Irish Republican News: Archives

April 29, 2010

Boy agent reveals frame-up plot

A vulnerable teenager in west Belfast was recruited by the PSNI as an informer and then put under pressure to plant explosives and weapons on his neighbours, it has emerged.

Vindication but no justice for McCabe family

Perjury charges should have been brought against members of the RUC (now PSNI) police over the plastic bullet killing of an innocent mother of three, senior judges ruled in Belfast yesterday.

Sinn Fein launches election manifesto

Sinn Fein has published its manifesto for next week’s British general election based on the linked policy objectives of peace, equality, jobs and Irish unity.

Mass rally to say ‘enough is enough’

Republicans have been urged to take part in a protest march “Enough is Enough” against bank bailouts which will be taking place Tuesday evening 11th May in Dublin.

Independent hunger strike march in Belfast

Loyalists have said they will protest against a republican hunger strike commemoration, which is to pass through Belfast city centre en route to the west of the city.

Brown borks it

Gordon Brown’s chances of retaining the position of British Prime Minister plunged this week after a stunning gaffe on the election campaign trail in which he was heard dismissing a voter who questioned British immigration policy as ‘a bigoted woman’.

A message from Gerry Adams

The foreward by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams to the party’s manifesto for next week’s Westminster election.

Tactical voting is part of the electoral landscape

Tactical voting is part of the electoral landscape of the six counties and when done for progressive reasons it strengthens the nationalist democratic forces for progress and weakens the undemocratic forces of unionism.

April 26, 2010

PSNI under pressure

The PSNI police is to intensify its campaign in south Armagh after coming in for strong criticism over its response to Thursday night’s bomb attack on its empty base in Newtownhamilton.

Sectarian British memo leaked

Britain has apologised to the Vatican for a memorandum by a team of civil servants at its foreign office mocking Pope Benedict ahead of his scheduled visit to England in September.

Adams clashes with McGeough over harassment

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams clashed with a prominent republican on Sunday as he canvassed in south Tyrone.

Cameron drops clanger over cost of union

Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the DUP have criticised comments by British Conservative leader David Cameron which compared the north of Ireland to a former Soviet nation.

Republicans seize bank HQ

Six Eirigi protesters including Dublin city councillor Louise Minihan locked themselves inside the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin on Saturday morning.

UVF attack recalls Mount Vernon gang

Unionist paramilitaries carried out an attack on the home of a woman in the Shore Road area of north Belfast at the weekend.

Unionists face new scenario in hung parliament

Regardless of who won in the debate between the British party leaders last Thursday, the outcome points to one clear conclusion: there will be a hung parliament in Britain.

Ireland is ripe for an alternative

Imagine, for a moment, that we are in the 1890s. It is not as big a stretch as it might seem.

April 23, 2010

Bomb at PSNI base in south Armagh

The PSNI police base in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh, was struck by a bomb attack late tonight.

April 22, 2010

SF sacrifice to save seats

A shock announcement that Sinn Fein’s Alex Maskey has withdrawn from the Westminster election in south Belfast was greeted with only hostility by the main beneficiaries of the move, the rival nationalist SDLP.

‘Cover-up of the century’, says Omagh campaigner

An Omagh man who lost his 21-year-old son in the 1998 bombing of the town has said it was “not only the crime of the century but possibly the cover-up of the century.”

Parades report published

Proposals to create a revised system of dealing with sectarian parades that would replace the Parades Commission were published this week by Six-County First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

Ireland tops budget crisis as bankers empty vaults

The budget deficit of the 26-County state is now the highest in the euro zone, according to the latest figures from the European Union, outstripping near-bankrupt Greece to become the state facing the greatest budgetary crisis in Europe.

Campaign against vindictive prison treatment

A prisoner at Maghaberry jail has said those who took part in an Easter protest at the jail continue to be kept in lockdown for 23 hours a day.

Balance of power seen shifting in Britain

With just two weeks left in the campaign, a hung parliament is the likeliest outcome of the British general election, according to the latest polls.

Vote for a better future

Sinn Fein are asking the electorate to endorse our role in leading the way in significant political developments since the last Westminster election.

Tactical voting will have a ripple effect

If, as a result of vote-splitting or diffused voting, a disproportionate number of unionist MPs are elected you can be sure that this will be flaunted to demoralise the nationalist people.

April 19, 2010

Paralysis

The Dublin government has been criticised for its response to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, which has cut off air transport to and from the island of Ireland for several days.

Former PoW summarily jailed

A republican ex-PoW has been re-imprisoned after the British government claimed that he was “a danger to the public”.

PSNI intimidation in Belfast

The PSNI mounted a military-style raid and arrest operation in north Belfast on Saturday which was described as ‘aggressive’ by local residents.

Adams sees potential breakthrough in Foyle

Martina Anderson can become the first Sinn Fein MP for Derry in more than 80 years, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said.

Acquitted men ‘insufficiently innocent’ - Woodward

Former Sinn Fein publicity director Danny Morrison is unlikely to receive compensation for years spent in jail because he has not shown himself to be “demonstrably innocent”, according to the British government.

Moving files ‘could take a year’ - PSNI

The senior coroner in the North has criticised the PSNI over its latest excuse for refusing to pass on files related to controversial state killings and assassinations.

1,700 take on the British Empire

The story of Padraig Pearse and the rebellion of Easter 1916, 94 years ago this week.

Nothing but a date

It cannot be easy being a republican political prisoner in the North these days.

April 15, 2010

Minister for demolition

The Dublin government is to flatten housing developments across the 26 Counties in a desperate bid to reinflate Ireland’s property bubble.

Bomb claim confusion

Doubts have been cast on the ‘Real IRA’ claim of responsibility to the BBC for the bomb attack at the heavily-fortified Palace Barracks in County Down on Monday morning.

SDLP refuses to challenge unionist election pact

The SDLP has rejected Sinn Fein’s request to counter the challenge by a united unionist campaign to oust two sitting nationalist MPs from their Westminster seats.

Cameron launches ‘87-word manifesto’ on Ireland

Tory leader David Cameron yesterday said he would seek to bring the north of Ireland into what he called the “mainstream of UK politics”.

Stormont justice committee formed

Unionist politicians will hold the balance of power on Stormont’s new justice committee with a one-person majority, it has emerged.

Heritage sell-off continues

The last letter written by Kevin Barry the night before his execution is to be auctioned to the highest bidder in the latest sell off of Irish heritage.

Sinn Fein launches election campaign

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams this morning launched the party’s election campaign for the Westminster election on May 6th.

Acrobatics will win no new votes for Sir Reg

Elections here always throw up the worst excesses of tribalism among unionists.

April 12, 2010

Baptism of fire

At one minute past midnight on Monday, policing and justice powers became the responsibility of a Six County Assembly for the first time in almost forty years. Just twenty minutes later, a huge blast echoed across Belfast and into neighbouring counties from across Belfast Lough.

Unionists pursue sectarian agenda in election

The Ulster Unionist Party, the DUP and the British Conservative Party have agreed to back a “unionist unity” candidate in next month’s Westminster election in an effort to unseat Sinn Fein’s Michelle Gildernew from the seat famously won by Bobby Sands in 1981.

Large protest outside Maghaberry

Hundreds of family members and supporters of republican prisoners staged a protest outside the gates of Maghaberry jail yesterday [Sunday] amid calls for an international human rights observer to see conditions in the prison first hand.

Baggott plays waiting game on collusion, shoot-to-kill

Victims of state killings and collusion have expressed suspicion at plans to shut down a specialist police unit set up to investigate unsolved killings from the conflict.

Strike a deal or it’s wage war - Cowen

The 26-County Taoiseach Brian Cowen has threatened public sector workers with another eight percent pay cut if they reject the agreement negotiated with union leaders at the end of last month.

Justice group cut off

Justice for the Forgotten, the organisation that represents victims of the conflict in the 26 Counties, says it will close its doors in June unless the Dublin government commits renewed funding to complete its work.

Living record of proud republican resistance

The Felons’ Club on Belfast’s Falls Road in an exhibition of republican memorabilia organised by the National Graves Association.

Violence and after

The bomb that went off near the MI5 headquarters in Holywood last night didn’t do much damage but it does bring into focus a number of issues.

Stormont appoints justice minister

In a historic step, the Belfast Assembly this afternoon chose Alliance leader David Ford as the first Six-County Justice minister in nearly forty years.

Bomb attack on MI5 HQ

A major bomb detonated earlier this morning outside the British Army’s Palace Barracks in Holywood in County Down, east of Belfast.

April 8, 2010

Tinderbox

Tensions continue to escalate inside Maghaberry Prison today after republicans were ‘disciplined’ last night for taking part in a 48-hour protest at prison conditions.

Quinn Insurance to get state bailout

The Dublin governmment, through State-owned Anglo Irish Bank, is to give 700 million euro to Quinn Insurance following the latest major collapse in Ireland’s humbled financial industry.

DUP anger over Easter rally

Thousands of republicans attended scores of rallies across the island of Ireland last weekend to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising.

Bloody Sunday report postponement confirmed

After weeks of spin and damage control, British Direct Ruler Shaun Woodward has confirmed a further delay in the 38 year campaign for truth and justice by the relatives of those killed and injured on Bloody Sunday.

Robinson rages in TV interview

An extraordinary BBC interview with DUP leader Peter Robinson has stoked the growing controversy surrounding the Robinson family and its financial dealings.

New group to oppose contentious marches

A new residents’ group in north Belfast has said it will resist any future sectarian parades through the nationalist community in the area.

Easter statements

A number of statements were issued by the main republican organisations at the weekend.

McKee floored puny Robinson

For years at election time Robinson was the DUP’s Wizard of Oz. Now, when the party needs him most he’s exposed as a diminutive political figure behind a curtain.

April 6, 2010

Brown calls general election

British prime minister Gordon Brown has today called a general election for May 6th after visiting Buckingham Palace to seek Crown permission to dissolve parliament on April 12th.

April 5, 2010

Prisoners confront regime at Maghaberry

Republican prisoners barricaded themselves into a dining hall yesterday evening at the North’s highest security jail in an escalation of conflict between republican prisoners and the regime in Maghaberry Jail.

April 2, 2010

Patriots and traitors

Republicans are being urged to turn out in large numbers at Easter commemorations across the country this weekend to reassert “the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland” following shocking revelations of corruption and fraud in the Dublin parliament this week.