As published earlier this year in THE IRISH POLITICAL REVIEW In 1994 when Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, in pursuit of peace in Ireland and Britain, sought an American Visa for Gerry Adams, who held an Irish Passport, the British Government and its cronies did its damnedest to scupper his initiative. One of the cronies was Simon […]
December, 2015
How to punish people for a lifetime
In the lead-up to the Good Friday Agreement, prisoners were crucial. Who could forget Mo Mowlam’s visit to the loyalist prisoners, in an effort to get them behind the peace talks; and the assent of republican prisoners to what was being negotiated was of equal importance. The political parties and both governments were keenly aware that […]
THE SERMON THE EDITOR DIDN’T HEAR by Donal Kennedy
—–Original Message—– From: d <donalmkennedy@aol.com> To: lettersed <lettersed@irishtimes.com> Sent: Fri, 3 Jul 2015 10:54 Subject: SERMONS IN STONES Sir, Next July will see the centenary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. By then the falsehood that the battle had been airbrushed from history by Republican and Nationalist commentators should be drawing a […]
EINSTEIN WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME IN NORNEVERLAND
Well I have a choice here. Do I listen to this programme about General Relativity on Radio 4 or do I switch over to Radio Ulster and listen to a murder of political pundits arguing the toss as to how and why Nigel Dodds decided not to become the new leader of the Democratic […]
MAGNA CARTA: A BRITISH PROPAGANDA TRIUMPH by Michael John Cummings
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede. Most Americans recall the Magna Carta or “Great Charter” from their grammar school days. With his signature, we were told, King John, a tyrant of blessed memory, was prohibited from the arrest of free men without cause, taking property without […]
Come in outa that and have a Double Irish
Mmmm, chocolate. Which for most of us probably means Mmmm, Cadbury’s. The Cadburys were a prominent Quaker family and their Quaker principles extended into the workplace when John Cadbury started the chocolate factory in the mid-nineteenth century. The company was the first to introduce a half-day on Saturday for its workers. Employees were encouraged to attend […]
Thoughts on the Eighth Amendment by Donal Kennedy
The American feminist Gloria Steinem was interviewed deferentially on British TV a few days ago. She appeared compos mentis and in good physical shape at 81 years old. She said that she had had an (illegal) abortion in Britain when she was 23 and that it was for her “a life-changing experience.” But she appears to […]
When is an Agreement Not an Agreement? by Jessica Mc Grann
The tragedies of the past have left a deep and profoundly regrettable legacy of suffering. We must never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. But we can best honour them through a fresh start, in which we firmly dedicate ourselves to the achievement of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust, […]
Ryan’s Rising
Ryan Tubridy is none of your Mickey Muds or Paddy Stinks. He was the featured personality on RTÉ’s Ireland’s Rising last night, and while your grandfather and mine were probably digging ditches to put bread on the table, Ryan’s granda was a GP. Going back a further generation, his great-grandfather and great-grandmother were principals of a […]
Not how long but how?
On Monday in Belfast High Court Judge Horner ruled that abortion should be allowed in cases of sex crime and fatal foetal abnormality. I did a blog a few days back where I tried to express my thinking about abortion for a pregnancy resulting from rape, so let’s park that one for the moment. The […]