September 28, 2004

Republican merchandise banned by e-Bay

An internet auction site has banned the sale of all Irish republican materials outside the USA.

Murphy has ‘funny turn’

Britain’s Direct Ruler in Ireland, Paul Murphy, was taken to hospital today after falling ill at the annual conference of the British Labour Party.

ADAMS CONCERN AT TALKS FAILURE

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has expressed concern about the handling of the political process since the failure of last week’s intensive talks to reach a deal.

Derry Commemorative Civil Rights March

A number of people have suggested to us that it was a mistake to include the case of Seamus Doherty in the issues being highlighted by the march marking the anniversary of the October 5th 1968 launch of the civil rights campaign in Derry.

Bush campaigner threatens magazine

The former US ambassador to Ireland, Richard Egan, has warned the publisher of an Irish American magazine she had “better think twice before trying to influence American politics” as “the Irish are not the only ones with long memories”.

British Army in flute band bust-up

A controversy has arisen involving a British soldier’s links to unionist paramilitaries and his wife’s accusations of harassment.

Blair broke Finucane pledge - Durkan

Tony Blair has been accused by the SDLP leader Mark Durkan of breaking pledges over the issue of British collusion with unionist paramilitaries.

Dublin - a Cause for Concern

By Danny Morrison
www.dannymorrison.com

The only way of stopping the DUP from wrecking the Belfast Agreement and bringing it around to political reality is to continue to implement the Agreement’s equality and justice provisions and the work of the all-Ireland bodies, even in the absence of an assembly and executive.

September 24, 2004

Rules waived for UDA man

A leading unionist paramilitary who was caught breaking bail conditions has controversially been allowed to remain free.

An inquiry into Finucane - but what kind?

A statement by Amnesty International Press Release following yesterday’s announcement of an inquiry into the Pat Finucane case.

Irish link to Iraq hostage

The brother of the British hostage facing execution in Iraq believes the Irish Government could be the “catalyst” to secure his release.

FINUCANES THREATENS INQUIRY BOYCOTT

An announcement by the British government of a secretive inquiry into the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane has fuelled fears that a long-standing cover-up is set to continue.

An inquiry into Finucane - but what kind?

The following is a statement by Amnesty International Press Release following yesterday’s announcement of an inquiry into the Pat Finucane case.

Family attacked in loyalist feud

A woman who escaped injury with her nine-month-old daughter in a pipe bomb attack in Derry has said they were an easy target.

DUP holds out against Agreement

Two days of talks in Belfast this week have again failed to produce the breakthrough which appeared imminent during intensive negotiations last weekend in southern England.

Court action over controversial murder case

A judicial review of the PSNI’s refusal to bring in an outside police force to investigate a controversial murder resumed yesterday at the High Court in Belfast.

Nowhere to left to go for trapped DUP

By Brian Feeney (for the Irish News)

Have you noticed how carefully Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair, Brian Cowen and our own dear proconsul avoid saying the dread sentence, ‘the DUP refuse to share power’, let alone publicly demand of the DUP that they do share power?

September 21, 2004

The Agreement will endure - Sinn Féin

Speaking at a news conference in London this morning, Sinn Féin Vice-President Pat Doherty outlined his party’s view of the course of events preceding and during the intensive talks at Leeds Castle this past weekend.

McAleese re-election to be uncontested

Irish President Mary McAleese is set to serve another seven year term as no other candidate has emerged to challenge her re-election.

DUP EXPOSED BY IRA CONCESSION

A deal to restore the suspended Belfast Assembly and power-sharing institutions in the North of Ireland appears to be getting closer following three days of intensive all-party negotiations in southern England and further talks in Belfast this week.

Fears that Finucane inquiry will be fudged again

The British government has been warned against any attempt to water down an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.

Pub attack linked to feud

There has been concern in Derry after unionist paramilitary feuding broke out in a gun attack at a pub in the city.

At Last

At last, the DUP has been smoked out, fundamentalist unionism exposed to the world.

Daphne Trimble in election challenge

The wife of Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble is to try to unseat Paisleyite and former UUP rebel Jeffrey Donaldson at the next Westminster election.

No prizes on offer for isolating Sinn Féin

(for the Sunday Business Post)

Some brave soul recently sprayed: ‘‘A’ company, 3rd battalion IRA defunct’ on the wall of the library at Ardoyne.

September 17, 2004

Protest against plastic bullets

A widow whose husband was killed by a plastic bullet yesterday confronted a senior member of the North’s Policing Board, demanding a ban on the use of the baton round.

Morgan to quit politics

Martin Morgan, a leading member of the nationalist SDLP and a former mayor of Belfast, is to leave politics.

‘Fruit of the Loom’ moves to Morocco

A decision by the Fruit of the Loom corporation to close its Donegal and Derry plants has come as a massive blow to the northwest.

DEAL ‘COULD BE DONE’

Huge press interest surrounds intensive talks at Leeds Castle in Kent in southern England, where the prospects of a deal between Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley is the increasing subject of rumour and speculation.

Unionism cannot be allowed a veto over progress

By Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams (for the Irish Times)

Sinn Féin is approaching the discussions in Leeds Castle later this week positively and with a determination to see the crisis in the political process resolved, the political institutions restored and the process of change outlined in the Good Friday agreement accelerated.

Orange ‘Master’ jailed for sectarian killing

A former district master in the Orange Order has been sentenced to at least 15 years of a life term for the sectarian murder of Glengormley man Trevor Lowry, a 49-year-old Protestant father of two who was mistaken for a Catholic.

Rapid conviction delays search for truth

Ken Barrett’s conviction yesterday for the murder of Pat Finucane does not help the search for the truth surrounding the lawyer’s murder, according to the dead man’s family.

The DUP will not overturn its manifesto

By Brian Feeney (for the Irish News)

Writing in Monday’s Irish Times (see above) Gerry Adams asserted that “The DUP represents the anti-agreement minority of the electorate.” Hmm. That’s only if you think the UUP is united in its support for the agreement. It isn’t. Let’s not forget the dozen convocations of backwoodsmen that dissident UUP members like Jeffrey Donaldson called to stymie the agreement’s progress. Remember, Trimble usually managed only a 54% vote at those meetings and that only because each time he was driven further away from his obligations under the agreement.

September 14, 2004

Dublin urged to oppose Direct Rule

Sinn Féin has said the Dublin Government must oppose any attempt to formally reintroduce direct rule in the North in crisis talks in southern England later this week.

Sectarian attack in Derry

The PSNI police have been criticised for failing to protect nationalists in Derry’s Waterside after loyalists entered a Catholic home and attacked two men.

Irish President may get unopposed second term

Ireland’s right-wing parties have backed the re-election campaign of Irish President Mary McAleese, while her potential rivals are struggling to gain the necessary nomination.

FINUCANE COVER-UP CONTINUES

The family of Pat Finucane has renewed demands for a public inquiry into the murder following the conviction of unionist paramilitary Ken Barrett yesterday.

A message for the GAA

By Danny Morrison
www.dannymorrison.com

A blanket man in the H-Blocks risking a beating and solitary confinement in order to smuggle GAA results to news-starved comrades is just one story told in that fine book by Tom Humphries, ‘Green Fields: Gaelic Sport in Ireland’ (1996).

Discrimination allegations aired

A partner at a leading estate agency in Belfast joked about the breeding habits of Catholics and the size of their families, a Fair Employment tribunal has heard.

Second bug found by Sinn Féin

A sophisticated bugging device was discovered at Sinn Féin’s offices in west Belfast today.

Don’t dodge the issue of collusion

This week the British and Irish governments and all the main parties in the north of Ireland will be in Leeds Castle in Kent. Sinn Féin will be trying to unblock the political impasse here. It will not be easy.

September 10, 2004

Reserve cuts short of Patten, big on payouts

Just over 800 full-time police reservists, who are overwhelmingly Protestant, have been offered severance packages worth up to a hundred thousand pounds sterling as a lump sum, with a pension to follow.

Minorities under threat

Ethnic minorities in the North have been warned they could be attacked by racist and far-right groups.

Pollution tax u-turn

The Dublin government has controversially decided to abandon its plan to introduce a new tax on polluting fuels.

Link to Basques, Galicia found in genes

The Irish and Scots may be as closely related to the people of Spain and Portugal as the Celts of central Europe, it has been reported.

TALKS WARNINGS

Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams has said he is pessimistic about the prospects of prospect of a breakthrough at next week’s peace talks at Leeds Castle in southern England.

The BBC and the myth of ‘Norn Iron’

(for the Andersonstown News)

The BBC refused to broadcast Amhran na bhFiann from Croke Park before the All-Ireland football semi-final match between Derry and Kerry.

Attack on Derry PSNI base

A masked republican carried out a gun attack on Derry’s PSNI headquarters yesterday morning, firing up to 30 shots from an AK-47 automatic rifle.

Any threat to the majority is not welcome

Given that background and the belief constantly repeated by unionist politicians that change can only be bad for unionists, it looks as if racist assaults by unionists will continue to increase in frequency.

September 7, 2004

UDA attack youths amid simmering north Belfast tension

There were serious disturbances in the Whitewell area of north Belfast at the weekend before a controversial unionist parade passed through the troubled sectarian interface.

Population returns to post-famine levels

The population of the 26 Counties in April 2004 is at its highest figure since 1871 amid an Irish baby boom.

Historic castle faces destruction

The High Court in Dublin has ruled against the constitutional challenge to the south Dublin portion of the South Eastern Motorway at the archaeologically sensitive Carrickmines Castle.

SPYING SHOWS BRITISH BAD FAITH

An elaborate bugging device found at the home of one of Gerry Adams's staff has all but capsized preparations for crucial talks set for England later this month.

No other law

The following is an edited version of the address by Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew, speaking at the annual Sinn Féin commemoration of IRA figure Liam Lynch on Sunday at his graveside in Goatenbridge, on the Tipperary-Waterford border.

Outline of deal can be detected

The following is an edited version of an address by DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson MP MLA at the annual conference of the Irish Small Firms Association in Dublin Castle.

Bafflement at DUP contradictions

Amid conflicting messages from unionists in recent days, Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams said yesterday that London and Dublin must now decide whether the Good Friday Agreement or the Democratic Unionist Party is to prevail in the North of Ireland.

The Paisley Problem

By Danny Morrison
www.dannymorrison.com

Last Monday on NBC News President George Bush was asked, ``Can we win'' the war on terror. He replied, ``I don't think you can win it.'' He thus directly contradicted a previous speech he made claiming that the war could be won.

September 3, 2004

U.S. comments cause anger, bafflement

President George Bush’s chief strategist, Karl Rove, has invoked the wrath of Irish America by comparing the IRA to al-Qaeda.

UDA attempt mass murder at pub

Unionist paramilitaries crashed a fork lift truck into a north Belfast pub last night in an attempt to murder staff and customers.

Call for legislation reform ahead of parade

A north Belfast interface is tense ahead of a contentious march this weekend.

IRA MUST GO, SF MUST REFORM - PAISLEY

DUP hardliners led by Ian Paisley have insisted that any breakthrough in negotiations this month will require an overhaul of Sinn Féin as a political party and the end of the IRA.

US activist alerts

The Irish-American Unity Conference has listed some ways you can help promote the Irish cause in the US in the correct political context.

Court action over prisoner conditions

A republican prisoner in Maghaberry jail is taking a High Court action challenging the way the Prison Service is operating a restrictive and punitive regime of segregation in the jail.

Unionism will never share power

By Brian Feeney (for the Irish News)

Ten years ago nationalists woke up in hope and expectation that a new political landscape had opened up with the IRA cessation announced the previous day. That night the UDA murdered a 32-year-old Catholic, John O’Hanlon, in a drive-by shooting in north Belfast.

Affordable housing scheme collapses

A touted initiative by the 26 County Dublin government to provide cheaper housing in new private estates resulted in just 163 social and affordable houses being built last year, despite an overall output of 69,000 houses and apartments.

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