Stephen Grimason
@StephenGrimason
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Ulster Rugby, Chelsea, history and politics, in that order.
Joined October 2016
My wonderful brother Darryl Grimason passed away this morning. A naturally gifted broadcaster, he presented and produced many natural history documentaries on BBC Northern Ireland, many still being rerun. He had a simple credo - "born to fish, forced to work!" RIP baby bro.
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The raw data on #AE22 is pretty devastating for the DUP. In 2017 it was a big story that SF got within 1200 first pref votes of DUP. Today SF have 250,388 FPVs to DUP's 184,002. That's 66,382 votes ahead. The very definition of seismic and there's no way back from that.
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I can't ever remember Sammy Wilson and the DUP getting the political kicking they've just received on @BBCTalkback.
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We live in strange times. Who could have forecast that the DUP would become election agents for Sinn Fein. Persued the strategic madness of a hard Brexit, collapsed Stormont, energised Republicans and tied themselves to backwoods maniacs. SF handed the election on a plate.
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For many of us Donegal is more than a place, it's a state of mind. Travelling there so many times for golf or holiday my mood always relaxed as I crossed the border. God bless Creeslough. This Paul Brady song was all I could think of this morning.
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The single most dangerous pandemic facing us now is a pandemic of selfishness. The balance between individual rights and community responsibility needs an urgent reset.
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As relevant today as it was then, perhaps even more so.
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Deeply saddened to hear that David Trimble has passed away. He bravely reset Unionism in a way no one believed possible and paid a terrible price at the hands of political pygmies who harried him from office and stole his clothes. A peace process hero. We owe him so much.
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Northern Ireland has its head up its bum again! Organised crime gangs roam the streets attacking homes. Forget the paramilitary overtones. The PSNI should roll them up like a carpet, many of them are likely touts. Why is that not happening? Where's the Chief Constable? Taskforce?.
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So now on @BBCTalkback we are getting ludicrous hot takes on the peace process from a former deputy leader of UKIP. Just nonsense.
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Thanks so much to everyone for the many touching tributes to my brother Darryl today. His funeral service will be at noon on Saturday December 24 in Hill Street Presbyterian Church, Lurgan, followed by a private cremation.
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Great stuff from @EmmaVardyTV as these two scumbags from my home town are held to account for their disgusting behaviour to a young mum, by a soon to be young mum. Excellent!.
Young mum Danielle told us she had “nightmares” after this incident at her front door, as a Catholic living in a largely Protestant area. We caught up with the men involved, an extract from our piece on #BBCNewsTen .🎥 by @NiallCamNI
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So sorry to hear of the death of John Hume. A giant of Irish politics. There are thousands alive today because of his relentless commitment to peace. One of the greatest men I've ever known. Not just an architect of our peace process but its genesis.
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Oh the irony. 25 years ago David Trimble was dubbed a Lundy and a traitor on Good Friday but stood his ground. Now Jeffrey Donaldson, who led the charge against him in his own party, must decide if this deal is worth supporting. Leadership is a lonely command!.
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Many thanks to William Cawley and the team for putting up with this old warhorse for an hour on Talkback today. I've finally got to say what I think about this place. But don't worry, if you don't like these opinions, I have others!
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@AmandaFBelfast Does he believe Tweed's daughters? Has he visited them? Is he not ashamed of his legalistic nonsense in the face of a devastated family. Whatever sort of barrister he is he is sadly lacking as human being.
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@IrishLitTimes Barry acted his socks off and lit up every scene he was in. Hints of Ryan's Daughter in that the most vulnerable person in the community knew more about what was going on than anyone else. Wonderful movie and I can't wait to see it again.
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RIP Seamus Mallon. One of the last of the big beasts of Irish politics who was a key player in the Good Friday Agreement. Sharp, funny, great company and always ready with a racing tip.
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The British public could do with a spoonful of Tony Connelly every day. His usual dispassionate, informed analysis on Marr this morning cutting through emotive nonsense with cold facts on Brexit.
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@LisaMMcGee Well this just made my day. I'll have to go home and watch the last episode for the umpteenth time! I've never seen anything that recreates the hope that surged through this place in 1998. Its the Lisa McGee gift that keeps on giving.
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Just listened to this quite brilliant podcast on the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement. If you want to know what really happened, warts and all, this is for you. Spoiler alert, it was the SDLP and Ulster Unionists wot dunnit!.
🚨 New podcast episode 🚨.GFA#3 The Dealmakers.@MarkCarruthers7 is joined by the former Directors of Communications for the @uuponline & @SDLPlive @davidwkerr & @ConallMcD .Former Chief of staff for .the Women's Coalition Kate Fearon & @BBCMarkSimpson .
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Hard to imagine a worse look for Putin than bullying a Leningrad siege veteran.
Spine tingling. Yelena Osipova, one of the last survivors from the Siege of Leningrad, tonight arrested by 8 police in St Petersburg for asking for an end to the war.
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Today's @IrishTimes is the best edition of any British or Irish paper I've read for many a long day. I'll be dipping into it all day. Interview with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is a joy. PS: I'm one of those dinosaurs who loves the smell of an actual newspaper.
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@little_pengelly Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montifiore. So much history, so much blood but beautifully told. Couldn't put it down. Also his epic Russian history The Romanovs, at times written like a gossip column and all the more entertaining for it. A window on both past and present.
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While all us Irish Rory fans wait to ride the roller coaster again we should not forget another fabulous performance by an Irish golfer this weekend. Leona Maguire has won her second LPGA title. What Rory wouldn't give for her finish - 4 birds and an eagle in her last six holes!.
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After lurching further to the right with a new leader in hopes of negating Jim Allister but at the same time shedding younger voters to the UUP and Alliance I wonder will the new incumbent be happy to take their place as deputy First Minister post in 2022. Stormont checkmate!.
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@KenReid_utv just chillin' outside the West Wing in 1998 big guy! Boy we had some fun. You keep yourself safe and we'll see each other on the other side of this.
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@LisaMMcGee In the 25 years since reporting on the GFA in 1998 I have never seen anything that has better portrayed the hopes and fears that bathed this place in the run up to the Referendum than the final episode of Derry Girls. It is a work of genius and a joy forever. ❤.
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Hope we get another series of #BlueLightsBBC. The writers smashed it out of the park in series one. It must have been good, @DecLawn thinks he's Hitchcock! I absolutely loved it, complete with hints of Hill Street Blues in the cop to cop dialogue.
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@taramillstv He rang me from the the heroin shoot one day and said he had to stop filming because he was more upset than the participants. They saw the tears streaming down his cheeks. We put each other together quite a bit over the years given what we had seen. What a big heart he had.
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A gentle plea to all those jumping up and down about exactly how much money will be flowing our way from the Treasury. It has to be opaque at the moment because the Scots and Welsh will go buck daft when they get the detail. There's an automatic windfall on Barnett in any case.
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Davy on top form here. To add to the argument, we don't even train our teachers together and attempts to change that we're strangled at birth by the usual suspects; what signal does that send?.
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@johnnyatkinson9 @mrchrisaddison @daraobriain Oh yes it did. The GFA specifically says you can enjoy Northern Tayto, Southern Tayto or both!.
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@BrianPJRowan @EamonnMallie @davidwkerr @AlexKane221b @KenReid_utv @BBCJayneMcC @NewsDuffy @dmcbfs @BradleyGJ @mikenesbittni @BBCMarkSimpson @adamcsmyth History will be kind to David Trimble - and so it should be. An actual Unionist leader, not a follower.
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@uuponline @BeattieDoug As an act of good authority why not start with a campaign to train our teachers together. It is a scandal this doesn't happen and an indication of just how the churches here are hard wired into the education system.
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@IrelandEmbUSA I love this thread for what it says about family and community in Ireland. As an old hack can I also say how Donie handled the riot scene was first class. Rioters hunt out nervous reporters (we're sort of experts up North) but he was just kinda "grand lads, Howaye." Top man.
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For anyone needing a life tonic listen to the last 5 minutes of this morning's Good Morning Ulster. Wonderful laugh out loud stuff about mad men and their football periscope ladders. A real slice of life with @TaggartJoel in top form. Made my day.
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@BBCMarkSimpson The NIO might have got away with the denial but they added the ludicrous claim that no NIO official would ever use the word Derry! Utter nonsense unless my ears deceived me for 15 years in The Executive Office and 25 years as a journalist. Hilarious.
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Leadership and decency.
When David Trimble learnt that Martin McGuinness was seriously sick he wrote him this letter. We really could do with more of this open civility, acknowledgment of someone else’s contribution and basic decency in our political life today
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@News_Letter This duck isn't just dead, it's been roasted on a bonfire and smothered in orange sauce laced with Buckfast.
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Lord Frost, outflanked on the Protocol by the EU and faced with the inevitability of a deal and concessions short of triggering Article 16, finds the heat in the kitchen too much for him and rather than face the music he's done a runner. We're now in Govey time!.
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@1Nicdar Wait until he finds out what the Catholic Church has been up to with children all over the world, for centuries!.
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Take the time to read this thread on the principle of consent from a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement. Searching and funny analysis of the new veto tossed into the mix.
1) Frustating when issues of "consent" and especially "parallel consent" under GFA are being misrepresented by some & misinterpreted by others including "experts" & some journalists. It is *not* true that the principle of parallel consent applies to all decisions under the GFA.
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#bbclaurak Allowing the Moans to present themselves as victims in a PPE scandal is disgusting.
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@TaggartJoel Well he survived working with Jackie Fullerton so he was made of stronger stuff than me. Jackie christened him "Young Attenborough" and Darryl loved that.
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Genius!.
The mighty Barry Humphries would have been 90 today, which means I am obliged to post this. God bless Barry x
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Three of the many Shandon Park Musketeers back on the course today! Will never take this for granted again.
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For those still wondering about the exact relationship between the First and deputy First Ministers I remember telling foreign and local journos in 2007 that Martin McGuinness was the deputy First Minister but he was not Ian Paisley's deputy.
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So sorry to hear of the passing of the great Hugh Russell. He gave us some mighty thrills in the ring. Was there when he won his first golfing prize. Floored the company with his speech. "Its the only trophy I've ever won that I didn't have to bleed for!" A lovely man,RIP Hugh.
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@scrabopower I was sitting in front of them. Gerry was at his work and grabbed Sammy's arm for one of the pictures of the year. Sammy was a bit stunned to say the least.
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@BBCBreaking Heartbroken to hear Bill Turnbull has passed away. He lit up the BBC Belfast newsroom in the 1990s with his wit, humour and charm. What a fine journalist he was. A complete gent on or off camera and the best of company on licensed premises when we led him astray. RIP Bill.
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#RoryMcIlroy taking care of business in Dubai, taking care of LIV and taking care of Patrick Reed who was up to his usual golf rules nonsense again yesterday. Teegate and treegate all in the same week.
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@Naldo_Morelli Irony lives Naldo. Imagine someone at Aldergrove security saying someone else's product is shit!.
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Pat Hume was the First Lady of politics here. It is as simple as that. A wonderful and warm human being who was a vital mainstay to John. She lit up every room she walked into and it was an honour to have spent time in her company.
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@NicholaMallon Politics is a rough trade with little room for sentiment Nicola but you were hugely regarded in the Govt Departments you served in as a Spad and Minister. I wish you all the very best.
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I see the Northern Ireland Office are issuing more images from from that meeting with the local political parties yesterday.
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RIP Henry McDonald, an engaging and entertaining journalist who was as game as a badger. We worried for him at times during the Troubles but his pen was mightier than the swords arrayed against him.
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@duncan_morrow Duncan I get where you are coming from but imagine this was Manchester or Leeds. The Chief Con would be out on his ear if he didn't prevail. We're not talking about thousands here, just two small groups their own neighbours want rid of. It's time to make a stand.
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Call me an old cynic but Steve Baker's almost Damacsene support of the PM smacks of a straw man being erected with talk of resignation yesterday and a "look at me ERG" transformation today. Boris is first under the bus!.
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Disingenuous Brexit creep David Frost gets taken apart by a former UK diplomat. Get yourself a coffee and enjoy, with thanks to former Irish ambassador @DanMulhall for passing it on.
The former UK diplomat, @alexhallhall, who served in Washington when I was Irish Ambassador there, does not pull her punches in this 🧵. Worth a read.
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@Tracey_utv @BorisJohnson Boris will soon have thrown so many DUP leaders under the bus that he's going to have to get a bigger vehicle for them. It's getting a bit cramped under there!.
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@marybjkelly @aggressie @StephenNolan No myth. I grew up in the 60s. Play area in Lurgan Park had swings chained up, paddling pool emptied and a cage with spikes put on the slides. Did not change until around 1980. Was happening long before the DUP existed. My first journalism class thesis was "Never on a Sunday.".
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@markdevenport And Martin chose to ignore that for the common good. Which reminds me of the aftermath of a difficult Executive meeting when Martin popped his head around the door of Peter Robinson's office to tell the serried ranks of the DUP "I'm off home to Londonderry!" The power of humour.
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Buy this book!!!!!.
We are so pleased to announce the release of Belfast Aurora: A Memoir of a Falls Childhood, 1971-1973 by Seamus Kelters. A truly beautiful book that deserves to be read far and wide.
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A profoundly moving speech from 2014 as relevant today as the day it was delivered. Forced austerity across the public sector long after it was needed became a virility symbol for a Govt run by the one per cent for the one per cent. An election will come; remember this speech.
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The Salisbury Poisonings was just brilliant. Big shout out to @DecLawn and writing partner Adam Patterson for a razor sharp script and the empathy shown to Dawn Sturgess. Heart rending to see the real Dawn with her daughter. Best television I've seen since Chernobyl.
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@julianoneill @JP_Biz I remember it well. The Irish Air Force did it for free. The RAF sent a bill.
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When journalism fails comedy takes over - and does a better job!.
BREAKING NEWS: Here's the very latest #RealDailyBriefing! It's like the #dailybriefing you get from the UK Government, but much more truthful and sincere. Please RT!. #schoolsreopening
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The gift that never stopped giving to sport. RIP Gianluca Vialli; such a special man.
This is class, a clip from 2018 where Gianluca Vialli took a training session with Erin's Isle GAA club in Finglas. RIP Gianluca. 🇮🇹🙏 #rip.
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One up, one to play, then Rory does this off the tee. 376 yards later he's 3ft 9ins from the hole. Game over and one of the greatest drives I've ever seen.
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Regulatory alignment as comedy - who knew!.
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Congrats to trailbazer @leona_maguire on her richly deserved selection for the European Solheim Cup team. This is massive for Irish golf generally and just the boost the women's game here needs. Brilliant news.
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The only survival strategy #LizTrussPM has now is to go full Bobby Ewing, I was in the shower all along and my original budget was a dream. Apologies to millennials.
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@JulianSmithUK @BorisJohnson A proper big hitter has sadly left us. He made a difference and that's as high an accolade as I can give him. Decency and competence so underrated nowadays. If you spot him back here on a visit buy him a pint - he's earned it!.
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@BBCMarkSimpson Two for the price of one. @KenReid_utv and me on the day Stormont was restored after the GFA.
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@BBCMarkSimpson Scandalous that your reporting yesterday did not start with John Denver singing "You fill up my census.".
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Scottish Rugby journalists will be spending today trying to forget a lot of the drivel they spouted last week about the big upset. Perhaps a good time to point out that journalism is more than being a fan with a keyboard. The late great Hugh McIlvanney would have been appalled.
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We knew exactly what England would bring to this - fast, physical start - but we looked surprised. Not good enough. Time for change. Cooney, Porter, Doris should all start against Italy and let's give Johnny Sexton a rest. He's carrying at least one injury and owes us nothing.
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Take a few moments to read this. It's utterly compelling.
We're all reading a ton of #coronavirus stuff, but each day I read a post or two that utterly stop me in my tracks. This was today's, from a doctor at Brooklyn's Maimonides Medical Center, via @avitalrachel.
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A gracious and timely tribute to John Hume and John Lewis from @DanMulhall who played his own part at Stormont during the Good Friday Agreement negotiations in 1998. He led the Comms team for the Dept of Foreign Affairs throughout that period - decent and honest man then and now.
Now hanging in the Embassy, Ambassador @DanMulhall remarks on the portraits and the deep ties between the civil rights movements in Ireland and the United States
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@mourneseafood side of salmon en papilotte with fennel seeds and cardamom pods. Fabulous quality. Thanks guys. Back for more soon. Tomorrow is curried monkfish!
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#NITurnout Creeping up on 80% in one box at Rosetta Primary School in South Belfast. All three boxes over 70 per cent. Steady stream of voters still coming in. I'd say that's a bit more than brisk!!.
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NI Euro election count pretty much over as we know who will take the three seats. And our local TV coverage hasn't started.
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#BarryCryer has left us. What a fantastic man and what a comedy legacy he leaves. He'll have finally had his tea. RIP you wonderful funny man.
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Young Joel Keys says if you rule out violence you can't back anything up. With the power of his own personality and belief John Hume built the peace process. Anybody think he wasn't able to back up his utter refusal to countenance violence? Big picture thinking.
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@BelTel It's always a sign the reporter on a story knows they are dredging the bottom of the journalistic barrel when they request no byeline. Trawling through the bowels of facebook is just desperate and toe curlingly enbarassing. Catch a grip.
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@AmandaFBelfast He's actually First SOS. Chris Heaton-Harris is deputy First SOS. He played a pivotal role in all of this.
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Excellent reporting from @AmandaFBelfast proving that the DUP's Paul Frew is a dangerous crank with his antivax nonsense. Andrew Bridgen lost the Tory whip pending investigation for similar deluded nonsense. He's hiding from journos What's the DUP response?????.
Thread🧵. NEW: Former DUP economy minister Paul Frew MLA has made a number of social media posts in recent times about #covid19 and excess deaths so I contacted the MHRA and Stormont’s department of health.
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Beautiful and haunting. @patrickdextervc should be available on prescription.
The Fields of Athenry by Pete St John, a west of Ireland tribute to the great songwriter. Rest in peace Pete
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If Fox News claimed in court that they were a news organisation there wouldn't be enough evidence to convict them.
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A quote from the late great Valery Legasov - the man who saved the day at Chernobyl - kinda sums up the Westminster Boris bubble. "Every lie that we tell incurs a debt to the truth and sooner or later that debt gets paid." I do hope so.
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@BBCMarkSimpson Hi Marko, after the Brexit vote in 2016 the Post Office on the Newtownards Road in East Belfast almost immediately ran out of Irish passport application forms!.
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This is amazing, moving, uplifting and heartbreaking all at the same time. Music can always press those invisible magic buttons.
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Sunday Politics examining a Barnett formula overhaul. Be careful what you wish for. Any attempt to change or replace the formula without a hugely detailed proposal would be disastrous for NI funding. I can hear the Treasury knives being sharpened!.
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@EamonnMallie @BigIvanLittle @derichenderson @bigkenreid @BBCMarkSimpson @sharon_scoop @SuzyJourno Careful of that McAleer fella. He packs a bigger punch on a night out than the other two put together! God be with the days.
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