March 29, 2013

Old order reasserts?

helenmcentee.jpg Ireland’s two largest conservative parties battled it out yesterday in a by-election count which saw the left-wing vote decimated and Fine Gael ultimately hold onto a seat thanks to a wave of sympathy for a grieving daughter.

Parties struggle to mark Easter sacrifice

liliesdail.jpg The removal by British officials of a banner on the Falls Road in west Belfast advertising a planned 1916 commemoration on Easter Monday has recalled events surrounding the removal of an Irish tricolour flag almost fifty years ago, eirigi has said.

ONH raises stakes for security agenda

g8hotel.jpg Breakaway IRA group Oglaigh na hEireann has claimed that a bomb abandoned in County Fermanagh last weekend was intended to target the hotel hosting British Prime Minister David Cameron and other world leaders attending June’s G8 summit.

Parishioners told ‘stay away’ as loyalists parade past church

bandpissing.jpg North Belfast nationalists are expected to defy a ban on holding a protest outside a Catholic church during one of the biggest sectarian parades of the year.

Cost of ‘touts’ hits record level

mi5guntoutinformer.jpg A record amount of money has been paid out to informers in the past year, according to new figures.

Liam Campbell bailed as ‘Real IRA’ cases proceed

liamcampbellbig.jpg A former member of the Real IRA’s ruling army council has just been released from the jail where he was held for four years during a lengthy extradition battle.

Easter commemorations 2013

eastercommemorations.jpg A list of this weekend’s republican commemorations by the different political organisations involved.

Another one interned by decree

damianmclaughlinflat.jpg Alec McCrory writes on the latest in a series of British state measures which are directed towards republicans and pose a significant threat to civil liberties.

March 22, 2013

Apology but no answers

johnpatcunningham.jpg The family of a man with special needs shot dead by British soldiers in County Armagh almost 40 years ago have said an apology from the British government is not enough.

Loyalists target St Patrick’s Day events

shaftesburyriot.jpg Loyalist ‘flag protestors’ set upon St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Belfast city on Sunday evening before engaging in a full-blown riot.

Noonan linked to Cyprus ‘tithe’

cyprusprotest.jpg Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty has said the Dublin government is complicit in a disastrous attempt by the European Union to expropriate up to 10% of the savings of some of the EU’s poorest citizens.

Meath East could herald new electoral dynamics

darrenorourke.jpg Voting takes place this Wednesday for the Meath East by-election. A total of eleven candidates are to contest the seat previously held by the late Fine Gael Minister of State, Shane McEntee.

Donaldson inquest adjourned for 11th time

denisdonaldsonbig.jpg After nearly seven years and 11 attempts to find out the truth, the inquest into the killing of senior Sinn Fein member turned MI5 informer Denis Donaldson is on hold again.

Boost for US campaign to legalise the Irish

shamrock2013.jpg There are renewed hopes for the undocumented Irish in the US after President Barack Obama made positive comments on the issue at the annual St Patrick’s Day shamrock ceremony in Washington.

The revolutionary alternative?

rnustanding.jpg Republican Network for Unity (RNU) has outlined its opposition to the Good Friday Agreement after announcing that it will field candidates in future local elections throughout Ireland.

Protests flagged up demographic change

sadflag.jpg Is there something deeper driving the ‘fleg protests’, the road blocks, forlorn handfuls shivering along white lines, the traipsing in and out to Belfast City Hall?

March 15, 2013

Civil rights denied in Derry

donnellyarrested0313.jpg The 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32CSM) has reacted angrily after three of its members in Derry were arrested Wednesday and charged with “terrorist offenses” for having participated in a peaceful ceremony last year to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising.

Glengormley terror after loyalists attack Irish flags

glengormleyriot.jpg There were brief but intense clashes north of Belfast last weekend when loyalists invaded a nationalist area to tear down Irish flags and symbols and then left a bomb outside a Catholic church.

Oglaigh na hEireann escalate campaign

m5bomb.jpg Breakaway IRA group Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH) has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on the PSNI police on the northern outskirts of Belfast on Saturday night.

‘Whistle blower’ TD condemned in corruption furore

mingflanagan.jpg An independent member of the Dublin parliament has admitted that he availed of a backroom process by which prominent public figures and other well connected individuals can avoid motoring offence penalties in the 26 Counties.

Frazer bailed as Bryson enters UVF wing

brysonfrazer.jpg In contrasting developments, one high-profile loyalist flags protest leader has received bail after claiming to suffer from terminal cancer, while another has moved into the UVF paramilitary landing of Maghaberry Prison.

Protest against social injustice on St Patrick’s Day

austerityprotestflag.jpg The deepening social inequality in both parts of Ireland is being highlighted as the island’s political leaders are again jetted off to exotic destinations for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The forgotten prisoner?

michaelcampbellbig.jpg An article by Aine Fox highlighting the situation of republican prisoner Michael Campbell, currently held in a Lithuanian jail.

Smiles in Brazil an expensive charade

braziljunket2.jpg Everyone here and a lot of people in Brazil know Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson are conducting a charade at vast public expense.

March 8, 2013

‘Infiltrated’ claims follow mortar bid

berlingovan.jpg An attack apparently planned by the ‘new IRA’ against the PSNI’s Strand Road base in Derry bore the hallmarks of a similar attack in 1991 by the Provisional IRA on Downing Street, according to security experts in the North.

Robinson attacks police, judges

robinsonbaggott.jpg The First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson has attacked the policing and judicial system in the North after three ringleaders of the recent flags disturbances were arrested last week.

Coalition in media push ahead of Meath by-election

gilmorekenny.jpg A two-year coalition ‘progress report’ published by the 26 County government has been described as an attempt by the coalition to give itself a ‘pat on the back’.

‘Broken promises’ to republican prisoners

maghaberrybig2.jpg Republican Sinn Fein have said that promises of a breakthrough in ending full-body strip-searching of prisoners in Maghaberry jail in County Antrim “have come to nought” following the announcement last month that the electronic scanning machine will not now be installed in the jail.

Pressure mounts for Price’s release

marianpricebig3.jpg Fermanagh District Council has passed a motion calling for the immediate release of interned political activist Marian Price. It agreed to write to the current British Direct Ruler, Theresa Villiers, calling for her release.

DUP finds offence in Korean concept car

provocar.jpg The DUP has drawn international amusement and scorn after claiming to be offended by the name given to a proposed new car by Korean manufacturer Kia.

Mairéad Farrell

maireadfarrell.jpg Mairead Farrell was 31 when she was assassinated by the SAS in Gibraltar Sunday March 6th 1988, 25 years ago this week.

Robinson is out of touch

peterrobinsonbig.jpg Far from thinking that the flag protesters are being mistreated most people believe up until the last week they have been treated with kid gloves.

Molloy retains Mid-Ulster seat for Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein’s Francie Molloy has won the Mid Ulster by-election to fill the seat at Westminster vacated by the party’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

March 1, 2013

PSNI finally acts

brysondowsonfrazer.jpg Two prominent loyalists and a British right-wing extremist have been arrested and charged in the first action so far against the alleged ringleaders of the recent disturbances in Belfast and across the North.

Unionists out to stop Sinn Féin ‘walk in the park’

votefranciemolloy.jpg A television debate planned as the climax of the Mid-Ulster by-election campaign went awry this week with only two of the four candidates attending.

Omagh victims seek judicial review

omaghjudicialreview.jpg Relatives of the Omagh bomb victims are launching a legal action in a bid to force the Dublin and London governments into granting a full cross-border inquiry into the horror.

‘Warhead’ revealed as abandoned rocket

oldrpg.jpg PSNI press officers grabbed international headlines this week when they declared they had found a “warhead” in west Belfast.

Arrest of Armagh republican condemned

seanhughesbig.jpg The arrest of a prominent South Armagh republican this week was described by Sinn Féin as an act of “political policing”.

Hunger striker close to death

samerissawi.jpg Today marks the anniversary of the start of the 1981 Long Kesh hunger strike against the criminalisation of republican policical prisoners. Another prisoner who has followed the same path is Samer Issawi.

Repression shaped our passive society

industrialschoolplaque.jpg A temptation newspaper columnists should avoid is the urge to make links between different stories simply because they happen to be in the air at the same time. But here goes anyway.

Baggott’s approach is based on false premise

mattbaggottbig2.jpg It's widely accepted that the chaos on the streets of greater Belfast from December through most of February was mainly due to the failure of policing policy.

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