Month: May 2009

When writing about the murder of Constable Carrol in Craigavon and British soldiers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar at Mazareene barracks in Antrim one of my reasons for totally condemning these murders was that Northern Ireland was in a new era. I was quite clear what I thought about those who had taken the lives of these three men. I wrote that these delusional “guerrillas”, confusing means with ends, were trapped in a previous historical period. Any of the ,highly debatable, justifications for the use of arms in Northern Ireland circa 1970 were all totally and utterly gone in 2009. …

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfqo04RHiBE   Here is the  treatment of the murder of Kevin McDaid by the  conistently excellent Channel 4 news team.   I would be grateful if any of you could  post up here how this story was treated in Scotland by the print media or on TV. It clear from this youtube clip that the C4 team focussed on the football element to the murder.    

I watched the news footage of Ally McCoist dancing on his toes on the Tannadice turf waving a union flag. I thought at the time “ I wonder how this plays in the North?” For some Rangers supporters in Coleraine the day was almost perfect as the final whistle sounded at Tannadice and their team were SPL champions. They had waited since 2005 to be able to say that their team was the best in Scotland. In any footballing culture across the planet it would have been a signal for a party. It doesn’t matter if it is Barca or …

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Today’s release of the report by Justice Sean Ryan into the abuse of children in “care homes” run by the Catholic Church in Ireland doesn’t reveal anything new. However, it is a story that refuses to go away for the simple reason is that the thousands of victims have yet to receive any justice and ipso facto any closure. The Catholic Church in Ireland in the early decades of the Irish state was, effectively, above the law. Over the years as a social worker and a journalist in Ireland I have met many former ex-prisoners of the Catholic Church. Only …

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Ten years ago Scottish composer and conductor James MacMillan gave a lecture at the Edinburgh festival entitled “Scotland’s Shame – Anti-Catholicism as a barrier to genuine pluralism.” The reponse from the Scottish media was  immediate , hostile and, on one occasion, somewhat underhand. In an interview with the guardian in 2006 he related a telephone inetrview with the Sunday herald. MacMillan was sure that the call was being recorded or monitored in some way-perhaps set up as a conference call. Perhaps the people on the other end of the line wanted him to trip himself up or say something damning. …

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Sociologists believe that we all need a “worldview”. A basic scheme for how things work.  This theory believes that once in place the worldview is very powerful within the human mind. Moreover, people tend to ignore evidence that conflicts with their worldview. The role of the intellectual is to pick up the discarded evidence and shake it in your face and make you pay attention. Finally you have to admit that your worldview is wrong. This is, sometimes, a painful and, always, a disorientating process to go thru. Part of my worldview was that the reformation had carved a fault …

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It is a precarious business this making predictions, but it is part and parcel of the op ed/blogging world. I had recently written about the defeat and retreat of the British from Basra in Iraq. I noted that the victors usually write history. However in this case most if the victors are illiterate. So the losers-backed up by the BBC- get to explain away their second prise into a magnificent victory of a job well done. What I had not expected was for the operation in Afghanistan to be marked down for closure so swiftly. Michael Smith of the Sunday …

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Exclusive By Phil Mac Giolla Bhain   Donegal TD Joe McHugh has welcomed news that the  ‘Show racism the red card’ has indicated its intention to focus on stamping out anti-Irish racism, which is currently a feature of Scottish football.   “Last winter Hamilton FC player James McCarthy was a victim of anti-Irish abuse at a number of SPL football grounds, including at Ibrox where the famine song was directed at him during two Rangers v Hamilton FC fixtures.” Said Deputy McHugh who had raised the issue of the Irish international Aiden McGeady of Glasgow Celtic has also been a …

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Exclusive   By Phil Mac Giolla Bhain   Ged Grebby the national director of “Show racism The Red card” today hit out at the fact that a CD containing the racist “Famine song” was on sale on Ebay. In an exclusive interview Grebby stated that: “Show Racism the Red Card condemns the famine song as racist and we call on Ebay to stop the distribution of this song of hate.” Grebby also revealed that anti-Irish racism in Scottish soccer would be receiving a greater level of attention from the organisation in the future. Grebby also revealed that SRTRC would be …

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