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Irish Times

October 2026

France seeks another de Gaulle. The far-right thinks it’s Jordan Bardella

President Franklin D Roosevelt looked down on him as an arrogant fantasist, and barely tolerated his place in the anti-Hitler alliance

Agnès Poirierfrench anglophile journalist
Like all successful historical films, La Bataille de Gaulle tells us less about the past than about the needs of the present.”
Charles de Gaullegeneral
One day, the United States will try to be the moral authority of the entire world.”

‘Let them live in peace’: Protestants and Catholics alike express relief in Drumcree

We work with people from the other side and we don’t want any tension,
Let them live in peace. Give it up. There was no need for a march,
My family wanted the parade at the start but then they got sick of the circus around it. They felt it was dragging on for too long and causing too much tension,
A lot of people from my background aren’t happy and have a different opinion to me,
In this town now, the amount of hardline loyalists is basically nil. All the old hands are gone,
I don’t trust Irish newspapers,
My wee lad’s school is beside a Protestant school. There’s probably only one person that owns that unionist [Facebook] page but that’s the level of hatred,

Who is affected by next week’s strike and can it be averted in a last-minute deal?

At the time of fuel protests, the congress was very audible and forthright that it undermined those who took the representative route to negotiation,
I’m surprised that we are at the level of a war-of-words on this,
Karen Kiernanchief executive
Unexpected school closures will affect all working parents, but even more so for people parenting alone who do not have backup and are already struggling with school drop-offs and trying to find after-school care,
Previously, ambulance and emergency services have largely been unaffected by strike action,
It is awful that a partnership of some kind is not in effect,
There are still some very experienced people around in the unions and you’d be looking at them to do the right thing,

Meet the former garda who found a new role in the Church of Ireland after retirement and divorce

In conscience, I couldn’t make the final step,
Mark and I go back a long way,
The guards were always a community-oriented police force, building on relationships, getting to know people,
But actually, as it happens, Tullow is an incredible fit. There’s a lot of community work going on there with a lot of potential,
Marti decided she didn’t want to be part of a Church. That was fine. So we made a decision to go our separate ways, which is unfortunate, but it just wasn’t for her,
Her family are very involved in the Church,
We had originally planned to go to Spain, buy a house there and looked into schools and all the rest of it, but something was drawing me back towards the Church,
I loved the Brothers and I was actually asked to become a Brother after my Inter Cert,

Bad news for Dublin’s coolest neighbourhoods — there’s a plan to bring them tourists

I’ve nothing against concerts, I love music. One of the things I lost out on a little bit by coming west is that I used to love going to the National Concert Hall, but that’s neither here nor there,
Place-based and neighbourhood-focused tourism development can help disperse visitors and visitor spend, spread the economic benefits of tourism more widely, strengthen local identity, support community participation and contribute to sustainable tourism growth,
The Arts Council is supportive of this project and the ongoing development work as part of the Programme for Government,... The Arts Council continues to support our colleagues in the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and wider Government as an adviser on many arts and culture initiatives.”
It wasn’t possible to fund and deliver the cultural card for next year,

Ireland may not have the death penalty, but we have no reason for complacency

Born to an alcoholic mother, Pike has foetal alcohol syndrome, was neglected and brutally beaten in childhood, sexually abused from the age of two and subjected separately to at least three rapes by the age of 17

TV guide: the best new shows to watch

Since then he has lived in the glare of the public eye, and in the past number of years that has meant being visible on social media too

Sing for joy: ‘One of the best things you can do for your mental health is join a choir’

Karen O’Sheadubliner
I love being able to turn up unprepared,
There’s huge comfort in being part of a big group,
One song, one session. No audition, no sheet music, no commitment”.
We take on outside beliefs so easily,
Members anchor their week around Tuesday evenings,
When we sing, we release oxytocin, the human love hormone,
As Irish people, we’re comfortable with sing-songs, but not necessarily with the idea of a choir,
The science of how singing creates and strengthens bonds between individuals is especially interesting,
People are so inhibited about their voices these days,
Everybody who’s now a regular, or considers themselves part of the group, walked into the room for the first time feeling nervous and worried that they couldn’t sing,

Twelve killed and more than 300 injured in attack at Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia

Donald Trumppresident
We may. We’re going to look at it,
I was on gate 403,
Mohammed Saeed Al-Jabersaudi diplomat and politician
Blessed Friday and victory for every Yemeni and Arab. Bab al-Mandab has been cleared of the remnants of the Houthi terrorist militia.”

Taiwan fears for US support as Trump and Xi prepare for fresh talks

In brilliant sunshine and scorching heat, Taiwan on Saturday celebrated its annual October 10 holiday with an event outside the presidential palace in Taipei featuring lion dances and other traditional arts as well as a military parade

The US attitude towards Taiwan has always been US does not support Taiwan independence and China wanted to push for the US to oppose Taiwan’s independence. I think probably for Donald Trump, there’s no big difference but in the diplomatic world, there’s a huge difference,
Fang-Yu Chentaiwanese political scientist
The most difficult part is that we don’t have a choice. We have to rely on the US,
If the KMT does well in these elections, that will be momentum for their 2028 presidential ticket. And that will probably also determine who will be on the ticket,
I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,
We have to offer a unification formula which sounds really nice, but Beijing cannot accept,
We always talk about Taiwan being a value ally of the US: democracy, freedom, human rights — about which Donald Trump doesn’t give a s**t,
I think in Taiwan, we have to come up with something to avoid a military confrontation. And then somehow saving some money for defence, that would benefit us, right?”
I think US arms sales always carries two senses for us. One is symbolically. It is a symbol of whether the US supports Taiwan or especially Taiwan’s defence. So I think no matter the amount of the sales, we really want the US to continue to sell arms to Taiwan,

Leo Cullen relieved to see Leinster ‘up and running’ with returning frontliners

Such are the typically gradual return-to-play protocols of the season, with Ireland frontliners drip fed back (to Leinster especially), that only in the second weekend of October did it finally feel like Leo Cullen’s side were fully back in action

Sam Prendergastirish rugby union player
There’s been a serious buzz for the last number of months about getting back, and everyone was looking forward to playing in front of that crowd,
We can do better in terms of our performance. I think there’s lots of great effort and intent, but it’s just making sure we gel and get more cohesive as a group.... We don’t have another game in the RDS during this first block of the season, so it’s into the next block of the season, but you’d love for us to have this place as a really special venue to be part of — as in, players and supporters. We all need to work at that.”

Pope Leo says he will undergo surgery for small growth on lung

During some check-ups, doctors discovered a localized nodule on my lung,
I would like to express to the Holy Father my personal support, and that of the Italian government, as he faces this challenge in the coming days.”
The serenity and composure with which he spoke about it [today] …are reassuring,

DUP accuses Bryant of ‘disgraceful appeasement’ on Garvaghy Road march

What we saw on Friday disgracefully was the appeasement to threats of violence and disorder, appeasement in the face of threats of terror,
I think it was the right thing to do.... I stood with the people of the Garvaghy Road. I will continue to stand with the people of Garvaghy Road because it was the right thing to do, and it was in defence of the Good Friday Agreement and the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.”
There were over 1,000 members of the Protestant community signed a letter urging the Orange men not to march down the road,

Meath’s Nichola Sheridan finishes third in Melbourne Marathon

Her breakthrough came in winning the Dublin City Half Marathon in March 2025, representing Bohermeen AC

Public sector strike may be difficult to avert at this stage, Minister admits

What I’d say to the union leadership is, come in and talk. Come to the table,
There is no point in the Minister standing back arrogantly and saying, ‘Well, you know the table is open,
It is not only about pay but is about respect as well,
I think the strike will probably go ahead at this stage,

Trump announces partial ceasefire in Ukraine war, but Zelenskiy says deal is ‘news to me’

Donald Trumppresident
Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,
If President Trump negotiated it with Putin — please tell us when the ceasefire begins. We are ready and we will accept it,
Oleksandr Merezhkoukrainian lawyer and jurist
Putin’s plan is to decapitate Zelenskiy and remove him as a wartime leader. Trump is siding with Putin,
Oleksandr Merezhkoukrainian lawyer and jurist
We are moving to a new Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and to a world of strongmen and spheres of influence.”
Russia should agree to an immediate energy ceasefire, ending its brutal strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and its attacks on shipping in the Black Sea,
It felt like a trap,
It is possible to stop strikes on energy infrastructure as early as today, but (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not want to do so,
This would be an act of complicity with Putin’s genocide. It would mean more dead civilians and dead children,