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Brian Pelan

@brianone.bsky.social
1.1K followers 692 following 299 posts

VIEWdigital editor (www.VIEWdigital.org) and a member of the National Union of Journalists. We report on social affairs issues. Past issues of our magazine VIEW can be read at - viewdigital.org/category/magazines

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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I’ve just finished reading @danielhewittitv.bsky.social new book, Left To Rot, which is about the appalling housing crisis in Britain. A must-read for anyone interested in how social housing was decimated by successive government policies. I’ll be reviewing it for @viewdigital.bsky.social
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Review – From humble dishwasher to culinary pirate, Tony takes us back to the early days of Anthony Bourdain - viewdigital.org/review-from-... - showing at @queensfilmtheatre.bsky.social from Friday, August 14
viewdigital.org
Review – From humble dishwasher to culinary pirate, Tony takes us back to the early days of Anthony Bourdain - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan I read Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain several years ago. One memorable moment was when the author talked about how hi...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Review: Thumbs up for independent journalism as the work of Amy Goodman is highlighted in Steal This Story, Please! - viewdigital.org/review-thumb... - @democracynow.org @docsireland.bsky.social @queensfilmtheatre.bsky.social
viewdigital.org
Review: Thumbs up for independent journalism as the work of Amy Goodman is highlighted in Steal This Story, Please! - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan at the Docs Ireland festival Journalist Amy Goodman is persistent in her questioning of her subjects. An early scene in Steal This Story, Please! shows her dogged pur...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Fantastic turnout at today’s anti-racism rally at Belfast City Hall
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
‘I feel like they hate me’ – black GCSE student speaks out as racist riots in Belfast disrupt school exams - viewdigital.org/i-feel-like-...
viewdigital.org
'I feel like they hate me’ – black GCSE student speaks out as racist riots in Belfast disrupt school exams  - VIEWdigital
By Claire Njanina Parents of black students sitting GCSEs and A-levels have spoken about difficult decisions regarding school attendance due to fears for their safety. It comes amid ongoing unrest fol...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
PPR and Anaka Women’s Collective tell of their horror over spate of racist attacks in Belfast - viewdigital.org/ppr-and-anak...
viewdigital.org
PPR and Anaka Women's Collective tell of their horror over spate of racist attacks - VIEWdigital
The Practice and Participation of Rights (PPR) and Anaka Women’s Collective have said they are horrified at the scenes of racist violence that have taken place across Belfast and other parts of Northe...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Trade unionists held a rally today outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in opposition to the recent spate of racist attacks. They also urged support for the anti-racism protest at Belfast City Hall on Saturday, June 13, at 1pm. Read our report and video - viewdigital.org/trade-union-...
viewdigital.org
Trade union NIPSA calls for working class unity to oppose racism in Northern Ireland - VIEWdigital
Hundreds of trade unionists held a rally today (June 11) outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast to voice their opposition to the spate of recent racist attacks. The protest, supported by membe...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Book your free ticket for a film that highlights the voices of migrant women - viewdigital.org/book-your-fr...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
‘I was the one who kept showing up. I was the one who kept going, even when things were hard. I was the one who made the changes, took the risks, and chose a different path in life’ - viewdigital.org/i-was-the-on...
viewdigital.org
'I was the one who kept showing up. I was the one who kept going, even when things were hard. I was the one who made the changes, took the risks, and chose a different path in life' - VIEWdigital
Thirty-two-year-old Kerry Crockett, the Health and Well-Beng Project Co-Ordinator at the Shankill Women’s Centre, tells how a phone call led to her life of struggle being totally transformed Do you be...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Review: Among Communists by Sinead Morrissey – An engaging, humourous portrayal of growing up among the party faithful - viewdigital.org/review-among...
viewdigital.org
Review: Among Communists – An engaging, humourous portrayal of growing up among the party faithful - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan I would have loved to have heard the thoughts of my late father, Joseph Pelan, on the new memoir Among Communists by poet Sinead Morrisey. Both my dad and the author’...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Shankill Women’s Centre to take part in Belfast Marathon to raise awareness of violence against women and girls - viewdigital.org/shankill-wom...
viewdigital.org
Shankill Women's Centre to take part in Belfast Marathon to raise awareness of violence against women and girls - VIEWdigital
Catherine Ferrin (above), Greater north Belfast Women’s Network coordinator, tells of new online campaign called #May1 This year, 10 of our staff members at the Shankill Women’s Centre are taking on t...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Comment: Our Emergency Departments are in crisis. The death of a man in a fire at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast should be a huge wake-up call - viewdigital.org/comment-our-...
viewdigital.org
Comment: Our Emergency Departments are in crisis. The death of a man in a fire at the RVH should be a huge wake-up call - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan Last Tuesday (21 April), I spent more than nine hours in the Emergency Department (ED) at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Belfast. After 10 to 12 days of feeling...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Comment: Ulster University ‘recently lauded as University of the Year has now become the seat of a climate of fear’ - viewdigital.org/ulster-unive...
viewdigital.org
Comment: Ulster University 'recently lauded as University of the Year has now become the seat of a climate of fear' - VIEWdigital
Lecturer Aisling O’Beirn (above), a member of the Ulster University branch of the University and College Union (UCU), says the scale of the proposed jobs losses represents a direct threat to higher ed...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Poetry review: Plastic by Matthew Rice – a thing of beauty blossoms amidst the grimness of factory life - viewdigital.org/poetry-revie...
viewdigital.org
Poetry review: Plastic by Matthew Rice – a thing of beauty blossoms amidst the grimness of factory life - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan Plastic, one of the banes of my existence, is a substance I have loathed for as long as I can remember first encountering it. This makes it all the more remarkable th...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Film review: Father Mother Sister Brother – A dark and tender look at family bonds. Opening at the @queensfilmtheatre.bsky.social on April 10 - viewdigital.org/film-review-...
viewdigital.org
Film review: Father Mother Sister Brother – A dark and tender look at family bonds - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan The opening lines of Philip Larkin’s poem This Be The Verse came to mind after watching director Jim Jarmusch’s excellent new film Father Mother Sister Brother. They ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Review: GROUP! delivers a wild night with chaotic brilliance at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast - viewdigital.org/review-group...
viewdigital.org
Review: GROUP! delivers a wild night with chaotic brilliance at the Lyric Theatre - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital arts reviewer Conor Pelan Conor Mitchell’s GROUP! returns to the Lyric Theatre after 24 years as a benchmark show for the theatre’s 75th anniversary. It explores the classic setting of ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
news.sky.com/video/share-...
news.sky.com
Funeral held for Lebanese journalists killed in Israeli airstrike
Hundreds of mourners turned out in the pouring rain in Beirut for the funerals of Ali Shoaib, Fatima Fatouni and Muhammad Fatouni.
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Free places at VIEWdigital media training workshop in March in Belfast for migrant women and disabled people - Email unamurphy@viewdigital.org for more details
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Lyric Theatre launches primary school tour of ‘Waste Busters the Eco-Musical’ - viewdigital.org/lyric-theatr... -
viewdigital.org
Lyric Theatre launches primary school tour of ‘Waste Busters the Eco-Musical’ - VIEWdigital
The Creative Learning department at the Lyric Theatre Belfast has announced a tour of primary schools across Northern Ireland with its environmental production Waste Busters the Eco-Musical. The show ...
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Reposted by Brian Pelan
Luke Butterly @lukejbutterly.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
"If the new inquiry does not examine decision-making at senior government level, it will struggle to answer the question of whether collusion was the work of rogue agents, or the product of policy."
thedetail.tv
Barry McCaffrey: Will Finucane Inquiry be allowed to get to the truth?
Journalist Barry McCaffrey asks whether the new inquiry will answer the question of whether collusion was the work of rogue agents, or the product of policy
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Review: Consumed at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast – Sharp, fearless and exhilarating - viewdigital.org/review-consu...
viewdigital.org
Review: Consumed at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast – Sharp, fearless and exhilarating - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital theatre reviewer Conor Pelan What happens when you put Baby Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z together at one family birthday party? Consumed, written by Karris Kelly and produced by Paine...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Northern Ireland has second-highest rate of low pay in the UK, report finds - viewdigital.org/northern-ire...
viewdigital.org
Northern Ireland has second-highest rate of low pay in the UK, report finds - VIEWdigital
Northern Ireland has the second-highest rate of low pay in the UK, a report has found. New analysis of the Office of National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by the Living Wage ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Aggravated burglary charges against 18 Palestine Action activists dropped - www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Aggravated burglary charges against 18 Palestine Action activists dropped
Prosecutors drop charges over break-in at Israeli defence firm site after jury cleared six other defendants of offence
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Review: Raw and riveting performance from Nicky Harley in The Human Voice at Lyric Theatre, Belfast - viewdigital.org/review-raw-a...
viewdigital.org
Review: Raw and riveting performance from Nicky Harley in The Human Voice - VIEWdigital
The Human Voice at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast By VIEWdigital theatre reviewer Conor Pelan Set in modern Belfast, Prime Cut Productions of The Human Voice, (originally by Jean Cocteau in the 1930s ‘La ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Former PwC employee settles age and disability discrimination case for £150,000 - viewdigital.org/former-pwc-e...
viewdigital.org
Former PwC employee settles age and disability discrimination case for £150,000 - VIEWdigital
A woman who had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers Services Ltd (PwC) for more than 40 years has settled her case of age and disability discrimination against the company for £150,000. The woman, who w...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Latest issue of VIEW magazine is launched at the offices of UNISON NI in Belfast - viewdigital.org/latest-issue...
viewdigital.org
Latest issue of VIEW magazine is launched at the offices of UNISON NI in Belfast - VIEWdigital
By Liana Mac Intyre The latest issue of VIEW magazine was launched on Monday, January 26, at UNISON Northern Ireland’s office in Galway House on York Street, Belfast. The event brought together trade ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
REVIEW: The Voice of Hind Rajab: a powerful portrayal of a terrified little Palestinian girl under fire from the Israeli army - viewdigital.org/review-the-v...
viewdigital.org
REVIEW: The Voice of Hind Rajab: a powerful portrayal of a terrified little Palestinian girl under fire from the Israeli army - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan Five-year-old Hind Rajab was killed in 2024 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza, in her uncle’s car, along with six family members and two courageous Palestini...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
I have just finished watching ‘Waiting for the Out’ on @BBC. A remarkable compassionate drama series which offers a valuable insight into prison life. Great lead performance from actor Josh Finan, superb cast, and full kudos to writer Dennis Kelly. Give it a watch
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Little Voices, Big Impact: Children in east Belfast help award funding to community projects - viewdigital.org/little-voice...
viewdigital.org
Little Voices, Big Impact: Children in east Belfast help award funding to community projects - VIEWdigital
Ten creative projects have now been selected to receive funding after children and families in east Belfast took part in the Happy Vote. A range of groups pitched to hundreds of people who came throug...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Book launch about suicide prevention at Queen’s University, Belfast - viewdigital.org/book-launch-...
viewdigital.org
Book launch about suicide prevention at Queen's University, Belfast - VIEWdigital
Hear author Philip O’Keeffe discuss his new work Analysing Suicide: Reality, Myth, Fallacy, and engage in conversation about how we can respond more effectively to suicide in our communities Event is ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Scrooge steps back into Belfast as A Christmas Carol returns to the Lyric Theatre - viewdigital.org/scrooge-step...
viewdigital.org
Scrooge steps back into Belfast as A Christmas Carol returns to the Lyric Theatre - VIEWdigital
A Christmas Carol, the classic tale by Charles Dickens, returns to the Lyric Theatre on November 28 to January 10, 2026. Reimagined by playwright Marie Jones and directed by Matthew McElhinney, the 20...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Review: Testimony: Aoife Kelleher’s unflinching look at the horror of the Magdalene Laundries - viewdigital.org/review-testi...
viewdigital.org
Review: Testimony: Aoife Kelleher’s unflinching look at the horror of the Magdalene Laundries - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital journalist Emily Campbell An estimated 30,000 women were confined in the Magdalene Laundries. One thousand seven hundred and forty-five babies were sent across the Atlantic to the Unite...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
‘Happy Vote’ set to unleash new ideas to help children in east Belfast - viewdigital.org/happy-vote-s...
viewdigital.org
‘Happy Vote’ set to unleash new ideas to help children in east Belfast - VIEWdigital
Children and families in east Belfast are set to cast their votes in a fun ballot that will determine which ideas will come to life as part of Save the Children NI’s Innovation Fund, ‘Transforming the...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Comment: Drink spiking: Why many young women still don’t feel safe in Northern Ireland - viewdigital.org/comment-drin...
viewdigital.org
Comment: Drink spiking: Why young women still don’t feel safe in Northern Ireland - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital journalist Emily Campbell In September, I became familiar with the consequences of spiking. As a student, I had often heard the term thrown around university — “a friend of a friend” ty...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
Review: The Mastermind; director Kelly Reichardt turns an art robbery into a study of quiet desperation - viewdigital.org/review-the-m...
viewdigital.org
Review: The Mastermind; director Kelly Reichardt turns an art robbery into a study of quiet desperation - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan Director Kelly Reichardt’s latest film The Mastermind is, at a surface level, a heist movie, but it is so much more. The minimalist style, the camera shots, the jazzy...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Palestinian bodies returned by Israel show signs of torture and execution, say doctors - www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
theguardian.com
Palestinian bodies returned by Israel show signs of torture and execution, say doctors
Almost all had been blindfolded and had gunshot wounds between the eyes, says medic at Nasser hospital in Gaza
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Cruelest forms of torture’: freed Palestinians describe horrors of Israeli jail - www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
theguardian.com
‘Cruelest forms of torture’: freed Palestinians describe horrors of Israeli jail
Men who were held in Nafha prison say they were brutally beaten, bound at the hands and feet, verbally abused, allowed to contract fungal and skin diseases, and assaulted with loud music for up to two...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Review: Souleymane’s Story: a brilliant portrayal of an app wage slave who gives a voice to the exploited - viewdigital.org/review-soule...
viewdigital.org
Review: Souleymane's Story: a brilliant portrayal of an app wage slave who gives a voice to the exploited - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan The food courier on a bike is now a common sight on our city streets. A few taps on a mobile phone, and your meal is delivered to your front door. But what’s the stor...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Linen Hall Library in Belfast launches Michael McLaverty Short Story Award 2025 - viewdigital.org/linen-hall-l...
viewdigital.org
Linen Hall Library launches Michael McLaverty Short Story Award 2025 - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital journalist Emily Campbell The Linen Hall Library in Belfast has announced the launch of the Michael McLaverty Short Story Award 2025, celebrating and promoting excellence in short ficti...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Sunflower bar event in Belfast to raise funds for Gaza with a feast of Palestinian food - viewdigital.org/sunflower-ba... - #Gaza #Palestine
viewdigital.org
Sunflower bar event to raise funds for Gaza with a feast of Palestinian food - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan The Sunflower Bar in Belfast is set to serve up a range of Palestinian food at a fundraising event in solidarity with the people of Gaza. The event will run from 1pm ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Award-winning play on women’s hostel closure returns for major tour - viewdigital.org/award-winnin...
viewdigital.org
Award-winning play on women’s hostel closure returns for major tour - VIEWdigital
An award-winning and politically charged play about the forced closure of Belfast’s Regina Coeli hostel for women is returning to stages across the north following overwhelming demand from venues and ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Excellent event
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
A wheelchair user, who was stuck several times on the Glider in Belfast after the ramp failed to come down, has settled her disability discrimination case against Translink for £7,500. - viewdigital.org/wheelchair-u...
viewdigital.org
Wheelchair user left stuck on the Glider settles disability case against Translink - VIEWdigital
A wheelchair user, who was stuck several times on the Glider in Belfast after the ramp failed to come down, has settled her disability discrimination case against Translink for £7,500. Belfast student...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Calls for ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza at march to Stormont in Belfast yesterday - #ceasefire #Gaza #endgenocide
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Film Review: Sorry, Baby – a warm and sensitive look at the aftermath of a sexual assault - viewdigital.org/film-review-...
viewdigital.org
Film Review: Sorry, Baby - a warm and sensitive look at the aftermath of a sexual assault - VIEWdigital
By VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan There is one long camera shot in Sorry, Baby — comedian Eva Victor’s feature debut as a writer–director — which totally resonates because of its originality in convey...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Warning issued that thousands of NI Housing Executive tenants could face an increase in rents - viewdigital.org/warning-issu...
viewdigital.org
Warning issued that thousands of NI Housing Executive tenants could face an increase in rents - VIEWdigital
By Donal McMahon, Local Democracy Reporting Servicer A Northern Ireland housing chief has called for “urgent” borrowing powers amid a stark warning that thousands of people could face a hike in rents....
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Urgent need for additional funding for social housing provision as NI homelessness numbers continue to spiral upwards - viewdigital.org/urgent-need-...
viewdigital.org
Urgent need for additional funding for social housing provision as NI homelessness numbers continue to spiral upwards - VIEWdigital
The Department for Communities released the latest edition of its Housing Bulletin for April to June 2025 today. The statistics show that the number of households with homelessness status in Northern ...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
After a disastrous choir rehearsal at school, I’ve always described myself as someone who can’t sing. A chance encounter with musical director Siobhan Brown led to an invite to come to Cairde Community Choir in Sailortown, Belfast, and try to give it a go again - viewdigital.org/viewdigital-...
viewdigital.org
VIEWdigital editor Brian Pelan survives his first choir rehearsal and lives to 'sing' about the tale - VIEWdigital
To say I was nervous would be an understatement. It was a beautiful evening in Belfast, with the sun setting over the River Lagan, as I slowly approached St Joseph’s church in Sailortown at around 7pm...
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Brian Pelan @brianone.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Comment:  A mob beat up an Indian man in Dublin. They stripped him of his clothes and his dignity. And yet, what stays with me most is how many people did nothing , writes HAPANI founder Suleiman Abdulahi - viewdigital.org/comment-a-mo...
viewdigital.org
Comment:  A mob beat up an Indian man. They stripped him of his clothes and his dignity. And yet, what stays with me most is how many people did nothing - VIEWdigital
By Suleiman Abdulahi, Founder and CEO of Horn of Africa People’s Aid Northern Ireland (HAPANI)  A mob beat up an Indian man in Tallaght, County Dublin, last month. A group of 30 to 40 people stripped ...
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