October, 2019

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus “Another must-read explanation by Fintan O’Toole, as to what is really going on with Brexit—and how England, as some of us always knew, would dump the Unionists/Loyalists/Protestants when it suited.”—Fr. Sean McManus  Northern Ireland is being detached from the UK. Get ready for it English nationalism is changing […]

IRISH-AMERICAN AND WORLDWIDE INTERNET PETITION FOR IRISH UNITY It does not cost you a penny—and only a minute of your time to sign….Yet, it is the clearest, most succinct, and iconic message you can send to Congress. Equally, it is the perfect message for the worldwide Irish and, indeed, for all supporters of international human […]

Occasionally, it’s been noted that Homer Nods. Though not quite as ancient, I have nodded myself more often than when I was in in my prime. I’ve also had bugs, poltergeists, gremlins, perhaps Kremlin agents in my computer. Perhaps I should take a leaf from the British media and blame Putin. Because the results have […]

What manner of man is Boris Johnson? Well, he likes to have people think of him as a good-natured but bumbling schoolboy. The truth is less amusing. He is an ambitious and ruthless politician. Why else do you think Opposition politicians – and some in his own party – are throwing up fences to make […]

Well, we can’t say we haven’t been warned. The Chief Constable of the PSNI Simon Byrne has warned us, as has an even more authoritative voice, that of Jamie Bryson.  If Boris’s withdrawal deal goes ahead, maintaining an invisible border in Ireland, there will probably be public disorder and even violence from loyalists.   Jamie […]

Continuation of letter sent to IRISH POST in September 1974    PLUS Postscript dated October 2019: “These past five years (1979-1984} I have holidayed in France and have virtually circuited that secular Republic .Mass-going is a minority custom and anti-clericalism is widespread and virulent.   Each year I was there on August 15th, which the […]

Well, that’s it. The curtain has finally come down on the Brexit drama. The British House of Commons last night voted by a clear majority to pass Boris Johnson’s Bill on withdrawal from the EU. End of drama, back to humdrum stuff like the NHS and schools. But hold.  There are a few significant loose […]

From THE TIMES (London) October 18 1919 (reprinted October 18 2019)- “HUNGER STRIKERS RELEASED The Lord Mayor of Dublin has been informed that all the Sinn Fein prisoners who have been on hunger strike in Mountjoy Prison are to be released, some tonight and the remainder tomorrow morning. He has addressed another letter to the […]

Deep in the guts of the last century,  I used to go watching-fishing with my big brother: he fished, I watched.  It was peaceful, mind-calming until he got a bite. Then as I watched the thrashing trout being pulled to shore with a hook stuck through its lower lip, I felt for that poor trout. […]

When you’ve got a big but depressing story to tell, it’s important you think about alternatives. One popular alternative is the dead cat. Rest easy: I promise you no animal will be harmed in the course of this blog. There have been several biiiiig stories dominating the headlines. Brexit, of course, has been going on […]