Where have all the Prods gone? The PUL Exodus and its impact in Derry/Londonderry
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A new report on “the Exodus” — the displacement of Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist families from the West Bank of the Foyle between 1968 and 1998 — finds a prolonged, incremental movement with no single cause, and an experience still awaiting the civic and political acknowledgement that would place it alongside, not against, the memory of CNR communities.
Why Google will get you a taxi before our Department of Inertia…
1267
The taxi market in Northern Ireland is an absolute mess. In 2014 about 16,000 taxi licences were registered in Northern Ireland. By the end of 2023 this had fallen to 7,500. Industry estimates they’re only less than 5,000 active drivers …
Mike Nesbitt’s resignation is a disaster that will be probably ignored
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Mike Nesbitt’s sudden resignation goes to the heart of what’s wrong with how Northern Ireland is governed. Modest hopes for limited success have been dashed. If systems and attitudes don’t change, the crisis in the health service and others like …
Why a treaty on ‘killer robots’ would not stop ‘human safaris’…
530
UN negotiators have until the end of this year to agree a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons, built around the principle that humans must stay in control of lethal decisions. In southern Ukraine, human operators use that control to …
The end of GCSE Learning for life and work…
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Something which may have slipped under people’s radars recently is the announcement by the Northern Ireland exams board, CCEA, that a number of subjects are to be discontinued. German, Economics and Engineering are to be scrapped along with Leisure Travel …
Culture, Identity & Inclusion in a Turbulent World – The 15th Annual D’Arcy McGee Summer School…
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How can a new Ireland maintain and deepen its values, sustained for a century, while achieving the inclusion of unionists and immigrant communities within an all-Ireland culture? Fascinating debate and discussion are anticipated at the 2026 Darcy Magee Summer School …
The road to Stormont 2027: voter attitudes and election battlegrounds
2018
In a previous article, I investigated attitudes towards minorities in Northern Ireland, examining how those attitudes varied by political party support.
With a double-header election to Stormont and local councils now less than 9 months away, and LucidTalk’s latest voting intention poll suggesting that allegiances may be shifting in the wake of Jeffrey Donaldson’s conviction, this article investigates a wider set of social attitudes across the party divide.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt in Shock Resignation
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Health Minister Mike Nesbitt dramatically resigned yesterday amidst a policy clash with his party leader Jon Burrows. As per the Belfast Telegraph Confirming his departure tonight, the UUP said Mr Nesbitt “leaves a significant legacy”. His decision to quit …
My (in)glorious rugby career
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A big thank you to all the people here who have read and sometimes commented on my series of rugby articles here. A question everybody is (very kindly) not asking, is “what the hell qualifies me to write about rugby?” …
No Ordinary End: The Fivemiletown Cattle Cull
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We had a small suckler herd on our farm when I was growing up. Some of our cows, bought as heifers when I was very young, stayed with us for many years and had names. They were docile and enjoyed …