Irish Republican News: Archives

August 29, 2015

Unionists head for the exit

The devolved administration in the north of Ireland is moving towards collapse as both of the main unionist parties have said they are ready to withdraw from the power-sharing coalition with nationalists.

Fianna Fail jumps on a unionist bandwagon

There has been a hysterical response in the 26 Counties to allegations in the North that the Provisional IRA continues to exist.

Figures confirm scale of PSNI harassment

The PSNI has used stop and search powers against the people of two small north Belfast communities more than 4,500 times in six years, according to official police statistics.

Water charge protestors ‘not going away’

Tens of thousands have gathered at an anti-water charge rally today in Dublin. The march began at 2pm under the banner “We’re not going away, you know!”

Red Cross to help broker bid to end prison tensions

The Red Cross has said it is willing to help resolve the deepening crisis at Maghaberry prison after more than 20 republican prisoners began refusing meals for more than a week.

Robinson’s mercy appeal for UDA death-squad suspect

DUP leader Peter Robinson has been accused of hypocrisy after seeking leniency for a loyalist believed by victims to have been involved in the mass murder of innocent Catholics in the 1970s.

There is nothing more Sinn Fein can do

The PSNI Chief’s claim that the IRA exists - even in the benign way he paints it - is wrong: the IRA is gone and is not coming back, writes Gerry Adams.

If IRA didn’t exist, unionists would need to invent it

There was a joke in 1997. What’s the difference between the Stickies and the Provos? Answer: 25 years.

August 26, 2015

UUP to quit Executive as election looms

The Ulster Unionist Party is set to withdraw its only Minister from the Stormont Executive on Saturday after party leader Mike Nesbitt described the current power-sharing agreement as “threadbare”.

August 22, 2015

‘IRA has left the stage’ - Adams

In response to a growing media furore, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has insisted that the Provisional IRA were not involved in the killing of Kevin McGuigan in east Belfast earlier this month.

Letter reveals farcical Ballymurphy investigation

The failure of the British Ministry of Defence to trace any of the British soldiers present at the time of the 1971 Ballymurphy Massacre has infuriated the families of the victims.

1985: Thatcher’s ego and the need to stop Sinn Fein

Over 500 files have been made available to historians in Belfast this week as part of the declassification of government files dating from the mid-1980s.

Homeless offered sleeping bags, urged to leave the city

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of “blowing smoke” after he insisted that “common sense” must be applied in response to the growing homelessness crisis.

Rasharkin parade increases tensions

Sinn Fein’s Daithi McKay has said there were a number of breaches of determinations by the Parades Commission at a loyalist parade in Rasharkin last [Friday] night.

New play suggests protected paedophile may have been informer

The 26-County state and the Gardai police will be accused from a Dublin stage next week of covering up claims about the serial rape of young boys because the alleged abuser - dubbed “the Irish Jimmy Savile” - was an informer blackmailed into spying on the IRA.

The last obscenity

Maghaberry is an injustice that undermines the very fabric of our society.

The deaths of Gerard Davison and Kevin McGuigan

Are the Provisional IRA about to re-commence their armed campaign? Do unionist politicians really think so?

August 15, 2015

Bomb attack hits MI5 base

The political crisis in the North deepened this week when a bomb attack struck the British Army’s Palace Barracks, the headquarters of MI5 in Ireland.

Sinn Fein condemns Davison ‘revenge’ killing

The close-knit republican community of the Short Strand has been shocked by the apparent revenge killing on Wednesday night of Kevin McGuigan, the chief suspect in the murder earlier this year of former PIRA commander Jock Davison.

Repercussions continue after march for prisoners is halted

There has been a flood of complaints about the PSNI’s actions after it blocked a nationalist anti-internment protest from marching to Belfast city centre on Sunday.

Concern at casual violence and intimidation

A three-hour racist assault on the home of a former republican prisoner in west Belfast last weekend has highlighted a wave of spontaneous acts of violence, racism and sectarianism across the North.

TDs anger at criminal charges report

Leaked reports that a decision has been made to bring criminal charges against water charge protesters may have been a deliberate attempt to smear those politicians involved.

Failures in ‘Craigavon Two’ judgement outlined

A lawyer for one of two men convicted of an IRA action in March 2009 has raised fresh concerns about the case.

Interview with Martin McGuinness

In a wide-ranging interview, Sinn Fein’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness insists that a united Ireland is inevitable.

A two-tier policing and justice system

It would appear as if a two tier police and justice system - one rule for Irish Republicans and another, much more lenient one, for the pro British community - is in force today in the north of Ireland.

August 9, 2015

Clashes after PSNI block anti-internment march

There were disturbances in north Belfast this afternoon after a civil rights march against internment was prevented from marching through the city.

August 8, 2015

Anti-internment message ‘must be heard’

Loyalists say they will attempt to block a nationalist civil rights march through Belfast on Sunday. The UDA’s political wing, the UPRG, has threatened to “stop republican scum from marching on the streets of Belfast”.

West Belfast divided as PSNI chief addresses event

Republicans held a protest in west Belfast on Thursday evening as the PSNI police chief George Hamilton took part in a discussion panel event alongside Sinn Fein’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

Appeal to soldiers for truth on showband massacre

The survivors of the Miami Showband atrocity have urged British soldiers who opposed collusion with loyalist paramilitaries to help an investigation into the massacre.

‘Humiliation’ of republican prisoners

One of the oldest republican prisoners at Maghaberry has said he is being refused the right to have proper treatment for bowel cancer because he is a resident of the 26 County state.

Boycott call amid O’Brien lawsuits and legal threats

Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien has initiated a new series of legal proceedings against Irish legislators and threatened to sue two websites which published a satirical article mocking him.

Remembering Charles English

When Mickey English found out his son, Charles, was a member of the IRA he decided he needed to have a very frank and honest conversation with him.

Who dares confront touchy billionaire Denis O’Brien?

A closer look at the five legal attacks of Denis O’Brien, in chronological order, and the broader issues they raise about inequality and power in Ireland.

The myth of demilitarisation

Britain has not in fact demilitarised but simply returned to levels of troop deployment consistent with her needs during ‘peacetime’

August 1, 2015

British Army carry out Derry raids

There has been an angry response after British soldiers mounted raids in Derry’s Galliagh area this week, with Sinn Fein describing them as “unacceptable”.

Appeals for US intervention in Stormont stalemate

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has travelled to Washington DC this week to ask for US assistance to prevent British welfare cuts being implemented in the north of Ireland.

Provocative march goes ahead in south Belfast

Loyalists have staged a highly controversial march through south Belfast in honour of a death squad linked to scores of sectarian murders during the conflict.

GAA man’s family to sue over killing

The family of murdered Gaelic sports official Sean Brown is set to sue the PSNI chief constable and British ministry of defence over the part they played in his death.

Coalition to continue Irish Water ‘incompetence’ despite EU ruling

There have been calls for the Dublin parliament to be recalled after a European Union agency indicated the government tried to manipulate Irish Water to cheat EU funding requirements.

Breakthrough as three bankers are jailed

Three Irish bankers were jailed on Friday as a custodial sentence was handed down for a first time to those involved in the multi-billion fraud at Anglo-Irish Bank.

Commemoration row breaks out amid rival re-enactments

A row has broken out over rival commemorations to mark the hundredth anniversary of the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, one of the most significant events in the lead up to the 1916 Easter Rising.

‘One Ireland, One Vote’ petition and campaign

The 1916 Societies recently launched a petition for an All-Ireland Referendum on Irish Unity. This address on the campaign is by Barry Monteith, an independent Councillor from Tyrone, with a link to the petition.