Perspectives on religion & politics
Secretary of State Owen Paterson has published a summary of the responses to the Eames Bradley Report on dealing with Northern Ireland’s past, revealing an overwhelmingly negative reaction to it.
As the unionist newspaper the News Letter puts it, ‘Ulster Rejects Eames Bradley Report on the Troubles.’ So is this just another case of ‘Ulster Says No’?
This afternoon, after a violent and destructive 12th of July in Northern Ireland, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister have finally broken their collective silence and condemned the rioting of recent days.
The condemnation followed a complaint by Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Finlay on this morning’s Stephen Nolan Show that the First Minister and Deputy First Minister were not showing adequate leadership in the situation.
With the 12th of July almost upon us, people living in Northern Ireland can’t help but notice the familiar sights of bonfires being constructed, freshly painted red-white-and-blue kerbstones, and areas adorned with British, Northern Ireland, and UVF flags.
This annual event very much hearkens back to Northern Ireland’s past, and depending on your perspective, is either a celebration of cultural heritage or a destructive ritual that represents the desire of some to cling to old and divisive political aspirations.
Queen’s University recently hosted the launch of a new book edited by Dr Katy Hayward (Queen’s) and Dr Mary Murphy (University College Cork), The Europeanization of Party Politics in Ireland: North and South (Routledge, 2010). At the launch, some of the academics who contributed to the volume presented their perspectives on the impact that the EU has had on political parties within Northern Ireland.
Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson was on hand to offer his thoughts on the proceedings. I was the author of the chapter on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and along with the others who had written on Northern parties, we were asked to address the question:
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard the Rev. Ian Paisley rail publicly against the pope, identifying him as an ‘anti-Christ.’ But in an interview with the BBC World Service, Paisley reverted to ‘anti-Christ’ mode as he voiced his opposition to the pope’s state visit to the UK in September.
On his blog, BBC religion correspondent William Crawley says that Paisley’s comments,
Continue reading ‘Ian Paisley and the Pope: The Return of Dr No?’
Yesterday was Ecumenical Day at the novena in West Belfast’s Clonard Monastery. As I’m in a Northern Irish style ‘mixed’ marriage, and live close to Clonard, I appreciate the spirit behind ecumenical day and try and make a point of being there.
So last night I dropped in on an evening session, where Rev. Steve Stockman, the minister from Fitzroy Presbyterian, was speaking. The theme for this year’s novena is ‘Our Church: A Time for Hope,’ and the theme for ecumenical day was ‘a time for justice.’
Continue reading ‘The Clonard Novena: Steve Stockman on Ecumenical Day’
For many, the welcome reception this week of the Saville Report and the British Prime Minister’s apology for the failings of the British Army and the British state in regard to Bloody Sunday have signalled that Northern Ireland may be beginning to move on from its troubled past.
This morning on Sunday Sequence, the past was very much back on the agenda as William Crawley facilitated a debate, ‘After Bloody Sunday: a Truth Commission for Northern Ireland?’ I have been concerned that the recommendations of the Eames-Bradley Report are going to be quietly and permanently shelved, so I welcome the entry of this issue back to the public domain.
Continue reading ‘Putting Northern Ireland’s Past Back on the Agenda’
With the Saville Report, the City of Derry and Northern Ireland now have a document that has, in the main, satisfied the families of the victims who were shot dead by the British Army in 1972. The families and other citizens of the Bogside have for years said that they knew the truth. But the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was about receiving public acknowledgement from the British state about what happened on that day.
By now the facts of the Saville Report are well known: the Army fired the first shot, all of the victims were innocent in that they posed no threat to the soldiers, and some soldiers lied about what happened on the day. By acknowledging all of this and more, the Saville Report can be seen as a significant step in promoting healing for the families of the victims and for others who stood in solidarity with them.
Continue reading ‘Bloody Sunday and the Saville Report: David Cameron and How to Say Sorry’
Norman Hamilton was installed as the new moderator last night at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. A pastor for the past 22 years at Ballysillan Presbyterian, in a tough part of north Belfast, Hamilton can speak from experience about the urgent need for improved community relations.
In his first speech as moderator, Hamilton used strong and vivid language to highlight the community relations issue, calling sectarianism ‘the demon among us’ and saying that the failure of politicians to agree a community relations strategy is ‘a public disgrace.’
Continue reading ‘Norman Hamilton Takes Presbyterian Post: Moderating a Shared Future?’
The interim leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), Dr John Kyle, had his first interview with Stephen Nolan today. Even under normal circumstances this would be a baptism of fire for a politician, but it was especially the case given the situation Kyle finds himself in.
The murder by the UVF of Bobby Moffett on the Shankill Road on the 28th of May has sparked widespread condemnation. The UVF was supposed to have decommissioned its weapons and, through the PUP, to be committed to politics.
Continue reading ‘The UVF and the PUP: Is Transformation Possible? John Kyle on the Nolan Show’
Recent Comments