by RuthDE | Oct 1, 2026 | 2026, Belfast News Letter, Journalism, October
My increasing distaste for my native country – the Republic of Ireland – has reached such a pitch that I’m finally going to change my citizenship. Published: 1 October 2026 Though I had a right to a British passport and have lived in England from the...
by RuthDE | Sep 24, 2026 | 2026, Belfast News Letter, Journalism, September
Just put yourself in the shoes of an ordinary decent parent whose teenage daughter has just announced she wishes to become a boy, and who reacts to your initial questioning by threatening to phone the police. Published: 24 September 2026 “Steady on, Daisy,” you...
by RuthDE | Sep 17, 2026 | 2026, Belfast News Letter, Journalism, September
I’m not one to react nervously to doom-laden predictions, but I was a touch rattled last week when Geoffrey Hinton, the eminent “Godfather of AI”, said a 10% chance of it killing off the human race soon was a “not unreasonable” estimate. Published: 17 September 2026...
by RuthDE | May 14, 2026 | 2026, Belfast News Letter, Journalism, May
I try to be charitable to Michelle O’Neill, first minister of Northern Ireland. It is only partly her fault that she can never say anything interesting, since the politburo in Sinn Fein HQ are ever vigilant. Published: 14 May 2026 She wasn’t given the job...
by RuthDE | Mar 20, 2025 | 2025, Belfast News Letter, Journalism, March
We don’t get enough laughs in life, particularly if we follow events in Northern Ireland, but I have enormously enjoyed at a distance the Saint Patrick’s Day events in Washington. Published: 20 March 2025 It takes me back to 2011, when the Felons Club...
by RuthDE | Apr 30, 2024 | 2024, April, Belfast News Letter, Journalism
I’ve had many wonderful messages on social media in the last few days since I went public with the news that Gerry Kelly had dropped his ludicrous libel case against me. Published: 30 April 2024 Thank you to everyone who sent kind wishes that have reassured me that...
by RuthDE | Feb 6, 2024 | 2024, Belfast News Letter, January, Journalism
Last week was certainly an interesting time to look at female politicians in action in our two islands. Published: 5 February 2024 As a long-standing feminist since the days when female politicians were as rare as white blackbirds, I should have been thrilled that in...
by RuthDE | Feb 5, 2024 | 2024, Daily Telegraph, January, Journalism
While it brags about Irish unity, the party is facing trouble with voters given its pro-immigration stance Published: 31 January 2024 On the one hand, Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein president and leader of the opposition in the Republic of Ireland, is triumphant. This...
by RuthDE | Nov 21, 2023 | 2023, Belfast News Letter, Journalism, November
So what have our friends in Sinn Fein (as Jeremy Corbyn would call them) been up to recently? Published: 21 November 2023 Well, amongst other unpleasant activities, over the past few years, they’ve been stepping up their strategy of trying to silence critics north...
by RuthDE | Apr 11, 2023 | 2023, April, Belfast News Letter, Journalism
I hope everyone’s been having a good Easter. Published: 11 April 2023 Apologies for the graphic detail, but I’ve been out of action for three weeks since I slipped on a wet pavement, broke two small bones in my lumbar region and incautiously accepted painkillers that...
