Category Archives: Northern Ireland

A bloody Finnish cautionary tale for Irish Republicans

Posted on Friday, 5 October, 2018 by

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 →

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

Are parts of Europe coming to resemble Northern Ireland?

Posted on Sunday, 16 September, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Views from abroad | 1 Comment

My dream is of an economically united Ireland

Posted on Friday, 24 August, 2018 by

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 | 7 Comments

On this occasion it was a DUP politician who talked the most sense

Posted on Tuesday, 14 August, 2018 by

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 | 1 Comment

Leitrim lessons from the great John McGahern

Posted on Wednesday, 1 August, 2018 by

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 | Leave a comment

I wish the Taoiseach would shut up about a united Ireland

Posted on Tuesday, 26 June, 2018 by

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 | 1 Comment

10 beautiful and interesting places off the Belfast to Dublin road (part one)

Posted on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018 by

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 →

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