Dumping politics out of boxes | Provocative conversation
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The hurl was ours: why Belfast’s politicians need to do more than condemn…
Families were burned out of their homes in Belfast this week in openly racist violence. But Sara Morrison, who has lived in Belfast most of her life, argues that what happened o
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Behind the row about money, Starmer has neglected to make the basic case for protection against “possible war by 2030”
Just one for Andy to fix? The shock resignation of the ever loyal, ever dependable John Healey and his armed forces minister Al Carns
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/13…
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Sinn Féin and DUP at Loggerheads Over ‘Good Jobs Bill’
Earlier this year, Westminster began rolling out new rights for workers which include such things as changes to statutory sick pay, day one family leave, whistle-blowing protections and measures aim
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Closing the border to police immigration is a futile and unnecessary demand -a deviation from why race riots happen
Predictably enough, the Westminster right wing and the DUP did have to turn it into a row about the border. It was quickly revealed that
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Northern Ireland Housing Crisis Worsened by Wastewater Constraints…
The latest homelessness bulletin figures released by the Department show a concerning trend in Northern Ireland’s housing system. While the number of people presenting as homeless rema
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Are the Blackshirts Back?
Wear Dark Clothing The TV footage from Belfast this week was striking. On TV news we watched wave after wave of young men, all dressed in black, wearing balaclavas, advancing on police Land Rovers to stone the PSNI. The choice
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Fear and Loathing in Northern Ireland: how the impact of online agitprop has poisoned our social cohesion…
And so, now, to the annual pogroms. The pogroms have a two-fold effect, as they allow for the Great Cleansing of the undesirables, whilst also pr
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Slugger O'Toole retweeted
Jun 11
For the third consecutive day, Northern Ireland's public transport company Translink is pulling services over fears of further rioting. There'll be no bus services in Belfast after 5.30pm. For all the latest, follow the comprehensive @BelTel live blog:
belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/…
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The 2026 World Cup starts today…
The 2026 World Cup kicks off today with the opening match between Mexico and South Africa. Yet, the buildup to the tournament feels remarkably subdued compared to previous years. A significant factor is the heavily tarn
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/11…
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Meanwhile, in Barcelona…
I thought I would throw in a brief interlude of beauty amidst our local misery. Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at Barcelona’s iconic La Sagrada Família yesterday, delivering a papal blessing to the highest spire of what is now th
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Belfast protests: a cautious summary of a fast-moving story…
A stabbing attack in north Belfast has triggered a night of serious disorder across the city and sparked protests in several UK cities. Here is a cautious summary of what has been reported so
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/10…
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Grand Designs: what a right-wing think tank gets right (and wrong) about England’s universities
A major new Policy Exchange report argues that England's higher education system is broken beyond tinkering: too many students, too much debt, collapsing sta
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/10…
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Beyond Green and Orange: Northern Ireland’s New Political Reality
A new survey reveals that 55 per cent of Northern Irish voters would refuse to back any party that collapses Stormont — and that support for institutional reform now cuts across the union
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/09…
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Somali man arrested over attempted murder of man in North Belfast last night…
Last night’s attack in North Belfast was pretty gruesome, even for a society like ours hardened by the troubles. The PSNI issued this statement: Man arrested on suspicion of
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Will Westminster’s Fiscal Squeeze Force Northern Ireland to Reform?
Britain is now staring at a national debt burden approaching £3 trillion, according to recent reports, raising serious questions about the sustainability of public spending across the U
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/08…
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From the Other Side of the Canal – Sham Fight in Scarva…
For older members of the community, watching the video from Scarva where unionists gathered at one side of the Newry Canal to shout abuse at a perceived enemy on the other side, will bring back u
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Anybody in Ulster keen on claiming US Vice President JD Vance as one of their own?
In his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy JD Vance wrote that “to understand me, you must understand that I am a Scots-Irish hillbilly at heart” So writing from the heart on X V
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/06…
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Storytime with Houdi – Broken Land…
It was the Monday of St. Patrick’s week 1988. I was driving to my work in Newcastle Co. Down having just got my girlfriend’s father’s blessing for our marriage, making me the happiest man in Ireland. I turned the rad
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Why the Summit of the Cities Matters for All of Ireland…
By Brendan Mulgrew, Managing Partner, MW Advocate Later this month Belfast will host what I believe is one of the most significant civic gatherings ever held on the island of Ireland. For the fir
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Blue Pallets, Red Pallets and the Politics of Legitimacy: Who Really Owns Belfast’s Bonfires?
Every July, blue and red pallets go up in flames on loyalist bonfires across Belfast. The theft is brazen, the impunity is total, and the cultural defence is w
sluggerotoole.com/2026/06/05…
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