October 31, 2015

Progressive alliance stumbles

right2change.jpg A weak and largely negative response by socialists and social democrats to a vote transfer pact with other progressive election candidates could have opened the door to a further five years of right-wing government in Dublin.

Second bullet found in massacre victim

patrickmurphy.jpg The family of a victim of the Ballymurphy massacre has been vindicated in their decades-long struggle for justice after his exhumed body appears to contain a bullet.

Disturbing racial incidents in Belfast

pigsheads.jpg A Sudanese father and his five-year-old daughter have been forced to flee their home in east Belfast after suffering racist intimidation.

Dublin shooting a case of collusion, family says

martindocodoherty.jpg The family of a man killed by the unionist paramilitary UVF in Dublin in 1994 is to sue the PSNI police over collusion with the killers.

LVF blamed for arson attacks

lvf.jpg A small loyalist paramilitary group, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, is believed to have been responsible for a firebomb attack that destroyed a car in a residential area of County Down this week.

Kenny accused of ‘make-believe’ politics

kennygrandiose.jpg Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of suffering from ‘Walter Mitty’ syndrome after one of his infamous ‘tall tales’ was finally exposed as an invention.

The re-birth of the IRA in Belfast

joemckelvey.jpg John O’Neill (‘the Treason Felony blog’) recounts an incident seen as a key event in the re-organisation of the IRA in Belfast shortly after the end of the Irish Civil War.

A strategy of confusion

collusionvictims.jpg Pauline Mellon, author of ‘The Diary Of A Derry Mother’, looks at how victims are treated in the legacy proposals of the Stormont House Agreement.

October 23, 2015

Contradictions multiply at Stormont talks

talksresumesf.jpg DUP Ministers suddenly returned to work and multi-party talks have resumed following the publication on Tuesday of a British intelligence report that claims the Provisional IRA, INLA, UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando all still exist and control arms, but are ‘committed to peace’.

Duffy trio freed as case falls apart after two years

duffys.jpg Three relatives of prominent republican Colin Duffy, who were due to stand trial on IRA charges later this year, have been acquitted of all charges against them and walked free from court on Thursday.

PSNI ‘attempting to put RNU out of business’

carlreilly.jpg Carl Reilly, the chairperson of Republican Network for Unity has been arrested and charged with ‘directing terrorism’, while another member of the RNU leadership, Paul Crawford, was also arrested on IRA charges.

Sinn Fein double agent exposed

44parnell.jpg The Dublin government had a top-level informer in Sinn Fein over ten years ago, former Justice Minister Michael McDowell has revealed.

Catholic couple targeted in UDA attack

arsonattack.jpg Just hours after an official British ‘security’ report deliberately avoided any reference to such attacks, a Catholic couple’s home was wrecked by the north Antrim UDA.

Plea for information in suspected collusion case

mckearneys.jpg The sons and daughters of a couple shot dead by the unionist paramilitary UVF 40 years ago have urged people to search their memories and hearts to help them get justice.

Fitzgerald, Murphy and MacSwiney

mcswiney.jpg Michael Fitzgerald, Joseph Murphy and Terence MacSwiney died on hunger strike on 17 and 25 October 1920, respectively, 95 years ago this week.

Latest report highlights process absurdities

backtothefuture.jpg Another week, another crisis in the peace process which passeth all understanding.

October 20, 2015

British report says PIRA still exists, controls arms

villierscommons.jpg The future of the political institutions remains uncertain following an MI5/PSNI review of the status of the Provisional IRA and loyalist paramilitary groups which found that the PIRA continues to exist and control some arms caches, but in a “much reduced” form.

October 16, 2015

The Loyalist Blackmail Council

lccstatement.jpg A statement issued in the name of the main unionist paramilitary organisations vowing to “eschew all violence and criminality” has been greeted with profound scepticism across the political divide.

Coalition sells budget in bid to buy re-election

howlinnoonanmedia.jpg A desperate pre-election giveaway budget may have backfired for the Fine Gael/Labour government in Dublin as research shows that that their bid to buy off the relatively wealthy has come at the expense of the rest of society, particularly those worst off.

Civil case against state agents blamed for 100 deaths

murphyfamily.jpg A sectarian killer who wrote his nickname on the road at the scene of a ghoulish killing is to be the subject of a civil action by the family of the victim after they were failed by the criminal justice system.

A tale of two tragedies

carrickmines.jpg The state’s hierarchy for victims couldn’t have been clearer this week when one family was accorded a state funeral while others have been subjected to a discrimination and hate campaign.

Anniversary of Grew and McCaughey

mccaugheygrewbig.jpg Fresh details have emerged on the deaths of two IRA men shot dead 25 years ago as republicans took part in a series of events in east Tyrone to mark the anniversary.

Frazer sees red over tourist green

leprechaunfrazer.jpg Loyalist lobbyist Willie Frazer is set to organise protests at Belfast Airport over the sale of tourist merchandise he has described as “pro-Irish paraphernalia”.

The bigger Bloody Sunday cover-up

bloodysundaybody4.jpg Relatives of those killed in the infamous Bloody Sunday massacre have denounced a police ‘investigation’ into the murders after it emerged that 55 British soldiers present that day are refusing to be questioned.

Equality needed for former political prisoners

prisonersreleased.jpg Former prisoners should be legally recognised as full and equal members of society like everyone else.

October 13, 2015

Budget 2016 - main points

howlinnoonan.jpg The main points of the annual statement of taxation and other policy changes for the 26 County Exchequer, announced this afternoon by Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin.

October 10, 2015

UDA ignored as bombers strike again

derrybomb.jpg There has been a deafening silence from unionist leaders in response to a statement attributed to the unionist paramilitary UDA in which it declares it will never “go away”.

Unanswered questions at McColgan inquest

danielmccolgan.jpg Sinn Fein has said the PSNI and British government have questions to answer over the murder of Catholic man Danny McColgan.

New political merger announced amid election fever

aaapbp.jpg Speculation has mounted that Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny could announce a general election in the 26 Counties for November after he repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility this weekn when questioned by journalists.

Nine bailed, but injustice and abuses continue

christineconnor.jpg There has been a positive development in the campaign against internment by remand in the North, with nine republican prisoners arrested in a high-profile raid in Newry last year, including one until recently on hunger strike, all receiving bail.

McGuinness under pressure in apology process

mcguinnesskearney.jpg Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has said he is proud of what he did in the IRA and will not apologise to anyone, despite a statement by his party’s northern chairman that he was sorry for the hurt experienced by the British military during the conflict.

Demonstrations to oppose new PSNI recruitment campaign

psnirecruitmentprotest.jpg A recruitment drive by the PSNI has been hit by republican protests and security alerts at locations across the North.

Catalan independence will benefit everyone involved

catalanprotest.jpg The result of recent elections have confirmed the perception that a majority of Catalans are ready to begin a democratic, peaceful, civil and negotiated process to achieve an independent state for Catalonia.

British determined to control historical inquiries

collusionbadges.jpg The British government's Northern Ireland Office snuck out its policy paper on implementing the Stormont House Agreement last week.

October 3, 2015

PSNI defiant as Adams cleared over 1972 killing

adamshamilton.jpg Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has warned there are elements within the PSNI police in the North who are working against his party after it was confirmed he will not be prosecuted in connection with the IRA execution of an alleged informer 43 years ago.

Fears of gigantic and prolonged corruption at NAMA

dalynoonan.jpg There was a telling development in the scandal over Ireland’s ‘bad bank’ this week as the Dublin government attempted to derail a parliamentary committee’s investigation by releasing a sheaf of documents on the eve of a public meeting of the panel.

US pols ready to assist in Stormont crisis

clintonhart.jpg Former US President Bill Clinton and former US Presidential candidate Gary Hart are both engaged in a trans-atlantic effort to sustain the worn-down power-sharing administration in the north of Ireland.

Anger over harassment by British troops

barmydungiven.jpg Children were left terrified by heavily armed British soldiers in County Derry when several lorries filled with troops carried out foot patrols near Dungiven last Friday, September 25.

The crime of being Catholic, 40 years on

peggyhale.jpg The sister of a Catholic woman murdered by the Glennane Gang has spoken out in search of justice for Peggy Hale, 40 years after her death.

British Labour Party to pay tribute to Irish revolutionary

countessmarkievicz.jpg British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has announced plans to honour the Irish republican hero Countess Markievicz, the first woman ever elected to the Westminster parliament in London.

Death of Brian Friel

brianfriel.jpg Brian Friel, who has died aged 86, was the best-known Irish playwright of his generation. Translations, about the low-level repression of Irish culture in the 19th century, remains his most celebrated, while Dancing at Lughnasa was his most successful, winning three Tony Awards in 1992.

Chairperson’s speech to RNU Ard Fheis 2015

rnuaf15.jpg The address delivered by the Chairperson of Republican Network for Unity Carl Reilly, at his party’s annual conference in Newry on Saturday, 26th September

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