Addressing Dail Eireann in 1963 JFK quoted a speech by Lloyd George which I recognised at the time and wondered why it didn’t provoke a near riot. For Lloyd George had given great praise to the small, I think “five foot four nation” of Belgium. Belgium is not a nation, but a state […]
c$
We were young onceWhen the sun shone upon us.We have witnessed every mistakeEvery battle, every cart and wattle fence.And all you rabbleSquabble, possessive of goodsGrain and meat.We are rarely welcomed inWe wait outside.We all live togetherBut rarely collide, with you.We are never too far wayUnder your feet.And each day we are rarelySix feet away from […]
PAT+JUDE TALK ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ELECTION, THE USA ELECTION, KEMI BADENOCH &, UM, BREAKING WIND
The new leader of the Tories is Kemi Badenoch, who was born in London but brought up in Nigeria until she was sixteen. Grand to see another glass ceiling smashed, but Kemi is an ardent Brexiteer and she thinks Maggie Thatcher was terrific and hopes to model herself on that wretched woman. Tough times ahead. […]
WARFARE STATES: Part 2 by Donal Kennedy
In Part 1 I recalled how while in Britain’s Consular service Roger Casement discovered the criminality of the war planned on Germany, and Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey planned to have him murdered in 1915. Grey got his way in 1916 when an English Jury in the Old Bailey found him guilty […]
Masks and the Maker – by Randall Stephen Hall
When will we rise upAnd take off their masks?From hundreds of yearsOf a badly soiled past?When will we rise upThe Phoenix and CrowTo tell all these bluffersGo on now, just go?.When will we rise upLike a rough salty seaTo clean all our beachesOf hatred and be?When will we stand upAnd cut off their gas?It […]
WARFARE STATES Part 1 – by Donal Kennedy
In his almost 1,100 page War Memoirs David Lloyd George reveals how wet behind the ears he was in 1904 when the Anglo-French Entente was announced. In the first paragraph he tells of calling on ex-Prime Minister Lord Rosebery;- “His first greeting to me was: ‘Well, I supose you are just as pleased as the […]
Two Archbishops and Trump
The two Archbishops of Armagh – the Church of Ireland’s John McDowell and the Catholic Church’s Eamon Martin – appear to be a bit pissed off with the Stormont government. Listen to this: “Our pastoral work brings us into regular close contact with many in the voluntary and community sector who generously offer their […]
THE BOATYARD by Stephen Randall Hall
Here is a new song from my forthcoming album “Wake the Blue Sleeper.” Due out in early 2025. THE BOATYARD.By Randall Stephen Hall ©A poem and song.https://soundcloud.com/randall-stephen-hall/rsh-the-boatyard-demo-271024I’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 meIt’s the best job that i’ve ever had.I’m […]
Naughty, naughty Sinn Féin
By now, you’re probably familiar with the warm-up at Madison Square Gardens last Wednesday by ‘comedian’ Tucker Carlson. His job was to get the audience thinking pro-Trump, and so he compared…I was going to say ‘America’, but I guess that somewhere in his scrambled head he had in mind Kamala Harris. But he pictured […]
Irish media have stopped kicking – they’re exhausted
It’s about time. Finally, finally the mainstream media have stopped (probably from exhaustion) kicking the crap out of Sinn Féin. At least judging from today’s headlines. Mind you, if you push on into the letters page pf The Irish Times, you’ll find a letter from Queen’s emeritus professor Liam Kennedy, claiming that…well, what does Kennedy […]