October, 2016

On Saturday 8th October, I joined the rally on the Fermanagh/Cavan border today at Aghalane to protest against Brexit. There were about 200 people present – people from all walks of life and people belonging to different political parties – apart from the unionists. The British army came along in a helicopter to monitor proceedings. They […]

The Secretary of State has further asserted his claim that the interests of the North, and by inference, the South of Ireland will be protected throughout all negotiations on the UK exit from the EU. But what exactly does he mean by interests? And how will they be protected? Recently I spoke with John MacMahon, […]

This is a copy of a letter I wrote to the editor of The Irish Times last month.  The short response is almost certainly from the pen of Fintan O’Toole’s raised-by-wolves younger brother…

The 23rd of June 2016 was the day (depending on what your viewpoint is) that Britain gained Independence from the tyranny of the European Union or the day that fear and racism conquered all. During the day I work as a social worker. My role is underpinned by Health and Social Care legislation to meet […]

What do you think about soldiers being exempt from the rule of law during conflict? Currently there is a proposal espousing something not unlike that notion.Under proposals being pondered , British soldiers would be protected from legal action brought using European Court of Human Rights legislation.It is reckoned it is too easy to prosecute troops […]

This is directed at any reader of this blogsite but particularly at those who regularly take the time to comment, sometimes at length. I am really pleased that we are now getting a range of people as guest bloggers. I think this makes for more interesting reading and for different perspectives. The majority of these […]

The announcement this week of the retirement of Bishop Liam MacDaid, Bishop of the Clogher Diocese, is a cause of great regret and sadness. For him, I suppose it is a mixture of regret and relief. Bishop Liam has been bishop of Clogher for only six years. He has been a wonderful bishop – a […]

 We all need inspiration and motivation in life. Regularly, I find myself playing the ‘Now we are Free’ tune from the Gladiator film on my violin, and pondering, with the grandeur of youth despite greying hair, what sort of Ireland will emerge when Britain packs up and leaves. My grandmother used to have a saying, […]

This guest blog is, as you see, from Ciaran Cairns. He’s just established a blogsite at  http://derryasiseeit.com/sample-page and has been good enough to share this first blog with us. Go raibh maith agat, Ciaran – Thank you, Ciaran. In 1980, word spread in Derry that the city was getting a new bridge. This bridge was […]

Reporting on the unveiling of a plaque to  in Baillieborough, Co. Cavan, Tony Canavan (Bite-Sized History – HI Sept/Oct.) says that Francis Sheehy Skeffington was “executed on the order of Captain J.C.Bowen-Colthurst.” Skeffington was not charged before any tribunal authorised to try or condemn prisoners nor have its sentences executed. He was shot by a squad from […]