ItwasSammyMcNally

Sammy Mc Nally is a Prod fictional character bestowed on us by James Young who accidentally kills his pal, who not suprisingly, given that it is Belfast, is also a Prod. The friend is sent to the after life place (Heaven/Hell) and finds it is an exact replica of Belfast - with one important difference - it is run entirely by Fenians and with the pope himself in residence in Stormo and it seems no sign of the Belgian quarefellah D'Hondt anywhere. To be continued...

The Sporting Weekend: The Women’s Rugby World Cup

ItwasSammyMcNally on August 21, 2025, 6:15 pm

| Readers 427

a rugby ball sitting on top of a lush green field

Whilst the English Premier League football continues this weekend… the Women’s Rugby World Cup also kicks off. The Women’s World Cup is being held in England with record crowds expected and Twickenham which will host the final and holds 82,000 already sold out. England’s Women, the very hot favourites, last lost a game in the 2021 World Cup Final (played in 2022 because of Covid) to New Zealand. England have also won the 6 Nations for the last 7 years. …

The Sporting Weekend: The Premier League Returns.

ItwasSammyMcNally on August 15, 2025, 8:53 pm

| Readers 631

a stadium filled with lots of blue seats

Whilst some of us may trace all of our little island’s problems and disagreements back to our perfidious neighbour – that same neighbour has provided us with something that we can all disagree about amicably – the English Premier League. …and whilst our constitutional allegiance and our county or province of origin may determine whether we fancy Rugger or GAA or the League of Ireland or the Irish League or Celtic or Rangers – the good old Premier League gloriously …

Na leoin Éireannacha (The Irish Lions) to win by 20

ItwasSammyMcNally on July 18, 2025, 9:57 am

| Readers 1889

brown tabby cat on white textile

As a reluctant and begrudging, Lions fan, I felt my reluctance and begrudgery giving way when 15 Irish players were included in the original Lions squad of 38. That number is now up to 17 with the addition of two more Irish players, Tom Clarkson & Jamie Osborne. (For evidence of that begrudgery see here). Thursday’s team announcement saw a record 8 Irish Players (a majority) starting in the 1st test on Saturday morning. Kick off is at 11 o clock …

Questions for Republicans over Kingsmill: Is “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” an adequate response?

ItwasSammyMcNally on June 24, 2025, 1:03 pm

| Readers 4663

gray and brown stones on gray ground

When he heard about the massacre, Patrick Casey, a member of the IRA in South Armagh said “I remember my feeling was one of horror when I heard the details. Nothing could justify this holocaust of unfortunate Protestants.” Casey was speaking about the shooting dead of 6 Protestants by the IRA in Altnaveigh. That was in 1922. Altnaveigh is about 6 miles from Kingsmill, where 10 Protestants were shot dead by the IRA – 54 years later. As Danny Morrison (Director of …

Jim Allister: Irish Parliamentarian of the year?

ItwasSammyMcNally on December 23, 2024, 10:44 am

| Readers 7375

a broken umbrella sitting on top of a sandy beach

Jim Allister is a formidable and controversial political figure. An uncompromising Unionist with a political career which has also seen him resign not once, but twice, from the DUP. Jim doesn’t do compromise on his Unionist principles and that is perhaps best reflected in his decision to set up and lead his own Political Party – the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). On one of those occasions he resigned because the DUP had decided to get into bed with Sinn Fein, but in more …

Nolan, or how Sinn Féin tried to shoot the messenger and missed…

ItwasSammyMcNally on May 21, 2024, 9:28 am

| Readers 10223

African penguins on seashore beside boulder

Let me declare an interest here… I like interviewers who ask hard questions and then repeat them until they get an answer. Stephen Nolan is one such – as is Andrew Neil. Allegedly Andrew Neil is somewhat to the political right of my good self but as long as he asks those difficult questions of those he interrogates and in a fair way, personally, I couldn’t give the proverbial fiddlers what his political views are. As a Nationalist, the boul Stephen is therefore a Themmun. I understand …

Rugby in Casement Park, Belfast, 2026.

ItwasSammyMcNally on August 18, 2023, 2:11 pm

| Readers 4243

Demi final Top 14 France

Ireland 2023: Ireland are ranked as the best men’s rugby team in the world and 2023 is a men’s Rugby World Cup year. And in a little over a month Ireland will be heading off to try and win the fecking thing – something that would have been but a poor joke even a few years ago. Irish rugby is perhaps the best example of successful All-Irelandery (sporting or otherwise) that there is in terms of embracing both political traditions on …

The Moebius strip of offence, condemnation and sundry other trivialising bunfights

ItwasSammyMcNally on September 2, 2022, 3:44 pm

| Readers 2983

goat, animal, livestock

Let me be up front from the outset. I can be very, very easily offended and I’m very, very selective in what I’m offended by. For example, the use of the L word as a prefix to Derry, whilst I consider it entirely legitimate, is nevertheless, very, very offensive to me – and yet I’m a big fan of the Wolf Tones and have no problem with their songs about the IRA. So you might reasonably conclude that once my tribal …

In praise of Nolan: “discussing controversial issues in a divided society will be – controversial…”

ItwasSammyMcNally on June 28, 2022, 2:27 pm

| Readers 4667

flame, matchstick, light

As Mark Davenport (BBC Northern Ireland political editor) and David Blevins (Sky News) can both attest, being the subject of abuse on Twitter is not something reserved exclusively for Stephen Nolan. (David Blevins comments on his abuse here). And whilst all 3 are excellent journalists – the level of abuse directed at Stephen Nolan places him in a category all of it’s own. For example, in July 2021, Nolan received a 5 figure court settlement for abuse on Twitter. The previous day …

“The Referee’s a wnkr…”

ItwasSammyMcNally on June 9, 2020, 7:41 am

| Readers 2638

Anyone with an interest in soccer in these islands will probably be familiar with this chant. It is part of what is often referred to as – football culture. It is now so normalised that, what otherwise is deemed to be grossly offensive language, can be audible in living rooms across these islands on a Sunday afternoon – and yet no one seems to actually hear it. Or if they do hear it, no one seems to be concerned that …

Gerry’s last job. (He hasn’t gone away you know.)

ItwasSammyMcNally on February 7, 2020, 9:30 am

| Readers 4293

Having announced his retirement as a TD for Louth and now watching Sinn Féin rise to become the most popular party in Ireland (26 of 32) in recent opinion polls – the last part of Gerry’s masterplan is almost complete. They are now so close to getting their hands on power on both sides of the border. But not quite. Perhaps only Gerry, as someone who fought the fight and then delivered the Republican movement to peace – can finally get the old …

So G’wan Leinster – but can we have a different Irish ‘winner’ next year please?

ItwasSammyMcNally on May 9, 2018, 10:16 pm

| Readers 1282

As another hugely successful season draws to a close, with a grand slam in the bag, Ireland ranked 2nd in the world and 2nd favourites to win next year’s world cup – we can still look forward to Leinster winning the European Champions Cup. Leinster play Racing 92 of Paris in Bilbao (Spain) on Saturday 12th May. Kick off 16.45, Irish time. Whilst Ulster failed to get to the knockout stages of the Champions Cup, Connacht got to the quarterfinals of …

A St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam showdown at Twickers? Probably.

ItwasSammyMcNally on February 22, 2018, 9:19 am

| Readers 1070

Ireland last won a Grand Slam back in 2009. In odd years, like 2009, Ireland play England and France (the 2 traditional heavyweights) at home – and odd years were therefore deemed Ireland’s best chance of winning a 6 Nations Championship and particularly a grand slam. But in more recent times, France’s form has fallen off a cliff and Ireland has taken to beating them both home and away. In contrast to France, Ireland has moved up the pecking order …

Ireland and Europe: how Rugby could provide a very positive story in 2018…

ItwasSammyMcNally on December 21, 2017, 10:10 am

| Readers 875

The European club championships have now closed down until the new year. Rounds 3 & 4, played over the weekends of 9th and the 16th December, saw all 4 Irish provinces win for the 2nd weekend in a row. Leinster, Munster and Ulster (listed in alphabetical order) are all now well placed in their groups to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions Cup, with Connacht likewise well placed in the Challenge Cup. Since the European Cup started in …

Can Warren Gatland see off his tribal critics with an historic Lions NZ win for only the second time in history?

ItwasSammyMcNally on June 23, 2017, 10:53 am

| Readers 439

When Warren Gatland announced his Lions squad for the tour to New Zealand there was considerable disgruntlement in Scotland that only two of their kith and kin and had been selected. Former Scottish internationals lined up to criticise the selection that also saw 16 players from England and 12 players from Wales even though they had finished below Scotland in the 6 Nations. Jim Telfer, himself a former Lions (and Scotland) coach stated: “Scottish Rugby should really feel as if …

Is it time for a European Lions v the southern hemisphere rugby test match series?

ItwasSammyMcNally on March 2, 2017, 5:04 pm

| Readers 1030

Once every four years, the best players from the 4 rugby nations in the British isles play as a single team as the British and Irish lions. And when it is a Lions year, every week the papers revise and review their best guess as to who will be in the test team, who will be in squad and who will be captain. This year, in June, the Lions go to New Zealand to play the All Blacks, where they …

The Heineken Cup – an Irish success story.

ItwasSammyMcNally on May 20, 2011, 10:50 pm

| Readers 6

This is the sixteenth year of the Heineken Cup and so far we have had 4 Irish victories. If Leinster beat Northampton in Cardiff’s Millennium stadium tomorrow(Saturday kick off 5pm) that will make it 4 Irish victories in the competition in the last 6 years- two each for Munster and Leinster – an incredible record. Unfortunately, this season, a resurgent Ulster exited to Northampton in the quarter finals, the first time they had qualified for the knock out stages since …

Queen’s Visit: Time to move on but not to forget…

ItwasSammyMcNally on May 19, 2011, 10:19 am

| Readers 21

‘I have signed my own death warrant’; so (allegedly) did Michael Collins spake after he had signed The Treaty in London in 1921. Collins’s support for the Anglo-Irish Treaty which both agreed to the partition of the country and required elected representatives in the new state to promise to be faithful to His Majesty King George V (the Queen’s grandfather) was to lead to civil war and Collins’s own untimely death on the 22 August 1922. Irish attitudes to the …

Stand up for the Ulstermen (and the Leinstermen).

ItwasSammyMcNally on April 9, 2011, 6:03 pm

| Readers 39

With Rory in the lead in the US Masters in Augusta and Ulster in the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time since they won it in 1999 – it could be a sensational weekend for Ulster sport. … if Ulster beat Northampton (away) on Sunday they will have a home semi-final and the possibility of an All Ireland Heineken Cup final in Cardiff in May – just the preparation Ireland need for the world cup. …if …

Of Prohibition, Paddy’s day, Leprechauns and the AOH

ItwasSammyMcNally on February 28, 2011, 12:11 pm

| Readers 49

After watching the first 6 episodes of the excellent Boardwalk Empire (Sky Atlantic, Saturday 9pm) a few well established truisms are reassurignly reinforced. Firstly, just about everybody can do (and does) an Oirish accent but just about no one can do an Irish one. Secondly, given that the Irish do so love a drink, it was not very clever to impose Prohibition on a population so heavily represented by our goodselves. Thirdly, just as in fashion and style the Italians …