Daithi McKay

Twitter : @daithimckay

Be nice to people on your way up…

| Readers 7665

Everyone will be watching Nolan Live tonight with bated breath (and popcorn). What will Jonathan Bell say? Will he produce documents and materials that will amount to a de facto ‘smoking gun’? The SDLP has said that they will table a motion of no confidence in the First Minister on Monday. People before Profit have organised ‘Arlene must go’ rallies for tomorrow and their timing (whilst fluky) is perfect given that people will be presumably reeling from tonight’s interview with …

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When should a politician resign?

| Readers 1844

When should a politician resign? What is the bar for a politician to resign from Ministerial or public office? Firstly the trend in regard to leaders and major referendums is the most clear cut. Alex Salmond lost the Scottish Independence Referendum, he resigned as First Minister. David Cameron lost the EU Referendum, he resigned as Prime Minister. Matteo Renzi lost his referendum on  constitutional reform and he resigned as Italian PM. We haven’t had a referendum specific to the north …

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“Who benefits from the current debacle in the Dáil..?”

| Readers 959

Who benefits from the current debacle in the Dáil? No-one. Certainly not victims of the conflict seeking truth and some closure to the deaths of their loved ones. The Irish Times’ Michael O’Regan told Radio Kerry this morning that the Stack family are being used by opponents of Sinn Féin. He isn’t far off the mark. An ad hoc process was set up between Austin Stack and Gerry Adams in 2013 to try and bring closure and acknowledgement to the …

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Little doubt medicinal cannabis will be legalised, but it needs to be dealt with urgently

| Readers 1204

Billy Caldwell has spent a large chunk of his life being, in effect, a refugee. Forced to leave home because of a lack of services to effectively treat his condition. At just 11 years old this fighter from Castlederg, Co Tyrone has a severe life threatening form of epilepsy called intractable epilepsy. He is also a status epileptic. His mother Charlotte has fought hard for her son since she was told by the doctor he would not survive when he …

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