For some time now I have been voicing grave concerns about the direction in which Unionism is travelling in and indeed the underlying problems that have hamstrung it, however, over the last week we...

When I saw the headline to Brian Walker’s piece, Rather than keep slagging off the DUP over the Protocol, let’s recognise their better points, I expected to see a forensic analysis of the DUP’s 7...

As part of my unofficial English GCSE curriculum that was set by my teacher, there was a part that consisted of watching the movie “Michael Collins” (1996), studying its themes and some of the...

There is an old joke within Orange circles that goes, if you put 10 Orangemen into a room for 3 hours and task them with putting together a strategy on their lodge’s ambition for the next 10 years,...

The phrase “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” has been disproven on numerous occasions, but never was this phrase less apt than when it comes to the Orange Institution, an organisation that...

Lost in translation I was born in 1993, into an area called Kells in County Antrim. I would be told as I grew up that Kells was a ‘loyalist area’. What ‘loyalism’ means as opposed to ‘unionism’ has...

This is one reason why I’ve never bought into the slightly daft idea that just because we are on the same island that the north and the south should synchronise public health policies… Great news for...

Prior to meeting John Hume in my role as the Communications Director for the UUP talks team in 1996, my most vivid memories of him were of his relentless single transferable speech – which he...

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I’m sure everyone must be feeling as exhausted and frustrated as I am to see that once again we’re back to groundhog day once again with the European Union and the UK launching into another period of...

The topic of Irish unity has been propelled into the mainstream of political debate to an extent that would have been inconceivable even five years ago. And it’s not just the usual Republican voices...

The Tanaiste and Fine Gael Leader, Leo Varadkar is opening his party’s Ard Fheis tonight. In his speech he makes a strong pitch for Irish unification and speaks about the protocol. On the protocol...

I shared the scepticism of others about the #IrelandsFuture event, that it seemed a bit pointless having an event were everyone agreed with each other. But I went along to check it out and I was glad...

Ulster Unionist Party leader, Doug Beattie MC MLA The stark reality about politics here in Northern Ireland was exposed by Michelle O’Neill`s comments last week that attempted to justify the IRA`s...

Did you notice when Sammy Wilson called Robin Swann a poodle? The outrage was such that Arlene Foster had to distance herself from him. Then there was the meltdown when a Dublin cartoonist dared to...

John MacManus is a History Teacher in Northern Ireland “So, the continuing ‘rise and rise’ of Sinn Fein is not unstoppable. Irish unity is not inevitable. That won’t, of course, stop Sinn Fein’s...

This is about the centenary of Northern Ireland. But first, a slight detour. In Lucy Caldwell’s, ‘Multitudes,’ one of her characters describes the heartache of watching her teenage school friend move...

Whither the union. I find myself becoming weary as I write this. Articles about the demise of the union, about unionist malaise and mistakes, are so common these days that they all sound the same. I...

Inevitably as we enter July in Northern Ireland, there is much talk about the parading season. With that, I thought it would be a good time to discuss one of the most controversial elements that...

What a fortnight it’s been for men in the public eye. Everyone is apparently very sorry. The Prime Minister is sorry for the parties. Damon Albarn is sorry he dared to slight the Princess of Pop,...

Northern Ireland’s infrastructure has drawn the prize ticket from the £1bn of new money in the Conservative-DUP deal – securing £400m, or 40% of the entire fund. This has been greeted with criticism...

All has changed. Utterly. Ten months ago, Sinn Fein and the SDLP mustered a meagre 36% of the vote between them in the May 2016 Assembly election, returning just 40 seats, the lowest number for the...

During a year in which a global pandemic has eclipsed all other matters in Northern Ireland, Unionism still managed to have an extremely troubled 365 days which has left it in a damaged and weakened...

There are two fixed rules within Unionism – (1) you do not talk about a ‘Border Referendum’ and (2) you do not talk about a ‘Border Referendum’. However, today I will break that cardinal rule and...

Nothing in life is inevitable so the old saying goes, other than death and taxes and maybe Arsenal finishing fourth in the Premier League, so the recent old news that the Catholic population of...

The census results in Northern Ireland were as predictable as was much of the subsequent commentary and predictions. It can be easy to get drawn into this cycle of claim and counterclaim, but for...

An often-discussed but little-understood aspect of Unionism is how divided it is on almost every topic. The divisions go far beyond competing visions and healthy debates and are frequently about...

This week saw the untimely and tragic passing of Doctor Éamon Phoenix, the noted historian, academic and consultant. Memories are strange. Most of the time we remember the past in terms of broad...

Philip Wilson is a Belfast-based writer who is involved in Northern Irish politics. He has a Master’s in Politics from King’s College London When Irish Nationalists like Simon Coveney and Matthew...