Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said a breakthrough deal on power-sharing following the first-ever direct talks with DUP leader Ian Paisley means that “a new and unprecedented opportunity for progress now exists”.
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March 30, 2007
SIGN OF PROGRESS
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said a breakthrough deal on power-sharing following the first-ever direct talks with DUP leader Ian Paisley means that “a new and unprecedented opportunity for progress now exists”.
Mixed reaction to power-sharing delay
“Everything we have done over the last 10 years has been a preparation
for this moment,” proclaimed British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
leading a vocal and mainly positive response by Irish and British
political leaders to the successful outcome of the DUP-Sinn Féin
negotiations this week.
Dissent at deal within DUP
The representative of Ian Paisley’s DUP at the European Parliament, Jim
Allister MEP, has resigned following the party’s deal to begin sharing
power with Sinn Féin in May.
Legal breakthrough in shoot-to-kill cases
The father of an IRA Volunteer shot dead by the British Army’s SAS in
1990 today won a five-year legal battle over disclosure of confidential
British reports about the killing.
Bombers may escape justice - Ahern
Nobody will be brought to justice as a result of the long-awaited
report into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the 26-County
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.
UDA tensions follows grant aid
The unionist paramilitary UDA is still heavily involved in extortion
rackets, the PSNI police has said, despite the British government
handing the group 1.2 million pounds sterling last week.
North needs a new political vocabulary
A sea change occurred on Monday when you watched Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley sitting
nearly beside each other at Stormont.
An omen of good days to come
It is difficult to decide which captures best the ground-breaking
nature of the event - the photo or the statements.
March 26, 2007
Parties agree new date for power-sharing
Sinn Féin and the DUP have agreed a new deal to start sharing power on
May 8 following historic face-to-face talks between DUP leader Ian
Paisley and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams at Stormont today.
Adams and Paisley to meet
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and DUP leader Ian Paisley will hold
their first ever face-to-face talks today as parties are faced with a
deadline for the restoration of the Six-County political institutions,
or, more likely, an agreement to suspend the process for a number of
weeks at the request of the DUP.
March 25, 2007
Devolution restored pending agreement
British Direct Ruler Peter Hain has signed the restoration order to
devolve governmental powers from London to Belfast, requiring the
Belfast Assembly to meet tomorrow [Monday] to nominate a new locally
elected administration of unionists and nationalists.
Adams calls for 'Plan B'
Responding to the news that Ian Paisley’s DUP is seeking a further
delay in Monday’s planned restoration of the political institutions in
the Six Counties, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said the Dublin
and London governments must now proceed to put in place their
all-Ireland partnership arrangements for the governance of the North.
March 24, 2007
DUP refuse to commit to power-sharing
Nominations to the Belfast Assembly executive will not take place by
Monday’s ‘deadline’ following a resolution of the DUP’s ruling
council, reports have indicated.
UDA KILLERS GET PAY-OFF
Victims of UDA death-squads expressed outrage at the British
government’s plans to give the paramilitary group 1.2 million pounds
sterling.
‘Yes but No’ - DUP mulls options
A long-awaited commitment to power-sharing by Ian Paisley is in doubt
this weekend amid reports that the DUP may go through the motions of
appointing a Six-County Executive but will block meetings of the
Executive taking place for an undefined “testing period” of at least
two months.
Brit chopper crashes in border town
Villagers in Crossmaglen, South Armagh are outraged after a British
Army helicopter crashed, narrowly missing a nearby estate.
Sinn Féin set to join Policing Board
Sinn Féin will participate fully in the Policing Board and other
structures once the power-sharing institutions in Belfast are restored,
party president Gerry Adams has said.
McGeough still being held
A bail application for republican political leader Gerry McGeough has
been postponed after lawyers for the British Crown claimed that either
Germany or the USA might seek to have him extradited.
RSF warned of ‘threats’
Two members of Republican Sinn Féin in Belfast were visited in their
homes by the PSNI police and informed that their lives are under threat
from a previously unknown group, the party has said.
A ‘yes’ from ‘Dr No’ could usher in a new era
In a few days time the people of this country will know the answer to
one of the most pressing political questions which has dogged the peace
process for the best part of the last 10 years
It’s time PSNI was accountable for its actions
In the past week we’ve had two very serious incidents involving the PSNI
and the British Army.
March 18, 2007
CROSSING THE RUBICON
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said a political deal to secure
power-sharing by March 26 is close and that the British government can
“smell” a breakthrough.
Bush backs deadline at shamrock ceremony
At the annual St Patrick’s Day White House reception, US President
George Bush threw his weight behind efforts to hold all sides to the
March 26th deadline for the return of a local Six-County power-sharing
administration.
Double murder mystery
Allegations and rumours have multiplied in Belfast following the murder
of two nationalist taxi-drivers on Monday.
False dawn for Irish speakers
The British government has reneged on new Irish language legislation at
the insistence of the DUP.
MacEntee report on bombings completed
The injured and bereaved of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings reached a
potentially crucial milestone yesterday with the completion of an
long-awaited report into the attacks.
St Patrick’s Day shame for Dublin government
Part of the ancient Irish capital of Tara dating from the seventh
century has been dismantled this week to make way for the controversial
M3 motorway.
Minister strangles Irish act
The dream that new legislation would enshrine the rights of the thousands of Irish-speakers has been shattered.
A good news election story for republicans
With a brilliant election result behind him Gerry Adams will
lead northern republicans southwards with the intention of building on
his success.
March 13, 2007
IT’S ‘DEVOLUTION OR BUST’
There is mounting optimism that the peace process can make a historic
breakthrough this month after the Dublin and London governments
appeared willing to hold to their stated March 26th deadline for the
return of local power-sharing in the North of Ireland.
Plan ‘A’ for Sinn Fein after gains
Further electoral gains for Sinn Fein has effectively turned the Six Counties
into a two party statelet and created a situation unimaginable a
decade ago.
McGeough arrest ‘highlights lack of change’
The arrest at an election centre of an independent republican
candidate has been described as an abuse of the democratic process and
a return to the dark ages of political policing.
RSF blames censorship for low vote
Republican Sinn Fein president Ruairi O Bradaigh has said RSF’s failure
to make an impact in last week’s Assembly election was “as expected”
after an “almost total media blackout” of his party.
Ombudsman to investigate ‘Dirty War’ killings
Allegations that British military intelligence and Special Branch
police sanctioned their informers and agents within the IRA to carry
out certain killings are being investigated by the North’s Police
Ombudsman.
SF backs Irish ‘illegals’ campaign
Sinn Fein has backed a campaign on behalf of undocumented Irish
immigrants in the United States.
Election round-up
A constituency-by-constituency look at the Assembly election result.
DUP chokes on its own history
Elections are supposed to provide answers.
When the people speak, the politicians are supposed to respond
accordingly. Not so in the North.
March 9, 2007
Assembly election - Final update
Counting in the Belfast Assembly elections is drawing to a close this
evening with significant gains for Sinn Féin and Ian Paisley’s DUP, a
major setback for Reg Empey’s UUP, a breakthrough for the Green Party
and the apparent final demise of Bob McCartney’s UKUP.
SF and DUP set to dominate Executive
Gerry Adams’s Sinn Féin and Ian Paisley’s DUP have continued to add
seats in the election to the Belfast Assembly as counting continued
late into the night in some centres.
March 8, 2007
Gains for SF, DUP; Gerry McGeough arrested
Results are being announced in the North of Ireland’s Assembly
election with the DUP and Sinn Féin polling very well.
March 7, 2007
VOTING UNDERWAY
Voting to the election for the new Belfast Assembly got underway across
the Six Counties this Wednesday morning.
Pre-election PoW shock for SF
Sinn Féin has dismissed an election-eve statement by 320 former IRA
and INLA prisoners who have called for republicans to vote against the
party and for independent republican candidates in today’s election.
SF Ard Fheis builds party momentum
Seven motions running contrary to Sinn Féin’s policy of tentative
support for Britain’s PSNI police were either voted down or withdrawn
during the party’s annual conference (Ard Fheis) at the weekend, which
mainly focussed on election preparations.
Injustices mount for ‘McCabe killers’
A High Court judge has again allowed the 26-County state another three
weeks to avoid a challenge by four republicans jailed for the
manslaughter of a Garda police detective to its repeated refusal to
grant them temporary release.
Election: Constituency profiles
An indicative constituency-by-constituency look at today’s election,
with the emphasis on the nationalist and republican contests.
Election: Pre-election statements
Election-eve statements by the Presidents of Sinn Fein and Republican Sinn Fein.
History: Election campaign fifty years ago
Four Sinn Féin candidates were elected in the general election which took place on March 5, 1957, fifty years ago this week.
Brown doesn’t give tuppence about this place
We’re at present in the lull before the storm - and what a storm it
will be.
March 3, 2007
SF Ard Fheis - Presidential Address 2007
The full text of the keynote Presidential address by
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams to the party’s annual conference, which
is taking place this weeekend at the RDS in Dublin.
March 1, 2007
ELECTION CAMPAIGN BUILDS
Unionists in Belfast would benefit from an all-Ireland economy, Sinn
Féin President Gerry Adams said as he launched his party’s platform for
the election to the Belfast Assembly.
RSF blasts ‘exclusion politics’
Republican Sinn Féin has criticised what it says is a “media blackout”
of their candidates.
March for Irish language rights
Thousands of supporters of the Irish language took part in a march
through the city centre last weekend demanding equal rights for the
language.
Republican graves attacked
The graves of nearly 40 people have been desecrated in an
overnight attack on the republican plot at Milltown Cemetery in west
Belfast.
Connolly House reopens
Sinn Féin’s traditional Belfast headquarters has reopened following a
refurbishment, including new repairs to structural damage suffered in
loyalist attacks.
Holy Cross case goes to House of Lords
The mother of a Holy Cross schoolgirl is taking her legal claim to the
House of Lords with her complaint at the manner in which the PSNI
failed to defend her daughter from sectarian violence and intimidation
five years ago.
Good election for SF will spur party
A good election result for Sinn Féin in the north will spur party activists on in
their efforts to achieve the long-worked-for breakthrough in the
elections in the south in a few months time.
Power-sharing in North must not be stopped
By the standards of western democracy, the election in the North must
be one of the most bizarre ever to have taken place.
