With the death of the Duke of Edinburgh came the inevitable outpouring of condolences and scenes of respect for him, and that’s fine. The British were his people, they were in essence his subjects as a member of the Royal family. The North Korea style wall-to-wall television coverage of his life however, cannot be forgiven, […]
Author Jude Collins
TV review: Line of Duty
This TV review first appeared in The Andersonstown News First, a confession: I’m not sure I’ve watched a single TV cop show – certainly no British TV cop show – since Dixon of Dock Green (inquire of Granny, Virginia, please). So I’m a late and reluctant convert to Line of Duty (BBC ONE) which the world and his mother seems to have taken […]
Loyal to whom? – by Michael Lagan
After the passing of Prince Philip, Civic Unionism called for a halt to all protests as a mark of respect. They later called for the resumption of ‘protests’ after a period of mourning…fair enough I suppose. I’m no Unionist, however, I do understand when a community feels they have to mourn the passing of someone […]
The Unionist Switcheroo – by Michael Lagan
Seven nights of violence from Loyalist thugs and paramilitaries, many of them children, some as young as twelve if not younger. Vital buses burning on the Shankill, bus services suspended, the peace gates being breached and all leading up to the sixth night of the loyalist rioting. The extent of the PSNI response to the […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT LOYALIST RIOTING, WHAT HAPPENS IF CORPORATION TAX IS KICKED AWAY, AND IS ARLENE GOING TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS OR THE HOUSE OF LORDS?
OK – all those loyalist riots: will they result in a. change to the Protocol? Will it make everyone who attended Bobby Storey’s funeral be penalised, will it get the attention of Britain to the plight of unionism? And were there really 2,000 ‘marching men’ at Bobby Storey’s funeral? Nelson McCausland seems to think so. […]
Brexit, That Northern Ireland Protocol and the Storey so far – by Fra Hughes
Trouble erupted on the streets of Belfast on Wednesday the 7th of April 2021. We can only ask if we are witnessing a return to the violent scenes of 1969. The Northern Ireland protocol has created the Irish Sea Border which is seen by Unionists and Loyalists as a diminution of their Britishness and of […]
Pick your Michael
Who used the statements below in a recent Irish Times column: was it Michael Collins, Michael McDowell or Michael (Mickey) Mouse? “The rash of public disorder in loyalist areas of Northern Ireland bears all the hallmarks of behind-the-scenes orchestration by paramilitary groups which were understood to be dormant. It is hard to understand the motivation for such organised disorder”. “DUP/loyalist dissatisfaction will be noticed only if the international media carries footage of rioting and petrol bombs”. “There was no case whatsoever for the funeral parade or for the uniformed […]
Belfast Burned – by Michael Lagan
“This is not protest. This is vandalism and attempted murder. These actions do-not represent Unionism or Loyalism. They are an embarrassment to Northern Ireland and only serve to take the focus off the real law breakers in Sinn Fein. My thoughts are with the bus driver” Those are the words of the First Minister of […]
This morning on the radio
There were two DUP representatives on the radio this morning – Gordon Lyons and Gregory Campbell. The former was on B(ritish)BC Radio Ulster and the latter on RTÉ Radio One. They were both, of course, asked about the rioting that has been happening for the last week. The difference between the questions asked the responses […]
Two-Tier Policing – by Michael Lagan
With Arlene Foster now facing calls from both Nationalists and some Unionists to resign over her willingness to meet Loyalist terrorists but not the PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne, is it she who should be considering her position as First Minister of the Executive? Over the past couple of days Arlene Foster, once […]