Northern Ireland Assembly Collapses

The current political crisis at the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the possibility of a collapse of that institution if the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein, are unable to resolve their differences over the transfer of Policing and Justice, again raises the possibility of Direct Rule from Westminster.

The first imposition of Direct Rule occurred on March 1972, and continued for the next 27 years, with the exception of five months in 1974.

The cartoon below, by Dan ÓNéill, was published by the Civil Rights movement while ÓNéill was on a visit to Ireland in 1972, as Stormont was stood down.

Dan has granted Soñar permission to publish his ODD BODKINS cartoon strip.

ODD BODKINS ON Soñar. Vol. 2 No. 1





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© Dan ÓNéill

Thirty years ago Hugh Daniel ÓNéill was described as, “an innovator, a creator and a professional troublemaker” in a foreword to a collection of Odd Bodkins. For seven years his Odd Bodkins cartoons ran daily in The San Francisco Chronicle and in 350 other newspapers throughout the world. At its peak, the strip had a readership of fifty million. When he was hired at age 21 —the youngest cartoonist ever hired by a national syndicate— he was given three simple rules: no religion, no politics and no sex in the strip. He did his best to comply — he kept sex out of Odd Bodkins. For further information on ÓNéill.
http://www.danoneillcomics.com/
http://origsix.com/index.asp