The launch yesterday in Belfast of a new campaign by businesses to secure a law change to allow same-sex couples in Northern Ireland to marry shows that inequality is an economic as well as a human rights issue. ‘Businesses for Love Equality’ brings together some of Northern Ireland’s biggest employers in a call for…

    Last week the political script read like something out of EastEnders; the ‘word pellets’ firing from the RHI Inquiry providing enough material for a series of ‘Mock The Month’ – never mind ‘Mock The Week’. Politics on the Stormont Hill became even more of a laughing stock. A week on, it is back…

  I initially thought of climbing Everest. Over 450 women have summited Everest but only 15 women have ever rowed an ocean solo. The water in my nemesis. I don’t like to be out of my depth and up until a month ago I couldn’t swim. It is a huge challenge for me. I started…

  A couple of weekends ago I was strolling along the beach, minding my own business, when I ran into two of my neighbours. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they asked me what I was up to. I started to tell them about the Living History course which I am facilitating  at Stranmillis. Their faces…

  Politics in Scotland, always febrile, have taken a turn for the surreal. Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader and First Minister, this week dramatically resigned the party membership he has held since his youth. The move has been made as a result of allegations – which Salmond strongly denies – that he sexually harassed…

    Dear Arlene and Michelle, We know each other well enough for you to understand the non-sectarian, non-morally superior and non-party political spirit in which I write. I write as a sincerely anxious citizen as well as from a genuine pastoral concern for ALL the people of this place which you and I are…

    No matter how comfortable the pace and how uplifting the music, it’s a long walk on a warm day for Apprentice Boys on their Annual Parade commemorating the ‘shutting of the gates’ of the city and the historic 105-day siege. This may go some way to explain the seemingly tired gait of Edwin Poots MLA with what resembled the drains of a bottle of water in hand, as…

  “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is a quote much used by A Level history students. While there is no danger of anyone in Northern Ireland  forgetting the events of the last fifty years, have we learned anything from the past half century? Are we destined to remain prisoners of our history…

    The Stormont House Agreement (SHA) mechanisms represent the best and last opportunity for a comprehensive system to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past. There are large numbers of victims and survivors in our society still bearing physical and psychological wounds, experiencing mental trauma and with practical needs still not fully addressed.…

  ‘What is done, cannot be undone, but one can prevent it from happening again.’ Anne Frank On 11th May 2018, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) launched the UK Government’s consultation paper, “Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past”. This is not the first attempt to navigate a way forward for victims and their families,…

  The words spit out like shrapnel – clearly intended to cut and wound. “Widow of the big hero.” “Widow of the Tout.” Two women – two friends – in angry conversation, caught in the plays of conflict and in a war in which they’ve both lost. Inside the republican community, one of them –…

    On the politics of this place, Theresa May’s speech had no announcement, no plan, no process, no timetable – no vision for a way through. Read the British Prime Minister’s words.  They confirm a do-nothing approach that is about self-interest and survival – about Westminster numbers and the arrangements they have there. Then,…

    The House of Commons Standards Committee has ruled that Ian Paisley had committed “serious misconduct” and that his actions “were of a nature to bring the House of Commons into disrepute.” He is accused of not declaring largesse from the Sri Lankan government characterised by the Standards Committee as ‘paid advocacy.’ “What he…

  On the eve of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit here and with a scheduled meeting of the intergovernmental conference next week, the question above is posed by a talks insider. These two political set pieces may change nothing. If DUP leader Arlene Foster could not deliver that February draft agreement, then what can…