Irish Republican News: Archives

January 31, 2020

Britain waves goodbye

Britain is set to formally quit the European Union late Friday, closing the chapter on nearly half a century of integration with its European neighbours and leaving the north of Ireland in a limbo between two powerful economies

Brexit means unity debate must begin

Speaking at a protest against Brexit on the Irish border on the day Britain leaves the EU, taking the northeast of Ireland with it, the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said preparations for constitutional change on the island “needed to start”.

Killer soldiers get trial dates

Two former British soldiers who fired on Official IRA man Joe McCann have failed to stop their trial for the murder of the Belfast father of four from going ahead.

Sinn Féin management ‘no different’ to other organisations

A row over the nature of Sinn Féin’s top management has dominated the second week of the 26 County general election campaign.

Prominent republican survives gun attack

A gun attack on a well-known Belfast republican has raised fears of the return of a grudge-type dispute in east Belfast which in 2015 claimed the lives of two former members of the Provisional IRA, Jock Davison and Kevin McGuigan.

Judicial review for Finucane family as Britain continues to stall

The widow of murdered defence lawyer Pat Finucane has won permission at Belfast’s High Court to challenge the continuing failure of the British government to carry out an effective investigation.

The reality of government failure

An extract from a dossier titled ‘Humans of the Housing Crisis’ prepared by Sinn Féin of suffering in Ireland as a result of the housing crisis. It was compiled from submissions received by the party over six days from Tuesday 3rd December.

The time for change has arrived

Think about it. The north is being removed from the EU tonight against the wishes of its people and without its consent.

January 24, 2020

British Army was behind Miami Showband massacre

Shocking new documents have disclosed that British Army intelligence officer Robert Nairac was responsible for the planning and execution of the Miami Showband Massacre, in which three innocent band-members were killed.

Election is a chance to change the system

Sinn Féin could be on the cusp of a breakthrough in the 26 Counties as polls show a sharp jump in support for the party and a corresponding decline in support for the main party of government, Fine Gael.

Parties launch campaigns, condemn censorship

Sinn Féin has called for a referendum on Irish unity within five years in tandem with a ‘Green New Deal’ for climate change as part of its election launch at Dublin’s Mansion House.

Derry’s battle for justice as it marks anniversary

Ahead of the anniversary of the British Army’s massacre of 14 civil rights demonstrators in Derry, families say they will fight “tooth and nail” to prevent the only Bloody Sunday murder case from being moved out of the city.

‘Wall of Shame’ to remember Black and Tans

Despite the deferral of a commemoration for members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), plans remain in place for the names of members of the British Crown Forces who died in Ireland up to 1921, including the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, to be etched on a commemorative wall in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

Irish language speakers in fight to bolster talks deal

Irish speakers face “a battle a day” to get services in the language despite featuring in a new multi-party agreement to restore the Six County political institutions, according to language activists.

Death of Seamus Mallon

Tributes have been paid following the death of Seamus Mallon, the former SDLP deputy leader and deputy First Minister who was closely involved in the peace process of the 1990s.

‘An injustice to one is an injustice to all’

The context provided by the organisers for the 2020 Bloody Sunday march.

January 17, 2020

Varadkar’s election plan unravels

The 26 County election campaign has had the most shocking start imaginable after body parts of a murdered 17-year-old boy were found in a bag in north Dublin.

Stormont parties left high and dry by Johnson

Disingenuous and almost sarcastic comments by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his first visit to the Belfast Assembly have underlined a sense that politicians at Stormont have been left to fend for themselves despite a new effort to ‘make Northern Ireland work’.

Sinn Féin kept in second class in RTE election debates

Sinn Féin has described the decision by the state-run broadcaster RTE to hold a one-to-one election debate between the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail as an “utter joke”.

SAS victim facing jail sentence over IRA charges

A man shot in an SAS ambush as the Provisional IRA engaged Crown Forces in Coalisland 23 years ago has been convicted of involvement in the attack, and jailed ahead of sentencing -- despite the incident taking place before the Good Friday peace Agreement.

Family remember tragic death of three-year-old

The family of the first child to be killed by a British Army armoured vehicle have been recalling the tragedy, fifty years after it took place.

British PM took action to cancel ‘Famine’ event

Former British prime minister John Major stepped in to stop plans for a service commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Great Hunger in 1996, according to state papers dating from that time.

‘New Decade, New Approach’ - main points

The main elements of the new deal for Six-County power-sharing agreed by the Dublin and London governments and five political parties in the north of Ireland.

Irish unity not considered at negotiating table

The recent attempt by an unelected member of the House of Lords to pass through a ‘Referendums Criteria Bill”, that will gerrymander any future referenda must serve as a strong reminder to all that the unstated Border Poll voting threshold for a referendum on Irish Unity needs addressed now.

January 14, 2020

Varadkar calls election for February 8

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to seek a dissolution of the Dublin parliament from President Michael D Higgins to allow for a 26 County general election on Saturday February 8.

January 11, 2020

Stormont restored as parties divvy up Ministerial posts

The DUP’s Arlene Foster has returned as Stormont First Minister and Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill has taken up the post of deputy First Minister as the main political parties moved quickly today to restore the Six County institutions and take up Ministerial appointments.

January 10, 2020

Sinn Féin agree to return to Stormont

Three years after they collapsed, Sinn Féin has made a decision to return to the partitionist institutions at Stormont, with party leader Mary Lou McDonald stating that it is the “responsibility of every party to ensure the Executive meets”.

Public rises up against revisionism

One of the most extraordinary displays of contempt by an Irish government for its own people -- a plan to hold an official state commemoration for those who oppressed and terrorised Ireland for a century -- has been “deferred” following a huge public outcry.

UDA beat man to death after talks with British govt

The unionist paramilitary UDA has been linked to the murder of Carrickfergus man Glenn Quinn, a former barman who had no paramilitary connections. His death was due to a severe beating he received after he fell out with a senior figure from the South East Antrim UDA.

Justice one step closer for Aidan McAnespie

A former British soldier is to stand trial for the 1988 killing of a Catholic man at a Crown Force checkpoint. Aidan McAnespie, 23, was walking through a border checkpoint on his way to a Gaelic football match when he was struck in the back by gunfire.

Hospitals crisis could trigger collapse of government

Amid an unprecedented crisis in Irish hospitals and with the Dublin government staggering towards an inevitable election, a group of independent TDs have put down a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health Simon Harris.

Republican groups issue New Year statements

The New IRA has issued a New Year statement in which it said it looked forward to a consolidation of the struggle against the British occupation and “vowed to meet force with force”.

To remember or commemorate?

This state was founded by those who fought for Irish Independence between 1919 and 1921 and it would be bizzare if this state were to commemorate those who fought to suppress it’s establishment.

Government u-turn a victory for people power

The Government must go beyond deferral and scrap any plan now or in the future to commemorate the role of the RIC and the DMP. The shallowness and opportunism of their position on these events has been exposed. So has the posturing of the Fianna Fáil Leader.

January 9, 2020

Govts publish draft deal for Stormont

A new draft Stormont talks agreement has been presented tonight by the

Dublin and London governments which outlines new measures to reform the Stormont institutions and calls for support for Irish and Ulster-Scots culture in the north of Ireland, but falls short of an Irish Language Act.

January 3, 2020

A century of cover-up for miscarriages of justice

More than 1,000 files on the Guildford Four, Maguire Seven and Birmingham Six, notorious miscarriage of justice cases involving innocent Irish civilians living in England, are to remain secret almost a century longer than they were supposed.

Dublin had challenged British on threat to lawyers

Revelations around a British government minister’s claim that some lawyers in the north of Ireland were “unduly sympathetic to the IRA” have further highlighted the need for a full public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.

Politicians to meet Byrne over Christmas ‘show of strength’

PSNI Chief Simon Byrne is to meet a group of Armagh political representatives amid continuing anger over a picture he published on Christmas morning of himself posing alongside heavily armed PSNI men outside their Crown Force base in the village of Crossmaglen.

Reactionaries seek to derail calls for Irish Unity

With a growing consensus around the need for a border poll to reunite Ireland in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement, right-wing politicians in the 26 Counties have been using the Christmas period to attempt to silence the calls and urge a return of the partitionist institutions at Stormont instead.