Author Archives: fitzjameshorse

Gobshite-Gate.

Posted on September 22, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

The Great and the Good are in a tizzy because Carál Ni Chuilín (Sinn Féin) the Minister for Culture, Art and Leisure at Stormont has called (via Twitter) Michael McDowell, a former politician in the Republic a “gobshite”. Now there IS … Continue reading →

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“Twenty Politicians Under Forty”

Posted on September 22, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

Browsing thru the New Statesman’s latest edition in Easons today, I was struck by their list of Twenty British Politicians Under Forty. People to watch as they climb the political ladder. Looking at the same list in twenty years time … Continue reading →

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The Stoop Down Low Party?

Posted on September 21, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

For some years now, the Social Democratic & Labour Party has been described by its enemies as The Stoop Down Low Party. Somewhere, allegedly in Derry, there is a man who was the very first to use an aerosol paint … Continue reading →

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I Would Vote For McGuinness But I Dont Want Him To Win

Posted on September 20, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

Journalists ill-disposed towards Sinn Féin have labelled the decision of Sinn Fein to run Martin McGuinness in the Irish Presidential Election as…….”audacious”. It is a neutral-sounding word but actually says more about their journalistic jaws dropping in surprise than it does … Continue reading →

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The SDLP And Re-Connecting With Its Own.

Posted on September 18, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

SDLP Leadership Candidates talk about rebuilding and re-connecting. To some extent its a cliché or at least a buzzword.. Two weeks ago I spoke to Patsy McGlone in the Long Gallery at Stormont. He was at the launch of “Líofa 2015”. … Continue reading →

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SDLP Leadership: Runners And Riders.

Posted on September 17, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

Nominations closed today…….and they are off…….(as the Actress said to the Bishop). The Social Democratic and Labour Party was formed in 1971 and was essentially a coalition of “nationalists”, “civil rights activists” and “Labourite” people. It believes in a United … Continue reading →

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SDLP Leadership Campaign Thoughts

Posted on September 17, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

Todays Sinn Féin statement on the Presidential Election (and I unashamedly wish Martin McGuinness well) has nothing to do with the SDLP Leadership and my own thought would be that a leadership contest never shows a Party in a good light….and … Continue reading →

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Will Conall McDevitt Stand For SDLP Leadership?

Posted on September 15, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

With just over 24 hours to go before nominations close, it might have been expected that political anoraks like myself had more names to mull over. We dont. Therefore we speculate on the names and we speculate on the motives. … Continue reading →

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9/11…………Belfast Remembers…And Forgets

Posted on September 12, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

It is right and proper that Americans……..and indeed the rest of us commemorate 9/11….but I am just a little uncomfortable that we have gone just a little too far. There has been a certain amount of re-writing History involved. Those … Continue reading →

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Reverend David Latimer Is Not A Heretic

Posted on September 11, 2011 by fitzjameshorse

Back in the 1550s during the reign of (Catholic) Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary), Bishop Hugh Latimer was burned at the stake in Oxford ….as a heretic. There appears to be many Protestants and unionists in Norn Iron who are almost … Continue reading →

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