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Books
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Hearing the Other Voice from the Grave: Why Should we Listen to David Ervine’s Stories?
Ed Moloney’s Voices from the Grave: Two Men’s War in Ireland has received considerable attention in the press and in the public realm since its publication earlier this year. Although the book relates the experiences of the Provisional IRA’s Brendan Hughes and the PUP/UVF’s David Ervine, much of the discussion has focused on Hughes’ stories [...] read our review » -
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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Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human [...] read our review »
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Comment on “We have a very developed flag flying policy here in the borough”
on 10 July 2011 at 3:42 pm
“when off duty and went around and took the array of union and other flags down themselves in the very early hours of the morning”
Best time of day.
Two policies (pick your preference)
1. No flags on public property
2. No criminal flags ever and no national flags on public property after sunset (it’s disrespectful towards our national flags and they get tatty)
I’d be happy enough with the second as it would cut the numbers and improve the look – and removing them at dawn might help enforce it.
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Comment on Loyalist disenchantment moves along the Gold Coast
on 30 June 2011 at 6:06 pm
“although the Church on Brunswick Road was both shot at and burnt down.”
When was this?
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Comment on Ian McCrea, another one who failed to get the memo?
on 27 June 2011 at 5:39 pm
This isn’t about Alliance Fitz.
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Comment on The SDLP’s clearest future is ‘as a social-democratic and labour party’
on 27 June 2011 at 11:30 am
Well said Damien,
I think that’s the point. Globalisation might be international but it’s experienced locally. It isn’t elitist or clever to recognize that as we get more mobile we need effective international institutions to work across borders globally and effective local institutions to make increasing diversity work at home.
Educate together in the south is about making Irish society stronger by educating the new Irish and the traditionally marginalised together with the kids of the settled indigenous majority. Integrated education in the north is exactly the same (Irish) project. It’s not a British/Unionist ruse to lure nationalists away from their rightful claim to self-determination and it’s cynical to pretend it is.
The more globalised we become the more this matters and continuing SDLP’s defence for segregation is only going to seem increasingly reactionary.
NI boasts the first Chinese born person elected to a European legislature yet we’re still not educating our own kids in the same schools. That can’t be right but maybe we still don’t all consider them “our” kids.
Everyone can see the efforts the SDLP are making to build representation for the Polish community in Northern Ireland but (sadly) when you look at the views expressed here you have to ask if it’s an effort to co-opt catholic immigrants to the SDLP view of the world rather than an unconditional outreach to prevent marginalisation.
“cherishing all of the children of the nation equally and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.”
Who’s carefully fostering differences now?
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Comment on “Just following orders”: SF Ministers are subordinate to their own command structure
on 23 June 2011 at 8:13 pm
POC? S.B-M?
Wha?
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Comment on The SDLP’s clearest future is ‘as a social-democratic and labour party’
on 22 June 2011 at 8:28 pm
She wasn’t made to feel unwelcome Kevin. Everyone was a friendly as could be. We went to the club dinner dance and the fund raisers. She just didn’t have any of her own school friends with her and when other stuff that did involve them came along she dropped football. This was pre-competition stuff so she wasn’t in a position to let anyone down or otherwise. If I’m making a point it’s only that integration’s much easier if you use the schools.
“Whats most important is creating an environment where positive attributes of ones distinct culture can be celebrated and allowed to thrive.”
That’s absolutely true but the danger of segregation is that we miss out on what ought to be shared because we think everything’s either “ours” or “theirs”. It isn’t just a case of reinforcing or protecting our cultural inheritance – segregation creates false differences. We’re a small colony species and we like joining clubs.
I think the video with the shankill kids said it better than I did.
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Comment on The SDLP’s clearest future is ‘as a social-democratic and labour party’
on 22 June 2011 at 5:56 pm
http://vimeo.com/25358288
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Comment on The SDLP’s clearest future is ‘as a social-democratic and labour party’
on 22 June 2011 at 5:17 pm
Well I think they’ve already lost my transfer Kevin which is perverse. I’m running out of choices after the Greens.
There is nothing whatsoever wrong with being a nationalist and campaigning for a single integrated administration, economy, transport system etc on this Island.
But for me it’s not a question of whether you’re a nationalist or a unionist. It’s whether you’re a segregationist or an integrationist.
When my daughter was smaller I took her along to our local GAA pitches to join in football practice. She was my eldest and I thought she’d benefit from it. In the end she asked to stop going because none of the other girls were at her school and girls are cliquey and she felt left out.
I’m not sure what Fitz would think of that but a worried part of me thinks it might be either that we had no place being there anyway or that little girls not being able to join in is just the price we have to pay for maintaining the purity of Gaelic, Catholic, Irishness in Northern Ireland.
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Comment on The SDLP’s clearest future is ‘as a social-democratic and labour party’
on 22 June 2011 at 4:33 pm
“Integrated Education with which I have experimented is not about “education” or even a “cohesive society”….its about the downgrading of nationalism…….and turning out the kind of people Platform for Change loves…..Alliance voters.”
That’s just paranoid Fitz, and a bit depressing if I may respectfully say so.
But it does look like a typical SDLP POV (if you and Lionel are typical) so at least we know where the lines are drawn.
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Comment on The SDLP’s clearest future is ‘as a social-democratic and labour party’
on 22 June 2011 at 3:29 pm
http://www.thejournal.ie/poll-should-all-education-be-non-denominational-161125-Jun2011/?voted=1
Who’d have thought it? Based on this poll the alliance prod reflects the Irish mainstream!
I only voted once btw.
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