The Hurricane came to an end in South Belfast

It’s a sad morning in South Belfast. A quiet, unassuming, ailing resident who would nod a hello at the bus stop or on the road has gone.

His death is world news. Last night Alex Higgins trended on Twitter yet for many who knew him in recent years his greatness will not have been immediately evident.

I hope the city finds a way of acknowledging his passing. He won his first world championship the year I was born. He was a fixture throughout my childhood and I suspect that of many Irish and British children of my generation. He spanned the great divides. Another working class hero like this city has produced before.

Alex Higgins may you rest in peace.

Are you happy?

It’s been one of those best of, worst of weeks.

From depressing riots to the joy of LegenDerry.

Here’s a little talk by Dan Gilbert from TED about why we are happy….

sez she….. The Queen in Ireland 1900 & 2011

There was a Royal Visit to Dublin by Victoria in April 1900, which occasioned Percy French to write “The Queen’s After-dinner Speech”. He claimed it had been overheard and written down in poetic lengths by Jamesy Murphy, Deputy Assistant Waiter in the Viceregal Lodge.

“Me loyal subjects” sez she
Here’s my best respect, sez she
And I’m proud this day, sez she
Of the elegant way, sez she
That you gave me the hand, sez she
When I come to the land, sez she
There was some people said, sez she
They were greatly in dread, sez she
I’d be murdered or shot, sez she
As like as not, sez she
But it’s mighty clear, sez she
That it’s not over here, sez she
That I have cause to fear, sez she
It’s them Belgiums, sez she
That’s throwing the bombs, sez she
And frightening the life, sez she
Out of the son and the wife, sez she
But in these parts, sez she
They have warm hearts, sez she
And they all like me well, sez she
Barring Anna Parnell, sez she
I don’t know Earl, sez she
What’s come over the girl, sez she
And that other one, sez she
That Maud Gonne, sez she
Dressing in black, sez she
To welcome me back, sez she

And all that gammon, sez she

About me causing the Famine, sez she
Now Maud’ll write, sez she
That I’d brought the blight, sez she
Or changed the seasons, sez she
For political reasons, sez she
And I think there’s a slate, sez she

off that Willie Yeats, sez she
He should be at home, sez she
French polishing his poems, sez she
Instead of writing letters, sez she
About his betters, sez she
And parading me crimes, sez she
In The Irish Times, sez she
Ah, but what does it matter, sez she
All this magpie chatter, sez she
When I heard the welcoming roar, sez she
Coming up from the shore, sez she
Right over the foam, sez she
Sure it was like coming home, sez she
And me heart fairly glowed, sez she
Along the “Rock road”, sez she
And into Booterstown, sez she
And be Merrion Round, sez she
Until I come to the ridge, sez she
Of the Leeson St. Bridge, sez she
And was greeted in style,
By the beautiful smile,
Of me Lord Mayor Pyle, sez she
Faith if I’d done right, sez she
I’d a made him a knight, sez she
And I need not repeat, sez she
How they cheered in each street, sez she
Till I come to them lads, sez she
Don’t you know them undergrads, sez she
Oh, and indeed and indeed, sez she
I got many a God Speed, sez she
But nothing to compare, sez she
With what I’ve got here, sez she
So pass the jug, sez she
And I’ll fill each mug, sez she
And I’ll give you a toast, sez she
At which you may boast, sez she
Now I have a power of sons, sez she
All sort’s of one’s, sez she
Some as quiet as cows, sez she
Some always in rows, sez she
And the one that causes the most trouble, sez she
Should the mother loves double, sez she
So here’s to the men, sez she
That’s gone in to win, sez she
That’s clearing the way, sez she
To Pretoria today, sez she
In the gap of danger, sez she
There’s a Connaught Ranger, sez she
And a fusilier not far, sez she
From the heart of the war, sez she
And they may talk a lot, sez she
And them foreign baboons, sez she
May drawn their cartoons, sez she
But there’s one thing they’ll never draw, sez she
And that’s the lion’s claw, sez she
For before our flag is furled, sez she
We’ll own the world, sez she.

Our own Seamus Murphy has penned this account of the Queen’s after-dinner speech at Farmleigh in the autumn of 2011 as recounted by a temping waitress from the locality.

A hUactaráin, sez she
And everyone, sez she
It’s great to be here, sez she
I mBaile Átha Cliath, sez she
After 800 years, sez she
And it is a fair city, sez she
More bustling than pretty, sez she
As for traffic, well please, sez she
I got stuck on the Quays, sez she
Then we went to Dáil Éireann, sez she
Lime green I was wearing, sez she
A crowd filled with hate, sez she
At Kildare Street gate, sez she
Waving placards, sez she
Shouting at Civic Guards, sez she
Don’t know what they were up to, sez she
Someone said they were SIPTU, sez she
We don’t want any incidents, sez she
With none of your dissidents, sez she

For the Belfast Agreement, sez she
My support is vehement, sez she
These devolved institutions, sez she
Is the only solution, sez she
The successes consecutive, sez she
Of the power-sharing Executive, sez she
Show how much can be done, sez she
When two sides act as one, sez she
And that nice Mr McGuinness, sez she
Showed his confidence in us, sez she
By stepping up to the spot, sez she
When my soldiers got shot, sez she

Blessed are the peace-makers, sez she
And the movers and shakers, sez she
And Martin McAleese, sez she
Stabilising the peace, sez she
Sipping tea with old dears, sez she
And golfing brigadiers, sez she
We must make a confession, sez she
About all that oppression, sez she
I do be listening at home, sez she
To the Wolfe Tones, sez she
It would make you cry, sez she
My husband and I, sez she
We must make reparation, sez she
Between our ancient nations, sez she
No more power I’ll wield, sez she
O’er the Fourth Green Field, sez she

But the 1St Para, sez she
Is a holy terror, sez she
I must tell you with candour, sez she
That my son’s the commander, sez she
But they’re getting on grand, sez she
In Afghanistan, sez she
And Irish lads are willing, sez she
To take the odd shilling, sez she
They feel the attraction, sez she
Of some military action, sez she
It’s not really that far, sez she

From Castlebar to Kandahar, sez she
But to cut to the facts, sez she
Do yous want the North back?, sez she
With their priests and their rectors, sez she
And their huge public sector, sez she
And massive subvention, sez she
To buy out contention, sez she
And their flags and their marches, sez she
And their big Orange arches, sez she
And their dreary steeples, sez she
Are they our kind of people?, sez she

The north’s a hard place, sez she
They’re a different race, sez she
But here in the Pale, sez she
There’s a Home Counties feel, sez she
And it makes one’s heart soar, sez she
To drive through Dublin 4, sez she
It’s like civilization, sez she
With good conversation, sez she
And people of letters, sez she
With respect for their betters, sez she

But the business class, sez she
Is in a hard pass, sez she
Yous have your own troubles, sez she
And your property bubbles, sez she
I regard very highly, sez she
Sir Tony O’Reilly, sez she
And I think I done right, sez she
To make him a knight, sez she
And it won’t be too long, sez she
There’ll be many a gong, sez she
And fine Irish names, sez she
Winning the Commonwealth Games, sez she
And now that matters of state, sez she
Have been put in their place, sez she
Prince Philip and me, sez she
Is off on a spree, sez she
I’ve been wanting for ages, sez she
To go to Punchestown races, sez she
Or down to the Curragh, sez she
And have a wee flutter, sez she

Masterclass on new media and politics

My old mate Barry Turley has pulled together an interesting talk about new media and elections.

Drop him an email if you would like more details. Here is Barry’s pitch for the gig.

Blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, social networking, RSS feeds and youtube

As a result of the progression of the internet and social technology, the way we communicate has changed dramatically over the past decade.

Today, there are opportunities for a new type of democracy. Government has recognised the need to become more engaging, participative and transparent. In the past six months, all the major political parties here have
re-launched their websites and expanded their digital reach.

We have the ability to have a broader influence on policy, through a more accessible and participative process.

In this master class, we will bring you in contact with a social media expert – the leading authority on influencing the political process using online technology.

Social Media Specialist:

Dave Briggs, Community Evangelist for Learning Pool

In 2004, Dave discovered his interest in social media and started to consider how it might be applied to his work in government – and started to blog about it. His presence was so effective and wide reaching that five years later he was working as a digital communications advisor at 10 Downing Street, adopting progressive new approaches to engaging with the public and key influencers.

Now, Dave works for the dynamic e-learning company Learning Pool where he guides organisations as to how they can develop a culture of collaboration and innovation through social technology.

Vote for the dinosaurs and make history this May

Local politicians are not the only ones facing a big vote in May. The Ulster Museum needs your support to become the first local institution to lift the prestigious Art Fund Prize.

This is the most prestigious award in these islands. It has never been won by a NI museum/gallery and this, the experts believe is the best chance we’ll have for many years to win it.

The aim at the moment is to get on the shortlist of four which will be announced in mid May. The online poll closes on 7 May.

Whether you are green, orange, red or blue surely you can manage a quick click for Takabute, the big dinosaur and the Spanish Gold in the Botanic Gardens.

Vote here.

Do pass the word around.

We need actors not just ‘teeth and tits” says Patsy Rodenburg on TED.

The world needs actors says Patsy Rodenburg.

If you value theatre or think actors are more then just “teeth and tits” then watch this and pass it around.

Palintology X – GILF goes foxy

Sarah Palin is back. The GILF is a fox!

Complaints about privacy

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has received 70 e-mails complaining about the TV3 news broadcast on St Stephen’s Day disclosing the cancer diagnosis of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, according to the Irish Times. A spokeswoman for the BAI said people would be advised that they had 30 days from the broadcast date to make formal, written complaints.

Convention day

Over 200 SDLP members will gather in a South Belfast hotel tonight to pick Carmel Hanna’s successor as MLA for South Belfast. There are two candidates, Cllr Bernie Kelly and myself.

For eight weeks we have visited many homes and spoke at numerous meeting to talk about the future of the SDLP. The message is clear. People want the party to change. They want the SDLP to have more then just a great past. They want it to be a party with a bright future.

To do this the party has to renew in policy and personality terms.

It must build an alternative to the failing DUP – Sinn Fein coalition and appeal to a new generation who want politics to be bigger then two communities.

I’ll post the speech I’ll be making at the selection convention at teatime. Win or lose I know the debate about the need for a new SDLP has started. It must continue if this region is to grow and the true potential of the Good Friday Agreement is to be realised.

Palintology 2012 – The new President

The Saturday Night Live crew have been imagining a Sarah Palin Presidency. It’s well worth the watch.