January, 2022

At the Bloody Sunday commemoration ceremonies yesterday, you might say unionists were as prevalent as holy water in an Orange Lodge. The Mayor of Derry, who happens to be a member of the DUP, was conspicuous by his absence. Was he the one who made that decision? Or was it the DUP? Or was it […]

In 1972 CONOR CRUISE O’BRIEN  and MAIRE MAC an tSAOI , had a book published – “A CONCISE HISTORY OF IRELAND.” They were both considerable scholars and he dabbled in DRAMA  and she was a renowned poet in Irish. Both were fluent in  Irish and other European languages and the book was obviously drawn on their […]

There’s a curious breed of lefties in the North of Ireland who either stay silent about or oppose a United Ireland. On a broad range of issues such as housing, healthcare and education I would normally find myself in general agreement with them, I tend to get the impression they’re coming from a place of […]

David Cameron, former Prime Minister,  told BBC Northern Ireland this week of the huge responsibility he felt when choosing the wording of his apology for Bloody Sunday to Parliament  in June 2010.  His task was made much easier by Saville’s decision to target the blame at the soldiers on the ground and their renegade Colonel.  […]

It seems to me that most human beings, whatever their beliefs, wish well to their neighbours and prove it by their behaviour. Here in England, despite years of official promotion of anti-Irish propaganda, the general population do not hold us in contempt. Every opinion poll taken during the long War has shown that there is […]

Tomorrow is the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Prominent among those who’ll be attending the ceremonies is Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party before the Starmerites took over. This morning Jeremy visited Pat in his Donegal home and he was good enough to give us half an hour on our podcast. Pat and I […]

In our kitchen cabinet is a tea towel featuring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. Though Ireland was not a member of the UN at the time the document is in harmony with the Constitution enacted by plebiscite in the 26 Counties in 1937 […]

MICHEÁL  Martin is angry with Mary Lou McDonald. He knows more  about and cares more about working-class people than her, who is middle-class in her background. Has he a case? Sue Gray – the woman of the moment. But what was that year spent  living near the border all about? Could it be there’s more to Ms Gray  than meets the eye? And will she deliver a damning report on HER BOSS? Finally, is the head of the Health Service worth his bloated salary? Hit the wee thing and find out…

It’s a grey-looking day on the other side of my window this morning, but I feel a small surge of optimism. As those of you who watch myself and Pat McArt discuss the approach to a border poll will know, I’ve got just about fed up with people saying “Support the drive for a border […]

I ACCORDING TO FINTAN O’TOOLE , a scribe much admired by the American Catholic journal  COMMONWEAL,  27% of  people in the 26 Counties attend Sunday Mass every week. I imagine that is a higher percentage than any in Western Europe. I know that it is higher than in France. In France, as in most of Europe,  […]