“This Hallowe’en the past is back to haunt them… Here’s Gerry….”

Oliver Callan is on fine form this series. Just check out Micheal Martin’s Trick or Treat sketch or the one about Enda’s not able to get a shower out of Irish Water… Or indeed, the one where Mary Lou and Gerry spend the winter in a old hotel… 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 …

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Irish Water: “Today, the mass of the people are making a comeback.”

I remember the day the Luas opened. Vincent Browne was fulminating furiously on the gross inflation of costs involved, asking the age old question of why no one in journalism was keeping an eye on these runaway baselines which culminated in a tripling of the final cost from the original estimates. It struck me as a good question always to keep in the back pocket when considering southern politics. So why, when all of the matters pertaining to Irish Water …

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Cartoon – Irish water leaves a sour aftertaste on the public palate

“Ah, Irish water? Very expensive high notes with a smack of bonus. Sour aftertaste on the public palate!” Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

Photo of the day – Remembrance Garden, East Belfast

Photo by Roger Bradley, Taken on November 1, 2014   Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of …

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Sinn Fein top of the polls: Rumours of their demise greatly exaggerated?

Latest polls in the South will be giving Sinn Fein reason to raise a glass tonight as they have suffered one of the biggest crises since 2004. Here is the latest Millward/Brown Poll which will appear in tomorrows Sunday Independent Fine Gael -22% Fianna Fáil – 20% Sinn Féin -26% Labour-7pc, Independent-23% I will pose this question to the Sluggerverse what is the secret of their succcess? David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You …

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The Taoiseach: “I will ask them the question that the Deputy will not answer.”

There was a clear attempt at political revisionism this week, as the Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, TD, sought to, as Anthony McIntyre put it, “claw back lost ground” following an “unprecedented” Leaders’ questions in the Dáil on Wednesday 22 Oct – aided and abetted by interventions from the legal representative of four of those accused, and acquitted, in the Maíria Cahill case. [added in-line link] This is the position the Sinn Fein president attempted to end the week with “I further understand that Peter …

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Financial (and other) chickens coming home to roost

An Ulster Unionist MLA once described Green Party leader Steven Agnew to me as a younger Jim Allister with longer hair and less talent. That has often looked harsh but maybe true. However Sam McBride in the News Letter has an excellent piece quoting Agnew on the more fundamental causes of the current financial crisis at Stormont: The North Down MLA said: “The fantasy they peddled was that you can get more services but pay less – that is simply …

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Mount Stewart Festival of Light

I loved the Enchanted Evening events they used to run in Botanic Gardens as part of the Belfast Festival. They were, for us, easy to get to, compact, beautiful, mysterious and fun. It has been a sore point for me that they have been absent from the Festival programme for the last couple of years, although this year’s lovely Havannas event from Catalonia did somewhat make up for it. Regardless, I decided to book tickets for the National Trust Mount …

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Photo of the day – Strabane Halloween Fireworks Show 2014

Photo by  Gareth Wray, Taken on October 31, 2014 This stunning photo from Gareth, captures all the colour and splendour of last night fireworks in Strabane. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in …

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