Irish Republican News: Archives

October 25, 2013

The assassination agenda

Members of the British Crown forces were central to the orchestrated murder of prominent Catholics, according to new research based on official state investigations and military files.

Robinson calls for ‘more strategic’ unionism

DUP leader Peter Robinson this week challenged unionists to shed “siege-mentality” thinking and to be more considered in their approach to unionism.

Roma community in shock after Gardaí seize kids

Two cases in which Roma children were suddenly removed from their families in Dublin and the midlands because they were ‘too blonde’ have caused outrage in Ireland and abroad.

Apology as Shankill victims are remembered

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has said a 1993 IRA attack on the leadership of the UDA death squads in west Belfast in which nine civilians died “cannot be defended”.

Devices found as alerts continue

A pipe-bomb and two mail-bomb attacks on the PSNI in the space of 24 hours appear to be the latest signs of an increasingly active campaign by the republican armed groups.

Gardaí refuse to release journal of dead informer

The Garda police in the South have refused repeated requests to send the secret journal of top informer Denis Donaldson to the Police Ombudsman in the North of Ireland.

The Confederation of Kilkenny

Irish rebels against British rule established a government at Kilkenny on October 20 1642, 371 years ago this week. An account of how Ireland's first national Assembly came about.

An assertion of autonomy

A look at the controversy over comments by sports commentator Joe Brolly in defence of nationalist communities who name facilities after hunger strikers and other republican heroes.

October 18, 2013

A one-way ticket for Irish youth

A shocking Famine-era ‘solution’ to the problem of youth unemployment has dominated this year’s announcement of Budget plans by the coalition government in Dublin.

Alert chaos fuels blame game

Republican Network for Unity has warned that British agents may be behind a bewildering series of unclaimed bomb alerts, most of which have been hoaxes or proved groundless.

Families face tense wait in Craigavon Two appeal

The Court of Appeal is to consider its judgement in the apparent miscarriage of justice for John Paul Wootton and Brendan McConville.

Racist violence linked to unionist paramilitary resurgence

A series of racial attacks in east Belfast and elsewhere has been linked to loyalist paramilitaries.

WMD fears for Shannon Airport after warplane confirmation

The Dublin government has been accused of turning the west of Ireland into a US military hub after it emerged that highly weaponised warplanes have been landing and refuelling at Shannon Airport on their way to and from conflicts in the Middle East.

Media ‘cover-up’ on penalty points as journalist is booted

A story about the sacking of an Irish journalist has led to the mainstream Irish media being accused of a ‘blatant cover up’.

Casement address revisited

The centenary of an address by nationalist Roger Casement to win the hearts and minds of Protestant Home Rulers at a rally in north Antrim will be marked next week.

Vulnerable and poor targeted again

They targeted the vulnerable again: women with babies, the vulnerable elderly, the vulnerable youth, poor people dependent on prescriptions.

October 16, 2013

Govt sets budget targets: emigrant ships, paupers’ graves

The coalition government’s budget has been slammed as an attack on the young and old, the sick and the infirm, on new mothers and young workers.

October 11, 2013

Mayhem as militants fill political vacuum

The organisation describing itself as the ‘new’ IRA said this week it had executed a major drug dealer in north Belfast amid escalating violence on the streets of the Six Counties.

SAS man appointed Minister ahead of Cameron visit

A decision to appoint a former SAS military figure as a direct rule British minister is being seen as an indication of a mounting crisis in the peace process in the north of Ireland.

Unionists seek escalation of parade protests

Unionist hardliners have been strongly criticised for seeking to ‘upscale’ protests and disturbances in its efforts to force a sectarian parade through the nationalist Ardoyne in north Belfast.

Strong challenge to ‘Craigavon Two’ convictions

The case against two Craigavon men convicted of shooting a PSNI man in 2009 appears to be nearing collapse as the appeal against their convictions took place this week at the Court of Appeal in Belfast.

TDs surveilled by PSNI Special Branch

Three elected Leinster House TDs were video-recorded by specialist PSNI police as they attempted to speak to the family of a jailed republican activist, it has emerged.

Govt gets referendum ‘wallop’ as new budget cuts loom

Fine Gael leader and 26-County Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been humiliated after the rejection by voters of a dictatorial attempt to abolish the Seanad, the upper house of the Dublin parliament.

A workable political process?

It will be sad and a major setback if 5000 jobs are not realised and 300 million pounds in investment lost. More important than Peter Robinson reneging on the MLK [Maze/Long Kesh] project, is what his decision symbolises.

Unionist threat to use violence nothing new

Sinn Fein spokesmen have been queuing up to express disappointment at what they complain is a lack of unionist leadership. Where have they been?

October 5, 2013

Reprieve for Senate in referendum surprise

The Seanad, the upper house of the 26-County parliament, has been saved from abolition by a small margin following counting of votes in yesterday’s referendum.

October 4, 2013

Senators facing the axe

Turnout in today's 26-County referenda could be close to a record low as voters appear to be staying away from a potentially historic ballot on the abolition of the Seanad, the upper chamber of the 26-County parliament.

Adams under pressure following brother’s conviction

Elements in the mainstream media have urged Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to resign following the conviction this week of his brother, Liam, for the sexual abuse of his daughter Aine in the period 1977-1983.

UVF must be ‘faced down’ over violence, marches - SF

Sinn Féin First Minister Martin McGuinness has challenged unionists to confront the paramilitary UVF in east Belfast, who he accused of being closely linked to the anti-Catholic Orange Order.

British troops in sectarian display

There has been strong criticism of an official British Army event in which soldiers were filmed clapping and dancing to loyalist tunes at Ibrox Park football stadium in Glasgow.

Controversial inquests delayed again

Relatives of three IRA Volunteers shot dead by the SAS have expressed frustration after being told it will be another year before a full inquest is heard.

Deaths of veteran republicans

One of the leading figures in the republican movement in Ireland over the past 50 years died late Wednesday night in hospital.

Hierarchy of victims debate diminishes us all

There has been much exploitation and manipulation of people bereaved and injured in our conflict - playing on emotions and grief for political capital.

How not to vote in the Seanad referendum

The temptation to spoil the ballot in today’s 26 County referendum on Seanad abolition is understandable.

October 2, 2013

Michael Campbell’s conviction overturned by Lithuanian court

The Court of Appeal of Lithuania on Wednesday cleared Irish citizen Michael Campbell, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for trying to buy weapons for the Real IRA in 2008.