Individual persons have friends among their communities and beyond them. And they have neighbours they do not know whom they generally seek not to offend but consider as potential friends. But do states have friends? I doubt it. States have interests. And governments, if ethical, pursue such interests and collabourate with other states […]
February, 2024
Sir Jeff D and David J : it’s the way they tell them…
“They would be better to focus on justice and reconciliation in respect of the terrible deeds of the past, rather than seek further instability with a divisive border poll.” That’s Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s judgement on those who would be concerned about a border poll. He figures any focus on a border poll would be divisive. […]
Love and light negate the reason for war – by Kieran McCarthy
If I were to ask you, what is the opposite to love, you would probably say hate. You would be wrong. The greatest emotion any human can experience after love is fear. Show me a person with a heart filled with hate, and I will show you someone experiencing fear. The world today is in […]
Michelle in Windsor Park (gasp)
I’m sure Michelle O’Neill attending that soccer game in Windsor Park recently was a very significant, part of her being a ‘First Minister for all the people”. But something about celebrating such an attendance, any more than Arlene Foster’s attendance at an Ulster Gaelic football final in 2018, and (gasp) Arlene standing for the Irish […]
WHO WANTS TO BE ONGONE? – by Donal Kennedy
At my age the actuarial odds suggest that I shall be ungone in the next twenty years. I’m 82 now. But I cringe when I read or hear of something “ongoing”. And I expect my cringing to continue until my demise. I suspect the expression has its origins amongst descendants of Germans in the united States. But it sounds ugly […]
David Jeffrey, Casement Park and magic realism
David Jeffrey has been manager of Linfield FC and is currently manager of Ballymena FC. He is also a man of seriously limited vision, or else he takes the rest of us for fools. If you are of a nervous disposition, maybe stop reading here. Because David Jeffrey was on the radio today urging those […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT 31,000 DEAD UKRAINIANS, CASEMENT, AND IF THERE ARE THREE TRIBES IN IRELAND
The latest figures from Ukraine saying that over 30,000 Ukrainians have died in the conflict so far. There is a belief that an awful lot more Russians have died also. So what to do? You’ll get a lot of suggestions – fight to the last man; if Russia takes Ukraine, Latvia and other states […]
A New Ireland –a discussion in Enniskillen? – by Joe McVeigh
Last Thursday (22 Feb 2024), I attended an interesting discussion about Ireland’s future, held in Enniskillen. It was one of a series of meetings organised by the Commission on the Future of Ireland. Uachtarán Shinn Féin, Mary Lou MacDonald was welcomed by local MP Michelle Gildernew. There were three speakers on the panel – Dr […]
Micheál wrestles with words and the words win
George Orwell once wrote a famous essay called ‘Politics and the English language. It’s an enlightening read in which he argues that ‘prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house.’ George Orwell, thou should’st be living at this […]
PAT+JUDE TALK ABOUT SOUTHERN MONEY IN NORTH , JAMIE’S LEGAL JAPE, & LINDSAY HOYLE’S WOBBLY VOICE
The DUP are in a bind. The South is sending hundreds of millions North to support the Casement Park development (in time for Euros 2028, remember), to upgrade the A5 and some other good stuff. The DUP’s bind is, they detest the South’s ‘interference’, but at the same time they dare not refuse the money. […]