On this day, 5 May 1981, Bobby Sands died after 66 days on hunger-strike. There is a brief, heart-breaking video clip of his mother a few days earlier, saying she will not give orders to have him fed – that he had asked her not to and she had given her word. “I love my […]
May, 2021
The Rise and Fall…and Rise of the Irish Language – by Michael Lagan
An Irish language school in East Belfast has caused a certain amount of consternation among not only the Unionist and Loyalist community of East Belfast, but also with Loyalism further afield. Naíscoil na Seolta, translated to English, ‘Nursery of the Sails’, is East Belfast’s first Irish-medium integrated nursery school. What a time for the Irish […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT NEI’S 100TH BIRTHDAY, WHO’LL BE THE NEW DUP LEADER, AND POST-LOCKDOWN DELIGHT
She says “Goodbye” and they say ‘Hello!” Arlene Foster has departed as head of the DUP, and now Edwin Poots (with a little help from his friend Paul Givan) and Jeffrey Donaldson (with a little help from his friend Gavin Robinson) are heading to replace her. Who will win? Does it matter? And isn’t. this […]
The magic number for democratic consent – by Fra Hughes
As a young Nationalist, I was always told by those in power in Stormont and in Westminster and every year since that, ‘so long as the majority of the people of Northern Ireland wish to remain part of the United Kingdom that was the stated position of the British government.’ Today we are living with […]
Bobby Sands: One Day in His Life – by Joe McVeigh
Bobby Sands died in Long Kesh on May5th 1981 after 66 days on hunger strike. He was an Irish Republican prisoner and the elected MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone. He was the leader of the republican prisoners who were on a protest against the British government policy of criminalising them. The Labour government ended Internment without trial and introduced […]
TV Review: Mary Lou and Michelle
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald was interviewed on RTÉ ONE’s Prime Time last week by Fran McNulty. He wanted to know was Sinn Féin holding data on people that they shouldn’t have been. “The assertion appears to be” Mary Lou told Fran, “that Sinn Féin are gathering information for nefarious purposes. Not so – […]
We are still living in a Police state by Joe McVeigh
At approx 6.30pm on Saturday 1st May 2021, I was coming out of Enniskillen and stopped off at Dolan’s/Lilley’s Centra shop. I went to the wine shop in Centra and on my way to the counter I noticed a PSNI man in uniform behind me. He seemed to be watching me. I went up and paid […]
As we remember the 1st May 2021 let us all please remember the 2nd May 2014 – by Fra Hughes
While workers, trade unionists, socialists and communists all over the world celebrate May 1st as International Workers Day, we should pause and reflect on the tragic events that unfolded in Odessa on 2nd May 2014. A day many will never forget. The viciousness of an unprovoked attack and the tragic loss of life will live […]
Now is the Time to Talk about a New Ireland by Joe McVeigh
Martin Mansergh, in his recent column in the Irish Catholic, argues that this is not the time to be talking about a border poll. I totally disagree with him. The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement of 1998 makes provision for the holding of a border referendum. It removed the unionist veto over any constitutional change in the […]
Loyalist Paramilitaries and the NI Protocol by Michael Lagan
Just when I thought the Protocol protests had simmered down and somewhat fizzled out, I got some surprising reports, which I had actually heard earlier yesterday and have now had confirmed by two others who were at the protest at Larne Harbour. The report mirrors news that Loyalist paramilitaries have been fining people within their […]