Some years ago during the Silvio Berlusconi era I visited Giorgio a friend of mine in Sicily. During his younger days he looked at the North of Italy as model as to how the whole country was run and was very despondent because rather than the Northern ethos coming to dominate Italy, it seemed that corruption… Read more
Category:
Ireland
Covering Ireland both North and South
Will a Train Crash Brexit be Good for England in the long Term?
Given the ludicrously optimistic promises of the Leave side during the Brexit campaign and the delusional belief that the UK simply has to throw its toys out of the playpen, in threatening “no deal is better than a bad deal,” in order to get the EU to agree to a “cake and eat it solution”… Read more
Irish Mist more Opaque than Ever
Along with the the status of EU citizens in the UK (and vice versa) and the financial settlement, the Irish border is the third major issue that needs to be resolved (or at least significant progress needs to be made) before talks on future trade between the EU and the UK can begin. Sadly the… Read more
Project fear to project reality – Prof Michael Dougan one year on from EU referendum
Published today another interesting Video from Prof Michael Dougan…. Read more
Is London and the SE a Boon to the Rest of the UK or a Parasite?
The Curious Case of Loyalist Bonfires in Northern Ireland
“The revelation that Belfast City Council is involved in facilitating the storage of pallets (including stolen pallets) to be burnt on loyalist bonfires typically adorned with posters of nationalist politicians, Kill All Taigs-emblazoned Tricolours, Celtic shirts and a statue of the Virgin Mary would be remarkable on its own, but news that the stored pallets… Read more
Likely DUP Demands in supporting the May Government
As someone who grew up on the island of Ireland the DUP are well known to me as indeed are Sinn Féin. I find it saddening that the more centrist parties: the SDLP, Alliance and the UUP captured no seats in GE 2017. All we are left with is two parties with significant links to… Read more
Where to now with Brexit?
I was in Dublin at the weekend; nothing unusual about that, it is my hometown and I go back regularly. On this occasion it was the 40th reunion of my UCD class of ’77. I know that I move in circles where everyone is both successful and well educated so their opinions may not represent… Read more
Labour has got to hurry
There is no time to waste when you’re a real alternative government – and that is what Labour has now become. But they need to sort out their EU strategy. They already seem to have said that they want to have the same benefits outside the customs union as inside it (which seems a tad… Read more
If we close our eyes will we know we have left the EU?
I visited Northern Ireland numerous times in the 1960’s most notably perhaps was a School Civics trip from my Dublin school (St Paul’s Raheney) to Stormont in early May 1968. We were sponsored by Gerry Fitt (the then leader of the SDLP) who showed us around and I remember meeting Ian Paisley who was really… Read more