September, 2020

I had to chat with Pat this morning through the bars of a locked-down county,  given that as from today, Donegal is officially at Level 3, which I gather makes it the worst rate of infection in Ireland. Pat  explains all, including the role of northern visits south and vice versa.  From there we moved to Letters to the Editor, and what  topics attract  letters and what perils they create for the editor. Finally we talked about electric cars. I own  a humble used Nissan Leaf and it was an unfortunate experience with it yesterday that prompted us to talk about whether the day of the electric car has arrived or  whether there might be more disadvantages in owning one than in not. Bainigi sult as – Enjoy.

On Saturday  19  September ,  THE TIMES caried a letter  from  six Anglican Bishops  expressing  concern at the  Overseas  Operations  (  Service  Personnel and Veterans) Bill  then shortly to have its Second Reading in Parliament,  particularly in its “departure from the prohibition  on torture in international law.” They point out  that the UK is a […]

It’s strange, the way life imitates art.  I once wrote a short story called ‘Booing the Bishop’, where I invented a bishop’s visit to a school being greeted by booing. In the story, the Dean is furious, so furious that, in a fast forward to the future, I had him undergo a nervous breakdown. I […]

EVANS BELOW: SIR HAROLD EVANS SHAKES HANDS WITH RICHARD PIGOTT AND TITUS OATES

In this session Pat and I confined ourselves to one thing  -‘A New Ireland’ , the book by Paul Gosling, which takes a long hard look at the various aspects of a reunited Ireland, what possibilities it could offer, what problems there are for those intent on creating it, what are the facts about the south – and the north -‘s health system, how much is the British subvention really. There’s  also an epilogue by Mr Justice Humphreys, who reminds nationalists/  republicans of the size of the challenge they face. Our conclusion:  anyone who presumes to talk either in favour of a reunited Ireland or  in favour of continued union with Britain should first read and  respond to the FACTS that Gosling deals with. If you haven’t read it and are too stingy to buy it, maybe you’ll change your mind after viewing  our chat..

Industry group says State ‘extremely vulnerable’ to dependence on UK route The Irish Road Haulage Association has urged the Government to help set up a fast, direct daily ferry service with continental Europe for lorries to avoid post-Brexit disruption on the UK transit route. Eugene Drennan, the president of the industry group, has called for […]

We know when the UK’s exit from the EU will occur – at the end of this year. And even gloomy forecasters suggest that by Christmas 2021 there’ll probably be a vaccine for Covid-19 and we’ll be moving back into something resembling normal life. How will people be feeling then, I wonder. Battered and bruised, […]

With the introduction of the Internal Markets Bill, PM Johnson  threatens  to ignore provisions of the Irish Protocol in the EU Withdrawal Agreement.  It is another desperate tactic of an ever desperate Britain.   Benjamin Schwarz’ recent review of Ian Buruma’s  The Churchill Complex notes that the US-UK special relationship was “…born of Britain’s desperation…”and this latest stunt is of that character.    Brexit […]

I’ve just finished listening to Sunday Miscellany (RTÉ Radio One) and among the songs they played was ‘Oft in the Stilly Night’.  Brother Skeehan taught us that song, along with a lot of other songs, when we were in fourth class in Omagh CBS. After all these years, it’s still beautiful. But as one memory […]

President Michael D Higgins has written eloquently on atrocities of the British Empire and has called on Britain to “face up” to its history. He has done so as we remember the sacking of Balbriggan one hundred years ago this weekend.  In Kenya, in Cyprus, brutal suppression was the order of the day – as […]