protestant

Listening to the quiet voices of The Somme

Ian Malcolm on July 1, 2016, 12:20 am | Readers 666

As a child I was forever fascinated by a random collection of oul ‘things’ in a rarely-approached cupboard at home. It was the sort of place where unflattering school reports and old medical cards lay alongside broken spectacles and stringless yoyos, the theory being that they might some day be read, repaired or resurrected. There were a few medals – the full relevance of which I never discovered – but what especially caught my imagination was a bloodstained Nazi armband, …

There is nothing Loyal about Sectarianism

Soapbox on August 3, 2015, 7:45 am | Readers 4132

William Ennis, A member of the PUP, writes for us about the issues of Loyalism and Sectarianism in Northern Ireland The Loyalist activist will also be a human rights activist and will work to ensure that the rights and liberties of the people living and working within his or her community are not infringed. If the principles of civil and religious liberty are to be more than a mere slogan on a banner or an Orange Arch they must be …

#Indyref – According to Ashcroft poll, Protestants saved the Union #updated

Kilsally on September 25, 2014, 5:00 pm | Readers 1764

Interesting post independence referendum poll from Lord Ashcroft (results mirrored actual referendum result). calculated from Ashcroft’s data, makes clear, there does appear to have been a simplistic correlation between religious affiliation and referendum voting patterns. Essentially, the majority of Catholics, non-Christians, and those professing no religion all favoured independence. It was only the votes of Protestants which saved the United Kingdom. The vast majority of these affiliate to the Church of Scotland and may have been influenced by the fact …

Has the Protestant Working Class lost out in the Peace Process?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 19, 2013, 9:02 am | Readers 445

That’s the title of a workshop that brought together working class loyalist representatives with some peers from other communities, interested academics and a small number of journalists. The day long event was organised by Dr Aaron Edwards and supported by the Political Studies Association’s Irish Politics Specialist Group and the Fellowship of Messines Association. In an earlier post I posted an interview with PUP leader Billy Hutchinson at the close of the workshop. With four sessions looking at different aspects …

Where is the [working class] Protestant Community today? (panel discussion)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 18, 2012, 11:03 pm | Readers 198

panel discussion on Where is the Protestant community today

A panel discussion around the topic of “Where is the Protestant Community Today?” followed a preview of the play Paisley & Me and two well-received performances/readings by community drama groups in Westbourne Presbyterian Community Church. Noel Thompson strongly chaired proceedings, and started the dialogue by asking the panellists – Sammy Douglas (DUP MLA), Jackie McDonald (UPRG), John Kyle (PUP councillor) and Michael Copeland (UUP MLA) – about their first memories of Ian Paisley. In their own way, each of the …

Orange EU Funding: An Opportunity to Exercise Responsible Society

Of This Island on April 20, 2012, 4:01 pm | Readers 159

Following the news that The Loyal Orange Order have received a grant of almost £900,000 from the European Union to help address the legacy of the Troubles and encourage cross-community interaction, people across the island of Ireland can only stand back in expectation of what is to follow. Unsurprisingly, the decision has been met with support by many members of the Unionist camp, not least in the halls of Stormont. DUP MEP Diane Dodds triumphantly proclaimed that, “this money will …

Turas, by Colin Neill – a story of strangers in a strange land

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 6, 2011, 10:10 am | Readers 66

Colin Neill’s first novel Turas peeks into a world in which many Ulster Protestants feel uncomfortable. It’s 2020 and the Irish unification that unionists and loyalists confidently predicted would never happen has become a reality. President Adams is ensconced in Phoenix Park. The newsreader reported that … a short ceremony at Stormont had confirmed the passing of Northern Ireland, and had officially confirmed the birth of a now 32 county Republic of Ireland. The Union Jack had been lowered and …

Educational underachievement and disadvantaged PUL males

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 27, 2011, 11:28 pm | Readers 669

One subject which didn’t get raised on Slugger last week was the publication of the report into educational underachievement and disadvantaged protestant males by Dawn Purvis and her independent working group. Protestant educational underachievement has been a much talked about situation over the years: generational unemployment, last of aspiration, lack of positive role models on top of the Troubles legacy, poverty, deprivation and family breakdown. Statistics bounce around the media about the low number of boys on the Shankill Road …

Religion in schools. More than just Catholics

Blank on October 19, 2010, 2:15 pm | Readers 42

Peter Robinson’s comments on education have opened up a discussion that is solely focusing on the role of the Catholic Maintained Sector. While the discussion is worthwhile, having it without addressing other elements of religious involvement across education is dealing with less than half of the issue. As noted in Tony Macaulay’s report on Churches and Christian Ethos in Integrated Schools: The assumption that integrated schools would solve the sectarianism problem in Northern Ireland was a false one, a speaker …

The coming Papal visit

Kilsally on September 13, 2010, 9:13 pm | Readers 32

As the media frenzy over this weeks visit to Great Britain by the Pope continues, further protests have emerged. By far the highest profile protest is organised around the Protest The Pope website and includes organisation like the National Secular Society, the British Humanist Association, Atheism UK and Outrage as well as prominent atheist supporters like Richard Dawkings, Peter Tatchell & Christopher Hitchens. Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell hosts `The Trouble with the Pope` which airs on Channel 4 at …