A GOOD LOYALIST STORY

A GOOD LOYALIST STORY

FROM speaking to former soldiers and RUC men I learnt a lot about their perspective on the conflict and the things we had in common. These engagements did not fundamentally alter our political outlooks or rock the foundations of our convictions, nor was that the...
Remembering A Past

Remembering A Past

In this personal piece Ciarán Quinn, Sinn Féin Representative for North America, responding to reports of British Government plans to produce an ‘official’ history of the conflict, explains the importance of remembering all that happened in the past and...
‘Best Catholics in the World…’

‘Best Catholics in the World…’

My review of Derek Scally’s book, The Best Catholics in the World was published in last Saturday’s Irish Examiner, 9 October. Here it is: That old Latin phrase, Corruptio optimi pessima (the corruption of the best is the worst of all) explains the...
Old Friends

Old Friends

Behind West Belfast sits Black Mountain. Hardly a towering elevation it is round with no discernible peak. Yet to locals it is an intimate friend, embracing and mystically comforting, from one’s childhood through to old age. It is loved. It is beautiful and charming...
THE ART OF LISTENING

THE ART OF LISTENING

Ciaran Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America. Here he reviews Northern Protestants on Shifting Ground by Susan McKay. -oo0oo- Susan McKay’s book is a master class in the art of listening and a damning indictment of the failure of dialogue.* The book...