Irish Republican News: Archives

March 30, 2019

Standing up to the Fascists

The people of the border communities in Ireland are today demonstrating against the demands of the unionist far right as Britain moves closer to a crash exit from the European Union and a remilitarisation of the border area across Ireland from April 12.

Para rally plan faces strong opposition

A “mass rally” in support of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment in Belfast next month is set to be opposed by republicans.

UVF under pressure after victim’s daughter speaks out

The PSNI has been stung into action against the unionist paramilitary UVF following a public demonstration led by the daughter of UVF murder victim Ian Ogle.

Teenagers attacked with iron bars

Two separate sectarian attacks by loyalists last weekend saw a 15-year-old boy beaten with metal bars in north Belfast while another boy of the same age was clubbed, kicked and punched as he walked home in a separate attack in the same area.

Harassment of republicans directed at political activity

A member of Republican Network for Unity discovered a sophisticated GPS tracking and recording device hidden within his car earlier this week. The discovery triggered a violent early morning raid on his home by armed Garda police.

Ten people a day being made homeless

The 26 County Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy is again being urged to resign after his own manipulated statistics show that there are now more than 10,000 people in Ireland officially living in emergency accommodation.

The Intelligence War

100 years ago this week, Ned Broy smuggled Michael Collins into the headquarters of the British police in Ireland. It was a key turning point in the War of Independence.

Don’t hand them over!

Two young Dublin men, Seán Farrell and Ciarán Maguire currently face extradition to the Six Counties on foot of a European Arrest Warrant served by the PSNI in March 2017. If their request is successful Seán and Ciarán will face trial and potentially lengthy prison terms in Co Antrim’s notorious Maghaberry Prison where republican prisoners have for many years been subjected to forced strip searches, systematic beatings and held in isolation for prolonged periods of time.

March 23, 2019

One million attend anti-Brexit march in London

A huge protest against Brexit in London today is thought to be one of the biggest in British history.

New York’s freedom banner is a sign of the times

A banner carried in the annual St Patrick’s Day parade in New York has become a battle line in the upcoming elections in Ireland.

Judge finds PSNI not impartial in RUC legacy cases

In an important breakthrough for collusion victims, the Court of Appeal in Belfast has accepted that the PSNI police is too biased to be in charge of an investigation into the drive-by shooting of a west Belfast woman by plain-clothed British soldiers in 1972.

Republicans to face a choice in council elections

Sinn Fein is to face competition from three republican political parties, Eirigi, Republican Sinn Fein and newcomer Aontu, in the local elections in May.

Direct Rule extended, Stormont salaries to continue

British Direct Ruler Karen Bradley has extended the shutdown of Stormont and creeping Direct Rule from London, already more than two years old, until August.

Dismay at trial of Catalan political prisoners

The trial of the 12 Catalan political prisoners is underway, with the state prosecutor asking for sentences of between 11 and 25 years. The body in charge of passing judgment is the supreme court, which will consider the accusations presented by the prosecutor’s office of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement. Their crime: having organised the 1 October 2017 referendum on Catalan independence.

The Craigavon Two: Ten years as political hostages

Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton collectively known as the Craigavon Two, this week pass the 10th anniversary of their incarceration.

Britain intent on grinding down families’ fight

Sitting in the gallery of the Ballymurphy Massacre Inquest courtroom, you see two battles being waged. There is the legal battle for truth by victims’ families. There is also a battle of wills wherein the British Crown seems intent on grinding down families who dare fight for legacy truth by a strategy termed “deny, delay and die”.

March 16, 2019

Soldier F - A Bloody Sunday scapegoat

The British government is seeking to maintain a cover-up of the Bloody Sunday massacre after it was announced that only one soldier will be prosecuted for the killings.

Britain sees loyalist violence as option for Brexit breach

A return of loyalist violence in the north of Ireland could help Britain wriggle out of its international treaty obligations in regard to the border and the Good Friday Agreement, according to its Attorney General.

Bradley again defends killer soldiers

British Direct Ruler Karen Bradley is facing further criticism after she praised the “courage and distinction” of British soldiers following the Bloody Sunday decision to prosecute one of them for murder.

Step forward for Ludlow family

The family of a murdered County Louth man has won the right to challenge a decision not to prosecute British soldiers and loyalist paramilitaries identified as suspects.

MI5 attempt to recruit McGuinness family member

A brother-in-law of Martin McGuinness has said he was approached by MI5.

DUP: ‘Unionist homes for unionist people’

The DUP is facing criticism over its attitude towards housing after it issued an election leaflet calling for “local homes for local people”. Another of its political efforts sought to block the construction of housing near a Catholic area in north Belfast.

Who killed Rosemary Nelson?

North Armagh-based human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson was assassinated 20 years ago this week in an attack in which high-level collusion is still suspected. A report by Beatrix Campbell on the smears and disinformation which continued long after her death.

Bloody Sunday - the top brass gets away with it

There may be only one thing that the Bloody Sunday families and the defenders of the Parachute Regiment are agreed on following the announcement that a former lance corporal is to be charged with two murders and four attempted murders: that it is perverse and unfair that one low-ranking soldier should be made to carry the can for what happened in Derry 47 years ago.

March 14, 2019

Bloody Sunday families told only one prosecution to go ahead

Families of the Bloody Sunday victims have been left angry and upset after Crown Prosecutors claimed today there is sufficient evidence to prosecute only one one the seventeen soldiers known to have been involved in the massacre.

Crash Brexit unlikely as May loses control at Westminster

In a day of dramatic developments, the Westminster parliament has rejected leaving the European Union without a deal under any circumstances. It is a heavy defeat for British Prime Minister Theresa May, just as her government sought to threaten Ireland and the EU with that very scenario.

March 9, 2019

Obscenity

Widespread revulsion has greeted a statement by the British Direct Ruler Karen Bradley that killings by members of the Crown Forces in the north of Ireland are “not crimes”.

Bloody Sunday families to hear prosecutions decision

A decision on Bloody Sunday prosecutions is due to be issued on Thursday, and the day will mark a key moment in a 47-year-old campaign for justice.

Trauma for families as shootings recalled

An eyewitness has told the Ballymurphy inquest how he heard the last words of mother-of-eight Joan Connolly after she was shot in the face.

Downey to appeal extradition over fabricated evidence

Donegal republican John Downey is to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the North of Ireland.

Protests planned against return of border checks

A group of residents have called for mass demonstrations along the Irish border the day after Brexit, when Britain leaves the European Union and takes the north of Ireland with it.

Institutionalised bigotry at Belfast hospital

A culture of anti-Catholic hate was rife among staff at Belfast City Hospital in recent years but senior health officials chose not to take action against the perpetrators, it has emerged.

Hunger strikers - Britain ‘blind to reason and persuasion’

March 1st marked the 38th anniversary of the start of Bobby Sands hunger strike in 1981. Nine days into his protest Sands turned 27 years of age. He would not live to see another birthday.

Time to go

There are many reasons you might think Karen Bradley should resign, but the Derry Girls may not be the first one that comes to mind.

March 2, 2019

‘We won’

The Supreme Court in London has unanimously backed the appeal by the family of Pat Finucane against the refusal of the British government to carry out a proper inquiry into his 1989 murder by state agents.

Targeted journalists resist bail censorship

Two Belfast-based journalists arrested after investigating collusion in the North have complained that the PSNI tried to censor them over what they can say about it.

Ballymurphy duo were shot as they aided the injured

A priest called the British Army to plead for help to protect Catholics in Ballymurphy from attacks from their Protestant neighbours, just half an hour before he was shot dead, the inquest into the Ballymurphy Massacre has heard.

UVF link to death of former paramilitary

A former loyalist paramilitary murdered last week died as a result of a power-struggle among loyalists associated with the UVF, according to reports which indicated he was killed with an illegal shotgun the UVF had previously taken from him.

Targets of threats ‘not Catholic’, but PSNI not interested

A County Antrim couple have been issued death threats after loyalists targeted them because they have “Catholic sounding names”. Graffiti was daubed outside their home with their names telling them they have “24 hours to get out”.

Labour activists show support for Irish reunification

More than 150 trade unionists have signed a declaration calling on the labour movement to advocate for a united Ireland and a new all-Ireland constitution with workers’ rights at the heart of it.

How the truth of Loughinisland is still suppressed

A background to the continuing police harassment of two journalists involved in making the film ‘No Stone Unturned’ by its director Alex Gibney.

Victory for the Chagos Islanders

The International Court of Justice in The Hague has handed down a momentous judgement that says Britain’s colonial authority over the Chagos Islands is no longer legal. John Pilger, whose 2004 film, Stealing a Nation, alerted much of the world to the plight of the islanders, tells their story.