April 26, 2013

Holy Cross tensions renewed

holycrossprotest.jpg Loyalists have returned to intimidate the Holy Cross Catholic girls’ school in north Belfast, almost 12 years after a previous campaign of violence and terror made international headlines.

Sinn Fein urged to engage in debate

breandanmaccionnaith2.jpg Suggestions by Sinn Fein for talks with ‘dissidents’ has been met with a proposal for a series of public debates.

Loyalist politics in flux

protestantcoalition.jpg A new, openly sectarian political party called ‘Protestant Coalition’ has been formed in the North by those involved in the recent loyalist flag protests and disturbances.

Long Kesh plan to go ahead

longkeshbig.jpg The site of the Long Kesh prison will be used to create “a shrine to peace”, Sinn Fein’s deputy First Minister has said, following a decision to go ahead with the project.

Judge to decide on Finucane files disclosure

geraldinefinucanebig.jpg British government documents are being examined by a High Court judge who will decide if they should be disclosed to the family of Pat Finucane.

Parades Commission infuriates north Belfast residents

covenantstpatricks.jpg Nationalists in north Belfast have walked out of a meeting with the Parades Commission after being told to stay clear of their own parish church this Sunday as yet another incendiary loyalist parade marches by.

The hunger for truth

faminetribunal.jpg The Great Hunger of 1845-52 raises questions that are still unanswered, and last weekend, historians, students, and members of the public gathered at Fordham University to discuss them.

Micheal Martin: a far-seeing bird?

martinbodenstown.jpg Micheal Martin reminds me of the Skibbereen Eagle. Not in appearance, more in tone and self-image.

April 19, 2013

PSNI back UVF flag display

uvf100flag.jpg Masked loyalist paramilitaries erected more than 600 UVF flags in east Belfast last weekend along key arterial routes, without consultation or notification in an operation that involved cherry pickers operating in broad daylight.

Thatcher considered ethnic cleansing of Catholics

thatchercromwell.jpg Margaret Thatcher once encouraged her advisers to consider a ‘clearance’ of Catholics from the Six Counties as a solution to the conflict, it has been revealed.

Savita probe confirms legal, medical failures

halappanavars.jpg An inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway has uncovered grave shortcomings in the care she received prior to her death, chiefly the failure to terminate her pregnancy when her life was threatened by a miscarriage.

Unions find their voice as pay deal rejected

siptuballot.jpg Proposals to extend the current ‘Croke Park’ public service pay agreement have been comprehensively rejected by Ireland’s trade unions.

‘Real UFF’ bomber is former DUP candidate

smythrobinsonbomb.jpg A prominent DUP figure has been jailed for three years for his part in a sectarian pipe-bomb attack on Polish neighbours.

US political push follows Supreme Court decision on tapes

ussupremecourt.jpg The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal to keep secret interviews with former IRA members from being turned over to the British authorities in the North of Ireland.

Three years of internment

martincoreybig.jpg On Tuesday, April 16th, 2013, Lurgan man Martin Corey will have spent three years in Maghaberry Prison without any charges ever being placed against him.

Sinn Fein’s day on the national stage has come

sfaf13b.jpg Any doubts that Sinn Fein has been transformed in the past couple of years were dispelled by the weekend ard fheis in Castlebar.

April 14, 2013

Presidential address to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis 2013

adamsaf13.jpg The address delivered last night in Castlebar to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis by party leader Gerry Adams.

April 12, 2013

Celebrations follow Thatcher’s death

thatcherparty.jpg There were street parties in Derry and Belfast following news of the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher this week.

Fifteen years since Good Friday Agreement

blairaherngfa.jpg The 15th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has prompted a wave of political commentary and a fresh debate on whether the promises made at the time of the agreement have been honoured.

CIRA says it shot man linked to sword attack

kieranmcmanus.jpg The Continuity IRA has been criticised this week after it admitted it shot dead a man in west Belfast who it accused of “terrorising the community”.

Documents reveal US fear of ‘emotional’ Irish Americans

wikileaksflat.jpg Secret US embassy cables have revealed that officials in Dublin warned of the “emotional involvement” of Irish Americans in Irish politics, but expressed satisfaction that senior politicians in the main Irish parties were supportive of US government interests.

Demands for action to save 1916 buildings

moorestopen.jpg Descendants of Easter Rising leaders have expressed anger at the dilapidated condition of the historical Moore Street buildings in Dublin, where the last headquarters of the rebel leaders was based during the 1916 Easter Rising.

Sinn Féin looks west

sfaf2013.jpg Sinn Féin is hoping it can build its support in the West of Ireland by holding its annual ard fheis [party conference] in Connacht for the first time.

Thatcher’s legacy in Ireland

thatcherbarmy.jpg For the people of Ireland, and especially the north, the Thatcher years were among some of the worst of the conflict.

Thatcher is dead: reclaim the spirit of freedom

thatcherruc.jpg The death of Margaret Thatcher will not, unfortunately, signal an end to the damaging policies she introduced and implemented in Ireland, Britain or elsewhere around the globe.

April 8, 2013

Ireland reacts to Thatcher’s death

thatcher.jpg There has been a mixed reaction in Ireland at news of the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

April 5, 2013

Commemorations in contrast

easter2013b.jpg Thousands of republicans gathered at scores of events across Ireland last weekend to mark the 97th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

PSNI targeted as Continuity IRA holds commemoration

lurganbomb.jpg A device detonated inside a litter bin in the Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan, County Armagh, last Saturday close to where the PSNI were attempting to film those attending an Easter commemoration in St Colman’s cemetery.

Creggan family assaulted

beatenwoman.jpg The PSNI police have been accused of mounting a “vicious unprovoked attack” on a young family in the Creggan in Derry last week.

MI5 faces legal action over information ‘shake-down’

mcelhatton.jpg A young County Tyrone man is to sue MI5 after attempts were made to recruit him as an informer while working in England.

Loyalists march through republican areas without music

stpatricksabod.jpg An early morning sectarian parade by loyalists through the republican Ardoyne passed off without incident as two nationalist groups held protests on Saturday.

Headstones of IRA heroes vandalised

corkcemetery.jpg Headstones and monuments at a plot maintained by Sinn Fein activists in Cork’s St Finbarr’s Cemetery on Glasheen Road were targeted by a vandal just 24 hours ahead of the party’s Easter Rising commemorations events last weekend.

Easter statements and orations 2013

colourparty.jpg A round-up of some of the key addresses and statements issued by republican groups to mark the anniverary of the Easter Rising.

Parades Commission is useless and gutless

paradescommissionmembers.jpg As presently constituted the Parades Commission is entirely unrepresentative of the nationalist community or indeed of the Catholic community.

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