Irish Republican News: Archives

December 30, 2017

Adams seen ready to end conflict in 1987

The Dublin government’s first intelligence on Sinn Fein’s peace initiative of 1987 claimed that Gerry Adams disapproved of some IRA actions and that the Sinn Fein leader saw the armed struggle as a “political liability”.

Haughey handbagged by Thatcher on extradition - state papers

State papers released in Dublin have revealed how the late Taoiseach Charlie Haughey faced an assassination threat from MI5 while he was being brow-beaten by Margaret Thatcher into handing over wanted Irish republicans.

DUP call for talks despite anger over Dublin proposal

Sinn Fein and the DUP do not agree on when a new attempt to restore powersharing in Belfast will be made, with claims by East Derry MP Gregory Campbell that negotiations are to resume “within the next 10 days” not shared by Sinn Fein.

Loughinisland ruling ignites legal tussle

Unionists are seeking to quash findings of collusion between the RUC police and unionist paramilitaries in up to six Police Ombudsman reports following a surprise court judgment before Christmas.

Painful Christmas anniversaries in Derry

The wife of a man killed in one of the worst loyalist massacres in Derry has called for the investigation into her husband’s death to be re-opened.

Tensions over new Saoradh office

Unionists have protested after republican party Saoradh opened a new office in the centre of a County Tyrone town of Dungannon.

State papers round-up

A summary of some of the information contained in declassified state papers which were released by officials this week in both Dublin and London.

The Christmas Raid

An extract from Liam Brady’s autobiography in which he describes a famous 1939 IRA raid on a Free State military installation in the Phoenix Park.

December 16, 2017

Britain’s Brexit lies

There was outrage in Ireland this week as British negotiators backed away from commitments on the Irish border reached in a deal with the European Union on the terms of its departure.

Victims see Special Branch serial killer in court

A court in Belfast has heard two days of summing up of the 13-year murderous rampage of PSNI Special Branch agent Gary Haggarty, the names of his victims read out, and the cold and callous way they were targeted and killed.

Effort to energise ‘civic nationalism’

A letter to 26 County Taoiseach Leo Varadkar signed by more than 200 northern nationalists, urging him to protect the rights of citizens in the Six Counties, is a new attempt to bypass the North’s stalemated political process.

Megaphone injustice for Glenanne victims

Relatives of victims of the Glenanne Gang have insisted PSNI Chief George Hamilton has a duty to abide by a court ruling ordering him to complete an investigation into dozens of loyalist killings.

Betrayed Ludlow family hit with legal bill

The 26 County State is to to force the family of collusion murder victim Seamus Ludlow to pay costs after a legal challenge mounted as part of their justice campaign was rejected in the High Court in Dublin.

Joy for deaf community as signing gets official status

There were scenes of jubilation at the Dublin parliament this week when members of the deaf community celebrated the passage of a bill that officially recognises Irish Sign Language (ISL) as a language of the 26 County State.

Remember republican prisoners this Christmas

December is traditionally the month to remember republican prisoners with cards and letters. The current up to date Irish republican prisoner list.

The future requires a process of reconciliation

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams TD was in Fermanagh this week to give the Louis Leonard commemorative lecture on the 45th anniversary of his death. An extract of his remarks, which focussed on reconciliation.

December 9, 2017

Smokescreen hides Brexit border chasm

A tsunami of spin in regards to the Irish border has scraped the British government into a second round of negotiations with the European Union over its departure, but at the expense of any confidence in the negotiations process.

Fennell defeats charges over Easter speech

North Belfast republican Damien ‘Dee’ Fennell has finally beaten an attempt to jail him over a speech he gave at an Easter Rising commemoration in County Armagh in 2015.

‘Vindictive’ decision to intern released prisoner

Less than 36 hours after he was released at the end of his sentence, Derry republican Neil Hegarty has been seized by PSNI at his home in the Creggan area and returned to the high-security Maghaberry prison in County Antrim.

Homeless death toll mounts as Minister bemoans phone calls

Three homeless people have already died and more deaths are expected as an icy winter spell grips Ireland.

Hamill case against alleged RUC conspirator gets go ahead

A decision to halt the prosecution of a former RUC man and two other on charges linked to the loyalist mob killing of Catholic man Robert Hamill is to be quashed, High Court judges has ruled.

Irish constitution violated by EU military move

The Dublin government has rushed legislation through parliament to join an EU militarisation project, with the complicity of Fianna Fail, in an apparent quid-pro-quo for the EU supporting its stance on Brexit.

The Burning of Cork

In one of the worst atrocities committed during the War of Independence, British forces deliberately set fire to several blocks of buildings and public institutions, 97 years ago this week.

We should not be collateral damage in Brexit shambles

We are at a crucial juncture in the process. The Irish Government have the responsibility and the leverage to ensure clarity and certainty from the British Government.

December 8, 2017

Pro-union Brexit deal set to inflame border concerns

As a draft deal on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was being parsed today, unionists appeared to have won dramatic changes, heavily eroding a previous commitment to no regulatory divergence along the Irish border and adding clear guarantees of no regulatory barriers between the north of Ireland and Britain.

Brexit deal reached between EU and London

The full text of a draft agreement released this morning (in reference to Ireland) in negotiations on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

December 4, 2017

Brexit deal collapses as DUP say no to soft border

Plans to seal a critical deal to advance negotiations on Britain’s departure from the EU ended in farce this afternoon when a last minute phone call from the DUP caused the British Prime Minister Theresa May to pull out at the last minute.

December 2, 2017

Brexidiots

The failure of the British body politic to understand the implications of reinforcing the border through Ireland has dominated news coverage at a critical juncture in the negotiations over Britain’s departure from the EU.

Senator resigns from Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein Senator Trevor O Clochartaigh has sensationally quit the party in the most serious fallout yet from an ongoing crisis within the organisation over internal management and controls.

MI5 linked to violent police raids in Belfast

Saoradh has accused MI5 of using a false flag ‘suspect device’ to justify raids on homes of republican families in north Belfast.

Stormont talks ruled out as policing concerns mount

The possibility that negotiations aimed at restoring government in the North would resume this week has faded after Sinn Fein said there was no basis for the talks process to start up again.

Questions asked over apparent impunity of killers

The family of Jim Loughrey, murdered by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in November 1976, have said they want to know how someone can be a suspect in four murders, but never be arrested or questioned by the police.

Tanaiste Coveney looms closer to weakened Varadkar

A near-death experience for the 26 County government has led to the appointment of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, as as the new Tanaiste [Deputy Prime Minister], replacing the disgraced Frances Fitzgerald following her resignation this week.

Sinister British tactics know no bounds or borders

No other political party in the country would be treated the same way as Saoradh, and if they did there would be a major public outcry.

It’s time for a united Ireland

At last it’s becoming clear to the Brexiteers, and the right-wing British media, that the question of the Irish border will be the defining issue of the Brexit negotiations.