In the name of God. Or rather, in the name of the Irish people. Or rather, in the name of the people of the twenty-six counties: what IS this? Or to quote a once-admired Taoiseach: “What kind of eejits do they take the people for?” The Irish economic crisis is a tangled, multi-stranded mess that […]
March, 2011
Ireland’s banks: anything would be better than this
In the name of God. Or rather, in the name of the Irish people. Or rather, in the name of the people of the twenty-six counties: what IS this? Or to quote a once-admired Taoiseach: “What kind of eejits do they take the people for?” The Irish economic crisis is a tangled, multi-stranded mess that […]
Sinn Féin Town Hall meetings: louder than words
The really good ideas are often the simple ones. Blindingly simple, so when you see them in action, you kick yourself and say “Why didn’t I think of that?” On the other hand, there are simple and really good ideas that, even had you thought of them, you’d have been incapable of translating them into […]
Sinn Féin Town Hall meetings: louder than words
The really good ideas are often the simple ones. Blindingly simple, so when you see them in action, you kick yourself and say “Why didn’t I think of that?” On the other hand, there are simple and really good ideas that, even had you thought of them, you’d have been incapable of translating them into […]
Five things we know about the Shankill Butchers
Stephen Nolan’s show ‘Shankill Butchers’ on BBC last night didn’t so much bring fresh revelations about that loyalist 1970s gang as confirm what most of us have been thinking for a long, long time. Five things struck me while watching it. 1. The Shankill Butchers were terrorists. That might seem obvious when the word is […]
Five things we know about the Shankill Butchers
Stephen Nolan’s show ‘Shankill Butchers’ on BBC last night didn’t so much bring fresh revelations about that loyalist 1970s gang as confirm what most of us have been thinking for a long, long time. Five things struck me while watching it. 1. The Shankill Butchers were terrorists. That might seem obvious when the word is […]
Closure be damned
My life has been blessed. The nearest I’ve come to the death of a loved one in the Troubles was in the Omagh bomb, where a distant cousin died. So I can’t begin to understand how much pain families feel when a family member is killed through the wanton violence of others. Nor can I […]
Closure be damned
My life has been blessed. The nearest I’ve come to the death of a loved one in the Troubles was in the Omagh bomb, where a distant cousin died. So I can’t begin to understand how much pain families feel when a family member is killed through the wanton violence of others. Nor can I […]
Pretend and the real thing: there is a difference, Willie
Maybe it’s been destroyed or lost, but there used to be a photograph of me about our house, aged eight. It might have been my birthday or maybe it was Christmas, but I’m grinning at the camera like a halfwit. On my head is a cowboy hat and in each fist I’ve got a pistol, […]
Pretend and the real thing: there is a difference, Willie
Maybe it’s been destroyed or lost, but there used to be a photograph of me about our house, aged eight. It might have been my birthday or maybe it was Christmas, but I’m grinning at the camera like a halfwit. On my head is a cowboy hat and in each fist I’ve got a pistol, […]