The Game is Up | Maura McCrory | Black Mountain
The Game is Up The singular message emerging from the conflicting voices within political unionism at this time is their opposition to the election of a Sinn Féin First Minister. Whatever other differences there may be between the different strands of unionism on other issues like how to oppose the protocol, on this they are united. Maura McCrory Maura McCrory died last week and I attended her funeral. It was uplifting to see so many of Maura’s friends from across the decades gathered ...
27 Helmi 202220min
Standing up to Bullies | A beautiful woman with a beautiful soul
Standing up to Bullies. Some politicians rarely, if ever see the irony in the words they use. Take Boris Johnson. He is currently using the dispute between the Ukraine and Russia to distract attention from the Downing Street Party-gate scandal. As more and more voices within his own party are questioning his leadership credentials Johnson is busy presenting himself as a leader on the world stage standing up for the rights of others. And so we get: “We won’t accept a world in which...
20 Helmi 202217min
Ormeau Road collusion | Women leading the way | Growing Older
Ormeau Road collusion exposed Collusion between British intelligence, the RUC, UDR, British Army and Loyalist paramilitary organisations is a fact of life here. This is indisputable. A succession of reports have confirmed the extent to which loyalist death squads operated under the patronage of the British state. Growing Older I have a sore back. I hurt it decades ago playing handball against a chap twenty years younger than me. It soon got better but every so often it comes back to troubl...
13 Helmi 202216min
Reflections on Bloody Sunday | Julian Assange should be freed | Julian Assange should be freed
Reflections on Bloody Sunday. Somehow human beings, including this columnist, put more stead in twenty year anniversaries than in nineteen year ones. So in the case of Bloody Sunday 50 years seems more important than forty nine. Why this is so is worthy of some research beyond at this point my capacity. But fifty years it is since that fateful day. In less than 30 minutes it was all over. The shooting began at 4.10pm. When it ended 13 men and boys were dead. Another was to d...
6 Helmi 202216min
Save Moore Street | Remembering Clyde Bellecourt
Save Moore Street - Buy a raffle ticket for an original 1914 Mauser rifle Last Saturday hundreds of people took part in a Save Moore Street rally in Dublin. The rally was called at short notice by the Moore Street Preservation Trust in response to the decision by Dublin City planners to green light the redevelopment plans by the UK based developer Hammerson for Moore Street and its environs. Remembering Clyde Bellecourt - Thunder Before the Storm The drum beat and the chant echoed acro...
30 Tammi 202217min
Condolences are not enough | Can Dogs Think Pt 2
Condolences are not enough I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ashling Murphy. The spontaneous public outpouring of grief at her murder underlines the frustration and anger that exists at the habitual reports of violence against women. Condolences are not enough. Men, and I include myself in this, need to take responsibility for ensuring that every woman has the right to be safe and that there is zero tolerance of male violence against women. Our friend and Si...
23 Tammi 202216min
Sectarianism must be ended | CAN DOGS THINK
Sectarianism must be ended:Sectarianism is a legacy of our colonial past. We have the opportunity to confine it to the dustbin of history.CAN DOGS THINK? ‘Can dogs think? Is that what you asked me?’ Your man snapped at me in exasperation. ‘What kind of stupid question is that to ask anyone? Are you winding me up again?’
16 Tammi 202215min
Strange how the right notes can end up in the wrong places | Archbishop Tutu
OUR old pal Tom Hartley is a fine singer. He and I have been known to duet together. Back in the day in C Wing in Belfast Prison on the Crumlin Road, his dulcet tones echoed around the landings like a bird in flight while my rich baritone kept close harmony. Our sonorous grace notes soared and dipped in perfect tune. Even now, decades later, men locked in the loneliness of their cells at that time, recalling nowadays how they were transfixed by the magical quality of our voices, ...
9 Tammi 202219min
