1 October 1998 Edition
Editor's desk
Our old friend Tony O'Reilly is back in the news. He is in line to buy a number of local newspapers. They include The Ulster Herald, The Fermanagh Herald, the Strabane Chronicle and The Derry People and Donegal News.
If the deal goes through it means that republicans will not get a fair hearing in those titles because that is the editorial line of all of O'Reilly's papers. It will be a distortion of political life in the border counties to have that type of censorship of republicans.
All the more reason to ensure your regular copy of An Phoblacht.
A wonderful mural in memory of those who fought in the 1798 Rebellion was unveiled in Andersonstown, West Belfast last Sunday. It was unveiled by Jim Gibney, who made an ovation to the assembled crowd. A local republican tells me that when Jim finished his speech a strange thing happened: an old man at the front of the crowd blessed himself. He wonders was it a case of `thank God that's over' or was he inspired by the spiritual nature of Jim's words?
Talking of which, they say that sport and shopping are the new religions. So maybe Saoirse has copped on to this and decided to mix religion and politics. They are organising a train from Belfast (and Portadown, Newry, Dundalk and Drogheda) to the Irish Independence march and rally in Dublin on 18 October. The train leaves at 8.00am and the rally is at 2.00pm. This, they say, allows time for shopping in Dublin. A good idea but don't buy too much or that march will seem awful long.
How much of a lost people loyalists are was symbolised in last Sunday's Observer, which carried a piece about the latest craze in Portadown. They wrote that many loyalists are getting tattoos of dead sectarian killer Billy Wright. Such is the demand that the tattooist involved, Dave Taylor from Bolton in England, is coming to Portadown for three days in November. Sad really.
If the deal goes through it means that republicans will not get a fair hearing in those titles because that is the editorial line of all of O'Reilly's papers. It will be a distortion of political life in the border counties to have that type of censorship of republicans.
All the more reason to ensure your regular copy of An Phoblacht.
A wonderful mural in memory of those who fought in the 1798 Rebellion was unveiled in Andersonstown, West Belfast last Sunday. It was unveiled by Jim Gibney, who made an ovation to the assembled crowd. A local republican tells me that when Jim finished his speech a strange thing happened: an old man at the front of the crowd blessed himself. He wonders was it a case of `thank God that's over' or was he inspired by the spiritual nature of Jim's words?
Talking of which, they say that sport and shopping are the new religions. So maybe Saoirse has copped on to this and decided to mix religion and politics. They are organising a train from Belfast (and Portadown, Newry, Dundalk and Drogheda) to the Irish Independence march and rally in Dublin on 18 October. The train leaves at 8.00am and the rally is at 2.00pm. This, they say, allows time for shopping in Dublin. A good idea but don't buy too much or that march will seem awful long.
How much of a lost people loyalists are was symbolised in last Sunday's Observer, which carried a piece about the latest craze in Portadown. They wrote that many loyalists are getting tattoos of dead sectarian killer Billy Wright. Such is the demand that the tattooist involved, Dave Taylor from Bolton in England, is coming to Portadown for three days in November. Sad really.