June, 2021

Sinn Féin walked out of the Dáil recently, thus avoiding a vote on the continuation of the Special Courts legislation. Fine Gael – and The Irish Times – have made much of this. Should there be no-jury courts to deal with criminal gangs? And has it all got anything to do with that by-election coming […]

Image from Belfast Media Group Most people who read these blogs, particularly Jude’s writings, will be aware that one-time Irish government Minister and commentator Michael McDowell has a lot to say about a united Ireland and border polls –  in the negative of course. Indeed, those who also read the Irish Times will be aware […]

Neil Clerkin is a young film-maker from Ballinascreen in South Derry. ‘Act of Union’ is his first venture into the world of film-making, and to a great extent ‘Act of Union’ is all his own work. So many documentaries have been made about the Troubles, there is a tendency to grow weary of them. ‘Act […]

Letter to THE IRISH TIMES 24 June 2021  Sir, “Holier than thou”  posers, of whatever stripe, tend to give me a Heartburn on the  A*** , if you’ll forgive my plagiarism. Prominent among such posers are correspondents of the group calling itself “Atheist Ireland.” Human beings in Ireland and throughout the world have been denied […]

“Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation.” – Atifete Jahjaga Given the fragmentation of the Democratic Unionist Party […]

This review first appeared in The Andersonstown News John Creedon has a breezy voice and a hearty manner (CREEDON’S ATLAS IRELAND, RTÉ ONE) .“I’m following in the footsteps of Ireland’s first place-name officer, John O’Donovan!” he tells us. O’Donovan got together names of over 64,000 townlands and in that way “handed us the keys to Ireland’s past.” John promises us that his […]

“The way of life of a people, including their attitudes, values, beliefs, arts, sciences, modes of perception, and habits of thought and activity. Cultural features of forms of life are learned but are often too pervasive to be readily noticed from within” – the Oxford dictionary definition of ‘culture’. Unionists constantly claim, and I do […]

Two interesting newspaper articles this morning this morning, one in The Guardian about a very brainy Scotsman-turned-Englishman and one in The Irish Times by a very brainy Irishman. The brains-to-burn Scotsman-turned- Englishman is Michael Gove and is headed “Gove rules out ‘foolish’ Scottish independence vote before election”. Not too surprising, since Gove’s job is to push […]

By this stage I’m sure you will all have seen Jim Allister speaking to a crowd of angry Loyalists from a 40 foot trailer in Newtownards, bedecked with Union and Ulster flags and joined by people like Kate Hoey, Ben Habib and the one and only, Jamie ‘Bin Lid’ Bryson with his now iconic tacky […]

On this day one hundred years ago, King George opened the Northern Ireland parliament in Belfast City Hall. His opening sentence was  “For all who love Ireland, as I do with all my heart, this is a profoundly moving occasion in Irish history.” Beggin’ your pardon, sir, I couldn’t disagree more. If you really loved […]