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Why Stone’s ‘art’ wasn’t in the frame

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:18:16 GMT

In common with let’s say ... oh, about 100% of the population … I did not for a minute think that Michael Stone’s attack on Stormont was, as he claimed in his defence, a work of performance art. The court case could have been though.

Lindy McDowell: A horror story that will haunt the IRA forever

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:24 GMT

Murder never lies. It’s an old expression we use in these parts to reassure ourselves that one day — even somewhere well down the line —truth will out.

Did Sinn Fein leaders betray party faithful?

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:02:43 GMT

In a weekend interview Cherie Blair revealed how during a visit to 10 Downing Street, Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness had shown off their skateboarding skills to her sons Euan and Nicholas.

Lindy McDowell: Why Provo denials may land Gerry in hot water

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 07:00:35 GMT

What on earth came over Gerry Adams when he rose in the Assembly this week to refute an allegation by MLA Nelson McCausland that back in the 70s, he (Gerry) had played a leading role in the Provisional IRA?

Why unionism fails to star on the big screen

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:00:47 GMT

The film Hunger which is currently showing in local cinemas is being praised for its standard of acting.

Why sick BBC must find Brand new image

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:00:13 GMT

The incident where the highly paid BBC presenters Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left a series of offensive messages on the telephone answering machine of a 78-year-old man (and then broadcast the calls) has been described as a ‘schoolboy prank’.

Lindy McDowell: Why Sinn Fein has shot itself in the foot

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:00:14 GMT

Sinn Fein’s decision to organise a protest demonstration against the homecoming parade for local soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan may be upsetting, offensive and provocative to many.

Dead easy solution to Halowe’en garden row

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:22:39 GMT

This is a direct quote from the woman at the centre of what’s surely the weirdest story of the week — “This year we decided we would like coffins in the garden so my sister-in-law got them made for me...”

Lindy McDowell: Why this man answered the call to serve

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:04:39 GMT

Among the glorious things — and there are many of them — about my friend Kevin Benedict Sheehy is the fact that he‘s not a man who does predictable. A Catholic who joined the RUC. A high-flying graduate who could have chosen any other career but who, during policing’s hardest years in Northern Ireland opted to don a uniform which made him a major target for terror.

How Irish can be a language we all share

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:00:38 GMT

Reports of a weekend march through Belfast demanding the introduction of an Irish language act put the number of demonstrators at anything from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand.

Might Mandy prove handy for Labour after all?

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:00:28 GMT

Peter Mandelson — they don’t call him the Prince of Darkness for nothing. Politically it’s been harder to put a stake through his heart than to decommission Dracula with garlic. He’s had more comebacks than Tina Turner.

Lindy McDowell: Fat cats should be fearful

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:00:49 GMT

In America it’s being billed as the revenge of Joe Six-Pack. The Joe Six-Pack in question being the US Joe Public who rebelled this week against George Bush’s plans for a bail-out of fat-cat Wall Street bankers.

Why South’s tales of North have no sense of direction

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:21:31 GMT

Down south sixth form students are, God help them, going to have to learn about our Troubles.

Lindy McDowell: Just when they thought Gordon had kissed his career good-bye

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:00:53 GMT

A week is a long time in politics, and with a Prime Minister who snogs his wife. At least that’s how it must seem to Gordon Brown who has been given an unexpected boost in ratings after he kissed his missus at this week’s Labour Party conference.

Why there’s no escaping Kelly’s actions

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:00:27 GMT

Gerry Kelly, the man who would be policing and justice minister in the Stormont Assembly, featured in a documentary this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Maze prison breakout.

Lindy McDowell: Why we can’t get depressed over all those silly bankers

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:00:30 GMT

How much more misery can we take? It’s been another week of collapsing banks, rising prices, scattered showers and bleak, bleak headlines. The experts are not exactly predicting “the end of the world is nigh”. But sometimes you almost think it might be a relief if they would.

Lindy McDowell: Why this glass ceiling is a real pain for women

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:51:56 GMT

Just as you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, so you can’t bust your way through a glass ceiling without it being a shattering experience in which you risk, presumably, a few scratches in the process.

Lindy McDowell: Why Gordon should put a cork in it

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:30:45 GMT

Not since the days of Oliver Cromwell have we had a dourer bunch at the helm of the ship of state. Not since the days of Nostradamus have we had to listen to more dire predictions. Gordon Brown’s government has become the political equivalent of a hen house that’s just got a whiff of a prowling fox.

Lindy McDowell: Ulster-Scots Hillbillies may shape US politics

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:00:56 GMT

This week a television report about how the voters in the Appalachia region of the US could be crucial in swinging the US presidential election threw out some interesting facts. One of them dental.

Lindy McDowell: Why Hillary’s claws are still out for Obama

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:56:52 GMT

The news that Hillary Clinton is being backed by a group calling itself Puma almost has me warming to the woman. Puma stands for Party Unity My Ass. No beating about the Bush there. Or in this instance, bleating about the Obama.

Lindy McDowell: Exactly who is Ian Jnr’s TUV talk aimed at?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:21:17 GMT

Tough talk from Ian Paisley Jnr this week as he launched a campaign to shoot to kill rumours that the DUP was going soft. Referring to recent attacks by dissident republicans he says he wants the police to be able to “deploy ruthlessness in tracking down and wiping out these dissident members.

Why Martin needs to help keep us out of arms way

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:18:13 GMT

Martin McGuinness has called for a public inquiry into the police handling of Omagh. Shouldn’t we be calling for an inquiry into why Martin is calling for this inquiry? After all, it’s unlikely to be about “justice”, as he maintains. If he was concerned about justice, he would be calling for those within the republican community who have information about the atrocity to bring it forward.

Lindy McDowell: Chinese show their X Factor

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:00:39 GMT

Say what you will about the Chinese, but they’ve no time for namby-pamby American style pandering to the sensitive feelings of the young.

Lindy McDowell: Omagh still shocks us all

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:00:35 GMT

Today it is 10 years to the day — if not the date — of the Omagh bombing. This week survivors and victims have been telling their stories.

Lindy McDowell: Why Nuala is testing the trust of Protestants

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:00:10 GMT

Dame Nuala O’Loan says that all Protestants — not some, but all — have been brought up to mistrust Catholics.