Things seem to have fallen a little silent on the Nesbitt front but let’s not let sleeping dogs lie! Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/
First sign of any sort of kick back on the Alliance, the SDLP and Sinn Fein came from President of the Chamber last night, Joe Jordan who criticised the timing of the vote (rather than the vote itself), and the widespread unrest in and now way beyond the city.. It fell to Mairtin O’Muilleoir, a businessman himself and often an overt champion of local business interests on Twitter responded to similar queries on Sunday when he tweeted: @danzer_b agreed but …
Even to their own supporters the main parties are hardly coming out of the flag disorder looking impressive. When the chips are down the smiling cross community stuff isn’t quite cutting the mustard where it matters most. Nice people pocket the gains – they might even group around a new Northern Ireland, Peter still has a point even if he puts it provocatively. But he and Martin still have to settle with their respective enemies within. The easier bit of power …
And in other council news, Frank McCoubrey – formerly of the UDA aligned UDP – comes into the DUP on Belfast City Council. The UDP disbanded some years ago of course, when someone forgot to re-register the party with the Electoral Commission. His defection, as Squinter calls it is from the UUP whip, which he rather surreptitiously took up at some point before 2009. It’s an interesting ‘acquisition’ for the DUP, which has struggled in the past to garner enough …
Having been invited to attend, almost unanimously, by Belfast City Council, an Irish Government Minister has taken part in the Battle of the Somme commemorations at Belfast City Hall for the first time. From the BBC report Soldiers from across Ireland fought side by side in the World War I. As with previous years, Sinn Fein councillors did not attend the main commemoration. [Alan Kelly TD, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport], who laid …
When Belfast City Council’s Investment Programme was launched earlier this year, it included a reference to expending the conference/exhibition space at the Belfast Waterfront. Along with colleagues, I idly wondered where the additional space would be found. Would they build a glass covered bridge across to the unfinished building sitting in front of the Waterfront? Could the ugly carbuncle (Lanyon Quay Building) between the Waterfront and the new Laganside Courts building be used? It turns out that the option being …
Once a month, the postie delivers a bulging A5 envelope. Stuffed inside is a twice-folded copy of An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin’s 32 page monthly newspaper. The May edition’s back page is devoted to a story that broke in the Belfast Telegraph last Monday. Niall Ó Donnghaile is “leaving his post a few days early to allow a DUP Mayor to take up office in time for the Jubilee celebrations”. The newspaper story explained that the new mayor would be “elected …
Belfast City Council launched their 2012-2015 Draft Investment Programme (PDF) this morning. The 44-page colour brochure is packed with optimism, bullet points and potential. But away from the headline £233m figure and the photocall with Peter Robinson, Martin McGuinness, Niall Ó Donnghaile and Deirdre Hargey, what’s the real story? It should be recognised as a plan with cross-party and cross-institution agreement. All the parties represented in the City Hall have put their name to the plans. It’s a coordinated effort …
John Kyle – Belfast City councillor, well known East Belfast GP and evangelical Christian – addressed a large crowd at Contemporary Christianity last Tuesday evening. The strapline for his thirty minute address was Where Faith and Loyalism Collide You can listen to his talk on the Contemporary Christianity website or through the embedded audio player below. John Kyle explained how he joined the Progressive Unionist Party in 2000 “to support David Ervine”, a man who he found to be “refreshingly …
Not a bad opening gambit ahead of all those anniversaries. Belfast City Council have agreed to invite the Irish Government to participate in the Somme and Remembrance Sunday commemorations in Belfast [this year?]. But it wasn’t unanimous. From the BBC report SDLP councillor Pat McCarthy proposed the move which was discussed at a city council meeting on Wednesday evening. There was no opposition to the motion. The two main unionist parties, the DUP and the UUP, agreed with the SDLP …
Belfast City Councillors took their opportunity on Thursday evening to scold and support the Lord Mayor Niall Ó Donnghaile, following his decision to only present half of the Duke of Edinburgh awards at a ceremony last Monday night, and in particular to avoid presenting the award to a young woman who was down in the programme as belonging to an Army Cadet Force. A summons signed by 21 unionist councillors was submitted on Thursday and a special meeting is still …
In Switzerland, they have a TV channel that switches between live views from the top of snowy mountain tops so that skiers and holiday makers can gauge the weather. In NI, we could have a channel that switches around live views from council proceedings! Loading…Webcast Available Here : http://www.belfastcity.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/68969 Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast)Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic …
Tomorrow could be an interesting day – and night – around Belfast City Hall. A rally is being planned to protest at the Lord Mayor’s actions at Monday night’s Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony. Facebook suggests: [click on the thumbnail to expand] The people of Belfast will emerge on the City hall tomorrow night at 6pm [or 5pm depending on where you look] to express their anger. We would hope that Citizens from all over Northern Ireland will join for …
As part of the ongoing work to rebalance the sense of shared space and history at Belfast City Hall, a Celtic-themed stained glass window is being commissioned to “reflect Celtic myths and legends”. The window will be located close to the main reception, and is intended to represent cultural perspectives and promote a “City Hall for all”. Any budding artists and/or stained glass glaziers might want to check out the tender document. Deadline for submissions is noon on Friday 16 …
Nuala McKeever welcomes Sinn Fein’s new Lord Mayor of Belfast, not least because of his youth and lack of baggage: Niall O Donnghaile’s year in office is a fantastic opportunity for Belfast to tackle in a meaningful way the problem of suicide among young people. He has spoken already about his desire to work in this area to give young people a sense of hope and optimism that life is worth living. Shame on the old fogies who profess a …
He neglected to mention it in his farewell to the blog, as he neglected to mention his interim position as a non-executive director on the NI Water Board, but the BBC reports that, the now former publisher of the Belfast Media Group titles, Máirtín Ó’Muilleoir is to stand as the Sinn Féin candidate in the Balmoral district area of Belfast City Council. And I thought he was going “to concentrate on the job of group managing director”? Btw, the BBC report – “Former Sinn Fein …
Three different polls are expected to be scheduled for 5 May 2011 and it might well lead to a record number of posters adorning local lampposts next spring. Northern Ireland Assembly elections Local government (council) elections National referendum on changes to the method of voting at General Elections The date of the council elections will be formally confirmed when the NIO lay a General Amendment Order before Parliament in November. (This order is also expected to make some changes to …
DUP MLA, and junior minister, Robin Newton, appears to have rattled the cage of fellow Belfast City Councillor, Sinn Féin’s Tom Hartley, with his speculation “about Sinn Fein removing six of their current Councillors” on Belfast City Council. “It seems that the current Sinn Fein group is seen as being too soft and is perceived as having become institutionalised and establishment friendly. It looks like the extreme socialist wing of Sinn Fein is unhappy with the performance of the current supposedly …
Further to Mark’s post, ‘Belfast bonfire builders wipe Council’s eye’, Belfast City Council have been in touch and have offered us this statement to clarify that the bonfire he mentioned on Friday was not part of their bonfire management scheme: Despite attempts by council officers to engage with those responsible for the bonfire at the City Hospital, the organisers indicated, at an early stage, that they did not want to be involved in the council’s bonfire management scheme, but would …
So it is coming round to our eighth birthday with the annual race for Lord Mayor of Belfast (we came in when the first Sinn Fein councillor was successfully elected), it seems Pat Convery is hotly tipped for the top post. There are whispers that one prominent UUP councillor is canvassing for the support of Dr John Kyle of the PUP as Deputy Mayor. It remains to be seen how much political capital Kyle can realistically call in given the …
