Sinn Fein Ard Fheis: Adams’ speech…
Long and full long game stratagems, Gerry Adams clearly relished his role in setting the timing for An Taoiseachs address on the euref tonight… In lieu of a longer analysis, here’s the words of the man himself: A chairde, Tá failte romhaibh uilig chuig Ard Fheis Sinn Féin i anseo i gCill Áirne, contae Chiarraí. [...] more »
Independent’s editor backs grammar schools
Behind the turmoil of the current news agenda, something is stirring at the Independent. The editor Chris Blackhurst, by background a mainly financial journalist, has come out in favour of grammar schools – but without the 11 plus. Mary Anne Sieghart’s column was not a one-off. This is interesting because the Independent positions itself as [...] more »
Krugman: Prospect of Euro collapse might concentrate their minds…
Perhaps this is what the No campaign is hoping for? Krugman interviewed in the FT: “No. I don’t think they can save Greece but they can still save the rest if they’re willing to offer open-ended financing and macroeconomic expansion.” But this would mean persuading the Germans to change their philosophy of economic life. “Well, [...] more »
McGuinness and Sinn Fein finally return to the pluralist language of Tone…
Martin McGuinness’ keynote speech to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis is up on the party website. It’s worth quoting at length, because at risk of invoking a trite pun it is worth noting at least as much for its reference to Tone (Wolf Theobald) and its generally emollient tone. Partition created two conservative states on [...] more »
BCC’s proposed £20m conferencing investment in the Waterfront, knocking down the Studio in the process
When Belfast City Council’s Investment Programme was launched earlier this year, it included a reference to expending the conference/exhibition space at the Belfast Waterfront. Along with colleagues, I idly wondered where the additional space would be found. Would they build a glass covered bridge across to the unfinished building sitting in front of the Waterfront? [...] more »
Girdwood and the problem of shared spaces in contested areas…
So that evening, the party walked from the CSI committee: At Tuesday’s meeting Alliance brought things to a head by presenting a list of eight essential items which they believe should be on any document to promote a shared society. It includes a review of segregated housing, a framework for dealing with illegal flags and [...] more »
Euro crisis: “Rome wasn’t built in a day and it didn’t fall in a day either…”
The eurozone crisis rumbles on, its democratic deficit intact, and Ireland’s Fiscal Treaty referendum approaches. Time, then, for historian Michael Wood to go looking for some historical references… The British historian Gildas (c 500-570) in his diatribe against contemporary rulers in the early 500s, looking back over the story of the Fall of Roman Britain, [...] more »
#Euref: Underlying questions too big for a simple Yes or a No. What about a ‘Not Yes’?
Last night’s avalanche of advocacy for the NO campaign on Vincent Browne was remarkable. Watch it though, especially for Sigrun Davidsdottir‘s remarks on why Ireland is not Iceland that seemed not to come to the notice of our eponymous host. Hint: neither includes the fact that Ireland is hemmed in by the EU, nor that [...] more »
#EUREF: Will vote crystallise the real left right divide (with Labour on the wrong side)?
Interesting piece by former FF point man for Willie O’Dea, Derek Mooney in last night’s Herald which hits several nails on the head re the Fiscal Compact referendum… WITH less than a week to go the referendum campaign seems more and more to be about less and less. If you believe the posters, the choice [...] more »
Opening skirmish in Independence campaign
On the day, the YouGov poll commissioned by Alistair Darling was quite an effective spoiler to the launch of Alex Salmond’s Independence campaign, at least for the largely pro-Union press. The YouGov poll of 1,004 people found that only 33% of Scots would opt for independence, while 57% would reject it, findings which are close [...] more »
Just three per cent of businesses are registered in NI’s second city…
The Londonderry Sentinel has some fascinating figures released by the DFP minister Sammy Wilson: New figures detailing the number of registered businesses in each constituency show there were only 2,205 in Londonderry in January. Only West Belfast (1,430) and North Belfast (2,185) had fewer whilst East Londonderry (3,900) and West Tyrone (5,095) had roughly twice [...] more »
Private health care insurance numbers plummet in the Republic…
Fascinating little story that illustrates the bind the Republic finds itself in: A new report published this morning from the Health Insurance Authority said that at the end of March there were 2.14 million people covered by private health insurance. This is down from 2.3 million at the peak of the market at the end [...] more »
“Sinn Féin in my opinion has been slowly sedated…”
In light of Mick’s post, and now Brian’s follow-up, it’s worth noting an Irish News report today of Ballymoney Councillor Anita Cavlan’s resignation from Sinn Féin ”over concerns it is failing prisoners”. From the Irish News report The Ballymoney councillor said she believed Sinn Féin had “lost direction” and “should be doing more to represent the prisoners”. “Sinn Féin [...] more »
The McGeough case raises worrying questions about the peace process. The SDLP are right to raise them
I cheer at the story of Sammy Brush’s self defence at the time and am of course very glad he survived. Gerry McGeough is very lucky to be alive. But the McGeough case appears to create a new doctrine of the peace process as it applies to terrorist crimes. Does it not greatly diminish the amnesty effect of [...] more »
#Euro2020: Philosophy Fooball Solidarnosc Ireland tee shirts…
Another offering from our old mates at Philosphy Football (who previously brought you this, oh yes, and this little controversial number). So if you are dedicated FAI or bust supporter, or an any green will do man/woman/boy/child… Whether you are on your way to Poland where they’ve got to go down a storm with the [...] more »
L’ (middle-aged) enfant terrible of the UUP given his cards by new party captain…
So the Joey Barton of Ulster politics has been shown a permanent Red Card by Captain Nesbitt, and David McNarry makes his way to the dressing room where (to mix my sporting metaphors for those of you who remember Mike Yarwood or Ed Waring) he’ll take an early bath. It’s ironic, that this most ill-disciplined [...] more »
Containment: Northern Ireland’s major purpose and raison d’être?
Some really interesting ideas in this lecture at the University of Ulster, with Duncan Morrow. It kicks off with a potted history of the origins of the conflict. He describes the public policy response firstly, via the original devolution of parliament to Stormont and latterly in its response to the civil unrest of 1969-1970, under [...] more »
Beijing accounts for just 1% of FDI in Europe so Ireland will have to wait…
Nice observation from Simon Carswell in his Bottom Line column today in the Irish Times, regarding the recent high level visit of the putative leader of the Peoples Republic of China. …these visits really only suggest the potential that exists. China accounts for just 3 per cent of exports and most of that is dairy [...] more »
SDLP needs a story that makes its opponents more uncomfortable than it does themselves..
Now here’s an interesting one. Almost as interesting for where it comes from as to what it suggests… Nigel Dodds is having a go at the SDLP for taking up a number of cases concerning the fate of dissident Republicans, in particular that of Gerry McGeough… The News Letter reports: The DUP deputy leader questioned [...] more »
Masterplan for Girdwood: “back to the sectarian drawing board…”
The Northern Ireland First and deputy First Minsters recently announced the second round of funding, £1.5million, available from the Executive and Atlantic Philanthropies’ ‘Contested Spaces’ Programme, although I’m still not entirely clear where the other £2.5million went… The announcement, in the absence of a “Cohesion, Sharing and Integration” strategy, rebranded, and “watered down” to the “lowest commmon denominator“, [...] more »
The Western Mail reverts to an old old type…
The Western Mail, Wales’s National Newspaper, has lost the plot. A front page editorial states: AN EXTRAORDINARY recommendation has been made by eight AMs that would see up to £400,000-a-year spent on translating the written record of every meeting held at the National Assembly into Welsh. We say that at a time when budgets are [...] more »
30 seconds of ecstasy
Price of buying the English Premier League? North of one billion sterling and a fustian pact with a strengthened autocracy. The European Champions’ League? Around $2.8Bn and shelter for a dodgy oligarch. Witnessing the end of a decades long wait to see Ballymena’s Saturday morning league Division One Championship head north? Priceless… er, hospitalization actually. [...] more »
Euro crisis: “With that we buried the Maastricht Treaty, the legal basis for currency union”
A couple of interesting reports in the Irish Times with relevance to the ongoing euro crisis. First, from Derek Scally in Berlin …Mr Asmussen, a member of the ECB governing council, said growth measures – agreed without reopening the fiscal treaty – could help drive European integration. “The benefits of a currency union are so [...] more »
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Books
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A poem for the day – Launching the Whaler Juan Peron
A Belfast epic, and one of my oldest poems, the opener of my first collection, Grub. The gist of the story was found in Moss & Hume’s Shipbuilders to the World: 125 Years of Harland and Wolff, Belfast, 1861-1986, which tells how Eva Peron was due to launch a huge whaling vessel in Belfast, built [...] read our review » -
Do Words Matter?: Book Review of Political Discourse and Conflict Resolution – Debating Peace in Northern Ireland
I share many of the concerns of Andy Pollak, whose recent post ‘My Response to the Slugger Begrudgers’ zeroed in on the ‘relentless flow of negativity’ of some Slugger commentators. Pollak’s post was largely concerned with the medium of the blog. Indeed, I think the anonymity of the online world encourages extreme discourse and allows [...] read our review »
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“You can see Newton’s mind at work…”
To add to the open access treasure trove at the Royal Society, Cambridge University Library is putting online some of its collection of books, maps, manuscripts and journals. We have called the first phase of our work on the Cambridge Digital Library the Foundations Project, which runs from mid-2010 to mid-2013 and has been made possible [...] read our review »
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