Jude Collins

JUDE COLLINS: Realising a dream 800 years in the making

Like the Christian story of Easter, the Easter Rising of 1916 went from open contempt for those at its centre, to a dramatic realisation of what the Rising meant. The risen Christ had first to endure pain and bloodshed before the rebirth of hope among his followers could happen. Likewise the Irish people needed the shock of sacrifice before they saw the true situation in their country.

JUDE COLLINS: Say hello to the law of unintended consequences, Donald

"DON'T shoot the messenger." You’ve probably warned yourself on more than one occasion not to focus on the person bringing you news, but to focus on the message itself. As with most things, Donald Trump makes that hard to do.

JUDE COLLINS: Big Brother Trump shows Fianna Fáil the way to do it

IT'S funny the way small events very often have a big brother. This happened over the past week or two, and both brothers – and their effect – are still reverberating.

JUDE COLLINS: Trump's visa arrests are an assault on free speech

DONALD Trump is such a lawless, reckless oaf: Taking over Canada, taking over Greenland, slapping on 200 per cent tariffs – it’s hard to keep up. But one area in particular has been targeted by him in recent days – universities and their students.

JUDE COLLINS: Ireland's Presidential options are strictly limited

DOES the role of President of Ireland matter? As with much in politics, the answer is No. And Yes.

JUDE COLLINS: Is Trump a uniquely dangerous President?

IS Donald J. Trump uniquely dangerous? If you were to ask Mahmoud Khalil, you’d get a definite Yes. But your chances of asking Mahmoud are remote.

JUDE COLLINS: We don't have to believe the war hawk warnings

WE humans like to think we live in a world where it’s possible to make clear decisions, to choose the road most travelled or choose the road overgrown and rarely taken. Time and again we underestimate how much the power of the prevailing atmosphere affects our choice.

JUDE COLLINS: Pleasant surprises come all too seldom

CYNICS (some would say realists) insist that there’s not a cigarette paper’s worth of difference between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The words and actions of FF and FG TDs would seem to back that up.

JUDE COLLINS: Trump's just the latest in a long line of appalling White House incumbents

THERE was a man in the BBC’s Question Time audience and he had a question: 'If British soldiers were on the ground in Ukraine and were fired at by the Russians, would that be the start of World War Three?'

JUDE COLLINS: Alleged porkies in the Dáil are really nothing new

HERE'S a starter for ten: What’s the link between the late Jack Profumo MP and the present Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD? Maybe none that immediately strikes you.

JUDE COLLINS: Is the search for something better nearing its end?

BECAUSE you’re reading this newspaper and this column, it’s a reasonably safe bet that you, like me, would welcome the day when, from Coleraine to Cork and Newport to Newry, the border in Ireland was permanently removed.

JUDE COLLINS: Is Dáil opposition anger a case of sour grapes or good politics?

IS it sour grapes?

JUDE COLLINS: Do good fences really make good neighbours?

ON Friday past I awoke to apparent disaster. The fence between me and my next-door neighbour at the back had been blown down. It’s a wooden affair, which had always seemed upright and immovable. Now it lay flat on the grass.

JUDE COLLINS: Trump has many failings – and in that he's hardly unique

THIS week the world holds its breath. That’s because this week saw the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the US. We are heading into uncharted waters, pundits warn. Who knows what Trump will do?

JUDE COLLINS: A shocking record gets even worse

LATE at night on May 22 1997, the 61-year-old chairman of Bellaghy GAA club was locking up the clubhouse. It was after 11pm and Sean Brown’s son had gone home just five minutes earlier. A group of men emerged from the darkness, seized the 61-year-old, and after a struggle bundled him into the back of his red Sierra car. Then with one of the murderers’ cars in front and another behind, they drove to Randalstown, passing Toomebridge police station. There they shot Brown six times and set fire to his car. No-one has yet been charged with this murder.

NIFL Premiership: Reds boost playoff hopes with comeback win at Carrick

NIFL Premiership: Magilton excited for Cup final build-up as Reds return to league action

Gaelic Games: Rossa fend off Ballycastle rally to claim opening win

Gaelic Games: Carryduff win cross-city clash at Sarsfield's

TUV want Casement renamed after a British royal – and Andytown doesn't rule it out

ROBIN LIVINGSTONE: David Trimble’s Catholic problem was well hidden

SQUINTER: Loyalist Human Resources departments thrive

WE SAY: Irish language signage victory was inevitable

Jude Collins

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