Stakeholder

So we go again. On Tuesday Northern Ireland will stand at yet another political crossroads. The choices are as clear now as they were to Terence O’ Neill some forty two years ago. Then O’ Neill was facing down what he described as a form of ‘Protestant Sinn Fein’ led by Paisley. Now Paisley’s ‘Protestant [...]

So the last of the SDLP lions, Eddie Mc Grady has decided to call it a day. The announcement is not as surprising as some commentators make out.  Mr Mc Grady has been an elected representative since 1961 and to put that in context; President Kennedy was still alive; man had not reached the moon; [...]

‘I thought we were past all of this’ said one Newry shopkeeper following the bomb at the Courthouse.  Within a few hours of the attack a group of young people had launched a Facebook page ‘I survived the Newry bombing of 2010.’ The residents in newly regenerated Canal, Sinclair and New Streets, frightened and outraged; [...]

‘Is this just fantasy, caught in a landslide, no time for reality?:’ so sang Freddie Mercury and now the Ulster Unionists it seems; as they opt for a Freddie tribute singer to win back David Trimble’s old seat in Upper Bann and presenter-come-politician, Mike Nesbitt to exact revenge on the family Robinson in Strangford  at [...]

I use to enjoy Blackadder. My favourite character was the side-kick servant and ex- dung shoveller Baldrick who became famous for one of the most popular catch-phrases in British comedy- ‘I have a cunning plan’.
Inevitably the plans which were ridiculous – perversely sometimes worked. In the series ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ attempting to prevent going ‘over [...]

Recently the SDLP has not been blessed with much luck.
Lack of succession planning resulted in an entire generation of very talented people retiring at one swoop. Political demographics and the break up of traditional allegiances have meant that electorally speaking the tide has been out for a long time.  In 2005 Alasdair Mc Donnell unexpectedly [...]

In a week when the media pack hounded Tony Blair over the justification for the Iraq War over fifty countries endorsed and funded an incentive and bribe package for terrorists. Of course, the bribe and buy strategy is a well trodden path here in Northern Ireland..
Watching Blair perform in the Chilcott Star Chamber one could [...]

In the book ‘Tell me no lies’ investigative journalist John Pilger quotes his favourite quotation by T.D Allman.
Allman wrote ‘genuinely objective journalism is journalism that not only gets the facts right, it gets the meaning of events right. It is compelling not only today, but stands the test of time. It is validated not only [...]

The passing of Cathal Daly, Cardinal Prince of Rome, is a timely reminder of what is good about the Catholic Church. The late Cardinal was a humble but steely worker as a priest, pastor, and protector of the Faith and the Faithful. He, more than many of our politicians was first to acknowledge that over [...]

The Arabs have a proverb which says the ‘hasty baker will end up with raw bread’.  Bread features heavily in the Arabic lifestyle – hastiness does not.
If you come to the Gulf Region expecting to do business in a hurry you’ll be disappointed. Relationships are hugely important to Arabs as they like to know people [...]