Brian O'Neill

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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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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I’m not sure of just how big a risk radical Islam is to the good people of Tyrone. According to the last census the Muslim population of Mid Ulster is 198. This is a massive 0.2% of the population. It’s hard to know how many of the 198 are jihadi extremists’ intent on overthrowing Western civilisation or how many of them are just normal people working and raising families. But another year, another Moygashel bonfire ‘performance art’. Last year it …

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When you think about it Count Binface is the perfect intergalactic space warrior to puncture the pomposity of Nigel Farage. 'My job is to demonstrate that British democracy is wonderful and unique in the entire Cosmos' Count Binface told #BBCBreakfast why he plans to stand against Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election – triggered by the resignation of the Reform UK leader who then plans to re-fight… pic.twitter.com/3o3RNSrirk — BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) July 8, 2026 Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger …

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Eventually you live long enough to see things going around again. 30 years ago, it was common practise to have residents for doctors and nurses, but for some reason this fell out of favour. Older medics will have lots of stories about parties in the staff accommodation. The most visible example in Belfast is the old staff tower blocks at Broadway, which were abandoned in 2015 and are a complete eyesore. But the Telegraph reports that some NHS trusts in …

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To counter allegations over his finances, Farage has decided to embrace populism. He has just announced that he is resigning as an MP but will put himself forward as a candidate in the by election, to show that ‘the people’ are behind him and send a message to ‘the establishment’. You have to admire his creativity. 🚨 BREAKING: Nigel Farage has resigned as an MP to trigger a by-election in Clacton  "This will be a people vs the establishment by-election. …

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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 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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Today, ten years ago, the loyal citizens of Her Majesty’s United Kingdom took to the polls and told that motley crew of French cheese-eating surrender monkeys, joyless German technocrats, lazy Spanish siesta lovers and over-sexed Italians and all the other godless heathens of continental Europe that they take their EU and shovel it up their big jam roll. Since in there has been nothing but sunny uplands, the UK economy has soared. There has been political stability and societal harmony …

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The jury has made its decision in the Jeffrey Donaldson trial and they have found him guilty of all 18 sex abuse charges, including one charge of rape. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, who faced five charges including four related to aiding and abetting, found to have done the acts. She cannot be found guilty as she is facing a trial of the facts after being declared unfit for a conventional trial. He has been sent to jail now and …

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The political grapevine is buzzing today with reports from The Guardian suggesting that Keir Starmer will announce his resignation timetable today. Word on the street is that he intends to stick around until the autumn. This feels like a bizarre move. Announcing a departure months in advance is the fastest way to turn a Prime Minister into a dead duck. The moment a leader puts an expiry date on their tenure, power immediately begins to evaporate. Politics relies heavily on …

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