Five years post-Irisgate

Cartoon of Iris and Peter Robinson by Ian Knox

Five years after the Iris Robinson scandal it is worth looking back on what the Irish-descended, English born, American blogger Andrew Sullivan wrote about the scandal: 

"The fusion of religion and politics and the use of Biblical authority to strip other people of civil rights is not, of course, unique to America. In Northern Ireland, for example, sectarian conflict was accompanied by incredibly repressive attitudes toward sexual minorities and women. When I went on Ulster television for "Virtually Normal" in 1995, it was the first ever broadcast across Northern Ireland dealing specifically with the homosexual question. They invited ten openly gay people to be in the studio audience, and only three had the balls to show up. And so it is not that surprising that a leading politician in Ulster would respond to a brutal gay-bashing by criticizing the attack but adding that she nonetheless believed that homosexuality was an "abomination" and made her feel "sick" and "nauseous". She believed that sexual orientation could be cured by psychiatry. She argued that:

Ian Knox speaks with The Detail

Barry McCaffrey (@Barry_TheDetail) with Ian Knox, in full here.

Barry McCaffrey (@Barry_TheDetail) interviewed the famous political cartoonist Ian Knox on behalf of the Detail here. I took a selection of screen shots from the interview which includes Ian at work and some of his cartoons.

Pictures of Ian and I drawing together here. My coverage of Ian Knox's December 2013 exhibition, 'Lifelines and Deadlines' here. A previous blog post with a selection of photos of Ian Knox here. My article here on why we need to do more to promote and widen the reach of the work of Ian Knox and why we need an Ian Knox prize to encourage satire and political cartooning; like the Herb Block foundation which is funded with $50 million to be bequeathed to:

"encourage the art of editorial cartooning and to support charitable and educational programs that help promote and support the causes he championed."

We need this in Northern Ireland and Ireland. Click below to see a selection of photos of Ian during his interview with The Detail:

Ian Knox - Lifelines and Deadlines

Above is Ian Knox at the opening of his exhibition, 'Lifelines and Deadlines'. You can read my preview on Slugger O'Toole here. Also see my blog post with pictures of Ian at work here. Pictures of Ian and I drawing together here. Another blog post on Ian Knox's cartoons on loyalism here. The Irish news reported on the exhibition here and said:

Irish News cartoonist Ian Knox was last night praised for his "gift of finding the perfect illustration" as an exhibition showcasing decades of his life's work was launched in Belfast. His "original way of seeing things" has seen him produce works of art spanning several decades and last night his drawings went on show in a rare solo exhibition. From newspaper cartoons to material featured on TV, as well as book and magazine illustrations, a wide variety of his original work is on display for the first time. 

The 'Lifelines and Deadlines' exhibition opened at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast last night and was attended by a host of artists, journalists and politicians. The month-long exhibition showcases the 70-year-old's award-winning work, spanning several decades.

Live drawing with Ian Knox

I had the great honour of drawing with the Northern Ireland treasure Ian Knox at the Black Box Belfast during the Belfast Comedy Festival. My blog post with photos of Ian Knox here. Check out above and below some images of me drawing with my great cartooning hero Ian Knox!

Ian Knox & Brian Spencer hard at work on our wall comic strip. Looking good pic.twitter.com/Ldj2yVedLE
— Belly Laughs Belfast (@BellyLaughsB) October 6, 2013

Ian Knox in photos

I'm a huge, huge fan of Ian Knox (on UK Comic Wiki here). He is the esteemed local artist, political cartoonist and Northern Ireland treasure who has been cutting swathes into politicians for decades. He worked for comic strips in the 70's and 80's and in 1989 became editorial cartoonist at the Irish News, a position he has held ever since. Ian Knox is the one who calls out ignorance, apathy, corruption, fraud, prejudice, superstition wherever he sees it, in a way that simply no one else can. 

His strength is his vintage. With it comes wisdom and wit. But his vintage is also his weakness. With it comes a large degree of digital illiteracy. The end of this is that there is scant coverage of him or his works online. Though he does have a newsprint sales web portal here. 

With that in mind, this blog post is the first in a series of a larger effort that will hopefully raise the profile and presence of Ian Knox online. Immediately below if a self-portrait of Ian Knox, and further below is a selection of Ian Knox at work. I hope you enjoy.

A catholic party for catholic people

Patrick Murphy wrote in the Irish News:

"By representing only nationlists, you [Sinn Fein] have abandoned the Protestant people to unionism - which is more Daniel O'Connell than Wolfe Tone. You speak of a lack of leadership among unionists - but your lack of leadership towards what should be your own Protestant people is even more marked. (Critics of the newly formed republicans - they were just Catholics with guns. The same argument today would suggest that they are now just Catholics.)"

He continued: "An Ireland united, not by a common concept of nationhood, but by deprivation. That's why we thought you might like to reconsider your position in Irish politics." As Dr Cillian McGrattan said elsewhere, "Sinn Fein reaching out to unionism strategy is a nonsense."

The same can be said for the status quo unionist parties. Alex Kane has written of the political dangers of apathy and indifference to non-traditional voters. He said: "The Assembly cannot survive if unionist/nationalist parties refuse to accept that they have responsibilities to both sides - not just their own."