Derry
Would the legalisation of cannibis help reduce the drug problem in Derry (and elsewhere)?
Right, I have no personal interest in pushing this line (‘if you’ll forgive the pun’). In other words I don’t do illegal drugs. That may be a result of the happy accident of never having really smoked and on the few occasions I’ve been offered canibis (a long long long time ago), it made only [...] more »
City of Culture: badge of authority around which people can gather to work collectively?
I’ve always assumed there was more than a passing similarity between Liverpool and Derry. Neither is quite what they were, both have a long history as a major deep water port, with propensity to look outwards rather than inwards. As I passed through my old haunts in the English city the other day, I came [...] more »
Red Squirrels of Prehen Woods: Under imminent threat from planners and developers?
During the 2005 Slugger live coverage of the Westminster elections, I overheard a fairly senior Sinn Fein representative being candid enough to admit that there were no votes in the Environment. That’s not to pick on that particular party any more than any of the others. It’s a fact of life in Northern Irish electoral [...] more »
Culture Night … tonight in Belfast, Strabane, Derry and beyond
Across Ireland, tonight’s the night when arts taster events will be run in a town near you … for free. Last September, Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter was buzzing late into the evening as families walked around the streets, guided by maps and diverted by what their ears and eyes could pick out of the smorgasbord of [...] more »
Presbyterian minister welcomed with a cup of tea at dissident protest camp at Free Derry Corner
Presbyterian ministers can’t seem to keep out of the news this week. Suzanne Breen reports in the Sunday World that Rev David Latimer (minister of the recently refurbished First Derry congregation, and a Territorial Army chaplain) made an unannounced visit to a dissident republican protest camp at Free Derry Corner over the weekend. In a [...] more »
It’s not Jerusalem, its Yerushalayim…
Last Saturday was my annual pilgrimage to the Maiden City to commemorate the Relief of Derry. Personally I have never been one of those Unionists who got overly hung up on the interchangeable use of the words Derry and Londonderry. I’ve been a member of the Apprentice Boys of Derry for 20 years this very [...] more »
#UTVtrip: What are the issues in Foyle for #AE11?
Tomorrow the UTV Twitter Road show rolls into the Foyle constituency. I should be on the ground from about 9, with a vo pop in the city centre, followed by a first political interview with Eamonn McCann. It culminates in our Tweetup at the Café Del Mondo in Shipquay Place. The idea is almost exactly [...] more »
As Irish as Catterick? They won’t be going away you know
Thanks to irishrepublican.net for photographs of British military vehicles on the streets of Creggan yesterday. Some republicans hailed the ending of the British Army’s longest deployment, Operation Banner in 2007. Others knew British Army missions in Ireland had been merely renamed Helvetic to reflect hopes of a normalised population: In their usual astounding display of [...] more »
The Last Bloody Sunday March: Changing How We Remember the Past?
The adjective ‘historic’ gets used far too often in Northern Ireland, but yesterday’s Bloody Sunday March in Derry just might be worthy of the word. In the wake of the Saville Report, the committee of the Bloody Sunday Weekend decided that this would be the last year that the march went ahead. The rationale is [...] more »
Derry Essay: The Protestants of Londonderry
First there is a generational difference. Older people who came through the 1969 – 72 experience, many of whom moved across the river from the Cityside to the Waterside and further afield have vivid memories of that time and perceptions have been formed as a result of it. Then there is the younger generation who [...] more »
Decision time for the Derry/Londonderry City of Culture bid…
Over at Listenderry, Mark’s calling for volunteers to cover the unveiling of the winner of UK City of Culture… Whether you are in Derry/Londonderry or just plain old London get in touch with him via email or the Listenderry Facebook group… As Brian noted on Monday the Mail says they are favourites (but it wouldn’t [...] more »
The Fountain: A part of Londonderry that Derry forgot…
Nice observational piece here from Middlemarch on Listenderry… A writer from a nationalist background who took a quiet walk into and around the tiny Fountain area: the only part of Derry city’s west bank which retains a substantial Protestant population… more »
Bloody Sunday Live blog…
Bloody Sunday report The Saville Inquiry report has been published on the inquiry website. You can catch summary details about the report, family reactions and political commentary through the many, many media outlets camped out in Guildhall Square. more »
Bloody Sunday: A calculated confrontation?
The Saville Inquiry has uncovered strong evidence that Bloody Sunday was the outcome of a determined military plan to stage a major and unprecedented confrontation in Derry, but will the final report reflect this evidence? The Bloody Sunday Inquiry has not found proof of a British Government plan to carry out a massacre of civilians [...] more »
Derry Essays 8: “It’s the ‘Alternative’ that unites us all…”
Guest contributor Middlemarch gives us a tour de force of the importance of music of what has been at times, a power alternative cultural force in the city. If you want to contribute to the series, or blog for our sister site listenderry.org, send Mick an email with your ideas at editor@sluggerotoole.com. more »
We’ve got Londonderry themes, now we need Derry writers…
We’ve taken a bit of a break from the Derry essay series, but we hope to restart from tomorrow. I’ve been reviewing some of my notes from the Facebook group meeting on some of the themes that came up, and which I’d like to ask people to write to if they feel so able. Here’s [...] more »
Derry Essays 6: So good they’ve named it several times…
Whether it is the Derry Air, the Londonderry Air or Danny Boy you sing, one sure thing is that if you’re from the North West you have a more than reasonable chance to have a fine voice and musical talent – and as a musician born from the musical Cassidy clan from Derry I don’t [...] more »
Derry Essays 5: Culture bid can help with Derry’s image problem
We have to admit, there’s something absurd about the idea of Derry as a city of culture. It would be OK if the other contenders were Beirut, Kabul, Baghdad and Tehran. But Derry’s competition for The City of Culture title comes from tranquil English cities where history stopped years ago. The maiden city is better [...] more »
Derry Essays 4: We are the greatest…
I have written many times about Derry’s importance as a European cultural capital [1], and every time I’ve met with relentless patronising from subjects of much-lesser cities whose only notable attribute is size. There’s a small snigger, accompanied by an oh-so-clever remark about “chips on his shoulder” as they slope back to their generic lattes, [...] more »
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Books
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O’Toole’s New Republic – unfinished business or just a dream?
More as a trailer than a review – as it’s out on Thursday– I draw attention to Fintan O’Toole’s latest polemic “Enough is Enough – how to build a new Republic“. Fintan has been promoting the book vigorously on this side of the water, on Radio 4’s Start the Week and here at greater length [...] read our review »
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Debating the Churches’ Role in the Peace in Northern Ireland
This morning’s Sunday Sequence featured a substantial debate (about 35 minutes into the recorded programme) on a new book,Religion, Civil Society and Peace in Northern Ireland (Oxford University Press 2011), written by sociologists John Brewer, Gareth Higgins and Francis Teeney. The debate was framed in an opening vignette by presenter William Crawley in uncompromising terms, [...] read our review » -
Belfast port celebrated as hopes rise for lower corporation tax
The House of Lords was the suitably grand venue for the London launch of Alf McCreary’s magnificently illustrated tome Titanic Port, a history of Belfast Harbour. Before I got a chance to take a good look at my copy, my ears pricked up when the chairman of the harbour commissioners Len O’Hagan said hopes were high [...] read our review »
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