Cassandra Voices 
Joe MacAnthony might be considered the greatest investigative reporter to have ever operated in the history of the Irish State. His career in Ireland, however, was cut short by vested interests that still appear to insulate those with money in power from accountability and criminal sanction. Having exposed the staggering corruption lying behind the Irish … Read more
Introducing a New Offer on the Cassandra Voices Patreon Site Cassandra Voices is an independent Irish media outlet, specialising in long reads on politics, art and contemporary culture. It was founded in 2017 by Frank Armstrong, an established Irish journalist and law graduate, and Daniele Idini, an Italian photographer and trade unionist. Produced in Dublin, … Read more
In the controversy surrounding the leaking of a confidential document by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last year, a key point has been missed regarding whistleblower Chay Bowes’s motivations. As an insider and former head of the VHI Homecare division Bowes gained significant insights into the operation of the Irish health system, especially the HSE. This … Read more
Promoter, venue and band manager, Conal Lee reflects on the experience of musicians over the course of lockdowns, and considers the ongoing difficulities for musicians and venues in Dublin, as well as the challenges of dealing with new controls. How have you survived through the lockdown? Having an enforced break, albeit as a result of … Read more
In a rousing introductory speech, retired diplomat Philip McDonagh described the publication of Cuban Love Songs as a ‘significant moment for the Irish province of the Republic Letters.’ He spoke of the ‘importance of the Republic Letters for us all’, that space where we ‘can explore intelligently and in a disinterested way both the world … Read more
This is an abridged interview with jurist Laurent Pech, Professor of European Law, Jean Monnet Chair of European Public Law (2014-17), and Head of the Law and Politics Department at Middlesex University London. Professor Pech identifies rapid autocrisation in a number of EU states, particularly Hungary and Poland, where the Rule of Law has been … Read more
On February 1st, 2018 we published the first edition of Cassandra Voices as a monthly online edition. On this our third anniversary we recall its contents. Help us enhance our offering in the years to come by becoming a Patreon supporter. In the wake of Brexit chaos Frank Armstrong pointed to the difficulties presented by … Read more
Welcome to the second Cassandra Voices podcast introduced and written by Nicola Bigatti, and produced by Massimiliano Galli. This podcast was recorded in the heart of Dublin 8 in what used to be the studios of the 2014 indipendent project Radio Liberties. This podcast continues a journey through Italian ‘Library Music,’ a vast catalogue of … Read more
The restrictions in 2020 presented more challenges for some careers than others. For musicians in Ireland it was an unprecedented year when most were unable to perform live. We sought an Optimistic Note, a Pessimistic Note, a Practical Note and an Existential Note from musicians and others in the music industry. In a long read, … Read more
November brought the demise of Trump but major global challenges remained. Andrew Linnane issued a stark warning: The idea that our response to the Covid-19 pandemic might be moving us in the direction of the authoritarian horrors of the last century is one that a great many are resistant to. They may feel, for example, … Read more
The Irish winter came early in October with another lockdown, to the disappointment of Billy O Hanluain: Lockdown measures remind me of the prescription of anti-depressants and other psychiatric medicines. They are both harsh, and both are administered in response to a moment of crisis; both often have severe side effects, which in time often … Read more
As summer gave way to a season of mist and mellow fruitfulness in September Covid-19 returned with a vengeance, but by now there was considerable disagreement over elusive facts. Frank Armstrong interrogated unreliable accounts in the Irish media, and the doomsday scenarios of a number of scientists. The main go-to-man among Irish scientists for the … Read more
Many Europeans enjoyed a blissful August while storm clouds gathered overhead. That month photographer Daniele Idini travelled from North to South of Italy, finding a country in severe economic distress, and desperate to resume the good life. Dr Marcus de Brun, meanwhile, saw a perfect storm forming on the horizon. He predicted there would be … Read more
As the pandemic subsided during the summer months in Europe, the southern states of the United States experienced a surge in cases. We brought a first hand account from Linda Barnard in a New Orleans care home: It’s getting real in here. Newly established, the isolation ward has been set up too close for comfort. … Read more
June brought criticism of Big Data censorship and the coverage of the pandemic in mainstream media, as it became clear the doomsday scenarios certain epidemiologists painted in March were wide of the mark. Frank Armstrong wrote: Accepting Covid-19 represents an extraordinary challenge requiring a concerted response, censorship by Big Data in such a blanket form, … Read more
By May concerns around the erosion of civil liberties in the wake of the pandemic were apparent. Rob Coffey’s though-provoking article ‘I Do Not Consent’ began: I didn’t particularly want to write this article. I didn’t want to get involved in the whole online social media circus of opinion and rebuttal, triggering and offense. But … Read more
April is generally associated with fresh flowers and cooling rain showers. It is also the dreaded deadline to file taxes. Whether you were enjoying the foliage or sitting down to calculate your tax refund, I think we can all agree that April was particularly cruel this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That month Frank … Read more
‘It’ had well and truly arrived by March, insidiously working its way into our lives like an unwanted guest who slips through the door unbeknownst. Editorially we were looking at the big picture, assessing the implications of what we used to call ‘the coronavirus’ – before becoming COVID-19 on February 11th – through political, legal … Read more
By February 15th there was a scent of danger in Bull Moose’s nostrils. Discussing which Democrat candidate would take on Donald Trump – would Mike Bloomberg have beaten Trump? – he brought our attention to coronavirus, a new viral danger emanating from China, which seemed quite exotic at that point. Coronavirus might be the trigger … Read more
Here begins our journey back through the #unforgettableyear of 2020… The drone-strike assassination of Qassem Soleimani on January 3rd, 2020 seems a long time ago now, but to our U.S. columnist Bull Moose it suggested a new phase in U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Who knows what would have happened in that region during … Read more
