Soapbox

Bridgewater is a Slugger reader from Belfast. The Robert Hamill Inquiry was published yesterday. The 25 year old Catholic father of three was viciously murdered by a group of Protestants in the centre of Portadown in 1997, simply because he was a Catholic. One of the most astounding elements of this case was the non-intervention of four RUC officers in a Land Rover a few feet from the assault. The Inquiry found that those officers were unaware of the assault …

Read more…

By Elizabeth Clarke MBE  is a member of the Ulster Unionist Party, a school governor, charity volunteer and mum of five.  My son is thinking about moving to Australia next year. Part of me wants to tell him to go see the world, have the adventure and take every opportunity that comes his way. But the mum in me has one question. Will he come home? Because with home comes hope. Hope that our young people can go out into …

Read more…

Kate McCauley is the Chief Executive, Housing Rights As the Northern Ireland Assembly returns from summer recess, Ministers and MLAs have an opportunity to make a fundamental shift in how we respond to homelessness. The change is simple in principle but transformational in practice: stop waiting for people to become homeless before we act. Northern Ireland is facing a homelessness crisis. Rising demand is placing increasing pressure on individuals, families and public services, while spending on temporary accommodation continues to …

Read more…

Philip O’Neill is a slugger reader from Belfast. We all like a good cause, an opportunity to put a right a wrong whether it be in sport, work, or even globally where we can donate to Concern or MSF and feel better for making a difference. We currently have on our doorstep one of the biggest ecological disasters to face the Island of Ireland, Lough Neagh. You will have seen pictures this week of swans and other creatures struggling to …

Read more…

How can a new Ireland maintain and deepen its values, sustained for a century, while achieving the inclusion of unionists and immigrant communities within an all-Ireland culture? Fascinating debate and discussion are anticipated at the 2026 Darcy Magee Summer School in Carlingford when the battle against racism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration violence is examined under the timely theme of Culture, Identity and Inclusion. Compelling participants including former presidential candidate Heather Humphries, RTE podcasters Catriona Crowe and Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, Sunday Independent …

Read more…

A guest piece by Dom Einhorn, responding to Frank Schnittger’s series on the state of Irish rugby heading into the 2027 World Cup. The first lesson I learned as president of a 118-year-old French rugby club is that nobody in rugby ever does the right thing because you asked nicely. Sarlat, in the Dordogne, had survived two world wars, professionalisation, and a century of committee meetings, and every good structural idea I inherited had died the same death: everyone agreed …

Read more…

Terraformer is a learning designer from Offaly, residing in Dublin. Headlines in recent months concerning the digitisation of the 1926 Irish census records painted a stark portrait of Protestant decline during the revolutionary period. The Protestant population of the 26 counties declined from about 311,000 in 1911 to 207,000 in 1926 – 104,000 people, about a third. The marked drop is routinely cited by unionists and revisionists as evidence that Protestant were forced during this time. Peter Hart in the …

Read more…

Chris McCracken is the Managing Director of The Linen Quarter Business Improvement District Debates around Casement Park rumble on. The current location has huge emotional resonance as home to GAA Games since 1953. However, surrounded by packed residential streets, it presents significant challenges, not least parking, noise, and concerns around emergency access. There has been opposition from some within the local community, including a successful judicial review in 2014. The cost of trying to deliver a larger Casement in such a challenging area never …

Read more…

Chris McCracken is the Managing Director of The Linen Quarter Business Improvement District The public reception for the Fleadh has been overwhelmingly positive, but the media have recently returned to a familiar theme: dereliction and decay in the city centre. Nobody can argue that everything is how it should be – the broken promises around Tribeca are a particular point of contention. I would also acknowledge social challenges in relation to street based substance abuse, which is often a symptom …

Read more…

Roaring Hanna is a Slugger reader from Belfast Well alas for our ‘nearest and dearest’ neighbours once again the World Cup isn’t coming home, that’s this year just as it didn’t every year since ’66 and ’62, ’58, 54 & ’50 before that. You really do have to wonder at the mentality of all the little Englanders who have a sense of  entitlement that they seriously believe that their team really have a chance to lift the Jules Rimet? Of …

Read more…

By Brendan Mulgrew, Managing Partner, MW Advocate Later this month Belfast will host what I believe is one of the most significant civic gatherings ever held on the island of Ireland. For the first time, all twelve cities across the island will come together under one roof for the 2026 Summit of the Cities at Belfast City Hall. Elected representatives, civic leaders, business representatives, academics, policymakers, cultural leaders and urban experts will gather to discuss the opportunities and challenges that …

Read more…

Adam Fusco is a Senior Lecturer in Department of Politics in the University of York The results of the devolved elections in Scotland and Wales have seen three out of three First Minsters elected for the first time that wish to see the immediate or eventual independence of their nations. To date, Wales has largely been absent from conversations about independence, but the historic victory of Plaid Cymru in the Senedd election brings Wales into discussions about the breakup of …

Read more…