Listen | My Big Toe

An interview with Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the founder and leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, Activist and advocate of Palestinian rights.

10 Aug 52min

Up for the Match Off on Sunday morning to Croke Park. Dark skies. Lots of grey clouds. Our journey was delayed by Féile An Phobail’s 5km and 10km run. Diverted and distracted we eventually got out of West Belfast and on the road to Dublin. Enroute the dark skies lightened. The grey clouds gave way to blue heavens and gentle sunshine. We were off to watch Antrim’s Lady Footballers in our own All Ireland against Louth. As we crossed the Border KneeCap kept our spirits high. Their ceol blasted o...

7 Aug 16min

Planning for the Future It was Charles Stewart Parnell who said: “No man has the right to say to his country. Thus far shalt thou go and no further.” This was in the 19th century. He also declared; “Let no one set a boundary to the march of a nation.” Parnell was clearly setting out the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination. Interestingly he chose Cork to make this declaration. That was the 21st January 1885. One of the current Cork TDs and the current Taoiseach Micheál M...

31 Juli 20min

2005 – Twenty Years On Next Monday one of the most historic and transformative events in the Irish Peace Process took place. Twenty years ago on the 28 July 2005 the IRA issued a statement which ended its decades long armed struggle. In its statement the IRA said: "The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon. All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assi...

24 Juli 18min

Defend the GPO and Save Moore St. There is widespread anger at the decision by the Irish government to convert the historic GPO in Dublin into shops and offices. Last Saturday hundreds gathered in O’Connell St. to protest at the government’s plans for the GPO and for the Moore St. Battlefield site. Their demand is for the protection of the cultural and revolutionary heritage of this part of Dublin. Every nation that fought for its freedom from colonial rule - often from the British - has hall...

17 Juli 14min

No Economic Block on Irish Unity In recent years there have been encouraging signs of growing support for Irish unity in successive electoral results, demographic changes, contributions from civic society, in opinion polling and in public commentary. Unsurprisingly, any debate on unity quickly focuses on practical issues like the economic viability of a united Ireland as well as on the future of a health and care system, governance structures, education, the environment and other matters. Sin...

10 Juli 21min

Palestine The Israeli forces as part of their on going genocide, in the last 24hrs have killed 142 Palestinian civilians, and injured 487. Internment A British Supreme Court judgement in 2020 ruled that almost 400 internees were unlawfully detained under British law in the 1970s. These internees are now elderly and some are quite poorly. They were victim of appalling treatment at the hands of the British state forces and were held in shameful conditions. ‘British Prime Minis...

3 Juli 22min

Ceasefires Now Should we have been surprised by the decision of the US President Donald Trump to attack Iran? No. Shocked maybe but not surprised. The weapons of mass destruction spin, that was used to justify the invasion of Iraq two decades ago, was already in wide usage by some western governments and sections of the media before B 2’s dropped so-called ‘bunker buster’ bombs on Iran. And we all remember what a disaster the Iraq war was for the people of that nation and for world politics. ...

26 Juni 16min