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Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy

The Irish News

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Thank God we don’t live in a country where people can murder with impunity

It is good to see foreign policy agreement between Britain and Ireland, particularly over Russia. David Cameron has accused the Russian government of...

20.04.2024 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Is it worth fighting wars for the prospect of a united Ireland?

Is it worth fighting wars for the prospect of a united Ireland? No, not a war like the one the IRA lost. Is it worth fighting for the USA and the EU...

14.04.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

‘Events’ show the union is safe in Sinn Féin hands

“Events, dear boy, events.” That, according to former prime minister Harold Macmillan, was the most likely influence on political careers and...

07.04.2024 7

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Reading out the 1916 Proclamation again will change nothing

How relevant is the 1916 Proclamation today? Seen as the foundation stone of modern Irish nationalism, it will be read aloud at commemorative...

31.03.2024 7

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Dear Michelle and Emma. You've done the PR. Now when are you going to tackle public services? – Patrick Murphy

Dear First and Deputy First Ministers. Congratulations on your appointments. We wish you well in your new jobs. While we realise that you consider it...

23.03.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Did Freddie Scappaticci change the course of Irish history?

The presence of Sinn Féin in the White House this weekend highlights a point which most commentary about the Kenova Report failed to recognise. The...

16.03.2024 6

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Welcome to the first all-Ireland election campaign since 1918

For the first time in modern Irish history, Fianna Fáil’s (FF) campaign for a 26-county general election was launched at Stormont (Well, in the...

09.03.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

If you want an all-Ireland economy Conor, you need to start with an all-island education system

Dear Conor Murphy, Congratulations on your appointment as Minister for the Economy. We wish you well in your new job. You have identified education as...

02.03.2024 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

The SDLP needs to play hurling, not football, to survive

If timing is everything in politics, the SDLP has picked a bad time to become Stormont’s official opposition. The deluge of promises (again) from...

26.02.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

DUP and SF’s doublethink worthy of Orwell’s 1984

In view of the epidemic of symbolism currently sweeping Stormont, is it time to remove Edward Carson’s statue? Yes, you say, and perhaps you had in...

17.02.2024 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

The naked cynicism of our politicians as public services flounder

Eureka! Twenty-six years after the Good Friday Agreement, Stormont’s main parties have made an amazing discovery. They have realised that the...

10.02.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

There may never be a unionist First Minster at Stormont again

So farewell then, unionism. You were once a colossus bestriding the north’s political landscape, electorally almighty and administratively all...

03.02.2024 20

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Populism beats principle every time

In his famous 1968 television address, Captain Terence O’Neill said “Ulster stands at the crossroads”. Although we no longer have a unionist...

27.01.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Stormont isn’t working because the Good Friday Agreement isn’t working

Oh good, the secretary of state is going to make a decision. Yes, Chris Heaton-Harris (HH) has promised he will decide what to do if the DUP does not...

20.01.2024 30

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Frank Kitson may be dead, but we are still living with his legacy

It is generally agreed that we should speak only good of the dead, but in the case of General Frank Kitson who died last week, some might be prepared...

13.01.2024 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

How nationalism dismantlend the welfare state

If Jeffrey Donaldson did not exist, nationalism would have to invent him. Attacking the DUP is a useful distraction not only from the failure of the...

06.01.2024 20

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Standing with Palestine, while sitting down with America

Do you remember when Joe Biden visited Belfast in April? How could we forget that day (well, half a day actually) when everyone cheered and said he...

03.01.2024 9

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Is there any room for immigrants at the Irish inn this Christmas? – Patrick Murphy

If Mary and Joseph were to arrive in Ireland tomorrow night, they would probably be even less welcome than they were in Bethlehem over 2,000 years...

23.12.2023 7

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Vote for the Stormont Party: the people who brought you food banks, waiting lists, poverty and potholes

The British are not as good at bribery as they used to be. To achieve the 1801 Act of Union, they bribed individual Irish MPs, using a secret slush...

16.12.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Welcome to the last days of neutral Ireland – Patrick Murphy

MICHEÁL Martin’s Shared Island Initiative has taken a new twist.

12.12.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Welcome to the last days of neutral Ireland – Patrick Murphy

MICHEÁL Martin’s Shared Island Initiative has taken a new twist.

09.12.2023 7

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Why the silence from some on Sean Brown? – Patrick Murphy

IT appears that we are not all equal before the law.

04.12.2023 20

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Why the silence from some on Sean Brown? – Patrick Murphy

IT appears that we are not all equal before the law.

01.12.2023 5

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Stormont is designed to perpetuate sectarianism and preserve social class. Our schools are designed for that same twin purpose - Patrick Murphy

IF there is one thing we do not need right now, it is another report on education.

24.11.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Stormont is designed to perpetuate sectarianism and preserve social class. Our schools are designed for that same twin purpose - Patrick Murphy

IF there is one thing we do not need right now, it is another report on education.

24.11.2023 5

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

The DUP will not go into Stormont and SF will not go into Westminster. We are the only people in the world who vote for politicians not to represent us – Patrick Murphy

DEAR President Putin THE US claims that Russia is trying to influence the outcome of elections around the world by using mainstream and social media...

17.11.2023 7

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

The DUP will not go into Stormont and SF will not go into Westminster. We are the only people in the world who vote for politicians not to represent us – Patrick Murphy

DEAR President Putin THE US claims that Russia is trying to influence the outcome of elections around the world by using mainstream and social media...

17.11.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: What exactly is being 'remembered' this weekend?

THIS is the weekend when Britain honours its war dead and those who went to war with them.

14.11.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil are more alike than they would admit

WHEN Tánaiste Micheál Martin was asked recently if Fianna Fáil would enter a coalition with Sinn Féin, he rejected the...

04.11.2023 4

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil are more alike than they would admit

WHEN Tánaiste Micheál Martin was asked recently if Fianna Fáil would enter a coalition with Sinn Féin, he rejected the...

04.11.2023 6

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Religious sectarianism largely ended with the Good Friday Agreement – which replaced it with political sectarianism

AS our politicians continue to wrestle in the sectarian mud and our waiting lists for health and housing grow longer, you may have noticed how the...

30.10.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Religious sectarianism largely ended with the Good Friday Agreement – which replaced it with political sectarianism

AS our politicians continue to wrestle in the sectarian mud and our waiting lists for health and housing grow longer, you may have noticed how the...

28.10.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Dear Joe Kennedy... A few things to know before your visit next week

Dear Joe Kennedy, As US Special Envoy to the north you will be coming to Belfast next week with a high-powered delegation of US business leaders to...

23.10.2023 3

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Dear Joe Kennedy... A few things to know before your visit next week

Dear Joe Kennedy, As US Special Envoy to the north you will be coming to Belfast next week with a high-powered delegation of US business leaders to...

21.10.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Israel's role in creation of Hamas demonstrates how today's problems begin with yesterday's decisions

Whatever your opinion on the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, you have presumably based it on facts.

14.10.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Israel's role in creation of Hamas demonstrates how today's problems begin with yesterday's decisions

Whatever your opinion on the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, you have presumably based it on facts.

14.10.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Where are the protests against social and economic injustice?

Those of you who lived through the Troubles will remember the British government’s use of the north as a research laboratory.

08.10.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Welcome to the land of guinea pigs

Those of you who lived through the Troubles will remember the British government's use of the north as a research laboratory.

07.10.2023 9

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Nationalism has lost its way

Great news! All our problems have been solved.

02.10.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Nationalism has lost its way

Great news! All our problems have been solved.

30.09.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

To clean up Lough Neagh, we need to clean up politics

Although most commentary compares Lough Neagh’s pollution to a disease, the real problem is that it is just a symptom of a much wider ailment.

23.09.2023 20

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: To clean up Lough Neagh, we need to clean up politics

Although most commentary compares Lough Neagh’s pollution to a disease, the real problem is that it is just a symptom of a much wider ailment.

23.09.2023 20

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Unless nationalists start trying to understand unionism, Leo Varadkar will have to live forever if there's to be a united Ireland

How long do you think Leo Varadkar will live? I don't mean that he is looking unwell these days.

18.09.2023 20

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Unless nationalists start trying to understand unionism, Leo Varadkar will have to live forever if there's to be a united Ireland

How long do you think Leo Varadkar will live? I don't mean that he is looking unwell these days.

15.09.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Sack the Policing Board and start again

Sack the board. That’s the solution to the policing mess – and when the board has gone, we need a new system of governance to keep...

09.09.2023 10

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy: Sack the Policing Board and start again

Sack the board. That’s the solution to the policing mess – and when the board has gone, we need a new system of governance to keep...

09.09.2023 8

The Irish News

Patrick Murphy

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