Jude Collins

There are few spectacles more delicately choreographed than politicians debating their own salaries. At the the NEI Assembly at Stormont, the proposed increase in pay for MLAs has been presented, with commendable composure, as a matter of fairness and recognition. Currently, an MLA earns in the region of £51,500 per year. The proposal under discussion […]

Here are four solid reasons why controversy surrounding the man. once known as Prince Andrew  is very unlikely to spell the end of the British monarchy: 1. The Monarchy Is Bigger Than One Individual The British monarchy is an institution that has existed in evolving form for over a thousand years. Individual royals have caused […]

In a purely hypothetical Britain — the sort that exists somewhere between constitutional monarchy and late-night panel show — news breaks that Prince Andrew , Duke of York  has been arrested. Not charged by destiny, mind you. Arrested. The palace corgis are said to be “monitoring the situation,” which is palace code for “chewing something […]

Ah yes, nothing says “peace and stability” quite like a robust annual shopping spree in the global arms aisle. Let’s begin with the ever-modest USA. In 2024, it spent roughly a cool $997 billion on defence. Just a whisker under a trillion. Pocket change, really. That’s not a military budget; that’s a Marvel Cinematic Universe budget […]

It is perfectly possible to like George Mitchell. It is also perfectly possible not to. Neither sentiment has the slightest bearing on whether he was effective    George  Mitchell did not broker the Good Friday Agreement because he was cuddly, avuncular or possessed of a disarming Maine accent. He succeeded because he was patient to […]

For years in polite Irish discourse, the word “socialism” has been handled the way one might handle an unexploded device: carefully, nervously, and preferably with gloves. It was the term Michael McDowell liked to reach for when he wanted to suggest fiscal recklessness, Venezuelan grocery shelves, and a sudden shortage of sensible shoes. “Socialism,” in […]

Fintan O’Toole, rummaging industriously through the moral attic of history, has emerged clutching the Spanish Civil War and waving it accusingly at modern Sinn Féin. In his telling, there is something faintly scandalous about the fact that a movement which once supported republicans fighting fascism in Spain now hesitates to vote billions into the welcoming […]

Casement Park, to the GAA, is a stadium. To the DUP and TUV, it is a looming cultural megastructure, a sort of Celtic Death Star capable of firing beams of Gaelic at unsuspecting suburbs. Here are five things they particularly hate about it: 1. Its existence in Belfast If Casement Park were located somewhere safely […]

St Patrick’s Day in Washington is that magical time of year when Irish politicians fly 3,000 miles to hand over a bowl of vegetation and call it diplomacy. It’s a ritual combining horticulture, geopolitics, and faintly disguised lobbying. Everyone smiles, everyone wears green, and everyone pretends this is perfectly normal behaviour for adults. Traditionally, the […]

The Facebook page of the Official Protestant Coalition reacted to the PSNI announcement with the digital equivalent of dropping a tray of teacups. The PSNI, in a moment of administrative daring, had declared it would deal with all unauthorised flag flying equally. All flags. The word “all” hung in the air like an unexpected bill. […]