Well. Just when you thought the Stormont waters had smoothed out, suddenly it’s the Jaws theme and everyone is very, very tense. Sammy Wilson was on BBC Radio Ulster/Raidio Uladh at lunchtime and was calling Martin McGuinness a liar, or something very like it. Martin McGuinness for his part is clearly very pissed off […]
March, 2015
‘SAMMY WILSON AND KIM JONG un’ by Harry McAvinchey
I was thinking that somewhere like North Korea might be the kind of place that would suit some of the local politicians in Norneverland.I know we’re not quite on a par with that other Looking Glass world, but certain statements by our local DUP minister , Sammy Wilson ,set me to thinking. He might […]
Sinn Féin Ard Fheis: the economics of Irish unity
About three hours before Gerry Adams’s barn-storming Ard Fheis speech, a fringe event took place in a lower room at the Millenium Forum. It was chaired by Michelle Gildernew, who a few hours later would introduce Gerry Adams for That Speech; the panellists were Dr Conor Patterson, CEO of Newry and Mourne Enterprise Agency, and Michael Burke, an independent […]
‘Writing Songs without formula or recipe’ – interview with Randall Stephen Hall
Randall Stephen Hall. Singer. Songwriter. Poet. Storyteller. www.randallstephenhall.com Writing Songs without formula or recipe. Interviewed by “Hugh Midden” at the Moon Shed. Co. Antrim. * If any of the WEBLINKS don’t click, just cut and paste them into your search engine and you will be rewarded with some entertaining songs and interviews. […]
‘Titled or Entitled?’ by Soinbhe Lally
Has the Belfast Telegraph adopted a policy of discarding titles when reporting on the doings of titled persons? As a policy it will certainly ruffle noble feathers here in Ulster. Suppose Lord John Kilclooney makes fresh headlines with his proposal for the partitioning of Scotland, will the Belfast Telegraph ascribe his comments to Mr John […]
‘Placing traditional values in a modern setting’ by David McCann
“Nation building is a bloody hard business” the former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating once said. How do we scope out a plan and narrative for creating essentially something that has never really existed and that is an independent 32 County Irish State. In front of anybody who is interested in this idea there […]
‘Fess time
Every so often Fate or whatever does us a good turn by giving us a kick in the bum to keep our hubris in check. I’ve just received same from Moochman and I hate to admit it but I deserved it. Moochman is a professional photographer (a good one as it happens – you can […]
An open letter to Nigel Dodds
Dear Nigel, I feel your pain. There was a time long, long ago when I loved a girl – let’s call her RDE – but the love was not reciprocated. I would stand on the edge of groups with whom she was speaking, trying desperately to catch her eye. But on the odd occasion that […]
RELIGIOUS PERVERTS by Soinbhe Lally
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, has compared Islamic State with the IRA. I imagine a few retired IRA commanders, while acknowledging that Isis State, in its current form, would have taken NI back from the British in a while of an afternoon, will nevertheless be flattered by the comparison. Of course, the cardinal […]
FROM THE STONE -AGE TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE by Harry McAvinchey
It can happen very quickly. It’s literally like switching off a light bulb.Within a heartbeat , I was in a room thick with cloying, inky darkness that was gradually cooling down. One moment ago I was sitting with the television snickering and burbling away in the background , the computer was in hibernate mode […]