UK shamed again?
No, it’s not a launchpad for yet another rhetorical diatribe from a disaffected Irishman, this guy is serious. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Slugger O'Toole
Hypocrisy charge brewing?
So much of the Letter’s focus has been on either the two sides of the debate, it gets surprising to hear something important coming from the centre. Two letters in last night’s Belfast Telegraph, highlight a forthcoming trip to South Africa. One from Michael Long, an Alliance Party councillor: “For the past couple of weeks in particular, we have heard nothing but righteous indignation from the DUP’s Peter Robinson about the need to exclude terrorists from Government and now we …
Better to be an Irish Presbyterian?
Malachi O’Doherty suggests there is an inherited rigidity in the command and control mechanisms within the Catholic church that has had serious influence on Irish politics and its practice. There is already a lively discussion of this article on this unmoderated board. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Secret history of the IRA: 2 reviews
The first is by ‘revisionist’ historian, Roy Foster, who raises one interesting point; the shock Sinn Fein encountered: “…when they welcomed the Clinton administration on board the peace process, only to hear Nancy Soderberg declare, ‘I don’t really care whether there is a united Ireland or not; all I care about is that there not be violence and that the North gets developed politically and economically.’ This is really a book about Gerry Adams’ adoption of the Soderberg approach.” It …
Unionist backroom: DUP comes out in the open
In answer to some critics, Gregory Campbell MP lays out his party’s conditions for re-negotiating the Belfast Agreement. He begins by rejecting the accusation that they are motivated by an anti-equality agenda: “Republicans have tried to portray this non-acceptance as a refusal to countenance the ‘equality agenda’. This is not the case at all. It is because unionists are convinced that the current process disadvantages them and assists nationalism/republicanism that they so strongly resist it.” He repeats his party’s challenge …
IRA at the Crossroads
Paul Dunne has been busy today. He has an extended piece on the dilemma faced by the IRA. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Weblogging: a cautionary cartoon
Thanks to Paul Dunne for this wee gem. If you still think it’s worth the effort and would like to start your own, Blogger has everything you need to get it off the ground. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Trimble goes after the DUP
More on the shift in the game within the Unionist camp. David Trimble talking at the weekend: “He accused them [DUP] of using emotional rhetoric to cover their ‘moral cowardice’ and of hanging on to his partys coattails. The DUP hung back at every stage ‘let others do the hard work, and then sneaked forward to take advantage of other peoples efforts,’ he said. ‘The DUP are no friends of Ulster Unionists. They are short-sighted political opportunists. Their own personal …
Adams replies to Blair
This looks like a good call from British Spin. “…if I were to try and read between the lines, the lack of a hysterical response seems to indicate a basic (if coded) acceptance of the premise of the Prime Minister’s speech, that Sinn Fein and the IRA face a historic choice.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Unionist backroom: the fight begins
Paul Bew suggests Blair’s speech is the kind of backing David Trimble has been looking for over the last few years. However instead of turning fire on Adams and Co, Professor Paul Bew, a close advisor of Trimble’s, looks to the DUP for targets: “Mr Robinson has been saying interesting things. His public remarks have been widely interpreted as signaling the necessity for a DUP-Sinn Fein understanding as the way forward in Northern Ireland. How credible is Mr Robinson and …
Duncan Smith in Derry
Ian Duncan Smith, speaking to the UUP’s annual conference at the weekend, called for the expulsion of Sinn Fein from their offices in Westminster. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Northern Ireland: dirty man of Europe?
As if to underline the immaturity of the devolved institutions in NI, Friends of the Earth have gone on the offensive over the poor standards of its sewerage system. This immaturity was borne out in the paucity of NI’s contribution to the Earth Summit in Johannesburg last month. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Ireland says yes
The Republic of Ireland voted to ratify the Nice treaty on Saturday, for the second time of asking. Much of the international emphasis is on the fact that now allows the EU to expand and take up to 10 other countries into it’s membership: “The result was greeted with relief and delight in the chancelleries and on the streets of the candidate countries Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia who hope to join …
Adams replies to Blair
I normally steer clear of linking directly to party press releases but this one seems remarkably clean of party spin. It’s Gerry Adams’ straightforward reply to Tony Blair’s speech of last Thursday. The Independent’s Ireland correspondent David McKittrick interviews Adams. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Real IRA: disbanding or a split?
One of the two big Irish stories of the weekend was the proposed disbandment first reported in yesterday’s Sunday Independent. However it is far from clear whether this was a bona fide move or further signs of a split within organisation. Serious tensions over a possible ceasefire broke media cover a few weeks ago. The split is substantially between prisoners in Port Laoise jail lead by the organisation’s founder and leader Michael McKevitt and the organisation’s Army Council on the …
Thanks
To Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit for the mention of the Letter. If you’re still not sure what a weblog or blog is, this site is the daddy of them all. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Gerry Anderson
On a lighter note: “IT isn’t often I come to the conclusion that I prefer the company of horses to humans, but I came perilously close to it last week.” More. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Derek Bell
Was one of Belfast’s most successful cultural exports. Bell, who played with Irish traditional music group the Cheiftains whilst sustaining his own classical music career for nearly 30 years, has died in Arizona at 66. Obits in the Belfast Telegraph, the Guardian, the Salt Lake Tribune, and from his former employers, the BBC. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Blair speech: a key note?
Tony Blair gave what may have been the keynote speech of the final stage of the Northern Ireland peace process yesterday. We’ve blogged the highlights here: He began by reminding his audience of the reasons for establishing the Agreement in the first place. He went on to outline the problems the process had run into from every side. After a short reminder of some of the benefits the Agreement has brought, he reminded Nationalists and Unionist of their commitments. He …
Blair speech: more press reaction
The Irish Independent has taken Blair’s word as a sign that the IRA must disband. The Irish Times quoted an insider in the Dublin government: “It was a good speech. He was saying it’s about deeds, not words anymore. And he was right: there has to be movement now, and it has to be substantial. It’s not good enough to fiddle around at the margins.” The Times of London believes he has laid out the only viable deal on offer …