George

Today is the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union between Scotland and England. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says it’s a day Britons should celebrate “with pride”. Blair’s likely successor Gordon Brown doesn’t appear to be listening as he apparently hasn’t planned anything to mark the event. Meanwhile, Ian Bell in the Herald asks if there is a future for the Union? “The defence of the Union today is born of a nostalgia for that Victorian age. It represents …

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While Gerry Adams’ satisfaction rating is up a healthy 7% to 52% in the latest IMS Millward Brown poll carried out for the Sunday Tribune, it appears Dublin voters are enchanted with a different shade of Green. While Sinn Féin’s vote in the capital is 6%, down 3 percentage points from the 2002 Dáil election, the Green Party are at a whopping 14%, up 6 points from 2002. The overall vote for Sinn Féin remains relatively stable at 7% (down …

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The Irish government has unveiled its 20-year strategy to encourage an increase in the number of people able to speak fluently in both Irish and English. Irish Times Irish language editor Pól Ó Muirí seems to think (subs required) that Foras na Gaeilge, which he describes as “the cross-Border language body set up as a sop to Sinn Féin as part of the Belfast Agreement”, is more of a hindrance than a help to the aim. Not surprisingly, Ó Muirí …

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Mayo farmer Padraig Nally has been found not guilty of the manslaughter of John Ward. The jury at the Central Criminal Court delivered its majority verdict after three days of deliberations. Ward died after being shot twice with a single barrel shotgun and beaten with a stick. Nally’s supporters will see this as an innocent and terrified man defending his home from a burglar while others feel it makes Mayo “look like Alabama”. The initial verdict found Nally guilty but …

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Bupa have announced that they are to pull out of Ireland after losing their court case against the introduction of risk equalisation (pdf file) – which the company says compels it to pay €1 million every week to compensate other insurance providers such as VHI for covering older consumers. Health Minister Mary Harney says she regrets the decision. The decision means the loss of around 300 jobs, the majority of which are in Fermoy, Co Cork while the company’s 500,000 …

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A lesbian couple, who were married in Canada in 2003, have lost their attempt in the High Court to have their marriage recognised in Ireland. Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan argued that the failure to recognise their marriage breached their rights under the Irish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Charter of fundamental freedom. This argument was rejected by Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, who said she could not agree with their argument that …

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Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez has floated the idea of a Celtic Nations Championship, involving Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland to replace friendly internationals during the season. He’d love England too but doesn’t think they are too pushed on the idea of reviving the old Home Nations tournament so that just leaves the Celtic option. “There’s a lot in it for us, for Wales and Scotland, but not a lot in it for England,” said the …

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The Belfast Telegraph reported a couple of days ago that Lord John Laird feels there’s a demand in Donegal for him to become the voice of the county’s Ulster-Scots community, so how better to test this view than run in next year’s Dáil elections as an Ulster Unionist candidate on a radical Ulster-Scots ticket? He is targeting Donegal North East and Donegal South West in this bold exercise to give a voice to the county’s 14,500 Ulster Scots and it …

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The planned Police Training College is already nearly two years behind schedule and still looking to bridge the £40 million shortfall needed to build the £120 million state-of-the-art facility. In the absence of philanthropic intervention, the Policing Board has reportedly decided to ask the Irish Government to stump up the cash. According to the report, three of the other options available are: – share part of the facility with the fire and ambulance services, with each making a contribution as …

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Gerry Adams says that an attempt by dissidents to murder him was aborted because of his own security arrangements. Police went to his home in the last few days to alert him that a possible shooting was being planned. The Sinn Féin President believes the threat was because of internal party discussions over whether to publicly endorse the PSNI. The PSNI warning said: “Dissident republicans recently discussed mounting an attack, possibly a shooting, on Gerry Adams, but discounted such a …

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RTE’s The Week in Politics programme commissioned well-known American communications professional Dr Frank Luntz to carry out a survey (can be viewed here) on undecided voters ahead of next year’s Dáil elections. He came up with some interesting results, including the one that Michael McDowell seems to be boring the pants off the electorate with his constant fearmongering.Using a sample of 32 undecided voters from Dublin, Meath and Kildare, the majority of whom hadn’t voted for government parties, Luntz tried …

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Speculation is growing that Britain’s largest bank, HSBC, is to move its headquarters to Dublin in order to take advantage of the better business conditions in Ireland. Chris Spooner, HSBC’s head of financial planning and tax, has pointed out that the bank could save as much as £400 million (€594million) by locating its global headquarters outside Britain. The financial services sector is a hugely important sector in the Irish economy, contributing over 5% to Ireland’s GDP as well as directly …

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UVF members formed ranks and laid a wreath at the cenotaph at Belfast City Hall on Remembrance Sunday, according to the SDLP’s Alban Maginness, who has called for an investigation. Apparently, the UVF group formed in ranks around 9am to lay a wreath, which, according to Maginness, had clear UVF lettering. He also said it appears this practise has been going on since 1998. If this is true, how is it possible that nothing has been done to stop the …

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Dubliner Ed Joyce has been called into England’s Ashes squad as a replacement for Marcus Trescothick. The 28-year-old only qualified to play for England last year and was selected ahead of Rob Key and Owais Shah. If he gets to play, Joyce will become only the fifth Irishman to play test cricket for England. Some may have problems with Joyce declaring for England but it really does seem to have been the only way for him to do his cricketing …

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Ulster Unionist Party leader Reg Empey believes the British government should step in and prevent the Irish Republic’s Electricity Supply Board (ESB) if it puts in a bid to take over Northern Ireland Electricity. The problem is that, at the moment, Northern Ireland Electricity’s parent company Viridian is the subject of a €2.4 billion takeover by Bahrain investment bank Arcapita and Empey fears the ESB might consider expanding its island business by buying stakes in Viridian if they come available. …

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Having recently been in both Newry and Dundalk, I was surprised to hear that the idea the two towns could become a beacon city of the future, wowing us like we have never been wowed before, had been revived, an Irish equivalent of Buda and Pest if you will. But it seems there are no limits to northsouthery these days if An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s speech at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis is anything to go by. A brave new …

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There seems to be a degree of symmetry in two stories in today’s media regarding the future direction of Northern Ireland. The Sunday Times reports that the Irish government is planning to spend more than €1 billion on motorways, energy links and healthcare in Northern Ireland as part of ongoing efforts to create an all-island economy. Update: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has refused to confirm the financial package. Meanwhile in the Sunday Business Post, unionism’s favourite commentator Tom McGurk argues that …

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A survey carried out by the Observer newspaper has found that 90% of racist incidents reported in Northern Ireland since the beginning of 2005 have occurred in Loyalist areas. The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities said the figures confirmed all their anecdotal evidence that most racist attacks were taking place in unionist areas but Patrick Yu, the organisation’s director, revealed that racist attacks in Catholic areas have also been on the rise recently. “NICEM heard recently of a case …

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There has been some heated debate, and even more heated debate about the situation regarding footballers from Northern Ireland declaring for the Republic of Ireland. The IFA is also confused so it seemed only sensible for Slugger to ask FIFA’s legal department what the exact situation is.Here is the reply received in its totality: “Your question makes reference to the requirements imposed on players terms of nationality. In order for a footballer to play for his association, he must hold …

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Brazil remain top of the FIFA rankings issued today but world champions Italy are closing in fast. One other small thing, Northern Ireland are now ahead of the Republic of Ireland, in 45th place as opposed to 49th for Staunton’s team. George