Monthly Archives: September 2018

A great article by Sean Ingle in today’s Guardian recalling ‘that race’ in 1988 which forever tarnished the reputation of the Olympic Games in general and athletics in particular.

I was in the Maze prison – cellular – having move from the ‘Compounds’ a year earlier and had, like most of the rest, been enthralled with this potential clash between Carl Lewis and Ben Johnston.

For some reason, I was never a fan of Lewis – he was articulate, talented, confident, photogenic – he had it all, but there was something about him I couldn’t take to.

Johnston seemed to be almost the opposite of Lewis, but they had one thing in common – they could sprint and this final was going to be about the two of them.

What a race it was – until the drug test a couple of days later showed Johnston had tested positive for Stanozolol.

I have to say I was devastated. Johnston power was awesome and a wonder to watch and his shame seamed to be magnified with the images that followed.

Little did I know of what was to follow.

Thirty years ago today, Ben Johnson crouched on his starting blocks before the 100m Olympic final in Seoul, waiting. A gun went off. And he went supernova. Even now there is a visceral thrill watching him burn off his rivals from between 30 to 70 metres – those tiny legs whirring at an almost impossible velocity, as if the race replay is being played at double speed, while they strain in vain to catch him – as he lifts one finger in the air in triumph.

After his lap of honour, Johnson was asked which he treasured more: his gold medal or a world record of 9.79 seconds. “The gold medal,” he replied. “Because they can’t take that away from you.” Read more »

Congratulations to all those involved with the new 3g mini-pitch at Clarendon, off Somerdale Park in Belfast.   The Belfast City Funded project, supported by Shankill Juniors and Woodvale FC, is being run by Clarendon Development Association under a license agreement with Belfast City Council. William Humphrey, DUP MLA was a strong driving force behind this project along with others. Congratulations all round.

Last year, an incident of domestic violence was reported to the PSNI around every 18 minutes each day in Northern Ireland. In 1992, a previous study on domestic violence in Northern Ireland, led by Professor Monica McWilliams and Joan McKiernan highlighted the serious consequences of domestic violence for women and children during the Troubles particularly given the availability of guns at that time. It also showed how the conflict limited access to police thereby increasing the power and control of perpetrators affiliated to paramilitary groups. 25 years later, Professor McWilliams and Dr. Jessica Doyle (Ulster University) repeated the study to see what had changed and what difference the peace process had made. With support from Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland, 119 women victim/survivors of domestic violence were involved; 56 women in 1992 and 63 in 2016. Read more »

“Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman”, said associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Louis Dembitz Brandeis.

In the case of Mairia Cahill, it is Cahill (not any organ of the state) who has forced an extraordinary story out of a close-mouthed system with horrendous import for wider society, of a rape victim who fell foul of the wrong people in the wrong place in post-conflict NI and who got no help from state agencies who abandoned key responsibilities. Read more »

Damage to poppy wreaths at Narrow Water in County Down is being treated as a hate crime, police have said.

Eighteen soldiers were killed in two IRA bomb attacks at the site near Warrenpoint in August 1979.

It is understood the damage happened on Saturday at about 17:20 BST. The wreaths have since been replaced.

Cliftonville Football Club said it was “aware of allegations of involvement from persons returning from our fixture in Warrenpoint”. Read more »

From the War of Independence through to the election of Donald Trump and on into the much anticipated mid-term elections, one group has been to the fore in shaping the ideas of American democracy.

They are often known as the Scotch-Irish. Often – but not always – as Warren R Hofstra, Professor of History at Shenandoah University, explained. Read more »

A tale of yeast.

      One of the more annoying features of Long Kesh life was the weekly search. Or worse still, getting 2 searches in a week. A search disrupted the daily routine. All of us, to 60 men, would have to go to the canteen hut (the hut without a toilet) for up to 2 hours.  The search team would then be able to search and wreck our rooms, called cubes, at will.  This routine became a bit tenser at the 12^th July and Christmas. These where the only two times of the year that the UVF/RHC allowed alcohol to be made and drunk. Of course the screws knew this and the cat and mouse game of hiding and finding the hooch, fire water or more simply, poteen, would begin. Read more »

BBC NI news detailed this story this morning (14/9/18). It makes for interesting reading and we all can speculate on what would have happened if the RUC had have been listened to at that time. Nostradamus would have been impressed with the analysis.

A 1968 letter warning of impending public disorder across Northern Ireland in the wake of and run-up to civil rights marches, has been discovered by students in a history class.

The letter was from the Inspector General of the RUC, Sir Albert Kennedy, to William Craig, the Stormont minister of home affairs in November 1968.

It was found in the Public Records Office by a group of history students. Read more »