Unionists outdoing each other on questions about nativity plays and witchcraft in schools
Ruling on religion in schools has handed unionists a whole new culture war playground
Newton Emerson
Newton Emerson columns
Ivana Bacik’s careless words are causing alarm among unionists
If this is how the Left chooses to present a united front, there will be wider ramifications
DUP’s dithering over Catherine Connolly’s inauguration offended or embarrassed everyone
Staunch unionists are pinning their hopes on her presidency damaging US-Irish relations but it’s easier to imagine her falling out with Sinn Féin than Trump
Northern Ireland’s long argument over Irish language is either going to end or get worse
An Irish language commissioner, an Ulster Scots commissioner and an Office of Identity and Cultural Expression have just been appointed, a classic three legged stool
Fine Gael should never again send a Protestant candidate into a sectarian storm
Presidential election: Never again should Fine Gael send a Protestant candidate out, unprepared, into a sectarian storm
Powersharing has created a nonsense system where planning an action counts as an action
One team of 134 people at Stormont has spent €123 million on a strategy that reduced carbon emissions by just one per cent
No, the Irish language does not ‘belong to us all’. Stop insisting that it does
A row over Irish language signs in a leafy part of east Belfast taps into deeper divisions
Why are the parties of Northern Ireland’s centre at each other’s throats?
If Alliance, SDLP and UUP cannot offer alternative to Sinn Féin-DUP, it is hard to see what they are for
What’s behind Northern Ireland’s fake greenways controversy?
The Republic has built 91km of greenways in the past two years; Northern Ireland has built 4km, while claiming to have built many more
The campaign to free Bailey the support dog from prison sparks a useful debate
Bailey’s story has highlighted an odd feature of Northern Ireland politics: prison issues are normally a dog that does not bark
Here in Northern Ireland, the Irish presidential election seems a lot like Eurovision
Most Protestants in North have genuine and understandable indifference about Irish presidency
An orange-green split is looming over Lough Neagh
The visible decline of the lough this summer shocked people living around it, including in several heartland Sinn Féin constituencies
Lack of transparency over immigration fuels toxic atmosphere in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's parties must put agendas aside and have an open discussion based on evidence
Nigel Farage’s immigration bombshell raises nationalist hopes and unionist fears
Unionism still faces a hard new political reality if Northern Ireland comes to be seen in Britain as an obstacle to controlling immigration
Lack of tax powers renders Stormont a spectator in UK public spending debate
Patience of English taxpayers with Northern Ireland will be tested as Britain runs out of money
Scotland shows how an apparently unstoppable national cause can stall when mishandled by one party
Northern unionists might dare to dream of a similar outcome but SNP's legacy offers a mixed lesson
Why is Sinn Féin so reluctant to amend climate legislation to improve the A5?
Importance of road upgrade for constituents makes party’s tolerance of any political pain on it a genuine mystery
Who do you call if you want to speak to the leader of unionism? It’s complicated
The DUP has accepted second place at Stormont. But it doesn’t know how to lead unionism from there
Don’t expect votes for 16-year-olds to change the world. It’s the 25-35s who are the rebels
As the Scottish independence referendum showed, young first-time voters can be surprisingly conservative
A tricky question on Good Morning Britain for Mary Lou McDonald
Sinn Féin’s message to the British public is ‘let us take this expensive burden off your hands’, while to the Republic it’s that reunification will be almost painless
A GP strike could be the beginning of the end of free primary care in Northern Ireland
Minister for Health Mike Nesbitt’s negotiating tactics are remarkably aggressive. Has he overplayed his hand?
Fees for students from Republic in Northern Ireland need to rise
Students from south of the Border apply for capped places in NI and pay the local £4,855 fee, while students from Britain pay double. There’s a good argument for why that should change
Northern Ireland is a world leader in keeping a lid on protests
A problem that persisted for two centuries is now considered solved
As BBC coverage of the Ballymena riots took a while to crank up, I turned to ‘FreedomDad73′
The violence of the past week has been aired with immediacy and intimacy unimaginable 15 years ago
The DUP couldn’t have chosen a worse moment to get tough on immigration
The party may have unleashed sentiments that carry it swiftly to the right
Gerry Adams defamation verdict won’t have a chilling effect on journalism - and here’s why
Why did the BBC press on? Because it is an intractable bureaucracy with no respect for public money
The contrast between Kneecap charges and flag-festooned Northern Ireland is absurd
Complaints of one-sided treatment may often be simplistic or partisan, but that only underscores the corrosive effect of inconsistent application of the law
EU-UK deal is a gift to unionists. Shame they can’t all see it
Reaction among conservative politicians portrays NI as a victim. It is a short step from there to portraying Britain as a victim of Northern Ireland
Should people in Northern Ireland vote in Irish presidential elections?
Unionists are horrified and nationalists entranced by the prospect of polling stations north of the Border
Northern nationalists identify an unlikely source of hope: Nigel Farage
Many believe Reform leader’s isolationism will benefit the nationalist cause. Unionism has its equivalent fond delusions
It would be some irony if the two parts of Ireland taught the UK lessons in devolution
Westminster believes it has little to learn from devolved institutions. But the Shared Island initiative is showing how policy differences between close neighbours can offer useful insight
Downsizing is fine in theory. In reality, it’s rearranging property deckchairs on the Titanic
Today’s downsizers are closer to 70 and in no mood to rewire and replaster. They want a new build, which means they’ll be outbidding younger couples on a three-bed semi
Latest controversy to engulf Stormont is over the definition of ‘controversial’
Current row is over Irish language signs at Grand Central Station - but brace for more of the same
UK has to pick a side between the US and the EU - and Northern Ireland is stuck in the middle
Rather than seeing a US trade deal as entrenching the sea border, some unionists hope Trump’s new world order might sweep the Windsor Framework away
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