Author Jude Collins

First of all the details. Willy Paul for those of you who pay no heed to the eejitry that permeates through rural life was a character widely known in Magherafelt. Though not without his faults he was more commonly known to the Magherafelt area as the man in the trench coat who would randomly direct […]

A friend of mine, who happens to be very left-wing, and I were having food recently in a nice Indian restaurant when we got onto the subject of the upcoming election. This was someone who would have been supportive of the student-led People’s Democracy back in the day. I asked them why someone so left-wing […]

  The current scandal involving a lady called Penelope in Paris (presidential hopeful Francois Fillon’s Welsh wife who was being paid beaucoup dosh for a phantom job) and its coincidence with the US travel ban imposed on Libyans brought one back to an early morning in early 1977. One had just entered the girls’ secondary […]

The Younger Brother. by Randall Stephen Hall © 11.2.17   You fumble your thoughts Like a dropped ball Or string of prayer beads. Each narrow moment A blanket, to cover Your scraped knees And the burnt elbows Of a damaged nationalism. I am the small child To you, the bully. You tug and pull me. […]

  When the new Assembly has been elected, it is clear after listening to Michelle O’Neill on BBC on Thursday night, that it will not be back to ‘business as usual’ for Sinn Fein. The RHI scandal will have to be dealt with to the satisfaction of Sinn Fein and the general public. There is the […]

A!: Aaaghhh…This is awful! It’s like a noose is being tightened round my neck. I passed Ian Paisley two days ago and I’ll swear he made a movement across his throat with his hand. A2: Calm down –   you’re imagining things. Remember you are a strong leader. You are in charge of the DUP. You […]

Pics 1-3 are by John Patton, who blogs at phototilly.eu    Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 1. “Munro bagging is a sport known to many climbing enthusiasts and they come from all over the World to pursue their hobby. The Munros were first listed by Sir Hugh Munro (1856 – 1919) in his […]

For someone cutting her leadership teeth, so to say, Michelle O’Neill did OK on The View (BBC) last night. It requires a small gear-change in the head not to expect Martin McGuinness to appear when they say ‘the Deputy First Minister’ (No, please Virginia, don’t bore me with nit-picking ‘She’s not the Deputy First Minister […]

    I see that Liam Neeson, the actor from Ballymena, who lives in New York, has thrown his weight behind a new campaign to encourage more schools in norn Ireland to become integrated. Not sure if he means that the existing schools become integrated or that there should be more Integrated schools. Already in the north there […]

  Readers of the Sunday Independent will no doubt be familiar with the relentless spreading of anti-nationalist/anti-republican bile spearheaded by columnist Eoghan Harris, in particular his almost weekly assault on those who fought against British occupying forces during the Irish War of Independence of 1919-1921, claiming republicans were motivated by sectarianism and engaged in the […]