Irish Republican News: Archives

November 30, 2009

Stormont doubts grow

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the 26-County Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, met again in London today [Monday] for talks on the deadlock over the devolution of policing and justice powers to Belfast.

Cowen defers to church over abuse report

Victims of clerical chid abuse have criticised the response of the Dublin government to revelations that three decades of abuse by paedophiles in the Dublin Archdiocese were covered up by the church hierarchy.

Loyalist mob lays claim to Portadown centre

A loyalist mob staged a ‘show of strength’ on Saturday to intimidate Catholics from entering the town centre despite the PSNI having advance knowledge of the planned incident.

Parades decision a ‘sick joke’

The Parades Commission has said it will allow a loyalist band commemorating a unionist paramilitary killer to parade past the scene where one of his victims was killed.

Solidarity protests over Basque arrests

Protests took place in Belfast and Dublin on Saturday in solidarity with the Basque struggle and the latest victims of Spanish state repression.

Scottish independence plans published

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond published details today of a planned referendum on Scottish independence, setting out the case for breaking the 300-year-old union with England.

Address to Hogan/Martin commemoration

The full text of the keynote address by Sinn Fein strategist Declan Kearney to the commemoration this weekend in village of Dunloy to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Volunteers Declan Martin and Henry Hogan.

Long way down from London

There are few things that sum up the failure of the Provisional IRA campaign more definitively than the recent call by one of its former leaders for people to inform on those republicans still wedded to the notion of armed struggle.

November 26, 2009

Govt apologises over abuse, blames church

The Dublin government this afternoon apologised for “failures” by the State in dealing with clerical child abuse and said the “deference” shown to the church in this regard had been “misplaced”.

SRR planned Fermanagh ambush

The British Army’s elite Special Reconnaisance Regiment were involved in the ambush in county Fermanagh last week in which a number of shots were fired, it has emerged.

Civil servants set to strike again

Around a quarter of a million workers took to picket lines across the Twenty-Six Counties today [Tuesday] as public sector staff struggle to protect their pay and conditions.

UDA gang wins Shoukri release

Leading loyalist Andre Shoukri had to be re-released from prison after a threat that his arrest could end hopes of a start to the UDA’s decommissioning of its weapons in north Belfast.

New transition for political chameleon

A former member of the hated RUC police and a member of the Orange Order has become Sinn Fein’s newest Assembly member.

Unease grows over cross-border shopping

Advertisements aimed at attracting southern shoppers and holidaymakers to Belfast over Christmas have been banned in Dublin.

Help bring the Manchester Martyrs home

Help the campaign for the Manchester Martyrs to be returned home to Ireland.

More strikes needed

The best and sure fire way to victory is an indefinite general strike where public and private sector workers unite in a common battle to save jobs and protect our services.

November 23, 2009

Road to conflict?

There have been warnings that armed struggle could once again begin to fill the political vacuum following two incidents in Fermanagh and Belfast involving the breakaway IRA groups.

Unionism is winning - Robinson

The DUP was right to agree to power sharing in 2007 because “for the first time in a generation unionism is winning”, party leader Peter Robinson has claimed.

PSNI man ‘surprised’ by Donnelly injury

A member of the PSNI yesterday told Derry Magistrates Court on Friday that he could not explain how leading dissident Gary Donnelly had sustained a ‘three-way spiral fracture’ to his left arm after being arrested.

Unions amend strike plans after ‘unprecedented’ floods

Trade unions have scaled back plans for thousands of their members to go on strike tomorrow in five local authority areas around the country which have been severely hit by flood and storm damage.

Tohill accused faces extradition north

A Belfast man is to face extradition to the North in regard to the ‘Tohill incident’ in which mainstream republicans allegedly kidnapped and assaulted a dissident.

O Bradaigh steps down

In his final address as President of Republican Sinn Fein, Ruairi O Bradaigh has outlined the challenges which he believes lie ahead for Ireland and his party.

Johnny Walker - A terrible injustice

Thirty five years ago, six Irishmen were jailed for crimes they did not commit, and spent 16 years in jail before their convictions were quashed.

Section 44

Police harassment is still a fact of life on the streets of working class communities.

November 19, 2009

Police statelet

The PSNI has ramped up a campaign of political arrests with the detention of Marian Price, the National Secretary of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.

Paisley lauds Sinn Fein compliance

Ian Paisley this week praised Sinn Fein for keeping its word on power-sharing despite the rise in support for dissidents.

Court upholds discrimination against IRA widow

The widow of an IRA man beaten to death after his prison release has lost her appeal against being denied compensation.

Diplock convictions to be overturned

On Friday last week, following a lengthy legal battle, three men were told that Crown prosecutors were no longer willing to stand over their convictions for offences as teenagers.

Basque peace process urged as extradition bid rejected

A Belfast judge has thrown out attempts to have a Basque man extradited to face political charges in Spain.

International furore after Irish team ‘robbed’ of World Cup spot

An extraordinary wave of public outrage has gripped Ireland after the national soccer team was robbed of a World Cup place on Wednesday night following a blatant foul by France’s Thierry Henry.

Sinn Fein pre-budget submission

The executive summary of Sinn Fein’s pre-budget submission for the 2010 calendar year.

Ireland and the Berlin Wall

The celebrations for the Fall of the Wall dividing Berlin were spectacular and understandable. Not so understandable was some Irish politicians joining in.

November 16, 2009

Maghaberry tense after ‘lock down’

A number of republican prisoners were denied food for more than 48 hours as a ‘lock down’ and search took place at Maghaberry Prison late last week and over the weekend.

Cowen invites Haughey comparison

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has repeated exactly the infamous comment of former Fianna Fail Taoiseach Charles Haughey that “We are living way beyond our means”.

Prominent dissident arrested

The PSNI have been accused of harassing the leadership of the Republican Network for Unity group and provocatively arresting senior dissident republican Tony Catney.

PSNI target sponsored walk

The PSNI’s apparently increasing reliance on the tactics of repression was highlighted on Sunday a massive operation was deployed to deal with a sponsored walk on Belfast’s Black Mountain.

Republican alleges extradition ‘cherry-picking’

A republican facing extradition for questioning about the death of a British Army sergeant in England 17 years ago has accused the authorities of “cherry-picking” who they try to extradite.

PSNI stage bogus alert at Derry pub

The manager of a pub in Derry popular with republicans has questioned the motivation behind a so-called ‘security alert’ at the premises on Tuesday, saying it was “pure PSNI/RUC intimidation”.

The return of securocrats?

A member of Sinn Fein in south Armagh has blamed unionists and British state security agencies for a major investigation into his finances.

Republican Sinn Fein elects new President

Des Dalton became the new president of Republican Sinn Fein at its Ard-Fheis [annual conference] on Sunday.

November 12, 2009

Informer claim denied

A one-time leading member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party has denied he was a top-level informer.

McGuinness warning over DUP stalling

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has warned of “deep trouble” if there is no deal on policing and justice by Christmas.

Political motive seen behind raids, seizures

Sinn Fein has criticised police raids in south Armagh in which the family assets of a friend of the MP for Newry and Armagh, Conor Murphy, were seized.

PSNI backtracks on shoot-to-kill disclosures

The PSNI police have said they need ‘more time’ to hand over reports into shoot-to-kill murders by the force (then RUC) in the Six Counties in the 1980s.

Seven new Sellafields planned

Fears have been raised about the health and environmental risks to Ireland after the British government gave the green light for the construction of 10 new nuclear power plants -- seven of them along the Irish Sea.

‘Christmas not cancelled’ - Tanaiste

The Dublin government has been forced to deny suggestions that it is ‘cancelling Christmas’.

The political road

Prominent socialist republican Gerry Ruddy looks at the recent recent decision by the INLA to renounce armed struggle.

Workers standing up to defend jobs and services

In recent times it has become increasingly clear that the Irish government intends pursuing an economic strategy which is essentially ignoring the advice from the unions and appears to be on a collision course which could result in widespread industrial action.