St Patrick's Day has a long history as a holiday in Ireland. 

While traditionally a "solemn and religious day", St Patrick's Day has now become an opportunity to celebrate Irish culture in wider ways. Many will take this as a chance to share food and drink with one another. The Week has compiled some recipes inspired by the day that you could try. 

Guinness pie

Rich Irish flavours burst from this Guinness pie by Sophie Carey, a bakery development manager for Matthews Cotswold Flour. With tender beef, hearty vegetables and Guinness stout, this piping hot pie promises to satisfy cravings for traditional Irish fare.

For the filling:

• 500g beef shin, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 440ml can of Guinness 
• 500ml beef stock 
• 2 tbsp Matthews Regenerative All Purpose Flour
• 1 sprig of rosemary 
• 1 bay leaf 
• Salt and pepper 
• 1 egg, for glazing

For the pastry:

• 100g lard 
• 100g water
• 280g Matthews Regenerative All Purpose Flour

Method:

• Season and fry the beef shin in a few batches in a heavy-based casserole dish or dutch oven until well browned on all sides.
• With all the beef in the pan, sprinkle over 2 tbsp flour and stir until no lumps remain.
• Slowly pour in the Guinness and stock, then add the vegetables and herbs.
• Cook on medium low for at least 3 hours – or until the beef is tender and falling apart, and the sauce is a thick gravy. (Alternatively, you could place the dish in the oven on a very low temperature overnight.)
• Remove the stems from the rosemary and the bay leaf. Leave the beef to cool.
• To make the pastry, heat the lard and water in a saucepan until boiling, then take off the heat and add the flour to the pan.
• Stir vigorously until a soft dough has formed. Leave the dough to cool for at least 20 minutes, or until cool enough to touch.
• Split the dough in half, then cut a third off of each half (this will make the lids for the pies).
• Roll out the pastry for the base and line individual pie tins (or you can use mini springform cake tins). Press the pastry down into the edges for neat pies.
• Spoon the filling in, leaving about 2cm room for the lid.
• Roll out the lid to the same thickness as the base pastry, making sure you have plenty of overhang for crimping. Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash and cut a hole in the centre of the lid to allow steam out.
• Crimp to your liking, then trim the excess. Bake in the oven at 170°C for 45 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
• Enjoy with green vegetables and extra Guinness.

Twice-baked Colcannon potatoes

This crispy, crunchy jacket potato recipe by Harry Hookoffers a twist on the classic Irish dish, colcannon. Infused with creamy mash, tender kale and savoury bacon, this is proper comfort food.

Ingredients:

• 3 large floury baking potatoes
• vegetable oil
• sea salt flakes
• 100g Trewithen Dairy salted butter
• 4 smoked bacon rashers, sliced into lardons
• 1 large bunch of kale, washed and roughly chopped
• 75g Trewithen Dairy Cornish clotted cream
• 4 spring onions, sliced thinly
• 50g Cheddar cheese, grated
• salt and pepper 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 190°C.
• Prick potatoes all over, coat with oil and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle generously with sea salt flakes. Bake for 1 hour, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
• Increase oven temperature to 220°C.
• When the potatoes are just cool enough to handle, slice them in half lengthways and carefully scoop the flesh into a bowl, taking care to leave the skins intact. Place the skins back on the baking tray. 
• Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the lardons. When they are golden brown, add the kale and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the buttery mixture into the bowl of mashed potatoes. Stir through until thoroughly combined, before adding the clotted cream and spring onions. Season to taste, bearing in mind the bacon will also add saltiness.
• Carefully spoon the filling back into the potato skins. Sprinkle with the cheese, then return to the oven for 10 or so minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the potato skins are gloriously crispy.
• Enjoy with a side of kimchi for a spicy contrast.

Irish potato soup

Embrace Ireland's cosy flavours with this potato soup recipe by Chris Clyburn, project manager of the FullCrumb Kitchen at FareShare Yorkshire. Chris teaches frontline charity workers and individuals how to cook nutritious meals on a budget with a focus on surplus ingredients. This soul-warming delight is simmered to perfection, and made with humble ingredients.

Ingredients:

• knob of unsalted butter
• 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 celery stalks, washed and chopped
• 700g potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 750ml boiling water
• 150ml milk
• salt and pepper
• optional toppings: smoked bacon, flat-leaf parsley, croutons or Irish cheddar cheese

Method:

• Place the butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat.
• Add the onion and celery and cook until the onion is translucent. 
• Add the potatoes and garlic and stir well. Pour in the stock and season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to the boil, put on a lid, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer gently for around 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
• Pour in the milk and return to the boil. Remove from the heat and carefully blend the soup.
• Correct the seasoning if needed.
• Serve in warm bowls alongside crusty buttered bread and your choice of toppings.

Guinness cake

This chocolate Guinness cake recipe by Ben Ebbrell, the chef and co-founder of Sorted Food, is made in a Guinness glass, combining the distinct taste of the Irish stout and the rich flavours of chocolate for a delicious treat that looks just like the creamy drink.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 75g salted butter
• 125g Guinness 
• 150g dark brown sugar 
• 50ml sunflower oil
• 40g cocoa powder 
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 75ml natural yoghurt 
• 125g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the frosting:

• 150g cream cheese 
• 200g icing sugar
• 25ml shot of Guinness
• green fondant icing or mint leaves, for decoration

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Melt the butter in a pan along with the Guinness.
• Beat in the sugar, oil and cocoa powder until smooth and lump free.
• Mix the eggs with the yoghurt and vanilla in another bowl.
• Whisk in the chocolate and Guinness mixture.
• Fold in the flour and baking powder.
• Divide between 4 half-pint Guinness glasses so that they are about three-quarters full, allowing for a rise and frosting.
• Bake for 40 minutes until risen and cooked right through. Test with a skewer in the centre of each glass: push it in and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
• Allow to cool fully.
• Level off the top of the cake where it may have risen unevenly and blitz the cake pieces to a crumb and wedge back into the gaps in the glass.
• Put all the frosting ingredients into a bowl and beat until smooth and fluffy.
• Spoon the frosting onto the top of each cake to look like the head on a pint.
• Decorate with a shamrock made from fondant icing or mint leaves.

Six Nations rugby returns on Friday with France and Ireland meeting in Marseille in the battle of the Grand Slam favourites.

It may be just 12 months since Andy Farrell's Ireland won the Six Nations with a clean sweep of victories, but after the drama and heartbreak that European teams suffered at the World Cup "so much has changed", said Rugby World.

The Irish "romped" to the Grand Slam in as "dominant a fashion as the championship has ever seen," said Sky News, beating each side by at least 13 points. They will open this year's tournament against favourites France, with the winner opening up the path to another perfect championship.

Who are the favourites?

France (5/4) just edge out Ireland (9/5) as favourites, according to Oddschecker's best odds. England (7/1) are a distant third, followed by Scotland (14/1), Wales (33/1) and Italy (500/1).

Les Bleus will be without their star scrum-half and reigning World Player of the Year Antoine Dupont, who has chosen to play sevens rugby this season in the hope of winning Olympic gold in Paris this summer. France also have to play all of their home games away from Stade de France as it undergoes a facelift ahead of the Olympics. But their objective remains "crystal-clear", said Flo Rugby: "Win it. And do it by way of the Grand Slam, preferably."

As for Ireland, "there was and is something brutally mechanical" about them, said The Telegraph. For a time they were ranked number one in the world and after the heartbreak of their dramatic quarter-final exit to the All Blacks at the World Cup, they will be looking to prove themselves again. 

They will have to do so without the "talismanic figure" of Johnny Sexton, who has retired. Jack Crowley looks likely to take over as the new playmaker at No. 10 and experienced Munster flanker Peter O'Mahony is the new captain, reported Sky News. And with the key games against France and England being away from Dublin, back-to-back Grand Slams would be a "real achievement", said the paper.

Who are the players to watch?

Gregory Alldritt, No. 8, France

There are "so many names that could be considered key players in the French squad," said Flo Rugby, but Alldritt, who will go into the Six Nations wearing the captain's armband, "enters this year's competition as France's leader in a strange new era, making his role in squad cohesion and success crucially important".

James Lowe, winger, Ireland

Lowe has "rapidly become one of the most exciting wings in international rugby", said Rugby All Star. His performances for Ireland have been marked by "blistering pace, deft handling, and an uncanny ability to find the try line". And, as his impressive attacking stats prove, he is a player who can "turn a game on its head with a single moment of brilliance".

Marcus Smith, fly-half, England

Owen Farrell's absence presents an "important moment to one of the brightest talents in English rugby", said Rugby Pass. Smith shows "an instinct for attack and courage to play beyond any of his rivals for the jersey", said the sports site, "but he must also prove he can guide England through choppier waters".

Sam Costelow, fly-half, Wales

The 23-year-old has won only eight caps "but this could be the campaign where he really makes a name for himself", said Wales Online. The Scarlets' playmaker "remains a work in progress" but is "highly regarded" by the Wales management, and seen as a player with an "extremely bright future on the international circuit".

Finn Russell, fly-half, Scotland

Russell is "a fly-half known for his attacking instincts", said Rugby World. He can produce a host of "kicks, flicks and tricks to create try-scoring opportunities for himself and his team-mates". And being named co-captain with Rory Darge signals an end to his previously stormy relationship with head coach Gregor Townsend.

Alessandro Izekor, flanker, Italy

Highly rated by none other than Italy great Sergio Parisse, the uncapped Izekor is a "colossus of a back row who stands 6'5" tall and weighs well over 17 stones", said Rugby Pass. "A force on both sides of the ball, the 23-year-old will be looking to transfer his impressive form for Benetton on to the Test arena."

If the Tories don't act, there will soon only be smoking rubble left

David Frost in The Telegraph

The results of a poll showing the Tory party is facing a 1997-style wipeout are "stunningly awful", says David Frost in The Telegraph, and the party will "lose, and lose bad, unless we do something about it". The problem is the Tories "aren't dealing with people's real problems". The only way to "rescue the position" is to "be as tough as it takes on immigration" and other key policy areas.

Read more

Ireland's last nuns are dying out. Can we condemn their abuses – and admit the good they did too?

Dearbhail McDonald in The Guardian 

Nearly three decades after the "catastrophic eruption" of abuse scandals in Ireland, the nation is still reckoning with "the legacy of an unholy communion between church and state", writes Dearbhail McDonald in The Guardian. But many nuns are "devastated" the abuse will "cancel the positive contribution and life's work of their majority". While assessing the impact of Catholicism, "can we hold these truths, the achievements, as well as the abuse?"

Read more

MLK's 'dream' no closer to reality

Anthony Moretti for CGTN 

As America marks what would have been Martin Luther King's 95th birthday today, the nation is "no closer to realizing" his "dream of racial equality", says Anthony Moretti on CGTN. In healthcare, politics and economic standing, African Americans face "pernicious" racism, a barrier to their overall progress. "Almost 61 years after King delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech", there is "no dream. But it does resemble a nightmare."

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Customer service is surely designed to irritate – it must be

Stefano Hatfield on the i news site

The Post Office scandal revealed the "mix of incompetence, carelessness and built-in complexity" Britons must deal with when dealing with a "modern, monolithic corporation", writes Stefano Hatfield on the i news site. Talking to "faceless entities when something has gone wrong" is to experience "Orwellian doublespeak". These may be "first world problems", but they show a society where "everyone 'listens', nobody hears". Everything is the "customer's fault" and there is "zero accountability".

Read more

Justice on the horizon for brave postmasters

The Daily Mail editorial 

"It can be cliched to describe a frightening, disorientating situation as Kafkaesque," says the Daily Mail's editorial. But "no word more perfectly sums up the horrendous ordeal" suffered by the sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of swindling money on the basis of evidence from the faulty Horizon IT system. A mass absolution is the "right" decision, but "until those responsible for this appalling scandal are finally held accountable, the victims will always be denied true justice".

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Europe is the sick man of the global economy

John Rapley on UnHerd

The "real sick man of the world economy at the moment is Europe", writes author and academic John Rapley for UnHerd. By the IMF's reckoning, "six of the world’s 10 worst-performing economies last year" are to be found on this continent. And "it looks to be a case of economic long Covid", with European governments now lacking funds to invest in "fixing the problems they had let fester before the pandemic".

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Why it's time to wear face masks again

Sean O'Grady for The Independent

Covid-19 "isn't over" and mandatory mask-wearing is "a common-sense, precautionary step that will probably slow the spread of the disease", says The Independent's Sean O'Grady. Even if "you yourself are asymptomatic", if wearing masks can "save a single person from long Covid per hospital per year, it is well worth everyone doing their bit".

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Worst impulses of populism won't be quelled by numbers and data

Finn McRedmond for The Irish Times

Like other countries, Ireland "is vulnerable to the populist wave cresting over Europe, to the increasing factionalism general to the Continent", writes Finn McRedmond for The Irish Times. "Weathering that storm requires careful positioning" ahead of the nation's next general election, with a focus on constant reminders that "perhaps your ideological opponent has a point, no matter how ugly it may appear to you". 

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With many popular cultural attractions and historical landmarks, Ireland's capital city Dublin is a charming destination for a weekend away. It's also a place where there's plenty of top hotels to enjoy a good night's sleep after a good night's "craic". One such spot is The Westbury Hotel, which sits on a quiet street in central Dublin and offers both comfort and luxury.

Why come here?

One of The Doyle Collection's eight hotels, The Westbury last year underwent an €8 million (£6.9m/$8.6m) transformation of its fifth and sixth floors, which features 18 new signature suites, including two with expansive outdoor terraces. Other highlights include the new P.V. Doyle Suite, which is named after the hotel founder.

As someone who loves outdoor space, I was excited to stay in the hotel's terrace suite. Inside, the suite has three rooms – the lounge gives you access to the terrace, and a large bedroom leads on to a bright and airy bathroom. Running parallel to the suite, the terrace has everything you could ask for including overhead heaters. This means you can sit back and savour the moment while taking in views over Dublin's rooftops and listening to the sounds of the city's lively streets below.

It takes just over an hour to fly from London to Dublin, which means it is perfectly situated for a weekend break. Plus, the hotel can organise chauffeurs to transport you in style from the airport to the city. 

Inside the hotel, you walk up a grand staircase and all around there's a sense of excitement with guests checking in for their stays, stopping for afternoon tea, or making their way to WILDE, the main restaurant where we later enjoyed an incredible dinner and delicious Irish breakfast. Down the hall, there’s also The Sidecar, a popular 1930s-style cocktail bar with outdoor terrace.

The terrace suite

Like the hotel's main entrance, the suite was warm and welcoming. The front door (with its own doorbell) leads straight through to the lounge where you'll find a sofa, coffee table with interesting books about Ireland, a hotel-branded candle, and Butlers Chocolates, a Dublin-based company known around the world for creating Irish chocolate treats. 

It wasn't long before we heard the doorbell ring too. A staff member was waiting with a bottle of champagne so we filled some Irish crystal glasses and headed out onto the terrace where luckily enough the sun was shining. With comfy cushioned furniture, heaters and an awning overhead, you can enjoy the terrace come rain or shine. The extra thought that's gone into the outdoor space is appreciated.

The bedroom is tranquil and I loved the added touch of the well-kept orchid, which brought the outside in. On the beds, there's cosy sheets and the softest throws, plus in the mini-fridge you can find hotel-branded sweet and chocolate mixtures in jars. They're so cute you'll want to take them home as souvenirs. The bathroom is also a highlight as it has shutters looking out over the terrace, a huge bathtub and shower, marble-esque heated floors, and deliciously scented MALIN+GOETZ products. 

There are other suite and room options, too. The P.V. Doyle Suite located in a secluded part of the hotel is ideal for business meetings with a vast table, bar, iconic art and views towards rolling hills in the west. Families are also well-catered for with the option to connect rooms, and the standard rooms are painted in the prettiest tone of pink. 

Eating and drinking

WILDE restaurant is elegant at any time of the day. In the evening, it oozes glamour, and at breakfast there's a relaxing atmosphere. It has a perfect setting for special occasions and showcases Irish produce with a varied European menu. The sommelier kept the wine flowing and shared details about each one and where it was from in the world. 

The verdict

Dublin is charming and so too are the staff at The Westbury. In the most luxurious of ways, you feel at home at this hotel. The atmosphere is formal yet friendly with spacious communal areas perfect for impromptu meet-ups, quality time spent with friends, family or even for business trips. A generous midday check-out time also adds to the relaxing stay. 

Kaye O'Doherty was a guest of The Westbury and The Doyle Collection. A standard room at The Westbury starts from €420 (£364/$460) per night, the terrace suite starts from €1,205 (£1,043/$1,318) per night and The P.V. Doyle Suite starts from €4,500 (£3,897/$4,925) per night. Balfe Street, Dublin 2, D02 CH66, Ireland; doylecollection.com

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The Irish government has launched legal action against the UK in a bid to reverse a law that provides immunity for Troubles-related offences.

The controversial act, formally known as the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, was introduced by the British government in September despite opposition from politicians in Dublin and Belfast and from the families of victims. 

Ireland has initiated an "interstate" lawsuit against the UK government in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar saying his country had been left with "no option".

The act "effectively prevents prosecutions for serious crimes of soldiers as well as paramilitaries on both sides", said The Telegraph, with the British government giving amnesty for those who cooperate and provide information to an independent commission. It also ends any new inquests or civil actions related to the Troubles.

Ireland's subsequent legal action – which had received "the blessing" of US President Joe Biden – to challenge the bill has "plunged" the two nations into a "bitter diplomatic row", the paper added.

What the papers said

The UK government's position is that any prosecutions over the Troubles are "unlikely to succeed", said the Daily Mail, and an "independent body should be set up instead". 

But Ireland is to argue that the new act is "incompatible with the UK's obligations" under the European Convention on Human Rights, and there is "consensus from both governments and parties in Northern Ireland" to push ahead with legal action.

Critics claim the act "removed access to justice" for victims' families, some of whom have "already taken action against the UK government at Belfast's High Court", said the BBC. But despite victims' groups and the Irish government opposing it "right from its conception", the move to instigate interstate legal action is a "big step", said the BBC's Julian O'Neill, and it "will not have been taken without evaluating political implications". 

The UK government has persistently defended its decision to "legislate unilaterally", said the Financial Times, and has argued that it is "time to be realistic" about pursuing prosecutions. However, some human rights groups have said the law is a "barely concealed attempt to shield soldiers from prosecution". 

The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, said the lawsuit was "misguided" and the government would "continue robustly to defend the legislation". He added that the Irish government had not made a "concerted or sustained attempt" to pursue prosecutions and it had been "inconsistent" – something "Dublin disputes", said the FT.

The legal action has also sparked "renewed calls by the Right of the Conservative Party" for the UK to "reconsider its membership" of the European Convention on Human Rights, said The Telegraph. That is a response that Rishi Sunak has "tried to stave off while he tries to force through his Rwanda Bill". 

European Research Group chair Mark Francois told the paper the bill had been "exhaustively debated" before being passed and should not be "overturned by an appeal to an activist foreign court".

What next?

A tense legal battle could have significant implications for relations between the UK and Ireland, and the prospect of "consequences for UK-Irish relations cannot be ruled out", said The Independent. 

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC that it was difficult to see how the legal case would improve relations between the nations and accused the Irish government of double standards, saying it had "no proposals to deal with the legacy issues".

The UK government is adamant that it will successfully defend the legislation in court, but doubts have been cast over whether the ECHR will agree with its legitimacy. Law professor Kieran McEvoy of Queen's University Belfast told the FT that he could see "no way" and "no chance" that the European court would "find that amnesty to be lawful".

The lawsuit may end up not being necessary, the paper added, as Labour leader Keir Starmer has "vowed to repeal" the law "if the party wins the UK general election expected next year".

The London-raised child of Irish parents, Shane MacGowan, who has died aged 65, took the folk music of the old country and imbued it with the snarling energy of punk. Billing himself for a time as Shane O'Hooligan, he formed a band called Pogue Mahone (Gaelic slang for "kiss my arse") in 1982, which became the Pogues. As its rumbustious frontman, MacGowan delighted fans with his wild, boozy antics and growling delivery, while turning out a series of beautifully written songs – "A Pair of Brown Eyes", "Sally MacLennane", "Dark Streets of London". Many of them reflected the emigrant experience, of exile and loneliness, hard living and hard labour, said The Guardian. Yet the atmosphere of these "gutter hymns" was celebratory.

Finding fame

The Pogues won a loyal following, largely among the Irish diaspora; then Elvis Costello bet MacGowan that he couldn't write a Christmas song without it being a slushy sell-out. The result was "Fairytale of New York", co-written by Jem Finer and performed with Kirsty MacColl. A painfully raw story of love, bitterness and regret, it went to No. 2 in the charts in 1987, and is now the most played festive song in Britain. "It was Christmas Eve, babe / in the drunk tank / an old man said to me, won't see another one..."

Alas, MacGowan was too familiar with the drunk tank, said Neil McCormick in The Daily Telegraph. His boozing, which was facilitated by his fame, undermined his "creative force", and took a terrible toll on his health (and his teeth). He'd been given six months to live back in the 1980s, and also suffered a series of serious accidents, including falling out of a fast-moving car.

The background 

Shane MacGowan was born in Kent on Christmas Day 1957, during a family visit; his parents later settled in England, where his father worked as a manager at C&A. They had high hopes for their son, whose literary promise was evident early on, and sent him to a private prep school. 

From there, he won a scholarship to Westminster School. But Shane had always spent his holidays back at the family farm in Tipperary, and fell in love with the revelry and poetry of his homeland. He was given Guinness aged five and was swigging whiskey aged eight. He was expelled from Westminster for smoking a joint, and aged 17 he was committed to a psychiatric hospital following a drug-induced breakdown.

After The Pogues

Shortly after being discharged, he stumbled into a Sex Pistols gig. He joined a band called the Nipple Erectors (the Nips) before founding the Dubliners-inspired Pogue Mahone. Their instruments, which they learnt as they went along, included a tin whistle and a banjo. They gained a reputation for riotous live shows, and made the charts (as the Pogues) with songs including a cover of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town". Hit albums – "Rum", "Sodomy & the Lash"; "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" – followed, and they graduated from London pubs to international tours. But by then MacGowan's addictions, to alcohol and heroin, were overshadowing his talent, said the BBC. His idol Brendan Behan described himself as a "drinker with a writing problem", and perhaps the same could have been said of him. Even the unruly Pogues could not cope with the chaos he wrought. In 1991, they fired him during a tour in Japan, after he'd missed two of four concerts. "Tssk, what took you so long?" he demanded.

After that, MacGowan formed The Popes, and collaborated with Nick Cave, Van Morrison and Sinéad O'Connor, between periods in hospital. He took part in Pogues reunion tours in the 2000s; but in 2015 he fractured his pelvis, and after that used a wheelchair. In that year, he had 28 teeth implanted – a procedure dubbed the "Everest of dentistry", which was the subject of a TV documentary. He finally kicked heroin, and in 2018 he married his girlfriend of many years, Victoria Clarke, who survives him.

Ireland had long seemed resistant to the growing anti-immigrant sentiment seen across Europe, said Rory Carroll and Lisa O'Carroll in The Guardian. 

Today, one-fifth of the Republic's population of five million was born elsewhere – a "seismic" but largely painless transformation that has occurred since the 1990s. Thanks in part to its own long history of emigration, Ireland prided itself on greeting foreigners with céad míle fáilte – a "hundred thousand welcomes". 

But that seems to have changed. Last Thursday, a naturalised Irish citizen of Algerian origin stabbed three children and a woman outside a school in central Dublin, and within hours, "all hell had broken loose". Anti-immigrant protesters gathered, chanting xenophobic slogans: "Get them out", "Enough is enough". The worst riots in Dublin's recent history followed. Nearly 50 people were arrested, and dozens injured. Three buses and 11 police cars were set on fire. The events "scorched the notion of some progressive Celtic nirvana".

'A pressure valve for discontent'

That idea has long been a liberal delusion, said Tim Stanley in The Daily Telegraph. A recent poll found that 75% of Irish people think there are "too many" newcomers. Protests against centres for asylum seekers happen almost weekly, and placards bearing slogans such as "Ireland is full" are widely seen; the arrival of about 100,000 Ukrainians has added to tensions. Despite the "sense of moral superiority" among its elite, Ireland's experience of mass migration has been very similar to Britain's, but without parties such as UKIP acting as "a pressure valve for discontent".

This isn't just about migration, said Ian O'Doherty in The Spectator. The area where the trouble started – Dublin's north inner city – has long been seen as "bandit country", known for its drug dealing and feuding gangs. It has spent the past few years in a "cycle of decay and despair"; lockdown and austerity have helped to make it "a powder keg".

'They do not speak for us'

This riot is not "an expression of where Ireland is or who we are", said Fintan O'Toole in The Irish Times. Yes, there are tensions as the country struggles to cope with refugees amid a housing crisis, but that doesn't mean that anti-migrant sentiment is seething across the nation (there has been much praise for the Brazilian immigrant who stopped last week's stabbings).

And yes, there are problems in north Dublin, but it's very unfair to blame its community for last week's events. The rioting was organised by a tiny gang of far-right "fascists", aided by a few hooligans. "These pitiful thugs are not us. They do not act for us, speak for us or burn buses for us."

Ireland has a long, illustrious history of literary success but the past five years has been something of a 'golden age' for the country's novelists.  

"If you were to accost an unsuspecting twentysomething on a quiet street today and demand that they empty their (Uniqlo shoulder) bag, what would you find?" asked Susie Goldsbrough in The Times. "Squished between AirPods blasting Fred Again and an empty carton of oat milk, I'm sure there would be an Irish novel." 

Readers young and old alike are "in thrall" to contemporary Irish writing. And it all began with Sally Rooney's 2018 novel "Normal People", which "reinvented the literary romance and sent a generation of pretentious tote-bag lovers swooning after the sexual – oh, sorry, I mean intellectual – magnetism of Trinity College Dublin and its students".

Beyond Rooney there is an "entire racing stable" of Irish novelists, from "glamorous youngsters" like Megan Nolan and Naoise Dolan to the "old guard" of Sebastian Barry and John Banville. Ireland has a population of just five million but it has produced a "spectacularly rich and varied platter of work", said Goldsbrough, the paper's assistant literary editor.

A 'golden age' of Irish writing

Ireland's list of plaudit-winning writers only increased this week after Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize for his dystopian novel "Prophet Song". Indeed, four out of the 13 nominated novelists were Irish, confirming that we are in what Sebastian Barry, the laureate for Irish fiction, calls a "golden age of Irish prose writing", said Orlaith Darling on The Conversation.

Irish writers have "benefited from structural factors in recent years", said Darling, including "a strong Arts Council, legislation which since 1969 has exempted artists from income tax, an artist's three-year basic wage pilot" and a "proliferation of excellent literary journals", including the influential journal The Stinging Fly.

Ireland has done a particularly good job of "fostering and promoting its writers" in recent decades, said Liam Harte, a professor of Irish literature at the University of Manchester, speaking to the BBC. The importance of literature in Irish culture has manifested in its public policy, with the country's arts councils and libraries still well funded. "The Republic in 2015 established a laureate for Irish fiction… that also says something about the profile it gives writers in the culture," Harte added. 

England grapples with 'post-Brexit cringe'

Ireland's exceptional literary talents are nothing new, said Rachel Connolly in GQ. The country has "a long and storied history of brilliant writers", from James Joyce and Samuel Beckett to Anne Enright and Seamus Heaney. There are four Irish Nobel Prize winners in literature, a remarkable feat for a country with a relatively small population.

Better funding for the arts in Ireland is "part of the story" behind the country's literary success, but a better explanation is Ireland's "generous" and supportive literary scene. This is "a feature of literary culture in England which may be easier to change than getting more arts funding from a Tory government".

The prominence of Irish writing in Britain doesn't just come down to "Irish writers being rich and British writers being poor", agreed Erica Wagner in The Times. Rather, there is a "broader literary culture on the other side of the Irish Sea that seems more welcoming and less class-based". 

But Wagner thinks there might be a "post-Brexit, post-imperial cultural cringe in the air now when it comes to British, and specifically to English, writing. 

"How do British writers find a place in the world now we’ve kicked ourselves out of Europe, God help us? How can literature reckon in a new way with our plundering past?"

The riots were a scaled-up version of what we migrants face every day in Ireland

Teresa Buczkowska on The Journal

Last week's riots "broke my immigrant Dubliner's heart", writes Polish-Irish migrant rights campaigner Teresa Buczkowska on The Journal. "The burning cars, buses and broken windows felt like a message: one hoping to instil fear in Dublin's migrant communities." The "clean-up" will "soon remove the signs of violence" on the city's streets, "but the scars will remain in people's souls." 

Read more

Qatar has stepped in where the West has failed

Eliot Wilson on the i news site 

Qatar "has operated as a credible and honest interlocutor in some very difficult relationships", writes Eliot Wilson on the i news site, making "them crucial players in the hostage crisis". In foreign policy, "compromises" are "inevitable". Western countries must be "brutally honest" and "acknowledge that we are sometimes picking a course of action which is merely faute de mieux". After all, "the outcome is what matters".

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Where DO Harry and Meghan stand in relation to this puppet of theirs?

Sarah Vine in the Daily Mail

"Buckingham Palace has so far maintained a dignified silence" since the publication of Omid Scobie's book "Endgame", writes Sarah Vine in the Daily Mail. But "the more coy" that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are about their relationship with the author, "the more they lend credence to the notion that the poison in his book leads back" to the Sussexes. "The longer they continue silently to endorse these attacks", the "less likely" a royal "reconciliation". 

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Keeping our Marbles

The Telegraph editorial board

The Greek government's position on returning the Elgin Marbles to Athens is "hardly a secret", says The Telegraph, while Rishi Sunak "rightly believes the sculptures should stay in London". The prime minister "could have taken the opportunity" of meeting his Greek counterpart this week to "spell out his position without a diplomatic breach". Instead, he cancelled the meeting – a "mystifying" decision.

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The High Court in Belfast is hearing a legal challenge against a controversial new act of parliament that will stop future prosecutions regarding crimes committed during the Troubles. 

When the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill was announced in July 2021, the then prime minister Boris Johnson said it would allow Northern Ireland to "draw a line under the Troubles". 

But the country's main political parties, the Irish government and families of Troubles' victims believe it will only cause further harm.

What does the act say? 

The act, which received royal assent in September, is an "attempt to resolve" the ongoing open investigations into murders committed during the 30 years of conflict between 1968 and 1998, Samantha Twietmeyer, of Queen's University in Ontario, wrote on The Conversation. More than 3,500 people died during that time.

Police investigations into Troubles-related crimes will be transferred to a newly created Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The legislation will prevent victims' families from seeking further inquests or civil cases.

The ICRIR will also have the power to grant perpetrators immunity from prosecution on the condition they cooperate with the commission's investigations into events under review. 

Why has the legislation proved controversial? 

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland's Historical Investigations directorate currently has "around 450 Troubles-linked complaints on its books", said The Irish News. "It estimates that it may only be able to report on up to 70 of those by May", when the ICRIR will take over managing investigations.

Hundreds of Troubles victims' families have this month been informed by the ombudsman that the investigations into their cases will be brought to an end before the change comes into effect.

The Council of Europe, which monitors its 46 member states' compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, has warned that providing immunity from prosecution "risks breaching obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention to prosecute and punish serious grave breaches of human rights". It has "strongly urged" the government to reconsider the condition. 

British military personnel are also "subject to a number of open investigations" in relation to the Troubles, said Twietmeyer on The Conversation. "In simultaneously applying amnesty and closing investigations", the act could "prevent the truth of  government's culpability coming out".

What has the reaction been?

The act has been "strenuously opposed by victims' groups", said The Irish News, and – "in a rare display of unanimity" – by Northern Ireland's main political parties. 

In August, Sinn Féin's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill described Westminster's proposed legislation as a "denial of human rights of victims and their families". Last month, the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly described the act as an "affront to justice". 

The legislation also faced "significant opposition" in Westminster, and from the Irish government. Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, has said the UK government's plan is "the wrong way to go about dealing with legacy issues in Northern Ireland". But the Conservatives "pressed ahead" with what many considered a "deeply flawed plan", said The Irish News. 

Speaking in the House of Commons in September, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said: "We must be honest about what we can realistically deliver for people in circumstances where the prospects of achieving justice in the traditional sense are so vanishingly small."

What will happen next?

Mr Justice Colton has said that Belfast High Court's "primary focus" during the hearing, which is expected to last five days, will be on the assertion that parts of the act violate the European Convention on Human Rights, said the Belfast Telegraph. The judicial challenge will also examine the creation of the ICRIR, and the end of police investigations, inquests and civil proceedings.

The Irish government has sought legal advice on raising a further judicial challenge against Westminster in the European Court of Human Rights. Should it choose to pursue such action, it "could put a vastly improved bilateral relationship under strain" once again, said the Financial Times.

In January, Labour leader Keir Starmer said that the then draft legislation indicated "how far this Conservative government in recent years has moved from a genuine understanding of the principles of the Good Friday Agreement". 

Hilary Benn, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, said in September that Labour would repeal the legislation if it were to win the next general election. "It would be useful," said The Irish News, "to hear more from Mr Benn about what that will mean in practice."

With its blue mountains, "colossal" skies, and wide empty beaches, Connemara is "a country unto itself", and the most beautiful region in the west of Ireland, said Stanley Stewart in Condé Nast Traveller. Oscar Wilde, whose father had a summer house by Lough Corrib, spoke of its "savage beauty". His contemporary Oliver St John Gogarty called it "half of heaven". And the early 20th century revolutionary Patrick Pearse – who was executed for his part in the Easter Rising – was one of a circle of Irish patriots who believed "the soul of Ireland, the essence of the country" lay in Connemara, which contains Ireland's largest Gaeltacht, or Irish-speaking area.

Several of the region's best hotels – Currarevagh, Delphi Lodge, Ballynahinch – were once grand houses; there is also the "splendidly Victorian" Lough Inagh Lodge (great for fly fishing) and The Quay House, a former harbour master's house in Clifden. You might stay at any or all of them, and explore by car, following your nose down the "narrow, meandering" lanes that criss-cross the landscape, "pitching and turning" like roller-coaster tracks around mountains and loughs, and past signposts with "musical names: Ardnagreevagh, Shanafaraghaun, Claddaghduff". They lead to "all the best places – ruined towers, roofless abbeys, tiny pubs that double as grocers – and to the smell of peat fires and the sea".

On my most recent trip, I wandered the walled garden at Kylemore Abbey, and listened at a pub in Letterfrack to a band that played "adrenaline-fuelled reels" and traditional airs of heart-melting sweetness and melancholy. On the island of Inishbofin, I cycled remote bog roads to a long sandy beach "that would have Brazilians salivating", and in Rosroe I stood at night alone on the quay, where Wittgenstein, visiting in the late 1940s, found what he considered to be ideal conditions for thinking. It was, he wrote, "the last pool of darkness in Europe".

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A woman has had an 8cm-long parasitic roundworm removed from her brain, reported The Guardian. The 64-year-old, who has experienced forgetfulness and depression, was admitted to hospital after three weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhoea, followed by a dry cough and night sweats. A scan revealed that a motile helminth - a parasitic roundworm - was living in the right frontal lobe lesion of her brain. “Oh my god, you wouldn’t believe what I just found in this lady’s brain – and it’s alive and wriggling,” the neurosurgeon told a colleague.

Human germs could kill aliens

Humans could wipe out aliens by taking our germs into space, said the Daily Star. “Boffins” fear that space tourism and colonising planets without researching how our bacteria could harm extraterrestrials may lead to us “making little green men extinct before we can get the chance to interact with them”, said the tabloid. “As space continues to fill with people who prioritise profit or colonisation over scientific exploration, our window to detect potential life in the solar system without terrestrial contamination is likely closing”, said astrophysicist Erika Nesvold.

Message in a bottle author found

A man who found a message in a bottle from Ireland on a US beach was able to connect with the woman who wrote the message in the summer of 2019, said UPI. Frank Bolger of Wildwood was collecting litter on a New Jersey beach when he found the message in a bottle. His discovery went viral online, eventually coming to the attention of Aiofe Byrne, from Ireland, who had written it. “I am kind of obsessed, well, very interested in messages in bottles, to be honest,” said Byrne.

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Ireland’s biggest TV star, Ryan Tubridy, has been made the “poster boy” for the RTÉ payments scandal that has engulfed the national broadcaster and gripped the nation, his agent said.

Tubridy, who until May had a morning radio slot on RTÉ and presented the world’s longest-running TV chat show, “The Late Late Show”, said he had been “cancelled” by the scandal, while appearing at a parliamentary committee hearing in Dublin on Tuesday.

“This is my first rodeo being in the public eye”, he told the Public Accounts Committee. “My name has been desperately sullied, I think my reputation has been sullied.”

What is the RTÉ pay scandal?

RTÉ, which like the BBC is funded partly by a licence fee, has faced serious questions concerning the reporting of payments made to top presenters and claims of extravagant spending by executives.

Like the BBC, the broadcaster is required to report what it pays its top talent. However, an audit of its finances found irregularities with what was in the public domain and what the accounts showed. The story erupted on 22 June when RTÉ disclosed hidden payments of €345,000 (£295,000) to Tubridy.

The corporation has also been accused of running “a slush fund” that has spent thousands of euros in expenses, ranging from flip-flops to gig tickets.

The controversy has since “snowballed” said BBC News and is gripping the nation “to such an extent that parliamentary committee hearings are being screened in pubs”.

“It has become Ireland’s top-rated show – a tale of celebrity, secrets and lies that has entranced the public and dominated the airwaves,” agreed The Guardian. Unfortunately for the national broadcaster, “it is an all-too real scandal over clandestine payments that has engulfed its star presenter and senior managers and planted a question mark over RTÉ’s future.”

What will happen next?

While the British national broadcaster is engulfed in its own scandal, Ireland’s equivalent is facing “one of the biggest crises” in its 97-year history, said the BBC.

“RTÉ’s humiliation has been swift, merciless and very, very public,” reported The Telegraph.

Two weeks ago RTÉ director general, Dee Forbes, was suspended and subsequently resigned. On Friday, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said laws may have been breached and added that reform of how the institution is funded is well overdue. The prime minister urged people to continue paying for their TV licences and even fielded questions over whether his government would bail out RTÉ, as advertisers and sponsors were deserting the broadcaster.

But the “drip drip of disclosures – forced in part by robust, forensic reporting by RTÉ journalists – has rotted goodwill towards the broadcaster and undercut its campaign to obtain more funding and overhaul its funding model,” said The Guardian.

The “real victim here” is not Tubridy, said the Irish Times, but “funding reform for the cash-strapped public broadcaster which is currently under Government review”.

It might feel right to begrudge RTÉ potential public funds during an accounting scandal, concluded the paper, “but it will be us who suffer in the long run from a stripped-back public broadcaster”.

Five years ago this week, Ireland voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment to its constitution, which banned abortion except in cases of “real and substantial risk” to the woman’s life.

There were “scenes of jubilation” after the referendum on 26 May 2018, said CNN, with many women in Ireland seeing it as a “historic step”.

More than two million people voted, a record turnout for Irish referendums, with 66.4% in favour of removing the amendment. Within a few months, lawmakers legalised abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or in cases of severe risk to the woman’s life, or when the foetus would not survive.

But campaigners, lawyers and charities say the system is failing a number of women each year, due to the law’s limitations.

Last month, an independent report “recommended sweeping changes to the existing law”, said The Irish Times, including the decriminalisation of doctors, the removal of the mandatory three-day waiting period to access medication, and a statutory obligation on healthcare workers “to refrain from providing misleading information”.

“Implementing post-Repeal abortion services has been challenging; the fact it happened remains astonishing,” wrote Trinity College Dublin’s Catherine Conlon and Dr Deirdre Duffy, authors of the report. “Repeal triggered a top-to-bottom reform in the health service,” they added. “The change in law had established women’s right to access high quality abortion care. Yet the legacy of the Eighth Amendment meant continued insecurity about provision, concerns about judgment and stigma.”

What did the papers say?

In 2021, more than 300 Irish women travelled to England for abortions, according to UK government data, which was a “large decrease” that may have been due to pandemic travel restrictions, said the report. “Many more” are forced to take abortion pills illegally, said TD of socialist party People Before Profit, Bríd Smith.

“We hear from someone in Ireland every three days,” said Abortion Support Network.

This week, People Before Profit proposed a bill in the Irish Dáil that would enact many of the report’s recommendations.

However, the government tabled a year-long amendment on it, which will “effectively stall its progress through the Oireachtas [Irish parliament] for 12 months”, The Irish Times said. A Government source told the paper that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly needed time to fully address both the operational recommendations as well as legislative proposals.

“While the situation has vastly improved for women who seek to have an abortion”, said The Journal, “more must be done to fix the problems within the legislation”.

In nine out of 26 Irish counties, there were fewer than five registered providers, the report found. GPs and clinics will only provide abortion care until nine weeks, after which abortion must take place in a maternity hospital. Only 11 out of 19 maternity facilities in the country are providing abortions, it said.

The law also allows medical practitioners to refuse to perform abortion due to “conscientious objection”, and there is no formal abortion training on Ireland’s medical school curriculum.

Smith’s proposed bill recommended extending the 12-week limit in certain circumstances, which is “probably the greatest obstacle for Irish medical professionals”, said CNN.

One of the authors of the report, Dr Lorraine Grimes, described timings as “extremely tight”, especially as women must wait three days after a consultation before they are given the abortion medication.

After 12 weeks, to get an abortion two doctors must certify that the baby would die within 28 days of being born. “That is practically impossible to do”, Grimes said.

Abortion is still criminalised after 12 weeks, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years, so doctors may be concerned about prosecution when they interpret the rules, the report said.

While abortion is technically free of charge, associated costs such as travel and time off work can make it inaccessible to marginalised, low-income or homeless women.

But the fact that Ireland is even considering further liberalising “is a dramatic contrast to the US”, said The Guardian, where several states have restricted or banned abortion altogether.

Despite “the failings identified by the review”, the five-year anniversary holds “a special place for Irish women at home and across the world”, CNN said.

The movement to repeal the Eighth Amendment “was grassroots and community-built”, Mary Favier, a GP and co-founder of the advocacy group Global Doctors for Choice, told The Guardian. “It went to citizens and got a vote overwhelmingly in favour. That mandate was so important.”

What next?

“The Minister for Health is committed to ensuring that any remaining barriers to services are identified and addressed, to give full effect to the historic decision of the Irish people,” Ireland’s Department of Health told CNN.

The proposed legislative changes require “careful consideration and careful discussion”, said health minister Stephen Donnelly.

The Irish government health committee will consider the review before the summer, and make a decision on whether to accept the recommendations.

A Dáil vote on the proposed 12-month delay to the amendment will take place next week.

Under Smith’s tabled bill, abortion would be fully decriminalised, the three-day wait to access abortion medication would be removed, and the fatal foetal abnormality rules would be reformed.

“The issues in the report itself deserve significant, substantive and informed consideration by the Oireachtas before legislative proposals are contemplated,” said the Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin.

Joe Biden’s tour of Ireland went “if not exactly to plan, then according to expectations”, said Michael Day in The i Paper.

There was a brief – or arguably “curt” – visit to Northern Ireland, followed by “an extended, sentimental wallow” in the glories of the Republic. Biden addressed the Oireachtas, the Irish parliament, saying: “I only wish I could stay longer.” He prayed at the shrine of Our Lady of Knock. He went to a pub, where he confused the All Blacks rugby team with the Black and Tans, the notorious British security force, claiming that a rugby-playing cousin had “beat the hell out of the Black and Tans”.

‘Mayo Joe’

The visit ended in an address to thousands outside St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, his ancestral town in County Mayo, said The Guardian. Biden cast the story of his family leaving famine-stricken Ireland for the US as a parable of the American dream, calling himself “Mayo Joe, son of Ballina”.

“What is it about Ireland that makes presidents go all green and giddy?” asked The Economist. Biden’s paternal line is English: the family comes from Westbourne in West Sussex. “As far as anyone knows, Mr Biden has yet to visit.” But this was his “third pilgrimage in seven years” to the homeland of his maternal ancestors, the Blewitts of Mayo, the Finnegans of Louth.

A plastic Paddy?

Biden’s Irishness is pure affectation, said Rod Liddle in The Sunday Times. Like so many Americans, he’s a “shamrock-hugging” plastic Paddy, buying into a mythical version of Ireland “rooted in falsehoods, stereotypes, ignorance and things badly misremembered”.

This bogus vision of “Oirishness” would be funny, if it hadn’t caused so many problems, “not least the eastern seaboard of the US keeping the murderous psychos of the IRA financially afloat for 30 years or more”.

It’s hard to see why he bothered going to Belfast at all, said the Daily Mail. Biden wears his anti-British Irish Republicanism “like a badge”. The former DUP leader Arlene Foster wasn’t far wrong when she claimed that he “hates the UK”.

Give Biden his due, said Ben Lowry in the Belfast News Letter. He may have a “greater affinity with Ireland”, but he has been a good friend to the UK, from the Falklands War on. He came to Belfast at Rishi Sunak’s request, and he was careful not to say “any of the things Sinn Féin would have wanted him to say”.

While pressuring the DUP to return to power-sharing, he “avoided embarrassing them by name and made clear that such choices were a matter for Northern Ireland”. He even nodded to the unionist tradition, and the Ulster Scots.

Irish Americans: crucial swing voters

There may have been another reason for his extended southern tour, said Simon Marks in The i Paper. Biden is expected to announce his re-election bid within weeks. He is well aware that more than 30 million Americans – almost one in ten – claim Irish ancestry. While they’re not a monolithic voting bloc, as they were in JFK’s day, they make up a crucial swing vote. The pictures of him being mobbed by Dubliners “will be gold dust for his image-makers”.

Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has been closely watched by politicians both in Stormont and Westminster.

The Democratic Unionist Party refused to end its power-sharing blockade ahead of the US president’s arrival in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, resulting in a scaled-down visit. Biden had hoped to deliver a speech to members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, but instead made just one brief public appearance in Belfast before travelling south to the Irish Republic.

Biden yesterday met his Irish counterpart, President Michael D. Higgins, before delivering a speech to the parliament in Dublin. The US leader told lawmakers that Westminster “should be working closer with Ireland” to break the deadlock in Stormont.

His call for cooperation has been interpreted as a rebuke to Rishi Sunak that may leave a sour taste in the prime minister’s mouth as Biden’s visit concludes today with a trip to the town of his ancestors, Ballina in County Mayo.

To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the news and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week

1. What is the name of the new Covid variant triggering a surge of infections in India?

• Arcturus
• Sirius
• Betelgeuse
• Vega

2. How many mobile phone thefts were reported in London last year?

• 25,000
• 50,000
• 91,000
• 104,000

3. Which new Channel 4 series has provoked almost 1,000 complaints to Ofcom?

• Naked Education
• Naked, Alone and Racing to Get Home
• Naked Attraction
• Naked and Invisible

4. The US and which other country this week launched their largest joint military drills in decades in the South China Sea?

• Taiwan
• Japan
• Philippines
• South Korea

5. What percentage of the UK’s public toilets do experts estimate have closed in the past ten years?

• 18%
• 25%
• 40%
• 50%

6. Researchers have discovered a “hidden chapter” of which religious text?

• The Bible
• The Koran
• The Torah
• The Gita

7. Which icon fashion designer died this week at the age of 93?

• Paco Rabanne
• Mary Quant
• Vivienne Westwood
• Issey Miyake

8. New York City’s new “rat czar” Kathleen Corradi previously worked as what?

• Zookeeper
• School teacher
• Plumber
• Bin collector

9. The risk of lightening strikes delayed this week’s launch of the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission, which is due to reach the planet when?

• 2025
• 2027
• 2029
• 2031

10. King Charles’s coronation procession route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey covers a distance of how much?

• 1.3 miles
• 2.4 miles
• 3.1 miles
• 4.5 miles

1. Arcturus

Omicron subvariant Arcturus was first detected in late January and is being monitored by the World Health Organization as a variant of concern. Cases have been reported in at least 27 countries, including the UK.

2. 91,000

Newly released Metropolitan Police data has revealed that an average of 248 phone thefts a day were reported in 2022 in the English capital. The boroughs with the most thefts were Westminster (25,899), Camden (7,892), Southwark (5,690) and Hackney (4,618).

3. Naked Education

The six-part show, hosted by Anna Richardson, features adults removing their clothes in front of teenagers, sparking criticism from viewers and Conservative MPs.

4. Philippines

More than 17,600 military personnel are taking part in drills including live-fire exercises and a boat-sinking rocket assault, amid fears that China may be preparing to launch an offensive against Taiwan.

5. 50%

Raymond Martin, managing director of the British Toilet Association, told The Guardian that the closure of half of the UK’s public loos in the past decade was resulting in street urination, also known as wild toileting, “everywhere now”.

6. The Bible

The missing section dates back almost 1,500 years and is one of the earliest translations of the Gospels, according to scientists who used ultraviolet photography to find the chapter hidden beneath three layers of text on a manuscript in the Vatican Library.

7. Mary Quant

Fans worldwide have been paying tribute to the British designer, who pioneered the miniskirt. “Only the Beatles are more closely tied to the legend that is London’s swinging 60s than Mary Quant,” said The Guardian.

8. School teacher

Announcing the appointment, Mayor Eric Adams said former elementary school teacher Corradi “has the knowledge, drive, experience and energy to send rats packing and create a cleaner, more welcoming city for all New Yorkers”.

9. 2031

Juice is due to spend at least three years exploring Jupiter and three of its moons. “Perhaps the most exciting information” that the mission will provide relates to the “underground oceans of liquid water” on these moons – Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – which “could support life”, said Mike Sori, assistant professor of planetary science at Purdue University.

10. 1.3 miles

The distance is far less than the nearly 4.5 miles covered in Queen Elizabeth II’s procession in 1953, triggered concerns that well-wishers hoping to line London’s streets to welcome the king may struggle to find space.

“Dublin, Cork and Galway in three days – in winter – are you serious?” responded the man working in the car hire kiosk at Dublin Airport after hearing my forthcoming travel plans.

Incredulous as he was, a 72-hour tour of these iconic (but not particularly close-by) Irish cities did indeed loom ahead of me. But, much to my relief, my whistle-stop trip amounted to three heavenly – albeit fairly rushed – days.

Dublin

An entire long weekend (and more) could easily be devoted to Ireland’s capital and largest city – but in my 24-hour window I managed to squeeze in an impressive amount. Central Dublin is easily reached from the airport by train, bus or car (although parking is a nightmare), which means you can start soaking up the sights shortly after stepping off the plane.

Where to stay

I stayed at The Dean Dublin, a 51-bed modern boutique hotel, which was the first of its kind in Ireland when it opened its doors in 2014. Located smack bang in the city centre, a stone’s throw from St Stephen’s Green, the hotel has a Soho House feel with its dark interiors, bold colours and buzzy lobby/bar area. Attention-grabbing works by artists adorn the Instagram-worthy communal areas and suites, my favourite being an original Tracey Emin neon sign which hovers over the reception desk reading “I fell in love here”.

A small outdoor swimming pool, which you currently have to reserve a spot for in advance, is heated to Jacuzzi levels of warmth and provided some great late-afternoon entertainment – thanks mainly to the old-school style phone at the side of it through which guests can order cocktails.

Adjacent to the pool is a swanky boutique gym which runs high-intensity cardio classes that are free for guests, and features a modern sauna and steam room.

What to do

Outside of The Dean’s amenities, Dublin is packed with attractions. For any Normal People fans, a stroll around Trinity College Dublin is essential. I enjoyed pretending to be a student as I mingled around the campus and perused the university gift shop, umming and ahhing over the purchase of an exorbitantly priced Trinity College hoodie.

A tour of the Guinness Storehouse – pretty much Disneyland for stout lovers – is another must. There’s no doubt that this is an incredibly touristy experience (I think there must be a rule dictating at least three stag dos’ attendance at any one time) but it’s still a highly educational one.

Learning about the entire Guinness-making process, from hop-growing to fermentation to marketing, was fascinating – plus the Guinness-themed gift shop is pretty fun. I recommend visiting in the late afternoon, to time the end of your (unguided) tour with sunset as the panoramic view from the Storehouse’s rooftop bar is unparalleled.

The Irish claim that Guinness tastes better in Ireland and as I sipped a pint overlooking twinkling Dublin stretching as far as my eyes could reach, I couldn’t help but agree.

Food and drink

Dublin is famous for its food scene and 24 hours is certainly not enough time to explore the best of its gastronomic offerings. That said, I did have two delightful meals: brunch at Sophie’s Rooftop and Terrace, on the top floor of The Dean, and dinner at Doolally, an Indian restaurant just around the corner from the hotel.

With 360-degree views of Dublin and a gorgeous central bar, Sophie’s is a great spot for a traditional full Irish breakfast – plus a mimosa or two. Doolally, on the other hand, offers authentic and delicious Indian dishes like paneer and corn saag, bhindi masala and tandoori prawns (my stand-out order).

It would be remiss to not visit an Irish pub while in Dublin and there are countless ones to choose from. I enjoyed a pint of bitters from Devitts Pub, round the corner from The Dean, which claims to serve the best Guinness in the capital. This is also a good spot for homemade traditional Irish food like seafood chowder, and beef and Guinness stew.

Cork

Next stop was Cork, via an hour or so in Tipperary to break up the journey and check out Cahir Castle. Ireland boasts around 3,000 castles but the 13th century Cahir is one of the largest and best preserved, making it a perfect mid-way stop. Opening times vary throughout the year, with entry costing around £5 per adult.

If driving from Dublin to Cork, I recommend leaving the former in the afternoon, to time your arrival in Ireland’s second-largest city with sunset. Because the roughly three-hour journey takes you from east to west of the country, watching the sun descend over Ireland’s breathtaking landscapes is a truly magical experience.

Where to stay

The Dean also has a branch in Cork, which opened in December 2020 – a brave decision during the pandemic. Designed by Irish firm Wilson Architecture, the striking seven-storey structure forms part of a relatively new development of Cork’s Horgan’s Quay and overlooks the River Lee.

The Dean Cork’s 114 stylish rooms and suites feature everything you could ever want from a boutique hotel – think gorgeous freestanding copper bathtubs, smart TVs which you can hook up to your steaming accounts, swish record players and open-style mini-bars with all the essentials.

Like The Dean Dublin, promoting and supporting the work of talented local artists is a core value of the Cork hotel, with the walls covered with more than 400 pieces of striking Irish art. Again, a neon sign hangs over the reception area – this one created by Irish artist Domino Whisker, reading: “non stop beauty”.

This hotel also has a swimming pool – a slightly larger, less Jacuzzi-like indoor one – and an adjacent phone designed for ordering some pool-side cocktails. Two ropes hang directly over the pool for practising pull-ups – or posing for a highly Instagrammable photoshoot. There’s also a decent-sized sauna and a steam room, and down the corridor is a high-spec gym which offers a similar range of toning and cardio classes.

What to do

The winner of the 2022 Council of Europe Museum Prize is located in Cork – and it’s well worth a visit. Nano Nagle Place celebrates the inspiring story of Nano Nagle, a Roman Catholic who enabled the learning of thousands of Irish schoolchildren who were denied access to an education in the 1700s. As well as an interesting museum, the sprawling complex – a calming oasis in the heart of Cork’s city centre – features two shops, pretty walled gardens, a deli and the actual site where Nano Nagle is buried.

It sounds counterintuitive, being in Ireland, but a visit to Cork’s historic English Market is also a must. The market has been trading since 1788, making it one of Europe’s oldest of its kind, and it offers an incredible range of local produce for browsing and sampling.

Food and drink

I had a fantastic lunch at Farmgate Café, which sources ingredients directly from the English Market, which it overlooks. The Irish lambs’ stew with Ladysbridge jacket potatoes was particularly tasty – and the door-stopper of a bread and butter pudding was a hearty, delicious dessert that I still can’t believe I managed to finish.

The Dean Cork also features a Sophie’s Rooftop Restaurant & Bar on its sixth floor, offering 360-degree views of the river and city skyline. When I visited on a Monday night, the place was buzzing with birthday celebrations, creating a fun, party atmosphere. The cocktails were exceptional, especially the Rated-R, which is made with Absolut mango vodka and lychee liqueur and finished off with a scorched meringue topping.

Galway

It’s a roughly three-hour drive from Cork to Galway, a stunning city on Ireland’s western coast that’s famous for its vibrant music scene, internationally recognised university and being the subject of a hit – and slightly controversial – Ed Sheeran song. Galway is also known for its inconsistent weather and during my short stay I experienced an entire medley of seasons, from torrential rain to beautiful sunshine.

Where to stay

I stayed at The Dean Galway, which only opened its doors in April 2022 but already feels like a well oiled joint. The 100-bed property – Galway’s first design-led boutique hotel – is a short walk from the town centre and 3km from Salthill, the seaside area.

Rooms here are bright and comfortable, with playful interiors and bold artwork making them feel distinctively Dean-like. As with Dublin and Cork, The Dean Galway has a heated swimming pool (this one is large and outdoors) and a top-of-the-range gym, sauna and steam room, all of which are free to access for hotel guests.

What to do

A day is definitely not enough time to fully explore Galway, but a good way to see a lot of a city in a short space of time is by electric bicycle. I highly recommend a guided electric bike tour led by Galway-born Martín Lally, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the city’s past and present.

Stops included the University of Galway (and the oak tree planted in 2015 by then-Prince Charles after his historic meeting with Sinn Féin), the National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden, Galway Bay and Menlo Castle. Lally provided electric bike helmets, which meant that in spite of Galway’s excessive windiness, the other participants and I could ask questions and hear his explanations while on the move.

Food and drink

Galway was described by National Geographic as the “beating heart of Ireland’s culinary scene” and after just a few hours in the city, I could clearly see why. Practically every street features a cosy looking pub, and restaurants serving traditional Irish fare – specifically fresh seafood – are everywhere. I loved The Seafood Bar @ Kirwan’s, where a speciality is mussels with a blue cheese and bacon cream sauce (sounds odd but trust me, it worked).

I also ate in Elephant & Castle, a low-key, New York-style restaurant on the ground floor of The Dean Galway. Named after the Underground station in south London, the eatery is one of two Irish branches of a small chain which originated in lower Manhattan in 1973. Elephant & Castle is best known for its decadent chicken wings – which come with celery sticks and tangy blue cheese dressing – but its menu also features steaks, burgers, salads and spaghetti.

The Dean also has a speakeasy-style bar on its ground floor called Peg’s (formerly Hogan’s Bar), which often hosts live music nights.

How to get to Ireland

Flights from London to Dublin Airport can start from as little as £9.99 (without luggage). I flew home from Shannon Airport which is very close to the city of Limerick, but just an hour and a quarter’s drive from Galway. Aer Lingus, British Airways and Ryanair all offer flights from Shannon to London.

For a more environmentally-friendly trip, you can catch a ferry from Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales, to Dublin, which can take between 2hrs 15mins and 3hrs 15mins, depending on the operator. Prices vary but can start from around £35 for one way.

The verdict

Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend squeezing in so much in such a short period, if you have more time on your hands, exploring Dublin, Cork and Galway in three days is certainly doable. I returned from Ireland thoroughly exhausted – but already excited to return to each city in the future.

Kate Samuelson was a guest of The Dean hotel group. Room rates at The Dean in Dublin, Cork and Galway all start from €150 (£133) per room per night; thedean.ie

1. Clare Island Lighthouse, Clare Island

County Mayo

This distinctive nautical landmark dates back to 1818 and enjoys dramatic views over the Atlantic Ocean. The property includes 4 guest cottages. Main suite, 8 further beds, 8 baths, 2 kitchens, dining room, 5 further receps, garden.

€4.8m; Christie’s (00 353 1237 6300)

2. Bawnishal, Castletownshend

County Cork

Nestled in 2 acres of land close to a number of small beaches. Main suite, 3 further beds (1 en suite), family bath, kitchen/dining room, recep.

€850,000; Charles McCarthy Estate Agents (00 353 282 1533)

3. Corran Beg, Goleen

County Cork

Perched on a hill on the Atlantic Way, overlooking sandy beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. 4 beds, family bath, shower room, kitchen, recep, garden.

€420,000; Charles McCarthy Estate Agents (00 353 282 1533)

4. Carniseal House, Cairn Low, Ramelton

County Donegal

Ramelton. A residential and agricultural estate set in 46 acres with views over the Fanad peninsula and Inch Island. Main suite, 4 further beds, family bath, kitchen, 4 receps, study, annexe with gym, garden, farmland.

€2.75m; Savills (00 353 1 618 1300)

5. Edgewater, Kinsale

County Cork

Waterfront property with a private marina and a slipway into Kinsale Harbour. It enjoys views out towards James Fort and Castlepark peninsula. Main suite, 2 further suites, 1 further bed, kitchen/dining room, recep, parking.

€1.7m; Engel & Völkers (00 353 21 477 3200).

6. Ballycraggan House, Puckane, Nenagh

County Tipperary

This characterful Georgian house is set in 12 acres of mature gardens and woodland. Main suite, 5 further beds, 2 baths, kitchen, 5 receps, stables, outbuilding, garden.

€750,000; Savills (00 353 1 663 4359)

7. Cul Fraoich, Massinass, Creeslough

County Donegal

An Edwardian house built in 1908 with about 20 acres of land overlooking Sheephaven Bay. Main suite, 2 further beds, shower room, kitchen, dining room, 2 further receps, 1-bed self-contained annexe, studio, garden, carport.

€475,000; Savills (00 353 1 618 1300)

A Dominican man lived on tomato ketchup while lost at sea for 24 days, reported the Daily Star. Elvis Francois, 54, was swept out by adverse weather conditions as he repaired a sailboat just off a harbour on the island of St Maarten. “I had no food,” he said. “There was only a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat, garlic powder, and bouillon cubes. So I mixed it up with some water for me to survive 24 days in the sea.” He was rescued after he angled a mirror to catch the sun’s rays and reflect them towards a passing plane, which sent for help.

Library book returned after 58 years

Library staff were “gobsmacked” when a customer returned an overdue book 58 years after it should have been back on the shelves, reported the Express and Star. David Hickman, 76, said he checked out a book called The Law for Motorists from the Dudley Library in 1964, when he was preparing to go to court to defend himself against a minor traffic charge. He was relieved to be told that the library fine of 20p per day – which would tot up to approximately £42,340 – would be waived.

Hardest words to pronounce named

Researchers have declared the Irish name Aoife the hardest word to pronounce, reported The Times. The second hardest is another Irish name, Saoirse. In third place came omicron just ahead of Kyiv. “This research might highlight how many of us have been wrongly pronouncing everyday words without realising — and even worse, it highlights our mispronunciations of names,” said a spokesman.

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An Irish skeleton has been “granted privacy”, said The Times. The 7ft 7in skeleton of Charles Byrne, the “Irish Giant” of the 18th century, will not be displayed at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, almost 250 years after Byrne said that he did not wish to be used by anatomists. “If anything,” said the newspaper, the exhibit has “cancelled itself”. However, it is believed that students will be allowed to see the skeleton in private.

Man breaks hurled sausage roll record

An Idaho man has broken the world record for farthest throw and catch of a sausage roll into the mouth. “What I didn’t anticipate was how a 19-gram irregular shape would fly through the air,” said David Rush, who has broken more than 250 Guinness World Records to promote STEM education. “I kept missing the sausage roll.” However, reported UPI, he managed to catch a sausage roll at a distance of 83 feet and 10 inches, doubling the previous record of 36 feet and one inch.

Journal could solve wreck mysteries

Historians hope that a journal recovered from the wreck of HMS Erebus could “lead to a wealth of revelations” as to the fate of its doomed crew, said CBC. HMS Erebus and its sister ship the Terror were trapped in Arctic sea ice in the far north of Canada in the 1840s. The crews, who abandoned their ships and tried to reach safety overland, are believed to have resorted to cannibalism to survive. Ryan Harris, a diver with Parks Canada, said that the leather-bound journal was “one of the most remarkable finds of the summer”.

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Eoin McLaughlin and Seán Kenny of University College Cork on the economic lessons to be drawn from Ireland’s 1922 split from the UK

The UK local elections in May saw gains for nationalists in Scotland and Northern Ireland, raising the prospect of increased debates over the future make-up of the country. In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is hoping to hold a second independence referendum in 2023.

The economic context may have deteriorated since 2014 due to Brexit and Covid, but two key issues remain pertinent: Scotland’s choice of currency and whether its public finances would be sustainable. On both subjects, there are some useful lessons that can be drawn from the last secession from the UK, namely that of Ireland in 1922.

Sturgeon has indicated that an independent Scotland would be open to “sharing” the UK pound for a while to help bring stability. Ireland took the same approach until 1928, when it launched its own currency, the punt, pegged one-for-one to the pound sterling, which made sense because Ireland was heavily integrated into the UK economy.

The peg was managed by a currency board and was comparatively stable for over 50 years. The price for Ireland was the loss of monetary policy, choosing to follow UK interest rates, set by the Bank of England, instead. This is in line with the so-called “policy trilemma” in economics that says that a country cannot maintain a fixed exchange rate, control over interest rates and free capital flows at the same time, but must choose two out of the three alternatives.

Had interest rates not been harmonised, foreign investors might have pulled their money out of Ireland for fear that the currency peg wouldn’t hold and they would lose out as a result. Such a withdrawal would only increase the chances of a currency collapse, potentially making necessary imports unaffordable (this is known as a balance of payments crisis). Indeed, this happened in 1955 when Ireland did not raise interest rates in line with the Bank of England, resulting in a sharp recession and increases in emigration.

Over the years, UK monetary policy was also a constraint on the Irish government’s budget. Although in theory it was free to decide how to tax and spend, the need to maintain the sterling peg prevented various Irish governments from deviating too far from the UK’s approach to borrowing.

An independent Scotland is likely to face similar constraints. In 2018, the Sustainable Growth Commission (SGC), an economic body set up by the Scottish government to come up with credible financial plans for independence, stipulated that a pegged Scottish currency would require significant fiscal discipline. It noted that the “6% to 7% fiscal deficit is not sustainable”. In 2022-23, Scotland’s deficit is projected to exceed 10%.

The punt abandoned its sterling peg in 1979. By that time, the Irish volume of trade with continental Europe had grown significantly, following its accession to the pre-EU European Economic Community in 1973. Sterling was in the midst of a major appreciation in value on the back of the discovery of North Sea oil, rising 55% between 1977 and 1981.

However, Irish fiscal policy now lacked its traditional disciplinary anchor. Ireland’s debt grew significantly after 1979 and began to look precarious until the government reined in its budget and introduced pro-growth policies, including devaluing the punt, in the second half of the 1980s.

Fiscal liabilities

Among the most challenging issues for any dissolving nation state is apportioning government debts. In 2014, in language remarkably similar to the Anglo-Irish Treaty a century before, the UK Treasury issued a communiqué stating that, “[an] independent Scotland would become responsible for a fair and proportionate share of the UK’s current liabilities”.

With Ireland, that wasn’t what transpired. It ended up being granted the largest debt relief in modern history, in return for accepting the status quo border with Northern Ireland. Scotland doesn’t have a comparable bargaining chip, though the British nuclear submarine base at Faslane near Glasgow is very contentious. Perhaps the Scottish government would be allowed to write off debts in exchange for abandoning its anti-nuclear stance and allowing the UK unfettered access to Faslane.

Having said that, the Irish civil war (1922-23) and the Northern Ireland troubles (1969-97) demonstrate that the people may still decide that sacrificing something of great political importance in exchange for a debt write-off may ultimately be a step too far.

Fiscal constraints

Scotland currently runs a slightly different income tax policy to the rest of the UK. It charges an extra percentage point of tax to those in its two higher income bands: 41% on earnings between £43,663 and £150,000 and 46% on earnings above £150,000. It also has slightly wider bands than the rest of the UK so that people pay these rates on more of their income.

Instead of extracting greater revenue from wealthier citizens, Ireland was compelled after independence to lower the income taxes of these people who had supported the British union to discourage them from taking their money out of the country. The government then had to raise revenues in other ways, such as via budget cuts and increased duties on alcohol and tobacco. This increased inequality by inflicting most of the pain on the (predominantly nationalist) working classes.

This was quite a shift for Ireland. In contrast to 19th century nationalist rhetoric, Ireland had received comparatively generous social spending in the final decades of the union. A significant share of the Irish economy had also benefited from free trade with Britain. Again, the same could be said of Scotland.

A final contentious issue is pension contributions. While the SGC said back in 2018 that they would be affordable, the nation has an elderly population. Would the state pension be compatible with a balanced Scottish budget? Ireland learned that tackling the pension issue can produce a disproportionately negative political response, when the electorate voted against the ruling Cumann na nGaedheal party in 1932 for “tampering with the old age pensioners”.

There is no doubt that Scotland, like Ireland in the early 20th century, could succeed as an independent state. Indeed, key strengths such as oil and gas, renewables, financial services and higher education suggest it would start off in a wealthier position.

But managing the transition won’t be straightforward. Ireland’s experience shows that the need for fiscal discipline may be politically costly and adjustment may not be shared equally. Those who are promised the most through independence may be the ones that find themselves having to do the bulk of the heavy lifting.

Eoin McLaughlin, senior lecturer in economics, University College Cork, and Seán Kenny, post-doctoral researcher in economics, University College Cork.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

1. Why you should visit Dublin

Ireland’s capital city Dublin has much to offer, whether for a quick weekend getaway, or a longer break. And with flights taking an hour or less from most UK airports, there’s little excuse not to take a trip.

“I love Dublin,” said the Nomadic Matt travel blog. It “isn’t the prettiest” city in the world – on a cloudy day it can feel “downright gloomy” – but there is so much literary and cultural history here “you can’t help but feel inspired as you explore”. It’s a lively city “brimming with traditional pubs, live music and dancing (so much Irish jigging), and a hearty, vibrant food scene”.

This is a “small capital with a huge reputation”, said Lonely Planet. And its “mix of heritage and hedonism” will not disappoint – all you have to do “is show up”.

2. Top attractions: things to see and do

Guinness Storehouse

Dublin’s most-visited tourist attraction is the Guinness Storehouse, and with good reason. If you’re a fan of the “black stuff”, or even if you just like a museum with a good view, St. James’s Gate is the place to go. Still the main brewery for Guinness (three million pints are made there every day) the tour outlines the history of the makers. Finish at the Gravity Bar, a glass-sided round, top-floor space with views across the city and out to the coast and the Dublin mountains.

Jameson Distillery Bow St

It’s not just Guinness that has put Dublin on the drinking map, Irish whiskey brand Jameson also calls the city home. The Jameson Distillery Bow St offers tours, cocktail-making classes, premium whiskey tasting sessions and the chance to learn how to blend your own whiskey.

Dublin Castle

This “well-preserved” castle, which dates back to the early 13th century, is a “must-see” for anyone visiting Dublin, said Conde Nast Traveler. Tickets for guided tours are recommended, “especially for those eager to see the interior apartments and historic quarters”.

Museums and art galleries

The cultural pedigree of the Irish capital is “every bit the equal of larger cities across the world”, said TimeOut. And it is the museums that “showcase the iconic Irish soul”. Top museums to visit include EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, the Irish Famine Museum (open 1 June to 30 September) at the Stephens Green Shopping Centre, and the National Leprechaun Museum, the place to head “if you’ve got the little ones in town”.

The National Gallery of Ireland is an impressive space across four wings, with a large collection of international pieces, including works by Picasso, Caravaggio and Vermeer, and of Irish art, including by John Lavery and Roderic O’Connor.

Go to the pub

Even in these times of “green juices and heart-monitoring apps”, the pub remains the “alpha and omega of social interaction” in Dublin, said Lonely Planet. A night out at the pub is one of the highlights of a visit, and with more than 1,000 of them spread about the city, “you’ll be spoilt for choice”.

3. Restaurants and bars: where to eat and drink

Restaurants

The Dublin food scene has exploded in the past two decades. From fine dining to independent eateries, there is a wealth of options for the hungry traveller.

In the city there are two restaurants which hold two Michelin stars: Patrick Guilbaud (modern French) and Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen (modern cuisine). Also offering modern cuisine, Glovers Alley by Andy McFadden, Bastible, and Variety Jones all hold a single Michelin star. Four restaurants – Richmond (modern), Pichet (French), Uno Mas (Mediterranean), and Spitalfields (traditional) – have been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand.

A more casual option, but always bustling and busy, is Brother Hubbard, frequently lauded as one of the best cafes in the city. With a location on both the north and south sides of the river, they serve a mix of hearty plates such as Turkish eggs, pulled pork or dishes piled high with their delicious vibrant salads. Their desserts and cakes are also well worth a look-in, particularly the cinnamon scroll and frangipane cake.

Pubs and bars

Dublin’s “dynamic, diverse” nightlife doesn’t disappoint, said Neil Hegarty in The Telegraph. The Long Hall is “perfect for a quiet afternoon pint of Guinness” while Neary’s is “perhaps the most agreeable of Dublin’s old-time boozers”.

For some of the best drinks in the city, head to the Vintage Cocktail Club in Temple Bar. Hidden, speakeasy-style, behind an unmarked black door on Crown Alley, the club is based over three floors of a Georgian terrace. Trace cocktail history from the 1600s with punches and spiced, boozy teas, through to the Tiki craze of the 1930s with mai tais. From their signature specials menu, go for a weathered storm – poitin, raspberry syrup, plum bitters, dandelion and burdock, fresh raspberries and mint.

Coffee

If you’re looking for a pick-me-up between attractions, Dublin’s coffee scene is among the best. Take a stroll down Lower Grand Canal Street to 3FE, whose staff regularly come in the top tier of national and international barista championships. Other top spots to check out include Coffee Angel locations around the Grafton Street area, or Proper Order Coffee Company on Smithfield Square.

4. Hotels and accommodation: where to stay

The Merrion, opposite government buildings on Merrion Street, was the hotel of choice when the Obamas visited Ireland in 2011. Set in a beautiful traditional Georgian terrace, the five-star hotel boasts the two Michelin-starred restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, a private art collection which guests can tour, and a limestone swimming pool at the Tethra Spa.

According to the expert reviews on The Telegraph, The Merrion is one of six hotels in Dublin to get a 9/10 rating, along with The Dylan, The Fitzwilliam Hotel, InterContinental Dublin, The Shelbourne Dublin, and Stauntons on the Green.

An alternative option is The Marker, a boutique hotel in the city’s Docklands area, nestled between Silicon Valley European headquarter buildings and regenerated lofts. In an ostentatious, modern building with checkerboard-effect facade, The Marker offers boldly decorated rooms and suites, overlooking Grand Canal Dock. Guests can enjoy morning yoga on the roof with views out over the city and the River Liffey.

5. Transport: how to get there

Flights

Dublin Airport is the international airport serving the city. Located 10km north of the centre, you can travel between the airport and city via bus and taxis. There are direct flights to Dublin from multiple airports in the UK.

Cruises and ferries

As a city by the sea, Dublin is a popular call for passengers on cruise ship itineraries. There are two ports: Dublin Port, which is located 2km from the city centre, and Dún Laoghaire Harbour, 12km south of the city. From the UK, you can take a ferry to Dublin from Liverpool in England, Holyhead in Wales, and Douglas on the Isle of Man.

6. What the locals say…

Most visitors make for the Temple Bar district, with its “narrow cobbled streets and cluster of cultural attractions”, said Neil Hegarty in The Telegraph. But don’t miss the city’s “classical” Georgian squares and terraces, and its “regenerating” docklands.

If you’re “feeling energetic” pedal out to the Howth peninsula, said Colin O’Brien in The Guardian. Jutting out into the Irish Sea, the fishing village of Howth is “well worth a visit” and a city bike will take you there in around 40 minutes “on a dedicated bike path that runs out along the edge of the bay”.

When Tyson Fury spoke to reporters ahead of this weekend’s fight against Dillian Whyte, the “Gypsy King” was asked the usual boxing questions in the press conference at Wembley. How was his training camp? How well has he prepared? What’s it been like building up to a world title defence back home in the UK?

He was also asked about his alleged links to Daniel Kinahan, the Irish businessman and reported gang leader, who along with seven members of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group (KOCG) have been placed under sanctions by the US Treasury.

Fury did “not just address the elephant in the room”, said Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail. He “rode it to trample over any suggestion that he has ever been involved in any criminal activity” with the Irishman.

When Sky Sports News asked what was his relationship with Kinahan and is it ongoing, Fury said: “I’ve just had a million questions about this rubbish before, but like I’ve said to them, it’s none of my business, and I don’t get involved in others’ business, so it doesn’t really concern me.”

Boxing influence now ‘waning’

Kinahan, the alleged leader of the notorious drug cartel run by his family, has for years “enjoyed huge power in the sport”, but “his influence is now waning”, said Donald McRae in The Guardian. “It has become a source of embarrassment and shame for boxing.”

Boxing management firm MTK Global, which was co-founded by Kinahan in 2012, has this week announced that it will cease operations at the end of the month.

In a statement released on Wednesday, MTK Global said it had faced “unprecedented levels of unfair scrutiny and criticism” since the sanctions were imposed, Sky News reported. The company, which had previously listed boxers including Fury and Billy Joe Saunders among its fighters, added that “it is a matter of public record that Mr Kinahan’s involvement in MTK ceased in 2017, and despite repeated reassurances in this regard, unfounded allegations about his ongoing association with us and our fighters persist”.

When asked if he still had any business with Kinahan, Fury said: “Zero, absolutely zero. It’s none of my business. I keep my own business to myself, that’s it. Has it been a distraction? Not really, it’s got nowt to do with me, has it?”

Investigative reporter Stephen Dempster, who produced a BBC Panorama documentary which brought Kinahan’s involvement in boxing to mainstream attention, told The Guardian that Kinahan is “finished” in boxing. “If the Americans really want to get him, they will. You can now see how the dominoes are slowly falling one by one.”

Drug trafficking and money laundering

Fury and other senior figures in boxing have been warned to “cut all ties” with Kinahan, said Sean Ingle in The Guardian. The WBC heavyweight champion has “previously praised” Kinahan and was photographed with him just weeks ago in Dubai.

At an “extraordinary” press conference in Dublin on 12 April, US ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin revealed that the US Treasury is offering a $5m bounty for information that will lead to the “financial destruction” of the KOCG or the arrest and conviction of its leaders. And Irish police commissioner Drew Harris said the KOCG was worth more than €1bn (£830m) through its criminal activities and warned that if you deal with the individuals who are sanctioned, “you are dealing with criminals engaged in drug trafficking”.

In a statement issued by the US Treasury, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian E. Nelson said that the KOCG smuggles deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe, and is “a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering”. He added: “Criminal groups like the KOCG prey on the most vulnerable in society and bring drug-related crime and violence, including murder, to the countries in which they operate.”

Global investigation

The Kinahan cartel emerged in Dublin in the 1990s and is regarded by the US as one of the world’s largest crime groups, the BBC reported. And since 2018, when he was named in the Dublin high court as the head of a £1bn drugs and weapons smuggling group, the criminal allegations against Kinahan have “mounted”, Ingle added in The Guardian.

Kinahan, 44, has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2016, but once again he is “a man without a country”, said Jake Donovan on BoxingScene. Following the US sanctions, the UAE joined in “what has now become a global investigation into the life and accused crimes of the controversial Irish businessman”. The UAE has frozen all identified assets of the KOCG along with issuing sanctions on Kinahan, his father Christopher Vincent “Christy” Kinahan Sr and brother Christy Jr.

With the UAE freezing all his assets and preparing to send him back to Europe to face justice, the “mob boss” was in a “desperate race to escape Dubai” last night, The Irish Mirror reported. The Gardai, Ireland’s police force, also confirmed the US government’s “megabucks deal” for information is already bearing fruit. “He is running out of road,” a source said. “His time in Dubai is coming to an end one way or the other.”

St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, is the day when every Irish person celebrates… and every non-Irish person too, many of them attempting to claim tenuous Irish heritage. As renowned Irish chef Richard Corrigan tells us, don’t bother trying to find the ancestry. You’re more than welcome to the party.

Here the chef and patron of Corrigan’s Bar and Restaurant, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, and Daffodil Mulligan reveals how he celebrates St Patrick’s Day and shares some of his top recipes for an Irish feast.

Why has St Patrick’s Day become such a global celebration?

I think there is a spirit of generosity on the bones of Irish culture that doesn’t come on the bones of, say, that American Irishness. It comes on the bones of wanting the rightful things done properly, a sense of justice, a sense of belonging, a sense of nature; it probably defines us all, at the end of the day, that we’re not too far from the lands. And generosity for our fellow citizens. We’re a modern – well, not very old – country, a republic that was hard won and is only now being defined, three generations later, by the new Irish. Even though their wants are the same as the people who came from the land – the poetry, the music – so I think there’s a feeling of Irishness in our soul, an Irishness we want to share with everyone around us, because we know it’s a joyous thing.

So what, for you, defines Irish hospitality?

If you walk into a group of Irish people, they’ll share the wine, they’ll pour the porter, you will not be a stranger. That’s hard to see in a lot of cultures. I’ve lived in France, I’ve lived in the Netherlands, I’ve lived in London. This is not a criticism, but I define my time in England as where I’ve invited more people to drink my wine in my house than anyone else has brought me to their home to share their wine! But Irishness? It���s a sense of sharing, celebrating that sense of hospitality and fun. It’s not mean spirited, it’s not the sort of ugliness you’d normally get look in at a group of people, that sense of “f*** me I won’t want to be near that lot!”. The Irish in a crowd get happier, where so many other countries get angrier. It’s a sense of good manners, a decent upbringing – and that you don’t become a bollix when you’ve got a few drinks inside you.

What does your St Patrick’s Day look like?

I start with a whiskey; I love a tipple of Redbreast. Then a few nice pints of porter, Gibney’s Stout, which we have at Daffodil Mulligan’s, Bentley’s and Corrigan’s. I host an annual breakfast for friends. When it started, it was purely an Irish affair, now it’s more of a British Irish affair, and that’s what makes it more fun. It brings a bigger smile to my face that St Patrick’s is a shared day, it’s not just our day, it’s everyone’s day. It’s a sense of celebrating life, particularly after the last two horrible years, that’s for sure. There are no speeches, it’s just celebrating bringing people together – and I think that's what makes St Patrick’s Day so fantastic.

1. Richard Corrigan’s soda bread recipe

Ingredients: makes one large loaf

• 250g plain flour
• 10g salt
• 15g sodium bicarbonate
• 150g whole meal flour
• 150g jumbo oat flakes
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tbsp black treacle
• 500ml buttermilk

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
• Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then mix in the honey, treacle and buttermilk, working everything together lightly with your hands until you have a loose, wet dough.
• Flour your hands and shape the dough into a round and lift it onto the lined baking sheet. Cut a cross in the top (as the loaf cooks this will help to separate it into quarters).
• Transfer to the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the base with your knuckles.
• Transfer a wire rack, cover with a damp cloth and leave to cool. Don’t even think of putting dairy spread on it. This bread needs and deserves butter.

2. Richard Corrigan’s classic Irish stew recipe

Ingredients: serves four

• 2 middle necks of lamb, filleted, boned and bones reserved
• 450g floury potatoes, such as King Edward, peeled
• 450g waxy potatoes, such as Pentland Javelin or Maris Peer, peeled
• 700g carrots, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• good pinch of fresh thyme leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• chopped fresh chives and parsley to garnish

Method

• When the butcher bones the lamb for you, have him give you the bones too. Make a well-flavoured stock using the bones and the trimmings from the carrots and onion, plus other vegetables and herbs you like. You need about 900ml of lamb stock.
• Cut the lamb into large chunks and put in a heavy-based saucepan. Pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, skimming off all the impurities from the surface. Remove the pieces of lamb with a draining spoon and reserve. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Add the pieces of lamb and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the carrots into pieces a little smaller than the pieces of lamb, and the potatoes into pieces the same size as the lamb. Add the carrots, onion and floury potatoes to the pan and simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Add the waxy potatoes and the thyme, and simmer for a further 15-20 minutes or until the lamb is very tender. The floury potatoes will have broken down to thicken the sauce, while the waxy potatoes will keep their shape.
• Remove from the heat, cover and leave, without stirring, for 15 minutes. Check the seasoning, then serve, sprinkled generously with chopped chives and parsley.

3. Richard Corrigan’s honey and stout tart recipe

Equipment

• 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin
• Baking beans (rice will work as an adequate substitute, if necessary)

Ingredients: for the honey and stout filling

• 80ml stout: use a quality, flavourful stout for a beautiful depth of flavour
• 1 Bramley apple (approx 150g) peeled and grated
• 90g golden syrup
• 50g rolled porridge oats
• 90g honey
• 90g breadcrumbs stale
• 2 eggs
• ½ lemon zest and juice
• ½ orange zest only

For the pastry

• 250g plain flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 125g butter cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
• 50g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg for egg wash

Method

• In a food processor simply pulse together the flour, salt, butter and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then transfer to a bowl, add two eggs and form into a ball of dough. Do not overwork, just mix enough to bring the dough together. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2. Grease a 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin and set aside.Once the pastry has chilled, lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll the pastry out into a large circle, 5cm bigger than your tin. Loosely roll the pastry around the rolling pin, then carefully drape the pastry over the tin and lightly press the pastry into the edges to fit. Carefully trim the edges of the pastry using a sharp knife. Line the pastry with some greaseproof paper, then pour in some baking beans. Blind bake the pastry case in the oven for around 45 minutes until pale golden in colour. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperate to 180°C/gas mark 4.
• Discard the greaseproof paper and baking beans and brush the entirety of the pastry case in egg wash – this will help to prevent cracks appearing in the pastry.
• To make the filling, add the stout and grated apple to a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave the liquid to reduce by half, then remove from the heat and set aside until warm. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and pour into the pastry case. Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes until the filling is set.
• Remove from the oven, allow to cool and cut the tart into slices. Serve with a good dollop of double cream or some sweetened buttermilk.

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

Kibbutzim vs. the people

In northern Israel, a long-running argument between people who live in the town of Beit Shean and residents of the neighbouring Nir David kibbutz is revealing some of the tensions within Israeli society. A group of townspeople, supported by right-wing politicians, are campaigning for public access to the idyllic stream that runs through the kibbutz, and the gardens alongside its banks. At its simplest it’s a familiar neighbourhood dispute - but it inverts many preconceptions about Israeli politics.

Mass resignations

A record number of Americans quit their jobs last month and about 30% of British workers say they are thinking about resigning from theirs this year. In part, this seems to be down to a post-pandemic reassessment of priorities, but it also may reflect a strengthening labour market - and confidence among workers that if they don’t like what’s on offer at one workplace they’ll find a better offer elsewhere.

One nation?

Social media erupted in derision and alarm this week when a group called One Britain One Nation encourage school children to sing a song celebrating British identity. Intended to unite British citizens from all backgrounds and cultures, the campaign was described variously as populist, totalitarian, divisive and crap. Why do we find it so hard to define Britishness in a way we can all agree on?

You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped on the Global Player, Apple podcasts, SoundCloud or wherever you get you get your podcasts.

“Riding high in May, shot down in June.” That was the fate of Edwin Poots, short-lived leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said Stephen Bush in the New Statesman. Poots himself played a major role in the internal coup that ousted Arlene Foster, the previous DUP leader and first minister. But his own rule is now history, after only 21 days, following a revolt by the party’s Assembly members and MPs.

The reason? They opposed his nomination of Paul Givan for first minister, and were enraged by the concessions Poots gave to their arch-rival Sinn Féin to get its support for Givan’s candidacy–including an agreement to pass laws promoting the Irish language.

“‘Crisis’ is a term that’s never far away in Northern Ireland,” said Sean O’Grady in The Independent. But the current situation looks ominous. The devolved Stormont executive is in danger of collapse (again). If it does, Northern Ireland could become “the most undemocratic state in Europe, or at least this side of Belarus”.

Its people would be governed by the Northern Ireland Office’s “civil servants and ministers” in London – while its trading rules and food regulations are already set by Brussels, courtesy of the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed by Boris Johnson. The average voter would have “next to no say on what happens to them”.

The last time the Stormont Assembly was brought down, by Sinn Féin in January 2017, it left Northern Ireland without a government for three years, said Sam McBride in the News Letter. Now the DUP’s new leader, the Lagan Valley MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, has reportedly vowed to pull his party out of the Assembly unless the British Government gets rid of “barriers to trade” and respects “the Act of Union”.

It may be possible to take the heat out of the Protocol row, said The Economist. Temporary compromises from both the UK and EU could ease the passage of goods to Northern Ireland. But the “sense of betrayal” among unionists is strong: Johnson vowed that there would be a trade border in the Irish Sea “over my dead body”; then he broke that promise. Loyalist paramilitary groups have raised the stakes by demanding the Protocol is “removed”, said Newton Emerson in The Irish Times. That bodes ill for the summer, “as younger, hotter heads muscle in”.

The DUP used to run a formidably tight ship, said Alex Kane in the Irish Independent. It has been “truly, almost epically, astonishing” to watch it implode over Brexit – which of course it campaigned for – in the centenary year of Northern Ireland’s creation. Opinion polls now show a “massive” drop in support for the DUP, and a rise in support for the moderate Ulster Unionist Party and the hard-line Traditional Unionist Voice.

A splintered loyalist vote could mean that the office of first minister goes to Sinn Féin after the next Stormont election. Things have seldom been so dire for unionists, who believe themselves to be “hanging on by just a few fingertips to the window ledge of the Union”.

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

Ethiopia’s PM

Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for bringing to an end his country’s war with Eritrea, is going to the polls amid another bloody conflict. Abiy sent troops to northern Ethiopia last year in response to an uprising by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which he characterised as an attempted coup. Since then, the fighting has led to food shortages - and reports of a famine.

Police and passwords

The Irish government is seeking to change the law so that suspected criminals could be forced to hand over passwords for their mobile phones and laptops. Ministers say that more and more crime is moving online and that the new powers are “vital to strengthen searches”. Privacy campaigners have condemned the proposals.

Mouse apocalypse

Tens of millions of mice are wreaking havoc on an area of Australia the size of England. The authorities in New South Wales have approved more powerful poisons and set aside more than £25m to deal with the plague, which is causing huge damage to crops and property. Some Australians have reported waking up to find mice nibbling on their faces.

You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped on the Global Player, Apple podcasts, SoundCloud or wherever you get you get your podcasts.

Rising tensions between loyalist and nationalist groups have triggered some of the worst violence seen in decades on Northern Ireland’s streets recently.

The unrest has been fuelled by a string of rows, including loyalist opposition to the Irish sea border imposed as the result of the UK's Brexit deal. Alleged Covid rules-breaking at the funeral last year of former IRA intelligence chief Bobby Storey has caused widespread anger too.

And as this anger bubbles over, many clashes have taken place along so-called peace walls in Belfast and other cities.

What are peace walls?

Peace walls - or peace lines as they are sometimes known - are a series of barriers in Northern Ireland that separate republican and nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from loyalist and unionist Protestant areas.

Built in a bid to protect people from violence during the 30 years of conflict known as the Troubles, they remain in place today despite the signing of the 1998 Belfast Agreement, or Good Friday Agreement.

Constructed from brick and iron or steel, some of the walls stand up to 20ft high and extend for miles through residential areas. Perhaps the most prominent peace wall is that which has divided the nationalist Falls Road and unionist Shankill Road in West Belfast for some 50 years.

Temporary peace walls have stood in Northern Ireland since the 1920s, but the majority were built after the events of August 1969, when intense sectarian violence broke out in Belfast and Londonderry, with days of rioting.

Temporary barricades put up to quell the violence eventually “hardened into permanent lines of demarcation” and became “the so-called peace walls which still divide Belfast’s streets”, said The Irish Times in a 2019 article on why some Belfast residents “want to keep their peace walls”.

While attitudes to the barriers are mixed, “individuals and families living in communities dominated by peace walls tend to be amongst the most socially and economically deprived in Northern Ireland”, according to the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure.

Official data shows that in Belfast, communities living close to peace walls account for 14 of the 20 most deprived wards in Northern Ireland.

How many are there?

Peace walls extend for a total of some 20 miles across Northern Ireland, with most located in Belfast, and others in cities and towns including Derry, Portadown and Lurgan.

Disputes over exactly what constitute a peace wall means that the number still standing can only be estimated, but the total is believed to be more than 60.

While most of the peace walls are a legacy of the Troubles, “several more have been erected during the last 20 years of relative peace”, the BBC reports.

“In fact, there are now more peace walls across Northern Ireland than there were before the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.”

Several have become tourist attractions, with visitors coming to view vivid murals painted on the barricades.

What do people in Belfast think of them?

In 2019, the International Fund for Ireland’s Community Attitudes to Peace Walls Survey found that 76% of residents in Belfast were strongly in favour of the barriers being removed “within the lifetime of their children or grandchildren” - up from 69% in a 2017 poll.

Most of the respondents said that the removal of peace walls should happen gradually, however. Just 19% quizzed in 2019 wanted the barrier to be removed “now”, although that total had risen from 13% in 2017.

The existence of peace walls is still strongly linked to safety and security for many Belfast residents, with 58% in the more recent survey viewing this as the main function of the barriers.

Will they ever be removed?

In 2013, the Northern Irish executive launched a strategy to remove all peace walls “by mutual consent” within the following decade. But as the target date of 2023 approaches, only a small number have been removed.

One key reason for this slow progress was the three-year suspension of Stormont from 2017, when power-sharing collapsed during a row over the Democratic Unionist Party’s handling of a green energy scandal.

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.

To get six free issues of The Week magazine and a moleskine notebook visit theweek.co.uk/offer and enter promo code: pod25

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

Irish unease

Brexit was pushed down the news agenda by the second wave of Covid, but its consequences are being felt most keenly in a corner of the UK which voted to remain in the UK. The Irish border is no longer just a border between the north and south of a contested island, but also the EU’s frontier - and the Brexit agreement added a customs border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The result is that no one is happy - and paramilitary groups are increasingly restive.

AI deepfakes

Viral apps such as Wombo and Deep Nostalgia are highlighting how advances in deepfake video technology mean almost anyone can now create false footage - and heightening fears about the threats posed. So just what does this new era of AI trickery mean for society and how can we distinguish fact from fiction in our digitally connected world?

Seeing round corners

Researchers have shown that it is now possible to see around corners from a distance of more than a kilometre. The ideas behind it - using an ultra-fast laser to bounce light onto walls near a hidden object - have been around for a long time, but technology including fast lasers, algorithms and computer processing power is only just catching up. Uses include military intelligence but also self-driving cars and space exploration.

You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped on the Global Player, Apple podcasts, SoundCloud or wherever you get you get your podcasts.

A priest in Ireland accidentally incorporated the work of a grime artist into a mass live-streamed from Kincasslagh and Burtonport parish in County Donegal. In his opening blessing, Father Pat Ward played the song by the artist Black the Ripper. On realising his error he said: “Black the Ripper ... A wee bit of rap in the morning, wakes you up. I hope that didn’t do anybody’s blood pressure any difficulty there.”

Firm turns corpses into compost

A new business is transforming human bodies into compost before sending it to loved ones. The boss, Micah Truman, left his lucrative career in finance after discovering that it was legal to compost human bodies in Washington state. Return Home turns corpses into compost by mixing the remains with wood chips, water, heat, sawdust and alfalfa to rapidly increase decomposition.

Sausage solves nine-year-old case

Police in Germany say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary case thanks to DNA found on a half-eaten piece of sausage. Officers in Schwelm said the suspect appeared to have helped himself to a bite during the break-in in Gevelsberg in March 2012. However, the statute of limitations on the burglary has expired, so the Albanian suspect is unlikely to be extradited to Germany.

Brexit negotiators pushing to get a deal over the line before the end of the year are embroiled in a new stand-off that could result in European sausages disappearing from UK shops.

The prospect of a trade ban on Irish sausages and German bratwurst is the result of a row over EU regulations on uncooked prepared meat products. Under EU rules, products such as burgers and bangers “cannot be imported into the bloc unless they are frozen to minus 18C”, The Times reports.

Government sources told the paper that little progress had been made in efforts to persuade the EU to agree to a export health certificate for uncooked processed meats, despite the issue having been raised “early in the talks”.

Officials are now locked in last-minute talks to avoid a “two-way ban”, after Britain “signalled it will retaliate with a reciprocal ban on Irish exports to mainland UK, if a solution cannot be found”, The Telegraph says.

The Times points to “the delicious irony” of UK negotiators using “the EU’s own rules to exact revenge on European producers”. A Whitehall source said that “the government has committed to mirroring EU food safety legislation after we leave the bloc. That means if they ban it then we’ll ban it too.”

The dispute casts doubts over the sale of tens of millions of pounds worth of sausage meat and could be “particularly damaging to Ireland, for which Britain is a vital market”, the paper adds.

In 2018, Irish suppliers sent 335,000 tonnes of beef, pig, sheep and poultry meat worth a total of €1.3bn (£1.1m) to the UK, according to latest figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office.

Describing the threatened trade ban as “concerning”, the country’s Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue: “There’s going to be significant work then required in the weeks ahead as well to ensure that trade is as smooth and as efficient as possible on the first of January.”

Ireland’s prime minister is predicting that a Brexit deal outline may be completed within days as Michel Barnier emerges from quarantine to resume talks.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin yesterday said he was “hopeful that, by the end of this week, that we could see the outlines of a deal”. The outcome of the final push to get a free trade deal over the line would come “down to political will, both in the United Kingdom and I’m clear the political will is there from the European Union”, Martin added.

His encouraging comments to reporters came as the EU’s chief negotiator Barnier ended a stint in self-isolation triggered by an outbreak of Covid-19 in the European team last week.

Barnier is now “expected to be given the all-clear to head to London for the last round of talks”, says The Times. With the clock ticking down until the end of the Brexit transition period, the EU’s negotiating boss last night tweeted: “Time is short. Fundamental divergences still remain but we are continuing to work hard for a deal.”

The main stumbling blocks to securing a future trade agreement are competition rules and fisheries.

The “slow pace of negotiations on a legal text, predominantly caused by the EU’s refusal to work on drafts until late last month, is causing internal problems in Brussels” too, the newspaper reports. “Deadlines for the European Parliament to ratify the treaty, which must be translated into all 24 EU languages first, have come and gone.”

MEPs will now vote on the deal via video link on 28 December.

In order to break the deadlock over the issues yet to be resolved, “negotiators are exploring the idea of review clauses” - raising the possibility that “parts of the deal could be revisited several years after they take effect”, the Financial Times reports.

EU diplomats told the paper that the two sides were exploring whether such clauses “had the potential to ease the pain of compromises needed to get an agreement done”, but cautioned that “both sides still had very different views of how this might work”.

The possibility of a review clause was raised last week as a means to overcome disagreements on fishing rights. The UK proposed that the EU could retain part of its current quota rights for several years, after which negotiations would be reopened to agree a future arrangement.

Ireland is heading back into a complete lockdown after the government in Dublin rejected calls for the country to attempt to reach herd immunity.

As of Wednesday, non-essential shops will be closed and people will be asked to stay at home, as the republic closes “much of its economy and society in a second Covid-19 lockdown that imposes some of the severest restrictions in Europe”, The Guardian says.

The measures are scheduled to remain in place for six weeks, but will be reviewed after four and adjusted depending on the severity of coronavirus infection rates.

How does Ireland compare to the UK?

The Irish Department of Health yesterday reported 1,031 new cases, taking the total to 50,993. No further coronavirus-related deaths were registered, with the total remaining at 1,852.

The worst-hit areas are “counties bordering Northern Ireland, which has some of the UK’s highest rates”, The Guardian reports. Northern Ireland last week closed pubs and restaurants for four weeks, with schools shutting for two weeks from yesterday, in a bid to curb the outbreaks there.

The UK as a whole recorded 18,804 new cases yesterday, taking the total to 741,000. A further 80 deaths increased the tally of fatalities to 43,726.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Ireland’s 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 sits at 253.7, while 14-day deaths per 100,000 are at 0.9. The respective figures for the UK are 338.6 and 2.

Ireland has its own five-stage plan, published in mid-September, for “living with Covid-19”. The response outlined in the plan ranges from relaxed measures at Level 1 to the most severe restrictions at Level 5.

Dublin’s decision to move Ireland to Level 5 from midnight on Wednesday follows a recommendation from the country’s Public Health Emergency Team, and comes after the coalition government “rejected a similar recommendation less than a fortnight ago”, says the BBC.

‘Grave situation’

In a televised address last night, Taoiseach Michael Martin said that despite having introduced “Europe’s strictest regime”, the restrictions had not been enough to significantly reduce levels of infection in Ireland.

“The evidence of a potentially grave situation arriving in the weeks ahead is too strong,” Martin said. “While we have slowed the spread of the virus, this has not been enough and further action is now required.”

The Fianna Fail leader added: “The days are getting shorter and colder but I ask you to remember this - even as the winter comes in, there is hope. And there is light.”

Although Ireland has a lower Covid incidence rate than the UK, its “health service has little spare capacity, especially for intensive care”, The Guardian says.

Ireland’s chief medical officer, Tony Holohan, called for a Level 5 lockdown in early October, but as with the lockdown doves in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, ministers “rejected the recommendation, citing the damage that it would inflict on the economy and state finance”, the paper adds.

“Billions have been borrowed and spent, the public has grown weary and the solidarity between government and public health officials has frayed,” adds The Irish Times - with the decline in trust also mirrored in the UK.

Announcing Ireland’s new restrictions, Martin said that compliance may mean the country can celebrate Christmas “in a meaningful way”. Or as BBC Ireland correspondent Chris Page puts it, Dublin is dangling the “harsh measures with a Christmas carrot”.

What are the new rules?

Residents in Ireland may not travel outside of their own county and are being asked to stay at home unless necessary and to only exercise within five kilometres (three miles) of their home.

Visitors are not allowed to enter each other’s houses, although “there will be the concept of an extended household (or support bubble) for defined categories of individuals to support those at risk of social isolation and/or mental ill-health”, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Care homes visits are banned, except in “critical and compassionate circumstances”.

Meeting up outside with one other household is still permitted and schools, creches and higher education openings will be based on the “situation and evidence at time”. All are currently to remain open, “in line with current National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) advice”, says the newspaper.

Religious services will be held online, but places of worship are staying open for individual prayer.

Trade ministers and top-level EU officials who attended a meeting in Berlin earlier this week are having to self-isolate after a junior member of the Irish delegation tested positive for Covid-19.

Germany’s Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, who chaired the meeting on Monday, announced his decision to enter quarantine in a tweet that said a “member on an EU minister’s staff attending the Council of Trade Ministers” had afterwards been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.

EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis also announced on Wednesday that he had “taken a test and am self-isolating and working at home” after coming into contact with the unnamed carrier.

Two EU officials told Politico that the carrier “was in the Irish delegation”, which included Irish Trade Minister Leo Varadkar. The former taoiseach is also now in quarantine.

“EU trade officials said it was unclear whether other trade ministers were going into quarantine,” adds the site, which notes that Poland’s Jadwiga Emilewicz and France’s Franck Riester were among those who turned up in person for the meeting.

EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton was also there, but EU officials reportedly “said he was not self-isolating because he did not have close contact with the Irish staffer”.

Altmaier is the second top German minister to go into self-isolation this week. Foreign Minister Maas announced in a statement of Wednesday that he had put himself into quarantine “after a member of his personal protection team was infected with Covid-19”.

Deutsche Welle reports that Maas was “forced to call off” a planned trip to Jordan as a result.

The Irish government will be advised today to allow coronavirus to spread through the country’s younger population as part of a push to control community infections.

Sweden’s former chief epidemiologist Dr Johan Giesecke will tell the Dail’s Covid-19 Committee that the virus should be allowed to “spread through the population alongside a programme that concentrates on the ‘old and frail’”, The Irish Times reports.

Giesecke will also advise that staff and residents of care homes are tested regularly - and urge the government “not to build its Covid-19 strategy around the imminent advent of a vaccine”, the paper adds.

“We might have to wait for it and it may not be very effective in those who need it most,” the ex-health chief is expected to say.

Eyebrows were raised over Sweden’s lockdown-free response to the pandemic, but “evidence is mounting that Sweden has beaten the coronavirus epidemic with herd immunity rather than lockdowns”, says The Times.

After recording high levels of Covid cases and related deaths in the early days of the pandemic, Sweden’s infection rate is now remaining “low and stable at a time when other European countries are facing a strong resurgence”, the paper continues.

Kim Sneppen, professor of biocomplexity at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, told Danish newspaper Politiken that “there is some evidence that the Swedes have built up a degree of immunity to the virus which, along with what else they are doing to stop the spread, is enough to control the disease”.

But Giesecke’s advice to test in care homes will have to be heeded if Ireland is to follow in Sweden’s footsteps. As The Local reported back in July, “almost half of Sweden’s deaths with the coronavirus in the first half of the year occurred in elderly care homes”.

Ireland has so far recorded 33,444 cases and 1,792 deaths from Covid-19, according to latest figures, compared with Sweden’s 89,436 cases and 5,870 fatalities.