There can be few people in Ireland who can’t tell you how many people were killed on Bloody Sunday in 1972. Most would also be able to tell you that thirteen of the fourteen died on that January day, while the fourteenth victim died a few months later. Rather less would be able to tell […]
January, 2018
Five lessons we can draw from the Gary Haggarty case
It may have been painful – no, let’s get real, it was and is painful – that Gary Haggarty should have received a sentence of just over six years for his crimes. Equally painful, in some ways, are the lessons it teaches us about the state and its concern for its citizens. There are, of […]
Joe and the dumb nationalists in the north
When I was an impressionable teenager, I used to read Time magazine. It impressed me mightily: it could take some matter – any matter – and make what had been vague and fuzzy precise and sharp-edged. It wrote with clarity, it spoke with authority. Time was my bible. And then one week they did a […]
Leo and Mary Lou: two new leaders
Normally when a political party replaces an ageing leader with a leader in his/prime, the expectation is that this will give the party a bounce. People will see the new leader the way we look on the first snow-drops or a tentative daffodil tip pushing clear of the soil: something new and fresh and maybe […]
Saturday pics of the week
Pics 1-3 are by Perkin Warbeck: Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 1: Valletta celebrated being European Culture Capital 2018 last Saturday night with a Spectacular Launch. Pic 2: . Culture Vultures from all arts, crafts and parts arrived. Pic 3: . Including this Brobdingagian character who set speculative tongues a-wagging. Was it […]
Why an agreed anti-Shinner candidate in West Tyrone would be a super idea
Q: What do Sinn Féin bring to the table? A: Baggage and unreasonable demands. Q: When are the DUP prepared to form an Executive? A: Tomorrow. Q: When is Sinn Féin prepared to form an Executive? A: When the DUP cave in to their unreasonable demands. Q: Will that happen tomorrow? A: No. Q: When […]
The Craigavon Two: put in prison because somebody had to be
Have we the protection of the law? Most of us would like to think so. We can’t be arrested without some evidence that we have committed a crime; we can’t be put in jail and left there for an extended period without a trial; if the charge is a grave one such as murder, we […]
Poll- climbing
According to polls in The Irish Times this morning, Sinn Féin are showing the kind of numbers they’ve been showing for some time now. While Fine Gael are almost out of sight with a 34% rating, Fianna Fail can feel reasonably happy with 25%, Sinn Féin show at 19% and Labour at 3%. Now there […]
Alban,Gary and David: three men, one mind
I’ve just come off the Vinnie Hurrel/Stephen Nolan show. I was on with Alban Maginness, talking about the decision of St Cecelia’s College in Derry to make Martina Anderson their Past Pupil of the Day. If the school had announced “We’ve just built a small devil-worshipping shrine off the gymnasium, a quiet place where girls […]
Kenny and Mairia are shocked and saddened
When people take a different stance from you on some matter, it can be hard to believe they’re serious. Just because someone doesn’t agree with you, it doesn’t mean they’re wrong or that they don’t hold their views with sincerity. On the other hand, it doesn’t mean they’re right or that they aren’t being cynical. This morning […]