Northern Ireland

Police return fire after attack in Fermanagh

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 47 minutes ago

The BBC have a brief report online of police returning fire after coming under attack this evening in the village of Garrison, County Fermanagh.

Copyright, copyleft, copytheft - no real protection in Commons?

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago

Slugger mainly relies on leeching, at least initially, content from other sources to provide the starting point for blogs. Rarely we provide original content that the MSM then takes and follows up, sometimes with a credit more often not. It usually doesn't bother me when this happens and I've only ever chased a media outlet once when they took video footage and passed it off as coming from a ‘bystander'...

Neeson's retirement and an election with guaranteed plumpers?

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 5 hours ago

While the SDLP have a very serious fight for the position of new leader, the psephologists' guru and Alliance Party Director, Gerry Lynch, has taken campaigning to be a party candidate to a new level in local politics with the launch of a dedicated website for his push to run in the East Antrim Westminster seat. As he is normally associated with North Belfast does this indicate Sean Neeson will be...

“but with no political agreement..”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 6 hours ago

Last weekend more than 7000 primary school pupils sat one version of the new privatised post-primary transfer test, this weekend, as the BBC reports , “about 6,700 took a different test aimed mainly at those seeking places in Catholic grammars.” And with the Education Bill suspended by the Minister and area-based planning awol , the education system is clearly in the very safest of hands…...

Policing politics

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 6 hours ago

The PSNI in Belfast seem determined to hand a propaganda victory to éirígí and almost make their political points for them every time they encounter one of their protests. As the video shows last week saw them deploy en mass, stop and search and use various pieces of legislation against éirígí members taking part in a sponsored walk and protest on Divis mountain....

“In each case, the most appropriate and proportionate measures are taken.”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 8 hours ago

Two Irish News reports of interest from yesterday, both relating to the arrest of Harry Fitzsimmons on an European Arrest Warrant. The first report notes that Acting on intelligence, Dublin-based detectives from the force's Extradition Unit travelled to the Co Louth town on Tuesday November 10 and arrested the 40-year-old Belfast man, who had been on the run for three years. Garda sources confirmed...

The BBC soundbite from the DUP conference…

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 9 hours ago

JUST caught Peter Robinson on News 24. The section of the speech that attracted the BBC’s attention most was this: I cannot guarantee the future of the Assembly but I can guarantee that it will not be the DUP that will walk away. I can also guarantee that in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, the DUP will act in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland. This is the DUP message...

“I warn those unionist cave-dwellers who seek to wreck our achievements…”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 9 hours ago

DUP leader Peter Robinson has told Republicans he will not be bossed about on the issue of the devolution of policing and justice. Mr Robinson told his party’s annual conference: “The last few weeks have witnessed republicans muttering darkly about an emergent political crisis and a threat to the existence of the Assembly. To my mind this is the clearest evidence that it is they and not...

What is an integrated Irish economy, anyway?

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago

Following on from yesterday’s introductory post about the Southern economy, I have a question that I have never had a clear answer to anyway: just what on earth would an all-Ireland economy look like?

Uncertain future for Belfast’s Jews

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 12 hours ago

NESTLED BEHIND carefully pruned hedges on Belfast's resolutely middle-class Somerton Road is an unexpected landmark. In a town where religion and politics have been intertwined stands the synagogue of the Belfast Hebrew Congregation, an unassuming modernist building that is home to a faith community that has been in the city for decades Funny story: I wrote and filed this article in April but it was...

DUP Conference Live Blog…

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 13 hours ago

DUP Conference Okay, the BBC should have a live feed from about 10am onwards (check the news page after 10 ). We have tweeters on the ground at La Mon Hotel, but you can join in by using your own Twitter account and the hashtag #dup09 which will mean then that your ‘tweets’ will automatically appear in the live blog feed. I need to give a presentation half way through the day here in Barcelona,...

“the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 14 hours ago

RTÉ reports FIFA’s official response to the FAI request to replay their World Cup play-off match against France. From the RTÉ report. FIFA said in a statement: ‘FIFA has today 20 November 2009 replied to the request made by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to replay the 2010 FIFA World Cup play-off match held on 18 November 2009 between France and the Republic of...

• FIFA reject replay request to end Irish hopes - ESPN

The speech Peter Robinson should give

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 14 hours ago

Fair Deal, David Gordon and I wrote three short speeches we thought Peter Robinson should give to the DUP faithful tomorrow. Read them here .

New blogger: an introduction

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 14 hours ago

As I have joined the Slugger team I thought I should introduce myself. Otherwise, this post is of no particular account.

Blogtalk 5

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 14 hours ago

This week’s show features my fellow Sluggerer Chris Donnelly, Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) and Brian Crowe (Burke’s Corner). Blogtalk (episode 5) from Northern Visions/NvTv on Vimeo .