Sir Frank Kitson died recently. He was a major figure in the war against the IRA, masterminding operations that resulted in the deaths of people, many of them innocent. He is detested in Derry for his part in Bloody Sunday, detested in Belfast for his part in the Ballymurphy massacre – but was he a British hero?
Watching the buildings collapse and the bodies of the wounded and dead hauled out in Gaza, one can feel enraged yet helpless. But there is one weapon anyone can use, and that is boycott. MacDonald’s, Starbucks, AirBandB – there are a lot of big companies supporting Israel. But shouldn’t the state – the south of Ireland at least – lead and organise boycotts? Or are they too timid to even try?
Finally, Enoch Burke is a fundamentalist Christian, teaching in Co Wicklow. Or he was, until he refused to follow school instructions about how to address a trans-ing pupil. He’s been fired and has spent the last 200 days or more in prison. The Irish media appear to have little sympathy with him. Is that because his views are not liberal? Isn’t part of free speech the freedom to not speak as the authorities want you to?
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