Irish Republican News: Archives

The son of an infamous loyalist paramilitary is accused of involvement in a major feud between different factions of the UDA (Ulster Defence Association).

British promise of Irish unity ‘unauthorised’

Efforts to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement have been complicated by a former MI5 agent’s claim that a promise of British support for a united Ireland helped convince the leadership of the Provisional IRA to agree to a ceasefire in 1994.

Community policeman killed by his own colleagues

An inquest has heard allegations that the RUC murdered one of their own members after he had uncovered the force’s collusion with unionist paramilitaries.

Irish names draw unionist hate

The father of six-year-old Dáithí Mac Gabhann, who led a successful campaign to reform organ donation laws in the north of Ireland, has received sectarian hate mail accusing him of “extreme political views” because of his Irish name.

Sinister PSNI activities opposed

More groups have been speaking out against the use of schools and community centres by the Crown Forces of to promote a colonial agenda in nationalist areas.

DUP still says no

The DUP continue to defy the EU, the US government, their own government in London and their own voters, as overwhelming support for a renegotiated Irish Protocol of Brexit left them with no excuse for not ending their boycott of powersharing in Belfast.

Loyalist events aim at St Patrick’s Day

Efforts to mark the St Patrick’s weekend in the north of Ireland were marred by provocative and sectarian UDA and Orange Order parades.

Call to scrap border travel requirements

US tourists to Ireland could become the victims of a new fight over border control measures as Tories seek to use new visa restrictions to create an immigration border through Ireland.

Sam Marshall inquest opens

An inquest has opened in Belfast into Crown Force collusion in the murder of Sam Marshall by unionist paramilitaries as he left an RUC police base in Lurgan in 1990.

Anti-Catholic slogans target Scottish children

Anti-Catholic slogans painted on the ground just yards from two Scottish schools have been widely condemned. The graffiti targeted those from Irish backgrounds on St Patrick’s Day.

Social media bigot is DUP election candidate

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been criticised for backing a party election candidate whose actions he admitted were “indefensible”.

Happy St Patrick’s Day! Lá le Pádraig sona daoibh!

A happy St Patrick to our subscribers, readers and all those who are with us on our journey. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig romhaibh uilig!

Documents reveal plastic bullets cover-up

The British Crown Forces hid their role in the deaths of children killed by rubber and plastic bullets during the conflict, it has emerged.

Derry youths attack British forces as harassment rises

There have been disturbances in Derry after British soldiers joined the PSNI in searches near Magowan Park in the Creggan area of the city.

President Biden to visit Ireland

US President Joe Biden has confirmed he is set for a multiple-destination trip to Ireland next month to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

MI5 recruitment bid at French airport

Republican party Saoradh has revealed that MI5 texted the partner of a member of the party’s executive to insist they were not trying to recruit him after he was detained at a French airport.

‘Hard border’ legislation condemned

Lawyers for a former republican prisoner have warned that regulations which established a mile-wide control regime along the British border through Ireland breach free movement rights for all members of the public.

End of eviction ban a matter of life and death

Opposition has grown to a move by the Dublin government to allow renters to once again be evicted onto the streets amid the continuing housing crisis.

Warning over British ‘Dirty Tricks’

PSNI claims that the New IRA collaborated with loyalists in a gun attack against one of its senior figures has been widely ridiculed and rejected by the armed group itself.

London considers unilateral changes to Good Friday Agreement

The British government has been warned against making unilateral changes to the Good Friday Agreement in order to appease the escalating demands of the DUP.

Death of Rita O’Hare

The funeral has taken place of senior Sinn Féin official Rita O’Hare, who was described by party leader Mary Lou McDonald as an “unstoppable force for Irish freedom”.

Anger as loyalist paramilitarism is normalised

A doorbell recording of a casual extortion demand by a unionist paramilitary gang has highlighted the openness with which these gangs are now engaging in serious crime across the north of Ireland.

British forces in ‘gross breach’ of Coroner’s ruling

A preliminary hearing for the Clonoe inquest has heard that it is still struggling to gather paperwork from the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) and PSNI police, despite numerous hearings down the decades.

SF address to Ballyseedy commemoration

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD addressed the party’s centenary commemoration in honour of the eight Republicans massacred by Free State forces at Ballyseedy.

DUP isolated as Tories hail Brexit deal

The DUP is under intense pressure to end their boycott of the power-sharing institutions in the North of Ireland after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted he was a “over the moon” at a deal agreed with the EU to end seven years of tensions over the implementation of Brexit.

PSNI reprisal raids after New IRA gun attack

A bitter conflict between the New IRA and British state forces has deepened after the armed group claimed responsibility for a targeted gun attack against a prominent and senior PSNI figure, John Caldwell.

Plastic bullet injury goes unpunished

A British soldier who fired a plastic bullet which partially blinded a Catholic schoolboy in 1997 used “reasonable force”, a High Court judge has ruled.

Attitude to loyalist gangs condemned

The vastly different approach of the British Crown Forces to loyalist paramilitaries vis-a-vis republican armed groups has been condemned by the Alliance Party.

Easter parade charges beaten again

Prominent Belfast republican Dee Fennell has been acquitted of overseeing an illegal Easter procession.

Council resisting law on Irish language signage

A unionist-dominated council area faces potential legal action over its refusal to introduce a policy on allowing dual language street signs.

Protocol deal signed

EU president Ursula Von Der Leyen and British prime minister Rishi Sunak have signed a long-awaited deal over post-Brexit trading arrangements for the north of Ireland.

Tory psychodrama boosts DUP wreckers

Proposals for a deal to finally end the dispute over the implementation of Brexit in the north of Ireland have been derailed by the intransigence of Tory and unionist extremists.

Senior PSNI man shot

A senior member of the PSNI has been injured in a shooting in County Tyrone which has been linked to republican armed groups.

Inquest begins into the ‘forgotten massacre’

The long-awaited Springhill/Westrock inquest commenced this week in Belfast.

Public inquiry sought into actions of UVF agents

The family of two Catholic brothers shot dead by loyalists almost 30 years ago has called for a public inquiry into the series of sectarian murders carried out at the time.

Protest against ‘hatred and disinformation’

Attempts by racists and foreign instigators to take advantage of concern in Ireland over immigration has been dramatically opposed by more than ten thousand people who attended a public rally in Dublin last weekend.

Evidence destroyed after James Murray’s bookmaker killings

Masks worn by the unionist paramilitary killers of three innocent Catholics in a November 1992 massacre were recovered by the Crown Forces the following day – but they were never tested and have since gone missing, it has emerged.

Unionism’s heart of stone

Hardline unionists succeeded in winning approval for a provocative monument to partition at Stormont on the day their boycott of the Assembly blocked over a hundred organ transplants.

Praise for SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon as she steps down

Tributes have been paid in Ireland to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who announced on Wednesday that she is stepping down as leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister.

Democracy denied as Britain again steps in

The British government has further postponed a scheduled Assembly election for a year after hardline unionists successfully lobbied to avoid a reckoning with the Six County electorate.

Hopes for justice as two inquests get underway

The first inquest into the 1998 murder of a County Derry man opened in Belfast on Monday.

Rents spiral upwards as ideology blocks change

The rent crisis in Ireland is having a devastating impact on the lives of an entire generation, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.

Bill could deliver far-reaching public inquiry into collusion

Legislation for a commission of investigation into decades of collusion by the British state has passed through the first stage of the Dublin parliament.

DUP running out of excuses

Unionists have failed in their legal attempts to force a renegotiation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement after the Supreme Court in London unanimously dismissed a challenge to its new trading procedures.

Omagh inquiry could become a whitewash

Expectations are low that an official inquiry into the role of state forces in the Omagh bomb will tackle the censorship and secrecy which have grown up around the events of August 15, 1998.

Backlash over wife killer’s role in Orange Order

The true nature of the anti-Catholic Orange Order has been exposed by its decision to appoint a man convicted of killing his wife as a ‘Worshipful Master’ in Tyrone.

Killer soldier avoids jail

The sentencing of a British soldier for the 1988 killing of Aidan McAnespie has met with a muted response, with most nationalists and republicans condemning the suspension of the three-year sentence which has ensured David Holden will not spend a day in prison for the crime.

North Belfast massacre remembered

A candlelit procession was among the events which were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the killing of six men in the New Lodge area of Belfast.

PSNI school stunt condemned

Saoradh has condemned a publicity stunt by armed PSNI police at a Catholic school in Derry in which children were photographed holding the force’s militaristic clothing and other equipment.

Killer soldier gets suspended sentence; Omagh inquiry announced

A decision by a non-jury court in Belfast to hand only a suspended sentence to a former British soldier found guilty of the manslaughter of 23-year-old Tyrone man Aidan McAnespie at a border checkpoint 35 years ago has been greeted with shock and disappointment.

Schoolchildren targeted by anti-Irish hate

Widespread disgust has greeted a sectarian sign which was placed by loyalists outside a school for young children in Clough, County Down.

Successive governments cheated most vulnerable citizens

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted the 26 County State ‘didn’t have a leg to stand on’ in relation to disability payments deliberately withheld from people in care.

Loyalist power struggle erupts on the Shankill

UDA gangsters smashed up a pub belonging to the daughter of a veteran loyalist amid a broadening feud over loyalist crime rackets.

Bloody Sunday rally hears condemnation of ‘amnesty by attrition’

Nationalists and republicans joined in events to mark the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre and to renew demands for justice for the victims.

‘Bill of Shame’ could protect serial killers

The 90-year-old mother of a Catholic schoolboy brutally beaten and shot dead by loyalists 50 years ago has told of how she strongly believes there was British state collusion in his killing.

British agent was behind ‘romper room’ murder gang

The son of a man killed by loyalists fifty years ago believes he was the victim of a ‘counter gang’ set up by the British Army to carry out atrocities.

Report on arrest of journalists suppressed

An official report on an infamous arrest operation against two journalists investigating collusion in 2018 has been withheld, with only a small summary released into the public domain.

Britain shows little motivation for ending North’s stalemate

The British government could face court action if it “stalls and delays” in calling a vote on Irish reunification, according to Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.

‘Hooded Men’ working to bring an end to torture methods

A BBC documentary on the ‘Hooded Men’ has cast a new light on the treatment of the group of 14 innocent young men who were arrested, interned and subjected to extreme and experimental cruelty by their British Army captors.

Sinn Féin calls for Legacy summit

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has written to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and 26 County Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asking that they call an urgent summit on issues dealing the the past conflict.

Dramatic gun attack on Gardaí recalled

A court action has been launched in a case in which a former 26 County policeman escaped death in a border gun attack he describes as a murder bid carried out by the British Army.

Vigil for Fergal McCusker

A candlelight vigil will be held on Friday to mark the anniversary of the death of Fergal McCusker, shot dead as he made his way home from a night out 25 years ago this week.

Tribal trophies of the SAS

Reports that close-up images of the bodies of eight IRA Volunteers postered the wall of a British Army training camp, and the tooth of one of the victims extracted as a ghoulish souvenir, have been described as “disgusting”.

Human rights group ‘sabotaged’ justice campaign

New details have emerged about a human rights organisation allegedly set up by an MI5 agent to penetrate and undermine Irish justice campaigns.

Donation row hints at deeper cronyism scandal

Ireland’s Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe is under pressure to resign after it emerged he violated election law over donations and concealed it for years.

If passed, legacy bill could be repealed

A pledge by the leader of the British opposition, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, to repeal the Tory government’s controversial legacy legislation has been widely welcomed.

US focus grows as Protocol talks drag on

A group of influential congressmen have introduced a resolution calling for the full implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and expressing hope for the “continued success” of the peace process amid growing doubts over the commitment of hardline unionists to the North’s powersharing institutions.

Action to remove loyalist intimidation

Republican Sinn Féin has said its activists have removed loyalist posters which it said had been used “to stoke up sectarian fear”.

Second-class citizenship

The British government has created a huge obstacle in efforts to restore powersharing in the north of Ireland after it dramatically excluded Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald from multi-party talks on Wednesday.

Inhuman treatment of bereaved prisoner

The handling by the authorities of a republican prisoner who tragically lost his twin baby grandchildren last week ranks among the worst of any stage of the conflict.

Focus on amnesty plan ahead of Bloody Sunday anniversary

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has threatened to name all the British soldiers who murdered civilians on Bloody Sunday if a controversial legacy bill is passed in Britain.

Court hears horrific murder due to RUC’s protection of killer

A police double agent involved in the loyalist murder of an innocent Catholic grandfather used his protected status to participate in multiple killings and “criminal mayhem”, the High Court has heard.

UDA violence in Ballymoney could worsen

The unionist paramilitary UDA has been blamed for a brutal attack which left two men and a woman in hospital in a County Antrim town.

Orange parade opposed in Derriaghy

Plans by the Orange Order to hold a parade to “honour” a UDA member who carried out deadly sectarian attacks 25 years ago are creating tensions in southwest Belfast.

‘Coalition of reactionaries’ opposed to peace

Newly released State papers from the 1990s have cast a new light on efforts by unionists in Belfast and London to frustrate the peace process – and how much the peace depended on the Sinn Féin leadership, particularly Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

MI5’s sick Christmas card recruitment bid

British military intelligence has been using the holiday season to send cards to nationalists in an effort to convince them to inform on their own community.

Repression bid ends in failure

A major Crown effort to imprison more than 40 republicans was dismissed after all charges were thrown out at Newry Courthouse last week.

Unionist violence on parade in the 1990s

Declassified state papers recorded the chaotic handling of the Drumcree parade dispute, as nationalists in Portadown began protesting against sectarian marches by the Orange Order and its loyalist supporters.

Ballymurphy families meet police for first time

The families of the Ballymurphy massacre victims have held their first meeting with the police (RUC or PSNI) in an attempt to have a murder investigation opened.

Cavan victims remembered

A ceremony has taken place over the Christmas period to mark the 50th anniversary of a deadly loyalist bombing in Belturbet, County Cavan.

Top Dublin official is British spy

There have been calls for an internal investigation by the Dublin government after a former British agent revealed that a senior Irish official has been working for British military intelligence for more than three decades.

Annie’s Bar, the ‘forgotten’ massacre, is remembered

A frequently overlooked massacre in Derry 50 years ago has been marked with a vigil and wreath-laying ceremony at the scene following a remembrance Mass.

Call for action to remove loyalist posters

The PSNI police have been urged to take action against the erection of intimidatory posters of Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar against the background of an image of the Dublin/Monaghan bombs.

Britain shamed by new court ruling

The Finucane family have achieved another legal victory against the British government in their campaign for justice.

Murder ‘apology’ returned

The family of John Pat Cunningham, who was shot dead at a British Army checkpoint nearly 50 years ago, have returned a letter of apology to the British Ministry of Defence.

Martin has ‘no strategy’ for a united Ireland

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has told a committee of the Dublin parliament that the failure to plan for a united Ireland “beggars belief”.

Joe Kennedy appointed as US Special Envoy

Joseph (Joe) Kennedy, a grandson of the late US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy and grand-nephew of the late US President John F Kennedy, has been confirmed in the role of new US Special Envoy to the north of Ireland.

Spooks fear Stakeknife report as publication looms

A report into one of the most controversial episodes of the conflict is facing censorship by British state agencies even before it is published in the new year.

New pressure to tackle loyalist crime gangs

Loyalist paramilitary organisations are targeting desperate food bank users, according to a new investigation into UDA and UVF loan sharks operating in Belfast.

Council of Europe denounces legacy bill

A report by a top European human rights official has called on the British government to withdraw its notorious legacy bill.

Centenary of Four Martyrs marked

Several republican groups and societies have marked the centenary of the summary execution by Free State forces of Liam Mellows and three other prominent IRA figures who died as martyrs for the Republic.

Forced confessions come back before the courts

Two of those who were beaten into making admissions about IRA attacks by Crown Force interrogators 45 years ago have had mixed outcomes in the battle to overturn their convictions.

Taoiseach blasts Tiktok over Varadkar video scandal

An era of high-tech censorship could be on the cards for Ireland in the wake of a new controversy involving Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar.

Historic day as language rights signed into law

The passage of Irish language legislation into British law has been welcomed as a “historic milestone” by campaigners who are now seeking the implementation of the law, including the appointment of the north’s first Irish language commissioner.

Fine Gael’s disdain for those they abandoned

One hundred years on from the betrayal of the north of Ireland by a partitionist cabal, the anti-Irish prejudice of their Fine Gael successors has been encapsulated in an outrageous smear by a former leader.

‘Shameful’ delay tactics as family waits 25 years for inquest

The continued delays in starting the inquest into the murder of County Derry Gaelic sports official Sean Brown have been described as “intolerable” and “devastating”.

Prisoners face tough conditions this Christmas

A republican prisoner has obtained legal permission to challenge prison authorities for subjecting him to strip searches around every court attendance.

‘Neither confirm, nor deny’ - cover-up retools

Those seeking truth and justice in the north of Ireland are facing a wall of silence by state officials hiding state crimes behind data protection legislation.

Collusion bomb attack which advanced repression

The 50th anniversary of a deadly bomb attack thought to have been the earliest act of British/loyalist collusion south of the border has been marked in Dublin.

Opposition to amnesty bill boosted by conviction

The response of the London government to the conviction of a British soldier for the death of a young Tyrone man has beeen described as “shocking”.

Attacks claimed by armed groups

The New IRA has claimed responsibility for a mortar attack on a PSNI patrol in Strabane, County Tyrone on November 17.

Republican communities punished by raids, evacuations

A protest has taken place in Strabane, County Tyrone following a week of intense Crown Force activity which has seen front doors smashed and families forced out of their homes by late-night raids and bogus ‘security’ alerts.

Intense MI5 efforts to recruit informers

Family members of republicans are being increasingly harassed and coerced to provide information and collaborate with the Crown Forces.

DUP bid to ‘cherry pick’ protocol

The DUP have been accused of talking “from both sides of their mouth” on the Brexit protocol after it was revealed former party leader Edwin Poots lobbied to retain elements which benefit the largely unionist farming community.

Changing unionism on show at the Ulster Hall

Up to a thousand people attended the Ulster Hall in Belfast on Wednesday night for a meeting supporting Irish unity in a venue long associated with unionism.

British soldier found guilty of manslaughter

A guilty verdict in a case against the British soldier who killed Tyrone man Aidan McAnespie in 1988 is of “exceptional poignancy” for his family, according to justice campaigners.

Scotland denied freedom vote

A judgement by the Supreme Court in London that a Scottish independence referendum cannot be held without the backing of the Westminster parliament has made clear that the ‘United Kingdom’ is a union that exists by force, not by democracy.

Armed action challenges narrative

British forces may have believed their own propaganda in regard to the status of IRA breakaway groups to judge by their shocked response to an attack on a PSNI patrol in Tyrone last Thursday night, November 17.

Collusion fears following arms finds

Two former British soldiers are among a group of loyalists who have appeared in court on weapons charges linked to the unionist paramilitary UVF.

Loyalists mount Belfast ‘culture war’

An advertising hoarding for Irish language channel TG4 has been defaced with sectarian death threats in north Belfast.

Protests over ‘callous’ legacy legislation

‘Bin the Legacy Bill’ protests have been taking place in Derry, Belfast and London as a bid to end conflict-related prosecutions and investigations takes place at the Westminster parliament.

US political leaders maintain support for Ireland

US political leaders continue to show strong support for the Irish cause despite a change in the balance of power following mid-term elections there.

Britain’s dirtiest secret

The son of an IRA Volunteer shot dead in the first of a series of planned British ambushes forty years ago has said he will never give up his fight for the truth.

Strip searches rise as authorities fail to use scanners

More than one hundred forced strip searches have been carried out against Republican prisoners in the past two weeks, despite new scanners that make the infamous procedure redundant.

‘Big Brother’ bid to control movements across border

Many crossing the border from the south into the north of Ireland may soon be required to submit biometric facial and fingerprint data to the British government.

Poppy Day parade held by UDA killer unit

An event organised by a sectarian and criminal murder gang to mark Remembrance Sunday has been condemned by its victims.

New pressure to move beyond Brexit deadlock

People in the north of Ireland overwhelmingly believe Dublin should have a role in governing the region should unionists continue to block the return of power-sharing, a new poll has shown.

Further protests over cost of living

Protestors at more than twenty regional events have called on the Dublin government to tackle economic injustice and provide more help to people struggling with soaring bills.

New decade, same old British approach

The British government has ripped up a requirement for holding an election in the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ Stormont talks deal.

Anger as children targeted for UVF bonfire ‘education’

A ‘charity’ linked to loyalist murder gangs is incredibly attempting to win support for sectarian bonfires in schools in the North of Ireland.

RAF activity raises tensions

A training mission conducted by Britain’s Royal Air Force has drawn attention to the continuing and unwelcome presence of the British military garrison in Ireland.

Aggressive raid on home of very elderly woman

A heavy-handed raid by the British Crown Forces has taken place on the home of a vulnerable 80-year-old woman in Portadown. The victim, a lifelong Republican, has never previously been arrested or imprisoned, leading to claims that the raid was an act of collective punishment against the local nationalist community.

Desperate Donaldson can’t stop telling lies

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been caught making a series of false claims in an attempt to win support for the party’s position on the Irish Protocol of Brexit.

Paisley move exposes DUP’s fear of democracy

The DUP has been accused of “having trouble respecting democracy” after north Antrim MP Ian Paisley drafted a Westminster bill to increase the majorities required for referendums on Irish unity and Scottish independence.

Loyalist bluff must be called

Despite mixed messages from the British government, nationalists and republicans are clear that new threats of political conflict by unionist paramilitaries cannot be allowed to succeed.

Britain ‘undecided’ about Stormont election

The British government has been accused of ‘playing for time’ after backing away from a legal requirement to hold an Assembly election in the north of Ireland.

Professor threatened after research on Irish unity

Belfast academic Colin Harvey continues to receive widespread support as he endures an escalating unionist hate campaign.

Secrecy over PSNI database breach raises collusion fear

Concerns have been raised regarding possible collusion involving a former PSNI member who is facing charges over the use of a police database “to obtain information on a series of individuals”.

Sailortown attack remembered, 50 years on

The sectarian killing of two young Catholic girls in a loyalist bomb in Belfast on Halloween has been remembered as one of the darkest days of the conflict.

Noah inquest to take place before a jury

The family of Noah Donohoe have welcomed a Coroner’s decision that the inquest into his disappearance and death should be held before a jury.

Paramilitary influence pushing DUP towards election

A Six County election appears set to be called on Friday as the DUP, the main unionist party, continues to boycott the power-sharing institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.

Support for joint rule to end political deadlock

Demands are growing in the North for joint rule from Dublin and London as unionist politicians continue to refuse to operate the power-sharing institutions in Belfast.

Language legislation passes final stages at Westminster

Irish language activists have hailed another major step towards comprehensive language rights as new legislation passed through its final stages at Westminster.

Republican released after three years on remand

Fermanagh Republican Peter Granaghan has been set free after enduring three years of internment by remand.

Football authorities condemned over vile anti-Irish abuse

Derry-born soccer player James McClean has accused English football authorities of turning a blind eye to what he says is “eight years of sickening abuse” over his nationality.

Bono makes headlines with false IRA claim

Claims by U2 frontman Bono that he was once targeted by the IRA have been rejected.

New British PM Sunak faces uphill task

Despite signs he knows little about Ireland, the selection of former Chancellor Rishi Sunak as the next British Prime Minister has been greeted as preferable to the return of Boris Johnson, who ended a bid for a shock return to power last night.

British PM quits as Tory chaos reaches new level

British prime minister Liz Truss has announced her resignation after 44 disastrous days in office, becoming the shortest-serving British prime minister in history.

Liam Campbell is back home

Dundalk republican Liam Campbell, extradited to Lithuania earlier this year, is back in Ireland after a court there terminated the criminal case against him. It is likely the final chapter in a 12-year saga of politically motivated state harassment directed against the prominent republican.

RUC man was ordered not to investigate shoot-to-kill

A former senior member of the RUC has revealed he was instructed not to question British soldiers about the planning of an infamous shoot-to-kill ambush which resulted in the killing of three IRA Volunteers in County Tyrone.

Court to hear Mountbatten’s links to Kincora

Testimony that English royal Louis Mountbatten sexually abused former residents of a Belfast boys home with links to the Orange Order is due to be aired in court, thanks to the bravery of a former resident.

Concern at use of vehicle-ramming ‘hard stops’

Derry continues to endure the brunt of attacks on political activists by members of the British forces, including a rise in the tactic of motorists being rammed by Crown Force vehicles.

Legal actions by internees and Blanketmen

Almost 100 former prisoners have issued proceedings against the current British Direct Ruler in connection with their detention.

Loyalist threat to film star

Loyalist graffiti appearing in County Antrim targeting actor James Nesbitt has been condemned. The graffiti appeared on a wall in Portrush on Wednesday, showing a crosshair image beside the star’s name.

Demonisation of Irish resistance fails again

Strong public acceptance of the legitimacy of Ireland’s fight against British rule continues to frustrate those seeking to marginalise our cause.

Double agent ‘protected’ after murder of father-of-four

The family of a republican shot dead by an alleged double agent inside the Provisional IRA has launched legal action against the Police Ombudsman after it refused to investigate the claim.

Landmark ruling in key collusion case

The PSNI are in breach of their duties to carry out an effective investigation into a fatal loyalist gun attack on a village pub 30 years ago, the High Court has ruled.

‘Justice Minister’ refuses to act on plastic bullets

The United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets has hit out at the inaction of Alliance Party leader Naomi Long over the issue of the use of deadly plastic bullets by the PSNI.

President speaks out against legacy bill

Irish President Michael D Higgins has said that nobody who has suffered from the conflict in Ireland wants to see an immunity from prosecution for those responsible.

DUP’s Brexit strategy undermined by hatred of Sinn Féin

A slur by a DUP councillor on First Minister-designate Michelle O’Neill has derailed a bid by the party to prevent port checks they claim amount to an ‘Irish Sea Border’.

Confident Irish nationalism reaches out

A major conference in Dublin last weekend brought more than 5,000 people together to hear a debate on the subject of Irish unity and the way forward for the island of Ireland.

Signs of a thaw in Anglo-Irish relations

An apparent apology by a hardline Tory Brexiteer for Britain’s bad faith in its dealings with Ireland and the EU has been given a cautious welcome.

New effort to honour fallen martyrs

An inclusive garden of tribute in memory of local republicans who have passed away over the past 50 years has been launched in Derry on Sunday.

British military blocking collusion ‘can of worms’

The brother of a Belfast man murdered by a loyalist gang 50 years ago has revealed that he needs to inform the PSNI every time he visits his grave.

Coroner urged to withdraw ‘perverse’ inquest verdict

The son of former Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) leader Dominic McGlinchey is seeking to have an inquest into his mother’s murder reopened.

Killer soldier could face prosecution

A file on the British soldier who shot dead mother-of-six Kathleen Thompson as she stood in her garden in Derry has been sent to prosecutors in a move welcomed by her family.

The rationale for the Union has gone

The release of census figures has removed any justification for the British partition of Ireland.

British opposition could call border poll

The British Labour Party has said it would be prepared to call a referendum on Irish reunification if it gets into power. Shadow British Direct Ruler Peter Kyle has said he would set out his criteria for calling a referendum.

Failed budgets follow cost of living protests

Thousands turned out in protest on Saturday, September 24 to march against the rising cost of living and increased hardship in both parts of Ireland.

Dillon family ‘deserve answers’

British secrecy and cover-up has increased ahead of the inquest into the 1997 murder of Seamus Dillon by a loyalist murder gang.

A new generation to carry on the justice fight

No one was brought to justice for the death of Harry Duffy. His family fear new legacy legislation means no one ever will, but another generation has vowed to continue the campaign regardless.

Schools urged to reject PSNI stunts

Lasair Dhearg has sent correspondence to every school and education facility in the North about a British policing strategy which it says is “aimed at grabbing the hearts and minds of our young people”.

Census results confirm significant demographic change

The 2021 census results confirm that the number of Catholics in the North of Ireland has leapt above the number of Protestants for the first time since the border was drawn through Ireland a century ago to prevent such a situation.

Unionists reject census results in advance

Unionists have been attempting to play down the significance of the results of the 2021 Census for the north of Ireland.

Sectarian attacks in east Belfast

Two “shocking” anti-Catholic attacks have taken place in a mixed area of east Belfast.

Anti-monarchy protest in Dublin

A protest march against the English monarchy took place in Dublin on Monday as Irish republicans responded to the accession of King Charles and the proclamation of his intent to rule over the north of Ireland.

Nothing compensates for murder of husband and father

The family of Loughlin Maginn, murdered as a result of collusion in 1989, have demanded a proper inquest into the killing after their civil action against the British Crown Forces was settled in their favour.

Pain for family after UVF funeral

Recently deceased loyalist paramilitary Joe Coggle got away with murder, says the daughter-in-law of a woman he killed nearly 40 years ago.

Two justice campaigners pass away

Liam Holden, who spent 17 years in prison after his wrongful conviction for the killing of a British Army soldier died last Thursday, September 15. He was the last prisoner in the North to face the death penalty.

Sinn Féin at Hillsborough as Charles proclaimed King

Sinn Fein’s participation in events to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession to the throne of Charles has seen it continue to build an ever closer relationship with the English royal family.

Families forced to flee loyalist attack

The PSNI have admitted an attack on four homes in County Derry was a sectarian loyalist attack.

Death of prominent Sinn Féin activist

Widespread shock has greeted the news of the death of former Republican prisoner, Blanketman and Derry nationalists’ rights campaigner Donncha Mac Niallais.

Time for Truth rally against amnesty bill

Over a thousand people gathered in Belfast on Sunday, 11 September to demand the scrapping of the British government’s plan to provide an amnesty for British war criminals.

Coagh ambush inquest opens

A British army shoot-to-kill in which three IRA Volunteers were shot dead was set up after information was passed to Special Branch police, an inquest has heard.

Little trust in Liz Truss

Nationalists have been viewing the installation of a new British administration with alarm after two fanatical Brexiteers were appointed to Belfast.

Mixed emotions as inquest brings closure

An inquest has found that a British soldier was “unjustified” in firing a plastic bullet that killed a schoolboy.

A blind eye turned to loyalist paramilitarism

The lack of condemnation of a loyalist paramilitary parade held in tribute to a sectarian killer speaks volumes about the current double standards in the north of Ireland.

Anger at hypocrisy of PSNI spin on Noah

Fiona Donohoe has filed a third complaint with the Police Ombudsman, accusing the PSNI of leaking sensitive material on her sons’s disappearance and death to social media.

Supreme Court challenge leaves only one Bloody Sunday prosecution

Relatives of Bloody Sunday victims seeking the prosecution of three former British soldiers have been denied permission to take their case to the Supreme Court in London.

‘Don’t let them fool you’

British military intelligence is continuing to engage in harassment and recruitment bids on republicans and their family in Derry.

Liz Truss is the new British Prime Minister

Liz Truss has been named as the new leader of the British Conservative Party and Britain’s fourth prime minister in just over six years.

Questions mount over loyalist violence

The PSNI have been accused of playing down a loyalist campaign of terror in the Coleraine area after a series of petrol bomb attacks were blamed on UDA paramilitaries.

Tory ‘hand grenade’ targets Ireland

Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss could be set to create an even greater crisis over the Irish Protocol of Brexit if, as expected, she becomes the next British Prime Minister on Monday.

Veteran republicans arrested

Two republican activists including a former Blanketman are being held without bail following a Crown Force operation in Belfast.

Hunger striker takes on Israeli internment

Israel has been forced to back down in the face of a wave of support for Palestinian hunger striker Khalil Awawdeh after images emerged showing him close to death.

PSNI set upon man suffering medical emergency

An attack on a critically ill republican as he made his way to hospital for emergency treatment has been condemned as “a new low”.

Loyalist territorialism reaches new height

A giant flag pole erected by loyalists in County Down could be used to fly the world’s largest Union Jack.

Support abides for armed struggle

Seven in ten nationalists in the north of Ireland accept there was no alternative to the “violent resistance” of republican armed groups to British rule, according to an opinion poll.

‘Landlord minister’ quits over undeclared deals

Fianna Fáil minister of State Robert Troy has resigned ten days into a mounting scandal over undeclared property dealings and his large property portfolio.

Vara runs from truth protest

British Direct Ruler Shailesh Vara was accused of ‘ducking and diving’ from protestors in Derry opposed to his government’s plans for an amnesty covering Britain’s war crimes in the North.

Pain of memorial to John Pat’s killer

The family of a vulnerable adult murdered by the British Army in cold blood have hit out after a memorial was unveiled to his killer at a British Army base.

Thousands attend hunger strike events

The first Sinn Féin hunger strike Commemoration in three years took place in Belfast on Sunday 21st August.

Angling body forced into u-turn over proud Irish win

A controversial decision to suspend an Irish national angling team because of ‘overzealous’ use of the Irish tricolour flag at a major international competition has been reversed following a public outcry.

Yes to justice for Noah

Several thousand people protested in Belfast city centre last weekend against a secrecy order placed on investigations into the death of Noah Donohoe.

West Belfast Féile at eye of summer storm

Unionists have escalated a campaign to demonise Irish resistance to British rule by falsely linking it to sectarianism.

No relief from loyalist intimidation in Derry

The annual ‘Relief of Derry’ march by the loyalist Apprentice Boys’ organisation saw flags once again used to intimidate and insult the overwhelmingly nationalist population of the city.

Tory ‘hustings’ branded a charade

Sinn Féin has branded the arrival of the Tory leadership contest ‘totally insulting’ and said they have no regard for the people of the north of Ireland.

Britain seen increasing hold on Gardaí

A third senior figure from the PSNI (formerly RUC) police in the North has been appointed directly into the top ranks of the Gardai police in the 26 Counties.

Marches to drive 1916 Societies campaign for unity

A ‘March for Irish Unity and Independence’ which took place recently in Coalisland, County Tyrone hosted by the 1916 Societies, is the first in a series intended to boost the campaign for Irish freedom.

Judge demands political statement from internee

One of ten republican activists interned by remand following a large-scale arrest operation in 2020 has been told by a judge he must make a statement supporting a ‘shared island’ in order to be considered for bail.

Loyalist bonfire crimes go unpunished

Unionist paramilitaries in north Down threatened to break the arms of two teenage girls unless their families paid £2,000 to their bonfire fund.

Unionists keep getting it wrong

Unionists have had to retract false claims that a Gaelic sports tournament for children in County Tyrone was named in honour of a hunger striker.

Report boosts calls for new inquest

The death of Belfast teenager Dessie Healey has been marked with the launch of a new family report documenting the circumstances of his killing 51 years ago.

Rents ‘out of control’

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has warned that the Dublin government has ‘lost control’ of the housing market in the 26 Counties.

World continues to ignore Gaza’s never-ending trauma

The besieged Gaza Strip has faced yet another devastating, deadly Israeli attack but the world continues to ignore the endless trauma.

Britain accused of condoning Noah’s murder

A wave of outrage has followed the decision by the new British Direct Ruler to sign a secrecy order covering files on the death in 2020 of 14-year-old Catholic boy Noah Donohoe.

Power-sharing strangled by DUP boycott

There have been calls for political action against the DUP after they blocked a third attempt to elect a Speaker to the Belfast Assembly on Wednesday.

Commemorations remember Operation Motorman’s teen victims

A plaque has been unveiled at the spot where a Derry teenager was shot dead by the British Army fifty years ago.

Growing pains for Irish culture in east Belfast

Almost half of the students at a new Irish language centre in east Belfast are from a Protestant background, it has emerged, although a new Gaelic sports club is facing loyalist opposition to its growth in the area.

Unionists overreach in pursuit of grievance

Attempts by unionists to escalate sectarian tensions have included a series of wild claims and exaggerations.

Michelle O’Neill delivers insightful interview

Amid increased public interest following her historic election as Sinn Fein’s First Minister-designate, Michelle O’Neill has been extensively interviewed about her life and influences.

Majority in North now back immediate reunification

The latest poll results in the Six Counties point to a sharp decline in support for unionism and the emergence of a clear majority in favour of Irish reunification.

Death of David Trimble

Although widely praised for his role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble will also be remembered for his failure to deliver the leadership unionism needed in the years following its signing.

Secrecy order signed in Noah Donohoe case

A censorship order has been signed by the new British Direct Ruler Shailesh Vara to prevent the release of information on the investigation into Noah Donohoe’s disappearance and death.

Loyalist leaves legacy of unanswered questions

The sudden death of a prominent UDA paramilitary in Scotland has brought home the failure of the authorities to investigate the acts of collusion he was involved in with British forces.

Human rights lawyer defended the underdog

Tributes have been paid to human rights lawyer Pádraigín Drinan following her death aged 75. She has been praised as someone who “championed the rights of others throughout her entire life”.

Bomb warnings ‘were ignored’

A research charity has discovered that coded IRA warnings were not heeded in a series of attacks in 1972 which became known as ‘Bloody Friday’.

Irish Unity ‘by 2030’

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has predicted a referendum on the reunification of Ireland would take place “in this decade” and that Ireland is “in the end days of partition”.

PSNI failed to pass on death threat to UDA murder victim

The brother of a man found murdered by unionist paramilitaries in 2020 has said the police in the North failed to inform him that his life was under threat.

Little change seen after Tory process of attrition

One of two members of the former ‘war cabinet’ of the ousted British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is set to become his successor following an ugly and dubious selection process by the party’s MPs.

PSNI accused in upsurge of sectarianism

Two members of the PSNI police saluted the funeral procession of loyalist John Steele, who fell to his death while building a loyalist paramilitary bonfire in Larne earlier this month.

Sinister agency at work at Belfast Airport

Two political parties have condemned separate interrogations of their members by unidentified ‘security’ personnel stationed at Belfast Airport.

Plastic bullet victims remembered

The family and friends of Tobias Molloy have held a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of his death at the hands of a British soldier on July 16, 1972.

Hopes for a ‘reset’ in London

The edging out of Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister this week has raised hopes that his successor will end the multiple attacks of his government on the Good Friday Agreement.

Demands for change as sectarian nightmare continues

The complete failure of the authorities to tackle rampant hate crimes at loyalist ‘Eleventh’ bonfires has brought demands for forceful action and an end to the lip service which greets the scenes every year.

‘RUC has not gone away’ as shocking defilement revealed

The PSNI has been accused of descending new depths of inhumanity after it emerged members of the force shared perverted images of a suicide victim’s body accompanied by sectarian anti-Catholic comments.

Families are targeted at Maghaberry

Children of republican prisoners attending a jail visit at Maghaberry prison were told to use a “mop bucket” after requesting to use the toilet.

Johnson departure gives hope to families

Campaigners against legislation to give an amnesty to Britain’s war criminals in the north of Ireland have said Boris Johnson’s departure as Prime Minister could “be a window of opportunity”.

Springhill/Westrock massacre remembered, 50 years on

Relatives and friends gathered this week for a memorial march to remember five Catholic people shot dead by the British army 50 years ago.

Loyalist mayhem and hate now ‘mainstreamed’

Hundreds of loyalist bonfires have gone ahead tonight across the North despite the death of a bonfire builder who fell to his death from one of the pyres.

Johnson ‘resigns’ but remains in power; reshuffles Cabinet

Controversy continues in London after British Prime Minister delivered a resignation speech in Downing Street but insisted he would stay on as British Prime Minister until a successor is appointed.

Lewis quits as Johnson seeks to stay until October

Britain’s Direct Ruler in Ireland Brandon Lewis has resigned from the Cabinet as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now on the point of yielding to the overwhelming pressure for him to go.

‘Pray for Johnson to go’

After one of the most bizarre days in British politics, Boris Johnson is still clinging to power in London despite no fewer than 42 resignations from his government, including a record 14 Ministers in one day.

Collusion alleged as Irvine walks

The open involvement of a British minister in the release on bail of a top loyalist paramilitary figure has hiked tensions in the north of Ireland ahead of next week’s ‘Twelfth’ marches.

Legacy ‘Bill of Shame’ passed by MPs

The British government has been accused of retraumatising victims of the conflict after legislation for a broad amnesty for its war criminals in the north of Ireland was rushed through the House of Commons.

PSNI working alongside MI5 to recruit informers

The PSNI are increasingly facilitating British military intelligence in their attempts to recruit nationalists as informers.

Royalist propaganda delivered to Irish schoolchildren

A new ‘patriotic’ book to promote the Queen of England has been distributed to schools in the occupied north of Ireland.

Demands grow for action on unity

Calls for Irish self-determination and Scottish independence look set to grow amid the meltdown of Boris Johnson’s administration in London. Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Matt Carthy called on the Tory government to now “clarify the criteria” for an Irish unity poll.

McGurk’s Bar report quashed after seven year fight

A deceptive police report into the McGurk’s Bar bomb atrocity is to be quashed in its entirety, concluding a titanic legal battle between victims of the atrocity and the PSNI.

‘Epic’ power grab seen in London’s unilateral actions

The British government’s proposed Bill of Rights has been described as a “power grab on an epic scale” that will violate the Good Friday Agreement’s basic human rights guarantees.

Inquest exposes murder as legacy fight continues in London

A Derry mother was shot dead by a British soldier in her back garden in circumstances which were “unjustified”, a coroner has ruled.

Shocking sectarian attack ignored by PSNI

A Catholic man who fled his east Belfast home with his injured partner after being attacked by a loyalist mob has described the PSNI as a “disgrace” after they ignored their pleas for help for over an hour.

British ruling class faces new resistance

Irish republican socialist James Connolly is back in vogue in Britain amid increasing signs of a new political awakening there.

Republican prisoner challenges strip searches

A republican prisoner has won High Court permission to challenge strip searches inflicted on him before and after attending a hospital appointment.

Peace under sustained attack

With plans well advanced in London for a hard border through Ireland and a blanket amnesty for British war crimes, there is a consensus among nationalists that the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is under unprecedented attack.

Prominent republican interned

The chairman of Saoradh in Derry has been summarily jailed by order of the British Direct Ruler Brandon Lewis.

Activist arrested as British Navy ignores Irish neutrality

A former councillor has been arrested in Cork after challenging the presence of a British Navy warship.

Sectarian tensions mount ahead of ‘Twelfth’

There are fears of trouble at a flashpoint in north Belfast in the coming weeks after the letters KAT, which means ‘Kill All Taigs’, were scrawled close to a notorious bonfire site.

Name added to bomb memorial

The name of baby Martha O’Neill has been added to a memorial to mark the British and loyalist bombings of Dublin in 1974.

Assange extradition move condemned

Sinn Féin has condemned the decision by the British Home Secretary Priti Patel to proceed with the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the US.

Irvine arrest highlights new collusion fears

A notorious UVF paramilitary figure was on a peace scholarship backed by the Dublin government when it is alleged he was involved in a dramatic hoax car bomb attack on its Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney.

EU, US move to defend agreements as Brexit undone

The European Commission has begun two new legal proceedings against Britain after it introduced legislation to override the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in regard to the north of Ireland, and resumed another challenge it had previously paused.

Statements forced from innocent teens - report

After a lifelong justice campaign, a report has finally confirmed that the RUC forced false confessions from the ‘Derry Four’ in 1979.

British govt attempted to undermine Bloody Sunday Inquiry

British officials expressed “grave concerns” over sensitive documents linked to Bloody Sunday falling into the hands of lawyers acting for relatives of the dead, it has been revealed.

Gardaí evict activists as housing crisis deepens

Gardaí police this week forced entry to an abandoned homeless shelter to evict activists seeking to tackle a crisis which has now prompted the involvement the Irish President, Michael D Higgins.

Justice campaigns ‘up against the clock’

Relatives of nine of those killed by the British Army in Ballymurphy, west Belfast are to receive “significant” undisclosed damages as part of settlements reached in their civil actions.

Johnson rips up Brexit Protocol

Legislation has been published by the British government this evening which overrides the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Ireland and severely breaches both the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and international law.

‘Ban the Orange Order’

A wave of revulsion at chanting about the murder of a young Catholic bride on her honeymoon has brought pressure for the Orange Order to be treated alongside other racist and supremacist groups.

Mayhem feared as Tories turn against Johnson

The peace process in Ireland could be sabotaged by Boris Johnson’s desperate attempts to regain the support of far-right backbenchers after he narrowly survived a no-confidence vote of Tory MPs.

Legacy bill ‘hopelessly incompatible with human rights’

High-level protests are continuing over legislation currently being fast-tacked through Westminster to shut down investigations and provide an amnesty for Britain’s war criminals in Ireland.

Sinn Féin honours Queen of England

Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill has expressed her respect and admiration for the Queen of England as her party denounced criticism from nationalists and republicans with the message “the haters are not the future”.

Coroner ‘startled’ by British failure to reply on files

A coroner examining the death of a man shot during a prison break has expressed concern at the ongoing failure by the Attorney General in London to respond to a request for files related to the case.

BBC insults in coverage of Jubilee

The Irish tricolour flag was used in a live televised video montage to represent countries under British rule at Buckingham Palace on Saturday.

Unionists object to reminder of colonial past

Unionist indignation at the public use of the word ‘planter’ by visiting US politician Richard Neal has highlighted their denial of the history of settler colonisation in the north of Ireland.

Stormont Assembly again fails to elect new speaker

Questions are being raised over the future of the Stormont Assembly after unionists once again blocked the installation of an Assembly Speaker and a First Minister.

Gun attack points to loyalist infighting

There are reports that a loyalist feud may have reignited in north Belfast following the attempted murder of an associate of a prominent loyalist.

Polls show boost for Sinn Féin, Irish unity

An opinion poll has shown support for Sinn Féin in the 26 Counties has surpassed the combined vote of the two main government parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, for the first time.

Marley family to get day in court

The family of assassinated Belfast republican Larry Marley have described a High Court date as a boost to the family’s campaign for justice.

False narrative for killing faces court challenge

Relatives of an IRA Volunteer shot dead by a British soldier in west Belfast more than 50 years ago are suing the British Ministry of Defence over the false claim that he was throwing a weapon.

Red letter day for the Irish language

A new sense of empowerment was evident in the largest ever demonstration for Irish language rights in Belfast last weekend, as up to 20,000 people demanded overdue legislation to protect the rights of Irish speakers under British rule.

US politicians intervene to protect Good Friday Agreement

An international furore has erupted following the decision of Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to introduce legislation at Westminster last week to unilaterally alter the Brexit deal. The European Union has again warned that “action calls for reaction”.

Legacy ‘bill of shame’ getting rushed into law

A coffin was carried to Downing Street by relatives of victims of the conflict as protests increased at British government legacy plans which amount to yet another breach of the Good Friday peace Agreement.

Family’s concern at Tory bid to shut down legal options

The daughter of a Catholic man killed by an undercover British army unit 50 years ago this month has said his killing tore her family apart.

Strip-searches of children condemned

The PSNI has strip-searched children on 34 occasions last year with the overwhelming majority of the searches finding nothing, it has been revealed.

Loyalist disturbances in north Belfast

Homes and businesses in the Oldpark area of north Belfast have been attacked by loyalists throwing bricks, bottles and timber.

Britain lurches from ‘law, law’ to ‘war, war’

Fears of a trade war and renewed conflict in the north of Ireland have increased dramatically after the British government this week tore up the Irish Protocol of Brexit in a flagrant breach of international law.

Outrage as details of amnesty bill emerge

There has been intense anger at British government plans to introduce an amnesty from conflict prosecutions from which former political prisoners would be disbarred.

Liam Campbell extradited

Louth republican Liam Campbell has been extradited to Lithuania after being arrested by Gardai police on Monday. He was handed over to Lithuanian authorities at Dublin Airport.

Crisis becomes circus in Belfast

A stream of political posturing and grandstanding has masked the DUP’s refusal to accept the result of this month’s election to the Stormont Assembly, in which Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party.

Confusion over trigger for Irish unity vote

The Sinn Féin vice president has said there is a need to fill in a grey area of the Good Friday Agreement on the circumstances for holding a referendum on constitutional change.

‘Low-level informer’ flees Derry

An alleged informer in Derry has been defended by his family who said he had been coerced into collaborating with the British forces.

Flash: Britain moves to renege on Brexit Protocol

The British government has initiated the process of formally reneging on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement with the introduction of unilateral legislation to “disapply” parts of the protocol on trade in the north of Ireland.

Old order fails to grasp seismic change

Rejectionist unionism continues to be indulged by the British government, despite Sinn Féin winning the Stormont Assembly election and nationalist parties outpolling unionist parties in a Six County election for the first time.

Election adds to pressure for Border Poll

A referendum on Irish unity must be held after the Assembly election result showed there is “no majority for the union any more”, according to a group of prominent nationalists.

Dismay, scepticism as Britain parades plans for new laws

Victims’ groups have hit out a British government reworking of a planned amnesty plan as a “sinister denial of rights”.

Liam Campbell extradition allowed by Supreme Court

Prominent republican Liam Campbell could soon be extradited to Lithuania following a ruling by the 26 County Supreme Court in Dublin, despite the fact he never set foot in the country.

Hypocrisy of funeral Covid fines

Two prominent Tyrone republicans fined for attending the funeral of a friend during the Covid-19 lockdown are to appeal the decision.

PSNI refuse to say who lied about massacre bomb

The families of victims of the McGurk’s Bar massacre have again been refused a meeting by the PSNI.

DUP to block formation of Executive after losing election

As a Sinn Féin First Minister was historically elected to head the new power-sharing Stormont Executive tonight, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has confirmed he will veto its formation.

McDonald calls for Irish unity vote within five years

With counting continuing, Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party remain the big winners from the Stormont Assembly election, with Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill now certain to become First Minister-elect.

Flash: Nationalists outvote unionists in North for first time

First election results across the north of Ireland show that nationalist candidates have outvoted unionists in the Six Counties for the first time, triggering a key requirement for a referendum on Irish reunification.

Tallies show Sinn Féin on course for historic victory

Sinn Féin could be on its way to becoming the largest party in the Stormont Assembly. If tallies from count centres are borne out in final results from Thursday’s election, Michelle O’Neill is set to become First Minister-elect and the first nationalist to lead a Six County administration under British rule.

Counting the changes

The increasing confidence of Irish nationalism and the declining power of unionism has become clear in an election campaign marked by signs of incremental but irreversible change.

Pursuit of IRSP election agent ‘as blatant as it gets’

There has been strong condemnation of a threat by the Crown Forces to seize the election agent of IRSP West Belfast candidate Dan Murphy on the eve of an Assembly election.

Pre-election ‘smear’ has opposite effect

A cynical move to publicise an attempt by Sinn Féin to contact Saoradh as part of a peace effort has seen overwhelming public support for the gesture.

Passports swapped as unionists see through Brexit

More Irish than British passports have been issued in the north of Ireland for the first time since partition.

Hostel occupied in bid to reopen vacant buildings

Left-wing activists have occupied a vacant former youth hostel in Dublin in order to provided housing to those in need.

Blinded peace charity founder recalls tragic shooting

Fifty years ago this week a ten-year-old schoolboy, Richard Moore, was blinded by a British soldier’s rubber bullet in Derry.

Noah’s face slashed from posters

Posters seeking justice for schoolboy Noah Donohoe have been attacked in a predominately unionist area of north Belfast.

‘Sectarian’ police attack defenceless child

A violent arrest of a 13-year-old boy in Coalisland, County Tyrone on the 19th of April is the latest abuse alleged to have been carried out by the PSNI against Catholic children.

PSNI pile pressure on IRSP as election campaigning continues

There has been outrage in Strabane after the PSNI police attacked a funeral of a prominent member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) in the Tyrone town and arrested some of the mourners.

‘Out of touch’ Tories pave way for move against Protocol

The British government has indicated it will announce legislation in a speech by the English queen to allow it to formally renege on sections of the Withdrawal Agreement of Brexit, with the Irish Protocol set to be the main target.

Urgent need for collusion inquiry as three family members die

A mother and family members of two other collusion victims have separately passed away this week without seeing justice for their loved ones.

Loyalist youths attack church

An attack on the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Magherafelt, County Derry is the second such incident in the last year.

Easter events overshadowed by violent PSNI operation

A PSNI arrest operation at a major Easter commemoration in Derry resulted in scenes of violence and renewed a controversy over the force’s handling of traditional republican parades in the north of Ireland.

Armed groups issue Easter statements

The New IRA has said it will not abandon its armed resistance, while another republican armed group, Óglaigh na hEireann, has warned it would respond to loyalist paramilitary attacks.

Online ‘black op’ against the IRSP

The main Facebook page of the Irish Republican Socialist Party has been deleted in its entirety, just two weeks before its first Stormont Assembly election.

Joe McCann anniversary

The family of Official IRA commander Joe McCann have marked the 50th anniversary of his death.

Sinn Féin leaders make election appeals at Easter events

The leader of Sinn Féin has sought “partnership” with unionists to help bring about the party’s objective of a united Ireland.

Sabres rattled as unionists warn of impending reunification

A border poll and Irish unity could follow quickly after the Assembly election in two weeks time – that’s according to unionist politicians who have been ramping up sectarian fears ahead of the vote.

Trouble in Derry after PSNI bid to suppress commemoration

A mini-riot erupted in Derry today after a violent PSNI arrest operation was launched against an Easter commemoration attended by thousands of republicans.

Unionism split by actions of extremists

Hardline unionists have been blamed for a shocking incident that saw a noose placed around the neck of an image of Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie.

PSNI accused of abusing child informers

The PSNI has been condemned over its recruitment of child informers, details of which they have again refused to disclose.

Call for end to UVF funding on anniversary of peace deal

State bodies who are still directing cash to loyalist paramilitary groups stand accused of operating a form of collusion, 24 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Election campaigns targeted by loyalists and state agencies

The Irish Republican Socialist Party candidate for West Belfast Dan Murphy has described the ongoing harassment of party election workers in the constituency by the Crown Forces “as an attack on democracy and an attack on the West Belfast electorate”.

Republican groups battle censorship ahead of Easter events

A sudden escalation in the online censorship of republican groups is being seen as an attempt by anti-republican forces to shut down this year’s Easter Rising commemorations.

Former hunger striker dies

A former republican prisoner who took part in the 1981 hunger strike has died. Dungiven man Liam McCloskey survived 55 days without food when he was forced to end his hunger strike in September 1981.

Minister potentially funding his own assassins

The 26 County Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, has been funding organisations linked to unionist paramilitaries who have been threatening to assassinate him, it has emerged.

Hundreds of PSNI members are Orangemen or Freemasons

A huge number of PSNI police are signed-up members of sectarian Protestant or Masonic groups, it has emerged.

Sinn Féin shifts focus for election campaign

A Sinn Féin focus on the cost of living in the Stormont election has sparked controversy, with the DUP, the SDLP and the Irish Republican Socialist Party all rowing in to criticise the temporary downgrading of the party’s Irish unity agenda.

Call for investigation into UDR role in brutal killing

The anniversary of the murder of a County Antrim man as he slept beside his wife and baby daughter has brought fresh calls for an inquest into the the circumstances of the killing and the role of the Crown Forces in the attack.

‘Rights delayed are rights denied’

More than 1,000 people have signed a letter expressing their “deep concerns regarding the persisting failure” to introduce the Irish Language Act following decades of delay.

Ex-prisoners win compensation via Redress Board

Two former republican prisoners beaten behind bars as teenagers are to receive five-figure compensation payouts via an unusual route.

Who stands behind ‘Brexit’s bombers’?

Questions are being raised over the role of unionist politicians and media in motivating a hoax bomb attack at an event in north Belfast on Friday morning, 25 March.

British soldier goes on trial for McAnespie killing

A trial in Belfast of a former British soldier has heard that his claim that his finger “slipped” when he killed 23-year-old nationalist Aidan McAnespie at a border checkpoint was “not credible”.

Hopes fade for language rights as ‘hocus-pocus’ deal dissolves

An admission by the British government that it has no immediate plans to introduce Irish language legislation in the north of Ireland has been angrily condemned by Irish language speakers.

AIA claim successes against normalisation of British rule

A year-long republican campaign in Armagh appears to have succeeded in its bid to stop the city being branded as a “UK City of Culture”.

PSNI refuse to deny informer allegations

A legal challenge has been launched after the PSNI police said it would neither confirm nor deny if alleged paedophile priest Malachy Finegan was an informer for the force.

Protest at Orange parade in Glasgow

A parade by the anti-Catholic Orange Order past a Catholic church went ahead in Glasgow on Sunday, 27 March, amid a new focus on the failure of the authorities in Scotland to limit sectarian marches in the city.

Anger at stealth move to harden Border

A plan by the British government to restrict movements of non-Irish citizens of the European Union on the island of Ireland has come under renewed criticism following a vote in the Westminster parliament.

Quick action urged on Bloody Sunday prosecution

Lawyers acting for the families of the victims of the Bloody Sunday say prosecutors must now immediately resume proceedings against ‘Soldier F’ after a decision to drop charges against him was quashed by the High Court.

US President speaks out as unionists obsess on protocol

US President Joe Biden has responded to continuing unionist and British efforts to use Brexit to reinforce the partition of Ireland with a warning that the Good Friday Agreement “cannot change”.

Sinn Féin dig in as royals face post-colonial anger

The 32 County Sovereignty Committee has condemned the participation of Sinn Féin in a ceremony at the Belfast Assembly to mark the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth Windsor’s coronation as Queen of England.

Birmingham Six campaigner wins case over sources

A journalist who led the campaign to expose the Birmingham Six miscarriage of justice will not have to hand over his notes to police in England after they launched a legal bid to require him to reveal his sources.

Ukrainian soldiers given copies of IRA manual - report

A Ukrainian translation of the IRA’s ‘Green Book’ for military planning has been distributed to soldiers in the war-ravaged country to help them engage in guerrilla conflict, according to a report in the Sunday World.

Bloody Sunday prosecution should go ahead, court rules

A decision to drop murder charges against a former British soldier in connection with Bloody Sunday is to be quashed, the High Court in Belfast ruled today.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

In solidarity with all our readers on our national day.

Donaldson’s role in ‘dirty peace’ no clearer

An official report into the murder of Denis Donaldson, an MI5 informer operating at the highest ranks of Sinn Fein, has not quelled speculation over his killing.

Support for Irish unity on St Patrick’s Day

Unionists will be in short supply at the traditional White House celebrations for St Patrick’s Day after DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and UUP leader Doug Beattie both pulled out.

Armed action claimed in County Derry

A small republican armed group, Arm na Poblachta, has said it was responsible for an attack on a PSNI patrol in County Derry using an improvised explosive device.

PSNI target vulnerable young girl

There has been an angry reaction in Newry after a 13-year-old girl with mental health needs and a friend were harassed by an “aggressive” police patrol in the centre of the town on Thursday, March 10.

A change in advertising in west Belfast

Recruitment posters for the British Army cadets which have appeared on Belfast’s Falls Road have been taken down.

Internees get convictions overturned

Six former internees are to have their convictions for escaping from Long Kesh in the 1970s quashed, the Court of Appeal ruled on Monday.

Irish neutrality ‘under siege’

Efforts to exploit the invasion of Ukraine to push for an end to Ireland’s military neutrality have been condemned.

English racists seek to shut Irish border to Ukrainians

The Dublin government has rejected English calls to ‘close the Irish Border’ over its decision to offer asylum to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

‘Secretive’ extradition opposed

In response to a demand by British forces in the north of Ireland, a Cork-based republican has been brought before a court for an extradition hearing.

British Labour selects prominent Scottish Orangeman

The British Labour Party in Scotland has been accused of promoting anti-Catholic hate after it named a former Orange Order leader as a local election candidate for the party.

Brexit seen taking back seat after Russian invasion

The war in Ukraine has overwhelmed plans by the British government to trigger a showdown with the European Union, according to reports in the London media.

New Lodge Six families seek review of investigation delay

British Army killers of six Catholic men in north Belfast may be dead before the case is allocated for a PSNI investigation, the Court of Appeal in Belfast has heard.

End the Occupations

In full support of peace and freedom for the people of Ukraine, Irish nationalists and republicans have been leading calls for a reassertion of Ukraine’s national sovereignty and for an end to military expansions across the world.

New evidence of collusion in journalist’s murder

The family of murdered Sunday World journalist Martin O’Hagan are to sue the PSNI for withholding information which could have prevented his murder.

Donohoes targeted for PSNI harassment

Anger has greeted news that Fiona Donohoe has been required to attend a PSNI base for questioning over police claims a walk in support of her family may have breached Covid restrictions.

Another TD quits Sinn Féin

A Sinn Féin TD has dramatically quit the party as its organisational crisis once again erupted onto the front pages.

Support for prisoners over visits protest

Three independent councillors in Derry and Strabane have supported republican prisoners who are campaigning for visiting arrangements introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to be relaxed.

Kelly out as Labour stuggles for relevance

Alan Kelly has resigned as leader of the Irish Labour Party following a sudden heave against him by his fellow party TDs. The colleagues who forced him out stood uneasily in the background as the Labour leader made an emotional resignation speech to the media on Wednesday evening.

Russian invasion condemned

Irish political leaders have been joining international condemnation of a Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Non-jury court exposed by wrongful convictions

A Dublin man has called for an end to the Special Criminal Court after describing his ordeal of being falsely jailed for IRA membership as “horrific”.

Too early to talk of Stormont alternative - O’Neill

Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill has said the days of democracy in the north of Ireland “on the terms of unionism alone” are over as speculation persists that the DUP will block a return of power-sharing if Sinn Féin becomes the largest party in May’s election to the Stormont Assembly.

Unionist politicians bicker as election looms

Loyalist preparations for the Stormont election have been hampered by public infighting and a lack of interest in their protests against Brexit-related port checks.

GAA caught up in ‘good and bad’ memorials row

Unionists stand accused of hypocrisy after they criticised a memorial at a Gaelic sports club to former members of the club who died as IRA Volunteers in the line of duty.

Miscarriage of justice journalist targeted by police

English journalist Chris Mullin, who exposed the Birmingham Six miscarriage of justice, has accused police there of going “for the guy who blew the whistle” after they sought a court order requiring him to reveal his sources.

US call for end to amnesty plan

With evidence piling up of systematic collusion by the British Crown Forces in the murders of more than a thousand innocent Irish civilians, US political leaders have vowed to help stop London passing a blanket amnesty.

Unionists see new hope for a hard border

Tory extremists and unionists are exploiting the weakness of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “a renewed opportunity” to push for a hard Brexit and a remilitarisation of the border through Ireland, according to reports.

Sinn Féin’s royal outreach divides nationalists

A statement by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald congratulating Queen Elizabeth on a “lifetime of service” has renewed a controversy over the party’s relationship with the English royal family.

‘Vindictive’ convictions overturned

Two former republican prisoners have had false convictions against them quashed by the Spanish Supreme Court.

Family calls for British army apology over killing

The family of a Catholic man killed by the British Army in north Belfast almost 50 years ago has renewed its call for an apology.

Petition calls on PSNI to release files on Noah Donohoe

Fiona Donohoe, whose young son was found dead in a loyalist area of north Belfast two years ago, has launched a petition to the PSNI Chief Simon Byrne to release four secret files on the case.

Systematic collusion now undeniable

The publication of a detailed report on the extensive collusion between RUC police and loyalist death squads in south Belfast in the 1990s could mark a turning point in the campaign for truth and justice in the north of Ireland.

Anger grows at impunity and cover-up

Pressure is mounting to stop British plans for an amnesty and to ensure full accountability for its forces’ actions.

DUP met with murder gangs before collapsing Stormont

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson met with a loyalist paramilitary umbrella group just days before he moved to end power-sharing at Stormont, raising fears that crime gangs continue to wield significant influence with his party.

PSNI handcuff 13-year-old in latest harassment outrage

The father of a 13-year-old schoolboy handcuffed during a stop-and-search by the PSNI says his son has been left shaken and distressed.

Welcome as Glasnevin’s ‘wall of shame’ is taken down

An infamous memorial in Dublin which commemorated members of the British forces who died trying to defeat Irish independence is to be taken down.

Tension at Maghaberry as jailers maintain Covid lockdown

With Covid restrictions being removed and a sense of normality returning, republican prisoners at Maghaberry jail have called for prison visits to be reinstated to the same format as they were.

DUP First Minister Paul Givan resigns

The DUP’s Paul Givan has resigned as First Minister of the north of Ireland with effect from midnight tonight, putting a question mark over a scheduled election in which his party was expected to poll badly.

‘We will see them in the dock’

Several thousand people marched behind the slogan, ‘There is no British Justice’ as the campaign for those killed and injured by the British Parachute Regiment in Derry on Bloody Sunday marked its 50th year.

Fresh impetus to Bloody Sunday justice push

There was a new display of unity in Derry on Sunday as different campaigns aligned to call for justice for the families of the peaceful protesters killed by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday.

Craigavon 2 convictions to be reviewed

A serious miscarriage of justice could be returned to the Court of Appeal as a result of the actions of undercover MI5 agent, Dennis McFadden.

‘Desperate’ DUP act to halt protocol checks

A move by DUP Minister Edwin Poots to order an end to Brexit-related checks at ports in the north of Ireland has been strongly condemned by nationalists but supported by the Tory government in London.

PSNI target nationalist families

A chaotic late night PSNI assault on a group of nationalists in Stewartstown, County Tyrone has been described as “crazed”.

Death of British killer leaves questions unanswered

An infamous member of the British Army’s Military Reaction Force, Clive Graham Williams, has died, it has been reported.

A wound that isn’t healed

The Irish President, Micheal D Higgins, Taoiseach Michael Martin, and former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn are among those set to take part in events this weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Para fans out to hurt families of Bloody Sunday victims

Flags of the British Army regiment responsible for Bloody Sunday have been flown in loyalist areas of Derry ahead of the 50th anniversary of the massacre.

Taoiseach ignores collusion report

The Dublin government is being condemned for its failure to respond to the recent collusion report by the Police Ombudsman, which found damning evidence of British Crown Force involvement in the murder of 19 Irish citizens.

Fate of Stormont tied to Assembly election

As polls show it is on the cusp of becoming the largest party at the Belfast Assembly, Sinn Féin has called on the unionist parties to make it clear if they will take part in the Stormont Executive alongside a Sinn Féin First Minister.

PSNI harass senior Lasair Dhearg figures

Two leading members of the Lasair Dhearg organisation were followed for several hours by the PSNI in Belfast city centre before being subjected to a forced stop and search this week.

Republican monument rededicated in Derry

Several hundred people attended a Sinn Fein ceremony in the Creggan in Derry on Sunday afternoon for a rededication of the local monument to fallen IRA Volunteers.

Vindication, but what next?

A self-censored report by the Police Ombudsman has played down what it described only as ‘collusive behaviour’ and ‘collusive activity’ by the Crown Forces in the murders of 19 civilians by the North West UDA between 1988 and 1994.

Bizarre end to Easter commemoration trial

Republican activists Dee Fennell and Patrick McGrath have been acquitted of all charges related to an “illegal” Easter commemoration in 2019 after their political persecution ended in an abrupt manner.

Election ‘Jeffreymander’ fails; IRSP to run first candidate

A Tory attempt to throw DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson a political lifeline with the temporary restoration of ‘double jobbing’ has failed in the face of the united opposition of the other Assembly parties.

Pipe bomb attack in County Antrim

The South Antrim UDA have been blamed locally for a pipe bomb which caused a major alert in a nationalist area of the county this week.

Crimes of Garda ‘Heavy Gang’ exposed

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice Martin Kenny has called for an apology by the state and a full independent inquiry into the policing and judicial system in the 26 Counties following an exposé of the Garda ‘Heavy Gang’ in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Permission granted for ‘destruction’ at Rising site

There has been an angry reaction to the issuance of planning permission by Dublin City Council for the redevelopment of an area of the city that was a key rebel stronghold during the 1916 Rising against British rule.

Tory upheaval complicates Brexit talks

Deepening chaos at the top of the Conservative government in London has increased uncertainty ahead of key talks on the north of Ireland.

‘Bullyboy’ tactics of Gardaí at commemoration

Gardaí police set upon republicans in County Monaghan this week as a commemoration was taking place in honour of Fergal O’Hanlon.

Dangerous ‘dog whistles’ as election looms

The DUP’s endorsement of a loyalist rant against nationalist activists who “dominate professional vocations” has set the scene for a polarising and bitter Stormont Assembly election campaign.

Torture victim sues over treatment

The last man to receive the death penalty in the Six Counties has begun an action against the British government for using torture to extract a false confession from him.

Stakeknife handler linked to Kenyan slaughter

A British soldier who handled ‘Stakeknife’, an infamous IRA informer, also gave spy tips to east African wildlife rangers whose shoot-to-kill anti-poaching policy killed dozens of innocent Kenyans, it has emerged.

Pogues man is staunch republican – biographer

Interviewed for his upcoming authorised biography, Pogues singer Shane MacGowan said that the conflict in the north of Ireland “has preoccupied (his) mind since childhood”.

A sign of broken promises

There were celebrations for Irish speakers on New Year’s Day as the Irish language became an official language of the European Union, but it has piled on pressure for the implementation of rights for speakers in the north of Ireland.

‘I thought sectarian attacks were a thing of the past’

A 16-year-old boy was attacked on Wednesday by a number of youths in the Lower Oldpark area of Belfast in an anti-Catholic hate crime.

Condemnation of Tory/DUP axis of destruction

Brexiteers are endangering the North of Ireland because of their hard ideological beliefs, according to the man who was Britain’s chief negotiator during the Irish peace process.

Activists taking action on housing

Economic data has revealed that some 300,000 people in the 26 Counties are facing impoverishment as a direct result of the housing crisis there.

Family of Bloody Sunday survivor remember ‘great mother’

Nearly 50 years after their mother was shot on Bloody Sunday, the family of Peggy Deery have said it feels like it happened “yesterday”.

New Year Statements 2022

A round-up of the statements issued by republican organisations to mark the New Year.

MI5’s border campaign

British military intelligence escalated its efforts to target Irish political activists in border areas over the Christmas period.

Exit of ‘Frosty the ‘No’ man’ yet to boost Brexit talks

The resignation of London’s double-dealing Brexit Minister ‘Lord’ David Frost has raised hopes of a new direction for Britain and an end to its refusal to honour its critical agreements with the EU on the north of Ireland.

Experimental prison chemicals ‘used to cause slow deaths’

In an interview given before his death, a former IRA PoW said he believed the chemicals to which he was exposed by the authorities in Long Kesh prison caused the disease that claimed his life.

Significant progress for family of Sean Brown

The widow of a murdered Gaelic sports official has received a trial date in her legal action against the British Crown Forces over the protection given to the loyalist killers.

McDonald ready to make compromises for Irish Unity

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the creation of a Citizen’s Assembly on reunification will be a top priority if her party is in a position to form the next government in Dublin.

Irish tributes to South African social justice campaigner

There have been accolades in Ireland to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who famously fought against the apartheid regime in South Africa and against oppression around the world.

PSNI lies exposed at the highest level

A historic legal victory has been achieved with a ruling at the Supreme Court in London against the PSNI police for its refusal to investigate the torture of a group of civilians known as the ‘Hooded Men’.

Bittersweet conclusion to Miami Showband case

A survivor of the Miami Showband massacre has spoken out against British lies as he and other victims of the atrocity agreed to a historic settlement of £1.5m in damages for Britain’s collusion with loyalist paramilitaries in the massacre.

SF tension after Ó Broin outburst

Prominent Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin is being urged to withdraw an attack on former party leader Gerry Adams and other party colleagues who he has criticised for being unapologetic for causing “hurt or pain or trauma”.

Release of Palestinian activist welcomed

Dr Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, the Palestinian Scottish doctor imprisoned since August 2020 on political charges in a British jail in the north of Ireland, was released on bail on Monday, 13 December after 15 months of imprisonment.

Martin McShane remembered

Hundreds gathered on Tuesday for a Mass and a candlelit vigil in Coalisland, County Tyrone to mark the 50th anniversary of the murder of Martin McShane, a 16-year-old boy shot in the back by the British Army.

PSNI ‘fatigued’ by disappearance of Noah Donohoe

An internal PSNI review into the death of a young Catholic boy in 2020 has revealed that police chiefs cited “financial constraints” and “missing person fatigue” in connection with their response to his disappearance.

Break the electronic border

A British government plan for ‘electronic visas’ could be one of the most significant attempts to enforce its control on the north of Ireland since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Judge moves to allow bail for MI5 sting victim

A Palestinian doctor caught up in an MI5 bid to intern senior members of Irish republican political group Saoradh is expected to be granted bail after a judge accepted that his life is in danger at Maghaberry prison.

Figures show scale of PSNI oppression

Close to double the number of Catholics as Protestants were arrested and charged by the police over a five-year period in the Six Counties, according to new statistics.

Appeal to UN after Irish language speakers betrayed again

The United Nations should publicly support the “immediate implementation” of an Irish language act for the north of Ireland, a language rights body has told an international forum.

Key document may never be released

A British information tribunal has ruled that a review of ‘dirty war’ tactics in the north of Ireland compiled by British intelligence at the height of the conflict nearly 50 years ago should stay secret.

Fresh insult for Ormeau massacre victim

A man injured in a massacre by a unionist death squad has been dismayed by a decision that two members of the Crown Forces who falsely arrested him while commemorating victims of the massacre will not be prosecuted.

US tariffs for pariah British state

The US government is to use tariffs on British steel as part of an international push to force the British government to honour its treaty obligations towards Ireland, it has been reported.

Glenanne families call for all-Ireland collusion inquiry

Survivors and families of the victims of the Glenanne Gang have called for justice for the victims of British collusion and have denounced a proposed amnesty for British state crimes in the north of Ireland.

New plan counters bid to redevelop ‘Ireland’s Alamo’

A grandson of 1916 hero Michael Joseph O’Rahilly has warned that Dublin’s coalition government is standing by while private developers prepare to tear up the Moore Street area where he died fighting for Ireland.

Family to sue British state, Crown Forces

The family of a County Armagh teenager shot dead by loyalists almost 30 years ago are to sue the PSNI, the British Ministry for Defence and the British Direct Ruler Brandon Lewis.

New website as McGurk’s Bar campaign turns 50

For the 50th anniversary of the McGurk’s Bar massacre, victims’ families have launched a new website which commemorates those who died, the survivors and their families, and will be the platform to their fight for the truth.

British royals ousted from Barbados

There were international celebrations as the Caribbean island of Barbados ended the reign there of Britain’s monarchy on Monday after 364 years.

Demanding truth for Noah

Hundreds gathered in North Belfast this week to mark to call on the PSNI to come clean about Noah Donohoe’s death on what would have been his 16th birthday.

Loyalist violence and intimidation

Dozens of workers have been forced to abandon a construction site in the loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey after sectarian death threats against them were sprayed on nearby hoardings.

DUP power play obstructs rights expert, boosts loyalist

The DUP has been condemned for blocking a committee tasked with delivering on a key aspect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a Bill of Rights for the north of Ireland.

PSNI brutality captured on video

No action has yet been taken against a member of the PSNI who was filmed plainly punching a man in the face in the predominately nationalist town of Moy, County Tyrone, it has emerged.

Suspicious activity in Cavan, Tyrone

Republican Sinn Féin has condemned Garda police in the 26 Counties for “vicious” actions on Tuesday and Wednesday, when approximately 30 members of the Special Detective Unit and other militarised police carried out searches and the destruction of farmland in West Cavan.

Angela D’Arcy remembered

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the death of a young Fermanagh woman shot and killed by an off-duty British soldier.

Fresh border protests against British threats

The group Border Communities Against Brexit will protest at five locations on the border on Saturday, November 20, in support of the Irish Protocol and to stop the London government from moving to collapse the Brexit accords.

Frustration grows in absence of movement on Irish language

There are fears Irish politicians have again been tricked by false British promises on the Irish language, fifteen years after Irish speakers in the North first received a commitment of action to protect their rights.

Concern over MI5 agent’s role within Sinn Féin

MI5 double agent Dennis McFadden may have been linked to a network of spies within Sinn Féin before he began to spy on Saoradh and other republican organisations, according to reports.

Tories to hire mercenary academics for history ‘update’

A plan by the British government to craft its own “official history” of the conflict is being described as an Orwellian attempt to cover up the truth of its actions in Ireland.

Questions after ‘UVF’ march gets police escort

Despite confirming that the unionist paramilitary UVF was involved in the hijacking and burning of at least one bus this month, the PSNI has refused to confirm that the organisation is not on ceasefire.

US rally opposition to British cover-up plan

US Congress members have called on the US Secretary of State to publicly oppose a massive British government cover-up plan which would end prosecutions of members of the British Crown Forces and their agents for their actions in the conflict in Ireland.

Support for Ireland against perfidious Britain

An international effort is coming together to try to stop the British government from collapsing the Irish Protocol of Brexit and causing potentially catastrophic damage to the peace process.

Questions mount over provocations

The PSNI’s approach to loyalist violence and their efforts to incite nationalist youths in west Belfast is the subject of continuing controversy.

Family of collusion victims to take legal actions

The family of a footballer shot dead by loyalists almost 50 years ago are set to launch a legal action against the British state over his death.

Judicial review bid against amnesty plan

The families of two victims of killer British soldiers are to make a last-ditch plea against the plans for an overarching amnesty.

Supporting John Pat and his family

After a British Army killer received an exaggerated and politicised military funeral in England on Thursday, there are calls for people to remember his innocent victim, John Pat Cunningham, by holding up a simple sign and photographing it.

Relatives mark 100 years since Spike Island escape

A number of relatives of seven IRA men who made a famous escape from Spike Island prison in County Cork attended a special commemoration on Tuesday night to mark the occasion exactly 100 years on.

Loyalist leader ‘no longer supports GFA’

A spokesperson for one of the main loyalist organisations has said he no longer supports the 1998 peace Good Friday Agreement in a statement which could further set the scene for a move by London to trigger the collapse of the Brexit accords.

Triggering trouble

Children in loyalist areas are again being manipulated by unionists and Tories to provide the illusion of ‘street chaos’ for their own selfish political agenda.

‘Conflict is over’ as Sinn Féin defends courts move

Sinn Féin has come in for sustained criticism after it broke with republican tradition by dropping its outright opposition to the use of non-jury courts and other special legislation used to suppress the struggle for Irish reunification in the 26 Counties.

Grieving prisoner abused, assaulted by warders

The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association has condemned the treatment of republican prisoner, Paddy McDaid, at Maghaberry prison following his return from a visit to see his dying father.

Cover-up fears over death of Noah Donohoe

The PSNI’s use of a gag or secrecy order has raised concerns of a potential cover-up of a state role in the disappearance and death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe in June of last year.

PSNI unreformed, 20 years on

The PSNI (formerly RUC) police have marked the 20th anniversary of their rebranding by attempting to provoke some nationalist youths into violence, while at the same time recruiting others to act as spies.

Tone walks the streets of Belfast

A Belfast walking tour celebrating the birthplaces of Irish democracy in the late 1700s has welcomed a descendant of the family of legendary Irish leader Theobald Wolfe Tone.

Sinn Féin to support juryless courts

A motion before Sinn Féin’s annual conference to rescind the party’s opposition to the Special Criminal Court could be key to unlocking its access to government in Dublin.

Deadline missed for Irish Language Act

Sinn Féin’s Vice President Michelle O’Neill has said she is not worried by the failure of the British government to honour its commitment to legislate for the Irish language by the end of October.

Irish ‘turnip farmers’ route around car-crash Britain

Despite a senior British minister claiming that a no-deal Brexit would only affect a few Irish farmers “with turnips in the back of their trucks”, huge amounts of trade between Ireland and the EU are now taking place by sea around the island of Britain.

Tory plan brings ‘injustice and cruelty’ to innocent families

The father of two Catholic brothers murdered by loyalists acting for the British state has accused the British government of “blocking every avenue in getting to the truth”.

PSNI cite gag order to block report into killings

The PSNI police in the north of Ireland are using a new method to try to block an investigation into the murders of 12 people killed in a series of loyalist atrocities.

Violent, destructive eviction enabled by Gardaí

An eviction gang reportedly involving loyalists from the north of Ireland were backed up by Garda police after they descended on a building in Dublin on Wednesday to evict a community group.

End partition now

A large security operation failed to prevent republicans protesting against a provocative commemoration of the partition of Ireland which took place in Armagh on Thursday.

Time runs out for families seeking justice

There are fears a long-standing British strategy to delay legal actions against state killers is succeeding after two soldiers were reported to have died within a week, leaving their victims’ loved ones without justice or closure.

MI5 linked to dangerous neglect of prisoner

Republican prisoner Davy Jordan has described the prison treatment of fellow Maghaberry internee and heart-attack victim Dr Issam Hijjawi Bassalat as “tantamount to attempted murder”.

Britain drops bid to overturn inquest outcome

A brother of an IRA Volunteer shot dead by the British Army in 1972 has welcomed the end of British efforts to overturn a coroner’s finding that his killing was “unjustified”.

Support for Leonard family’s fight for new inquest

The family of Michael Leonard has won the support of Fermanagh and Omagh council in its efforts to secure truth and justice for the unarmed innocent civilian who was shot dead on his way to cross the border to his County Donegal home.

Farage ‘hasn’t a clue’ as he reads out IRA slogans

Far-right British nationalist Nigel Farage has been pranked into issuing pro-IRA messages on three successive occasions for his for-hire video request service.

Tensions rise in Armagh ahead of partition event

A large-scale British military operation is underway in the town of Armagh ahead of a provocative commemoration of the partition of Ireland involving Prime Minister Boris Johnson. England’s Queen Elizabeth has announced she has withdrawn from tomorrow’s event, citing ill health.

Justice denied as killer soldier ‘dies from Covid’

The British soldier on trial for the killing of John Pat Cunningham, Dennis Hutchings, is reported to have died this evening in a Belfast hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

Jingo Johnson paints up a storm

There is a growing belief that the Tory government in London is manipulating Brexit tensions for electoral purposes, regardless of the mounting political crisis in the north of Ireland.

Sectarian killer convicted of threatening grieving daughter

Glenanne Gang member Garfield Beattie has been found guilty of sending a threatening letter to the daughter of one of his murder victims, Aontú Deputy Leader Denise Mullen.

Palestinian internee punished in Maghaberry following heart attack

British prison authorities in Ireland are using a heart attack suffered by a Palestinian remand prisoner as an excuse to reduce his access to the outside world, his family have warned.

Children exploited in Crown propaganda exercises

Flagrant efforts by the British Army and the PSNI to influence and recruit children from nationalist areas have been denounced.

Inquest sought over ‘rule change’ triple killing

Relatives of a County Down man shot dead by British soldiers 50 years ago this month have requested a new inquest.

Irish author stands up for Palestine

Best-selling Irish author Sally Rooney is standing with Palestinians by respecting their call to boycott Israel. She is refusing to allow an Israeli company buy the Hebrew translation and publication rights for her latest novel.

British bad faith on Protocol talks threatens new border showdown

Despite planned EU concessions, the British government has moved to sabotage a round of talks intended to deal with unionist objections to Brexit’s Irish Protocol by raising a new “red line” barrier in the negotiations.

Snub to Higgins as Govt figures to attend Partition event

Fine Gael’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Fianna Fáil’s Chief Whip Jack Chambers are to represent the Dublin government in an event to mark the centenary of the partition of Ireland and the creation of a unionist-dominated statelet in the North.

Trial opens into cold-blooded killing of special needs victim

A trial of a British soldier in the north of Ireland has heard evidence that he intentionally shot and killed an innocent and vulnerable man who posed no threat whatsoever.

British tricks to avoid accountability for killings

The British Direct Ruler Brandon Lewis is attempting to “run down the clock” in a legal challenge over collusion in the assassination of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane, the High Court has heard.

Alliance, Greens blamed for slowing progress on sectarianism

A provocative ‘centenary parade’ by the anti-Catholic Orange Order was stopped from marching through a leafy suburban area of Belfast last weekend in a sign of growing opposition to loyalist parades across the North.

End of hunger strike commemorated

Republicans marked the 40th anniversary of the end of the 1981 hunger strike last weekend at events across the North and elsewhere.

Govt under pressure to end corporate tax dodges

The operation of the 26 County state as a haven for greedy tech multinationals and the super rich is being strongly challenged by the international efforts of whistleblowers and tax justice campaigners.

A wrecker’s charter?

A unionist election deal could be forming around a plan to pull down Stormont if the Brexit Protocol is not scrapped, or if Sinn Féin becomes the largest party after the next Assembly election.

Police Ombudsman backing a ‘dirty war’ agenda

Pressure is growing over conflict killings in which informers are implicated after the Office of the Police Ombudsman was accused of consistently protecting those involved.

Saoradh says party under intense attack

More than a dozen Saoradh members have now been rounded up and charged with a variety of offences in what the party believes is new initiative by Britain to increase its grip in the north of Ireland.

North insulated from Brexit chaos by Protocol

While there is anger in Britain over empty shelves, staff shortages and a fuel crisis, the north of Ireland is avoiding almost all the negative effects of Brexit thanks to the special status afforded by the Irish Protocol.

Tribute to Diarmuid O’Neill on 25th anniversary

The last Provisional IRA Volunteer killed during the conflict “continues to inspire us”, former Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris has said.

UDA display in Derry

Nationalists in Derry’s Waterside have condemned a loyalist parade which featured the emblems of the unionist paramilitary UDA last weekend, Saturday 25 September.

Johnson gets the message

London’s refusal to honour its treaty obligations towards Ireland have been called out by Joe Biden in a major setback for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his first meeting with the new US President.

Sinister agenda behind Facebook action

Irish republican groups are being forced to fight for the right to free speech this week after scores of social media accounts were shut down and removed by Facebook in a one-sided act of repression.

Justice a big step closer for veteran collusion campaigner

Eugene Reavey, who has campaigned for justice since his three brothers were shot by members of a notorious pro-British death squad in January 1976, has hailed the news that a member of the British Crown Forces is expected to face prosecution for the killings.

Grand cover-up plan under pressure

A British plan to impose a statute of limitations on all war crimes committed in the north of Ireland could be in breach of international law, a European human rights commissioner has said.

Council of State shamed by Bruton outburst

The former 26 County Taoiseach John Bruton is under pressure to withdraw his comments and step down from the body that advises Irish Presidents following a torrent of false and demeaning criticism against the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins.

Parades Commission call for Scotland

There have been appeals for a Parades Commission to be set up in Scotland following a weekend of provocative sectarian displays by Orange Order marchers at the weekend.

President rises above unionist attacks

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, has hit out at those who have insisted he attend an event to publicly celebrate the partition of Ireland.

DUP dial up trouble

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has issued a veiled threat to the stability of the north of Ireland if his demands on the Brexit protocol are not met.

New horror for Ballymurphy families

The Ballymurphy Massacre Families have spoken of their pain following revelations that the retained organs and other body tissue parts of five of the deceased were retained from their original postmortems in 1971.

Lives of Catholic family threatened by UVF

A Belfast family has been forced out of their home after receiving sectarian threats from unionist paramilitaries.

Anger at failure to broadcast historic GAA win

The BBC in the north of Ireland has been condemned over its refusal to accord coverage to Gaelic sports after Tyrone won the All-Ireland senior football final.

Relatives settle legal action against British govt

Relatives of a teenage girl shot dead when British soldiers opened fire in west Belfast nearly 50 years ago have settled legal actions taken against Britain’s Ministry of Defence.

DUP’s Brexit blackmail

The DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has set an agenda for political turmoil in the north of Ireland with a threat to pull out of the North’s political institutions if his demands on the Irish protocol are not met.

Fine Gael leaders stick the finger up

The scandalous actions of senior Fine Gael Ministers, and the lack of any action against them, are provoking anger among the government’s own supporters.

IRSP HQ raided

Heavily armed PSNI members raided the headquarters of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) in West Belfast this week using a chainsaw to remove the front door.

Call for return of prison visits

An anti-internment parade in support of republican prisoners last weekend heard a call for the full resumption of prison visits.

British secrecy bid compared to South American dictatorship

British government plans for a blanket cover-up on conflict-related prosecutions are more sweeping than the amnesty introduced in Chile by the country’s former dictator General Augusto Pinochet, a new report has found.

Ombudsman delays in line with Tory agenda

Victims and their families have held a protest outside the Police Ombudsman’s Office in Belfast City Centre calling for the immediate publication of legacy reports, some of which have now been completed for over three years.

Scotland’s shame

Anti-racism charities in Scotland have condemned the police there for not intervening while a group of over 100 soccer fans marched through Glasgow city centre singing the anti-Irish tune ‘The Famine Is Over, Why Don’t You Go Home’.

PSNI to adjust stance in South Armagh

A heavily fortified PSNI base in south Armagh could be shut down and lands returned to a Gaelic sports club as the force makes a new bid to win support in the strongly republican area.

All-party opposition to British legacy plan

Representatives from all the major parties in Ireland, north and south, have signed a document outlining their rejection of proposals by the London government to draw a veil over legacy killings.

Children determined to get justice for father

Prosecutors have been accused of ‘dragging their feet’ on the prosecution of five British soldiers who shot a young man six times in the back.

Call for removal of UVF mural at football grounds

Disturbing new hoarding featuring masked UVF gunmen has appeared next to the home ground of Crusaders Football Club.

Compensation scheme for victims opens

A long-delayed compensation scheme is set to bring official recognition for many of those who suffered permanent disablement in the conflict. After years of political and legal disputes, the scheme opened for applications this week.

Loyalist gangs targeting EU citizens

A loyalist paramilitary group in the Dungannon area has posted an image of a masked gang alongside a caption threatening “foreign nationals” who they said were “from the nationalist end of the town”.

PSNI silent on death threats

The PSNI has received loyalist death threats against more than 30 prominent nationalists and republicans but failed to pass them on, it has emerged.

Protocol protest fizzles

Unionist protests against the Irish protocol of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement appear to be petering out after less than fifty people gathered for a high profile rally in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh on Wednesday, 25 August.

Fresh inquest opens into plastic bullet killing

A new inquest into the death of a 10-year-old boy in Belfast in 1975 has heard his injuries were “consistent” with being shot at by British soldiers firing plastic bullets.

Anger at GAA all-Ireland advertisement for PSNI

The GAA has been condemned after it published advertising for the Crown Forces in a match programme for the All-Ireland hurling final at Croke Park in Dublin last weekend.

Gun salute at hunger strike commemoration

Members of the family of Mickey Devine took part in an unveiling for his 40th anniversary last weekend. Irish National Liberation Army Volunteers fired a volley of ten shots in salute to their comrade and the other nine hunger strikers who died in 1981.

‘Uncomfortable’ truth behind informers challenged

The daughter of a member of the RUC (now PSNI) police killed in a Provisional IRA action in 1990 is to take an unprecedented lawsuit over allegations the killing took place as part of a British ‘psy-ops’ intelligence agenda.

Soldier’s trial for McAnespie killing to go ahead

There has been a welcome for a judge’s ruling that there are sufficient grounds that a former British soldier accused of killing Aidan McAnespie in County Tyrone in 1988 should stand trial.

Unionists urged to embrace Protocol trade potential

Loyalists opposed to Brexit’s Irish trade Protocol have put up threatening posters bearing the image of infamous sectarian serial killer Billy Wright.

Marching season winds down

Loyalist parades and bonfires have continued across the Six Counties ahead of the ‘Last Saturday’ parades by the Royal Black Preceptory, the senior organisation associated to the anti-Catholic Orange Order.

Families mark anniversaries with new determination

The family of Eamon McDevitt, who was shot dead by the British Army in Strabane, in 1971 have described the last half century as ‘50 years of injustice’.

Derry man was a ‘brave and courageous soldier’

Dozens of republicans joined members of his family this week to pay tribute to Eamonn Lafferty, the first IRA Volunteer killed by British forces in the conflict in Derry.

The British and Unionist Broadcasting Corporation

Allegations of institutional sectarianism at the BBC have resurfaced after it aired a clip during its primetime Newsline TV news programme which included the obscene sectarian slogan ‘F*ck the Pope’.

Intense pressure on London to back away from impunity plan

UN human rights experts have expressed “grave concerns” over a plan by Britain to provide an effective amnesty to those who carried our killings and other crimes on its behalf in the north of Ireland.

Grieving family’s home raided; Blanketman laid to rest

British Crown Forces raided the family home of the late Irish National Liberation Army Volunteer James McWilliams only two days after his tragic passing this week.

Belfast march marks 50 years since Ballymurphy shootings

The 50th anniversary of the deaths of ten innocent people who were shot and killed in a British Army operation in Ballymurphy was marked in Belfast on Sunday, August 8.

Tribute to ‘Hooded Man’ on internment anniversary

Wreaths have been laid at the grave of Gerry McKerr in County Armagh to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of internment.

Republican bonfire tensions decline

There were no significant bonfires to mark the anniversary of the introduction of internment in west Belfast this year, although a confrontation with PSNI police in Dungannon, County Tyrone led to a night of trouble there.

‘Makey-up’ government changes law to suit itself

The disdain for Covid-19 rules by Irish political figures has brought about a loosening in the regulations to combat the disease as the Dublin coalition struggles to quell public anger over a rule-breaking party linked to a crony appointment.

Crime spree of East Belfast UVF revealed

Drug-dealing loyalist paramilitaries are running riot in east Belfast and engaging in a shocking litany of crimes with little interference from the PSNI, according to a report drafted by the paramilitaries themselves.

Bloody Sunday ‘was successful operation’ - TUV man

A unionist election candidate has described the Bloody Sunday massacre as a “successful operation” and praised the British soldiers who killed fourteen innocent civil rights demonstrators in Derry in 1972.

Family of UDR victim retraumatised by Tory amnesty plan

The family of murdered independent councillor and civil rights activist from Tyrone, Patsy Kelly, have taken to social media to express their outrage and trauma at British government plans to introduce a blanket amnesty for the conflict.

British public ahead of politicians on Ireland

Voters in Britain who support the reunification of Ireland outnumber those who support the union by three to one, according to a new poll. Barely one in ten oppose Irish unity, while more than half failed to express an opinion.

Union backs prison move by Craigavon Two’s Wootton

One of two imprisoned victims of a miscarriage of justice is threatening legal action in a bid to force prison authorities to transfer him out of the high-security Maghaberry jail used for political prisoners.

Irish school forced out of east Belfast

There has been a shocked reaction across Ireland and abroad to news that an Irish language nursery school due to open in East Belfast has been forced to relocate as a result of loyalist pressure.

Britain ‘running scared’ from the truth

Victims groups have said international action is needed to put pressure of the British government to change course on its planned law of impunity for war crimes committed by its forces in the north of Ireland.

Liam Campbell denied appeal against extradition

The decision of an appeal court in Dublin to uphold a “cosmopolitan” extradition of a Dundalk republican to Lithuania, a country he has never visited, has been condemned by justice campaigners.

Fine Gael shameless over job handed to crony Zappone

The 26 County Minister for Foreign Affairs has been accused of misappropriating public funds after he quietly created a highly paid job and awarded it to a political ally after she urged him to do so.

UDA gang ‘getting British protection’

The unionist paramilitary UDA are a focus of the impunity bid being planned by the British government, it has been alleged.

No unionist counties in Ireland any more, analysis finds

New figures suggest that none of the north’s Six Counties has an outright unionist electoral majority.

Judge demands inquiry into Omagh bomb

The British government has said it will “take time” to consider its options after a judge called for an inquiry into state actions in connection with a bomb which was allowed to detonate on a street in Omagh, County Tyrone in August 1998, killing 29 people.

Collusion found in murder of Belfast teen

A damning report by the North’s Police Ombudsman on state collusion in the 1993 murder of Damien Walsh shows why the British government wants to “lock the doors of the courts” to those still fighting for justice in unresolved conflict cases, according to lawyers in the case.

Protests continue over conflict ‘amnesty’

Victims of British state atrocities in the north of Ireland have made clear their opposition to Tory plans to ban legal actions related to the killings.

‘Renegotiation once again’ rejected by EU

The European Union has rebuffed a move by the London government to renege on Brexit and the protocol which could see it reimpose a hard border through the north of Ireland.

Protestant man was shot by British, not IRA - archives

A factory worker whose 1972 murder was blamed on the IRA was shot dead by the British Army, newly uncovered military documents reveal.

British considered Bruton ‘as good as it gets’ – state papers

Former Fine Gael leader John Bruton was “as good a taoiseach as we are likely to get”, according to a senior British civil servant in 1997.

The mother of all cover-ups

The British government’s move to block official investigations into its history of war crimes in the north of Ireland has unleashed unprecedented anger at a historic act of British bad faith.

Pressure to end the bonfire madness

The ‘festival of hate’ around the anti-Catholic July 12 marches across the North every year may be rechristened the ‘festival of stupidity’ after two giant bonfires toppled over into a crowd and two others resulted in serious injuries to bonfire builders.

SDLP leader threatened after naming Bloody Sunday’s ‘Soldier F’

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said he has received death threats after naming a former British soldier who has faced multiple murder charges over his involvement in the Bloody Sunday massacre.

Confrontation marks ‘the Twelfth’

The annual Twelfth of July parades, the highlight of the summer marching season by the Protestant Orange Order, passed with relatively little incident this year despite the weekend of bonfire mayhem which preceded it.

Michelle O’Neill heckled at British military commemoration

Sinn Féin’s Deputy First Minister in the north of Ireland was among a group of dignitaries who were the subject of a loud protest in Dublin on Saturday, July 10 as they took part in a wreath-laying ceremony for British soldiers.

British Labour leader falls down on Ireland

The British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is facing pressure within his party after he said he would campaign for the north of Ireland to remain under British rule if there was a referendum on reunification in his lifetime.

London moves to end all conflict prosecutions

British Direct Ruler Brandon Lewis has today announced a unilateral statute of limitations in the Westminster parliament to end all conflict-related prosecutions, including all killings perpetrated by the British Crown forces and loyalist death squads.

‘Eleventh’ tensions pass without violence

Despite large numbers of offensive and provocative displays at loyalist ‘Eleventh Night’ bonfires, a weekend of the sectarian events passed without serious trouble, easing tensions ahead of anti-Catholic marches later today by the Orange Order.

PSNI defy ministers over bonfire

The PSNI police have won a judge’s backing for their decision to ignore Stormont Ministers in relation to a violent loyalist bonfire gang.

British pocket concessions on Protocol

Loyalists held a protest parade in South Belfast on Thursday evening against the post-Brexit Irish Protocol. Many wore masks in a gangster style as they walked behind a traditional loyalist flute band.

Bloody Sunday killer will not see charges dropped pending review

A brother of one of those shot dead on Bloody Sunday has secured High Court permission to challenge the decision to drop murder charges against a former British soldier accused of taking part in the massacre.

Loyalists use marching season to claim territory

In a major campaign of loyalist intimidation, flags have appeared all over towns and cities in the north of Ireland, three to a lamppost in many places.

Tributes to Irish hunger strikers appear around New York

A series of tributes to the ten Irish men who died on hunger strike in 1981 have been appearing around New York City in recent months.

MI5 device found in Lurgan

A device believed to be a military grade British listening device has been found in a working class housing estate in Lurgan, County Armagh.

Labour wins Dublin by-election

A by-election in the constituency of Dublin Bay South has been won by Labour’s Ivana Bacik in a vote which saw Fianna Fáil suffer its worst ever election result and saw Fine Gael shut out of the constituency for the first time in its history.

‘We will fight on’

The families of victims of killer British soldiers will continue to fight for justice after Crown prosecutors announced they are discontinuing proceedings against the only soldier to face charges for the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, as well as those soldiers involved in the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty.

Loyalists to gather at Drumcree

An attempt to reignite the Drumcree parade dispute could be the next move by loyalists seeking to escalate sectarian tensions over Brexit.

Section of Act of Union ‘repealed’ by Brexit

Unionists have been outraged by a Belfast High Court ruling that Brexit implicitly repeals part of the Acts of Union, which legislated for the annexation of Ireland by Britain in 1800 following the defeat of the United Irishmen rebellion two years earlier.

Shrinking DUP now smaller than Sinn Féin at Stormont

The DUP has lost its status as the largest party in the Belfast Assembly as the party continues to disintegrate following the affirmation of Jeffrey Donaldson as the new party leader.

Time for Truth campaign protests British impunity move

The British government’s proposed Legacy Bill has been denounced as “totally unacceptable” as a campaign ramped up this week to demand London “honour its own word” and respect people’s “basic human rights”.

New claims fuel concerns in Noah Donohoe case

An appalling vista has opened up for policing in the north of Ireland after the PSNI reportedly ignored a confession that a 14-year-old mixed-race Catholic boy, Noah Donohoe, was abducted and murdered in a loyalist area of Belfast.

Prosecutions of British soldiers halted on a pretext

Anger and disbelief have greeted a decision by Crown Prosecutors to summarily collapse cases against those involved in the Bloody Sunday massacre and the Operation Motorman atrocity, both perpetrated by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment in Derry in 1972.

MI5’s evil tactics exposed

A Lurgan mother-of-three has spoken out after an intimidating encounter with MI5 left her feeling “stalked” by British military agents.

Loyalist mouthpiece works for ‘peace charity’

There have been calls for an investigation into a ‘peace-building charity’ after it emerged one of its board members is a loyalist spokesperson who has been linked to recent threats of violence.

Signs of acceptance in DUP following turmoil

Outgoing DUP leader Edwin Poots has admitted that unionists have been exaggerating their grievances and that Irish language legislation being opposed by his party is balanced and moderate.

Loyalists looking to create friction

Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly has called for a loyalist bonfire in the New Lodge area of Belfast to be removed from a sectarian interface after golf balls were fired from the site aimed at houses and vehicles in nationalist areas.

Protest as Dáil renews support for kangaroo courts

Sinn Féin and the Green Party have faced widespread condemnation after they failed to oppose the renewal of the ‘Special Criminal Court’, a court dating from 1939 which is used to deprive republicans and others of the right to a fair trial by jury.

Gardaí ignore 999 calls, offered powers to search phones

New legislation is being put forward to give police in the 26 Counties the power to search through private phones and other electronic devices, even as it emerged the Gardaí been ignoring more than a thousand emergency phone calls for help every month.

Jeffrey Donaldson to become next DUP leader

Jeffrey Donaldson has been named as the next leader of the DUP. It emerged today that he was the only candidate to replace Edwin Poots, who announced his resignation following an internal party revolt last week.

Unionism in turmoil as basic rights asserted

A second collapse of the leadership of the largest unionist party, in the face of Irish language speakers receiving a commitment that their rights will be protected, marks a further loosening of the grip on northern politics by the DUP’s extremists.

Fine Gael to organise in North, work for ‘inclusive’ reunification

There has been a cautious welcome among nationalists and republicans to a speech by Fine Gael leader and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar in which he said Irish unification should be part of his party’s mission.

Angry loyalists threaten Dublin

Loyalist paramilitaries have issued a veiled threat to the Dublin government that its Ministers “are no longer welcome” in the north of Ireland.

Ireland plays key role for British military

A secret defence pact with London has allowed British RAF fighter jets to operate with complete freedom in sovereign Irish airspace, it has emerged.

PSNI forced to cancel PR events

A 13-year-old girl was struck with a bicycle by a PSNI man as republican activists confronted the British police force at a recent publicity event in south Armagh.

DUP MPs off the leash

The bizarre antics of two of its MPs has provided further evidence of the disarray within the DUP.

Poots quits in DUP meltdown

Edwin Poots has said he will stand down as the leader of the DUP following an internal party revolt against him. He was ratified as party leader less than three weeks ago.

DUP in crisis over deal to support Irish language

The North of Ireland has a new First Minister, although with no increase in political stability, after DUP leader Edwin Poots defied his own party to go ahead with nominating colleague Paul Givan as First Minister this afternoon.

‘Historic night’ after Britain commits to Irish language act

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has expressed delight early this Thursday morning after receiving a commitment from the British government to legislate for Irish language protections.

Loyalists march as ‘sausage war’ looms

Scores of masked paramilitaries took part in illegal loyalist parades this week ahead of a key Brexit deadline for EU safety checks on goods traded from Britain into the north of Ireland.

Biden backs Ireland to insist Johnson honours Protocol

US President Joe Biden has made a dramatic intervention in the Brexit dispute as one EU official accused the British government of acting as a “coloniser” against Ireland and its place in the EU.

Showdown expected over installation of new DUP First Minister

Irish language activists are piling pressure on Sinn Féin not to proceed with the confirmation of the DUP nominee for First Minister, Paul Givan, until an unstoppable process is set in train for legislation to protect the rights of Irish speakers.

Lewis announces unionist ‘envoy to USA’

The British appointment of a minor unionist celebrity as “Northern Ireland’s special envoy to the United States” is the latest evidence that the London government is determined to flout the Good Friday Agreement, and to cause maximum offence in doing so.

Attacker walks free after sectarian hate crime charge dropped

The wife of a Catholic building contractor brutally assaulted in County Down two years ago said his family are fearful of going into the town after his attacker escaped jail.

Mural for teenage victim of British gunman

A mural has been erected in north Belfast ahead of the 40th anniversary of the killing of a schoolboy by a British soldier.

A royal insult

A decision by the London government to rechristen a village in County Down in honour of the English royal family is the newest British humiliation to be directed at the nationalist people of occupied Ireland.

‘Retraumatising’ police behaviour over Glengannon attack

The son of a loyalist paramilitary shooting victim is set to mount a High Court challenge against the PSNI police over its failure to return his father’s clothes for an extraordinary 23 years after the massacre bid.

Shocking persecution of ‘registered’ republican

A republican activist from Derry suffered two invasive searches of his vehicle and was dragged away from his hotel to a Crown Force barracks as a night away with his wife was wrecked by British state harassment this week.

Eddie Fullerton recalled as proud activist

On the 30th anniversary of his death, Sinn Féin has called for an independent public inquiry into the killing of party councillor Eddie Fullerton in County Donegal, in 1991.

Republican prisoners demand vaccines

A protest took place in Dublin on Monday to protest against the refusal by the 26 County authorities to provide Covid-19 vaccines to republican political prisoners in Portlaoise.

South Dublin facing a referendum on housing

An upcoming by-election in Dublin is set to be dominated by the escalating cost and scarcity of housing in the city.

Ireland stands with Palestine

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

‘UDA threats’ used to help Poots become DUP leader

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

Community in fear after cameras found trained on popular inn

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

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

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

Tributes to hunger strikers on 40th anniversary

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

Council accused of deception over royal visit

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

Loyalist teen threatens MPs with Brexit violence

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

PSNI chief dodges meeting with councillors over harassment

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

Ballymurphy families express anger at latest non-apology

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

New evidence ties British regiment to death of schoolgirl

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

SAS assassins challenged to come forward

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

TDs urged to support campaign for truth

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

Joy turns to anger at mealy-mouthed apology

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

Irish horror at Israeli bombings in Palestine

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

DUP backs Poots for new leader

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

Britain holds fresh talks with loyalist gangs

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

Anderson family speak out over sudden purge

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

Scotland signals support for end to Union

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

Truth and vindication at last for Ballymurphy families

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

Tories plan blanket amnesty for state killers

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

Martina Anderson to quit Stormont after party request

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

Tributes on 40th anniversary of Bobby Sands’ death

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

Report finds RUC killings were not investigated

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

DUP leadership contested as loyalist protests continue

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

Anti-republican columnist fired after trolling exposed

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

Paras handed impunity for murder of Joe McCann

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

Betrayal and upheaval in the DUP

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

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

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

Paratroopers’ confessions ruled inadmissible

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

Former UVF boss survives murder bid

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

Attempt to whitewash centenary opposed

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

Debenhams strike action attacked by Gardaí

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

Arlene Foster resigns amid DUP heave

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

Rage in Derry over PSNI shooting

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

Loyalist disturbances wind down

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

Unity referendum ‘out, out, out’ - govts

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

McDonald ‘apology’ seen as possible step change

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

Victims ‘sickened’ by loyalist mural

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

Child’s plight draws attention to housing crisis

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

Catholics forced out amid fears of new violence

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

Gun goes ‘missing’ at PSNI base

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

Jailing of man for IRA membership a miscarriage of justice

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

Peggy Deery’s family to receive damages

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

Mother of sectarian attack victim to launch action against PSNI

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

Family of UDA victim call for publication of report

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

Nationalists urged to remain calm

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

Loyalist claims to ‘peaceful protest’ rejected

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

State harassment at Easter events

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

Moves to all-island links in sport, transport

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

Council backs campaign for justice for Eddie Fullerton

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

Flag and anthem ‘up for discussion’ in unity talks

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

PSNI attempt to provoke nationalists on Springfield Road

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

Loyalists riot at West Belfast ‘peace line’

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

DUP rhetoric blamed as UDA sustain disturbances

Petrol bombs have been thrown at the PSNI for a second night in County Antrim as loyalist paramilitaries have continued to orchestrate violence.

Let him rest in peace

An attempt by unionists to weaponise Covid-19 regulations to demand prosecutions of leading members of Sinn Féin over the funeral last June of party colleague and IRA veteran Bobby Storey appear to have failed.

Loyalist disturbances recall flag protests

Crowds of loyalist youths clashed with PSNI police on Friday night following appeals for “protests” on loyalist social media pages. The trouble erupted at locations where demonstrations had been orchestrated on Facebook, primarily in Belfast.

PSNI raids linked to Rising anniversary

An annual PSNI operation to harass and disrupt Irish republicans ahead of events for the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising has seen raids in three counties.

30th anniversary of Drumbeg massacre

On the 30th anniversary of the brutal murders of Eileen Duffy, Katrina Rennie and Brian Frizzell, families attended a quiet memorial for them in Craigavon last weekend.

Questions mount in trial saga

A court hearing in the long-running trial of three well-known republicans heard doubts about the prosecution’s evidence amid questions over the analysis of alleged covert audio recordings and the role of British military intelligence.

Easter commemorations scaled back

A number of organisations have said that commemorations and wreath-laying ceremonies in honour of the 1916 Rising must again be restricted due the Covid-19 situation.

London made to pay for brutality of Paras

A north Belfast man has received a five-figure compensation pay out from the British Ministry of Defence over serious assault and torture almost 50 years ago.

Legal action over loyalist ceasefire status

The continued indulgence of loyalist paramilitaries by the British government is being challenged with a legal action to force London to admit that their organisations are no longer maintaining “complete and unequivocal” ceasefires.

Uncertainty as ‘dysfunctional’ DUP lash out

A unionist threat to block recognition of the Irish language in the north of Ireland has been condemned.

Psy-ops suspicions after bogus bomb alert

The PSNI stands accused of exaggerating the significance of an object found in County Armagh for its own purposes.

Varadkar under pressure over criminal investigation

Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar remains mired in scandal after damning new revelations are to be added to a criminal investigation into his leaking of a valuable government document to a friend.

RTE cuts mic as DUP bigotry gets called out

Sports commentator and political analyst Joe Brolly was disconnected from an interview on a high profile television talk show, Claire Byrne Live, after he attempted to address the sectarianism and racism of the DUP.

Operation Sledging

A policing operation in Derry in which two Creggan women were assaulted by the PSNI as part of a day of state violence has drawn intense criticism.

White House will defend peace process

US President Joe Biden has expressed his strong support for continuing efforts to prevent a reinforced border through Ireland as a result of Brexit.

‘Blackout’ imposed on media ahead of Bloody Sunday trial

A decision to ban media from reporting on court proceedings against the only ex-British army paratrooper to face murder charges arising from the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre has been condemned by families of the victims and journalists alike.

Partition to be marked despite contrasting views

Sinn Féin has agreed to support a series of events to mark the centenary of partition in 1921.

CIRA claim attack on PSNI base

The Continuity IRA (CIRA) has claimed responsibility for an attack on Enniskillen PSNI base in Fermanagh on Monday, March 15.

PSNI fail to investigate attack on 15-year-old

The mother of a north Belfast teenager who was beaten in a sectarian attack which left him with a serious head injury has described how she has been let down by the PSNI investigation.

Tories aim for maximum provocation

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a galling visit to the north of Ireland on Friday as part of a Tory onslaught to preserve the union. Rubbing elbows with occupying British soldiers at a helicopter base, Johnson’s visit appeared designed to deliberately infuriate nationalists.

Loyalists throw fireworks at home of Gerry Kelly

The home of Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly has been attacked, just days after his constituency office was targeted with a bomb threat.

European move ignites new pressure for Finucane inquiry

The son of murdered defence lawyer Pat Finucane has welcomed a decision by the Council of Europe to reopen his father’s case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Blood-soaked history of MI5 collusion weapon

It has emerged that a single assault rifle was used by loyalists, likely including members of the British Army’s Ulster Defence Regiment, to kill up to 12 people between 1988 and 1994.

Irish-America calls for a free and united Ireland

A US advertising campaign supported by a number of Irish-American groups and sponsored by Sinn Féin is seeking to mobilise support for a border poll on Irish unity.

Varadkar forced to apologise for sectarian comment

The Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar has been forced to apologise for a comment about the religious denomination of Sinn Féin TDs in the Dublin parliament.

Loyalist threat to wreck peace deal

Loyalists paramilitaries are acting in concert with hardline Brexiteers to try to intimidate the European Union with the potential of violence in the north of Ireland.

British bad faith ‘time and time again’

The British government has been accused once again of displaying “extreme bad faith”, this time over its unilateral extension of grace periods in the Irish Protocol of Brexit.

Document points to collusion in Cappagh killings

On the anniversary of the murder of four men in County Tyrone 30 years ago this week, new information has emerged which appears to confirm long-held suspicions that British-trained soldiers were involved in the ambush.

Arrest of pregnant woman ‘reveals colonial mindset’

The PSNI has been condemned for ransacking the home of two political activists in the Bone area of North Belfast and arresting a heavily pregnant woman in front of her young children to take her to Musgrave Interrogation Centre.

Agenda of Garda Chief and Justice Minister exposed

The 26 County Garda police Commissioner Drew Harris has used an attack on his own men during a right-wing riot in Dublin to smear republicans and socialists.

Racism exposed at holiday firm

A list of Irish surnames used by a British holiday parks company to block “undesirable guests” has highlighted an increase in anti-Irish bigotry in everyday British life.

DUP openly working with loyalist gangs

The DUP has “given cover” to the ongoing crimes of the loyalist paramilitary UVF and UDA after a high-level meeting took place between the party and representatives of the two organisations.

High-tech spy device found hidden in rock

A British military intelligence agent was spotted placing a listening device in an allotments area of west Derry on Tuesday, leading to the recovery of a sophisticated surveillance device.

Files show British Army always involved with loyalist groups

Britain’s failure to deal with loyalist paramilitaries in the early 1970s has been exposed by recently uncovered British military files which prove that the Crown Forces worked with an extensive database of suspected loyalist paramilitaries.

Mixed news in legal quests for truth

The father of two brothers murdered by loyalist paramilitaries has been refused a judicial review seeking a public inquiry into suspected Crown force collusion with the killers.

Man lost job after PSNI demanded his phone

A former hospital porter has secured High Court permission to challenge the lawfulness of having his phone seized by the PSNI.

Ireland’s police team up with Israel’s torture ministry

Ireland’s police forces have given unconvincing explanations about why they are cooperating with an Israeli ministry implicated in torture and war crimes.

‘Anti-Irish abuse must stop’

Irish soccer international James McClean has welcomed widespread support after speaking out about anti-Irish abuse directed towards him and his family in England.

DUP extremism exposed by Brexit protocol

DUP politicians have been condemned for again talking up the potential for loyalist violence against new port regulations whilst engaging in political stunts to defeat what they describe as the ‘Irish Sea border’.

Unexplained killing of two Catholic men to be reviewed

The murder of two Catholic men in County Armagh once wrongly blamed on the IRA is being reviewed as part of an investigation into the series of killings by the pro-British death squad known as the Glenanne Gang.

British soldiers seen not co-operating with inquest

A former British Army soldier has been accused of “choosing not to help” an inquest into the killing of a Derry mother shot dead in her garden, while another claimed former soldiers were being “persecuted” over state killings.

Johnson’s union tunnel strategy ridiculed

The increasingly desparate efforts of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to save the union has seen his proposed sea tunnel between Ireland and Scotland branded as ‘hallucinogenic’.

Commemoration cancelled after online attacks

Attempts to demonise a young Wexford-born IRA Volunteer who died tragically at the age of 21 when a device he was transporting exploded prematurely in London have been condemned.

Nationalists turn against PSNI

An egregiously insensitive example of PSNI harassment has led to a surge in nationalist support for disbandment of the hated police force.

New inquest for ‘New Lodge Six’

A decision to order a new inquest into the killings of six men shot dead in one night in Belfast in 1973 has been widely welcomed.

Staff return to ports as DUP blamed for whipping up tension

The DUP Minister for Agriculture used port staff as “pawns” in efforts to whip up a reaction against new Brexit trade rules, Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd has said.

‘Incredible’ plan to delete electoral roll

A plan by the North’s Electoral Office to remove all registered voters from the Electoral Register has been condemned as outrageous by Sinn Fein West Belfast MP Paul Maskey.

Loyalists threaten journalist

There was widespread condemnation following the latest loyalist threat to shoot a journalist. Graffiti has appeared in a number of locations in east Belfast with the name of reporter Patricia Devlin along with cross hairs.

DUP MP insists on white gospel singers

DUP MP Gregory Campbell has denied he is a racist after he criticised a gospel singing show for not including more white people.

Brexit deal could unravel

A weak response to the controversial inclusion of a reference to Brexit’s Irish Protocol in preliminary EU legislation for vaccine exports has encouraged unionist extremists to believe they can force a renegotiation of Brexit’s protocol on Ireland.

Alleged informer shot dead

There has been no claim of responsibility for an attack in which a former British soldier accused of infiltrating an IRA breakaway group was killed.

PSNI’s handcuffs ‘dug into my bullet wounds’

A victim of the Sean Graham bookmakers atrocity has spoken out after he was arrested while he and other relatives laid flowers at a memorial to their loved ones.

Loyalist mob intimidates community as PSNI keep watch

A loyalist community centre that delivers food parcels has been closed due to threats delivered by a unionist paramilitary gang on Tuesday which were overseen by the PSNI.

Anti-Catholic graffiti on the rise

A Catholic church in Limavady has been the target of a disturbing hate crime.

State censorship targets republicans on social media

Saoradh has said it is enduring a second censorship attempt by the British State in conjunction with social media corporations.

Shock as PSNI attacks Lower Ormeau commemoration

A small and quiet wreath-laying by relatives of innocent civilians killed in the Ormeau Road bookmakers atrocity was attacked today by the PSNI, who arrested one of the survivors of the 1992 mass shooting.

Unionists escalate tensions over Brexit Protocol

People are being urged to remain calm in the face of attempts by unionists and loyalists to force a reversal of Brexit’s Irish Protocol, which they say has created a border down the Irish Sea and could lead to increasing economic unity on the island of Ireland.

Britain signals readiness for debate on Irish Unity

An acknowledgement by the head of Britain’s government in Ireland that there should be a ‘conversation’ about Ireland’s constitutional future has been welcomed.

UDA/UVF in talks with Britain over Brexit ‘anger’

A group of loyalist paramilitary representatives have held a meeting with British officials to demand an end to the Irish Protocol of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, raising questions over London’s attitude to loyalist paramilitary violence.

Warning as unhinged loyalist killer released

Loyalist serial killer Michael Stone has been released from prison despite warnings he could resume sectarian attacks against nationalists and republicans.

Paisley insists armed struggle was ‘genocide’ by ‘Catholic IRA’

The DUP MP Ian Paisley has doubled down on an absurd remark in which he compared the Nazi Holocaust to the actions of the “Catholic IRA”.

Family of late republican blast funeral critics

The family of Derry IRA veteran Eamon ‘Peggy’ McCourt have denounced politicians who criticised his republican funeral and made insensitive allegations that it had broken Covid-19 restrictions.

Loughgall families take action over social media hate campaign

The sister of an IRA Volunteer shot dead by the British Army has called for tighter regulation after images of his remains were repeatedly posted online.

Pressure on govts to facilitate Irish Unity poll

A clamour for a realignment of borders in the aftermath of Brexit has seen the most senior figure in David Cameron’s former Tory Cabinet join increasing numbers of unionists in admitting that Ireland could soon be reunited.

British Army Covid stunt rejected by republicans

A deployment of British Army paramedics to hospitals in occupied Ireland has angered nationalists, particularly among families of those killed and injured by British soldiers.

Relief for family of victim of cold-blooded killing

The family of Paddy McElhone, who was aged 24 when he was shot and killed by a British soldier near his Tyrone home, have said the truth of his 1974 murder has finally been heard at an inquest.

Further claims of responsibility by armed groups

The Continuity IRA have issued a second statement with specific details of a gun attack on a PSNI helicopter last week.

Legal challenge to airport harassment

A north Belfast community activist has won High Court permission to challenge a decision by the PSNI to detain and interrogate him at an airport.

Questions mount over cronyism in Ireland’s health system

Top health officials in Ireland provided doses of Covid-19 vaccine to their own family members and friends ahead of frontline workers, care home residents and other vulnerable people, according to reports this week.

Helicopter attacked as armed groups remain active

A high powered gun attack took place against a Crown Forces helicopter on Thursday near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh. The attack took place in the border area near where the Continuity IRA launched a booby-trap attack in 2019.

‘For God and Asda’ – ‘onslaught’ threat over bare shelves

Unionists have claimed they been “screwed over” by a new regulatory border in the Irish Sea, with senior MPs hitting out at the Tory government in London over shortages of some items in foodstores, and calling for some Brexit regulations to be scrapped.

Prosecutors refuse to reveal MI5 role in case

A lawyer acting for a group of republican activists held after an MI5 entrapment operation has said that British military intelligence “appears to be ignorant of the rule of law”.

Wake harassed by PSNI over presence of republicans

Eight PSNI vehicles, including six armoured Land Rovers, swarmed a family home in west Belfast on Thursday night, and harassed mourners attending a wake.

Report on Mother and Baby homes ‘a cop-out’

A Commission of Investigation has established that some 9,000 babies and children died over eight decades in Irish ‘Mother and Baby’ homes, but a limited report and an official State apology have only increased demands for full redress for a history of murderous neglect and misogyny.

Signage move brings new hope for Irish language in Belfast

A major policy change by Belfast City Council will make Irish language street signs easier to erect.

Brexit advances Irish economic unity

The Dublin government is being urged to help facilitate the increasing reality of Irish unity following the end of the Brexit transition period and the creation of an Irish Sea border.

Campaign for Noah intensifies

A convoy of over a thousand vehicles took place around Belfast in support of the family of teenager Noah Donohoe on Thursday night as concerns mount over PSNI failings and possible collusion in the stalled investigation into his death.

Sort out Rockall mess, governments urged

British authorities have been urged to abandon their claim to the remote rocky outcrop of Rockall after an awkward incident on Monday in which a Scottish patrol boat boarded an Irish fishing vessel.

DUP mistakenly condemn second ‘republican funeral’

As concern grows over a dangerous new English strain of the coronavirus, the determination of unionists to fit the deepening Covid-19 crisis into a sectarian agenda has reached a new low point.

Tensions follow BLM-style death in Dublin

Hundreds of people have been taking part in daily protests outside Blanchardstown Garda station in Dublin after a man with mental illness was shot dead in a hail of gunfire this week by Gardai in the garden of his own home.

Shock in Ireland after US Capitol is seized by mob

Political leaders in Ireland universally condemned the invasion of the Capitol Building in Washington DC by extremist supporters of Donald Trump.

Michael McKevitt passes away

Former Provisional and Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt has died following a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Bernadette Sands McKevitt, sister of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.

Happy New Year from Irish Republican News

A short note to wish you all a Happy New Year.

UDA order mother of murder victim to flee

Drug-dealing loyalist paramilitaries have ordered a grandmother and her family out of their homes over Christmas for daring to speak out against them over the murder of her son.

Christmas Eve terror in Coleraine

Unionist paramilitaries in north Derry have targeted the homes of nationalists in the town of Coleraine with four hoax bombs planted in the town on Christmas Eve.

History seen moving in direction of unity

On the centenary of the enactment of the Government of Ireland Act, which partitioned Ireland under British law, and with Brexit just days away, the former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has called for the Dublin government to do more to remove the border from the island.

IRA prisoners’ peace effort noted in declassified papers

Information passed by prison chaplains to the Dublin government in 1990 that the Provisional IRA did not want Sinn Féin directly involved in negotiations with the British government about a ceasefire was misinterpreted in state papers released in Dublin this week.

Internee granted judicial review

Veteran republican Kieran ‘Zack’ Smyth has been granted leave to seek a judicial review of a British order to revoke his prison release and intern him earlier this year.

Discrimination finding fails to bring change

PSNI chief Simon Byrne has failed to acknowledge institutionalised bigotry within the force after the Police Ombudsman admitted that Black Lives Matter protestors had been discriminated against.

Brexit negotiators conclude deal on trade, security

A comprehensive deal for Britain’s departure from the EU has been agreed by negotiators from the London government and the European Union, concluding years of talks marked by British bad faith and political uncertainty, particularly in the north of Ireland.

Unionists block move to keep new virus strain out

A new and more dangerous strain of coronavirus which has emerged in the southeast of England has resulted in a flight ban from Britain to the 26 Counties, but the Stormont Executive in the North has so far refused to take part.

Stormont exposed by Covid failure

The inability of the Six-County Executive at Stormont to govern effectively has been highlighted by the announcement on Friday of a hard ‘lockdown’ for six weeks as well as a week-long 8pm curfew to begin on St Stephen’s Day.

Govts urged to act on Belturbet revelations

A new TV documentary has pointed to collusion between loyalists and the British Army in a bomb attack in Belturbet, in which two teenagers were killed.

Poet’s memory insulted by ‘Northern Ireland’ propaganda

The British government has attempted to colonise the legacy of Irish poet Seamus Heaney in support of the partition of Ireland by using his image as part of a campaign to mark its centenary.

Shots fired at home of Derry republican

The wife of a member of a republican political group has narrowly escaped injury in a gun attack on her home in Dungiven.

‘Soldier B’ prosecution to go ahead

An attempt to stop the prosecution of a former British soldier for the murder of a child in Derry 48 years ago has been rejected.

DNA test finally brings justice for ‘Kerry Babies’ accused

A woman has been cleared of murdering her own baby after 35 years in a case which raised serious questions about the culture of the Garda Síochána and the treatment of unmarried mothers in Irish society.

Britain bows to pressure on border

Concessions by the British government have boosted hopes that a remilitarised border through Ireland can be avoided after Brexit, although overall negotiations on a trade deal with the EU could still fail.

PSNI wreck family home for Christmas

A spate of heavy-handed operations in Derry by the PSNI has followed in a grim Crown Force tradition of Christmas-time raids in republican areas and the seizure of family gifts and children’s toys.

Sinn Féin internalises anti-IRA campaign

Two separate attempts to smear and damage Sinn Féin TDs with embarrassing old social media posts have followed supposedly controversial statements about the Provisional IRA.

Wales ‘has pathway to independence’

Wales will be offered an independence referendum within five years if the Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, commands a majority at next May’s Welsh Parliament elections, the party’s leader Adam Price has said.

Student nurses on €50 as fat cats issued huge increases

The coalition government in Dublin has come under fire for agreeing to increase wages and pensions for judges and politicians while refusing to pay student nurses.

Death of ‘unsung hero’ of Bloody Sunday

Hugh McMonagle has been described as “an unsung and courageous hero of Bloody Sunday” after he sadly passed away on Thursday at the age of 75.

Loyalist leaders were British agents, court hears

Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) founder Billy Wright was a state-sponsored agent, Belfast Crown Court has heard. It was alleged that the man known as ‘King Rat’ was just one of a number of unionist paramilitary bosses on the British payroll.

‘Good IRA vs. Bad IRA’ acted out in Twitter flap

A controversy over a tweet by Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley has been allowed to overshadow the centenary of the Kilmichael Ambush, one of the most significant military blows to British rule in Ireland in Irish history.

Miscarriage of justice overturned after 42 years

A Court of Appeal in Belfast has ruled that the British Crown Forces fabricated admissions in 1978 to secure the conviction of a teenager which saw him locked away for ten years of his early adulthood.

UDA ‘could come back for us’

The mother of a Catholic gun attack victim fears her son will be killed by the UDA after he was blasted on his doorstep in Coleraine in a savage sectarian attack.

Housing Executive pays out over sectarian harassment

A man who was forced to endure colleagues calling Catholics ‘Fenians’, wishing him ‘Happy King Billy’s Day’ and draping a a Union Jack over his work van has settled a case against the North’s Housing Executive.

Singer regrets not doing more for Irish cause

Shane MacGowan, the former lead singer of the Pogues, says he felt guilty for “not having the guts” to join the I.R.A. in a new documentary.

British govt rejects Supreme Court call for Finucane inquiry

The British government has again refused to establish a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the 39-year-old defence lawyer shot dead in front of his family in Belfast in 1989 by paramilitaries acting on the direction of the British Armed Forces.

Decision day for Finucane inquiry

Monday has become a day of reckoning as the date a court was told Britain will finally make a decision known on a public inquiry into the assassination of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane.

Pressure on Johnson as Brexit deadline approaches

US President-elect Joe Biden has again spoken out against the prospect of a remilitarised border through Ireland and Britain’s moves to violate the Good Friday Agreement and international law.

Duplicity of coalition condemned on centenary of key massacre

The two leaders of the 26 County government have been condemned for hypocrisy for piously marking the centenary of the 1920 Bloody Sunday massacre in Croke Park despite previously commemorating those who carried out the atrocity.

Payout setback for PSNI’s ‘dark forces’

In a settlement which could set a marker for other claims against the Crown Forces, huge damages have been paid to journalists falsely arrested by the PSNI in 2018.

UDA upsurge continues

The UDA shot a man in Coleraine, planted three pipe bombs in a nearby village and threatened to kill a journalist this week amid an ongoing crime spree by the unionist paramilitary organisation and its drug-dealing gangs.

Intimidation fears over north Belfast graffiti

Racist and sectarian graffiti has appeared on walls in a loyalist area of north Belfast, not far from where 14-year-old Noah Donohoe disappeared in June.

Jingo Johnson bangs the drum

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the biggest expansion of the British military since the Cold War, calling for Britain to go on the offensive and end an “era of retreat” in the aftermath of Brexit.

Loyalist paramilitaries clash over cash

Leaders of two loyalist paramilitary groups are said to be at the point of feuding over drug dealing on Belfast’s Shankill Road.

Legal fightback over anti-republican measures

Republicans are taking to the courts to fight attempts by British forces to abuse the law in order to oppress and marginalise normal political activity.

Anger as GAA-linked firm backs British Army

Protests have been organised over an apparent collaboration between the British Army and Irish sportswear firm O’Neills, the primary manufacturer of Gaelic sports jerseys and school sports kits in Ireland.

Council bias ‘must be addressed’

The discriminatory treatment of cultural symbols in rural areas of the north of Ireland continues as loyalist flags and emblems go untouched, while visible signs of Irish republicanism are often threatened and removed.

MI5’s sinister tools: money and intimidation

Envelopes of cash have been sent to a County Fermanagh home in an effort to recruit a member of Republican Sinn Féin, one of several attempts to infiltrate the party.

Madness of DUP’s veto on public health

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has accused the DUP of exploiting Covid-19 as an ‘orange versus green’ issue in a week she described as ‘shameful and depressing’.

Cummings quits as Tories face Brexit realities

A power struggle at Downing Street that ended on Friday with Boris Johnson’s top advisor Dominic Cummings walking out of Number 10 may mark the beginning of the end for a no-deal Brexit and a hard border through Ireland.

Fine Gael shaken by mounting nepotism allegations

Fine Gael launched its most bitter attack on Sinn Féin in years this week in a desperate response to a cronyism scandal which has now expanded to include the position of shamed Supreme Court judge Seamus Woulfe.

Unionist’s bigotry draws international attention

John Taylor, the former Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party has made headlines around the world after describing US vice president-elect Kamala Harris as “the Indian”.

Anger as UVF ‘honoured’ at Belfast City Hall

Sinn Féin has called for a review after a Poppy Day wreath for the unionist paramilitary UVF was laid at Belfast City Council’s cenotaph in the Garden of Remembrance at City Hall.

Righting a wrong at Westminster

A slur against a peace campaigner that remained on the record of the London parliament for 21 years has finally been corrected.

Irish leaders respond to US election outcome

The President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has led Irish congratulations to Joe Biden after his success in becoming the US President.

Tories wary as Biden elected US President

The new US President-elect Joe Biden could make a visit to Ireland’s border area as part of an intervention on Brexit, according to reports.

Varadkar damaged by cronyism revelations

Sinn Féin is to table a motion of no confidence in Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar after he offered no real defence for leaking a confidential medical contract to a friend involved in negotiations for a rival group.

Mother of ‘boy who got away’ calls for investigations

The mother of a Catholic teenager who was chased, attacked and robbed by loyalist youths this summer has spoken out over the PSNI’s refusal to properly investigate the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe.

No indication of British plan for referendums

There are fears the London government could seek to prevent referendums on Irish unity and Scottish independence for decades in light of recent statements by its most senior representatives in both countries.

Wild west scene at PSNI house party

The parallel systems of policing in the north of Ireland have been highlighted by the treatment of two members of the PSNI who were released despite pleading guilty to opening fire at a house party.

Frederick Douglass to be remembered in Belfast

A proposal to erect a statue dedicated to US abolitionist and activist Frederick Douglass has been passed by Belfast City Council. Douglass, a former slave, visited Belfast in 1845 as part of his lecturing tour of Ireland.

Clashes as anger mounts over policing

There has been sporadic unrest in Derry over three days as a provocative Crown Force operation took place in the area of Racecourse Road, Greenhaw Road, Glengalliagh Road and Fern Road.

‘Lies and failure’ over killing of 13-year-old

New evidence has emerged in the murder of 13-year-old Martha Campbell in Belfast in 1972, which puts a British Army unit in the area and shooting at the time she was shot and killed.

SF Senator steps down amid new grants scandal

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accepted the resignation of party Senator Elisha McCallion as a new financial scandal erupted in the North this week.

PPS defends its own in Stakeknife case

A decision of the North’s Public Prosecution Service (PPS) not to prosecute one of their own members for perjury relating to the ‘Stakeknife’ double-agent has come as no surprise, according to legal representatives of his victims.

Detailed study launched on use of plastic bullets in North

‘Plastic Justice’, an extensive report on the history, legacy and the deadly impact of the plastic bullet in the north of Ireland, was launched by Relatives for Justice last weekend.

‘Guerrilla’ campaign draws attention to British occupation

Lasair Dhearg activists said they have carried out a “new guerilla marketing strategy” throughout Belfast to highlight the ongoing British occupation of the north of Ireland.

US Action Alert: Stop plans for a hard border

This weeks marks the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1980 hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh, as well as the centenary of the death on hunger strike of Terence MacSwiney, the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork. It is also an important week for the Irish cause in 2020. That is because it is now widely believed that the British government has delayed key Brexit negotiations until after the US Presidential election.

Fury at homes abuse cover-up

An adoption rights activist born in one of Ireland’s notorious ‘mother and baby’ homes has described a move to seal records about the institutions for thirty years as a denial of justice.

Martin ‘not interested’ in Irish Unity

A refusal by Micheál Martin to say if a border poll will ever take place and a statement that Irish reunification is not a priority has put the Taoiseach at odds with a broad swathe of Irish public opinion, including his own party.

DUP Minister reaches new low

A deeply-rooted prejudice of DUP minister Edwin Poots emerged in scandalous fashion this week when he issued a series of bigoted remarks in connection with Covid-19, peaking with the incredible claim that they weren’t sectarian as “most Sinn Féin leaders don’t attend the Catholic Church on a regular basis”.

MI5 infiltration of Craigavon 2 campaign prompts legal action

Lawyers representing two men jailed in a miscarriage of justice say there are new grounds for their convictions to be deemed unsafe due to the sinister involvement of MI5 double agent Dennis McFadden.

Family urge letter writer to come forward

The family of a County Tyrone man murdered by loyalists 30 years ago has called for an independent investigation to be carried out after receiving an anonymous letter containing significant new information.

US election campaign echoes in Ireland

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has outlined how he will work with Irish-America and Ireland if he is elected US president.

Micheál Martin confirms new lockdown

After weeks of vacillation and infighting, the Dublin government has responded to inexorably rising levels of the coronavirus in Ireland with a stringent, six-week ‘level 5’ lockdown.

Scotland pushing at the door

Post-Brexit Europe will see a border between Scotland and England if the result of the latest poll, which found 58% of Scots now support independence, is borne out in a referendum.

Consequences of partitioned public health become clear

The failure to agree a joint all-island strategy on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a blame game on both sides of the border as the numbers of new cases and deaths have once again spiralled upwards.

Protest at new British spy towers

Large-scale surveillance installations used by British forces to spy on the nationalist population in the north of Ireland are the focus of a new campaign by republican activists.

New information on killings ignored by PSNI

A year after a breakthrough documentary was broadcast on the case, the father of two brothers killed by loyalists almost 30 years ago has confirmed that the PSNI failed to take any action on the new information.

Former death row prisoner tortured into ‘confession’ takes case

A Belfast man has begun a High Court action over the British Army’s use of torture techniques to extract a false confession used to secure a death sentence against him at trial.

Partition ‘celebration’ plans get slow handclap

A forum set up by the British government to look at how to mark next year’s ‘Centenary of Northern Ireland’ is being boycotted by nationalists and republicans. The Centenary Forum was announced by British prime minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Ireland in August.

Tories back death squads, condemn human rights lawyers

An attack on human rights lawyers by the British Prime Minister has been described as “appalling” and “ shameful”.

Loyalists shoot grandmother, stone schoolbus

A 61-year-old woman has been left fighting for her life after a unionist paramilitary gun attack in Coleraine, County Derry. Sally Cummings is in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast after being struck in the head by one of eight shots.

Glenanne Gang member linked to shocking new death threat

A member of the notorious ‘Glenanne Gang’ death squad is being investigated after a shocking death threat was made against Aontú councillor Denise Mullen, the daughter of a man previously murdered by the gang.

Brexit a reality as Gardaí move to harden border

An armed Garda support unit is to be permanently deployed to the border in a decision which appears to confirm plans for a cross-border remilitarisation of the area.

Bank protest over frozen accounts

Political activists in Derry occupied the local branch of the Santander bank in an action over the freezing of bank accounts and welfare benefits of those targeted by the PSNI.

Amnesty take on case of murdered 12-year-old

Amnesty International is helping organise a campaign for justice for Majella O’Hare, a girl who was shot in the back on her way to church by a British soldier and then ‘treated like a piece of meat’, according to an eyewitness.

A legacy wiped from the map

The house of the O’Rahilly, a famous historical landmark once home to the 1916 Easter Rising leader Michael Joseph O’Rahilly, was tragically and deliberately demolished in the early hours of Tuesday morning, September 29.

Panel finds historic torture of republican prisoners

An independent inquiry report into the mistreatment of PoWs in the H-Blocks and Armagh Women’s Jail in the period between 1976 and 1981 has exposed the systematic abuse and torture of prisoners during the prison protests.

SF meeting with Charles angers Bloody Sunday families

Sinn Féin has come in for stinging criticism for its meeting this week with Prince Charles, the head of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, less than 24 hours after it was announced that no further charges will be brought over the Bloody Sunday massacre.

‘All bets are off’ in hard border scenario

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the “erratic” and “dangerous” Boris Johnson cannot be trusted on Brexit. She said Johnson has forfeited credibility by unpicking the Withdrawal Agreement, negotiated earlier this year, and now cannot be believed when he says he wants a trade deal.

Flanagan can’t tolerate Glenanne Gang film

An extraordinary attack by the former 26 County Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan on a documentary film on collusion has been described as an attack on nationalist victims of the conflict.

Narratives in struggle as Kelly recalls prison escape

Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly has said he remains proud of his involvement in the 1983 mass breakout from Long Kesh prison despite British Direct Ruler Brandon Lewis describing his memories of the event “disgraceful”.

New legal bid likely after massacre prosecutions decision

There was disappointment in Derry today after Crown Prosecutors confirmed that they will not prosecute 15 British soldiers in connection with Bloody Sunday.

Hunger strike ends with transfer of prisoner

A hunger protest by republican prisoners ended today after Palestinian prisoner Dr Issam Hijjawi was transferred to Roe House, the section of Maghaberry jail where political prisoners are housed.

Solidarity camp at Maghaberry gates

Protests in support of hunger striking prisoners are due to take place in Belfast and outside Maghaberry Prison on Saturday, where a solidarity camp is to be established.

New investigation into Ludlow murder

The family of Seamus Ludlow, who was shot dead in County Louth in 1976, have announced that an independent police investigation is to take place into his murder.

Tories treating north of Ireland as a ‘pawn’ - O’Neill

The people of the North are being used as pawns in a political game by the British government, Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill has warned.

MI5 to get legal backing for informers’ crimes

Legislation introduced at Westminster is set to shore up the legality of murders and other crimes committed by state agents and informers in Britain and the north of Ireland.

Seán Mac Stíofáin claim ‘propaganda’

An attempt to boost the reputation of the former Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey with an allegation that former IRA leader Seán Mac Stiofáin was a double agent has been rejected by a former colleague.

Pressure grows for BBC to sack talk show host

There are fresh protests against the institutional sectarianism of the BBC in Ireland as infamous radio and TV presenter Stephen Nolan continues to generate intense anger among nationalists.

Solidarity hunger strike at Maghaberry

The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association have said they are gravely concerned at the “medieval” behaviour of the Maghaberry prison regime towards Palestinian prisoner Dr Issam Hijjawi.

US leaders unite to oppose Johnson’s move on border

A transatlantic war of words has broken out over the British government’s move to break the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and its protections for peace in the north of Ireland.

TV broadcast on collusion ‘confronts the narrative’

A historic turning point in the long battle against state censorship in the 26 Counties was reached this week when ‘Unquiet Graves’, the story of the loyalist Glenanne Gang and their links to the British Crown Forces, was finally aired by state broadcaster RTE.

UDA expel Catholic woman over domestic dispute

A west Belfast Catholic woman has described how the unionist paramilitary UDA turned up at her door in March to force her out after her housemate became involved in a dispute with neighbouring residents.

Barbados leads the way in shedding imperial past

Countries around the world are re-examining their post-colonial identity after Barbados moved to remove the English queen as the head of state. The island has said that it is planning to become a republic as it moves to withdraw from the Commonwealth and “leave its colonial past behind”.

‘Patriots’ using virus to sow division

There is concern that far-right groups are taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis to build support for bogus ‘patriot’ organisations involving fascists, loyalists and English Brexiteers.

Perfidious Albion 2020

The political clock has been turned sharply back as the world grapples once again with a British government acting in bad faith on Ireland and blithely reneging on peace deals.

MI5 oppression condemned

A prominent former British MP has hit out at the use of entrapment by MI5 in Ireland and their attempts to criminalise lawful political activity.

PSNI linked to UDA sectarianism

A mother-of-three has had to leave her home in south Belfast after being assaulted by loyalists when she refused to hand over her child’s Catholic friends for a punishment shooting.

Crown refuses to say when it will hand over documents to inquest

A coroner has spoken out over delays by the Crown Forces in providing information to the inquest of a teenager shot dead by British soldiers in 1975.

Family of Gerard McMahon still await inquest

Four years on from his death, the family of a man who died following his arrest in Belfast city centre have been calling for the truth.

Parties urged to stand up for Liam Campbell’s human rights

Protests are being organised nationwide in support of Dundalk republican Liam Campbell, who is facing extradition to Lithuania on arms charges despite never having been to the country.

Tories admit to breaking international law on Ireland

The British government has been accused of creating a “rogue state” as it published a bill to violate the Irish protocol of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, an international treaty.

British backsliding could wreck Brexit peace deal

Reports that legislation is to be introduced by the British government to “eliminate the legal force” of parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, and specifically in relation to the border through Ireland, have sent shock waves around Europe.

Alliance blocks Irish signage

The latest proposals for dual Irish and English language street signs in Belfast were voted down this week as the leader of the supposedly cross-community Alliance Party claimed that the sight of the Irish language in public is “contentious”.

MI5 still trawling for agents and informers

Just days after a senior member of Saoradh was named as an MI5 agent, a republican activist revealed three individuals who identified themselves as members of the “security services” had tried to recruit him.

Facts of massacre emerge despite ‘lost’ military files

A secret behind a British Army log sheet that went ‘missing’ has been uncovered thanks to the detective work of an archive researcher.

Hardline unionists back Trump in US election

The DUP and other unionists have been endorsing Donald Trump to win the US Presidential election in November.

Information sought over horror arson attack

Relatives for Justice have appealed for information to help a family who were targeted in a sectarian fire bomb in 1976 in which three lives were lost.

Heritage site faces ‘West Brit’ wrecking ball

Efforts are underway to save a building which played a pivotal role in the Easter Rising and the War of Independence in Dublin, the home of the 1916 martyr known as ‘The O’Rahilly’.

‘Internment 2.0’

A Palestinian doctor and political activist has been charged under the “Terrorism Act”, alongside nine Irish republicans as part of a major Crown Forces operation to imprison leading members of the Saoradh political party.

McFadden family ‘refuse MI5 protection’ - Saoradh

Saoradh have said the family of Dennis McFadden have ended their associations with the recently identified MI5 agent, and they should face no hostility or recrimination for his actions.

Disturbances in Lurgan follow searches, arrests

Petrol bombs were thrown in Lurgan on Sunday night following PSNI searches and a bomb alert.

Hooded Men bid to pave way for other victims

The Hooded Men are to take Britain’s refusal to investigate legacy state crimes in the conflict to the Supreme Court in London.

Anger at lengthy sentence in Connor retrial

Belfast woman Christine Connor has been sentenced to 20 years in jail over an alleged plot to encourage online acquaintances to carry out attacks against the PSNI, despite a judge’s admission that she suffers from “significant” mental ill-health.

Loyalist campaign against GAA continues

The erection by loyalists of a banner in Dungannon referring to the GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association) as the “sporting wing of the IRA” has been condemned by Sinn Fein.

Entrapment alleged as top Saoradh official named as MI5 agent

A man presenting himself as a lifelong republican activist, Dennis McFadden, has been accused of working with British military intelligence to help imprison leading members of Saoradh.

Saoradh under attack

Raids have taken place over four days across three jurisdictions in one of the largest actions in recent years by state forces against a legal political party.

Coalition in crisis over Covid dinner madness

Micheál Martin’s coalition government has been deeply rocked by the fall-out from an anniversary dinner of the Dublin parliament’s Golf Society.

Family goes to court after inquest into double killing refused

The daughter of a female IRA Volunteer killed along with her sister almost 50 years ago is set to launch legal action against the Six County Attorney General after a new inquest was refused.

PSNI silent after delivering threat for loyalists

Loyalist paramilitaries are being effectively shielded by Six County PSNI police while passing on racist threats to their targets, judging from a recent case in south Belfast.

Setback for ex-PoWs as discriminatory pension scheme advances

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill has reluctantly agreed to progress a one-sided compensation scheme for victims of the past conflict after a judge ruled that an ongoing delay was unlawful.

New effort to realise Roger Casement’s dying wish

A new campaign to reinter the remains of Easter Rising leader Roger Casement has been launched in West Belfast.

Minister quits amid outrage over virus double standards

A Minister in the Dublin government has resigned this morning for attending a parliamentary jolly with more than 80 people, including several other politicians and ‘elite’ figures, which breached Covid-19 regulations.

Donohoe family seek justice

Fiona Donohoe, the mother of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, has begun a justice campaign and is seeking public assistance for an investigation into the unexplained death of her son in June of this year.

Policing hypocrisy reaches a new level

The discriminatory nature of the Stormont authorities’ approach to bonfires was laid bare last weekend as nationalist areas were flooded with riot PSNI police in order to remove small amounts of materials ahead of relatively tiny nationalist events, while a giant pyre saw loyalists cheer the sectarian burning of Irish flags and symbols.

Johnson ‘loves and celebrates’ partition of Ireland

Plans to mark the centenary of the partition of Ireland have received a mixed reaction from Irish politicians after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the division of the island was “obviously” a cause for “celebration”.

Martin fearful as unity debate continues

The 26 County Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said he is increasingly concerned that Irish unity may come about sooner rather than later, and possibly quite suddenly.

Prisoner assaulted on anniversary of unimplemented agreement

Republican political prisoner Luke O’Neill was viciously assaulted by warders at Maghaberry jail last week before being removed to an isolation unit, according to fellow prisoners.

Shocking stabbing of teenager recalled

The father of one of the teenagers who was with schoolboy Thomas Devlin on the night he was murdered by loyalists has spoken for the first time about the events of 15 years ago that changed the lives of three families forever.

Rioting follows PSNI raids in Derry

Vehicles were hijacked and burned and the PSNI were attacked with petrol and paint bombs in three nights of disturbances in Derry this week following brutal police raids in the city.

Anger as PSNI invade west Belfast estate

The IRSP has slammed what it said was an “anti-community” PSNI operation in the republican Divis area of Belfast to seize a small amount of wood gathered for a traditional August bonfire.

John Hume honoured around the world

Mourners from across the political spectrum attended and paid their respects at the funeral of John Hume, the former SDLP leader whose death prompted international tributes on Wednesday.

Catholics facing intimidation

A new Gaelic sports club set up in east Belfast with the goal of uniting communities has already been targeted by loyalists.

Calls for united Ireland campaign to be accelerated

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has called for the campaign for a united Ireland to be stepped up.

Prisoner wins right to access library books

A republican prisoner has won a High Court battle to secure access to library books. Sean McVeigh is currently being held within the segregated regime at Maghaberry Prison.

Adams pays tribute to John Hume

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams says John Hume’s decision to meet him for talks in 1986 “was a breakthrough moment in Irish politics” and described the Good Friday Agreement as “a landmark moment for both of us”.

John Hume has died

It has been announced this morning that the former SDLP leader and Noble Peace Prize winner John Hume passed away late last night. He died after a short illness at the age of 83 after suffering from dementia for many years.

One law for them

The culmination of weeks of outrage over the new Dublin government’s attempts to seize new powers and perks, while stripping benefits from newly unemployed citizens, saw this session of parliament culminate in an angry walk-out by several parties.

British state ‘getting away with murder’

The RUC have “gotten away with the murder of a 9 year old child” after a decision was taken not to prosecute anyone in relation to the case, according to his family.

New British powers in border area opposed

A legal challenge is being mounted over a new quasi-militarised border zone being planned by the British government.

Unionist politicians disgrace themselves again

DUP MP Gregory Campbell has been widely condemned after he reprised an infamous incident in which he mocked the Irish language.

Desperate hunger strike by refugees forces action

Asylum seekers at one of Ireland’s most notorious direct provision centres are to be relocated after ending a hunger strike in protest at the conditions of their disease-ridden accommodation in County Kerry.

Support urged for interned Blanketman

Saoradh have called the immediate release of former political prisoner Ciarán ‘Zack’ Smyth and an end to the use of internment against republicans.

Sinn Féin MP questions Good Friday Agreement

A veteran Sinn Féin politician has created a storm after he expressed his personal concern that the public had been cheated by the Good Friday Agreement.

Coalition ‘a shambles’ as stresses mount

The lifespan of the new government in Dublin appears to be shortening as unrest within the three-party coalition has begun to manifest itself.

Pressure grows for all-Ireland virus strategy

The partition of Ireland is once again endangering lives as divergent strategies on the coronavirus make it easier for the disease and disease carriers to bypass restrictions on either side.

MP undeterred by loyalist confrontation

North Belfast MP John Finucane says he will not be intimidated after he was asked to leave a protest by alleged loyalist paramilitary commander Winston ‘Winkie’ Irvine.

Family ‘none the wiser’ over killing

The family of a Catholic teenager shot dead by an RUC policeman 40 years ago say they never got “any justice” for his killing.

Tributes for historic Sinn Féin politician

Tributes have been paid to veteran republican Tom Mitchell who died in his native Dublin at the age of 88.

‘A Twelfth like no other’

Loyalist bands defied public appeals to call off marches because of the coronavirus on Monday and insisted on holding hundreds of parades to mark a sectarian battle victory.

London plans ‘power grab’ after Brexit

The London government is pushing a unionist agenda by using Brexit to commandeer powers which should be returned from Brussels to administrations in Belfast and Edinburgh, it has been claimed.

Demo in Derry against “unrelenting, torturous” harassment

A protest took place against police harassment outside Strand Road PSNI barracks in Derry last Saturday.

Inequality seen in football’s anti-racism stance

Football federations are being urged to do more to combat anti-Irish racism following allegations of a growing disparity in the handling of abuse in professional soccer.

Nuclear sub nearly struck ferry - report

A British nuclear submarine almost collided with a ferry sailing out of Belfast after naval commanders under-estimated the speed of the Stena ferry.

Apple skips out of billions in Irish tax dodge

Apple Inc. has been told it will not have to pay €13bn ($15bn) in back taxes to the 26 County state after winning an appeal at the European Union’s second-highest court.

Martin’s government in chaos as Minister gets the sack

The incoming Dublin government may have already struck an iceberg after Taoiseach Micheál Martin suddenly fired his Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen in connection with motoring offences dating from four years ago.

Bonfires of hate go unchecked

An illegal loyalist bonfire burned through a sectarian interface into the nationalist New Lodge last night, terrifying residents and provoking further clashes between nationalist youths and the PSNI police.

Stormont dances to a loyalist tune

A range of politicians and mainstream media have jumped on a loyalist bandwagon to stigmatise mourners at the funeral of legendary figure Bobby Storey, and mount a political attack on Sinn Fein.

Clashes in north Belfast ahead of ‘Eleventh Night’

Tensions are escalating in north Belfast as loyalists prepare for the biggest sectarian displays of the marching season.

Apology sought as court denounces political police raids

Journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey have said the PSNI should apologise after the Court of Appeal spelled out why it had quashed a search warrant used to mount shocking heavy-handed raids against them in 2018.

Martin turns away from Irish unity poll

The head of the new coalition government in Dublin, Fianna Fáil leader Michel Martin, has moved his party further away from its republican roots after casting doubt on a referendum on Irish unification as contained in the Good Friday Agreement.

Opposition grows to Campbell extradition

Fermanagh has become the first county in Ireland to pass a motion in support of Dundalk republican Liam Campbell as a campaign grows to halt his extradition to Lithuania, a country he has never even stepped foot in.

Family of murdered child seeks to end ‘crossfire’ lie

The brother of a schoolgirl shot and killed in 1976 is calling for an independent investigation ahead of the anniversary of her death.

‘We will continue his struggle’

Thousands of people watched the funeral procession take place in west Belfast on Tuesday, of the late Bobby Storey, Sinn Féin’s chairperson in the Six Counties and a renowned Provisional IRA figure who died last Sunday week.

Sectarian point-scoring follows funeral of Bobby Storey

There is anger in republican circles at a cynical attempt by unionists and others to turn the funeral of IRA veteran Bobby Storey into a stick with which to beat Sinn Féin.

Loyalists seek to reopen marching season

The Parades Commission has received more than 140 applications for sectarian marches to mark ‘the Twelfth’, the anniversary of a Protestant battle victory over Catholics, despite the Orange Order advising its members not to do so due to the coronavirus.

New Dublin-centric government sets a low bar

The composition of the new 26-County cabinet is being criticised for contining the ongoing marginalisation of both the north and the west of Ireland.

Protest at embassy over planned extradition

A protest is to take place in Dublin on Saturday against the impending extradition of republican Liam Campbell, set to be sent to Lithuania for a trial on arms charges despite never having set foot in the country.

A County Tyrone man has won the legal right to challenge oppressive new powers directed at former republican prisoners.

Micheál Martin sworn in as Taoiseach

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has officially confirmed Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin as the new 26 County Taoiseach at Áras an Uachtarán this afternoon after he was elected Taoiseach by 93 votes to 63, with three abstentions.

A pact among devils

Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have voted overwhelmingly to enter into a three-party coalition in Dublin which they say will “stand up” for Ireland at this time of crisis, but which republicans and socialists believe will only preserve the hegemony of a privileged minority.

Sinn Féin ends opposition to the Special Criminal Court

For the first time since Sinn Féin entered the Dublin parliament, the party has abstained in a vote on the renewal of the infamous Offences Against the State Act. The legislation, which dates from 1939, facilitates the imprisonment of any individual which the 26 County government believes could pose a threat to ‘state security’ for any reason.

Loyalists terrorising kids in north Belfast

Children are being singled out for abuse and intimidation by loyalists in north Belfast if they are perceived to be nationalist or Catholic.

Adams pays tribute as ‘Big Bobby’ returns to Belfast

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has released a personal tribute to the former political prisoner and former party chairman Bobby Storey following his death at the age of 64.

Statue of Irish war hero vandalised

The National Graves Association (NGA) has praised an outpouring of concern by the public following an attack on a monument in Dublin in honour of former IRA Chief of Staff Sean Russell.

Signs of change in Belfast

Signs honouring deceased republicans including Maire Drumm, Bobby Sands and 1916 Rising leader James Connolly were erected around Belfast this week as part of what organisers Lasair Dhearg say is a campaign to highlight British State colonialism, and historic figures associated with it, in Ireland.

Bobby Storey has died

Republicans everywhere have expressed their shock and sadness at the death of legendary Belfast republican, Bobby Storey, at the age of 64.

Realignment seen as govt pact excludes Sinn Féin

Nationalists and republicans have been left disappointed by the Programme for Government presented by the leaders of three potential coalition partners in Dublin.

Tory dissembling accelerates ahead of Brexit deadline

There are calls for the Dublin government to provide “push back” against the increasingly perfidious actions of London over the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and its protocol for the north of Ireland.

Bigots offended by kids playing hurling

A sectarian banner was erected in a Belfast public park to denounce the GAA as “anti-British” and proclaimed the Gaelic Athletics Association is “not welcome”. The sign was later removed by council workers.

Johnson defends statue of Oliver Cromwell

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said said it would not be right to remove the statue of Oliver Cromwell despite the fact he “killed so many thousands of people in Ireland”.

McAllister campaign seeks deportation reversal

A Belfast republican has said the US government has “thrown a wrench” into the Good Friday Agreement after he was deported after more than twenty years.

Truth demanded on tenth anniversary of Saville Report

One of the organisers of the original Bloody Sunday march has said the report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry did not get to the full truth of the massacre.

‘Don’t despair’, urges McDonald, as Martin set to become Taoiseach

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has urged voters to “not give in” following a decision by the parliamentary parties of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party to support the formation of a coalition government in Dublin which would see FF leader Micheál Martin become the next Taoiseach.

Party leaders propose coalition deal

After four months of negotiation, a proposed Programme for Government between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party could give the 26 County state the largest right-wing government it has seen for decades.

End British export of rubber bullets

There has been a surge of pressure for an end to Britain’s trade in plastic and rubber bullets following disturbing scenes of serious injuries to Black Lives Matter protestors in the US.

Repression in Derry ‘ignored’ by new campaign

The chairperson of Saoradh in Derry has called on those protesting against racism and oppression around the world to address the issues of discrimination and repression in Ireland.

Gerrymander quashed after court upholds appeal

An attempt by the Boundary Commission in the north of Ireland to drastically reshape constituencies has been declared unlawful by the Court of Appeal in Belfast.

Broad appeal for help to bring closure to grieving family

The family of a young west Belfast woman shot dead almost 50 years ago have appealed for members of the public who may have information to contact them, including former IRA Volunteers or former members of the British Crown Forces.

Paramilitary flag seen in new soccer strip

The daughter of a loyalist murder victim has called for a Belfast soccer club to withdraw a new kit which has the same colours and a similar design to the flag used by the paramilitary group which killed her father

Republican prisoners in solidarity fast

Irish republican prisoners at Portaoise have this Friday, June 12, begun a 72 hour fast in support of Basque prisoners and political prisoners around the world. They have issued the following statement.

Malachy McAllister deported from US

A former Irish political prisoner who fought deportation for over two decades after fleeing loyalist death threats with his family is believed to have been put on a plane back to Ireland by US authorities.

‘Hierarchy of victims’ may be used for payment scheme

The British government once again stands accused of reneging on its commitments after it insisted on a legal definition of a victim which would exclude thousands of nationalists and republicans.

Anti-racism protests across Ireland

More than 5,000 people gathered on the streets of Dublin on Monday afternoon as demonstrations too place around the world in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter campaign.

‘No more delays’ - why must family wait until 2059?

A woman who wasn’t even born when her big brother was killed by a plastic bullet in Derry says she wants to know why a secret file into his death has to remain closed until she is nearly 80 years old.

Sinn Féin speak to Irish America, English Queen

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has called upon Irish-American supporters to begin lobbying for a referendum on the unification of Ireland.

Prisoners’ campaigner remembered on fortieth anniversary

Tributes have been paid to former British soldier John Turnley who campaigned for Irish republican prisoners before being shot dead by a loyalist paramilitary death squad linked to the British Army’s SAS regiment.

Gaelic blessing could be political statement, says church

The Church of England has been accused of anti-Irish racism after it refused to allow an Irish language inscription on a gravestone on the basis that Gaelic ‘can cause intense feelings’.

Who killed Seamus Ludlow?

On the day it emerged that the most senior British military figure linked to the killing has died, an Irish court has served to maintain an official cover-up of the murder of Louth man Seamus Ludlow.

No explanation for militarised raids, arrests

A violent Crown Force operation to arrest four Derry men ended with all four being released without a single shred of evidence being put forward, according to the men’s lawyers.

IRA questions dominate interviews for SF leaders

As part of a newspaper interview, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the IRA’s armed struggle was “justified” and there is “every chance” she would have taken up arms during the conflict.

Dysfunction on show as lockdowns break down

The Six Counties currently have the highest rate of transmission of the coronavirus in either Britain or Ireland but is facing a new danger this week as lockdowns weaken on both sides of the border.

Activists push back against normalisation of the PSNI

Republicans have been removing dozens of PSNI symbols across north and west Belfast as part of a campaign against Britain’s ‘normalisation’ of the PSNI and other state forces.

Eugene Reavey challenges online smears

Prominent peace campaigner Eugene Reavey is to take on defamatory statements made about him on the internet by suing Google and Facebook.

CIRA patrolling openly

The Continuity IRA, which says it has been recruiting and regrouping in the Fermanagh area, has released pictures of one of its armed patrols along a border road. It has claimed the organisation “can operate at any time day or night in south Fermanagh”.

Unionist MP defies policy change, insists Irish are British

A row has erupted after DUP MP Gavin Robinson said people born in the north of Ireland have to be British first before they can be Irish.

Gardaí involved in abusive Belfast search - RSF

Republican Sinn Féin have said a heavy-handed police raid on one of its member’s homes in west Belfast involved a specialist unit from the 26 Counties.

Concern as Basque hunger striker hospitalised

Irish republican groups have been expressing their support for Basque political prisoner Patxi Ruiz, who has been hospitalised with kidney failure after a hunger and thirst strike which began on May 11.

Sectarian incidents increase

A Catholic church in County Antrim has been targeted in a loyalist paint bomb attack.

Irish support for struggling Native American communities

The chief of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma has welcomed Irish donations to help two tribes suffering in the Covid-19 pandemic as a sign of the solidarity between the two nations which dates back more than 170 years.

A battle won

Every person born in the north of Ireland is currently regarded as a European Union citizen for immigration purposes after the British government backed down in the face of a marathon campaign by a Derry woman and her US-born partner.

Adams ruling to open door for other internees

Hundreds of those interned without trial in the 1970 could see convictions quashed or receive compensation as a result of a ruling of the Supreme Court in London in favour of Gerry Adams.

Britain to prepare Irish seaports as Brexit inches forward

There have been conflicting signals over how Britain intends to implement the special status for the north of Ireland in the wake of Brexit.

Loyalists brutally attack and rob young cyclist

A Catholic teenager who was attacked by loyalists in north Belfast on Sunday evening has recounted a savage sectarian assault as he was out for a cycle.

UDA behind threats to journalists - PSNI

The PSNI have said loyalist paramilitaries are behind threats against a number of journalists and politicians, and told one journalist he could be the target of an under-car booby trap attack.

Lockdown clashes with marching season

Four sectarian parades are being planned by loyalists despite the continuing coronavirus lockdown in the north of Ireland.

Convictions overturned after Adams’s internment ruled unlawful

Convictions against Gerry Adams dating from the 1970s have been overturned by the Supreme Court in London in a judgement which could have consequences for many others who were interned without trial.

Escapee’s conviction declared miscarriage of justice

The conviction of one of those who escaped Long Kesh in 1983 and who settled in the USA, Kevin Barry Artt, has been quashed two decades after the British government ended its efforts to extradite him.

Lockdown tensions boil over in the Dáil

Political anxiety overcame caretaker Taoiseach, Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar in the Dublin parliament this week when he suddenly lashed out at Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald, who he accused of being “two-faced”.

All-Ireland opportunity to eliminate virus ‘could be wasted’

A medical expert has said that with infection rates in decline, the island of Ireland now has an opportunity to eliminate the coronavirus.

Grief as another IRA stalwart passes

A funeral for lifelong republican Jim Scullion, who led IRA prisoners in Long Kesh at the height of the conflict, has provoked criticism from unionists.

Whistleblower calls for nursing homes inquiry

A whistleblower in a Dublin nursing home where a significant number of patients have died from a coronavirus infection has made serious allegations of failings leading to the deaths of 24 clients.

New US envoy sworn in

A new US Special Envoy to the north of Ireland, Mick Mulvaney, has been sworn into office. Mr Mulvaney is an Irish-American with family roots in County Mayo.

Divided we fall as lockdowns clash at Border

The Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has spoken out about the danger of having two jurisdictions in Ireland in the current health crisis, saying it is wrong to have an all-island approach to animal care, but not human healthcare.

Duffy arrest an exercise in persecution

Prominent republican Colin Duffy, currently on bail awaiting trial, has overcome a cynical attempt by the PSNI to return him to jail over an alleged breach of his bail conditions.

Brexit delay urged over British inaction

The British government has been accused of “foot dragging and vague promises” amid calls for urgent action on preparations on Brexit, including new customs posts to carry out checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea.

Britain seen gaining control over Irish policing

The 32 County Sovereignty Committee has said appointments of two senior figures from Britain’s PSNI police to An Garda Síochána represent a strengthening of direct control of the police in Ireland by British intelligence.

‘Inquiry’ seen as bid to give cover to broken promises

A Westminster committee has launched an inquiry to consider British government proposals on legacy, but it does not have the confidence of victims and relatives of people killed as a result of British state violence and collusion.

Rights being stolen as workers face arrest, fines

The coronavirus was used as an excuse to break up protests by retail workers this week as they sought their legal redundancy rights, despite the protestors adhering to social distancing requirements.

Colombia three get amnesty, 19 years on

Three Irish republicans once accused of training rebels in Colombia’s civil war have been granted an amnesty nearly two decades after they were arrested.

Doctor quits Medical Council over state blunders

There have been calls for a criminal investigation into the failure to protect residents of Irish nursing and care homes from the coronavirus disease after a prominent County Dublin doctor resigned from the Irish Medical Council over the government’s mishandling of the crisis.

Two-speed island response jeopardising public health efforts

A growing disparity between the coronavirus death rates in the north and south of Ireland is proof that two different approaches to the crisis are causing lives to be lost, according to academics.

Republican dies in fight against virus

A republican healthcare worker from County Tyrone has died from coronovirus following a 40-year career saving lives as a nurse.

Campaigner urges caution against ‘indescribable’ illness

Prominent Belfast lawyer and campaigner Niall Murphy has paid tribute to the medical staff who helped save his life after he became infected with the Coronavirus.

Online exhibition of Easter Rising materials

The best-known flag of the Easter Rising is not the Tricolour that flew over the GPO in 1916 but the Irish Republic one currently on display by the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks, Dublin, in an exhibition that can be viewed online.

‘New IRA’ vows to continue struggle

In an Easter statement, the New IRA has said it remains committed to bringing the British government’s undemocratic rule in occupied Ireland to an end. It dismissed the idea of a border poll in the aftermath of Brexit, and warned the British establishment listens only to “physical force”.

Concern over plan to deploy British Army ‘help’

There are fears the Coronavirus could be used as a cover for the renewed deployment of British soldiers on the ground in the north of Ireland.

Scandal of rising virus death toll

It has emerged that two in three of coronavirus deaths in Ireland have taken place in residential homes at a rate significantly higher than anywhere else in the world.

‘Grand coalition’ plan slithers on

A historic but deeply unpopular coalition government between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael appears to be on the cards after the Green Party failed to reject a bizzare manifesto issued in a desperate plea for support to prop up the improbable alliance.

Haggarty prison sentence extended, but no return to jail

A unionist paramilitary double agent who admitted the murders of five people and a catalog of other atrocities has had his prison sentence nominally increased by three-and-a-half years.

Republican prisoners spat at by warders

Republican Prisoners at Maghaberry prison have said that prison warders have been caught deliberately spitting on doors during night checks. Saoradh has demanded an end to what it said was a “barbaric activity” which has threatened a coronavirus outbreak.

Mary Lou McDonald recovering after virus diagnosis

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has tested positive for coronavirus, she has confirmed in a statement today.

Jackboots follow public health failure

Police in the 26 Counties have been given unprecedented powers as state efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus are being displaced by an authoritarian crackdown set to last well into the summer.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael told to learn lessons of the GFA

Former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has marked the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement with a rebuke of continuing efforts by right-wing politicians in Dublin to exclude his party from office.

‘Casual collusion’ in military logs of Springhill massacre unit

A British Army unit responsible for the murders of five unarmed Catholic civilians, including a 13-year-old schoolgirl, handed a loyalist gunman over to the UDA, according to a report published last weekend in the Sunday World.

PSNI to investigate republican funeral over social distancing

The Catholic church has backed calls for the PSNI to stop policing funerals after a colour party at a republican funeral was targeted for the novel crime of marching too close together.

Death of Judge Peter Cory

The former Canadian Supreme court judge who led an investigation into allegations of British state collusion with unionist paramilitary death squads has died. He passed away in Canada on Tuesday aged 94.

Grey skies lift as North’s weather warnings included in map

After years of criticism for excluding the Six Counties, the Irish weather forecasting service is to include all of Ireland on its weather warning maps.

Remembering 1916 this Easter

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions across Ireland, many republican and community organisations have abandoned plans for commemorations to mark the 1916 Easter Rising.

British PM in intensive care as condition worsens

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently being treated in an intensive care unit with the coronavirus after being rushed to a London hospital last night.

Demand for island strategy as virus deaths mount

The North’s political leaders must depart from the British government’s coronavirus strategy and urgently harmonise with the South, a leading medical professor has said.

Care homes in crisis

The Dublin government is being urged to come clean about the situation in the South’s nursing homes after it was revealed that four deaths have taken place in just one out of the dozens of care homes contaminated by the coronavirus.

Belfast man imprisoned ‘for political activity’

A member of Saoradh, a former prisoner, has been summarily returned to jail, apparently for the offense of meeting other Saoradh members.

PSNI condemned over new failure to hand over collusion files

The PSNI police has been told “defending the indefensible is no longer acceptable” after a report was published into its failure to disclose important information in relation to a case of alleged collusion between its predecessor, the RUC, and unionist paramilitaries.

Seanad election sees return of Sinn Féin representatives

Former Sinn Féin MP, Elisha McCallion, has been elected to Seanad Éireann to serve on the senate’s Industrial and Commercial panel, while the party’s former MEP Lynn Boylan has returned to political life by taking a seat on the Agricultural panel.

West Belfast leads the way with community response

A huge effort will see more than 1,000 food parcels distributed across west Belfast in the coming days.

Anger as vital equipment runs short

Government politicians who paid tribute to healthcare workers this week have been accused of hypocrisy over their failure to supply enough equipment to protect the workers or to take care of the ill.

‘Slavishness’ of Stormont costing lives

The Stormont administration faces a mounting crisis over what has been described as an “abject” determination by unionists to follow the Tory government’s disastrous lead on the coronavirus epidemic.

Tributes paid to Toni Carragher

The death has taken place of Toni Carragher, a well-known campaigner against British army militarisation along the border, and the former secretary of the South Armagh Farmers and Residents’ Committee.

Emergency powers being abused in the North

Draconian new powers introduced at Westminster in the name of protecting the public are already being abused in the north of Ireland, according to republicans in Derry.

Unresolved sectarian murder case ‘locked down’ by PSNI

Prosecutors have refused to ask the PSNI police to reopen an investigation linked to the murder of three Catholics killed by unionist paramilitaries almost 30 years ago, despite never having received a file on the cases against four suspects, including a man identified as the killer.

Easter commemorations cancelled

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD has said that her party’s planned Easter commemorations have been cancelled in their entirety due to the deterioration of the coronavirus situation.

Govts move to ‘lockdown’; prisoners seek help

In televised addresses, both the premiers in Dublin and London have announced stronger measures in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Tories back away from ‘herd cull’ plan

Amid warnings that health care systems in Britain and the north of Ireland were facing a potentially catastrophic meltdown, both Tories and unionists in Ireland have ended their hands-off approach to the coronavirus health crisis.

Prisoners forced to take action over virus threat

Republican prisoners in both Portlaoise and Maghaberry prisons have voluntarily stopped visits with family as a result of the Coronavirus.

Speech cheers viewers, leaves questions unanswered

After delivering an inspirational but ultimately vacuous speech on the implications of the Coronavirus crisis, the caretaker 26 County Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been urged to take more practical action to protect lives and livelihoods across Ireland.

Genuine unity urged as crisis grows

A national government of unity could bring help to those in need during the current health crisis, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald has said.

Scottish independence referendum on hold

Plans for an independence referendum in Scotland this year have been “paused” by the Scottish Government as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Scapegoat’ prisoner denied family visits

Prison warders at Maghaberry have prevented a family visit with Paul McIntyre for a second time after he was refused bail and incarcerated at Maghaberry earlier this month.

Britain moves to renege on the Stormont House Agreement

The British government has been accused of using the cover of the Coronavirus health crisis to renege on its commitments under the 2014 Stormont House Agreement and introduce an effective amnesty for most state war crimes.

In solidarity on our national day

Today is a day to celebrate being Irish. But it doesn’t feel like that when so many of us are concerned for the well-being of our families and ourselves.

Normal life shuts down as Varadkar says crisis ‘cannot be stopped’

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Monday evening that the rise in cases of coronavirus in Ireland “cannot be stopped”. The administrations in both parts of Ireland are looking to secure intensive care equipment ahead of an expected surge in the numbers of critically ill.

Ireland divided along border by virus response

Efforts to contain the spread of Coronavirus have become dangerously split across the island of Ireland after a division emerged between governments in Dublin and London on how quickly the virus should be allowed to spread.

Whitewash claims as RHI report finds ‘mistakes’, clears everyone

An official report into Stormont’s infamous RHI ‘cash for ash’ scheme has been described as a whitewash on social media after it blamed only “errors and omissions” for the runaway exploitation that collapsed the Stormont Executive in early 2017.

Fine Gael clings to power while virus takes hold

Several hundred people took to the streets of Dublin last weekend to object to a Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition plan to remain in power. Many expressed concern that Ireland’s two right-wing parties are attempting to form the next government under the cloak of the coronavirus.

MI5’s incessant pursuit of informers

Two members of Saoradh have said they were harassed by the British military intelligence to turn informer when returning from a conference in Britain, while Republican Sinn Féin said they are bringing a similar case to the Police Ombudsman.

Family’s collusion concerns on 30th anniversary

The family of a former republican prisoner shot dead while under British Army surveillance 30 years ago believe the British Army’s Force Research Unit may have been involved.

Britain urged to drop ‘damaging’ claim to Lough Foyle

The British government should drop its territorial claim over Lough Foyle before it causes any further economic and ecological damage, Sinn Féin’s Martina Anderson has said.

Crisis meetings as St Patrick’s events cancelled

All St Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland have been cancelled in a bid to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. After weeks of delay, the news was leaked ahead a meeting of the acting Cabinet in Dublin on Monday. Multi-party meetings to deal with the crisis have also been announced.

State report confirms East Tyrone collusion

Concern within the British Crown Forces over MI5’s involvement in a killing campaign has emerged in a report released to families of the victims of the Cappagh killings. It is the first time a state report has confirmed collusion, according to a lawyer for the families.

SF support jumps again but party still faces exclusion

A new poll putting Sinn Féin support at an unprecedented 35% in the 26 Counties has added to public pressure for Mary Lou McDonald’s party to be involved in the next coalition government in Dublin despite the refusal of the leaders of Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael to countenance the idea.

PSNI failed to act over sectarian intimidation

A Catholic mother-of-four has been driven out of her home in north Belfast following a campaign of terror which culminated in her windows getting smashed in.

Ballymurphy inquest ends public hearings

The final oral evidence has been heard in a fresh inquest into the fatal shootings of 10 people in west Belfast almost 50 years ago.

Delays and denials over legacy cases

The PSNI chief has said he is in the dark about plans for a new police unit to deal with investigations into unresolved cases from the past conflict, despite a looming deadline for its formation.

Protest held against royal visit

A protest at an official visit to Ireland by British royals William and Kate Windsor (‘Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’) was organised by republicans this week despite harassment from uniformed Garda and Special Branch police.

Sinn Féin events hit by coronavirus

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has revealed her children attend a school in Dublin where the second case of the coronavirus in Ireland was confirmed yesterday.

A State in limbo as political elite panic

Efforts by the establishment in Dublin to demonise Sinn Féin have reached unprecedented levels in the aftermath of their performance in the 26 County general election, with politicians going so far as to compare a series of Sinn Féin public meetings to the Nuremburg rallies of Nazi Germany.

Coronavirus fears as Irish officials adopt low-key approach

The shambolic attitude of the Dublin government to the Coronavirus epidemic has been exposed after the first case of the disease presented itself in Ireland.

Harassment victim wins appeal over PSNI stop-and-search

A Derry republican is set to sue the PSNI for compensation after the Court of Appeal agreed that his human rights had been breached by four years of harassment directed against him.

Lengthy sentence for 1997 IRA attack as legacy issues stalled

A County Tyrone man has been jailed over a Provisional IRA action more than two decades ago. Paul Campbell from Coalisland was sentenced on Tuesday to seven and a half years in connection with an attack in the town in 1997.

Criticism of archbishop’s endorsement of the PSNI

The daughter of a man killed by the Glenanne Gang has criticised the leader of the Catholic church in Ireland after he encouraged young people to consider a career in the PSNI police.

Maghaberry prisoner targeted by murder plot

A powerful loyalist ordered a hit on a republican prisoner currently serving a sentence in Maghaberry Prison, it has been revealed.

Smears fly as reaction carnival continues

Efforts by the right in Ireland to counter and undermine Sinn Féin’s advance in the recent 26 County general election have reached extraordinary levels of desperation following an intervention by the Garda police Commissioner, Drew Harris.

Opponents riled after McDonald makes history in vote for Taoiseach

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald received the most votes in the Dublin parliament to become Taoiseach on Thursday, the first time a TD not supported by either of the two main parties has done so in the history of the 26 County state.

‘Dirty tricks’ creating confusion and fear

Attempts are being made to engineer further division among republicans after bogus claims emerged that the New IRA is planning to attack members of Sinn Féin.

Gardaí consider plan to honour RUC

The police in the 26 Counties considered including the murderous Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in the force’s museum as part of a commemoration for the centenary of Ireland’s War of Independence.

Britain looking for Irish exit, claims report

A magazine described as one of the English language’s most influential publications has dedicated its latest issue to the debate around Irish unity.

Anti-Catholic sectarianism ‘alive and well’

A new report has found Catholics in the north of Ireland are still experiencing sectarianism.

Garda Commissioner intervenes in government formation

Garda police Commissioner Drew Harris has accused Sinn Fein of being directed by an IRA ‘Army Council’ which he claims continues to exist, despite the organisation having disbanded its structures 15 years ago.

Establishment circles the wagon

A sense of crisis has gripped the Irish ruling classes after Sinn Féin nearly tripled its vote in last weekend’s election to Leinster House and took the first steps in the formation of a new government in Dublin.

A historic advance for republicanism

Republicans have been celebrating a history-making election which saw forty TDs from the tradition sign into Leinster House this week, erasing the concept of the two-party state in the process.

Loyalist bomb alerts follow attacks on homes

Loyalists have been blamed for bomb hoaxes at a primary school and at a Sinn Féin constituency office in north Belfast.

PSNI men to face perjury charges

Three members of the PSNI accused of lying to a court in a harassment case have been suspended and are expected to face charges.

Protest at arrest of ‘scapegoat’ in Derry

Saoradh has hit out at the detention of an activist they describe as a political hostage following a number of military-style PSNI raids in Derry.

Newspaper denounced for carrying PSNI advertising

A banner erected on the external fence of the offices of a local newspaper in West Belfast is the latest indication of a deepening rift in republican areas over the status of the PSNI police.

Smith axed as Johnson appoints more hardline Direct Ruler

British Direct Ruler Julian Smith has been sacked by Boris Johnson, just over six months since he took up the post. He has been replaced with Brandon Lewis, a former chair of the Conservative Party and most recently, a Security Minister in Johnson’s cabinet.

‘The people want us in government’ - McDonald

With the make-up of the Dáilcomplete, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she could well be the next Taoiseach after winning the popular vote and after electing as many TDs as any other party.

Media, politicians baffled by electoral revolution

While seats continue to fill in the 26 County general election, the swing to Sinn Fein has already spawned a struggle to understand the changed political circumstances in Ireland.

SF in clear lead as counting suspended overnight

Sinn Féin has heaped on more election success tonight, electing two TDs on the first count in both Donegal and Louth, and also looking highly likely to win two seats in Cavan-Monaghan, and continuing to top polls across the state.

First count victories pile in for Sinn Féin

There have been scenes of jubilation in count centres across Ireland as a number of poll-topping Sinn Fein candiates have been decalred elected on the first count.

SINN FÉIN TOP THE POLLS IN HISTORIC RESULT

In a complete upending of the political establishment in the 26 Counties, Sinn Féin is being confirmed as the most popular party following the completion of tallies in yesterday’s general election.

Sinn Féin could win up to 40 seats in electoral revolution

First results from tallies in the 26 County election point to a historic day for Sinn Féin and Irish politics generally. Sinn Féin look set to top every poll in Dublin and could see the vast majority of their candidates win election across the state.

Exit poll confirms Sinn Féin election breakthrough

The three main parties in the 26 Counties have polled the same vote share of just over 22 per cent in today’s general election, according to an exit poll released as polling closed this evening.

Turnout high despite weather, weekend events

A brisk turnout has been reported in many areas in the election to the Dublin parliament since voting began at 7am this morning.

Sinn Féin at the threshold of Cabinet power

With Sinn Fein topping opinion polls in the 26 Counties for the first time, an ambush of party leader Mary Lou McDonald by state broadcaster RTE over a comment by a party colleague 13 years ago has jeopardised what is still widely expected to be a good election for the party.

Communities polarised as SF take part in PSNI event

The attendance of Sinn Féin politicians at a PSNI police recruitment drive in the Six Counties has angered republican groups.

Bloody Sunday campaign an inspiration for victim

Miami Showband survivor Stephen Travers has told the annual Bloody Sunday march that the victims and their families have always inspired him to keep up his fight for justice.

Shock at death of Francie Brolly

Republican legend Francie Brolly has been honoured as a man of integrity following his sudden death. The 82-year-old died at his family home near Dungiven, County Derry in the early hours of Thursday. It is believed he may have suffered a heart attack.

Conor Murphy apologises to Quinn family

Sinn Féin Stormont minister Conor Murphy has apologised to the family of murder victim Paul Quinn for comments he made 13 years ago after the young man’s death.

Scepticism over ‘ferry bomb’ reports

A statement reportedly made in the name of the Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for a device found on a lorry trailer in County Armagh last week. The statement said the device had been timed to coincide with Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Sinn Féin join TV debate after shock poll surge

State-run broadcaster RTÉ has been forced to include Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald in a final televised leaders’ election debate as its historic surge in polls continues.

Britain waves goodbye

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

Brexit means unity debate must begin

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

Killer soldiers get trial dates

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

Sinn Féin management ‘no different’ to other organisations

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

Prominent republican survives gun attack

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

Judicial review for Finucane family as Britain continues to stall

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

British Army was behind Miami Showband massacre

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

Election is a chance to change the system

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

Parties launch campaigns, condemn censorship

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

Derry’s battle for justice as it marks anniversary

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

‘Wall of Shame’ to remember Black and Tans

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

Irish language speakers in fight to bolster talks deal

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

Varadkar’s election plan unravels

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

Stormont parties left high and dry by Johnson

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

Sinn Féin kept in second class in RTE election debates

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

SAS victim facing jail sentence over IRA charges

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

Family remember tragic death of three-year-old

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

British PM took action to cancel ‘Famine’ event

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

Varadkar calls election for February 8

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

Stormont restored as parties divvy up Ministerial posts

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

Sinn Féin agree to return to Stormont

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

Public rises up against revisionism

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

UDA beat man to death after talks with British govt

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

Justice one step closer for Aidan McAnespie

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

Hospitals crisis could trigger collapse of government

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

Republican groups issue New Year statements

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

Govts publish draft deal for Stormont

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

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

A century of cover-up for miscarriages of justice

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

Dublin had challenged British on threat to lawyers

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

Politicians to meet Byrne over Christmas ‘show of strength’

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

Reactionaries seek to derail calls for Irish Unity

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

British bid to ‘control’ internet activism revealed

State papers from the 1990s have shown that the British government’s Northern Ireland Office sought to suppress and counteract the increasingly effective use of the media by republicans, including the world wide web emerging at the time.

English soccer match halted over anti-Irish abuse

A Championship soccer match in England had to be stopped this week following an outbreak of anti-Irish racism directed against Irish international and Stoke City player James McClean.

Anger as PSNI Chief sends Christmas message of violence

PSNI Chief Simon Byrne has been strongly criticised after releasing a propaganda photograph of himself in the company of heavily-armed Crown Force gunmen on Christmas Day.

DUP’s death grip on Stormont

The DUP have come under pressure to relinquish their veto over political change at Stormont following round-table talks over the future of the Belfast Assembly this week. Both the London and Dublin governments accused the party of blocking a pre-Christmas deal on restoring the North’s suspended political institutions.

MI5 agents get clearance to kill

A tribunal in England has confirmed that British military intelligence has the legal power to direct unlimited criminal offences by its agents, including torture, bombings and political assassinations.

Brexit seen driving Irish reunification

Increasing numbers of mainstream political and media figures have said they believe a united Ireland could come about within the next decade as a result of Brexit and other recent political developments.

Unilateral amnesty included in Tory legislative agenda

The new Conservative government in London has set out its intention to block future investigations into British soldiers who murdered civilians in the north of Ireland -- even as a jailed republican was found liable for a 1982 IRA attack.

SDLP attempt to fudge royal oath induction

Two new Irish nationalist MPs have made protest statements while swearing allegiance to the British Crown in the House of Commons, a process required before they are allowed to speak in debates, vote or receive their salary at the Westminster parliament.

Scottish govt seeks referendum, backs ‘legal’ route to independence

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has officially begun the process of holding an independence referendum, calling on the London government to transfer the power to do so.

Belfast goes green

The north of Ireland has voted for more nationalists than unionists in a Westminster parliamentary election for the first time after two hardline unionists were voted out.

As union weakens, Irish politicians focus on Stormont

Brexit is unionism’s “biggest ever own goal” and it may lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom, former Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt has admitted.

Huge mandate boosts Scottish independence

The Scottish National Party pulled off a resounding general election victory in the Westminster election on Thursday, pushing open the door to finally ending their union with England and staying within the EU.

An end seen to Westminster chaos as Brexit looms; Corbyn to quit

As the DUP lost its influential position of holding the balance of power at Westminster, the leader of British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has signaled his intention to stand down as Labour leader in early 2020.

McDonald slams ‘Tory Boy’ Varadkar over housing tragedies

Sinn Féin has presented a dossier on the homelessness scandal to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said Leo Varadkar was living in a ‘Tory Boy’ bubble over the housing crisis.

PSNI interrogation over harassment video diary

A Saoradh member has described a heavy-handed home invasion by British Crown Forces during which himself and his brother were detained and hauled off to Musgrave Interrogation Unit.

Gildernew holds seat for SF in FST; nationalists win majority of MPs

Sinn Fein’s Michelle Gildernew has retained her Fermanagh and South Tyrone seat by a narrow margin of 57 votes following a recount.

John Finucane achieves historic breakthrough in north Belfast

John Finucane has taken the north Belfast Westminster seat from the DUP’s Nigel Dodds in a stunning victory for Sinn Féin and a historic election for nationalism in the north of Ireland.

Westminster exit poll points to big wins for Tories, SNP

Polling stations have now closed in the Westminster general election and a major exit poll in Britain has predicted a large working majority for the Conservative Party and a landslide for the SNP in Scotland.

Turnout high in Brexit election

Turnout is high so far in the Westminster general election in both the north of Ireland and in Britain, where pollsters have been predicting a very slim Tory majority in the House of Commons or a hung parliament following today’s vote.

DUP in distress

The north of Ireland appears set for an extended period of unionist protest after an event took place on Friday night at the Ulster Hall, the latest in a series of meetings organised by loyalists which have echoed with the word ‘betrayal’.

US vote backs Good Friday Agreement in Brexit deal

The US House of Representatives has backed a resolution outlining support for the Good Friday Agreement as US support for Ireland in the face of Brexit continues to grow.

Sectarian attacks in north Belfast linked to DUP

A spate of sectarian attacks have taken place against Catholics due to move into a new social housing development in north Belfast. Windows were smashed and a flag was hung from a drainpipe at a property in the loyalist Ballysillan area, one of three recent attacks.

CIRA claims Belfast attack

The Continuity IRA has claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on the PSNI in west Belfast last Wednesday.

Housing failure undermining government - FG TD

Eoghan Murphy has started a rot which is spreading through the government, according to one of his colleagues, after the Minister for Housing narrowly survived a motion of no confidence.

Dublin govt urged to support Irish citizenship rights

A Derry woman who is challenging restrictions on her right to legally identify as Irish has called for Dublin to support efforts to uphold the rights of nationalists under the Good Friday Agreement.

Republicans come together for unity

Thousands of people took to the streets of County Donegal and County Tyrone last weekend to demand a united Ireland.

By-election victory may mark turnaround for Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin’s candidate Mark Ward has been elected to the Dáil following a poll-topping result in the Dublin Mid-West by-election which could represent a change in fortunes for the party following the setback of the local elections in the 26 Counties.

Finucane rises above ‘gutter politics’

Representatives of the unionist paramilitary UDA have openly called for a vote for the DUP to ensure “no abstentionist MPs [Sinn Féin] are elected, nor their cohorts in the SDLP”.

Conviction overturned on faulty DNA evidence

A west Belfast man has won his appeal against a conviction on arms charges over flawed forensic evidence. Judges directed that Ballymurphy man Kevin McLaughlin should be freed immediately.

Review sought into Bloody Sunday prosecution decision

Lawyers representing the families of nine of those massacred by the British Army on Bloody Sunday have asked for a review of a decision not to prosecute nine soldiers in Derry in 1972.

Pre-Christmas talks expected at Stormont

Efforts to restore Stormont following the Westminster election on December 12 have accelerated despite election campaigning.

Sinister UDA figures behind hate banners

Unionist banners have been erected by the UDA targeting the family of Pat Finucane, the Belfast defence lawyer who in 1989 was assassinated by a UDA paramilitary death squad in collusion with British military intelligence.

Sinn Féin appeals for unity agenda at Ard Fheis

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has urged the Dublin government to convene a forum on Irish unity ahead of a border poll within the next five years.

March for Irish Unity

Tomorrow, Sunday November 24, a ‘March for Irish Unity’ is due to take place between Lifford in County Donegal and Strabane in County Tyrone.

Special Branch accused in civilian death

The mother of a County Down woman who died when an undercover British agent allegedly became involved in an IRA attack is taking a case against the PSNI police chief and the British Ministry of Defence.

Mixed outcome as PSNI allowed appeal to Supreme Court

The PSNI (formerly RUC) is to take a ruling that the police force lacks the independence to investigate a killing by the British Army to the Supreme Court in London.

Racism button pushed ahead of by-elections in South

Fine Gael has been branded a “safe house for right-wing politics” after a series of controversies over bigotry, including a by-election candidate who claimed asylum seekers need to be “deprogrammed” when they seek refuge in Ireland.

DUP hypocrisy amid poster war

Sinn Féin has accused the DUP of forming electoral alliances with active paramilitaries and demonising republicans and nationalists in an attempt to provide itself with cover.

Brexit distorts Westminster election campaign

The DUP has been accused of treating Brexit like an “embarrassing relative” by failing to make any mention of it in the party’s election broadcast for next month’s Westminster poll.

Johnson pledges war crimes amnesty

A Tory vow to amend British law to protect former British soldiers from prosecutions relating to their crimes in the north of Ireland has been condemned as an attempt to use the conflict in Ireland for electoral gain.

Westminster election could clear way for Stormont - SF

The Sinn Féin Ard Fheis has heard this weekend that the Stormont Assembly could be restored in the New Year.

Joseph McCrystal - ‘no one seems to care’

The family of a Catholic man shot dead by loyalists almost 50 years have vowed to continue their fight for justice following the publication of a report by Relatives for Justice. Joseph McCrystal was shot as he returned to his home in Newtownabbey on November 12, 1972. He died the following day.

McAllister ordered to report to airport

A former political prisoner who sought asylum in the US again hears he will be deported after being ordered to report to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Newark Airport.

UDA threat alters election contest

A decision by the Ulster Unionist Party to stand aside in North Belfast following loyalist threats of violence has been condemned, despite the insistence of the party’s new leader Steve Aiken that the move was not connected to the threats.

One pact follows another as Remainers bid for change

An SDLP decision to stand aside in north Belfast as a result of the UUP’s pact with the DUP in the constituency has triggered a reciprocal arrangement with Sinn Féin which now also includes the Green Party.

PSNI bid to ‘steal Christmas’ from prisoners, families

The headquarters of Saoradh in Derry, Junior McDaid House, has been targeted in yet another PSNI raid on Thursday morning, this time in connection with a fundraising raffle.

Tributes to Dickie Glenholmes and Fr Des Wilson

Republicans have been paying tribute to IRA veteran Richard ‘Dickie’ Glenholmes, who died on Monday after a lengthy illness, as well as Fr Des Wilson, who passed away on Tuesday.

By-elections bring test for republican politics in South

Four by-elections in the 26 Counties are to go ahead on 29 November -- two in Dublin, one in Cork and one in Wexford. The by-elections follow the recent election of four TDs to the European Parliament, requiring them to relinquish their seats at Leinster House.

University fails to defend academic freedom for campaigner

Queen’s University Belfast is once again being accused of discriminating against nationalists after a Law Professor at the university revealed he had come under pressure to end his involvement in a public debate on Brexit and Irish reunification.

UDA’s election coercion for DUP

Loyalist paramilitaries have issued threats against the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in a bid to force it to withdraw from the Westminster election in north Belfast against Nigel Dodds, the Deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Arsonist wrecks car of Sinn Féin justice spokesperson

The home of a Sinn Féin TD has come under firebomb attack after he defended the rights of immigrant asylum-seekers. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald condemned what she said was a “very deliberate and targeted attack” which she described as a “deeply serious and sinister development.”

Election provides opportunities, risks for SF

Sinn Féin is set to contest all 18 Westminster constituencies after its efforts to form a pact of parties opposed to Brexit failed to get a positive response from other party leaders.

Protest after dawn operation to arrest elderly woman

Sinn Féin has hit out after a 63-year-old woman was arrested by the PSNI police on Thursday following an early-morning operation in the Creggan area of Derry. Sadie Callan, an active Sinn Féin party member, was taken to Belfast for interrogation under new “terror” legislation.

PSNI accused of delaying reports on collusion killings

The Police Ombudsman in the north of Ireland has again delayed publication of three reports on loyalist murders after previously undisclosed files were uncovered. The material was found due to a recent computer upgrade, according to the PSNI.

Desperate scenes in Waterford hospital

Overcrowding at University Hospital Waterford has been described as unacceptable after photographs emerged this week of dire conditions in the psychiatric unit.

Westminster election confirmed for December 12

Legislation for an early British general election on Thursday, December 12 has been passed by the House of Commons. It brings down the curtain on a deeply divided parliament in which the hardline unionist DUP held the balance of power for almost two and a half years.

EU extends Brexit to January; election looks set for December

The deadline for Britain to leave the EU has been extended until January 31st, or earlier if the Westminster parliament passes legislation to implement the Withdrawal Agreement.

Loyalists beat the drum

The leaders of a number of loyalist paramilitary factions have held talks to discuss how to force the British government into a u-turn over a draft Brexit deal agreed this month between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the European Union.

Unionist demands for return of veto rejected

The issue of a unionist veto over political change has become central to politics in the north of Ireland after attempts were made by unionists to include it in the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Brexit deadline set to be extended amid election call

A failure of Westminster MPs to support British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s timetable for passing legislation on a Brexit deal has left the project in a new limbo, although one which is likely to be resolved this coming week.

New controls ‘a breach of fundamental rights’

There is growing concern about a draconian new registration procedure for former republican prisoners which requires those targeted to notify the Crown Forces of an extensive list of personal details, activities and movements.

McGuinness tape was spiked by MI6 - claim

British military intelligence withheld documentary footage from 1972 of the late Sinn Féin leader Martin McGuinness engaging in IRA activity, according to an investigation by the BBC Spotlight team.

New images of IRA martyr Bobby Sands

New photographs of hunger striker Bobby Sands have been discovered in an archive of French photojournalist Gérard Harlay. Taken at a rally in August 1976, they are believed to be the last photographs taken of him before his arrest and imprisonment at Long Kesh.

Theatrical walk-outs as Stormont resurrection fails

A bizarre publicity event organised by the hardline unionist DUP at the defunct Stormont Assembly ended quickly today when an attempt to revive its lawmaking powers failed.

Nationalists told they are British, not Irish

The British government has been accused of deliberately failing to implement the provisions of Good Friday Agreement in its domestic law following an appeals court ruling which found that an Irish woman from County Derry is legally British and not Irish.

Vindictive treatment of John Downey

The treatment by the PSNI of a Donegal pensioner has been widely condemned after he was seen to be dragged around in handcuffs following his extradition into British jurisdiction last week.

UVF ‘don’t want Catholics here’

Escalating anti-Catholic attacks in a ‘shared’ housing development in south Belfast have left a disabled man fearing for his life as well as the life of his four-year-old son.

How ‘King Rat’ targeted family members of republicans

The police in the north of Ireland provided unionist paramilitary kingpin Billy Wright with information to help his murder gang target Catholics, one of his former associates has admitted.

New INLA armed group claims attacks

Images have emerged of a show of strength by an apparent INLA unit amid increasing tension in the Derry area.

Unionists to debate abortion at ‘Zombie Stormont’

Unionists are to gather at the mothballed Stormont Assembly chamber in a symbolic attempt to revive the collapsed Six County institutions. They intend to discuss the implementation of Direct Rule legislation for abortion, due to become law on Monday.

DUP reject draft Brexit deal after talks with UDA/UVF

A draft agreement has been reached on Brexit between the European Union and the British government. However, following consultations with loyalist paramilitaries earlier this week, the DUP continue to reject the planned deal.

Ivor Bell cleared as Boston project is discredited

Ivor Bell, an 82-year-old veteran republican, has been found not guilty of involvement in the 1972 IRA execution of informer Jean McConville.

New IRA to target border infrastructure

The New IRA has said any border infrastructure developed as a result of Britain’s withdrawal of the north of Ireland from the EU will be considered a legitimate target for attack.

‘Open the path to freedom’

The British government and the European Union are being urged to seize the moment to prepare for peaceful Irish unification after Brexit negotiators shied away from a disastrous agenda to reinforce partition.

Frazer was gun-runner for DUP-linked group - BBC

Willie Frazer, a prominent loyalist who in recent years described himself as a ‘victims campaigner’, secretly helped funnel weapons to loyalist paramilitary groups in the early 1990s, according to a BBC television news investigation.

MI5 ‘deleted Finucane files’

British military intelligence removed and destroyed the files of a judge who was investigating Crown Force involvement in the 1989 murder of Belfast defence lawyer Patrick Finucane, according to a BBC documentary aired this week.

Truck driver describes MI5’s terror tactics

A County Tyrone man has recounted a “horrific” attempt by British MI5 intelligence to recruit him as an informer.

PSNI harassment at Saoradh commemoration

Members of a colour party in Saoradh’s National Hunger Strike Commemoration in Newry last weekend were stopped and searched by armed PSNI police.

26-County Budget delivers ‘less than nothing’

The Dublin government has been slammed for a “do less” Budget despite the crisis over growing social inequality and homelessness.

John Downey extradited

Donegal republican John Downey, who is being pursued in connection with an IRA action in 1972 in which two British soldiers died, handed himself in to Gardaí police earlier today, according to a report this evening by the Press Association.

March 30, 2023