Jude Collins

JUDE COLLINS: Geography knowledge dependent on... geography

ON July 21, 2000, the then Tánaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats party, Mary Harney, addressed the American Bar Association in Dublin. In the course of that speech she made a claim that still resonates decades later: “Geographically we are closer to Berlin than Boston. Spiritually we are probably a lot closer to Boston than Berlin."

JUDE COLLINS: United Ireland debate inevitably brings different analyses

WHEN you’re assessing the worth of a political claim, it’s generally smart to factor in the person making the claim.

JUDE COLLINS: Differing analyses on Irish unity converge on the same conclusion

THERE'S good news and bad news. First, the good: all of the political parties in the South aspire to a reunited Ireland (Hooray!). The bad news: the past century and more has seen those same parties mouthing platitudes, presenting the Northern Troubles as sectarian blood-lust, and since the Good Friday Agreement focusing on the need to win unionists over to the notion of a reunited Ireland before holding any border poll.

JUDE COLLINS: Departing Leo leaves a distinctly mixed legacy

THERE was no love lost between Mary Lou McDonald and Leo Varadkar. When asked some years ago what word she’d use to sum him up, she said, “Smarmy”. The word, interestingly, was the name given to a heavy and cloying hair grease worn by Indian men in the nineteenth century. I doubt if Mary Lou had hair oil in mind. More likely she was thinking of someone who’d try to wheedle his way into your good books. It clearly didn’t work with the Sinn Féin President.

JUDE COLLINS: Israeli chutzpah may hurt Biden come November

I DON'T usually shout at my TV but I roared at it last week. I was watching the BBC’s Question Time and the journalist Melanie Phillips was talking. Melanie is Jewish and these days, she told us, she lives mainly in Israel. She also told us that Israel was perfectly entitled to “defend itself” (her words, not mine) and that Hamas and Hezbollah, the two freedom fighter/terrorist groups involved in the Middle East conflict, want to re-enact the Second World War holocaust and eliminate all the Jewish people.

JUDE COLLINS: Sometimes apologies can seem a bit odd

THERE can be few less attractive sights than politicians who stand on the coffins of the dead the better to hurl insults and demands at their opponents. The ink was scarcely dry on the interim Kenova report than the DUP and Fianna Fáil were busy doing just that.

JUDE COLLINS: Right or wrong, words from behind the velvet rope mean a lot

THIS Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood the Oscars ceremony will take place. The great, the bad and even some of the good will be there, all glossy lipstick, smart suits, plunging necklines and genuflecting paparazzi. There will be gasps, cheers, tears and thanks to everybody, barring the theatre cat. But here’s the thing: in today’s world, when we’re faced with so many crises – Gaza, Ukraine, climate crisis, famine, obesity – is there any chance an Oscar recipient will speak out on one of these topics?

JUDE COLLINS: Why does Casement push so many unionist buttons?

CASEMENT Park excites strong negative opinions in some unionists. For one thing, this is a park named after a man who was hanged for treason; for another it’s located on the edge of West Belfast where they say they wouldn’t feel comfortable attending an event; and for another it’s intended primarily to host games of a Gaelic nature.

JUDE COLLINS: Judge ye not, lest ye be judged right back

"MAKE no mistake about it,” President Joe Biden said, looking into the camera. “Putin killed Navalny.” And then, as if afraid we hadn’t heard, he repeated it more slowly: “Putin. Killed. Navalny!”

JUDE COLLINS: Doddery Joe the best of a bad choice

EVERY time I see Joe Biden board or descend a plane, my heart is in my mouth that he’ll fall. He’s done it before and he may well do it again. The thing is, can it be prevented? Nobody likes to see their leader come a cropper

JUDE COLLINS: Mild-mannered Jeffrey takes his courage in his hands

IN the wild excitement of the DUP’s decision to go back into Stormont (well, the thought of a Sinn Féin First Minister does take time to digest its way through the unionist gut), it’d be easy to overlook one vital question: what manner of man is Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the man who took two years to persuade his party they must swallow the Protocol and the Windsor Framework?

JUDE COLLINS: DUP reap the rewards of their Brexit enthusiasm

IT is a truth universally acknowledged that a political party which wishes to succeed must be in need of razor-sharp economic minds. And there is a short video doing the rounds on X (formerly Twitter) which validates this notion.

JUDE COLLINS: Sorting the whats and whys of the Gaza slaughter

WHY is Israel so intent on killing Palestinians? You might respond to that question with a number of suggestions.

JUDE COLLINS: Support for Israel slowly draining away

"IN this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel... We stand with Israel. We will make sure it has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack. There’s no justification for terrorism. There’s no excuse.”

JUDE COLLINS: 2023 was a year to forget – except for the memorable bits

AND so NEI says farewell to 2023. It was not the most scintillating of years, with strikes, economic hardship and political paralysis. A dysfunctional state doing what it does best: being dysfunctional. Here’s a 12-month list of modest headlines.

Soccer: Reds return to Cup final with Larne victory

Boxing: Wonderful Walker enjoys Beech party to land first title

Boxing: Farrell overcomes Kerr in title thriller

Gaelic Games: St Gall's see off Tír na nÓg in hurling opener

MINDFULNESS MOMENT: Unveiling the ancient origins of Easter

GERRY ADAMS: UN rep was right to censure Irish government 'zero' response to Gaza genocide

DÚLRA: How childhood spawned a love of spring

HEALTHWISE: Enjoy your Easter pleasures

Jude Collins

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