From Russia’s National Guard To America’s Private Air Forces
At the risk of drawing the ire of the sockpuppet brigades labouring away in various nondescript buildings around the city of Saint Petersburg, a statement by theContinue Reading
Category: Politics
American Weapons And Equipment Among Syria’s Opposition Factions
During the hot years of the Cold War one of the few things the opposing superpowers of the USSR andContinue Reading
The War Nerd, The Punk And The American Supporters Of Irish Freedom
Speaking of laudable Irish-American journalists, the War Nerd (aka Gary Bercher, aka the protean John Dolan) has recently unlocked hisContinue Reading
Andrew O’Hehir On The 1916 Easter Rising
I regularly lambaste American journalists on ASF for their piss-poor knowledge of Ireland and its history, a phenomenon made worse by someContinue Reading
Will The Black And Tans Be Added To The Glasnevin Wall of Shame?
Further on the divisive “Wall of Remembrance” unveiled in the historic grounds of Glasnevin Cemetery on Sunday, a monument which partly pays tributeContinue Reading
The New World Panama Order
Like some mad conspiracy theory from the outer reaches of the world wide web the revelations relating to the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, have explodedContinue Reading
Rachel Maddow On The Politics Of Abortion
Apologies to the offended but I find myself in broad agreement with this insightful, and bluntly honest, assessment of theContinue Reading
Atheist Ireland, Not In My Name
All things are political, even religion. Or the lack thereof. My secular atheism influences my view of faith in Ireland’s complex history, both for goodContinue Reading
Glasnevin’s 1916 Wall Of Shame
The apologists for colonialism have their day as the Glasnevin 1916 Remembrance Wall honours British killers alongside the Irish they killed
The Great Betrayal Of Ireland’s Counter-Revolution
Back in 2014 I wrote about the “Great Betrayal”, the abandonment of an all-Ireland republic, an all-Ireland revolution, and anContinue Reading
Donald Trump Questions The Geneva Conventions
Political commentators have been speculating for months that the Donald Trump campaign for the GOP’s presidential nomination would eventually, inevitably, goContinue Reading
Not Merely Free But Gaelic 1916-2016
In August of 1915, Patrick H. Pearse, future president and commander-in-chief of the Provisional Government and Army of the IrishContinue Reading
A Catholic Priest And The Message Of British Guns Good, Irish Guns Bad
So a Roman Catholic priest, a Jesuit intellectual no less, condemns armed insurrection by a significant body of men andContinue Reading
Writer Barry Kennerk Replies To His Critics
My short post on Friday criticising the tone and content of the New York Times opinion piece, “Inventing the Irish“, has generated considerable interestContinue Reading
The John Redmond Banner And Ireland’s 35,000 Dead
A quick update on the divisive 1916-2016 centenary banner erected by Dublin city council at the prominent Bank of Ireland building in College GreenContinue Reading
The New York Times Argues That The Irish Are Actually British
The New York Times has published an extraordinary opinion piece by the writer, Barry Kennerk, on the significance of the centenaryContinue Reading
Improvised Armour, From The British Army 1916 To The Islamic State 2016
Just after 12 o’clock on the afternoon of Easter Monday, the 24th of April 1916, Patrick H. Pearse and his revolutionary colleagues were escortedContinue Reading
Books Culture Fantasy History Irish Mythology - Seanchas Irish Republican Politics Teicóg (Geek Culture)
Two Irish Fantasy Writers On The 1916 Easter Rising
A quick post to recommend this short essay, “The Political Imagination: Irish Fantasy Writers and the Easter Rising“, by Rob MaslenContinue Reading
Two Documentaries On The Kurdish War, Plus The Russians Get A Fright
A couple of recent video documentaries on the Kurdish struggle in Syria and Iraq. The first, “Kurdistan: Girls at War“, wasContinue Reading
Michael Ware On The Iraq War And The Islamic State
These two interviews with the Australian war correspondent, Michael Ware, highlighting his traumatic experiences reporting on the conflict in Iraq, nowContinue Reading
Orange Is Not The Only Fruit, Just Ask The Mandarins Of The Alliance Party
So, the regional justice minister in the north-east, David Ford, has disdained an invite to the official celebrations in the capital markingContinue Reading
The Excusers And Apologists For The Bloody Sunday Massacre Are Still With Us
At the tail end of last year the former British army commander turned security “expert”, Tim Collins, writing in Britain’s conservative SundayContinue Reading
AN SIONNACH FIONN 