Brian O'Neill

The sheen has rubbed off the Prince Charming of international politics with predictions that he will resign today. From the Guardian: The Globe and Mail newspaper cited three sources as saying that Trudeau, 53, would quit as head of the ruling Liberal party after nearly a decade in office. It said one of the sources had recently spoken to the prime minister and believed he intended to step down before an emergency meeting of party members on Wednesday, “so it …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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. When not …

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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. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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 …

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More signs of the end times as a DUP MP defends the Latin Mass. Traditionally, the DUP have been no fans of the Catholic Church, with Ian Paisley famously branding the Pope the Antichrist and some DUP members even questioning if Catholics are even Christians.  From the BelTel: A veteran DUP MP and Orangeman is being hailed by right-wing Catholic traditionalists after he pressed the Westminster Government about its attitude to the Latin Mass. Strangford MP Jim Shannon — whose …

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Many of us will be glad to see the back of 2024 and let’s hope 2025 will be better for us all. I will leave you with the inspiring words of Enver Hoxha, the Albanian Stalinist dictator. In his 1967 New Year message, he said, “This year will be harder than last year. On the other hand, it will be easier than next year.” Happy New Year! Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care …

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How will you be celebrating this New Year’s Eve? A quiet night in? Some pints down the local? Cocktails in a fancy hotel? A line of two of cocaine? Maybe you are going on a bender with Charlie Lawson and Katie Price? It seems Ireland is awash with cocaine. According to a UN report, Irish people are joint-fourth highest consumers of cocaine globally. Every town and village in the country seems awash with the white stuff. I don’t get the …

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Something different for New Year’s Eve. I have been meaning to put together a frequently asked questions for years and have never got around to it. So if you are curious about how Slugger works ask away. I will then try to collate the answers into a permanent FAQ page. I will also try to answer any comment moderation questions you might have but please don’t ask for specifics like ‘why was my comment in July deleted’. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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. When not …

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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. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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 …

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In the spirit of the famous 1914 Christmas Truce of WW1, I ask that you avoid our usual divisive subjects, we want to give the mods a well-earned rest. You can chat about what you are up to today, memories of Christmas past, what books you are reading, or TV shows you are enjoying. Whatever you like. On behalf of the Slugger team, I wish you a Happy and safe Christmas. Let’s hope next year will be better for everyone. …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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. When not …

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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. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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 …

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From Julian Fowler at the BBC: The landmark ruling was made by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in a case brought by Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney. It found that the actions of police when mounting an undercover surveillance operation were disproportionate and undermined the domestic and international protections available for the media. The PSNI has been ordered to pay £4,000 to each journalist, the first time the IPT has made a ruling for damages against a police force for …

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From the BBC: It has been included among 15 films shortlisted for the International Feature category in the 2025 Oscars, after The Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) selected the film for Ireland’s official submission. The trio’s Sick in the Head has also been shortlisted with 14 others for Best Original Song. The film is based on a semi-fictionalised account of how the west Belfast rap group was formed. Nominations will be announced on 17 January ahead of the awards …

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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. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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 …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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. When not …

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I wrote this after the death of Irish Feminist Nell McCafferty, but then I thought that a man writing about feminism was not a good look. Then, I thought not writing about feminism was a form of sexism. At this point, I tied myself in so many knots that I just gave up. But I don’t like to see a good post wasted, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and publish it now. Rather than being accused …

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The Beltel reports: A Stormont official’s suggestion that workers spend an extra week day working from home to help ease gridlock in Belfast city centre is “deeply disheartening”, an NI business leader has said. Department for Infrastructure (DfI) deputy secretary Colin Woods made the suggestion on Monday morning during a lengthy interview with BBC NI’s The Nolan Show. “If people would use public transport or work from home one day a week even, you would start to see significant reductions …

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Sky News reporting on takeover plans for Harland & Wolff. From Mark Kleinman: Harland & Wolff (H&W), the shipyard-owner which built the Titanic, is closing on a government-backed rescue deal with a Spanish shipping industry group. Sky News can reveal that Navantia has won approval from Downing Street to acquire H&W’s four UK shipyards in a transaction which could be formally agreed as early as next week. If confirmed on the expected terms, the agreement would salvage more than 1,000 …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I 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. When not …

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