Opinion Pieces | Belfast Media

CLAIRE HANNA MP: 'I want to make voters confident and hopeful about the future'

I FREQUENTLY say that if the SDLP didn’t exist, someone would invent it. As I’ve made my way around various parts of the North in the weeks since I took on the role of SDLP leader, I believe in this more than ever. This week my constituency tour takes me close to home, to North Belfast and an open meeting with those who want to hear more about where we’re hoping to take things in the years ahead.

WE SAY: Winter payment must be quick

NEWS that Stormont has cobbled together a package that will allow pensioners in the North to receive £100 towards the cost of winter fuel is welcome – but that welcome comes of course with terms and conditions.

OPINION: Monitoring round is opportunity to replenish empty arts coffers

It's all eyes on the Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons this week as monitoring round monies - those funds which come into the Executive's coffers mid-year - are splashed around.

WE SAY: The past can work – if we let it

ANOTHER year, another toxic round of media angst and recrimination over the issue of remembrance.

DÚLRA: Our sun’s a stranger but it lights up so much

YOU’RE mistaken if you think a trip to the countryside is all about spotting rare birds or coming across a wild animal. Often the land itself is the star.

HEALTHWISE: When it comes to fat, go nuts for nuts

WE need a small amount of fat as part of a healthy balanced diet. Fats provide energy and help absorb vitamins (A, D, E and K), with Omega 6 helping with skin health.

MOVIES: Are you not entertained? Well, you soon will be

Gladiator IIThe long wait is finally over, and Ridley Scott's much-hyped sequel to arguably one of his finest films finally hits the big screen this week.

SQUINTER: Israeli Ultras' Dutch courage causes a bit of a stir

IF the country Squinter lived in (Which one’s that? Ed.) had killed 45,000 Arabs, 70 per cent of them women and children, he’s not sure he’d get on a plane to a European capital to highlight that dread statistic.

GERRY ADAMS: Coalition partners have failed to plan

THE southern general election was called last Friday. In just over two weeks’ time 174 Teachtaí Dála (TDs) will be elected to the Dáil – an increase of 14 over the number elected in the 2020 general election.

ROBIN LIVINGSTONE: The Battle of the Poppies – why the Lurgan loser ending up winning

WITH Remembrance Week over for another year…

WE SAY: The past can work – if we let it

ANOTHER year, another toxic round of media angst and recrimination over the issue of remembrance.

ANDRÉE MURPHY: Diaspora must be allowed to play its part in the unity debate

IN the dying hours of the 33rd Dáil, the Joint Oireachtas Committee for the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement published an extraordinary report with recommendations regarding women and the constitutional debate. It was extraordinary because it took the wider debate on the potential for constitutional change and focused on the necessary, practical steps to ensure women’s participation. That included recognition of the disproportionate impact of our conflict on women.

JUDE COLLINS: Pollsters succeed only in spreading uncertainty

THERE are things we don’t like to think about, much less talk about. Maybe that’s what happened to a lot of commentators during the recent US Presidential election. They really really didn’t want Donald Trump to win, and they had this weird notion that if you didn’t think or talk about a Trump victory, it wouldn’t happen. All the commentators and pollsters and wise guys kept telling us that this election was so tight, if you listened you’d hear it creak.

ART: Sometimes an artist's legacy needs a helping hand

WHAT helps an artist's legacy rise once they have died? Why do some artists receive posthumous acclaim while others of the same era lose visibility? This is something to consider when viewing the Arthur Armstrong Centenary exhibition at Carrickfergus Museum.

TUAIRIM: Cén fáth a bhfuil Michelle ag freastal ar chuimhneachán ar Arm na Breataine?

Mí na Samhna, an t-aonú mí dhéag san fhéilire agus an Geimhreadh faoi lán seoil in Éirinn, difear bheag san fhéilire atá againn mar Éireannaigh, mar Ghaeil agus an fhéilire atá i gceannas sa Bhreatain. Ní thosaíonn geimhreadh na Breataine go dtí Mí na Nollag.

Gallery: Hannahstown a hive of fun and energy

Boxing: Quinn to fight for Commonwealth honours on the June 28 'Belfast Brawl'

Gaelic Games: Vital fixtures for clubs as hurling heads towards the split

Gaelic Games: Gleeson to take time before deciding his future with Antrim

THE WEEK IN VIEW: Lies, damned lies and stupidity

SQUINTER: Live and dangerous! Not any more as GB News pull the plug

DÚLRA: We’re going raven bonkers in the city centre

HEALTHWISE: Spread it around: Margarine gets the nod over butter

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