Soapbox

Diehards Under Pressure: The DUP and Education…

63

Helen Armstrong lives in the North West and is a psychotherapist, executive coach and trainer. Well, here I go again on the campaign path to help end our system of academic selection as the next round of tests is looming: it’s …

Macha

One Road, Two Perspectives: Hughie Beag and Macha on Drumcree

4014

Fellow Slugger poster Hughie Beag and I have crossed swords a few times in the comments section, particularly over my attempts to understand unionism and his challenges to how I’ve approached it. We’ve occasionally managed to get under each other’s …

Soapbox

Does the Secretary of State’s decision about Drumcree serve social justice, or victors’ justice?

1857

Gadfly is a political geographer from Belfast with a particular interest in the relationship between democracy and the creation of more sustainable futures. Northern nationalists and republicans have long aimed to differentiate themselves from unionists through a strong commitment to …

Soapbox

Drumcree: What does Northern Ireland think?

2668

Conleth Burns is Associate Director (Ireland and Northern Ireland) at More in Common. More in Common is a research agency that aims to help leaders understand and better navigate public opinion. You can reach out to Conleth directly on: [email protected] …

Michael Hehir

A new opinion poll on Drumcree…

6771

The first survey of opinion on Drumcree has been published by polling organisation More In Common in an extensive report. To a large extent the results will not provoke much surprise. In general, the picture is one of hardening opinions …

Brian Walker

Maurice Hayes remembered. From a nationalist background the paragon of all public servants and the pathfinder to an integrating Northern Ireland

1421

The Royal Irish Academy’ s Dictionary of Irish Biography has just published its entry for Maurice Hayes. in my book Maurice  was a principal hero of the Troubles, the very model for adapting a Catholic nationalist background  to an instrument …

Mick Fealty

O’Neill must go Carla? Aye, but Unionism will pay all the costs and Michelle will be back by May

4847

Carla Lockhart borrows from Paisley and Thatcher, but she isn’t speaking from strength. Pulling the deputy First Minister to remove Michelle O’Neill would freeze budgets at 95%, lose Barnett money from today’s UK Budget, and leave the DUP carrying the blame for a gesture voters would reverse in May.

Dan McGinn

Business As Usual

498

Last week, there was a ‘Dallas’ joke. This week, a ‘Derry Girls’ joke. However ‘Blue Lights’ remained no laughing matter as the show reached the penultimate episode of its fourth series. Before we get into that.. well, you know the …

Peter Emerson

Go East, Old Man, Part III: Are you ‘this’ or ‘that’?

466

In 1988, a Moscow paper called Nagorno-Karabakh “our Northern Ireland.” In Part III, Peter Emerson asks why “this or that?” questions divide us, from Belfast to the Balkans, and makes the case for multi-option, preferential voting instead.

Brian Walker

CS Lewis author of Narnia reclaimed for Norn Irn.

2107

Ahead of Netflix’s version of the Chroncles of Narnia  to be shown early next year, Patrick Little in the Guardian has  reclaimed the celebrated writer and visionary scholar Clive Staples ( always known as CS) Lewis  for his specifically east …