The spectacle has been almost theatrical — a stampede of certainty from people who have spent decades insisting that the case against Gerry Adams is overwhelming, definitive, nailed to the wall. And yet here we are, watching the eager anticipation of a £1 victory as if it were the capture of some towering prize. A […]
How did Hamas breach the wall into Israel?
I have always wondered how it was that Hamas was able to breach the wall between the Occupied Territories and Israel . I find myself asking that question repeatedly in recent weeks as Israel has launched targeted strikes in Iran . Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Tehran on 28 February in a […]
Micheál and SUTT time
So – did you feel relieved after Micheál’s performance in the Oval Office yesterday? As ever, he managed to agree with Trump even when he was disagreeing – and of course he was wise not to contradict Orange Head that the President of Ireland is a woman, since there’s a chance the Mad King might […]
Saint Patrick
Some saints you can’t avoid no matter where you are, and St Patrick is one of them. He is said to have died on 17 March460 AD, and pretty well ever since we’ve been celebrating, at least in Ireland.The St Patrick’s Day Parade, though – that’s a moderately modern invention. It began in the. US […]
PAT+JUDE TALK ABOUT TRUMP’S ‘FUN’, MICHEAL IN THE WHITE HOUSE, IRELAND’ S CALL, & BAD LANGUAGE
Do you share Donald Trump’s sense of humour? Like calling the bombing of Iran ‘fun’? And then there’s Micheál Martin, who’s on his way to the White House to give Donald Trump a piece of his mind…Yes, yes, Trump is a half-wit and could use some of the Taoiseach’s mind, but isn’t it really just […]
To host one Fleadh is delightful; to host two Fleadhs is a vindication
The news that Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann will be coming to Belfast this August — and returning again next year — has the feel of a cultural drumroll that refuses to fade. This is not just an event landing briefly on the civic calendar; it is a declaration that traditional music, long carried in suitcases […]
You think wanton killing is wrong? Then say it loud and clear
Reports that a Palestinian husband and wife and their two young children were shot dead in the north of the occupied West Bank are the kind of news that should stop the world in its tracks. In conflicts that too often become reduced to numbers, maps and political slogans, the killing of a family reminds […]
The man in Cork who told a lie
Ah, the curious case of a man in Cork who “enhanced” his résumé with qualifications that exist only in his imagination. The Teaching Council, naturally, sees this as fraud, whereas in another dimension — say, Trump Tower — it might be celebrated as clever marketing. Indeed, if you’re a Donald Trump or one of his […]
Ronnie Delany RIP
Ronnie Delany holds a special place in Irish sporting history, not simply because he won one of Ireland’s most memorable Olympic medals, but because he did so with a quiet dignity that reflected the best traditions of Irish athletics. Delany’s greatest moment came at the 1956 Summer Olympics, when he won gold in the 1500 […]
One down, one to go
The courtroom doors swung open this week and out walked entity“musical artist”,“Kneecap”,“Irish hip-hop trio” freshly exonerated, leaving behind a pile of headlines, raised eyebrows, and a lingering question about what exactly was meant to happen here in the first place. For a group that built its reputation on loud beats, louder politics, and lyrics […]