We’re all familiar with the charge that some people are good at talking the talk but not walking the walk.If Sinn Féin gets its way, a week of talking the talk will be a significant achievement. The party has called for “a week-long dedicated Dáil sitting in the North” at the beginning of September, including […]
February, 2025
Where there’s a Will by Joe McVeigh
The more than 100 ‘Peace walls’ in Belfast are a visible reminder of British colonial rule in Ireland. The old policy of ‘divide and conquer’ worked for the British here as in all their other colonies for centuries. So long as British interference continues here and so long as there is no evidence of […]
Clare Daly : a dangerous truth-teller
I suspect I would disagree with Clare Daley on a number of issues, but watching her a few nights ago on RTÉ’s The Katie Hannon Show, I found myself punching the air a little. Clare is a woman of strong intelligence, highly articulate and fears no opponent in a debate. A few nights ago she […]
Fintan and his colour playbook
View Post What is the purpose of the present Omagh bomb inquiry? “The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is an independent statutory public inquiry, established by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to investigate whether the bombing in the town of Omagh in August 1998 could reasonably have been prevented by UK state authorities.” That […]
WILL TRUMP DO A DEAL WITH PUTIN? ARE THE BAFTAS PURE CORN? IS ‘CONCLAVE’ DOWNTON ABBEY FOR TAIGS?
What about those BAFTAs on TV last night. Did Kneecap get an award or was that a totally different award. Was Conclave a win for the taigs? And why is ‘Ralph’ pronounced ‘Rafe’ by Mr Fiennes?? That was a bad business in Grafton Street the other night – a young immigrant stabbed and killed […]
Gifts, tears and Paul Givan
What’s the most famous non-built football pitch in NEI? That’s easy – Casement Park. Rugby has Ravenhill, soccer has Windsor Park, Gaelic games has, um, a non-pitch. And yes, Virginia, it is true that Gaelic games, alas, are played almost exclusively by people from a Catholic background. But there’s another non-built football pitch that is […]
‘Irish Bishops Want Stable Government’ by Joe McVeigh I read this headline in the English Tablet magazine (14th Dec 2024). It was the Irish Catholic bishops’ response to the 2024 Election in the 26 counties. This headline says a lot about the politics of the Irish Catholic hierarchy. They always favour more […]
Limitations.By Randall Stephen Hall
An early draft.There are limitationsAs to how Irish I can be.Not just me, but for many northerners.Many others who stand beside me.We carry much the same baggageAnd experience it in our bones.I am not aloneFor we have drunk the waterThe isotope and the Irish signature.Your bones will not leave a recordOf your denomination in years […]
PAT+JUDE TALK ABOUT NOLAN & A FOOTBALL PITCH, TRUMP &TARIFFS, , & BEATING SMALL BOYS (FOR KICKS?)
Did you watch Nolan on TV t’other night?He was talking about Lisneal College, which got a £710,000 football pitch – without even asking, it’s alleged – following a meeting with Education minister Paul Givan and some others. What’s that smell I’m getting? And there were tears shed and at least one rude word uttered (watch […]
Conor and Micheál
The man formerly known as Conor Murphy and now as Senator Conor Murphy lost no time in exercising his role in the Seanad as an injector of energy into the reunited Ireland debate. Micheál Martin, he noted recently, had blown a chance to further his ambitions for a united Ireland, when he failed to […]