Half of all bus passengers in Northern Ireland ride for free…

An interesting story from Gary McDonald in today’s Irish News. From the story: Of the 60.6 million people using Translink’s Ulsterbus, Goldliner or Metro/Glider services in the 12 months to March , just 31.2 million paid a full fare, bringing in receipts of £84 million for the operators. So that left 29.4 million people using some sort of free/subsidised travel card such as the 60+ Smart Pass. But it was a different story on the railways though, where of 12.9 …

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Half of all bus passengers in Northern Ireland ride for free… – Slugger O’Toole

Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

The normalisation of cocaine in society…

purple and black plastic bottle

Yesterday’s dramatic raid on a container ship off the coast of Cork is estimated to have captured at least 100 million euro worth of cocaine. Army Rangers being winched onto MV Matthew a long way off Cork coast. The ship is carrying a huge quantity of drugs, believed to be cocaine. The Naval Service's LÉ William Butler Yeats fired twice at the large vessel to deter it from trying to escape#Ireland 🇮🇪 👌🤌 pic.twitter.com/D1Bk6Z38H6 — Conor Lally (@conormlally) September 26, …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not …

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Our humiliation is complete. Now we can’t even afford to buy new library books…

view of floating open book from stacked books in library

We have a health service on the brink of collapse. A police service falling apart. Practically every public service under-resourced and over-stretching. Burned-out underpaid workers. And just for good measure the ecological collapse of the largest lough in the UK and Ireland. Political Scientists have a technical term for this situation – ‘being absolutely f*cked’. But every day brings a new low, a fresh reason to pull the duvet over your head and stay in bed. Today it is the …

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Papering over the cracks in our declining town centres…

I took a walk down Great Victoria Street in Belfast this morning. It is fair to say the once Golden Mile has thoroughly lost its lustre. Most buildings are now unoccupied as this BelTel article shows. What should we do in the face of such urban decay? Well, they paper over the cracks. Bollards have been given a lick of paint. Fake doors and windows have been applied to the front of some buildings. Most bizarrely, there is a fake …

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Mickey Harte to be the next manager of Derry GAA team…

Every year, I write the Slugger April Fool, but even I would have dismissed Mickey Harte switching allegiance to Derry and being too unbelievable, but thus it has come to pass. There is no love lost between Tyrone and Derry GAA, and the reaction to the news has been one of shock from fans of both countries. Owen Mulligan, who played in Harte’s three Tyrone All-Ireland winning teams said “May as well have joined Rangers”. As usual, former GAA pundit …

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Less flags, more flowers please…

I was on holiday in Sligo the other week, and I was very taken with how floral Sligo town has become. I have been going to Sligo for 40-odd years, so I remember the bleak times when the town was much more grey. The council, to their credit, have embraced our floral friends and the town centre was a riot of colour. There were flower baskets all over the place, and as you can see from the main photo, they …

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The push begins for a border poll in 2030…

At the Féile an Phobail summer school this year, a panel from Irelands Future discussed their campaign for a border poll on reunification to happen in 2030. They explained their logic in picking this date, but honestly, I forgot the details. It had something to do with the timing of the elections, but I think the main reason is that 2030 has a catchy ring to it. Last week, SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood backed the plans. 🚨Significant intervention from @SDLPlive …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not …

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Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

open sunday sign, signage, open

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily …

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Open sunday – politics free zone…

Street vendor with a suitcase

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not …

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You can rent this Belfast apartment for a bargain £4,500 a month…

white wooden dresser with mirror

Fancy a bit of City Centre living? Got more money than sense? I have the rental just for you. This penthouse apartment on Montgomery St is on the market for only £4500 a month. Who would rent such a place? I suppose they are targeting celebrities in town filming at Titanic Studios. Or the deep-pocket corporate market could hire it for executives. Back in the real world, PropertyPal say the average property price is now £200,600, and the average rental …

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Controversy Legacy Bill passes through Commons…

Big Ben tower

Not much unites our local parties, but they all agreed on their opposition to the Legacy Bill. Unfortunately, like most things, our views count for very little at the mother of parliaments. A bid by the House of Lords to amend the bill was voted down by 288 to 205. From the BBC: The bill ends new Troubles-era cases and inquests and offers conditional amnesty to those accused of killings. The Irish government is considering legal action against the UK …

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PSNI data blunder could end up costing £240 million…

From the BBC: Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd gave evidence to a Westminster committee on Tuesday. Ass Ch Con Todd said the force has calculated some estimated costs that it could potentially incur after investigations are completed. He told the Northern Ireland Affairs committee that recovery costs were calculated at approximately £24m to £37m, while individual claims for litigation were estimated at potentially up to £180m. When you consider that the PSNI already has a funding gap of around £50 …

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Hilary Benn MP has been appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland..

Hilary Benn

Hilary Benn MP @HilaryBennMP has been appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/ShmOwGSwDn — The Labour Party (@UKLabour) September 4, 2023 Brian O'NeillI help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily …

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Simon Byrne resigns as PSNI Chief Constable…

So it seems Simon Bryne has finally caved into the pressure and resigned as Chief Peeler. He was only in the job 4 years, but I imagine for him, it felt like 40. There was the recent data breach, then the issues with the handling of the Sean Graham Massacre commemoration. But what seemed to finish him off was losing the confidence of the rank and file. You can’t lead if your employees are not willing to follow you. Being …

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DUP founding member Wallace Thompson – ‘we are Irishmen and it’s nonsense to believe we’re not…’

In the Beltel Sam McBride interviews Wallace Thompson. From the article: He’s a Paisleyite, a founding member of the DUP, a former special adviser to Nigel Dodds, and a leading evangelical Protestant, but Wallace Thompson now believes a form of Irish unity is inevitable — and he’s willing to consider it. Thompson has had many lives. As well as having been at the heart of unionist politics and fundamentalist Christianity, he is a respected figure in the Independent Orange Order …

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