When something you hear makes you burst out laughing, you know it’s time to write a blog. In this case, I was listening to “the biggest show in the country” on the subject of Boris Johnson and his peddling of the myth that once Brexit is achieved there will be £350m a week available for more…
Environmental Governance Failure in Northern Ireland: High Time to Turn Over a New Leaf
By Ciara Brennan, Ray Purdy and Peter Hjerp Recent scandals including the RHI debacle and the discovery of illegal dumping on a massive scale (most notably at the Mobuoy Road ‘super-dump’) have catapulted Northern Ireland’s environmental governance failures into the public eye. The divergence from what can be considered ‘good’ environmental governance is clear and the more…
“It is representative of fear represented to us by our constituents…”
This fascinating interview of Ian Paisley by Noel Whelan at the Kennedy Summer School is worth listening to. The whole thing is worth listening to, but if you are short of time, jump in about 18.08 in and him talking about the battleground that the Irish language has become…
Light-fingered DUP “Culture Crocs” prepare to exploit ‘new model’ Acht?
I was asked on Friday if I thought there would be a resolution to the current impasse and answered honestly with a “no idea” that brought only the inevitable derisory laughter at a public pundit declaring himself unable to take a punt. But as Patrick Murphy in the Irish News on Saturday joyfully declared: This is more…
The real deal behind Belfast’s new ‘energising’ branding
What’s the truth behind the fuss made last week about the new Belfast city branding that was ‘leaked’ to the press. Glenn Stewart from the agency that designed the new dynamic ‘starburst’ mark and branding explains how he hopes the ‘energising’ imagery will be adopted by public, private and community sectors and ‘owned’ by the more…
Clare Bailey to step down as Deputy Leader of the Green Party
South Belfast MLA, Clare Bailey is to step down as Deputy Leader of the Green Party. Clare has been deputy leader since November 2014 and will remain an MLA within the party. Speaking about her decision she said; “I have been given and gained so much as Green Party deputy leader across the past three more…
“A way of life they have no interest in forced upon them”
With my odd contributions here on Slugger I’ve tried to steer away from the usual boring tribal political arguments that take up a lot of time in Northern Ireland – arguments about who gets what or who doesn’t; what is or is not fair; or about who did what in the past. These arguments are more…
President Jean-Claude Juncker’s “scenario six” for the future of Europe
In March of this year, the European Commission published a White Paper on the future of Europe that laid out five possible future scenarios or paths for the European Union. In a series of previous articles published on this platform, I outlined and discussed each of these five scenarios in turn. The goal of this more…
CSSC research shows complexity and diversity of controlled education
The Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC) launched its baseline assessment of the controlled schools sector in Northern Ireland on Monday 18 September. Controlled schools are non-denominational and firmly set within an ethos embedded in Christian values. They are open to pupils of all faiths or none, and account for 558 or 48% of all schools more…
Barcelona vs Madrid
The Spirit of Franco never really left the Spanish state. Sometimes it is hard to see from the outside world but in the run-up to the Catalan referendum the Spanish Government are clearly trampling over basic human rights in their efforts to prevent the referendum from even taking place. Yesterday some 100,000 pro-independence posters were seized by more…
If not loyalists, who else will do this job?
I’ve rarely heard such a lack of political sensitivity as Jim Wilson telling Stephen Nolan that, in applying to the British government to be deproscribed, the Red Hand Commando wants their ‘place in the sun’. What a disturbing way to put it. But at the same time, Wilson’s interview on the Nolan Show tells us more…
Where “shared memory” and “story” meet lies something valuable
I was lucky enough to be asked by Youth Action Northern Ireland to present a workshop at their two-day Islands of Innovation conference/symposium attended by young leaders (18-35) yesterday in Belfast. The key purpose was to “explore what Britain and Ireland could look like in 2021, consider how they can contribute and assess what decisions more…
“In some Unionist areas, it would be tantamount to erecting a Tricolour from a flagpole.”
The root cause of our current political crisis remains political unionism’s opposition to the development of a shared and equal Northern Ireland. Of course, twas ever thus. The Loyal Sons will not be rerouted on their fateful march to Ulster’s precipice in spite of more enlightened pro-Union voices regularly exposing the hypocrisy and instinctively supremacist more…
If Belfast is a beautiful city, then why plague it with a black sticker pox?
A nasty disease is spreading across Belfast. The Assembly Rooms – which nestle at the intersection of Donegall Street, North Street and Waring Street – have recently been the victim of the ugly pox which can is identifiable by its black triangular stickers bearing three letters and a tag which refers to an Instagram account, more…
German Federal Elections: Chancellor Merkel is a beacon of consistency in turbulent times
On 24 September, the German people will head to the polls for federal elections. Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term, with her Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) defending its position against the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by former European Parliament President, Martin Schulz. In the 2013 elections, the CDU and its Bavarian more…
The Irish border as a Brexit bargaining chip: A rejoinder to Legatum
The Legatum Institute’s ‘Special Trade Commission’ published a paper this week on the subject of Brexit and what it terms ‘the Irish border issue’. Citizens on the island of Ireland need to take note of this for two main reasons. First, Legatum is one of the most influential think tanks in London on the subject more…
Review – Maze – a balanced retelling of UK’s largest prison breakout (from 22 Sep)
MAZE – Stephen Burke’s dramatisation of the Maze escape as republican prisoners seek a ‘spectacular’ to humiliate the prison authorities and UK government while the prison officers count the cost of being trapped in their jobs. General release across Ireland, north and south, from 22 September.
George Hook, Rape Culture and the Irish Media…
Last week broadcaster George Hook made some comments during his radio show about a recent rape case that have been almost universally condemned. Although he has since apologised, his words ring hollow, not least because he apologised for causing offence rather than retracting his central thesis; that a victim is partially responsible for what happens more…
Can the “Catalan Way” become a strategy for Nationalists in Northern Ireland?
A lot of eyes in Ireland and Britain will be focused on Catalonia in the upcoming weeks. The vote taking place on October 1st will be an acid test for the integrity of Spain and the aspirations of independence for a number of regions across the European Union. The referendum was first called for in more…
Poor show halted in its tracks, Nationalists have run out of local heros.
Listening to the EU Withdrawal Bill debate in the House of Commons yesterday, Paul Masterton the newly elected Tory MP for East Renfrewshire gave a hint of what Brexit has done for unionists (even Remainers like Masterton). In leaving the EU, we can deliver hammer blows to nationalism—yes, of the yellow and black variety, but more…