Paul Gosling

‘Christians should lead in healing Northern Ireland’

Paul Gosling on April 19, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 1582

Christians should take a leading role in healing Northern Ireland, says Bishop Ken Good, the Church of Ireland bishop for the cross-border diocese of Derry and Raphoe. He also says that politicians should speak less and that civil society should find its voice. Bishop Ken Good was interviewed in the first of a series of more than 30 Forward Together podcasts recorded with leading figures across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to mark 21 years since the signing …

How do we create a better society? Announcing the ‘Forward Together’ podcasts

Paul Gosling on April 16, 2019, 10:00 am

| Readers 802

To mark 21 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, an important new initiative begins on Good Friday, 19th April, 2019. A series of podcasts will be broadcast twice a week, seeking answers to questions about the future of Northern Ireland and the border counties. The objective is to promote a wider, more inclusive and engaged conversation about how we make progress, further solidify peace and create a genuinely shared and integrated society. We want that discussion to …

Podcasting Brexit

Paul Gosling on January 28, 2019, 8:28 pm

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Podcasts are a useful medium, even though listener numbers are not always massive. But if considered as an alternative to a series of public meetings, their value is significant. They can be cheaper and gain more listeners than would be attracted to a meeting. They can be a way of collecting together different voices, without the need to bring them all together in one place, on one date. And, we can guess, they attract a very different audience. Since early 2018, the Holywell Trust …

‘A New Ireland: a ten year plan?’ Book launch…

Paul Gosling on December 6, 2018, 3:54 pm

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‘A New Ireland: a ten year plan?’ is being launched at events in Dublin and Belfast tomorrow (7th December). The book considers the prospect for Irish reunification in the context of the impact of Brexit and demographic changes in Northern Ireland, alongside the economic strength and increasing social liberalism of the Irish Republic. Things are changing in Ireland, north and south. But the problems associated with the Brexit referendum result demonstrate the danger of having a yes/no vote without considering …

Future Ireland / Healthcare in ‘A New Ireland’

Paul Gosling on November 24, 2018, 8:38 am

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In producing the report – now a book – ‘A New Ireland’ this year, I conducted lots of interviews asking people about the prospect of Irish reunification. The issue of healthcare in a united Ireland was consistently cited as a major concern. Northern perceptions of the southern system are very negative. Views within the Republic are not that positive either, for sound reasons. But it is only fair to point out that the NHS in Northern Ireland is in crisis. …

Hubris and Nemesis – The Fall of the Co-operative Bank…

Paul Gosling on November 14, 2018, 3:43 pm

| Readers 2403

In ancient Greek mythology, the sin of hubris – excessive self-praise and over-weaning pride – was punished by Nemesis, the goddess of indignation. It is a metaphor sometimes used to describe how the giants of the banking industry were destroyed by market forces in the great recession that began in 2008. Their inflated egos allowed banks to lose the run of themselves, investing in assets that were vastly over-valued and which the bankers often didn’t even understand. It would be …