Patrick J. O Brien, at The Blogs

Dec 4, 2024, 9:16 PM

Putin and Trump’s ‘bromance’ continues to be an enduring mystery

Trump's admiration for the Russian autocrat apparently burns brighter than ever with historic talks schedule for 2025 (Image courtesy of author)

As the world's media and political strategists settle into the new age of Trump's vision for America, they have succumbed to the acceptance that he has changed the US political landscape forever. Donald Trump is indeed the undisputed master...

Nov 24, 2024, 12:22 PM

Hardship in Europe, time to act and change the poverty narrative

Patrick O Brien in conversation with Caitríona Twomey, the driving force behind Cork Penny Dinners, A charity with a history that goes back to the time of the famine in Ireland who has been reaching out to the most vulnerable in Irish society (Image courtesy of author)

A countries true progress is not whether they add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether It provides enough for those who have too little writes Patrick O Brien Poverty in the EU Union is...

Nov 2, 2024, 3:09 PM

Fortress Europe, no room in the Inn for those seeking refuge

Journalist Patrick O Brien spoke with many of the refugees fleeing the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 (Image courtesy of author)

Europe is slowly shutting its doors to refugees to the detriment of human rights and human life writes Patrick O Brien who witnessed firsthand the mass exit of those fleeing war in Ukraine in 2022 to now having to...

Sep 29, 2024, 4:33 PM

The death of Hezbollah’s leader will cast a shadow of qualm on the entire Middle East

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah carry his pictures as they gather in Sidon (Image courtesy of author)

On preparation for his first visit to The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Tel Aviv, writer Patrick O Brien believes Hassan Nasrallah’s killing transforms an already deadly regional conflict and opens up a new chapter of uncertainty...

Aug 8, 2024, 11:33 AM

The rain before the storm, we must ‘call out’ Fascism before it’s too late!

Riots in the UK caused carnage in many cities (Image courtesy of author)

Fascism is threatening Britain's democracy again. We must stop it and put an end to what can only be described as vigilantism writes Patrick O' Brien. You cannot pin point a problem unless you name it. The UK has suffered...

Jul 1, 2024, 10:56 AM

I get it! Trump isn’t perfect, but he’s a doer

Journalist Patrick O Brien writes that Trump may be a figure unlike any other in US political history but there’s something particularly powerful about Trump’s rhetorical style. He rallies people through impassioned, targeted conversation even if it doesn’t always...

Jun 25, 2024, 1:21 PM

Why France’s nationalist revolution is ‘a wake up call’ as the EU takes a sharp turn right

Marine Le Pen ready to conquer French politics (Image courtesy of author)

Patrick O Brien believes that the victory for Europe’s center-right parties in recent elections shouldn’t have been too much of a shock for anyone paying attention to the angry mood among many of Europe's young voters, who have not...

Jun 13, 2024, 1:21 PM

Irish Prime Minister ‘political ploy’ has no beneficial effects for peace in the middle east

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris at Dail Eireann (Image courtesy of author)

Patrick J O Brien reports that the Irish government's blinkered decision to recognise the state of Palestine at this time is seen a negation of a country's right to defend themselves against terrorists With European and local elections behind him,...

Apr 23, 2024, 11:21 AM

With Ukraine in peril, Zelenskyy pleads for aid!

Journalist-Patrick-O-Brien-reporting-on-the-streets-of-Lviv-in-2023

The last few weeks have been unlike any we have seen before in the Ukrainian Russian conflict. Russia has launched a deliberate and devastating series of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, taking advantage of gaps and shortages in Ukraine’s...

Mar 25, 2024, 6:25 PM

With hindsight and thirteen years on, was killing Gaddafi a serious mistake for Libya and a lesson for the Middle East

Like many journalists, I smiled when Gaddafi was overthrown, and I was relieved when he was dead, because I was still naive enough to think revolutions brought democracy. They simply don't. Gaddafi might have been a dictator, but he...

About Me

Patrick J O Brien is an acclaimed journalist and Director of Exante who has been working in the media for almost 25 years. Patrick who hails from Ireland is based in Malta and a contributor to some of the world’s leading financial and political magazines. Recently he returned from Ukraine where he was reporting at ground level on the escalation of war and spent time documenting the work of the Red Cross and many human right organisations