Comments on The Pensive Quill: How Very Dare You

Dear Tony Good luck with new blog. I am visiting i...

2009-06-06T10:35:04.890+01:00

Dear Tony
Good luck with new blog. I am visiting in Belfast from New York, and was guided to your terrific site by a friend from Dublin. As far as the Blanket protest, I was totally naive to the suffering in the H-blocks until I was send a copy of Sam Millar's brilliant, On The Brinks. What you guys went through and survived is a testament to your unconquerable spirit. I don't know if I spelt Millar's name correctly, as you have it Miller, but I'm sure it has to be the same guy, obviously. Please continue with the great work.
Tom
tom cassidy

2009-05-30T22:37:23.006+01:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Since you are a cartoonist I had to ask if the pun...

2009-05-30T05:43:01.376+01:00

Since you are a cartoonist I had to ask if the pun was, "draw the line"
had a good laugh at that.

There are no rules for the masters only one demand, that the peons shut up and blindly obey.

The Shinners will probably accuse me of being anti...

2009-05-29T20:39:47.151+01:00

The Shinners will probably accuse me of being anti-peace process for pointing the finger at one of their British Ministers but Caitriona Ruane was wrong! It appears us peasants must obey the rules while the landlords break them at will. These political shenanigans are a gift to me as a cartoonist but there's times I have to draw the line when it comes to blatant hypocrisy.
PS: Yes Anthony, Sam Millar's book On The Brinks is a fantastic read. I hope it won't be long before we see it on the big screen.

Seán Mór 'Ruane is probably the only Sinn Féin m...

2009-05-29T20:24:31.538+01:00

Seán Mór

'Ruane is probably the only Sinn Féin mini-minister that is actually delivering a policy that is bringing a significant change I agree with.'

Presumably you mean the academic selection issue?

It is a disaster which if not sorted soon will be rolled back.

The problem is less the blaggards who will use the Cyprus affair for the reasons you say but her political opponents who will cite parental choice in their battle to maintain selection

We kept the weans off wan day to go down to the 90...

2009-05-29T12:19:19.607+01:00

We kept the weans off wan day to go down to the 90th anniversary of Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House. We kept wan of them off yesterday because her mother took her to the Boyzone concert in Dublin. We kept them off the day after Tyrone won the All-Ireland...

But they never get off for runny noses, or because we happen to be tired, and they never miss any more than 3 or 4 days in a year. We make the odd calculated decision to give them the occasional reprieve. But I see some children just not being sent to school often enough and their education is being damaged. That's where somebody needs to follow up... and I agree that while there is no comparison, some blaggards will be able to use Caitríona Ruane's recent decision as a stick to beat her with, or as a means of saying 'ah sure if her weans don't have to go, why should I be punished for not sending mine'.

To be honest, and it might be my own educational deficiencies at play here, but Ruane is probably the only Sinn Féin mini-minister that is actually delivering a policy that is bringing a significant change I agree with.