Irish Republican News: Archives

May 29, 2021

Ireland stands with Palestine

A vote by the Dublin parliament to adopt a Sinn Féin motion condemning the annexation of Palestinian lands by Israel has been hailed as a historic recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

‘UDA threats’ used to help Poots become DUP leader

An allegation by DUP leadership contender Jeffrey Donaldson that the UDA threatened some of his team while he was campaigning to become party leader has brought a new focus to the long history of links between loyalist paramilitaries and DUP extremists.

Community in fear after cameras found trained on popular inn

Three British cameras and a transmitter hidden on a hillside and looking down on one of the north’s busiest roadside inns are believed to have been used to spy on republicans in the Tyrone area for months or even years.

Precedent set as ‘double agent’ found liable for Drumbeg massacre

Britain’s secret murder campaign in Ireland has been further exposed after a court found one of its alleged loyalist agents murdered three civilians in a shop in Drumbeg, Craigavon in 1991.

Tributes to hunger strikers on 40th anniversary

The Irish National Liberation Army performed a gun salute to hunger striker Patsy O’Hara with a volley of shots close to his family home in the Bishop Street area of Derry last weekend.

Council accused of deception over royal visit

There have been calls for resignations at the nationalist-controlled Newry, Mourne and Down council after a historian was fooled into taking part in pro-British propaganda exercise during a recent visit of England’s Prince Charles.

‘They they won’t let us move on’

A statement from Linda Duffy, daughter of Harry Duffy, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her father’s death.

Ballymurphy - A conspiracy of cover-up

The reality is that the Coroner’s conclusions in the Ballymurphy case will not have surprised the security mandarins that run the British system. Every government, Conservative and Labour, has known the truth of these events since they first occurred.

May 22, 2021

Loyalist teen threatens MPs with Brexit violence

The use of violence in response to port checks is ‘not off the table’, a 19-year-old linked to loyalist paramilitary gangs told Westminster MPs in an extraordinary meeting on the consequences of Brexit.

PSNI chief dodges meeting with councillors over harassment

The head of the PSNI police in Derry and Strabane has been criticised by councillors after he refused to attend a meeting to discuss anger at sectarian and political policing in the area.

Ballymurphy families express anger at latest non-apology

A formal ‘apology’ by Boris Johnson in the House of Commons to the families of the Ballymurphy massacre victims has been condemned as partial and insincere.

New evidence ties British regiment to death of schoolgirl

Fresh evidence has been uncovered which proves the British Army was active in an area of west Belfast where a 13-year-old girl was shot and killed during the conflict.

SAS assassins challenged to come forward

Relatives of people murdered by an ‘elite’ British Army unit in targeted operations have said those who carried out the killings should be held to account for their actions.

TDs urged to support campaign for truth

Members of the Dublin parliament have been briefed on the murder of two Catholic teenagers in which collusion is alleged between the British state and unionist paramilitaries.

Global day of action for Palestine

A ceasefire has been announced to end Israeli shelling in Gaza and attacks on other Palestinian areas ahead of a global day of action on Saturday, May 22. A number of events are taking place in Ireland.

The final days of Patsy O’Hara

INLA Volunteer, Patsy O’Hara was one of three INLA Volunteers who died whilst on Hunger Strike, along with the seven Volunteers from the IRA. Patsy survived 61 days on hunger strike from 21 March 1981 until 21 May 1981 when he died, 40 years ago this week.

May 15, 2021

Joy turns to anger at mealy-mouthed apology

The families of the Ballymurphy massacre victims have rejected a British letter of apology and have called for the disbandment of the regiment responsible for the slaughter of their loved ones.

Irish horror at Israeli bombings in Palestine

Irish groups have joined others around the world in expressing their shock and condemnation at escalating Israeli acts of war and war crimes against Palestinian communities.

DUP backs Poots for new leader

‘Turkeys voting for Christmas’ is how some have described the DUP’s decision to elect unionist extremist and religious fundamentalist, Edwin Poots, as its new leader.

Britain holds fresh talks with loyalist gangs

Sinn Féin has said the British government needs to clarify whether it retains a “cosy relationship” with illegal armed criminal gangs after senior British ministers met with representatives of the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando on Monday.

Anderson family speak out over sudden purge

The family of former Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson have accused the party of “publicly humiliating” her.

Scotland signals support for end to Union

Following a landslide vote for her party in national elections, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has declared “it is the will of the country” for Scotland to have a second independence referendum.

Francis Hughes

The second republican to join the H-Block hunger-strike for political status, a fortnight after Bobby Sands, was twenty-five-year-old Francis Hughes, from Bellaghy in South Derry. He died 40 years ago this week.

The blanket men and a man from America

It was the desperate plight of prisoners In the North of Ireland and the death of Bobby Sands that took me 3000 miles across the Atlantic to meet the Elliott family, whose ancestors long ago had left Derry and settled in the USA.

May 11, 2021

Truth and vindication at last for Ballymurphy families

After fifty years of British state lies and cover-ups, a coroner has finally ruled today that those killed in the Ballymurphy massacre were entirely innocent.

May 8, 2021

Tories plan blanket amnesty for state killers

A move by the British government to halt prosecutions for any and all crimes committed by the British Crown forces in the North of Ireland has provoked widespread shock and anger.

Martina Anderson to quit Stormont after party request

Sinn Féin’s former MEP for the north of Ireland, Martina Anderson, is to stand down from electoral politics after being asked to do so by the party leadership.

Tributes on 40th anniversary of Bobby Sands’ death

There were tributes far and wide to IRA Volunteer Bobby Sands on Wednesday on the 40th anniversary of his death, after 66 days on hunger strike in Long Kesh prison.

Report finds RUC killings were not investigated

PSNI chief Simon Byrne has been urged to at least issue a public apology over the deaths of a boy and three men in Belfast after a finding by the Police Ombudsman of “significant operational and investigative failures”.

DUP leadership contested as loyalist protests continue

The DUP is set for its first-ever leadership contest after MP Jeffrey Donaldson announced he will run for the leadership against the Stormont Minister for Agriculture Edwin Poots.

Anti-republican columnist fired after trolling exposed

Extreme unionist columnist Eoghan Harris has been sacked by the Sunday Independent after he admitted he was involved in a misogynistic and abusive Twitter account under the name Barbara J Pym.

Why can’t the EU say the word apartheid?

Human Rights Watch has issued a landmark report concluding that Israel commits the crimes of apartheid and persecution against the Palestinian people.

Centenary of partition – century of failure

The violent imposition of partition one hundred years ago this week was a crime against the Irish people. The continuation and maintenance of partition perpetuates that crime. The democratic will of the Irish people cannot be expressed so long as partition remains.

May 4, 2021

Paras handed impunity for murder of Joe McCann

The family of Joe McCann have said their campaign for justice will not end with a court ruling which today ended the murder trial of two British soldiers and has all but confirmed effective immunity for his killers.