Slugger O'Toole For those of you with a nostalgic hankering for news of the last Secretary of State John Reid, he is now happily ensconced in his new role as party chairman of the Labour party giving advice to the Tory party! Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Despite the on-going controversy over the failure to fund a new international stadium in Dublin and no clear indication as to whether Croke Park will be made available for the tournament, the joint Scottish-Irish bid to hold the European Football Championship has made it through to the next round. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party is unhappy that the implementation group of Assembly parties may be sidelined by an SDLP proposal to bring in an international figure to broker a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
This Newsletter editorial contains a list of reasons why the UUP might be unwise to hitch their wagon to the British Conservative party. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti attacks the idea that existence of Catholic schools is a primary cause of sectarianism. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Brain Feeney has been watching the proceedings of the Policing Board closely, and finds the Unionist performance there wanting: “Watching unionists making such a poor fist of it in public sessions of the board has depressed Protestants and encouraged Catholics who now have more confidence in the board than they have in the PSNI.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
After a false start here, this discussion is resolving into something very interesting, and worth a read. Though remember this is an unmoderated bulletin board. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The Belfast Telegraph warns that the 50/50 recruitment rule will be impossible to hold if Sinn Fein approval of the PSNI doesn’t come soon: “The 50-50 rule, adopted as the only means of speedily correcting the imbalance in the PSNI, is proving to be a new obstacle to recruitment problems. When 26 Catholics qualified for civilian jobs, against 260 others, only 52 could be employed.” More detail in the Guardian. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and …
Steven King turns his attention to a recently published book Untold Stories: Protestants in the Republic of Ireland 1922-2002, which records the experience of a variety of protestants living in the south since partition. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Looks like Sylvia Hermon has made an impression in her first year in the House of Commons. Channel 4 are considering her for the title of Opposition Politician of the Year. Meanwhile an older NI politician moves down a gear. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Whilst restoration of local institutions is the urgent priority of Paul Murphy, NI Secretary of State, MP Iris Robinson of the DUP has warned there will be no progress with the Belfast Agreement still in place. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Although Ministers have confirmed that Northern Ireland will have to endure serious rises in its water rates, the news comes with the promise of a huge monetary injection of cash, both directly from the Exchequer and public private partnerships, as well as £400m of local government borrowing. Together with increased investment in the roads infrastructure the injection of cash amounts to £2 billion pounds. In the absence of local democratic institutions, some local politicians were not happy about the lack …
Courtesy of Newshound, a report on Martin McGuinness’s work, and the promotion of integrated schools. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Looks like the row within the ranks of the UDA is set to continue with a pro-Adair grouping in North Down being ordered to come in under the main command in East Belfast. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Tom Constantine, the man charged with overseeing the implementation of the Patten proposals has expressed concerned over high levels of illness within the PSNI: “Figures for September this year showed that regular officers were missing an average of 23.1 days each year.” More detail from his overall summary here. John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary ask if Murphy has got his finely balanced proposition right. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Mattew Hogan sees parallels between the ignition of violent nationalism, and the current Iraq crisis. He recalls the personal journey of rebel leader Tom Barry who was in Mesopotamia as an NCO in the British Army when he heard of the Easter Rising in Dublin. He later became a crucial element in the War of Independence that led in 1921 to the establishment of the Free State and the partitition of Ireland. Thanks to Chris Bertram at Junius. Slugger O'TooleA …
Tha Andersonstown News is not happy about the way it believes the latest Communications Bill at Westminster has sidelined the Irish langauge. The Ultach Trust made representations earlier this year during the consultative process, as did the SDLP. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Not everyone in the UUP is happy about the proposed closer links with the British Tories. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
As a companion to Nick Whyte’s excellent web resource, Phillip McGuinness is putting together a site at the Dundalk Institute of Technology. It is relatively new and uninhabited, but Phillip assures me that the online map resource will be coming shortly. As it’s connected to an on-going programme of research, it may provide a steady flow of new insights. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The Irish News Unionist columnist Roy Garland suggests that those republicans who will settle for the full Agreement are the real successors to the original United Irishmen of the hugely emblematic Rising of 1798 when the rebels where largely lead by a group of Irish Presbyterians. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.