Drumcree march to be reviewed after Lodge gives false information to Commission

The High Court has told the Parades Commission to review its decision not to restrict Saturday’s Orange Order parade at Drumcree to mark 3,000 days since Orangemen were barred from marching along the Garvaghy Road. The ruling came after Mr Justice Weatherup said the commission was told there was no general call-out but the Portadown District Lodge’s website contradicted that.Mr Justice Weatherup said Portadown District Lodge on its website had called for Orange Order members throughout Northern Ireland to join …

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Britain’ new man in Dublin…

The Sunday Business Post has a piece on the new British Ambassador in Dublin. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

A chronicle of change…

Richard Waghorne kindly reproduces a series of three columns charting the changing of the guard in the PDs for the Irish Daily Mail. Whilst he welcomes McDowell’s elevation he has some reservations about the gap between the Minister’s promises and actual delivery: There’s nothing unforgivably wrong with a flight of oratory and combative positioning – especially after unanimously claiming the leadership – but only if it’s backed up by the hard work of practical politics and meaningful reform. McDowell’s past …

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PDs prospects under McDowell…

Good analysis (subs needed) from one of the Republic’s leading public psephologist, Noel Whelan, who notes that few, if any, of the party’s seats are safe and one or two look almost certain to go. The primary danger lies in the expected resurgence of Fine Gael after an extremely low point in 2002. Perhaps that’s why its voters were the first target in McDowell’s first press statement as leader. My own suspicion is that a noteably successful outcome from Harney’s …

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All change at the top of the PDs…

We understand that Michael McDowell has been confirmed as the new party leader (and Tainiste?) with Liz O’Donnell as his Deputy while Tom Parlon takes over as party President. Mary Harney can, if she so wishes retain her tough brief at health (key to their election campaign?). No surprises there then. We await confirmation from the MSM. Though El Matador was onto it well before us… Update: As Pete notes below, the party statement is ambiguous to say the least. …

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McDowell gets most of the early backing…

Red Rover Simon notes the early breakers for the front in the PD leadership race are mostly (though not all) backing the controversial Justice Minister, Michael McDowell. Notoriously independent of mind, is he the one who Bertie had in mind yesterday when he said, “he would expect to get a clear commitment from the new PD leader that they would complete the agreed programme for government until the next general election”. It will make for an interesting ride if he …

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Calling all bloggers, blog curious journos, and politicians…

Blogging first broke into the limelight in the US after 9/11. By June 2002, when Slugger began life, poltical blogging was still a something of a small village affair in Britain and the lonely pursuit of a handful of early adopters in Ireland. One, Paul Dunne, even handbuilt his own linux-based blog software. This week’s events in Britain have shown how blogs enable individuals to share forensic knowledge and insight in speedy networks. In Ireland we are still looking for …

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Roy Keane is the new Sinead O’Connor?

Take a few minutes to read Danny Kelly… He’s been on holiday to Co Clare and has had something of a revelation… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Recovering the ‘mislaid’ past…

Long before Slugger, I used to spend time on the Compuserve Ireland forum. It was ably moderated by the late (great?) Vincent Hannah – a sincere, passionate and scrupulously fair man. In one round of discussions it became obvious that most of us tend to remember the past through the prism of our own community’s sensibilities, which often requires the complete relegation from memory of atrocities committed by ‘our side’ on ‘theirs’. Eoghan Harris tells one such forgotten story from …

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When will the PMs go?

Two interviews, and two hints about when the Irish and British PMs will go… David Milliband tells the Today Programme that twelve months is a sensible guess, (sound file) though it won’t necessarily stop the Westminster junkies from tongue wagging about the planned manner of his departure… On Morning Ireland Bertie’s response will bring some dismay to his opponents, he’ll stay till he’s sixty and then ‘paddle his own canoe’…He just about wraps up the proportions of the hill the …

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Waghorne on Adams and the Middle East

Richard Waghorne is on the BBC World Service tomorrow between 10-11am to talk about Gerry Adams’ visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Republic’s p*** poor record on broadband…

Damien Mulley is fuming with Comreg et al. Despite being the second richest country in the world in terms of GDP, domestic broadband penetration in the Republic is scraping just above the ground at 8%. The average amongst new member EU countries is 12%. Slugger also hears that the new Danish owners of Northern Bank offered its employees a deal in which they provided laptops and a free domestic broadband connection for a year, but were dismayed when large numbers …

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Northern Ireland ‘nice place to live’ shock!

That’s the upshot of the Newsletter’s take on the news that Northern Ireland has the UK’s fastest growing population, it’s expected to increase by 12% over the next generation. It now accounts for 2.7% of the UK population. The demographic profile shows a strong youthful bias, which as the Newsletter points out ‘should be positive for a cohesive economy’.It also notes: …the Office for National Statistics confirms that the numbers of migrant workers are greater than the young people leaving …

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From Daingean back to Dingle…

The Republic’s government’s decision to abolish the name of Dingle has led to a major opposition and the introduction of a new plebescite to decide whether to reverse the process. ONe of the most bizzare aspects (I’m sure someone will enlighten me) is that the name change was effected by plebescite of those electors living in the townland of Dingle, not the town as a whole. A re-run is to take place in mid October, this time to change it …

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What role a monarch in a 32 county Ireland?

Thanks to Boland’s Ghost for pointing us in the direction of Gay Mitchell’s latest kite flying exercise, when he asks if there would be a role for a monarch in a 32 county Republic. It is, as Boland notes, a role back from the position held by Collins in treaty negotiations, since the Irish Republican project has never had more than a derisory response from the island’s original republicans (ie Ulster’s Presbyterians), it may be the least it can do …

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The great cannibis drought of old Dundalk town…

That’s what’s dominating the headlines in this week’s Dundalk Democrat. Sheena Brothers reports that ‘for well over a month now smokers of the popular yet illegal drug have been unable to score anything but the lowest quality hash and even that has now dried up”. Head of the local drugs unit explains:”It is not something that is specific to Dundalk. It’s a national situation. It could be a combination of any number of factors from the conflict in the Middle …

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Republic needs Mayoral offices to fight urban decline…

David McWilliams reckons that the Republic’s expansion has led to unsustainable urban communities, and a startling divide between ‘new’ and ‘old’ Ireland. In essence, the problem raised by the 2006 Census is that whilst Dublin is expanding rapidly, the countries other centres of populations, Cork, Limerick and Waterford are witnessing falls in their population, whilst in the countryside it is rising. The population is falling or about to fall in three of our five major cities. This is a huge …

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Donegal: the forgotten county?

I have no idea which students are likely to be worst hit by the cost cutting measure mentioned below, but I would guess the axe will fall disproportionately on residents of Donegal. It has long been a forgotten county, and its residually high unemployment rates underline the degree to which it has not been able to leverage (directly at least) the new wealth of the tiger economy. It’s arguable that the collapse of the Belfast Agreement has hit its people …

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Irish in a pluralist society…

The MacGill Summer School continues to probe the most contentious political and cultural issues. Yesterday, they assembled a panel on the Irish language, ably chaired no doubt, by Foinse‘s erudite political analyst, Póilín Ní Chiaráin. We reproduce one of the paper’s presented yesterday by Robin Bury of the Reform group below. By Robin Bury LAST TIME I SPOKE ON THIS SUBJECT THE REFORM MOVEMENT WAS ATTACKED BY AN AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRANT LEARNING IRISH HERE AND SHE READ OUT A BLOGGER’S OPINION …

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Fleadh Cheoil in Letterkenny…

For those you (like me) who didn’t notice last year’s event, the Fleadh is in Letterkenny this year – a mere hop, skip and jump across the border in Donegal. We may just get up there for a day or two, since it starts on the 20th August. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across …

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