Irish Republican News: Archives

April 30, 2021

Betrayal and upheaval in the DUP

Politics in the north of Ireland is facing a period of transition as unionist extremist and religious fundamentalist Edwin Poots emerged as the most likely person to take over the helm of the DUP.

O’Neill to be ‘put back in her kennel’ - DUP councillor

A DUP councillor has been condemned after he suggested Sinn Féin deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, “will be put back in her kennel” by the new leader of the DUP, who he expects will be Edwin Poots.

Paratroopers’ confessions ruled inadmissible

Two former British soldiers were not legally justified in opening fire on an Official IRA Volunteer as he ran away from them, a court has heard.

Former UVF boss survives murder bid

Willie ‘Mr Muscles’ Young, a well known loyalist paramilitary figure, was shot through the door of his home in north Belfast on Saturday evening in the latest murderous attack linked to loyalist crime gangs.

Attempt to whitewash centenary opposed

As Ireland approaches the 100th anniversary of its partition, Lasair Dhearg in the Six Counties has launched a campaign to highlight what it describes as “the real story of this rotten little statelet”.

Debenhams strike action attacked by Gardaí

Four people were arrested after garda police violently removed several workers who were staging a peaceful sit down protest outside a former Debenhams store in Dublin last week.

Bobby Sands

Bobby Sands died on 5 May, 1981, 40 years ago this week. This article for IRIS recounts how he became inspired to join the Irish republican struggle and to lead the 1981 hunger strike against the criminalisation of political prisoners.

New DUP will bring down Stormont

The four letters circulating against DUP leader Arlene Foster are four different versions of the same suicide note.

April 28, 2021

Arlene Foster resigns amid DUP heave

Arlene Foster is to step down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and as Six County First Minister. She made the statement after news emerged yesterday of a number of letters drawn up by DUP elected representatives expressing no confidence in the party leadership.

April 24, 2021

Rage in Derry over PSNI shooting

A vulnerable Derry man has been left fighting for his life after the PSNI used CS nerve spray against him before shooting him at point-blank range.

Loyalist disturbances wind down

Loyalist street violence dissipated this week as attempts by loyalist leaders to hold peaceful protests also failed to attract significant interest.

Unity referendum ‘out, out, out’ - govts

As a new poll pointed to a clear demand across Ireland for a vote on Irish reunification, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week effectively ruled one out, saying there will be no such referendum for “a very, very long time to come”.

McDonald ‘apology’ seen as possible step change

Despite some backtracking, a form of apology by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald for a 1979 IRA attack in which senior British royal Lord Mountbatten was killed has raised the possibility of a broader statement of regret for the Provisional IRA’s role in the conflict.

Victims ‘sickened’ by loyalist mural

A sinister loyalist paramilitary mural has appeared which gloats about the mass murder of innocent Catholics.

Child’s plight draws attention to housing crisis

Ireland’s homelessness crisis has been exposed in a striking photograph of a four-year-old girl sitting on the street eating at a soup kitchen.

The story of the Catalpa

Of all the wonderful escapes and rescues of Irish political prisoners from British dungeons down through the years none was as remarkable as the rescue of six Fenian prisoners from the penal settlement of Western Australia in 1876, 145 years ago this week.

Are British soldiers above the law for Irish murders?

Boris Johnson has told the British parliament final preparations were being made to a draft bill that would in effect provide protection from prosecution for British soldiers that served in the North of Ireland.

April 17, 2021

Catholics forced out amid fears of new violence

A loyalist paramilitary crime gang in County Antrim has “ordered” the removal of Catholic families from housing estates in the latest episode of sectarian violence in the north.

Gun goes ‘missing’ at PSNI base

A gun and ammunition possibly used by a collusion gang and handed into a PSNI station last week went ‘missing’ at the station for four days.

Jailing of man for IRA membership a miscarriage of justice

The Special Criminal Court in Dublin has admitted that the case of a County Louth man who spent more than a year in prison for IRA membership constitutes a miscarriage of justice.

Peggy Deery’s family to receive damages

The family of the only woman to be shot on Bloody Sunday, are to be awarded nearly £270,000 in damages.

Mother of sectarian attack victim to launch action against PSNI

The mother of a north Belfast teenager who was severely beaten in a sectarian attack is to launch a legal action against the PSNI over investigative failures and their ‘breach of duty of care’ to the schoolboy.

Family of UDA victim call for publication of report

The family of a Catholic man murdered by the UDA has called for the Police Ombudsman report on ‘Operation Achille’, withheld since 2019, to be published.

Inside a British jail in Ireland

An account of the workings of the brutal Maghaberry prison regime by Kieran McCool, who was arrested in a raid in Derry last month.

Unionists have failed to stop progress

There’s one aspect of the chronically defective unionist leadership through the decades that you have to admit: consistency.

April 10, 2021

Nationalists urged to remain calm

Sinister efforts to involve nationalists in the current wave of loyalist violence are continuing after a week of some of the worst disturbances seen in the north of Ireland in over eight years.

Loyalist claims to ‘peaceful protest’ rejected

The British authorities in Ireland are coming under pressure to finally dismantle the loyalist drugs gangs behind the current wave of street violence and cease the state funding that supports them.

State harassment at Easter events

A member of Republican Sinn Féin was arrested at an Easter Monday commemoration for refusing to speak to Gardaí in English.

Moves to all-island links in sport, transport

A potential All-Ireland soccer league could be on the cards with the two football associations in both parts of Ireland working on it, according to reports.

Council backs campaign for justice for Eddie Fullerton

Donegal Council Councillors have unanimously backed a call for truth and justice for the murder of Eddie Fullerton as the 30th anniversary of his death approaches.

Flag and anthem ‘up for discussion’ in unity talks

Members of the Dublin parliament have suggested that the tricolour’s status as the national flag could be reconsidered as part of efforts to secure a united Ireland.

A turning point in history

Bobby Sands’ victory in Fermanagh and South Tyrone 40 years ago this week gave the republican movement a “victory that not even countless IRA military operations could have achieved”, according to a former prisoner in the H-Blocks.

There is a democratic pathway

The imposition of Brexit by the Tories, with absolutely no regard for its impact on the north and our economy, has led to many people asking questions and considering new options and opportunities.

April 8, 2021

PSNI attempt to provoke nationalists on Springfield Road

An attempt by the PSNI police to draw nationalist youths into conflict near a tense west Belfast interface failed tonight thanks to the efforts of community leaders.

Loyalists riot at West Belfast ‘peace line’

Another night of intense loyalist rioting has been criticised by politicians including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, although DUP leader Arlene Foster blamed Sinn Féin as “the real law breakers” over a lack of social distancing at a Sinn Féin funeral last year.