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Books
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“Good Friday. The death of Irish Republicanism” by Anthony McIntyre: a review
Tweet This was a book that I first reviewed at the same time as “Unionism Decayed” back in 2008. Like Vance’s work, it is the author’s portrayal of a defeated political movement or ideal and as a Unionist it was instructional to read an interpretation of the immediate post-Agreement period from the other side of the [...] read our review » -
Propaganda of Peace: Media and culture during the peace process
Tweet Extract from Greg McLaughlin and Stephen Baker: The Propaganda of Peace: The Role of Media and Culture in the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Bristol: Intellect Books. 2010. Political opponents Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness were confirmed as First Minister and Deputy First Minister of a new executive in May 2007, closing yet another chapter [...] read our review »
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Have we Learned our own Lessons? Book Review of John Brewer’s Peace Processes
Tweet Northern Ireland’s peace process has been promoted as an international success story. The Republic’s Department of Foreign Affairs has its Conflict Resolution Unit, which aims to disseminate the ‘lessons’ of the Northern Ireland peace process. And some of the prominent players in our peace process have travelled abroad to other troubled spots to share [...] read our review »
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Comment on Increasing numbers of passengers let the train take the strain … apart from a 10 year decline on the Enterprise
on 17 May 2013 at 5:00 pm
Alan
Great piece.
I have long thought the real reason for the rise in passenger numbers was the quality of the actual train.
The statistics back this up – the Larne Line was the last to receive the new trains and had the lowest increase; I wouldn’t be surprised if that increase comes into line with Bangor in due course now that the new trains are in use.
By the way, this “comfort” point goes well beyond transport. If, for example, Irish League football stadiums were upgraded and made more comfortable, I have no doubt attendances would soar.
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Comment on Decade of remembrance, reconciliation or renewal?
on 3 April 2013 at 10:08 am
Alias
Er, what?
Notwithstanding my own challenge/deconstruction of events surrounding the Covenant in public comment last year, the Covenant did indisputably demonstrate the existence of a British “nation” on the island of Ireland.
That nation had the right to self-determination, just like the contemporary Basques, Catalans, Scots and others Irish Nationalists like to support.
Of course, 1998 brought us closer to the reality that we have one “Irish” State on the island, and one shared by both “Irish” and “British”. This is the most obvious solution, but one rejected both by “Nationalists” (who for some reason want to force everyone into a State founded by and for exclusively the “Irish” nation) and by “Unionists” (who still want to deny reality and pretend that Northern Ireland is exclusively “British” even when more than half its population does not identify as such).
Of course, the terms “Irish” and “British” are not entirely helpful – I have previously argued that perhaps “Irish-Gaelic” and “Anglo-Scottish” would be closer, but even they’re far from perfect.
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Comment on Decade of remembrance, reconciliation or renewal?
on 2 April 2013 at 6:29 pm
Keano10
I’ve had precisely the same number as Churchill, Hain, Woodward, Foster, Donaldson and McCrea.
That you fail even to engage in the debate says rather more about you than it does about me.
Don’t run away and hide. Tell me what, precisely, is wrong with my analysis?
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Comment on Corporation Tax is not Northern Ireland’s elephant in the room…
on 27 March 2013 at 10:09 am
Sorry, but David Elliott is just talking nonsense.
Deferral to late 2014 makes legislation impossible prior to the 2015 election, and deliberately so. There is not a hope in hell of any UK Government now doing NI that type of favour without also offering it everywhere else in the UK – thus rendering it much less beneficial in any case.
From the moment Salmond won conclusively in 2011, it was a political impossibility. Frankly, you should never trust any political analysis from people who don’t understand that obvious political point.
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Comment on Ireland and the Commonwealth: “Our door is always open…”
on 18 March 2013 at 4:47 pm
This debate is the classic “We want to win” debate, rather than the more necessary “We need to compromise”.
It is completely obvious that Ireland should rejoin the Commonwealth, for the sake of the latter.
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Comment on “My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person”
on 6 March 2013 at 8:41 pm
To think, I gave the fecker a lift to the Alliance Conference dinner on Friday evening past…
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Comment on Brid Rogers and the case of SDLP leading the opposition…
on 4 March 2013 at 9:18 pm
In practice, opposition would work thus: http://ianjamesparsley.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/how-would-opposition-work/
When the Alliance Party put that forward in 2004, the SDLP were first to oppose it – as, indeed, being “against the spirit of the Agreement”.
People do not seem to understand that compulsory opposition is a mammoth leap from what we currently have.
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Comment on Alliance Party Conference preview #apc13
on 4 March 2013 at 9:16 pm
Comrade
Of course, Alliance has proposed a plan for an official opposition at Stormont. It appeared in a policy proposal document entitled “Agenda for Democracy” and would work thus: http://ianjamesparsley.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/how-would-opposition-work/
It’s a pity the UUP and SDLP can’t endorse it. I agree that it wouldn’t bring it about, but it’d give the electorate a serious steer as to how they could.
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Comment on “nobody has the right to use lamp posts & telegraph poles like a dog marking out territory” #apc13
on 4 March 2013 at 10:30 am
FDM
Your direct equivalence between Nationalism and the Irish language rather proves my point.
Alliance is not ethno-nationalist – and much the better for it.
FC
Go raibh maith agat, a chara!
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Comment on “nobody has the right to use lamp posts & telegraph poles like a dog marking out territory” #apc13
on 4 March 2013 at 8:37 am
To be honest it suits Alliance for Nationalists to try to pass it off as “unionist”.
Firstly, it shows up just how sectarian those Nationalists are, resorting to false labels rather than real policy argument.
Secondly, it enables the party to pick up more and more disaffected SDLP and other previously Nationalist voters who are quite frankly bored to tears with people telling them a utopian united Ireland is round the corner when it self-evidently isn’t.
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