January, 2017

Given Mrs. Foster’s adamant willingness to portray herself as a new ‘Iron Lady’ in refusing to step aside, it seems as though an early election is on the horizon sooner rather than later. This whole fiasco has crippled many people’s faith in politics altogether, including the power-sharing institutions themselves. But we must always distribute blame […]

An easy one to start: hands up if you remember Tony Blair? Of course you do. How could you forget his smile, his “Well, you know” and “Here’s the thing”, the spontaneity of his remark about not wanting to engage in soundbites even as he declared that the hand of history was on his shoulder. […]

  Pics 1-3 are by Perkin Warbeck:     Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 “L.E. AOIFE   agus   LIOFA     le   Perkin Warbeck L.E. Aoife is not to be confused with its sound-alike LÍofa which of late has been in the newsfeed. Last year, the Irish Fisheries Protection Vessel was decommissioned and donated to the Maritime […]

There are two ways of looking at where and how we are – the D way and Y way. The D is for Disney, and it involves looking at a happy world awash with balloons and smiling people and adorable puppies. In this world the politicians resemble our favourite uncle who always had time for us […]

  See whenever I’m feeling down and depressed, I read my copy of our Finance Minister’s book on city hall politics over the years and laugh with glee. The Unionists, whatever you think of them, are a crowd of comedians. I genuinely find them funny and even find myself liking some of them based on […]

  When Queen Elizardbeth the Fecund failed to turn up at the Christmas Sandringham Pantomime it was expected that She would issue a rejoinder to this Noh Show at the New Year Sandringham Pantomime. Alas, all that was heard on the second occasion was an echo-friendly non-rejoinder: -Oh, Noh She Didn’t ! Which failure to […]

  When I was six years old, I used to be able to recite large paragraphs from Roald Dahl novels off the top of my head and give a description of each of the planets. A year later, a teacher asked each member of the class what they wanted to be when they grew up […]

This transcript of a BBC News item of January 2015 was passed to me by Jack Lane of the Aubane Historical Society. Why did my grandfather translate Mein Kampf? By John Murphy BBC News 14 January 2015 Whenever I tell anyone that my Irish grandfather translated Hitler’s Mein Kampf, the first question tends to be, “Why […]

  I am attracted to religious books and just by chance, a few days before Christmas, I came across a new book of reflections by Fr Bryan Shortall, entitled, ‘Tired of all the Bad News’. The title caught my eye. Bryan is a Capuchin (Franciscan) Friar, still quite young and working in St Michan’s parish, Halston St. Dublin. His […]

Person A: Have you heard the latest? Person B: Let me guess. Putin has used an axe to hack his way into the White House. Person A: No. Or at least no, not that I’ve heard of. Person B: Fianna Fail’s leader Micheal Martin has set up a branch of his party in the north […]