Irish Republican News: Archives

December 28, 2009

Abuse questions mount

There have been calls for an inquiry into the police handling of abuse allegations against Gerry Adams’s brother Liam, while the Sinn Fein President has also come under pressure.

Emigrant pursued over Nairac death

A man sought by the British authorities in the IRA killing of undercover SAS spy has been traced to New Jersey after a 32-year pursuit.

Palestinian aid convoy halted

An Irish aid mission destined for the besieged people of the Gaza Strip in occupied Palestine was prevented by the Egyptian government from entering the country on Christmas Eve.

IRA faction ‘disbands’ Derry group

The breakaway republican armed group using the title ‘Oglaigh na h-Eireann’ (ONH) has said it has ‘disbanded and disarmed’ a recently formed Derry group claiming to be involved in anti-drug activities.

Shoppers faced with cross-border reality check

The tens of thousands of shoppers from the Twenty-Six Counties who have been crossing Britain’s border in search of a bargain have been greeted by adverts of a distinctly different nature than normal in recent days.

Minister apologises to SF for defamation

The 26-County Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea has apologised to Sinn Fein Councillor Maurice Quinlivan for making false and defamatory comments contained in a newspaper article earlier this year.

Marie Moore

Another old stalwart of the conflict to leave us this year was the veteran Sinn Fein activist Marie Moore who died in hospital after a long illness

Beannacht

I thought I might deal with some of the events in the life of my clan and in my own life. Events which are now in the media. But on reflection it’s too near Christmas for all that.

December 21, 2009

Turmoil for Adams

Gerry Adams has spoken of how his late father abused family members when they were children following an explosive family fall-out which has deeply embarrassed the Sinn Fein President.

UDA arms farce

A plan for the unionist paramilitary UDA to disarm has failed because of a failure by government officials to hand over millions of pounds to UDA controlled areas, according to reports.

PSNI ‘to investigate itself’

Murders carried out by a notorious UVF gang in collusion with the RUC police are set to be investigated by the same police force which stands accused of ordering the killings, it has emerged.

Taoiseach blocks banking inquiry

The 26 County Taoiseach Brian Cowen is being accused of blocking a major inquiry into the banking system because “it’ll expose the close links to Fianna Fail”.

Prisoner ‘a pawn in Maghaberry plot’

A republican prisoner at Maghaberry jail in county Antrim appears to have been the victim of a set up in a bid by prison warders to oust the new prison governor.

Interview with Gerry Adams

The transcript of a broadcast interview with Sinn Fein President by RTE’s Tommie Gorman.

Maud Gonne - Yeats’s Caitlin ni Houlihan

Born during an age when women were expected to be nothing more than handsome window-dressing for their husbands, when women were expected to leave the rough and tumble world of politics to men, Maud Gonne rose above that prejudice to leave her mark on Ireland’s history.

Two angry men and a Taoiseach

Limavady wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, all handshakes and chuckles.

December 20, 2009

Statement by family of Gerry Adams

The following statement was issued today by the family of Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams regarding Mr Adams's late father, Gerry senior.

December 17, 2009

Catholic church in crisis

The Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has admitted the Catholic church in Ireland is facing a “deep crisis” despite the resignation of the scandalised Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray.

Terry McCafferty loses appeal

The British government sent a Belfast man back to jail based on a secret claim by British intelligence that he might return to armed republican activity after his release, it has emerged.

Dissidents ‘welcome to join Fianna Fail’

Fianna Fail is ready to contest elections in the Six Counties on a ‘united Ireland’ agenda and its candidates will include republicans who have become disaffected with Sinn Fein over their political direction, according to to the chairman of Fianna Fail in Fermanagh.

Dispute continues on truth and legacy issues

The North of Ireland is “not yet ready” for a truth commission to hear from the victims and families of victims of the conflict, according to the unionist-dominated ‘Northern Ireland Committee’ of the Westminster parliament in London.

British Army killers were ‘psychotic’

A former British soldier who deserted after his regiment shot up a Belfast dancehall has met with the sister of the man gunned down and killed that night.

Christmas toy voucher used in MI5 recruitment bid

A Derry man has said MI5 tried to recruit him as an informer by sending a Christmas card to his house containing a phone number and a voucher for a local toy shop.

Action alert for republican prisoners

Prisoner support groups have urged those interested to send a card or letter this holiday season to those republican prisoners currently behind bars.

Step low

Pretty much as low as we are likely to find this side of Christmas. A lender repossessed the home of a Waterford couple which they shared with their special needs child.

December 14, 2009

Stormont pantomine plays out

The North’s leaders Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness clashed in public today as the problems at the heart of the power-sharing government were air

Countdown to unions’ ‘battle’ with govt

The leader of Ireland’s largest public sector union has said the Dublin government is facing “a potentially explosive situation” following the introduction of pay cuts for staff on the state payroll.

‘No evidence of rule of law’ in RUC killing

An RUC police cover-up surrounding the plastic bullet killing of an innocent woman led to a breakdown in the rule of law, the High Court has heard.

Shell to Sea campaigner to be jailed for nine months

Environmental activist Maura Harrington is facing nine months behind bars after she refused to sign a bond restricting her right to protest.

British Army bomb squad wrecks home

A west Belfast man and his disabled brother were forced to wait in freezing temperatures while a British army unit destroyed the front of their home in a so-called “controlled explosion”.

‘Border the concern, not shoppers’

Figures from the first-ever survey on cross-Border shopping revealed one in six households in the 26 Counties had been on such expeditions in the first six months of the year.

Expanding the McBride agenda

An appeal to Americans to continue the MacBride agenda of change in the north of Ireland by investing twice: once for jobs, once for justice.

An insidious budget

The budget says a lot about the economics and media commentators who have praised it for grappling with the fiscal crisis, while remaining indifferent to the social consequences.

December 10, 2009

A bankrupt budget

There has been a furious response to the Dublin government’s decision to reduce social welfare payments and cut the pay of the lowest-paid public service workers in its annual statement of economic policy.

Flanagan lied, Hamill inquiry hears

Former RUC police chief Ronnie Flanagan lied on oath about the murder of Robert Hamill, the inquiry into his murder was told on Tuesday.

Britain washes hands of Stormont stalemate

The British government has said it will not put pressure on the DUP to end the political stalemate in the North of Ireland.

Brady family protest at policing meeting

The family of a republican who died in unexplained circumstances in PSNI custody mounted protest at a District Policing Partnership (DPP) meeting in Derry on Wednesday.

Activists confront IMC ‘smear’

An anti-drugs community group in north Belfast have met with the so-called ‘Independent Monitoring Commission’, widely considered to be a mouthpiece for British propoganda.

Kelly slams bomb hoax

Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly has been the victim of a hoax bomb threat.

War declared on workers and the poor

The Fianna Fail/Green Party budget represents a savage attack on the working class of the Twenty-Six Counties.

Groundhog Day

Martin McGuinness has promised “serious consequences” and “a full-blown crisis” if a date for devolving policing and justice powers to the north is not agreed before Christmas and it won’t be.

December 9, 2009

Lenihan slashes public pay, social welfare, sets new taxes

The Dublin government’s Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has this afternoon announced the harshest budget in the history of the 26 County state. He said the cuts and taxes announced today would “send a signal to the rest of the world that we are able and willing to put our house in order.”

December 7, 2009

Social partnership collapses

The Garda police in the 26 Counties are to hold an illegal ballot to join state-wide strike actions following the collapse in pay talks between the Dublin government and Ireland’s main public sector trade unions.

Maghaberry prison governor quits

The governor of the North’s main prison for political prisoners has resigned less than five months after taking up the post.

Lundy’s Day passes off peacefully

The UVF attacked the nationalist Ardoyne shops in north Belfast ahead of a highly controversial loyalist march at the weekend

PSNI loses ‘vindictive’ costs case

The northern editor of the Sunday Tribune Suzanne Breen said she felt further vindicated by a ruling yesterday on legal costs in her case against the PSNI police.

Sinn Fein, DUP in slapfight over deadlock

Sinn Fein has called on the DUP leader Peter Robinson to let people know exactly why he is still refusing to agree a date for the transfer of justice responsibilities from the Westminster parliament in London to the Stormont Assembly in Belfast.

Israeli police compare notes with PSNI

The PSNI and the Israel police force have controversially held meetings to compare their ongoing operations in the north of Ireland and middle East respectively.

Nuclear threat from British reactors

The proposed designs for seven new British nuclear power stations, which will be built along the Irish Sea coast, have potentially lethal flaws.

Don’t blame the DUP

Unfortunately, in sport as in politics, resentment isn’t always directed at the right target.

December 3, 2009

Confusion and anger as budget looms

The Dublin government has been accused of dithering and weakness after it backed away from a potential deal with the public service trade unions to avert strike action.

Ardoyne activists gassed, arrested by PSNI

The son of a former prominent Sinn Fein councillor has accused the PSNI of “political and heavy-handed policing” alter being sprayed with CS gas and arrested in north Belfast on Sunday night.

Dissident republicans okay, says PSNI Chief

In his first full interview since taking up his new post, PSNI police chief Matt Baggott has said that he has “no problems with dissident republicanism” but that the use of armed struggle “is just meant to intimidate and take people back to a day when the streets were full of the [British] Army.”