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Cheatin’ French fond of playing away from home 
Fergal Hallahan 20/11/09THOSE cheatin’ French. Bernard, the farmer I worked for, had two twenty-something daughters with hefty appetites for life. Thankfully, shy Irish students weren’t on the menu. Policemen were what they were into – preferably married ones. Having a wife to go home to made things less complicated.
Kiwi joy at All Whites’ World Cup achievement
Todd R Nicholls 20/11/09Last Saturday night the New Zealand football side did the unthinkable and qualified for the soccer World Cup. For one evening at least the All Whites relegated the All Blacks from the headlines as the whole country rejoiced. The All Whites defeated Bahrain 1-0 in Wellington to qualify for South Africa.
Funny guys have more comic timing than Chuckle Brothers
Marie Louise McCrory 20/11/09I think I’ve found the solution to Northern Ireland’s problems – two in fact. With all the stresses and worries about the recession, the security situation, the hole in the road (bored) and the financial strains of Christmas, many of us have forgotten how to enjoy life.
Going potty for Belleek
Marie Louise McCrory 20/11/09WITH Christmas fast approaching, we’re all busy trying to find gifts for the special people in our lives so how about something sparkly that’s homegrown? We all know our famous Belleek Pottery but did you know they’ve launched a beautiful range of jewellery?
What’s hot... So not...
Marie Louise McCrory 20/11/09What’s Hot?
Matt Damon
The Talented Mr Ripley star is back on the big screen today playing a top employee who suddenly turns whistleblower. Damon piled on the beef for this role in the Informant, but we think it suits him. Still lovely.
Delay, delay, delay, delay for fans
The Boot Room 20/11/09THE smell of stale beer and cigarettes scented the air yesterday morning. Sleepy Irish fans lay strewn across the cold, colourless floor of the departure lounge in Charles De Gaulle Airport. It’s a particularly awful airport. A smelly bear-pit of a place. There was nothing happy-go-lucky about these Irish fans.
Bad night for Irish – and for football
The Boot Room 20/11/09FOR the Republic of Ireland, the horse has already bolted from the stable doors, but sooner or later FIFA will be forced to introduce video replays of controversial moments in games following France’s illegal goal that saw them through to next summer’s World Cup finals. Despite the hysteria drummed up on radio, television...
Goal was cruel blow for ‘Killer’
The Boot Room 20/11/09AFTER 102 international appearances, it would seem Kevin Kilbane has reached the end of the road with the Republic of Ireland. While the Hull City defender mightn’t announce his intentions, it’s highly unlikely the 32-year-old will be around for the European Championship qualifiers.
Fans scream Bleu murder over goal
Off The Fence 20/11/09FIFA’s decision to seed the World Cup play-offs drew much criticism from fans and pundits alike. Now, with three of the four seeded teams safely through, it seems football’s governing body have got their wish. ‘Furious fan’ wrote: “That was a disgrace. FIFA just wanted France in the World Cup from the start. They changed the play-off rule as...
Thierry... NON
Off The Fence 20/11/09Readers show Frenchman straight red after handball
WHILE Brazil may be the pioneers of one-touch football, Thierry Henry’s two-touch handball against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday night ensured ‘Les Bleus’ will be in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. Henry’s actions have...
Need for different view on injustices
Mickey Harte 20/11/09Ireland’s exit from the World Cup at the hands of France (and Thierry Henry) will dominate sporting discussions for many years to come. Perhaps for the first time since Maradonna’s ‘Hand of God’ goal in the 1986 World Cup, we can have some empathy...
Unite to beat racism
Mickey Harte 20/11/09Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) is a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status, which was set up in 1997 as a direct response to the growth of racist attacks from a small, but vocal, section of people in Ireland.
Over the last number of months, the organisation have been compiling reflections from a variety of...
Railing against a defence of the provincial ‘status quo’
Off The Fence 19/11/09Now that the blood is up we shall maintain our combative theme for the next installment which comes from our occasional guest columnist Peter Makem. Peter wrote an article recently outlining the reasons why the GAA must scrap the provincial Championship.
Stirring up another ‘local row’ among the bushes
Off The Fence 19/11/09Homer, Patrick Kavanagh, and Off the Fence share one thing in common – we all appreciate that nothing in this life is more overwhelmingly important than “the local row”. Last week, an indignant Errigal Ciaran supporter wrote to Off the Fence to complain about our coverage...
House on the hill offers cold comfort for disabled
Jim Gibney 19/11/09Tuesday a week ago I had both the good and bad fortune to host a friend of Danny Morrison’s at the assembly’s parliamentary buildings. The man, Michael O’Connell from Tralee in Co Kerry had travelled on three trains and two buses to visit...
More bureaucracy funded by the charitable taxpayer
Eye of Newt... 19/11/09There are big changes due in the regulation of charities in Northern Ireland, with new laws and a new independent commission sponsored by the Department for Social Development (DSD). The recruitment of the chief commissioner is not a particularly auspicious omen. DSD has paid a private...
Women prove themselves in ‘non-traditional’ jobs
LifeTime - Anne Hailes 19/11/09EVER heard of Charlie Mullins? Raised in a council flat in London’s East End, he started work at nine years of age and has ended up being Britain’s richest plumber. His company Pimlico Plumbers has a celebrity customer base – Gordon Ramsay, Hugh Grant, Dame Helen...
Disarray in DUP leadership clearly there for all to see
Brian Feeney 18/11/09DID you spot the gap last week? The gap in the DUP between Peter Robinson and the rest of the party’s elected representatives at Westminster and Stormont? In the kerfuffle about the full-time reserve no-one backed Robinson. Not a word.
Bold decision results in sharp intakes of breath
Ray OHanlon 18/11/09The New York Post got on its high horse last week and in an editorial compared President Obama to Union Civil War general George McClellan. The Post, which takes a hawkish view of American foreign policy, was frustrated at the lack of a decision from the White House on...
Schoolchildren’s singing contest knows no borders
Ask Anne 18/11/09DID you hear that roar about 7.30pm last Sunday? It was Methodist College supporters going wild when their choir won the first ever Cooperation Ireland School Choir competition. The grand final was held in the beautiful Ulster Hall, which was packed with schoolchildren, parents, the public and politicians.
Festival favourites struggle to justify their top billing
Odds and Ends 18/11/09WITH the ante-post favourites for two of the three Cheltenham Festival showpiece races turned over on seasonal debut last weekend, the layers won’t know which way to turn if Kauto Star makes it a hat-trick in Saturday’s Betfair Chase at Haydock. Sporting Bet are already out on a limb with their...
Portuguese there for the taking
Odds and Ends 18/11/09ACCORDING to the betting France, Russia and Portugal are as good as on the plane to South Africa for next year’s World Cup. The French? Yes. The Russians? Probably. The Portuguese? Definitely not. Judging by their shaky first leg performance against Bosnia in Lisbon on Saturday night, Cristiano Ronaldo...
Would a GAA ground by any other name look as sweet?
Hitting the Target 18/11/09Competition sponsors can come and go without too much fuss. Yesterday it was announced that the Dr McKenna Cup will become the Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup 2010. Can’t remember what it was before... In soccer, England’s League Cup was the Milk Cup, then...
No plus points in changing a system that works
The Last Line 18/11/09For decades now in our education system the theory has rightly been put forward that academic selection at 10 years of age through the 11-plus has been an unfair and, at times, damaging procedure for our children. For many years people have been campaigning for the removal of this inequitable method...
Gall’s must be favourites for Ulster title
The Last Line 18/11/09St Gall’s finally showed all their experience and undoubted class in a 10-point victory over Clontibret which will automatically install them as hot favourites to once again secure a coveted Ulster club title.
Modern health centres can’t match that personal touch
Briedge Gadd 17/11/09When I was young our doctor lived in the middle of the country in a house on a hill surrounded by trees. Dr Moore was the only GP in the area and he ministered to allcomers. If you needed to visit the doctor you made your way at certain times of the day accompanied by your mammy or another...
Parents left wondering if selection is worth the pain
Fionnuala OConnor 17/11/09Martin McGuinness made a flamboyant gesture in October seven years ago, when he axed the 11-plus with one stroke of his outgoing pen. But of course it was not that simple. The story since has been an unseemly scrap. While even the Tories in Britain left the grammar school argument...
Keeping the project on track
High Flyers 17/11/09In the spotlight this week is Seamus McCloskey, partner at Hamilton Architects, designers of greyhound tracks and stadiums throughout Ireland, including Dundalk, Drumbo Park, Lifford and Limerick...
Outlook remains cloudy after busy week for data
Economic Outlook 17/11/09The outlook for the UK remains somewhat clouded after another busy week in terms of key economic data. Longer-term interest rates have edged lower after mixed messages emerged from the release of the Bank of England’s inflation report and subsequent comment from the BoE’s Mervyn King.
Deals make the world go around – Tiger Woods has the same effect
Opinion 17/11/09I don’t play golf but, as with most sports, I take an interest in the big tournaments and the best players. Tiger Woods, the best golfer in the world, describes Saturday, the penultimate day of a four-day golf tournament, as “moving day”.
Tips to manoeuvre through the government’s tax maze
Financial Planning 17/11/09£45.5 million. That surely is a good Saturday morning reading when you pick up your lottery winnings. But it isn’t all plain sailing as some of you might think! Consider the problems Les and Samantha, the lottery winners now have. There may be some mild sarcasm to follow.
Weighing up selling shares or assets
FPM Tax Corner 17/11/09I have been made an offer for my business and am considering selling my company in the next few months. What are the key tax matters I should be aware of at this stage of the negotiation process?
Time to plant the seeds for GAA Qualifiers
Against the Breeze 17/11/09I’m not sure when I stopped watching the Republic of Ireland soccer team, but I know why it happened. They bore me rigid. The same applies to Northern Ireland. They’re not Brazil. They’re rubbish.
Monument to tragedies of past may prevent those of the future
Roy Garland 16/11/09I FIRST became aware of the awful atrocities associated with Auschwitz during a history course that touched briefly on the Holocaust. Even then I saw parallels with Northern Ireland. Ten days ago I fulfilled my ambition to visit the infamous...
Sinn Fein needs to leave Bullingdon omerta behind
Tom Kelly 16/11/09SITTING watching the programme When Boris Met Dave there can be little doubt that David Cameron must be embarrassed. One suspects that the unapologetic but enigmatic Boris may have actually enjoyed the programme.
Better to have a life than an email
Anita Robinson 16/11/09When somebody says to me “Give me your email address and I’ll forward you details asap”, I say “Put it in an envelope with a stamp on it. If it’s really urgent, ring me.” “But…but…” they stutter, like a defective two-stroke engine. “I don’t have an email address” I tell them.
The Bridge Column
The Bridge Column 16/11/09BRIDGE QUIZ
Partner opens 1H and RHO also passes. Holding S:AK8762 H:4 D: 63 C: K1092, you respond 1S. LHO passes and partner rebids 2C. RHO passes. What do you rebid now?
Vegetarian vampire has teenage girls distracted
Maeve Connolly 16/11/09Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t? The kind of person your friends just don’t ‘get’ and who won’t go out for dinner with you let alone on a beach holiday. Vampires, eh. They don’t make the best boyfriends but that hasn’t stopped...
Turned on... Switched off...
Maeve Connolly 16/11/09TURNED ON...
Monopoly the movie
How? who? where? Ridley Scott has confirmed he’s making a film based on the game. This I have to see.
From gravy ring to king of the ring for Manny
Armchair Reporter 16/11/09At around half-past-five in the stale dregs of yesterday morning, I staggered to my chariot like a drunken man, dazed and confused. Truth be told, I was a drunken man who felt like he’d just been battered for over half-an-hour by a wee Filipino with concrete bollards for fists.
