councillor

SF Mayor of Cashel who made history by shaking hands with the Queen has died

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 12, 2011, 12:56 pm

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Amongst the plethora of Orange-tinged posts on Slugger this week, there’s room to highlight that today’s Belfast Telegraph notes the death of the Sinn Fein councillor “who made history by shaking hands with the Queen”. Michael Browne, who was Mayor of Cashel in Co Tipperary, died on Saturday night following a long battle with cancer. Mr Browne had been widely praised for his decision to defy Sinn Fein’s advice to members to stay away from all events linked to the …

Late night stroll with Niall Ó Donnghaile around Short Strand

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 12, 2011, 1:00 am

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To get a different perspective on the Eleventh Night and the Twelfth Day, I went for a late night walk with Niall Ó Donnghaile around Short Strand about half an hour before midnight. While some young folk were congregating around the Mountpottinger/Albertbridge Road junction, the area was largely deserted – the only noise being the PA belting out music in Pitt Park, about a hundred yards away over the wall. Now a Sinn Féin councillor, and this year Belfast’s Lord …