Jude Collins

Hi Jude,   Just keeping in touch with this new recordingof THE REIVER AND THE GAEL, written first in 2007.A story about the Border Reivers, exiled from the war torn spacebetween England and Scotland shortly before the Plantation of Ulstercirca 1610.With no memory of these events most people in Northern Irelandare unaware that it is […]

  Sometimes people ask me if I like having my birthday on the Twelfth of July, and I ask them if they’d like a dig in the gob…No, no, I do but jest. I know that it brings a lot of sunshine and laughter into many lives that might otherwise be dull and drab. Being […]

  What is art? Is a very high pyramid of pallets with posters of nationalists on it – is that art?And when it’s burnt down, is it still art? Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, poor Joe Biden limps from one disaster to another. In his latest effort to quash opposition within the Democratic party, he managed […]

It’s hard not to feel for Joe Biden. He’s been a successful politician all his life. By all accounts he’s been a considerable triumph  during his first term of office (if you overlook his provision of funding for Israelis so they could have a crack at wiping out the Palestinian people).  Anyway, Joe  gets to […]

  Everytime I see Declan Rice or Harry  Kane or Jack Grealish or Harry Maguire ( OK, forget about Maguire), I’m struck by their immense footballing talent and by a bitter little inner voice that says they should be playing for Ireland. I understand their choice of England rather than Ireland – more money, better […]

There are five things that I would dearly love to see happen. At the same time,  if they did happen,  I’d probably die from shock on the spot. 1. I’d like to see a ban on journalists asking nationalist politicians if they’re prepared to apologise for IRA actions during the Troubles. This makes as much […]

GENERAL ELECTIONS AND THEIR RESULTS 2024 and 1918         Nobody denies the right of the winning party to form a Government. Not revisionist academics in the 26 counties nor Unionist Academics in Queen’s University in Belfast.   In 1918 Republicans won a “mere”  47%   of votes cast in Ireland and claimed the […]

On this Monday morning, the spanking new British Prime Minister (no, NOT that kind of spanking, Virginia) is among us. Should we feel pleased by his attention to us? Will Hillary Benn as Secretary of State see to it that Casement Park is built in time for Euros 2028? Is there such a thing as […]

In many ways not much has changed following the recent general election. Sinn Féinstill have 7 seats, SDLP still have 2, Alliance still has 1 and 8 seats remain in the handsof Unionists. In 2019, the 8 Unionist seats belonged to DUP, now these seats are splitbetween DUP, UUP, TUV and the Independent Alex Easton.Sinn […]

There was a song that went, back in the day. “Oh what a night it was/It really was, such a night!”  You might say the same about last Thursday. The Tory nightmare in Britain is over, the crumbling of the DUP may have started. We look at Sinn Féin, SDLP,Alliance and of course the DUP. […]