Wouldn’t it be better?
Wouldn’t it be better if the British government, the Irish government and the DUP upheld the Brexit referendum vote in the North to remain in the EU?Yes...
View ArticleSongs, poems,words of Easter Week
Many fine words, songs and poems have been written about the Easter Rising of 1916. Some were written by those who waited in the prisons to be executed. Others were personal recollections of that...
View ArticleWe Shall Overcome
In February 2018, Sinn Féin and the DUP negotiating teams and leaders closed on a draft agreement to be considered by our leaderships. The DUP leader Arlene Foster failed to get the support of her...
View ArticleBallymurphy never went to war - the war came to Ballymurphy.
I have watched with awe and huge admiration the courage and steadfastness of the families of those killed in Ballymurphy in August 1971 throughout their long campaign to get to the truth of what...
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Counterinsurgency and Collusion – Britain’s dirty war in Ireland
Over the decades many official and unofficial reports, pamphlets and books have been published examining the evidence for British state collusion with unionist paramilitaries in the murder of...
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THE NUMBERS GAME.
Mise agus John Hume Seamus Mallon was never a big fan of the Hume-Adams talks. In 1985 Fr. Alex Reid – the Sagart - tried on at least three occasions to organise a meeting between me and Mr Mallon. He...
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Honouring Pat, Marguerite and Green Cross.
Mise agus Pat McGivernI had the pleasure at the recent Belfast Sinn Féin Cairde event to make presentations to Marguerite Gallagher and Pat McGivern – two strong, indomitable and committed republican...
View ArticlePlanning for Irish Unity.
The debate about the future, about a new Ireland and the demand for a referendum on Unity is growing. Civic nationalism in the North has found its voice and is energised on the demand for rights and...
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Telling it as it was - ‘Ireland’s War of Independence 1919-21: The IRAs...
The revision of history, as new facts emerge and details or stories previously unknown are revealed, is a good and a necessary part of learning about the past. But ‘revisionism,’ which seeks to...
View ArticleTraveller culture and rights need to be upheld
I have long had an interest in the Traveller community, in their culture, nomadic life-style and music. The decision to recognise Traveller ethnicity in 2017 finally brought the Irish State into line...
View ArticlePlanning For The Future.
It’s always good to spark a debate, and my recent column and blog ‘Planning for Irish Unity’ certainly did that. My core argument was the need to move those parties which aspire to Irish unity beyond...
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Remembering Kevin McKenna – the real deal.
Family funerals are an occasion for relatives - aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, cousins and distant relatives – who probably haven’t seen each other since the last funeral, to get together. We...
View ArticleIreland and the tragedy of refugees
I have just finished reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. Christy was a volunteer working with families fleeing war in Syria and trying to get into the EU. Her novel is a profoundly...
View ArticleVoting for the next President of Ireland
The right of citizens living outside the southern State to vote for the President of Ireland is now a significant issue of debate, especially here in Dublin. Last week ‘Voices for Irish Citizens...
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In Praise of Wakes.
The loss of a loved one lasts forever. That is hardly surprising. How could it be otherwise? The death of a loved one - a child, a parent, a partner, a friend can be devastating. Sudden unexpected loss...
View ArticleMicheál Martin should take positive leadership role in Irish unity process
In the same week that Boris Johnson achieved his long held ambition to be British PM, Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin said he “can’t comprehend” why there is no Executive and Assembly in the North.I...
View ArticleNow Is The Time.
By the time you read this the new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have played a fleeting visit to the North. The last time he was here it was to speak at a DUP party conference. On that...
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August 69 – it all changed forever.
August 69 was a turning point for the North and for many of us who lived here. The Civil Rights Association had been campaigning for an end to discrimination by the Unionist regime at Stormont. I was a...
View ArticleFéile An Phobail Abú.
Wasn’t Féile an Phobail 2019 great? 11 days, covering over 300 events, which attracted tens of thousands people. Amazing. Comhghairdeas to all of those who made it happen. To everyone involved in...
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Three Books and a Video about August 1969.
The second week of August 50 years ago witnessed the most intensive and violent period of conflict in the North since the 1920s. It also saw British soldiers arrive on the streets of Derry and...
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