May, 2017

This is an interview conducted on Saturday with John O’Dowd, the Sinn Féin candidate for Upper Bann. The interview took place at the home of Jean ‘Queenie’ Fagan, whose daughter Sheena Campbell was studying Law at Queen’s University when she was shot dead by the UVF in 1992. She was a member of Sinn Féin […]

  A memorial service for victims of the Manchester Arena bombing. DECLAN KEARNEY Whether in Manchester, Ireland or in some other global conflict zone all hurt, suffering and grief is the same and warrants acknowledgement with sincere remorse. THE BBC NEWS on Wednesday night broadcast a report on victims of the Manchester bombing. The reporter […]

“… the tune of Croppies lie down in said publication, the chorus of which is changed to “Papists lie down” meets with our strongest disapprobation being directly contrary to our principles as reflecting on a part of our fellow subjects for their religious persuasion”.” By order, J. C. Beresford. Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge 20 November […]

  The two-bit RTE radio show on which Leo Vee opened his bid for the leadership of the FG Party two and a bit years ago was in Fine, oops, fine fettle yesterday, entirely. And it came in two bits too: in this, the week of the Manchester Bombings, the first twenty minutes were handed […]

  Now before I start I have to declare that I haven’t seen nor do I have any intention of going to see the film ‘The Journey’ the fictionalised account of the interaction between Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley. There is a point that you should never criticise something until you have at least watched […]

Pics 1-7 are by Antrim Lens           Pic 4 Pic 5 Pic 6  Pic 7   “Some of the new life at my place. I leave a camera over by the fox den an badger sett a couple of fields away from my house and these are the first photos of this […]

I’m sure most of you are following the battle for the Fine Gael leadership and over who will become the next head of an EU ‘puppet government’ – made up of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. On the right, you are presented with Ireland’s own Margaret Thatcher, in the form of […]

   Isn’t it remarkable in this decade of remembrance, how dependent citizens of Ireland’s independent state are  on British political, military and academic authorities and on Irish-based agencies and individuals enjoying British patronage and support, for  informed, balanced and unbiased  instruction on the origins of the Irish state? Think of Michael Portillo, the hard nosed  […]

  Sometimes I am baffled by unionist spokespeople. Try as I might, I can’t quite understand if they believe in the argument they are advancing, in which case they singularly misinformed on  the rules of rational thought, or they don’t believe the argument they are advancing, in which case they are being hypocritical and assuming […]

“Then I saw her face/Now I’m a Believer” sang the Monkees many years ago. I’ve been thinking about some of the people I would trust most and many of them do not believe in a deity or an afterlife, Heaven or Hell. They are not out for the main chance, in this world or the […]