Brian O'Neill

From the Guardian: Ursula von der Leyen’s dramatic offer to open the gate to Canada to become the EU’s first ever associate member (9:54) cannot be underestimated in political and trade significance. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as he attends her State of the European Union address (SOTEU) to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France. It, at once, aligns what Canadian prime minister Mark Carney called the “middle powers” in …

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It has probably been the most high-profile story we have never covered on Slugger. The reason being that any discussion of the topic automatically got into conspiracy theories that I felt were hurtful to his family and friends. It was better to wait for the official investigation to release their findings, which they have today. From the BBC: The jury in the Noah Donohoe inquest has found it was possible, but not probable, that failings by the Department of Infrastructure …

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It was sad to read about the death of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s father, from the BBC: Prime Minister Andy Burnham has cancelled official engagements on Monday and Tuesday following the death of his father Roy, who had Alzheimer’s. He had been due to host a meeting of business leaders in Downing Street on Monday, and was expected to speak at the annual trade union TUC Congress in Brighton on Tuesday. In July, Burnham spoke about his father’s condition and …

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The rest of the leaders of the UK regions are ganging up on poor aul Blighty. They meet in Cardiff today to discuss their plans. From the BBC: The first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have begun meeting in Cardiff to discuss “working more closely” including on constitutional issues. It is the first face-to-face meeting among the nationalist leaders since Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth was elected in May, with all three wanting their countries to leave the …

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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 the BBC: Trump said a united Ireland would happen eventually and that the Taoiseach was “the right man over here to get it moving”. During his meeting with Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House, in Phoenix Park, Trump said a united Ireland would be a “fantastic thing”, but added: “now the UK would have something to say about it obviously but I think it would be a great thing, I mean, how can it be bad?” Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) …

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For those not familiar with the situation, Gaelic games are split into three organisations: The main GAA The Ladies Gaelic Football Association Camogie (the female version of hurling) For years they have been trying to merge the three organisations into the main GAA and they put the formidable ex-president Mary McAleese in charge of the campaign. But after four years she has thrown her hands up and walked out, blaming the GAA’s management for the situation. From the Irish Times: …

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The Great Orange One arrives in Ireland tomorrow, causing a diplomatic headache for the Irish government. DFA are as smooth as the yard of silk but this visit will stretch even their legendary powers of diplomacy. President Catherine Connolly is no fan of Trump so she will be doing her best to bite her tongue and get through the meet and greet without incident. There are reports that the security operation is costing the Irish government 20 million, all just …

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I like this: Best comment on the FT I’ve seen for a while. Explains a lot of the last 14 years. I would probably edit to “ if reasonable people don’t address reasonable voters reasonable concerns then unreasonable people will , and unreasonably ” pic.twitter.com/yFJaWO7vEM — Tom Goodwin (@tomfgoodwin) September 8, 2026 You could also quote the Yeats poem, “The Second Coming.”: The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. The left, simply put, have …

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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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Pour aul Robbie Butler. Well respected as one of the nicest men in politics there were concerns that he would be completely out of his depth as Health Minister and so it has come to pass. Less than a month into the job, he has pulled a Father Ted and announced yet another review into health services. You might recall me writing about this when Peter Weir was Education Minister. Baron Weir of Ballyholme decided rather than take any useful …

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I have been quiet lately as I find the current atmosphere even more depressing than usual. Drumcree was a particularly bleak time in our history and I, like most of us, had assumed the issue was put in a concrete box and dropped somewhere in the middle of Lough Neagh. That unionism is keen to bring back this utterly toxic issue is another example of how useless they are at any strategic thinking. As the old saying goes, “Unionism never …

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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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The great orange one is at it again. Donald Trump stepped up his war of words with Ottawa on Thursday, ordering his government to change the name of Lake Ontario, which sits between Canada and the US, to “Lake America”. The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”. The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence …

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Gas prices for around 200,000 domestic and small business SSE Airtricity customers in Belfast and the west of Northern Ireland will increase by an average of £174 per year starting October 1. The 19.2% rise is largely driven by a global surge in energy costs linked to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. So we can thank Mr. Trump. If you are like myself and you are on a keypad metre for gas, I would strongly advise you to top …

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Country music is massive in Ireland and the death of Dolly Parton is a major blow for her millions of fans over here. Could anyone not be a fan of Dolly Parton? Has there ever been a more talented, good-natured, warm-hearted person? I am a big country music fan myself and Dolly Parton was perfect in every way. I particularly liked the more traditional bluegrass songs she sang. Her duet with Steve Martin is a particular gem. Born on 19 …

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is getting kudos from standing up to Trump in the US Canada trade negotiations. From the FT: Donald Trump has said he will increase tariffs on Canadian cars and automotive parts to 50 per cent as a new trade war erupts between the North American neighbours following the collapse of crunch talks over the weekend. “Canada will be treated like a State no longer!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “On Trade, and in …

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