Irish Republican News: Archives

May 29, 2019

Carthy returned in election count drama

Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy has been elected to the European Parliament in the last count in Midlands/North/West (MNW) tonight, although the party faces a recount to hold on to Liadh Ní Riada’s seat in Ireland South.

May 28, 2019

Down to the wire in the European election

Counting has been suspended in Dublin amid a legal dispute over procedure and the technical order of victory of the successful candidates following the elimination of Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan.

May 27, 2019

Mixed fortunes for Sinn Féin as counting continues

Counting is taking place in elections in the North and South of Ireland today, with Martina Anderson’s performance in the Six Counties a highlight for Sinn Fein.

May 26, 2019

Talk of snap general election as votes are counted

There is growing speculation of a general election in the 26 Counties later this year after Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin appeared open to forming a coalition with the Green Party following Friday’s local elections.

May 25, 2019

Sinn Féin’s McDonald expects losses

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has conceded that her party will suffer some losses in the local elections, but she said: ‘Beidh lá eile againn’ [We will have another day].

INLA leader laid to rest

Several thousand people attended the west Belfast funeral of leading republican socialist ‘Marty Mac’ Martin McElkerney on Wednesday. A former PoW, Mr McElkerney was closely involved in the IRSP’s peace strategy after being released from Long Kesh prison in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

May leaves behind a trail of failure

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has warned that the resignation of the British Prime Minister and the Tory leadership contest should not distract from the threats posed by Brexit or derail efforts to restore the Six County Assembly at Stormont.

Sinn Fein mayor greets royals after loyalist death threat

Belfast’s new Mayor John Finucane has been warned that loyalists are planning to attack him at his home after the Sinn Féin councillor received the chains of office on Tuesday.

PSNI retract murder admission

The family of a Catholic man shot dead by the RUC police has been re-traumatised after the force seemed to admit his killing was a murder -- and then changed their minds.

GAA man in fear over MI5 harassment

A well-known figure in Gaelic sports in the North says he fears for his life after MI5 pursued him to become an informer.

Security circus expected as Trump visit is confirmed

Donald Trump is expected to face unprecedented security and protests when he flies into Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland on June 5th. A state visit by the US President was finally confirmed this week.

25th anniversary of Widow Scallans attack

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the death of IRA Volunteer Martin ‘Doco’ Doherty, who died defending a Sinn Fein function at the Widow Scallans pub in Dublin from a bomb attack by the UVF.

The numbers game

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams responds to a call by former SDLP Deputy Leader Seamus Mallon that the Good Friday Agreement should be rewritten and a United Ireland should now be contingent on the agreement of a majority of Unionists.

May 24, 2019

Green Party set to make gains in 26 Counties - exit poll

An official RTE-TG4-Red C exit poll following today’s 26 County elections at 10pm tonight predicted Sinn Féin is in a battle to hold onto its three seats in the European Parliament, while the Green party is in surprise contention to win up to three seats.

Theresa May to quit

Theresa May will step down as leader of the British Conservative Party on 7 June and will remain in office as British Prime Minister until her successor is selected, she announced today.

Trouble as voting takes place in historic Euro election

Rioting took place in Derry on Thursday night as polls closed in the election to the European Parliament and as British Prime Minister Theresa May was said to be preparing to announce her resignation over the collapse of support for her party.

May 21, 2019

Sinn Féin’s John Finucane elected Mayor of Belfast

Sinn Féin’s John Finucane, son of assassinated defence lawyer Pat Finucance, has been elected as mayor of Belfast.

May 18, 2019

Euro election could make history

Sinn Féin’s European election candidate in the Six Counties, Martina Anderson, clashed with hardline unionist Jim Allister on live television as campaigning for the European elections to be held across Ireland reached a climax.

Paras praised for shooting ‘anything that moves’

A former member of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment has admitted that anyone on the streets of Ballymurphy in west Belfast during the introduction of internment was considered to be associated with the IRA and liable to be shot.

Rally calls for an end to the housing nightmare

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Dublin city centre for a protest today [Saturday] as reports shows that homelessness has reached a new record, and that Irish rental housing and the cost of living are more expensive than ever.

1950s IRA veteran questioned as British plan amnesty

A former Official IRA Volunteer has been questioned about an attack on the British Crown Forces which took place almost 60 years ago after he wrote a historic account of the incident.

New cover-up as MI5’s plan for Special Branch withheld

An MI5 report on policing compiled at the height of the conflict in the early 1970s must remain secret, a British official has ruled.

Saoradh concern as ‘Press’ camera crew joins PSNI raid

Saoradh has raised a number of questions after members of the media appeared to pro-actively take part in a PSNI police raid on the homes of republicans in Derry last week.

45th anniversary of Dublin-Monaghan bombings

Flowers have been laid at a memorial for the victims of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings - as victims’ families and survivors called for full disclosure of all sensitive documents relating to the atrocities.

‘We made history in a small but significant way’

With days to go before its first local election in the 26 Counties, Aontú’s first elected councillor, Dr Anne McCloskey, looks at a critical point in the establishment of Ireland’s newest republican political party.

May 11, 2019

Optimism urged for new talks process

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she believes an agreement can be reached after round-table five-party talks began in Belfast this week for the first time in more than a year.

Horrific details of Para depravity

A former British soldier, who has written about his experiences in the Parachute Regiment, has said the skull of one of their victims was used as an ashtray by members of the regiment after he was shot dead.

Para banners mock victims

The proliferation of loyalist banners supporting killer British Army soldiers has been denounced as a hate crime.

Saoradh leader ‘targeted by MI5’

The offices of political party Saoradh in Derry have once again been raided as MI5 are reportedly under orders to ‘bring down’ Thomas Ashe Mellon, a 43-year-old republican activist who is a leading figure in the party.

Family seek documents related to British murder weapon

The family of a County Donegal teenager murdered by loyalists in 1973 ago has started a legal action over suspected Crown Force collusion surrounding his killing.

Three-volley salute for IRA veteran

Former members of the Provisional IRA are understood to have fired a volley of shots in memory of their comrade Peter ‘Pepe’ Rooney, who was buried last Wednesday after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Loughgall Martyrs - 32 years

This week marks the 32nd anniversary of the Loughgall Martyrs, eight volunteers of the Irish Republican Army who died in a gun battle commenced by ambush by British occupation forces in the village of Loughgall, Armagh.

Grasp the nettle

An oration delivered to this year’s Ronan MacLochlainn Commemoration by Mr Francis Mackey, National Chairman of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.

May 4, 2019

‘New progressive society emerging’ - SF

Counting has been completed in the local elections in the north, with Sinn Féin picking up last minute gains on Belfast City Council.

Unionist hardliners count the cost

A second day of counting in the local elections has confirmed that the traditional unionist vote is well down across the Six Counties, while the moderate Alliance Party are the main beneficiaries of the election.

‘Dirty War’ general seen behind McGurk’s Bar lie

Relatives of people killed in the McGurk’s Bar bomb have called for an infamous British Army general to be questioned by an independent police force after evidence was unearthed that he was in charge of the brigade which disseminated the lie that the attack was an IRA ‘own goal’.

Testimony describes soldiers shooting victims on the ground

A Belfast woman has described looking out of her bedroom window as a British soldier shot two people as they lay on the ground during the Ballymurphy Massacre.

Graffiti war in Derry as Saoradh challenges censorship

Saoradh has hit out at what it has described as unprecedented censorship and said the group and its members are being denied their civil rights.

CIRA in show of strength

Footage has emerged of a masked Continuity IRA member firing a gun salute at an Easter commemoration in County Tyrone.

Sectarianism hides behind unionism in Scotland

A Catholic church in the West End of Glasgow has been attacked in a series of anti-Catholic and anti-Irish incidents in the city.

The troubling case of Julian Assange

Julian Assange continues to ripple and roam as a cipher through the political and media scape of the world. Detained in Belmarsh maximum security prison, the sort of stately abode only reserved for the most dangerous of criminals, many with indeterminate sentences, he electrifies and concerns.

The final days of Bobby Sands

A contemporaneous account of the last-ditch efforts to save the life of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, who died this week 38 years ago.

May 3, 2019

Local elections - Voters seek out new political territory

A strong performance by the Alliance Party and the Greens is one of the major trends of the local elections in the Six Counties, according to first results this Friday. The overall unionist vote is down, thanks to a poor performance by fringe unionist groups, while on the nationalist side, independent republicans and newcomers Aontú have made a significant breakthrough.

May 2, 2019

Turnout holds up in local elections

Voting has closed in local elections in the Six Counties after a quiet campaign which was overshadowed by non-local issues, mainly the crisis over Brexit, the political stalemate, and recent rioting in Derry.