Category Archives: Cross-border cooperation

A Presbyterian republican Ulsterwoman and the ‘sister states’ of Ireland

Posted on Sunday, 25 December, 2016 by

For the second year running my politician of the year is a Protestant Ulsterwoman. This year it is Heather Humphreys, Irish Minister for Arts, Culture, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, a Monaghan Presbyterian whose grandfather signed the 1912 Ulster Covenant and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | Leave a comment

Three positive things to make us feel good about Northern Ireland (and Ireland)

Posted on Wednesday, 26 October, 2016 by

“Be positive, Andy” said the former Sinn Fein Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tom Hartley, when I met him at ‘Amazing the Space’, a splendid Cooperation Ireland event on the old Maze prison site last month, which brought together 3,500 young … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | Leave a comment

Flailing around in the fact free zone that is Brexit

Posted on Sunday, 25 September, 2016 by

We are now in the phoney war period between the Brexit vote and the British government invoking Article 50 of the European Union Treaty to begin negotiating to leave the EU. And nobody – neither citizens nor governments – knows … Continue reading →

Posted in British-Irish relations, Cross-border cooperation, General, Ireland, Europe and the world | 1 Comment

Can we have a bit of realism about the border, please?

Posted on Thursday, 25 August, 2016 by

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am one of those rare Irish people – outside Sinn Fein – who thinks quite a lot about the border. I don’t talk about it much: there’s nothing more likely to … Continue reading →

Posted in British-Irish relations, Cross-border cooperation, General, Irish reunification, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 2 Comments

Between two Irelands: walking and talking from Belfast to Dublin

Posted on Thursday, 28 July, 2016 by

Earlier this month I walked from Belfast to Dublin, talking to people along the way. I tried as much as possible to avoid main roads, using back roads, green roads, hill paths and beaches. My route took me along the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

My politician of the year is a lesbian loyalist from Belfast

Posted on Saturday, 26 December, 2015 by

The most impressive politician I met in 2015 was Julie-Anne Corr Johnston, a 28 year old member of Belfast City Council, representing the small left-of-centre Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), many of whose members are former UVF prisoners. Julie-Anne is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General, Northern Ireland, Protestantism, unionism and loyalism | 5 Comments

International Cooperation 28, Cooperation on the island of Ireland 1

Posted on Thursday, 26 June, 2014 by

I was looking through the Government’s 2014 spending estimates the other day (as one does) and noticed that spending this year on international cooperation (i.e. cooperation with countries in the developing world) will be €481.5 million, down from €629 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General | 1 Comment

Why is the Government so reluctant to tell the world about this Irish success story?

Posted on Friday, 20 December, 2013 by

Earlier this month Eamonn McCann wrote a column in the Irish Times debunking the idea that the Northern Ireland peace process had anything to teach other conflict areas in the world. He painted a picture of Northern Irish politicians and … Continue reading →

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Would Bobby Sands have agreed with cross-border teacher training?

Posted on Friday, 25 October, 2013 by

 A republican acquaintance of mine once said that Bobby Sands didn’t die for cross-border teacher training. I’m very sorry that Bobby Sands had to die at all. I don’t believe his cause, the IRA’s armed struggle (or terrorist campaign, depending … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General | 4 Comments

Confessions of a Cross-border Collaborator

Posted on Friday, 9 August, 2013 by

The mischievous streak in me likes the word ‘collaboration’: it is a subversive word. I believe in the obvious: that the road to peace out of any conflict, short of outright military victory by one side or the other, lies … Continue reading →

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