Is Education the Number One Priority for Unionism this Election?

Education, Education, Education. There have been 3 Assembly Executives elected since 1998. At each juncture, a unionist First Minister was elected and subsequently under d’Hondt a unionist was given first choice of available ministries. Each time control of the Education ministry fell to a Sinn Fein MLA – whether they were the 4th, or the 2nd, largest party. If SF should emerge the largest in the executive post May elections, they may well opt once again for the Education post. …

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Donegal Republicans Received County Council Funding to Commemorate PIRA Members

It has emerged that after a full page advert appeared this week in a local paper across Donegal commemorating the deaths of IRA men since 1921 that these events have been partly funded by Donegal County Council. The Council funds had been supposedly earmarked for commemorations dealing only with the Dublin rising. The adverts listed names of IRA men under what was termed ‘Republican roll of honour Tir Chonaill command’ alongside Dublin rebellion figures. The logos of Donegal County Council, …

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Justice Minister declines Dublin rebellion commemoration invite, citing lack of reflection

After Friday’s Newsletter frontpage I was prompted to purchase a copy of Peter Lynas’ recently published “100 Days 100 Years” – a magazine format read that contains prayerful reflections on 1916 from a diverse range of personalities with a public presence in the main in Northern Ireland. The striking thing for me so far is the almost understanding each participant has to the concept of the ‘other’ – those parallel chronologies whose intersections and tangents together form the totality of our …

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Injured Prison Officer Dies After Heart Attack

Adrian Ismay, who had previously been released from hospital after sustaining serious injuries from a dissident Republican bomb attack, suffered a fatal heart attack earlier today. The First Minister lead condemnation, tweeting from the USA on an investment mission, “I’m devastated. Can’t believe the news. I was texting Adrian before we left for the US. He was doing well. My thoughts are with his family.” The PSNI have yet to confirm they are treating the death as murder. Coincidentally today in …

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Towards a Unionist Rememberance of the 1916 Insurrection

IMPERIAL DEFENCE: In helping to protect what might be characterised as the Imperial achilles heel at the time, the unquestioning devotion of the Loyalist segment of the civilian population of Dublin who did not fight for a rebel proclamation, but did so from inside the barracks at Beggar’s Bush and the halls of Trinity College in defence of the United Kingdom.

Is BCC’s political football vote evidence of an Alliance shift?

NO HALF WAY: Under Lord Alderdice they once were a party acknowledged by all in getting the two warring tribes to meet half way. It’s ironic now they themselves can no longer be seen to compromise with one of those sides for electoral reasons and is this the dawn of Alliance the tactical anti-unionists as opposed to Alliance the middle ground?