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Category Archives: Northern Ireland
A bloody Finnish cautionary tale for Irish Republicans
The independent presidential candidate Sean Gallagher has recently joined Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Sinn Fein among the growing list of people who have said they expect to see a united Ireland in their lifetime. The two new factors behind their … Continue reading
Are parts of Europe coming to resemble Northern Ireland?
I imagine that few people outside Northern Ireland would disagree with the statement that the North is one of the most politically backward regions in Western Europe. The reasons are numerous and well-known: 30 years of destabilising and for a … Continue reading
My dream is of an economically united Ireland
When it comes to Northern Ireland many years of journalism and cross-border cooperation have taught me to be a hard-headed, cold-eyed realist. Any suggestion of movement towards Irish unity, whether it be a post-Brexit agreement to put border checks down … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
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On this occasion it was a DUP politician who talked the most sense
Sometimes I despair of the poor understanding of the people of this Republic about what makes the Northern quarter of this island tick. It is not helped by poor reporting of what happens there. We had another example of this … Continue reading
Posted in British-Irish relations, General, Northern Ireland
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Leitrim lessons from the great John McGahern
John McGahern is known, in Ireland and beyond, as a marvellous teller of stories about ordinary rural people’s lives. His most famous novels – The Dark, Amongst Women, That They May Face the Rising Sun – are set in his native Leitrim … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
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I wish the Taoiseach would shut up about a united Ireland
I wish our Taoiseach would shut up about a united Ireland until he has something sensible to say on the subject. According to the Irish Times he was at it again earlier this month, telling Fine Gael parliamentarians after a … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland
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10 beautiful and interesting places off the Belfast to Dublin road (part one)
The road and railway between Belfast and Dublin have been an important part of my life. Over the past 50 years I must have travelled between Ireland’s two major cities several thousand times. Given the millions of people who make … Continue reading
