Excitedly greeting the census figures showing that people who were either Catholic or brought up as Catholic made up 45.7% of the population with their Protestant equivalents on 43.5%, Colum Eastwood demonstrated his tin ear with an old-fashioned, sectarian response....
Queues, queues, queues! Published: 20 September 2022 The weirdness of British queues became a staple of conversation all over the world for the last few days, particularly the one that snaked along the Thames and became an international phenomenon. What were the Brits...
In the spirit of kindness engendered by all the wonderful stories of the late, great Queen Elizabeth, I’m sorry for – rather than angry with – those whose inhumane response to the death of a woman mourned worldwide for her life-long exceptional contribution to...
Apart from a few extreme Republican trolls, Queen Elizabeth is being mourned in Ireland, north and south Published: 9 September 2022 Apart from a few extreme Republican trolls shouting on social media about colonial wrongs, Queen Elizabeth is being mourned in Ireland,...
“Puritans, eat your heart out”, observed a friend who is well acquainted with how in the 17th century the British monarchy learned a valuable lesson from being briefly overthrown. Published: 7 June 2022 As I watched the main events and cheering crowds of the jubilee...
I’m sorry that other commitments made me miss the Northern Ireland centenary celebrations on Saturday. Published: 31 May 2022 I am so not least because as this paper’s editor Ben Lowry put it — it’s been a “front-rank scandal” that this huge milestone has been given...
Published: 9 March 2021 The 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth went about her normal duties despite her 99-year-old husband’s serious illness and honoured “selfless dedication to duty” at the annual Commonwealth Day service; In a Californian mansion her grandson Harry and...