August 2005 – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

Another statement Ruaned…

admin on August 31, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 23

SINN Fein has called for eBay to stop selling DVDs of Irish Travellers’ bare-knuckle fights. Without a trace of irony, Catriona Ruane stated: “We are against the exploitation of violence in any way… They shouldn’t be selling racist incitement to hatred.” She obviously hasn’t visited Sinn Fein’s online shop in a while… adminA slightly inhuman presence that bans bad comments and works late at night to remove the wrinkles in Slugger’s technical carpet. You will need to know about the …

a state of devastation

admin on August 31, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 1

That’s how the Mayor of New Orleans described the scene as flood levels continue to rise, with 80% of the city already under water. The BBC also report that heavily armed police have been trying to impose a form of martial law to stem outbreaks of looting and that the stadium where 20,000 people were taking refuge is being evacuated. Fuller coverage can be found at, New Orleans newspaper, Times-Picayune website, as the media switches to the web. Also worth …

eppur, si muove

Pete Baker on August 30, 2005, 10:50 pm | Readers 3

As Galileo Galilei may, or may not, have said. Worryingly, some people still don’t know that it does.. muove, that is – as Instapundit notes, from this profile of political scientist, Dr. Jon D. Miller in the NYT, “One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth..” So, as part of an ongoing effort to avoid a similar situation developing here *ahem* I present the latest Notes on the Solar System. From details of Saturn’s moon Enceladus …

Bus Driver Wins Lifesavers Award

Green Bencher on August 30, 2005, 10:46 pm | Readers 1

A Translink bus driver who saved an 11 year old boy from accidentally hanging himself has been presented with the prestigious Vodafone Northern Ireland Lifesavers accolade. Brian Chambers will now go on to a national shortlist to be judged by a celebrity panel. We wish him luck. Green Bencher

Suicides Risen Since Troubles End

Green Bencher on August 30, 2005, 10:35 pm | Readers 0

Some chilling new figures have been released today. A survey carried out by the University of Ulster and the Department of Psychiatry at the Mater Hospital found that during the worst years of violence, suicides fell significantly but have now risen in a period of relative peace. Researchers believe civil unrest may have strengthened social bonds within communities, and thus “buffered” suicidal thoughts. Green Bencher

Parents will have last word on Grammar schools

Mick Fealty on August 30, 2005, 10:34 pm | Readers 8

Newton Emerson compares the impending reform of the education system – ie the plan to abolish the eleven plus and move towards a comprehensive system – with the coercive integration of black and white children in Kentucky. The Catholic school system, which has already embraced the concept, may be the first victim, as parents move their children to non Catholic Grammar schools in pursuit of the best education on offer.By Newton Emerson: Last November I spent five days in Louisville, …

Rounders: the fourth Gaelic game…

Mick Fealty on August 30, 2005, 10:15 pm | Readers 5

Right, hands up. Who knew that Rounders was one of the four original sports included in the GAA of 1884? Well I didn’t. It was only the sport’s inclusion as a warm up for one of the recent big games at Croke Park that alerted me to it. It even has its own rules (PDF). It’s a popular but mostly informal game in England, although there are over thirty adults teams playing on a regular basis. But is it the …

Remembering Gerry Fitt…

Mick Fealty on August 30, 2005, 7:46 pm | Readers 6

Gerry Fitt’s death feels like the passing of an era. A world war coloured his political outlook and his perceptions of conflict. Even so, it never took the edge off his performance in the nightly TV jousts with unionist arch rival Ian Paisley of the early seventies – played out largely against a backdrop of murder campaigns, civil bombings and torturous executions. It intimately connected most political players with their respective audiences in a way that few modern politicians can …

Words deployed in new phase of war…

Belfast Gonzo on August 30, 2005, 7:41 pm | Readers 8

THE launch of the ‘Love Ulster’ unionist campaign against a United Ireland yesterday was steeped in symbolism. Echoing the arrival of the Clyde Valley arms shipment for the UVF at Larne in 1914, Shankill Mirror newspapers were unloaded from a boat at the port yesterday. The aim was – I think – to illustrate that the unionist side of the argument against republicanism was capable of being made through democratic means. Wullie Wilkinson’s statement that one of the aims of …

The trouble with Belfast…

Mick Fealty on August 30, 2005, 6:52 pm | Readers 1

For a time, Troubles Tourism (subs needed) did its fair share in attracting the world to its doors. However, according to the New York Times the weekend before last, it’s not up to scratch for the modern tourist. The Belfast Telegraph took up the gauntlet with Mary FitzGerald’s interview with Alan Clarke, head of Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Its leader went on to argue, that a multiplication in domestic flights into both Belfast airports requires movement beyond old strategies.Getting some …

Belfast’s heart of cultural diversity?

Mick Fealty on August 30, 2005, 6:07 pm | Readers 0

Not every part of Northern Ireland is divided and contentious territory. Noreen Erskine examines the rising cultural diversity on display in St George’s Market in Belfast. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Ireland loves its history

Pete Baker on August 30, 2005, 5:02 pm | Readers 1

Jim Duffy, writing in today’s Irish Times, sets out the challenge for a 21st Century Ireland that claims to be pluralistic – “Editing the awkward bits out of our national narrative”[subs req.] – an Ireland, as he points out, which “loves its history. But it likes one-sided history. The side may change, depending on each generation’s fad, fashion or political correctness.” As he says in his concluding paragraph – The task 21st century Ireland faces is to become genuinely pluralist, …

Fitt recalled with great affection…

Mick Fealty on August 30, 2005, 4:26 pm | Readers 1

Despite the political wrangling over the meaning of Gerry Fitt’s political career, Laura McDaid in yesterday’s Andersonstown News found that ordinary people in West Belfast had little else but praise for a man they remember with great affection. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

The price of policing..?

Belfast Gonzo on August 30, 2005, 7:26 am | Readers 2

ALLIANCE leader David Ford has acknowledged that members of the IRA could end up in the police on Inside Politics. Meanwhile, the SDLP appeared even more perturbed than Sammy Wilson over talk of people with terrorist convictions joining the PSNI. Perhaps Sammy – like others – thinks it’s a non-starter. Mind you, there must be some republican who watched events unfold in Garnerville recently, and wondered if signing up to policing wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Community policing …

Words deployed in new phase of war…

admin on August 30, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 10

THE launch of the ‘Love Ulster’ unionist campaign against a United Ireland yesterday was steeped in symbolism. Echoing the arrival of the Clyde Valley arms shipment for the UVF at Larne in 1914, Shankill Mirror newspapers were unloaded from a boat at the port yesterday. The aim was – I think – to illustrate that the unionist side of the argument against republicanism was capable of being made through democratic means. Wullie Wilkinson’s statement that one of the aims of …

The trouble with Belfast…

admin on August 30, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 2

For a time, Troubles Tourism (subs needed) did its fair share in attracting the world to its doors. However, according to the New York Times the weekend before last, it’s not up to scratch for the modern tourist. The Belfast Telegraph took up the gauntlet with Mary FitzGerald’s interview with Alan Clarke, head of Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Its leader went on to argue, that a multiplication in domestic flights into both Belfast airports requires movement beyond old strategies. Getting …

The price of policing..?

admin on August 30, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 2

ALLIANCE leader David Ford has acknowledged that members of the IRA could end up in the police on Inside Politics. Meanwhile, the SDLP appeared even more perturbed than Sammy Wilson over talk of people with terrorist convictions joining the PSNI. Perhaps Sammy – like others – thinks it’s a non-starter. Mind you, there must be some republican who watched events unfold in Garnerville recently, and wondered if signing up to policing wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Community policing …

Suicides Risen Since Troubles End

admin on August 30, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 2

Some chilling new figures have been released today. A survey carried out by the University of Ulster and the Department of Psychiatry at the Mater Hospital found that during the worst years of violence, suicides fell significantly but have now risen in a period of relative peace. Researchers believe civil unrest may have strengthened social bonds within communities, and thus “buffered” suicidal thoughts. adminA slightly inhuman presence that bans bad comments and works late at night to remove the wrinkles …

Rounders: the fourth Gaelic game…

admin on August 30, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 24

Right, hands up. Who knew that Rounders was one of the four original sports included in the GAA of 1884? Well I didn’t. It was only the sport’s inclusion as a warm up for one of the recent big games at Croke Park that alerted me to it. It even has its own rules (PDF). It’s a popular but mostly informal game in England, although there are over thirty adults teams playing on a regular basis. But is it the …

Parents will have last word on Grammar schools

admin on August 30, 2005, 12:00 am | Readers 6

Newton Emerson compares the impending reform of the education system – ie the plan to abolish the eleven plus and move towards a comprehensive system – with the coercive integration of black and white children in Kentucky. The Catholic school system, which has already embraced the concept, may be the first victim, as parents move their children to non Catholic Grammar schools in pursuit of the best education on offer. By Newton Emerson: Last November I spent five days in …