Irish Republican News: Archives

June 28, 2019

SF pays tribute to PIRA ceasefire leader

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams delivered the graveside oration at the funeral of the former chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, Kevin McKenna, who passed away earlier in the week at the age of 74. In his address, Mr Adams hailed the pivotal figure as “a republican soldier who had the politics to know when to fight, and the political vision to know when to talk”.

Soldier evidence ‘not worthy of belief’

A former senior military figure who was a commander in the Parachute Regiment during the Ballymurphy massacre in West Belfast has told an inquest that he has no recollection of the regiment shooting ten people dead.

Loyalists flag up interface attacks

Sinn Féin has said unionist flags and banners are being used by loyalist paramilitaries to mark out territory as homes in east Belfast came under attack ahead of the anti-Catholic marching season.

Shameless Paisley further exposed as MP for hire

Attention has returned to the issue of corruption in the north of Ireland after it emerged that DUP veteran MP Ian Paisley could be suspended from Westminster for a second time over his lavish foreign-funded vacations.

Discrimination over IRA convictions is ‘transgenerational’

The children of some former IRA Volunteers are being barred from entering the United States because of their parents’ background.

Hope for proper investigation into attack on Kilcoo pub

A campaign to secure a new investigation into a gun attack by a loyalist paramilitary death squad on a village pub has received a boost after a judge included it in a group to be advanced through the courts.

Miriam Daly

Miriam Daly, an Irish republican socialist and university lecturer, was assassinated by the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in a killing which continues to provoke questions. Her body, bound and shot, was found by her nine-year-old daughter after she returned from school in Andersonstown, 39 years ago this week. In this interview, Anthony Neeson spoke to Jim Daly, her widower

Voting rights extension is a no-brainer

An analysis by Brian Feeney of the move by the Dublin government to extend voting rights to northerners and emigrants in the case of Presidential elections.

June 22, 2019

Unite Ireland so we can have Brexit, say Tory members

There has been a welcome in Ireland for the result of a survey of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party which revealed that most of its members would be willing to see Irish reunification if it meant that England could leave the European Union. The poll puts the Tories completely at odds with their DUP allies in the London government.

Bloody Sunday soldier to be tried in Derry

As tensions rise over the case, it has been confirmed that the only British soldier to be charged with a crime in relation to Bloody Sunday will be summonsed to appear at Derry courthouse next month.

Talks in limbo after ‘summer drinks reception’ falls flat

Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill has said British Direct Ruler Karen Bradley has “failed left, right and centre” after politicians in the five main parties were bizarrely invited to a “summer drinks reception” at Stormont. The invitation came as talks Bradley was chairing had stalled and now appear set to be suspended for the summer.

Bigoted council to sue granny over Irish placename sign

A council in the north of Ireland has threatened a pensioner with a conviction and fine for placing the Irish name for her estate on a sign beside the one with the English language version.

PSNI chief to face judicial review over McGurk’s Bar case

Despite new evidence that the massacre was the subject of disinformation by the British state, families of fifteen people killed in a Belfast bomb attack have begun a legal challenge against a decision not to order an independent investigation.

26-County soldiers sent on imperial mission to Africa

In a new blow to Irish neutrality, the Dublin government is planning to send 14 ‘special operations’ soldiers into an African war zone in support of a French post-colonial agenda.

Give us justice – arrest the Loughinisland killers

As the anniversary of Loughinisland is remembered, a look at an extraordinary campaign for justice which continues to battle cover-up and collusion.

Speech to Sinn Féin Bodenstown commemoration

Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands North-West Matt Carthy delivered the keynote address at the party’s Wolfe Tone commemoration in Kildare last weekend. He said that Sinn Féin remain determined to deliver the vision of Wolfe Tone “of a new Republic that can achieve so much more”.

June 15, 2019

Final journey for IRA legend

Thousands lined the streets of west Belfast today as republicans from across Ireland gathered to pay tribute to Provisional IRA founder Billy McKee, a man who dedicated most of his life to the cause of freedom and lead the defence of the nationalist people at a time of their greatest need.

‘Boris the Buffoon’ set to be next British PM

Boris Johnson is on the cusp of becoming the new British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader following an initial ballot of the party’s MPs.

Time for truth as British run down the clock

Several thousand people took the streets of Belfast city centre last Saturday to call for action on dealing with the legacy of the past. Families bereaved by the actions of the British state told a rally that they deserve the right to truth and justice.

PSNI help erect Para banner in Armagh

The PSNI police were accused of helping to erect a banner in support of killer British soldiers of the Parachute regiment at a busy junction in Armagh this week.

Collusion precedent as British military pays out

A man who was shot after a British Army spy targeted him for murder is to receive £90,000 in damages. Eamon Heatley was shot up to five times by a death squad at his home in north Belfast in August 1988 in a state-planned assassination, but survived.

Elderly suffering most in trolley crisis

More than 4,000 people aged over 75 endured distressing waits of more than 24 hours in crowded hospital emergency departments in the first three months of this year alone, according to figures released by the 26 County Health Service Executive (HSE).

Remains of Great Hunger victims emerge, 172 years on

A storm has exposed the bones of Irish children on a Canadian beach, recalling a holocaust of greed that devastated Ireland and changed the world.

Billy McKee

A short biography of the late IRA hero by Republican Sinn Féin.

June 12, 2019

Billy McKee has died

A true legend of the Irish Republican Army, Billy McKee, has passed away at the age of 98.

June 8, 2019

Malicious agenda beaten

Two investigative journalists have accused the PSNI of “malicious intent” after a bogus case against them in relation to a documentary on collusion in the north of Ireland was finally dropped.

Plan for ‘agreed Ireland’ needed before poll - Adams

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has called for greater planning and an accommodation with unionists ahead of a referendum on Irish unity which he says he is confident will take place.

Booby trap device claimed

The New IRA has claimed responsibility for an attack against a member of the PSNI last weekend in which a device was planted on the underside of a vehicle.

Prosecutors accused of oppression after charges dropped

County Tyrone Republican Brian Carron has had false charges against him dropped a week before his trial was to be scheduled, and after more than a year on very strict bail conditions.

Anti-Catholic marches defeated in Glasgow

A court has upheld a council decision to re-route Orange Order parades in Glasgow away from a Catholic church, leading to the parades being cancelled entirely by the Orange Order.

Rockall dispute rocks back

The Dublin government is being urged to defend Irish fishing vessels from a Scottish threat that it will take action against them in the area around Rockall, a rock which protrudes in the middle of the north Atlantic.

The first rule of Fine Gael: don't get caught

Calls for Maria Bailey to be kicked out of Fine Gael for damaging the party are unfair when she represents everything they stand for... absolutely nothing but themselves.

The hypocrisy of the cause célèbre

The mainstream media are indifferent to political policing when republicans are involved, Saoradh argues.

June 5, 2019

Bafflement in Ireland as Trump backs Brexit ‘wall’

Addressing a press conference at Shannon Airport today alongside the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, US President Donald Trump told the Irish media the crisis over Britain’s withdrawal from the EU is “going to work out... with your wall, with your border”. He also said claimed to know most Irish-Americans personally, declaring: “We love the Irish”.

June 1, 2019

British general derided at massacre inquest

A claim that the British Army “don’t do conspiracies” by one its most infamous liars, General Mike Jackson, drew derision and frustration in equal measure at the inquest into the Ballymurphy massacre this week.

We wanted to protect UVF killers, police admit

The High Court in Belfast has ruled that warrants for the police raids which led to the arrest of two journalists last August were “inappropriate” and should be quashed, and that all material seized during raids on their homes and offices should be handed back.