Slugger O'Toole Did you hear about the boy from Armagh, who went on to be a professor at Princeton and Oxford? Muldoon talks poetry with Dinittia Smith. However not all such poetic sons of Ulster are so well favoured by academia. Update: Paulin’s year, 2002. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
In a recent issue of Ha’aritz, David Trimble gave an extensive interview to Sharon Sadeh. He began by making the political case for the process, and then quantifying some of the gains of the transition from war to peace. He admitted his own mixed feelings about dealing with his former enemies. Identifying two issues yet to be resolved, he explained why these were crucial to moving the next stage. After giving his appraisal of Clinton’s role in the process, he …
In the Ha’aritz article, Trimble is perhaps at his most interesting on ideological change; it is mostly confined to a Unionist perspective on the journey Republicans have made. It stands in marked contrast to the blunt nature of his recent remarks to the Chicago Sun that have dominated the headlines of the last few days. “Among Northern Irish nationalists, there were two main streams, the militants in the IRA and the moderates in the SDLP. South of the border, the …
The Blanket reprints the text of Bernadette McAliskey’s speech last month, which touches on the changes in the Republican movement, and Sinn Fein in particular, from the point of view of anti-agreement Republican. She sums up the reasons for the process: “Those things only came to an end when the British government had another agenda. Not because anybody changed their mind, not because the fundamental conditions of this country had changed, not because the needs or principles of the struggle …
Johnny Adair, or more precisely his close advisor John White, is talking about resurrecting the UDP, formerly the poltical wing of the UDA. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
In his Ha’aretz interview, Trimble describes his thinking on the presidencies of Clinton, and hints at the future with Bush: “Trimble goes on to say that the only leverage Clinton had was on the nationalists, because they depended on support and aid from Irish Americans. ‘So while Clinton’s supporters point to his decision to grant a visa to Gerry Adams in 1994 as being a significant action, the only leverage he had was refusing visas to Irish republicans. And he …
The negative reaction to David Trimble’s remarks on the Irish Republic continues. Rosie Cowan reports on a broad sweep of nationalist reaction. In its editorial the Irish News echoed Trimble’s own remarks to his leading dissident Jeffrey Donaldson, when it cautioned Mr Trimble to bridle his tongue. The Examiner today warned in it’s comment: “His reference to the Union Jack being trampled on the floor reflects the language of backwoods loyalism. It is music to the ears of extreme nationalists …
Here’s a review of a new book on the condition of the protestant minority in the Republic. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Richard Haass is back to meet various players, some of them like Paul Murphy newly in post since his last visit, to discuss developments in the process. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
He talks about decommissioning and policing in relation to the Belfast Agreement: “‘There was a deliberate decision not to try and resolve policing and weapons decommissioning in the peace talks themselves,’ he says. ‘If we had attempted to solve these issues during the talks, the chances that we would have an agreement were practically nonexistent. We’ve had a difficult decision to make, because it was pretty clear from the text that while there was commitment for decommissioning, the link between …
There has been some controversy over a recent biography of former LVF leader, Billy Wright. The Down Democrat has a useful review of the book itself. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Trimble is believed by some to be ‘inwardly conflicted’, with his personal feelings diverging drastically from his pragmatic approach to ‘achieving the possible’ within the currently split body politic of Northern Ireland. In the Ha’aretz piece he articulates some of this ‘conflict’: “It is an embarrassment that we have to deal with the likes of Gerry Adams [president of Sinn Fein] at the moment, but we are not going to be able to get past him. We have to deal …
At this stage it is words rather than actions. Johnny Adair and his close colleague John White, defend themselves against that accusation that the organisation had made much progress since their departure. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
But apparently none of the rest of his attack on the Republic of Ireland at a meeting of the UUC last March. In fact he’s gone one better: “If you took away Catholicism and anti-Britishness, the state [Republic of Ireland] doesn`t have a reason to exist” Though many took great affront at the original remark, it also had some humorous spin-offs: here and here. Update: Local reaction to the renewed insult. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads …
There are some interesting ‘peace facts’ quoted: “Since the peace accords, foreign investors have taken a greater interest in Ireland, and the country is enjoying an upswing in building and commercial development, the likes of which has not been seen for decades. The rate of unemployment, particularly in the Catholic community, has gone down significantly, from 23 percent in 1991 to 9 percent in 1999. Among the Protestants, unemployment has dropped from 11 percent to 5 percent. The number of …
Seán Mac Cárthaigh believes that St Patrick’s day has been set as the unofficial deadline for the successful conclusion of the interparty talks. This would accord with Hillary Clinton’s planned visit to Enniskillen at around that time. However he also believes that the task of reaching consensus at that time is deeply problematic, particularly with regard to the policing issue: “The British see the key issue as getting Sinn Fein onto the Policing Board, believing that it would boost nationalist …
In a piece we’ll come back to several times today, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz draws some revealing thoughts on the peace process from the leader of the UUP David Trimble: “If you are going to have a stable political structure, then you are going to have [to have] some way in which that 30-40 percent [his estimate of the proportion of Nationalist voters in NI] becomes involved and participant. You can tolerate a situation where a small percentage completely withdraws …
The Tory shadow spokesman on Northern Ireland is to spend a week living with families in interface areas. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Jim Dee talks to members of a Loyalist community on the very edge of South Belfast, and finds little but suspicion of Sinn Fein and their motives. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Interesting interpretation on events around the time of the suspension of the Assembly, by Republican Tommy McKearney. Again thanks to the Badger’s Radio. This interview with McKearney in July 2000 provides another view of Sinn Fein’s political motivations. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.