April, 2024

As I see it, there are two main challenges to the right of the Irish people to self-determination. Firstly, we still have to contend with the British political establishment -Tory and Labour-and they will not give up their first colony so easily. They will look for ways to maintain a foothold in this part of […]

Helen McEntee, Justice minister in the South, is said to have moved out of her house owing to threats from the far right. What should the response be – crack down hard? And what about all those immigrants coming to the South via the North? Will we have to impose a border whether we like […]

I’m reading a book called ‘The Revenge of Power’ which studies the rise of autocratic political figures throughout today’s world.  It’s interesting but I have a few quibbles with it, not least that it takes as given that our present form of government – democracy, we’re told – is something we need to cherish. I’d […]

This is not 1968 but there are similarities. At Columbia University, over 100 students were arrested. From east coast to west coast of the US,  students are loudly condemning what’s happening in Gaza and demanding that their university break any commercial links with the state of Israel. Pat and I feel exhilarated… Quite a few […]

    Perhaps I’ve gone GAGA in my old age.   But it seems to me that  I’m relatively sane compared with those who wield most power in the Western World and its puppets.   If I get a minor snip and embrace Judaism I have “a right of return to Palestine.”   If I […]

How is Jeffrey Donaldson feeling today? And his wife? Regardless of who did or didn’t do what, they both must feel crushed by life. The DUP has always had religious threads running through its political tapestry. As I remember it, the founder of the Christian religion said “Love your neighbour”.  He didn’t say “Love your […]

Capitalism and consumerism are inextricably linked in our society. Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods and services for profit in largely unregulated markets. Consumerism is the cultural orientation that leads people to find meaning, contentment, and acceptance through the consumption of goods […]

            When my younger sister was studying Medicine in the 1960s one of her tutors was Eamon de Valera  (son of the then President of Ireland).   Incidentally, the younger  Dev had been Consultant Gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin’s Holles Street when I was born there in […]

  Many parents still value a Catholic education, but too few teachers are willing to provide it.Should faith be taught outside school? Keir Starmer wants all Labour candidates to ‘fly the flag’ on St George’s Day. So that’s Starmer, Harris, Trump – three big flag men. Mmm. And abortion – is it OK to say […]

    During the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) both the Soviet Union and the Irish Republic were facing strangulation by a common enemy, Britain, and co-operated with each other for a while. But when Britain withdrew her forces from Russia the latter country no longer needed Irish help. When, shortly after the 1601 Battle […]