One of the great advances in recent years in the field of theology and in the teaching of the Church is the re-discovery that the planet Earth we live on is Sacred and that we are connected. This advance in understanding has, in a way, been forced upon us because of the threat to […]
Slán abhaile, Bik
I met Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane on only one occasion. I was heading into a hall for some Feile event well over ten years ago. I was talking to Francie Brolly, who I knew from my years in St Columb’s College, Derry, and after. Francie gestured to the man walking beside him and said “This is […]
IRELAND’S UNITY: DEAL OR NO DEAL – by Michael J Cummings
American foreign policy in the age of Trump will not be for the faint of heart. In short order, he has managed to insult many allies with what the WALL STREET JOURNAL has called “the dumbest trade war in history’; confuse and infuriate NATO leaders over his Ukraine strategy; and shock the world with […]
PAT +JUDE TALK ABOUT SF NOT GOING TO WASHINGTON, HAMAS HOSTAGE HAND-OVER, THAT SPANISH KISS, & UNIFORMS
Sinn Féin have declared they’re not going to the White House on St Patrick’s Day, in protest at Trump’s plans to kick the Palestinians out of Gaza and create a Middle East Riviera. Is that the right thing to do? So maybe you saw the handing over of dead hostages by Hamas yesterday. Was it […]
Talk is cheap? No, it’s essential
We’re all familiar with the charge that some people are good at talking the talk but not walking the walk.If Sinn Féin gets its way, a week of talking the talk will be a significant achievement. The party has called for “a week-long dedicated Dáil sitting in the North” at the beginning of September, including […]
Where there’s a Will by Joe McVeigh
The more than 100 ‘Peace walls’ in Belfast are a visible reminder of British colonial rule in Ireland. The old policy of ‘divide and conquer’ worked for the British here as in all their other colonies for centuries. So long as British interference continues here and so long as there is no evidence of […]
Clare Daly : a dangerous truth-teller
I suspect I would disagree with Clare Daley on a number of issues, but watching her a few nights ago on RTÉ’s The Katie Hannon Show, I found myself punching the air a little. Clare is a woman of strong intelligence, highly articulate and fears no opponent in a debate. A few nights ago she […]
Fintan and his colour playbook
View Post What is the purpose of the present Omagh bomb inquiry? “The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is an independent statutory public inquiry, established by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to investigate whether the bombing in the town of Omagh in August 1998 could reasonably have been prevented by UK state authorities.” That […]
WILL TRUMP DO A DEAL WITH PUTIN? ARE THE BAFTAS PURE CORN? IS ‘CONCLAVE’ DOWNTON ABBEY FOR TAIGS?
What about those BAFTAs on TV last night. Did Kneecap get an award or was that a totally different award. Was Conclave a win for the taigs? And why is ‘Ralph’ pronounced ‘Rafe’ by Mr Fiennes?? That was a bad business in Grafton Street the other night – a young immigrant stabbed and killed […]
Gifts, tears and Paul Givan
What’s the most famous non-built football pitch in NEI? That’s easy – Casement Park. Rugby has Ravenhill, soccer has Windsor Park, Gaelic games has, um, a non-pitch. And yes, Virginia, it is true that Gaelic games, alas, are played almost exclusively by people from a Catholic background. But there’s another non-built football pitch that is […]