In the media, as in life. No ones is irreplaceable…

man in black crew neck t-shirt standing in front of people

Remember when RTÉ told us that they had to pay massive salaries to talent like Ryan Tubridy or they would lose them to rivals? It turns out those ‘stars’ may not have been worth as much as their agents made out. Reports estimate Tubridy’s new annual salary of between £50,000 to £80,000 with Virgin Radio for his new show there. Locally, our own best-paid ‘star’ Stephen Nolan is enjoying a well-earned rest in America. But I do wonder if he …

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DUP and Sinn Féin accused of “shameless carve-up” over funding cut for disabled kids…

Excellent reporting from Brendan Hughes over at the BBC: A Belfast charity for children with special needs has had its proposed council funding increased after facing a potential cut of 97%. Sólás is set to receive about £308,000 for a building project following a decision on Monday night. It was originally earmarked for £800,000. However, there was a political row over proposals to reduce its allocation to £24,744 and share the rest among other community groups. Other parties on Belfast …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. 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 …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. 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 …

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How to write, and why you should…

MacBook Pro near white open book

I know it is a bit quiet this week on Slugger. We are still in the post-Christmas slump. Also, many of us got struck down by the various lurgy over Christmas. Regular service should resume next week. I thought I would use the quiet to put out an appeal for new writers. If you have ever fancied writing a post for Slugger, now is the time to try it. Can I make a particular reference to the comments? To be …

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Here be dragons…

dragon display

2024 is the year of the dragon. I was born in a dragon year, and supposedly I am confident, intelligent, and ambitious. Also passionate and energetic. I guess it would also explain my occasional habit of flying over small villages and vapouring random residents. Anyway, this was brought to mind when I saw this fabulous dragon drone show of a dragon. How cool is this? When does the world decide fireworks to be outlawed, this will be the replacement. 1500 …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. 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 …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. 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 …

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Bits and pieces…

a close up of an old fashioned typewriter

There is lots of small stories out there, so I thought I would shove them all into one post. Are you unity curious? The big hunka hunka burning love that is Jamies Doran is. From the BelTel: Jamie Dornan has revealed he would be “very intrigued” to know what a united Ireland would mean for health, education and the economy. The Holywood-born actor said he was “very open-minded” to the idea of it. In an interview with the Radio Times, …

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Open Christmas Day chat…

brown deer plush toy

In the spirit of the famous 1914 Christmas Truce of WW1, I ask that you avoid our usual divisive subjects, we want to give the mods a well-earned rest. You can chat about what you are up to today, memories of Christmas past, what books you are reading, or TV shows you are enjoying. Whatever you like. On behalf of the Slugger team, I wish you a Happy and safe Christmas. Let’s hope next year will be better for everyone. …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. 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 …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. 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 …

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Liam Neeson’s Santa audition…

red and white snowman ornament

If you have not seen it before, this is quite funny: If you want to put a smile on your face amid all the last-minute Christmas panic, I really enjoyed this clip from 8 out of 10 cats. And the rematch… 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 …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. 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 …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. 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 …

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Unholy row erupts over Shane MacGowan funeral…

Some clergy were not very impressed with the scenes at the funeral of Shane MacGowan last week. Speaking to the Mirror, West Belfast Priest Father Paddy McCafferty had this to say: “The introduction of all these elements into that funeral mass frankly was a scandal and it shouldn’t have happened,” Father Paddy McCafferty of West Belfast had told Belfast Live. “If they wanted to have that sort of event they could have hired a hall somewhere and did all that.” …

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Ex senior civil servant accuses DUP of economic vandalism…

No stupid people beyond this point LED signage

Civil servants are renowned for saying nothing, so when one breaks ranks to give their honest views, you sit up and take notice. Colin Lewis is a retired senior civil servant, most recently as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Department for Economy. Writing in today’s BelTel he is not impressed with the DUP. From the article: A developing local business and education story over recent weeks caused me to try and interpret the DUP’s ‘cunning plan’ by which it is …

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Fergal Keane on the state of the World today…

I had the pleasure of attending the 25th Anniversary of the John Hume & David Trimble Nobel Peace Prize in the Guildhall in Derry yesterday. The event was organised by the John And Pat Hume Foundation. As part of the event, there was a video address by the journalist Fergal Keane. In it, he covers not only Northern Ireland but the general state of the world today. It is only 7 minutes long, so give it the attention it deserves. …

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Government offers £2.5bn package for Stormont return…

How about some cash to sweeten the deal? From the BBC: The UK government is offering a financial package which, it says, is worth £2.5bn to support the return of a Stormont Executive. It would include a lump sum to settle public sector pay claims and a new “needs-based” funding formula for public services. It would also allow overspends from last year and this year to be repaid over five years. Party leaders have said it is not enough money. …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. 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 …

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