Today Pat and I are joined by Gabriel McCaffrey in Ottawa, Canada – originally from Belfast. We discuss the dust-up in Dublin and. the Dail. Was Micheál Martin right to say that the opposition were flouting the constitution by not allowing him to be nominated Taoiseach? (That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. And we […]
THE BOATYARD.
By Randall Stephen Hall © A poem and song. Just click to play . . .https://soundcloud.com/randall-stephen-hall/rsh-the-boatyard-demo-271024 I’m building this boat cause it’s raining. I’m building this boat cause i’m mad. At least that’s what they’d love to call me It’s the best job that i’ve ever had.I’m working with friends and relations. All […]
Malachi explains Gerry
OK, OK. Let me declare my interest. I have always liked something about Malachi O’Doherty, and not just because he once audio-recorded a statement which helped me win a £1000 bet. He’s pugnacious, shrewd and knows what goes down well with interviewers. But it’s important to distinguish between the man/person and the ground on […]
Donald J Chump roared “Drill Baby Drill” – by Patrick Donnelly
Donald J Chump roared “Drill Baby Drill”. The outcome may well be: Burn Baby Burn – We are in thrall to Philistines Lyrics: Now I don’t mean to be a stick in the dirtThe world is changing only in reverseAnd you can’t live your life for what it’s worthCos it’s a hell on earthThe world today […]
How Peace Came About in Ireland by Joe McVeigh
I was told one time, on good authority that the beginning of the peace process in Ireland really dates to the day when Peter Brooke, Secretary of State, made a speech at the London Chamber of Commerce in 1990. In that speech Brooke stated that Britain had no longer a strategic interest in […]
Starmer v Adams -by Joe McVeigh
Mr Starmer (aka Sir Keir) who is now Britain’s first minister has met his match. As reported in the media he is determined to stop Gerry Adams, the former President of Sinn Fein, from receiving compensation for being illegally held in prison without trial in the early 1970s. Gerry was one of several hundred arrested […]
Trump: The Sequel – by Michael Lagan
a The same man in his inaugural speech proclaimed from his bullet-proof lectern that he was going to overthrow the establishment…while the three richest men in the world looked on, smiling from ear to ear at the fact they now have so much power. Can anyone say Oligarchy? Only days before Trump’s inauguration, Mark Zuckerberg, […]
Are Fianna Fail and Fine Gael for or against a reunited Ireland?
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said several things about a border poll. On 3 July 2022 he said such a poll would “not be appropriate or right at this time”. On 27 October 2023 he said a united Ireland was “quite distant” and that a border poll would be “fraught with risk”. On 26 […]
Alone in the Crowd -by Randall Stephen Hall
.To be alone on a beachIs better than being in a vast crowdNeither speaking, or listening in turn.Civil Rights is a shared experience.A dialogue, between equals.Not a war, between peopleWho only seek inequalityFor their enemy.My fear is thatThe old hunger for a united IrelandIs not a search for equality.At present it is only an ambitionBased […]
Cracks – by Randall Stephen Hall
It’s a fault within us. Part of our culture. To only see the small crack Within the pane of glass But not see the window. To never see the window frame The window and rarely the view. Trapped in the detail. That’s us, a bunch of fuss pots. We are mean that […]