Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) – Page 51 – Slugger O'Toole

Shamrock Rovers hit the jackpot and get through to the European group stages

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 26, 2011, 10:05 am

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Last night’s 2-1 away victory over Partizan Belgrade (3-2 on aggregate) means that Shamrock Rovers [their website is under strain this morning!] have made Irish football history to go through to the group stages of the Europa League. The Hoops will find out who else will be in their group when the draw is made in Monaco later today. With a goal from Pat Sullivan and a 112th minute penalty from Stephen O’Donnell, manager Michael O’Neill had much to be …

What’s the real story behind today’s GCSE results?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 25, 2011, 10:31 pm

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GCSE English results

Much of the mainstream media’s reporting around this morning’s GCSE results has focussed on the highest grades. The clipping to the right (from a BBC News online article) is a typical example. Not much mention of any grade below C. Mick’s post from earlier today has already started some discussion. The disparity between male and female results is very noticeable in a subject like English. This year 24.5% of girls opened their envelope to discover they had been awarded an …

Yer man’s name

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 24, 2011, 10:00 am

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Alternative spellings for each part of Gaddafi's name

In the world of 24 hour rolling news, it sometimes feels like there’s an expected outcome to many stories and a timeline for reaching the end point and moving onto the next thing. Accordingly, developments in Libya’s capital Tripoli aren’t moving fast enough towards the (western) narrative’s inevitable resolution. While I’ve been waiting, for months I’ve been noticing the diversity of spelling of the Libyan leader’s name. The BBC use Gaddafi, the Irish Times stick to Gadafy, while other outlets …

Presbyterian minister welcomed with a cup of tea at dissident protest camp at Free Derry Corner

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 23, 2011, 9:30 am

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Rev David Latimer

Presbyterian ministers can’t seem to keep out of the news this week. Suzanne Breen reports in the Sunday World that Rev David Latimer (minister of the recently refurbished First Derry congregation, and a Territorial Army chaplain) made an unannounced visit to a dissident republican protest camp at Free Derry Corner over the weekend. In a ground-breaking step, the Rev David Latimer visited dissidents holding a 48-hour camp-out in the Bogside in support of republican prisoners in Maghaberry. The Presbyterian minister, …

Radio 4’s Beyond Westminster asking how democratic is NI’s power-sharing?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 22, 2011, 9:30 am

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Radio 4’s weekly political podcast is often worth a listen. The normal Week in Westminster is currently in recess and it’s the turn of Beyond Westminster. For last week’s programme (and podcast), the Guardian’s Nick Watt came across to Northern Ireland to explore whether our unusual power-sharing arrangements allow for true democracy? The episode is still available on iPlayer (and as a podcast) and Nick Watt also blogged about the visit for the Guardian too. With contributions from North Belfast …

Evangelical Journeys – choice and change in a Northern Ireland religious subculture

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 21, 2011, 9:16 am

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Cover of Evangelical Journeys - by Claire Mitchell and Gladys Ganiel

Over the last decade, Claire Mitchell and Gladys Ganiel (no stranger to this parish) have interviewed ninety five self-declared evangelicals in Northern Ireland to build up a picture of their dominant spiritual journeys and the individual choices that have determined the routes they have followed. The analysis of these interviews has recently been published by UCD Press in a fascinating book Evangelical Journeys. The authors spoke about their book in an In Conversation event at Contemporary Christianity in Belfast back …

Challenging a Wexford judge to produce his oath … being remanded … and then released

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 17, 2011, 5:00 pm

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Having challenged a Wexford District Judge to produce his oath and been remanded in custody, Bobby of the family Sludds has walked free following a High Court order. Last week’s post outlined Oliver Sludds’ unusual court appearance in connection with alleged motoring offences. The Irish Times outlined the conversation between the defendant and the judge. “The Constitution. It says that a judge must offer up his oath when requested and I am asking you, do you have your oath?” said …

Challenging a Wexford judge to produce his oath …

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 13, 2011, 10:18 am

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When I first read this court report in the Irish Times I wondered whether it was a spoof. A judge was challenged by a defendant yesterday to produce his oath of office before proceeding with a case being heard at Wexford District Court. “Where did you read that?” asked the judge. “The Constitution. It says that a judge must offer up his oath when requested and I am asking you, do you have your oath?” said Mr Sludds, before picking …

Turas, by Colin Neill – a story of strangers in a strange land

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 6, 2011, 10:10 am

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book cover of Turas, by Colin Neill

Colin Neill’s first novel Turas peeks into a world in which many Ulster Protestants feel uncomfortable. It’s 2020 and the Irish unification that unionists and loyalists confidently predicted would never happen has become a reality. President Adams is ensconced in Phoenix Park. The newsreader reported that … a short ceremony at Stormont had confirmed the passing of Northern Ireland, and had officially confirmed the birth of a now 32 county Republic of Ireland. The Union Jack had been lowered and …

… a very uninviting place for Bible believers

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 26, 2011, 9:53 pm

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You may be surprised that the Rev David McIlveen (Sandown Free Presbyterian church) wasn’t referring to Belfast Pride when he spoke the words in this post’s title, but was instead referring to an institution of the state whose membership includes a Presbyterian minister (who is also free – though in the retired sense). While this morning’s Irish News carried the story of Jim Well’s ‘repugnant’ text, the News Letter confirmed what I half expected when I posted last Wednesday: This …

Lee Reynolds steps up to Belfast City Council

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 25, 2011, 7:31 pm

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DUP strategist Lee Reynolds answering questions at Slugger Big Election breakfast - photo by Mr Ulster

Back in May at Slugger’s Big Heid Coont Breakfast, DUP strategist Lee Reynolds explained to the assembled crowd how the party’s vote management had worked successfully at the Assembly and local government elections, before admitting that from the tallies he reckoned it had failed him on his attempt to get a seat on Belfast City Council. (Lee was the second candidate to be excluded in Castle district, with first preference votes just shy of half of the electoral quota.) But …

No Free Presbyterian protest lodged against Belfast Pride Parade this year

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 20, 2011, 4:07 pm

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Now in its 21st year after its first “run through the city centre” Belfast Pride has a week of activities (and a growing set of events on the fringe) surrounding the Saturday afternoon parade through Belfast city centre. This year only one group has registered a protest with the Parades Commission. So unless the normal protest from Sandown Free Presbyterian has merged in with the Stop the Parade Coalition, they must be staying at home on the afternoon of Saturday …

Northern Ireland Exports Bees to Phoenix Park

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 19, 2011, 9:05 am

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Áras an Uachtaráin - residence of the Irish President, and soon to be home to Northern Irish bees

If you see anyone walking round Phoenix Park wearing a white hazmat suit, it’s probably not a sign that chemical warfare has broken out. Instead, it’s the Irish President’s gardeners practising their bee-keeping … all thanks to an export from Northern Ireland. There’s an orchard in the gardens of Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish President’s residence in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, and from the apples they make mighty fine-tasting organic apple juice. Next year, the new Irish President will have the …

A religious view of tablets (the computing kind)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 18, 2011, 8:26 pm

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destroy all onions banner

Other than space, we don’t get a lot of technology on Slugger. Time to redress that balance. A local blogger who found himself at the top of a viewing tower in Tokyo when the earthquake hit turned his attention to tablet computers in a recent post on Destroy All Onions. Umberto Eco famously wrote that fountain pens were protestant, and ballpoints were catholic, because of the universality of ballpoints versus the maintenance and finickiness of fountain pens. That got extended …

Darren Clarke … another NI golf major win … coming along like buses

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 17, 2011, 6:05 pm

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Darren Clarke is £900,000 richer as he finishes the 140th Open Championship five shots under par, and three ahead of his nearest rival. As many people have commented on Twitter: To have 3 major winners in 14 months is incredible. Took English golfers 60 years. Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast)Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic and political events and …

In July 1981 people were rioting in Toxteth, Liverpool … can we learn, or do better?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 15, 2011, 9:20 pm

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Doing the dishes and listening to a Radio 4 podcast of this week’s Thinking Allowed, I heard a discussion about the riots in Liverpool more than 30 years on. July 1981 was the first time the UK police used CS gas outside Northern Ireland. Wikipedia sums up the scale of the rioting that lasted nine days: one person died after being struck by a police vehicle trying to clear crowds, 468 police officers were injured, 500 people were arrested, and …

The curious incident of the City Hall and its flag-related security breach

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 13, 2011, 12:00 pm

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City Hall with Union flag flying over it

Around tea time on the 11 July, a bizarre story came to light. A man had found by security in the City Hall overnight, and allowed to leave the building, claiming (according to UTV) “he had been locked in at a function”. It was later noticed – some reports say by a tourist during the day – that the City Hall’s flag/flag pole was damaged. By the next morning – the Twelfth – the Union flag was flying from a …

Marching on a pin head as Belfast District LOL No 6 squares up to the Parades Commission (updated)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 12, 2011, 2:23 pm

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This morning, I headed across to the Orange Hall on the Albertbridge Road. The 31 Orange lodges that make up Belfast District LOL No 6 were converging to start their parade down Templemore Avenue, turning onto the Newtownards Road, and later joining up with the main Belfast parade (made up of 9 districts). (You can catch the video of their 25 minute parade through East Belfast down below.) There was much banging, tooting and just a little accordion heaving as …

Drum Major showing off … (some) practice still needed

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 12, 2011, 1:18 pm

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Traditionally the Belfast parade takes a twenty minute rest once the head of the parade reaches Marlborough Park. One Orange man – at this stage still standing in Bedford Street and no where near the leafy suburbs of South Belfast! – quipped that just because the boss man at the front of the parade has Barnett Demense (the ‘field’) in his sights, doesn’t mean to say the rest are even half way there. It’s a chance for the marchers to …

SF Mayor of Cashel who made history by shaking hands with the Queen has died

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 12, 2011, 12:56 pm

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Amongst the plethora of Orange-tinged posts on Slugger this week, there’s room to highlight that today’s Belfast Telegraph notes the death of the Sinn Fein councillor “who made history by shaking hands with the Queen”. Michael Browne, who was Mayor of Cashel in Co Tipperary, died on Saturday night following a long battle with cancer. Mr Browne had been widely praised for his decision to defy Sinn Fein’s advice to members to stay away from all events linked to the …