Author Jude Collins

And they’re off! A date for the twenty-six counties general election has finally been set – Friday March 11. Let the shouting, elbowing, gouging and kicking begin.  So far, Fianna Fáil have set the pace for abuse, denouncing poor leadership,  failed strategies and an inability to relate to people’s real concerns. Unfortunately they’ve been talking, […]

And they’re off! A date for the twenty-six counties general election has finally been set – Friday March 11. Let the shouting, elbowing, gouging and kicking begin.  So far, Fianna Fáil have set the pace for abuse, denouncing poor leadership,  failed strategies and an inability to relate to people’s real concerns. Unfortunately they’ve been talking, […]

Bilingual road signs, eh? That’s what Conor Murphy is planning. They can be (and in most cases probably will be, if the plans see realisation) in Irish or Ulster-Scots and would be a voluntary opting-in procedure by each area’s council. Anna Lo of the Alliance Party doesn’t like the Murphy plans and has said so. […]

Bilingual road signs, eh? That’s what Conor Murphy is planning. They can be (and in most cases probably will be, if the plans see realisation) in Irish or Ulster-Scots and would be a voluntary opting-in procedure by each area’s council. Anna Lo of the Alliance Party doesn’t like the Murphy plans and has said so. […]

Not once but twice in the last forty-eight hours I’ve heard the idea expressed. Two decent people, both nationalists, both SDLP voters,  saying that the Michaela Harte horror-story could produce good by bringing  the two main communities here closer together. Nice idea, drawn from the Pollyanna school of political thinking.  The analysis is based on […]

Not once but twice in the last forty-eight hours I’ve heard the idea expressed. Two decent people, both nationalists, both SDLP voters,  saying that the Michaela Harte horror-story could produce good by bringing  the two main communities here closer together. Nice idea, drawn from the Pollyanna school of political thinking.  The analysis is based on […]

Unvarnished – that’s the word that characterises Brian Cowen. There’s a rumpled, shovelled-into-his-suit look about An Taoiseach that’s refreshing in this media age when image is, if not everything, then 80% of what counts with voters. Maybe that’s a big reason for Cowen’s standing as a hate figure in the south these days – he’s […]

Unvarnished – that’s the word that characterises Brian Cowen. There’s a rumpled, shovelled-into-his-suit look about An Taoiseach that’s refreshing in this media age when image is, if not everything, then 80% of what counts with voters. Maybe that’s a big reason for Cowen’s standing as a hate figure in the south these days – he’s […]

Yesterday I watched the entire Obama speech at the Tucson memorial service for those who died in the shooting there. He was enormously impressive. The man’s measured language, his timing, his ability to present complexity in a clear, accessible manner is unsurpassed by any politician I can remember. At a few points I felt uncomfortable. […]

Yesterday I watched the entire Obama speech at the Tucson memorial service for those who died in the shooting there. He was enormously impressive. The man’s measured language, his timing, his ability to present complexity in a clear, accessible manner is unsurpassed by any politician I can remember. At a few points I felt uncomfortable. […]