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Category Archives: Northern Ireland
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
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
Sadly, rugby is one of the few things that unites all Irish people
I was intending to write about Brexit again this month, but the dreadful conundrum of Brexit and the Irish border is going to be with us for some time, so I am going to turn to a far cheerier and … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
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Progressive Belfast shows the quarrelsome North a way forward
Depression over the latest failure by the DUP and Sinn Fein to agree a formula for the return of power sharing in the North has been my dominant emotion over the past fortnight. However I was not at all surprised, … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland
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Why demography is no way to solve the Northern Ireland problem
We need to talk about demography. In an Irish Times article last month the economist David McWilliams reminded us of some basic facts.¹ As we all know, the Protestant population of Northern Ireland is falling while the Catholic population is rising. But … Continue reading
