Nelson McCausland
DSD withdraw funding for Laganside Events
Since the closure of the Laganside Corporation on 31 March 2007, the Department for Social Development has given out grants for events and community activities in the Laganside area of Belfast. The area includes the Cathedral Quarter as well as stretching our towards York Street, Corporation Street, the Sydenham bypass (but not including Titanic Quarter), [...] more »
Stand-off between Housing Minister and Housing Executive?
The BBC are pointing to a potential stand-off between the Northern Ireland Social Development Minister, the DUP’s Nelson McCausland, and the NI Housing Executive over the use of Red Sky building maintenance company. From the BBC report The housing minister had asked the executive to extend the contract with the Belfast maintenance company. The housing body [...] more »
50:50 is back … for arts festivals
Should arts festivals (that receive public funding) display a balance across their programming of musical tastes and political opinion? Nelson McCausland is in the news again. It’s a question that’s raised once more as the BBC lead their bulletins with the results of an FOI request to DCAL that has revealed the local minister’s directions [...] more »
Nelsons Swansong?
Last Monday saw the publication of a report/study on the Marching Bands of Northern Ireland. Commissioned by the Minister for Culture, Nelson McCauseland and DCAL, the report “aims to promote understanding and encourage development of the largest section of the community arts sector”. [...] more »
Nelson’s up for an Irish award
Suddenly it’s the middle of awards season with the IFTAs, BAFTAs and Slugger Awards over, and with the OSCARs and Irish Blog Awards only round the corner. A small number of NI-based blogs have been nominated in the political category of the Irish Blog Awards, including Splintered Sunrise, Politics NI and Slugger O’Toole. Open Unionism [...] more »
“It is pure frustration that for five years we have been led along with a bit of string.”
As Gonzo noted back in December IF this contrite statement is anything to go by, DUP Sports Minster Nelson McCausland must have hauled Sport NI chief executive Eamonn McCartan over the coals for listing off on TV reasons why we weren’t attracting Olympic interest. McCartan told the BBC that no Olympic teams had committed to [...] more »
Setting the unionist cat amongst the cultural pigeons: Nelson McCausland on why unionists ignore culture at their peril
The Gransha Suite at La Mon Hotel had obviously been packed with DUP Conference delegates for the previous session on Challenges in Policing when I eventually arrived earlier this evening. PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott was still giving a few interviews to the press while a Lambeg Drum was being set up on the other [...] more »
GAA: the Nation’s desire to live her own life, to govern her own affairs.
A question in the Assembly from Michelle McIlveen to Nelson McCausland suggested that Unionists are effectively barred from joining the GAA. While I’m delighted another DUP member has taken the time to read the GAA Official Guide, something many members have never done, I’m surprised they seem surprised to find an Irish cultural and sporting [...] more »
DCAL cuts “widespread and unpalatable”?
The BBC reports on the evidence provided to a Northern Ireland Assembly Committee today by two Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure senior civil servants. From the BBC report Overall, the department’s current budget of £109m is projected to fall to less than £92m by 2014/15. Speaking at a Stormont committee meeting on Thursday, [DCAL director of finance [...] more »
I wonder what they’ll spend the money on……
It’s just been announced that the Ulster Museum has won the Art Fund prize of £100,000. Congratulations are in order but it does beg the question can the Museum and trustees spend the prize as they wish or does the Minister for Culture & Arts Nelson McCausland have the final say so? more »
McCausland avoids the real debate on museum…
I’M not sure what to make of the Culture Minister’s latest blog entry on the Ulster Museum controversy. After waiting patiently for Nelson McCausland to address the merits of Creationism’s place in the museum, it now appears he doesn’t want to talk about the only genuine controversy in his letter to the trustees after all. [...] more »
Faic bainte amach don Ghaeilge?
Tá cuma ar an scéal go bhfuil sé beartaithe ‘straitéis’ a bheith ann don Ghaeilge mar thoradh ar na cainteanna ar siúil i gCaisleán Chroimghlinne. Beidh le feiceáil cad a bheadh i gceist ach tá dualgas ar a DCAL agus ar Nelson McCausland straitéis a chur ar bun don Ghaeilge cheanna féin, rud atá Nelson [...] more »
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Books
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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 » -
Stay out of Libya: counterinsurgency doesn’t work
A moment of some significance in journalism perhaps, as the New York Times reviews the current talked about book, The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan by Bing West. The author is no bleeding heart but a former assistant Defense Secretary from the Reagan era who stomped his way round the Afghan [...] read our review »
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Spare us a phoney row about racism, we’ve got enough on
A silly media row about racism just had to figure in the riots’ post mortem. Was the Tudor history expert David Starkey racist on Newsnight when he said: The whites have become black. A particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion. And black and white, boy and girl, operate in [...] read our review »
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