Category Archives: Ireland, Europe and the world

Flailing around in the fact free zone that is Brexit

Posted on Sunday, 25 September, 2016 by andypollak

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

Post-Brexit confessions of an anglophile Irishman

Posted on Saturday, 25 June, 2016 by andypollak

So Brexit has happened. Fear, lies and stupidity won the day (although these were not only on the Leave side) and dangerous new forces of right-wing populism and English nationalism were unleashed in the British body politic. It was gratifying … Continue reading →

Posted in British-Irish relations, General, Ireland, Europe and the world | 6 Comments

Lessons from Ireland’s great forgotten philosopher: Francis Hutcheson

Posted on Wednesday, 25 May, 2016 by andypollak

This August marks the 270th anniversary of the death of one of Ireland’s greatest philosophers: Francis Hutcheson. Who has heard of this County Down-born sage, son and grandson of Presbyterian ministers, today? He ran a ‘dissenting academy’ in Drumcondra Lane … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 3 Comments

The inspirational volunteers of the Calais refugee camp

Posted on Monday, 2 May, 2016 by andypollak

It was a surreal scene: a soccer tournament on a sand-covered space which looked more like a rubbish dump than a football pitch; the players (all wearing tops reading ‘We are Human’) drawn from half-a-dozen countries ranging from Sudan to … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Views from abroad | 2 Comments

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

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

Why does economics matter so little in Northern Ireland?

Posted on Friday, 26 June, 2015 by andypollak

Why does economics seem to matter so little in Northern Ireland?  The biggest political debate in the UK’s contemporary history – whether or not to pull out of the European Union – is now taking centre stage in British politics … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland | 2 Comments

Writers, ranchers and revolutionaries: tales of the Irish in Argentina

Posted on Sunday, 22 February, 2015 by andypollak

How many people know that the man who raised the Irish flag over the GPO at Easter 1916 was from Argentina?  I didn’t know this until I was told it earlier this month in Buenos Aires by Guillermo MacLoughlin, one … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Views from abroad | 2 Comments

Notes from another great little country

Posted on Thursday, 29 January, 2015 by andypollak

We in Ireland (or rather the Republic of Ireland) have a lazy, solipsistic tendency to think we are the greatest little country in the world (and not just to do business in). I have spent most of the past fortnight … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Views from abroad | 2 Comments

While Britain and Europe’s tectonic plates move, we argue about Orangemen and Ardoyne

Posted on Tuesday, 8 April, 2014 by andypollak

What is the strategic issue causing senior people in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to lose their sleep these nights?  In the week that Michael D. Higgins pays the first ever state visit by an Irish President to Britain, … Continue reading →

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