April, 2017

I have often heard the old saying ‘Seeing is believing’. I think it may come from ‘doubting’ Thomas who features in the Easter story at this time of the year. More recently, I have found more meaning in the saying ‘Believing is Seeing.’ (The Gospel of John states: ‘Blessed are those who believe and have not seen.’ […]

I spent much of yesterday in the car, travelling to a funeral in Mayo. As a result I got to listen to a lot of radio, considerable chunks of which was sound sludge. However, I did catch one interview that was worthwhile. It was on Newstalk , where Pat Kenny interviewed   Eoin O Broin, the […]

Now I love elections, they are the stuff of high drama and more importantly, the clash of ideas. And by God, is this going to be just that. They make Coronation Street seem Shakespearean, taking the bread and butter issues of the day to your dining room table. This is one of the most important […]

Ecclesiastes urges – “Let us now praise famous men and our fathers who begat us.”.       It seems to me that some people think he meant that we should Brown-Nose every man or woman with a title or a gong, a castle or a big car or a. prominent profile in the media, whatever their merits […]

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman, and these days, nearly all the time, it’s harder to be a unionist. No matter what way they turn, what pose they strike, the consequences seem to be disastrous. The coming election is a fine example. The tag of arrogance was hung round the DUP neck during the […]

Perkin Warbeck (for it is he!)     (The shrill whistle blows for the Second Half) THURSDAY: On Monday in The Unionist Times we had the gratuitous googly bowled in the direction of the temples of the GAA from an unexpected source: The Iron Maiden of the Silly Mid-on, aka Una Mullally. Today, the hack […]

Apparently unionists worry about certain things. They are unsure whether or not some Irish Nationalists really want local government to succeed. They are dubious that republicans might want this to fail even though Martin MCGuinness attempted everything short of walking -on -water to prove to them that he wanted it to work. Unionists have some […]

This time 20 years ago the fledgling Irish peace process was in deep trouble and on the verge of complete collapse. The failure of the then Tory government to embrace the opportunities created by the IRA ceasefire and to commence meaningful negotiations brought about the collapse of the ceasefire. Only when new governments were elected […]

Harry Evans, as was, now Sir Harold Evans, wrote a 500 page book, published in 1983 following his departure from the Editor’s Chair of THE TIMES of London whereupon he had sat for approximately a year in 1981-1982. I have been a regular reader of the paper since the early 1970s. I never set eyes […]

Picture by Derry Journal Anyone who watches the footage of the late Martin McGuinness’ funeral cannot but feel moved in some way, not just at a great life cut short, but the reaction he generated in death. The doors and Church grounds were packed with Presidents, Taoisigh, Parliamentarians of all parties, senior Orangemen, First Ministers, […]