Category Archives: General

Was the Easter Rising commemoration a 26 county affair?

Posted on Monday, 18 April, 2016 by andypollak

Forgive me, gentle reader, if I add my two ha’apence worth to the millions of words that have been written about the Easter Rising commemoration in recent months. It seemed to me, as a Northerner who is a Dublin resident, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

The divided worlds and parallel universes of Irish education

Posted on Sunday, 27 March, 2016 by andypollak

As a former education journalist, I should write about education more often. However as a passionate advocate of greater North-South cooperation in Ireland, I find the lack of progress in bringing together children and teachers across the border in the … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | Leave a comment

The South Ulster town I loved so well

Posted on Wednesday, 24 February, 2016 by andypollak

It’s not very often that this column tries to escape from politics, especially by heading across the border!  But earlier this week I took a break from a rather uninspiring election campaign in the Republic and spent a day in … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland | 3 Comments

Why do people like me demonise Sinn Fein?

Posted on Wednesday, 27 January, 2016 by andypollak

In a response to the revised version of my last blog published in the Irish Times, which began with a laudatory profile of Julie-Anne Corr Johnston of the Progressive Unionist Party, a reader called Joe Nolan chastised me in the following … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Sinn Fein | 1 Comment

My politician of the year is a lesbian loyalist from Belfast

Posted on Saturday, 26 December, 2015 by andypollak

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

Most Irish people don’t want unity if it means more taxes

Posted on Wednesday, 25 November, 2015 by andypollak

Irish people aren’t stupid: when it comes to the big issues, they vote with their heads rather than their hearts. In an opinion poll carried out for RTE Prime Time and BBC Northern Ireland’s Nolan Live earlier this month only 11% of people … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

Why Enda Kenny should say ‘thank you’ prayers for Kevin McGuigan and other killers

Posted on Tuesday, 27 October, 2015 by andypollak

Taoiseach Enda Kenny should be saying ‘thank you’ prayers these days for Kevin McGuigan, Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison and the other IRA killers and lethal Northern leopards who cannot change their spots. Just as he is beginning his election campaign around … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Sinn Fein | 1 Comment

The role of stupidity in local and global politics

Posted on Sunday, 27 September, 2015 by andypollak

Stupidity. I am going to write this month about the role of stupidity in local and global politics. Some of this comes from having read a number of books over the summer in which such stupidity played a central role. … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Republic of Ireland | Leave a comment

The Republic is a good place for Protestants now

Posted on Wednesday, 26 August, 2015 by andypollak

As someone from a Northern Protestant background happily resident in Dublin, I know there is little or no point in trying to persuade my co-religionists that they should agree to do away with the border and become part of my … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 6 Comments

Why we need to be on the same team as the Germans

Posted on Wednesday, 29 July, 2015 by andypollak

Germany is now the undisputed boss of the European Union. Any lingering doubts about this were ruthlessly dispelled during the recent Greek bail-out crisis. Angela Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, forced through a package of reforms even more … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Views from abroad | 3 Comments