Author Jude Collins

There’s  a contrary streak in me, I’m afraid. Surrounded by people celebrating, I find myself growing morose and miserable; in the midst of those solemn or crying doom, I feel an urge to start laughing. Wretch that I am, over the course of the last twenty-four hours I found myself grinning and sometimes guffawing out […]

I  was on BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Talkback’ programme yesterday, talking about children and young people’s books. The truth is, much of what youngsters experience in the classroom teaches them that books are boring, so those writers who encourage youngsters to read – people like Roald Dahl, Sue Townsend, ,  J K Rowling  – must be […]

I  was on BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Talkback’ programme yesterday, talking about children and young people’s books. The truth is, much of what youngsters experience in the classroom teaches them that books are boring, so those writers who encourage youngsters to read – people like Roald Dahl, Sue Townsend, ,  J K Rowling  – must be […]

Do the Irish people care about the British royals?  The Irish Daily Mail ( agus sin sceal eile) gives the answer today: it’s got an eight-page supplement on the engagement of young William Windsor to young Kate Middleton. Were the appetite not there, the paper wouldn’t waste paper and ink. It is, so they feed […]

Do the Irish people care about the British royals?  The Irish Daily Mail ( agus sin sceal eile) gives the answer today: it’s got an eight-page supplement on the engagement of young William Windsor to young Kate Middleton. Were the appetite not there, the paper wouldn’t waste paper and ink. It is, so they feed […]

I’m not sure why  it is – maybe a Presbyterian reluctance to mix darkness and light –  but most unionist politicians are poor actors. It showed up again yesterday, when the DUP’s Jonathan Bell was on radio discussing the financial crisis in the twenty-six counties. It was all Jonathan could do to stop himself letting […]

I’m not sure why  it is – maybe a Presbyterian reluctance to mix darkness and light –  but most unionist politicians are poor actors. It showed up again yesterday, when the DUP’s Jonathan Bell was on radio discussing the financial crisis in the twenty-six counties. It was all Jonathan could do to stop himself letting […]

In retrospect, it was an obvious move. So obvious that none of the pundits even sniffed it. Sinn Féin allowed several days for them scratch their heads and wonder who might run in Arthur Morgan’s vacated seat, mmm, , maybe some young guy, mmm maybe a dark horse, mmm, you never know with these things. […]

In retrospect, it was an obvious move. So obvious that none of the pundits even sniffed it. Sinn Féin allowed several days for them scratch their heads and wonder who might run in Arthur Morgan’s vacated seat, mmm, , maybe some young guy, mmm maybe a dark horse, mmm, you never know with these things. […]

If you want some proof that the government in the south is pro-partition, look no further than this morning’s education headlines. Entry into a university in the south is dependent on the number of points you accumulate from your Leaving Certificate or A Level performance.  In a classic case of shifting the goalposts,  the south […]