Richard Gallagher

Is it too soon to refer to Ireland as “Secular Ireland”?

Richard Gallagher on May 27, 2018, 8:16 am | Readers 3826

We’ve often heard Ireland referred to as “Catholic Ireland” or “Conservative Ireland”, is it time those terms were replaced with “Secular Ireland”? The partition of Ireland caused the creation of two states ruled by unaccountable religious fundamentalists of different creeds. The events of the last few days may have ensured the destruction of one of them, but there’s still work to do. A new Ireland is coming. Ireland is still reeling from the result of the most divisive referendum in …

The media’s inability to tear Corbyn down is no surprise to people in Ireland. Our media has been failing to tear Sinn Féin down for decades.

Richard Gallagher on April 25, 2018, 12:22 pm | Readers 4633

In the UK, Jeremy Corbyn has come under an attack from the establishment media the likes of which we have never seen an opposition leader be subjected to before. Just about everything has been thrown at him, from IRA sympathising, colluding with Czech spies, anti-Semitism, to taking three hours to congratulate William and Kate on the birth of their third child. Importantly however, nothing has stuck. Corbyn continues to shrug it off, rise in the polls and remains on track …

Resurrection Man, one of Northern Ireland’s most controversial films, is 20 this year.

Richard Gallagher on March 10, 2018, 8:28 am | Readers 6843

Just as the Good Friday Agreement celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year so too does one of the most important Troubles-related films. Spring 1998 saw the release of Resurrection Man, a film directed by Marc Evans, written by Eoin McNamee and based on his novel of the same name. The portrayal of loyalism and extreme violence caused Resurrection Man to receive a significant amount of criticism upon its release. The film provoked protest in Northern Ireland and caused some British …