A Conversation with DUP Jeffrey Donaldson – Episode 19

Jeffrey Donaldson DUP smilingThis week we sit down with the DUP member Jeffrey Donaldson discussing topics such as Brexit, North-South relations, Boris Johnson, a potential Irish Unity referendum & need for a “Truth & Reconciliation” process. We also discuss the DUP’s confidence and supply deal with the British Conservatives under Boris Johnson.

Jeffrey Donaldson also puts himself in the shoes of the Irish Government, and addresses reports that Nortern ireland is one of the poorest regions in the UK, and the NHS is a shadow of its former self.

You can follow Jeffrey on his Twitter profile here.

Jeffrey Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a politician and Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley representing the Democratic Unionist Party. He is best known for his opposition to Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader David Trimble during the Northern Ireland peace process, especially from 1998 to 2003. He is Northern Ireland’s longest-serving current MP.

In 1998 Donaldson was in the Ulster Unionists’ negotiating team for the Good Friday Agreement. However, he walked out of the delegation at the end of the negotiations in protest at some of the arrangements, notably the lack of a link between Sinn Féin’s admittance to government and IRA decommissioning. In March 2019, Donaldson was one of 21 MPs who voted against LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education in English schools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Conversation with Senator David Norris – Episode 14

Senator David Norris image.We had the pleasure to sit down with Senator David Norris who discusses with us his early life, the equal marriage referendum, decline of the Roman Catholic Church, taking Ireland to the European court of Human Rights, and more.

You can check out David’s Twitter here.

You can listen to the bonus podcast here.

David Patrick Bernard Norris (born 31 July 1944) is an Irish scholar, independent Senator and civil rights activist. Internationally, Norris is credited with having “managed, almost single-handedly, to overthrow the anti-homosexuality law which brought about the downfall of Oscar Wilde”, a feat he achieved in 1988 after a fourteen-year campaign. He has also been credited with being “almost single-handedly responsible for rehabilitating James Joyce in once disapproving Irish eyes”.

Norris is a former university lecturer and a member of the Oireachtas, serving in Seanad Éireann since 1987. He was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland. A founder of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, he is also a prominent member of the Church of Ireland.

He was a candidate for President of Ireland in the October 2011 election. He topped numerous opinion polls and was favourite among members of the Irish public for the position but withdrew from the race months before the election, before returning to the race in September 2011.

 

 

 

 

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