The publication of declassified papers from thirty years ago has
brought new controversy over the British view of the 1981 hunger
strike, in which ten men, including Bobby Sands, died.
![[Irish Republican News]](https://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/rn.gif) | ![[Irish Republican News]](https://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/harp.gif) |
December 30, 2011
Provocative ‘history’
The publication of declassified papers from thirty years ago has
brought new controversy over the British view of the 1981 hunger
strike, in which ten men, including Bobby Sands, died.
Demand abides for Bloody Sunday justice
The annual march commemorating the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre will take
place under the theme ‘March for Justice’, despite calls by some
relatives of the victims that the campaign should come to an end.
University to give up confidential IRA files
Boston College has agreed to turn over research interviews recorded in
confidence by a former IRA member to the PSNI police.
Gaelic sports club burned out
Loyalist paramilitaries are being blamed for an arson attack which
badly damaged a GAA clubhouse in Derry on Wednesday.
No right to protest for nationalists
A residents’ group whose members were convicted this week for protesting
against a sectarian parade said the case highlighted the one-sided
nature of the justice system in the North of Ireland.
Dublin government confirms water tax
Every drop of clean water in the 26 County state is to be metered and
taxed as part of a new government fundraising drive which emerged over
the Christmas break.
RSF President looks back
The Presidential Address delivered at the 107th Ard
Fheis of Republican Sinn Féin last month in which Des Dalton reviews
events of the past year and looks to the future.
All changed utterly in electoral revolution
A remarkable year in politics north and south - remarkable not least
because for once there was more ‘Sturm und Drang’ south of the border
than north of it.
December 23, 2011
A liberty shredded by Britain
Pressure is growing for the immediate release form jail of former
republican spokeswoman Marian Price after it was admitted that a royal
pardon central to her case has been shredded by the British government.
Duffy-Shivers trial ends in further controversy
A lawyer told Belfast Crown Court this week that the trial of Colin
Duffy and Brian Shivers for the March 2009 Real IRA attack on a British
Army base in Antrim has “miscarriage of justice all over it”.
Corey wins internment review
Armagh man Martin Corey has won High Court permission to mount a
challenge to his re-imprisonment.
History made as coroner recommends prosecution
A prosecution in the case of a Derry teenager killed in 1972 could pave
the way for cases to be brought against those responsible for Bloody
Sunday and other British military atrocities in the North of Ireland.
Sinn Fein issues PSNI warning
In an unusually frank statement, Sinn Fein strategist Declan Kearney has
said his party’s support for the PSNI is “not unconditional”.
Adams is South’s most popular political leader
The latest opinion poll in the 26 Counties places Gerry Adams as the
most popular political leader, and Sinn Fein as the second most popular
party in the state.
A victim of an evil regime
In a rare interview, Marian Price has revealed the toll her time in
isolation in Maghaberry prison has taken on her physical and mental
health.
Detention of pardoned Price an abuse of power
The slogan says ’Free Marion Price’. Tens of thousands of motorists see
it every day. It’s doubtful if any of them pay any attention. They
should.
December 21, 2011
Sean Garland wins extradition case
The extradition of veteran republican socialist Sean Garland to the
United States has been rejected by an Irish court this afternoon.
December 16, 2011
An appeal for the truth
There have been new calls for a truth commission in the north of Ireland
following confirmation that one of the North’s deadliest terrorists was
a police agent.
Family’s relief as inquest finally held
British soldiers involved in shooting a 15-year-old boy nearly 40 years
ago should face prosecution, a lawyer for the teenager’s family has
said, following the long-sought inquest into his death last week.
SF condemns euro deal “madness”
Sinn Fein has described the deal done by European leaders last week as
“madness” which could condemn the 26-County state to a draconian
austerity program from which it can never escape.
PSNI base targeted in south Armagh
A bomb was defused on Sunday night close to the PSNI station in Keady,
south Armagh.
Prisoner’s wife sexually assaulted by MI5 man
An MI5 attempt to recruit the wife of a dissident republican prisoner as
an agent ended with the mother-of-three being groped and intimidated by an
intelligence officer.
‘Boycott the charge’ campaign launched
A campaign by members of the Dublin parliament to boycott the 100 euro
household charge is “a very dangerous road for our democracy”, according
to the coalition government.
Remember Irish political prisoners this Christmas
December is the traditional month for remembering those still in jail in
Ireland for their republican beliefs.
Free Marian Price now
The continuing imprisonment of Marian Price in Maghaberry is a scandal
and would be seen more widely in this light were it not for her
politics.
December 14, 2011
RUC/UDR gang carried out showband massacre - report
Both the RUC police and the British Army’s Ulster Defence Regiment
(UDR) were directly involved in the Miami Showband massacre, according
to a report by the North’s Historical Enquiries Team.
December 9, 2011
‘Neither King nor Kanzler’
A historic Franco-German drive for a new superstate has seen the
Eurocrats of Brussels demand political and fiscal powers to rival those
of the US federal government in Washington.
Austerity budget sparks further coalition tension
A 26-County Government backbencher, Patrick Nulty has formally left the
Labour parliamentary party amid a public outcry over the Fine
Gael/Labour coalition’s austerity budget, announced this week.
PSNI target Sinn Fein’s policing trailblazer
The former head of Sinn Fein on Belfast city council has criticised the
PSNI police who confiscated his taxi, falsely claiming it had
been used in relation to ‘dissident’ activity.
Finucane decision faces judicial review
The British government is to face a legal challenge over its failure to
launch a public inquiry into Crown force collusion in the murder of
defence lawyer Pat Finucane.
McGurk’s families take up legal challenge
The families of victims of the 1971 McGurk’s bar bombing have lodged
papers at the High Court in Belfast challenging both the PSNI and the police
ombudsman over failings in the recent handling of the case.
History comes knocking
A massive unionist rally is being organised to mark the centenary of the
signing of the Ulster Covenant.
McGurk’s Bar, forty years on
Patrick McGurk lost his mother and sister in the bomb that ripped
through his father’s bar in Belfast’s North Queen Street. On the 40th
anniversary of the bombing he spoke about his memories of December 4
1971 and how victims’ families are still continuing to fight for the
truth.
DUP bluster can’t stop SF’s winds of change
Belfast’s Lord Mayor Niall O Donnghaile has done more in his six months
in office to promote peace and reconciliation between the citizens of
Belfast than his unionist critics have done in a lifetime.
December 6, 2011
Budget taxes unveiled
An announcement of new taxes in the Dublin parliament has brought
confirmation that those living on low and middle incomes will be the
main victims of the 26-County government’s austerity program.
December 5, 2011
Families, elderly, students hit by budget cuts
Sinn Fein has accused the Fine Gael/Labour overnment of targeting the
vulnerable and low and middle income families with the same failed
austerity budgetary measures as pursued by Fianna Fail.
December 2, 2011
Police killings shelved
A total of 49 cases in which members of the RUC/PSNI police were
responsible for extra-judicial killings have been consigned to a “legal
limbo”, according to reports.
Coalition frays ahead of budget
Tommy Broughan, who represented Dublin North-East in the Dail, has been
expelled from the Labour Party after he refused to support an extension
of the bank guarantee.
Deaths of three Newry nationalists ‘a tragedy’
The family of a teenager shot dead by the British Army 40 years ago
said they hope a report into the killing will help them finally come to
terms with the atrocity.
Dismay as Diplock judge endorses computer DNA test
There was disappointment but little surprise for justice campaigners
this week when a judge declared in Antrim Crown Court that
controversial DNA evidence, never before allowed in a British of Irish
court, was “reliable and acceptable”.
Convoy for the prisoners
A ‘car convoy’ protest is planned for the weekend to draw attention to
the crisis over the treatment of Irish political prisoners at
Maghaberry jail in County Armagh.
O Donnghaile issues apology over royal award ceremony
The mayor of Belfast, Sinn Fein’s Niall O Donnghaile, has been
condemned by unionists for not presenting a Duke of Edinburgh award to
a British Army cadet at a ceremony in Belfast.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty
An introduction by Joseph Gannon to the history behind the Anglo-Irish
Treaty, signed 90 years ago this week and which sowed the seeds of
a conflict which continues to this day.
Important work ahead for the Irish diaspora
The Irish scattered around the
world have a vital
contribution to make as we seek to reshape and re-imagine Ireland in
the 21st century.
