From Connla Young in today’s Irish News: Hundreds of mattresses have been brought to the site of a controversial Eleventh Night bonfire in Co Antrim. It is understood the mattresses, which when set alight can give off toxic fumes and smoke, were delivered to the Craigyhill area of Larne in recent days. In previous years, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of the bonfire, which is near where 36-year-old John Steele fell to his death while helping to build a bonfire in the Antiville area in 2022. Posts on social media suggests that up to 1,600 mattresses and a trailer load of pa ..read more

A prominent news story today in both the British and European press has been that of the banning of the National Conservatism Conference by Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Mayor Emir Kir stating: I issued an order from the mayor to ban the National Conservatism Conference event to guarantee public safety. In Etterbeek, Brussels City and Saint-Josse, the far right is not welcome: Among the speakers due to talk were Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman, Viktor Orban, Eric Zemmour and Mateusz Morawiecki. The event had been cancelled at two previous venues before being hosted by the Orb ..read more

Regular readers of this blog will know that I like new ideas which go beyond the binary unionist-nationalist straitjacket which has dominated (and constrained) debate about the future of this island for most of the past hundred years. Thus over the past few years I have published the heterodox ideas of people like political scientist Padraig O’Malley, reconciliation activist Duncan Morrow, social researcher Paul Nolan, socialist writer Daniel Finn, Derry Protestant community worker Brian Dougherty, and Newry business and community leader Conor Patterson. I dislike the crude majoritarian thinki ..read more

Here we go. Series Two of ‘Blue Lights’ has landed and after an electrifying debut last year, the boulder has rolled back down the hill. Twelve months ago, Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn delivered not just the best Belfast TV drama to hit our screens but a cop show that could compete with the very best. Expectations for this series have subsequently rocketed and understandably so – especially now that the BBC has guaranteed a third and fourth series. Let’s take a beat, though and focus on this one. After the success of Series One, Lawn and Patterson have a big task ahead of them. Delivering a ..read more

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 ..read more

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing ..read more

Live Blog: Challenge Cup: Clermont  53 Ulster 14 F/T.   Ulster’s form has been patchy this season, resulting in their Head Coach and Chief Executive being shown the door. Key players are set to leave at the end of the season, so it’s now or never if Ulster are to have any chance of winning a trophy any time soon. A difficult mini-tour to South Africa was a baptism of fire for new interim head coach, Richie Murphy, but there were signs Ulster were starting to get their act together in the round of 16 match against Montpellier, albeit with Montpellier down to 12 men at one stage due to ..read more

Maybe Barra Best will correct me, but it seems it has been raining practically every day since autumn. In fact, I remember last summer being pretty wet as well. Northern Ireland can be a damp aul hole at the best of times but this is taking the piss. I have one of those weather stations in the house, and I have never seen its humidity drop below 60. It’s bleak enough living here, but the constant grey skies do nothing to improve our mood. My dad has been waiting to cut his grass for weeks, but it is so rain-soaked you can barely even stand on it, never mind go near it with a lawnmower. In addi ..read more

Over in  the Irish News Allan Preston has a story on bed blocking in the health service: More than 600 hospital beds in Northern Ireland were occupied by patients deemed fit for discharge on a single day last month, new figures have revealed. On March 15, the five health trusts had a total of 628 patients ready to leave hospital – with a shortage of community places among the main problems. Belfast Trust had the highest number (150) followed by the Southern Trust (149), Western Trust (148), Northern Trust 114) and South Eastern (67) with the lowest. DUP MLA Diane Dodds, who uncovered the ..read more

Have you ever tried to get a taxi on a night out lately? They are as rare as hen’s teeth. Rather than do something constructive to address the problem, the Department for Infrastructure will worsen the situation with new legislation. From Clodagh Rice at the BBC: Taxi operators have warned proposed licensing changes in Northern Ireland could have a “devastating” impact on the industry. It comes after a Department for Infrastructure proposal to change taxi operators’ licensing regulations. This follows court cases in England and Wales. One of the implications of the proposals could be a 20% in ..read more