They say that if a man is to hang in the morning it concentrates his mind. In May 1916, Eamon de Valera wrote to his friend Mick Ryan, one of two legendary Triple Crown winners, with whom he had played rugby when teaching at Rockwell College- “Just a line to say I played my last match […]
June, 2022
Is Alan Shatter Really Ireland’s Captain Dreyfus? – by Donal Kennedy
On April 2 I wrote a BLOG “Ethnicity, Ethics, Religion and Politics” because it is dangerous to believe that because a politician can be trusted because of their colour or family or declared faith they may be trusted to apply ethics to politics. Having a Catholic or Quaker, a White- skinned or Black-skinned Prime […]
RUSSIA – A RIDDLE WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY INSIDE AN ENIGMA? – by Donal Kennedy
Winston Churchill said more than his prayers. But those who worship, or pretend to worship at his shrine, would have us believe that every burp he made was Holy Writ. Much of his output, when sober were damnable lies, and lots more was gibberish. The quotation above (without the question mark) comes from October […]
The one thing that should never happen – but might
There’s an article in today’s Irish Times by Pat Leahy which touches on something many of us so dread, we don’t like to think of it. Besides, we’ve got enough to worry about: the cost of housing, the cost of living, war in Ukraine, Covid, the environmental crisis. Leahy forefronts the nightmare crouching at the […]
Katie Hayward and telling it like it is
I find Professor Katie Hayward an impressive person. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s that she’s a professor of political sociology at Queens, maybe it’s the quiet way she lays out her thinking. Right now I think we should listen to her very carefully. On Talkback, she’s given her judgement on the legislation proposed regarding […]
The protocol: six things to think about
British Foreign Secretary Lynn Truss says she’s changing the protocol in the interests of everyone in NEI. All the political parties and business organisations say that what she’s proposing will be contrary to the wishes of everyone in NEI bar the DUP. Tail wags dog? When Dorothy Parker was told that President Calvin Coolidge was […]
HENRY KISSINGER AT 99 – by Donal Kennedy
The Sunday Times Magazine (12 June) carries an interview with the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Henry Kissinger by the historian Niall Ferguson, the author of a volume covering Kissinger’s life from 1923 to 1968 and currently writing a second volume to be completed next year.Ferguson is a comparative spring chicken, born in 1968. Kissinger […]
The DUP: Stormont tough-guys
You say potaytos, I say potahtos, let’s call the whole thing off. At the time of writing, it’s impossible to know what arrangements the Johnson government will table that’ll strip away at least some aspects of the protocol agreed with the EU. They say they’re taking this step to protect the Good Friday Agreement. But […]
ANY OLD IRONIES – by Donal Kennedy
Michael McDowell, in THE IRISH TIMES today, tells us that the Tories are realising that Johnson is leading them into the political wilderness. I hope Michael is well paid for his expertise. Competing for the Irony Cup, London’s “Thunderer” carries a front-page photo of The Duke of Cambridge selling “THE BIG ISSUE” to highlight […]
Why should we even care about Gender Ideology? – by Carl Duffy
I am often asked why I even care so much about a ‘fringe’ issue that may not affect me too greatly. ‘Whatever someone wants to do with their own body is entirely up to them’ and ‘People have the right to be whoever they want to be’ are objections I frequently hear. I […]