Recent Articles

 
What have we learned from the 2019 local and European elections?
Elections, Irish Politics Clare Egan Elections, Irish Politics Clare Egan

What have we learned from the 2019 local and European elections?

spent much of last weekend in bed, recovering from a cold, reading books and enjoying the slow resolution of the local and European elections. As a friend said at the time, peak Clare. I love elections. Having John Bowman on the telly with his handwritten calculations and his glasses and his unabashed nerdiness is always a joy.

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Recommendations (May 2019)
Best of Clare Egan Best of Clare Egan

Recommendations (May 2019)

The Luas broke down one morning last month leaving me and a few hundred other commuters standing in the rain. I listened to The Dropout which made it a little bit more bearable. A week later, the Luas was down again and my bus crashed so I went deep on West Cork. It's well made, but I feel very conflicted about it. Should journalists really be centring a murderer's story? He has since been convicted in absentia by a French court but even at the time the podcast was made, the evidence against him was overwhelming.

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On blogging 2
Writing Clare Egan Writing Clare Egan

On blogging 2

Classic blogging (which weaves together links, research, first-person stories and random internet ephemera) is wonderful to read.

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Mother’s day is hard
Grief Clare Egan Grief Clare Egan

Mother’s day is hard

Though it’s been more than a decade since my mother got in her car and never came home, I still don’t think I’ve “recovered”.

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Life just whizzes past unless you make time for yourself 
How to live Clare Egan How to live Clare Egan

Life just whizzes past unless you make time for yourself 

I’m in full on ‘pit stop’ mode at the moment. In a few hours, I’ll be boarding a flight to visit pals in the UK. I’ve been travelling a lot this past while - mostly for work. It gets me in this very specific mode of packing things, prepping things, always living in what future Clare will need (breakfast, clean clothes, an hour with a book) and preparing for that. I’m grateful for my life, even during these busy spurts. But, I also need to take care of myself. Life just whizzes past unless you make time for yourself.

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We made it to February
Best of Clare Egan Best of Clare Egan

We made it to February

Congratulations everyone. We made it. It’s February. Winter, at least in the calendar sense, is over. January was wild and ravenous. I’m sitting at my desk grateful to be warm, cozy and indoors while the wind whips around outside.

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What the 2016 election taught us about women, power and “authenticity”
US politics, Women, Media Clare Egan US politics, Women, Media Clare Egan

What the 2016 election taught us about women, power and “authenticity”

One of the most frequent criticisms of Hillary Rodham Clinton is the suggestion that she's inauthentic. Questions about “authenticity” have dogged her thirty years in public life, from First Lady and Senator to Secretary of State and presidential candidate. But, HRC has been “authentic” all along. We just weren’t listening.

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The New York Review of Books was right to fire Ian Buruma
Sexual violence, Ireland, Media Clare Egan Sexual violence, Ireland, Media Clare Egan

The New York Review of Books was right to fire Ian Buruma

Fintan O’Toole recently wrote that the departure of Ian Buruma as editor of the New York Review of Books (NYRB) should worry anyone who values freedom of the press. Buruma left his position after publishing a piece written by disgraced Canadian broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi who has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than 20 people.

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