Ambrose Uprichard Henry McDonald writes “The IRA is facing a fresh split as it prepares to disarm a huge arsenal to boost the chances of power-sharing in Northern Ireland. A group of dissenters issued a statement to The Observer this weekend, criticising IRA and Sinn Fein leaders over their willingness to destroy the arms and explosives.” IRA rift set to derail power sharing Ambrose Uprichard
Henry McDonald offers his thoughts on events in the Holyland and some solutions Culchie clashingDuring the week a number of short-term solutions to the Holy Lands crisis were proffered, such as the expulsion or suspension of the rowdiest and most violent from university. Others have suggested that the PSNI take a more heavy-handed approach to the nightly scenes of drunkenness, lewd behaviour and disorder. They point out, quite correctly, that if these people were working-class youths they would battered off …
Wide-ranging article in the Sunday Times Comment: Liam Clarke: Nationalist support must not be undermined again that looks at changing attitudes within the nationalist and republican community to those who served with British Forces in two World Wars. Something that wasn’t widely covered in the media this week, although it was carried by the Irish News, – the NI chairman of the Royal British Legion attended an event organised by Coiste na n-Iarchimi, the republican ex-prisoners’ group. Republicans honour Irish …
I shouldn’t gloat, but it’s hard to resist 🙂 Ireland beat the Pumas by the same score as the Australians beat the “mighty World Champions”… 21-19. It looks as if England ARE a one man band and without Wilkinson they are doomed….. Should be fun reading the Guardian, which after Ireland- wearing white that day – beat the Boks wrote that at times it must have seen to the Springboks that they were playing England, so well did Ireland play …
Last week it was the IRA, this week it’s the UDA – Police swoop on UDA robbery gang Leopards and ‘spats’. Ambrose Uprichard
The full text of a Flann O’Brien play, presumed lost, was discovered in the 90’s.Written in the 1940’s it sounds astonishingly familiar 🙂 From the dung heap of history The first act of Rhapsody in Stephen’s Green was among Flann O’Brien’s papers owned by the University of Southern Illinois. But no trace until now had been found of acts two and three and a prologue and epilogue. The play is in the vein of O’Brien’s columns under the name Myles …
The Irish News today carries a story on page 9 Victorian entrance exam highlights ‘dumbing down’.An exam paper set for 11-year-olds in Victorian Britain was too difficult for most of today’s A-Level students, campaigners said. The Spectator magazine published school entrance exams from the 19th century, sparking renewed claims that education standards had been dumbed down. The school’s headmaster acknowledged that the tests set at King Edward’s School in Birmingham in 1898 would tax most people today. The questions covered …
Guess who eats three Shredded Wheat… You Funded The War Now Fund The Peace – McLaughlin Tells Murphy Ambrose Uprichard
Shane and the lads are back in business. Last night’s Frank Skinner show had an interview with the man himself, Shane MacGowan. Old habits die hardTwenty-five years ago, Shane MacGowan was given six weeks to live. But he’s still here, and so are the Pogues – back to their original lineup for a new lease of life. Dave Simpson joins them in Dublin to relive the bad old days Ambrose Uprichard
Marc Mulholland continues his Northern Ireland Lecture series at his excellent Daily Moiders Lecture hand-out 7 contained an interesting quote. When Stormont was prorogued on 25 March, William Whitelaw, the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, had little clear idea of what to do next. The loquacious conspiracy-fan, Cecil King, recorded a meeting with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, William Whitelaw, three days later: “I was treated with the greatest friendliness and confidence. The gist of what he …
An otherwise interesting article in the Belfast Telegraph is somewhat spoiled by the headline: How Ulster Scots put Bush in power It must be hard enough trying to convince the world of the validity of an Ulster-Scots identity without burdening it with this!Nell McCafferty is quoted – ‘Unionists are boring, though I will say this about them – you can throw everything you have at them, and we did, and they’re still f****** standing there. It’s like that film Zulu. …
Daphne Trimble has failed in her bid to be selected as UUP candidate to oppose Jeffrey Donaldson. The Party has selected Basil McCrea, a Hillsborough businessman. Trimble wife fails in nomination Ambrose Uprichard
Minute’s silence for murdered womenA MINUTE’S silence will be held outside the Dail today in memory of the 107 women murdered in Ireland over the last 108 months. Women’s Aid has organised the public expression of solidarity, against the backdrop of a giant ‘In Memoriam’ card’ in order to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women. Each of the murdered women will be represented by a white lily. Women’s Aid director Margaret Martin said: “There have been 107 women murdered …
The Guardian carries a shameful article, with links to another article and a flash presentation, by Mary O’Hara on Child Poverty in NI. False dawn The Good Friday Agreement heralded a period of economic prosperity for Northern Ireland. But beyond the luxury flats, second homes and flashy cars, the region’s poorest people continue to endure some of the UK’s most desperate poverty. Mary O’Hara reports Ambrose Uprichard
an excellent article in the Scotsman that has considerable relevence to Northern Ireland. Catholic dogma and Protestant guilt won’t heal sectarian divideStatistics prompt a rethink on religious aggravation. DUNCAN HAMILTON AFTER a week in which Rangers have knocked Celtic out of the CIS Cup and narrowed the gap at the top of the Premiership to just one point, I shouldn’t have been surprised that my wife was sore. A Catholic from Cork who has grown accustomed to the dominance of …
From a sermon by the Roman Catholic Archbishop on the 30th anniversary of the pub bombings in Birmingham Vincent Nichols: Never blame a whole community for the actions of a fewJust a stone’s throw from here it has been possible to see a fine collection of photographs of many different parts of our world. The exhibition is of the photographic work of Yann Arthus Bertrand, and goes under the title of “Earth from the Air”. When looking at this exhibition, …
Both the Sunday Tribune and the Sunday Independent carry an embarrassing story for Sinn Féin. SF man linked to IRA ring spying on TDs It concerns the relationship between SF TD Aengus O Snodaigh and SF’s Niall Bennett/Binead, who was convicted of IRA membership on Thursday. This came about after the arrest of men in connection with a planned lorry hijack. During the course of this investigation an IRA Dirty Tricks operation against members of the Dáil was uncovered, details …
Martin McGuinness will doubtless be pleased to see that his time as Minister for Education did no obvious harm to Northern Ireland’s education system. The Sunday Times reports that Ulster grammar schools are top of UK class according to their Parent Power guide. Lumen Christi College in Londonderry is Northern Ireland’s top secondary school. However the excellent status of our schools (“when compared to population, Northern Ireland grammar schools perform better than their equivalents in England and Wales”) may cause …
Three articles by Liam Clarke in today’s Sunday Times,although two are, in essence, saying the same thing- the DUP and Sinn Féin want a large amount of money for Northern Ireland.Ulster asks for a ‘peace fund’ The DUP have asked for a One Billion Pound peace fund, which will be paid for through savings in security spending, and Sinn Féin are backing them. Will Gordon Brown play ball ? Parties want €1.4bn for peace deal The third deals with attitudes …
The Irish examiner has a look at the RTÉ documentary on the life of Kevin O’Higgins. Assassinated strongman was not the Free State’s chief executionerRyle Dwyer writes: “The old heart of the earth needed to be warmed with the red wine of the battlefields,” Patrick Pearse wrote in December 1915. “Such august homage was never before offered to God as this, the homage of millions of lives gladly given for love of country.” Now I won’t suggest that the man …
