Chris Donnelly A provocative piece from shock journo Declan Lynch in last week’s Sunday Independent. In it, Lynch berates the GAA, wasting no time in linking the Dublin-Tyrone brawl to republican ‘terrorism’ and the supposed northern nationalist plan to take over the south. Chris Donnelly
In an interesting piece, Jude Collins explores the reasons behind the two big marches set for the capital in the coming weeks. On the face of it, Willie Frazer should have little in common with Bertie Ahern. Not so, argues Collins, who identifies a unity of purpose in both initiatives. Chris Donnelly
One suspects the words were spoken through gritted teeth, but it appears a DUP councillor has publicly apologised to the Sinn Fein councillor in Coleraine, Billy Leonard. The act of atonement was precipitated by the threat of legal action after the DUP Mayor attempted to exclude the solitary Sinn Fein council member from a function in which the rate-payer was footing the bill. This follows on from the DUP being similarly bitten in Lisburn (twice): once, when attempting to exclude …
One of the big sports stories (from a busy weekend for sports fans) was the brawl in Healy Park. The consensus- certainly amongst the Tyrone men I have been speaking with (or rather, listening to…)- is that the Dubs’ tactics were to blame. Having said that, from my armchair, it looked like two were most certainly tango-ing on this occasion. Whatever the causes of the violence, it appears the GAA Disciplinary Committee may be thinking of making an example of …
A fascinating discussion on this morning’s Sunday Sequence programme focused on the developing divisions within the DUP, which appears to be splitting between a secular-political wing and a Free Presbyterian wing. [Audio link- about 30 minutes into show.] The unprecedented sight of hard-line Protestants picketing the DUP Confererence in protest at the party not taking a strong enough stand against civil partnerships must be worrying for the party leadership, given that there are much harder compromises ahead for the party …
Roy Garland is better known for his columns in the Irish News in which he preaches to nationalists about the need to respect the unionist identity and traditions- like the Battle of the Somme. Yet in his latest offering, it would appear calls by President Mary McAleese for reciprocal respect from unionists for the 1916 Rising and its important place in nationalist history is a step too far. Prompting the question, what’s sauce for the goose, Roy…. Chris Donnelly
Loyalists in the village of Stoneyford, Co. Antrim, have been at their work again. This time, a young catholic family narrowly survived an attempt to
We’ve heard about the Review of Public Administration’s plans to dramatically reduce the number of local councils in the north from twenty-six to seven. In this article, Jude Collins proposes six councils, arguing that, if unionists can’t be trusted to share power with nationalists now or in the future, then the fewer nationalists residing in unionist-controlled councils, the better. Chris Donnelly
