Tag >> Denis O’Reilly
The least of these, my brethren
The president of Black Power’s Whanganui chapter, Damien Kuru, is currently in prison for manslaughter. A jury found him guilty in the killing of Kevin Ratana, a Mongrel Mob…
The Two Colossi of Ahuriri, Pat Magill and John Harre
Closing a Community Chapter. The Two Colossi of Ahuriri, Pat Magill and John Harre
On Monday 24 April Pat Magill, my kaumatua Pākehā, tangata Tiriti, called a few of us…
The obligation of citizenship
Denis O’Reilly’s community in Waiohiki, Hawke’s Bay, is one of many still reeling from Cyclone Gabrielle and the flooding. In this update, he writes about the continuing challenges, and…
Situation Report, Waiohiki. The scale of devastation is vast. Nerves are frayed.
Situation Report, Waiohiki, 1st March, 2023
Ranginui is relentless. The scale of devastation is vast. Behind what’s left of my home and down Omarunui Road it looks like the Somme….
Tihei mauri ora! Tihei Aotearoa
( Waiohiki Flood Recovery-Givealittle )
I began this kōrero at Waipatu, Heretaunga, in Hastings, in the early morning hours of Saturday, February 18, 2023. The sun had not…
Putting Power in the Hands of Whanau
With submissions on the proposed Charities Amendment Bill closing a couple of days ago, Denis O’Reilly argues against the changing attitude towards charities and what he sees as the…
Sermon on the Mahau
KNOX
The following sermon, a panegyric for William Knockers Allen, was delivered on 7th November 2022 by Denis O’Reilly from the mahau, the front porch, of the whare Taamaki Makaurau…
Sort Out the Warriors
It’s a man’s game. Jacinda Ardern should take over the Warriors. After what was looking like becoming a troublesome season for the Labour team, she has made some tough…
Laurie O’Reilly’s voice from the grave
Last week I attempted to present to the Social Services and Communities Committee dealing with the ‘Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill’. I…
He Poroporoaki mo Carl Meredith Bradley. BA. MA Ph.D
Carl Bradley died suddenly last week. Just 52 years of age. He was a friend and colleague. Carl was an Aikido 4th Dan black belt and on an upward…
Calling All Change Agents
In the mid 1980’s when the Whakatu meatworks closed we ran a programme at Waiohiki to support workers made redundant by the extraordinary restructuring of our economy. Men and…
Te Whaea: Our Lady of Aotearoa
By Denis O’Reilly. Late last year I attended the unveiling for the late Hon. Parekura Horomia. Helen Clark gave a panegyric for her deceased acolyte. At the time of…
Ruby Princess and the Great Discontinuity
Denis O’Reilly is a New Zealand community leader and activist. This is his 91st essay for nzedge.com.
My time as a bouncer on the door at Ali Baba’s in…
Herbs And Freedom Songs For The New Revolution
I’ve just returned from a full-on weekend in Auckland. I originally come from Timaru. My father used to say, on learning that I’d been in that city, “Did you…
New Zealander Leads Transformational New York Symposium For Ex-Offenders And ‘At Risk’ Harlem Youth
Recently announced United States Democratic Congressional Contender Richard Habersham enlisted New Zealander John Wareham, who splits his time between New Zealand and New York, to lead an oversubscribed weekend…
On the Anniversary of the Death of James K Baxter
Last Sunday a group of around 40 people gathered for breakfast at Lola’s Café in Waipawa to memorialise the death of James K Baxter, Hemi, friend and poet, on…
He Poroporoaki: Te Rangatira Jack Tuhi
Born 28-11-1958. Died 1-08-2018
Redemption Song
On…
Poroporoaki mo Papa Hemi
It may have been the disconnection from his biological father that motivated Jim Anderton to champion the tribe of nga mokai, the fatherless ones. Then again it could have…
Ōmarunui: Differing Narratives And Different Perspectives
This coming week and especially the day of 12 October brings memories of war to the fore. It is the 99th anniversary of the…
Denis O’Reilly Reviews ’64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World’
64 Shots- leadership in a crazy world. Kevin Roberts, Chairman Saatchi & Saatchi. New York: Power House Books.
The locus of this new book by Kevin Roberts is the here-and-now…
64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World – Review
64 Shots- leadership in a crazy world. Kevin Roberts, Chairman Saatchi & Saatchi. New York: Power House Books.
The locus of…
Mahi Aroha 4: A Short History of Two Deaths and a Single Killing
Social change activist and longtime NZEDGE columnist Denis O’Reilly weaves a multi-layered tale located on the social edge of Aotearoa. Last week I heard on RNZ a documentary interview with…
He Mahi Aroha 1: WFFW – Whanau Forever, Forever Whanau
Hello. Its been a while. My heart is full. I’m in the mood to write.
In recent times Taape and I have been trying as much as is possible to…
Nga Kupu Aroha Epilogue
Once you put something out there you just don’t know who will pick it up and where it will go.
Since…
Blessed Love
Nga Kupu Aroha recorded a journey. It may well have been…
Once Was Gangman Styles
As I approach my 60th year (next month) I’m increasingly reflecting on times past and what the hell I intend…
Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage
Each morning I go for a swim. When at home, and whilst the weather is still warm enough, I use the seawater ‘pond’ at Ahuriri, a remnant of what…
Beneath the Kahungunu Flag
Nga mihi. It’s a bit late to be saying Happy New Year and all that, but take my best wishes anyway. Well another sparkling Waitangi Day has passed with…
Poisonous Fuming
It is said that those gifted with foresight often observe ‘tohu’, signs, portents of things to come. Recently we have witnessed a raft of missed signals in a range…
Honour the Past, Enjoy the Present, Prepare for the Future
I love this time of the year in Hawke’s Bay, although it’s been a little bit different than usual weatherwise. I don’t know if these are natural portents of…
It’s an Ill Wind
My apologies for such a delay between posts. I’ve been no more flat out than usual but for some reason the muse seems to have deserted me and I’ve…
Love is the word for Mumday
We are in what looks to be the last few weeks of a protracted ‘Indian Summer’ in the Bay. It’s been very dry. We’ve had a few ‘close to…
Pharaoh’s Rod
It’s been one hell of a start to the year. I left you last in January at the gates of Parihaka and I feel like I’ve been foot down…
Chip Away
I love Aotearoa, the land, its people old and new. I’m just back from the 2010 Parihaka International Peace Festival and I can still feel the grin on my…
Practice of Love
It’s been one of those years. I feel like I’m still in planning mode and woosh, its gone, done and dusted. These last few months have given me the…
It’s the Putting White That Counts!
Let’s pass through the flack cloud of the moment: Hone Harawira and white mofos! We’ll take ‘white mofo’ first. Don’t get too upset about the terminology. I agree that…
Breathe Through the Nose
It was a cold, swine-flu ridden winter when I last wrote to you, and now is the time of fresh morning asparagus, drooping rich coloured kowhai, full throated tui,…
The Stub of Your Cheque Book
Every now and then the various streams of our lives seem to conflate, one layer tumbling in on another, old times hurtling back from the past and crashing into…
Stepping Back from the Precipice
It’s been grim-times at home in Taradale, and that’s more than the recession or a bit of shitty weather. Last weekend, the first in May, a local bloke, Michael…
Dangerous Utopias
What happened to March? My calendar accelerated and it just went. One minute I was planning for St Paddy’s Day and the next thing I know it’s been, gone,…
Reggae’s Doing Fine
Welcome to 2009. May it go well for you and yours. I’ve had a great start. I was pretty stuffed at the end of last year, but a bit…
Briefing to Incoming Ministers
The wonderful thing about those of us who enjoy democracy, we are currently told, is that we enjoy the fruits of an orderly and peaceful transfer of power between…
Jesus Mary and Joseph!
Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou mo te ra whanau a Hehu, me te Tau Hou, hoki. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My mate wished me…
Tama Heihei Kaki Maro
I start this blog on Labour Day. I’m just back at Waiohiki from a Black Power hui near Rotorua, including a challenge for the Gabe Tawhaiti – and I’ll…
Let He Who is Without Sin
When I was a young activist in Wellington I attended a function in Auckland at which the lead presenter was a bloke from Brazil called Paulo Freire. At the…
Jurassic Roar
It’s spring. The kowhai has begun to blossom and on this, the last day of the month, a sunny Sunday in the Bay, I picked the first asparagus of…
Low Blow
First, we’ll visit the ossuary. Tam Wong Shi, my friend Harry’s mum, reached her terminal milestone of 103 years a few weeks ago. Her journey in life sounded tough:…
Thud And Blunder
There’s a scrap between the Mongrel Mob and the Road Knights in the deep South and the Mayor of Invercargill is calling for ‘Sheriff Joe’ style retributive…
War and Peace
I start this blog on a Friday night in mid April and I’ve not long pulled into the homestead at Waiohiki after…
Easter Edge
So, that was Easter. What a buzz all round. The stone at the sepulchre door has been shifted, and an impossible calendar…
The Cycle of Life
At home, the colour of the grapes has changed rapidly. In December they were a wistful light green and now, swollen with…
May Peace Prevail
It’s Friday, a weekend out from Christmas, and I’m still on the road: Auckland for a multi-gang meeting, Taiwhakaia in the Bay…
“Pull up, pull up”: The Psychology of Colonisation
Let’s deal with the alleged terrorism and Tuhoe issue. The last sounds heard by those at the controls immediately prior to the airship tragedy at Mt Erebus…
Arohamai (Forgive Me)
My spirit is revived. I feel as if I am in what the priests of my youth would call ‘a state of grace’ (although, in truth, the good Lord…
Reo of the Nation
I left you last as I was on my way to the inaugural Parihaka International Peace Festival. There is something uplifting about the name Parihaka itself. For me it…
Crime and punishment
Kia ora. Nga mihi o te tau hou. We’re well into the first quarter and people are still wishing each other “Happy New Year” which just goes to show…
