Stephen Collins

Ireland

Columnist at Irish Times

Political Editor at Sunday Tribune

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Articles

Stephen Collins: Rise of backward-looking nationalism is not the preserve of the populist right. Just ask Sinn Féin

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

Sinn Féin’s objections to Ireland’s participation in a year of commemorations for the Normans in 2027 shows up that party’s continuing inability to respect the complexity of our history. Such a narrow-minded approach to the past raises serious questions about how the party would operate in the present if it ever got its hands on the levers of power.
Stephen Collins: Ireland must steel itself for any trade war with the US

3 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

As Tánaiste Simon Harris met his European Union trade counterparts in Brussels on Thursday to devise a response to Donald Trump‘s trade tariffs, the dilemma facing this country was brought into sharp relief. While a full-scale trade war will probably damage Ireland more than any other EU state, it is in our interests to give wholehearted support to the European response.
Trump is acting like it’s his choice to obey the Constitution

3 weeks ago | philpostblog.wordpress.com | Stephen Collins

By Stephen Collins/CNNAmericans are learning what it’s like to live with a president who sees no constraints on his actions and who apparently fears paying no price for them. In a blitz of recent policy moves, legal challenges, comments and interviews, Donald Trump is showing that he’s shedding the last limitations of custom and the public’s long understanding of how a president should behave.
Mark Carney’s win shows the appeal of a politician who rejects the woke agenda

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

Mark Carney‘s stunning victory in the Canadian election shows that the political centre can hold when led by a strong, intelligent figure – in particular, when it is led by a figure who is both capable of standing up to right-wing bullies and avoiding being ensnared by the progressive pieties that have discredited liberal political elites in the eyes of so many voters.
Rory McIlroy’s wish to be identified as Northern Irish is typical of his generation

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

The recurring speculation about Irish unity, fuelled at regular intervals by former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, is not only pointless but actually counterproductive. It is worth remembering that the anti-partition rhetoric of leading Irish politicians in every decade since independence simply contributed to making the Border more permanent and did nothing to improve the lives of people, North or South.
Labour and the Social Democrats are now firmly in the orbit of Sinn Féin

2 months ago | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

The sound and fury that besmirched Dáil proceedings over the past few months may have died down for the present but the episode has set a dangerous new tone for Irish politics which has implications for both Government and Opposition in coming years.
Stephen Collins: Conor McGregor’s presidential hopes are a warning to the Government parties to unite behind a strong candidate

2 months ago | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

The appearance of Conor McGregor at the White House on St Patrick’s Day is a warning to the Government parties to get their act together and agree on a strong and widely respected candidate for the presidential election in November. McGregor has expressed an interest in running for the office, and while he will struggle to get on the ballot paper, there is every chance that some other disruptive candidate will make it into the contest.
Micheál Martin has finally shown his backbone. He’s going to need it

Mar 7, 2025 | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

The absurdly inflated row over Dáil speaking rights has put the iron in Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s soul to the surprise of friend and foe alike. His decision to stick by plans to reform speaking time arrangements demonstrated that he was not prepared to back down in the face of the bully-boy tactics deployed by the Opposition.
Ireland’s neutrality is widely regarded as absurd and complacent

Feb 21, 2025 | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

The collapse of the world order that provided peace and security to Europe, and underpinned the development of a prosperous modern Ireland, demands a more serious response from the Government than has been evident to date. It is now time to face up to our responsibilities and rapidly develop a coherent defence policy for this State no matter what it costs, and to make it clear that we are prepared to stand by our EU partners if they are attacked by an outside power.
Stephen Collins: Legal culture that underpins frivolous objections has to be reined in or the country will stagnate

Feb 7, 2025 | irishtimes.com | Stephen Collins

Now that the distracting row over Dáil speaking time has died down the Government needs to get a grip and show that it is capable of dealing with the really big challenges that have taken the gloss off the country’s stellar economic performance over the past decade. The Taoiseach and his Ministers need to demonstrate a level of urgency which has not been in evidence to date about the scale of the challenges facing them.