Sisyphus and the diaphanous rewards of NI’s ‘peace process’?

  Original copy is at SMBC Comics…  “Keep pushing lads/lasses… let’s take it to the next level?” Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

When Manley met Marty

The Irish News political reporter John Manley spoke with Martin McGuinness ahead of the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in Wexford this weekend. The interview covered his relationship with the DUP, the image of the Executive and his political future. It was overall an interesting interview as Manley compared McGuinness’ attitude to that of a ‘spurned lover’ when he spoke about his relationship with the DUP.  The interview in its entirety is worth a read but there are some bits here …

Read more…

Showdown at the Cultúrlann

More heat than light was produced at a special broadcast of the leading Irish language current affairs radio programme, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta’s Cormac ag a Cúig, at the Cultúrlann on Tuesday evening when Foras na Gaeilge deputy chief executive, Seán Ó Coinn, faced an audience embittered by the recent decision by the cross border body to award the contracts for promoting Irish on an all island basis to six bodies with their head quarters in the south. The contracts …

Read more…

Gerry Adams on the ‘current situation in Northern Ireland’

Here’s the full text of Gerry Adams speech in the Dail this afternoon in a debate entitled Statements on the current situation in Northern Ireland. Mr Adams segues from a long justification of his party’s murky past to an imagined future. However, there’s barely a reference to the actual ‘current situation in Northern Ireland’. Indeed the party press office has handily rethemed it, Dáil statements on the North: I welcome the fact that we are having this debate. I have …

Read more…

Micheal Martin: “For things to change in the North they require greater generosity and restraint”

Fascinating debate in the Dail right now. The Tainiste kicked off statements on the current situation in Northern Ireland by identifying three points he wants to see progress in: re-implementation of the Civic Forum; bringing forward the Bill Rightsl and the implimentation of an Irish language act. Here’s selections from Micheal Martin’s draft speech: On the rare occasions that Northern issues are now addressed in the Dáil by the Taoiseach we hear statements about how everything is in hand and …

Read more…

United Ireland’s struggle against gay rights wins RTE damages

  Is it defamatory to accuse opponents of same sex marriage of homophobia? Or are they fairly exercising their consciences in declining to recognise equality with heterosexuals?   Irish Times columnists are on opposite sides of an argument which is part of the Republic’s slow emergence into the modern era. Sadly though the columnists haven’t gone head to head over it yet; let’s  hope they do.   The issue arose when John Waters and Breda O’Brien, both Irish Times columnists as it …

Read more…

Is integrated education even possible in Northern Ireland?

Perhaps it says more about my prejudices than anyone else’s but If I had to bet, I’d wager that many Belfast Telegraph Editorial Page readers understand the concept of integrated education as both simple and agreeable. The simple part: Abolish CCMS, i.e. Catholic schools. The agreeable part: Assimilate Catholic students into the Northern Ireland’s version of British state schools and, hey presto, that’s sectarianism largely sorted. As someone who favors at least some concept of integrated education – though not …

Read more…

Young people and the upcoming elections

What is it that we look for in our politicians is it experience, judgement or is it youth? I ask this as over the past few weeks on Twitter parties from all sides seem to be nominating younger people (18-30 years old) to contest the upcoming elections. As I have pointed out in a previous post-Northern Ireland actually does well in getting younger people into the assembly when compared to the rest of the UK. However, despite this rise of …

Read more…

Prostitution: “Debate has been extremely divisive and extremely ideological…”

Given the passage of Lord Morrow’s private members Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Further Provisions and Support for Victims) Bill, this documentary piece from The Live Register is well worth watching… It has contributions from Ruhama, Immigrant Council of Ireland and various other individuals like Wendy Lyon and Eilis Ward who speak both for and against the implementation of the Swedish model… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and …

Read more…

No one ever owns the minds of even their most loyal voters

Marketoonist Tom Fishburne adds the following commentary to his own work: It’s common for marketers to exaggerate the importance of their brands in consumers’ lives. Brand positioning statements are often written as if consumers constantly think and obsess about the brand. Social media from brands can make it sound like every consumer is a cult follower. In reality, even “brand loyalists” have complex lives completely separate from our brands. Brands can play important roles, but we should be careful not …

Read more…

Talking without listening and victory without annihilation

Mick has covered the criminalisation of users of prostitution debate and the spat between Dr. Graham Ellison and Jim Wells ain the Stormont committee below. I thought there might be some merit in looking at what this shows about the DUP’s view of itself, others views of it and how the DUP deals with these sorts of issues. This episode seems to be a case of two sides talking without listening. I am not going to enter into the merits …

Read more…

Bonnie Greer: We have to get young people as creators of the solutions #cgeni

NICVA’s Centre for Economic Empowerment ran the first of three half day conferences on Friday under the banner of Creating the Good Economy For Life with a focus on Generation Y (people born after 1979). Generation X and the Baby Boomers will get their turn later in the year. NICVA CEE wanted the conference to cover: Are the economic difficulties of youth simply a consequence of the recent downturn, which will improve as the economy picks up? Or are the …

Read more…

An Irish speaker’s reaction to Orangeman’s outburst

Belfast’s County Orange Order Grandmaster George Chitick may protest that he never intended to offend Irish speakers with his exhortation to Protestants not to learn the language he termed part of the ‘republican’ agenda. But Irish speakers in Belfast and throughout the north are well used to such insults, going back to the time of Sammy Wilson’s infamous ‘leprechaun language’ jibe and beyond. While it’s disappointing, it’s not surprising and life will go on. Grand Master Chitick may be surprised …

Read more…

The Republicans are coming! Chittick on the Irish language

As many of you know Linda Ervine has been leading efforts for years now to make Protestants more aware of their contribution to the development and maintenance of the Irish language. There have been a variety of events held in places like East Belfast to demonstrate how much of our everyday language is actually linked to Irish. Well, today the Grand Master of the Belfast Orange Order George Chittick, decided to add his two cents on whether Protestants should be …

Read more…

Road Traffic Accidents: Accidents not crimes

A few weeks ago I noted the slight rise in road deaths in NI during 2013. I also noted the worrying tendency to regard all accidents as someone’s fault: often criminally someone’s fault. Hence the inappropriate change in routine terminology from Road Traffic Accident to Road Traffic Collision. A couple of tragic cases have recently pointed to the overenthusiasm of the authorities to prosecute those involved in accidents and in one case the good sense of the general public (and …

Read more…

Pat Magee and Jo Berry: Who are we Listening to?

I was already inside the doors of the Skainos Centre in East Belfast before it was charged by protesters. They hurled missiles and fireworks and banged on the doors and windows. Four police officers were hurt keeping the crowd at bay. As is well known by now, the protesters objected to an event called “Listening to your Enemies,” at which Brighton bomber Patrick Magee and Jo Berry, the daughter of a victim of the blast, Sir Anthony Berry MP, told …

Read more…