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Sisters taking a stand.
Mise agus Rosa ParksThis Saturday there will a march from Coalisland to Dungannon to mark the 50th anniversary of the first ever civil rights march in the north. It was a pivotal moment in the struggle...
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I LOVE HURLING.
I love hurling. The beauty of it. The skill. The magic. The rootedness. The Irishness of it. Even as a little boy on my own hitting a sliotar off a gable wall. I loved that. Up and back. Up and back....
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Irish Unity – achievable and affordable
The issue of Irish unity is now a matter of almost daily conversation. Despite the negativity of both governments there is growing support for a referendum on unity and for a united Ireland. But there...
View ArticleState arrest of two journalists and the issue of collusion
Irish govt refusing to oppose CollusionThe arrest last Friday morning of two investigative journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey was a new low in the efforts of the British state to protect its...
View ArticleBallymurphy Massacre: The Tip Of The Iceberg.
Last weekend Channel 4 broadcast ‘Massacre at Ballymurphy.’ This is an abridged version of the ‘Ballymurphy Precedent’. It is a documentary film for cinema that examines the circumstances which led to...
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The McGuinness Principles
Mise agus Rita with John Samuelson and other Trade Union leadersLast Friday the Irish American James Connolly Labor Coalition (in the USA Labour is spelt without the u) organised a luncheon meeting of...
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Frederick Douglass and Ireland
Frederick DouglassLast week I attended the launch of Christine Kinealy’s authoritative and revealing two volumes on the life and times of Frederick Douglass, 'Frederick Douglass and Ireland: In his own...
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Tish Holland – a practical patriot.
Tish and Alex just elected in 1985 to Belfast City Council - Brian Quinn looks onTeresa Holland – Lunney – died last week. Better known as Tish she was the youngest woman ever interned by the British...
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Duke Street - 50 years later
Duke Street – 50 years laterLast Saturday in Derry was a great day. The 50thanniversary of the October 5th 1968 civil rights march was a colourful and optimistic event attended by thousands. I want to...
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Thank you John Hume
Mise agus John serenading Irish America at the White House St. Patrick's Day event in March 1995The Thursday evening before last I was part of a panel in the Helix Theatre at Dublin City University...
View ArticleTraveller Ethnicity and their contribution to Irish Society
March 1st last year witnessed the formal recognition by the government and the Dáil of the ethnicity of Travellers. It came after a long and difficult campaign and those of us who were part of that...
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We need a new Union
Conor Murphy, Mary Lou McDonald, Michelle O'Neill and Paul Maskey in London for meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May. They told her there has to be a unity referendumWe need a new...
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This must be last time citizens in North are denied Vote in Presidential...
Deirdre Hargey, Liadh Ní Riada, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'NeillSaturday is count day to elect the next President of Ireland. Irish citizens living in the North do not have a vote in this...
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The Best Kept Secret of the Irish Peace Process
Countless books have been written about the Irish peace process. Its origins - the principle characters and key dates. Who met who, and when, and where, and what was said? And yet there are still...
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BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME.
This article comes to you from the USA. It’s an interesting time to be here. The mid-term elections for the Congress; for some Senate seats; and for governorship and state legislatures and a host of...
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Our Precious Union.
Brexit is a deadly serious issue. It threatens the two economies on this island, will undermine social cohesion, and directly attacks the Good Friday Agreement. It is within this context that the...
View ArticleDUPed again
When the news broke that a withdrawal Brexit agreement had been reached between the British government and the EU Sammy Wilson of the DUP responded in time worn fashion. It was, he said “a punishment...
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'It’s a sign of a good horse that can fart in the morning.’
Michael J MurphyTwo weeks ago I was pleased to speak at the Michael J Murphy winter school in Tí Chulainn in the shadow of Sliabh Gullion. Who is Michael J Murphy I hear you ask. Michael was a...
View ArticleThe Alternative to Arms - The primacy of dialogue - an article in the New...
This is an article – published December 5th 2018 - from Turning Points, a magazine that explores what critical moments from this year might mean for the year ahead....
View ArticleThe Last Of The Summer Wine.
There were nine of them. Strung out in a staggered meandering column. Some were obviously walking wounded. They made their way slowly through the narrow hilly streets of the Mediterranean town, in the...
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