Leo Varadkar talks in a soft voice but he’s no pussycat. Judging by his recent comment on Brexit in Ireland ( or “on our island”, as he puts it), he’s more of a lion-heart. For decades now, we’ve heard nothing about Irish-British relations but how good they are, never better, top drawer. As for Brexit, […]
Author Jude Collins
‘Hiroshima & Nagasaki –August 1945’ by Joe McVeigh
The bombing by US air force planes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August 1945 resulted in 129,000 people being killed and thousands more injured. When Germany surrendered in May 1945 the Japanese refused to surrender. On 2nd September the Japanese signed the Instrument of Surrender thus ending World War II. There had been numerous bombings of Japan by the US air force in […]
SATURDAY PICS OF THE WEEK
Pics 1-4 are by Perkin Warbeck Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 “CARS and BARS by Perkin Warbeck The title is borrowed from ‘Detroit City’ which contained the signature lines: ‘By days I make the cars By nights I make the bars’. Which was popularised by Bobby Bare (pronounced ‘Bobba Bar’ […]
Who’s to blame for echoing halls up at Stormont?
Do Sinn Féin want to get the Assembly functioning again at Stormont? Arlene Foster claims she has watched and listened to Sinn Féin spokespersons and has decided they don’t. Rather than asking if she’s right, a better question might be “Why would she say that?” Well it could be because she believes it’s so. She may […]
THE ANTI-BLOOMSDAY by Perkin Warbeck
Last week, the sports department of RTE was beside itself. -Hi, Donnybrook ! -Howya, Dublin 4 ! This, the broadcasting wing of The Unionist Times, was hyping up the following headline: – League of Ireland attendances on the UP ! Aggregate attendances of 200,000 for the Season ! Hmmm. The Perkin’s inner number cruncher […]
‘Partition was and still is undemocratic and immoral’ by Joe McVeigh
A Bill entitled “For the Better Government of Ireland” was introduced to Westminster parliament by the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, in December 1919. The Bill proposed the partitioning of Ireland into 2 states. Each jurisdiction would have a parliament –one based in Belfast for the six counties in the northeast and the other in Dublin for the other 26 counties. The […]
Love me, love my bonfire
Gerry Adams has been criticized many times for talking about the ‘Trojan horse of equality’ being the instrument that’d “break the bastards”. Unionist battened onto the notion of a Trojan horse (armed men sliding from the belly of the beast in the moonlight) and the fact that they’d been referred to as “bastards”. Which was missing […]
‘Bill of Rights is the only platform on which to build sustainable government’ by Declan Kearney
»DECLAN KEARNEY SINN FÉIN NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON The undermining of the Good Friday Agreement by successive British governments – and particularly by the Tories since 2010 – has contributed directly to the current political crisis FIFTY YEARS AGO, the civil rights campaign was launched in the North of Ireland. Its modest demands to secure equal rights […]
Sean Donlon: five steps towards Irish unity
Speak to any Irish-American, especially any Irish-American republican (no, not the Trump sort, Virginia – the Shinner sort) and they’ll tell you former ambassador Sean Donlon is one of their favourite people. The very mention of his name brings a smile to their faces and a song to their lips. So you may be sure […]
‘Myers puts the Kibosh on it ! or, On desperately Seeking an Alternative roll of T-paper to wipe my’ers with”. by Perkin Warbeck
Putting the Kibosh on it ? Over now to Whicker’s Wonderful World of Wikipedia. Etymology[edit] Unknown. Possibilities include: From Middle Englishcaboche, meaning to behead (a deer) (cf. William Safire, “Quoth the Maven: More on Language”) From the Irishcaidhp bháis, meaning death cap (the hood put on someone before they were hanged to death, or the “Black cap” worn by English judges when pronouncing the death […]