MARGARET RITCHIE FAILS TO WIN BACKING OF HER OWN ASSEMBLY MEMBERS | TALK OF THREE-WAY BATTLE AT THE TOP

» BY PEADAR WHELAN

» BY PEADAR WHELAN

IT WAS HARDLY a surprise when SDLP Deputy Leader Patsy McGlone announced via Twitter on Monday 1st August that he was to challenge Margaret Ritchie for the leadership of the SDLP.
There have been rumblings since May’s uninspiring election... Free article

AND on the seventh day, whilst God resteth, mischievous cherubs created the mass audience news media in TV, radio, print and Twitter, and they did seek out The Chosen One. They then doth anoint and smear and tarnish their Chosen One in an unending odyssey to obtain greater audiences and hence advertising revenue.
By the time you read this, the news and media-fuelled Irish... Free article

A Féile fáilte for unionists

» BY JIM GIBNEY

REPUBLICANS are often asked by supporters and opponents of a united Ireland what would life be like when it came about.
People are particularly concerned to know how unionists would fit into that scenario and what would relationships be like between them and the rest of the people of this country.
Well, inside the covers of this... Free article

‘Austerity’ and the meltdown in global markets

BY MICHAEL BURKE

» BY MICHAEL BURKE

THERE IS an old joke that Wall Street has predicted seven out of the last two recessions. It is true that many big falls in stock markets don’t lead to recessions, not least because the US Federal Reserve Bank routinely responds by cutting short-term interest rates.
But there are good reasons for... Free article

BY PEADAR WHELAN

» BY PEADAR WHELAN

IF THE SAVAGE attack on Paul McCauley tells us anything, it is that July and August, the height of the so-called Orange marching season in the Six Counties, could also be described as open season on Catholics.
The serious attack on a young Catholic in Antrim Town on Friday 5th August mirrors the assault on Paul McCauley in July 2006 and the... Free article

Plastic bullets are NEVER a solution

BY CLARA REILLY
Chairperson, Relatives for Justice and United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets

THE DEBATE following the riots in London and other cities in England has included a debate about possible weaponry that could be employed by police. The calls for the deployment of water cannon and plastic bullets have been loud and heated.
Muted... Free article

Boycotting Israeli Goods a practical way to help end apartheid

SINCE its establishment in 1948, the apartheid state of Israel has perpetrated crime after crime against the people of Palestine and neighbouring Arab countries and faced no real resistance from Western political elites.
Israel came into existence on the back of a campaign of terror, murder and ethnic cleansing... Free article

CONGRATULATIONS to you, Taoiseach, to Gerry Murray and to all the people of May. Beating Cork and dethroning the All-Ireland champions was some achievement. A different story at our end in Tyrone. I knew we were up against it when Hector lined up me and Mick Galvin to talk up the big match on his RTE 2 FM Breakfast Show. Galvin & Co got the better of us in ‘95. When I did get the... Free article

LE TREVOR Ó CLOCHARTAIGH

TÁ DRÉACHT pholasaí Gaeilge a bhfuil sé mar aidhm aige Sinn Féin a dheimhniú mar an páirtí polaitíochta is mó atá ag tacú agus ag cur chun cinn na Gaeilge, le cur os comhair na hArd Fheise i mbliana. Cuid den obair is tábhachtaí agus is dúshlánaí atá beartaithe mar chuid den pholasaí ná Gaelú an pháirtí féin.
Tugann an dréacht pholasaí le cheile moltaí... Free article

What sort of political reform do you want?

‘POLITICAL REFORM’ is the flavour of the day. They’re all on about it. ‘The politicians let us all down. We have too many of them. They’re all the same. They are too focussed on local issues. They need to be legislators and not be looking after local drains, etc. They’re all up there in Dublin (or Stormont) and we never see them between... Free article