Boris Johnson – what a guy, eh? The man who said there were no Downing Street parties, despite the photographs of him with a drink in his hand and the table littered with bottles. The man who thought nothing of misleading the inquiry into his conduct as well as Parliament. Now he’s gone from politics, […]
Irish Anyone? – by Michael Lagan
At this point, I’m surprised any Unionist MP, MLA, Councillor or indeed Loyalist hanger-on would dare to criticise the Irish language community or those who want the Irish language included in our lives for forcing their culture down Unionist gullets. It’s simply not true. We consistently […]
IRISH REPUBLICANS AND THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY by Donal Kennedy
Note: Donal has asked me to reprint this blog he did first on June 27, 2020 by Jude Collins on June 27, 2020 On June 26 Stephen Collins writes of Daniel O’Connell 1775-1847 and his opposition to slavery.He ignores Mary Anne McCracken 1770-1868 who campaigned for its abolition while O’Connell was still a child and distributed papers […]
THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE ” TREATYITES” Part 1 by Donal Kennedy
It can be fairly said of C.P. SCOTT, Liberal MP, (1895-1906) Editor, then owner of the Manchester Guardian from 1872 to 1929, that like the proverbial pox-doctor’s daughter, he knew all the men that mattered,in Britain and Ireland, and many further afield. Scott kept occasional political diaries from the days of Asquith’s […]
MEDIA SNIPPETS – MOVING WITH THE TIMES – DAVID AARONOVITCH AND HIS ADMIRERS – by Donal Kennedy
On 7th April 2016 I had a BLOG here, which you can easily access :- “JOYCE’S MARTELLO TOWER REVISITED (BY THE TIMES)” The Joyce in question had written a book whose first pages had introduced us to Haines, a young Englishman with money (reputedly extracted by his father […]
Once more with divisive, sectarian feeling
Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. It’s that time of year again when the Boneheads rule. When pallets are lovingly placed one on top of another, where optimistic signs about Killing All Irish (KAI) and engaging in sexual congress with an infirm, 86-year-old man known as Pope Francis. It’s that time when proponents […]
The DUP’s favourite steed
Sometimes I almost feel sympathy for the DUP. Having hammered in vain on the door of John Finucane in the hope that he’d be somehow disgraced for speaking at the South Armagh commemoration, Edwin Poots this morning has mounted a steed named Distraction and was last seen galloping off towards the […]
TRUST, TRUSSED AND GROUCHO MARXISTS by Donal Kennedy
— To dispel rumours that the British Foreign Secretary’s country retreat at Chevening had been, during her stint in that office the venue of a cocaine sniffing party Liz Truss released a photograph which might make sensitive noses smell rats. It was published in THE TIMES and shows her at Chevening […]
Last night with Prof Brendan O’Leary and three unanswered questions
Last night, Professor Brendan O’Leary was a central figure in a Zoom meet-up of an awful lot of people, including me. Th professor is from south of the Black Pig’s Dyke but has been teaching and researching in the University of Pennsylvania since 2003. He is a prodigious writer and has published more […]
Pat + Jude talk about John Finucane, Nicola Sturgeon, Silvio Berlusconi and Man City
John Finucane – wouldn’t you think that since he himself was a victim to terrorism, he wouldn’t consider going let alone going to South Armagh to commemorate IRA people who died in the conflict? At least that’s how a lot of unionist politicians and spokespeople have seen his actions. Pat and I have a […]