JUDE COLLINS: It's all about the money, stupid

President Trump flew into Ireland at the weekend and everyone was delighted. Well, everyone in Doonbeg. A village of 200 people, it’s received a huge injection of visitors since Trump took it over and especially since he’ s said he’d begoing to see the Irish Open golf tournament at his Irish gem.

JUDE COLLINS: If a border poll is not on, how come so many are talking about it?

JUDE COLLINS: Garvaghy culture war distraction suits the DUP

IF you’ve been thinking, “The Drumcree/Garvaghy Road  thing is ancient history now – it happened over 25 years ago. It’s done and dusted,” then I say, “Listen to what some unionist politicians are saying, this is far from done and dusted.” The pull of the past is irresistible for such people.

JUDE COLLINS: Death and royals: Two stories that tell us so much

The headlines have been heaving with it. Royal correspondents have prattled on TV about the possible next  step in their ‘careers’. Megan can claim that she has a profession – acting – and is planning to return to it. Harry doesn’t really have a job. He officially resigned from his ‘duties’ some years ago as a key member of the royal family, but other than having sympathy for British servicemen who’ve been injured in wars, he really doesn’t do much. And yet he’s on our screens time and time again. 

JUDE COLLINS: Micheál Martin's aversion to unity should not stall the momentum

On Friday last, I attended a meeting of Ireland’s Future, in Derry city. The panel for discussion (or conversation, as it’s now fashionable to call it) was Prof Colin Harvey,  Rev Karen  Sethuraman and Niall Murphy the well-known lawyer. It was an invigorating meeting, with questions raised and points articulated with conviction and sometimes passion.

JUDE COLLINS: Fleadh drenched the city in the light of optimism and hope

Well, that was some week, eh? When it started with claims that the Fleadh would draw  800,000 people to Belfast, I thought  it was maybe just a bit over-ambitious. Now they’re saying the number probably topped a million, and brought not £50 million to the city, but £60 million.

JUDE COLLINS: Happy Lundys capture the zeitgeist of a changing city

Last week I attended one of the many events organised by Feile an Phobail this year. It was a discussion involving four women- journalist Amanda Ferguson as chair, Claire Mitchell,  Linzi McLaren and Claire Hannah.  At the meeting I learnt a new word: “The Happy Lundies”. This is a term, I’m told, devised  by former loyalist Davy Adams, to describe people who had been part of the Protestant Unionist Loyalist (PUL) constituency but who had migrated to a new ground, where they were happily in favour of or at least willing to explore the notion of a reunited Ireland.

JUDE COLLINS: There's a reason most unionists will turn their back on the Fleadh

Starting next week, as you know , we will have the Fleadh Ceoil na heireann in Belfast for the first time. The projected number of visitors to Belfast, drawn by the Fleadh , is expected to be 800,000. So here’s the question: how many of those enjoying the Fleadh will be unionists? I’m guessing very, very few.

JUDE COLLINS: Feisty Argentinians ignored no-politics charade

JUDE COLLINS: Time to shame Martin and Harris into action

IRISH people can be great and they can be ghastly. Two events from last week highlighted the ghastly side of the Gaels.

JUDE COLLINS: Is the damage to the DUP too serious to fix?

Brendan Behan’s most famous quip was that, when republicans met,  the first item on the agenda was the split. Aucontraire, Brendan.  Gerry Adams and others have stressed how careful they were to keep all republicans up-to-date during the period leading up to the Good Friday Agreement. The unity notable among the various strands of republicanism contrasts sharply with our near neighbours and our really near neighbours. 

JUDE COLLINS: Donaldson scandal is a problem unionism cannot afford

Sometimes what’s happening is captured in the fate of one person; other times it’s seen  the actions and mood of a whole community. Unionism and nationalism have reached that point where their present state and future prospects show as clear as day.

JUDE COLLINS: Irish Andy doesn't seem bothered about the union either way

You probably know this, but  Wayne Rooney, Declan Rice, Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire could have played for Ireland.  Alas, their thoughts were on higher things, like playing for England and how much more money that’d be worth.  Andy Burnham, said to have been a tidy footballer in his time, could not have played for Ireland, even though  his great-grandfather was from Cork.

JUDE COLLINS: Stories the racist rioters tell themselves

JUDE COLLINS: Blood on the floor in the GAA corridors of power

The  Catholic Church and the GAA have been moving in opposite directions in recent decades. Such has been the shrinkage of the Catholic Church and the expansion of the GAA, In quite a few parishes the GAA  acts as the social glue that holds communities together, rather than the Church.