OK, this year I’m conflicted. (A grand word, conflicted.) Normally when the New Year Honours List appears, I tend to make comparisons with the ribbons, combs and mirrors that the white man gave to the native people of North America in exchange for thousands of acres of land. Not that those on the Honours List have […]
December, 2015
Polls and what they tell us
As I write this I’m listening to some RTÉ pundits talking about the past year and the coming election. They’re saying Enda will be gone in five years’ time, so he will take his time about when he calls a general election. He’ll want people to see how dignified he is (no, I made that bit […]
‘Paisley and Irish Unification’ by Jessica McGrann
Paisley was an Irishman, he loved Ulster and claimed you cannot be an Ulsterman without being an Irishman. His hatred of the Catholic Church was intense, and while extreme, the Catholic Church did involve itself too much in the running of the new Irish Free State. It had far too much control of the state […]
What the bean-counters say about this blogsite in 2015
http://jetpack.me/annual-report/60726884/2015/
What Peter, Maggie and Ian said back then
Arguing from the particular to the general is a risky and often inaccurate business. Because you meet a unionist or republican who talks rubbish does not mean that all unionists or all republicans are rubbish-talkers. That said, examples can provide intriguing pointers. For example, we have a tendency to assume that the authorities know better. […]
THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND THE PROMOTION OF VIOLENCE by Donal Kennedy
In the IRISH TIMES of December 29 one Sean O’Donnell, a retired Civil Servant recalled the Silver Jubilee of the 1916 Rising with beatings by the Irish Christian Brothers at Colaiste Mhuire in Dublin when he was 13. The headline was “Heavy-handed school teaching of nationalism.” It was a contribution to “Rite and Reason”, a […]
Deputy Halligan and doing the right thing – by Donal Kennedy
Wolfe Tone declared that f the men of property wouldn’t lead a campaign for justice that the struggle should be led by “that large and respectable class – the men of no property.” It seems that today an appeal has been made, if not to a class of men of no principle, at least to […]
Jam and its postponement
A week or so back I was watching Simon Coveney on the TV. The Fine Gael minister was telling anyone who’ll listen that his party are all set to build thousands of houses and they’ll do even more in the future. This from a man whose party is witnessing well over 2,000 homeless people in […]
THE IMPENDING DEATH OF BELFAST – Part II by Am Gobsmacht
Just a quick update on the previous rant. The Orpheus building (aka the former Co-op building) on York st (along with its Art Deco neighbour)is now gone. This building is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late building. It’s a stiff. Bereft of […]
MORE MIRACULOUS SHENANIGANS
I implied last time that miracles, of a sort, were a possibility ….You know, that if politics can be suspended for Christmas and our world keeps right on spinning, then anything is possible. Yes, I believe some kinds of miracles can and do occur all the time.Maybe not the kind of miracles you might wish […]