January, 2020

You’ll have noticed, I’m sure, that they’re having a general election south of the border. Party leaders and members have taken to speaking highly of themselves and highly critically of all other parties. But for the casual observer, it looks – or looked –  as though Fine Gael were home and hosed even before the […]

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus Irish unity ‘inevitable’ and DUP has itself to blame, says Joe Brolly Joe Brolly has been critical of Arlene Foster’s DUP  – Brendan Crossan. Irish News. Belfast. Thursday, January 23, 2020   Joe Brolly, during his RTE days, has never shied away from the big issues in society. The […]

I’ve read and enjoyed Tim Pat Coogan’s writings for at least sixty years.  I got to reading his book on de Valera long after it was written. And, by coincidence, read the chapter – THE WAR FROM THE WALDORF –  just as the British Government, its agencies and dutiful servants in the media were tearing […]

 I didn’t see the general election debate on Virgin Media (could there possibly be a more ironic name for this multi-services trollop?) on Thursday, but from watching clips I gather there were two points which got viewers sort of excited. The first and biggest was Pat Kenny asking Leo and Micheál if they’d ever taken […]

DE VALERA – “IRELAND’S HATED HERO” – OH REALLY? by Donal Kennedy Amongst the many scurrilous BBC progammes,which may be accessed on YOUTUBE is one entitled”IRELAND’S HATED HERO.”Its subject is the late Eamon de Valera (1882-1975).Telly Savalas (Kojak) had a catchphrase -“Who Loves Ya Baby.”In that spirit I did my own investigation into what proportion […]

LEO: The bastards – the  ungrateful bastards! SIMON: (Busy cleaning his glasses)  Michel Barnier and Co.  not send you a Christmas card? I got one from Angela, you know. Maybe yours was lost in the post. LEO:  Are you mentally blind or just physically? Have you read the opinion polls? SIMON: Oh, those. The only […]

Every boy in a Jesuit school is required to put the letters A.M.D.G. over every written piece of work submitted to his teachers. They stand for “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”  (To the Greater Glory of God) following the injunction of St Paul that when we eat, drink or otherwise act, we should dedicate our action […]

When Teddy Kennedy failed to immediately report the accident on Chappaquiddick Bridge, there were quite a few political commentators who declared that this failure of judgement showed him as being incapable of taking the life-and-death decisions a US president must take. Others, however, pointed out that most US presidents don’t make these life-and-death decisions while […]

A chara, I read that Michael Martin the leader of FF would not trust Sinn Fein in government. He trusts them in government in the 6 counties but would not trust them in the south! What hypocrisy! The sooner FF get a new leader who respects the democratic wishes of the people the better. Fr […]

Should the House of Lords be abolished? Some of the contenders for the Labour leadership have suggested it should be, or at least modified to make it more democratic.  The south of Ireland has a similar problem. For a while there was talk of a referendum on the continued existence of the Seanad, but it […]