“One may smile and smile, and be a villain”. Shakespeare warned us. Simon Coveney has a nice smile; so too does Pascal O’Donohoe. Catherine Zappone has a smile that could kill at fifty paces. All three have got bogged down in an affair that shouldn’t have happened and which has caused some serious collateral damage […]
September, 2021
Afghanistan – What Next? by Fra Hughes
So where do we go from here? Better still, where do we even begin to unravel the pain, sorrow and hardships Afghans have endured for decades? Do we start with the American invasion twenty years ago? Its objective was to end terrorism as part of the ‘War on Terror’ after the 9-11 attacks, the anniversary […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT 9/11, HILARY MANTEL BECOMING IRISH, AND OUR FAVOURITE SPOT IN IRELAND
The twentieth anniversary of 9/11is on the horizon: did that day change the US and its citizens? Were you affected by it? And are there lines of connection from 9/11 to Donald J Trump? Hilary Mantel, the author of Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies and a few other very long, very accomplished volumes, is […]
FEWER OF US – OR OF THEM? by Donal Kennedy
A letter in THE TIMES (Saturday August 28) notes a forecast that the population of Africa (the world’s second largest continent) will increase by 1.1 billion in the next thirty years and argues that what is needed to save humanity is less of us. However, since the days of Malthus, his disciples have concentrated their […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT PSNI & UNIONIST ANGER, PAT HUME’S DEATH, AND HOUSE PLANS SOUTH OF THE BORDER
The PSNI have been given fifty recommendations to enhance the quality of the organisation. Among these are the closing of the PSNI station in Crossmaglen, joint PSNI-Gardaí patrols in border areas, and the relocation of plaques honouring RUC men and women who died during the Troubles. The response by unionist politicians has been one of […]