August, 2016

Two for the price of one this weekend. The one above comes courtesy of Liam Ó Cuinn. It’s a picture of Glenelly valley, taken in 2015 as he and his wife travelled west from Draperstown. ” If I had the money this is where I would build my holiday home. This was an Irish-speaking area up […]

“If you tell a lie long enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”  Goebbels had a point. Try googling “When was America discovered?” . Immediately “1492” pops up, and the man who made the discovery is declared to be Christopher Columbus. Uh-uh. What they really mean is “When did the […]

  Perhaps the most important historical year in the course of the Troubles was 1981, when ten republican prisoners died on hunger-strike, in their attempt to be recognised as political prisoners. Because this was such a significant event, showing courage beyond most people’s imagining, there have been energetic efforts by opponents of republicanism to discredit […]

It seems that French Government and Opposition politicians, far from supporting liberty, equality and fraternity and the rights of man, woman and the citizen,are engaged in a squalid competition to insult, harass and persecute Moslems, publicly humiliate Moslem women, whilst trumpeting their own moral rectitude. In doing so, those politicians deserve the contempt of mankind. Hitherto France […]

How important is nice? No, Virginia, not Nice, nice. There’s an article in today’s Guardian which quotes the head of a powerful start-up company. She says that however attractive the proposition that a client brings, however promising and in touch with what the public needs, she rejects that client if s/he is rude to her […]

I went to see a play in the Conway Mill during the Feile in West Belfast recently. The title was ‘Connolly v Kane’ and it was written by Fr Des Wilson who is already 91 years young. It was most unusual and most interesting. I strongly recommend it. The background may need a little explanation. […]

    When I read this headline last week I almost got sick: ‘Sunday Independent – Still Irelands best-selling paper!’   What does this say about Ireland and the Irish people who buy this rubbish week after week? There is one columnist that I sometimes read when I get a chance without having to buy this heap […]

They say that we here in the north of Ireland dwell too much on the past. There may be some truth in the charge. The Orange Order marches to the rhythm of  a distant past (“The sash my father wore”); and while republicans could be accused of many things, they don’t forget their dead. On […]

Further to Harry’s book review yesterday, here are a few more images from that splendid book by Stuart…

  Further to yesterday’s blog…Here I am slugging it out on Talkback yesterday. Gong sounds at 6′ 10″  approx… http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07pj0xq