Profile for Gladys Ganiel
Latest posts from Gladys Ganiel (see all)
Gladys Ganiel has posted 64 times (1 in the last month).
The Second Coming of Paisley by Richard Lawrence Jordan: Book Review
Tweet In The Second Coming of Paisley: Militant Fundamentalism and Ulster Politics (Syracuse University Press, 2013), American historian Richard Lawrence Jordan provides us with some insights that are relevant for today – both for understanding the Rev Ian Paisley, and for coming to grips with unionist perspectives on religion and politics. With a title like [...] more »
Can I Stay in the Catholic Church? by Brian Lennon–Book Review
Tweet Can I Stay in the Catholic Church? It’s a question many Catholics have answered in their droves, leaving the Catholic Church with their proverbial feet. In his latest book, Can I Stay in the Catholic Church? (Columba, 2012), Jesuit Brian Lennon ultimately answers ‘yes.’ But it is his argument that those who choose to [...] more »
Ex- Combatants, Religion and Peace in Northern Ireland: Book Review
Tweet It’s probably safe to assume that most people in Northern Ireland would not associate religion either with ‘peace’, or with ‘ex-combatants.’ But a new book by John Brewer, David Mitchell and Gerard Leavey, Ex-Combatants, Religion and Peace in Northern Ireland: The Role of Religion in Transitional Justice (Palgrave, 2013) fruitfully brings the three together [...] more »
What’s the Point of the Peace Rallies?
Tweet Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered at Belfast City Hall to support a pair of events that aimed to restore hope and calm to a city rocked by pre-Christmas protests and riots. As has been well-documented, the disturbances have been sparked by the City Council’s decision to fly the union flag only on [...] more »
Philip Orr’s New Perspectives – Politics, Religion and Conflict in Mid-Antrim, 1911-1914: Book Review and Website Launch
Tweet A valuable resource on local history went digital last week with the launch of a new website called ‘New Perspectives’ on Home Rule,hosted by the Braid Mid-Antrim Museum in Ballymena. The content of the website is based on a book by Philip Orr, New Perspectives: Politics, Religion and Conflict in Mid-Antrim, 1911-1914, published last [...] more »
David Trimble and Michael McDowell on the Ulster Covenant
Tweet The Institute for British-Irish Studies (IBIS) at UCD and the Irish Association hosted a conference Saturday on ‘The Ulster Covenant and Contemporary Ireland’ at the Linenhall Library in Belfast. Addressed by a range of academics, former politicians, and journalists, the conference included historical and contemporary perspectives. Former UUP leader David Trimble (or Lord Trimble [...] more »
How will the Churches Remember the Ulster Covenant?
Tweet As the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant (28 September – Ulster Day) approaches, numerous events are planned to mark the event. Indeed, throughout the year the Ulster Covenant has been a hot topic of discussion at conferences, lectures, community events, and in the media. Given that the Ulster Covenant links the [...] more »
Church Leaders Call Royal Black Behaviour ‘Un-Christian’: Is Parading a ‘Right’ for Christians?
Tweet With Unionist politicians lining up to criticise the Parades Commission and defend the Royal Black Institution parade in Belfast this past weekend, the Presbyterian Moderator (Roy Patton) and Anglican Archbishop of Armagh (Alan Harper) have called the conduct of those who took part ‘un-Christian.’ In an interview last night on UTV, Patton said: I [...] more »
Scottish Irish Conversations on Sectarianism–Edinburgh Festival of Politics
Tweet This year’s Edinburgh Festival of Politics is underway. On Friday I took part in one of the opening sessions of the festival, a panel discussion billed as ‘Scottish Irish Conversations on Sectarianism.’ The discussion was an initiative of the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies (IISS). While part of the festival, [...] more »
Is Ireland Abandoning Religion?
Tweet A headline in today’s Belfast Telegraph announces: ‘Republic of Ireland Abandoning Religion Faster than almost any other Country.’ Breda Heffernan and Colm Kelpie report on an international poll conducted by Red C, which found that: An overwhelming 69% of Irish people declared themselves to be “a religious person” in the last survey conducted in [...] more »
Latest comments from Gladys Ganiel (see all)
Gladys Ganiel has commented 36 times (1 in the last month).
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Books
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What has The Third Man got to say about Northern Ireland?
Tweet Short answer: very little, other than he enjoyed the environs of Hillsborough Castle, enjoyed working with the local politicians, and has Gerry Adams to thank for Bobby his dog. Peter Mandelson’s book The Third Man has captured media headlines in recent weeks as the Times serialised the most juicy bits. But what did he [...] read our review »
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Titanic: was it all right when it left here?
Tweet Not according to metallurgists Tim Foecke and Jennifer Hooper McCarty whose research has suggested that dodgy Harland and Wolff rivets were at fault for allowing the Titanic’s hull to be ripped apart by the pressure of the iceberg impact. With six of the hull’s chambers exposed to the Atlantic waters, the “unsinkable” ship lasted [...] read our review »
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Johnston McMaster’s Overcoming Violence – Book Review
Tweet In his latest book, Overcoming Violence: Dismantling an Irish History and Theology – An Alternative Vision (Columba, 2012), Rev Dr Johnston McMaster offers a challenge to everyone living on this island: Entering into the increasingly talked about ‘decade of commemorations,’ how might we remember our painful past together, in order that we might walk [...] read our review »
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Comment on The Second Coming of Paisley by Richard Lawrence Jordan: Book Review
on 30 May 2013 at 8:08 am
If you are looking for the book on Amazon, click directly on the links I have provided in the blog post – they take you to the book on Amazon.
You will also see from the post that I say that Jordan does spend some time on recent history, with a whole chapter to the immediate period leading up to 2007.
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Comment on Can I Stay in the Catholic Church? by Brian Lennon–Book Review
on 10 April 2013 at 4:48 pm
Hi Barbara,
There is some debate on those issues in this book – and Lennon looks at it somewhat (though not in great depth) in his section on homophobia in the church.
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Comment on Celebrating Northern Ireland’s Olympic Past and Future in Antrim and Dervock
on 17 July 2012 at 9:24 pm
Thanks Fitzjameshorse.
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Comment on Johnston McMaster’s Overcoming Violence – Book Review
on 20 June 2012 at 10:39 am
Hi Wild Turkey,
Just seeing your question now …
Of course I recommend buying Johnston’s book.
A good person to read on how the Bible has been used in American history to justify all sorts of violence is Mark Noll, who spoke recently at Queen’s in Belfast:
http://www.gladysganiel.com/churches-reconciliation/scandal-and-slavery-prof-mark-noll-comes-to-belfast/
I would say that his ‘The Civil War as a Theological Crisis’ would be of interest to you, for the American aspect.
Another useful theological source on the myth of redemptive violence is Walter Wink, whose work informs Johnston’s book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engaging-Powers-Discernment-Resistance-Domination/dp/080062646X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340185080&sr=8-1
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Comment on Can Northern Ireland ‘Embrace the Language of Profound Change’?
on 14 March 2012 at 9:49 pm
That’s a good question, Reader! And I’m sure that the answers aren’t all in one report. And as you say, there is some positive movement happening – intentionally and unintentionally. There is evidence (some examples in the new book by Lee Smithey, which Alan in Belfast profiled a few days ago – http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/03/12/unionists-loyalists-and-conflict-transformation-a-book-about-how-things-are-changing/) that public policies can help incentivise change, albeit slowly and surely …
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Comment on Can Northern Ireland ‘Embrace the Language of Profound Change’?
on 14 March 2012 at 11:59 am
Hi Reader,
Kelly expands upon all these points in the report, an example for #5 includes recognising the examples where there have been effective mixing in ‘housing, education, employment, sports and cultural and social events’, and using those examples to intervene strategically on a wider scale. She also recommends that: ‘rather than departments and agencies continuing to send mixed messages that imply support for cross-community activities through funding of pilot initiatives or short-term projects, the NI Executive takes the ambitious and courageous decision to make fundamental public policy decisions that place integration at the heart of government objectives, including the Programme for Government.’ p. 111
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Comment on Douglas Murray – Bloody Sunday: Truth, Lies and the Saville Inquiry, Book Review
on 7 January 2012 at 5:07 pm
Just to expand or clarify, when I wrote: I have my own doubts about how helpful it is to persist in this type of labelling or name-calling in public debate.
My main point is that when these terms are used in public debate, people tend to get distracted by labelling people (the comments on this post neatly illustrate this to a degree, actually), and other issues fall by the wayside as we argue about what certain people should be called.
This is unhelpful to the extent that it prevents substantial discussion about other issues in the public sphere.
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Comment on Assembly Wants All-Party Talks on Dealing with the Past
on 11 October 2011 at 1:20 pm
Thanks for the links … interesting.
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Comment on Debating the Past in the Northern Ireland Assembly?
on 10 October 2011 at 2:25 pm
No, there was no dealing with the past process after the US Civil War in the way that contemporary societies around the world have initiated truth commissions… It is too simple to say that a failure to deal with the past was the only reason the oppression of African Americans was allowed to continue, but I reckon it was one factor among many. I’m not proud that it took a century after the Civil War for African Americans to get some semblance of civil rights.
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Comment on Debating the Past in the Northern Ireland Assembly?
on 10 October 2011 at 1:43 pm
Last time I checked Chris Lyttle and other Alliance MLAs were democratically elected. I wouldn’t classify an elected MLA calling for debate in the Assembly ‘bypassing democracy.’
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