When is a budget not a budget? Answer when it’s a ghost budget. That’s the term the SDLP opposition leader Matthew O’Toole ...

It is not often that I get what I want for Christmas. Hints do not work…but oddly this year, I actually got two tickets to see the Wolfe Tones in concert in Dublin in July. Supposedly their last ever ...

As is typical during Betwixtmas, I have indulged in some ‘Netflix and Chill’ (other platforms are available) and I re-watched Enola Holmes. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a mystery film set in the ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote an opinion piece highlighting how Northern Ireland’s antiquated pub licensing system is damaging the social fabric of our communities. Pubs are closing not because they’re ...

A follow-up analysis to ‘Time to Flip the Switch: An Opt-In Model for Religious Education in Controlled Schools’. A four-year-old girl came home from her Belfast primary school and started reciting ...

As the year draws to an end, the Financial Times has posted a story revealing that Tokyo has been displaced as the world’s largest city by the Indonesian capital of Jakarta… Alfiyan Elfatah spends ...

In the spirit of the famous 1914 Christmas Truce of WW1, I ask that you avoid our usual divisive subjects, we want to give the mods a well-earned rest. You can chat about what you are up to today, ...

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics.

There was a discussion recently on Reddit about our parsimonious approach to home heating here in the UK and Ireland. The story started with a discussion from a guy who was looking for advice on how ...

On a recent speaking engagement, Fintan O’Toole made the observation of how important it is to avoid an Irish unity process that ends up like the brexit process. This is a wish that other analysts and ...

Andy Pollak retired as founding director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies in July 2013 after 14 years. He is a former religious affairs correspondent, education correspondent, assistant news ...

El Cavador is a Slugger reader from Belfast. Peter Shirlow’s border poll analysis, recently serialised by Slugger, offers ...