In the mythic Labours of Hercules, King Augeas’ stables housed a large herd of cattle, which had not been cleaned for decades. Hercules was ordered to clean out the filthy stalls. The task was of such scale that he only succeeded by diverting the course of two rivers so they flowed through…
The Gordian knot is a legendary puzzle associated with Alexander the Great, famed for its near impossibility to unravel. Dealing with the past has become Northern Ireland’s Gordian knot, a problem which has proven intractable over repeated, failed political talks. So here we are. Another year, another political crisis and another attempt to disentangle…
Deniers, amnesiacs, and stonewallers: step aside The deniers, amnesiacs, refuseniks and blockers have been out in force of late. Anne Cadwallader’s book, Lethal Allies, documenting collusion in over one hundred loyalist killings was received with predictable, knee-jerk denials among some senior unionists. The pain inflicted by the IRA and laid bare in Darragh…