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Articles by Brian Rowan
Drumcree: How one decision reopened old wounds and raised the stakes
LATE ON FRIDAY evening, the penny finally dropped – that the parading distance from the Drumcree Church to the Garvaghy Road and back to the Orange Hall at Carleton Street in Portadown is too many steps too far. Just hours after a protest at the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast, UK Secretary of State Chris Bryant banned the parade from walking a route that has been out of bounds for 28 years.
Burnham's new man in Belfast hasn't been here long enough to grasp how big a's***show' this is
IN THE BATTLES of peace there are some issues that cannot be resolved with ‘a bit for you and a bit for me’. The long-running Drumcree marching dispute is one such issue. This morning, I rolled my eyes as I listened to a news clip of the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant, newly appointed by fresh PM, Andy Burnham, recorded on Sunday night; to a few words in which he said: “We haven’t got a solution yet.” He misses the point. He clearly doesn’t understand.
Ghosts of Drumcree wakened as questions loom over Stormont's future
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Ghosts of Drumcree wakened as questions loom over Stormont's future
Over many years of reporting, and on many roads in this place, I have seen the scattered debris of politics, policing and parading; seen it at those flash-points and 'clash-points' where contested marches have been met by protest. Rubble on the roads. The spent casings of plastic bullets. The scorch marks left by burned out vehicles. The injured. All of this in twisted picture frames that display and exhibit the opposite of peace.
Are you ready to live to 100? What could a longer life mean for your finances, pension and retirement?
AS IRISH PEOPLE continue to live longer, the way we approach retirement will need to evolve with the times. Depending on what stage of life we’re at, retirement can seem like either a pressing concern or like something we don’t need to worry about for decades to come. However, the best way to make sure you’re not worrying about your pension too far down the line is to start planning now.
OPINION: Amid Gaza slaughter and power-posturing, OU peace process archive provides hope for humanity
Author and broadcaster Barney Rowan writes on his developing archive project with The Open University and on the launch of the second publication of his work at Féile an Phobail last week. It started out as a conversation on prices - supermarket cafe prices in west Belfast in the summer of 2005. Two pots of tea at 80 pence each, a scone at 95 pence and a slice of Veda at 89 pence. The total cost of the conversation was £3.44.
NACDA Announces 2024-25 Athletics Directors of the Year
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For too long, Colum Eastwood and his party have been running uphill in heavy boots
IN 2015, COLUM Eastwood’s leadership represented a generational shift at the top of the SDLP. He was 32 then, but already it was too late. The political trend was set. Post-Good Friday ’98, the SDLP slowed and struggled. And, for a party that will always be remembered for the achievements of the Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, it has been the hardest of slogs. Eastwood is the fourth leader since Hume – following Mark Durkan, Margaret Ritchie and Alasdair McDonnell.
Ceasefire anniversary in Northern Ireland: 30 years of an impossible peace
Find out more about The Open University's History courses and qualifications. Video transcript 49.0 KB Thirty years ago, in Northern Ireland – or in the North – it was hard to believe in peace. The horror of one week in October 1993 is implanted in our memories. A bomb on the Shankill Road in Belfast. The dead of that day, and what followed. Within weeks, a huge arms shipment destined for loyalists was intercepted. Then, news broke of secret contacts between the British Government and the IRA.
Stormont is too fragile to be confident after one day's success
JUST AFTER THREE o’clock on Saturday afternoon, the three men from the Northern Ireland Office stepped into Stormont’s Great Hall. NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris was there with Minister of State Steve Baker and Lord Caine; having a moment on the stage at this beginning of yet another new beginning in the politics of the North.
Donaldson finally came through but the real work starts now
FOR A WHILE now, I have been calling it ‘Donaldson’s Trimble Moment’ — not to suggest anything as heavy as the weights carried by the late Ulster Unionist leader on Good Friday 1998, but for Sir Jeffrey Donaldson this was the biggest test of his political leadership. Would he, could he, return the DUP to the Stormont Executive in the face of significant opposition from both inside and outside his party?
The people of Northern Ireland have finally had enough of its broken politics
LISTENING AT BELFAST City Hall yesterday, you could hear the mood in the words. A blunt message on a day that will be remembered for its mass strike. That message was loud and clear; so clear, that Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris will have heard it. And, so too, the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
'The politics of this place is a story of power cuts rather than power sharing'
TOO OFTEN, POLITICS in the North is determined and decided by its winter theatre; by its endless plays of negotiation and talks. And, far too often, the politics of this place is a story of power cuts rather than power sharing; power cuts in the sense of an absence of government. It can be like that for years on end. Stormont in the dark. A political shell. We are in another of those crisis scenes, except it doesn’t feel like a crisis; because failure here has been normalised.
'Stormont is now a mere soap opera on a hill over Belfast'
THE SOAP OPERA that is Stormont politics is performing another of its Christmas pantomimes. This time, on a stage created at Hillsborough Castle where, in a 12-paragraph document, the UK Government detailed a finance offer as one part in a two-part play to restore the Executive.
Brian Rowan on the Middle East: Northern Ireland found peace
WHEN YOU THINK back into this time 30 years ago, there was no certainty about peace in the North. On the calendar of 1993, as October turned into November, the headlines from here were about the rubble and the graves of war; about the trauma and the convulsions of conflict. It was a crisis year. No hope, or so it seemed.
The head of the new Troubles legacy body will have a mountain to climb
The man tasked with leading investigations in a new Troubles legacy body in Northern Ireland is former police officer Peter Sheridan. As a result of the UK Government’s controversial legacy bill, which became law this week, he has been appointed to the newly formed Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. Sheridan has acknowledged that because of his past work with the RUC, his appointment to the body will not be welcomed in some quarters.
Does it really matter if Stormont returns when it has failed over and over?
POLITICS ON ITS hill at Stormont has always been a hard climb. That has been the story of the 25 years since Good Friday 1998; how politics has struggled in the peace, how it has rarely had the ease or the freedom of a run downhill. There has always been something; some reason – some row – to make things difficult. It has been arduous, tiring, work.
Pain Point Fixes For The Lawn & Landscape Industry
By Brian Rowan From the April 2023 Issue Landscape contractors and the Green Industry have been through a lot in the past few years. We’re continuing to deal with the aftermath of a global pandemic that brought Industry growth, but also inflation, supply chain issues, price increases, and intensified labor shortages. While we have seen some improvement, the war in Ukraine and impending economic slowdown have led to continued concern.
Pain Point Fixes For The Lawn & Landscape Industry
By Brian Rowan From the April 2023 Issue Landscape contractors and the Green Industry have been through a lot in the past few years. We’re continuing to deal with the aftermath of a global pandemic that brought Industry growth, but also inflation, supply chain issues, price increases, and intensified labor shortages. While we have seen some improvement, the war in Ukraine and impending economic slowdown have led to continued concern.
The magic of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was how a firm 'no' became 'yes'
THERE IS A lot of learning in 25 years; the meaning of compromise, and, with that, the understanding that political agreement is not shaped by one set of demands. Then, for those who were part of the talks, I suppose there is the soul-searching – the sleepless nights thinking and rethinking decisions, and the doubts that play into and trouble the mind. In the poisoned politics of our place, some are still learning, and some will never learn.
Good Friday Agreement: Prisoners, pain and the price of peace Original
By Brian Rowan Former BBC security editor It is almost 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles - BBC News NI, across our news website, TV and radio, has been looking back at the historic deal, speaking to the key players and reflecting on how the agreement continues to shape Northern Ireland.
Good Friday Agreement: Who wants to tell the truth about NI's past? Original
By Brian Rowan Former BBC security editor It is almost 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles - in the coming weeks, BBC News NI across our news website, TV and radio, will be looking back at the historic deal, speaking to the key players and reflecting on how the agreement continues to shape Northern Ireland. Take the legacy of the Troubles - an issue that dominates hearts and minds in 2023.
Good Friday Agreement: The battles and big calls on the way to peace Original
By Brian Rowan Former BBC security editor It is almost 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles - in the coming weeks, BBC News NI across our news website, TV and radio, will be looking back at the historic deal, speaking to the key players and reflecting on how the agreement continues to shape Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland cannot continue with pantomime politics and a pretend parliament
THE SHOUT FROM the other side of the road was about the frozen footpath and the absence of grit. And, the gist of the comment directed towards me, was along these lines: “You should be reporting on this.” All politics is local. In the North, it is rarely sure-footed, and is often frozen. Footpaths can be far away from the frontline arguments. For much of 2022, Stormont operated without an Executive. There is nothing new about that. It is part of an all too familiar pattern.
Brian Rowan: Would it really be progress if the Executive was restored?
I TWEETED ON Thursday that it was not a big day for Northern Ireland politics. But that it was a day like too many others. And I asked a couple of questions: Would it really be progress if the Executive was restored? And, would voting in another Assembly election change anything? I came to the conclusion that we were watching the continuation of a Stormont s***show. This is the news from the North. The same sorry story of a place that just can’t function.
Brian Rowan: Truss' resignation and Conservative chaos spell disaster for Northern Ireland
ALL OF A sudden 28 October – this day week – has even more significance on the political calendar of Northern Ireland. Not just the deadline to try to get Stormont working again or face the prospect of yet another Assembly election. But the date by which we will know who will be the next leader of the UK Conservative Party and Prime Minister. The speed of change The turmoil of the past few days has demonstrated that a week really is a very, very long time in politics.
Brian Rowan: Can the parties of Northern Ireland truly make it work this time?
POLITICS IN THE North is often a story of elastic deadlines – dates for doing things that are often stretched. We are in one of those waiting rooms right now… waiting to see if 28 October really is a decision day. Before this month is out, NI Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris might have to decide whether to send the Stormont parties to yet another election – this a consequence of our once-more broken politics. He says he will do so if there’s not a fully-functioning Stormont Executive by then.
Living with Ghosts
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Brian Rowan: How loyalist support helped an embattled David Trimble seal the Good Friday deal
THERE IS A story told about the hours leading to the Good Friday Agreement at Easter 1998; about Sinn Féin approaching the loyalist David Ervine. It was late in the talks – decision time was approaching. The republican plan was for the two sides to jointly push for the prisoner release period to be reduced from two years to one. It was Gerry Kelly who spoke with Ervine: “I told him I would pass on what he he said to me,” Ervine would later tell me – “but my sense was it was as good as it got.
Brian Rowan: Boris Johnson's damage to Northern Ireland cannot be easily repaired
THOSE OF US who witnessed events at Stormont in the early weeks of 2020, learned all we needed to know about Boris Johnson – the clown Prime Minister who reduced government to a circus. Then NI Secretary Julian Smith had spent patient months with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney piecing together a deal that would put a Northern Executive back in place. We had been waiting for three years on such a British-Irish initiative – for the type of leadership that would make it possible.
Read, Share and Shape the News
Poll: Should the government serve its full term? LAST NIGHT WAS significant one in the lifetime of the FF-FG-Green coalition government. With Fine Gael’s Joe McHugh voting against the government and losing the party whip, the number of TDs on the government benches has dropped to 79. The government may still be able to pass legislation but things have got a bit tighter.
Brian Rowan: Sinn Féin and Alliance's success represents a political shift in Northern Ireland
WHEN THE COUNTING is done, the winners stand out. They are instantly recognisable. You see it in the spring in their step. Hear it in the laughter of happiness and success. I was at the Belfast count centre on Saturday; there to be interviewed by Annita McVeigh across a few hours of coverage on the BBC News Channel. For others, these days can be wake-like. The SDLP, in particular, has a lot to think about after this election and a set of results in which its Stormont numbers fell to eight.
Read, Share and Shape the News
Poll: Would you pay to use a social media platform? SINCE HE BOUGHT Twitter for $44 billion last month, Elon Musk has said he is looking forward to “enhancing the product with new features”. He has announced that governments and businesses using the platform may have to pay “a slight cost” to stay on the social media platform, but said it would “always” be free to “casual users”.
Brian Rowan: There's nothing dull about this election in Northern Ireland - it's hard to call
THERE IS A difference between dull and quiet, and it is far too early to put a label on the Assembly election campaign in Northern Ireland. Up to now, there has been an absence of electricity – nothing yet to light up this story. Nothing in the leaders’ debate on the BBC last night by way of a stand-out or a knockout line. Nothing that everyone will be quoting this morning on the eve of Polling Day.
Opinion: Why Northern Ireland's elections could change everything - or change nothing
AT TIMES LIKE this, there are never enough tea leaves in the cups when we try to read the mood and the direction of election campaigns. Voting in the Assembly election in Northern Ireland is on May 5; the counting will decide Stormont’s future. It stands and falls. That is its record through the years since the historic political agreement on Good Friday 1998; a near quarter of a century of effort to find its place and its purpose on the political landscape.
Brian Rowan: The DUP's move this week is ultimately an act of self-harm
THE RESIGNATION OF Stormont First Minister Paul Givan was in the tea leaves. Well signalled. Easily read. We didn’t need to look inside the cup. DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had repeatedly warned of the possibility. So much so that his lines started to sound like a broken record. Stretched over a few months. This huffing and puffing that Stormont could be blown down.
'The Troubles were just there, part of our normal...' - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
Those opening words belong to the late Seamus Kelters – part of his thinking back to his young schooldays in west Belfast in the early 1970s when life was anything but normal. When we sprinkled soil into his grave on the last day of September 2017, most of us were unaware that in his fight with cancer at that time, he had also been in a race to finish a childhood memoir – just recently published by Merrion Press under the title, ‘BELFAST AURORA’.
POLITICS, POLICING and the PEACE - three legs on a broken stool - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
This week, the date we remember is the 20th anniversary of the PSNI. Yet, to look at policing in isolation, is to ignore the other parts of the broken stool. Nothing here stands alone. The ‘New’ that we are trying to build is on top of the ‘Old’ of yesteryear. To quote the Queen’s University academic Dr Joanne Murphy “we are living with ghosts” – often “pulled back to what are environments of huge pain”. She was chatting with me in an interview for the UTV View From Stormont programme.
Breaking the mould - Beattie doing politics his way - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
I live in a town of coffee shops – too many of them, if there is such a thing; and, regularly, a new choice presents itself. It becomes the place to visit, to check out, to compare with all the rest – and then you decide whether to stay or go. Doug Beattie’s Ulster Unionist Party is the new coffee shop in our politics – looking for new customers whilst trying to hold on to those it already has. According to one party source, that play for new votes comes with “significant risk”.
POLITICS: BETWEEN A PROTOCOL and a HARD PLACE - By Brian Rowan
In the political dramas of this place, NI Secretary Brandon Lewis will soon be centre stage. The wider frame in this latest play stretches well beyond the Sea Border and the unionist trauma of this centenary year with all its frets and fears and foreboding about the Union. A deadline – another deadline – on Irish language legislation has arrived. Will Lewis now proceed, as promised, at Westminster, or will he hit the pause button? Some suspect the latter.
THE NIGHTMARE OF 2021 - A CENTENARY CRISIS - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
Last week, on the eve of a keynote speech by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, a source inside the DUP spoke of the autumn being “fraught with danger” and predicted, that when his party leader spoke on Thursday, we would see the “nuclear button” but it would not be pressed. Not yet. “You’ve to take a few steps before you get there,” the source commented – meaning that collapsing the Stormont institutions would not be the first play in his party’s protest action against the protocol.
PEACE IS NOT CLEAN. IT CAN BE CRUEL - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
The legacy debate has now become the inevitable amnesty war – our past a story of deep trenches, political dead-ends and endless battles for information. For years, we have been on this road to nowhere. Just last week, Sinn Fein wrote to the Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis urging him to withdraw the latest UK Government proposals. If implemented, they would close down many of the routes to ‘truth’.
UNIONISM AT WAR - the nightmare of 2021 - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
It turns out that Friday May 14 and that vote in the DUP leadership contest was only half-time – or the first leg in a two-match play. The Edwin Poots goal was only just over the line; that narrow winning margin of 19-17 over Sir Jeffrey Donaldson now wiped out in the counter-coup of recent days. In the page turns of 2021, we are reading the story of a unionist nightmare and crossroads. Has there ever been so much political self-harm – so many own goals?
STORMONT: On another walk to its very edge - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
Belfast City Hall doesn’t do quiet or private political meetings, not even on a weekend. It is a place that talks. Last Saturday, new DUP leader Edwin Poots was in the building with Paul Givan and adviser Philip Weir. There for a meeting scheduled for 10.30. Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill was also there with her special adviser Stephen McGlade, chief negotiator Conor Murphy and party chair Declan Kearney. Stormont politics is on another of those walks to the edge.
Brian Rowan: Poots can make promises on the protocol but it will be Boris' call
ALMOST A WEEK ago, a source watching the internal leadership play within the DUP thought out loudly about a tie – and the rules in the event of such an outcome. He was explaining how “tight” this contest to succeed party leader Arlene Foster had become. That it could come down to a vote either way – how 18-18 could become 19-17. I published his thinking on the eamonnmallie.com website the following day – an assessment that was spot on.
POOTS v DONALDSON: What do the rules say about a tie? - By Brian Rowan - Eamonn Mallie
As the DUP moves closer to its decision day, that opening thought is from one source explaining and emphasising how “tight” he thinks this contest has become – so close, indeed, that it could come down to “a vote either way” – how 18-18 becomes 19-17. If it is that tight, then the recent prediction of the BBC Political Editor Enda McClafferty of “a border down the middle of the DUP” will have been a perfect description of this battle.
Brian Rowan: The question now re any amnesty in the North is whether Johnson can be trusted
IT HAS BEEN the long war in the peace – the fight for the Past; for the so-called ‘truth’ of the conflict years. The political effort to shape some legacy process in the North has been a 14-year work-in-progress, involving never-ending consultations, negotiations, proposals and agreements that, then, become disagreements.
Read, Share and Shape the News
Poll: Did you use the Stay and Spend scheme at all? DID YOU USE the Government’s Stay and Spend scheme? From 1 October until 30 April (tomorrow), the Government allowed taxpayers claim a maximum of €125 back in tax credits on their spending in the hospitality sector. To qualify for the maximum amount, you had to spend €625.
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Poll: Would you drink less if a minimum unit pricing for alcohol is brought in? WOULD YOU DRINK less if the government introduced minimum unit pricing for alcohol? The Sunday Independent reported that the Government is to introduce minimum unit pricing on alcohol within weeks, which would set a minimum price of 10c per gram of alcohol.
Brian Rowan: Arlene's feathers are ruffled today, but the DUP itself is under pressure
IN A LONG game of political chess, we are now watching the endgame. The quiet whispers and questions about Arlene Foster’s leadership of the DUP, that had become louder in the early weeks of 2021, now the headlines of a challenge with talk of “no way back” and decisions within days. For unionism, the Northern Ireland centenary is becoming more of a crossroads than a celebration.
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