Short items from past four weeks. Continue reading
Filed under Northern Ireland …
A literary Laureate writes
If you ever wondered why Anne Enright was chosen as first Laureate for Irish Fiction, this book will explain. Continue reading
An Informer Speaks. Two Reviews
Willie Carlin was an ex-British soldier who worked for Sinn Fein Continue reading
From the Papers
The Compensation Culture We have referred on a few occasions in these reports to the way that Ireland seems to have developed a booming industry around compensation for injuries, real or feigned. Now the Independent has written a revealing set of stories describing ways that the legal and the medical professions cooperate to manipulate the … Continue reading
From the Papers
Porridge, RTE, the Travellers … Continue reading
HARD POUNDING, GENTLEMEN
Brexit creeps closer Comment by Sean Farrell ‘When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight it concentrates his mind wonderfully.’ The Brexit Endgame is approaching, with prospects all round ranging from unpalatable to disastrous so Dr Johnson’s remark seems appropriate, certainly in Ireland’s case. Boris Johnson (no relation of Dr Samuel) … Continue reading
A Prize Winning Novel that Divides its Critics
The most disconcerting aspect of Milkman is that it sits so easily in the definition of Northern Ireland as an inevitably enduring site of sectarianism. Continue reading
Brexit – A European Punch and Judy show.
As a border child from the counties of Tyrone and Derry, I have seen the hard border, that no one wants again. I remember the salmon smuggling, the customs officers on both sides Continue reading
On leaving again: a Northern Irishman reflects on his life in Melbourne and Ireland from afar.
How different emigration is in the second decade of the 21st century Continue reading
St Patrick Visitor Centre a Symbol of Reconciliation
St Patrick Visitor Centre a site of knowledge and community engagement One of the more interesting things about St Patrick is his capacity to be many things to many people. Perhaps it’s not surprising then that a centre dedicated to him – the St Patrick Visitor Centre in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland – has been able … Continue reading