May, 2014

I always find it interesting to read the Letters section of The Irish Times, mainly because it contains the unfiltered voice of at least some of the citizens of the south. Admittedly, the citizen who reads and writes into The Irish Times is not your ordinary Sean, but it still tells us what’s on the […]

So now we know the DUP were shown a high old time by David Cameron, even as Gerry Adams was being arrested and subjected to a four-day interrogation. And we know that David Cameron didn’t have the DUP over to his place because he liked listening to their version of Ulster-Scots. He was looking to […]

Sometimes you have to laugh. And laugh and laugh and then laugh some more. Today’s Scottish Sunday Herald  provides just such a tickle-stick. It’s talking about a possible link between our little contorted corner and the Scottish referendum.   To move sideways for a momement: if you want an insider’s view on the Scottish referendum, let […]

I want to love Peter Robinson. No, seriously. He’s the leader of the largest unionist group, he’s devoted his life to politics, he’s had to drag his bum behind Ian Paisley for decades, he endured an avalanche of embarrassment over the behaviour of his wife, he’s gone into government with his sworn enemy. All of that […]

I was watching an online version of the NI21 electoral broadcast last night. If you haven’t seen it, look out for it. It’s a humdinger – truly original. Although I thought the last little segment was a wee bit ponderous. Anyway, judge for yourself. But it set me thinking about the advantages of walking forward […]

I was watching an online version of the NI21 electoral broadcast last night. If you haven’t seen it, look out for it. It’s a humdinger – truly original. Although I thought the last little segment was a wee bit ponderous. Anyway, judge for yourself. But it set me thinking about the advantages of walking forward […]

First, this damp May morning, a brief word about our old friend the Reverend  Mervyn Gibson. You’ll remember (or not) that a day or two back I commented on his less-than-totally Christian comment at a Belfast meeting:  “I see they’ve painted a new mural to him [Gerry Adams] on the Falls Road. Sadly, it’s not […]

I was up at Stormont yesterday. It’s an imposing edifice. That big mile-long run-up, past Carson’s finger-curling statue, and then the low-shouldered assertion of the building itself. I’ve seen the famous Milan Railway  Station, built by Mussolini. It’s big and brutal, reflecting the burly menace that was fascism. The Stormont Parliament building is somewhat slimmer […]

The Rev Mervyn Gibson is a man of God. We know that because he’s a Christian clergyman, which presumably means that he follows the teachings of Christ. A central and totally revolutionary tenet preached by Christ was that you should love your enemies. It’s a hard one and one that most of us find ourselves […]