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Our good friends at the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival are delighted to announce that their 2026 Poetry Competition is now open for submissions. This year’s competition theme is “New World” — a prompt open to wide interpretation and creative exploration by poets across the island of Ireland. Five shortlisted poets will be invited to read their work at the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival on Saturday 17th October 2026, when the overall winner will also be announced. The competition judge for 2026 is acclaimed poet and author Deirdre Hines. Deirdre is the author of The Language of Coats (New Island), which includes her Listowel Prize-winning collection, and The Mermelf: A Fable for Our Times (Austin Macauley Publishers), runner-up in the London Book Festival 2024. Her Japanese Poetry Workbook: Master Haiku, Tanka, Renku, Haibun & more with prompts is an Amazon Top 50 bestseller. The Festival Committee extends sincere thanks to Brennan’s Pharmacy and Donegal ETB for sponsoring the competition prizes. The overall winner will receive €150, with the runner-up receiving €100. Three highly commended entries will also receive cash prizes. The closing date for entries is Friday 21st August 2026, with results to be announced by the end of September. Author and poet Deirdre Hines who will be judging this year's competition Submission Guidelines Entries must be the author’s own unpublished work. This includes print, online publication, or broadcast. Simultaneous submissions are accepted; however, entrants should notify organisers immediately if work is accepted elsewhere. The theme for this year’s competition is “New World.” Entrants must be over 18 years of age and either resident in Ireland or from the island of Ireland. Poems may be submitted in English, or in Irish accompanied by an English translation. Entry is free. Entrants may submit up to two poems, with only one submission per person. Poems must not exceed 30 lines each, excluding title, and should be typed in a clear 12pt font. The author’s name must not appear on the submitted work. The body of the submission email must include the entrant’s name, county, and telephone number. Shortlisted poets will be expected to attend and read at the Festival Prize Winners’ Evening on 17th October 2026. Copyright remains with the author. The judge’s decision is final. Entry to the competition implies acceptance of all rules. Poems should be submitted as a Word document by email to lkcqfest@gmail.com no later than 21st August 2026. For further information, follow the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival website https://lkcqlitfest.weebly.com/ and on Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter social media.

Group pictured at the launch of A Bitter Harvest: The Good Life and Unresolved Murder of a Derry GAA Man, at Wolfe Tones Bellaghy GAC on May 17, 2026. Front: Garbhán Downey (Colmcille Press), Bridie Brown and Clare Loughran. Back Paul O'Connor (Pat Finucane Centre) and Siobhán Brown. New book from Colmcille Press and Pat Finucane Centre investigates murder, collusion and thirty-year cover-up In the middle of A Bitter Harvest, you’ll find a pair of grainy, family photographs, of the Browns gathering turf out in the middle of Seamus Heaney country, on a summer’s day about 30 years ago. In one of them, Seán is standing on top of a trailer-load of sods, with Bridie and Damian, and their friends Francis and Rose Murray, in the bog nearby. All of them tired but satisfied, after a good day’s digging. A few years after his father’s death, Seán’s son Seán told the author Des Fahy how his father ‘saw himself’ in Seamus Heaney’s poetry – and was ‘intimately familiar’ with the places and people celebrated in his old neighbour’s work. Indeed, in February 1996, Seán the father would organise, and then deliver, the massive, cross-community homecoming in Bellaghy, after the poet received the Nobel Prize for Literature. It was one of his proudest moments - and indeed one of the poet’s. A little over a year later, Seamus Heaney would pen a heartfelt eulogy to Seán in the Irish News, in which he described his murder, at the gates of the clubhouse here, as ‘a crime against the ancient Olympic spirit’. ‘He was a man of integrity and goodwill,’ the poet wrote, ‘he represented something better than we have grown used to.’ This is a universally-held sentiment. As Laurence Diamond told the Irish Times on the 25th anniversary of his friend’s death, ‘Above all, Seán Brown was a great human being – he is such a loss.’ In Derry city, during the long campaign for an inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday, our campaigners also drew comfort, and inspiration, from the words of Seamus Heaney. In times of despair The Cure at Troy reminded families, and supporters, to ‘hope for a great sea-change on the far side of revenge’ and to ‘believe that a further shore is reachable from here’. As advice goes, it was both fitting and uplifting. The inquiry, for all its imperfections, proved to be a catharsis for many. It afforded the people of the city their opportunity – their right – to experience that ‘sea-change’; that ‘self-healing’ and ‘self-revealing’. In 1972, the day after the Bloody Sunday funerals, the Derry Journal reported how ‘Even the Skies Wept’. Thirty-eight years later, the widow of victim Barney McGuigan, another Bridie, spoke at the conclusion of the Saville Inquiry, remarking that even the sun shone in Derry to welcome the findings. Bizarrely, however, for a society that has supposedly progressed out of the dark days of the Troubles and into a ‘new dispensation’, the Browns have now been kept waiting for an inquiry even longer than the Bloody Sunday families were. As our other Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats wrote, ‘Peace comes dropping slow’. Too slow. Seán’s son Damian, who led the campaign for more than two decades, tragically did not live to see justice - and Bridie, now eighty-eight, worries that neither will she. And this, as Niall Murphy the Brown's lawyer has reminded us, is not a case where there is a mere allegation of wrongdoing by state agents. The direct involvement of the state in Seán’s murder - the collusion - is a matter of fact. It has been established by the High Court and confirmed in the public record. As Damian himself predicted, long before the documents were finally released, his father’s death ‘was state-sponsored murder’. What we are left considering now is how long the state can continue to conceal what it did, and what it knows. Or, more pointedly, how much it did, and how much it knows. Tellingly, Seamus Heaney again warned us, in his collection North, about those who deliberately fail to act. Those who stand dumb; those who ‘cast the stones of silence’; and those who would ‘connive in civilised outrage’. Or in contemporary parlance, those who issue Immunity Certificates and refuse to allow even the most private of hearings; those who run to their own courts and hide from others; those in office who claim they have ‘enormous sympathy’ - just not enough to act. Perhaps they need to read Seamus Heaney’s rules for good governance, in The Republic of Conscience, in which he advises: ‘At their inauguration, public leaders must swear to uphold unwritten law – and weep to atone for their presumption to hold office.’ After countless delays and numerous setbacks, the Browns and the Pat Finucane Centre have now decided on a new and different course of action. To try yet another furrow. And, while the book they have produced can never fully right the wrong, it will stand as a measure of their love for Seán Brown, as a measure of their own most real outrage. And it will stand as a measure of their determination never to give up until they win justice for ‘a great human being’. The final picture in the photo-gallery was taken by Margaret McLaughlin at the Walk for Truth this time last year. At the head of the march are four generations of the Brown family – and they are followed by thousands and thousands of campaigners who came to Bellaghy to voice support for their crusade. This campaign, which in the early years was sustained by just a handful of dedicated family members and loyal friends, is now a movement. It is a national and international touchstone. The Irish government, the High Court, the Northern Ireland Coroner and the GAA are all demanding a public inquiry. Even the Chief Constable says the Browns have been ‘failed by the Establishment’. So, as our mentor-poet instructed us, we must continue to believe in ‘miracles, and cures and healing wells’. The state cannot hold back the ‘longed-for tidal wave of justice’ forever. The Browns will prevail. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. And hope and history will rhyme once more.

RICHARD STERLING, former President of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and driving force behind the Group 22 lobby campaign which convinced Stormont to extend the Scotland-Ireland gas interconnector to the North West, urges Derry and Coleraine to team up in the face of UU's cutbacks. The downsizing currently being planned at Ulster University is a travesty and a disgrace. The career path I followed avoided university but was one in which I developed real grit for the challenges I was to face in my working life. But I have learned the foundational importance of a university to the social and economic fabric of any community. Grit is what is needed today to face down this abomination. Not protest. Once again, areas outside of Belfast have been dealt a massive blow, with the recent announcement from the ‘powers that be’ that there will be staff cutbacks at both Magee (Derry) and Coleraine campuses. If followed through, this will be devastating for both communities. In 1965, when Derry and Coleraine were in fierce competition, each striving to secure the ‘New University’ - our second major university after Queens - Coleraine won a pyrrhic victory. A ‘town and gown’ partnership slowly developed there, yet continues unabated. Now, those efforts will be significantly damaged. Magee battled on, with plans today for major university expansion. But now? We are all left to imagine in the subsequent decades since 1965 how things for Derry might have been different if the huge socio-economic uplift which a major head-quartered university can bring had been delivered to Derry. Now, with an axe being swung, the city faces potential serious regression. This time Derry and Coleraine are not in competition. Each being attacked. They need to join forces. I can claim some knowledge and experience of identifying, challenging, and rectifying an important area of social and economic disparity. Separate subject - natural gas. Whatever the arguments today for and against, natural gas as a fossil fuel is a much cleaner and more efficient means to create electricity and to heat homes and businesses than the environmentally dirtier alternatives of oil and coal. I recall former Secretary of State Richard Needham writing that, when flying in from Brussels in the mid 1980’s, ‘Belfast was the only city in the UK where the city was hidden under a layer of smog’ - so it’s not as if clean-up wasn’t needed. In 1992, when the electricity industry was sold off to private interests, it was never a stated objective to clean up our environment through the widespread availability of natural gas, and reduce the cost of electricity to the consumer by recognising the symbiotic relationship between electricity and the almost environmentally benign natural gas, creating a powerful win-win combination. The ‘powers that be’ never saw it. When natural gas did arrive at Larne from Scotland in 1996 - it was decided by those ‘powers that be’ that this new energy source should be the sole preserve of The Greater Belfast Area - with absolutely no notion of expansion beyond, or of developing a gas fuelled power station outside that cherished territory. No rationale could be found by the civil servants to expand gas to the north and north west, and certainly no means to see a new gas fired power station which could underpin the economics of such expansion, and cut the cost of generating electricity significantly through the use of cleaner and more efficient technologies. The win-win. Both Coleraine and Derry were losing out - along with Ballymena and many other towns outside Belfast denied access to natural gas It was only through the emergence of Group 22 in 1998 - a cross sector lobby group - that the serious wrongs of this were highlighted. The North-West had no gas infrastructure at all, and it was the intention of the Belfast based civil servants to keep it that way. Group 22 challenged strongly, but they did much more. They carried out detailed analysis highlighting the social, economic and environmental cost to the region of NOT having access to this new energy source. Powerful arguments, but which the civil servants refused to accept. The Energy Regulator at the time was a powerful voice within the industry. He too could see the inequity and the significant benefits which natural gas could bring to a region which constantly dragged behind the north east. He ‘got it’. Yet it took two brave Ministers who absolutely ‘got it’ - Empey (Unionist) and Durkan (Nationalist) - to overrule the advice from the civil servants, and with support from the Republic, offer a funding package for the development of a north west gas pipeline. This also allowed the replacement of the retiring oil fired Coolkeeragh Power Station with a new state-of-the-art gas fired station. Combined, an investment of c.£300 million. With the widespread availability of natural gas throughout Derry City, Coleraine, Limavady, Portstewart and many other towns, this region today enjoys a cleaner environment, fuel choice and economic enhancement. It is estimated that the new Coolkeeragh alone contributes some £7 million to the local economy annually. None of this could have happened without Group 22. Empowerment of a community and their actions brought about policy change. My point in writing this is that Derry and Coleraine again face a major socio economic challenge. These campus job losses will bring devastating and largely unforeseen consequences far into the future. I had the privilege of being the driving force behind Group 22. The years are now against me to repeat the experience, but in the words of several leading politicos at the time it was the best organised lobby group they had ever seen. Strong leadership and cogent argument from the cross sectoral and cross border Group 22 - industry, Councils, trade unions, Chambers of Commerce, politicians, community groups - created a singular voice which we made sure was heard. Some words come to mind - preparation, trust, respect, commitment, integrity, courage, partnership, and not least serious determination. It’s imperative that Derry and Coleraine - led by their Councils and Chambers of Commerce - quickly find shared leadership, and rise up with a common voice. They must convince the politicians at Stormont and Westminster with detailed arguments and analyses that this is wrong and will have devastating long term consequences for an important sub region on this island, before its too late.

'North West has a fiscal duty to enact new university options' Conal McFeely of the Derry University Group says public representatives in the North West must immediately suspend all City Deal payments to Ulster University. He also called on the Irish government to appoint an independent regulator to oversee its £38m investment at Magee College, which UU currently controls. Mr McFeely was speaking in advance of tomorrow's meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council, which will discuss UU's recent announcement of 450 job losses and a freeze on capital spending. 'Council has a fiscal responsibility to its ratepayers to suspend all payments to UU, which - as we repeatedly warned - is failing to deliver on commitments to Derry and the North West,' said Mr McFeely. 'Instead of delivering 10,000 students and hundreds of new jobs by 2030 as guaranteed by the two governments in New Decade New Approach (2020), UU is set, yet again, to fail Derry so it can serve Belfast. 'UU is now holding Derry hostage as a marker against its massive, self-inflicted Belfast debt. Neither UU nor Stormont has any interest in this region; every single minuscule change to the Magee campus has resulted from direct instruction from London and Dublin. 'The UU Taskforce's claims that growth in Derry can continue - while UU is announcing massive job cuts and a building freeze - defy basic logic. Scores of workers in the North West face the loss of their jobs, and hundreds more jobs promised to the region will never materialise. 'Council needs to summon the Stormont Economy Minister, along with senior representatives of the British and Irish governments, to Derry to explain how they intend to deliver on their 2020 commitments to this region. In the interim, all governments must ensure independent oversight of UU's processes, which led to this catastrophe. We need independent scrutiny of Higher Education in the North such as exists in all other parts of these island, and Dublin needs to appoint an independent regulator to oversee, and secure, its investment in this region. 'The NI Strategic Investment Board, which is owed tens of millions by UU, can no longer act as an impartial advisor to our Council. The North West needs its own cross-border strategy board - just as it needs its own independent cross-border university. Council must seize this opportunity for change and enact new university partnerships for Magee with the South, as per the recommendations of the Royal Irish Academy.' ENDS

Colmcille Press and North West Regional College have partnered to trial new voice replication technology*, designed to help authors and independent publishers create professional audiobooks quickly and affordably. In this second of three pilots, produced by Aaron McKeever, Consultant at NWRC's XR Hub, author Conor Bowman reads the title story (novella) from his new short-story collection The Half-Life of Edith Hopkins. Voice replication software uses deep-learning algorithms and neural networks to extract unique acoustic features—such as pitch, timbre, and prosody—from a target speaker's audio data to synthesise a high-fidelity digital replica capable of generating new speech with the original speaker's vocal identity. It has the potential to enable the automated production of personalised audiobooks, so allowing authors to narrate their own digital works indefinitely. Other applications include preserving a parent's vocal presence for reading to children, and streamlining cost-effective, high-volume audio content creation for publishers.

‘EVEN THE HUTS HERE AREN’T FIT FOR PURPOSE' A Scandal in Plain Sight author GARRETT HARGAN investigates how Stormont’s neglect of Derry’s education sector is compounding the damage done by what John Hume called ‘the despicable criminal story of the second university’. Education is central to cognitive development.  But its importance stretches far beyond the acquisition of knowledge; when taken in the round, from primary to higher education, it can be the engine room that drives a city or a nation’s economy.  Why then, in Derry, has Stormont jammed a crowbar into the cogs of that engine? It should be alarming, not just for Derry folk, that 60 years after a call for a university of our own, that the government, along with a coterie of bean-counting civil servants seem intent on depriving the second city of major funding that would unlock its potential and allow it to fully contribute to the NI, and all-island, economy. Yet with the city historically pointing to lack of investment from unionist governments, there is now a strain of nationalism and republicanism in Derry that excuses neglect. They want to tell us how much the city’s economy has grown - that we are ‘thriving’.  A glaring example of this fantastical thinking was during an Economy Committee of recent times.  Sinn Féin and DUP MLAs for Foyle heaped praise on Invest NI for its commitment to Derry. It would then emerge, in the throes of probing questions during and after that meeting, that Invest NI had not brought one single new inward job to the city in 2024/25 – despite proclaiming to have a newfound focus on regional equality.  Invest NI chiefs seemed to think it was an accomplishment to get companies to venture west of the Bann to Derry, almost balking at the suggestion they need to bring jobs here. It is worth reminding our politicians that when the baseline is rock bottom, it is easier to talk of economic growth.  The cold hard fact is: Derry City & Strabane is the most deprived council area on these islands, according to reports.  If the height of a politician’s ambition is for Derry to be bottom of economic league tables, or maybe fighting to get out of the relegation zone, then they’re in the wrong line of work.  If this is ‘thriving’ then what does failure look like? Because this isn’t some abstract notion, deprivation impacts on every aspect of life: it means that people face greater health challenges, including dying younger; it impacts on educational attainment and much more.  So instead of wishing away the ugly realities, perhaps those in power can get to the root of the problem; call out inequalities; and stop gaslighting the public. * A city which uprooted the old sectarian order that dominated politics here for too long cannot be seen to be rewarded Let me be clear over the course of this analysis, education is one element of a much bigger picture.  It is nonetheless a core element that is important to explore. I’ve covered, in-depth, the issues facing the education system in Derry over recent years.  I felt it may be worthwhile, particularly for locals, if some of that information was amalgamated, rather than having it scattered around all corners of the internet. (I’m also conscious, in a world of fast news and short attention spans that most won’t sit and read 5,000 words.  That’s okay and the article will be here to dip in and out of for those who are interested in the subject matter). The university scandal is well-documented:  How Derry city was denied its own higher education institution in the 1960s in favour of Coleraine, due to what many view as a sectarian decision.  In 1970 John Hume would describe it as “the despicable criminal story of the second university”.  He even went as far saying it was “where all the present trouble started because that brought the awakening of the current public conscience”. Derry is still suffering as a result today, with subsequent missteps from power-sharing Stormont governments compounding problems here. The neglect of Derry is a recurring motif.  For the Derry city and Strabane area to be the most deprived on these islands, it isn’t just starved of one funding source.  The threads of neglect are interwoven and have fastened Derry into a straitjacket from which it needs to extricate itself. If a government denies a city the resources to build solid foundations, then it is hard, nigh on impossible, to build the necessary blocks on top.  By that I mean a university befitting a city of this size – which attracts inward investment – enabling and strengthening the case for investment in health, in better transport infrastructure, in sports facilities and the arts. As this piece is about education, it’s worth starting with primary and secondary schools and branching out. Through research, I discovered that not one Catholic Maintained or Irish Medium school in Derry received departmental funding for a new-build school for at least 14 years.  I accept that all school sectors in Derry and across NI have been impacted, but when you zoom out to look at the wider picture in Derry – the city is unique.  That is down to political choices.   Some would say, a city which uprooted the old sectarian order that dominated politics here for too long cannot be seen to be rewarded.  Obstacles are thrown in its way, excuses made that don’t surface when it comes to investment elsewhere – especially in Belfast which is lavished with billions of pounds by the power-sharing government. *  By now Stormont should have digitised all paper files at least dating back to 1998 The reason I’m restricted to 14 years is because Stormont cannot locate paper files that go further back, saying the task would be too arduous.  That in itself is a failure of governance, an oversight which is inexcusable.  Stormont should have digitised all paper files, in my view, at least dating back to 1998 – the period when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Why is that important?   Firstly, professional record-keeping by governments is simply good practice. It would allow government departments, in this case Education, to keep track of funding.  To see at a glance how much money each school has received. That in turn allows it to determine which schools have benefitted most and those that have been left behind. Stormont should have a database of the oldest schools and records of their structural condition, including roofs (more on the relevance of that later). Record-keeping is an issue for another day.  But, to me, it highlights the amateurish way in which NI is governed.  It is not the case with the British or Irish governments whose record-keeping appears to be far superior and often publicly accessible, whereas most of the data I dig out requires Freedom of Information requests.  Stormont’s default setting is ‘secretive’.  An inquisitive mind may wonder if it’s intentional.  If you keep poor records, then you can avoid unwanted scrutiny… Pragmatism isn’t Stormont’s strong suit, animus is the order of the day, every day .  Exchanges on the hill typically go as follows …  One MLA : “Constituents are telling me that potholes are getting out of control, we need to invest in our roads.”   Second MLA responds: “You’d know all about potholes wouldn’t ye!  You supported a terrorist organisation that blew potholes the size of craters in our roads.” First MLA:  “You’ve a cheek to talk about terrorism, your Party…” Speaker: “Order!  Order!  Can we get back to the matter at hand?” First MLA continues: “As I was saying, during the Troubles your Party was…” You get the jist.  Forever trapped in a pre-peace mindset.  Incapable of dealing with the here and now.  That is pretty much the level of debate that goes on at Stormont on a daily basis and explains why little is ever achieved. * Children were literally put in harm’s way PRIMARY SCHOOLS A high-profile local issue of recent times was two primary schools, namely St Eugene’s P.S. and Nazareth House P.S., both forced to close buildings as it emerged their roofs were at risk of collapse.  Both schools had, incidentally, applied for funding through the proper channels years earlier (more on adhering to protocol later). THINK ABOUT THAT.  Children were literally put in harm’s way due to a combination of mismanagement and a scarcity of funding. Schools that applied for funding in 2017 were left waiting.  Despite sounding the alarm over the roof’s condition, an inspection at St Eugene’s was not carried out until October 2024.  Widespread rot and decay of the wooden structure was found, as well as ‘saturated’ solid walls – showing that water had been seeping into the school over a lengthy period.  Given the extent of decay uncovered, the school building was immediately shuttered and children were displaced. More than 18 months later children are still unable to return.  They are having to be accommodated in a hut in the Senior school playground; the remainder condensed into classrooms in an old building with limited space. But, the principal, in a letter I uncovered under the Freedom of Information Act, urged the Minister to visit, saying the health & safety of pupils and staff was being impacted as they were “squashed” into substandard classrooms.  Education Minister Paul Givan rejected the invitation to visit the beleaguered school community. Fast-forward to November 2025 and it was discovered that children at a second school, Nazareth House, were forced out due to an unsafe roof in the mouth of Christmas – a time when the school community comes together for nativity shows and to celebrate the calendar year coming to an end. With Stormont looming over the city like The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, the local community rallied round to offer a festive venue and to fill the void left by Stormont – an all-too-common theme in Derry. Another glaring example of Stormont neglect is the treatment of Bunscoil Cholmcille.  The second oldest Irish Medium primary school in the North, yet it does not have a solid brick building.  Children have no sports facilities.  To Stormont’s shame, they don’t even have an indoor toilet.  It is right to point out that Sinn Féin (1999-2016) minus collapses) and DUP Ministers (2016-2026 minus collapses) have held the education portfolio and failed to deliver for the school. Without the basics that any school should take for granted, there was a heartwarming sense of pride when I visited to speak to the principal; a palpable sense of community cohesion; a principal and staff devoted to the education of those children; and smiles on the faces of young people who are thankfully, blissfully unaware, that they deserve far better from their government. Moving to their site in 1993, Bunscoil Cholmcille was told it would only last five years before getting a permanent site and building.  The school remains in ‘temporary’ huts 33 years later.  Not only that, but Stormont can’t even maintain the huts, which I’d previously reported have a £1.4m maintenance backlog.  The huts they should not even be in aren’t even fit for purpose. * Millions of pounds more in funding has gone to two secondary schools which traditionally had/have more pupils from a Protestant background  SECONDARY The purpose of this piece isn’t to single out or criticise one sector over another.  It does however have to reflect reality in Derry city and I have previously reported on these matters.  Records show that millions of pounds more in funding has gone to two secondary schools which traditionally had/have more pupils from a Protestant background – namely Lisneal College and Foyle College – over eight majority Catholic schools.  (It should be noted that Foyle College in recent years has become the most integrated secondary school in the city, perhaps a reflection of the shifting demographics in the Waterside area). They are two of the largest, most modern secondary schools in the city.  Both were directly funded by Stormont whereas Catholic Maintained secondary schools in St Mary’s and St Cecilia’s had to be built via the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) – a problematic scheme that sees governments paying off private companies for up to 30 years and more.  Recently, concerns were raised about some of these buildings being handed back in poor condition across Britain.  The reason it is important to reference the PFI scheme is because it fits a pattern of major capital projects in Derry being outsourced for others to finance, such as the Irish Government and EU.  For example, the Irish Government is investing close to £40m in a teaching block at Magee.  Stormont’s Economy Department, responsible for higher education, invested only £18m at Magee over a 10-year period from 2013-2023.  That is a damning statistic for Stormont and an example of its indifference towards Derry.  The EU has funded the Peace Bridge and NW Transport Hub, and will also provide £9m+ towards an Ulster University sports dome. (I can’t think of a major investment in sports by UU/Stormont at Magee – again, why does it have to be outsourced when it comes to Derry?) Foyle College is without doubt the most impressive looking school in Derry.  Palatial compared to some others: fitting then that Princess Anne officially opened it.  The school has grounds in front of it that many would envy as their entire footprint. And while the department desperately tried to hide the level of sports facilities available at schools so that I could not compare them, I discovered that Foyle has a whopping 15 outdoor pitches and courts. 1 Hockey Pitch - Sand Dressed Astroturf 3G 4 Rugby Pitches - Grass 5 Tennis Courts - Sand Dressed Astroturf 3G 2 Cricket Squares – Grass 1 Hockey Pitch – Shale/grit 1 Rugby Training Pitch – Grass 1 Football Sports Pitch – Grass To reiterate, I don’t begrudge any school facilities.  There are however schools in close proximity with zero pitches to play on.  There are schools with roofs at risk of collapse.  There are children learning in rotting huts, while others have gold-standard facilities in the same city.  That is not giving children an equal opportunity to excel.  Sport is crucial for physical and mental health; moreover, if we want to produce elite athletes, and why shouldn’t Derry aspire to that, then schools need adequate facilities – that requires money! Then if we look at Lisneal College.  The school was given money for an upgraded 3G pitch and a multi-million pound extension months after meeting DUP Ministers.  The pitch was allegedly approved due to health & safety risks – the only way it could be at a time when ‘unavoidable works’ were supposed to be prioritised.  However, I then unearthed that the man responsible for inspecting the pitch could not attribute injuries to its condition.  THAT WAS THE VERY PREMISE ON WHICH FUNDING WAS AWARDED. After speaking to the school’s principal at the time, Minister Paul Givan also wanted to know how legal constraints might be overcome to deliver a sports dome at the same school.  Yes: A. Sports. Dome … when some others had/have zero or outmoded pitches. * Child safety is well down the list of priorities here when we could be bickering about a flag Research I conducted proved this was no one-off, Lisneal had received preferential treatment over many years.  It consistently got more money for maintenance, in the years after opening close to £940k, with another secondary school in the area getting just £52k over the same period; in 2012 it was one of only two schools in Derry noted to have a councillor on the board, notably a DUP Cllr who remained until recently; in 2021 it was the only school in the Foyle area to be granted a temporary variation in pupil numbers; in 2022/23 it was down as one of three schools to get additional accommodation as it was given additional Year 8 places; it was at one time (and still may be) the only school in the Western Trust area with a dedicated nurse; and secured a significant extension after being selected as one of only 10 schools across NI for a special educational needs pilot programme; in 2024/25 it received £1.7m for minor works, three other local secondary schools got £0, while the closest to Lisneal was St Joseph’s Boys’ School on £292k. Some other schools in the city can’t get funding for much-needed new builds, unavoidable roofing works, while a secondary school has to use council-facilities for sports. In the wake of the Lisneal controversy, EA officials said roofs would ‘always’ be prioritised.  I recently reported that hundreds of roofing applications from 2017 have been left in limbo.  So there could be many more schools in the same position as St Eugene’s.  With unsafe roofs above the heads of children.  It was interesting that there was a pretty muted response to that story (seemingly child safety is well down the list of priorities here when we could be bickering about a flag). A final point on this is that DUP politicians and Stormont officials were keen to repeatedly say that only Priority 1 projects or Unavoidable Works were being progressed at present.  But then Mr Givan decided to create a new curriculum-led capital programme to allow for physical education facilities at schools.  Nobody can argue that exercise is extremely important for children – it is extremely important for physical and mental well-being.  Yet that is besides the point, because for years the education department and EA were rejecting schools for such facilities because ONLY UNAVOIDABLE WORKS were being progressed.  Then Mr Givan decided that Priority 3 would be placed above Priority 1 projects.  So while hundreds of Priority 1 roofing projects were left for nine years, threatening the safety of children, some other schools were getting new sports facilities.  And with a prioritisation system so utterly dysfunctional, how could we know if schools awarded funding were in greatest need. *  Strabane only got £53k between 2014-2023.  At the same time, the Economy Department dished out around £100m for FE colleges in Coleraine and Ballymena FURTHER EDUCATION Further Education in Derry is worth touching on as the Northland Building at North West Regional College was done under a PFI scheme.  Why does funding for Derry not come directly from Stormont? Then look at Strabane, one of, if not, the  most deprived areas in the North.  It was rejected for an FE build.  That now has to be done via the City Deal. Stormont is responsible for funding education – Stormont should be providing facilities for people in Strabane. It SHOULD NOT require a bespoke fund from the British Government, which then had to be matched by Stormont, along with contributions from Council and other stakeholders. The fact is, according to figures obtained under the FoI Act, Strabane only got £53k between 2014-2023.  At the same time, the Economy Department, run by a DUP Minister dished out around £100m for FE colleges in Coleraine and Ballymena – areas considered DUP heartlands.  More than £140m was spent on FE colleges in other areas too with, for example, Armagh getting about £35m. There was no shortage of money (UU Belfast cost £370m), but Economy Ministers were saying there was none for Derry to expand Ulster University’s Magee campus, nor for Strabane to get a modern FE College. * Derry’s chances of thriving were thrown on the scrap heap for another generation HIGHER EDUCATION The Magee saga is well-documented.  For emphasis, it is worth noting figures to show the chasmic gap in funding between Belfast and Derry. Nowhere on these islands has a higher proportion of the student population than Belfast.  In fact, nowhere else comes close.  Dublin is next in line with around 40% of the south’s student population, yet, you will get politicians in the south bemoaning its dominance.  Have a peak up North.  And don’t float the nonsense that NI is so small that investment in Belfast benefits everybody.  It doesn’t even benefit parts of West and North Belfast, which are among the most deprived in Ireland and Britain.  It most certainly doesn’t filter up to the NW, with Derry & Strabane topping the table as the most deprived council area on these islands. Belfast holds around 84% of NI’s student population.  Why?  Well, whenever Ministers/MLAs/civil servants were talking down the prospect of expanding Magee, on the basis that it would cost too much money, they couldn’t wait to approve the relocation of UU Jordanstown a few miles in the road to Belfast city centre.  It became an instant ‘flagship’ Executive project.  It was going to revitalise that part of Belfast city centre.  And so it has done, with businesses gravitating towards it. It’s a pity the same goodwill does not extend as far as Derry.  Sometimes MLAs or civil servants engage in subterfuge, pretending they are supportive of Magee expansion in public but there is a different story behind closed doors.  Take the current Communities Minister Gordon Lyons. I uncovered that back in March 2020 that he wrote on behalf of ONE student, arguing that health science courses should go to Coleraine instead of Derry and reminding the Economy Minister Diane Dodds that she held the purse strings.   Another example was a senior civil servant writing what was described as an anti-Derry attack sheet, which defied logic (and economics) by questioning the benefits of a university in Derry.   Other times candour is the order of the day. In the case of Diane Dodds she spilled the flavourless own-brand beans, cooked up privately by Lyons, in the most public of forums. When Ulster University eventually decided to move the Health Science courses to Magee (at a time when up to £100m of City Deal money was being dangled as a carrot), Mrs Dodds proceeded to make “very clear” to UU’s Vice Chancellor that it is “dependent on funding from my Department” – a not-so-subtle public rebuke and perhaps a warning about any plans for further expansion at Magee instead of Coleraine. The same politicians/civil servants are however completely convinced by the benefits of large-scale investment in Belfast and the east.  I can’t quite put my finger on why that is… As a result of politicians (of all hues) misguidedly agreeing that Belfast should get the sort of preferential treatment not afforded to any other main city on these islands, Derry’s chances of thriving were thrown on the scrap heap for another generation.   I say that, because even with plans for 10,000 students; even with a taskforce and Sinn Fein-run department adding fresh impetus, that target is decidedly modest.  Derry should be judged against a city of a similar size in Galway, which already has around 25,000+ students and is leaving Derry in the dust.  What happened when the Executive gifted Belfast 84% of the student population was that money then followed those students.  Close to one billion pounds flowed into Belfast, primarily to Ulster University and Queen’s University between 2013-2023 – amounting to around 95% of NI’s total capital spend on higher education. Over the same period Magee got just £25m (2.67%) of NI’s higher education capital spend – with pledges to expand the university here broken time and again. Yet when challenged over this mind-boggling disparity between first and second cities during a visit to Magee, former Sinn Fein Economy Minister Conor Murphy stood over UU Belfast saying it had revitalised that area.  Seemingly unapologetic about the repercussions for Derry city.  When further challenged over the lack of investment at Magee from the Economy Department over years, in October 2024, Mr Murphy began quoting higher figures without clearly stating the investment he was referencing included   Shared Island Funding and City Deal/Inclusive Future Fund – justifying the outsourcing of investment in Derry. * Set aside the nonsense excuses: Stormont and UU have little money left for Magee because monumental sums were spent in Belfast As facts are important,  where Sinn Fein deserves credit is in delivering the biggest single year investment at the campus when compared to the 12 years prior under DUP  and Alliance (Stephen Farry when it was the department for Employment and Learning) leadership.  Some of that is down to timing of course.  But Sinn Fein pushed for the acquisition of buildings to facilitate Magee expansion, it is hard to imagine a DUP Minister doing likewise given the party’s loyalty to Coleraine, c.f. comments of Mrs Dodds (referenced above). In recent weeks the NI Civil Service position on Magee expansion reared its head once more.  A senior official spoke of not having the £40m revenue funding necessary for expansion.  Straight away certain news organisation formulated excuses.  The bottom line is, given that c.84% of students are based in Belfast, that is where the vast, vast majority of revenue funding currently goes.  Stormont parties/NICS happily greenlight massive higher education expansion in Belfast then speak in solemn tones about being short of money for Derry – some things never change. Another excuse I heard on the radio, unbelievably, is that some people (presumably myself included) refer to the difference in spend between Belfast and Derry.  Yes, indeed I do, as it is very relevant.  The fact it is omitted from most discussions is an indictment of the media here and a prime example of Belfast-centrism.   The point was made that UU Belfast got a loan to finish the project.  Over 10 years from 2013/14 to 2021/22, UU Belfast/Jordanstown got £174m-plus in Financial Transaction Capital Loan Funding.  How is that offered up as a valid excuse?  It is a huge loan that was never in doubt.  There was always going to be collective agreement to see UU Belfast built.   The same united front has never existed when it comes to investment in Derry – demographics here may be central to that.  And with Executive agreement required for the £40m revenue that effectively means, if one of the big two parties doesn’t want Magee to move forward, they hold a veto. But let’s set the £174m+ loan aside for that period.  About £200m was still spent on the campus.  According to FoI figures I have, UU itself spent about £116m.  I’ll gently remind you, UU spent just £7m in capital funding at Magee over the same period.  Now it is regularly saying it does not have funds for purpose-built student accommodation in Derry.  I would suggest that is because it spent £116m in Belfast and has to pay back the aforementioned huge loan at an annual rate of £6.3m, with interest of around £400k per year. So, set aside all of the nonsense excuses fed to you by some news outlets and the omission of key figures: Stormont and Ulster University have little money left for Magee because monumental sums were spent in Belfast.  That is it in a nutshell.  Others want to obfuscate by making it sound more complicated.  And they want to tell you that in order for Magee to be expanded to a modest 10k students, then the whole higher education system needs to be turned on its head and student fees need to be hiked, while the Republic’s tuition fees are about half those in the North.  Magee expansion is being put on a collision course with higher tuition fees, whenever that threat never hung over higher education growth in Belfast. * Facts don’t lie and in 2024/25, Invest NI brought zero new inward jobs to Derry The higher education spend mentioned above is only the tip of a golden iceberg for Belfast.  Invest NI openly admits that because Belfast has the infrastructure, students, and domination over business sectors, that when investors visit NI, there is only one show in town.  Businesses want students with skills falling out the door and filling their offices, ergo the vast majority choose Belfast.  There seems to be little effort to spread wealth anywhere else, despite ‘regional balance’ becoming a buzz phrase at Stormont.  Facts don’t lie and in 2024/25, Invest NI brought zero new inward jobs to Derry.  When it comes to the arts, well, Belfast routinely gobbles up about three quarters of that funding too.  You can be sure that trend is then repeated with other funding pots, whether it be health (£700m for maternity and children’s hospitals), sports (tens of millions of pounds spent on Windsor Park, Ravenhill and potentially Casement in time) or transport (£340m dropped on Grand Central Station). To conclude, this all leads to an isolated North West.  It is right to acknowledge that Derry is moving forward, albeit at a glacial pace.  Aesthetically, it could be argued it is the nicest city in the North; the river front is a real asset; there is the contrast of ancient City Walls and a modern edge with the Peace Bridge leading to the newest public realm space in at Ebrington; and importantly, a friendly and welcoming population.  City Deal funding and a vision of transforming the riverfront would be a serious boost, allowing for a tree-lined and natural flow between the east and west banks.  But…  But…  Neglect from Stormont should never be excused.  And on the evidence laid out above, Derry city could and should already be a hive of energy, of youthful exuberance and capable of showcasing the best of itself to the world – if even given a moderate level of funding. The City Deal vision, finally delivering a long-awaited medical school ( why did it have to be outsourced? ) and other projects are likely to be dripped down over 10-20 years – it has already been five years since the City Deal announcement was made.  That is no cash injection.  It is funding any city should get.  Westminster and Stormont have saved themselves hundreds of millions of pounds through lack of investment in Derry over decades. Right now, many young people have no option but to leave the city aged 18 to study elsewhere and it's known that many never return.  Why would they when the government isn’t investing in their futures? What compels them to stay when Invest NI has been incapable of attracting one new inward job in 2024/25 and opines that it is difficult to even get investors to visit Derry?  When Arts Council NI justifies Belfast routinely sucking up three quarters of all arts funding?  When education chiefs say that the system is working as designed whenever a school that didn’t apply for a pitch is prioritised over those that applied for unsafe roofs to be fixed?  When the Environment Minister doesn’t have the funds to fix a toxic dump threatening Derry’s drinking water?  When the Sports Minister overlooks NW clubs for the NI Football Fund?  When the Health Minister says he does not have the ability to upgrade an old A&E at Altnagelvin Hospital but the Executive finds £700+ down the back of the sofa for Maternity/Children’s Hospitals in Belfast?  When the Infrastructure Minister dallies over £1m to equalise train services in the west so that Derry can avail of hourly trains on a Sunday, but Stormont splurges £340m on Grand Central Station? Ambitious young people will leave for pastures new in search of work, and who could blame them?   Until Derry breaks free of the Stormont straitjacket, it will never realise its full potential. * Ministers have to manage funding properly and demonstrate that there is a transparent and fair system in operation SIMPLE IDEAS As some people like to say, ‘it’s easy to complain, what would you do differently?’ Firstly, I’m not paid a massive salary as a politician or senior civil servant to find solutions. But here are a few simple points. Stormont should actually record data in an efficient manner.  They should have a database split into the different school sectors and areas.  So they know how much went to each school and how much money is going to each area of the North.  I’ve requested such information so I know it doesn’t exist in an easily accessible format.  Unless I’m being lied to.  If it were recorded properly, we would have some idea of whether money is being fairly allocated. Three historic schools within a one-mile radius of each other all had serious roofing problems and were left waiting for years until inspections were carried out.  I would suggest there should be a spreadsheet of the oldest schools and when they last had roofing works done.  Periodic inspections of roofs and structural integrity isn’t beyond comprehension in a first world country.  We are talking about child safety here, or am I being too optimistic?  There should be a clear and transparent prioritisation system.  That doesn’t mean one for the department (managing non-controlled schools) and a completely separate one for EA (managing controlled schools).  That is not fair in any way, shape or form.  One system for ALL schools so they are being treated on a par with one another. Once applications are prioritised, the department and EA should work through them from the school project ranked most immediate and move down that list.  That sounds like a basic principle, but it isn’t happening right now.  The 2017 minor works call attracted more than 6,000 applications – the department and EA prioritised 550 applications.  The department and EA couldn’t even tell me how many of those were completed.  It then moved to what appears to be a random selection system whereby schools raised concerns and the authorities reacted.  If the works are not being progressed based on a strict ranking system, then that clearly opens up the possibility of favouritism towards some schools or political influence.  In the case of Lisneal, it was progressed after emails were sent by the principal.  So it was placed above thousands of projects that were not progressed from 2017. Funding is clearly an issue with hundreds of schools competing for a small pot.  But every single department would love more funding.  Ministers/departments also have to manage funding properly and demonstrate that there is a transparent and fair system in operation. It is obvious that plenty of schools have to amalgamate.  Pupil numbers are contracting, thus there is less need for so many schools.  But politicians/school leaders/the likes of the Catholic Council for Maintained Schools seem reluctant to set out a plan to deal with that reality.  It is a vote loser for politicians so they don’t touch it.  In the absence of political courage, old schools are crumbling and children are learning in a substandard environment.  Though do not mistake that as an excuse for a government allowing schools to decay to the point of forced closures.  That should NEVER be tolerated.  If schools are to amalgamate, it should be done in a managed way, with agreement from communities and I think it could be done if the right people are willing to step up.  Politicians won’t grasp the nettle, someone else has to. Investment in Derry and Strabane should not be outsourced. Stormont should take the reigns for once by investing in major capital projects. A full-sized university should be built as soon as possible, with the necessary student accommodation, infrastructure and public transport improvements needed to facilitate growth at pace. That will require Ulster University treating Derry as a priority. It will require Executive agreement that Derry matters – commitment that has never been non-existent for most of Stormont’s existence. * Garrett Hargan pictured at the launch of A Scandal in Plain Sight (Colmcille Press) at Ráth Mór in August 2024. He was subsequently presented with a civic award by the Mayor for his campaigning work.

Colmcille Press and North West Regional College have partnered to trial new voice replication technology*, designed to help authors and independent publishers create professional audiobooks quickly and affordably. For the first of three pilots, produced by Aaron McKeever, Consultant at NWRC's XR Hub, author Felicity McCall reads the title story from her new short-story collection What We Did on Our Holidays . Voice replication software uses deep-learning algorithms and neural networks to extract unique acoustic features—such as pitch, timbre, and prosody—from a target speaker's audio data to synthesise a high-fidelity digital replica capable of generating new speech with the original speaker's vocal identity. It has the potential to enable the automated production of personalised audiobooks, so allowing authors to narrate their own digital works indefinitely. Other applications include preserving a parent's vocal presence for reading to children, and streamlining cost-effective, high-volume audio content creation for publishers.

Carrying Light pays tribute to Derry and Donegal luminaries, from Pat Hume to Dinny McLaughlin and from Sr Clare Crockett to Canon McDyer Deirdre Devine lives in County Derry, overlooking Lough Foyle and the Donegal hills. Born in the village of Culdaff, County Donegal, she studied art in Belfast and taught for several years in Derry. In 2001 Deirdre published Pictures in the Window  an illustrated biography of the Culdaff artist Willie Doran.  Joining the creative writing group in Limavady in 2002, her work has been included in anthologies, both in Donegal and in Northern Ireland. Her first poetry collection In Applause  was published in 2014, followed by a second in 2020, Beginning - A Spiritual Journey in Poetry . Carrying Light - A Life in Poetry  is her latest collection and is published by Colmcille Press, Derry.  Growing up in a family of eight children, Deirdre’s parents were the owners of Mc Grory’s Hotel in Culdaff, a venue that has long been known for promoting the cultural and musical life of Inishowen. Though living in County Derry, she returns to Culdaff frequently with her husband and extended family. Carrying Light  is a personal tribute to many people from the North West where Deirdre has spent her life and the poems reflect her memories of a place that continues to inspire her imagination. The late Dinny Mc Laughlin from Buncrana is celebrated in The Fiddler’s Story : ...And what can I say, but under a moon again, recall how a tune could lighten the step of all who had the chance to be there that night to hear him, when he made the fiddle dance. The role of Pat Hume in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland is also highlighted in Mother of our Peace . ...You bloomed beside him, calm and faithful gardener of his growth; host to the table of hospitality, shoulder for tears of failure or prize. Deirdre Devine’s interest in spiritual poetry has inspired Clare of Derry , a poem based on the life of Sister Clare Crockett, comparing her growing influence to a ‘ …little spring / who rose beyond the city’s walls, / and would become a river full / of grace and love for Him… ’ Mary Hayward, Limavady author and poet writes, 'From years of quiet observation, Deirdre Devine documents the miracle of the everyday, the gifts of music, the natural world, the rhythms of birth and death, changing patterns and seasons. People and places are lovingly remembered. She celebrates those who have had an influence on her writing journey; mentors, poets, politicians, playwrights, neighbours, friends and especially "the love that flows unbidden from grandchildren". This collection is quietly spiritual and light flows seamlessly from every page.' Carrying Light is available from Colmcille Press, priced £9.95.

Le fotheidil dhátheangach Bímse i gcónaí ag radaireacht: I’m always flirting. Ceann de na torthaí aisteacha a bhí ar an dá theanga in Éirinn teacht i dteagmháil lena chéile ab ea an t-amhrán macarónach nó dátheangach, de réir mar bhí an Béarla ag teacht i dtreis sa tír ón 18ú Céad ar aghaidh. Is sanpla éadrom aerach den seánra an port béil seo; tá na focail simplí agus inathraithe in áit na mbonn ag brath ar cé bhí i láthair agus ag éisteacht. Mura raibh Cití i láthair, mar shampla, b’fhéidir go raibh duine éigin eile ann. Tugtar faoi deara, áfach, gur ag Cití atá an focal deireanach. One of the products of the contact of the two languages in Ireland is the macaronic or bilingual song, which began to appear from the 18th century onwards. This port béil, or song lilt for dancing to, is a light-hearted example of the genre. The lines are simple and could be extemporised to suit the company - if Cití wasn’t nearby, maybe somebody else was. Notice, however, that Cití has the last word. Bímse i gcónaí ag radaireacht, I’m always flirting, Ag radaireacht, ag radaireacht, Flirting, flirting, Bímse i gcónaí ag radaireacht, While Cití is convenient. Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um,togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, while Cití is convenient [x2] Nuair a bhainim póg i ngan fhios di, When I steal a kiss from her  I nganfhios di, i ngan fhios di, Unbeknown to her, unbeknown to her, Nuair a bhainim póg i ngan fhios di, Deir Cití: “Sir, how dare you!” Says Kitty: “Sir, how dare you!” Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um,togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Deir Cití: “Sir, how dare you!” [x2] A’s mé ar ais an dara huair, And when I’m back (for) the second time, An dara huair, an dara huair, The second time, the second time, A’s mé ar ais an dara huair, Deir Cití: “What delayed you?” Says Kitty: “What delayed you?” Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um,togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Deir Cití: “What delayed you?” [x2] Ceanglaítear ar maidin sinn, Let us be tied (in marriage) in the morning, Ar maidin sinn, ar maidin sinn, Us in the morning, us in the morning, Ceanglaítear ar maidin sinn, Deir Cití: “It’s just dandy.” Says Kitty: “It’s just dandy.” Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um,togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Deir Cití: “It’s just dandy.” [x2] Anois ó tá muid ceangailte, Now since we are tied, Ceangailte, ceangailte, Tied, tied, Anois ó tá muid ceangailte, Deir Cití: “Rock the cradle.” Says Kitty: “Rock the cradle.” Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um,togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Togha-radhdil-adhdil-um, Deir Cití: “Rock the cradle.” [x2] Beautiful version from Sláine Ní Chathalláin here/Leagan álainn ó Shláine Ní Chathalláinar fáil anseo. Bailiúchán de 121 amhrán as ciste ceoil na Gaeilge, arna roghnú agus léiriú ag Risteard MacGabhann, is ea Claisceadal cois Baile. Claisceadal cois Baile is a collection of 121 songs from the treasure store of the Gaelic song tradition, selected and presented by Risteard MacGabhann.

A TERRIFIC review of Conor Bowman's short-story collection 'The Half-Life of Edith Hopkins' by Anne Cunningham has this week been published in several regional Irish newspapers. She writes: In my review of a previous Bowman book some years ago, I wondered why there isn’t more pot-banging about this author. He easily matches many of our big literary talents and paddles in the same thematic streams but seems to be somehow overlooked. I have no idea why, but I admired Horace Winter Says Goodbye a lot, and this new anthology of short stories is even better. The title story is a novella and traces the life of Edith Hopkins, retired piano teacher, now scraping through her final days, riven with dementia in a nursing home. The fog of her half-memories leads to a clearing as we are taken through her life; a promising tennis career ruined by a spell in the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, the trafficking of her son to America, never to be seen again and the half-life she lived afterwards. It’s harrowing but elegantly told and not the only story containing the suffering of memory. An old man travels from his New England home to a disused railway station in County Galway to re-live a memory of his grandfather. He never returns. In a stylish flight of fancy, an author is summoned to a sumptuous supper in an exclusive Stephen’s Green club, only to be met by characters from his many works of fiction, ‘brought to life’ as it were, from the page. I could pot-bang on and on, but alas a short review can’t do justice to this gem of an anthology. It is one of my highlights so far this year. Bowman's new work, which focuses on the Tuam Mother & Baby Home, has also recently featured in the Irish News and the Belfast Telegraph – and on BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequence Programme.

(Claisceadal cois Baile,/Singing Irish Songs at Home, Cló Cholmcille 2023) Siúil, a Ghrá – Walk, My Love Amhrán a thugann chun cuimhne críoch thubaisteach Chogadh an Dá Rí in Éirinn nuair ab éigean do na sluaite fear óg, a throid in arm Rí Séamas, an tír a fhágáil agus liostáil in airm na Mór-Roinne; ‘Na Géanna Fiáine’, ainm a thug an file Conchúr Ó Briain (1671-1720) orthu i ndán leis. Léiríonn an t-amhrán cuid den dólás agus an crá croí a tháinig orthu siúd a fágadh ina ndiaidh, sa chás seo bean óg a fágadh ag caoineadh imeacht a leannáin. A song recalling the final dramatic stages of the Jacobite campaign in Ireland, when many of the young men, who formed the great mass of King James’ army, were forced to leave Ireland and seek employment in the armies of continental Europe - na Géanna Fiaine / the Wild Geese, a phrase first used in a poem by Gaelic poet Conchúr Ó Briain (1671 - 1720). This song captures some sense of the toll of misery caused to those left behind by this loss of many of the young men of the land, in this case a young woman lamenting the loss of her love. A bhuachaillín aoibhinn álainn ó Gentle, beautiful lad, Ba leathan do chroí a’s ba dheas do phóg, Broad was your heart and sweet your kiss, Mo léan gan mise leat féin go deo, Alas that I am not with you forever, A’s go dté tú, a mhuirnín, slán. And may you go, sweet love, safely. Curfá/Chorus Siúil, siúil, siúil, a ghrá, Walk, walk, walk, my love, Níl leigheas le fáil ach leigheas an bháis, There’s no cure to be had but the cure of death, Ó d’fhág tú mé is bocht mo chás, Since you left me, poor is my plight, A’s go dté tú, a mhuirnín, slán. And may you go, sweet love, safely. Is minic a bhréag tú mé ar do ghlúin, Often you beguiled me on your knee, Ag cur do scéil dom féin in iúl, Telling me of your life (lit. story), Ach chaill mé thú ‘s is tú mo rún, But I lost you and you are my darling, A’s go dté tú, a mhuirnín, slán. And may you go, sweet love, safely. Curfá Ach cuireadh ar Rí Séamas ruaig, But King James was routed, A’s d’imigh na géanna leis ar luas, And the geese went with him at speed, A’s d’imigh mo bhuachaill leo, monuar, And my lad went with them, alas, A’s go dté tú, a mhuirnín, slán. And may you go, sweet love, safely. Curfá Gm Beautiful version from Na Casaidigh here/Leagan álainn ó Na Casaidigh ar fáil anseo. Chan an grúpa tíre Meiriceánach Peter, Paul and Mary leagan den amhrán dar teideal Gone The Rainbow  ar thaobh B a mbuaic If I Had a Hammer  (a chum Pete Seger) i 1963. The American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary sang a version of the song called Gone The Rainbow on the B-side of their US Top 10 hit If I Had a Hammer in 1963. Bailiúchán de 121 amhrán as ciste ceoil na Gaeilge, arna roghnú agus léiriú ag Risteard MacGabhann, is ea Claisceadal cois Baile. Claisceadal cois Baile is a collection of 121 songs from the treasure store of the Gaelic song tradition, selected and presented by Risteard MacGabhann.

In this extended interview, the veteran campaigner and writer Eamonn McCann recalls the Derry of the 1950s and 1960s, and the events that him to write one of the most famous modern histories on Ireland.

Sa cheann is déanaí i sraith agallamh le húdair ó iarthuaisceart Éireann, labhraíonn cathaoirleach Iontaobhas Dhomhnach na Fola, Paul Laughlin, faoi na rudaí a spreag é chun a leabhar nua a scríobh. Go raibh maith ag Declan McLaughlin (Music), Oisín Farrell (Production) agus Derry City & Strabane District Council.

Míle buíochas le Fiachna Ó Braonáin as an bhfíseán seo de féin ag léamh ó bhailiúchán Paul Laughlin, Dorn San Aer (Filíocht ó Dhoire go Gaza). Thug an t-amhránaí Bronagh Gallagher cóip den leabhar dó i ndiaidh cheolchoirm Hothouse Flowers i Halla na Guild an tseachtain seo caite.

A new bursary commemorating the author and musician Risteard Mac Gabhann (1938-1923) is being set up to support Irish language cultural practitioners in the North West. Broadcaster Joe Mahon made the announcement at the unveiling of a specially-commissioned portrait of his lifelong friend at the Derry Cultúrlann. Mr Mahon has generously started 'Ciste Mhic Gabhann' with a donation of £5000 and says he hopes other funders will now also contribute to it. More than 100 people attended the ceremony on January 2, where the unveiling was conducted by Risteard Mac Gabhann's family, including his wife Joan, daughters Ciara, Áine and Treasa, and grandsons Fionn and Cian. The portrait was created by Derry artist John McCandless and was sponsored by the Ultach Trust. Colmcille Press, which published Mr Mac Gabhann's magnum opus Claisceadal cois Baile shortly before his death in May 2023, will help administer the new bursary along with Ciara Nic Gabhann, the Derry Cultúrlann and Joe Mahon himself. Tá sparánacht nua á bunú in ómós an údair agus cheoltóra Risteard Mac Gabhann (1938-1923) chun tacú le cleachtóirí cultúrtha na Gaeilge san Iarthuaisceart. Rinne an craoltóir Joe Mahon an fógra ag nochtadh portráide speisialta dá chara-saoil i gCultúrlann Dhoire. Tá 'Ciste Mhic Gabhann' tosaithe go fial ag an Uasal Mahon le síntiús de £5000 agus dúirt sé go bhfuil súil aige go gcuirfidh maoinitheoirí eile leis anois freisin. D’fhreastail níos mó ná 100 duine ar an searmanas ar an 2 Eanáir, áit ar reáchtáil teaghlach Risteard Mac Gabhann an nochtadh, lena n-áirítear a bhean chéile Joan, a iníonacha Ciara, Áine agus Treasa, agus a gharmhic Fionn agus Cian. Chruthaigh an t-ealaíontóir as Doire, John McCandless, an phortráid agus rinne Iontaobhas Ultach urraíocht uirthi. Cuideoidh Colmcille Press, a d’fhoilsigh magnum opus Claisceadal Cois Baile an Uasail Mhic Gabhann go gairid roimh a bhás i mBealtaine 2023, an sparánacht nua a riaradh in éineacht le Ciara Nic Gabhann, Cultúrlann Dhoire agus Joe Mahon féin.

There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have contributed to the DUG campaign for an independent, cross-border university in northwest Ireland over the past year. We are grateful for all the support - and would like to mention a few in our first annual awards list. Parliamentarian of the Year (Stormont) Winner: Sinead McLaughlin MLA (nominated for her work on the new Regional Balance Bill) Honourable Mention: Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA (nominated for refusing to raise student fees)  *** Parliamentarian of the Year (Dáil Éireann) Colm Burke TD (nominated for his long-term championing of an independent university as the last unresolved civil rights demand) *** Parliamentarian of the Year (Westminster) Mike Kane MP (nominated for his recent work on the NI Select Affairs Committee and long-term support for a cross-border NWU) *** Most Significant Government Intervention (Belfast, Dublin & London) £40m Shared Island funding of the new Magee Teaching Block, as sanctioned by Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris)  ***   University Leader of the Year (Atlantic Coast) Dr Orla Flynn (President of the multi-campus, federal university, ATU)  *** University Leader of the Year (Eastern Coast) Dr Eucharia Meehan (President of the Dublin Institute for Advance Studies and former co-chair of the Royal Irish Academy Futures All-Ireland Research and Innovation Committee.) *** University Partnership of the Year Queen's University Belfast and Dundalk IT (nominated for the announcement of their formation of a cross-border, federal university) *** Investigative Reporter of the Year Winner: Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph NW Reporter and author of ‘A Scandal in Plain Sight’ *** Newspaper Column of the Year Nominees: Tom Collins (‘Time to stop the rot and give Derry the university it needs and deserves’, Irish News); Tom Collins, (‘UU award cannot disguise its neglect of the North West’, Irish News); Brian Feeney (‘Keep the civil service away from decisions on Derry’, Irish News); Conal McFeely (‘Governments must team up to deliver the NWU’, Derry Journal); Pat McArt (‘So tell me… what are you going to do for the North West?’, Irish News) Joint Winners: Tom Collins (for ‘Time to stop the rot and give Derry the university it needs and deserves’), Brian Feeney & Pat McArt. *** Best Book ‘A New Ireland - A Five Year Review’ by Paul Gosling *** Best Blog Winner: Conal McFeely (Derry must move now to establish its own cross-border university, colmcillepress.com ) *** Find of the Year The Derry Journal’s extended report from July 31, 1850, detailing plans to open an independent university in Derry and to fight Belfast attempts to steal the funding. (Sourced by Seamus Breslin.)  *** Special Award To Professor Gerry McKenna MRIA, who receives the North West University’s Honorary Doctorate 2025, for services to cross-border education in Ireland. [*Garrett Hargan received the first honorary doctorate from NWU upon the publication of his investigative history ‘A Scandal in Plain Sight’ in 2024] ENDS