Category Archives: Journalism

The Blind Eye Turned to Barrow

What’s not newsworthy about fascists, Islamists, grooming and death threats to journalists? My latest piece for The Critic. When we sit at an obvious hinge of history, the tendency of the press is to look in the wrong direction for … Continue reading

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Let’s Worship Outside

The News Letter later asked me to turn this blog into a newspaper article which you can read here. The dreadful news that more than a hundred people were infected with coronavirus at a single, legally permitted, church service in … Continue reading

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South Africa: The last days of the Zuma presidency

My latest blog for Prospect Magazine on Zuma’s departure and the prospects for Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency of South Africa… Cyril Ramaphosa, leader since December of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), which has governed the country since its transition to … Continue reading

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Dark clouds over the rainbow nation

This article appeared in The Tablet on 13 April 2017. The crisis long bubbling inside the African National Congress now threatens to boil over into widespread violence throughout the country. Faith leaders have a vital part to play in finding … Continue reading

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You’re hired!: Can the Catholic Church learn about choosing parish clergy from the Church of England?

This article was printed in The Tablet on 10 November 2016 Ecumenical Catholic leaders have been considering whether they could learn from the Church of England about lay involvement in choosing parish clergy One of the most distinctive differences between … Continue reading

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First Past the Post is now harming unionism because it is concentrated around Belfast

This article appeared in the News Letter of 9 September 2016 With Northern Ireland’s healthy population growth in recent years, the province is set to lose only one of its existing 18 seats. Additionally, some large differences in electorate size … Continue reading

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The Strange Death of Catholic Ireland

This piece was published in the print edition of Prospect magazine in July 2015. In the referendum held in Ireland on 22nd May, voters chose overwhelmingly—by 62 per cent to 38 per cent—to endorse a proposal to amend the country’s … Continue reading

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The youth vote: Cynicism of the first post-Troubles generation of voters

This article appeared in the Belfast Telegraph of 16 June 2012 Northern Ireland’s youngest adults have no memories of the worst of The Troubles. From September, new voters coming onto the electoral register will be people who were not even … Continue reading

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