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Northern Ireland has become the first part of the United Kingdom to offer paid leave to women and their partners who endure a miscarriage. As per the ‘Belfast Telegraph’ article by Niamh Campbell The new regulations, which came into place on Monday, mean that people who experience a miscarriage are now entitled to up to two weeks’ leave and pay. This applies at any stage of pregnancy, whereas before, support was mainly for stillbirths after 24 weeks under parental bereavement …

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Every UK Prime Minister feels obliged to talk up the ‘Special Relationship’ between the UK and USA. From Tony Blair to Boris Johnston and then Keir Starmer we see our Prime Ministers desperately seeking recognition from the USA President. Tony Blair’s regime was famously subservient to the USA and foolishly followed Bush into the Iraq war with disastrous consequences. Supporters of Brexit saw the move away from Europe as a move towards the USA and when Boris Johnston was forced …

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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. 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 …

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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. 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 …

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‘That was born to run the boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. If that doesn’t motivate you to enter our 10k fun run in two weeks time, you’re already dead’ said Declan Meehan the presenter on Radio Nova. The station was the market leader in the burgeoning pirate radio phenomenon in early to mid eighties Ireland. We were ten young men living in two rented, dreary, ramshackle semi detached houses in Kilnamanagh, a sprawling housing estate in Tallaght Co. Dublin. Tallaght, once …

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I recently received a message from a Slugger regular on holiday in Torrevieja on Spain’s western Costa Blanca asking about ‘Spanish’ fiestas. The first thing to say is that fiesta culture is Iberian rather than purely Spanish. It stretches across southern Europe in Romance-language countries. This is more of a personal take than an academic one. Fiestas in Iberia have deep roots. Pre-Roman tribes celebrated seasonal cycles tied to agriculture and nature. The Romans brought structure, adding theatre, games and …

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I was in Magherafelt today (well, a week last Saturday), for the first time in quite a while. What struck me was how unlike other Northern Irish towns it is in terms of being relatively free from vacant stores and from the other usual symptoms of commercial ill-health such as lots of cash only businesses (barbers, nail salons, kebab shops) and bookies, charity shops and vape shops. It certainly has these but they are not obvious in their representation, indeed …

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Irish President Catherine Connolly this week made her appointments to the Irish Council of State. According to its page on the Presidential website, the Council is described as follows… The Constitution provides for a Council of State to aid and counsel the President on all matters on which the President may consult them. The circumstances when the President must consult the Council of State are specified in the Constitution. The Taoiseach, Tániaste and other senior officials are automatically included on …

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A very Good Friday indeed for Sisters Bernadette, Regina and Rita of the Scholoss Goldenstein convent outside Salzburg as they maybe about to secure the right to remain in their long-time home. From the Guardian report on the topic… Three nuns who escaped from a care home to return to their convent in a castle close to Salzburg where they had spent most of their lives are a step closer to being able to stay there, sources close to them …

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I’m going to return this month to the theme of my last blog on Northern Ireland’s continued existence in a new or united Ireland, as outlined by SDLP leader Clare Hanna in her essay in the recent publication What Northern Ireland Means to Me. She said then: “Fundamentally – and I think this is really important to say – Northern Ireland’s always going to exist. I think there’s a perception that in a new Ireland – whatever that looks like – that this …

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To be honest, space travel has never interested me that much. I can appreciate the technical achievement of sending a rocket into space and the bravery of the astronauts, but I prefer to concentrate on terra firma and solving the many problems we have down here. I am reminded of the Gil Scott-Heron song: Still, I wish all the astronauts godspeed in whatever it is they’re doing, even though it was all done 60 years ago with less technology than …

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The Financial Times reports on discreet but “advanced” discussions between the UK government and Dublin over a potential transfer of selected Northern Ireland public assets to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. Sources close to the talks describe the move as a “creative fiscal solution” that could help London reduce its long‑term liabilities while giving the Republic a foothold in strategic infrastructure north of the border. A senior Treasury official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposals were being framed …

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For years, I’ve argued that appointments to public boards in Northern Ireland are perceived to be a closed shop. No less than two weeks ago, I found myself in another meeting with another group of mature, experienced directors and when I suggested similar, I was largely closed down and my opinions were disregarded. I don’t say this lightly, nor as someone looking in from the outside. I’ve worked across public policy, local government, business, and engagement for decades, and I’ve …

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Nothing stands still. The best statecraft is not about attempting to freeze society at a specific moment in time you deem ideal or about trying to return to a lost perfection that has been swept away by events. The best statecraft is about navigating the tides and eddies of history to achieve the optimal results for as many people as possible at any given moment, even if various leaders aim for certain outcomes along the way. The future thus belongs …

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In most parts of the world, when the housing market crashes, people stop buying. But in certain parts of China, a property bust has created a bizarre new “growth” sector: apartments for the dead. Known as “Bone Ash Apartments,” these residential units are being bought by families not for living, but for storing the cremated remains of their ancestors. As of March 2026, the FT reports that the Chinese government has officially begun a massive crackdown on this practice. The …

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Most rich people own companies, they provide employment, they understand how our economy works. Should we give rich people 100 votes each at the next election, while restricting the rest of us to just a single vote? After all, they must be exceptionally gifted people to earn so much, so they must be better placed to pick our government, instead of ordinary people like us? [By rich, I mean earning £500k per year or more.] Anyone agree? I accept 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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As a nineteen year old trainee manager in Dublin in 1981, I never imagined I would end up in war torn Belfast four years later. I spent the next two years as deputy manager in the company’s biggest shop in Northern Ireland, but now the stabilisers were off. I was given my own branch. Now I had to paddle my own canoe. Take all the hits. One other positive aspect of this promotion was my new branch was situated in …

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Yesterday I wrote about the Education Authority’s decision not to run summer schemes for children with special needs. By the afternoon, that position had quietly evaporated. Suddenly, everything was back on. Funding found, problems solved, show back on the road. Which does raise an awkward question. If this could be fixed in the space of a few hours, why was it apparently intractable for the past year? You can take a charitable view. Large public bodies are slow, messy things. …

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