Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realise I’m awake. One such case occurred yesterday, when the present Mrs Collins directed my attention to a six-minute video interview of Eamon Dunphy by Barry Egan from the S***o. The amazing part, like a dog walking on its hind legs, was not that it was done well […]
June, 2014
That Armagh-Cavan punch-up: how bad was it?
That mass-handbags imbroglio on Sunday before the Armagh-Cavan game: truly disgraceful, wasn’t it? Oisin McConville says if there are suspensions he’ll support that decision. Scenes like last Sunday’s are not what he wants his child to see. Apparently the punch-up started when the Armagh players were lined up in front of the Cavan flag. Whatever […]
Ch-ch-ch-changes…
There have been a number of changes in my life-time that I find near-astonishing. One is the decline of smoking. When I were a lad, you took up smoking to show people you were grown up, sophisticated, a hard man, very Humphrey Bogart. We knew ciggies were bad for us even back then – we […]
‘All for the love of a tray bake/Bobby Bun Face’ by Randall Stephen Hall
All for the love of a tray bake. By Randall Stephen Hall. https://soundcloud.com/hugh-midden-speaks/bobby-bun-face-6-5-12 He was born into a tough life and his mum would soon be gone. A tale of transformation. The story of Robert Duff, whose mother has died from heart complications, yet still, follows him throughout his daily life. Lucky for […]
The Indo/MW poll, Dublin and Dungiven
Two different but linked articles popped up on my computer today. They both convey factual information with considerable implications. The first is in the Irish Independent , written by Fionann Sheahan and is headed “66 per cent believe capital is ‘racing ahead’ in recovery”. it has several pie-charts at the top, indicating the returns of an Irish […]
EARLY MORNING KNOCK UP by Harry McAvinchey
“You’d better get up sonny….” Those were the first words I heard behind the blazing incandescence. I was groggily aware of a looming shape within the halo of roiling light as I rolled dreamily awake in my duck- down sleeping bag. There was a torch shining in my eyes and a heavy pistol at my […]
Infant death in Tuam
I remember hearing the artist Robert Ballagh suggest that we drop the term ‘United Ireland’ and substitute something like ‘An Agreed Ireland’. His reason? There are certain trigger words that send people into defensive mode or sometimes a little bit mad, and all clear thinking on the subject flies out the window. He has a […]
RTÉ last night: a change of tack?
There was a surprising and in some ways ground-breaking programme on RTÉ One last night. Surprising because it showed the difficulties and injustices which nationalist people in the North suffered. The national broadcaster has for some years now tended to broadcast programmes that highlight the (real) suffering of the unionist population. Whether last night […]
Catechism time
OK, catechism time. Sit up straight at the back, there. Q: What has First Minister Peter Robinson done of note lately? A: Two things. Q: What was the first one? A: He said he wouldn’t trust Muslims that were trying to blow him up but he would trust Muslims to go down to the shops […]
Give Ireland back to the Irish?
A while back I was asked onto the Nolan radio show to discuss Stan Collymore. You probably remember the furore – Stan had said Britain should give Ireland back to the Irish. Sound familiar? That’s because several decades ago Paul McCartney wrote a song entitled Give Ireland back to the Irish. The BBC banned it. […]