Brian O’Neill – Page 78 – Slugger O'Toole

Crime fiction is deadly serious. The NOIRELAND Festival returns this weekend…

Brian O'Neill on March 7, 2019, 11:07 am

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I have a habit that many of you will be familiar with. I buy lots of very worthy books on politics, society, etc. but reading them is a different matter. They sit for years on the bookshelf mocking my lack of civic-mindedness. Instead, when I turn in for the night escapism is what I need. I discovered years ago that detective stories are the perfect balm to soothe away life’s troubles for a while. Not for me the gory tales …

Three Tory MPs Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen join the Labour breakaway group…

Brian O'Neill on February 20, 2019, 11:31 am

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This is interesting, three pro remain Tory MPs have joined the Labour breakaway group, will more follow? From the BBC: Three Tory MPs have resigned from party over its “shift to the right”. Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen wrote a joint letter to Theresa May to confirm their departure. The pro-Remain trio will join the new Independent Group – made up of eight Labour MPs who resigned from their party over its handling of Brexit and anti-Semitism. In …

“Long and short terms causes of the civil rights movement 1921 North and South to August 1969”. Four evenings of public lectures and discussions, in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Dungannon and Larne.

Brian O'Neill on February 4, 2019, 11:02 am

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It can take a lot to get you to leave the house on a cold winters night but a series of talks with Eamon Phoenix and guests should be very enticing to your average Slugger reader. All events are free and you even get a wee cup of tea or coffee, so book your tickets now. They are part of a four-part series with inputs from historians and discussion with members of the audience. 1921-1968 North and South the two Irelands Speakers: Dr …

George Hamilton, Chief Constable of the Police Service announces his retirement…

Brian O'Neill on January 28, 2019, 12:28 pm

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Northern Ireland’s top cop has said he will retire in June. From his Twitter post: I have today informed @NIPolicingBoard of my intention to retire at the end of June. It’s been a huge honour to have served the public through policing for almost 34 years & undoubtedly the greatest privilege of my career has been to serve as Chief Constable of @PoliceServiceNI — Sir George Hamilton (@SirGHamilton) January 28, 2019 According to his Wikipedia page, he is only 51, …

#IrelandsFuture: an awakened Nationalism…

Brian O'Neill on January 27, 2019, 8:24 pm

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I shared the scepticism of others about the #IrelandsFuture event, that it seemed a bit pointless having an event were everyone agreed with each other. But I went along to check it out and I was glad I did. The turnout was astonishing. The hall in the Waterfront conference centre has a capacity of 2000, and it was full. We are happy when we get 100 in the Dark Horse for our Slugger events so to see so many people …

As good an argument as any for a hard border…

Brian O'Neill on January 16, 2019, 12:11 pm

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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 stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

This Christmas double your charity donations with UK Aid Match…

Brian O'Neill on December 20, 2018, 12:20 pm

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Many people like to give to charity at Christmas time but it is important to look at how you can maximise your donations. Until the end of February, the UK Government will match your contribution to select charities. So if you donate £10 the charity gets £20. It is a successful scheme that has been running for the past few years and is a bit of a no-brainer for your donations. The eligible Charities in the current round are: · AfriKids …

This is not a prison, the real prison is where we return to…

Brian O'Neill on December 16, 2018, 12:40 pm

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Interesting story from Reuters about South Koreans who pay to stay in a mock prison to get a break from the stress of their lives. From the post: Since 2013, the “Prison Inside Me” facility in northeast Hongcheon has hosted more than 2,000 inmates, many of them stressed office workers and students seeking relief from South Korea’s demanding work and academic culture. “I was too busy,” said Park as she sat in a 5-sq-m (54-sq-foot) cell. “I shouldn’t be here right …

As her Ministers start to quit over Brexit, is this the end of Theresa May?

Brian O'Neill on November 15, 2018, 10:18 am

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About 8am this morning Shailesh Vara a NI Junior Minister quit over the Brexit deal (I never heard of him either). At 9am this morning the Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab quit. At 10am, Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey also quit. It seems the Ministers unhappy with the Brexit deal are spacing out their resignations for maximin impact. Who will go at 11am? Get your popcorn ready and enjoy the show. You can follow the BBC live feed to keep up to date… Brian …

Let’s play shuffle the Granny! The absurdity of our health service waiting lists…

Brian O'Neill on November 12, 2018, 4:32 pm

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Good report by Seanín Graham in today’s Irish News on the surreal situation of patients going abroad for surgery. Essentially a patient can pay to get treated in another European country and the health service will reimburse them the cost when they come home. With waiting lists up to 4 or 5 years for operations like hip replacements many patients are taking this approach, and who could blame them. From the article: A SPIKE in the number of patients travelling across Europe for …

Get your tickets for the Slugger End of Year Review 2018 – Wed 19th Dec 2018…

Brian O'Neill on November 12, 2018, 11:09 am

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Now firmly established as a Christmas Tradition, join us as we look back on the year in politics with the Cinderella and widow Twankey of local commentators Allison Morris and Alex Kane. Our good friend, comedian Tim McGarry will get everyone into the mood – when it comes to our politics if you don’t laugh you will cry. Your host for the evening will be the best thing to come out of Lisburn since Coca-Cola, Alan Meban. The event is sponsored by MCE …

What can we do personally to improve life in Northern Ireland?

Brian O'Neill on October 24, 2018, 11:49 am

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I don’t know about you, but I am getting fed up with negativity. The news the past while is just a constant diet of despair. I know the news has never exactly been a cheery affair, but it’s getting even harder to escape the unrelenting doom that permeates everything. But the thing for most people life is not that bad. Globally people have never lived longer, or been richer. Despite what the news tells us the world has never been …

Phoenix from the flames. How should we redevelop Belfast City Centre? Free event: Tue 30th October 2018…

Brian O'Neill on October 22, 2018, 11:46 am

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The recent fire at Primark has caused a reported 30% fall in shoppers in Belfast City Centre. Many people are asking how do we revitalise our city centre? Where is the place for smaller retailers? How do you encourage people to live in the city centre? What about services like schools, doctors, parks etc? How do you make a city centre that is livable and attractive to visit? To discuss these and other questions we will have a panel of …

The Deloitte State of the State 2018-2019 Northern Ireland Report. Grim reading but at least the photos are pretty…

Brian O'Neill on October 17, 2018, 12:28 pm

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Yesterday Deloitte launched their State of the State 2018-2019 Northern Ireland Report. Sir Malcolm McKibbin, former head of the civil service who has found a new home in the warm embrace of the private sector was on hand at the event to answer awkward questions from the assorted hacks and bloggers. The key buzzwords at the launch were Strong leadership and innovation, digital transformation and impending cliff edges in public sector services. From the Press release: Northern Ireland must rethink how …

With 80% of police recruits now coming from the Unionist community, is this another example of how Northern Ireland is regressing?

Brian O'Neill on October 3, 2018, 1:04 pm

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The Irish Times is reporting that the number of Nationalists joining the PSNI is continuing to decline, and they may need to reinstate the 50/50 recruitment policy. Four out of five recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) are from the Protestant community compared to just one from the Catholic community, the PSNI has disclosed. If this trend continues then politicians will have to consider reinstituting the 50:50 Catholic:Protestant system of recruitment, the PSNI deputy chief constable Stephen Martin indicated on Monday. Under …

Why even bother running against the incredibly popular Michael D?

Brian O'Neill on September 27, 2018, 7:19 pm

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There are six candidates contesting the Irish Presidential Election, which by my reckoning is about five too many. Michael D is expected to get about 2/3 of the votes which leaves the rest of them fighting a pointless race of irrelevance. To run for President takes several hundred thousand euro and despite it being a ceremonial role it tends to be a very vicious campaign. As the old joke goes, it is vicious because the stakes are so low. Now some …

Brexit Secretary tells NI businesses to ‘speak to Dublin’ if no deal…

Brian O'Neill on August 24, 2018, 9:59 am

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The Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said Northern Ireland businesses trading across the Irish border should contact the Irish government for advice in the event of a ‘no-deal‘. My translation – ‘We have enough problems of our own, you Paddies sort yourselves out.’ Is it reading too much into it that the Government would happily throw NI under the bus if needed? So much for the DUP/Conservative bromance. That’s in the context of the Ashcroft Poll from June which revealed that ‘Six out …

Lets all take over the UUP for the craic…

Brian O'Neill on August 23, 2018, 12:14 pm

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Interesting idea from Newton Emerson in today’s Irish News. The UUP is extraordinary ripe for an entryist takeover. The UUP has perhaps as few as 600 active members, every one of whom has an equal vote in leadership contests. A well-organised rugby club could swamp our 3rd largest political party in time for its next annual conference. It is an interesting idea that political parties could be so easily taken over. I assume it would be a similar case for the …

Why do we need a government anyway?

Brian O'Neill on August 21, 2018, 11:26 am

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In 7 days we will overtake Belguim for the record of longest time without a government. Now putting aside the whole debate of do we have a government or regional assembly the big issue is no one seems to care. People are not exactly taking to the streets demanding the restoration of Stormont, so it is fair to conclude the general population could not give a monkies if it ever comes back. There is the wedeservebetter campaign but really what is …

Half of NI firms postponed or cancelled investment plans due to Brexit…

Brian O'Neill on August 20, 2018, 11:27 am

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A survey by AIB bank shows that half of NI firms postponed or cancelled investment plans due to Brexit. As a business person myself I know in uncertain times you keep your money in your pocket to see how the future will pan out. You put off taking on new staff, you hold off on opening new premises, you don’t buy new equipment etc. But really caution does not just apply to business people but to any sensible consumer which is why we …