Anthony McIntyre's Blog, page 688

Predominance 🥁 Best of ‘21

Christopher Owens 🎵 savours the cream from the past year's music scene. Horns up. Due to the hangover from last year, music occupied a very strange place for me in the last twelve months. I didn’t consume as much of it as I would normally do, probably because the lockdown on live performances in Belfast was not lifted until the summer. And also, because I had become acutely aware of how the

A Morning Thought @ 1296

Máire Robinson

Anthony McIntyre ⚱ shares memories of a cherished friend who died in September.Máire RobinsonWhen the phone rang early on the closing day of September, and I saw my friend Máire’s caller ID come up, I answered right away. Often when we missed calls it might take weeks to hook up again after a string of deposited voice mails. She tended to ring in the mornings, describing herself as a little Mary

State Papers Reveal The Royal Family Knew Who We Were

Matt Treacy ✒ The annual release of State Papers once they have reached a certain “best by date” is really a bit of a gimmick. No state is ever going to allow historians, never mind anyone else, read about how such and such was a police informer, or that the head of the department was watching cartoons in the hotel when they agreed the finer points of the fishing deal.As anyone who has conducted

The 1984/85 British Coal Miners' Strike ✒ Women’s Support (Action) Groups

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ looks at the role played by women during the Miners' Strike.In recent weeks, writing about the strike which gripped Britain’s coal fields for one year, I have tried to look objectively at the case for and against a national ballot for strike action. At a delegates conference held in April of 1984 delegates from every area, including those who wanted a ballot, voted against

A Morning Thought @ 1295

Sean Corcoran

Anthony McIntyre ✒ looks back on a giant from the world of Irish traditional music who died in Derbyshire in May.Seán CorcoranA hugely talented man, Seán Corcoran’s specialty lay in traditional music where he established a strong reputation as a performer and archivist. He became internationally renowned courtesy of having belonged to a folk group, Cran, which saw him perform in different parts

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of One Hundred And Sixteen

Ten links to a diverse range of opinion that might be of interest to TPQ readers. They are selected not to invite agreement but curiosity. Readers can submit links to pieces they find thought provoking.Before We Conform, Let Us At Least Be CuriousPaul Reid: 6% Of Unvaccinated Population Take Up 54% Of ICU Beds'You Might Think Ireland's Fast Going To Hell In A Handbasket. But That’s Not True'‘We

The Gates Flew Open

Simon Smyth 🔖 reviews a classic from the corpus of Irish Republican literature.The book follows the author's imprisonment during the Irish Civil War. It starts with Peadar O'Donnell's mind going dark, his sensation of being buried and the panic of imprisonment. "I had never felt so unutterably alone."The downsides to this book are more than compensated by its upsides. It is a very good book but

A Morning Thought @ 1294