Author Archives: Gerry Lynch

Two Ceasefires and A Coming Out: A Memoir

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Cross-posted at Slugger O’Toole… I’ve been thinking about coming out. There have been a few horror stories doing the rounds recently: Vicky Beeching’s harrowing life and those of Lyra McKee’s friends. It’s made me think about how it was for me, all those … Continue reading →

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Is Paddy Ashdown right? Is it time for an end to Sykes-Picot?

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Paddy Ashdown had an unusually courageous article in the Guardian on Thursday calling for the West to accept that the 1920s-era boundaries of Middle Eastern countries should be redrawn. Courageous doesn’t mean sensible. How does his argument stack up? “This … Continue reading →

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Nobody loves themselves a conspiracy theory anywhere in the world like they love themselves one in the Middle East

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

The latest conspiracy theory doing the rounds in the Middle East: ISIS is a front established by the USA to legitimise a reinvasion of Iraq, and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is actually a Jewish actor called Shimon Eliot. (Of … Continue reading →

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BBC News Report – Good Friday Agreement Referendum Results

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

BBC News report from referendum results day 1998. A very youthful me briefly appears in in the background 34 seconds in. Paisley being a bad tempered bad loser in denial is particularly choice. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORZDh30BYLw&w=560&h=315]

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Feast of the Transfiguration: Thousands Face Death on the Mountain

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

#Yezidi refugees from #Shingal. Children, women and old people without water, food and safety! #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/RhqhbmmWLg — êzîdîPress (@EzidiPress) August 3, 2014 Mountains are somewhere apart from the mainstream of the world. They are often gorgeous, above the general fray … Continue reading →

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Interesting posts: autism, WW1, threats to liberal democracy, Iran

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Some great writing around at the moment, too much to keep up with sometimes. Here’s some of the best. The Kids Who Beat Autism – New York Times I always worry about articles like this giving false hope to people. … Continue reading →

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Iraqi Christians in Parliament Square

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

I attended the national demonstration on the persecution of Iraqi Christians in Parliament Square, London on Saturday 26 July. There was a large turnout of Iraqi and other Middle Eastern Christians, a healthy and welcome presence of Iraqi Muslims, a … Continue reading →

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Prisoners of Conscience on St John the Baptist’s Day

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gxMq7s0ELE I always had a good appetite as a child, getting stuck into seconds and more whenever I had the chance. My mother, observing this, would often remark, “Son, you’d eat the head of John the Baptist.” John the Baptist’s … Continue reading →

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Why is Cathedral Evensong Growing and What Does It Mean?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

This piece appeared in the May-June 2014 edition of Salisbury Cathedral News I’ve always preferred the intimate parish church community to a cathedral’s grandeur. I came to mature faith in Belfast’s city centre parish of St. George’s, walking past the … Continue reading →

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The Good Samaritan Visits North Belfast

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

And, behold, a certain pastor stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love … Continue reading →

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