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 […]
Author Jude Collins
The Orange Order: marching backwards?
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 […]
The Convenience of Having Principles
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 […]
PAT+JUDE TALK ABOUT HOLES IN BUCKETS, NARROW WATER +MOUNTBATTEN ANNIVERSARY, & TIES TO ISRAEL
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 […]
The USA: it’s not all bad
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, […]
The DUP’s Self-Inflicted Wounds
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, […]
PAT+JUDE TALK ABOUT COPS IN HOT PURSUIT, EXIT MIKE NESBITT, UNIONISTS JUMPING SHIP,, & JON OSSOFF
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 […]
Lessons I have Learned – Joe McVeigh
1. Treat people- especially women- with Respect and you will be happy 2. Work every day for a just world where every human being is valued and respected 3. Care for Creation/the Environment as people did long before Christianity 4. Nurture the Spirit within and always remember you are on a journey. Silence […]
Rip, tear, gouge: unionist politics today
Sometimes when people are under intense pressure, it blunts their thinking rather than sharpens it. They blunder about, insult those they meet, and almost encourage the walls of their house to collapse on top of them. Unionism is having such a moment. Over a period of decades, their stronghold was pummeled, they shouted defiance, but […]
The North’s health service is much better than the South’s -Right?
What do we need to do to ensure a successful border poll and the realisation of an 800-year-old dream? Well, we have to convince as many of the undecided that the option of a united Ireland will be better than today’s partitioned country. This will involve drawing attention to all sorts of things, like the […]