May, 2016

It’s a pity to have enemies and a dreadful pity to have to kill them or have yourself, your community  and your descendants in their power for ever. But Ireland was fortunate that it had sons and daughters with the vision   to do the necessary and the selflessness to risk and give their own lives […]

There are moments when the irony of a situation just leaves you breathless. One such was when Henry Kissinger, a war-monger if ever there was one, received the Nobel Peace Prize. Then there was the moment in 2003 when George W Bush stood on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, with a huge banner behind […]

Mairtin O Muilleoir came under attack on the BBC’s The View programme last night, for claiming that he was intent on developing the right to borrow, freed from “the shackles” of Westminster.   He didn’t say how much he planned to borrow if given that power, but both the Ulster Unionist Party and the Social Democratic […]

Did anyone else think it odd to see Charles and Camilla welcomed and glad-handed in Donegal by the resident republicans living there ? I have no real problem with the royal couple, per se, but isn’t it very strange for a republican of any stripe to hero-worship someone who has been born into a system […]

I was listening to a few discussions on the gangland issues facing in particular the north inner city of our capital. One guy was astonished that is could happen right in the middle of where people live, work and socialise.  He described flowers left at a closed bar not far from Croke Park, he talked […]

The Kingsmill massacre, when ten Protestant workmen were shot dead by an IRA gang, is one of the most chilling events in the history of the Troubles. Yesterday the sole survivor, Alan Black, told the court the horrific story of that night and his conviction that he was going to die. He spoke movingly to […]

    I viewed with unsurprising delight the news that Belfast’s very own Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is to be made Finance Minister in the North’s Executive. I have been following with intrigue and awe the career and progression of the man for some time now and he never fails to impress. There exists an uncommon […]

So the DUP and Sinn Féin have dipped into the lucky bag and come out with their assorted plums or puke-makers. The Justice Minister’s post, about which there was so much excitement (surely the media weren’t hyping that one up to sell newspapers/fill air-time?) has been solved by handing it to Claire Sugden. The DUP, […]

“These eggs are beautiful”, said the wife. I’d just unpacked a round dozen free-range eggs that I’d espied in the market while looking for some herbs to plant out . They’d been safely packed into two blotting- paperish, soft cardboard boxes which we all , naturally enough,have always called “egg-boxes”. Those flimsy, yet sturdy-enough containers […]

There are those republicans who  argue a convincing case that Martin McGuinness has sold out. They point to his “administering British rule” as Deputy First Minister in Stormont. They denounce his meetings with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. And they now point to his plan to visit the site of the Battle of the Somme […]