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Articles by Seán Patrick Donlan
Frank Berry’s The Lost Children of Tuam Digs Up Ireland’s Darkest Secrets
In three feature-length films since 2014, director Frank Berry has established himself as Ireland’s leading social realist. This is primarily a matter of substance, a concentration on contemporary Irish social issues. I Used to Live Here (2014) focused on youth mental health and suicide clusters. Michael Inside (2017) tackled marginalization and incarceration. Most recently, Aisha (2022) exposed the shortcomings of the asylum system.
Haddam First Selectman’s Update, September 2026
By Sean Donlan, Haddam First Selectman (September 10, 2026) — On August 2, 2026, Haddam residents and visitors from surrounding towns were honored to participate in a drive-by birthday party for a remarkably brave three-year old, Jacob Rene Barrera. The memory of Jacob sitting in his chair surrounded by his family and friends with that big, beautiful smile on his face will be with us forever. Jacob, thank you for being an inspiration and showing us your strength and power during your battle.
The Quiet and The Dead | 25 Films for St Patrick’s Day
The Day That’s In It (the holiday) St Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of St Patrick, is important throughout Ireland, though in practice it’s now more secular than spiritual. In fact, the holiday’s long been a celebration of Irish identity that uniquely, if not unproblematically, encompasses both Irish nationalists and unionists. Some approximation of Ireland and its culture is celebrated abroad, too, throughout the Irish Empire of its vast diaspora.
Update from Haddam’s First Selectman
By Sean Donlan, Haddam First Selectman (March 14, 2026) — We live in a region where a weather prediction for the next five hours is considered a long-range forecast. Winter proved to be predictably unpredictable, and we owe a tremendous thank-you to Haddam’s Public Works Department for clearing our roads through some fast-moving, heavy storms. Spring is upon us and we hope to see Haddam teeming with people of all ages enjoying the dozens of parks, trails and outdoor activities around town.
Snowstorm Follow-Up from Haddam First Selectman
By Sean Donlan, Haddam First Selectman (January 28, 2026) — Firstly, thank you to the entire Public Works Department for the tremendous job done with the past two snow storms. We are aware that our roads are not completely free of snow and ice and are working on clearing them within a reasonable time. Secondly, please note that we are experiencing a multi-state salt shortage.
A Thank-You from Haddam’s First Selectman
By Sean Donlan, Haddam First Selectman (January 8, 2026) — First and most important, a thank-you to all the previous First Selectmen and Board of Selectmen members for making Haddam what it is today. Thank you to everyone who ran for a position in Haddam’s government this election. It is a difficult decision just to place your name on a ballot and it takes a lot of time to campaign. Congratulations to all the candidates who were elected.
Stronger Together? Mark Lilla, Identity, and Politics – The Moderate Voice
In the immediate aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, Mark Lilla published an essay on ‘The End of Identity Liberalism’. That piece proved popular, though it was more criticized than celebrated, at least among fellow liberals. The Once and Future Liberal extends his critique, if only ever-so-slightly. The work is telling and timely. But its diagnosis is hardly new and, in the end, Lilla’s prognosis is as thin as the book itself.
Look Away: Mothers, Monuments, and Myths – The Moderate Voice
Much of the work of writer and philosopher Albert Camus (1913-1960) explored the complexity of moral judgement and action in the face of human suffering. This reflected his wartime experience in the French Resistance, as well as his upbringing. Born in French Algeria, the global South, his parents descended from colonists. They were poor, but, as European stock, remained a caste separate and above native North Africans. Camus understood compound, competing loyalties from the inside.
ANGELS, DEMONS, AND OUR UNCIVIL WAR – The Moderate Voice
Even by the low standards of the modern Republican Party, the President-Elect is a man deeply ignorant of policy. And he possesses few, if any, real moral or political principles. For some this week, these facts have been a source of curious optimism. We can hope, they suggest, that Mr Trump might be capable of learning or, at least, of responding to being leaned on by the many, many who are much, much more knowledgeable than he is.
Bigots, Billionaires, and Borders: The Duke-Trump Fever Swamp
Donald Trump will lose the presidential election this Fall. He will do so because he’s professionally and politically unqualified, because he’s temperamentally (perhaps clinically) unsound and dangerous, and as a result of his patient inability to mask his many prejudices and general ignorance. Trump must be taken seriously by all, but the real test – of both American conservatives and the American public – is yet to come.
This Is an American Tragedy: Republicans Must Step Up and Defeat Donald Trump
This Is an American Tragedy: Republicans Must Step Up and Defeat Donald Trump As a Democrat, part of me delights in the opportunities provided by the coming elections. With Trump at the top of the Republican ticket, Democrats might – just might – find themselves not only with the presidency, but in control of the Senate. But the state of our politics is so grave that it’s difficult to derive much joy out of the situation.
This is an American tragedy: Republicans must step up and defeat Donald Trump
As a Democrat, part of me delights in the opportunities provided by the coming elections. With Trump at the top of the Republican ticket, Democrats might – just might – find themselves not only with the presidency, but in control of the Senate. But the state of our politics is so grave that it’s difficult to derive much joy out of the situation. Like others on both sides of the aisle, I already feel tainted by Trump’s rank tribalism and childish tantrums.
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