Belfast Gonzo PEOPLE can hang whatever they like outside their own homes, as far as I’m concerned. Public property is another matter. While flying an unofficial Northern Ireland supporters flag on lampposts might cause less offence than some of the others currently on display, is it really the brightest of ideas to try to associate the NI football team with one section of the community? The fans seem divided. While many fans have benign motives for flying their ‘Our Wee Country’ flags …
ELEVENTH Night bonfires are always a hot potato for debate, and attract plenty of blazing criticism. Here, Claire McNeilly speaks to a number of loyalists involved in ‘bonefires’. Newton Emerson counters some of the republican criticism here. It isn’t all about about King Billy and bigotry, and I think both republicans and loyalists sometimes have misconceptions about what drives these sectarian displays of tribal community. So why do loyalists build bonfires? PS: Send us reports about the bonfire events in …
ANYONE been looking at the graduation lists in the newspapers? Plenty of variety in the names, but judging by the accompanying photos of graduates, I reckon the only two men in Northern Ireland to get honours this year were TV host Eamonn McCann and GAA legend Mickey Harte. Has 2006 we just seen (or not) the least photogenic men in QUB and UU history graduate?! I’m sure the female students will be leaping to your defence, Class of 2006… Belfast …
THE SDLP has launched Flag Watch, a campaign “against sectarian flags and intimidation”. It’s a timely announcement, with several rows already well under way this summer. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE mother of IRA infiltrator Frank Hegarty has died. Those involved in her son’s murder were never caught.If I remember rightly, former British spy handler Martin Ingram vowed to Rose Hegarty he would try and secure justice for her son’s murder, which, from what I can gather, he took very hard personally. Ingram has linked the murder to British collusion with the IRA in order to protect high-ranking informers who killed with apparent impunity, one of whom has just activated …
LOOPY Lord Laird was quoted (offline) in the Tele today, blasting the Government’s decision to fund Rally Ireland, which crosses the Donegal/Fermanagh border, to the tune of £700,000. “At a time when budgets are being cut elsewhere, this is a complete waste of public money,” said the UUP peer, conveniently forgetting his own £250 round-trip, cross-border, taxpayer-funded excursions in a taxi between Dublin and Belfast for absolutely no good reason that he could give. What a hypocrite. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE Government has announced proposals to allow gay couples to adopt (whether in a civil partnership or not), bringing Northern Ireland into line with other parts of the UK. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
MAEVE Connolly reports on Ballymena, “a troubled town”, and its attempts to build a new future as the staunchly Protestant town struggles to come to terms with its growing Catholic population. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE Housing Executive is going to have a bash at providing mixed residential areas. At present, an estimated 90% of Housing Executive tenants live in segregated areas, thanks to the polarising effect of the Troubles. Social engineering, or providing choice where a demand exists? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
I’VE been banging on about this for months, and yesterday Daily Ireland splashed with Ciaran Barnes’ story on what I was speculating about the day before – that charges of UDA membership might not stand up in court, since that organisation is on a Government-recognised ceasefire. If accurate, would it mean that the shift from use of witness to expert witness/physical evidence by the PSNI in a certain person’s case is of no legal consequence? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
JIM Wells has stood down as the DUP’s environment spokesman. Seems he was a bit too ‘green’, taking a lead on an environmental protection agency, better controls over rural development and national parks that was out of step with the party. Jim is well known for his progressive views and dedicated work on the environment, and in that capacity, I’ll be sad to see him go. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
A BELFAST man who couldn’t hold a six-a-side football game on a Sunday under the auspices of the never-on-a-Sunday Irish Football Association is taking a case against the IFA. My prediction is that he will win – maybe even before FIFA tells IFA to get with the programme or get lost. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE Spanish government is to start talks with Basque separatists ETA. Given the influence of Irish republicanism on the Basques, it will be interesting to see if they are going to echo the Northern Irish process. Looks like another long-haul operation regardless, and I hope the two sides can reach meaningful agreement faster than we’re doing here. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE Prime Minister has refused to act on Alex Salmond’s call for the British Government to repeal the Act of Settlement, which bars Catholics from becoming king or queen of England and prohibits members of the royal family who marry Catholics from taking the throne. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THERE were a few more hints about the possibility of British/Irish joint stewardship/authority yesterday. If you were cynical you’d almost think that there was a kind of ‘accidental’ symbolism about the British and Irish premiers being in Northern Ireland on the same day as the Irish head of state and a member of the British royal family. An uncanny coincidence! :o) Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
SINN Fein is cashing in on the success of Ken Loach’s ‘Wind that shakes the barley’ with its ‘Wind that shook the barley’ T-shirt, featuring an IRA flying column. While Fine Gael’s arts spokesman has accused SF of ‘capitalising’ on a movie they have no historical connection with, somehow I can’t imagine film director Ken Loach getting too annoyed… Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
A REPORT by the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee has urged the Scottish Executive to forge closer ties with the Irish Government for mutual benefit. Independent MSP Dennis Canavan said: “[T]here is considerable scope for co-operation projects in areas such as cultural exchange, tourism, sport, education and transport, with significant potential for social and economic benefits for each country.” Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
HAVE some England fans at the World Cup adopted the ‘extra’ line in the national anthem heard (less loudly these days) at Windsor Park games? Meanwhile, the IFA “has promised a full enquiry after one of its World Cup tickets ended up being sold by a tout for £200″, according to the BBC. And last night, the IFA voted to continue the ban on Sunday football. But, this being the IFA, it also (according to a poster at OWC) agreed …
ONE of the most prominent figures of the Troubles, Mgr Denis Faul, has died. He was involved in the civil rights campaign, made an intervention in the hunger strike protest, criticised loyalist and republican violence and campaigned for victims of injustice, such as the Birmingham Six. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
NORTHERN Ireland folk believe they are more racially prejudiced now than before the influx of ethnic minorities from abroad, which followed the ceasefires. According to the Life and Times latest survey, Catholic and Protestant attitudes are becoming increasingly prejudiced, although it reports that the proportion of Protestants who view themselves as racially prejudiced is much higher – and increasing at a faster rate. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
