Category Archives: General

Why not a loyalist woman as the symbol of the ‘new Ireland’? Why not Bessie Burgess?

Posted on Thursday, 3 August, 2023 by andypollak

I was in Galway last month to see the brilliant production by the Druid theatre company of Sean O’Casey’s classic play set during the 1916 Rising: The Plough and the Stars. This is the tragic story of Jack Clitheroe, who … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Northern Ireland, Protestantism, unionism and loyalism, Republic of Ireland | 3 Comments

What has really changed in Northern Ireland over the past 30 years?

Posted on Monday, 10 July, 2023 by andypollak

Last week I attended a reception in the Irish government’s splendid house in Notting Hill in Belfast to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the publication of the Opsahl Report.1 This landmark report, based on the views of around 3,000 people … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland | 3 Comments

Refugee crisis reveals the racism in our smug republic

Posted on Monday, 19 June, 2023 by andypollak

I don’t usually write about contentious issues in the Republic of Ireland, because – although I have lived here for many years – I feel I have little to add to the hundreds of thousands of words on television, radio … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Republic of Ireland | 4 Comments

Why I am an (Irish) Unitarian

Posted on Tuesday, 6 June, 2023 by andypollak

This is a slightly edited version of an address I gave in the St Stephen’s Green Unitarian Church, Dublin, on 30th April. I’m going to talk today about why I am a Unitarian. But I am going to start with … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 3 Comments

Irish media’s poor coverage of Northern Ireland not helping understanding in the Republic

Posted on Thursday, 25 May, 2023 by andypollak

Earlier this week I addressed the Belfast dialogue group Compass Points on the coverage of Northern Ireland by the media in the Republic. This is a slightly edited version of my remarks. The first thing I should say is that … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 5 Comments

Talking to a cosmopolitan, community-focussed nationalist who is full of good ideas

Posted on Thursday, 4 May, 2023 by andypollak

Conor Patterson emphasises that he is not a politician, political commentator or member of a political party – he is a businessman with a passion for community development in his home town of Newry, in Northern Ireland and on the … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Northern Ireland | 1 Comment

A wise, insightful examination of the perils and possibilities of Irish unity

Posted on Tuesday, 11 April, 2023 by andypollak

If readers of this blog are looking for a book to read on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, I strongly recommend Perils and Prospects of a United Ireland, by my friend Padraig O’Malley, the distinguished Professor of … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 9 Comments

Are we afraid of talking about Ireland’s violent past and possibly violent future?

Posted on Thursday, 30 March, 2023 by andypollak

This is a blog about letters to the newspapers. I know it’s dangerous to generalise from the particular, and especially the particular of one’s own tiny experience. But I can’t help seeing a pattern in recent rejections of my letters … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Sinn Fein | 4 Comments

Talking to a broad-minded sporting unionist who defies all the Southern stereotypes

Posted on Thursday, 9 March, 2023 by andypollak

Brian Dougherty is a unionist. This Derry community worker says he is more determined in his unionism than he has ever been. Yet in every other way he goes against the narrow stereotype that most people in the South have … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Protestantism, unionism and loyalism | 2 Comments

The new GAA president is that rare thing: an anti-sectarian Ulsterman

Posted on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023 by andypollak

I am going to stray into the unfamiliar territory of the Gaelic Athletic Association for this blog. As a sports-mad half-Irish boy growing up in London, my games were football (soccer in Ireland) and rugby (although I was occasionally seen … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland | 1 Comment