Chris Donnelly 
The Newsletter reported yesterday that the DUP constituency association in Foyle is in turmoil after 20 of its approximately 65 members quit the party over the treatment of now former party elected representative, Maurice Devenney. Amongst those walking away from the party are two sisters of the long time DUP representative in the city and former Stormont Speaker, William Hay (now Lord Hay).
Locally, the political breakdown of the differing factions has been known for quite some time, and bears an uncanny resemblance to how things panned out in the Spring of 1998. Opinions expressed by Invest NI’s Alastair Hamilton, and figures from the Ulster Farmers Union and the CBI may mean the DUP finds itself vulnerable to the charge of taking risks with the interests of local businesses and the agriculture community.
There will be no resolution to our vexed flags dispute unless and until the Irish National flag is afforded formal recognition within Northern Ireland. Three years ago today, I posted about a Platform for Change public discussion on the theme of Flags and Identity. Three years later and, apart from the loyalist flags protest dying out, nothing has really changed in northern Irish society in relation to the wider flags stand-off.
Imagine a Housing Minister and a Member of Parliament demanding a meeting with a Housing Association to oppose houses being built in their shared constituency in spite of the area being plagued by a lengthy housing waiting list. Well, imagine no more. The Irish News led with a story yesterday alleging that the then DUP Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland, North Belfast DUP MP Nigel Dodds, and DUP councillor Brian Kingston met with representatives from Oaklee Homes to discuss their …
The McGuinness to Foyle gamble has added much needed spice to the electoral contest within nationalism. As I have noted at length on Slugger before, the nationalist parties in the North have failed to inspire their voters to turn out in recent electoral contests, with the result being a declining overall share of the vote for both nationalist parties, and Irish nationalism as a whole. Part of the reason for that has been the absence of any credible notion that …
One of the foremost figures associated with the local football scene, Gerry Carlile, has published an article on his new blog (reproduced below) asking the question as to whether or not there will ever be a professional domestic Irish football league. Carlile is well placed to speak on the subject. As the most renowned Irish football agent, he is known throughout the domestic scene to key figures, both involved in local clubs and on the international setting. The arguments normally …
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure published the Report of the Consultation on Proposals for an Irish Language Bill on 18th December 2015. It can be read in full here. Some 95% of the 13,000 respondents were favourably disposed towards the proposal, according to the Minister’s statement, and these submissions are explored in much more detail in the report. However, a submission from the County Fermanagh Grand Orange Lodge (signed by its County Grand Master, Stuart Brooker) is particularly …
Tomorrow night, Belfast City Council will vote on a motion which aims to mark with a reception the qualification of both Irish international football teams to the European Championships in France. The development is an historic first. While the Republic of Ireland have now qualified for three Euro Finals (1988 and 2012 before now), this summer will represent the first time that fans of Northern Ireland will get to enjoy seeing their team play at this level. Both teams have …
BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback programme today covered a story which broke at the end of last week following the decision of UUP Fermanagh South Tyrone MP, Tom Elliott, to condemn the announcement that 40 pupils from an Irish language school in Lisnaskea would be permitted to use classrooms in a derelict post-primary school for the purposes of learning. I kid you not. As an example of all that is wrong with the political leadership of Unionism, it was hard …
COMMUNITY CONTROL: The brutal attack on a voluntary community worker in Bangor can be viewed as a blatant attempt by loyalist paramilitaries to assert their power and authority over a working-class community which reacted adversely to paramilitary attempts to lay claim to the area over the past nine months.
There was something entirely fitting about unionist politicians breaking into God Save The Queen during the Armistice Day ceremony in Stormont today. And before this gets landed on the extreme unionist fringe represented by Sammy Morrison of the TUV, it is worth noting the words of DUP MLA Peter Weir and UUP Leader, Mike Nesbitt, who have called for the British national anthem to return formally to the order of service at the 2016 Armistice Day ceremony in Stormont. The …
I was a contributor to last night’s novel joint BBC/RTE production, Ireland’s Call, which brought together two of Ireland’s most famous broadcasters, Stephen Nolan and Miriam O’Callaghan, to look at a range of issues and how they are perceived by people across the island and from both political traditions in the north. I thought it was a useful exercise, though I’d quibble with a number of things. Polls conducted in Northern Ireland are notoriously unreliable, and this one at times …
On BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence this morning, I participated in a discussion about modern parenting. It is not a subject in which I speak with any great authority, though as a parent of two young kids and a primary school vice principal, I do have my own experiences to bring to such a discussion. Part of the focus of the discussion was on the issue of smacking, which has come back into the news after the Seanad voted to …
The Irish News ran a front page story on Saturday in which it was revealed that Antrim Borough Council had breached its own guidelines for successive years in order to fund the purchase of pallets for loyalist bonfires to the tune of more than £6,300 across the borough in 2013 and 2014. The story featured on today’s BBC Radio Ulster Nolan Show, when UUP Councillor Drew Ritchie defended the expenditure as “money well spent” on “a traditional part of any …
The Dublin-based Keywest band have wasted no time in releasing this video of a song inspired by The Long Goal. Whether it becomes the next Joxer Goes to Stuttgart will depend upon future results. Perhaps Snow Patrol or another band can work on a similar anthem for the GAWA in the months to come. Chris Donnelly
The 2015 GCSE results were announced yesterday, with news reports capturing the mixture of emotions experienced by teenagers as they discover how they have performed in what can be significant assessments in terms of determining the future career paths they take- either through pursuing A Levels, other qualifications, training courses or employment opportunities. The overall headline figure, that 78.7% of entries were awarded an A*-C grade (up 0.7% on 2014), compared favourably with both England (69%) and Wales (66%.) But …
As you may be aware from the Slugger twitter feed, we have teamed up with the organiser of the inaugural Lighthouse Summer School in Killough (Co. Down), the Irish News’ Political Editor, John Manley, to organise a discussion on the theme of ‘What now Nationalism? Plotting the roadmap to a united Ireland.‘ Ahead of the event, I had an article published in The Irish News yesterday, setting the scene for the discussion. It has been reproduced in full below. The …
“Those who organised today’s so called anti-internment demonstration in Belfast bear full responsibility for the violence which followed.” The words of Martin McGuinness earlier this evening. There are no grounds upon which those who organised today’s Anti-Internment parade could claim to be aggrieved. None whatsoever. That is an important point to establish at the outset. The parade was applied for and granted, along a route that the organisers correctly maintain should be open to not just loyalist parades, but also …
The onset of the new football season this weekend, coupled with comments from former Donegal manager, Jim McGuinness, provided the opportunity to update a piece of research I had conducted several years ago for friends, examining the relative competitiveness of differing leagues across a range of sports. Jim McGuinness’ comments bemoaned the lack of competition within the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship after a weekend of fixtures in which the four victorious teams trounced their respective opponents. Competitiveness is a relative …
Anyone who has participated in the numerous Saturday morning 5k park runs that are organised across Britain and Ireland, or indeed taken part in races ranging in distance from 5k and 10k to marathon, will know that such events require careful and considerate planning and organisation to ensure that all goes smoothly for the assembled runners. We are fortunate in Belfast to have a number of running clubs and park run venues, as well as a calendar of organised runs, …
