The President of Republican Sinn Fein, Ruairi O Bradaigh has stepped
down from the post “for reasons of age and health”. He will continue as
a member of the party’s leadership and is expected to move to the
position of patron of the party.
![[Irish Republican News]](https://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/rn.gif) | ![[Irish Republican News]](https://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/harp.gif) |
September 28, 2009
O Bradaigh steps down
The President of Republican Sinn Fein, Ruairi O Bradaigh has stepped
down from the post “for reasons of age and health”. He will continue as
a member of the party’s leadership and is expected to move to the
position of patron of the party.
Bureaucrats spending millions on ‘Yes’ vote
Anti-Lisbon campaigner Patricia McKenna has threatened the European
Commission with legal action over what she claims is a “propaganda
campaign” over the Lisbon Treaty.
McGuinness played role in hunger strike tragedy
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has revealed that he was a conduit for an
offer from the British government to the 1981 hunger strikers.
Gormley gives hostage to fortune
The Green Party could collapse the deeply unpopular 26-County government
unless party members back two key motions at the party’s convention on
October 10, it has been confirmed.
Call for all-Ireland plan on banks crisis
An all-Ireland economic summit must be held to find an alternative to
the controversial plans to establish a ‘bad bank’ to handle toxic debt
south of the border, Sinn Fein said today.
Irish ships are sailing once again
The 26 County state is suffering net emigration for the first time since
1995.
The Lisbon Treaty is unchanged
On Friday you have an opportunity to shape the future of Europe. The
question you have to ask yourself is whether the Lisbon Treaty is a good
deal for Ireland and whether it takes the European Union in the
direction you want it to go
Stature of ten men unassailed
Out of the five demands the only thing the British were offering to the
hunger strikers after four men had died was that they could wear
ordinary clothes, “provided these clothes were approved by the prison
authorities.”
September 24, 2009
Freedom: one week left?
The Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign continues to expose a gulf of
opinion between the people of Ireland and the wealthy elites.
Major PSNI operation for new chief’s arrival
A major military-style operation similar to that mounted for royal
visits swung into action this week as Matt Baggott officially took over
as the new PSNI chief.
Anger over new Bloody Sunday delay
The Bloody Sunday families have described the latest delay in the
publication of the Saville report into the 1972 deaths as a “kick in the
teeth”.
Republican confrontation at DPP meeting
Up to 50 republicans forced their way into a public meeting of the local
District Policing Partnership in Derry on Wednesday morning
‘Wake up and smell the coffee’ - DUP
A prolonged contradiction has arisen in talks over the proposed
devolution of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast, with
the DUP continuing to deny Sinn Fein claims that progress is being made
in the talks.
Fas directors are ‘scapegoats’
A prosecution is being prepared into the “worthless” expenditures of
State training agency Fas as questions are being asked about a seven
figure payment made by the Dublin government to its former director
general last year.
Lisbon hides ticking time bomb of EU defence body
The Lisbon Treaty proposes to incorporate the European Defence Agency
within the institutional structure of the European Union.
New SDLP leader must heal division with Sinn Fein
There is only one certainty to emerge from several days of media
interviews with Mark Durkan about his leadership of the SDLP and that is
he does not want to continue to lead the party.
September 21, 2009
Armagh mayhem follows sentencing
Three days of serious disorder erupted in north county Armagh at the
weekend after three members of the Continuity IRA received heavy
sentences for possession of a homemade rocket launcher.
Durkan ‘jumped rather than be pushed’
SDLP leader Mark Durkan was forced to announce his intention to step
down yesterday by colleagues who made it apparent that the knives were
out for him, it has emerged.
Shivers bailed from Maghaberry ‘death sentence’
Brian Shivers, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, was granted bail on
Friday after a judge heard prison authorities had failed to provide
essential medical treatment for him.
Developers celebrate windfall as families queue for food
Ireland’s multi-millionaire developers were this week toasting the
Dublin government’s bailout of the Irish real estate market in the
Spanish playground resort of Puerto Banus, according to newspaper
reports.
Barroso mounts Lisbon PR stunt
The European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso kissed babies and
pressed the flesh in an Irish-style political canvas, hours after
threatening serious repercussions for Ireland if the Lisbon Treaty is
not approved in the October 2 referendum.
Secrets of Royal Black Institution revealed
Loyalist secret societies have “cultivated hatred and sectarianism” and
should be disbanded, according to the author of a new book on the Royal
Black Institution.
The surrender of our fishing waters: A continental coup
It is worth remembering when vested intersts remind you yet again of the
structural funds we received from the European Union what we ourselves
as a nation have given to the EU. Namely, our entire fishing waters,
which was the admission price for entry.
A plank in the DUP election platform
Peter Robinson made a speech last week calling for decisions to be taken
by a weighted-majority vote in Stormont.
September 20, 2009
SDLP leader Durkan to step down
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has said he intends to stand aside as party leader after the next Westminster general election, which is expected around May next year.
September 17, 2009
The sorry saga of Shell
Maura Harrington is a spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign, from
County Mayo, who has now been jailed four times for her opposition to
the Shell Corrib gas project in north Mayo. Here she looks back at a
decade of resistance by the local community and its supporters against
an unwanted, dangerous and apparently corrupt exploitation of a
sensitive environment.
NAMA: The big lie
The 26 County Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has confirmed a bailout
measuring in tens of billions of Euro for Irish developers, property
speculators and their bankers.
Humanitarian appeal for Brian Shivers
A man currently being held on remand at Maghaberry jail on the basis of
controversial ‘low copy’ or ‘low threshold’ DNA evidence could be dead
by the time he is cleared of charges, his lawyer has said.
Coroner gives shoot-to-kill ultimatum
The PSNI has been given seven weeks to hand over top-secret reports into
the deaths of six men shot dead in Crown force shoot-to-kill operations.
Pro-Lisbon side ‘using economic fears’
The main political parties are using the current economic crisis to
scare people into supporting the Lisbon Treaty, Sinn Féin’s Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has said.
Protest against British Army recuitment
A British Army recruitment event in Belfast city centre was disrupted on
Saturday, September 12 after éirígí activists staged a demonstration.
Devolution talks go on
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has insisted that the North’s political
parties have reached “the end game” in negotiating a financial package
with the British government on the transfer of policing and justice
powers from London to Belfast.
Might Sinn Fein merge with Labour?
Gerry Adams would be well advised to seek a much closer formal alliance
with the Irish Labour Party rather than move away from Left politics.
September 16, 2009
Scale of NAMA bailout revealed
The 26-County Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has revealed the
extent of the highly controversial bailout to be provided to the main
Irish banks following heavy losses by Irish developers in the property
markets.
September 14, 2009
Collusion behind Loughinisland
A report into the RUC police’s handling of one of the major loyalist
massacres of the conflict is expected to reveal that four British
Crown force agents were aware that unionist paramilitaries were
planning the atrocity.
Following the FAS money trail
There have been calls for a criminal investigation into the actions of
the board of directors of FAS, the 26 County state training agency, who
are to resign en masse over their questionable spending practices.
Policing tensions spill over in Derry
Two devices were planted by the ‘Real IRA’ outside the homes of
relatives of a Catholic PSNI member in Derry on Friday.
Flanagan ‘blamed Hamill family for death’
The Robert Hamill inquiry has heard that former RUC/PSNI police chief
Ronnie Flanagan claimed that the Portadown man may have been
accidentally killed by his own family.
People to pay for my mistakes, Cowen admits
The Taoiseach Brian Cowen has accepted that he had “not got everything
right” on managing the country’s finances, adding that the Irish people
will endure further “short-term pain” to help balance the budget.
Call for truth over loyalist weapons
Two Belfast families whose lives changed forever after their loved ones
were gunned down by weapons obtained by a British agent in South Africa
have called on the government to tell the truth about their role in the
murders.
Time for the transfer of powers
Policing has again reached a critical juncture but with a fresh
opportunity to accelerate the process of change.
The true cost of violence in Ireland
They talk about the violence of the past 40 years - as if what people
suffered in Ireland’s northeast before the 1960s was not violence.
September 10, 2009
Bomb warning ignored
Civilians in Forkhill, south Armagh have expressed their anger after an
abandoned bomb was left in a culvert on the border for over a week.
No respect for Nama ‘lipstick’
Amendments have been made to the proposed legislation establishing the
National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to help the Green Party
leadership get support for the plan at their special conference of
members this weekend.
Arms body done with UVF, holds talks with UDA
The IICD arms body under General John de Chastelain has said in a
statement that it believes that the arms decommissioned in June by the
unionist paramilitary UVF is all that remained under the control of that
organisation’s leadership, and that UVF decommissioning has ended.
DUP ‘seeking new renegotiation’
Nationalists have warned that unionists are seeking a new political
agreement for the North of Ireland in return for the transfer of
policing and justice powers from London to Belfast.
Bogside gates cut down
Angle grinders and saws were used to cut down so-called “peace gates” in
Derry’s Bogside on Tuesday.
Prosecutors back decision on McGuinness charges
Crown prosecutors have said that Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness
was not charged with membership of the IRA in 1994 because there was not
enough evidence.
Stand together for our own good
Nationalists and republicans should have a united policy about
one most important issue: Our right to make our own political, economic
and cultural decisions.
A message to the elites
There are plenty of good reasons to vote ‘No’, again, on Lisbon - far
more than there are reasons to vote ‘Yes’.
September 7, 2009
Victims caught in oil game
The issue of compensation for victims of the conflict in Ireland has
become enmeshed in a political row over Anglo-Libyan relations and oil
deals believed to be worth billions.
A tax plan for the rich
A Commission on Taxation has recommended the taxation of child benefit
and water charges as part of a reform package of the 26-County taxation
system.
UDA victim attacked again
A Coleraine man was set upon by loyalists on Wednesday night just yards
from the spot where he was left for dead in a previous UDA attack which
killed his friend, Kevin McDaid, in May.
Covert SAS operation in Tyrone
A Dungannon man has told how he returned home on Thursday to find two
armed individuals dressed in fatigues with their faces blacked out
running up a field behind his house.
Nama ‘legalised corruption’
Sinn Fein has vowed to systematically disrupt the business of the Dublin
parliament to prevent passage of the bill setting up the National Assets
Management Agency.
Irish neutrality’s last stand
A conference held at Shannon airport on Saturday heard repeated calls to
prevent major corporations from spending over a million Euro on
promoting a ‘Yes’ vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
The killing of Loughlin Maginn
The killing of Loughlin Maginn was to spark a chain reaction of
events that would finally lift the lid on Crown force collusion.
Three good reasons to spurn Lisbon once again
The deceivers and manipulators are out again.
September 3, 2009
Scotland’s bid for freedom
The Scottish government outlined plans today [Thursday] to hold a
referendum on independence for Scotland next year.
Blame game follows east Belfast riot
The PSNI has been strongly criticised for its actions during a major
riot in east Belfast following a Sinn Fein rally.
Decline in support for Fianna Fail, Lisbon II
The Green Party has admitted that a snap election may have to be held
within the next six months following a sharp decline in support for the
26 County government and the Lisbon II Treaty referendum.
UDA threats widen
The UDA has stepped up a campaign of intimidation in the north Antrim,
sending threatening letters to Rasharkin residents and expanding a list
of targets in nearby Coleraine.
Hamill inquiry struggles to reach truth
The PSNI chief who led the investigation into the sectarian murder of
Robert Hamill claimed the reason he did not record significant evidence
in police files was because he was so concerned about the risk of
collusion.
More choppers over south Armagh
There has been in increase in the number of helicopter patrols in the
skies over south Armagh amid a debate over the possibility of a return
of British Army foot patrols in the area.
Pro-Lisbon factions get desperate
With just five weeks to go to the referendum on Lisbon 2, the Yes side
grows ever more desperate and its advocates more bizarre.
Baggott’s reputation will quickly be put to the test
The past, present and future of policing in the six counties emerged
unexpectedly in the north’s media last week.
