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Gary Robertson ⚽On Friday as I scanned the upcoming fixtures for the weekends Scottish cup games I found myself thinking “can’t see many shocks to be honest.” 

Ah but fools rush in where angels fear to tread and with that the gods conspired to prove yet again why bookmakers drive Mercedes and don’t ride bicycles.
 
Friday night itself saw a comfortable victory for an under strength Rangers team against Annan. Not that the league two side played badly, indeed some of their passing and movement made the Rangers work hard but ultimately class shone through and in the end the Rangers progressed with a comfortable 5 nil victory.
 
Saturday however was when the pie was planted firmly square on my face.
 
The two Edinburgh clubs deciding that the cup was an unnecessary distraction both managed to find ways to lose their ties. Hibs first against Neil Lennons’ Dunfermline (Lennon having managed Hibs in the past) fell to an own goal scored late in the game, second minute of injury time. Just when a penalty shootout looked likely, in it went and out went Premiership Hibernian.
 
As darkness descended on Tynecastle it was the turn of Hearts to take centre stage. The all premiership clash with Falkirk looked an ideal opportunity for McInnes' men who are currently riding high at the top of the SPL to progress only for the dreaded penalty shootout to prove to be their Achilles heel. The villain of the piece being the normally reliable in front of goal Elton Kabangu. More worrying though for Hearts and their fans was seeing Shankland limping off in injury time particularly when the mouthwatering clash between the top two only a week away as Celtic travel to Edinburgh in an attempt to close the gap to three points. For once a title race is actually a thing in Scotland; however, that’s for another day.
 
Whilst the cup dream is over for Camelon juniors, the east of Scotland league team can be proud of their run having overcome Edinburgh City to reach round four. I wish them well for the rest of the season. I will for one be checking on their results from here on in.
 
Other notable results include league two leaders Spartans overcoming Inverness Caley of league one in a dramatic 4-2 penalty shootout; Motherwell overcoming a stubborn championship side in Ross County and Dundee United leaving it late to break down Scott Browns Ayr United with goals in the 77th and 89th min. The Ayrshire side can be proud of their display.
 
So comes Sunday and first up Aberdeen who had a morale boosting victory over Championship side Raith Rovers. Fans will be hoping that they can carry this form into the league when they face Livingston at Pittodrie next weekend. The final match of this round paired West of Scotland Premier side Auchinleck Talbot against a rejuvenated Celtic. The visitors ground out a 2 nil victory against a well organised and gritty Talbot who can hold their heads high. Tommy Sloan and his men were written off by everyone but as we’ve seen in football nothing is guaranteed and Celtic struggled at times to break them down. Indeed a wonder goal from Tounekti in the 87th minute was needed to calm Celtic nerves.

Fifth round draw as follows

Aberdeen v Motherwell

Airdrie v St Mirren

Dundee Utd v Spartans

Dunfermline v Kelty Hearts

Stenhousemuir v Falkirk

Rangers v Stranraer/Queens Park

Celtic v Dundee

Elgin v Patrick Thistle

Matches to take place on or around February 7th

🐼 Gary Robertson is the TPQ Scottish football correspondent.

Bookmakers Drive Mercedes, Not Bicycles

Event Announcement 🎤 1916 Societies host Exposing Stakeknife.

Venue: Rath Mor Centre, Blighs Lane.

Date: 31 January 2026

Time: 1800.

Main Speaker: Seamus Kearney.


Exposing Stakeknife To Derry

Barry Gilheany ⚽ It’s the 91st minute at Elland Road in last Saturday’s match versus Fulham.

The first of four minutes of stoppage time; the normal “Fergie” rate, not the absurd double figures generated by such interruptions to the flow of the beautiful game as the granular deliberations of the VAR team; officious, nit picking power holders for whom the description “jobsworth” is perhaps the most charitable. 

A cross by club captain Ethan Ampadou is met with a deft flick volley by substitute Lukas Nmencha into the net for the only goal of what in truth was a drab game of few opportunities. But such aesthetic considerations are no concern of the vast majority of the regulation full house attendance of 36,000 plus, who ecstatically celebrate a vital victory and just our fourth clean sheet of the season. The importance of this win was underlined by West Ham’s stoppage time winner in their Dysfunction Derby at Tottenham. The eight point gap between us and the Hammers who still occupy the final relegation place in the Premiership in twentieth.

Although it would be foolish to declare total safety from the drop, I now feel able to look upwards the table and contemplate a possible rise by one place after next weekend’s series of Premiership fixtures rather than constantly looking over my shoulder at what is behind us. While continuing to look in the rear-view mirror, Leeds United are playing with the fluidity, consistency, and lack of fear of more “illustrious” teams - which augurs well for a second season in the Premier League. These are words I could not have written in the aftermath of our 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa on 23rd November 2025 which confirmed our residence in the bottom three. An away fixture at Manchester City and two home games against Chelsea and Liverpool loomed; doom and gloom shrouded the club, and manager Daniel Farke’s security of tenure was unlikely to survive the outcomes of the likely traumatic trio.

Sure enough at the Etihad, we trailed City two nil at half time, Phil Foden having put them ahead before we had time to draw breath. Frankly, they toyed with us; the margin of their lead at the interval did not reflect their superiority, and apocalyptic thoughts were conjuring up a repeat of the 7-0 (or worse) rout at the Etihad four years previously in the last months of Marcelo Bielsa’s reign. Yet this juncture may well prove to have been one of the most consequential in Leeds United history. Daniel Farke decided to rip up his long preferred tactical formation of a back four and a lone striker to a 3-5-2. He introduced Dominic Calvert-Lewin, an England capped forward signed on a free transfer from Everton during the summer window from Everton but whose recent injury history meant that he had to play fitness catch up for the early months of the season Within minutes of the restart he had scored his second goal for the club with some really deft body swerving and footwork. His partnership with Nmencha began to work like clockwork, the telepathy giving the impression that they were in a long-term partnership. It soon paid dividends as Leeds forced a panicked City to concede a penalty which Nmencha duly scored for his second spot kick of the season. Leeds were playing like a team transformed and another bout of “Cityitis” seemed possible. Never mind that Phil Foden scored again in stoppage time (don’t we love that grace period) to obtain the three points for Chastened City, this was a defeat in name only for Leeds and the last in a run of six losses in seven.

Leeds would proceed to an unbeaten run of seven matches; amassing eleven points from two victories and five draws which has enabled us to build that eight-point safety margin from the drop zone. It ended in chaotic style at Newcastle where we had led on three occasions including two goals from US international Brenden Aaronson whose redemption in the eyes of the fans has been one of the stories of the season at Elland Road only to succumb 4-3 due to a soft penalty in the 91st minute and a winner by another Leeds nemesis Harvey Barnes in the 102nd minute (you read that right; football really is more than a game of two halves these days). Highlights of this run included a 3-1 home win against Chelsea (always a tonic but only a win in the Cup against one of our pantomime villains will ever do); a 4-1 romp over Crystal Palace again at Elland Road and another late, late show at home against Liverpool when a 95th minute volley from Japanese international Ao Tanaka secured a share of the spoils in a 3-3 draw after we had trailed 2-0 and 3-2 in a game where all the goals came in the second half.

For many football writers and commentators, the story of Leeds United’s rejuvenation has been largely that of the rejuvenation of the career of the aforementioned Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has scored eight times in this run to bring his tally to nine which makes him the fourth top scorer in the Premier League at the time of writing. He is the first Leeds player to score in six consecutive top-tier matches since 1959-60. He has widely expected to be given his twelfth England gap this spring by Thomas Tuchel; his 11th having been given in 2021. What a transformation in fortunes for a striker who amassed a mere 12 league goals in his last three years at Goodison Park; a meagre output that is attributable not just to the hamstring injuries that caused him to miss 31 matches in five years but to mental fatigue.[1]

Counter-intuitively, Calvert-Lewin’s missing out on pre-season training proved to be a revelatory moment for him. It enabled him to spend some real quality time with his family; he really enjoyed “pushing my daughter on the swing when other players were in pre-season” – a simple but profound family routine which takes him out of the bubble that football so often is but which recharged his batteries in that it [also] made me realise how much I missed football and that I’m far from finished.”[2].

With his fitness recovered and his physical and mental resilience enhanced, Calvert-Lewin has been transformed “into a lean, mean scoring machine.” This has been enabled by Farke’s shift to a 5-3-2 and a quicker, more direct approach which emphasises his ability to steal a march on markers by invariably sensing the destination of a cross or through pass before the ball is even played.[3] I would also add an ability to hold the ball up and make things happen for fellow attackers in the manner of a previously redeemed Leeds forward, Patrick Bamford.

But Calvert-Lewin is so influential off the pitch as well, possibly never more so during that increasingly totemic half-time confab at Manchester City. Attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson “will never forget what happened at City” with Dom:

laying into everyone, getting everybody going . . . He’s the guy who talks you though training and games, the guy who is there for you after bad games.[4]

But Leeds United’s revival has not just been the Dominic Calvert-Lewin show. Farke’s Damascene conversion to 3-5-2 has enabled other flowers to bloom. Our proficiency from set pieces has been a revelation with all four goals against Palace coming from two corner kicks and two long throws from Ampadou and crucial goals from Jakob Bijol in the win against Chelsea and that leveller by Tanaka against Liverpool. Our defensive flexibility has enabled James Justin, Jayden Bogle, and Gudjohnsen to function as extra attackers with no detriment to their sentry duties as defenders. Farke’s judicious use of substitutions (another former source of fan criticism) has enabled midfielder Ao Tanaka and Italian attacker Willy Gnonto to showcase their talents to their respective countries’ World Cup selectors. Farke has not shied away from difficult squad choices, once again drafting in the experienced Karl Darlow to replace the underperforming Brazilian Lucas Perri between the sticks; just as Ilan Meslier had to be sidelined for last season’s April promotion run in.

The last-minute winner against Fulham was particularly sweet since the fixture at Craven Cottage earlier in the season had resulted in a home win courtesy of a stoppage time own goal by Gudjohnsen which settled a dour, defensive contest similar to Saturday’s proceedings. But both these outcomes as well as the late drama at St James Park and Elland Road involving Liverpool tell us an essential truth about the great but cruel game which fans love and hate in equal measures: What Football Giveth, Football Taketh.

References

[1] Louise Taylor Renaissance man Calvert-Lewin on track for England. Guardian Sport 3 January 2026

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

⏩Barry Gilheany is a freelance writer, qualified counsellor and aspirant artist resident in Colchester where he took his PhD at the University of Essex. He is also a lifelong Leeds United supporter. 

Last Minute Deliverance ⚽ Leeds United Continue To Pull Away From The Danger Zone

Ten links to a diverse range of opinion that might be of interest to TPQ readers. They are selected not to invite agreement but curiosity. Readers can submit links to pieces they find thought provoking.


Lynx By Ten To The Power Of One Thousand Nine Eight Hundred And Fifty Six

 

A Morning Thought @ 3033

Azar Majedi ✊ Three weeks have passed since the beginning of the recent protests in Iran.

This round of protests has grown and expanded rapidly. Many have been killed and injured. With the internet shutdown, it has become very difficult to access the news. The exact number of dead and injured is not reliable from any side. The news from the Islamic regime is as false as the news from the Western media*. The situation is very serious. The eyes of the world are fixed on Iran. Will this round of protests lead to the fall of the Islamic Republic? What options are available to the people?

Right-wing and fascist forces are roaming the Western media. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah of Iran, is being promoted by all sides as the successor to the Islamic regime. The entire propaganda apparatus of Western governments is trying to present Reza Pahlavi to the people as the only practical and acceptable alternative. They are developing various narratives to satisfy every taste. Right-wing forces have been pushed to the front of the stage and are claiming leadership and succession. While holding the flags of the Lion and the Sun (The flag of the old monarchist regime) and Israel, they brazenly attack leftist forces and those opposed to monarchy and fascism. 

In the past few days, news has spread that a number of people have been injured by these thugs. They have already started their assault on people even before coming to power. These thugs are representing their fascist fathers Siaah Jaamegaan (meaning: dressed in black) who roamed the streets of Tehran with knives on the day of CIA coup d’état of 1953. This evil force is openly active outside Iran and clandestinely inside Iran.
 
The excitement of the imminent fall of the Islamic Republic, along with anxiety about the future, dominates the atmosphere. People have come out with all their deep hatred for this criminal regime. Hunger, poverty, repression and crime have exhausted the patience of the people. This is not the first large-scale mass protest in Iran. Especially in recent years, mass protests, workers’ protests and strikes have become an inseparable part of life. Women’s rights movement de facto abolished forced Hejab. The Islamic Republic is trying with all its might to suppress and push back this wave of protests. The battle between the people and the regime is underway with force. It seems that this will be the last battle of the Islamic Republic. However, it should be noted that the fall of the Islamic Regime can take different forms.
 
Several scenarios are emerging. Many dangers threaten the people's movement for freedom, equality, and prosperity. We must recognize the dangers and begin to organise a conscious and radical movement for a revolutionary overthrow of the Islamic Republic. People want to overthrow this bleak and criminal regime and build a free, equal, and prosperous society. Throughout history, many people's efforts have failed. Over the past hundred years, the United States, Britain and the West have organised two coups and a regime change in Iran, and have suppressed the people's wishes and efforts to create a revolution. It seems that this time there is more awareness about the repressive efforts of the United States and the West, led by Israel.
 
The brutal events of the past few decades have opened the eyes of many. The complete destruction of the Middle East, the killing of millions, and the displacement of millions more, has exposed the nefarious plans of the United States and the West to spread destruction and occupation. Meanwhile, Netanyahu, with the full support of the US government and Western ruling class, has been continuing the Palestinian genocide, bombing and occupying the region for more than two years without interruption, and has openly declared that the plan for a new Middle East and a greater Israel is on their table. They are brazenly and openly talking about attacking Iran. More than a thousand people were killed in the previous attack. The plan to bomb Iran, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Sudan, has been on the table of the US and Israel for more than two decades, and the CIA and Mossad are busy advancing it. Especially now, after the US attack on Venezuela and Nigeria and the threat to Cuba and Colombia, the danger seems greater.

"Regime change" or revolutionary overthrow?

This term was coined by George Bush after the attack on Iraq. It refers to the forcible overthrow of unwanted regimes by the US. Two new examples of regime change occurred in Nepal and Bangladesh. Within a few weeks of mass protests, especially by the younger generation, the US changed the ruling regime. This danger also faces the Iranian people. There are various options:

1/ Topple the Islamic regime and restore the old regime headed by the Shah's son. 

In the past hundred years Pahlavi family has been brought into power and removed from it several times by MI6 and CIA. For three years now, they have been launching Reza Pahlavi in ​​various forms; a complete mercenary who has lived a decadent and overabundant life in America for 47 years with the money stolen by his parents. But their problem is that even some CIA and Mossad agents and Trump himself have admitted that he has no chance.

People do not want him. The monarchy, Pahlavi and the old regime have no popularity among the people. American and Israeli mercenaries are trying to bring him to the forefront, but he is not being welcomed by the people. After the summer attack on Iran, Reza Pahlavi has become even more hated. Begging the US and Israel to continue bombing after killing more than a thousand people and attacking Evin prison (for political prisoners) exposed his ugly face even more. The bitter irony is that this arrogant and puppet "prince" declared in a television interview, when asked if he was responsible to call on the people to take to the streets in these dangerous circumstances; he replied: "This is war, and war has a cost!" It means that people are going to pay the cost of this war with their lives so that this gentleman, who is sitting comfortably in the safety of his palace, can come and sit on the throne of power.

The ex- moderate Islamists, who used to passionately defend the regime and just ask for some crumbs have now turned against the regime and joined the other fascist camp, the US alternative. Among them, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi is now calling for US military intervention with a similar argument. Such bitter irony, Shirin Ebadi, similar to Maria Corina Machado, presented her prize to the Islamic president of the time, Ayatollah Khatami and offered to kiss his hand. Reza Pahlavi and the right-wing fascists have no chance among the people, unless they are imposed upon the people by force of bombs.

2/ Creating a dark scenario in Iran similar to Iraq, Libya or Syria is another dangerous and disastrous option that has been explicitly defended before and is still on the US agenda. 

Balkanising Iran, organising and arming groups of mercenaries under the names of different nationalities, Kurds, Turks, Baluchis and Arabs is another project that Netanyahu is explicitly talking about. Mustafa Hejri, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan of Iran, said in an interview with CBS News that he hopes the United States will intervene; specifically, attacks against Iran that:

target the centres of the repressive forces that shoot people in the streets, as well as the so-called judicial institutions affiliated with the regime. We want to see the destruction of these institutions.

Regarding military action, Hejri said that “the time has not yet come, especially after President Trump backed down on his threats to intervene in Iran." Abdullah Muhtadi, a Kurdish fascist nationalist, has officially called on the US and Israel to attack Iran. These mercenaries must be exposed and isolated with vigilance.

3/ “Internal coup” is another option. 

Negotiations underway behind the scenes are likely to explore this possibility. Regime change from within with the direct role of a part of the Pasdaran and the army by eliminating the mullahs and declaring an alternative regime.

Revolutionary overthrow is the only popular option.

The overthrow of the Islamic Republic by an organised mass of people and the seizure of power by the people is the only way that can change the situation in favour of the people. We must focus on this option and prepare and organise ourselves for it. We must not allow the hope of the people to turn into despair and death, as happened in 1979. The Islamic Republic was put in power in Iran by the US, the CIA, the Mossad, and MI6 and ruined a great revolution. We must not allow history to repeat itself.

Is the danger of regime change real?

A few facts are enough to expose America’s goals. In addition to the brazen and frank statements by Trump and Netanyahu regarding the attack and bombing, former CIA Director and former US Secretary of State Mark Pompeo tweeted a few days ago, "Happy New Year to the protesters in Iran and the Mossad agents who walk alongside them!" He could not have spoken more clearly about the interference and sabotage of Mossad agents. Israeli media is openly talking about the necessity of attacking Iran, and Israel's interference. They are openly declaring that Iran must be destroyed like Syria. And it was recently leaked that Israel has spent a lot of money creating fake accounts on social media to promote Reza Pahlavi.

US and Israel do not hide their determined intention to directly interfere in Iran and create a regime change. For example, one can ask: who gave permission to Masih Alinejad who is a CIA mercenary, to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly on behalf of people of Iran? Has anyone asked the people whether they accept Masih Alinejad, Reza Pahlavi, and other puppets who have lined up to serve America, or not? The US and its allies are practically fabricating leaders. However their attempts have failed over the past three years. People do not want these mercenaries. People do not want another dictatorship, another system of oppression like the past three regimes of the last century. People want freedom, equality, justice and prosperity.

Foreign aid

This mercenary and fascist opposition and some people out of desperation talk about the need for foreign aid. What does foreign aid mean? A solidarity movement of the people of the world or aid from foreign governments, which one? It is clear that the Iranian people need international solidarity. But this “foreign aid” demanded by the rightwing forces is aimed at foreign governments. After the bloody history of occupations, destruction, coups, wars and regime changes by the US and the Western NATO governments, does anyone still have the illusion that these governments are acting in the interests of the Iranian people? We do not need to look at the history of the past several hundred years. The history of the past thirty years is enough to show us that looking to foreign aid means destroying the revolutionary uprising and the future of freedom that it promises. Strong wills, determination, perseverance, awareness, solidarity and organisation are our only tools. No revolutionary movement can achieve victory by relying on and alliance with the powers of force, repression and reaction.

We must try with all our might to prepare the people and society for a vital and serious battle to overthrow the Islamic Republic and neutralise the evil threats and plans of America, Israel, and the West. People are facing two terrifying and criminal enemies. We must note that the enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend. The Islamic Republic and American imperialism are both enemies of the people. Defending one because of hostility to the other is the greatest socio-political mistake. The people of the world have suffered great losses throughout history for such political mistakes. Despair can throw people into the arms of regime change. Excessive pressure on the people, hunger and poverty, repression, and killing, especially with the intensity and speed that is currently taking place in society, must be confronted with mass awareness and organisation. We are living in a historic, serious, and decisive moment.

* Especially over the past two years, the mainstream media in the West has lost a lot of credibility. A large part of the people have realised their lies and hypocrisy. The genocide in Palestine was the final nail in the coffin of the media. Lies and severe censorship have dominated news about the killing of Palestinians. This censorship has also exposed the double standards, hypocrisy and deep racism that dominate the media, i.e. the mouthpiece of the ruling class. There is no trust in these media. Moreover, the charities that report on Iran are based in the US and the West.
⏩ Asar Majed is a Member of Hekmatist Party leadership & Chairperson of Organisation for Women’s Liberation.

People In A Bloody Battle With The Islamic Republic Of Iran 🪶 Crocodile Tears Of The West And United States

People And Nature ☭ Paintings and sculptures of breathtaking beauty and power, reflecting the explosive social transformations of Africa’s most populous nation, are on show in the Nigerian Modernism exhibition at the Tate Modern gallery.

22-December-2025

Nigerian artists, both before and after independence from the British empire in 1960, fused artistic traditions of the Fulani-Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and other Nigerian peoples with European art forms that the colonial power brought.

An untitled art work (1969), using oil paint and beads, by Jimoh Buraimoh.
His work reflected traditional beaded cloaks, staffs and crowns from Yorubaland,
where beads are sacred and used in worshipping deities

The results are dazzling, bringing sights of crowded, chaotic Nigerian cities and glimpses of cultural traditions to London, the imperial metropole. Sobering, too, where artists grappled with the pain of civil war and the trials of “development”.

Unlike many art galleries, the Tate Modern has loads of space. All the exhibits have room to breathe. The exhibition, which includes photos, films and documents as well as painting and sculpture, has been well curated.

I am no art critic, so here are a few bits from the information boards on display:

Nigerian modernism was not a single movement, but a variety of responses to the country’s shifting cultural and political identity. Nigeria was established as a British colony in 1914. By this time, prosperous African kingdoms and societies had been profoundly altered by decades of military campaigns and colonial exploitation.

Under British rule, artists continued to find innovative ways to express their own ideas, histories and imaginations. They embraced and rebelled against the colonial education system. Some created their own art societies and curriculums, while others travelled abroad in search of professional opportunities.

Below are my (amateur) photos of some of the exhibits I was most impressed by.

The first one is not an art work at all, but a photo that’s worth a thousand words about colonialism: the King of Benin, Oba Ovonramwen, in British captivity after the brutal invasion of Benin City in 1897. The Oba (“supreme being”) of the Benin Kingdom, is shackled, and guarded by two Hausa soldiers.

I have included two paintings by Ben Enwonwu (1917-1994), the first African modernist to gain international recognition. In the 1950s, Enwonwu worked as an art advisor to Nigeria’s colonial government, but recognised the constraints that colonialism placed on artistic expression.

He told the First International Congress of Negro Writers and Artists in Paris in 1956 that “when a country is suppressed by another politically, the native traditions of the art of the suppressed begin to die out”. His art sought to push back.

There’s a big section of the exhibition devoted to the Zaria Art Society, founded in 1958 at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology at Zaria in north-west Nigeria – and I’ve taken a photo of a painting by Jimo Akolo (1934-2023) who belonged to it.

The Zaria college’s courses largely disregarded African art, and the society came together to resist this Eurocentrism, to champion Pan-Africanism and – in the words of a manifesto written when independence was declared in 1960 – to create “a new culture for a new society”.

If you’re in London, or anywhere nearby, please do your best to get to the exhibition, which continues until May 2026. It’s not cheap – £18, with a £5 deal available for 16-25s – but you won’t be disappointed.

Obo Ovonramwen N’Ogbaisi on board the British yacht Ivy, on his way into exile in Calabar (1897).
Photo by Jonathan Adagogo Green (1873-1905)


Tutu (1974) by Ben Enwonwu, one of a series of three
portraits of Yoruba women of royal Ife lineage

Odu Women (1990) by Ben Enwonwu


Fulani Horsemen (1962) by Jimo Akolo, a member of the Zaria Art Society who drew
inspiration from Fulani, Hausa and Islamic art and architecture in northern Nigeria


Will Knowledge Safeguard Freedom (1985), by Uzo Egonu. The Tate Modern’s caption said that: “For Egonu, the challenges of modern nation-building across Africa were a source of deep anxiety and sorrow. His composition presents figures engaged in a range of activities. A ladder stands within reach yet remains unused, implying that advanced is available to humanity only through the pursuit of knowledge”

Beyond the Hills at Sundown (1991), by Tayo Adenaike (born 1954), a member of the Nsukka School of artists
formed at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70


🔴This is likely to be my last post of the year. Best wishes for 2026 to all who are reading.

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Beauty And Power In Nigerian Modernism

Dr John Coulter ✍ With elected Lagan Valley MLA Robbie Butler deciding not to contest the Ulster Unionist Party leadership against co-opted North Antrim MLA and ex-top cop Jon Burrows, questions are now being raised about the future direction of so-called moderate or liberal Unionism.

With the Burrows leadership coronation set for Saturday 31st January in a Belfast hotel, the strong perception is that the once supposedly middle of the road pro-Union UUP is set to shift to the right-wing and develop a much closer co-operation with both the DUP and TUV in time for the May 2027 Assembly and council elections.

Butler, a born again Christian, a former deacon in an Elim Pentecostal Church and a veteran of both the Prison Service and Fire Service, was somehow viewed as being from the liberal wing of the party conceived politically by the late David Trimble, one of the key UUP architects of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Currently the UUP’s deputy leader, Butler was seen as a continuation of a team of radical moderate leaders, such as outgoing leader Mike Nesbitt, Steve Aiken of South Antrim, and South Antrim MP Robin Swann.

Butler and Co had recognised the significance of the electoral threat posed to the UUP by the rise of the Alliance Party, especially under the latter’s leadership of Naomi Long, the former East Belfast MP, and particularly when Long took the UUP’s European seat in 2019 in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum - a seat the UUP had held since 1979.

The perception is that the Burrows camp wants to expose Alliance 2026 for what it really is ideologically - a soft r republican party and a key component politically of the pan nationalist front along with Sinn Fein and the SDLP.

That perception is that Alliance is no longer the soft u Unionist party it was under the leadership of Presbyterian minister’s son Lord John Alderdice. The Burrows camp is taking the view that many in the moderate pro-Union community voted for Alliance because they mistakenly saw Alliance as a genuine middle of the road, centrist, liberal movement.

The Burrows strategy would be to build closer ties with other Unionist parties to conceive the ideological alternative to the pan nationalist front - namely a pan unionist front.

This could inevitably lead to a realignment within the pro-Union community party-wise into two movements - a socially conservative, right-wing organisation comprising the right-wing of the UUP, the DUP and TUV, and a liberal Unionist movement comprising pro-Union folk who had once voted Alliance plus the liberals within the existing UUP.

The right-wing shift in the current UUP grassroots is further emphasised by the inevitability that Butler will be replaced as deputy leader by co-opted Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Diana Armstrong, the daughter of former UUP leader and Fermanagh and South Tyrone Westminster MP the late Harry West.

In terms of membership, the border regions of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, which suffered terribly during the Troubles, boasts a handsome UUP contingent.

Indeed, anyone wanting to win the UUP leadership via a contest would more than likely need the vast bulk of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone membership to be assured of victory.

Such was the late Harry West’s influence in the UUP that a pressure group, known as the West Ulster Unionist Council, held as much political clout within the party as the right-wing pressure group, the Ulster Monday Club.

The so-called Burrows/Armstrong ‘dream team’ is the UUP grassroots’ high stakes gamble to revive the party’s electoral fortunes come May 2027.

But what about the tens of thousands of moderate Unionists who defected electorally to Alliance? How can they be won back into the UUP camp, especially among new first time voters and young people? And what about the tens of thousands of apathetic potential pro-Union voters who have abandoned the ballot box completely? How can they be energised to vote UUP?

Liberal moderate Unionism does not have an impressive track record electorally. In the Seventies, the pro-Assembly Unionists spearheaded by the late former Northern Ireland Prime Minister Brian Faulkner were consistently trounced at the ballot box by the combined strength of the UUP, DUP and Vanguard under the banner of the Unionist Coalition.

Faulkner then launched his own middle of the road party, the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (UPNI), which was making slow but steady inroads into the centrist pro-Union voter base until Faulkner’s tragic and untimely death in 1977 in a horse riding incident.

While the current UUP is to the fore in promoting Diana Armstrong as a female deputy leader, it should not be forgotten that Mrs Anne Dickson replaced Faulkner as UPNI leader after his death.

Put bluntly, after the Burrows coronation later this month, could liberal Unionists like Butler and his ilk see the increasingly right-wing leaning direction of the UUP as too bitter a political pill to swallow and leave to form a new moderate pro-Union movement in any Unionist realignment?

The same could also be said of the Alliance Party between those who are middle of the road ideologically, but pro-Union constitutionally, and those in Alliance who are left-wing ideologically and would favour Irish Unity. If the former faction defected or split from Alliance and joined with the liberal UUP faction, could a rebirth of the UPNI be on the cards?

Skeptics may point to the fate of another liberal pro-Union experiment which crashed and burned electorally before it had even left the runway - the short-lived NI21 party formed by two former liberal UUP MLAs, Basil McCrea of Lagan Valley and John McCallister of South Down.

One criticism that was made of the late Lord Trimble in that whilst he was a tremendous political visionary in Unionism, he moved too far forward tactically without bringing Unionism’s grassroots with him. In the end, it was his undoing in the Upper Bann constituency as Westminster MP.

Since announcing his nomination for the UUP leadership, Burrows has been outlining his vision for Unionism. His challenge will be not to make the same mistake as Trimble. Burrows will need to carry the pro-Union grassroots with him as he develops his vision of Unionist co-operation.

But in doing so, he will have to bring middle of the road Unionists with him otherwise the UUP will see large scale voting, not for Alliance, but for a new look UPNI. However, the electoral clock is ticking. May 2027 will soon come around.
 
Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
John is a Director for Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. 

Ghost Of UPNI Could Haunt Burrows’ Coronation

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of One Thousand Nine Eight Hundred And Fifty Five

 

A Morning Thought @ 3032

Anthony McIntyre 🔖 Half a century on from its inception, the blanket protest continues to spawn literature. 


Armagh republican Malachy Trainor spent many years on the protest, having joined it in 1977, and is the author of a number of published poetry works reviewed on TPQ by Tommy McKearney and myself. His prison experience has made its way into the literary world courtesy of a book by Siobhan Hughes.

In I Only Went Out For The Paper, the author admits that because of the trauma in Malachy's life, his story has been hard to tell. She found it challenging to work with a subject who is 'reluctantly dodging traditional paths to speak openly about events in his life.' Malachy Trainor acknowledges that at times he can sound evasive and deliver one-sided thoughts but there is no suggestion here that he is seeking to obfuscate and lay a false trail. He simply finds it difficult to engage and communicate the hardships he endured. 

Siobhan Hughes despite a refreshing bluntness has likely peered through a tinged lens in seeing a man whom the blanket protest 'has broken . . . physically and mentally.' In rightfully seeking to convey the trauma of the elongated prison protest, the author's assertion that Malachy Trainor was broken by it would not chime with the view of others. The arduous stance by the protesting prisoners without question left scars that can run very deep in some cases, even if they are worn with pride. Muffles, as he was known in the H Blocks, refers to suffering from post traumatic stress, yet his writing - in which he seeks to shun sugarcoating - has secured for him a creative victory over a punitive penal system that denied even pens and pencils in its failed bid to extinguish even the tiniest spark of creativity.

Sent out one morning in 1968 by his father on an errand to buy a paper, he was confronted by the hatred that came to be known as Paisleyism. The experience kickstarted his political odyssey, beginning with People’s Democracy, a left wing body. He was:

hooked by the civil rights movement, the expression of socialism ran like a wave through my veins . . . civil rights, socialism, republicanism and the INLA.

Hence, there is no puzzle that he would end up an INLA prisoner rather than an IRA one. The INLA would have within its ranks a considerably higher number of people inclined towards socialism than would be seen within IRA ranks, although within the prison both sets of prisoners embraced left wing ideas with gusto. While the INLA at times was not beyond the reach of sectarianism Muffles had an aversion to it. He rued that people like the late Brendan McFarlane, who led the protesting prisoners during the hunger strikes,  carried out violence against the Unionist community rather than exclusively against the British. 

Yet oddly for a blanketman at the coal face of resisting criminalisation he refers to the killings of Narrow Water Paratroopers as indiscriminate murder. That is a description better applied to the Paras of Bloody Sunday than the IRA volunteers who mercilessly settled the score in response to the Derry war crime. Furthermore, his description of the hunger strike as a 'horrific suicide' is likely to jar with most of those who wore the blanket alongside him. 

No book about the blanket protest is worth the paper it is written on if it fails to mention the prison staff violence. Siobhan Hughes does not spare the reader the detail. Some screws were so brutal that Malachy Trainor still cannot bring himself to talk about them, while pointing out the terror and fear that they brought. 

For a time he shared a cell with Brendan Hughes adjacent to the one holding Bobby Sands, and they often sang together. He refers to the nightly strategising by Brendan and Bobby, speaking to each other through the channel along which the heating pipes ran from cell to cell. Eventually released in 1983 Malachy Trainor settled into a cultural existence, pursuing his interests in music, singing, poetry, playwriting and reading.

Works in this genre add threads to the tapestry that helps readers understand the intensity of the blanket protest. and the determination with which it was prosecuted. The book, while informative, poses a difficulty in that a failure to always identify whether it is the voice of the author or that of Malachy Trainor that is narrating, leads to a certain confusion. In ways it makes its own case for the application of an editorial ruthlessness unfortunately lacking in the work.

As the narrative moves towards its conclusion Muffles says:

I have no regrets, just a memory of sorts, some people don't even have that. Some people never had a chance. I was lucky in that respect.

The reader is lucky too that Siobhan Hughes, despite the resistance, has coaxed a seasoned but often silent blanketman, Malachy Trainor, out of his personal quietude and intellectual solitude. Not for the first time the thoughts and experiences of this quiet and reflective soul have found expression in the literary world. That is truly a victory for the blanketmen.

Siobhan Hughes, 2025, I only went out for the paper: Memoirs of an Irish Republican Prisoner. Publisher: Nielsons. ISBN-13: ‎978-1836545194

⏩Follow on Bluesky.

I Only Went Out For The Paper

Raw Story ★ Written by David McAfee. Recommended by Christy Walsh.

MAGA allies sounded the alarm over the weekend, with one Trump-associated attorney issuing a panicked plea to Senate Republicans.

It started when Curtis Houck of Newsbusters, which purports to "expose and combat liberal media bias," reported on a video of a liberal political commentator giving her views on what Democrats should do once they finally retake power.

"The blue tsunami means that Congress is going to haul Elon Musk, Big Balls, and a bunch of other peoples' a-- in front, and say what kind of crimes did you commit?" said actress and podcaster Jennifer Welch. "I think they commit crimes every day."

Houck flagged the segment insisting on "accountability," and said Welch "— an influential Democrat podcast — promises mass prosecutions of President Trump, Republicans writ large if Democrats retake power because that will be the only way to achieve true national reconciliation."

"Jim Acosta adds Supreme Court seats must be added if Democrats retake Congress in November so Donald Trump could be hauled off to jail," Houck added when posting the interview between Acosta and Welch.

Continue @ Raw Story.

'Trump Could Be Hauled Off To Jail' 🪶 MAGA Allies Issue Panicked Plea To GOP Lawmakers

Friendly Atheist ★ The bigotry revealed how some people would rather listen to Nick Fuentes than Jesus.

It’s always helpful when racists out themselves.

That’s what a right-wing extremist named Mike—a Groyper and Catholic—did recently when he announced to the world that he refused to accept the Eucharist at church because it was being distributed by an Indian woman. Instead, he walked over to a different line headed up by a white priest because he assumed it was cleaner.

Okay. Well, I did a bad thing in Church today.

I refused to receive the Eucharist from an Indian woman. I was supposed to go to her. She was in my aisle, but across the Church was the white priest, so I walked across all the pews and received it from him, for fear that I might get fecal matter on my Eucharist, receiving it from an Indian woman.

Plus, I’m not gonna receive it from anyone who’s non-white. Sorry.

Considering what’s happening in the U.S. and in the world with our replacement, I’m not doing that.

I guess I’ll go confess this to my priest. But I’ll continue doing it. That’s the compromise.

Continue @ Friendly Atheist.

A Catholic Racist Refused The Eucharist From An Indian Woman 🪶 Then Bragged About It Online

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