Slugger O'Toole

Interesting piece in the subscription only Irish Post covering a recent research into being Irish in Britain: “Responses taken by the ESRC-funded Irish 2 Project in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Banbury and Glasgow found that all too frequently the second-generation were under pressure from society to renounce their Irishness.” There’s an on-going discussion of this theme over at Irish in Britain. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Barry White reckons that David Trimble will stay away from inter party talks until Sinn Fein come to the table with effective decommissioning of the IRA. At which point, it would appear, the ball will be back in the Unionist court. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

This is a good a piece as I have seen on the recent set of mixed signals coming out of Northern Ireland: “As ever in Northern Ireland, however, the smoke signals are confused and indistinct. Sceptics will claim that reports of imminent disbandment – although that word is highly unlikely to be ever used by the Republican leadership – is simply London seeking to ratchet up the pressure on Sinn Fein and the IRA. “Even if that were the case, …

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After the debacle on Saturday morning’s failed headline, Jim Dee confirms that all party talks are pretty much irrelevant to further progress. The twin delivery of Police reform and IRA disarmament is the only live game in town. Sinn Fein bitterly denied Saturday’s high level speculation that the IRA were on the verge of full disarmament. It is not yet clear what led to the Guardian’s precipitous claim, but it has probably made the conditions for Sinn Fein’s political re-engagement …

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There have been undercurrents all week about the possibility that a disgruntled government spyhandler with the FRU is about to blow the cover on a high profile mole within the IRA – code named Steak Knife. It is a rumoured that several English Sunday papers have had an injunction slapped on them to keep the name out the news. Paul Dunne has more background on this. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Looks like the Guardian may have jumped the gun. In recent days there has been feverish speculation within certain political inner circles about a possible act of completion by Christmas. But in this case it seems someone has jumped before the IRA. More from UTV and The Examiner. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Blair and Ahern are to set aside current schedules to have an emergency summit. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

It seems like the IRA believe that their day has come. The fact that the Guardian’s chief political correspondent has signed his name to an article on that paper’s front page seems a significant enough omen in itself, (though check the updates for the latest on this story). “…the IRA will announce a comprehensive act of weapons decommissioning – in effect giving up its secret arms dumps.” And the story that might have otherwise have been NI’s only big headline …

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Great story on the once venerable Irish tradition of vote stealing. However, it looks like it’s all over now. Update: from the BBC. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

The subscription only Irish News reports on President Mary McAleese’s emphasis on building cross border trade partnerships: “…synergies between our respective indigent business sectors, to send fleets of consumer goods both ways across the border, to spread the benign embrace of jobs and prosperity widely as never before. The transition from a culture of conflict with all its wastefulness and woundedness to a culture of peace, prosperity and consensus is unfolding little by little. “In this context, the one factor …

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SDLP councillor suggests Sinn Fein’s recent motion was: “…only a matter of putting the boot into the SDLP. I think on the whole that the people of this city will be relieved that a motion aimed at further heightening tension in this city, creating further alienating and marginalisation of the Protestant people, has not gone through.’’ More on the Letter. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Long term anti agreement politician Bob McCartney seems to have conceded that simply bringing down the Assembly will not change the institutions set up under the Belfast Agreement. On the face of it, this is pretty much an acceptance of Brian Feeney’s analysis at the time of the collapse of the Assembly in early October. It’s also possible McCartney is testing the waters for a possible entry to the talks by his long time allies in the DUP. Slugger O'TooleA …

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Brian Walker considers the possibility of break through over the latest crux – policing. He also reckons that St Patrick’s Day is to be the new Good Friday, as a deadline for a fresh agreement. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Reader Ian makes an observation on the Derry name plebiscite issue. He states that he is in favour changing the official name from Londonderry to Derry, but: “The argument in favour [of the plebiscite] is that the people should decide, and not accepting this is ‘anti-democratic’. But do people follow this through? Should 80% of the population of Derry (which notably would also be the proportion in an all-Ireland state) get to make 100% of decisions? Was not the problem …

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Susanne Breen’s sketch of the DUP is irrepressively optimistic about its future. “The message was there are no DUP dinosaurs. This is a modern, dynamic party. The DUP was written off after the Belfast Agreement. The road had been long and hard, said Peter Robinson, ‘but the dark days and tough times are in our rear view mirror.’” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Makers are now importing almost half of the ash needed to produce the 250,000 hurleys sold annually in Ireland, mostly from Scotland and Wales. A big increase in the sport’s popularity over recent years means demand for sticks now far outstrips the supply. More in the subscription only Irish Post. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

The delegations at the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation include Fianna Fail, SDLP, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Progressive Democrats, the Alliance Party, the Green Party, independent Dail deputies, the Women’s Coalition, independent senators, the Socialist Party and the Workers Party. In the chair is Senator Maurice Hayes, a former Ombudsman in Northern Ireland, who also served on the Patten Commission on Policing. There are no Unionist parties in attendence, although the Irish Independent has a short …

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Eric Waugh mulls over the growing cynicism of local people with regard to politics, asserting that it’s the low level of official political discourse that has brought it into disrepute. Greater accountability is the answer: “If the Executive is to fill the role of government it must behave in public with the spirit of a Cabinet, not like a committee of tomcats. If the Assembly is to fill the role of a parliament it must have an Opposition. If Ministers …

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Having had their motion defeated in council, Sinn Fein move on to the second phase of what increasingly looks like a concerted strategy, especially in view of the fact that Sinn Fein refused to support an SDLP compromise motion allowing both names. The latest is a call for a local plebiscite on the potential name change. Although, as the Daily Telegraph pointed out yesterday, the power to change the name officially lies with Westminster, there is little doubt that such …

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David Trimble raises a question we firsted noted in September; is the DUP substantively pro- or anti-Agreement? “There will be no tearing up of the Agreement if Robinson gets his way. The basics will remain the same. The Robinson wing of the DUP has accepted the politics of inclusion, the DUP is effectively a pro-Agreement party – albeit one that cannot be trusted to deliver good partnership government or benefit for unionism.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily …

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