November, 2018

Five uncomfortable facts from the weekend

Boris Johnson isn’t half as funny or smart as he’d like people to think. On a programme about the British Foreign Office when he was still Foreign Secretary, he had to be drip-fed information about the place he was visiting, and when he tried filming a couple of minutes for his twitter-feed, he repeatedly got […]

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A letter the Irish Times likes, a letter the Irish Times spikes…

  LETTER 1 Sir, – Monica McWilliams argues that “this is a crucial moment for civil society and for political parties to forge partnerships” (“Citizens must be involved in major decisions”, Opinion & Analysis, November 22nd). Surely it is the existing cosy relationship between mainstream political parties and “civil society”, in reality well-funded left-leaning non-governmental […]

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Do the DUP feel lucky? Well, do they?

Some lively days them, boy! Almost like the old days, when Ireland or its north-eastern corner was hitting the headlines on a regular basis. Now it’s all of Ireland, north and south, and it’s playing merry hell with the Tory party and the DUP. There are times when I feel (almost) sorry for Arlene. And […]

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Colum Eastwood and the perils of piping up

Is Colum Eastwood a bit dim or is he pretending? Maybe he’s softening up his party so they’ll agree to Fianna Fail having his party for lunch…Sorry, forming a mutually supportive merger with his party. Or maybe he wants to show that after mature reflection he has decided that, all in all, Theresa May’s proposed […]

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SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN – A MONUMENTAL LIAR? by Donal Kennedy

  The Monument in London’s Pudding Lane, the site of the origin of the Great Fire of 1666, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. For 150 it was emblazoned with the falsehood that the fire was started by Papists. I don’t know what profits Papists were supposed to have gained from the conflagration but I believe […]

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How to lose friends and – maybe – votes

  OK, let’s start off with a laugh on this grey, chilly morning. By now you’re bound to know that Theresa May’s withdrawal bill is going to place the Irish border in the Irish Sea. At least that’s what the DUP claim. Which is why they have abstained from voting with the Tory government once […]

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Children in Need: let’s kill the bear

There are two ways of looking at Children in Need. One is that it’s the point in the year when people show the better side of their nature and at the same time have loads of fun. Usually serious presenters dress up and act the eejit, the public are shown examples of the unfortunate children that […]

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The DUP: slowly and painfully, the truth sinks in

Imagine a very sharp-posted picket fence. Now imagine a very fat man sitting on that fence.  You should at this point have a fairly good idea of how the DUP are feeling. “We had to do something to show our displeasure”  Sammy Wilson told the BBC’s Newsnight. What was that something? His party had abstained from […]

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