June, 2012

Football, royals and unionism

I’ve been out of circulation for a number of reasons but not, as one unkind person said, because I was still celebrating England’s defeat in the Euros. To be honest, I felt sorry for poor Ashley Cole and Ashley Young – it’s the kind of world-is-watching nightmare that must be very hard to shake. Although […]

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Football, royals and unionism

I’ve been out of circulation for a number of reasons but not, as one unkind person said, because I was still celebrating England’s defeat in the Euros. To be honest, I felt sorry for poor Ashley Cole and Ashley Young – it’s the kind of world-is-watching nightmare that must be very hard to shake. Although […]

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One Executive, some councils and a handshake

I  had two conversations this week which linked, sort of. Let me explain.  The first was with a  unionist, a  decent, civilized man, who asked  me “Well – is Martin McGuinness going to shake hands with the queen, then?”  I told I didn’t know but my guess was that he would at some point. What’s […]

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One Executive, some councils and a handshake

I  had two conversations this week which linked, sort of. Let me explain.  The first was with a  unionist, a  decent, civilized man, who asked  me “Well – is Martin McGuinness going to shake hands with the queen, then?”  I told I didn’t know but my guess was that he would at some point. What’s […]

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The New Irish

A week or so ago in Dublin, 4,000 new Irish citizens were created. Do they know what they were getting into? Their new status allows them to carry an Irish passport and to vote in referendums, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter told them. “You entered this room as citizens from over 100 different countries. You’re […]

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The New Irish

A week or so ago in Dublin, 4,000 new Irish citizens were created. Do they know what they were getting into? Their new status allows them to carry an Irish passport and to vote in referendums, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter told them. “You entered this room as citizens from over 100 different countries. You’re […]

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Judith gets a fáinne. Don’t be fooled.

So Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie got her silver fáinne. Big deal. I got one of those earlier this year and Caral Ni Chuilin didn’t tell ME I’d done something very, very significant.  Anyway, I bet they let Judith Gillespie see the questions before she sat the exam. Imagine the row if the Belfast Telegraph […]

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Judith gets a fáinne. Don’t be fooled.

So Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie got her silver fáinne. Big deal. I got one of those earlier this year and Caral Ni Chuilin didn’t tell ME I’d done something very, very significant.  Anyway, I bet they let Judith Gillespie see the questions before she sat the exam. Imagine the row if the Belfast Telegraph […]

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