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Towards the cost of SluggerReports  Or as a zip (386KB) 
Through Irish Eyes: how the Irish successor generation views the UK.
Parties and major candidates
AllianceDUP Green Party NIUP PUP SDLP Sinn Fein Socialist Environmental Alliance UKUP UUP Women's Coalition John Gilliland "Excellent, balanced weblog on Northern Ireland" Guardian "...pulls in people of all persuasions and none." BBC "...dump all your old ideas about what's happening in Northern Ireland" Sunday Independent "Comment from a full range of the political spectrum" ireland.com "Drives debate beyond the web" Sunday Times "Just keep scrolling" Instapundit "No relation, but some fine reporting!" Deborah O'Toole Linking Slugger  rdf |
June 23, 2004 How hot is NI...? This little experiment on mentions of specific phrases used in the House of Commons suggests there's occasionally great interest from government ministers (we take it that's what the black line means), but not a lot of response from backbenchers of any party. We did get a mention from Blair's spokesman on Monday. BBC: getting beyond impartiality? The BBC has announced changes in its editorial policy largely in response to questions raised by the Hutton report. There's also been a plethora of other material going public this week that raises a number of related issues. [more] Reluctant patriots..? THE flying of the St George's Cross in England in support of the national football team has been "greeted with delight and dismay in equal measures", according to Neil Davenport of Spiked online. Are the English reluctant patriots? Are manifestations of 'Englishness' tempered by political correctness, or exacerbated by a growing sense of English 'identity' in the wake of devolution to the regions? [more] NI unable to deal with spam... Northern Ireland had the lowest domestic internet connection rate in the UK for 02-03 at 34%, but it also seems those of us who are on line are not dealing with irritating features like spam mail very well. There's often some kind of clever scam at the bottom of it! Protection for ex-prisoners..? FORMER paramilitary prisoners - many of whom have difficulty obtaining employment due to their criminal record - may be given greater legal protection under the forthcoming Single Equality Bill. Out for consultation. Again. Speculation about Papal visit... THE Pope could be on his way to Northern Ireland. May God have mercy on this thread. Cultural ties in a complex society Roy Garland shared a platform at Newry Arts Centre recently with Nelson McCausland and Gordon Lucy in which all were speaking on the subject of Indentity. In his Irish News column (subs needed) this week he mulls of over the contrary pulls of roots and modernity. [more] June 22, 2004 Evangelicals make better fathers Good story from David Vance - apparently prods make better dads! Blair's referendum gamble... Even if Europe failed to make it as a live topic in the election, both parts of the island continue to be affected by it. Philip Stevens believes Tony Blair's decision to call a UK referendum on the EU constitution was a brave one, but that it won't be enough simply to debunk the arguments of his opponents. [more] Belfast Agreement: security matters Danny Morrison takes Seamus Mallon's famous description of the Belfast Agreement (Sunningdale for slow learners) and argues that it was the SDLP's unwillingness to handle the issu of who controls security, rather than civic politics that created the weakness in the earlier agreement. UUP cannot move to the right Despite what was by his own measure a poor performance by the UUP, Alex Kane believes that retaining Trimble as leader is still tenable, although mostly because most of the alternatives involving moving the party to the right of the DUP are entirely untenable. [more] Historic link could break... ALMOST a century of tradition could come to an end if the Orange Order votes to break its historic link with the Ulster Unionist Council, according to the News Letter. [more] Negotiations are for party advantage Davy Adams, seen by some as having played a vital part in securing sizeable (if transient) support amongst loyalism for the Belfast Agreement, argues that the current impasse is the result of brinkmanship being played for narrow party political advantage, rather than for the benefit of NI at large. A peaceful first parade... The Tour of the North Orange parade in Belfast, the first big marching event of the year (in Liverpool they start much earlier and end much later) with community workers from both communities showing in force to ensure it passed off peacefully. Smoking ban: 20% drop in business The first financial fallout of the smoking ban for publicans doesn't look good. Does violence pay..? A FEW weeks ago I wondered which loyalist area would be bought off... sorry, would benefit from an 'economic package' before the marching season gets serious, in order to keep a lid on things. Well, it's Sandy Row (obviously), where the protest against Catholic residents took place recently. [more] Sinn Fein: left or right? Anthony McIntyre is sceptical of Sinn Fein's claim to be a party of the left. In the wake of the recent elections he is not convinced that the disaffected of Dublin and other parts of the Republic will get the value they believe they will from their vote for Sinn Fein. However, it is likely to be at least another round or two before Sinn Fein is a position to hold local authority power never mind a future balance within the Dail. Bertie's Presidency candidacy blocked From being a quiet favorite, it appears that Bertie may be out of the running. Plans may be afoot to have former Fine Gael Attorney General and EU Commissioner Peter Sutherland take his place. Though Pat Cox is still in the running, it may be that the EPP party grouping may have an effective veto on anyone from outside its block. Irish peer takes seat on the 12th! Eddie Haughey will be (as far as we know) the first former Irish Senator to subsequently sit in the British upper house. He takes his seat on the Twelth of July. How the world changes! Thanks to reader Bob Wilson for this one. June 21, 2004 The Somme: a long remembering I hope this stays on the BBC's Today programme site for a while. It's an interview with a war veteran from the Somme. At 108 he has a memory and sensibility that anyone lucky enough to make it to their eighties would be happy with. I've worked with photographer Brent Jones on a series of interviews to go with a collection of portraits of centenarians; but this is one to be treasured for the sheer humanity of it. Adams' summer speech... GERRY Adams Bodenstown 2004 speech is here, for those interested. [more] Labour WLTM like-minded parties for LT partnership... THE Irish Labour Party seems to be popular in Northern Ireland today. GAA fans complain about 're-routing' The GAA has decided to switch the Ulster finals from its traditional home in Clones to Dublin, despite the claims of Antrim and Down fans that this would necessitate them travelling through potential flashpoint areas. Well done Donegal (with only 14 men) by the way! US/UK extradition: a one way relationship On the cover story of last week's Spectator, former BBC man Rod Liddle blasts the British government for, in effect, allowing extradition on demand to the US on what he claims is often on very weak evidence. He contrasts this with the US's long term refusal to extradite wanted in connection with IRA actions. Review document due A report of the review is expected from the two governments as a scene setter for the intensive talks expected in the Autumn time. However, with one well informed nationalist commentator suggesting there is unlikely to be progress on IRA decomissioning before 2006, don't hold your breath until then, it could be a long long wait. NI exports private security to Iraq Mary Fitzgerald probes the phenomenon of private military companies or PMCs, which is providing lucrative employment for former members of Northern Ireland's former security forces. Belfast Agreement for sale?? Well you can buy anything on ebay. Some bright spark in Galway (Ciaran is that you?) has placed a starting bid on a copy of the Agreement for US$5000. There are no bids at the moment of writing, which suggests few are fooled by the scam. Or there's little value left in the Agreement. Or nobody cares anymore! Thanks to reader Mark for the heads up! June 20, 2004 Racism on the rise With the success of the Celtic Tiger economy and to a certain extent the peace process, the island of Ireland has seen an unprecedented influx of immigrants over recent years. Obviously this is a good thing and a sign of a successful economy. However it brings with it the problems of racial and ethnic tensions. [more] June 19, 2004 Piping hot in Cookstown The Mid-Ulster Section of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association - Northern Ireland Branch, held the 50th annual Mid-Ulster Pipe Band and Drum Majors Championship in Cookstown High School Sports Arena today. It was good to see a big crowd and a lot of bands in attendence, including the world class Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band from Lisburn. June 18, 2004 North-West IQ test at Brain Fest... DERRY people are so brainy that the high-IQ boffins in Mensa have decided to hold their annual conference there. The Belfast Telegraph reports: "In May 2003, Derry came top in the BBC's Test The Nation show, which assessed the IQ of people throughout the UK." [more] Permanent peace needed for healing... A FORMER ANC prisoner who is now chief of Johannesburg East Rand's Metro Police has told South Armagh republicans to prepare themselves to become involved in policing. Robert McBride also echoed Dennis Kennedy's words the other day, saying that there could be no real truth and reconciliation until the peace process has gone beyond the point of no return. [more] Hyde Park horse dies... YETI, the last four-legged survivor of the 1982 Hyde Park bomb blast died last month at The Home of Rest for Horses in Speen. [more] It was God wot won it... NOT one for keeping politics and religion separate, the DUP's Big Man puts Jim Allister's European election victory down to the Even Bigger Man. Rev Paisley said: "Only the intervention of God could have preserved our Party to survive the diabolical attacks upon it and only God’s blessing could have changed the political destiny of Ulster." [more] Anniversary of atrocity... IT'S ten years to the day since the Loughinisland massacre, an atrocity carried out by the UVF that still carries sad memories for many, and appalled the rest of us. Barry Cowan dies... BROADCASTER Barry Cowan has died. This giant of BBC Northern Ireland was the first voice of Talkback, which has paid tribute to his work today. Nationalist vote in long term decline? Very interesting analysis from Tom Luby at The Blanket. He reproduces figures for the total Nationalist vote over the last six elections. What he finds is that rather than increasing or even maintaining previously high levels, the nationalist vote seems to be withering at quite an alarming rate, since 2001. A phenomenon which is reflected on the Unionist side of Northern Ireland's cumbersome political equation. DUP in for the kill? Peter Robinson (does he play chess?) has released some of his party's election data public in an attempt to set an intimidating scene for a final showdown with the UUP. PMs decide whether to intervene Bertie Ahern, currently up to his eyes trying to broker some kind of constitution for the EU and Tony Blair will take some time in Brussels to decide whether they should meet again with the parties. Keep an eye on the Downing Street blog for updates. They think it's all over... Earl Storey is one of the UUP's newer recruits. He gives his own assessment of where the party's recent reversals leaves it. Above all else the party he argues requires a vision that ordinary people can rally around. [more] Ulster-Scots should be neutral According to officials in Dublin, the Boord o Ulster Scotch should be spending Irish tax payers money more neutrally. A letter to the PM Democratic Unionist MEP, Jim Allister QC, has written to the Prime Minister urging him not to endorse the European Constitution because it would be adverse to the interests and independence of the UK. June 17, 2004 West Indies beaten by Ireland Phenomenal result at Stormont. 292 for 7 from 50 overs not enough for tourists. Caribbean reaction to Ireland's convincing victory should be interesting. Fuel crisis in South Armagh... BRITISH and Irish agencies have carried out a massive crackdown on fuel smuggling in the Republican heartland of South Armagh. Fuel laundering and smuggling in the area has been a source of finance for the IRA in the past, and such an operation would have been unheard of before the ceasefires. Hate crimes consultation Over the last few years Westminster has been pushing the envelope as far public consultation in advance on drafting new legislation, particularly through its innovative tellparliament website. Although timings have yet to be finalised Hansard Society will be kicking off a six week consultation on Hate Crime law for Northern Ireland. It's an event we hope will have good represention from Slugger readers, as well as representatives from right across political and civic society! Hearts and Minds: across the divide It's always worth watching Hearts and Minds (particularly for those of us outside NI). Tonight Paul Murphy is the main interview, and another piece enigmatically announced as "one of my best friends friends is Catholic... hands across the sectarian divide... at arm's length". Elephants not forgotten... THE tired old metaphor of the elephant in the room/on the doorstep/in the BBC studio has been resurrected by Dennis Kennedy and Brian Feeney. Kennedy argues that the Government's elephant - an massive issue right in front of your eyes that you still ignore - is ongoing paramilitary activity, while trying to seek a way forward on Truth & Reconciliation. Feeney's elephant is the Sinn Fein vote in the Republic, which may have an impact on business here in future. [more] A pact across the divide... Steven King, regular columnist at the Belfast Telegraph and the UUP's Director of Elections, argues that the DUP has merely soaked up the anti Agreement vote, rather than increased it. However he honestly admits there is a crisis within both moderate Unionism and Nationalism. [more] A late substitution... A METHADONE prescription scheme is to be extended into the Eastern Health Board area, after a trial run in Ballymena. The Bible-belt town has suffered badly from the problems associated with 'skag' over the past decade, and the methadone substitute programme seems to have had a degree of success. A shame then, that we were the last part of the UK or Ireland to adopt methadone. Anti Bloomsday... Former blogger Paul Dunne with his own thoughts on the Bloomsday phenomenon. And John at North Atlantic Skyline with his. Well I never... Anyone who still thinks that British Conservatism is a narrow political creed, should think again. Their excellent online bookshop demonstrates a very catholic taste in political biographies, including this life of IRA icon Joe Cahill! No deal until 2006? Two writers examine what may become one of the more important results last week - the electoral success of Sinn Fein in the local elections in the Republic, and the good showing of several party candidates in the European election, including the election of its first MEP in Dublin. Tom Griffin, the political editor of the Irish World on the threat to Fianna Fail, and the often irracisble but sharp analysis of Brian Feeney. [more] Rascism in Tyrone? Though there is not yet conclusive evidence that this attack was racist, it indicates that one or more Portuguese nationals were targeted in Dungannon on Tuesday night. [more] Paul's Letter to the Republicans... SLUGGER regular Paul A Fitzsimmons wants to know what the IRA thinks about his ideas for independence. Maybe it would be prepared to accept an Independent Republic Of Northern Ireland? Oh, the IRONI of it all... Orange charity award The Orange Order has recently been awarded the national "Flame of Hope" award at a ceremony in London for raising £124,000 on behalf of Cancer Reseach NI. |
Slugger O'Toole records news, commentary and diverse opinion on Northern Ireland. Produced by Mick Fealty News, tips or crits here: mick -at- mickfealty.com 
Readers comments
UUP cannot move to the right - (143)Speculation about Papal visit... - (115) BBC: getting beyond impartiality? - (1) Belfast Agreement: security matters - (33) Historic link could break... - (115) Reluctant patriots..? - (43) Protection for ex-prisoners..? - (38) Sinn Fein: left or right? - (49) A peaceful first parade... - (75) Blair's referendum gamble... - (23)
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