Not many people do empathy. I mean the Full Empathy, where you put yourself as completely as possible in the skull of someone else and try to see the world from their point of view. I’ve been driven to this notion of empathy recently by the small matter of James Brokenshire, British Secretary of State […]
April, 2017
‘No Borders, No Barriers No Brexit’ by Joe McVeigh
It is clear now that Brexit will be a disaster for the economy of this country -north and south. It will also jeopardise the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It will disrupt social life along the border. It will be bad for business. It will be very bad for the border communities. It will […]
‘Saoradh: What Do They Want?’ by Donal Lavery
I was amused to discover recently that a leading member of Saoradh referred to me as “the worst know-it-all b*****d in Belfast”, after all the things I’ve written about their affiliates – GARC. Whenever I hear that my name is being brought into their discussions I really have to enjoy a good chuckle because I […]
‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’ by Catherine Kelly
In the days following the death of Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, political punditry and commentary became focused on the concept of apology and the deceased man’s lack thereof. Even fine Christians were seeking repentance from a deceased man – fine people who have no idea what is in any man’s heart or […]
Charlie and Bertie: twin towers of southern wisdom
Brendan Behan thought that the one thing capable of making a bad situation worse was the arrival of a policeman. If he were alive today, he might want to add “Or a dim-witted comment from a major Fine Gael/Fianna Fail politician.” What kind of dim-witted comment you ask, Virginia? In the case of C Flanagan, […]
‘BY THEIR FRUITS SHALL YOU KNOW THEM:Chapter 2 Wiliam Pitt and Herbert Asquith’ by Donal Kennedy
IN 1782 the Irish Volunteers, led and mostly maned by Anglican Protestants, paraded in Dublin’s College Green between the wholly Anglican Irish Parliament and the Anglican Trinity College. Their artillery pieces were festooned with the slogan- ‘Free Trade Or Else’ The following year Westminster passed the Renunciation Act renouncing “In perpetuity” the right to make […]
‘Can you BELIEVE what Ken Livingstone just said?’
It’s always interesting to watch people who see themselves as ‘fair-minded’ or ‘right-thinking’ struggle with stuff they don’t like. Usually it’s not much of a struggle because they insist that the ground on which they stand is reasonable and rational, whereas those who disagree with them are at best trouble-makers and at worst irrational. I’ve […]
FROM MOUNTAIN STREAMS TO OLD MAN RIVER by Manus O’Riordan
(A Facebook post by Manus O’Riordan) Tuesday night’s “Session With The Pipers” at the Cobblestone starred Glasgow Irish uilleann piper Sheila Friel. Sheila gave us a wonderful rendition of that beautiful slow air, “The Mountain Streams Where The Moorcocks Crow”. See https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LDWL2KZwwsk for John Tunney, son of Paddy Tunney, singing “The Mountain Streams Where The Moorcocks Crow”. […]
SAINTS, SWORDPLAY, SPYING & SPINDOCTORS OF THE CHURCHES by Donal Kennedy
I was in St Paul’s bookshop and holy repository beside Westminster Cathedral the other day choosing presents for a christening, a First Communion and a birthday. There were items for a catholicity of taste. They included lives of saints who were historical characters and others we now know who were invented. A great many of […]
‘The IRA & Fascism: Truth And Love Against The Force Of Evil’ by Donal Lavery
Many things have been said about republicanism and individual republicans by the revisionist ideologues in the media and state organs. One charge which has always been levelled against them is that they mimicked the methods of fascist juntas scattered across the world. There’s no doubt that militant movements around the globe will share some common […]