I was fortunate enough this morning to get a short interview with Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd. If there had been time I would have asked for questions from blog- readers but time didn’t allow for that. The thing that struck me most was his comment about the several links of northern parties with the south, and how this leaves the DUP the odd man out. Check the interview and see if you agree….
June, 2020
THE QUEEN, HER DIPLOMATS AND THE IRANIAN COUP OF 1953 by Donal Kennedy
A few evenings ago the BBC screened the story of the coup which deposed the elected Prime Minister of IRAN in 1953. It was brutal ,and while it was accomplished by the Americans under Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers, John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, and Allen Dulles head of the CIA, during Chuchill’s last Government, […]
Enduring dignity by John Patton
The image of a young guy, relieving himself against the railings in Parliament Square at the weekend had the Establishment spluttering over their Pims. Predictably, the case was heard in record time and the offender was packed off to jail. Like you, no doubt, I thought momentarily of those who have yet to be questioned […]
Portillo’s tale of the Black and Tan War: spot the difference
Did you watch that programme last night, Hawks and Doves (RTÉ ONE), presented by Michael Portillo? The programme was teed up as a chance to see the emergence of the Irish state through the eyes of a true Brit – in fact, Portillo was a member of Maggie Thatcher’s cabinet. I didn’t find that the […]
SELF-DETERMINATION OF NATIONS – STILL A POSER FOR BUGGERS AND BEGRUDGERS? by Donal Kennedy
“It is rare for a country to take part in a general election and then ignore the parliament for which it was designed, but that is what happened in southern Ireland when Sinn Fein swept to victory in 1918 and formed the independent Dáil, boycotting Westminster…The Dáil declared the Republic, chose de Valera as its […]
“There’s something about the word colonial that people are allergic to”.
According to today’s Guardian, students in the UK have been calling for “decolonised curriculums” since 2017. Here’s Mani Desai, a Reader at the University of Cambridge: “What’s important to hold at the core of all of these discussions is the need for Britain… to really grapple with the colonial legacy….I think there’s something about the […]
A seat for Ireland in the UN Security Council?
Why is the south of Ireland busting a gut to get onto the UN Security Council? Canada and Norway are also looking for a two-year seat, but only two of Canada, Norway and the Republic of Ireland can get elected to a place. The south of Ireland really, really wants to get that seat. While […]
FR. MC MANUS ON TRUMP, RACISM/ SECTARIANISM IN USA AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Letters to Editor Irish Times Dublin May 6, 2020 Dear Editor, Sadly, your Washington correspondent has got it exactly right:“ that much of the success of Donald Trump was based on racism.” ( Suzanne Lynch,” Donald Trump’s political success is based on racism.” June 6). Americans have been slow to actually come to terms with that. Even […]
PRINCIPLES AND POINTS OF DEPARTURE FOR “SUPERIOR” BEINGS by Donal Kennedy
“It is necessary, then, to accept as a principle and point of departure the fact that there is a hierarchy of races and civilisations ,and that we belong tp the superior race and civilisation, still recognising that, while superiority confers rights, it imposes strict obligations in return. The basic legitimation of conquest over native peoples […]
Pat and Jude talk about…’Say Nothing’
This is a discussion of the book ‘Say Nothing’ by Patrick Radden Keefe, an American writer with the New Yorker magazine. If I say it’s about the Troubles, you’d be tempted to say ‘Not another – no thanks.’ But this is genuinely different, as you’ll hear when you watch the 16-minute discussion. Above all, it’s a truly readable book – you start it and you may well abandon whatever you’re doing and keep reading. But watch the video – and let me know if it tells you what you want to know…Bain sult as – Enjoy