Catherine Kelly is a native of Carrickmore, Co. Tyrone. She is currently a doctoral student at SUNY Albany, focusing on political rhetoric from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. She is a graduate of Columbia University, New York and Queen’s University, Belfast. In the recent election in Northern Ireland, one party campaigned on the time –honoured […]
Author Jude Collins
Monday morning blues or Monday morning blue skies?
“We had a successful election”. “You can’t be worried about something that happened three days ago” If I tell you that these two statements were uttered by the same person, you may be a little surprised. If I tell you that they were uttered before half-past nine this morning on the Nolan show, by Gregory […]
‘Any Chance of Parity of Esteem Now?’ by Joe McVeigh
The results are all in and Sinn Fein had a good day and Unionism a very bad day in terms of seats. Now I wonder are we any closer to getting parity of esteem. Will the Union Jack and the Ulster flag be flown outside our houses for 3 months of the year? Will the […]
‘A Border Poll’ by Joe McVeigh
I heard a spokeswoman from the SDLP, Nicola Mallon, on radio saying that we do not need a border poll now or in the foreseeable future. It would only polarise the community further she argued. Daithi MacKay, the former Sinn Fein MLA, made an interesting point about the possibility of having a border poll […]
ALL CHANGE by Ciaran Cairns
Ciaran Cairns tweets as @DerryAsISeeIt and blogs at derryasiseeit.com Following the most historical election since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and possibly since 1921, we have witnessed the resurgence of Nationalism and the end to Unionist majority for the first time in 100 years. The electorate has been energised by the Renewable Heating Initiative (RHI) […]
‘Assembly Election 2017: The Case for British Withdrawal’ by Donal Lavery
“You claim to be a Majority, Well You know that’s a lie. You really are a Minority, On this sweet Emerald Isle.” (Lyrics from the song “Bloody Sunday” by John Lennon) Mrs. Foster predicted herself that this election, in the aftermath of the RHI debacle, would be “brutal” and she has lived to see her […]
Mike Nesbitt: the man who tried to move the UUP beyond tribalism?
I was genuinely sorry to see Mike Nesbitt quit the political stage t’other day. Partly because I like him on a personal basis and partly – yes, I confess it, Virginia – because I didn’t see the UUP making any major advances under his leadership. But as I indicated elsewhere, I thought his farewell speech […]
Saturday pics of the week
Pics 1-3 are by John Patton ( www.phototilly.eu) Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Red Kites “On a fine winter’s day this week, I found myself on a hill in Perthshire enjoying an extraordinary aerial display by Red Kites. The species had been virtually eradicated in Scotland by the end of the 19th century. […]
Last night: slam, bam, thank you, ma’am
Well, that was quite an evening/night, wasn’t it? Just when you thought politics in our NE nest had become dour and tedious, along comes yesterday. Where to start? Perhaps with the term ‘sleeping giant’. Not that Sinn Féin weren’t a formidable force in our NEn before the election. Now, however, they know what they can do […]
The crocodile strikes back
You occasionally hear people saying the best view of some particular town or area is through a rear-view mirror. You might be tempted to say that this election qualifies for the same judgement. Apart from the final leaders’ debate it was dull to the verge of vanishing. But from late yesterday afternoon, it’s begun to look […]