Dan O'Brien
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Senior Journalist Wiltshire, BBC News. Dan.OBrien@bbc.co.uk | www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire
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Articles by Dan O'Brien
Dan O’Brien: Now is the time for central bankers to drive growth – not curb inflation
Are we in a cost of living/cost of doing business crisis? No is the short answer. The longer answer is that only a minority of households and businesses are facing crisis – individuals who drive a lot in non-electric vehicles and companies that are heavy users of energy. But these are minorities and, in the case of individuals, they are a shrinking minority – higher fuel prices since March have led to a huge increase in electric-vehicle sales so far this year.
Dan O’Brien: How do Irish incomes compare?
How rich is Ireland? This is never a straight answer for any country, and Irish waters are muddied further by the fact that the most frequently used measure of prosperity internationally – GDP – is infamously distorted by a large foreign multinational presence. The starting point in any discussion of prosperity should be that people in Ireland are not particularly well off compared to our western European neighbours.
Dan O’Brien: The implications of Trump’s tilt towards Russia are enormous for Europe
The US president, with an energy matched only by his narcissism, places himself at the centre of world affairs in a way no other human being has ever done. For many commentators, this has resulted in Trump derangement syndrome. This commentator tries hard to avoid that syndrome, and ignores many of Donald Trump’s pronouncements, most of which amount to crude attention-seeking gestures with little significance in the broader scheme of things.
Dan O’Brien: Economies are proving incredibly resilient to shocks
The economic outlook is evolving at dizzying speed. Let’s start with the bad news to get it out of the way. Since mid-summer, gas prices globally, and for us in Europe, have soared. Almost every week over the past three months, new highs have been reached. This week was no exception. A unit of gas in Europe is now not double, but triple its price before conflict erupted in the Middle East at the end of February.
Dan O’Brien: To some, a budget surplus is like being in Alice in Wonderland
“It feels like being in Alice in Wonderland to arrive in a country with a budget surplus”. So observed the only non-Irish panellist at KPMG’s breakfast briefing the morning after Budget 2027. It brings home the fortunately unusual position Ireland is in compared to most of its peer countries. Sluggish growth in much of the rich world, combined with debt burdens built up over decades, means that budgeting is a constant battle for most governments.
Dan O’Brien: The Government has spent years raising the tax burden. Now it should start cutting it
The national mood is souring. Businessfolk increasingly believe that the Government is anti-business, according to one recent survey. Another opinion poll showed that only a quarter of the public is satisfied with how the Government is performing. And things could sour further. Although the global energy shock is easing, as more traffic is exiting the Arabian/Persian Gulf, the coming winter is likely to bring very high gas prices in Europe.
Futurum Media, AI Jobs and NVIDIA’s New Rivals
HomeTechstrong GangFuturum Media, AI Jobs and NVIDIA’s New Rivals Guests: Dan O'Brien, Drew Gutstein, Jaime Hampton, Jon Swartz, Lee Sellers, Stephen Foskett Hosts: Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard Category: Techstrong Gang Date: October 1, 2026 Futurum Media, AI jobs and NVIDIA’s rivals lead this Techstrong Gang discussion. Alan Shimel and Mike Vizard host Jon Swartz, Drew Gutstein, Jaime Hampton, Dan O’Brien, Lee Sellers and Stephen Foskett.
The world economy is holding up. France is where the trouble may start
As we head into the final quarter of the year, let’s do a health check on the global economy after yet another (energy) shock and look ahead to 2027. Let’s start with the good news. One of the biggest risks to the Irish and transatlantic economies has diminished greatly over the past week. A trade/economic war between the EU and the US is significantly less likely now that a deal has been reached over Greenland.
Enterprise AI Buyers Accept the Pacing Argument. They Want Someone Else to Check the Work
The AI slowdown debate has been an argument among the people who build models. New Futurum research put it to the people who buy them, and they rejected the answer both camps are offering. Last week the AI industry split in public. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei argued in “We Must Pace the Frontier” that the labs should deliberately slow capability gains and submit to outside evaluation. OpenAI’s Sam Altman agreed. Within 48 hours, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang had argued the opposite.
Primary election day in and around Framingham: What's on voters' minds
1:22 pm ET Can Anne Brensley get 5,000 write-in votes? Dan O'Brien Wayland Select Board member Anne Brensley has not given up her bid for statewide office. But she has shifted gears. Brensley, who initially declared last fall to run for lieutenant governor as a Republican, secured the MassGOP endorsement with more than 55% of the vote at the state convention in April. But the effort stalled shortly afterward when it was learned that she had failed to gather enough nomination signatures.
Dan O’Brien: Employment is the best measure of the economy – and the reading is good
What effect is AI having on jobs? Are the young getting “screwed”, as The Economist recently claimed? Will whole industries replace most of their workers with AI? These questions are being asked across the world. Here in Europe, where many people are feeling glum about the continent’s economy and its prospects, concerns are as great as anywhere else. These fears are greatly exaggerated, for the moment at least.
Report: Vehicle 'similar' to one sought in Acton deaths towed in Wayland
A police investigation in Wayland early Wednesday morning, Aug. 12, may be connected to the search for a missing teenager and the discovery of two people — a woman and another teenager — who were found dead Tuesday night inside a home in Acton. Early Wednesday morning, WCVB-TV reported that police in Wayland took a person they were questioning into custody, and that a vehicle "similar in description" to one police were looking for in connection to the Acton case was towed.
Dan O’Brien: How Irish savers accumulated €1.4tn in net wealth – and what to do with it
Are we a nation of savers or spendthrifts? With the release last week of data on savings rates in Ireland and Europe, it occurred to me that in more than a quarter of a century writing columns, I have never explored this matter. That is despite the huge importance of savings for economies and individuals. How economies perform, both in the short term and long term, is strongly influenced by how much is saved, which in turn has traditionally determined how much is invested in the capital stock.
Plymouth woman, 61, dies after struck by tree that fell onto her porch Original
A 61-year-old Plymouth woman was killed on Monday, Aug. 3, after authorities say she was a struck by a tree that had fallen onto her porch. In a press release, Plymouth Fire Chief Neil Foley and Police Chief Dana Flynn reported that at about 1:10 p.m., first responders were dispatched to a residence on Sullivan Avenue for a report of a fallen tree on a back porch with a woman potentially trapped underneath.
UPDATE: Body found in Milford MA quarry a day after swimmer went missing
UPDATE: Body found in Milford MA quarry a day after swimmer went missing A body was recovered Sunday, July 26, after a swimmer went missing the day before at a quarry in Milford, WCVB-TV reports, saying it received confirmation from Fire Chief Mark Nelson. The body was recovered just before 1 p.m. Sunday, about 50 feet below the surface, according to the television station. No further information was immediately released in terms of the identity of the individual.
Inflation’s hidden story: What costs more, what costs less, and why
Everyone hates inflation – for many good reasons. The main reason it is so universally detested is that it erodes real incomes and accumulated incomes – savings. The average person in Ireland today earns less than five years ago in real terms because of the burst of high inflation that hit the world as it exited the pandemic in 2021, and which lasted until 2023.
Dan O’Brien: Having children has gone out of fashion – with profound economic implications
Peak people is almost upon us. For tens of thousands of years, we humans have gone forth and multiplied. Now, the multiplication part is ending. Dozens of countries across the world are already experiencing declining populations. More join their ranks every year. Within a few decades, the human population of the planet will start to fall.
Cumberland Farms' parent company has filed for an IPO. What to know
July 13, 2026, 5:18 a.m. ET Cumberland Farms is going public, part of an ongoing strategy to rebrand its network of stores. The parent company of the Westborough-based convenience store chain announced earlier this month that it has filed a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its shares.
Cumberland Farms' parent company has filed for an IPO. What to know
Cumberland Farms is going public, part of an ongoing strategy to rebrand its network of stores. The parent company of the Westborough-based convenience store chain announced earlier this month that it has filed a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its shares.
US News & World Report named this MA grocery chain best place to work Original
July 6, 2026, 5:20 a.m. ET Market Basket was named the 2026-27 best private consumer products company to work for by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking was based on an analysis of publicly available data for nearly 1,100 privately held companies. Market Basket President Chuck Casassa credited the company's focus on employee satisfaction and retention for the recognition. The award comes after a period of internal company drama, including the termination of former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas.
US News & World Report named this MA grocery chain best place to work
Market Basket, a century-old supermarket chain that is as well known for its family drama as it is for low prices, was recently lauded by U.S. News & World Report for its positive work environment. The Tewksbury-based grocer has been named the 2026-27 best private consumer products company to work for by U.S. News, a global authority on rankings and consumer advice.
Brexit, Burnham, Farage: Dan O’Brien on the future of Irish-British relations
Ten years ago, British voters – previously believed in Europe to be among the continent’s most pragmatic – chose to leave the European Union. The decision was genuinely historic. Britain withdrew from Europe’s de facto federation. In my view, it weakened both Britain and Europe. For Ireland, it created a ongoing strategic nightmare. It is ongoing because Brexit is a process rather than an event.
Worcester DA names two men who died in mall shooting, highway standoff
Updated July 2, 2026, 4:40 p.m. ET WCVB-TV reports that the Worcester County District Attorney's Office has released the names of the two men who died June 30 following a fatal shooting at The Shops at Highland Commons in Berlin and a subsequent police standoff along Interstate 495 in Lowell. According to the television station, authorities identified the victim of the shopping center shooting as Nicholas Ferreira, 35, of Haverhill.
From Aughinish to Palestine, Ireland faces a hard choice between principles and interests
What is more important for this country: the peace and security of the continent we inhabit, or compliance with international law, as interpreted by Irish and international civil servants and jurists, regardless of the cost to the Irish people? The Department of Foreign Affairs has produced a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of banning the importation of goods from illegally occupied land in the Palestinian territories.
Why Acton MA fire officials think fire broke out at transfer station
June 7, 2026, 5:46 a.m. ET A dumpster fire at the Acton Transfer Station & Recycling Center is believed to have been caused by improperly discarded batteries. Fire officials say ruptured lithium-ion or other batteries likely ignited materials in a metal pile. No injuries were reported, and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. Residents are reminded to follow proper disposal procedures for all types of batteries to prevent future fire hazards.
Why Acton MA fire officials think fire broke out at transfer station
A dumpster fire at the Acton Transfer Station & Recycling Center is believed to have been caused by improperly discarded batteries. Fire officials say ruptured lithium-ion or other batteries likely ignited materials in a metal pile. No injuries were reported, and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. Residents are reminded to follow proper disposal procedures for all types of batteries to prevent future fire hazards.
Why Acton MA fire officials think fire broke out at transfer station
June 7, 2026, 5:46 a.m. ET A dumpster fire at the Acton Transfer Station & Recycling Center is believed to have been caused by improperly discarded batteries. Fire officials say ruptured lithium-ion or other batteries likely ignited materials in a metal pile. No injuries were reported, and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. Residents are reminded to follow proper disposal procedures for all types of batteries to prevent future fire hazards.
Why Acton MA fire officials think fire broke out at transfer station
Dan O'Brien, The MetroWest Daily News Sun, June 7, 2026 at 9:46 AM UTC Fire officials in Acton are blaming a dumpster fire on Saturday morning, June 6, at the Acton Transfer Station & Recycling Center on ruptured lithium ion and/or other batteries that were discarded in a metal pile that ignited other materials. No one was injured.
Alex Rikleen ends campaign for US senator in Mass. Who he's endorsing
Alex Rikleen, the Wayland native who had been making a long-shot bid to challenge U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic primary this fall, announced this week that he is withdrawing from the race and endorsing Markey. "My campaign to be the next U.S. Senator for Massachusetts is over," Rikleen's campaign Facebook page stated on May 27. The news came just before the start of this weekend's Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention at the DCU Center in Worcester, where the future of U.S. Rep.
Dan O’Brien: We’re doing fine. So why is everyone so glum?
This columnist is permanently perplexed by the almost complete lack of coverage of the most comprehensive opinion poll that is regularly carried out in Ireland. The European Commission pays pollsters across Europe to ask a thousand people per country about their views on dozens of topics for the Eurobarometer poll. The survey includes both EU countries and non-members. In Ireland, the pollster Behaviour and Attitudes currently conducts the surveys. They do it not once, but twice a year.
Plymouth MA condominium fire displaces nine residents. What to know Original
A fire at a four-unit Plymouth building early Tuesday morning displaced nine residents. One firefighter suffered a minor injury and was treated and released. The fire, which appears to be accidental, caused significant damage to two units. Officials credit a functioning alarm system for alerting residents and preventing further tragedy.
Dan O’Brien: Why it is past time to cut income tax
This columnist writes here on a fortnightly basis and is adequately remunerated for it. I don’t bother writing more frequently because the Government takes more of my fee than I do. This is the predicament of almost half the workforce because the marginal tax rate of over 50 per cent (when three effectively identical taxes are included: income tax, USC, and PRSI) kicks in at just €44,000.
Dan O’Brien: When an out-of-touch Government meets a public at boiling point
If anyone sounds certain about what is going on in Irish society and politics these days, take their views with a muckspreader-full of salt. Let’s start by saying that it’s perfectly possible the protests the country has seen over the past two weeks were a flash in the pan. Societies sometimes experience sudden protest movements, only for them to blow over quickly. UK-wide riots in the summer of 2011 are but one example.
This energy shock is nothing like Ukraine – but there will be pain
“The Iran war is metastasising into a global economic calamity.” This was the view of the Financial Times’ editorial board from their London perch on March 20. Six days later, the less excitable souls at the OECD in Paris declared that they were not changing their forecast for global GDP in 2026.
Popular Mexican restaurant announces closure in downtown Hudson MA
March 13, 2026, 1:31 p.m. ET Lalo's Mexican Restaurant, which serves authentic Mexican dishes such as carne asada tacos and chimichangas, has announced that it will close its downtown Hudson restaurant at month's end. The 61-seat restaurant, at 158 Main St. (Route 62), will close on March 29 after five years in business, the eatery wrote Friday, March 13, in a letter to customers on its Facebook page.
Dan O’Brien: Inflation is the least serious of this war’s ramifications
From domestic Irish politics to EU climate policies and to the central US-China relationship in world politics, the war in the Middle East is having repercussions. Before looking at each of those in turn, let’s consider the implications of higher energy prices for inflation.
Dan O'Brien: A dangerous new war – but limited economic threat to Ireland - The Currency
Major war has returned to the Middle East. The US and Israel’s weekend assassination of the Islamist cleric who had ruled Iran since the 1980s was of global consequence, coming just weeks after the US plucked Venezuela’s leader from Caracas and jailed him in New York. Nobody knows how the conflict engulfing the entire Middle-East region will play out, but a Pandora’s box has been opened.
Dan O’Brien: Checks, balances – and growing trade imbalances - The Currency
Tariffs and trade are back in the news. Last Friday’s decision by the US Supreme Court to strike down Donald Trump’s liberation day tariffs was momentous. It was the clearest sign yet that the in-built checks and balances on executive power still work in the world’s greatest democracy in its 250th year, despite the autocratic tendencies of the current executive in chief. For the rest of the world, the significance is economic.
Why shares of TJX Companies hit an all-time high in Feb. 25 trading
Shares of TJX Companies Inc. hit an all-time high during intraday trading on Wednesday, Feb. 25, after the Framingham-based off-price retailer reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter sales and profits, as well as plans to boost its quarterly dividend payment by 13%. The company's guidance for the current quarter, however, was below consensus estimates. Shares of TJX closed Wednesday at $155.82, down $1.84, in New York Stock Exchange trading.
Dan O'Brien: Ireland ranks surprisingly high in EU housing league - The Currency
For the best part of a decade, housing has been the issue named by those surveyed in polls as the country’s most pressing matter. An opinion poll last week found that 30 per cent of respondents were personally affected by the shortage of homes. This week, yet another piece of legislation – the Residential Tenancies Bill – moved towards enactment after being voted through the Oireachtas.
Waters Corp. shares slide after Q4 earnings report. Here's why
Shares of Waters Corp. slid nearly 14% on Monday, Feb. 9, after the Milford-based specialty-measurement products maker released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings. The company, which is headquartered at 34 Maple St., said net income for the three-month period ending Dec. 31 was $225.2 million, or $3.77 per diluted share, compared with net income of $231.4 million ($3.88 per diluted share) for the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings were $4.53 per share.
Dan O'Brien: The IDA has been too successful for Ireland's own security - The Currency
In my last column, I set out how the global geopolitical environment has radically changed, with the US and China by far the most powerful actors and both behaving in an increasingly aggressive and predatory way. To make matters worse, we Europeans also have the misfortune to have as a neighbour the only actively imperialist state among the world’s middle powers, and one that has waged savage war on its Ukrainian neighbour for the past four, grinding years.
Dan O'Brien: The return of "might-is-right" is reshaping the world — and Ireland must adapt - The Currency
The world is changing rapidly. Nobody disputes that. How great the changes are, when a new global equilibrium is established and, crucially, what that might look like are the questions that need to be answered, not least for companies and countries to form strategies for the future. The era that has just ended, which lasted for three decades after 1989, was the period of history in which the power of states mattered less than at any other time.
MassDOT advisory: Snow, freezing rain may impact road conditions
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is advising travelers that snow and rain mixed with cold temperatures may impact travel conditions this weekend, including during holiday travel times. In a press release, state officials said motorists should allow for extra time and check forecasts for their routes, and if possible, consider using public transportation.
Dan O'Brien: Looking back on the 10 things to watch in 2025 - The Currency
What 10 things could happen over the course of 2025 that would make Ireland, Europe and the world better places? That question was the subject of my first column of the year. How have these hopes turned out? 1. A more pro-business government is formed in January Rather than bringing one of the left-leaning parties on board, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael plumped for an assortment of independents to form a government at the beginning of the year.
Dan O'Brien: Why the US security strategy is reassuring for Ireland - The Currency
Last week, the US published its first National Security Strategy of the second Trump administration. It has deservedly received a lot of attention. It is an extraordinary document in a number of ways. What does it mean for Ireland and Europe? A lot in some respects and much less in others. Before looking at the content relevant to Ireland and our continent, it’s worth setting out why the strategy is important.
Harrowing
The time between where did He go not paradise as He’d promised the penitent thief His brother not yet During the interval between the veil in the temple torn and the stone rolled away He was harrowing the gates of Sheol the underground terminus where the ancients slept hopelessly He slit the earth and reaped them into eternity You are nowhere and between now my brother cold and unburied upon the slab before the fire When I was half- way between life and death I woke after the blade had...
Profane
How often I’ve mistyped your given name as Christ, as if the son of God had taken His own life, though in a sense He did offer Himself to give absolution to us. Your mistaken gift, Chris, was refusing your life. But you have given me faith in a salvation only to be received if I deny the lie that suffering is shame. This article appears in January 2026. Related Dan O’Brien is a poet, playwright and nonfiction writer. His most recent poetry collections are Survivor’s Notebook and Flying on Easter.
Woman, 79, hospitalized after struck by car near Littleton MA Common
Police in Littleton say they're investigating an incident that occurred Wednesday, Dec. 3, in which a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle near Littleton Common. In a press release provided by John Guilfoil Public Relations, Littleton Police Chief Matthew Pinard said Littleton Police and Fire responded shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday to the intersection of King and Goldsmith streets. Upon arrival, rescuers found a 79-year-old Acton woman who had been struck by a sedan, Pinard said.
The Irish economy is in for a soft landing – unless risks materialise - The Currency
The 2020s have been the most eventful decade since the 1970s, if not the 1940s. A global pandemic, lockdowns, an energy shock, the biggest inflation surge in 40 years, the largest and most rapid tightening of interest rates in monetary history, full-scale war in Europe, the dawn of the AI era and the most radically different US president in history. Having come through all of these shocks without a recession, it now looks as if the Irish economy is slowing of its own accord.
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