NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS by Harry McAvinchey

It’s been a wonderful week for the eloquence , depth and complexity of usage of the English language . “Never mind the bollocks. Here’s the Sex Pistols!” That was the title of the  rock band the Sex Pistols’ long playing vinyl record away back in the the 1970s . It crashed into the complacency of […]

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POLITICS ARE A JOKE  IN NORNEVERLAND by Harry McAvinchey

Politics are a joke in Norneverland . If that simple fact wasn’t evident during this past few days it’ll never be again. Theresa Villiers , the  Secretary of State  has begun making noises as we near Christmas time and people are distracted with shopping and planning for family re-unions, Christmas parties, charity raffles and pantomimes […]

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Paint it black

It’s possible my hearing was playing tricks with me, but  did the DUP’s Alastair Ross, chair of the Standards and Privileges committee at Stormont, speaking about the committe’s report on the Irisgate affair, actually use the word “transparency” ?  Did I get that right? Because immediately after he’d patted himself and his party and maybe the […]

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Follow the money

When the idea of a  united Ireland is put forward, the unionist response is usually based on hard-headed economics: who would want to be tied to the coat-tails of the south, so heavy with massive debt?  And who could blame them? The same applied to Scotland’s referendum: David Cameron and Co successfully persuaded the Scottish people that […]

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‘Poppies Over Me’ by Randall Stephen Hall

Poppies Over Me. By Randall Stephen Hall. https://soundcloud.com/randall-stephen-hall/poppies-over-me-11-7-11 Before we leave the month of November 2014, when the year surrenders to the seasons, I thought I would bring to you I song I wrote called “Poppies Over Me”.  Richard Hall, my great great grandfather was a soldier, born in Westmeath and living in Cavan when […]

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Gilbert and Sullivan and the b- words

It gets more like the plot of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta with every day. Or maybe a chapter from Alice in Wonderland. First we’re told that Gerry Adams made a speech in Enniskillen where he talked about achieving equality and the people in the DUP who are resisting this. He referred to them as […]

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Gilbert and Sullivan and the b- words

It gets more like the plot of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta with every day. Or maybe a chapter from Alice in Wonderland. First we’re told that Gerry Adams made a speech in Enniskillen where he talked about achieving equality and the people in the DUP who are resisting this. He referred to them as […]

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WHEN IS A BASTARD NOT A BASTARD? by Harry McAvinchey

So …when is a “bastard” not a “bastard”? Well … a bastard is sometimes used in a disparaging way about a child born out of wedlock,for example. I say, sometimes , because , let’s face it , it has lost that emotive nastiness because there are many who get along quite nicely outside of wedlock  […]

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Gerry and the b for banana word

“The b word”?  Well may you swoon, Virginia. That a leader of a political party in Ireland should refer to bigots and anti-gay proponents as (hands over ears, Virginia) bastards is indeed a shocking thing. Thankfully “bastard” is a word that I have never used and never will use. John Major did. In June 1993 […]

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