Journalist, author, broadcaster
Like Z-list celebrities, volcanoes are often more infamous than famous. Vesuvius, Krakatoa, Etna: all owe their household name status to the destructive force of their periodic eruptions. Last year, another, more difficult to pronounce name entered the pantheon of volcanic infamy – Eyjafjallajökull. The Eyjafjallajökull glacier, in south-west Iceland, had been dormant for some 200 […]
Which way now? The neoliberals who created the bubble are resurgent, but many Icelanders want to move away from finance. My analysis from the Guardian’s Comment is Free. Even before the final result was in, the tenor of national and international reaction to the Icelandic public’s latest rejection of a deal for Icesave was crystal […]
In MANY respects, a lengthy legal battle over the Icelandic public’s latest rejection of a deal for Icesave is the least of the country’s worries. Finance minister Steingrímur Sigfússon was at pains to stress yesterday that the “no” vote will not affect Iceland’s application to join the EU. But the result has placed a huge […]
By Peter Geoghegan in Reykjavik Public opinion in Iceland is split over a deal to repay the British government £2.35 billion for losses incurred following the failure of online bank Icesave. Icelanders will vote on the issue in a referendum on Saturday, with opinion polls suggesting the result is too close to call. A recent […]
THE fatal attack in Omagh was deeply shocking but, in its own way, all too predictable. The chief constable of the PSNI, Matt Baggott, has spent much of the last year warning of the threat dissident republicans pose to his officers – much to the chagrin of many in Stormont, most notably Sinn Fein. Indeed, […]
My review of New Irish Short Stories, edited by Joseph O’Connor from the Sunday Business Post. Last February, Irish novelist Julian Gough was at the centre of a literary spate about the state of contemporary Irish fiction. In comments published on his personal blog, and later picked up by the Guardian online, the Berlin-based writer […]
IF ONLY every day was as easy for Enda Kenny, as, on a bright lunchtime in Dublin, the Fine Gael leader was elected Taoiseach. Last weekend’s ratification of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition pact paved the way for Kenny’s day in the sun, but even in victory there were signs that it will not be all […]
Ireland’s recent general election was the most dramatic in the country’s history: Fianna Fáil lost almost three-quarters of its seats, the hard Left made significant gains and Gerry Adams will now sit in the Dáil as the head of the fourth-largest party in Irish politics. But in an election of such surprises, the eventual result […]
I spent election day 2011 in the company of Mick Fealty from Slugger taking a roadtrip around Ireland as part of RTE’s election coverage. Here’s what we found: As former US Senator Tip O’Neill once quipped: ‘All politics is local’. The election campaign was dominated by national issues – jobs, emigration, the economy – but […]
Fine Gael and Labour will form a coalition government in Ireland following the ratification of a draft programme for government by a special Labour Party delegate conference in Dublin yesterday. Separately, the Fine Gael parliamentary party unanimously endorsed the proposed programme. After six days of talks, including lengthy meetings between Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny […]