[Irish Republican News]

May 25, 2023

[Irish Republican News]



National Famine Commemoration Day

faminemdhdonegal.jpg Speaking in Milford, Donegal, President Michael D Higgins delivered an address for the official commemoration of the Great Hunger by the 26 County state. President Higgins’ address in full.

Published May 25, 2023



A tale of two bail systems

maghaberryprotest1808.jpg Inequality in the treatment of republicans and loyalists when it comes to receiving bail was highlighted this week when a loyalist charged with possession of an assault rifle and large quantities of drugs and cash, and two others accused of forcing a young Catholic family to flee their home, were all quickly released on bail.

Published May 11, 2023



We’ve been celebrating the anniversary of the wrong ‘98

unitedirishmen1200.jpg They have been commemorating the wrong anniversary. Instead of celebrating the partition of Protestants and Catholics into two separate groups in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, would it not be more appropriate to commemorate one of the few historical occasions when political unity overcame sectarian division?

Published May 11, 2023



Sinn Féin and their new King

lundymaskey.jpg Like any other Republican I would rather stand on a terraced street in silence with an unbowed and unbroken Republican family as they remember their husband, father and grandfather than stand in the presence of the enemy that murdered him as they crown their next leader.

Published May 4, 2023



Carrickmore Easter Sunday

caoimheniloingsigh.jpg The speech delivered by Caoimhe Ní Loingsigh at the Easter commemoration in Carrickmore organised by the Tyrone National Graves Association and the 1916 Societies.

Published April 27, 2023



The truth of the Good Friday Agreement

gfasigned.jpg As we approach 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) it is worth reflecting and challenging some of the false narratives that have been peddled since then.

Published April 13, 2023



A tribute to Sean Brown

brownheaney.jpg A tribute to sectarian murder victim Sean Brown written by the famed poet Seamus Heaney in 1997.

Published April 6, 2023



Liam Lynch

liamlynch.jpg Liam Lynch, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army, died one hundred years ago this week. He was killed whilst trying to escape an encirclement by pro-Treaty forces in south Tipperary.

Published April 6, 2023



A First Minister for all

oneillnpc.jpg The remarks of Sinn Féin First Minister-elect Michelle O’Neill at the National Press Club in Washington DC last week.

Published March 23, 2023



Sliocht Róisín - Ireland’s Heroes

sliochtcover.jpg ‘Sliocht Róisín’ is an independent project aimed at recording in print all Republican casualties 1916-24. The preface to Volume 1, 1916-19, by historian and author Lorcan Collins.

Published March 23, 2023



Dromboe martyrs remembered

dromboemartyrs1200.jpg An official wreath-laying ceremony took place in Donegal on Sunday to commemorate the killing of four anti-Treaty IRA men - including south Derry man, Séan Larkin - by Free State soldiers close to Stranorlar on March 14 1923.

Published March 16, 2023



Luke Burke and Michael Grealy

burkegrealy.jpg Luke Burke and Michael Grealy, known as Mullingar’s ‘two forgotten martyrs’, were executed on 13 March, 1923. An oration delivered by Peter A Rogers in Keady on Sunday for the Luke Burke Centenary Commemoration.

Published March 16, 2023



The Gibraltar and Milltown killings

milltownattack.jpg On of the most significant months of the conflict took place 35 years ago. In this article written for the tenth anniversary, Laura Friel looked back at the Gibraltar and Milltown killings.

Published March 9, 2023



The Irish Flag

irishflagmeaghar.jpg The National Flag of Ireland, often referred to as the tricolour, was first flown 175 years ago this week

Published March 9, 2023



Ballyseedy centenary

ballyseedymonument.jpg A number of commemorations are taking place in the coming weeks to mark the centenary of Civil War events, including an atrocity against Republicans in Kerry known as one of the worst of the conflict.

Published March 2, 2023



The truth behind the Orange Order

orangemarch1200.jpg A lot of myths, distortions and downright lies surround the Orange Order, most of them generated by the Order and its apologists.

Published February 2, 2023



An injustice to one, is an injustice to all!

jacksonmural.jpg On Bloody Sunday, we march for all those everywhere who have lost family and friends and had their children’s hopes of happiness shattered by the armoured cars and tanks and guns of imperial armies.

Published January 26, 2023



Francis Liggett

francisliggett.jpg A large crowd gathered on Wednesday evening in the New Lodge area of Belfast for the commemoration of Francis Liggett, a 24-year-old newlywed Volunteer shot dead by undercover British soldiers, fifty years ago this week.

Published January 19, 2023



Government handling of refugees is a disaster

dublinarrival.jpg ‘Reality and common sense’ must play a part in any discussion of the Dublin government’s failure to manage the migration and refugee issue, according to Aontú.

Published January 19, 2023



The Leixlip Five

leixlipfive.jpg This week 100 years ago, five brave IRA Volunteers were executed by the Free State authorities. A leaflet distributed at the time praised the heroism of the republican prisoners.

Published January 12, 2023



State papers round-up

statepapers1200.jpg Despite heavy pro-establishment spin by government officials in the release of ‘declassified’ state papers in Dublin and Belfast, and complete censorship in London, some other interesting details did emerge.

Published January 5, 2023



New Year Statements 2023

2023.jpg A round-up of messages issued by republican organisations to mark the New Year.

Published January 5, 2023



Tribute to the Grey Abbey Martyrs

greyabbeyoconnor.jpg Mary Lou McDonald’s grand-uncle was one of the Grey Abbey Martyrs killed by the Free State 100 years ago. The Sinn Fein leader delivered a speech at the Heritage Centre in Kildare town last weekend to mark the anniversary.

Published December 22, 2022



Liam Mellows

liammellows1200.jpg An essay on the life and sacrifice of rebel and martyr Liam Mellows, by Anti-Imperialist Action.

Published December 15, 2022



Seamus Grew and Roddy Carroll

grewcarroll.jpg Seamus Grew and Roddy Carroll were killed 40 years ago this week as the car they were driving was fired on by the RUC at Armagh in what has become known as ‘The Mullacreevie Park Massacre’.

Published December 8, 2022



Irish republican prisoners list

prisonersxmas22.jpg The current Irish republican prisoner list for December 2022, as collated by Irish Republican Prisoner News Facebook page from public lists by prisoner welfare groups and family/friends of independent prisoners. Its tips on writing to prisoners are included.

Published December 8, 2022



Border Poll ‘an error’ which will continue partition

patsyduffycommem.jpg An oration read by Francie Mackey, national chairperson of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, at an event last weekend to remember IRA Volunteer Patsy Duffy in Derry.

Published December 1, 2022



Brutal State executions remembered

executions.jpg The centenary of the execution of four young rebels by the Irish Free State has been marked in Kilmainham Jail.

Published November 24, 2022



Reform of GFA would shift goalposts

michelleoneill1200.jpg Sinn Féin’s First Minister-designate Michelle O’Neill argues that there should be no fundamental change to the Good Friday Agreement without the consent of the people.

Published November 24, 2022



Stanislaus Carberry

stancarberry.jpg IRA Volunteer Stanislaus Carberry was killed as he travelled in a hijacked car on the Falls Road in west Belfast, 50 years ago this week.

Published November 10, 2022



Sinn Féin Ard Fheis – Presidential Address

mcdonaldaf22.jpg The prepared text of the address by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald to her party’s ard fheis (annual conference) last weekend.

Published November 10, 2022



Helicopter escape from Mountjoy

mountjoyescape.jpg At Halloween 1973 in Dublin, one of the most audacious, cleverly planned jail escapes in Irish history occurred.

Published November 3, 2022



The ‘Murder Bill’ and State Executions of Republicans

civilwarexecution.jpg One hundred years ago this month, the Free State government in Dublin approved an emergency measure to allow the executions of IRA prisoners. By Wayne Sugg.

Published October 27, 2022



‘Let the people sing’

wolfetones1200.jpg Saoradh has begun a campaign to defend and support the singing of Irish rebel songs and to end their equation with sectarianism by an anti-Republican lobby. An opinion piece by Paul Dunphy.

Published October 27, 2022



Ireland, a song that shall be heard

singingira.jpg Signs that the next generation of young Irish people are ready to throw off the shackles of colonialism has deeply unnerved the pro-British establishment.

Published October 20, 2022



Big progress for radical housing campaign

rhlposter.jpg

A growing movement is taking on all those who seek to profit from the ‘criminal’ housing policies of the establishment in Ireland.

Published October 13, 2022



Planning for Ireland’s future

irelandsfuture3arena.jpg Sometimes decades of political change can happen within periods of months. That’s one way to characterise developments in Ireland over recent times.

Published October 6, 2022



The Great Escape

1983greatescape.jpg An account of the 1983 Long Kesh prison breakout, which occurred 39 years ago this week.

Published September 29, 2022



Tolerating differences

adamscharles.jpg Society must reflect and include the entirety of its people, not part of them. Inclusivity is vital to the well being of any community, whether a nation, the global village or a local populace.

Published September 22, 2022



Lest we forget

gaelforceking.jpg Over 100 years on since the magnificent banner was hoisted outside of Liberty Hall, Dublin by the Irish Citizens Army, those words again come into direct correlation with the present, “We serve neither King nor Kaiser, but Ireland!”

Published September 15, 2022



New faces, old problems

trusschh.jpg Britain’s fourth British Prime Minister since 2016 started her political career as an accountant and a political moderate but is now leading one of the most right-wing governments in British history.

Published September 7, 2022



Joseph O’Sullivan and Reginald Dunne

dunneosullivan.jpg IRA Volunteers Joseph O’Sullivan and Reginald Dunne were hanged by the British, 100 years ago this month.

Published August 18, 2022



The Lark and the Freedom Fighter

larkwire.jpg An essay written by Bobby Sands in 1979 while protesting against the criminalisation of republican prisoners. Because protesting prisoners were not allowed books or writing materials, this essay was composed on a square of toilet paper and smuggled out of the prison.

Published August 4, 2022



Harry Boland

harryboland.jpg On August 1, 1922, Irish revolutionary Harry Boland succumbed to wounds received at the Grand Hotel in Skerries, County Dublin at the hands of pro-Treaty forces, 100 years ago this week.

Published August 4, 2022



The importance of Bodenstown

bodenstownrogers.jpg The historian, author and independent republican activist, Peter A. Rogers was a guest speaker at the recent Bodenstown commemoration for Anti-Imperialist Action, speaking on behalf of the Spirit of Irish Freedom Society, Westmeath.

Published July 21, 2022



Cathal Brugha

cathalbrugha100.jpg Cathal Brugha was born Charles William St. John Burgess in Dublin on 18 July, 1874. He adopted the Irish version of his name as his nationalist views took hold after he joined the Gaelic League in 1899.

Published July 14, 2022



New evidence in Michael Leonard shooting case

michaelleonard1200.jpg The family of Michael Leonard, who was shot dead by the RUC almost 50 years ago have called for a fresh inquest into the 24-year-old’s death after new evidence emerged suggesting his killing had not been properly investigated.

Published July 6, 2022



The start of the Irish Civil War

fourcourtscivilwar.jpg The Irish Civil War began a century ago this week with an attack on republicans at the Four Courts in Dublin, the centre of the Irish judicial system.

Published June 30, 2022



The Wolfe Tone commemoration of 1922

mellows1922.jpg A hundred years ago this week, a group of leading republicans visited Bodenstown churchyard to hear a stirring oration by Liam Mellows over the grave of the father of Irish republicanism, where supporters of Irish freedom now pay homage every year.

Published June 23, 2022



Sinn Féin address at Bodenstown

oneillbodenstown.jpg The full text of remarks By First Minister-Designate, Michelle O’Neill, at Sinn Féin’s Wolfe Tone Commemoration, in Bodenstown, County Kildare on Sunday, 19 June.

Published June 23, 2022



Building a new Scotland

scotlandrefpress.jpg The Scottish government has set a date of October 2023 for a second independence referendum. In a forward to a series of papers, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has begun to set out the arguments in favour of independence for Scotland.

Published June 16, 2022



‘The Banner of the Patriots’

portobello1922.jpg An exhibition centred on a unique banner has opened in Kilmainham Gaol Museum in Dublin.

Published June 9, 2022



We are being short-changed by game-playing Brexiteers

stormontsf1200.jpg Boris Johnson's government are pursuing an anti-Agreement agenda which is disingenuously wrapped up in pro-Agreement rhetoric, writes First Minister-designate Michelle O’Neill.

Published June 1, 2022



No Irish celebrations for an imperial monarch

royals1200.jpg Irish Republicans, and indeed Republicans throughout the world, will never celebrate the lives of any monarch and especially one who resides in massive palaces in England.

Published May 26, 2022



Loughgall massacre victims remembered

loughgallmemorial.jpg A large crowd gathered in Tyrone on Sunday past to honour the memory of eight brave volunteers of the East Tyrone Brigade killed in action at Loughgall on 8 May 1987, while a new monument was unveiled across the border in Monaghan.

Published May 12, 2022



Election round-up and results

sinnfeinae22.jpg Sinn Féin’s performance in the Assembly election saw an increase in its vote share to 29%, with more of its candidates elected on the first count than in 2017.

Published May 12, 2022



Assembly election: Constituency profiles and candidates

candidates22.jpg A look at three key contests for nationalists in today’s Assembly election, and the complete list of candidates.

Published May 5, 2022



Double standards of the mainstream media

detentions.jpg An opinion piece by Saoradh Doire member, Barry Millar, whose family have all faced the effects of British occupation and political repression, particularly in recent months.

Published April 7, 2022



The ‘IRA Pirates’: The capture of the British ship Upnor

upnor.jpg An account of the daring capture of the British ship Upnor 100 years ago this week, from the papers of Michael Burke, O/C Cobh IRA.

Published March 31, 2022



50th anniversary commemoration of two young IRA Volunteers

derrycommem.jpg Several hundred people attended a commemoration in Derry this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the shooting of two local IRA men by British forces in the Bogside area of the city.

Published March 24, 2022



Break the connection with England!

psnivehicles2.jpg The irony of British Imperialism pontificating about ‘illegal Occupations’ of Sovereign Nations can not be lost on many.

Published March 3, 2022



When IRA rockets landed on Downing Street

rocketsno10.jpg A look back at a famous incident from the conflict, 31 years ago this week.

Published February 10, 2022



Ireland - A Case for Reunification

mulliganbook.jpg “You can read English history and still know nothing about Irish history but you can’t read Irish history and not learn something about English history.” An extract from a new self-published book, by Eddie Mulligan.

Published February 3, 2022



All of Derry was injured

1972march.jpg Survivors of Bloody Sunday recall their experiences that day, by Martha McClelland (first published in 1997).

Published January 27, 2022



A defusion of anger

britishembassy1972.jpg How the Bloody Sunday killings set off an unprecedented wave of protests in the 26 Counties - and prompted words but no action from the government, by Jack Madden.

Published January 27, 2022



Bloody Sunday – There is no British justice

thereisnobritishjustice.jpg The 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre takes place later this month, and the city of Derry is hosting two programmes of events to commemorate the 14 who were killed by British soldiers and address the continuing refusal of the British authorities to offer truth and justice for the victims.

Published January 20, 2022



Why I didn’t celebrate treaty that divided our country

peadartoibin2.jpg Political representatives and other dignitaries took part in an official state ceremony at Dublin Castle to mark the centenary of the start of the withdrawal of British forces from the 26 Counties, 100 years ago this week. Aontú leader Peader Tóibín on why he didn’t take part.

Published January 20, 2022



State papers

blairmcguinnessadams.jpg A round-up of the state papers which have been selected for release for the New Year from archives in Belfast, Dublin and London.

Published December 30, 2021



The Egyptian Arch Ambush

egyptianarch.jpg Sunday, December 12 marked the 101st anniversary of the Egyptian Arch ambush in Newry. An account by local republicans of a fateful night in which three IRA volunteers, William Canning, Peter Shields and John Francis O’Hare, lost their lives.

Published December 18, 2021



Stephen Travers statement

miamishowband600.jpg The victim impact statement delivered by Stephen Travers at Belfast High Court on Monday, 13 December, at the conclusion of the legal action against the British state for its role in the Miami Showband massacre.

Published December 18, 2021



Confusion at the most critical hour

collinsindublin.jpg One of the most important meetings of an Irish Cabinet took place on December 3, 100 years ago this week, when the negotiations which led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the partition of Ireland were being discussed.

Published December 3, 2021



Support human rights for republican political prisoners

larkmural.jpg An opinion piece by Belfast republican Seán Ó Murchú and his take on the current situation facing republican prisoners this December.

Published December 3, 2021



Irish republican prisoners list

prisonersgraphic.jpg December is the month for remembering republican political prisoners. This is the current up to date Irish republican prisoner list for 2021, with addresses and tips for writing to prisoners.

Published November 26, 2021



Death of republican veteran Dan Hoban

danhoban.jpg A tribute by Republican Sinn Féin to Dan Hoban, a lifelong republican and a former internee in the Curragh internment camp, where he was married.

Published November 20, 2021



Saoradh Ard Fheis takes place despite internments

saoradhaf21.jpg Saoradh held its annual conference in Newry recently with empty seats at the top table to represent those members of its National Executive who have been interned.

Published November 20, 2021



Presidential Address to Sinn Féin Ard Fheis 2021

sfaf21.jpg The full text of the prepared address to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis 2021 by Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD.

Published November 6, 2021



The Anglo-Irish Treaty - how it began

angloirishtreaty600.jpg An account by Des Dalton of the first days of the Anglo-Irish treaty negotiations one hundred years ago, which led to the partition of Ireland.

Published October 23, 2021



Statement by the family of John Patrick Cunningham

johnpatrickpic.jpg A statement issued on behalf of the family of vulnerable adult John Patrick Cunningham on the passing of former British soldier Dennis Hutchings.

Published October 23, 2021



A budget with no answers

mcdonaldbudget.jpg The full text of the speech delivered by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald in response the annual Budget plans for the 26 County state set out by the coalition government in Dublin.

Published October 16, 2021



Who will defend our political rights?

pcavanagh.jpg An opinion piece by republican activist Pete Cavanagh on the recent wave of suppression of civil rights of republicans in Derry by the British Crown Forces and their supporters.

Published October 9, 2021



End of hunger strike marked by online documentary

storyandsong.jpg A documentary marking the 40th anniversary of the end of the 1981 hunger strike is to premiere online this weekend.

Published October 1, 2021



Anne Devlin

annedevlin.jpg Despite being tortured by the Redcoats, Anne Devlin, a housekeeper and confidante of Robert Emmet, refused to inform on the United Irishmen. An account of her life by Anti-Imperialist Action on the anniversary of her death, 160 years ago this week.

Published September 25, 2021



New Roger Casement statue drives reinterment campaign

casementstatue.jpg A three-metre tall statue of Irish revolutionary Roger Casement has been installed on the south Dublin coast near the place of his birth. Using cranes at Dún Laoghaire Baths, the bronze sculpture of Casement was placed high on a plinth.

Published September 18, 2021



British gaolers are abusing Covid

maghaberrycovid2.jpg The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association call for the direct opening of visits, both social and legal in Maghaberry and Hydebank gaols.

Published September 11, 2021



Soldier who shot our Annette will never be questioned

annettemcgavigan3.jpg The family of 14 year-old schoolgirl, Annette McGavigan, who was shot dead in Derry by the British Army in 1971, have written the following open letter to the British Direct Ruler Brandon Lewis accusing his government of treating them shamefully.

Published September 4, 2021



British occupation will never be acceptable

ceasefirecavalcade.jpg Anti-Imperialist Action offer their critique of the Provisional IRA ceasefire, which began on August 31, 1994, 27 years ago this week.

Published September 4, 2021



Joe Whitty

joewhitty.jpg Nineteen-year-old Irish republican Joe Whitty died on hunger-strike on the 2nd September 1923, 98 years ago this week.

Published August 27, 2021



Thomas McElwee

thomasmcelwee2.jpg An account of the life of Thomas McElwee, the ninth hunger striker in the 1981 protest to die, 40 years ago this week.

Published August 14, 2021



New tribute to hunger strikers

beechmountmural.jpg A new community-organised 1981 Hunger Strike mural in the Beechmount area of Belfast was unveiled last weekend as part of 40th anniversary commemorations.

Published August 7, 2021



The funerals of Kevin Lynch and Kieran Doherty

kevinlynchfuneral.jpg A look back at a dark week forty years ago when two Irish republican hunger-strikers succumbed within 24 hours of each other.

Published July 31, 2021



A date must be set for an Irish border poll

irishborderpoll.jpg The time to set a firm date for a referendum on Irish unity is now. The legal requirement for a border poll as envisioned in the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement needs to be embraced and facilitated by the Irish and British governments.

Published July 24, 2021



‘The amnesty’ - what they said

johnsonkids.jpg A round-up of comments and reactions in the wake of the British announcement of its intention to introduce legislation to end investigations into state killings related to the conflict in the north of Ireland.

Published July 17, 2021



Martin Hurson

martinhurson600.jpg An account from 1981 of the background to Martin Hurson’s fast to the death, after forty-six days on hunger strike, 40 years ago this week.

Published July 10, 2021



Joe McDonnell

joemcdonnellmural.jpg An account of the brave life of Joe McDonnell, who died on hunger strike against the criminalisation of republican prisoners, 40 years ago this week.

Published July 3, 2021



Recalling the ‘corridor of hate’

holycross600.jpg Catholic children attending the Holy Cross primary school in north Belfast came under extended attacks from loyalist missiles, ranging from urine to blast bombs, beginning twenty years ago this week. The PSNI did nothing to stop the attacks. The following is a recent interview with one of the victims.

Published June 26, 2021



Change, sharing power and building for the future

mcdonaldspeaks.jpg The former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once famously said that a week was a long time in politics – if ever that was evident it was here in the north over the past seven days.

Published June 26, 2021



Ireland can never be shared with British imperialism

fagancommemoration.jpg An oration delivered by a Pádraig Ó Fearghail on behalf of Anti Imperialist Action at the recent commemoration to Fenian and ‘Invincibles’ member, Michael Fagan, in Collinstown, County Westmeath

Published June 19, 2021



Partition: 100 years of language rights denied

dreamdeargprotest.jpg For more than six centuries, British policy in Ireland has been aimed at the destruction of the Irish language.

Published June 5, 2021



‘They they won’t let us move on’

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

Published May 29, 2021



Global day of action for Palestine

gazabombed21.jpg 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.

Published May 22, 2021



Francis Hughes

francishughes.jpg 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.

Published May 15, 2021



Centenary of partition – century of failure

partitionarmy.jpg 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.

Published May 8, 2021



Bobby Sands

sandscages150.jpg 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.

Published April 30, 2021



The story of the Catalpa

catalpa600.jpg 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.

Published April 24, 2021



Inside a British jail in Ireland

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

Published April 17, 2021



There is a democratic pathway

irishunitybanner.jpg 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.

Published April 10, 2021



Easter statements 2021

1916executed.jpg A round-up of the annual speeches and statements released by republican organisations to mark the 105th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

Published April 5, 2021



The real reason unionist politicians are mad

storeyfuneral2.jpg The heart of the matter is that Bobby Storey’s funeral was an orderly, dignified tribute to a man seen as an outstanding republican.

Published April 2, 2021



Victims speak out over Creggan invasion

saoraconf.jpg Disturbances have continued in Derry after intensely violent PSNI raids in the Ballymagowan area of Creggan last weekend. A press conference organised at Junior McDaid House on Thursday saw some of those affected issue statements give emotional accounts of their horrific experiences at the hands of the PSNI.

Published March 27, 2021



The Limerick curfew murders

curfewmurders.jpg In the early hours of 7th March 1921, 100 years ago this week, the Mayor of Limerick, IRA officer George Clancy, former Mayor, Michael O’Callaghan of Sinn Féin and IRA volunteer Joseph O’Donoghue were all shot dead in their homes at night after curfew by the RIC.

Published March 13, 2021



Women in struggle

mccool.jpg An article by Saoradh Newry activist Cliodhna McCool on what being involved in republicanism means to her and the contribution women have made to the cause of Irish freedom.

Published March 13, 2021



The Clonmult Ambush

clonmult2.jpg One of the greatest losses of life incurred by the IRA during the War of Independence occurred at Clonmult, seven miles north of Midleton in County Cork, 100 years ago this week.

Published February 27, 2021



The Catalan rapper arrested for his message

pablohasel.jpg The arrest of a pro-Catalan independence rapper over his lyrics following a police stand-off has echoes with ongoing censorship in Ireland.

Published February 20, 2021



Isolated but unbowed - Frank Stagg’s hunger strike

frankstagggrave.jpg Volunteer Frank Stagg died on hunger strike on 12 February 1976, 45 years ago this week. The story of his sacrifice by Jonathan O'Meara.

Published February 13, 2021



Gino Gallagher

ginogallagher.jpg A former chief of staff of the INLA, Gino Gallagher was assassinated 25 years ago this week. In this article, Peter Urban of the International Republican Socialist Network recalls his comrade.

Published February 6, 2021



MI5’s sinister policing of the 26 Counties

drewharriscar.jpg To believe that Drew Harris is not still in the employ of the Government which had placed him at the top levels of their intelligence apparatus in the six counties stretches credulity to the limit.

Published January 30, 2021



Bloody Sunday March 2021

bloodysunday2021.jpg The Bloody Sunday March Committee is organising a week of online events and a virtual march for justice for the 1972 massacre of 14 civilians by British forces in Derry, under the banner ‘It’s Never Too Late For The Truth’. It has published a context and programme of events for the week.

Published January 22, 2021



An inappropriate and unreasonable detention

zacksmyth2.jpg A letter by lifelong republican Kieran ‘Zack’ Smyth to highlight his internment at the hands of MI5 has been published by the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association.

Published January 16, 2021



New Year statements 2021

2021.jpg The New IRA and several republican political organisations have issued statements to mark the New Year.

Published January 9, 2021



State Papers 2020

archivespic.jpg A round-up of the state papers released so far in Dublin, London and Belfast in the annual release of newly declassified documents.

Published December 30, 2020



Kenova investigation avoids questions about senior figures

boutcher.jpg The police investigation known as ‘Operation Kenova’ is not interested in getting to the truth about Stakeknife or other British agents within the Provisional IRA, according to an intelligence veteran who says his evidence has been ignored.

Published December 19, 2020



Prisoners issue Christmas statement

maghaberry600.jpg Throughout December, events have been taking place across Ireland in support of republican political prisoners. A statement was issued by IRPWA-supported prisoners at Maghaberry.

Published December 19, 2020



The Burning of Cork, 100 years ago

burningcork2.jpg This week marks the 100 year anniversary of the burning of Cork City by British Crown Forces. An account of the conflict before and the cruelty during the devastating Cork City fire.

Published December 11, 2020



Remember republican prisoners this December

prisonersgraphic.jpg We are already near the traditional month for remembering republican political prisoners.

Published November 27, 2020



The informer’s Bloody Sunday

mckeeclancyclune.jpg The brutal, cold-blooded killing of three IRA prisoners by the British 100 years ago this week – and their ham-fisted attempt to cover it up – is an aspect of Bloody Sunday which is often overlooked.

Published November 27, 2020



The Croke Park massacre

crokeparkmassacre.jpg One of the most shameful and shocking episodes in Britain’s blood-stained history took place in Dublin a century ago this week.

Published November 20, 2020



The defeat of the Cairo Gang

cairogang.jpg One hundred years ago this week, the IRA carried out one of its most successful operations. The British secret service in Ireland was decimated when 13 senior intelligence officers were executed and many more fled into Dublin Castle.

Published November 14, 2020



The red poppy

martintoibin.jpg Taoiseach Micheál Martin this week became the first Fianna Fáil leader to wear a poppy to mark the British Legion’s Remembrance Day. He was criticised for doing so by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who explains his comments.

Published November 14, 2020



The 1980 H-Block hunger strike

1980hungerstrike.jpg Irish political prisoners confined in the infamous H-Blocks of Long Kesh commenced a hunger strike on October 27, 1980, 40 years ago this week.

Published October 31, 2020



Kevin Barry

kevinbarry600.jpg Kevin Barry was hanged at the age of 18 by the British in Mountjoy Jail on 1 November 1920, 100 years ago this week. He was the first republican to be executed by the British after the 1916 Rising, but his martyrdom inspired the republican side in the War of Independence.

Published October 31, 2020



Terence MacSwiney

terencemacswiney2.jpg Terence MacSwiney, an Irish playwright, author and Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, died 100 years ago this week in a hunger strike strike which brought the Irish Republican campaign to worldwide attention.

Published October 23, 2020



Joe O’Connor

joeoconnor600.jpg Amid calls for the legacy investigation into the actions of British agents inside the Provisional IRA to be expanded, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement recall the brutal ambush twenty years ago this week of 26-year-old Joe O’Connor.

Published October 16, 2020



A frightening direction

bloodysundaymural.jpg The attempt to close the book on Bloody Sunday is an insult to the victims’ families and to the rule of law. It is a stark indication of where this British government is headed, writes former British soldier Richard Rudkin.

Published October 16, 2020



Britain’s Palestinian political prisoner

hijjawiscot.jpg MI5's tactics and its paid agent have renewed the bonds of friendship between Ireland and Palestine.

Published October 2, 2020



Reprisals were a colonial tactic

sackofbalbriggan.jpg The President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has said Britain must face up to its history of reprisals in Ireland, and that the sack of Balbriggan 100 years ago was rooted in assumptions of racial superiority.

Published September 19, 2020



The ambush at Sinnott’s Cross

sinnottscrossmonument.jpg A local account of the 1921 Sinnott’s Cross ambush, a small but successful operation of the Kilkenny IRA in the War of Independence, by Clogga Ireland.

Published July 31, 2020



Sinnott’s Cross Ambush commemoration

sinnottscrosscommemoration.jpg The following oration was delivered at the Sinnott’s Cross Monument in Mooncoin, at an event organised recently by the Independent Republicans of South Kilkenny, by John Murphy of the 32CSM.

Published July 31, 2020



New prison visit rules ‘a wrecker’s charter’

maghaberrycovid.jpg Former republican prisoner Alex McCrory speaks out on the current situation for prisoners at Maghaberry as they face a ban on family contact due to the coronavirus.

Published July 24, 2020



The Orange Order’s secrecy secret

masongoatcard.jpg An English academic has uncovered new details of the Orange Order’s ‘riding the goat’ initiation rituals, which involve acts of violence to hammer home the order’s strict secrecy.

Published July 17, 2020



Bobby Storey on the death and funeral of Joe McDonnell

storeymcdonnell.jpg In memory of them both, here is a still relevant interview with the late Bobby Storey from July 2011 on the death thirty years earlier of hungerstriker Joe McDonnell, and discussing the attack on Joe’s funeral.

Published July 11, 2020



The Falls Curfew, fifty years on

fallsroadcurfew.jpg The British Army sealed off an area encompassing nearly 3,000 homes in west Belfast, 50 years ago this week. They ransacked over a thousand homes and businesses and killed four civilians.

Published July 3, 2020



Stop the extradition of Liam Campbell

liamcampbell600.jpg A High Court judge has said that she will order the extradition of 58-year-old Dundalk man, Liam Campbell, to Lithuania for Real IRA arms offences allegedly committed there 14 years ago. After a process which has taken 12 years, the order is to be officially delivered on July 13. The following is an analysis of the latest bid to extradite him by Cait Trainor (damnyourconcessions.com)

Published June 26, 2020



Ireland can help save Palestine

palestinemaps.jpg Pressure is growing for Ireland to act against a new plan by Israel to further annex and re-partition Palestine. The 26 County state won a seat on the influential United Nations Security Council last week, but at the cost of its planned sanctions against Israel’s illegal settlements. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign outlines what is at risk and calls on the Irish people and politicians to act now.

Published June 26, 2020



Commemoration of first IRA Volunteer to die in North

patrickloughran.jpg Republicans in Tyrone have marked the 100th anniversary of the first Volunteer killed on active service in the IRA’s Northern Campaign during the War of Independence.

Published June 19, 2020



Sean Russell fought for Ireland

seanrussellstatue.jpg The call, made by the head of the unelected 26-County Administration, Leo Varadkar, for the removal of the statue of the Irish patriot Sean Russell in Fairview Park in Dublin, is a display of historical illiteracy.

Published June 19, 2020



All those injured in conflict must be included

markthompson.jpg For anyone who cares to peel back the veneer, the matter of who funds a payments scheme for the injured isn’t the only issue to be resolved.

Published June 12, 2020



The Counter Revolution 1920-2020

ffg.jpg What happened in Ireland over the last 100 years can be understood as a counter–revolution supported by the privileged classes in Ireland and in Britain.

Published June 5, 2020



Dig may be close to remains of Gaelic leader

redhugh.jpg ‘Red’ Hugh O’Donnell is one of the most romantic figures in Irish history. He was a sixteenth-century Irish nobleman who brought his country to the very brink of expelling the English occupation.

Published May 29, 2020



‘Punishment control’ for released prisoners

vinnykelly.jpg Saoradh have sought public attention for the case of former Republican Prisoner, Vinny Kelly, who has been persecuted since his release last year.

Published May 29, 2020



Onus on Britain to address cases of internees

keshcages.jpg Internment is a policy which has seen frequent use in Ireland. It was used by the British in the years after the 1916 Rising and during the Tan War.

Published May 15, 2020



A wedding and two funerals

twofunerals.jpg Between the years 1983 and 1987, twenty-five Republican funerals were attacked by the RUC and British troops. This was seen as a desecration of the most sacred ritual, the ritual of burying your dead with dignity.

Published May 1, 2020



Political establishment responsible for avoidable deaths

varadkarfoster.jpg As the daily Covid-19 death count inexorably grinds its way towards 1,000 lives lost, it is becoming increasingly clear that many of these deaths were completely avoidable.

Published April 24, 2020



Easter statements and speeches

mcdonaldeaster2020.jpg A round-up of statements and speeches issued for the Easter commmemorations 2020.

Published April 17, 2020



‘We will return to honour our patriot dead’

rsfevent.jpg An Easter statement issued in the name of the leadership of the Republican Movement (Republican Sinn Féin)

Published April 10, 2020



Provide support to all who need it

pearsedohertynew.jpg Pearse Doherty, Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson, looks at government policy in the South as the financial implications of the Coronavirus become clear.

Published April 10, 2020



Working class being sacrificed

unequal.jpg A political analysis of the current economic and healthcare crises by Saoradh.

Published March 27, 2020



Stormont - where incompetence carries no sanction

crawfordfoster.jpg Having carried out a costly 12 month long forensic investigation into the Renewable Heat Initiative or ‘Cash for Ash’ scandal, Patrick Coghlin has failed to identify any individual responsible for the fiasco.

Published March 20, 2020



An amnesty plan worthy of a military dictatorship

mrfpic.jpg The admissions by former members of the secret, plain-clothes ‘Military Reaction Force’ suggest they were responsible for killing Irish civilians in the 1970s, writes Richard Rudkin.

Published March 13, 2020



‘Even the olives are bleeding’

charliedonnellymemorial.jpg A commemoration was held last weekend in Dungannon to mark the legacy of Tyrone socialist poet Charlie Donnelly, who died in the Spanish Civil War.

Published March 6, 2020



What next for Sinn Féin?

sftds.jpg Would you like to see Sinn Féin in government in the south? Or would they do better to form the opposition in the Dáil?

Published March 6, 2020



A fantastic moment

davidcullinaneelected.jpg A speech made at a Sinn Féin event in Waterford on Sunday night, when poll-topping candidate David Cullinane TD expressed the delight of many in his party at overcoming a history of demonisation, vilification, and state repression, is published in full below, along with an introduction by his election agent.

Published February 14, 2020



General election 2020 - list of candidates

irelandconsmap.jpg All the declared candidates in Saturday's general election in the 26 Counties. Candidates with an asterisk are outgoing TDs, republican candidates are in bold.

Published February 7, 2020



A conversation about Paul Quinn’s death

paulquinn.jpg Surely Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin are not using this death which happened thirteen years ago as a way of halting Sinn Féin’s rise in the polls?

Published February 7, 2020



The reality of government failure

bunks.jpg 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.

Published January 31, 2020



The time for change has arrived

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

Published January 31, 2020



Death of Seamus Mallon

seamusmallon600.jpg 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.

Published January 24, 2020



‘An injustice to one is an injustice to all’

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

Published January 24, 2020



‘New Decade, New Approach’ - main points

ndna.jpg 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.

Published January 17, 2020



Irish unity not considered at negotiating table

stormontdealjohnson.jpg 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.

Published January 17, 2020



State papers round-up

archivespic.jpg A summary of some of the information contained in declassified state papers which were released by officials over the Christmas break in Dublin, Belfast and London.

Published January 3, 2020



Jemmy Hope

jemmyhope.jpg Historian Mary McNeill says of Jemmy Hope; “He represented the almost inarticulate aspirations of the strongly revolutionary element among the Presbyterian labourers both rural and urban: he was indeed the most radical of the United Irishmen – in some respects the greatest of them all.”

Published December 21, 2019



Getting away with murder

soldiers1971.jpg No one should be forced to simply accept the fact that their family members were murdered by the state. But Boris Johnson has now admitted he doesn’t care.

Published December 21, 2019



Westminster election - constituency results

electionmap2.jpg A rundown on the outcome of the British general election in each constituency in the north of Ireland.

Published December 14, 2019



Remember republican prisoners

prisonlight.jpg December is the traditional time to remember republican political prisoners. The following is an up to date list as maintained by the Irish Republican Prisoner News Facebook page, with addresses of the prisons for sending cards and good wishes.

Published December 7, 2019



Westminster election 2019 - constituency profiles

candidates.jpg A snapshot of the 18 constituencies ahead of Thursday’s Westminster general election.

Published December 7, 2019



Victims of first Bloody Sunday remembered

headstonesbloodycroke.jpg The last three unmarked graves of the 14 people killed un the first Bloody Sunday massacre in Dublin 99 years ago have been replaced with commemorative headstones.

Published November 30, 2019



Death of Peig King

peigking.jpg Lifelong Republican Péig King of Tyrone and Dublin passed away this week. She held many senior positions in the republican movement and Cumann na mBan and is a former patron of Republican Sinn Féin. Her funeral took place with full republican honours in Glasnevin Cemetery on Friday.

Published November 23, 2019



Sinn Féin Presidential Address Ard Fheis 2019

mcdonaldsfaf19.jpg The full text of the address by Mary Lou McDonald to the Sinn Féin annual party conference in Derry last weekend.

Published November 23, 2019



Planning for Ireland’s Future

irelandsfuture.jpg This week’s initiative by Ireland’s Future is an important contribution to the ongoing debate around Brexit, the issue of rights, the need to defend the Good Friday Agreement, and the imperative of planning for Irish unity.

Published November 9, 2019



Catalonia rises up

catalanprotest1910.jpg Catalonia’s peaceful struggle for freedom has erupted into revolutionary street actions and huge demonstrations after shocking prison terms were handed down by a Spanish court to the former leaders of the Catalan government who had organised a peaceful independence referendum.

Published October 18, 2019



The Brexit deal - what they said

johnsonbrexit.jpg A deal announced between the EU and the British government allows for a form of special status for the North of Ireland in regard to single-market regulations, customs and VAT, following a transition period and subject to periodic consent being granted by the Stormont Assembly. A round-up of quotes and statements ahead of a vote on the deal at the Westminster Parliament.

Published October 18, 2019



Pressure grows for action on Scottish independence

auobmarch.jpg The biggest ever demonstration for Scottish independence was held last weekend in Edinburgh. A sea of blue and white moved through the Scottish capital as an estimated 200,000 people marched in good cheer despite damp and windy weather conditions.

Published October 12, 2019



Act now to save the Kurds

kurdsattacked.jpg The family of an Italian anti-fascist who died fighting ISIS in northern Syria has appealed for support for the Kurdish people against a Turkish invasion.

Published October 12, 2019



The Sack of Fermoy

sackoffermoy.jpg The first organised IRA action against the British Army in 1919 since the Rising was followed by the first revenge raids, 100 years ago this month.

Published September 21, 2019



‘You are stealing our future’

climateschooldublin.jpg This week saw thousands of Irish schoolchildren join others worldwide in a global protest against man-made climate change. The following is an address to the United Nations by Greta Thunberg, the Swedish student who began the school strike campaign.

Published September 21, 2019



Republican war for freedom no criminal enterprise

hungerstrikecommemrsf19.jpg The address delivered to this year’s National Hunger Strike Commemoration in Bundoran, organised by Republican Sinn Féin, by political activist and writer, Sean Bresnahan.

Published September 14, 2019



Loyalist attack resisted in Glasgow

govanriot.jpg A first-hand account of a violent and highly orchestrated attack on a peaceful legal march for Irish Unity in Glasgow, Scotland last weekend.

Published September 7, 2019



Unity as our way back to the EU

unitypollposter.jpg There is an agreed, viable and credible way for this region to return to the EU. Why are so many on this island still so afraid of endorsing this way forward?

Published September 7, 2019



Best time in fifty years for a United Ireland

eirenuaflag.jpg A proposal for the current political situation by the Éire Nua U.S. Campaign, which is seeking the support of the United States Congress and House of Representatives to end the partition of Ireland.

Published August 30, 2019



The Pogroms

pogroms2.jpg Dominic Corr recounts how he was burned out of his home on 14th August 1969.

Published August 23, 2019



The Six Counties rise up - fifty years on

battlebogside2.jpg Statements issued by three republican parties to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Bogside, when the cause of equality crystallised into a campaign for freedom.

Published August 17, 2019



Oration at the funeral of Margaret Doherty

margaretdoherty.jpg An oration delivered by Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin at the funeral of Margaret Doherty, mother of 1981 hunger striker Kieran Doherty, who passed away last weekend.

Published August 9, 2019



‘You will not divide us’

hs19march.jpg The following is the full text of a speech delivered by Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson last Sunday at the hunger strike commemoration organised by the party in Strabane, County Tyrone.

Published August 9, 2019



The sh*t is starting to fly

boriscabinet.jpg We all kind of knew it would end like this. As the UK and Theresa May thrashed in futile fashion and the EU negotiators raised their eyebrows when they were talking to her and rolled their eyes when they weren’t, we all knew that the horror-show had yet to reach a climax. With Boris Johnson’s installation as British prime minister, we know that the sh*t should start flying any week now.

Published July 26, 2019



IRA appeal to the Orange Order (1932)

iraoo1932.jpg This address was distributed as leaflets in unionist districts of Belfast by IRA Volunteers and published in newspapers in July 1932.

Published July 12, 2019



Speech to Sinn Féin Bodenstown commemoration

carthybodenstown19.jpg 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”.

Published June 22, 2019



Billy McKee

billymckee2.jpg A short biography of the late IRA hero by Republican Sinn Féin.

Published June 15, 2019



The hypocrisy of the cause célèbre

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

Published June 8, 2019



Election could provide catalyst for change

mcdonaldcount.jpg The elections last weekend are being seen to have had major implications for politics in Ireland and Britain, not least for Sinn Féin.

Published June 1, 2019



The numbers game

seamusmallon.jpg 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.

Published May 25, 2019



45th anniversary of Dublin-Monaghan bombings

dublinmonaghancommem19.jpg 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.

Published May 18, 2019



‘We made history in a small but significant way’

mccloskeyelected.jpg 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.

Published May 18, 2019



Loughgall Martyrs - 32 years

loughgall600.jpg 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.

Published May 11, 2019



Grasp the nettle

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

Published May 11, 2019



Easter statements 2019

dromboesf2019.jpg A round-up of the main Easter statements, messages and orations delivered by republican groups to mark the anniversary of the Easter Rising.

Published April 27, 2019



Avoiding the mistakes of the past

derryriot1904.jpg Lyra McKee’s last tweet on the night of Holy Thursday contained a photograph of journalists and onlookers standing feet away from a PSNI vehicle during a riot in Derry. It became her last report on the “madness” as she described it, that tragically cut her life short.

Published April 27, 2019



Connolly ‘was far ahead of his time’

connollycentre.jpg The text of the speech delivered by the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins at the official opening of Áras Uí Chonghaile, the James Connolly Visitor Centre, on the Falls Road in west Belfast on Friday.

Published April 20, 2019



‘The Rising never ended’

risingbarricade2.jpg The following is the oration delivered at the annual Easter commemoration in Duleek this weekend by independent republican Cáit Trainor.

Published April 20, 2019



Petition to boycott Israel’s ‘cultural whitewash’

eurovisionprotest.jpg Protests have been taking place to convince Irish state broadcaster RTÉ to withdraw from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Israel over its attacks against the Palestinian people.

Published April 6, 2019



The Intelligence War

broycollins.jpg 100 years ago this week, Ned Broy smuggled Michael Collins into the headquarters of the British police in Ireland. It was a key turning point in the War of Independence.

Published March 30, 2019



Don’t hand them over!

extraditionbanner.jpg Two young Dublin men, Seán Farrell and Ciarán Maguire currently face extradition to the Six Counties on foot of a European Arrest Warrant served by the PSNI in March 2017. If their request is successful Seán and Ciarán will face trial and potentially lengthy prison terms in Co Antrim’s notorious Maghaberry Prison where republican prisoners have for many years been subjected to forced strip searches, systematic beatings and held in isolation for prolonged periods of time.

Published March 30, 2019



The Craigavon Two: Ten years as political hostages

craigavon2flat.jpg Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton collectively known as the Craigavon Two, this week pass the 10th anniversary of their incarceration.

Published March 23, 2019



Britain intent on grinding down families’ fight

galvinballymurphy.jpg Sitting in the gallery of the Ballymurphy Massacre Inquest courtroom, you see two battles being waged. There is the legal battle for truth by victims’ families. There is also a battle of wills wherein the British Crown seems intent on grinding down families who dare fight for legacy truth by a strategy termed “deny, delay and die”.

Published March 23, 2019



Hunger strikers - Britain ‘blind to reason and persuasion’

bobbysands600.jpg March 1st marked the 38th anniversary of the start of Bobby Sands hunger strike in 1981. Nine days into his protest Sands turned 27 years of age. He would not live to see another birthday.

Published March 9, 2019



Time to go

karenbradley3.jpg There are many reasons you might think Karen Bradley should resign, but the Derry Girls may not be the first one that comes to mind.

Published March 9, 2019



Free Abdullah Öcalan

ocalanposter.jpg This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the abduction of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who remains in solitary confinement as the only prisoner on an island in the Sea of Marmara in Turkey.

Published February 16, 2019



Escape from Lincoln Jail

lincolnescape.jpg During the years 1918 and 1919 Irish republicans, including Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins, were imprisoned in Lincoln Jail in England. They occupied themselves with study and debate, and then devised a textbook prison escape, 100 years ago this month.

Published February 16, 2019



The Dáil Courts of the Black and Tan War

dailcourt.jpg There is plenty that we can learn today from the history of the Republican Court of a century ago.

Published February 9, 2019



A dirty deal to jail a solid republican

cullentrial.jpg Saoradh’s view of the conviction in a non-jury court this week of its former party chairperson in Dublin, Kevin Braney, on the word of a paid informer.

Published February 9, 2019



The case against Jackson

jailjackson.jpg Eamonn McCann of People for Profit, who was one of the organisers of the original civil rights march and continues to organise the annual Bloody Sunday march for justice, outlines why this year’s march demands “Jail Jackson”.

Published February 2, 2019



‘Our objective is the peaceful unity of the Irish people’

aontulogo.jpg The new all-Ireland political party being led by Peadar Tóibín this week revealed its new name as Aontú, the Irish for unity or consent. In this statement written for the centenary of the First Dáil in 1919, Mr Tóibín set out his republican vision for the party.

Published February 2, 2019



Time to realise the promise of the revolutionary generation

cheaddail.jpg Last weekend, an official state commemoration of the First Dail took place in the Mansion House in Dublin. Addressing the audience, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said that “we have before us the opportunity to build a new and united Ireland”.

Published January 26, 2019



The march for justice

generaljackson.jpg The context for this years’s Bloody Sunday March.

Published January 26, 2019



Soloheadbeg, the start of the war

soloheadbeg.jpg One hundred years this week, on a quiet Tipperary roadway, the first nationalist revolt against the British Empire last century was started by a small band of armed men from townlands and villages -- Donohill, Solohead and Hollyford -- in the vicinity of Tipperary Town. The Soloheadbeg ambush shook British rule in Ireland.

Published January 19, 2019



Unionism’s new slogan should be ‘Ourselves Alone’

dupdowning.jpg It must be a disconcerting time to be a Unionist. The very fabric of the UK is fraying at the edges at an alarming rate. Scots were a mere five percentage points from backing independence in 2014, while Brexit represents the biggest centrifugal force in the history of the British state.

Published January 19, 2019



Declarations of the First Dáil

firstdail600.jpg On 21 January 1919, 100 years ago this week, the first meeting of the parliament of the revolutionary, all-Ireland Irish Republic took place.

Published January 12, 2019



Papers reveal bickering, manipulation

haugheythatcher2.jpg We publish a round-up of the state papers declassified at the turn of the year by the Dublin and London governments, dating from 1988 and 1994. Please note that, as usual, some papers have not been released for reasons of ‘state security’.

Published January 5, 2019



New Year statements 2019

2019.jpg A round-up of statements issued at the turn of the year by the leaders and leaderships of Sinn Fein and republican organisations.

Published January 5, 2019



Gardai, the Guardians of the Violence

tansgardai.jpg Retired Garda policeman Kevin Taylor has spoken about the background to the raid by a loyalist eviction gang at the McGann family home in Roscommon, who attacked him with the support of serving Gardai.

Published December 22, 2018



Resilient too inadequate a word

sineadmichaelmonaghan.jpg Resilient is too inadequate a word to describe Sinead and Michael Monaghan. Both have suffered immeasurably during the conflict.

Published December 22, 2018



Chairman’s address to the 32CSM Ard Fheis

32csm2018af.jpg The address to the recent Ard Fheis of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, given by national chairperson Francis Mackey.

Published December 8, 2018



‘Harness the energy of all republicans’

toibindriver.jpg A speech delivered last weekend by Peadar Toibin TD at the annual commemoration for former Sinn Fein Vice President Frank Driver at Ballymore Eustace in County Kildare.

Published December 1, 2018



Loughinisland verdict, families’ vindication

loughinislandobudsman.jpg The families of those killed and injured in the Heights Bar have official vindication of the fact that RUC collusion facilitated the murder of their loved ones.

Published December 1, 2018



Remember Irish republican prisoners this Christmas

portlaoiseflag600.jpg This is the time of year when republicans traditionally remember those ‘faoi ghlas ag gallaibh’, behind bars in the cause of Ireland. This is the current list of prisoners as collated from welfare groups, families and friends.

Published November 24, 2018



No extradition of political prisoners

noextradition.jpg This week Dublin City Council became the third council to pass motions against the extradition of Irish Republicans to the North. The following is a piece by councillor Ciaran Perry explaining the campaign which saw his motion passed.

Published November 10, 2018



Seven reasons not to wear the poppy

nopoppyfield.jpg It’s time to look at the wider picture of how the poppy pays tribute to so many crimes down the years.

Published November 10, 2018



Sinn Fein at a crossroads

maryloupoppies.jpg A very poor performance by Sinn Fein in the 26 County Presidential election is causing alarm within the party over its political leadership and direction.

Published November 3, 2018



The Greysteel massacre

risingsun600.jpg A Catholic priest who comforted the bereaved after the Greysteel massacre 25 years ago has said he believes the revulsion felt after the savage mass-murder helped move the North of Ireland towards peace.

Published October 27, 2018



Farcical High Court decision backs PSNI farce

anthonymcintyre3.jpg I am now convinced that the Police Service of Northern Ireland is an elaborate prank, a kind of brilliantly large-scale Candid Camera -- and the courts are totally in on the joke.

Published October 27, 2018



Jingoism can’t disguise DUP’s reckless Brexit agenda

arlenefoster1018.jpg Arlene Foster is preparing to have a train crash Brexit in pursuit of a narrow agenda with no regard for the majority who voted to remain or for any of the people of the north.

Published October 20, 2018



Was the British government the main protagonist?

barmy1969.jpg When all disputes and diversions have been explored, we come back to one core awkward fact.

Published October 13, 2018



Seamus Costello

seamuscostello.jpg Seamus Costello was a founding member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). He was shot dead on 5 October 1977, 41 years ago this week.

Published October 6, 2018



The Republic must constitute any future United Ireland

obradaigh18.jpg An address delivered by Sean Bresnahan to the Ruairi O Bradaigh Memorial School in Roscommon.

Published October 6, 2018



There was no going back

dukestreet600.jpg Recollections by Fionnbarra O Dochartaigh of the civil rights commemoration committee regarding the events at Duke Street which some historians characterise as the day the ‘Troubles’ began.

Published September 29, 2018



The devil and the deep blue sea

paisleywestminster.jpg When I was a lad, our History teacher used to say that people should look for signs of madness in a political leader, and when they saw it, the leader should be shunned. Unfortunately, History wasn’t listening to our teacher.

Published September 29, 2018



Emmet’s speech from the dock

emmetnorbury.jpg Robert Emmet, United Irishman and the leader of the rebellion on 1803, was tried for high treason in Green Street courthouse, 215 years ago this week.

Published September 22, 2018



British state let off the hook

mikejackson2.jpg The exposure of Michael Jackson in Channel 4’s Ballymurphy documentary makes it necessary to look back on his performance at The Bloody Sunday Inquiry - and at the Inquiry’s refusal to draw proper conclusions about his participation in the murders, his role in the cover-up, and his perjury to the Inquiry.

Published September 15, 2018



Annette McGavigan

annettemcgavigan2.jpg Forty-seven years ago today a 14-year-old school girl, Annette McGavigan, was shot dead on the streets of Derry by a British soldier. No one was ever charged with her death and no proper investigation was ever carried out.

Published September 8, 2018



The Loughinisland killings - who knew?

loughinislandpub.jpg I finally got round to watching the film ‘No Stone Unturned’ last night. The fact that it’s on Amazon Prime means it’s available to anyone anywhere.

Published September 8, 2018



The 1913 Lock-Out

lockoutrally.jpg A brief history of Ireland’s landmark industrial and social dispute, between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers, which began in Dublin 105 years ago this week.

Published September 1, 2018



RSF hunger strike anniversary commemoration

rsfbundoran.jpg The oration delivered by Sinn Fein Poblachtach Ard Cisteoir and Ard Chomhairle member Diarmuid Mac Dubhghlais, Atha Cliath at the 37th Anniversary Hunger Strike commemoration and parade in Bundoran, County Donegal at the weekend.

Published September 1, 2018



Tony Taylor’s 900th day behind bars

tonytaylor900.jpg A protest is to be held in Derry to mark the 900th day of Tony Taylor’s internment at Maghaberry Prison.

Published August 25, 2018



‘Denial of rights as wrong today as it was in 1968’

civilrights50b.jpg The full text of the speech at Sinn Fein’s commemoration of the North’s first civil rights march, by the former party chairperson, Mitchel McLaughlin.

Published August 25, 2018



The Omagh bomb

omaghbomb600.jpg The bereaved of Omagh have never been short of sympathy. But they have been starved of truth.

Published August 18, 2018



GAA marks centenary of ‘Gaelic Sunday’

gaelicsunday.jpg The Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) marked the weekend’s centenary of ‘Gaelic Sunday’ with commemorative events at clubs across Ireland and abroad and a special colour parade at Croke Park.

Published August 11, 2018



‘Old certainties are gone’

castlewellan.jpg The full text of Mary Lou McDonald’s speech at Sinn Fein’s annual 1981 hunger strike commemoration in Castlewellan, County Down last weekend.

Published August 11, 2018



Internment

internment2.jpg A former internee recalls Operation Demetrius, when the British Army violently rounded up and imprisoned hundreds of nationalists and caused almost 7,000 to flee their homes

Published August 4, 2018



‘Never follow blindly’

mcintyre2.jpg Former IRA Volunteer and blanketman now historian, author and political commentator, Anthony McIntyre, addressed a gathering which marked the 10th anniversary of the official unveiling of the Duleek Hungerstrike Monument.

Published August 4, 2018



The peace process is being used as a political hostage

mayfoster.jpg Short of pulling out a Tricolour, the national flag of Ireland, and setting it on fire on the dais, it is difficult to imagine how much more undiplomatic and positively provocative the Conservative Party leader could have been in her words and sentiments.

Published July 28, 2018



Markievicz enters Westminster

markieviczportrait.jpg The Dublin parliament has gifted a portrait of Irish abstentionist MP Constance Markievicz, the first woman elected to Westminster, as a debate takes place over the refusal of Sinn Fein to take its seats there.

Published July 21, 2018



Martin Hurson

martinhursonfuneral.jpg A brief look at the life of Martin Hurson, who fought for Irish freedom and became the sixth to die in the 1981 hunger strike, 37 years ago this week.

Published July 14, 2018



The Integrity of the Irish Nation

irelandpartition.jpg Those who claim to be unionist may regard themselves as British but they live on Irish soil and are here as a result of colonisation. They have a right to live in Ireland but they have no right to prevent the Irish people from being part of one historical Irish nation.

Published July 7, 2018



Remembering the hunger strikers

duleek10th.jpg An oration delivered in Duleek, County Meath by Cait Trainor on the 10th anniversary of the opening of their hunger strike memorial garden.

Published June 30, 2018



The Caledon squat, 50 years on

caledonprotest.jpg A family’s decision to make a stand over housing set in motion a chain of events that would give rise to the civil rights movement 50 years ago and thrust Ireland into the international spotlight.

Published June 30, 2018



James Connolly and Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee

connollyspeech.jpg This week in 1897, James Connolly was arrested and detained for organising a series of protests in Dublin over Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, some of which resulted in riots.

Published June 23, 2018



Arlene, reconciliatory gestures and coat-trailing

arleneorange.jpg I want Arlene and the Orange Order to look at this huge institution which creates division again and again every year, in a society which is already divided.

Published June 23, 2018



RSF Bodenstown Address 2018

rsfbodenstown18.jpg An abridged version of the main oration delivered by Republican Sinn Fein Ard Chomhairle member, John Joe McCusker, following the party’s annual commemorative parade to the grave of Theobald Wolfe Tone last weekend.

Published June 16, 2018



‘Real change is within our grasp’ - SF

sfaf18oneill.jpg The full text of the keynote speech by Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Michelle O’Neill to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis 2018.

Published June 16, 2018



Dennis Heaney

dennisheaney.jpg A statement issued through the Pat Finucane Centre by the family of Dennis Heaney, who was shot dead on the streets of Derry by undercover SAS soldiers on 10th June 1978, 40 years ago this week.

Published June 9, 2018



The 1798 Rebellion

oularthill.jpg A look at the fateful Rising of the United Irishmen, which took place 220 years ago this month.

Published June 2, 2018



Remembering Ray McCreesh

raymondmccreesh2.jpg Several hundred republicans gathered in McCreesh park in Newry last weekend to honour local hunger striker Raymond McCreesh in separate events organised by Saoradh and Sinn Fein. A tribute delivered by Saoradh’s Nuala Perry.

Published May 26, 2018



London offers tracking apps instead of a border poll

borderapp.jpg How can the United Kingdom deny a border vote to the inhabitants of the Six Counties on one hand by claiming that the demand does not exist for it, while on the other the prime minister herself admits that the outcome of such a poll is uncertain?

Published May 19, 2018



Yes or No to abortion?

abortionposters2.jpg We present two sides of the republican debate on abortion rights ahead of the referendum on May 25th to remove the Eighth Amendment, which broadly prohibits it, and to allow the Dublin parliament to legislate for its provision.

Published May 12, 2018



Francis Hughes: Scourge of the UDR

francishughes3.jpg A contemporaneous account of the life of Francis Hughes following his death on May 12, 1981 while on hunger striker against the Tory criminalisation of republican prisoners. From the Starry Plough.

Published May 12, 2018



The big knock

doorbattered.jpg Sinead McCool describes what it’s like to endure PSNI harassment and a raid against your family’s home in 2018

Published May 5, 2018



5 May 1981

blackflags.jpg A contemporaneous account of events and sentiment in the aftermath of the death of Bobby Sands on this day in 1981, from the point of view of a British socialist. Originally published in Spartacist magazine.

Published May 5, 2018



Republicans torn on abortion issue

cherish.jpg Divisions among republicans on the issue of abortion have become painfully exposed by the current debate on the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the 26 County constitution.

Published April 28, 2018



Irish Republicanism at a critical juncture

duleekeaster2018.jpg A speech delivered earlier this month by Peter A Rogers at the independent republican Easter commemoration in Duleek, County Meath.

Published April 21, 2018



Good Friday Ambiguity, twenty years on

ahernblairclinton.jpg Elephants filled Queen’s University’s Whitla Hall this week where a major media event was organised to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Published April 14, 2018



A united Ireland can be a home to Arlene Foster

maryloumcdonald600.jpg The principles of the Good Friday Agreement are now central to our future, argues Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald.

Published April 14, 2018



Easter speeches and statements

sfeaster18belfast.jpg A round-up of the main statements and orations by republicans at Easter 1916 commemorations this year.

Published April 7, 2018



Republicans must stand united

leliaquine.jpg The disgusting scenes from the British Armed Police in Lurgan today are enough to shock anyone; it is a throw back to what middle of the road mediocre pundits would call “the dark old days”. But to look at what happened in Lurgan today we must understand why it happened.

Published April 7, 2018



Varadkar accused of marching to British tune

mayvaradkar.jpg Irish republicans have condemned the decision by 26 County Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to expel a Russian diplomat as a flagrant disregard for Irish neutrality and have linked it to increasing militarisation within Europe.

Published March 31, 2018



Join the stand against the new gerrymander

boundariesgerrymander.jpg The DUP are behind the redrafting of constituency boundaries to hold onto as much power in the North as possible, writes Sinn Fein MP Elisha McCallion.

Published March 24, 2018



Tribute to Frank Flood

frankflood.jpg Dublin City Council has officially named a bridge in north Dublin after a 19-year-old student of University College Dublin and head of an IRA unit who was executed during the War of Independence.

Published March 17, 2018



Remembering Rosemary Nelson

rosemarynelson600.jpg Human rights lawyer, Rosemary Nelson, was murdered in this week 19 years ago by an under-car booby trap bomb. The attack was later claimed by a Loyalist death squad the LVF, but the level of sophistication points the finger firmly at British military intelligence for Rosemary’s murder. Mandy Duffy remembers Rosemary on her anniversary.

Published March 17, 2018



Why I won’t go to Westminster

paulmaskey2.jpg In 2017, I and other MPs were elected on a mandate to actively abstain from Westminster. We intend to honour that mandate, writes Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey.

Published March 10, 2018



Poyntzpass remembered

trainorallen.jpg One of the most shocking loyalist atrocities of the conflict -- the murders of two lifelong friends, one a Protestant, one a Catholic -- made headlines around the world 20 years ago this week.

Published March 3, 2018



Black 47

black47still.jpg Variety, a leader among Hollywood publications, has given Black 47, the first ever movie set in Famine times in Ireland, a rave review.

Published February 24, 2018



Arlene does a Paisley

paisleyfoster.jpg Arlene Foster has dipped deep into her political bag of tricks and produced a very old, tried-and-trusted Paisley technique.

Published February 17, 2018



Right to remember our fallen comrades

saoradhpostereaster.jpg Easter 2017 saw thousands of Irish Republicans march defiant and proud behind an impressive colour party in Derry at the Unfinished Revolution Easter commemoration. Many members of the colour party have since been arrested, detained and interrogated.

Published February 17, 2018



The legacy of Connolly, 150 years after his birth

connolly150.jpg An article written by Jim Slaven of the James Connolly Society to mark the 150th year since the birth of the Irish patriot.

Published February 3, 2018



‘It is never too late’

rattigancommem.jpg A diverse gathering of republicans took place this week at St Mary’s Cemetery Navan to commemorate the 6th anniversary of Volunteer Martin Rattigan and his brother Joe, whose 4th anniversary occurs later this year. North Armagh republican Cait Trainor delivered the following oration.

Published February 3, 2018



The Dripsey ambush

dripsey.jpg An account of one of the most important incidents in the War of Independence in central county Cork, 97 years ago this week.

Published January 27, 2018



A profile of Mary Lou McDonald

marylou.jpg Mary Lou McDonald will be confirmed as the next leader of Sinn Fein within two weeks. A look at the woman who has set herself the challenge of leading the party into government in the 26 Counties.

Published January 27, 2018



Bloody Sunday Programme 2018

bloodysundayposter18.jpg The official introduction and programme for the week of events in Derry culminating in the annual march to commemorate the Bloody Sunday massacre.

Published January 20, 2018



United Ireland ‘not inevitable’ - Adams

mcdonaldadamspres.jpg Gerry Adams gave what is thought to be his last speech as president of Sinn Fein to the party’s Cuige Uladh [Ulster department] in Belfast on Saturday morning before his succession by Mary Lou McDonald. The full text of Mr Adams’s speech.

Published January 20, 2018



The Craigavon 2 deserve justice

craigavon2600.jpg The Craigavon 2, Brendan McConville and John-Paul Wootton, are innocent Irishmen who have been wrongfully imprisoned for the past 8 years. Sign the petition now!

Published January 13, 2018



New Year statements 2018

2018.jpg A round-up of the statements traditionally issued this time of year by republican organisations.

Published January 6, 2018



Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh

irelandmappaper.jpg 2018 will present many challenges. If progress with the DUP proves impossible then the onus falls on to the Irish and British governments to spell out how they intend to jointly ensure that all past agreements are honoured.

Published January 6, 2018



State papers round-up

papers1987.jpg A summary of some of the information contained in declassified state papers which were released by officials this week in both Dublin and London.

Published December 30, 2017



The Christmas Raid

magazinefort.jpg An extract from Liam Brady’s autobiography in which he describes a famous 1939 IRA raid on a Free State military installation in the Phoenix Park.

Published December 30, 2017



Remember republican prisoners this Christmas

larkmural.jpg December is traditionally the month to remember republican prisoners with cards and letters. The current up to date Irish republican prisoner list.

Published December 16, 2017



The future requires a process of reconciliation

reconciliation.jpg Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams TD was in Fermanagh this week to give the Louis Leonard commemorative lecture on the 45th anniversary of his death. An extract of his remarks, which focussed on reconciliation.

Published December 16, 2017



The Burning of Cork

corkburning.jpg In one of the worst atrocities committed during the War of Independence, British forces deliberately set fire to several blocks of buildings and public institutions, 97 years ago this week.

Published December 9, 2017



We should not be collateral damage in Brexit shambles

dupgang.jpg We are at a crucial juncture in the process. The Irish Government have the responsibility and the leverage to ensure clarity and certainty from the British Government.

Published December 9, 2017



Sinister British tactics know no bounds or borders

raids1712.jpg No other political party in the country would be treated the same way as Saoradh, and if they did there would be a major public outcry.

Published December 2, 2017



Ballymurphy republicans don’t retire

sfaf17fists.jpg Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams on his party’s historic annual conference.

Published November 25, 2017



The pain and humiliation of Brexit

brexiteu.jpg When I hear what the EU negotiators are telling the UK, I invariably feel a jolt of pleasure.

Published November 11, 2017



A new way forward for Ireland

eirenua.jpg Sean Bresnahan, Chair of the Thomas Ashe Society Omagh, argues that the Eire Nua initiative for a Federal All-Ireland Republic, developed by Sinn Fein in the 1970s and still supported by Republican Sinn Fein, can best advance a new beginning for all of the Irish people.

Published November 4, 2017



Leo Varadkar needs to start acting like Taoiseach

varadkarbored.jpg Given the present animosity between Varadkar's government and Sinn Fein it seems inconceivable that they could meet and hammer out a common Irish policy for the north.

Published October 28, 2017



Unionist presence must be accommodated

sandyrowmural.jpg Nationalists must begin any discussion about the future possibility of reunification from a position of respect for unionist fears about the future in a reunified Ireland.

Published October 21, 2017



Mind what you say

foster600.jpg Say you don’t consider this part of Ireland British and you’re likely to provoke anger from unionist politicians.

Published October 7, 2017



Language row betrays aims of Bobby Sands sacrifice

bobbysandsflat.jpg I would be incensed if the value of the sacrifice of the hunger strikers and all those others who sacrificed their lives during the struggle were reduced to the value of an Irish language act.

Published September 30, 2017



The dismaying case of Tony Taylor

freetonytaylormural.jpg If you drive around the north of Ireland you’re sure to come across one of the signs: three words that test our notion of democracy.

Published September 23, 2017



Thank God Dave Cullen doesn’t know me

davecullen.jpg It is clear that the 26 County state is intent on smashing Republicanism. If they are not using the word of a superintendent to jail political activists, they are prepared to use the word of an even more despicable type.

Published September 16, 2017



Sinn Fein is committed to restoring the institutions

johntaylor.jpg In the cut and thrust of negotiations there is always the risk that someone will say something that makes the process of achieving agreement more difficult.

Published September 9, 2017



Principles keep you on the true path

rsfhs2017.jpg The oration delivered by Padraig Garvey, of Republican Sinn Fein in Kerry, at the annual hunger strike commeration organised by the independent Bundoran / Ballyshannon 1981 H-Block Commemoration Committee.

Published September 2, 2017



Collusion and the abuse of power

glenannefamilies2.jpg It is now clear that policing, intelligence and political elements within the British system have sought to frustrate families and victims getting to the truth of the Glenanne Gang and its actions.

Published August 26, 2017



Now is the time to deliver Irish unity

gerrykellyhs17.jpg The speech delivered by Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly at the party’s National Hunger Strike Commemoration.

Published August 19, 2017



Gutless unionism can’t do the decent thing

jeffreydonaldson600.jpg The DUP can’t stand up to the UDA because they might need them again soon to prevent change.

Published August 12, 2017



Robert Hamill was walking home

roberthamill600.jpg The British bear a great responsibility for the visceral hatred of Catholics by loyalists who support this artificially constructed colony.

Published August 5, 2017



IRA membership charges on the increase

scc.jpg Over the last few months I think we have all noticed the upsurge in IRA membership charges facing Republicans in the 26 Counties, it seems every other day someone is up in the Special Criminal Court.

Published July 29, 2017



Is radical republicanism making a comeback?

saoradhrally.jpg Is the stage now set for the politics that once informed an entire movement in the North to re-emerge?

Published July 22, 2017



Orange Order can no longer claim ownership of the north

orangemarch600.jpg It has been a long slow painful process and of course it’s not completed yet. However Orangemen can no longer march where they want or where they aren’t wanted.

Published July 15, 2017



There can be no return to the status quo

equalitymarch.jpg Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams on the Stormont talks process which collapsed this week.

Published July 8, 2017



Breakdown in talks an avoidable mess

brokenshiremedia.jpg As they say in Belfast, the dogs in the street could see there was no prospect of a deal to restore power-sharing.

Published July 8, 2017



DUP losing battle for Irish-free zone

achtprotest.jpg To the surprise of no-one the Stormont talks foundered on the DUP's adamantine refusal to concede an Acht na Gaelige.

Published July 1, 2017



Active abstentionism

sfmps17.jpg Is Micheal Martin now telling us that if his party ever stands candidates in the North, and they are successful, that they will take the Oath to the English Queen?

Published June 17, 2017



Election has sounded the death knell for the SDLP

2017wmelection.jpg For the first time in fifty-one years, since Gerry Fitt was elected for West Belfast in 1966, there is no northern nationalist voice at Westminster.

Published June 10, 2017



The winds of change are blowing

sf2017candswest.jpg Nationalists have come to appreciate the power and value of their vote.

Published June 3, 2017



Don’t let them break you

carolineletter.jpg An appeal to anyone who has been approached by British intelligence and has accepted their false promises of a better life to come forward and to make it known.

Published May 27, 2017



Victory to the hunger strikers

irishhungerstrikers.jpg 36 years ago the hunger strikers and the political prisoners in the H-Blocks and Armagh Women’s prison were uplifted by reports of international solidarity.

Published May 20, 2017



EU decision changes the question on Irish unity

brexitsignpost.jpg Last Saturday’s formal statement of the EU’s negotiating position is of enormous importance for Ireland north and south.

Published May 6, 2017



Brexit, demographic change and a ‘New Republic’ for all

mapfaces.jpg With Brexit looming and unionism fast becoming not only a national minority but one within its own gerrymandered statelet, what is now required is a national dialogue.

Published April 29, 2017



The North will be biggest loser in the Brexit election

electionglum.jpg The general election couldn’t come at a worse time for Northern Ireland.

Published April 22, 2017



Joint administration the only way forward

flagsjoint2.jpg The sacrifice of this generation of republicans and the families of our patriot dead transformed Ireland in a way that means that a new independent Ireland can be realised.

Published April 14, 2017



Let us learn from the past and build a New Ireland

gpostylised.jpg As we approach Easter 2017 and the 101st anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916 are we anywhere near the ideals set out in the proclamation read out by Padraig Pearse outside the GPO? NO, most definitely not.

Published April 7, 2017



Time for DUP to accept the game’s up

doddsfosterstormont.jpg You might think she doesn’t get it but Arlene Foster knows fine well what the problems were and continue to be and she knows rightly that forming an executive is not Sinn Fein’s priority.

Published April 1, 2017



Prospect of a united Ireland is inevitable

stormontrepresentation.jpg For the first time in my lifetime, the Irish question is no longer a question of if, but of when.

Published March 24, 2017



Thinking about the unthinkable

unitedirelandflag.jpg How much of our thinking is wishful? Quite a bit, I suspect.

Published March 17, 2017



We need to manage the transition to unity - now

adamsvote.jpg If ever citizens needed proof of the power and the importance of their vote, it was this election, writes Gerry Adams.

Published March 10, 2017



Voters didn’t back Sinn Fein in order to get the DUP

fosteroneill.jpg Let’s make a couple of points clear because the media commentary in the last few days has been couched within the parameters set out by the NIO, by wishful thinking and by hand wringing from bleeding heart getalongers, the so-called ‘middle ground’ which doesn’t amount to a hill of beans north and west of Royal Avenue.

Published March 10, 2017



Last night: slam, bam, thank you, ma’am

sinnfeinelectioncroc.jpg Well, that was quite an evening/night, wasn’t it? Just when you thought politics in our NE nest had become dour and tedious, along comes yesterday. Where to start?

Published March 4, 2017



The death of Pat Finucane: just one more killing?

geraldinefinucane2017.jpg I was at the annual Pat Finucane memorial lecture last night in the Europa Hotel. In some ways it was a moving evening, in some ways disappointing and in some ways enraging.

Published February 24, 2017



Foster’s disturbing attempt to demonise SF voters

arlenefosterold.jpg Arlene Foster’s characterisation of Sinn Fein as a ‘crocodile’ is very disturbing indeed for a number of reasons.

Published February 17, 2017



Brexit exposes GFA as a purely internal arrangement

gfabrexit.jpg Sean Bresnahan argues that the recent decision on Brexit by the Supreme Court in London leaves no room for doubt that the Good Friday Agreement amounts to nothing more than an exclusively internal solution.

Published February 10, 2017



Brokenshire’s legacy comments are a disgrace

brokenshireselfie.jpg You have to go back a long way to find a proconsul as directionless as the current specimen.

Published February 3, 2017



Sinn Fein seeking respect, equality and integrity

mcguinnessoneill.jpg A statement by Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill on taking over from Martin McGuinness and taking up the new position within the party of ‘Leader in the North’.

Published January 27, 2017



Republican views on the Stormont crisis

rsf1916socssaoradh.jpg The opinions of Sinn Fein’s republican opponents on the current state of politics in the north of Ireland.

Published January 27, 2017



McGuinness will be a hard man to follow

mcguinnessqueen45.jpg Martin McGuinness’s IRA career and reputation uniquely fitted him for his role as chief conciliator with the British establishment.

Published January 20, 2017



Why Brexit means Irish unity is now inevitable

aunitedirelandbook.jpg A political commentary by Kevin Meagher, former Special Adviser to the last Labour Government in Britain, about the new potential for Irish reunification.

Published January 13, 2017



Momentum building towards collapse of Stormont

stormont600.jpg Serious damage is being done to the integrity of politics and action is urgently needed to restore public confidence and trust in the north’s political system.

Published January 6, 2017



DUP arrogance damages institutions

dupstormonthugs.jpg Monday’s antics by the DUP in the Assembly have seriously damaged its credibility and that of the Executive and of the First and Deputy First Ministers office. The DUP’s actions are not acceptable and this issue is not going away, according to Gerry Adams.

Published December 24, 2016



Stormont must go

stormontprotest.jpg An analysis by the new republican political party, Saoradh, of the latest crisis within the northern Executive.

Published December 17, 2016



Political correctness won’t cut it for GAA people

crossmaglengacbrits.jpg After GAA chief Aogan o Fearghail called for scrapping the Irish flag and the national anthem from Gaelic sports, commentator Joe Brolly responded.

Published December 10, 2016



A failed prison

prisoncell.jpg After five deaths at the jail in the past year, prisons campaigner Alec McCrory raises concerns about the situation in Maghaberry.

Published November 26, 2016



Demand the release of Tony Taylor

tonytaylor600.jpg The internment of Tony Taylor strikes at the very heart of democracy and the right to a fair trial.

Published November 12, 2016



‘We will not be broken’

harassmentvigil.jpg A statement from Saoradh member, Damhnic Mac Eochaidh, read out at the demonstration against British/PSNI harassment in Belfast, and also one by 15-year-old Ailise ni Mhurchu from west Belfast, on the PSNI stop and search procedures she has endured while going to and coming from school.

Published November 5, 2016



Brexit has implications for whole of Ireland

mcguinnessnew.jpg Brexit presents enormous and unprecedented challenges to jobs and investment, to public services and to the progress and co-operation we now take for granted. It demands that we put the needs of our people and economy to the fore.

Published November 5, 2016



Brits plan to ignore human rights laws - again

theresamayquote.jpg Last week’s Tory party conference exposed once again the British establishment’s largely xenophobic view of the world outside of England.

Published October 22, 2016



Budget will re-enforce inequality

budget17noonan.jpg The spin is that last week’s Budget spreads the benefits to all. It doesn’t.

Published October 15, 2016



Brexiteers should know consequences of ignoring Ireland

brokenshire.jpg There will be consequences if the carefully worded deal in the Good Friday Agreement about how to advance Irish unity peacefully and democratically is casually set aside unilaterally by the British government.

Published October 15, 2016



Dialogue, not deflection

donegangarc.jpg Pauline Mellon on the Ardoyne parades dispute, from her blog, ‘The Diary of a Derry Mother’.

Published October 8, 2016



Have Sinn Fein been outwitted by the DUP?

fostermcguinness.jpg In setting out to free Ireland, in believing they could outwit the British, Sinn Fein have in fact set us backwards to the days of unionist domination.

Published October 1, 2016



A response to the BBC

markthompsonbig.jpg Mark Thompson of Relatives for Justice responds to the BBC Spotlight documentary on the death of British double-agent Denis Donaldson.

Published September 24, 2016



Building Gaeilge for future generations

glornamonalily.jpg Irish history is full of examples of policies intended to deter the use of the Irish language while promoting English. But it is also full of courageous men and women who strove to defend the language and music and culture of Ireland.

Published September 17, 2016



Honest and transparent debate needed on united Ireland

unitedirelandunionists.jpg A welcome off-shoot from the recent ‘Brexit’ referendum in Britain is that talk of a United Ireland has come again to the fore of political discourse all across Ireland.

Published September 10, 2016



The most beautiful of all battles

colombiapeacehavana.jpg This week a peace agreement represents the first time that Colombia will be at peace since 1948, and includes comprehensive agreements that encompass many aspects of Colombian life.

Published August 27, 2016



Potential for building a new Ireland

martinmcguinness0716.jpg Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness says that the debate on an united Ireland has begun and can’t be stopped.

Published August 6, 2016



An end to the Union

fostermaymcguinness.jpg Once again a British politician - who has no stake in this island - is given influence over our lives by a British government whose priority interests are not ours.

Published July 30, 2016



Political process has a one dimensional unionist narrative

smashedmemorial.jpg The revelation that the 1916 memorial in Carnlough was removed in the dead of night by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is unsurprising but symptomatic of a political establishment and narrative that seeks to remove all vestiges of Irish nationalist and republican culture and history.

Published July 23, 2016



Sectarian Orange Order bonfires

bonfireunionjacks.jpg Perhaps one reason why the Northern state turns a blind eye to the naked sectarianism displayed at 11th July bonfires is the fundamentally sectarian foundations of the British Constitution.

Published July 16, 2016



Ignoring the truth over north’s position on EU

northbrexit.jpg Forthcoming negotiations are an opportunity for Sinn Fein and northern nationalists to tighten relations with the Republic in ways that benefit all the people on this island.

Published June 25, 2016



Question is now about extent of loyalist collusion

michaelmaguire.jpg Let’s hope the Police Ombudsman’s report on the Loughinisland killings becomes a model for future investigations by his office.

Published June 18, 2016



Truth alone is not enough

barneygreen.jpg It is poignantly fitting that the truth about Loughinisland has emerged at this precise time as people gather in their local pubs for the start of Euro 2016.

Published June 11, 2016



‘Brexit’ vote denies the national rights of the Irish

brexitbig2.jpg The upcoming ‘Brexit’ referendum holds significance for Ireland given Britain’s continuing claim to sovereignty over the Six Counties and her ongoing occupation of the North.

Published May 28, 2016



Writing about the hunger strike

oldhsbig.jpg 35 years ago, on May 5th 1981, Bobby Sands died on hunger strike after 66 days without food. He was the first of 10 men to die in the H Blocks of Long Kesh that terrible summer of 1981.

Published May 21, 2016



Sinn Féin must beware the left-wing surge

mcguinnessfoyle.jpg The large votes for People Before Profit candidates remain the story of the election. Left wing candidates did most damage to Sinn Féin and the SDLP.

Published May 7, 2016



Stormont elections - a mandate for British rule

stormontpoliticians.jpg Sean Bresnahan looks at the upcoming elections in the North. Sean Bresnahan is a member of the Thomas Ashe Society in Omagh and National PRO of the 1916 Societies.

Published April 30, 2016



Micheal Martin could play a role in Irish unity

martinadams.jpg A Micheal Martin speech at Bodenstown or in the Dail or at Arbour Hill would not be complete without an attack on Sinn Fein. I suppose we should take some comfort from this, writes Gerry Adams.

Published April 23, 2016



Sir Bob and the f***ing martyrs

bobgeldof.jpg Some time back there was a fashionable notion called the Tipping Point. In the old days we’d have called it the straw that broke the camel’s back. Well, I’ve reached that point with Sir Bob Geldof.

Published April 9, 2016



The Rising tide of revisionism

procbig.jpg There's a lot of balderdash talked in the last couple of weeks about the Easter Rising being 'undemocratic'. So it was as people today view democracy. However that doesn't mean the existing government in Ireland was democratic. It wasn't.

Published March 26, 2016



It’s our party and we’ll cry if we want to

kennymartin.jpg The two biggest right-wing parties have wasted weeks staging meaningless talks that can’t lead to anything. Panic? Indecision? I don’t think so.

Published March 19, 2016



Irish Unity is better for all

oneisland.jpg This year of all years presents an opportunity to challenge the misconceptions, to present the argument for a new Ireland where the Proclamation exists as reality, not an afterthought from the past.

Published March 12, 2016



A key Sinn Fein objective is emerging

martinadamskenny.jpg Jim Gibney writes that with Gerry Adams leading a significantly larger group of Sinn Fein TDs in the Dail the north will, in this centenary year of the 1916 Rising, never again be abandoned.

Published March 5, 2016



The media campaign against Sinn Fein

sindohanlon.jpg The most alarming feature of this general election has been the ferocious campaign against Sinn Fein. The State has never witnessed such a biased agenda across all media organisations against a political party.

Published February 27, 2016



A time for change

sfbattlebus.jpg Elements of the conservative media have been busy trying to spin the yarn that the election is ‘boring’. The truth is very different. In my travels across this state there is a clear desire for change. For new politics.

Published February 20, 2016



When national security undermines human rights

patfinucanebig2.jpg It's worth noting that Britain’s security elite systematically invests time and energy in long-term planning and forecasting.

Published February 13, 2016



Eight years on and it is political business as usual

michaellowrybig.jpg Nothing has changed and no one is held accountable in Ireland, and this is a government promising more of the same.

Published February 6, 2016



The fantasy history of the 1916 Easter Rising

redmondpearse.jpg Who is more reprehensible on the scales of historical judgement? The progressive militant, who sought a modern democratic republic or the conservative militant, who was ready to accept a devolved, partitioned Ireland?

Published January 23, 2016



Right to reject nonsense of a ‘shared history’

19162016.jpg The two governments, but particularly the Irish government, hoped that by developing a load of claptrap about a ‘shared history’ they could somehow exorcise the years 1912-22.

Published January 16, 2016



Remember 1916, when we had guts and self-esteem?

pearsekenny.jpg You’d have to wonder what the executed leaders of the Rising would make of Ireland's leaders of today.

Published January 9, 2016



Time for a new approach

stormonttalks2015.jpg Following the conclusion of yet another pseudo negotiation at Stormont, its purpose as ever to prop up British rule in the North, it is clear the status quo in Ireland is incapable of securing forward political progress.

Published December 30, 2015



The jailing of Claire Knowles

claireknowles.jpg Just two weeks before Christmas, a law-abiding mother, daughter, sister, grandmother and friend to many was committed to prison.

Published December 12, 2015



A fresh start?

gibneyeastwood.jpg Amid ongoing public recriminations and street protests against the ‘Fresh Start’ agreement, Jim Gibney defends Sinn Fein’s negotiators, while the SDLP’s new leader Colum Eastwood condemns them.

Published November 28, 2015



Robinson has gone before he was pushed

robinsondup.jpg Robinson's opponents in the DUP made no secret of their belief that he was an electoral liability.

Published November 21, 2015



Spies and spooks - the same old story

mi5logofancybig.jpg It is regrettable but not surprising that elements of the Irish political establishment and sections of the Irish media are willing to exploit a specious report to attack Sinn Fein.

Published November 13, 2015



Explaining yourself to the poppy fascists

poppyfascists.jpg Literally within seconds of Sienna Miller stepping into shot on the Graham Norton Show on Saturday night “eagle-eyed viewers” spotted she wasn’t wearing a poppy.

Published November 6, 2015



A strategy of confusion

collusionvictims.jpg Pauline Mellon, author of ‘The Diary Of A Derry Mother’, looks at how victims are treated in the legacy proposals of the Stormont House Agreement.

Published October 31, 2015



Latest report highlights process absurdities

backtothefuture.jpg Another week, another crisis in the peace process which passeth all understanding.

Published October 23, 2015



Equality needed for former political prisoners

prisonersreleased.jpg Former prisoners should be legally recognised as full and equal members of society like everyone else.

Published October 16, 2015



British determined to control historical inquiries

collusionbadges.jpg The British government's Northern Ireland Office snuck out its policy paper on implementing the Stormont House Agreement last week.

Published October 10, 2015



DUP made mistake in confronting Cameron with threats

cameroncricket.jpg The way the British government has handled the impasse is very instructive. They did not give in to unionist amateur dramatics, ultimatums, hissy fits or walk outs.

Published September 26, 2015



Gerry Adams and Jeremy Corbyn and what matters in politics

adamscorbyn.jpg Criticism of Corbyn’s non-singing of the British national anthem, or the clothes he wears, or his beard, are obviously superficial to the brink of ludicrous.

Published September 19, 2015



Stormont has served politicians, not the people

teabiscuits.jpg What has Stormont delivered for working-class nationalists? Zilch.

Published September 19, 2015



Political policing is not a ‘legacy issue’

fennellsns.jpg Local Republicans and residents’ groups analysis of the PSNI, MI5 and repressive state apparatus and legislation is the correct one.

Published September 12, 2015



Stormont is a failed political experiment

stormontstatue2.jpg Since the current Stormont is now more unpopular than the old one, many might wonder why Sinn Fein is trying to preserve it.

Published September 12, 2015



Ireland’s record on migrants has been shameful

faminerefugees.jpg How quickly we forget. When it suits. Are we about to disgrace ourselves again?

Published September 5, 2015



There is nothing more Sinn Fein can do

gerryadamsardfheis.jpg The PSNI Chief’s claim that the IRA exists - even in the benign way he paints it - is wrong: the IRA is gone and is not coming back, writes Gerry Adams.

Published August 29, 2015



If IRA didn’t exist, unionists would need to invent it

iramasks.jpg There was a joke in 1997. What’s the difference between the Stickies and the Provos? Answer: 25 years.

Published August 29, 2015



The last obscenity

maghaberrybig.jpgg Maghaberry is an injustice that undermines the very fabric of our society.

Published August 22, 2015



The deaths of Gerard Davison and Kevin McGuigan

davisonmcguigan.jpg Are the Provisional IRA about to re-commence their armed campaign? Do unionist politicians really think so?

Published August 22, 2015



A two-tier policing and justice system

pregnantailmarch.jpg It would appear as if a two tier police and justice system - one rule for Irish Republicans and another, much more lenient one, for the pro British community - is in force today in the north of Ireland.

Published August 15, 2015



Who dares confront touchy billionaire Denis O’Brien?

denisobriencartoon.jpg A closer look at the five legal attacks of Denis O’Brien, in chronological order, and the broader issues they raise about inequality and power in Ireland.

Published August 8, 2015



The myth of demilitarisation

britslurgan.jpg Britain has not in fact demilitarised but simply returned to levels of troop deployment consistent with her needs during ‘peacetime’

Published August 8, 2015



End the appeasement of loyalist gang bosses

uprg.jpg Local councils, Stormont and the British government subsidise the UDA and UVF by employing their bosses and local henchmen.

Published July 25, 2015



Orange Order bigotry must be opposed

loyalistsardoyne2015.jpg For just how much longer must the beleaguered nationalist community in the north be expected to succumb to unwanted loyalist bonfires and being forced to indulge unwelcome, uninvited anti-Catholic Orangemen?

Published July 18, 2015



Stormont’s gravest crisis

adamsstormont.jpg Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, writing for Leargas, warns that the 1998 Good Friday peace Agreement ‘hangs by a thread’.

Published July 11, 2015



Who will dare say out loud ‘the emperor has no clothes’?

kennyeu.jpg Everything from the lives of ordinary Greeks to the foundations of the European Union must be sacrificed to a toxic fantasy, to which Ireland has made a special contribution.

Published July 4, 2015



MI5 has primacy on policing

mi5parker.jpg MI5 retains the ability to dictate the terms on which its activities might be examined

Published June 27, 2015



An agreement in the rear-view mirror

stormonthousedeal.jpg The Stormont House Agreement is now history. It joins the long list of documents gathering dust in the archives like the 1995 Frameworks Document, large chunks of the 2001 Weston Park Agreement and the 2010 Hillsborough Agreement.

Published June 20, 2015



‘A compassionate and inclusive future’

markthomson.jpg Mark Thompson of Relatives for Justice has criticised the DUP for attempting to exclude republicans from the 'reconciliation' process.

Published June 6, 2015



Who fears to speak of Easter Week?

fennellspeech.jpg New York lawyer and long-time republican activist Martin Galvin on the recent arrest and internment-by-remand of Ardoyne republican Dee Fennell.

Published May 30, 2015



Reaching out

charlesadamstea.jpg Tuesday’s meeting is part of the necessary process which must now address in a more substantial way than ever before the issue of reconciliation and healing.

Published May 23, 2015



Demeaning ourselves for the Prince

charlescamilla.jpg The 26-County gardai this week conducted a series of ‘disruptive’ raids and arrests on the homes of republicans in advance of a royal visit to Ireland by Britain’s Prince Charles. A piece by Eamonn McCann for the Irish Times on the sycophantic attitude of the Irish establishment to British royalty.

Published May 16, 2015



A terrible beauty is born

scottishgirlflag.jpg For Britain, the election result in Scotland is is the biggest constitutional drama since the abdication.

Published May 9, 2015



Standing up to the Tories

mcguinnessflat2.jpg Martin McGuinness on why you should vote for Sinn Féin candidates in this week’s Westminster general election.

Published May 2, 2015



A convenient lie?

seamusdaly.jpg With the British government attempting to use ‘secret evidence’ to block a public inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bomb and with new trial proceedings against Seamus Daly dragging out due to delays by the British and 26 County police, Cait Trainor looks at his case.

Published April 25, 2015



Government is afraid to speak of Easter week

1916paintingballagh.jpg For this government, it is easier to deal with the notion of individual loss and sacrifice than promote the ideas of the Proclamation.

Published April 18, 2015



An electoral pact could change things utterly

kellydodds.jpg Tactical voting when used strategically can make a dramatic change. It can also positively contribute to progressive politics.

Published April 18, 2015



Next parliament will bring radical change

asquith.jpg This election is going to confirm a change in British politics which has been happening for at least a decade.

Published April 4, 2015



Partition as perpetual crisis

republicproclaimed.jpg Jim Slaven of the James Connolly Society gives his opinion on the political developments in the Six Counties and Sinn Fein’s change of heart on the Welfare Bill currently before Stormont. He argues that the solution to the ills currently afflicting Ireland are to be found in establishing a genuine democratic republic rather than pandering to power within the partitioned states.

Published March 21, 2015



Sinn Fein right to pull rug from under DUP

sfcrisis.jpg The dispute is simply a sign of what is to come with the other aspects of the agreement: flags, Orange marches and the past.

Published March 14, 2015



Three peace processes are jostling for position

sfselfie.jpg There are three political/peace processes jostling for primacy here. None of them are working.

Published March 7, 2015



2016 and how to fool yourself

risingsignatories.jpg It gets closer every day, and as it does the politicians in the south get more and more uneasy.

Published February 28, 2015



‘We let them rot in Cricklewood’

emigrationfarewell.jpg The refusal to allow votes to Irish emigrants is tied up with the attitude of successive governments to the question of emigration.

Published February 21, 2015



Denying the British empire’s crimes

maumau.jpg To dismiss Britain’s colonial atrocities, no such effort is required. Most people appear to be unaware that anything needs to be denied.

Published February 14, 2015



Why the PSNI cannot investigate the RUC’s crimes

ruconstreet.jpg Policing is too important to be left to the police, and in the context of the north of Ireland, the past is also too important to be left to the police.

Published February 7, 2015



Bloody Sunday ‘murder’ investigation has become a sham

bloodysundaybody3.jpg While there may be a semblance of peace our quest for justice seems to involve endless promises and sham processes.

Published January 31, 2015



The sham of the West’s “free speech” celebration

leadersparisrally.jpg This week’s celebration of France - and the gaggle of tyrannical leaders who joined it - had little to do with free speech and much to do with suppressing ideas they dislike while venerating ideas they prefer.

Published January 17, 2015



Don’t repeat mistakes here in Paris kneejerk

merkelcameron.jpg Who will guard the guards themselves?

Published January 17, 2015



Door has been opened to shed light on past

justiceprotest.jpg For the first time since the conflict in the north broke out in the mid-1960s and after decades of campaigning, a door has been opened to the past which potentially should allow the truth to be known for the relatives of those bereaved in the conflict.

Published January 10, 2015



DUP left red-faced by glimpse into the past

ulstersaysno.jpg It has become an annual tradition: just as the last of the leftovers are fed to a grateful dog, the declassified government files are released giving a glimpse of a not so bygone time, a time when Paisley was still rabble rousing and Adams was wearing a duffle coat.

Published January 3, 2015



Agreement is really a stop-gap of ideas

stormonthousetalks2014.jpg The north is to be privatised, its past sanitised and its electorate anaesthetised. That appears to be a reasonable summary of what the Stormont parties agreed in their annual sleep-over at Stormont.

Published January 3, 2015



Govts must accept their responsibilities

adamsstormont.jpg Understanding why there is a crisis doesn’t require a lot of deep political analysis. It’s pretty obvious.

Published December 20, 2014



Blame for debacle lies at feet of Villiers

villiers.jpg The responsibility for yesterday’s debacle at Stormont lies scattered around the feet of our clueless proconsul.

Published December 13, 2014



DUP swivel-eyed loons are afraid of equality

dupthree.jpg Unionism emerged in the 19th century as an attempt to avoid living on equal terms with the rest of the people on this island. So it remains.

Published November 29, 2014



Assessing armed actions

iragunsalute.jpg A discussion document circulated by the Irish Republican Socialist Party to their members.

Published November 22, 2014



Rise of SF is unnerving the political establishment

pollsftops2.jpg Ireland is on the cusp of enormous political change. Our homegrown political establishment, who have defended their interests against all comers since the foundation of the state, suddenly find themselves wrong-footed and floundering.

Published November 15, 2014



The state and the media

waterprotest.jpg The battle against the Water Tax is largely a battle for the hearts and minds of the people. Indeed the same can be said for the wider struggle for meaningful Irish political, economic and social freedom.

Published November 8, 2014



Hart in wrong place if he’s hoping for a deal

garyhart.jpg What’s Gary Hart doing here? Why now? The answer is that the timing has more to do with the US mid-term elections next week than the Mexican stand-off at Stormont.

Published November 1, 2014



The case of the emperor’s thumb

cahillmicrophones.jpg I was on RTE’s Prime Time last night. It was of course about the Mairia Cahill case and it was what you might call a learning experience.

Published October 25, 2014



Reneging on deals is just no way to do business

duptalks2.jpg This week in the Assembly we witnessed the latest example of DUP bad faith.

Published October 18, 2014



The truth about the past is withheld

topsecretbig.jpg The British government has no intention of allowing the truth to be told about its forces’ role in the conflict.

Published October 4, 2014



No-one can claim victory in war still being fought

psniplastic2.jpg I’d never really thought to analyse the question ‘who won the war?’ because by my assessment the war is far from over.

Published October 4, 2014



Why not another referendum?

queencameron.jpg In the aftermath of the Scottish referendum result the British political establishment were quick to deem it a ‘victory for democracy’. And in the same breath they definitively stated that the issue of Scottish independence was now settled for a generation or even permanently. Hmmm.

Published September 27, 2014



Irish nationalism must catch up with Scotland

scotlandrally.jpg A look at the significance to Ireland of the Scottish independence referendum by Colum Eastwood MLA of the SDLP.

Published September 20, 2014



There are no short cuts to freedom

psniestate.jpg A republican analysis of the Scottish independence referendum by the Republican Network for Unity.

Published September 20, 2014



Hope springs in Scotland

scotland.jpg If the vote is No, the debate about Scotland’s future in the UK will only intensify.

Published September 13, 2014



IMF deal would be another humiliation for Dublin govt

michaelnoonangrumpy.jpg Irish politicians, the people who are supposed to represent our interests and fight our corner, appear happy to collude in a charade over the cost of bailing out the EU's banking system.

Published September 13, 2014



Ceasefire promises were disingenuous

ceasefire2.jpg The view of the Republican Network for Unity on the 20th anniversary of the Provisional IRA ceasefire

Published September 6, 2014



An urgent need for action

adamsconfused.jpg The IRA cessation opened up the space for the development of the peace process.

Published August 30, 2014



Moderate unionists driven out by bigots

peterrobinsonbig.jpg For every incident that happened this year or last year you can cite one exactly the same or worse 50 years ago.

Published August 30, 2014



Women’s bodies not considered their own

abortionprotest.jpg To allow hundreds of distressed young women to make a lonely journey across the Irish Sea every year because they have been denied proper care in their own country is shameful.

Published August 23, 2014



Denigrating the people of 1916

risingrebels.jpg Former taoiseach John Bruton is on a crusade to revive Redmondism in Irish politics and to denigrate the men and women who gave us the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and the 1916 Rising.

Published August 9, 2014



Gaza and the Warsaw Ghetto

gazaghetto.jpg There are two compelling factors that stand out in any examination of the crisis in Gaza: the persistent intransigence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli unwillingness to pursue a diplomatic and political solution to the Palestinian tragedy.

Published August 2, 2014



MI5’s murky role in Kincora scandal yet to be exposed

colinwallacebig.jpg MI5’s interests will take precedence over the rights of raped children.

Published July 26, 2014



End the war on Gaza

gazakids.jpg The short ceasefire in Gaza will only be another temporary lull in the cyclical violence in that region unless a real and inclusive dialogue takes place involving all of the combatant groups.

Published July 19, 2014



If you live in the past, you can’t learn from it

nesbittrobinsonforum.jpg After this huff is over unionists will have to return to the negotiating table as they have had to do on every previous occasion when they walked away.

Published July 12, 2014



John Bruton puts Easter 1916 in its place

johnbruton.jpg Commemorations by the establishment seek to provide us with history not as it was, but as they would prefer it to have been.

Published July 5, 2014



Spectacular intellectual gymnastics and the Guildford 4

guildfordfour.jpg The responsibility for the detention and incarceration of many innocent people in England and in Ireland rests absolutely with the various police forces and judicial and political system.

Published June 28, 2014



Irish government has abdicated responsibility

gilmorevilliers.jpg You may not have noticed, because the Irish and British governments have been denying it, but something has gone seriously wrong with the British-Irish joint approach to the north.

Published June 21, 2014



People power pushed Sinn Fein to the top

mcguinnessadamselection.jpg Sinn Fein’s performance in the nationwide election a few weeks ago was not only stunning for the party it was a personal triumph of unprecedented proportions for Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.

Published June 14, 2014



A scandal of church and state

massgrave.jpg The revelations of the mass grave of babies in Tuam is horrifying and the Taoiseach must launch a full-scale national inquiry, writes Susan Lohan, co-founder of the Adoption Rights Alliance.

Published June 7, 2014



Government given notice to quit

gilmoreresignslabour.jpg The Fine Gael/Labour government is in crisis. The election results of recent days confirm this. They have been effectively given a notice to quit by the electorate.

Published May 31, 2014



Watch the DUP take a hard right to outdo the TUV

jimallister2.jpg Allister is now a player. He can't be ignored in any attempt to create a unionist pact for the 2015 general election.

Published May 31, 2014



Bereaved have been fobbed off to conceal difficult truths

highcourt.jpg A landmark High Court ruling that the relatives of six men are to be awarded compensation for lengthy delays in holding inquests gives hope to countless others in similar situations.

Published May 22, 2014



Oh for someone with the guts to tackle the past

truthcommissioner.jpg Painful though it is to admit it, the only politician talking sense over the past week was Peter Hain.

Published May 10, 2014



Double standards at play in Gerry Adams arrest

jeanmcconvillejoanconnolly.jpg Despite a flagrant attempt to draw a line under investigations into state terror, Britain reserves the power to prosecute republicans and loyalists as the needs of the ‘peace process’ dictate.

Published May 3, 2014



On meeting monarchy

jamesconnollybig.jpg It is obviously a matter for Sinn Fein who they meet but from the outside this looks like another ‘leadership initiative’ which has nothing to do with improving the material conditions of the working class or advancing towards the Republic.

Published April 11, 2014



Culture of entitlement

kerinsout.jpg Angela Kerins has finally resigned as the CEO of Rehab in a scandal over the salaries and bonuses paid to her and other senior executives of the charity for the disabled, but those left behind must pick up the pieces.

Published April 5, 2014



Can we defeat this injustice?

ivorbellgerryadams1985.jpg With one stroke the crown has muted the Westminster outcry over its bartered OTR immunity certificates, placated unionist adherents and sent a sinister warning to potential independent republican candidates or campaigners.

Published March 29, 2014



Robinson hedged threat with sufficient waffle

obinsondowney.jpg Peter Robinson’s resignation threat shows what a savage blow the failure of the prosecution of John Downey has dealt to the political process in the north.

Published March 1, 2014



The Power of Orange Knickers

gregorycampbellflat.jpg Why doesn’t Gregory Campbell launch a campaign to lift The Power of Orange Knickers up the charts? This would be a more apt and less risible response to the success of Glasgow Celtic supporters in pushing The Roll of Honour into the BBC’s chart show.

Published February 21, 2014



Fathach á mhúscailt – Lá Mór na Gaeilge

lamornagaeilge.jpg A major protest against the erosion of the Irish language and the rights of Irish speakers takes place at 2pm later today [Saturday] at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin. An article on ‘Lá Mór na Gaeilge’ by Tomaí Ó Conghaile, editor of NÓS

Published February 15, 2014



Ireland’s Nelson Mandela

bobbysandsmuralbig.jpg After Mandela’s death, remembrance of his struggle against the state oppression of his people reminds us of Bobby Sands, another human rights defender, who fought for the same goals in Ireland.

Published January 31, 2014



Civil rights reversed

releasemartincorey.jpg Without any doubt, the release from prison of Lurgan man Martin Corey will be welcomed by all persons with an interest in justice.

Published January 25, 2014



The DUP truth will come out

dupfeud.jpg While it’s great fun watching the lying and deceit, the accusations and acrimony, what you have to understand is that the putsch against Ian Paisley in 2008 had a political purpose,

Published January 25, 2014



Ulster Says NO to Haass

haassfailure.jpg Irish Republicans have stretched ourselves in the negotiations and we are up for the challenge the Haass proposals contain, writes Gerry Adams.

Published January 17, 2014



Lead by example

reaveybrothers.jpg Official calls are constantly being made by government figures including David Cameron for a resolution of the past here. But they themselves by their inaction are preventing the very resolution that they are demanding.

Published January 11, 2014



A united response is the only option

internmentprotest.jpg As families and friends gathered for a Christmas vigil in protest at internment, the Republican Network for Unity released this commentary on the situation.

Published December 28, 2013



Equality versus justice

equalityjusticewords.jpg The PSNI and the HET have vested interests concerning what the State did during the conflict, and are perpetuating the legacy and culture of State impunity.

Published December 20, 2013



Mandela tributes full of political revisionism

mandelacameron.jpg It's interesting to compare people's comments on bomb attacks by different organisations.

Published December 14, 2013



Media’s abuse of power and Sinn Fein leader must end

gerryadamsbig.jpg Few other political leaders in this country or indeed in Britain have been scrutinised to the same degree of bias as Gerry Adams.

Published December 6, 2013



British Army stupidity increased IRA support

hillmanbullets.jpg By how long did the dishonest, sneaky, secretive unjust behaviour of the MoD prolong the conflict?

Published November 15, 2013



Ireland’s sovereignty will stay lost after the bailout

endakennydail2.jpg The promise by Enda Kenny that the 26-County state is on course to “retrieve our economic sovereignty and independence”. is an illusion.

Published November 8, 2013



The new criminalisation agenda

begleyplaque.jpg Sean Bresnahan warns that an attempt is being made to rewrite history, with some victims of the conflict being targeted and discriminated against, even in death. For the Pensive Quill.

Published November 1, 2013



An assertion of autonomy

joebrolly.jpg A look at the controversy over comments by sports commentator Joe Brolly in defence of nationalist communities who name facilities after hunger strikers and other republican heroes.

Published October 25, 2013



Vulnerable and poor targeted again

kennyfinegael.jpg They targeted the vulnerable again: women with babies, the vulnerable elderly, the vulnerable youth, poor people dependent on prescriptions.

Published October 18, 2013



A workable political process?

robinsonmcguinnessdocument.jpg It will be sad and a major setback if 5000 jobs are not realised and 300 million pounds in investment lost. More important than Peter Robinson reneging on the MLK [Maze/Long Kesh] project, is what his decision symbolises.

Published October 11, 2013



Unionist threat to use violence nothing new

uvfmural.jpg Sinn Fein spokesmen have been queuing up to express disappointment at what they complain is a lack of unionist leadership. Where have they been?

Published October 11, 2013



Hierarchy of victims debate diminishes us all

stormontbig.jpg There has been much exploitation and manipulation of people bereaved and injured in our conflict - playing on emotions and grief for political capital.

Published October 4, 2013



How not to vote in the Seanad referendum

referendumdecision.jpg The temptation to spoil the ballot in today’s 26 County referendum on Seanad abolition is understandable.

Published October 4, 2013



Vote YES - Abolish the Seanad

abolishseanad.jpg Gerry Adams writes on the referendum next weekend to abolish the upper chamber of the Dublin parliament, the Seanad.

Published September 27, 2013



Gilmore’s vacuous talk suits his invisible role

eamongilmorebig.jpg Eamon Gilmore made a speech in Cambridge at the weekend to the British-Irish association. It made depressing reading for a number of reasons.

Published September 20, 2013



Bloody Sunday secrets taken to the grave

edwardloden.jpg The death last week of retired British army officer Edward Loden - murdered by intruders at his son’s home in Nairobi - means that we may never fully know how or on whose instructions the initial cover-up of the Bloody Sunday killings was organised.

Published September 13, 2013



Time for the DUP to know that actions have consequences

peterrobinsonbig.jpg Why did Peter Robinson, and him in Florida, send a letter that threatens the very existence of the Stormont institutions?

Published September 6, 2013



Haass should know who he’s dealing with

richardhaassbig.jpg In traditional unionist fashion the DUP has ridden the past year's wave of violence to hold back progress.

Published August 30, 2013



Unionist mindset same as in 1968

loyalistrioterwoman.jpg When you strip it down to fundamentals, last weekend demonstrated exactly the same unionist attitudes and mindset as they held in 1968.

Published August 17, 2013



Laying claim to the Volunteers of Tyrone

westtyronememorial.jpg An article by Sean Bresnahan on the upcoming Tyrone event to commemorate two IRA volunteers who died in 1973.

Published August 9, 2013



Anniversary of Internment 2013

internment.jpg Internment or Detention Without Trial is nothing new to Irish people and has been used every few decades throughout our Nation’s occupation.

Published August 2, 2013



Why an impunity inquiry is needed

politiciansbusinessmontage.jpg As Ireland’s only corruption trial collapsed this week with a businessman and three implicated councillors cleared, Fintan O’Toole explains why an inquiry is needed into why a regime of impunity on corruption and fraud persists in the 26 County state.

Published July 26, 2013



Orange Order’s day of reckoning has come

loyalistwatercannon.jpg When Richard Haass arrives to try to square the circle he will need to realise that the only way to bring the Orange Order to heel is to hit them where it hurts - in their pockets.

Published July 19, 2013



The neglected commemoration of the 1913 Dublin lockout

jimlarkinbig.jpg Commentators and media are already looking toward the centenary of the 1916 Rising, but there has been much less comment so far on the centenary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout.

Published July 12, 2013



A tale of two enclaves

suffolk.jpg For understandable reasons most of the publicity about petrol bombs flying over interface fencing is focused on east Belfast’s Short Strand. It’s not the only place where there is tension, of course.

Published July 5, 2013



The accused

livingstonemcintyre.jpg The worm has turned and ‘Big Liv’ stands vindicated, able to point the finger at those who conspired to unjustly secure a worthless conviction.

Published June 28, 2013



Immoral diplomacy

g8putincameronobama.jpg Anyone who believes David Cameron that he chose an island outside Enniskillen in an island called Ireland to stage the G8 had only to listen to PSNI chief superintendent Alan McCrum who said Enniskillen is really hard to get to.

Published June 21, 2013



Why we must protest

brianleeson.jpg By hosting the G8 summit in occupied Ireland, the British government are attempting to portray our country as a peaceful colony – a success story for modern day capitalism and imperialism.

Published June 14, 2013



SDLP’s uncertainty principle is baffling

alasdairmcdonnellbig.jpg What you’ve watched in the last fortnight is the political equivalent of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle in physics.

Published June 7, 2013



Politicians need to grow up

alanshattercar.jpg A look at Dáil politics in a week in which 26-County Justice Minister Alan Shatter survived a motion of no confidence, despite a lingering controversy over low-level Garda corruption and the news that he was permitted to pass through a Garda checkpoint after failing to provide a sample of his breath.

Published May 31, 2013



Two years interned - no British justice

marianpriceposter2.jpg This week marks the entry into the third year Marian Price is interned without trial and is incarcerated on the word of a British Secretary of State.

Published May 24, 2013



Force feeding in Guantanamo Bay

guantanamobig.jpg Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams on reports that hunger strikers have been hospitalised and are being force-fed at Guantanamo Bay.

Published May 17, 2013



Brazen exhibition of political charlatanry

robinsonmcguinnessdocument.jpg The ten-year plan for tackling sectarian divisions in the North presented last week by the First and Deputy First Ministers was a 'snow job', according to Brian Feeney.

Published May 17, 2013



Micheal Martin: a far-seeing bird?

martinbodenstown.jpg Micheal Martin reminds me of the Skibbereen Eagle. Not in appearance, more in tone and self-image.

Published April 26, 2013



Sinn Fein’s day on the national stage has come

sfaf13b.jpg Any doubts that Sinn Fein has been transformed in the past couple of years were dispelled by the weekend ard fheis in Castlebar.

Published April 19, 2013



Thatcher’s legacy in Ireland

thatcherbarmy.jpg For the people of Ireland, and especially the north, the Thatcher years were among some of the worst of the conflict.

Published April 12, 2013



Thatcher is dead: reclaim the spirit of freedom

thatcherruc.jpg The death of Margaret Thatcher will not, unfortunately, signal an end to the damaging policies she introduced and implemented in Ireland, Britain or elsewhere around the globe.

Published April 12, 2013



Parades Commission is useless and gutless

paradescommissionmembers.jpg As presently constituted the Parades Commission is entirely unrepresentative of the nationalist community or indeed of the Catholic community.

Published April 5, 2013



Another one interned by decree

damianmclaughlinflat.jpg Alec McCrory writes on the latest in a series of British state measures which are directed towards republicans and pose a significant threat to civil liberties.

Published March 29, 2013



Protests flagged up demographic change

sadflag.jpg Is there something deeper driving the ‘fleg protests’, the road blocks, forlorn handfuls shivering along white lines, the traipsing in and out to Belfast City Hall?

Published March 22, 2013



Smiles in Brazil an expensive charade

braziljunket2.jpg Everyone here and a lot of people in Brazil know Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson are conducting a charade at vast public expense.

Published March 15, 2013



Robinson is out of touch

peterrobinsonbig.jpg Far from thinking that the flag protesters are being mistreated most people believe up until the last week they have been treated with kid gloves.

Published March 8, 2013



Repression shaped our passive society

industrialschoolplaque.jpg A temptation newspaper columnists should avoid is the urge to make links between different stories simply because they happen to be in the air at the same time. But here goes anyway.

Published March 1, 2013



Baggott’s approach is based on false premise

mattbaggottbig2.jpg It's widely accepted that the chaos on the streets of greater Belfast from December through most of February was mainly due to the failure of policing policy.

Published March 1, 2013



From Lord Edward to TV Mike

mikenesbittbig.jpg The mighty party Edward Carson once led with iron-fisted certitude is now stumbling, drunkenly towards an inglorious end.

Published February 22, 2013



Never going away

frankstagg.png I love St Valentine’s Day. But with it comes sad memories, especially of the year 1976.

Published February 15, 2013



Search for truth passes to a new generation

newlodgesix.jpg A look back at New Lodge Six massacre on the fortieth anniversary of their killing and a look ahead.

Published February 8, 2013



Flawed approach storing up trouble for summer

baggottgunman.jpg The PSNI is becoming too cosy with unionist paramilitaries.

Published January 25, 2013



Robinson setting clock back with forum strategy

udarobinsonforum.jpg The unionist forum was devised as a stop-gap, a talking shop, a cynical ploy to try to take the heat out of the commotion on the streets. In that respect it has already failed as it was bound to. In other respects it has set the clock back.

Published January 18, 2013



A flag solution will not relieve loyalist anxieties

markhaddockbig.jpg Ongoing investigations into the UVF mean that even if some solution is found for the flag protests, disturbances will not end in loyalist districts which the UVF control.

Published January 11, 2013



Calls for full dialogue falling on deaf ears

peterrobinsonbig.jpg 2012 again saw the dialogue of the deaf at Stormont, and all the evidence suggests 2013 won’t be any different.

Published December 28, 2012



The only credible action is a public inquiry

thatcher.jpg There were several, simultaneous, overlapping and complementary conspiracies which taken together inescapably amount to ‘an overarching state conspiracy in the murder of citizens through collusion’, one of whom was Pat Finucane.

Published December 21, 2012



Change comes dropping slow. Oh so slow.

nosurrenderwoman.jpg Most shameful of all is that disorder arose because nationalists and republicans engaged in a democratic act of decision-making.

Published December 14, 2012



Catholic tide can’t be held back

loyalistsbig.jpg Falling below the 50 per cent figure was a staggering psychological shock for unionists, many of whom still have it fixed in their head that they amount to two thirds of the north’s population.

Published December 14, 2012



Long history of unionist domination

BCHunionjackdown.jpg It took nearly one hundred years for democracy and equality to arrive in Belfast City Hall in Ireland’s second largest city, writes Jim Gibney.

Published December 7, 2012



Another issue flying in the face of change

unionjackcityhall.jpg The present kerfuffle about flying the Union flag over Belfast City Hall is a reminder of how long it takes to change anything and of the obstacles in the way of change.

Published November 30, 2012



Only fascists would force others to wear a poppy

jamesmccleanbig.jpg The annual poppy police hysteria kicked off again this week with the hunt on to find someone who caused offence - not by what they did but what they didn't do.

Published November 16, 2012



Border poll distracts us from serious debate

borderpost.jpg Unionists are scared stiff of even talking about a border poll because it immediately throws up a series of unwelcome questions.

Published November 9, 2012



Baggott must rein in the securocrat cabal

mattbaggottbig.jpg The arrest, charging and detention of leading republican Padraic Wilson will not advance by one millimetre the objective of bringing justice to the McCartney family for the killing of their brother Robert.

Published November 9, 2012



Wrong Tone

martinbodenstown.jpg It would be useful if in the process of shaking off its recent past, rebranding and reviving Fianna Fáil, whether as the republican party or the party of a new form of republicanism, that Mr Martin would go beyond old platitudes.

Published October 26, 2012



A border poll is the next step

gerryadamsbig.jpg A little bit of history was made in the Seanad chamber in Leinster House last Friday.

Published October 19, 2012



Irish solution has been to make most vulnerable pay

irelandicelandincomes.jpg The response to the crisis in the 26 County economy has been a relentless assault on the disadvantaged, accompanied by protestations by the government of the day that everything possible is being done to protect the vulnerable.

Published October 12, 2012



The internment of Alan Lundy was a statement of intent

alanlundy.jpg A north Belfast republican activist who was arrested and twice refused bail on an unsubstantiated charge of rioting early this summer, was finally released on bail this week. A commentary from Sean MacDiarmada (1916 Society Ard Eoin).

Published October 5, 2012



No wonder Orders laugh at Commission Rulings

paradescommissionmembers.jpg Why should any of the predominantly paramilitary-linked bands that the so-called loyal orders swagger along behind pay any attention to the Parades Commission?

Published October 5, 2012



A visit to Gerry McGeough

gerrymcgeoughbig.jpg Independent councillor Angela Nelson reports on her visit to Maghaberry jail to visit protesting republican internee, Gerry McGeough.

Published September 28, 2012



Rewriting past won't solve political woes

peterrobinsongun.jpg A resolution asking the Dublin government to apologise for its role in the early days of the conflict is a unionist ploy to distract attention from the real issues.

Published September 21, 2012



Support Marian Price

marianpricerallyposter.jpg A major rally for interned republican activist Marian Price takes place this Saturday [tomorrow] in Dublin. Writing this week, Eamonn McCann said that the era when Irish republicans were imprisoned in British jails without due process is supposed to be history -- but some want to turn the clock back.

Published September 14, 2012



Futility of restrictions paraded for all to see

stpatricksrpbpriest.jpg Again and again bands have flouted Parades Commission rulings by playing prohibited music, by playing at prohibited places, by flying prohibited flags and much else besides, and what? The same band does the same thing the next year, and what?

Published September 7, 2012



SF needs to step up in marching debate

psniloudhailerycv.jpg Unionists ‘politicians’ knew they hadn’t a leg to stand on when they encouraged people to ignore the Parade Commission’s determination and break the law.

Published August 31, 2012



A new march for civil rights

civilrightsmarch2012.jpg It is beyond belief that nearly all the injustices and denial of people’s rights still exist today in 2012 and that we have to march again for the same rights.

Published August 24, 2012



The unified resistance

iramasks.jpg A look at last week’s announcement of a regrouped IRA by Aphex Acid of the UCD Discussion group, the Frank Ryan society.

Published August 3, 2012



The merger of physical force republicans

newiragraffiti.jpg A different take on last week’s announcement, by socialist republican Tommy McKearney.

Published August 3, 2012



Martin McGuinness missed an opportunity

jubileegraffiti.jpg Activist Tommy McKearney argues that by refusing to meet the English queen, Martin McGuinness missed an opportunity to not only explain a republican position but also raise questions about the very nature of the British monarchy.

Published July 27, 2012



The Twelfth

ardoyneplastic.jpg A resident’s analysis of events in north Belfast this week.

Published July 20, 2012



Price and Corey prisoners of MI5-spun web of deceit

mi5securityservice.jpg The fingerprints of MI5 are all over the detention of Marian Price and Martin Corey, two former prisoners who served life sentences through the 1970s, eighties and nineties and are continuing to serve life sentences following their forcible return to prison at the direction of the British secretary of state Owen Paterson.

Published July 13, 2012



Orange Order’s sinister ploy hidden behind the charm

orangemen2.jpg This week saw the latest charm offensive launched by the Orange Order.

Published July 6, 2012



A cordial union

adams.jpg Irish republicans have frequently been prepared to take bold and historic initiatives and risks for peace to break stalemates and find agreements.

Published June 29, 2012



Bridging the gulf between compromise and abandonment

anthonymcintyre.jpg Peter Hain, the former secretary of State for the North of Ireland, has said that ‘many Republicans will see it as a betrayal.’ He is right.

Published June 29, 2012



We are all part of a bigger picture

caittrainor.jpg The address by Cait Trainor, Ard Chomhairle member to the annual RSF commemoration at Bodenstown, June 10, 2012.

Published June 15, 2012



A previous jubilee visit

silverjubileeprotest.jpg Thirty-five years ago, the silver jubilee celebrations in the north came at the height of the British government’s criminalisation, Ulsterisation and normalisation strategy.

Published June 8, 2012



Treaty a mere clause in contract yet unseen

conrtractsmallprint.jpg The fiscal treaty, as practically everyone now acknowledges, is not the new political contract that will get the European Union out of a potentially terminal crisis. It is just the penalty clause.

Published May 31, 2012



The worm is turning - Vote NO

austeritytreaty.jpg The campaign against the Austerity Treaty concludes tomorrow (May 31st) when citizens of the 26-County state go to the polls to cast their vote. Although the considered wisdom is that the Yes side will prevail, a No victory is quite possible.

Published May 31, 2012



PSNI confirm the reality of political policing

rucpsniposter.jpg Last Friday, a widely circulated PSNI press release was issued to the media hours before a number of republicans appeared at specially-convened courts the following day. That press release blew a hole in the myth of a “a new era of civic policing” in the Six Counties.

Published May 25, 2012



This treaty will force us to bail out more banks

fiscalcompactposter.jpg The public is being asked to vote for the Fiscal Treaty on Thursday May 31 on the basis of misinformation and mistruths and fear.

Published May 25, 2012



Where now for Europe?

votenoeurope.jpg Ordinary citizens understand, better than the governments of Europe and the spin doctors of austerity that you can’t cut your way out of a recession.

Published May 18, 2012



Financial contagion

smokingeuro.jpg Europe’s financial crisis has mutated into a political crisis, and its “fiscal compact” will make things worse, not better.

Published May 11, 2012



Mild manners don’t hide bigotry or revisionism

orangemenstannes.jpg It’s a mistake to assume that because someone is mild and friendly that they’re not prepared to fly in the face of historical fact if they believe it suits their purpose.

Published May 4, 2012



Silence and indifference threaten future peace

unionjacksilence.jpg Barely 15 years since the 1998 Irish peace pact was signed, the British are ignoring the law, obstructing justice and inhibiting peace.

Published April 27, 2012



A schedule for uniting ireland

gerryadamsflat.jpg While no schedule or timetable exists for Ireland to be reunited, the means by which it can be done has been agreed and a road map has been legislated for.

Published April 20, 2012



For what died the sons of Róisín?

easter1916dublin.jpg This time of year brings to mind our generations long struggle for independence.

Published April 13, 2012



Household tax revolt the price of austerity

austerityprotestor.jpg No government can impose a tax in the long term with which 40-50 per cent don’t subscribe.

Published April 6, 2012



The Ulster Unionists and the Orange Order

diamonddan.jpg The latest reminder of where the Orange Order are headed comes in the form of Danny Kennedy’s decision to duck out of the Ulster Unionist leadership contest.

Published March 30, 2012



Spare us the act

martinahern.jpg Spare us your indignation, Micheál Martin. Button your disgust, Fianna Fáil. We don’t want to hear it. You had your chance and you chose to do nothing. So don’t pretend to be shocked now.

Published March 23, 2012



Adams must spell out what he means

irelandmapstricolour.jpg What does Gerry Adams mean by a united Ireland? People have a right to know what they're voting for.

Published March 16, 2012



Why we shouldn’t hold our breath

jigsawhandshake.jpg Republicans have been saying for years now that they’re sorry the conflict happened, that life was lost. That’s not the same as saying they think their armed campaign was a mistake.

Published March 9, 2012



Bereaved need review of bookie’s massacre

ormeauroadreport.jpg At the heart of a new report on the massacre by the UDA/UFF at the Sean Graham bookmaker’s shop on Belfast’s Ormeau Road 20 years is the deadly story of a consignment of weapons that travelled from South Africa to Belfast in 1987.

Published February 24, 2012



Getting Gerry Adams

normanbaxter.jpg Former RUC and PSNI Detective Chief Superintendant Norman Baxter may find policing in Kabul these days more congenial than policing in Belfast.

Published February 17, 2012



Long to reign over us?

queenflat.jpg Martin McGuinness may have annoyed a few people this week. And made a few others nervous. And mildly pleased a few more. Odd, how the same action can provoke such a range of reactions, isn’t it?

Published February 10, 2012



A real cop-out

disbandrucgraffiti.jpg What the PSNI management has done is to subvert both the objective and the spirit of the Patten reforms and they've been doing it for years.

Published February 10, 2012



The moral hijacking of Bloody Sunday

bloodysundayvictims.jpg On the 40th anniversary of the paratroopers’ massacre in Derry, it is remarkable how much Britain has exploited this event to its advantage.

Published February 3, 2012



No Oscars for Margaret Thatcher’s Irish legacy

margaretthatcher.jpg The recent publication of British government papers from 1981 have reminded many people of the negative role played by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at that time.

Published January 27, 2012



Unionists most to gain in Scottish ‘devo max’

scotlandmap.jpg It is going to happen. Slowly, slowly catchee monkee. Just watch Alex Salmond walking the naive and intemperate Cameran into his elephant trap.

Published January 20, 2012



Enough generalities

victimeye.jpg It's a long way from the Village area of Belfast to Stormont, but two simple actions would help considerably to tackle sectarianism.

Published January 13, 2012



Thatcher’s stance shown to be intransigent, duplicitous

margaretthatcher.jpg Papers released under the 30-year rule reveal a prime minister refusing to deal with the substance of the Irish prison protests, writes Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams TD.

Published January 6, 2012



NIO unionists vetoed hunger strike deal

hungerstikecoffin.jpg The recently-released British state papers from 1981 are certainly not infallible nor full accounts, but they do reveal the mindset that the prisoners, their families and supporters had to overcome.

Published January 6, 2012



All changed utterly in electoral revolution

2011.jpg A remarkable year in politics north and south - remarkable not least because for once there was more ‘Sturm und Drang’ south of the border than north of it.

Published December 30, 2011



Detention of pardoned Price an abuse of power

marianpriceposter.jpg The slogan says ’Free Marion Price’. Tens of thousands of motorists see it every day. It’s doubtful if any of them pay any attention. They should.

Published December 23, 2011



Free Marian Price now

marianpriceaddress.jpg The continuing imprisonment of Marian Price in Maghaberry is a scandal and would be seen more widely in this light were it not for her politics.

Published December 16, 2011



DUP bluster can’t stop SF’s winds of change

belfastcityhall.jpg Belfast’s Lord Mayor Niall O Donnghaile has done more in his six months in office to promote peace and reconciliation between the citizens of Belfast than his unionist critics have done in a lifetime.

Published December 9, 2011



Important work ahead for the Irish diaspora

diaspora.jpg The Irish scattered around the world have a vital contribution to make as we seek to reshape and re-imagine Ireland in the 21st century.

Published December 2, 2011



An opportunity missed, or thrown away?

aras11resultsf.jpg Now that the dust has settled on the election of the ninth President of Ireland, it is time to look back on the positives and negatives of that campaign for Irish republicans.

Published November 25, 2011



Partisan poppy serves to exclude nationalists

poppyfascism.jpg The decision by the new leader of the SDLP, Alasdair McDonnell, not to wear a poppy on Remembrance Sunday will be welcomed by the vast majority of northern nationalists.

Published November 17, 2011



President promoted a new inclusive Ireland

marymcaleese.jpg It was entirely consistent with President Mary McAleese’s 14 years as president of Ireland that one of her last engagements was to open a gallery named after the Falls Road-born painter Gerard Dillon in Belfast’s Culturlann.

Published November 10, 2011



Reflections on an election

martincmcguinness.jpg Martin McGuinness is a trail blazer. That much must be clear. Even to his detractors.

Published November 3, 2011



All go at Gallagher

higginsmcguinnessgallagher.jpg Gallagher is part of the Fianna Fail machine even if the tracks of his party membership have been covered with a floor mat upon the face of which ‘independent’ is brightly stencilled.

Published October 26, 2011



An absence of decency

camerondowningst.jpg At the very least you would have expected Cameron to reflect in his attitude and demeanour the reality that in front of him was a grieving family whose father and husband was killed by those in the British government's pay.

Published October 20, 2011



The past and the present

mckeownmcintyre.jpg Two contrasting views about how republicans can attempt to come to terms with political change.

Published October 14, 2011



Hypocrites’ house of cards risks collapse

seanmaceoin.jpg A carefully constructed a narrative about the origins of the 26-County state is being challenged.

Published October 7, 2011



Ireland owes much to the IRA’s willingness to fight

armaira.jpg The IRA is an intrinsic part of this nation’s history; of its political evolution.

Published September 30, 2011



Sinn Fein can displace Fianna Fail

michealmartingerryadams.jpg The events of the past week suggest the party is over for Fianna Fail.

Published September 24, 2011



The peoples’ president

mcguinnessforpres.jpg Martin McGuinness has been my friend for almost 40 years. He is a remarkable and gifted human being and a great leader and a patriot. It will be a great honour for me to propose Martin McGuinness to contest Presidential election on a broad, republican, citizen-centred platform. He will make an excellent President of Ireland.

Published September 18, 2011



Loathing and absence in Belfast Crown Court

supergrassmask.jpg To risk being pedantic: if no other good comes from the supergrass trial that began in Belfast yesterday, at least the practice of referring to informers as ‘informants’ will have been dropped.

Published September 11, 2011



Every day Hutchinson hangs on does damage

ombudsmanlogo.jpg The question is, why is he still there? After two official reports tore to shreds his management of the Police Ombudsman’s Office and its core functions and exposed the shambles that the office has been for the past two years, Al Hutchinson should have been booted out immediately.

Published September 11, 2011



Citizens trapped in a two-state nightmare

hospitaltrolleys.jpg The people of the 26-County State seem dazed and confused, unable to come to terms with what is happening to them, writes Fintan O’Toole

Published September 6, 2011



The return to internment

internmentposter.jpg A British cabinet minister has appointed a secret commission with the power to revoke the parole of political prisoners just for being accused.

Published August 30, 2011



Vengeful, vindictive, violent

brendanlillishospital.jpg Without street pressure and political lobbying the Justice Ministry would have kept Brendan Lillis hidden deep within the bowels of the British penal establishment.

Published August 24, 2011



Riot response driven by right-wing agenda

camerondowningst.jpg As the figure for arrests heads towards 3,000 and the British media follow the progress through the courts of the people charged, David Cameron has seized on the rioting, murder and arson as a golden opportunity to advance his personal agenda.

Published August 19, 2011



Bridge of Sighs

lillisprotestdrogheda.jpg To the extent that the British move at all it is invariably sideways. In dealing with prisoners their attitude has always been one of ‘as late as, as little as.’

Published August 13, 2011



On the bridge of peace

lillisprotest.jpg In recent days, largely as a result of the persistence of his indefatigable partner Roisin, the case of Brendan Lillis has at last managed to break into the mainstream media.

Published July 24, 2011



PSNI pawns in grant application game

psniuvf.jpg The distinction between ‘legal’ union flags and ‘illegal’ loyalist flags, as raised by the Ballyclare riots, is a pure Orange herring.

Published July 19, 2011



Running out of time

brendanlillisposter.jpg The humanitarian grounds for releasing Brendan Lillis far outweigh the political considerations that are feeding into his ongoing imprisonment.

Published July 19, 2011



Pumping up the volume

marianpriceflat.jpg The ongoing detention of the republican activist Marian Price two months after her arrest raises serious concerns about how life sentence licenses are being used as a weapon of political policing.

Published July 14, 2011



Sinn Fein, wreath-laying and the unionist response

cenotaphodonnghaile.jpg On Saturday, the Sinn Fein Lord Mayor of Belfast laid a laurel wreath at the City Hall cenotaph, to the annoyance of unionists.

Published July 8, 2011



Sinister forces still at work

uvf.jpg No-one in any part of the political or police system should take peace for granted.

Published July 3, 2011



Where was Special Branch in Loughinisland massacre?

alhutchinson.jpg If the Police Ombudsman’s report into the McGurk’s Bar attrocity highlighted his reluctance to grapple with collusion, his report into Loughinisland is startling by its absence of another crucial piece of the picture: the role of Special Branch both before and after the massacre.

Published June 27, 2011



Debt freakshow run by phoney lion tamers

ponzicircus.jpg This week, the Government marked 100 days in office and zero days in power.

Published June 22, 2011



Republican ex-prisoners not second-class citizens

mcardletravers.jpg The joint first minister Martin McGuinness was absolutely right when he said that his heart went out to the Travers family over the IRA killing of their daughter Mary but that he could not agree with Ann Travers when she called for Mary McArdle to be removed as a special adviser to minister Caral Ni Chuilin.

Published June 12, 2011



What do governments fear most? They fear us

wikileaks.jpg The establishment's efforts to censor and spin the Wikileaks cables relating to Ireland have been unprecedented. Harry Browne (for Counterpunch) looks at how a torrent of information on US involvement in Irish politics became a trickle.

Published June 6, 2011



Mayor is the product of community’s resistance

mayordonnghaile.jpg When I first heard the news that Sinn Fein councillor Niall O’Donnghaile was elected Mayor of Belfast, the word that struck me immediately was “homecoming”.

Published June 6, 2011



The day eirigi saved Dublin

queenprotest.jpg The ‘Dublin Lockdown of 2011’ didn’t go unnoticed by that city’s citizens, but was notable for how casually it was imposed.

Published May 30, 2011



A bad week for Irish journalism

tricolourbinned.jpg Now that the Windsor visit is over, what are the benefits and what exactly has changed as a result?

Published May 24, 2011



Building a better future

queenvisitflags.jpg The visit by the Queen of England to this part of Ireland has to be seen as part of a journey.

Published May 24, 2011



Commentators strike a geyser

queenconvoydublin.jpg I'm not a man readily given to exclamation marks but WHAT A GUSHFEST!

Published May 20, 2011



IRA founder condemns Adams/McGuinness leadership

billymckee.jpg The first leader of the Provisional IRA, Billy McKee, has strongly criticised the current Sinn Fein leadership in an open letter.

Published May 17, 2011



Thirty years on, Bobby Sands’s stature has only grown

bobbysandselection.jpg Over a period of seven months nine other men followed Bobby, dying on a hunger strike that Thatcher described as “the IRA’s last card”. How wrong she was.

Published May 5, 2011



The flame of freedom

1916poster.jpg This year Irish republicans mark 95 years since the Easter Rising. It is also the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike. Each event was a seminal moment in the struggle for Irish freedom, and each changed the course of Irish history for the better.

Published April 30, 2011



Two failed states, one big problem

partition.jpg There are now two political elites in Ireland and two dysfunctional regimes in the statelets they claim the right to govern.

Published April 25, 2011



Republican vision still valid

1916drawing.jpg On Easter Sunday all over Ireland, republicans gather in tribute to those who died in Ireland’s struggle for independence. This Easter republicans have much to be proud of and much to be concerned about.

Published April 25, 2011



The Old Firm, tit for tat and Glasgow city blues

rangersceltic.jpg If it hadn't been for four or five asthma seizures, I'd probably be talking with a Glasgow accent and voting Scot Nat.

Published April 18, 2011



It’s time to stop

irelandpeacelogo.jpg Sinn Fein believes that the conditions which in the past led to republican armed actions have fundamentally changed.

Published April 13, 2011



Omagh, my town

psnifuneral.jpg On Sunday, The News of the World, Martin McGuinness and a number of others politicians said the people who killed young Kerr were completely out of touch with reality. It depends on how you see reality.

Published April 8, 2011



Bombing Omagh

ronankerr.jpg The death of a PSNI member will be a source of consolation to only the fundamentalist few.

Published April 4, 2011



To impunity and beyond

bendunne.jpg The most potent force for revelation in Irish politics is the man whom Charles Haughey, with all the emotion conjured by the receipt of huge bank drafts, affectionately called “Big Fella”, Ben Dunne.

Published March 29, 2011



SF photocall shows its a party without borders

sftdsnmlas2.jpg There was powerful symbolism when Sinn Fein brought together the party’s TDs and MLAs at Stormont this week.

Published March 25, 2011



My name is Jude, and I’m a wrong-thinker

nothinking.jpg I wish I wasn’t but I’m afraid I am. Twist and turn, duck and weave, in the end the brutal truth confronts me: I am a wrong-thinking person. How do I know? Because when people start a sentence with “All right-thinking people will...” I end up disagreeing with them.

Published March 21, 2011



The Tribulations of Brendan Lillis

brendylillis.jpg The Life Sentence Review Board is said to consider the case of Brendan Lillis on the 22nd of March. If it fails to act humanely and release him the West Belfast man may well end his days in prison.

Published March 16, 2011



When oppressed overcome fear it doesn’t come back

clenchedfist.jpg When I see popular uprisings like those that have been happening across the Middle East over the last month I am brought back in time to my teenage years and the streets of Belfast circa 1968.

Published March 10, 2011



Tipping point

sfdailteam.jpg I was never quite sure what the phrase ‘tipping point’ meant until my experience last Friday of trying to motivate people to come out and vote for Sean Crowe in the constituency of Dublin West.

Published March 6, 2011



Radical change is what we really need

endakennyelection.jpg When there’s overwhelming agreement about anything in Irish politics, it is usually wrong.

Published March 2, 2011



Two ‘outsiders’

ballotpaperimf.jpg You don’t normally hear opponents come out and say “We don’t like you, Adams – you’re from the north”. It’s more often slipped in obliquely.

Published February 25, 2011



Poll could turn out to be electoral revolution

canvasadams.jpg This election is like no other in living memory.

Published February 21, 2011



One small island

ballotbox.jpg The last exodus prompted a campaign for emigrant voting rights in the 1990s. The same is happening again.

Published February 15, 2011



The fight-back is just beginning

revolution.jpg The general election in the Twenty-Six Counties is being fought against the backdrop of two momentous events: the greatest economic crisis to face the statelet since its foundation, and the surrendering of what was left of economic sovereignty to the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

Published February 15, 2011



Representative policing?

psnibadge.jpg The phasing out of 50:50 recruitment provisions would reduce the number of Catholics joining the PSNI and impact badly on the need to ensure that the PSNI reflects the society it polices.

Published February 11, 2011



How the Markets fell in love with Prince Charles

charlesthrone.jpg Sometimes I feel ashamed to be a Catholic and one such occasion happened last week.

Published February 7, 2011



Bombers unite community

trenchwarfare.jpg There are still individuals stuck in the trench in Belfast.

Published February 2, 2011



No civil rights without national rights

freederrysunday.jpg The narrative of an out-of-control regiment running amok might have more credibility if Bloody Sunday was an isolated incident.

Published January 29, 2011



Political pantomime now a circus of despair

joanburtonfinance.jpg It’s almost impossible to know where to begin any commentary this week - the Dail circus may see a few more surreal performances before the citizens finally move in and close it down.

Published January 25, 2011



Fianna Fail split down the middle by dithering

fiannafaillogo.jpg There’s an eerie congruence between Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown.

Published January 21, 2011



The end of Fianna Fail?

The final session of the 30th Dail began with further indignity being piled on the head of a dying government.

Published January 13, 2011



Adams didn’t trade lives for votes

hungerstrikers.jpg How could Gerry Adams have known what mileage there was in the electoral route for republicans?

Published January 9, 2011



The Tragedy of 1980

blanketman.jpg The state papers of most interest to me concern the build-up to the 1980 hunger strike, the communications within government and agencies during it, and whether the republican leadership’s analysis and depiction of what was happening has subsequently proved correct

Published January 4, 2011



Has anything really changed?

2010.jpg As 2010 draws to a close, has it been a momentous year for Irish Republicans in the Occupied Six Counties, or is it more of the same?

Published December 29, 2010



Tell us the truth about Pat Finucane

finucaneprotestor.jpg For real reconciliation, we need acknowledgement of British security services’ relationship with loyalism during the conflict

Published December 21, 2010



The appalling vista of two elections

ballotbox.jpg Any day now I’m expecting to see a headline saying ‘Kitchen sink narrowly misses Gerry Adams’.

Published December 17, 2010



A new type of politics

gerryadamsflat.jpg The general election, when it comes, will be the most important in recent decades.

Published December 14, 2010



UUP looks like its about to self-destruct

uuplogo.jpg Tom Elliott supplied the denial headline without even the public accusation - “Elliott denies he’s a political dinosaur,”.

Published December 10, 2010



National debasement disguised as a rescue plan

coweneu.jpg The Programme of Financial Support for Ireland will be subject to three-month reviews “of conditionality”, observance of “quantitative performance criteria” and “respect for EU Council decisions and recommendations”.

Published December 7, 2010



Donegal may be start of much greater upheaval

It is too early to estimate the size of the earthquake on the political Richter scale but suffice to say in its wake it has upended a political system that is now sitting on the edge of the precipice and could topple any minute.

Published December 3, 2010



Scale of the catastrophe has not hit us yet

ajaichopra.jpg We didn’t need Ajai Chopra, our IMF minder, to tell the junta (ie, what is left of the Government) and the mandarins that the “sensible” solution to our crisis was to inflict further misery on those already victimised by the policies of the junta and the mandarins.

Published November 26, 2010



Government’s destruction of Ireland is complete

cowenlenihanbanks.jpg The spin, the lies, the denials, the delusions, the conceit and the arrogance added insult to ignominy.

Published November 22, 2010



The declaration of dependence

proclamation.jpg A satire on the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic in response to the arrival in Dublin this week of IMF and ECB officials.

Published November 19, 2010



Running in Louth: how big a gamble?

adamselectionposter.jpg In retrospect, it was an obvious move. So obvious that none of the pundits even sniffed it

Published November 16, 2010



Austerity plan must be resisted

euausterity.jpg The Dublin government last week published its much anticipated declaration of war on the working class.

Published November 12, 2010



Moving the money around

sterlingmoney.jpg The problem of unbalance in the North's economy was not one of inability or “troubles”, it was one of a British policy of inhibiting local initiative and filling up the gaps - for stability’s sake.

Published November 8, 2010



Harney deserving of special shame

maryharney.jpg Step forward Mary Harney, to a position of lonely eminence: the worse tanaiste ever.

Published November 5, 2010



A timetable for withdrawal

troopsoutposter.jpg Fergal Moore sets out the approach of Republican Sinn Féin to the possibility of talks with the British Government.

Published November 1, 2010



Free Conor Casey

smashinternmentposter.jpg The recent internment of Conor Casey at the behest of the British establishment is nothing short of a disgrace.

Published October 28, 2010



For your community – act now

margaretthatcher.jpg That, on the day an ailing Margaret Thatcher was being treated in a private hospital, British Tory chancellor George Osborne was rising at Westminster to wield his ideological axe was highly ironic.

Published October 24, 2010



Politicians content to let us wait in the dark

hole.jpg The ineptitude of our current masters is nowhere as clear as in this: they can’t even give us the illusion of control.

Published October 19, 2010



Big stars, blood relatives and one guilty silence

donalogcusack.jpg Cork sports star Donal Óg Cusack has been mooted as a possible candidate for Sinn Féin at the next electio

Published October 14, 2010



Bombing Derry

mcguinnessflat.jpg It was entirely appropriate that Martin McGuinness’s condemnation of the IRA operation came from the Tory conference.

Published October 12, 2010



Derry bomb desecrates October 5th

nicraposter.jpg It was totally inappropriate that there should be a bombing in Derry on October 5th.

Published October 8, 2010



Is there anyone else who can run the country?

cowenconfused.jpg There is a sense of apprehension now about how our country is being run that I don’t recall having witnessed before.

Published October 4, 2010



Conjuring truth from the tricks of memory

memory.jpg I have known Gerry Adams for almost forty years and there is no way would I ever enter him for a ‘Memory Man’ competition.

Published October 1, 2010



Wright Inquiry and State collusion

lordmaclean.jpg Last week’s finding that there had been no State collusion in the killing of Billy Wright said more about the unwillingness of the British authorities to come clean about their own role than about the circumstances of Mr. Wright’s death.

Published September 27, 2010



Anti-Catholic prejudice encouraged during Pope’s visit

popebenedict.jpg You would have thought the Pope represented a doctrine based on evil rather than one based on Christianity.

Published September 24, 2010



Occupied Ireland - No change

26counties.jpg Much has changed since the days of ‘81 in the occupied six counties in the North of Ireland.

Published September 20, 2010



Peace comes dropping slow

gazafuneral.jpg The Middle East peace talks, which formally opened in Washington on Thursday, have been given one year. It’s a tall order.

Published September 16, 2010



Organising the fightback against the Tory assault

cameronwestminstersunday.jpg The attack on the welfare state in the Six Counties is out in the open.

Published September 14, 2010



Ardoyne riots

tricolourriot.jpg This summer’s Belfast riots must have been the most anticipated for some time, being widely predicted throughout politics and the media.

Published September 9, 2010



Facing up to the reality of an economic nightmare

economiccliff.jpg As the country grinds to a halt, we should maintain some sense of decency and call a halt to the Anglo rescue.

Published September 6, 2010



Truth and justice for all

truthandjustice.jpg Elements in the intelligence agencies could be using a method of drip-feeding information into the media to undermine political progress.

Published September 2, 2010



Common criminals or political law-breakers?

prisonerbars.jpg There are ongoing attempts to criminalise Republicans still engaged in armed actions against the British state.

Published August 30, 2010



The framing of Gary Donnelly

garydonnellyprotest.jpg The PSNI, MI5 and PPS displayed stunning myopia in relation to this prosecution of anti-Stormont Republican Gary Donnelly.

Published August 27, 2010



How my dad was murdered by the British state

ballymurpymural.jpg Internment - indefinite imprisonment without trial - was reintroduced into the North of Ireland on August 9 1971 at 4am.

Published August 23, 2010



Prejudice must end against former political prisoners

coiste.jpg Coiste na nlarchimi is a national organisation dedicated to upholding the rights of former political prisoners and ensuring that society’s institutions do not discriminate formally or informally against ex-political prisoners.

Published August 20, 2010



Why label disillusioned Republicans as criminals?

dissidentgraffiti.jpg Those who pretend dissident Republicans are unimportant, dismiss them as criminals, ignore them or expect Sinn Fein to control them, have badly miscalculated.

Published August 16, 2010



SDLP displaced by Sinn Fein

ritchieadams.jpg You can discern a real shift in the position of the SDLP.

Published August 13, 2010



Sinn Fein grip on the ghettoes loosens

tricolourriot.jpg A number of explanations have been put forward for the sustained outbreak of rioting across the North of Ireland following the Orange marches

Published August 10, 2010



Gerald Donaghey, Saville and the nail bombs

geralddonaghey.jpg The Saville Report devotes more space to Gerald Donaghey - 17 years-old when shot dead on Bloody Sunday - than to any other individual.

Published August 6, 2010



WikiLeaks and British lies in Ireland

confidentialsecret.jpg The British army's role in the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan will come as no surprise to the people of Ireland.

Published August 2, 2010



Resolving contentious orange marches

gerryadamsflat.jpg It is the obstinate insistence by the loyal orders to march through Catholic areas, and their refusal to talk, that is at the heart of the perennial violence that marks the marching season.

Published July 26, 2010



Reflecting on Saville

bloodysundayredacted.jpg While welcoming the Saville verdict of unalloyed innocence I was dismayed by the lack of clarity in relation to the guilty.

Published July 22, 2010



Men of no property

ardoyneroadblocked.jpg No one spoke to the Ardoyne protestors to find out why they saw fit to block the road.

Published July 19, 2010



The twelfth

ardoynetwelfthmarch.jpg The Orange marching season always provides its fair share of problems.

Published July 16, 2010



Orange marches and pigswill

orangemarch.jpg It's absolutely unbelievable what happens here over the Twelfth period.

Published July 12, 2010



Hunger striker helped others laugh through tough times

joemcdonnell.jpg It does not happen very often that the publication of this column coincides with the anniversary of one of the 10 men who died on hunger strike in the H-Blocks in 1981.

Published July 8, 2010



Why we can’t let parade rules trample over civil rights

nicraposter.jpg There will be a civil rights march in Derry on October 5.

Published July 6, 2010



Robinson ditched by NIO and DUP will follow suit

peterrobinsonshook.jpg As a political figure Peter Robinson has been terminally weakened.

Published July 1, 2010



Bloody Sunday’s architects

sundayreportrelatives.jpg The Saville report has underscored the difficulty of “truth and reconciliation” inquiries.

Published June 28, 2010



Saville missed the failures of leadership

marksaville.jpg The Bloody Sunday operation emerged at the intersection between the political and the military, in a grey space which left plenty of room for manoeuvre by individuals.

Published June 24, 2010



Not a bad day for the British army

sundayreportguildhall.jpg Derry is still dizzy from the eruption of joy which greeted the Saville report’s recognition on Tuesday that all of the Bloody Sunday wounded and dead were unarmed civilians gunned down by British paratroopers for no good or legitimate reason.

Published June 21, 2010



Saville’s truth brings hope

sundayguildhallthumbsup.jpg A thumbs-up sign, shortly after 3.30pm, squeezed through the narrowest of gaps in an upstairs window in Derry’s Guildhall, was the first indication in almost 40 years that something of huge significance was happening for the relatives of those murdered on Bloody Sunday.

Published June 17, 2010



A 38-year wait for the truth

bloodysundayinquiry.jpg On Tuesday, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry will publish its 5,000-page report into the mass killing of protesters in 1972, an event that was unique among Troubles atrocities and that changed the North profoundly.

Published June 14, 2010



Freedom flotilla

corriefreedomflotilla.jpg The Flotilla was an heroic effort to highlight the imprisonment of one and a half million people by the Israeli state and the humanitarian crisis that the siege has created.

Published June 11, 2010



Double standards and simple solutions

forensicteam.jpg Has any politician - unionist, nationalist or republican - stood up and said UVF decommissioning was clearly a fraud?

Published June 4, 2010



Prison lessons have not been learnt

maghaberryprotest.jpg Prison reform which was painfully won by people, most of whom in normal society would not have been in prison at all, must not have to be struggled for again because of the unwillingness of those in authority to recognise reality inside prisons, or out of them.

Published May 31, 2010



The unhappy fate of unionist leaders

robinsonempey.jpg The disintegration of British union supporters in Ireland has come not from their opponents outside but from their friends inside.

Published May 27, 2010



Maghaberry And David Ford

boundhandsbutterfly.jpg A conversation came back to me on learning of the visit by British micro-minister for Justice David Ford to Maghaberry Prison

Published May 25, 2010



New proconsul has much to learn

owenpaterson.jpg We have had some pretty ropey proconsuls here in the last thirty-eight years. The signals from the latest one are not good.

Published May 20, 2010



Release Saville report now

freederrysunday.jpg It is crucial that the new Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson ensures that the Saville Inquiry findings into Bloody Sunday are published without any further delay.

Published May 17, 2010



It was just like the old days in Fermanagh/South Tyrone

gildernewelectionshouldered.jpg To help Bobby Sands, republicans came in from all over Ireland; they did the same for Michelle Gildernew.

Published May 14, 2010



Things may never be the same again

electionquestion.jpg The British electorate has not so much spoken as seemingly held its political nose, by delivering its most remarkable election result since 1929.

Published May 10, 2010



More guns than votes

bobbysandsdrawing.jpg Each time a republican activist is labelled a criminal, particularly by those who were republicans in the era of Bobby Sands, it is a sleight on the enormous sacrifice made by him and his comrades.

Published May 8, 2010



Making it quite clear

davidcameron.jpg Sometimes a politician says something and an issue that’s been swirling around in the public consciousness suddenly takes on a clear, sharp form.

Published May 4, 2010



Tactical voting is part of the electoral landscape

manifestolaunch.jpg Tactical voting is part of the electoral landscape of the six counties and when done for progressive reasons it strengthens the nationalist democratic forces for progress and weakens the undemocratic forces of unionism.

Published April 29, 2010



Ireland is ripe for an alternative

doleq.jpg Imagine, for a moment, that we are in the 1890s. It is not as big a stretch as it might seem.

Published April 26, 2010



Tactical voting will have a ripple effect

ballotbox.jpg If, as a result of vote-splitting or diffused voting, a disproportionate number of unionist MPs are elected you can be sure that this will be flaunted to demoralise the nationalist people.

Published April 22, 2010



Nothing but a date

prisonerbars.jpg It cannot be easy being a republican political prisoner in the North these days.

Published April 19, 2010



Acrobatics will win no new votes for Sir Reg

empeysad.jpg Elections here always throw up the worst excesses of tribalism among unionists.

Published April 15, 2010



Violence and after

iragraffiti.jpg The bomb that went off near the MI5 headquarters in Holywood last night didn’t do much damage but it does bring into focus a number of issues.

Published April 12, 2010



McKee floored puny Robinson

seamusmckee.jpg For years at election time Robinson was the DUP’s Wizard of Oz. Now, when the party needs him most he’s exposed as a diminutive political figure behind a curtain.

Published April 8, 2010



A time to remember with pride

forgottenten.jpg I too, this Sunday, will remember with pride those IRA members I knew who died young so that we could live in a united and free country.

Published April 2, 2010



Culture of ‘moving on’ sets us back years

namaodds.jpg Every single aspect of State policy, every red cent of available cash and of discretionary borrowing, is shaped by a demented, obsessive drive to save banks, at least two of which are beyond saving.

Published March 29, 2010



Truth & Justice: Foreign concepts to the 6-County state

truthandjustice.jpg While nationalist politicians are proclaiming desperately the dawn of yet another new beginning in the affairs of the Six County state, their touted future justice minister, the British government and its police force are quietly going about the work of solidifying the status quo in occupied Ireland

Published March 25, 2010



People can become the architects of the future

gerryadamsflat.jpg it is precisely at the point when all seems lost that people, about to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task facing them, are liberated by their own strength and that of others.

Published March 22, 2010



No political home for advocates of a just society

laurelandhardy.jpg All the parties in the Dail are willing to go into government with either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael, knowing one or other of these parties will be the major party of government and will set the agenda for that government.

Published March 15, 2010



Trial of Gerry McGeough brings back echoes of the old days

gerrymcgeoughbw.jpg The trial of Gerry “McGeough raises a number of issues.

Published March 11, 2010



A moment to savour for Sinn Fein

stormontpandjsf.jpg A crucial juncture has been reached by Sinn Fein, amazingly in partnership with the DUP.

Published March 11, 2010



Why MI5 is free to operate here

mi5.jpg Once devolution is complete, the north, as far as accountability is concerned, will be a limbo-land for spooks to cavort in.

Published March 8, 2010



Crossing the line

dennys.jpg If you are going to invoke a tragedy on the scale of the famine to flog your products, why stop at Ireland's greatest one?

Published March 4, 2010



Cooking the Bloody Sunday report

shaunwoodward.jpg The British government's attempts to change the findings of a judge in order to conceal evidence of its security services’ wrongdoing has ramifications for the victims of the Bloody Sunday massacre and their families.

Published March 1, 2010



Orange Order must stop being aloof from change

orangeorderflag.jpg The Orange Order acts as if it has no responsibility for the decades of conflict, as if it is as harmless an organisation as the girl guides or the boy scouts.

Published February 25, 2010



SF jumped through DUP’s hoops and fell short

hillsborough.jpg The long-awaited Hillsborough Agreement is a sham with grave consequences for the nationalist community.

Published February 18, 2010



The Johnstons and the McKinneys - and the Paras

bloodysunday.jpg In taking the side of the Paras in relation to Bloody Sunday, Unionist leaders facilitated the killing by the same force of some they will have regarded as their own.

Published February 15, 2010



Cosy assumptions challenged by unionist pact

equality.jpg The recent coming together by unionists with the purpose of denying government to anyone but themselves has publicly called the equality bluff.

Published February 11, 2010



New beginning?

psniplastic.jpg Almost a decade later, it is now abundantly clear that, instead of delivering a ‘new beginning’, the PSNI has simply continued with the same failed anti-working class and anti-republican agenda of the RUC and Royal Irish Constabulary before them.

Published February 8, 2010



Time for Robinson to show leadership

robinsonmcguinnesshillsborough.jpg It’s too early to claim that the Hillsborough Agreement is a done deal.

Published February 8, 2010



Made in Ulster?

adams.jpg A week is a long time in politics. This week, and a wee bit more, has been a long time coming.

Published February 4, 2010



Pirouetting on the cliff-edge

cliffedge.jpg Sinn Fein need to be careful their electorate doesn't conclude that so-called power-sharing hasn;t resulted in little beyond the amused contempt of the DUP.

Published February 1, 2010



Reaching for the Orange card

orangemen2.jpg It is important to factor the context into the current crisis gripping power-sharing.

Published February 1, 2010



Unionists now puppets in Cameron’s political game

puppetmaster.jpg Unionists never learn do they?

Published January 28, 2010



DUP puts party before peace process

duptalks.jpg It is not easy being a democrat because you have to accept the will of the people at an election even when you do not like the result.

Published January 28, 2010



Ruling greeted by the sound of silence

echr.jpg The British government contemptuously announced after the Strasbourg judgment that the discredited and unlawful Section 44 powers will remain in use.

Published January 25, 2010



Time for abuse inquiry

abuse.jpg The Stormont administration needs to exercise its responsibility for protection of children and young people.

Published January 21, 2010



Robinson now a prisoner

dupexecutive.jpg Peter Robinson is now the prisoner of his party’s hardliners. They are keeping him in custody until they can agree a method of disposing of his political carcass.

Published January 18, 2010



Abuse of political power is real issue

peterrobinsonshook.jpg Peter Robinson performed a sleight of hand trick brilliantly last week.

Published January 14, 2010



Power-sharing in North now hanging by a thread

iriskirk.jpg It is very tempting to ridicule the extraordinary state of affairs that has crashed down on the Robinson family.

Published January 11, 2010



Partition argument central

partition.jpg There has never been a time in the history of Irish republicanism when republicans were not faced with challenges in terms of bringing about an independent and a united Ireland.

Published January 8, 2010



Still waiting for the new beginning

anewbeginning.jpg It is clear that we are still waiting for the new beginning to policing and justice that was promised.

Published January 2, 2010



Beannacht

adams.jpg I thought I might deal with some of the events in the life of my clan and in my own life. Events which are now in the media. But on reflection it’s too near Christmas for all that.

Published December 28, 2009



Two angry men and a Taoiseach

xmaspanto.jpg Limavady wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, all handshakes and chuckles.

Published December 21, 2009



Step low

stepstone.jpg Pretty much as low as we are likely to find this side of Christmas. A lender repossessed the home of a Waterford couple which they shared with their special needs child.

Published December 17, 2009



An insidious budget

euronotes.jpg The budget says a lot about the economics and media commentators who have praised it for grappling with the fiscal crisis, while remaining indifferent to the social consequences.

Published December 14, 2009



Groundhog Day

groundhog.jpg Martin McGuinness has promised “serious consequences” and “a full-blown crisis” if a date for devolving policing and justice powers to the north is not agreed before Christmas and it won’t be.

Published December 10, 2009



Don’t blame the DUP

dupexecutive.jpg Unfortunately, in sport as in politics, resentment isn’t always directed at the right target.

Published December 7, 2009



Still a distance to travel to establish equality

equality.jpg Even though there is still a distance to travel to establish equality in the six counties it has to be acknowledged that we have travelled a long way from Craig’s ‘Protestant Parliament for a Protestant People’.

Published December 3, 2009



Long way down from London

gerrykelly.jpg There are few things that sum up the failure of the Provisional IRA campaign more definitively than the recent call by one of its former leaders for people to inform on those republicans still wedded to the notion of armed struggle.

Published November 30, 2009



More strikes needed

clenchedfist.jpg The best and sure fire way to victory is an indefinite general strike where public and private sector workers unite in a common battle to save jobs and protect our services.

Published November 26, 2009



Section 44

stopandsearch.jpg Police harassment is still a fact of life on the streets of working class communities.

Published November 23, 2009



Ireland and the Berlin Wall

berlinwall.jpg The celebrations for the Fall of the Wall dividing Berlin were spectacular and understandable. Not so understandable was some Irish politicians joining in.

Published November 19, 2009



Workers standing up to defend jobs and services

workersprotest.jpg In recent times it has become increasingly clear that the Irish government intends pursuing an economic strategy which is essentially ignoring the advice from the unions and appears to be on a collision course which could result in widespread industrial action.

Published November 12, 2009



Selling out for queen’s head is second nature for DUP

sterlingcoin.jpg The 20 million pounds that’s going to be shovelled into the families of the former part-time RUC reserve is a profoundly dishonourable deal and not just because it’s so obviously a bribe.

Published November 5, 2009



If Libya pays out, then why shouldn’t the British?

brownandgaddafi.jpg Well-informed sources in the North were suggesting last week that a large compensation package from Libya for the victims of the troubles may soon become available.

Published November 2, 2009



The Basque fight is a European fight

basquearrest.jpg The arrest in the past two weeks of Arnaldo Otegi and nine of his comrades from the ‘outlawed’ Batasuna party and the pro-independence trade union LAB is another sign of the oppressive methods being employed the Spanish government to stamp out the Basque nationalist left.

Published October 29, 2009



Was there a deal?

blanketman.jpg The hunger strikers were never dupes but could only make decisions on the basis of the information they had.

Published October 26, 2009



Protecting the fat cats

fatcat.jpg The revised programme for government in the Twenty-Six Counties offers nothing to the thousands who have lost their jobs over the last 12 months and face losing their homes.

Published October 22, 2009



It does matter if no-one likes you

dupexecutive.jpg No-one likes us - we don’t care.’ The Millwall football club’s chant which came to wider public attention when Millwall reached the 2004 FA final could equally apply to the DUP.

Published October 19, 2009



Death in custody

strandroadprotest.jpg When an Irish republican dies in British police custody it is certain to give rise to an atmosphere of suspicion and recrimination.

Published October 16, 2009



There was no deal

blanketman.jpg The final article by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams for the Irish News on the recent controversy over the 1981 hunger strike.

Published October 13, 2009



Leading from the front is only way forward

peterrobinson.jpg Peter Robinson is facing what every single leader of unionism has faced since at least the late 1960s.

Published October 8, 2009



Lisbon passed, democracy damaged

cowenbarroso.jpg When the ruling class in the Twenty-Six Counties wants something bad enough it will do pretty much anything to get it.

Published October 5, 2009



Lisbon - Vote early and often

voteno2lisbon.jpg If you have a vote on Lisbon, use it to support democracy and freedom and VOTE NO.

Published October 1, 2009



Stature of ten men unassailed

blanketman.jpg Out of the five demands the only thing the British were offering to the hunger strikers after four men had died was that they could wear ordinary clothes, “provided these clothes were approved by the prison authorities.”

Published September 28, 2009



New SDLP leader must heal division with Sinn Fein

sdlpsf.jpg There is only one certainty to emerge from several days of media interviews with Mark Durkan about his leadership of the SDLP and that is he does not want to continue to lead the party.

Published September 24, 2009



A plank in the DUP election platform

duplogo.jpg Peter Robinson made a speech last week calling for decisions to be taken by a weighted-majority vote in Stormont.

Published September 21, 2009



Might Sinn Fein merge with Labour?

laboursf.jpg Gerry Adams would be well advised to seek a much closer formal alliance with the Irish Labour Party rather than move away from Left politics.

Published September 17, 2009



The true cost of violence in Ireland

britishlegion.jpg They talk about the violence of the past 40 years - as if what people suffered in Ireland’s northeast before the 1960s was not violence.

Published September 14, 2009



A message to the elites

lisbonposterwsm.jpg There are plenty of good reasons to vote ‘No’, again, on Lisbon - far more than there are reasons to vote ‘Yes’.

Published September 10, 2009



Three good reasons to spurn Lisbon once again

lisbon2.jpg The deceivers and manipulators are out again.

Published September 7, 2009



Baggott’s reputation will quickly be put to the test

mattbaggott.jpg The past, present and future of policing in the six counties emerged unexpectedly in the north’s media last week.

Published September 3, 2009



Pushing back regressive policing

censorship.jpg When Suzanne Breen wrote after the verdict in her case, declaring it a triumph for press freedom across Europe, it can hardly be said she was exaggerating.

Published August 31, 2009



Final solution is no longer possible

bombayst.jpg Forty years after the attacks on homes and people in 1969, we are hearing new descriptions of what happened.

Published August 27, 2009



Craven Commission again fails to protect the weak

paradescommission.jpg The Parades Commission’s decision to allow Friday’s Orange Order march through Rasharkin without restriction was disgraceful.

Published August 27, 2009



A decadent police

psniraids.jpg A new residents group has been set up to ‘give support to a community who have suffered ongoing abuse from the police.&rsquo

Published August 20, 2009



Unionist wild men played a part in starting Troubles

paisleyold.jpg Few people know that about a fortnight before the Battle of the Bogside the RUC’s Belfast Commissioner requested that British troops be deployed against unionist mobs on the Shankill Road.

Published August 20, 2009



9th of August

august1971.jpg Anthony McIntyre on internment morning, 38 years ago.

Published August 14, 2009



A revealing glimpse into Dodds’s world

nigeldodds.jpg ´A statement this week is a revealing glimpse into Dawdsland, a place of denial and distorting mirrors.

Published August 7, 2009



Felon setting

tonycatney.jpg Tony Catney believes he is the victim of a smear campaign being orchestrated by his former colleagues in Sinn Fein.

Published July 31, 2009



Emergency surgery to save an economic Frankenstein

colmccarthy.jpg The time is fast approaching when working class people will need to stand up and fight for a better society.

Published July 24, 2009



Order must change how it conducts its affairs

ardyonemarch.jpg The one organisation that cannot escape a major share of responsibility for the outbreak of violence in Belfast’s Ardoyne on Monday night past is the Orange Order.

Published July 17, 2009



Reshuffle magnifies shortage of political talent

dupexecutive.jpg The most obvious conclusion of Peter Robinson's reshuffle is the astonishing mediocrity of the personnel available in the DUP assembly party.

Published July 10, 2009



Spot the difference

At one level, the north of Ireland has changed markedly over the past ten years. But for real change, you need to look deeper.

Published July 3, 2009



‘Clarified’ Lisbon Treaty the very same

lisboncover.jpg Despite the predictable media hype, and bogus claims of doing down the Brits, nothing has changed in terms of the Lisbon Treaty, writes Aengus O Snodaigh, Sinn Féin Dail spokesman on European affairs.

Published June 26, 2009



Time for a realignment in Irish politics

tricolourploughflags.jpg Almost one-third-of-a-million people voted for Sinn Féin candidates across Ireland in the recent EU elections - the exact figure, 331,797 people.

Published June 19, 2009



Time for DUP to tell their people the truth

mcguinnessrobinsonchuckle.jpg The current DUP position where they work with Sinn Féin, or profess to work alongside them, while saying they are smashing them, simply invites ridicule.

Published June 12, 2009



Electorate assesses value of its vote

politicalleaders.jpg This Thursday and Friday the people of Ireland go to the polls in a rare all-Ireland plebiscite - an election to the European parliament.

Published June 4, 2009



Consigning Irish children to a regime of torture

industrialschool.jpg The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse, published this week, left no one in any doubt that children in the Twenty-Six County state were never treated equally

Published May 29, 2009



Elections - an exercise in participatory democracy

eirigiaf.jpg Members of the small republican political party eirigi agreed at its annual conference to 'tactically contest elections at a time of our choosing'.

Published May 22, 2009



Bobby Sands and Margaret Thatcher

thatchersands.jpg Two personalities from opposite ends of the political spectrum, who helped shape their respective worlds and are inextricably linked through decisions they took over 30 years ago had anniversaries last week.

Published May 15, 2009



Give them absolutely nothing

censorship.jpg Would society really be better off had Suzanne Breen not spoken to the Real IRA?

Published May 8, 2009



Supergrasses: They’re Back!

court.jpg The British state is increasing its erosion of civil liberties for Irish citizens.

Published May 1, 2009



Pseudo groups are locked into political fantasy world

ciragraffiti.jpg Three very distinct and separate voices were heard across the Irish media last weekend.

Published May 1, 2009



‘Get off our backs’

Veteran Derry republican Gerry McCartney argues that the recent killings of two British soldiers and a PSNI officer by dissident republican groups will do nothing to achieve Irish unity.

Published April 24, 2009



Easter Sunday in Duleek

duleekeaster.jpg It is difficult not to feel a surge of emotion racing through the veins when reflecting on what the men and women of 1916 gave up in order to make a stand against a malign foreign power.

Published April 17, 2009



Force of argument is way forward

risingflag.jpg The 1916 Rising was the end product of more than a century of protest, largely peaceful, since the brutal suppression by the British government of the 1798 Rebellion.

Published April 10, 2009



Can intelligence services be trusted?

mi5.jpg There is a connection between the civil action brought by relatives of Omagh bomb victims and the arrests in relation to the killing of the two soldiers in Antrim and the PSNI officer in Lurgan.

Published April 3, 2009



Intimidation of Shell to Sea campaigners

harrington.jpg Over the course of recent weeks the state has intensified its intimidation of Shell to Sea campaigners.

Published March 27, 2009



Who is McGuinness to talk of treachery?

treason.jpg Many years ago I looked up to Martin McGuinness. Most within the ranks of the Provisional IRA did likewise.

Published March 19, 2009



A quantum shift

iramarching.jpg Anyone who is surprised that “the dissidents” are still actively fighting will have had their head in the sand for the past number of years. And, of course, they are certainly not reading this.

Published March 13, 2009



Society needs to make decisions about core values

26counties.jpg The partition of Ireland not only divided the territorial integrity of the nation and its people, it also led to the underdevelopment of politics on a left-right axis.

Published March 6, 2009



UVF/PSNI collusion sentences fail to convey horror

aaronhill.jpg Last week’s case demanded deterrent custodial sentences and not someone jauntily walking free making contemptuous gestures to cameramen.

Published February 27, 2009



Finucane an indictment of British collusion

patfinucane.jpg Armed only with his sharpened legal brain Pat Finucane was a formidable obstacle for those in the British government and military.

Published February 20, 2009



Spat between unionists completely meaningless

unionistflag.jpg You probably didn’t notice the little spat between the DUP and UUP about meeting loyalists, but it’s worth examining as a perfect example of the parallel universe unionists live in.

Published February 13, 2009



Suspicions well grounded over collusion in report

bradleyeames.jpg So far the British government has managed to protect itself and its agencies from those seeking to probe deeper into this sinister world.

Published February 6, 2009



1919-2009 - Compare and Contrast

firstdailprot.jpg Those who paraded themselves in the Mansion House on Tuesday past have little right to claim the inheritance of the revolutionary republicans and socialists who established the First Dail.

Published January 23, 2009



Much to be optimistic about

obamahope.jpg In the face of this economic crisis the argument for stronger not weaker government intervention in the economy needs to be heard.

Published January 16, 2009



Christmas has ended - so should Gaza siege

israel.jpg The reoccupation by Israel of the Gaza Strip and the slaughter of its Palestinian inhabitants form one of the most shameful episodes, among a long list of others, for the international community since the state of Israel was set up in 1948.

Published January 9, 2009



Hunger strikers’ contribution will endure

seanmckenna.jpg It is the contribution of the hunger strikers which will endure and make the difference to peace, justice and freedom - not that offered up by Cruise O’Brien.

Published January 2, 2009



A Cabinet that keeps hitting the panic button

cowenconfused.jpg The Dublin government's reaction to recent challenges shows it may be out of its depth.

Published December 19, 2008



Vilifying the dead

rosemary.jpg If the current enquiries are anything to go by, truth is not part of Britain's agenda.

Published December 12, 2008



Assassinating Rosemary Nelson’s character

rosemarynelson2.jpg It now appears that just as she was attacked by them in life, Rosemary Nelson is now to be attacked in death.

Published December 5, 2008



Another corner turned on road to new Ireland

justice.jpg A Six-County Department of Justice could be functioning by the early months of the new year.

Published November 28, 2008



V Day

rirparade.jpg The triumphalism of the British Army regiment on public display in the heart of Belfast punched yet another gaping hole in the approved narrative of the peace process.

Published November 21, 2008



Crucial that DPP role be scrutinised

roberthamill.jpg As the families of those murdered on Bloody Sunday deal with the news that they must wait another full year to learn the outcome of the Saville Inquiry, the family of Robert Hamill must be bracing themselves for the start of the long-delayed inquiry into events surrounding his murder.

Published November 13, 2008



Army parade cannot airbrush murder legacy

rirpose.jpg The consequences for the people of this island - nationalist, unionist, republican and loyalist - of English interference in our affairs was the backdrop against which the centre of Belfast became a contested space last Sunday morning.

Published November 7, 2008



Idea that SF could ignore march is absurd

rircartoon.jpg The idea that Sinn Féin could ignore a march through Belfast city centre by a regiment in the British army is patently absurd.

Published October 31, 2008



British soldiers not welcome on Irish streets

rirblood.jpg The Royal Irish Regiment’s mercenaries from the war against Afghanistan arrived in Belfast this month to a chorus of approval from their supporters in Ireland.

Published October 24, 2008



Hiding behind the police

chrisward.jpg The presumption of innocence until proven guilty has never applied to Republicans and the Northern Bank robbery suspects were no exceptions.

Published October 17, 2008



Time for October 5th

civilrightsmarch.jpg The main trigger of the 1968 Civil Rights demands, equality, has still to be resolved.

Published October 10, 2008



PDs go down with the system they lauded

pds.jpg They were Ireland's nasty party but their arrogance prevented them ever listening to the electorate beyond their own narrow sectional interest group.

Published October 3, 2008



SDLP must stop selling nationalist rights

Nationalists must have viewed with dismay, disbelief and anger last week’s press conference with SDLP minister Margaret Ritchie sandwiched between two unionist ministers

Published September 26, 2008



Threats to DUP leadership coming from fringes

Allister is challenging the leadership of the DUP not from a solid, assured position but from the sidelines, from the fringes of unionism and he is causing them to lose their nerve.

Published September 19, 2008



Durkan ensured SDLP will never share power

Did he really say that? After initial disbelief, that was the first question a lot of people asked when they read reports of Mark Durkan’s weekend speech to the British-Irish Association (BIA).

Published September 12, 2008



Allister has the DUP running scared

The current impasse at Stormont is the price everyone here has to pay for the DUP’s exercise in political dishonesty in spring 2007.

Published September 5, 2008



British human rights record still among worst

Every three years members of the United Nations are required to submit a report on human rights in their state.

Published August 29, 2008



Whose Law?

The stalemate politics that has characterised the Six County assembly since its inception following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 has continued during the recent spate of ‘functionality’ since the St Andrews Agreement.

Published August 22, 2008



Teaching Bush a bloody lesson

There’s an uncanny symmetry in the history of Russia’s treatment of Georgia and Britain’s treatment of Ireland over the centuries.

Published August 15, 2008



Sarkosy proved ‘No’ voters were right

When Mr Sarkozy the French President said Irish people must vote again on the Lisbon Treaty, he underlined how right Irish people were to vote against it.

Published August 8, 2008



Lost lives

No matter the motives for the current politically engineered Historic Enquiry, it will lack any credibility while the British continue to suppress the Stephens reports and while those who added to the pain and suffering of the bereaved, are not held to account.

Published August 1, 2008



Truth and lies

Evidence is now emerging that the bombing of McGurks Bar, like many atrocities in the early years of the conflict, may have been part of a policy of assassination by British intelligence services.

Published July 25, 2008



PSNI is failing to protect vulnerable Catholics

Inaction has thus far characterised the PSNI’s policing operation in defending Catholics in Stoneyford and in other parts.

Published July 18, 2008



Who should pay for the recession?

Why is the most objectively fair response to our economic difficulties the least acceptable to the economic and political establishment?

Published July 11, 2008



What price the Orange Card?

Are the people of the Six Counties to be again left high and dry due to the selfish interests of yet another British politician?

Published July 4, 2008



All is not well at Stormont

The £6 million for Irish language broadcasting is the clearest signal yet that all is not well with the power-sharing arrangements at Stormont.

Published June 27, 2008



Crisis? What crisis?

There is an obvious and simple way that the EU can respond to Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon Treaty: continue as it was.

Published June 19, 2008



Ireland can once more save Europe from the Dark Ages

Welcome to the most surreal week in the history of Irish politics.

Published June 12, 2008



‘Nasty party’ is Paisley’s legacy

He’s gone, the oul curmudgeon, and good riddance.

Published June 6, 2008



Britain firing blanks at loyalists

The British administration intends to do nothing to recover weapons held by unionist paramilitaries.

Published May 30, 2008



Arrogance, smugness and the Brits

Nobody knows for certain how much misery and bother has been caused through the ages by the insufferable smugness of the British ruling class.

Published May 23, 2008



Irish government is unionism's new best friend

Paisley's big hearty handshake with Bertie at Farmleigh House last year was the beginning of what will inevitably be a lengthy dalliance.

Published May 16, 2008



A split’s not always first thing on agenda

When friends and comrades disagree the fall-out is always specially painful, even terrible. But never hopeless.

Published May 8, 2008



Ex-prisoners should enjoy same rights as others

It is time former prisoners from the conflict took their place in society with the same rights and entitlements as everyone else.

Published May 2, 2008



What is Peter Robinson’s vision?

There is no clue yet about how the DUP leader-designate sees the future of unionism or even if he sees a future for unionism.

Published April 25, 2008



US investment will build a sustainable future

May's investment conference is crucial as we seek to deliver on the wider objectives of equality and sustainability.

Published April 18, 2008



Does a Bill of Rights need us?

A bill of rights in any shape or form must be viewed as a progressive thing.

Published April 11, 2008



Flying the flag

Don't assume you can trust a British politician any more than a DUP one.

Published April 4, 2008



More than two sides to the story

What Jonathan Powell has said about Bloody Sunday is revealing, not what he claims Martin McGuinness said.

Published March 28, 2008



Confident unionism is showing signs of stress

Unionists are trying to perpetuate the old hostile relationship between nationalists and the police.

Published March 21, 2008



Symbolism at heart of DUP stadium turnaround

The signals that the DUP has got cold feet about a sports stadium at Long Kesh are evidence of a wider malaise in unionism.

Published March 14, 2008



Paisley walks

Ian Paisley could not have imagined being pushed out of power after just a year in office.

Published March 7, 2008



Spain could learn lessons from Irish conflict

If the conflict in Ireland can be brought to a just end so can the conflict in the Basque country.

Published February 29, 2008



Existence of informers is unpalatable fact of life

Informers, agents and spies have been a part of Irish society for as long as the British government have been occupying Ireland.

Published February 21, 2008



Just who drafts MI5’s agenda?

Does anyone believe that even when justice and policing are devolved to Stormont that local politicians will have any control over agencies such as MI5?

Published February 15, 2008



The ache that still hurts

I don’t need any British Judge to tell me what happened on Bloody Sunday.

Published February 8, 2008



The real priorities

Behind the scenes, the political parties in the North have other matters on their minds.

Published January 31, 2008



Ian Og gets his come-uppance at long last

They say the Paisleys come as a package - if you get one, you get both.

Published January 24, 2008



The trouble with war

Don’t mention the war. Don’t mention the fact that thousands of British soldiers occupied the highways and byways of this wee place for over thirty years and that all of them had a licence to kill.

Published January 17, 2008



Unionists in pool can’t let go of the sides

Fascinating to watch unionists of all shades tying themselves in knots about human rights and devolution of justice and policing

Published January 9, 2008



Papers show cooperation got us further faster

The one clear lesson which emerges from the documents allowed to be released this year is that any time Irish officials managed to persuade the British to follow a line of action it was a success.

Published January 3, 2008



When language dies

Language analysts have estimated that there are more than 6,000 languages spoken in the world today and one minority language dies every two weeks.

Published December 20, 2007



A courtesy from Pope and Queen

If Pope Benedict and Queen Elizabeth visit Ireland each of them will have a chance to offer us a courtesy which has been too long delayed.

Published December 12, 2007



Abuse of privilege should be ended

Unionists are still naming people in the British House of Commons or Lords, accusing them of crime. This is an abuse.

Published December 5, 2007



Access to report crucial in quest for justice

The public exposure of the de Menezes case stands in marked contrast to the secrecy surrounding multiple killings by the Crown forces during the conflict in Ireland.

Published November 28, 2007



Finally on a path towards a new Ireland

For a new administration on a learning curve its six months in office has been surprisingly impressive.

Published November 22, 2007



Stunt will not make UDA disappear

It is depressing how many media outlets bought the NIO spin about the UDA standing down its ‘military wing’.

Published November 15, 2007



Tourists discover north’s deep-seated prejudices

Next time someone tells you that our commissions for equality and human rights are just money wasted on political correctness, consider the case of Frank Kakopa.

Published November 8, 2007



Chance for commission to show courage

On Saturday, November 24, Orangemen intend to march into the centre of Belfast to intimidate both an individual and a community.

Published November 1, 2007



Fianna Fail can become a 32-county organisation

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern delivered the graveside oration at Fianna Fail's annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration on Sunday. We present the text of his address.

Published October 24, 2007



FF is real beneficiary of Brown’s dithering

All the parties in the North exhaled a big sigh of relief when Gordon Brown bottled out of holding the election he had been threatening since August.

Published October 17, 2007



Irish language being used as political football

Attacks by unionists on the Irish language or the education department expose their wider attitude and lack of educational policies especially for their working-class supporters.

Published October 10, 2007



‘Whataboutery’ is classic avoidance technique

The wheedling and hand-wringing Margaret Ritchie faces until next Tuesday's deadline for UDA decommissioning is going to be epic.

Published October 3, 2007



SDLP will be devoured

It will be FF’s aim to become the dominant party in the North.

Published September 27, 2007



Right time for Paisley to step off

It was time for Paisley to step off the vehicle which he built and which gave him the respectability and momentum to take him to where he is today.

Published September 20, 2007



Consequences of the Flight of the Earls

Nationalists have never sought to undo the Plantation of Ulster which next year will be four centuries old.

Published September 12, 2007



Jumping to conclusions over ‘unity’ talk

The one contribution that stood out in this year's summer schools was Sir Kenneth Bloomfield’s talk to the Merriman School.

Published September 5, 2007



Taking pride in our cultures

The message is harsh and says, written hugely on a wall where the visitor can read it in great letters, “This is not Spain”.

Published August 30, 2007



A decade of injustice

Our leaders contrive ever more elaborate ways to get us into prison, and outsourcing seems to be one of them.

Published August 22, 2007



Withdrawal? What withdrawal?

It is not a withdrawal, the British garrisons are still there to try to hold the northeast of Ireland militarily and economically. And they have been given new extra oppressive powers to do it.

Published August 16, 2007



Omagh Civil Case - Justice or Stitch-Up?

Reviewing the ongoing Omagh civil case saga, one is left with an abiding sense of uneasiness at the immense inequality being applied to one of the defendants, Michael McKevitt.

Published August 8, 2007



Kid-glove treatment of UDA disgraceful

In one of the most scandalous uses of public money in the north, and that's saying something, successive proconsuls have been advised to try to bribe the UDA out of racketeering and extortion.

Published July 31, 2007



Body can build a more prosperous island

Further evidence of the ongoing transformation of Irish politics as a result of the peace process was again on display this week.

Published July 25, 2007



It ain’t easy being Green

The Greens by entering into coalition, have now joined a long list of once radical organizations who have chosen to become, as Chris Gaskin wrote, “the mud guard of the two failed civil war parties”.

Published July 18, 2007



Pattern of systemic inequality must be reversed

At the annual meeting of Lisburn council, SDLP councillors abandoned a long standing principle of their party - the principle of power-sharing.

Published July 11, 2007



PPS is undermining public confidence in justice

If ever there was a case for a speedy transfer of policing and justice powers to the north’s executive then it is shining out of the statement last week from the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

Published July 4, 2007



English politicians care little about Six Counties

There was quite a revealing and disappointing moment for British secretary of state Peter Hain at the end of last week’s Question Time on the London-based BBC.

Published June 27, 2007



The DUP’s double standards are nauseating

How would anyone in the DUP, no matter how sanctimonious they may sound, know anything about policing and justice, let alone democratic standards?

Published June 18, 2007



UDA gangsters shouldn’t have it all their own way

It is quite obvious that, apart from everything else, the UDA are just far too emotionally unstable to be in charge of lethal weapons.

Published June 11, 2007



SF must learn quickly from election results

It is a mighty task but republicans have had setbacks more serious than last week’s election results.

Published June 4, 2007



Taking it on the chin

From the ecstasy of March to the agony of May, 2007 is turning out to be quite the rollercoaster year for republicans.

Published May 29, 2007



Assembly is merely a twig on the NIO branch

The Northern Ireland Office hasn't gone away, you know.

Published May 21, 2007



Face of Ireland changed in just 16 minutes

On Tuesday everyone in Stormont was entitled to feel proud.

Published May 15, 2007



Politics and the daily grind

Some tales from the Celtic Tiger as you consider your options and as the country winds itself up to go to the polls.

Published May 8, 2007



The writing is on the wall for ‘Britishness’

Tomorrow’s election results in Scotland are going to increase the isolation of unionists in Ireland even more.

Published May 2, 2007



Photocalls do not reflect street-level reality

The Paisley-Adams deal represents not a compromise or accommodation between the ideologies that had defined the two men’s parties but the willing negation of each.

Published April 27, 2007



Choosing prestige over power?

David Trimble joining the British Conservative Party is a sad event.

Published April 21, 2007



The people have spoken

There are still commentators who can’t accept that Sinn Féin and the DUP are carrying out the wishes of the voters.

Published April 15, 2007



Alternative Ulster

Strange parallels between those who thought the political process could never be reconciled are beginning to emerge.

Published April 10, 2007



Making headlines for the right reasons

The unthinkable, indeed unbelievable is happening before our very eyes.

Published April 5, 2007



An omen of good days to come

It is difficult to decide which captures best the ground-breaking nature of the event - the photo or the statements.

Published March 30, 2007



It’s time PSNI was accountable for its actions

In the past week we’ve had two very serious incidents involving the PSNI and the British Army.

Published March 24, 2007



A good news election story for republicans

With a brilliant election result behind him Gerry Adams will lead northern republicans southwards with the intention of building on his success.

Published March 18, 2007



DUP chokes on its own history

Elections are supposed to provide answers. When the people speak, the politicians are supposed to respond accordingly. Not so in the North.

Published March 13, 2007



Brown doesn’t give tuppence about this place

We’re at present in the lull before the storm - and what a storm it will be.

Published March 7, 2007



Power-sharing in North must not be stopped

By the standards of western democracy, the election in the North must be one of the most bizarre ever to have taken place.

Published March 1, 2007



Apologies are the latest cheapo wheeze

Has Peter Hain been outed for the political opportunist he is?

Published February 25, 2007



Policing no longer a tool of the British state

For centuries policing was an instrument of British state power and the armed wing of unionism. Now it can be neutralised.

Published February 20, 2007



Unionism will pay dearly if Blair is humiliated

There will be an election unless Paisley has the guts to say he will not share power with Sinn Féin.

Published February 15, 2007



Repeating the pattern of the top brass

Anybody wondering how Ronnie Flanagan came to believe he’d get away with claiming memory loss about his role in collusion should recall Mike Jackson and Bloody Sunday.

Published February 10, 2007



Reunification is solution to partition problem

Overwhelming is the word that springs to mind to describe the decision and the mood at Sinn Féin’s Ard Fheis last Sunday when more than 800 delegates backed the party leadership’s policing proposal.

Published February 5, 2007



Sit and watch intra-unionist bigot-fest

Only when the election is safely over and the DUP has consigned its UUP rival to oblivion will Paisley be able to contemplate delivering on his political obligations.

Published February 1, 2007



The wrong thing to do

Yes, there is an alternative to supporting the British Crown forces in Ireland.

Published January 27, 2007



New route to a United Ireland

The goal of a united Ireland remains absolute but the means by which it can be achieved no longer needs to involve armed actions.

Published January 22, 2007



The final step

There was no great surprise at the end of it. Who expected a different result?

Published January 17, 2007



DUP’s creative ambiguity has limited lifespan

For the first time in his 50 years in politics Ian Paisley snr is facing a reality he probably thought he would never have to face.

Published January 12, 2007



SF is up for the challenges of peace making

Evidence that the leadership of Sinn Féin is set once again to stretch republicans to the outer limits of their commitment to the peace process is very obvious.

Published January 8, 2007



DUP’s mindset is fossilised in 17th century

The current DUP leadership is a political Jurassic Park but if the mindset exhibited on the Today programme is anything to go by, then the prospect the coming men offer is back to the future.

Published January 4, 2007



Sinn Féin and Policing the North

Those with experience of Sinn Féin manoeuvring will have recognised recent signs that a policy change is in the air.

Published December 29, 2006



DUP dissenters can afford to wait a year or so

The DUP is a victim of its own success.

Published December 23, 2006



SF quite right to make policing a deal-breaker

Unionists like to claim that nationalists are a kind of sub-species who enjoy criminality and endorse lawlessness.

Published December 18, 2006



Time won’t change stark choice DUP faces

With Martin McGuinness as his co-equal deputy first minister, Ian Paisley is now shakily wearing the crown of transitional first minister.

Published December 13, 2006



Britain being made to squirm

The truth is that the British government couldn't care less what the taoiseach says about 1974-76 any more than the Russian government cares about what John Reid says about anything

Published December 7, 2006



Carry on regardless

Regardless of the pandemonium Michael Stone caused outside the Assembly, his appearance only served to distract from the confusion and mistrust inside.

Published December 1, 2006



Unionists still believe they own the north

You could be forgiven for thinking that the only issue in Irish politics at present is whether Sinn Féin ‘will sign up to policing’.

Published November 25, 2006



Proconsul’s jiggery-pokery comes at a price

A lot of people, including the majority of the local meedja, seem to think the judge called for an inquiry into her appointment.

Published November 19, 2006



Paisley gets to say yes, again

Gerry Adams recalls the recent St Andrews negotiations and how Ian Paisley said 'Yes' for the first time in 50 years.

Published November 14, 2006



On the cusp of a historic development

If the DUP come into the St Andrews process, it will be a final acknowledgement by this most recalcitrant unionist constituency that the days of domination, inequality and discrimination are gone for ever.

Published November 9, 2006



Is it a country or a region? It’s a basket case

When unionist politicians give a knee-jerk reaction it is the mentality they reveal that still shocks.

Published November 4, 2006



BBC out of step with its own protocol

Many people were incensed that the BBC - an organisation funded by the licence-paying public - would provide an uncritical programme live glorifying the RIR.

Published October 30, 2006



Ian Og in his da's shoes?

Is the DUP really a political party, or the political wing of a religious sect, or a family business?

Published October 25, 2006



Chance to put politics of partition behind us

It is a deal in waiting and what a deal it could be.

Published October 20, 2006



How tides have turned

The St Andrews Agreement will bring about a seismic change in the North.

Published October 16, 2006



Serving Judas, Not Justice

It remains far from clear that the absence of evidence is preventing a proper resolution of the O’Hagan murder

Published October 10, 2006



The DUP is preparing for a seismic shift

There is a rustling in the unionist undergrowth to indicate that the DUP may be preparing for a sea change in its approach to power-sharing.

Published October 5, 2006



CRC article relates more to unionist thinking

The British has created a series of shop-window fronts to give the false impression, particularly to those looking from abroad, that Britain is addressing the unique problems here.

Published September 30, 2006



Ministers have lost interest in north-south links

The nature and extent of all-Ireland arrangements are likely to become political issues in the South instead of matters on which all Irish parties agree and take for granted as a national objective.

Published September 25, 2006



Renaissance Republicanism

It is hardly surprising three dozen or so Irish Republicans considered getting together in Toomebridge to have a chat about the future of their country and the role of Irish Republicanism within it.

Published September 19, 2006



Peelers Give You Trouble

With Sinn Fein's ratification of the British constabulary on the political agenda, Martin Galvin join's Danny Morrison's call for a serious debate on the future of Irish Republicanism.

Published September 15, 2006



When one doesn't mind being called a Provo

The sincerity of those dissident republicans who believe that the strategy of the Republican Movement is wrong is easily tested.

Published September 10, 2006



Public commitment or public relations

Many Republicans believe that as part of the negotiations for a return to a DUP headed Stormont, Sinn Fein will be obliged to accept not only policing boards but the British constabulary.

Published September 5, 2006



Injustice must always be opposed and exposed

Britain’s history in Ireland is one of brutality and inhumanity, often characterised through the abuse of political prisoners.

Published August 31, 2006



Diplock claim equals justice denied

The British strategy on non-jury Diplock courts seems clearly and solely directed at Sinn Féin.

Published August 27, 2006



Hunger Strike Anniversary

News of the protest against criminalization, by Republican political prisoners at Maghaberry, will strike a chord deep within the hearts and memories of many nationalists and Republicans.

Published August 22, 2006



30,000 people know who the victors were 25 years ago

The public demonstration for the anniversary of the hunger strikers was a powerful evidence of people’s determination, and of their dignity.

Published August 18, 2006



Sectarian rhetoric

The issue of sectarianism has to be tackled head on whatever its source.

Published August 13, 2006



Nothing is true until it’s officially denied

No-one any longer believes a word this British government utters.

Published August 10, 2006



Nationalists have a right to proper policing

Any future decision by republicans to endorse policing in the six counties will be on a par with those landmark decisions which republicans have already taken over the last decade of the peace process.

Published August 5, 2006



Unionists still refuse to have open minds

One year on the unionists and their allies are still refusing to open their minds to the place the peace process can take us.

Published July 31, 2006



Israel must be held accountable

Israel is clearly once again guilty of a gross crime against humanity and it must be held accountable.

Published July 25, 2006



Paisley still trading on fears

Over the decades, one thing has not changed.

Published July 20, 2006



SF riding the tide in political sea change

Two strangers arrived at Stormont as the shutters went up for the summer.

Published July 17, 2006



Participation in partition - a denial of sovereignty

The Annual Republican Sinn Féin Wolfe Tone Commemoration to Bodenstown took place last month. The following oration was delivered by Dr Sean Maguire son of the late Comdt- General Tom Maguire, a survivor of the Second (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann. It is reproduced here in full.

Published July 12, 2006



No dumbing down of the Orange Order

Why try and dress up the Twelfth as something it is not?

Published July 7, 2006



Collusion issue is now an undisputed fact

For decades republicans raised the issue of collusion but were dismissed as propagandists. It is now an undisputed fact.

Published July 2, 2006



Timely reminder to second-class nationalists

In case any one is in any doubt about the purpose behind Orange marches the decision by the Parades Commission in relation to an Orange march on Belfasts Springfield Road is a timely reminder.

Published June 27, 2006



Violence rewarded, while Feile gets punished

Belatedly, unionists have come to recognise the concept of alienation - which they derided in nationalists.

Published June 22, 2006



Slave mentality rules

There is no political way we can say 'No' to, or change, what Peter Hain decrees.

Published June 17, 2006



DUP support would help Empey strategy

It was entirely understandable that nationalists and their political representatives would be cynical about the decision a few weeks ago by Reg Empey to take David Ervine into his assembly party.

Published June 11, 2006



Britain must come clean on Haddock

The confession by the former north Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force man Mark Haddock that he has been a Special Branch informer for the last 16 years is further damning evidence of collusion.

Published June 6, 2006



Unionists must choose to shape change

Robert McBride, former ANC activist, death row inmate, parliamentarian and now chief of police in East Rand, Johannesburg, recently brought a message to republicans across Ireland.

Published May 30, 2006



‘Assembly’ is hologram on the hill

The assembly meeting up at Stormont isn't the Northern Ireland Assembly established by the Good Friday Agreement.

Published May 27, 2006



Ballymena’s culture of hate

It has been fascinating to watch the DUP tip-toe politely around the funeral of Michael McIlveen.

Published May 23, 2006



‘Assisted suicide’ for UUP

Farewell to David Ervine and the Progressive Unionist Party.

Published May 17, 2006



A sinister hush over collusion evidence

One of the biggest scandals to hit these islands in recent years did not even merit a mention on our main radio or TV stations.

Published May 13, 2006



Things changed forever after Bobby Sands' death

There was nothing normal about our lives in the H-blocks during the years 1976-1981 so why should our thinking and actions be assessed according to a 'normal' system of measurement.

Published May 8, 2006



It takes lots of courage to break ranks

Brian Kennaway's new book The Orange Order: A Tradition Betrayed is causing quite a stir, mainly among Protestants, unionists and Orangemen

Published May 3, 2006



A few bad apples don’t make a bad barrel

The IMC has failed to report that almost 70 active members of a certain paramilitary organisation have been convicted of criminal offences.

Published April 28, 2006



Values of Rising need to be renewed

There needs to be a debate about what it really does mean to be Irish.

Published April 24, 2006



Shootings ‘cult of silence’ must end

Until Easter Sunday Neil McConville was the only person the PSNI had shot dead.

Published April 21, 2006



Rising played pivotal part in Irish history

Shortly before 1pm on Easter Monday 1916, outside Dublin's GPO, the British empire started to crumble.

Published April 18, 2006



1916 and all that...

To justify or to sympathise or, at the minimum, to understand, 1916, is to justify, sympathise or understand the IRA’s armed struggle in the North.

Published April 14, 2006



Who killed Denis Donaldson?

Few in the media or among mainstream political parties have dared to consider British involvement.

Published April 9, 2006



Sham assembly just like old times

Tomorrow’s performance by Blair and Ahern promises to be a perfect example of “the triumph of hope over experience”,

Published April 5, 2006



‘Feudal lord’ has illusions above his station

If ever there was a politician on the make, it’s Peter Hain.

Published April 3, 2006