Brian O'Neill

From the BBC: The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has accused Sinn Féin of trying to “avoid responsibility for its own failures” after former MP Francie Molloy suggested delays to the A5 upgrade could be linked to landowner opposition rooted in the Plantation of Ulster. The 58-mile (94km) road upgrade project had originally been given the go-ahead by Stormont ministers in October 2024, however it has been repeatedly delayed due to court proceedings. On Wednesday evening, a party spokesperson told BBC …

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From the Irish News: The Shankill Road Defenders are founding members of the Belfast Bands Forum, set up last year to coordinate and promote local marching band culture. The forum was represented on the organising committee of the Fleadh. Mr Ramsey was full of praise for the organisers, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, who he says brought loyalist bands to the table and ensured their voices were heard. “They facilitated those connections that allowed trust to be built, and allowed us and …

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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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One of the things I did get wrong about the Fleadh was that I thought there would be an issue with venues being too dispersed across the city centre. The other day I was thinking that it would probably make more sense confining it all to the Cathedral Quarter but I admit to being wrong about this. There are people, people everywhere. Had a dander around #Belfast over lunchtime to see the #Fleadh and town was absolutely heaving! This weekend …

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I spent an enjoyable Sunday in Belfast city centre on the first day of the Fleadh. It was extraordinary to see such a massive crowd of people in the city centre. The area around City Hall, Donegal Place, Royal Avenue, etc., had been pedestrianised and it really was an example of what’s possible in our city centres if we remove vehicles. Now I say this as a car driver myself, but we all know from holidays to Europe that car-free …

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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: Sainsbury’s has agreed to sell Argos for £120m as the supermarket chain aims to focus on its core food business. The buyer, Swift Partners, is a company which has been created to buy the brand and includes former Co-operative Group boss Richard Pennycook. There are Argos 667 shops across the UK, with 201 operating as standalone stores and 466 operating within Sainsbury’s. It also has more than 450 collection points. Swift Partners’ Pennycook said he believed “strongly …

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I confess to never having heard of Ceuta until this morning. Located on the North African coast directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from mainland Spain, Ceuta holds a unique geopolitical status as Spanish territory on the African continent. Because Ceuta is part of Spain and the European Union, its 8.4-kilometer border with Morocco fortified with double-fenced wire barriers, sensors, and naval patrols represents one of Europe’s most heavily guarded external frontiers. The city periodically sees diplomatic and humanitarian strain …

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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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Kier Starmer has resigned as UK Prime Minister saying ‘his work is done’ – which many of you will have your own opinions on how successful his leadership was. After being appointed by King Charles, Andy Burnham becomes the 7th UK Prime Minister in a decade and the 5th PM in 4 years, which shows the difficulty in governing the country since the division Brexit vote and the rise of the far right. Andy Burnham has a likeability factor, which …

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As most of you will know the sub-four-minute mile was long considered impossible until Roger Bannister managed it in 1954. Sensei and many athletes have smashed his record. The latest is Scottish athlete Josh Kerr, who set a new world record in an amazing time of 3:42. He managed to keep an average speed of 16.2 mph which is pretty damn fast. Well done to him. Scottish athlete Josh Kerr breaks the 1-mile world record with a time of 3:42.66, …

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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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Auntie is not in great shape these days, with revenues in terminal decline they have had to do a lot of cost cutting. The BBC is still stuck for how to stay relevant in the modern age of internet streaming. From the Guardian: There are now 23.3m TV licences in force, a fall of 539,000 from a year earlier, according to the corporation’s annual report. It is significantly more than the 300,000 fall in licence fee payers recorded a year …

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From The Guardian: Children in the UK will grow up to be one of the unhealthiest generations in decades, with child health outcomes having declined or stalled completely across all areas, a group of leading paediatricians has said. Reduced vaccination rates alongside rising hospital admissions for asthma and mental health disorders are all contributing factors to the UK’s record on children’s health, which should be seen as a “national embarrassment”, their analysis has found. The report, published by the Royal …

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From The Guardian: British counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the death of the former MP and Reform spokesperson Ann Widdecombe in a shock development that has renewed the debate over the security of politicians. Widdecombe’s body was found with serious injuries by the ambulance service at her home in Haytor Vale, Devon, at 11.40am on Thursday. A 28-year-old man from Rotherham is being held in custody on suspicion of her murder. In a dramatic change of position …

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From the Guardian: Sam Neill, the versatile New Zealand actor whose career spanned Oscar winners and blockbusters such as The Piano and Jurassic Park, has died aged 78. The actor’s death was announced on Monday in a statement shared on his Instagram account. No cause of death was given, but Neill had only recently revealed he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in 2022. “It is with immense sadness that …

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