Category: Uncategorized
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Land of hope and dreams
It was on this day in 1954 that the immigrant inspection station in Ellis Island, New York closed its doors for the final time. The gateway to the land of hope and dreams for many Irish people escaping poverty and persecution over the years, Ellis Island processed approximately 12 million immigrants from all corners of…
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The fall of The Wall
This week marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Berlin became a divided city. The United States, France, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union each controlled parts of the city. East Berlin was the Soviet zone. In the years between 1945 and 1961…
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Nearer my God to thee
Today, 11 November, is Remembrance Day. The day when the men and women of the British Commonwealth who died in the First World War are honoured. The First World War began on 28 July 1914. It ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. Many people died in this…
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The Big Match
This morning My Good Self emerged from the hay at 6.49. Precisely 9 hours 40 minutes 3.50 seconds until kick off in Anfield. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp decreed that everyone in red, without exception, must be in top form if The Boys From Anfield are to emerge victorious over this great Manchester City side. Accordingly…
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Captain Courageous
Siya Kolisi is captain of the South African rugby team. Until very recently My Good Self had no idea who Siya Kolisi was. The Rugby World Cup in Japan educated me. It turns out that Siya Kolisi is quite an impressive young man. Given that Rugby was, for many years, the game of the white…
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Red and Blue
Red is the colour of fire and blood. It is associated with passion and love. Blue is the colour of the sky and the sea. It is associated with stability and depth. This coming Sunday, November 10, at 16.30 Greenwich Mean Time, blue meets red. Passion and love go head to head with depth and…
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Gaybo moves on
Gay Byrne died this week. He was of Ireland, a great Irishman. The Home Country is a poorer place without him. Gaybo began his broadcasting career with Radio Eireann in 1958. He presented many influential and popular radio programmes over the years however it was for his groundbreaking work on the iconic television chat show,…
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Syria
Human beings are capable of great things. They have landed on the moon. They have erected buildings that reach for the sky. They created Guinness. Disappointingly they also regularly feel the need to kill one another. My Good Self has yet to understand this tendency. In recent years many of our fellow human beings in…
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Donald and Paris
What are we going to do with Donald? It seems that dividing the world and having an extremely questionable hairstyle is not enough for The Lowest Common Denominator Dude. This week Donald Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from the Paris Accord. This was not unexpected. The Paris Accord is an international agreement…
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Any hope for Hong Kong?
Things are hotting up in Hong Kong. Protests are getting more aggressive and violent. The police are responding in kind. For most of the years between 1842 and 1997 Hong Kong was a British colony. It then became a ‘Special Administrative Region’ of China, meaning that it would have 50 years to find its own…
Blind light 