Irish Republican News: Archives

August 30, 2014

UDA groups target Catholics, seize arms

A 22-year-old Catholic man is recovering in hospital after being beaten by a gang armed with iron bars and a hatchet in front of his partner and new baby.

DUP sees ‘no role’ for Hart

Former US Senator Gary Hart this week met with politicians in the North and representatives from the Dublin and London governments as part of a new US peace effort in Ireland.

Released killer linked to gun attack

The family of two Catholic men murdered by a loyalist double killer have demanded to know why his ‘good behaviour’ release licence has not been revoked - despite being charged with two more attempted murders.

Thatcher said ‘Yes’ to Crumlin Road escapee, records show

An IRA man who escaped prison more than 50 years ago was given a royal pardon by Margaret Thatcher’s government, official records from 1985 have revealed.

Further evidence of Kincora cover-up

A former British Army intelligence officer has said he was ordered to stop investigating allegations of child sexual abuse at a boys’ home in the Six Counties.

IRA ceasefire remembered, 20 years on

Republicans have been looking back at the Provisional IRA's ceasefire, twenty years ago this week.

An urgent need for action

The IRA cessation opened up the space for the development of the peace process.

Moderate unionists driven out by bigots

For every incident that happened this year or last year you can cite one exactly the same or worse 50 years ago.

August 23, 2014

Gary Hart in new US peace effort

Former US Democrat presidential candidate Gary Hart is set to begin discussions next week with the Dublin and London governments in what is being seen as an attempt to again kick start peace talks in the Six Counties.

Wife of former prisoner denied US visa

Decades after the IRA ceasefire, a former republican prisoner’s wife has been denied entry to the US because of her husband’s role in the IRA’s armed struggle.

New legislation ‘to imprison an idea’ - RSF

Republican Sinn Fein has condemned the announcement of draconian new laws in the 26 Counties which appear designed to prevent any increase in support for militant republicanism ahead of the anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

‘Tit-for-tat’ actions in Derry

Two hoax bomb incidents in Derry this week have been linked to a series of heavy-handed PSNI raids and arrests in the city.

Legal actions by families of IRA men

The elderly mother of an unarmed IRA Volunteer shot dead by the British Army almost 40 years ago is to sue Britain’s military authorities.

Parade escalates tensions, but progress seen

A loyalist parade in a County Antrim village on Friday night breached Parades Commission determinations on numerous occasions, but passed off without violence.

Escape from Portlaoise prison

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the escape from Portlaoise prison of 19 republican prisoners of war.

Women’s bodies not considered their own

To allow hundreds of distressed young women to make a lonely journey across the Irish Sea every year because they have been denied proper care in their own country is shameful.

August 21, 2014

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds has died

Former 26-County Taoiseach Albert Reynolds died in the early hours of this morning following a long illness. He was 81 years old.

August 16, 2014

Fitting tribute for republican veteran

A furore has arisen over the funeral of well-known republican and former IRA PoW Tony Catney, who died on Saturday after a long battle of cancer. The funeral featured a military-style honour guard.

Civil rights campaigners hold successful march

An anti-internment march passed through Belfast city centre without major violence last weekend, although two people were injured by loyalists who threw fireworks and other missiles at the annual demonstration.

Loyalists express anger over political leadership

There are fears that loyalist paramilitaries may again ratchet up violence after a spokesperson for one of their biggest murder gangs said the response by unionist politicians to recent marching decisions had “fallen short”.

Craigavon Two campaign mulls options

A packed lecture room at St Mary’s College in Belfast this week heard John Finucane, the son of murdered Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane, again raise serious questions about the evidence presented by the prosecution in the case of the Craigavon Two.

Villiers castigated at Ballymurphy vigil

The British Direct Ruler Theresa Villiers has been condemned for ruling out calls for an inquiry into the Ballymurphy killings during a vigil last Sunday marking the 43rd anniversary of the deaths.

Gaza campaign becomes free speech issue in Belfast

Unionists have failed to prevent a public speaking event in Belfast featuring radical socialist George Galloway, the leader of the Respect Party in Britain, who has advocated a comprehensive boycott of Israel over its war crimes.

The Irish of the US Civil War

Those who left behind poverty in Ireland only to die in America’s internal conflict should also be remembered.

Address at Kevin Lynch commemoration

The text of the speech delivered by the IRSPs Michael McLaughlin at the 33rd Kevin Lynch Commemoration in Dungiven earlier this month.

August 9, 2014

Warning over Stormont impasse

A massive security operation is being put in place ahead of an anti-internment parade through Belfast city centre on Sunday, amid warnings that the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is facing its “greatest challenge”.

UDR files reveal widespread collusion

Recently discovered secret documents have revealed that the British Army’s Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) had primacy over other British army units in some areas of the north during the conflict.

Loyalist mob sets upon tour group

A community group has told how it was forced to abandon a tour of historic sites in County Antrim after their bus was charged by the UDA.

Anger as ‘delusional’ Bruton repeats Rising insults

Former 26-County Taoiseach John Bruton has been asked to stop insulting the families of those who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising after he again grabbed headlines by delcaring that the Rising and subsequent War of Independence should never have taken place.

DUP turns sights on anti-fracking campaigners

$frackingbelcoo.jpg$ Protests against fracking in the border areas are reaching a climax as exploration company Tamboran has until the end of next month to decide whether to commence drilling or abandon their shale-shifting project.

Public urged to back sanctions campaign

A campaign is growing in Ireland to support the international movement of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel over its war crimes in Gaza.

A prisoner’s salute to Bobby Sands

Last year 30,000 men in California’s prisons went on hunger strike against solitary confinement.

Denigrating the people of 1916

Former taoiseach John Bruton is on a crusade to revive Redmondism in Irish politics and to denigrate the men and women who gave us the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and the 1916 Rising.

August 2, 2014

Expel the ambassador

A petition for the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland to be expelled has received almost 30,000 signatures.

Loyalist drowns in flags incident

A loyalist in his sixties drowned in a south Armagh pond on Monday night while trying to remove two Irish tricolour flags and replace them with a British Union Jack.

Prisoners denounce SF intervention in visits dispute

A meeting between Sinn Fein and representatives of republican prisoners ended poorly with some of the prisoners issuing a stinging statement which said the visit had “laid bare” the reality of the current situation.

Public money funds Ormeau killers’ memorial

Restrictions were placed on Sinn Fein’s annual hunger strike commemoration this week as a loyalist parade honouring two serial killers took place with open paramilitary involvement and with heavy financial support from the state.

Shots fired at PSNI in Derry

A PSNI Land Rover was raked with gunfire in a suspected attack by republican militants in Derry late on Tuesday, according to reports.

Irish water charges now highest in Europe

The Dublin government has been accused of lying about the level of water charges to try and get past the local elections after official estimates of the annual cost of water suddenly escalated this week.

Revisionism protestors pepper-sprayed

Protestors at a British royal military ceremony were attacked by Gardai police off camera as an ongoing battle to rewrite the history of events one hundred years ago played out live on Irish television.

Gaza and the Warsaw Ghetto

There are two compelling factors that stand out in any examination of the crisis in Gaza: the persistent intransigence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli unwillingness to pursue a diplomatic and political solution to the Palestinian tragedy.