Faith, Art and Community

In April of this year the Australian novelist Carrie Tiffany won the Stella prize for female writers and promptly shared a hefty chunk of her prize money with the remaining five shortlisted authors. Tiffany claimed it felt fantastic to share her winnings. She said it...

“Care home concerns …”

This headline about a supported living scheme for people with learning disability and challenging behaviour in a local newspaper recently drew my attention. Apparently a resident’s clothes were ripped causing injury to his/her neck and an inspection found that...

What did Mrs Thatcher ever do for us?

‘She saved the country’. This was just some of the hyperbole evoked by David Cameron following the passing of Margaret Thatcher last month. Well I’m sorry, Mr Cameron, I must have missed that! Mrs Thatcher is largely remembered in Northern Ireland for her misjudged...

Horsegate – My Confession

The horseburger scandal started in Ireland and as a meat-eating Irishman I need to confess that I am at least partly responsible. The drama unfolded when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland tested a range of ready meals and beefburgers from a number of supermarkets....

Moral Purpose in Health Care?

The recent scandal about hospital care in the Stafford Hospital has not shown the NHS in a good light and, although not on such a systemic scale, there are recurring media reports about failures of care locally. Last week the Health Secretary (England and Wales) urged...

The Protestant Paradox

Not again! I thought we’d got beyond all that. Are we going back to the old days. Are the jobs going to disappear? Do they not realise what they’re doing? Day after day of protests, riots, stone throwing, petrol bombs, attacks on the police, illegal parades.  It’s all...