June, 2021

The genius of Picasso has imprinted consciousness of the atrocity of the aerial bombing on Guernica 0n 29 April 1937 on liberal democrats of the free world. Perhaps most successfully amongst the most vociferous champions of freedom and democracy THE TIMES or its stable mate THE SUNDAY TIMES which would have you believe that Hitler’s […]

Digital Camera This vessel might be known as the Titanic that stayed at home at St. Paul’s Bay. But is not. Still it might yet be now that a Paul has bayed long and loud enough. Can Harland and Wolfe Tone stay afloat? Not least now that it is without Edwin of the Seaven League […]

 ONE  HUNDRED YEARS AGO, during the terror unleashed on the Irish people by the British Government, the Dublin Correspondent of THE TIMES (of London, England) and the Editor of the IRISH TIMES shared the same skin. JOHN EDWARD HEALY had been Editor of the Dublin paper since 1907 and correspondent for its London near namesake since […]

As a matter of interest, the last GROUP that had to learn Gaeilge to live here was the Cromwellians over 300 years ago.  We never had compulsory Irish, and Irish was never force-fed to anybody. That is why children emerge from school with A plus in Honours Irish sometimes, after twelve years of ‘learning Irish’, […]

The Democratic Unionist Party was founded by Dr. Ian Paisley. He was an enigmatic figure in northern Irish politics. His politics were a heady mixture of fundamentalist Christian values, unionist rhetoric, and the cult of personality.  A maverick who was from the start an outsider. A non-establishment figure whose appeal was a combination of biblical […]

I usually list a number of topics for our podcast/Zoom chat. Today, there’s no need for that – it’s all about the DUP. One thing you can’t call them is boring. Will Jeffrey assume the crown? Will he be First Minister? How can he revitalise a party that’s split at least three ways? Pat and […]

You at the back – take that grin off your face. This is a serious national – ok, provincial, provincial – OK, OK,  six-counties crisis. We must try to analyse what’s happened and the consequences thereof. No slanging, no drum-beating, no Famine songs.  Has Sinn Féin brought on this crisis? Of course, with their constant […]

Frank McNally, , probably the most erudite, cultured, witty and unashamedly Irish man making his living by  writing  for a newspaper, amazingly tells us that he has just acquired Borstal Boy, which he has never read before. But otherwise he is in fine form today, 17th June, when Amhran na bhFhiann is to compete for the Ascot Gold Cup. Yesterday, […]

There were so many images and statements, most of them political, flashing at us from our TV screens last week, it was enough to bruise your eyes and ears. Some made me fearful, some made my teeth grind, some made me think of dropping my TV set from the bedroom window. On the world stage, […]

These are heady days if you’re a Sinn Féin supporter.  A few days ago, an opinion poll in the South showed Sinn Féin on 34%, Fine Gael on 24% and Fianna Fáil an 20%. Today, an Irish Times poll puts Sinn Féin on 31%, Fine Gael 27% and Fianna Fáil on 20%. The Irish Times’ […]