Comment Archives for Mick Fealty
Mick is the founding editor of Slugger. He has also written on politics for the Daily Telegraph, and is a regular contributor for the Guardian's trend setting Comment is Free site.
He has written several papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe.
He also works as a digital path finder for larger media organisations like the Daily Telegraph, RTE and Ulster Television and delivers strategy and coaching services to high level executives.
See sluggerconsults.com for more detail...
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Books
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…if University education were universally available and availed of, the country would collapse in one generation
The words of Brian O’Nolan, variously Brian Ó Nualláin, Myles na gCopaleen, Myles na Gopaleen and, of course, Flann O’Brien. That O’Nolan was referencing his own dissolute student days at UCD only mildly distracts from the prophetic undertone of his words: I paid no attention whatsoever to books or study and regarded lectures as a [...] read our review »
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Help me with the West Wing: Essential viewing or Party Political Broadcast?
Having somehow managed to avoid watching a single episode of the widely praised West Wing TV series I was delighted to discover the entire Box set in my Christmas stocking – and with enough spare time over the holidays to give it a good lash. But with 10 episodes of the first series under my [...] read our review »
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Kevin Myers’ ‘Watching the Door’: Book Review
This reads as if a mad picaresque tale. Myers as first a reporter for RTÉ and then as a freelance journalist with no real experience, finds himself wandering into savagery as he hastens north as the Troubles explode. A soldier dies next to him; he witnesses an IRA ambush; he sees children shot to death [...] read our review »
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Comment on Education Minister refuses to provide colleagues with a breakdown of £2 Billion of funding for schools…
on 21 May 2012 at 4:29 pm
I’m not at all sure PaulT. We’ve seen some small (long overdue) closures, but the bulk of the work remains. And there are some difficult decisions to make re closing some schools and opening others.
I’ve had some people raise with me the situation in south Belfast where there is no longer a controlled high school. The result that kids who don’t get access to the local Grammars, have to be bused out of the area.
If the budget line over schools is buried, how can anyone challenge the Minister?
He has to be taken on trust. Now leave any concern about ‘opposition’ to one side, that doesn’t leave the Education committee with much to go on never mind the guy who has to carry the ultimate can for what goes wrong (as well as – when it comes to election time – claiming every little thing that goes right).
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Comment on Grammar schools and social mobility: a Northern Ireland contribution to the debate
on 21 May 2012 at 3:57 pm
This goes back to PaulT’s point though.
In general, England’s aggregate figures draw achievement levels downwards. If there were more direct parallels drawn with Scotland it might be of more practical use.
But it also true that the UK’s figures on international standards are heading downwards both regionally and nationally.
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Comment on Education Minister refuses to provide colleagues with a breakdown of £2 Billion of funding for schools…
on 21 May 2012 at 3:26 pm
Paul,
You’re looking down the wrong end of the binoculars. As the minister has stated several times, there are an awful lot of decisions to be made over the size of the school estate in the next few years.
There ought, inside the Executive at least, to be some form of transparency surely? The Minister of Finance is shelling out a significant proportion of the family budget on Education.
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Comment on Grammar schools and social mobility: a Northern Ireland contribution to the debate
on 21 May 2012 at 3:17 pm
I think in the context of NI the Catholic schools (for by and large that’s what we mean in NI by faith schools) have a tighter management system that allows them greater flexibility flexibility to meet real need.
I also suspect they and the voluntary sector have been better (as a general rule) at keeping an specific school ethos than the controlled sector.
The JRF poverty monitor found high correlation between free school meals and early discontinuation of education:
There are some data from those areas where selection is still in force in England that show some very dramatic differences in Grammar entry based on postcode. And that’s in areas without the drift downward in the qualifying levels we see in Northern Ireland.
Simply put, the middle class are successfully gaming the best publicly funded educational resources for their offspring.
If the social mobility schtick that used to hold is no longer conferred by the tripartite system of the 44 reforms, then I’d argue the whole problem needs to be looked at again, from basics up…
To cite my favourite (erm, only) Wittgenstein quote:
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Comment on Stormont not so keen on transparency or the FOI Act…
on 21 May 2012 at 10:24 am
In my own view I think there are longer term difficulties being stored up here… Accountability can help keep goverment close to work of psrliamentarians…
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Comment on Total Politics: Top 20 NI Blogs…
on 20 May 2012 at 8:57 pm
Im thinking policy is the way to go… Im all for political bloggers having a go and Id love Jenny to join the team; but our politics do not provide a lot of scope for the moment.
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 20 May 2012 at 6:24 pm
It really does… I interviewed Niall Quinn back in 05 and his view was it would be done by a positive two way move towards each other…
He thought the Setanta Cup was a good way to move in that direction, but he also pointed out one association only needs one bureaucracy… Not sure either is keen on losing theirs…
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 20 May 2012 at 6:05 pm
ROC
On a point of information, the FAI voluntarily partitioned itself off from the IFA. So strictly speaking the 26 are the real separatists here.
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 20 May 2012 at 12:26 pm
that is sn interesting topic, but ideally suited to its own thread. hapoyfor u to have a crack at it? 100/200 words just to lay out the territory.
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 20 May 2012 at 10:31 am
I’m more than happy you read those comments elsewhere… But what was your point?
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Comment on “I do apologise for anyone who misunderstood the way I was using the metaphor…”
on 20 May 2012 at 6:20 am
Evolve,
I can go along with some of that rationale. But I do wonder what problem we are trying solve here. What is sectarianism? More particularly what is middle class sectarianism?
If we are defining it as ‘not right thinking’ it’s not clear in this context what ‘right thinking’ is. Or indeed whether the state should even seek a role in policing the way people think.
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 20 May 2012 at 6:10 am
Okay,
Well, we all cut it up our own way. I follow two clubs. Irish and Ulster. Mostly they play in two different leagues so the conflict rarely arises for me.
When it has I genuinely don’t try to resolve it. I’m happy either way. And in the end I was happy up to point with a Leinster win yesterday (losing by less would have been more reassuring). Just blooding the Ulster players in a major final was good enough for now.
Look, I’m not saying you *should* support Ulster. You are far from the only one who feels like this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18111089). But it’s not something I was aware of before. And I’m genuinely surprised by it.
I do take the point that none of the ‘provincial’ teams are representative any more. But at the same time you don’t get many Cork born Leinster supporters to the pound.
Maybe it’s to do with the wilderness years, when David Humphries was almost the only regular on Eddie O’Sullivan’s Ireland teams. But whatever the reason I hope Ulster keep the upward trajectory.
It’s a positive reinforcement bigger successes attracts more players, a bigger and wider pool means higher standards and hopefully an even broader support.
And all of it positively reinforces the power of the Ireland team!
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Comment on Total Politics: Top 20 NI Blogs…
on 19 May 2012 at 11:17 pm
Look at the date Ryan…
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 19 May 2012 at 9:03 pm
Dave,
That was intended to be taken with a large slice of irony. And yet, Ulster is your birthright. Why give it away?
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Comment on The withering of Irish Catholicism sees Sunday attendance plummet in the cities…
on 19 May 2012 at 7:02 am
Ulick,
That was a lapse in tone from you. I’d rather hear a counter case than it lapse into sour banter.
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 18 May 2012 at 11:51 pm
You are really rooting for Leinster Dave? Munster I can just about understand! But the Jackeens? Bad dose of self loathing if you ask me (which you didn’t)…
We need all the luck we (Ulster) can get… And much as I love the BOD, I’d rather we nicked it at the end… Ala City last week…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9JyCzbBACw&fb_source=message
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Comment on “I do apologise for anyone who misunderstood the way I was using the metaphor…”
on 18 May 2012 at 11:22 pm
Doubt Martin said any such thing… Or if he did that said sources will come out abpny confirm their version of events…
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Comment on The withering of Irish Catholicism sees Sunday attendance plummet in the cities…
on 18 May 2012 at 2:24 pm
Guys,
I would think that an overall drop of 50% between 2006 and 2012 would contain a standard rate of decline Ulick. Agenda or no.
If you guys are regular attenders you must admit that the general trend is unremittingly downwards, particularly amongst younger cohorts…
What I see is kids and their parents… some, but very few, teenagers… and then most of the rest consist of over 50s or 60s…
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Comment on “The link between taxing and spending is basic to democracy…”
on 18 May 2012 at 1:53 pm
Newton’s case is that they don’t have the means to change that without asking for tax varying powers…
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Comment on “I do apologise for anyone who misunderstood the way I was using the metaphor…”
on 18 May 2012 at 12:23 pm
TBH, I did not stop to ask who was responsible. What’s imprinted on my memory is the terrible state that poor woman was in…
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