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Books
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Ringtone and the drum: Africa’s underclass’s clash with technology
Tweet My old friend from River Path has a book out today (his first, hooray!). I’d be lying if I told I’d read the whole thing right through, yet (I’m waiting for a free copy, rather than reams of white paper!!). But I have been talking with Mark on and off about the project for [...] read our review »
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Book launches: Everyday Life After the Irish Conflict and Belfast 400
Tweet Two books were launched tonight in Belfast. A reception was held at the City Hall to mark the book commissioned to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the city’s charter. I reviewed Belfast 400: People, Place and History (edited by Sean Connolly) back in December. It tells the story of the city that “emerged [...] read our review »
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Well meaning though it may be, I’m against teaching history to promote a shared identity
Tweet The historian Tristram Hunt has given a cautious welcome in the Times to Michael Gove’s controversial plans for the history curriculum in England, (£) a topic I raised last month. This is interesting because Hunt is also a Labour MP and pro-Labour reaction to the Gove proposals was generally hostile. Hunt writes: At the [...] read our review »
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Comment on What does the Irish flag mean to you?
on 2 April 2013 at 3:44 pm
It’s the flag of both the Irish state and the Irish nation. If the nation ever became a new state we would probably need a new flag because the purpose of a flag is to unite the people who live under it. If our flag can’t do that we will need one that can.
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Comment on Time for Unionism to find a place for the Irish National flag in Northern Ireland
on 19 February 2013 at 10:19 am
Obelisk
What I think will REALLY happen is that they will deadlock and the presence of the flag on civic buildings will be defined by the voting strengths of the parties on any given council.
More than likely and the best course might be for us all to accept that. Councils could even get creative with flags. Put up the french flag on Bastille Day and the US flag on 4 July. It could help tourism.
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Comment on Time for Unionism to find a place for the Irish National flag in Northern Ireland
on 19 February 2013 at 9:24 am
UPC
Latest opinion polls state only 17% of people in NI want to live in an independent, all-island Irish state. The rest are happy with the status quo.
Why should the rest of us pander to this tiny, unpopular, extremist minority??
We don’t have rule by opinion poll. If a majority of those elected to a council want to have a no-flags policy we have to assume their voters are happy with that. Wanting to keep milking the British taxpayer is not the same as wanting to have a union jack flying on your town hall.
The question really is should each council make its own policy or is their any hope we can come to some kind of agreement.
Or at the very least agree that it is a matter for each council acting alone.
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Comment on “after some people made it clear they were not prepared to make witness statements to investigating officers”
on 15 February 2013 at 3:53 pm
The suspect in the break-in is entitled to a fair investigation from the PSNI and a fair trial in the courts. It is insanity to still support punishment beatings and shootings in the post-agreement era. There was a time when the nationalist community did no support the police. That’s over and whoever shot that boy in the legs is a bigger danger to society and a nastier scumbag than any robber.
By the same token Sean Kelly is also entitled to due process. If the police have a charge to bring then let them bring it. Put up or shut up.
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Comment on Sinn Fein: mislabelled meat…
on 6 February 2013 at 1:25 pm
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Comment on “a 65% to 17% majority for Northern Ireland remaining in the UK suggests little room for doubt.”
on 6 February 2013 at 10:50 am
Drumlins Rock
I wouldn’t dispute the result but there is a distinction between a vote today and a long term aspiration. The poll should have asked as a supplementary question to find people would like to see Irish unity at some future point. The idea that nationalist parties should confine their ambitions to internal matters would need to be based on more than a snapshot in time.
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Comment on “a 65% to 17% majority for Northern Ireland remaining in the UK suggests little room for doubt.”
on 6 February 2013 at 9:15 am
At the time of independence a large section of people in the south would probably have voted to remain in the UK but now hardly anyone would opt to re-join. There is a strong status quo bias at this point in history and it makes a border poll an ill-advised venture.
Nationalists are well on their way to removing the reason for the NI state existing in the first place. True equality and a possible nationalist majority makes NI a completely different proposition to what it was intended to be. We need to let that play out and see where it takes us. There will be a logic to and a mood for unity at some stage I’m sure but raising the issue at the wrong time in the wrong way is not helpful at all.
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Comment on The Niedermayers and the cascading misery of our dirty little war…
on 4 February 2013 at 11:13 pm
Never again. That’s the only thing that comes to mind reading that dreadful story. I wonder what decision if made differently could have stopped the troubles earlier. It’s hard to think of one. A British politician who advocated “talking to terrorists” would have been ignored. A republican leadership questioning the value of armed struggle was replaced. Moderate Unionists were defeated regularly.
A day rather than a memorial might be better. One day in the year when we could all say together, never again.
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Comment on If Adams is a prisoner of his own past, can he provide a future for Sinn Fein?
on 3 February 2013 at 4:53 pm
Granni Trixie
I’m very impressed with the Alliance Party in recent years. They seem to understand the difference between “split the difference” centerism and principled centerism and they have some great people. I’d be happy to see them with the balance of power in any situation. Ten years ago I would have looked at them as just another unionist party and may have said so here. So I’m very happy to be proven wrong about that.
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Comment on If Adams is a prisoner of his own past, can he provide a future for Sinn Fein?
on 3 February 2013 at 12:14 pm
Mick
Only one thing bothers me about Adams denial of the truth. And its just that he seems to believe he has some kind of immunity from being truthful.
That would hardly make him unique in political life if it was the case. If you were asked to advise a political figure faced with a difficult question would you not have to ask if giving a particular answer would put the issue to bed. So dealing with politics as it is can you lay out the upside for either Adams or Sinn Fein in changing their stated position on the issue. I find it an impossible case to make.
It’s not that they don’t have a problem. The party under-performs in the south and part of the reason is the past is troubling to some voters. People say things like I have a good mind to vote Sinn Fein but in the end they don’t.
There are things I believe Sinn Fein need to say that they have not said but that GA was in the IRA is not one of them.
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