Eric Bell at The Strand

 

 Andy McKinney for Issue 14

On 2^nd April 2007 I had the pleasure of seeing a live performance by arguably the best guitarist to ever come from Northern Ireland and one of the best in the world in his field.  I am speaking about Gary Moore, blues rock guitar hero and the go to guy for Thin Lizzy when their other six string toters abandoned ship. This concert will forever be etched in my memory for two main reasons. One was that I managed to get backstage due to a chance meeting with Gary’s father. The meeting backstage was brief but very gratifying. I had my photo taken with him and he also signed a DVD. The other was that it turned out to be his last ever Belfast date. On 6^th February 2011, Gary passed away in his hotel room in Estepona, Costa del Sol, robbing him of the opportunity to play his hometown again. This was another strange twist of fate for me as a couple of years previously I had been living just 30 miles along the coast in Algeciras. 

The Fest at Raceview Mill

The Ulster Folk will be one of the proud sponsors of The Fest at Raceview Mill. This new festival will celebrate the launch of Roy McKeown’s inspiring vision for the Old Raceview Woolen Mill in Broughshane. We are excited about this festival that will have something on offer for a diverse range of people. There will be tasteful crafted foods and beers, artwork, linen clothing and a range of music and entertainment that will appeal to those urbanite artsy new-agers who would not want to go near yet another traditional country fair.

Do unicorns eat flags?

 

The politics of Northern Ireland’s “Catholic Unionists”

By Andrew Coffman Smith for Issue 14

The search for the elusive Catholic Unionist vote is far from an “exercise in folklore” as Alex Kane maintains, it’s a journey into the very real no man’s land of Northern Ireland politics.

Savile Saga Rumbles on - But not yet in Northern Ireland.

 

By  Willie Drennan for Issue 12

He wined and dined with the head folks in BBC, police, politicians, government agents, Roman Catholic Church (he was even blessed by the Pope), Royal Family, IRA, other big celebrities and business tycoons. I know I’m forgetting somebody.  Many are the wild conspiracy theories, and what can you expect with such a massive cover-up as is now being gradually exposed? The scale of the whole saga and the scale of the cover-up are truly disturbing.

What is also disturbing though: why no word yet on what he got up to in Northern Ireland?

GIRO - FACILITATING LOCAL ECONOMIC BOOM?

 

 

 Gordon Johnston: for Issue 14 of The Ulster Folk

 

The Giro D'Italia has left these shores costing in excess of £5million. The Northern Irish Tourist Board expects the event to generate some £2.5million for the economy and global media coverage worth £10million.

 

This event could be the spark that ignites the Northern Irish economy, not through tourism but through manufacturing and exports instead. To grab the potential of this future though will require imagination and determination from the people of Northern Ireland.

Tartan Gangs and the 'Hidden History' of the Northern Ireland Conflict

 

 Dr Gareth Mulvenna [for Issue 14 of The Ulster Folk]

The trouble with researching the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is that many people are still searching for grand narratives - both theoretical and ideological. One of the casualties of this approach is that we miss the micro-history; the social history and the lived experience. The Boston College controversy has made capturing oral history a much more difficult but not impossible task. Over the past year I have been interviewing and recording the stories and memories of a number of men from Protestant working class areas of Belfast who were teenagers at the beginning of the 1970s. Many of these young men were members of loyalist ‘Tartan’ gangs. 

The Fest at Raceview Mill

 

The Ulster Folk will be one of the proud sponsors of The Fest at Raceview Mill. This new festival will celebrate the launch of Roy McKeown’s inspiring vision for the Old Raceview Woolen Mill in Broughshane. We are excited about this festival that will have something on offer for a diverse range of people. There will be tasteful crafted foods and beers, artwork, linen clothing and a range of music and entertainment that will appeal to those urbanite artsy new-agers who would not want to go near yet another traditional country fair. Yet, local Ulster-Scots style folk music, on everything from fiddles to Lambegs will celebrate the rich heritage of Broughshane and County Antrim. The Fest will consciously support the local economy by showcasing local food and drink producers, artists, artisans and musicians. It will promote awareness of local independent sustainable enterprise: pay tribute to the innovation and work ethic of those from days of yore while heralding the dawning of an exciting new entrepreneurial age. Yes there is a new age, set to blossom soon at Raceview Mill. This is why The Ulster Folk is on board.

The Scottish Referendum: the potential divorce.

 

 Willie Drennan for Issue 14 of The Ulster Folk

 

On May 2^nd, I attended a presentation on the upcoming Scottish Referendum at Queens University Belfast. It was delivered by Dr Michael Rosie of University of Edinburgh.

 

 [Dr Rosie is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the University’s Institute of Governance. Dr Rosie specialises in studying the political sociology of Scotland.  The event was facilitated by Professor John Brewer of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queens].

  Dr Rosie is a man well-versed on the subject matter of anything Scottish. His presentation was delivered with great ease, comprehensive and quite entertaining. No pretentions with this academic: excellent lunchtime entertainment.

 

I didn’t really learn an awful lot as I have been following the referendum debate but there certainly were a lot of issues confirmed with much meat added to the bones. In a nut shell the situation is that the polls still give the NO voters a slight edge and there are complex reasons as to why the Scots are taking their various stances. What was not clarified for me were issues relating to the following: membership of the EU, membership of the British Commonwealth, currency, defence, and fees for students.

Dr Rosie straight away denounced the extremist elements in the debate in Scotland and presented an image of mature civilised debate among the majority of Scots. It would of course be virtually impossible for an academic Scot not to have a personal opinion and while he did his best to present both sides of the argument he was clearly a YES supporter. You couldn’t help get the feeling that the desire for independence was primarily for the enlightened progressives and those against were from the old school.

Irish euroscepticism and the 2014 elections:

A domestic brew exported for local tastes

 Andrew Coffman Smith for Issue 14 of The Ulster Folk

Euroscepticism in the Republic of Ireland is a far cry from the euroscepticism of UKIP or France's Front national, despite growing anti-EU resentment since the 2008 crash and 2010 'bail-out.'

Aside from the dissident fringe of Republican Sinn Fein, most Irish eurosceptics believe it is better to milk Brussels for what it is worth while deriding it every chance they can get. A lot of this is an outgrowth from the practical nature of Irish politics that has taken to heart that "all politics is local."

Irish politics has long been defined not by ideology or issues but by the warm, personable, often-corrupt and petty 'clientelism' of constituency politics. Example: How can you vote against Jimmy? After all he helped fill in that pothole outside your home, pulled a few strings for you that one time ; and was at your mammy's wake!