Dear Daithi - Irish Examiner

Dear Dáithí: Should I let my absent father walk me down the aisle on my wedding day?

Your father believes this role belongs to him, but in this case, it doesn’t. You’ll need to make that clear

Mon, 07 Apr, 2025

Dear Dáithí: ‘My paranoid partner calls me names in front of the children’

I think it is so important that children today have good, strong male role models, and what I’m seeing and hearing here is the very opposite

Mon, 31 Mar, 2025

Dear Dáithí: Am I super-intolerant now or is my co-worker the worst?

It reminds me of a person who brought fish to work and stunk the place out cooking it during the day. I’d no problem with this person getting their omega 3s, but you need to clean up properly after yourself.

Mon, 24 Mar, 2025

Dear Dáithí: My daughters are upset I want my new partner to move into the family home

My wife passed away 10 years ago and I recently met a very nice lady through a walking club

Mon, 17 Mar, 2025

Dear Dáithí: 'My neighbour hurts me deeply with her 'jokes' and I've had enough'

Dear Dáithí: I've nothing in common with the other parents — except kids

"For example, we spent over an hour at a coffee shop recently talking about a new kitchen. There’s a genocide happening in real time, that I can’t sleep over, but please tell me what tiles you’re picking out."

Sun, 02 Mar, 2025

Dear Dáithí: I've given up drink and my boyfriend and friends are giving me grief over it

"...I too have continued dry January into this month and am feeling great. My friends are saying the same thing to me but in a very jokey way and thankfully it has stayed jokey for me, but I think the jokes for you are long gone."

Mon, 24 Feb, 2025

Dear Dáithí: 'My neighbour hurts me deeply with her 'jokes' and I've had enough'

"Being a quiet, polite shy person is who you are and you should never lower your standards for others especially when their values don’t come close to yours."

Mon, 17 Feb, 2025

Dear Dáithí: I'm a new dad — and I feel like my friends have abandoned me

"A lot of people, not only men, bury their head in the sand, hoping that something like this will go away, but it also rarely does until you do something about it and take action."

Mon, 10 Feb, 2025

Dear Dáithí: My sister has decided I'm minding our aging mother - without consulting me

In any situation in life no matter what it is if you focus on problems, you will find more problems and it’s the same with solutions, so we focus on solutions

Mon, 27 Jan, 2025

Dear Dáithí: I'm losing my son to a controlling girlfriend

Dear Dáithí: 'My grandchildren live overseas, and my heart is broken from missing them'

"I do think it's time to have a chat as a family, because the family are scattered all over - ye could put a plan together that sometimes they visit you at different times of the year. This will give you time with all the different people, especially the children."

Mon, 20 Jan, 2025

Dear Dáithí: I'm losing my son to a controlling girlfriend

"She has him eating well, working out and off the drink. I think you should ask him how he is feeling these days."

Mon, 13 Jan, 2025

Dear Dáithí: My husband is forcing my daughter to take part in sports, but she hates them

"Your husband is a coach and I’m sure he sees the benefits of sports and I know it’s especially hard to keep young girls involved in sports and I agree with him that it is very important, but at what cost?"

Mon, 06 Jan, 2025

Dear Dáithí: 'My wife is mad because I'm texting a female co-worker - but it's completely innocent'

'I feel it shouldn't matter what gender my friend is, and my wife is being ridiculous. I think she's taking her feelings of frustration out on me - unfairly.'

Tue, 24 Dec, 2024

Dear Dáithí: I want Christmas away with my husband, without his brother ruining everything

Dear Dáithí, I’m sure you get lots of letters complaining about family at this time of year, but I’m actually at the end of my tether and I don’t know what to do! My brother-in-law is ...

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Dear Dáithí: My girlfriend follows muscular lads — I'm not muscular, and am now feeling insecure

The main thing to remember here is that nobody has done anything wrong: all that has happened is that your insecurities in your head have overtaken reality in real life

Mon, 02 Dec, 2024

Dear Dáithí: I'm worrying about my teen's Leaving Cert... and their post-exam holiday

"Your teenager is working hard at the moment, and from reading between the lines this might be the first time in a long time that he is, and I’d keep this going for as long as possible."

Mon, 25 Nov, 2024

Dear Dáithí: Why can’t I find the perfect soulmate?

"You need to get off your arse, or you’ll give the rest of your weekends sitting on it, and we don’t want that."

Mon, 18 Nov, 2024

Dear Dáithí: I'm so disappointed in my daughter — she is using screens to parent my grandchildren

Remember parenting has changed but you haven’t, so you too need to adjust here, but all of this is coming from a good place, so keep it there, all will be good.

Mon, 11 Nov, 2024

Dear Dáithí: My daughter is with an older guy — she seems to make all the sacrifice in the relationship

He has children from a previous relationship and doesn't want any more. She says she doesn't want children but I know in my heart this is not true. How can I make her see sense?

Mon, 28 Oct, 2024

Dear Dáithí: I feel so embarrassed — I'm a mum of two and addicted to my phone

"It's time you retook ownership of your life and putting the phone away is a great way to start. Time to stop scrolling and start dreaming again and dreaming beyond the ordinary."

Mon, 21 Oct, 2024

Dear Dáithí: Is my long-term friendship worth saving if she expects too much?

It does sound like you have been very 'available' to her, maybe too available, and now she doesn’t know what to do

Mon, 30 Sep, 2024

Dear Dáithí: My in-laws hate each other — and it makes our visits unbearable

"If this situation were to continue, can you imagine the effect it would have on everyone, especially the grandchildren? They would be asking if this was the norm when you get older, and you’d have a tough time convincing them that it wasn’t."

Mon, 16 Sep, 2024

Dear Dáithí: My sister and her husband have broken up, but he can't afford to move out

Dear Dáithí: My sister invites my abusive ex to family events

"For me, there is no place hot enough in hell for people who are abusive and coercive. It’s all about them and what they can control. So, when you finally said you had enough, it knocked him back on his arse..."

Mon, 09 Sep, 2024

Dear Dáithí: With our youngest off to college, will we be okay on our own?

I can see where you are coming from with this dilemma

Mon, 02 Sep, 2024

Dear Dáithí: I've a good life, but I'd love a partner to share it with

It’s not even about the sex (ok, maybe a little). It’s about the companionship

Sun, 18 Aug, 2024

Dear Dáithí: We're clashing on how to raise our daughter — I don't want to be the bad cop all the time

Dear Dáithí: My perfect girlfriend is horrible to me behind closed doors

Dear Dáithí: I'm 50, I feel invisible and stuck. What can I do to start loving life again?

Dear Dáithí: 'How do I get my son and his family to move from America back to Ireland?'

Dear Dáithí: I want holidays to be just for us — not the in-laws

Dear Dáithí: My best friend has gone back to her cheater of a boyfriend and I'm furious