(John Patton blogs at phototilly.eu) What does one war- mongerer give another when visiting? Tony Blair found the ideal present in a bust of the notorious imperialist, Churchill. George W. was duly impressed and the gift was given pride of place in his Oval Office. As American and British forces bombed civilian homes in Baghdad […]
January, 2017
James Brokenshire and Gaelic games
OK – hands up if you have always seen James Brokenshire and the British Secretaries of State who preceded him here as honest brokers, referees between the two warring factions in the north of Ireland? You, sir? Ah – you were just scratching your ear. All right. Nobody saw Mr Brokenshire or the others as […]
DUP: Listen to our voice. Your eyes are heavy. You are already forgetting about Cash-for-Ash
Having failed to bluster their way out of the Cash-for-Ash scandal, the DUP are busy with their Tory allies trying to find ways of muddying the waters and/or dragging public attention from their incompetence and potential corruption. Here are just a few of their latest initiatives: Michelle O’Neill is partly to blame for the Cash-for-Ash […]
IRELAND: UK FAKE NEWS AND ALTERNATE FACTS by Michael J Cummings
President Trump touched a raw nerve with former CIA Director John Brennan by insinuating he leaked the “fake news” about Russia possessing compromising data on the President. Days later Trump spokesperson Ms. Kellyanne Conway had a contretemps with Meet the Press host Chuck Todd. She claimed Press Secretary Sean Spicer was offering “alternate […]
‘Unionism & Sexuality: The Disturbed Conflict Therein’ by Donal Lavery
There is a theory that ardent right-wingers possess authoritarian personalities which repress emotional and sexual expression out of insecurity. It falls into line with B. F. Skinner’s observations on “operant conditioning” in human behaviour and psyche. Now no sensible person would doubt for one moment that everyone is entitled to a private life, but that […]
Nicola Mallon: The Stalking Horse of North Belfast? by Donal Lavery
It’s quite clear to anyone watching media footage from the past few years that Colum Eastwood is fighting for the soul of the SDLP in eternal defeat. He looks worn down by the political weather and offers no fresh ideas other than a status quo consensus with the Ulster Unionists; which suits his forlorn […]
THE ELEGANT FISHER
An old friend returned. It was the wife who saw him first .We were walking alongside the river bank just as the snows had begun to clear. The fallen leaves were an umber and sienna mulch underfoot. Of course, I was negotiating a particularly squidgy muddy track ,assessing the glour and the glit, all the […]
WHEN IRISH TIMES WERE SMYLLING by Donal Kennedy
I came across an old letter in THE IRISH TIMES by a Mr Bouchier Hayes and an IRISHMAN’S DIARY feature by him whilst starting to sort out the papers in my attic this week. The letter concerned an IRISHMAN’S DIARY entry by R.M. Smyllie in 1933. Smyllie had been in Germany when the UK declared […]
Saturday pics of the week
Pics 1-4 are by John Patton (phototilly.eu) Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 “The Isle of Lunga is a designated site of special , scientific interest . Uninhabited, it is the largest of the Trenish Islands off Mull and home to a colony of puffins. Access is restricted but I was fortunate […]
Michelle O’Neill: the right stuff?
On Monday of this week, Michelle O’Neill stepped into Martin McGuinness’s shoes. Had she done that literally, she’d have found they were too big to be practical. And even though we’re not talking leather here and talking political, they’re still too big for her. But then again, can you think of any Sinn Féin politician […]