Monthly Archives: August 2012

Among the Orangemen

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

Ian Wilson, a former Grand Master of the Orange Lodge in Scotland, addressed the annual Orange parade in Broughshane, Co. Antrim, on 12 July. After describing Martin McGuinness’s handshake with the queen as ‘a humiliating surrender’ for Sinn Fein, Wilson … Continue reading →

Posted in London Review of Books, Scotland | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dissident Republicans A Threat But Lack Capacity

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

Dissident republicans ‘intent to disrupt the peace process outstrips their capacity,’ a leading expert on paramilitaries in Northern Ireland has told the Sunday Business Post. Speaking in the wake of last week’s announcement that the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs … Continue reading →

Posted in Northern Ireland, Sunday Business Post | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

New IRA same old stance

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

A new republican anti-ceasefire group in Northern Ireland is a threat, but its goals are likely to be unfulfilled, writes Peter Geoghegan In DECEMBER 1969, the Irish Republican Army held an extraordinary convention at Knockvicar house in Boyle, County Roscommon. … Continue reading →

Posted in Northern Ireland, Scotsman | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ireland’s Rocky Road to Poland

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

In May, ‘the Rocky Road to Poland’, Ireland’s official song for the European Championships, debuted at number one in the Irish singles chart. A rather cumbersome 9/8 beat aside, the Rocky Road to Poland is standard team song fare: a … Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review — How Much is Enough?

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

In 1928, the scion of 20th century British economics John Maynard Keynes addressed a room full of Cambridge undergraduates on the subject of ‘economic possibilities for our grandchildren’. Keynes – a far more radical thinker than contemporary caricatures of him as … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Economics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Boxer and the Goalkeeper by Andy Martin

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

In December 1946, the French polymath and bon vivant Boris Vian, and his wife, threw a soirée in their Paris apartment. It was a boozy, bawdry affair, an intentional throwback to the all-night parties that raged in Occupied Paris. In one corner sat phenomenologist … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Irishman’s Diary: TP O’Connor

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

‘HIS PEN could lay bare the bones of a book or the soul of a statesman in a few vivid lines”. These words were written in praise of the man who founded the Sun newspaper: journalist, politician and Irish nationalist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish Times, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Belfast Project — Links to the Past Under Attack

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

LEGAL action over an interview with a former IRA member may threaten our ability to record history, writes Peter Geoghegan. ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” These words, penned more than a century ago by … Continue reading →

Posted in Northern Ireland, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Iceland Myths

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

Iceland is often held up as the poster child for an alternative approach to the global crisis, but how accurate are the stories about the Nordic nation? My London Review of Books blog took a look. In April, a video entitled ‘Iceland … Continue reading →

Posted in London Review of Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

TED — A Strange Way to Talk About Openness

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

IF you had wanted to see the movers and shakers in Edinburgh this week, it would have cost you £3,850, writes Peter Geoghegan If you did find yourself with just shy of four grand burning a hole in your pocket, … Continue reading →

Posted in Scotsman, Society and Culture | Tagged , | Leave a comment