Ireland – Page 10 – Slugger O'Toole

The Greenami and Sinn Fein’s squandered opportunity in the Republic…

Mick Fealty on May 26, 2019, 7:53 am

| Readers 8721

Two big stories emerging from the southern elections overnight are: one the rise of the Greens; and two, the fall of Sinn Fein. It will be interesting to see if there are similar reverberations in our Euro count tomorrow. Apart from topping the poll in Dublin, the Green Party is also competitive in the other two Euro constituencies in the Republic. And a major inflow of councillors means that they are likely to see a new clutch of TDs coming …

Border poll ferment hits a high spot in the Euros exit poll

Brian Walker on May 25, 2019, 8:18 pm

| Readers 7161

The Red C exit poll records an astounding result on Irish Unity – so amazing that it’s presented as tucked in after another positive result on the Irish language, as if they don’t quite believe it. Newton tweets Support for a united Ireland rises as support for Sinn Fein falls. Perhaps the southern electorate is more sophisticated on this point than it gets credit for. What’s happening to them down there, so drunk with euphoria about what a terrific …

Go, Prime Minister and take Karen Bradley with you

Sarah Creighton on May 24, 2019, 1:50 pm

| Readers 2473

Theresa May’s voice broke as she reached the end of her resignation speech. Known as the ‘Maybot’ throughout her premiership her exterior finally cracked. She sounded close to tears as she said it had, ‘been the honour of her life’ to ‘serve the country that I love.’ She wasn’t this emotional during the Windrush scandal, a horrifying disaster of her own making. May’s resignation starts the bell ringing for the Conservative Party leadership contest. Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Jeremy Hunt …

‘Women lose out in Northern Ireland’

Paul Gosling on May 24, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 939

More must be done in Northern Ireland to make society open for women and for minorities, argues Alexandra De La Torre, the co-ordinator for NICVA of the Next Chapter, which has the objective of strengthening women’s engagement in civic society and participation in society. Alexandra is interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. “I think it is fundamental for civil society to create spaces where there is room for everyone,” she says. “Spaces that are inclusive for women, inclusive for …

“Alternative arrangements for the Irish border” is a euphemism for red tape and mass surveillance

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on May 22, 2019, 12:47 am

| Readers 4498

The fabled “alternative arrangements” for the Irish border have come to prominence again, following the announcement from Prime Minister Theresa May that the government would “be under a legal obligation to seek to conclude alternative arrangements” to the Irish backstop by the end of 2020. Quite what “a legal obligation to seek” something actually means is unclear. What is also unclear is what these “alternative arrangements” might actually mean in practice. Disgracefully, the British government has forced customs experts, and …

‘We have a political process instead of a peace process’

Paul Gosling on May 20, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 1518

Northern Ireland has “had a political process at the cost of a peace process”, believes Clare Bailey MLA, the leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland. She is highly critical of the limited progress since the Good Friday Agreement 21 years ago and the lack of real social integration. She was speaking in the latest Forward Together podcast. Clare questions who has benefited since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. “Certainly within the working class and the most …

#EP19 Daily Crack: When’s a campaign a campaign and when isn’t it, plus two tight southern battles for SF

Mick Fealty on May 19, 2019, 12:22 pm

| Readers 1584

So, the fifth of our election round ups (if we miss anything important, just stick it in the comment zone, or email me or David on the side)… It’s Sunday today, and quiet so this will be a very short one. I’ll start with this spot (h/t Gary) from Adam Turkington who raises an interesting question about when a political party is campaigning and when it isn’t. Saw this on a @SDLPlive car today. Proof that Remainers can lie just …

In praise of Citizens’ Assemblies – Peter Sheridan believes they can provide solutions to some of Northern Ireland’s most intractable problems

Paul Gosling on May 17, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 1239

Citizens’ assemblies should be widely used to address the problems faced by communities across Northern Ireland, argues Peter Sheridan, the chief executive of Co-operation Ireland. He was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. “It works in Canada, it works in Iceland: there are examples all around the world.” Speaking before the murder of Lyra McKee, Peter continues: “You pick an area and pick a problem, you randomly select a group of people from the electoral register and depending on …

‘Political leadership is key to making progress’

Paul Gosling on May 13, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 631

Developing mutual respect, strengthening relationships and building proper political leadership are the basis for making progress in Northern Ireland, believes independent unionist MLA – and former justice minister – Claire Sugden. She is interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. Talking before the announcement of renewed political talks, Claire expressed her frustration at the lack of a functioning Assembly and Executive. “We’ve had a situation here at Stormont where we haven’t had a sitting assembly for two years. And I …

“A leadership vacuum” that must be filled

Paul Gosling on May 10, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 704

A leadership vacuum is causing harm across Northern Ireland, including in loyalist areas, and contributes to the lure of paramilitaries, warns victims’ campaigner Alan McBride in the latest Forward Together podcast. “I think we probably need to put a lot of investment into areas like East Belfast and the Shankill and other areas to try and improve the leadership potential,” he argues. Alan adds: “As a grassroots working class Protestant loyalist myself, I have a real feel for that community. …

Brexit is hard enough to live through without the Irish going bananas about the end of Britain

Brian Walker on May 6, 2019, 5:57 pm

| Readers 9666

Joan Redmond is a high achieving young Irish historian who took a master’s in Cambridge and now teaches in King’s College London. She also tells us she’s married to an Italian. In the Irish Times she gives an account of how Brexit is making her feel insecure. While Irish history has always had a presence in Cambridge, it is something of a declining force – for the worse, as we have seen with the current standard of debate and knowledge …

‘Let’s look again at the Eames-Bradley approach to the past’

Paul Gosling on May 6, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 1243

The Eames-Bradley report was the best approach yet to how Northern Ireland should deal with Troubles legacy issues, argues Mark Durkan. The former SDLP leader and deputy first minister was interviewed for the ‘Forward Together’ podcast series immediately before declaring his candidacy for Fine Gael for the Dublin constituency in the European Parliament elections. Mark argues that the proposals tabled for the 2013 talks mediated by US envoy Richard Haass were “not as good as Eames-Bradley”. The challenge is also …

‘Reaching across the divide’

Paul Gosling on May 3, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 2490

Linda Ervine is a community worker in loyalist east Belfast, who is also an Irish language activist. Her classes have attracted literally hundreds of people to study Irish at the Skainos Centre on Newtownards Road – proof that Northern Ireland must not be seen merely as a narrow concept of two communities. “We’ve got to reach across the divide,” says Linda in the latest of the ‘Forward Together’ podcast interviews. “Sadly 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement we are …

UK Parliament Declares Environment and Climate Emergency

Claire Mitchell on May 1, 2019, 7:18 pm

| Readers 4594

The House of Commons has tonight declared an “environment and climate emergency.” The first national parliament in the world to do so. This comes in the wake of mass civil action by Extinction Rebellion, school strikes for climate, and local declarations of climate emergency all over the world. The UK Labour Party, which proposed the motion, asked MPs to “act with commensurate urgency.” Something which the Green Party have been urging for a very long time. In the last few …

The ‘ghosting’ by unionist parties of the Irish language community

Concubhar on May 1, 2019, 11:23 am

| Readers 6103

Conradh na Gaeilge, the indefatigible advocacy group making the case for Irish language rights in Northern Ireland, in March sent all the parties in the north a position paper and a very short questionnaire requesting them to commit support or express an opinion on three issues relevant to the Irish language in the imminent local elections. All the parties – apart from the three unionist parties, the DUP, the UUP and the TUV – responded positively to the request. Here …

Northern Ireland takes the elections more seriously than questioning what sort of politics we’re going to get?

Mick Fealty on April 29, 2019, 8:58 pm

| Readers 1968

I, along with many others, have made much of the fact that it is 21 years since the Belfast Agreement. That’s almost generation difference, and a lot has changed in that time. One of them being the general assumptions around democracy. For our benefit Dan O’Brien states the otherwise bleedin’ obvious right out loud: The Agreement, signed just over 21 years ago, was negotiated at a time of global decline in non-democracies and the emergence of a belief that democracy …

‘The suicide rates are huge’ – Podcast interview with Senator Frances Black…

Paul Gosling on April 29, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 1843

Senator Frances Black is an independent senator in Ireland’s Oireachtas and a member of its Good Friday Agreement Implementation Committee. She has family roots in Rathlin Island and a strong commitment to addressing mental health challenges. Frances is also a very modest person. “I’m first and foremost a singer you know,” she says. “And I left school when I was very young. I don’t have a great language. But I do know that people understand the language of the heart. …

Brexit Woes and a Broken Parliament: The Perilous Path Ahead for British Democracy

Soapbox on April 27, 2019, 9:08 am

| Readers 2210

Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement has been rejected multiple times in Parliament. The EU says it can’t be re-negotiated, but that’s beside the point. Despite two series of indicative votes, MPs refused to back any alternative version of Brexit. There also wasn’t enough support for a no-deal Brexit, nor for revoking Article 50 to cancel Brexit altogether. In other words, Parliament rejected all the options available. There were none left. Even those who oppose the withdrawal agreement cannot fairly blame it …

‘Strengthen and value civil society’

Paul Gosling on April 26, 2019, 7:00 am

| Readers 891

“Civil society needs to be strengthened to do more than just provide services,” argues Avila Kilmurray, one of the founders of the Women’s Coalition. “Civil society in many ways was the backbone of society in the 70s, 80s, 90s in Northern Ireland, whenever we were in the midst of The Troubles.” The call for a strong civic society was made in the third interview in the series of more than 30 Forward Together podcasts. These were recorded with leading figures …

Why I [Almost] Stand With Squinter

Gerry Lynch on April 25, 2019, 6:16 am

| Readers 7354

The Andersonstown News’ Robin Livingstone-aka-Squinter put the cat among the pigeons with a tweet attacking Fr Martin Magill for his piercing criticism of the DUP and Sinn Féin leaders at Lyra McKee’s funeral. His claim that the leaders of our two largest political parties are “unwitting women” was ridiculous, but I agree that Magill’s intervention was problematic; in particular, it obscures the key role Loyalist paramilitaries played in collapsing the January 2018 agreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP. Ironically …