“Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been to sea” – Samuel Johnson. I was merely a Summer Soldier or a Summer Patriot, unlike the frozen sans-culottes of Washington’s Continental Arm army at Valley Forge rallied by Tom Paine’s pamphlet “The Crisis” at “the times that tried […]
January, 2020
Stormont: here we go again
So is today really the Fresh Start so many people have been yearning for? When Johnson and Varadkar appear at Stormont today, will they speak the equivalent of King George V’s words, when he opened the first parliament here 99 years ago? “I speak from a full heart when I say that my coming to […]
Sectarian rule in Delhi and Belfast – by John Patton
A small but vocal and determined group of Scottish/Indians protested outside the Indian Consulate in Rutland Square Edinburgh, today against the BJP /Modi Government proposals for a Citizenship Act. As I mingled with them and listened to their grievances, the parallels with the Six Counties in Ireland were apparent. A major concern expressed was that […]
Meanwhile, back in the US of A…
That Donald Trump – uniquely amoral or what? Safe in the US, he orders a drone attack in the Middle East and kills General Qassem Sleimani, the second man from the top in Iran. Not just kills him but blows him to bits. Trump’s comment on the killing: “We gat him!” I know quite a […]
DUBLIN METROPOLITAN POLICE – A REDMONDITE ANALYSIS by Donal Kennedy
The Dublin Metropolitan Police “was constituted in its present form in 1846, and its whole history since tends to show, not only that is an imperial and not a municipal concern, but it is also really a branch of the military department, and ought properly be placed on the army estimates. I do not think […]
Chairman Engel very first to confirm McCord-Caucus meeting Follows in the tradition of the late, great Congressman Ben Gilman – by Fr Sean McManus
CAPITOL HILL. Thursday, January 9, 2020— During the week of Sunday, February 9 to Saturday, February 15, the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus is sponsoring, for the third time, a visit of the legendary victims’ campaigner Raymond McCord, Sr.to Capitol Hill. Mr. Mc Cord—a Belfast Protestant Unionist— will brief individual Members of Congress on the […]
Stormont: glad confident morning again?
Listening to Julian Smith and Simon Coveney, there is now a star over Stormont, and all wise men and women in our Twisted Unhappy Corner (TUC) would do well to hurry there this morning to greet the birth of a new, improved Assembly. How improved? Well, the document listing the areas of improvement has a […]
A CENTURY OF DISTORTION IN THE TIMES by Donal Kennedy
On 5th of January 2020 THE TIMES (of London) reprinted a report from 5th of January 1920 of an attack “by 300 armed Sinn Feiners” on an RIC garrison of 5 in County Cork,followed by a 6 hour gun battle which ended with no fatalities, but the capture of the barracks by the Sinn Feiners,its […]
Harry and Meghan to break free: a royal announcement
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I have a few announcements to make regarding the royal family, in particular regarding Prince Harry. First of all, the Royal Family work very very hard. Take Her Majesty the Queen, for example. Every morning she reads around 300 letters from different people around the world. This is hard […]
FAIR IS FOUL AND FOUL IS FAIR – THE WEIRD SISTERS RULE -OK? by Donal Kennedy
According to Leo Varadkar all traditions in Ireland should be honoured equally. Others prominent in Irish life act as if the Ten Commandments have been Repealed. It’s as if Ireland has been brainwashed or lobotomised – not by the Christian Brothers nor Christian Sisters, nor by any of the faith groups or ethical bodies […]