Page 3 - John Laverty News Today

Keep this to yourself, but the next General Election will be on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Forget all that nonsense about the Tories attempting to delay ‘going to the country’ for as long as possible.

By now, you’re probably sick and tired of the phrase “30th anniversary”. In the context of Northern Ireland’s troubled history there have, admittedly, been quite a few of those.

It’s comforting having no ‘skin in the game’. It was the best way to navigate through four decades of the Troubles. But this is Northern Ireland, so folk think there must be bias.

We’re approaching the 38th anniversary of Ian Paisley’s legendary “Never, Never, Never” speech at Belfast City Hall. The Big Man actually uttered that eponymic word four times, not three, but who’s counting?

Holly Hamilton is emerging as a terrific stand-in for Stephen Nolan on BBC Radio Ulster. No stranger to live broadcasting, she exudes the confidence and authority necessary to present such a fluid, unpredictable programme.

Fun fact: even if Windsor Park had met the required 30,000-seating capacity for the Euro 2028 tournament, it still wouldn’t have been chosen as a host venue.

Fun fact: even if Windsor Park had met the required 30,000-seating capacity for the Euro 2028 tournament, it still wouldn’t have been chosen as a host venue.

During the Troubles, the IRA and its cohorts murdered (at least) 90 children, with the UVF et al weighing in with (at least) 74. Our security forces, meanwhile, sent (at least) 67 to early graves.

Dundonald Ice Bowl is a crumbling eyesore. And, as one of the chosen few grinning and clapping when it was officially opened by local mayor Peter Robinson in September 1986, I take no pleasure in saying that.

Did you know Stormont was a Grade B+ listed building? Me neither, and that was a surprise; you’d have thought the Big White House on the Hill would be a nailed-on Grade A alongside Queen’s University, Belfast City Hall and St Anne’s Cathedral.