Armagh

Armagh bid to become UK City of Culture 2025…

Soapbox on August 24, 2021, 7:45 am

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Cllr Brian Pope is the Alliance Party Group Leader on Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon should be given all the local powers necessary to win the race to become UK City of Culture 2025. It is fantastic news that Armagh and the surrounding borough have been officially listed to compete for this coveted title. We share an impressive heritage both architecturally and socially, and the area has been a centre of cultural and …

Slugger event at John Hewitt Summer School: What’s good for the economy, good for the environment and good for people?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 23, 2021, 5:18 pm

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Slugger O’Toole returns to the John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh next Wednesday evening (28 July at 7pm) with a panel discussion looking at the triangle between economy, environment and people. Is Northern Ireland keeping those three aspects in balance? Are we destroying people and the planet in the name of prosperity? Can we ensure that wellbeing, sustainability and justice benefit everyone? I’ll be joined by Steven Agnew, Dawn Purvis and Joanne Stuart to mull over what’s good for …

Judith Thompson on the inclusive definition of a victim, understanding discomfort, and delivering for people who most desperately need help #JHISS

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 23, 2019, 9:41 am

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Planned for a long time, Judith Thompson, Commissioner for Victims and Survivors, delivered the opening address (video embedded) at the John Hewitt International Summer School on Monday morning and addressed the issues of the definition of a victim, understanding discomfort and the ‘Troubles pension’ which was the topic of a heated radio debate she heard while driving down to the event in Armagh.

An Ulsterman Considers His Passport – Arthur Aughey #JHISS

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 25, 2018, 2:30 pm

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An Ulsterman Considers His Passport … and also considers what we can learn from other complicated borders in Europe, like those Austria shares with its eastern European neighbours. Watch back Prof Arthur Aughey’s Centre for Cross-border Studies lecture at the John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh.

Civil Rights Movement: What Went Wrong? #JHISS

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 24, 2018, 8:00 am

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WATCH Monday’s political panel at the John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh which looked back on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement and asked What Went Wrong? Gregory Campbell, Bríd Rodgers, Colm Gildernew and Trevor Ringland, chaired by Peter Osborne.

2018 John Hewitt International Summer School (23-28 July) – talks, poetry, music & debate

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 6, 2018, 3:53 pm

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PREVIEWING the week-long John Hewitt International Summer School with its mix of talks, poetry, music and debate in Armagh between 23 and 28 July 2018.

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC on dreams, responsibilities, globalisation and value #JHISS

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 29, 2017, 7:53 pm

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LABOUR PEER Baroness Helena Kennedy QC opened the John Hewitt International Summer School last Monday morning with an eloquent lecture that looked at dreams, responsibilities, the challenge of globalisation, the need to look seriously at how we improve cross-border cooperation and recalibrate what we attach value to in society.

Dominique Searle – The Garlic Wall – Gibraltar and Brexit #JHISS

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 28, 2017, 7:20 pm

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SHARING A LAND BORDER WITH EU? Dominique Searle spoke about Gibraltar’s land border with Spain and the impact of Brexit at the John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh. The efficiency of border crossing is crucial.

Seamus Mallon: “be good ancestors as opposed to being good rememberers” #JHISS

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 25, 2017, 10:12 am

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SEAMUS MALLON called for people to “be good ancestors as opposed to being good rememberers” in order to move forward. He was speaking on a political panel on the opening day of the John Hewitt International Summer School along with Naomi Long, Steven Agnew and Doug Beattie, chaired by Peter Osborne.

32 counties of Ireland in 32 days: Armagh

Brian Spencer on March 24, 2017, 7:55 am

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‘In this difficult moment we have seen something special arise. And as Eamonn Mallie tweeted: “How does one harness forever the extraordinary ecumenical spirit of hope emanating from St Columba’s during Martin McGuinness’s Requiem Mass?” I reflected on the meaning of yesterday and felt that drawing the landscape of Armagh City would be fitting. I focused on the two Cathedrals, each breaking the skyline. On the left, the Catholic place of worship, and on the right, the Protestant house of …

Learning to live with Difference – the John Hewitt Summer School (27-31 July, Armagh)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 2, 2015, 4:20 pm

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David Steel (Lord Steel of Aikwood) talking about a federal United Kingdom: “The received wisdom that federal countries need uniform size among the constituent parts, or equal powers among them, is not the case. Nor would it be the case for a federal United Kingdom.” A discussion with CL Dallat, Yasmin Alibhai Brown and Hannah Lowe about shifting demographics in the UK and Ireland and whether we’re stuck in a binary oppositions of 1690 and 1916, of Paisley versus the …

NI Tourism Minister: “I recently had discussions with the chief executive of Tourism Ireland and expressed my disappointment about how the promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way stops at the border.”

Pete Baker on April 15, 2015, 7:08 pm

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Without wishing to undermine historian Hiram Morgan’s call for Irish Government action to preserve the cultural heritage in the seas off the Wild Atlantic Way, it’s worth noting the stated objective of that tourism initiative… The overall aim of the project is to develop a route that will achieve greater visibility for the west coast of Ireland in overseas tourist markets. Also worth pointing out that one of the armada wrecks he mentioned, La Girona, isn’t on the Wild Atlantic Way, having …

Maybe SDLP leadership “got in wrong” Alban?

Patricia MacBride on February 27, 2015, 1:08 pm

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The SDLP is in a bit of a pickle at the moment with its council members in Newry and Mourne appearing to have refused the party whip over the naming of a park after local man and IRA Hunger Striker Raymond McCreesh. The history of the park, the SDLP’s original support for its naming and the reaction to it has been well-documented elsewhere and I do not intend to revisit those issues in this column. What is interesting in this …

SDLP conference – a party ill at ease with itself over opposition & strategy #sdlp13

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on November 9, 2013, 11:17 pm

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Over half the motions at the SDLP policy-making annual conference were addressed on Friday afternoon and evening. Participation in debate was sporadic and the numbers of delegates in the hall were low compared to the number catching up in the hotel corridors and social areas. One observer recalled that not much more than 50 people were in the hall for Friday’s health debate, and a fifth of them were lobbyists! That was a large attendance compared with mid-morning on Saturday. …

“This is [partitionist] provocation in the extreme…”

Pete Baker on March 21, 2012, 4:05 pm

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The sensitive souls at the Armagh GAA County Board have, apparently, issued a statement of complaint in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat to Laois – when their captain was sent-off for allegedly kicking a Laois player during the half-time interval. The RTÉ report notes A statement from the Armagh County Board has claimed that its players were subjected to “racist and personal abuse” during the Allianz NFL game with Laois on Sunday last. The board are angry that the “partitionist provocation” …

Spirit of St Patrick deserts Armagh for Rio de Janeiro?

Mick Fealty on March 20, 2012, 2:26 pm

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In the digital start up, Newry Times there’s a good quote from Conor Murphy on Saturday’s Band Parade on Inside Politics… in which he points to the economic cost of the band parade… Although this seems to have been largely attributable to the bomb hoax left on College Street in the city by person or persons unknown on the band parade route itself presumably facilitating the evacuation and closure of several business that the parade alone would not have effected… …

The first Armagh St Patrick’s Day’s Ulster band parade…

Mick Fealty on March 14, 2012, 12:07 pm

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Armagh City will be the centre of St Patrick’s day celebrations, with scout parades in the morning, a cross community parade through out the day and Irish music sessions in many of the city centre pubs. And this year, for the first time, when all the daytime celebrations are over, the city will host a band parade around the commercial centre of town. The parade is being organised by Cormeen Rising Sons of William Flute Band, a local band who …

Tom Elliott’s speech to #uupconf and a quick interview

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 22, 2011, 10:48 pm

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Tom Elliott walked into the hall to begin his leader’s speech to strains of Arcade Fire’s Ready to Start. A fine sentiment, though the song’s first line may not be UUP policy! Businessmen drink my blood / Like the kids in art school said they would / And I guess I’ll just begin again / You say can we still be friends … All the kids have always known / That the emperor wears no clothes / But to bow …

UUP Conference … short, sweet, Secretary of State spoke, an Orange Lodge scolded

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 22, 2011, 7:40 pm

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Any UUP delegates scanning Saturday morning’s papers over breakfast might have choked on their cornflakes when they realised that the Irish News had devoted the best part of a page to UUP conference news, while there was absolutely no mention in the Newsletter! And the date wasn’t 1st April. The UUP Conference kicked off about 10.15am in Armagh City Hotel. In the absence of the (Anglican) Archbishop of Armagh, Rev Andrew Forster opened in prayer. The local constituency chairman, Councillor …

UUP conference preview – #uupconf (and a preview of what Tom won’t say in his speech!)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 21, 2011, 9:00 am

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What do you think Tom Elliott should say in his UUP conference speech on Saturday? I began last year’s UUP conference preview post with a fantastical vision of a Barcamp-style UUP ‘un-conference’, complete with delegate-suggested sessions. I also imagined the delegates writing Tom Elliott’s speech by scribbling suggested sentences on post-it notes and then knitting the fragments together in a “sensible and compelling order” to produce his address. This year I tried to go further and asked attendees and panellists …