August, 2026

Andy Burnham’s declaration that a referendum on Irish unity is “off the table” provokedpredictable outrage from pro-Agreement nationalists. Mary Lou McDonald accused the BritishPrime Minister of attempting to remove a provision of the Good Friday Agreement, whileMichelle O’Neill described his comments as “anti-democratic”.Yet Burnham’s comments were subsequently clarified by Secretary of State Chris Bryant asmeaning […]

I would not like to be in Gavin Robinson’s shoes,and not just because they’d be at least three sizes too big for me.Robinson is the DUP leader (please don’t bring up the last DUP leader) and can hear the tolling of the election bell next May. The one thing he must do is take people’s […]

by Joe McVeigh     At the Ireland’s Future meeting during the Féile in Doire on 14th August 2026, I said that since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 we are on a journey. That journey will take us to the re-unification of Ireland –to right the wrong that was done over 100 years ago- the […]

By Joe McVeigh               Bishop Heber (Eimhear/Ever) MacMahon was the bishop of the Diocese of Clogher for seven years from 1643 to 1650. MacMahon was a bishop in this tense time in Ireland during which the Catholic Church hierarchy- the native Irish Catholic families and some of the old […]

I’ve just listened to Talkback on the B(ritish)BC . In the programme, they discussed Orange parades of the past. They wondered aloud if a High Court ruling overturning the Parades Commission decision today would have any effect. The Parades Commission, after several Catholic deaths, had decided it maybe wasn’t a good idea to have Orangemen […]

  There is something wonderfully modern about having strong principles—as long as they don’t interfere with the shopping. We denounce war crimes over breakfast, share an outraged post before lunch, and then cheerfully tap our phones to order the latest gadget from a company whose supply chain, investments or technology may have connections to Israel’s […]

Have you ever put your foot in it? I mean, in a bucket? We respond to a viewer/listener who cited a case where more than a foot was put in the bucket. Play the podcast,it’s all there. Thursday next will be the 46th anniversary of  the  killing of 18 British soldiers at Narrow Water, near […]

  I love a lot of things about the United States – its summer weather, its energy, its buildings, its food. Under normal circumstances I’d probably have spent a couple of weeks there, visiting our son and his family. But these are not normal circumstances. In the pre-Trump era (yes, there was such a time, […]

  There is an old political rule that you should never interrupt your opponent while they are making a mistake. The DUP, however, appears determined to take things a step further: it is making the mistakes itself, then asking everyone else to admire the workmanship. With the next Assembly election scheduled for 6 May 2027, […]

Mike Nesbitt was Health Minister but he’s quit. The UUP party leader (can you keep up with the number of leaders the UUP has had recently?) told Mike there’d be no downgrading of the Causeway Hospital (is that because the Causeway is in the UUP leader’s constituency?). Is the UUP determined to eat itself in […]