Soapbox

The Mural Hunter and The Writing on the Wall…

Soapbox on December 19, 2015, 12:03 am

| Readers 1645

By my estimates, there are around 500 to 600 murals of various shapes and sizes in Northern Ireland. Between 2008 and 2015, I visited and photographed around 400 of them, with just short of 200 of these photographs featuring in my book The Writing on the Wall: A Visual History of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, published in October 2015 by Bluecoat Press. I do not claim to have laid eyes on all the murals in Ireland, but Bill Rolston, Emeritus Professor at the …

Men Bleed Too- the Incoherent Outrage of Men’s Rights Activists

Soapbox on December 15, 2015, 2:22 pm

| Readers 2349

MENS RIGHTS: There has been a recent upsurge in the number of disgruntled men taking to social media to loudly proclaim that they too suffer. They too suffer domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, and a range of other injustices. They are determined to let the world (for that, read women) know that they suffer, and that they demand change.

Where citizens have bemoaned private influence on public process but do little about it

Soapbox on December 10, 2015, 6:45 am

| Readers 544

RTE INVESTIGATES: Professor Gary Murphy of DCU argues that Ireland is a society where the past is indeed a foreign country; a foreign country where citizens bemoaned the private influence that riddled the public policy process but did very little about it. Perhaps they will do so now but perhaps we should not hold our breath.

The Mechanics of the DUP Leadership

Soapbox on December 8, 2015, 7:09 pm

| Readers 2581

INSIDE THE TENT: The cloak and dagger nature of the DUP’s latest episode of leadership change provides us an excuse to revisit Hugo Young’s wonderful description of how, prior to 1965, the British Conservative Party handled the tricky process of succession. Tory leaders were, Young observed, ‘removed and replaced by the informal alchemy of a charmed circle of elders’.

Corruption Culture – The only crime is getting caught

Soapbox on December 8, 2015, 2:00 pm

| Readers 622

BROWN ENVELOPES: Dan Boyle argues that the revelations in the recent RTE Investigates programme into corruption at council level are just another nod to a long standing culture that is defensive and unwilling to see obvious realities. The instinct of the traditional political system is to defend its collective honour, rather than admit that corruption exists in any form, needing to be quashed.

An Islamophobic backlash is not the way to deal with Europe’s suffering

Soapbox on December 8, 2015, 10:52 am

| Readers 534

RESPONDING: Last month was one of the darkest that Europe has ever seen. Terrorism of any kind is abhorrent, but the scale and indiscriminate nature of the blow struck at the heart of France on 13 November mean that the attacks in Paris will forever be etched in the memory of anyone old enough to comprehend the devastation.

Remembering Fr Gerry Reynolds and the Other Blessed Peacemakers in our Society

Soapbox on December 3, 2015, 3:31 pm

| Readers 1145

I was stunned and personally devastated to wake up Monday morning to the news that Fr. Gerry Reynolds, of the Redemptorist community at Clonard Monastery in Belfast, had died. He was 82. I’d known Fr. Gerry for years living and working in Belfast. While we were not close friends, on several occasions he’d worked with or spoken to groups that I was part of or helping to facilitate. He also very generously gave his time to me while I was …

The Brexit debate: choosing sides?

Soapbox on December 1, 2015, 11:41 am

| Readers 457

IN OR OUT: Last week may have given something of an insight into the international economic outlook of our largest party.

It is time that we all face up to the reality of homelessness and accept that it is no longer someone else’s problem.

Soapbox on December 1, 2015, 7:00 am

| Readers 641

HOMELESSNESS: What do you see when you think of homelessness? Most of us will think of a young man sleeping rough in a city centre doorway, or someone drunk on a park bench surrounded by empty cans. Whilst this unfortunately is the reality for some, most homelessness is hidden from view, out of sight and therefore out of mind.

The Tampon Tax and how to effect positive change

Soapbox on November 27, 2015, 7:30 am

| Readers 745

TAMPON TAX: Now, I am the last person to be jumping to the defence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. But I have found myself in the most uncomfortable position following Wednesday’s Spending Review.

#Soapbox: Isn’t it time for us to care for our invisible loved ones?

Soapbox on November 26, 2015, 12:39 pm

| Readers 391

AXING CARE: SDLP Belfast City Councillor Tim Attwood argues that It is our moral and political obligation to show that people with learning disability and mental health issues do matter with particular focus on a number of closures set to affect his own constituency in west Belfast.

Stormont House: A Progressive Unionist Alternative

Soapbox on November 23, 2015, 6:31 pm

| Readers 1117

PROGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE: Lowering Corporation Tax is not the magic wand which many believe it to be, argues PUP Cllr Julie Anne Corr-Jonnson. How many will invest the tax cut in nice holidays and better cars as opposed to the creation of new jobs? There are no sanctions, no prohibitions and no guarantees.

#FreshStart critics are failing to see the wood for the trees…

Soapbox on November 20, 2015, 11:18 am

| Readers 1207

FRESH START: The document isn’t perfect, but it’s better than direct rule and Tory cuts. Its also important to see this document as a base to move forward, this isn’t the end of the negotiations on the economic situation within Ireland.

Soapbox: Is it time to consider giving Loyalists special group rights?

Soapbox on November 17, 2015, 7:00 am

| Readers 3853

LEVELLING UP: Sophie Long argues that we should equip Loyalists with the necessary power and resources to compete as equal participants in Northern Irish politics. She advocates the fairly radical step of implementing special group rights, not only in order for Loyalism to flourish, but as a matter of justice for minority groups.

Irish Elections: Chasing the Democracy Dream

Soapbox on November 13, 2015, 10:26 am

| Readers 367

DEMOS RETURNS: The Athenians and the Romans shared many things, but they had radically different ideas on government. In Rome, most State power was reserved to the winners of elections. Athens focused instead on intensive citizen debate, frequent direct votes, and lottery-appointed officials to handle the bureaucracy.

Growth and the ‘subvention’

Soapbox on November 12, 2015, 5:02 pm

| Readers 1865

Economist Michael Burke writes for us on the British government subvention to Northern Ireland. The economic case for Irish unity is a growth story; that people across the whole of the island would be substantially better off. So, as the author of a recent report, the Economic Case for Irish Unity I was disappointed but not surprised to find that most commentary on it related to the issue of the ‘subvention’. Apparently, supporters of the Union want to make the …

As the road to referendum shortens, battle lines are drawn over the EU

Soapbox on November 10, 2015, 5:20 pm

| Readers 378

Craig Harrison writes for us about the EU referendum and David Cameron’s appearance at the CBI The annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry, held recently in London, provided an illustrative snapshot of the wider political debate on the UK’s membership of the EU. David Cameron reiterated his desire to move away from the ‘ever closure union’ concept, downplaying any notion that the UK couldn’t survive outside of the institution. In what is expected to be a key message …

Soapbox: Making marriage sex-neutral is a huge cultural loss to our community

Soapbox on November 6, 2015, 2:15 pm

| Readers 826

David Smyth is public policy officer at the Evangelical Alliance and here lays out a case against making marriage sex neutral arguing that there is an elision between the terms marriage and wedding which redefines the committment of hetrosexual couples whether it is inside a faith community or outside. Same-sex marriage is a sensitive issue. It’s all about identity, relationships and belief and these are things we all care deeply about. There have been some very personal stories from people …

There seemed to be a Purple glow over the city

Soapbox on November 5, 2015, 4:51 pm

| Readers 367

Guest Blogger Ann Allan talks about the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month event at Stormont on Monday November 2nd As a blogger I’m always on the look out for a subject for my next blog. In my case it is usually something witty (hopefully) and the word ‘me’ or ‘I’ comes up quite a lot. As I lay in bed last night unable to sleep I was thinking about what I was going to write about for my next blog. It …

Defending Equality – Promoting Compassion

Soapbox on October 30, 2015, 5:46 pm

| Readers 4941

SOAPBOX by Conor Houston – “Defending Equality – Promoting Compassion” – ahead of Monday’s debate and vote in the NI Assembly on marriage equality