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News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)
January 31, 2007
Table of Contents - 01/07
Table of Contents - 01/07
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Table of Contents 12/06
Table of Contents 11/06
Table of Contents 10/06
01/31/07 – Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
SF 01/31/07 Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
BB 01/31/07 Adams Backs PSNI McCartney Probe
SF 01/31/07 Call for DUP To Respond To SF Initiative
IT 01/31/07 Rea To Be Questioned On Orde Dossier
IT 01/31/07 Chief Constable In Appointment Row
BB 01/31/07 DUP Anger At SDLP Police Claim
BN 01/31/07 McGeough: SF Forced Into U-Turn
IT 01/31/07 SDLP Launches All-Island Economy Plan
IE 01/31/07 House Calls For Finucane Probe
RT 01/31/07 Order Stops Casual Trading At Cliffs Of Moher
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01/31/07 –McAllister’s Anguish Over Father’s Funeral
IN 01/31/07 Malachy McAllister’s Anguish Over Funeral
IN 01/31/07 Gunshots Of BS Marked By Minute’s Silence
IT 01/31/07 NI Politicians Start Election Campaign
BT 01/31/07 Blair: March Election Is Crucial For Ulster
BT 01/31/07 Indecisive Paisley - A Wait & See Attitude
BT 01/31/07 The Loyalists Are Long Way Behind
BB 01/31/07 Orde Anger At 'Policing Insults'
BT 01/31/07 SF & SDLP Backlash In Orde Leak Row
IT 01/31/07 PSNI In New McCartney Murder Appeal
NL 01/31/07 IMC's View On Fuel Fraud Is 'Kidology'
BT 01/31/07 Irish School Is Refused New Funding
IN 01/31/07 Gracey Toast Apology
BT 01/31/07 House Backs Improved Finucane Inquiry
IN 01/31/07 Opin: SF Can Sit & Watch Unionist Bigot-Fest
IN 01/31/07 Opin: Irish Americans Back SF On Policing
BB 01/31/07 Belfast 1907 Strike Marked
IN 01/31/07 Gaiety All Set For Major Facelift
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01/30/07 – Full House Approves Finucane Resolution
PR 01/30/07 House Approves Finucane Resolution
NE 01/30/07 House Citing Cory Presses For Finucane Probe
BB 01/30/07 IRA 'Dismantling Its Structures'
BN 01/30/07 Final Hurdle To Devolution Gone, Says Hain
SF 01/30/07 Sinn Féin Will Press Ahead Regardless Of IMC
UT 01/30/07 IMC Warning Over Republican Group
DS 01/30/07 PM And Bertie Ahern Joint Statement On NI
IT 01/30/07 Assembly Elections Confirmed For March 7th
IT 01/31/07 Restore NI Govt Without Delay, McDowell Urges
SF 01/30/07 Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle Meet In Dublin
BB 01/30/07 Sinn Fein Backing 'Joining PSNI'
IT 01/30/07 Call For SF To Assist In McCartney Case
IT 01/31/07 Opin: This Is A Good Time For Ireland
BN 01/30/07 Woman & Boy Die In 600ft Cliffs Of Moher Plunge
BJ 01/30/07 Joseph Cullinan A Driving Force In Oil Business
HC 01/30/07 Blog: Better Living Through Chemistry
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01/30/07 – 13th Report of the IMC
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01/30/07 – Pressure On DUP After Police Move
BT 01/30/07 Pressure On DUP After Police Move
BN 01/30/07 Ahern & Blair To Review Power-Sharing Progress
BB 01/30/07 Government Is To Confirm Election
IN 01/30/07 Sinn Fein Councillor Resigns
BB 01/30/07 Stormont Reports Published
IM 01/29/07 IMC Media Notification
BT 01/30/07 Unionist Failure To Attend McCord Meeting
BN 01/30/07 Taoiseach Meets New US Envoy To The North
DJ 01/30/07 Kelly: Rioters Tarnished Bloody Sunday Memory
BT 01/30/07 Devastating Hit List Of Schools
IN 01/30/07 Tensions High On Anniversary Of Devlin Murder
EA 01/30/07 Blog: Irish Abroad Unit Outlines Its Work
BT 01/30/07 Opin: Little Time For Political Sincerity Test
BT 01/29/07 Opin: Highly-Charged Day For All Republicans
BT 01/29/07 Opin: Giant Leap, But Not End Of Brinkmanship
BT 01/29/07 Opin: What Yes Vote Means As Rubicon Is Crossed
IN 01/29/07 Opin: Disgusting Justification For Murders
IN 01/30/07 Whats In A Name? – History, Tourism, Politics
BB 01/30/07 Belfast 1907 Strike To Be Marked
IN 01/30/07 Derry Council Set To Approve River Statue
MN 01/30/07 Knock US Dream Realised
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01/29/07 - Adams - No Equivocation From Sinn Féin
SF 01/29/07 Adams - No Equivocation From Sinn Féin
IT 01/29/07 Adams Calls For Public To Co-Operate With PSNI
IT 01/29/07 Ahern Says DUP, British Must Take Next Steps
IT 01/29/07 SF Vote A Step Forward, Says Paisley
IN 01/29/07 Paisley Says His Party ‘Forced’ PSNI Support
IN 01/29/07 History In The Making At Ard Fheis
IN 01/29/07 Not Enough Change, Say Victim’s Family
IN 01/29/07 Mum Can’t Forgive Sinn Fein ‘Terrorists’
SF 01/29/07 Adams & McGuinness To Meet Methodist Church
BB 01/29/07 Oath Challenge Lawyer Now A Judge
IT 01/29/07 Ex-Hunger Striker Complains Over M15
BB 01/29/07 Shoukri Ordered To Go To England
IN 01/29/07 Ervine Told Of Anger Over Hunger Strike
IN 01/29/07 Bloody Sunday Victims Remembered 35 Years On
IN 01/29/07 Opin: DUP Left With Responsibilities
IN 01/29/07 Opin: DUP Must Now Commit
TH 01/29/07 Opin: Why The Unthinkable Is About To Happen
IN 01/29/07 Opin: More Topsy-Turvy Times Ahead After
BT 01/29/07 Over 5,500 Caught Using Phone While Driving
IT 01/29/07 Free Wireless Internet Planned For Dublin
ST 01/29/07 Stark Portrayal Of The Bloody Sunday March
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01/29/07 – Who Will Pay For Mass Murder?
BP 01/28/07 Who Will Pay For Mass Murder?
IT 01/29/07 SF Endorses PSNI By Overwhelming Majority
IT 01/29/07 Delegates Urged To End Pillar Of Corrupt State
IT 01/29/07 D-Day 'To Deliver For Ireland' - McGuinness
IT 01/29/07 Ógra Warns Of A 'Massive Mistake'
IT 01/29/07 Ard Fheis Vote:SF Had Crossed Last Great Hurdle
BB 01/29/07 Assembly Launches Final Session
IT 01/29/07 Parties Must Live Up To Commitments - Hain
BN 01/29/07 SF Policing Move Puts Pressure On DUP
BN 01/29/07 Dodds Questions Timeframe For Testing SF
BN 01/29/07 Former IRA Prisoner To Stand Against SF
IT 01/29/07 Opin: After Sinn Féin, DUP Must Deliver
IT 01/29/07 Opin: SF Leadership Gets Their Way Over PSNI
BT 01/29/07 Opin: Has Devolution Come Any Closer?
IT 01/29/07 Casey Claims Pope Did Not Want Him To Resign
IT 01/29/07 Knock To Operate Transatlantic Flights
IT 01/29/07 Irish Film Wins Award At Sundance Festival
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01/28/07 – Adams Closing Remarks To Ard Fheis
SF 01/28/07 Adams Closing Remarks To Ard Fheis
SF 01/28/07 Motion Passed By SF Ard Fheis - 01/28/07
IT 01/28/07 Sinn Féin Vote Broadly Welcomed
GU 01/28/07 Historic Vote Ends SF's Battle With PSNI
TO 01/28/07 Not So Alone
BN 01/28/07 Paisley: SF Must Show Support For Policing
SB 01/28/07 How Collusion Was Built Into The System
SB 01/28/07 Opin: IRL Faces Fight To Hold On To Investment
TO 01/28/07 Opin: Momentous Day For Both IRA & Law & Order
GU 01/28/07 Opin: The Incredible Journey Continues
TE 01/28/07 Opin: Sinn Fein's Agenda
SB 01/28/07 New Restaurant To Open At Cliffs Of Moher
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01/28/07 – SF Votes To Support PSNI
IT 01/28/07 SF Votes To Support PSNI
AP 01/28/07 Sinn Fein Votes To Back Police - A 1st
WP 01/28/07 Sinn Fein Backs N.Irish Police In Historic Vote
IT 01/28/07 Orde Welcomes SF Policing Move
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01/28/07 – Sinn Fein Votes to Support Police
SF 01/28/07 Sinn Fein Votes to Support Police
SF 01/28/07 Gerry Kelly MLA Delivering Policing Rprt To AF
SF 01/28/07 Caitriona Ruane Address To Ard Fheis
SF 01/28/07 Unionist Outreach Speech To Ard Fheis
IA 01/28/07 Text Of Sinn Fein Policing Motion
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01/28/07 – How Britain Created Ulster’s Murder Gangs
SH 01/28/07 How Britain Created Ulster's Murder Gangs
RT 01/28/07 Sinn Féin Delegates Debating Policing Policy
IT 01/28/07 Text of Adams' Address To Conference
PT 01/28/07 McGuinness: 'Police Must Earn Republican Trust'
SF 01/27/07 Delegates Should Back Transforming Police
SL 01/28/07 SF Knows That IRA Has Already Given Assent
IT 01/28/07 Orde Says SF Support 'Inevitable'
SL 01/28/07 Where To Now For The Republican Refusniks?
SL 01/28/07 McCartneys:Back Police & Our Fight For Justice
SL 01/28/07 Party Bosses To Keep Guns
SM 01/28/07 Flim-Flam Flanagan
SB 01/28/07 MP: Flanagan’s Position Untenable
SB 01/28/07 Collusion Officer Gets PSNI Promotion
IT 01/28/07 Handling Recommendations 'Niave'
SL 01/28/07 Family Of IRA Victim Want Collusion Inquiry
SL 01/28/07 Genealogy: Voyage Of Discovery
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01/27/07 – Policing: The Time Is Right Say SF Leaders
IN 01/27/07 Policing: The Time Is Right Say SF Leaders
UT 01/27/07 Sinn Fein Perpare For Ard Fheis
IT 01/27/07 RSF: Ex-Prisoners 'May Run' In North Elections
UT 01/27/07 McCord Urges SF To Say Yes To Policing
BT 01/27/07 McCord: Campaign Not About RUC But Justice
UT 01/27/07 McAleese Condemns 'Despicable' Collusion
IN 01/27/07 Dr Clarke Responds To O’Loan Report
IN 01/27/07 Ombudsman ‘Needs Access’ To MI5
BT 01/27/07 Collusion: The Home Truths…
IN 01/27/07 Don Mullan Urges Other Ways To Uncover Truth
BT 01/27/07 Devolution Or Dublin, DUP Is Told
BT 01/27/07 Dublin Helps Pay For Derry Airport Extension
BT 01/27/07 Asset Recovery Costs Us A Fortune
IN 01/27/07 Framed Man Criticises UDR Victims’ Fund
IN 01/26/07 Opin: Ard Fheis ‘Yes’ Vital For Peace
BT 01/27/07 Opin: Time To Grow Up, DUP
IN 01/27/07 Opin: Fings Ain’t What They Used To Be
IN 01/27/07 Opin: Fulton’s Cohorts Must Be Pursued
IN 01/27/07 Holy Cross Doubles Despite Closure Threat
IN 01/27/07 Alex Maskey’s Father Dies
BT 01/27/07 Tributes As SDLP Man McTeague Dies At 82
KY 01/27/07 Mary M. McGarr, 88, Of Fort Wright – RIP
BT 01/24/07 Celtic Drama: Ballad Of An Irish Playboy
BT 01/27/07 Ulster People Go For Bottle To Handle Stress
BT 01/27/07 Mary Black Headlines West Belfast Festival Bill
HC 01/27/07 St Brigid Feast Day Celebrated in Houston
CY 01/27/07 How Irish Invented Gambling Slang
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01/26/07 – Sinn Féin Looks Set To Back PSNI At Ardfheis
IT 01/27/07 Sinn Féin Looks Set To Back PSNI At Ardfheis
GU 01/27/07 Hain Hopeful As Political Endgame Draws Closed
BB 01/26/07 Team To Probe Collusion Killings
BB 01/26/07 Leading LVF Man Jailed For Murder
IT 01/27/06 Opin: Adams Prepared For Historic Ardfheis
IT 01/27/07 'Playboy Of The Western World' 100 Years On
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Brian Friel’s Play “Translations”
YN 01/26/07 Translations Receives Welcome Revival
NP 01/26/07 Words Fail When You're Remapping Ireland
NT 01/26/07 Eloquent Tongues But Anguished Irish Hearts
ND 01/26/07 Nothing Lost In 'Translations'
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IT 01/26/07 A Festival? Sure That's Mad Ted
IT 01/27/07 Viking Ship Found In Boyne To Be Excavated
IT 01/27/07 20,000 Cars To Bypass Ennis As New Road Opens
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01/26/07 – Adams In 'Police Manners' Promise
BB 01/26/07 Adams In 'Police Manners' Promise
BT 01/25/07 I Would Applaud SF Support For Police: Widow
BT 01/26/07 Glossy Pamphlet Campaign Is Just Words Says DUP
BT 01/26/07 Ard Fheis Police Verdict Only A Start: DUP
BB 01/26/07 McGuinness Threat 'Quite Ironic'
BT 01/26/07 IMC To Issue New Report Next Week
AP 01/26/07 Ombudsman's: Collusion Went Right To The Top
BT 01/26/07 Haddock: Pressure Piles On Flanagan
BT 01/26/07 O’Loan: Ex-Branch Officers Did Refuse To Help
BT 01/26/07 Analysis: Place Of Secrets Leaking Like A Sieve
BT 01/26/07 Haddock's Drug Den & Link To A Gun Tragedy
IN 01/26/07 SF: Patterns Of Collusion Exist Outside Belfast
BT 01/26/07 Unionists Are 'In Denial' Over Report: McCord
IN 01/26/07 Tohill Issues Mercy Plea For Kidnappers
IN 01/26/07 Survivors: McDougall Plan A Sop To The DUP
IN 01/26/07 2 Guns Used By Loyalists In 14 Deaths
BB 01/26/07 Loyalist In Feud Murder Retrial
BT 01/26/07 Opin: Sinn Fein Stands Poised At Cross-Roads
IN 01/26/07 Opin:1st Step To Accountable Policing Is Support
IN 01/26/07 Opin: Stalling Of Report Blame For Bad Timing
AP 01/26/07 Seamus Harvey 30th Anniversary
BT 01/26/07 Latest House Price Hotspot: The Shankill Road
IN 01/26/07 Derry Implored To Change Name Despite Ruling
IN 01/26/07 Museum Of Free Derry Launched
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01/25/07 – Dissidents Targeting McGuinness
BB 01/25/07 Dissidents 'Targeting McGuinness'
IE 01/25/07 Collusion Is Past; Cites Root & Branch Reform
EX 01/26/07 McCabe Widow Gives SF Benefit Of Doubt Policing
NW 01/26/07 MP: Investigate PSNI 'Harassment' In Castlederg
KN 01/25/07 What’s So Special About The Special Branch?
NL 01/25/07 Ex-Informer Defends RUC Against Critics
IT 01/26/07 Adams Offers To Meet Dissidents
IT 01/26/07 Palestinian Envoy Praises SF On Policing
UH 01/25/07 British Policing Is Not An Alternative - Mackey
BT 01/25/07 SF Rejects Plans To Compensate UDR Families
IT 01/25/07 Fall In Political Emblems On NI Streets
EX 01/25/07 Woman On Hunger Strike Over N Bank Claims
NL 01/25/07 Unionists Block Calls For Collusion Debate
IT 01/26/07 Opin: Adams And Symbolism Of Clonard
IT 01/25/07 McDowell Rules Out Joining Rainbow Coalition
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01/25/07 – Special Branch Facing Second Collusion Probe
BT 01/25/07 Special Branch Facing Second Collusion Probe
BT 01/25/07 Haddock Allowed To 'Poison Children'
BN 01/25/07 DUP Defends Police Who Hampered Collusion Inq
BT 01/25/07 Ombudsman Thanked Us Says Special Branch Chief
BT 01/25/07 SF: Unionist Stop Collusion Debate
BT 01/25/07 Tele To Publish SF Policing Pamphlet
BT 01/25/07 Duddy Confident Motion On PSNI Will Be Passed
BT 01/25/07 Support For Move On Policing Will Be Secured
BT 01/25/07 Justice Schemes 'Halted 500 Attacks'
BT 01/25/07 McDougall Call For £8m Fund & Forum For Victims
BT 01/25/07 Opin: O'Loan, What She Didn't Say
BT 01/25/07 Opin: Don’t Speak Of Media & Provos Collusion
RT 01/25/07 Court Rejects Change Of City Name To Derry
IT 01/25/07 Thousands In Dublin For Trad Festival
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01/24/07 – McGuinness - Collusion Went Right To The Top
SF 01/24/07 McGuinness - Collusion Went Right To The Top
IT 01/25/07 Blair Sidesteps Questions On Flanagan
RT 01/24/07 Blair Promises Action Over Collusion
BB 01/24/07 Assembly Row On Collusion Debate
SF 01/24/07 Unionists Running Scared Of Debate On Collusion
BB 01/24/07 Top Officers Are Named In Commons
UT 01/24/07 Raymond McCord Calls For Flanagan To Be Sacked
IT 01/24/07 Named Ex-Branch Officers Hit Out At O'Loan
BB 01/27/07 Police Debate Mirrors History
BB 01/24/07 Loyalist Accused Told To Leave NI
DK 01/24/07 Blog: Polish Policemen in PSNI
FH 01/24/07 Forgotten Founder Of Irish Free State Profiled
IN 01/24/07 Celtic Drama: Ballad Of An Irish Playboy
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01/23/07 – House Committee Approves Finucane Resolution
PR 01/23/07 House Committee Approves Finucane Resolution
IT 01/24/07 Ahern Welcomes Bush Immigration Comments
BB 01/24/07 O'Loan Briefs Board On Collusion
BT 01/24/07 RUC Brown Would Gladly Give Evidence To Inquiry
NL 01/24/07 Former SB Men Blast 'Rewriting Of History'
IN 01/24/07 Ombudsman Rejects Retired Officers’ Claims
IN 01/24/07 Appeal For More Probes Of Collusion
BN 01/24/07 Fullerton Family To Meet Police Ombudsman Staff
SF 01/23/07 Adams Speaks To Blair Over Collusion Report
BT 01/24/07 Bertie Promises To Seek Action On Collusion
BN 01/24/07 D Ahern To Discuss O’Loan Report With SDLP & SF
BT 01/24/07 SF Seeks Stormont Debate On Collusion Report
SF 01/23/07 O'Loan Report Could Never Happen In Republic
IN 01/24/07 Statement Issued By Sir Ronnie Flanagan
IN 01/24/07 Denial An Insult Says Brother Of UVF Victim
IN 01/24/07 Flanagan’s RUC Pension: £431k Plus £86k A Year
IN 01/24/07 Officers Guard Haddock In Hospital
BB 01/23/07 McCord To Stand In NI Election
BT 01/24/07 Informer Saved My Life Says McCord
IT 01/24/07 Adams Denies Outside 'Pressure' On PSNI Policy
BB 01/24/07 Derry Meeting Held On SF Policing Move
BN 01/23/07 SF Youth Wing Will Not Back Policing Motion
BB 01/24/07 Extra Voters 'Good For Democracy'
SF 01/24/07 Improved Electoral Rgstr Doesn’t Hide Problems
IT 01/24/07 Executive Role Crucial To Cross-Border Plans
SF 01/23/07 McLaughlin - National Development Plan
BN 01/24/07 DUP Welcomes NDP Spending In Northern Counties
BT 01/24/07 Bertie Can Stick His Handout - Bloggers
BT 01/24/07 Politicians Apart Over 11-Plus Replacement
BT 01/24/07 Walsh Wins Right To Appeal ‘91 Conviction
IN 01/24/07 PUP Leader Purvis To Stay On Police Board
BT 01/24/07 Opin: UVF Murders: Police Must Reveal All
IN 01/24/07 Opin: British Remain Silent Despite Revelations
IT 01/24/07 Medjugorje Pilgrim Laid To Rest
IT 01/24/07 Chapter One Awarded Michelin Star
IT 01/24/07 O'Toole Gets 8th Oscar Nom For Best Actor
IT 01/24/07 Paisley Praises For Island Jesuit Priest
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01/23/07 – Special Branch Cave Still Hides Many Secrets
BT 01/23/07 Special Branch Cave Still Hides Many Secrets
BN 01/23/07 SF: Ahern Take EU Court Action Against Britain
BT 01/23/07 Sinn Fein Winning The Battle On Policing
BT 01/23/07 Policing: SF Woos Roots; DUP Dissent Grows
BB 01/23/07 Ex-RUC Chief Urged To Quit Body
BT 01/23/07 Defiant Flanagan Comes Out Fighting
BT 01/23/07 Officers Criticised For Not Co-Operating
BT 01/23/07 Sir Hugh Receives Vote Of Confidence
BT 01/23/07 Board To Hold Special Meeting Over Report
DR 01/23/07 Timeline: Exposed Conspiracy With Killers
BT 01/23/07 McKenna- Murdered While Police Turned Blind Eye
BT 01/23/07 We'll Fight On, Vow Victims' Relatives
BT 01/23/07 My Fears For McCord's Life
BB 01/23/07 UVF Victim's Family Want Justice
BT 01/23/07 Doubts About Intelligence Safeguards In UK
BB 01/22/07 Reaction To Ombudsman's Report
BN 01/23/07 IRA Chef Charges Had €94,000 In Daz Box
BB 01/23/07 Republic Unveils Cash Plan For NI
BT 01/23/07 EU Slams Irish Part In CIA Torture Flights
BT 01/23/07 Republic 'Failed To Protect Wildlife'
BT 01/23/07 Opin: PSNI Must Show Lessons Have Been Learnt
IT 01/23/07 Opin: Policing The North's Police
GU 01/23/07 Opin: Máirtín Ó Muilleoir - A Silenced Alarm
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01/22/07 – Collusion: Catologue of Murders
IT 01/22/07 Catalogue Of Murders
BN 01/22/07 Hain Rules Out Public Enquiry Into Collusion
BN 01/22/07 Greens Calls For Independent Collusion Inquiry
SF 01/22/07 Adams Raises Collusion Report With British
SF 01/22/07 Dáil Parties Should Act On O'Loan Report
BN 01/22/07 SDLP Calls For Resignation Of Inspectorate
RT 01/22/07 Survey On US Attitudes To Irish Business Costs
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01/22/07 – Police Destroyed Evidence to Avoid Prosecution
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01/22/07 – Profound Regret From Blair After Collusion Report
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01/22/07 - RUC & PSNI Colluded with Loyalist Murders
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01/22/07 – Police Ombudsman: Public Statement – Operation Ballast
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01/21/07 Haddock Is The Tip Of The Iceberg
SL 01/21/07 Haddock Is The Tip Of The Iceberg
SL 01/21/07 Attorney-General's Mystery Files
SF 01/21/07 Adams Commemoration In Crossmaglen
BN 01/21/07 Hold Your Nerve, Hain Tells Sinn Féin
SF 01/21/07 McGuinness Encourages Participation
BN 01/21/07 McGuinness: We Need Plan B
SF 01/21/07 Durkan Attempting To Re-Write History
SL 01/21/07 IRSP Drops Support
SL 01/21/07 Time Is Right For Policing Decision
SL 01/21/07 Paisley's Church Faces Real Crisis, Says Foster
SL 01/21/07 Evil Klan Hoods In Ulster Net Hate Campaign
BN 01/21/07 Islands in Father Ted Festival Row
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01/20/07 – RUC Was Running UVF Gang
SB 01/21/07 RUC Was Running UVF Gang
IN 01/20/07 Collusion Charges May Never Happen
BB 01/20/07 Report To Confirm Collusion: SDLP
SB 01/20/07 RUC Collusion Officers Still In Police Force
BT 01/20/07 McCord Fears Over O'Loan Report
GU 01/20/07 'I Will Pursue My Son's Murderers'
IN 01/20/07 Fr Reid Confident SF Can Deliver On Policing
SF 01/20/07 Adams Seeks Community Backing For Policing
IT 01/20/07 Prominent US Neo-Con To Become Envoy To NI
BB 01/20/07 Bloody Sunday Remembered At March
IN 01/20/07 Bloody Sunday Families Call For Support
IN 01/20/07 Appointment On Parades Commission
IN 01/20/07 IRL: Spend E1 Bil On Cross-Border Initiatives
BT 01/20/07 Opin: A Good Deal Will All Depend On Timing
RT 01/20/07 Mamas And The Papas Singer Dies Aged 66
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01/19/07 – Paula Dobriansky Replaces Mitchell Reiss
IT 01/20/07 US Envoy To NI To Step Down
WP 01/20/07 Wikipedia: Paula Dobriansky
SD 08/08/05 Bio: Paula J. Dobriansky
SD 02/28/05 Dobriansky On 2004 Report On Human Rights
IT 01/19/07 O'Loan Uncovers RUC Collusion With Killers
SF 01/19/07 Sinn Féin Will Continue To Challenge IMC
BB 01/19/07 Call For All-Ireland Soccer Team
RT 01/19/07 Blair Aide Arrested In Cash-For-Honours Probe
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01/19/07 – Can Of Worms Opens On Informers & Handlers
BT 01/19/07 Can Of Worms Opens On Informers And Handlers
BT 01/19/07 Killer Tout's Blood Money
BT 01/19/07 Sectarian Killing Began Evil Chain Of Death
BT 01/19/07 Grim Future Lies In Store For Haddock
NL 01/19/07 Adams: I'll Work With The DUP
NL 01/19/07 DUP Denies Go-Between
DJ 01/19/07 A Big Ask, But It's The Only Way - Fr. Canny
DJ 01/19/07 Cool Response To Adams' Offer - INLA Source
BT 01/19/07 Deadline For Stormont Is Final: Hain
UT 01/19/07 Sinn Fein Lose Funding Court Battle
AP 01/19/07 POWs: Irish Government Reneged On Commitments
VI 01/18/07 Bertie Reneged On Promise To Release Killers
UT 01/19/07 Michael Stone Back In Court For Murder Charges
RD 01/19/07 Public Visit Adams To East Belfast Significant
BT 01/19/07 Fury Greets Plan To Cut PSNI Numbers To 6,000
BT 01/19/07 Opin: It's A Bad Time To Gamble On Policing
BT 01/18/07 Opin: A Good Deal Will All Depend On Timing
NL 01/19/07 Opin: Yet Another BS Play Takes To The Boards
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01/18/07 – Republican SF Dismisses PSNI Talks With Adams
IT 01/19/07 Republican SF Dismisses PSNI Talks With Adams
BT 01/18/07 Return To Violence Not Ruled Out
BB 01/18/07 Armed Factions Need Time: Adams
UH 01/18/07 Adams Challenges Behaviour Of Castlederg PSNIf1
BN 01/18/07 HR Commissioners Call For Omagh Review
SF 01/18/07 Martina Anderson To Address Bloody Sunday March
IT 01/19/07 €18m Of Assets Held In Manchester Operation
NL 01/18/07 Ervine's Wife Lauds 'Brave' Gerry Adams
IT 01/19/07 Colombia Lifts Visa Rule For Irish Visitors
IT 01/19/07 Opin: SF Seeks To Curtail NI Policing
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01/18/07 – Adams: Goal Of United Irish, But Means Changed
IN 01/18/07 Adams: Goal Of United Irish, But Means Changed
BB 01/18/07 Adams Offers To Meet Dissidents
BT 01/18/07 Poll: St Andrews Has Support, But Slim Chances
BB 01/18/07 Crown Appeals Loyalist Acquittal
IN 01/18/07 PSNI Appeal Over 1993 Murder Of Woman ‘Spin’
BN 01/18/07 Ombudsman 'In Witch-Hunt Against RUC Officers'
IN 01/18/07 Paisley Should Apologise For UVF Murders
BB 01/18/07 PSNI: Police Cuts Plan 'Ill-Conceived'
BN 01/18/07 Assets Agency Freezes £12m Of 'IRA Property'
IN 01/18/07 Opin: Another Special Moment On Road To Peace
IN 01/18/07 Opin: Mystery Surrounds Shinners Resignations
RT 01/18/07 Cost Of Living Highest In Four Years
IN 01/18/07 MRSA Drug Welcomed By Belfast Hospital
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01/17/07 - Collusion Report To Name RUC Officers
IT 01/17/07 Collusion Report To Name RUC Officers
IT 01/18/07 Orde Warns About Scrutiny Of PSNI
BN 01/17/07 Patten Commission Urges SF To Accept Policing
BB 01/17/07 From Armalites To Assets
BN 01/17/07 Families Of Shot IRA Men In Lords Challenge
RT 01/17/07 O'Dea Promises 1916 Military Ceremony
IT 01/18/07 Primate Says End Royal Ban Against Catholics
IT 01/18/07 Opin: Devolution Now No Longer If, But When
BT 01/18/07 Opin: Why We Need To Spy On The Spies
IT 01/18/07 Opin: Prices Rising Faster Than Average Incomes
BN 01/17/07 Irish-Language Newspaper Launched
IT 01/18/07 Famous First Words: Gaeilge Makes Its EU Debut
RT 01/17/07 Death Of Seán Mac Réamoinn At 85
IT 01/18/07 Irish Battlefields To Be Better Protected
IT 01/18/07 Historic Irish Battle Sites
PR 01/18/07 Irish-American Heritage Month (March) Facts
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01/17/07 – Report On RUC/UVF Collusion In Killings
IN 01/17/07 Report On RUC/UVF Collusion In Killings
IN 01/17/07 Confessed Agent Stayed Free To Take More Lives
BT 01/17/07 UVF Collusion Report Must Lead To Inquiry
KA 01/17/07 Kilkenny SF To Host 'Expose Collusion' Event
BT 01/17/07 PSNI Should Be Slashed By 1,500: Report
IN 01/17/07 Trio Killed By Loyalists ‘Innocent’
BB 01/17/07 Threats Will Not 'Unnerve' SF
EE 01/17/07 2nd SF MLA Quits In Protest At Policing Moves
BB 01/17/07 Direct Rule Is 'Harming Society'
BB 01/17/07 Judge To Consider Omagh Verdict
IN 01/17/07 Omagh Accused’s Lawyer Says ‘DNA Was Planted’
BT 01/17/07 Ervine Widow Thanks Adams For Support
IN 01/17/07 Opin: Flat-Earthers Get A Grip On Reality
BB 01/17/07 New Troubles Archive Is Launched
----
01/16/07 – Sinn Féin Members Receive Bullets Threat
BN 01/16/07 Sinn Féin Members Receive Bullets Threat
SF 01/16/07 SF Announce Public Meetings On Policing
BT 01/16/07 Ahern: DUP Is 'Signed Up' For New Police
BB 01/16/07 Ombudsman Probes Adams Shooting
IT 01/16/07 Closing Statements In Omagh Case
BW 01/16/07 Bloody Comedy: Lt of Inishmore
----
01/16/07 – Holy Cross Girls School May Close
IN 01/16/07 Holy Cross Girls School May Close
BB 01/15/07 No Move On NI Deadline, Says Hain
RT 01/16/07 NI Deadline Depends On St Andrews Deal: Blair
IN 01/16/07 McGuinness Admits Playing For Big Stakes
DT 01/16/07 Adams In Derry Next Week & Bullets in Post
UT 01/16/07 McGlinchey Slams SF Policing Move
IN 01/16/07 SF Dougan Follows Through On Resignation Threat
IN 01/16/07 DUP Berry To Defend His Seat As Independent
IN 01/16/07 SDLP Row Erupts Over Deselection
BT 01/16/07 Sinister Twist To Dissident Threats
IN 01/16/07 Traffic Wardens Out Of Falls Road After Threats
BT 01/16/07 Opin: A Working Class Hero Is Something To Be
IN 01/16/07 Tributes Paid To Frmr General Secretary Of SDLP
RT 01/16/07 34,000 Civilian Deaths In Iraq In 2006 - UN
IT 01/16/07 Affordable Scheme To Offer Killiney Apartments
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01/15/07 – Paisley Praises SF Policing Move
BB 01/15/07 Paisley Praises SF Policing Move
IT 01/16/07 Blair Believes Paisley Remarks Are Significant
IT 01/16/07 SF Position 'Should Satisfy' DUP
BN 01/15/07 SF Policing Motion Criticised By Unionists
BB 01/15/07 FBI Spy David Rupert Testifies At Omagh Trial
ST 01/15/07 Irish Politics: The Gap Closes
GU 01/15/07 Opin: A Faustian Dilemma
BN 01/15/07 Taoiseach Bemoans Catastrophic Failures In Iraq
BB 01/15/07 Heaney Wins TS Eliot Poetry Prize
----
01/15/07 – Adams Out To Win Over SF Supporters On Policing
IT 01/15/07 Adams Out To Win Over SF Supporters On Policing
IT 01/15/07 SF Supporters Accept Change Inevitable
IT 01/15/07 SF May Face Dissident Candidates
IN 01/15/07 Mother Of Hunger Striker Stands For Election
IN 01/15/07 Supporting PSNI ‘Disturb’ Family Of IRA Man
BT 01/15/07 Stakes High: Gamble SF Will Back Policing Move
IT 01/15/07 DUP Criticises SF Policing Motion
BT 01/12/07 Sinn Fein President On Loyalist Road
BB 01/15/07 Attacks Force SDLP Ex-Mayor To Leave Derry Home
BB 01/15/07 Deal Reached On UDA Man's Assets
BB 01/15/07 Victims' Appointment Not Quashed
BB 01/15/04 QC Findlay Guilty Of Sectarian Misconduct
IT 01/15/07 Opin: Adams Needs To Win Convincingly
BT 01/15/07 Opin: Parties Must Step Up To Their Marks
IT 01/15/07 Reynolds' Secret Meeting With Ervine & Spence
IT 01/15/07 High-Speed Trains Link Cork And Dublin
IT 01/15/07 Promotion Flights Between US And Knock
IT 01/15/07 Fáilte Ireland Staff Picket Offices
IT 01/15/07 Kerry Salmon Rivers Closed To Anglers
----
01/14/07 – RUC: Leave Us Alone
SL 01/14/07 RUC: Leave Us Alone
SF 01/14/07 Motion For Extraordinary Ard Fheis
RT 01/14/07 SF Publishes Details Of Ard Fheis Motion
----
01/14/07 – Charges Loom After Report On RUC Collusion
ST 01/14/07 Charges Loom After Report On RUC Collusion
SF 01/13/07 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis To Go Ahead On January 28th
UT 01/13/07 Text of Gerry Adams' Speech On Policing
IT 01/14/07 SF To Consult Grassroots Over Ardfheis
ST 01/14/07 UVF States Plan To Lay Down Arms
SL 01/14/07 PUP Party Members' Invite To McCord Report
BB 01/14/07 Premiers Welcome Sinn Fein Move
BN 01/14/07 SF Move Puts Pressure On Unionists
BT 01/14/07 Hain Has Delivered Nothing: DUP Chairman
ST 01/14/07 Opin: Ahern Chats Up SF, But Hearta On Dif Dalliance
SB 01/14/07 The Death Knell For Rural Life?
ST 01/14/07 Ireland: The Unusual Suspect
----
01/13/07 – Adams Reaffirms Commitment To Policing Policy
RT 01/12/07 Adams Reaffirms Commitment To Policing Policy
BN 01/13/07 Unionists 'Will Not Throw SF A Lifeline'
IT 01/13/07 SF Failure To Back PSNI Will Increase Doubts
BT 01/13/07 Old Enemies United In Grief At Ervine Loss
BT 01/13/07 Opin: Ervine -A Sense Of Loss For So Many Of Us
IN 01/13/07 Opin: Orde Admission Vital To Families
IN 01/13/07 Death Of Popular Passionist Priest
BN 01/13/07 Plaque Unveiled To 'Forgotten Woman' Of 1916
IT 01/13/07 Pubs And Rural Life
NJ 01/13/07 Band To Play Up A Gaelic Storm
----
01/12/07 – SF: DUP Had Agreed Policing Timeframe
BB 01/12/07 DUP 'Agreed Policing Timeframe'
IN 01/12/07 DUP ‘Will Move If SF Signs Ups’ But When?
UT 01/12/07 Orde Concern Over Inquiry Costs
RT 01/12/07 Orde Makes Some Significant Statement
BN 01/12/07 SF Welcomes Adm About Use Of Plastic Bullets
BN 01/12/07 Sinn Féin Leader Attends Ervine's Funeral
BT 01/12/07 A Deal Is What David Would Have Wanted
BT 01/12/07 Gusty Spence Remembers His Protegé
IN 01/12/07 Opin: Policing Offers Little To Most People
IN 01/12/07 Opin: DUP’s Ambiguity Has Limited Lifespan
BT 01/12/07 Opin: Why Pessimistic About Success Of Devo
IN 01/12/07 Ltr: Sinn Fein Must Beware Any DUP Double-Cross
BB 01/12/07 No English? No Irish More Like
IN 01/12/07 Family: Publisher Was Not In Gestapo
PL 01/12/07 Obit: Edward V. Kelly Jr.
----
01/11/07 – Orde Hopes To End Baton Gun Use
BB 01/11/07 Orde Hopes To End Baton Gun Use
BB 01/11/07 Sinn Fein Wrong On Agreement: DUP
BT 01/11/07 Foster Attacks Paisley Again Over Agreement
BN 01/11/07 'Bik' McFarlane In Trial Prevention Bid
RT 01/11/07 Dublin Man Charged With IRA Membership
NW 01/11/07 Strabane Man To Stand On Anti-Policing Ticket
IT 01/11/07 Storm Causes Power Outages, Disrupts Travel
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01/11/07 – Ahern Urges SF To Hold Ardfheis
IT 01/11/07 Ahern Urges SF To Hold Ardfheis
IN 01/11/07 2007 -Defining Time In Future Of North
IN 01/11/07 Ahern Announces Investments For N/S Projects
IN 01/11/07 O’Loan Investigates Omagh Trial Witnesses
BB 01/11/07 Cocaine On '100% Of Irish Euros'
IT 01/11/07 Flight Of Earls Website To Go Live
----
01/10/07 – SF Secured Reversal of Integrated PSNI & MI5
SF 01/10/07 SF Secure Reversal Of Integrate PSNI & MI5
BN 01/10/07 SF And SDLP Clash Over MI5 Policing Role
BT 01/10/07 SF Hails MI5 Pledge As Major Victory For Republicans
BN 01/10/07 Legal Battle May Close Bewley's Café
IT 01/11/07 Four Of Missing Men Live In Dunmore East Area
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01/10/07 – Blair Sets Out MI5's Future Role
BB 01/10/07 Blair Sets Out MI5's Future Role
SF 01/09/07 SF To Meet Amid Concerns At DUP Position
BN 01/10/07 Ahern Seeks DUP Clarification On Power-Sharing
BT 01/10/07 McGuigan Daughters Released From Hospital
BT 01/10/07 Opin: SF Likely To Proceed With Conference
BT 01/10/07 Opin: Blair Scare For Gerry?
BT 01/10/07 Opin: A Wind Of Change That's Long Overdue
WP 01/10/07 Castlebar Bridge To Be Named After Patriot
IT 01/09/07 Laws Dating Back To 1066 To Be Repealed
IV 01/10/07 AOH Fund Raiser For ILIR
BG 01/10/07 S. Boston's James Kelly Dies At 66
----
01/09/07 – McGuigan Daughters 'Miracle' Recovery
BB 01/09/07 McGuigan Daughters 'Miracle' Recovery
BN 01/09/07 Hain Warns Of Policing 'Outsider'
BB 01/09/07 Blair 'To Reassure Over MI5 Role'
SF 01/09/07 SF Look Forward To Brits Statement On MI5
BN 01/09/07 SF To Reassess Moves To Endorse Policing
BN 01/09/07 DUP: Devolution Should Go Ahead Without SF
BT 01/09/07 Ervine: His Final Wish
BT 01/09/07 Opin: Soft Words & Optimism Are Not Enough
TE 01/09/07 Ireland 'Welcomed Hitler's Henchmen'
BN 01/09/07 Exhibition Highlights Irish Life In 1950s
BT 01/09/07 Cillian Murphy Nominated For Rising Star Award
----
01/08/07 – Blair: SF Has Right To Speedy Policing Transfer
BN 01/08/07 Blair: SF Has Right To Speedy Policing Transfer
IT 01/08/07 Text Of Blair’s Article In Irish Times
IT 01/08/07 Gerry Adams Urges Resolution Of Difficulties
IT 01/09/07 Paisley Comment Puts SF Ardfheis In Doubt
BT 01/07/07 McGuinness Calls For Positive Signal By Paisley
BT 01/08/07 Devil Still In The Detail Of The Peace Process
SF 01/08/07 Loughinisland: Why MI5 Must Mot Be In Policing
BB 01/08/07 Ahern Accused Of Sinn Fein U-Turn
IT 01/09/07 Ahern Rules Out Government Dependent On SF
TO 01/08/07 Obit: David Ervine
BB 01/08/07 PUP's Ervine Has Died In Hospital
IN 01/08/07 Fr. Mc Manus On Death Of David Irvine
BN 01/08/07 Colleagues And Opponents Alike Praise Ervine
BB 01/08/07 Loyalist Ihab Shoukri Denited Bail
IT 01/09/07 Opin: Ervine's Death Leaves Void In Loyalism
BB 01/08/07 £1bn Titanic Area Plan Submitted
IT 01/09/07 Fitting In With Our Friends In The North
IT 01/09/07 Clare Council Gets Cliffs Of Moher Trading Ban
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01/08/07 – Paisley Denies Blair's DUP Claim
BB 01/08/07 Paisley Denies Blair's DUP Claim
BB 01/08/07 PUP Leader Remains Critically Ill
----
01/07/07 – McGuigan Daughters Out Of Danger
BT 01/07/07 McGuigan Daughters Out Of Danger
BB 01/07/07 Power-Sharing In 2007 – Donaldson
SL 01/07/07 Paisley Says No To Helping Shinners
BT 01/07/07 McGuinness To Give Speech At Commemoration
SB 01/07/07 Crunch Time For Peace Process
SL 01/07/07 IMC Report Set To Focus On Policing Issue
GU 01/07/07 Gunrunner In Poll Threat To Sinn Fein
SL 01/07/07 Lindsay Robb: Dead Man Talking
SL 01/07/07 Loyalists: 'We Won't Be Policing Flashpoints'
SL 01/01/07 An Evans-Sent Witness For Kevin Fulton Case
SL 01/01/07 DNA To Unmask Evil UDA Murderers
ST 01/07/04 Monument For Controversial IRA Chief Russell
SL 01/07/07 Opin: Republicans- Actions Louder Than Words
SL 01/07/07 Opin: Time For Leaders To Do Precisely That
GU 01/07/07 Opin: One Man's Irish Dream Could Be Shattered
BN 01/07/07 Number Of Homeless Irish In London Drops
IT 01/01/07 Pilot Scheme For New Dublin Toilets
RT 01/01/07 260 Boston-Bound Stranded In Shannon
II 01/07/07 Who’s Who: Bertie Snubs Miriam
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01/06/07 – Sinn Fein Want Paisley 'Clarity'
BB 01/05/07 Sinn Fein Want Paisley 'Clarity'
IT 01/05/07 No More To Say On Policing Impasse - DUP
RT 01/06/07 Donaldson: Powersharing To Be Achieved
BN 01/06/07 SF Need To Deliver On Policing - DUP
SF 01/05/07 SDLP Seek To Dismiss Nationalist Concerns
IN 01/06/07 Neglect Amounts To Collusion: Solicitor
IN 01/06/07 Ombudsman: PSNI Renew Your Hunt For Murder Gang
IN 01/06/07 O’Loan Team Due To Meet Murdered Man’s Family
IT 01/06/07 Son Calls For Inquiry Into Fallon Murder
SF 01/05/07 SF Accompany Loughinisland Families To Meeting
IN 01/06/07 Case To Proceed Against Teacher
IN 01/06/07 Series Documents Estate Agent’s Fall
IN 01/06/07 Opin: DUP’s Is Fossilised In 17th Century
IN 01/06/07 Opin: SF Choreographing Steps Into Society
IT 01/06/07 Opin: SF Policing Stance Parallels FF’s
IN 01/06/07 Opin: O’Halloran Case Must Be Reopened
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01/05/07 – Hain Optimistic Over NI Impasse
BB 01/05/07 Hain Optimistic Over NI Impasse
BN 01/05/07 Adams Urges Republicans Not To Lose Nerve
BT 01/05/07 Sinn Fein Plans Crucial Meeting Over Policing
DJ 01/05/07 If Paisley Agrees with Blair-That's Progress
BT 01/05/07 Paisley, Adams Face Test Of Nerve On Policing
BT 01/05/07 Assembly Meets Hain Over Minister Controversy
NW 01/05/07 Mc Guinness Is The Man In The Middle
BT 01/05/07 The Unthinkable Is Now Within Reach For Us All
BT 01/05/07 Did Blair's Move Halt Devolution Meltdown?
GU 01/05/07 Power-Share For Ulster Hit By New Crisis
IT 01/05/07 McCabe Backs Fallon Death Inquiry
BB 01/05/07 Political Snub At Ambush Memorial
BT 01/05/07 MPs' Double Trouble
BT 01/05/07 Opin: Honesty And Transparency Required
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01/04/07 – Blair: Enough Agreement For Elections In North
BN 01/04/07 Blair: Enough Agreement For Elections In North
BB 01/04/07 Positive Replies To Blair Views
SF 01/04/07 Adams: We Await DUP Response To Tony Blair
IT 01/05/06 Dr Ian Paisley's Response
IT 01/05/06 NI Office Response
SF 01/04/07 Police Proposals In Line With SF Positions
IT 01/04/07 Adams Now Faces Crucial Call On Ardfheis
UT 01/04/04 Dougan Threatens To Leave Over Policing Wrangle
RT 01/04/07 DUP Seeks 'Upfront Delivery' From Sinn Féin
UT 01/04/07 McCord In Victim's Commissioner Bid
BB 01/04/07 Church To Appeal On Disappeared
IT 01/05/07 Opin: SF Facing Pressure On Policing
IT 01/05/07 Runway Sealed Off By Unexpected Marine Visitor
IT 01/04/07 Belfast One Of Healthiest UK Cities
HO 01/04/05 The Chieftains & The Houston Symphony
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01/04/07 – Blair Warns NI Parties Must Act
BB 01/04/07 Blair Warns NI Parties Must Act
UK 01/04/07 Text Of Blair’s Statement On N Ireland
BB 01/04/07 Dropped SF MLA 'Sour Grapes' Claim
BT 01/04/07 Hain Ignores Call Re: Restructuring Of Councils
BB 01/04/07 Delight As Bank Charges Dropped
BT 01/04/07 Nazi Background Of Irish Publisher Exposed
BN 01/04/07 Numbers Training To Become Priests Up 7 In 2006
BT 01/04/07 Connemara Man Swept To Death Off West Coast
II 01/04/07 Saw Doctors Top Bill At US Political Ball
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01/03/07 – SF In Intense Talks On Policing
BB 01/03/07 Intense Talks On Policing Held
IT 01/04/07 Blair Cuts Short Holiday To Deal With North
BN 01/03/07 Govts Urged To Stress Power-Sharing Deadline
BN 01/03/07 Hyland Quits Sinn Féin
BT 01/03/07 Assembly Will See 10 New Members After Election
BT 01/03/07 SF Bid To Silence Policing Rebels
BN 01/03/07 Police Blamed As Bank-Heist Charges Dropped
BN 01/03/07 Adams Challenged Over Disappeared Info Plea
IE 01/03/07 Immigration Reform Rising
IM 01/03/07 Bloody Sunday 35th Anniversary
AZ 01/03/07 Opin: Irish Catholic Model Being 'Hispanicized'
BN 01/03/07 Property Market Keeps Celtic Tiger Roaring
BT 01/03/07 Irish Becomes The 23rd Official Language Of EU
RT 01/03/07 Michael Yeats, Son of WB Yeats, Dies, Aged 86
IT 01/04/07 Sea Eagles Return In 5-Year Killarney Project
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01/03/07 – Northern Justice Minister Row Escalates
BN 01/02/07 Northern Justice Minister Row Escalates
BT 01/02/07 All Change As SF Loses A Fifth Of Sitting MLAs
SW 01/03/07 Sinn Fein Makes Peace With Police
BB 01/03/07 NI Bank Robbery Charges Dropped
BB 01/03/07 Adams Appeal Over The Disappeared
WP 01/03/07 Ring Keeps Pressure On For Illegal Irish In US
LA 01/03/07 Opin: Sinn Fein And The Cops
BN 01/02/07 More People Moving To North Than Leaving
BN 01/02/07 Glendalough Park To Be Extended
----
01/02/07 – Adams: Support Police For A United Ireland
TH 01/02/07 Adams: Support Police For A United Ireland
BB 01/02/07 Paisley: Sinn Fein 'Must Act On Policing'
BN 01/02/07 DUP: 'On-The-Runs' A Potential Deal-Breaker
IM 01/02/07 Conway Mill Videos
OS 01/02/07 Blog: Women In Struggle Interview: Grace Lynch
BN 01/02/07 55 Million New Year Text Messages Sent
HC 01/02/07 Euro Opens 2007 Strong Against Dollar
BT 01/02/07 108th Birthday For Woman Who Saw The Titanic
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01/01/07 – Adams – SF Wants To Achieve Maximum Change
SF 01/01/04 Adams – SF Wants To Achieve Maximum Change
BT 01/01/07 New Warnings From DUP Over Devolution
BB 01/01/07 Deadlines, Deadlock And New Dawns?
UT 01/01/07 UUP's Jim Wilson Steps Down
BT 01/01/07 Sinn Fein Assembly Member To Step Down
BN 12/31/06 Sister Makes Plea For Margaret Hassan's Body
BG 12/31/06 Bostonians Of The Year: Peter Meade
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01/01/07 – Adams Urges Supporters To Take Long-Term View
BN 01/01/07 Adams Urges Supporters To Take Long-Term View
IN 01/01/07 Crowd Beat Up Mum At Shops
IN 01/10/07 NIPS Criticised For Shredding Prison Files
BN 01/01/07 Taoiseach Welcomes EU Recognition Of Irish Language
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: MP’s UVF Training Allegations Probed
IM 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: Marchers Blamed For Civil Rights Fire
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: Student March A Sell-Out Of Ulster
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: Unionist Hostility To Easter Celebrations
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: RUC Warning About Disputed Orange Parades
BB 01/01/07 Opin: Seismic Shift Or Cause For Dissention?
BT 01/01/07 Opin: Political Stability Is Within Our Grasp
IN 01/01/07 IRA Deaths That Caught Whole Country’s Imagination
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Table of Contents 12/06
Table of Contents 11/06
Table of Contents 10/06
01/31/07 – Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
SF 01/31/07 Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
BB 01/31/07 Adams Backs PSNI McCartney Probe
SF 01/31/07 Call for DUP To Respond To SF Initiative
IT 01/31/07 Rea To Be Questioned On Orde Dossier
IT 01/31/07 Chief Constable In Appointment Row
BB 01/31/07 DUP Anger At SDLP Police Claim
BN 01/31/07 McGeough: SF Forced Into U-Turn
IT 01/31/07 SDLP Launches All-Island Economy Plan
IE 01/31/07 House Calls For Finucane Probe
RT 01/31/07 Order Stops Casual Trading At Cliffs Of Moher
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01/31/07 –McAllister’s Anguish Over Father’s Funeral
IN 01/31/07 Malachy McAllister’s Anguish Over Funeral
IN 01/31/07 Gunshots Of BS Marked By Minute’s Silence
IT 01/31/07 NI Politicians Start Election Campaign
BT 01/31/07 Blair: March Election Is Crucial For Ulster
BT 01/31/07 Indecisive Paisley - A Wait & See Attitude
BT 01/31/07 The Loyalists Are Long Way Behind
BB 01/31/07 Orde Anger At 'Policing Insults'
BT 01/31/07 SF & SDLP Backlash In Orde Leak Row
IT 01/31/07 PSNI In New McCartney Murder Appeal
NL 01/31/07 IMC's View On Fuel Fraud Is 'Kidology'
BT 01/31/07 Irish School Is Refused New Funding
IN 01/31/07 Gracey Toast Apology
BT 01/31/07 House Backs Improved Finucane Inquiry
IN 01/31/07 Opin: SF Can Sit & Watch Unionist Bigot-Fest
IN 01/31/07 Opin: Irish Americans Back SF On Policing
BB 01/31/07 Belfast 1907 Strike Marked
IN 01/31/07 Gaiety All Set For Major Facelift
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01/30/07 – Full House Approves Finucane Resolution
PR 01/30/07 House Approves Finucane Resolution
NE 01/30/07 House Citing Cory Presses For Finucane Probe
BB 01/30/07 IRA 'Dismantling Its Structures'
BN 01/30/07 Final Hurdle To Devolution Gone, Says Hain
SF 01/30/07 Sinn Féin Will Press Ahead Regardless Of IMC
UT 01/30/07 IMC Warning Over Republican Group
DS 01/30/07 PM And Bertie Ahern Joint Statement On NI
IT 01/30/07 Assembly Elections Confirmed For March 7th
IT 01/31/07 Restore NI Govt Without Delay, McDowell Urges
SF 01/30/07 Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle Meet In Dublin
BB 01/30/07 Sinn Fein Backing 'Joining PSNI'
IT 01/30/07 Call For SF To Assist In McCartney Case
IT 01/31/07 Opin: This Is A Good Time For Ireland
BN 01/30/07 Woman & Boy Die In 600ft Cliffs Of Moher Plunge
BJ 01/30/07 Joseph Cullinan A Driving Force In Oil Business
HC 01/30/07 Blog: Better Living Through Chemistry
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01/30/07 – 13th Report of the IMC
----
01/30/07 – Pressure On DUP After Police Move
BT 01/30/07 Pressure On DUP After Police Move
BN 01/30/07 Ahern & Blair To Review Power-Sharing Progress
BB 01/30/07 Government Is To Confirm Election
IN 01/30/07 Sinn Fein Councillor Resigns
BB 01/30/07 Stormont Reports Published
IM 01/29/07 IMC Media Notification
BT 01/30/07 Unionist Failure To Attend McCord Meeting
BN 01/30/07 Taoiseach Meets New US Envoy To The North
DJ 01/30/07 Kelly: Rioters Tarnished Bloody Sunday Memory
BT 01/30/07 Devastating Hit List Of Schools
IN 01/30/07 Tensions High On Anniversary Of Devlin Murder
EA 01/30/07 Blog: Irish Abroad Unit Outlines Its Work
BT 01/30/07 Opin: Little Time For Political Sincerity Test
BT 01/29/07 Opin: Highly-Charged Day For All Republicans
BT 01/29/07 Opin: Giant Leap, But Not End Of Brinkmanship
BT 01/29/07 Opin: What Yes Vote Means As Rubicon Is Crossed
IN 01/29/07 Opin: Disgusting Justification For Murders
IN 01/30/07 Whats In A Name? – History, Tourism, Politics
BB 01/30/07 Belfast 1907 Strike To Be Marked
IN 01/30/07 Derry Council Set To Approve River Statue
MN 01/30/07 Knock US Dream Realised
----
01/29/07 - Adams - No Equivocation From Sinn Féin
SF 01/29/07 Adams - No Equivocation From Sinn Féin
IT 01/29/07 Adams Calls For Public To Co-Operate With PSNI
IT 01/29/07 Ahern Says DUP, British Must Take Next Steps
IT 01/29/07 SF Vote A Step Forward, Says Paisley
IN 01/29/07 Paisley Says His Party ‘Forced’ PSNI Support
IN 01/29/07 History In The Making At Ard Fheis
IN 01/29/07 Not Enough Change, Say Victim’s Family
IN 01/29/07 Mum Can’t Forgive Sinn Fein ‘Terrorists’
SF 01/29/07 Adams & McGuinness To Meet Methodist Church
BB 01/29/07 Oath Challenge Lawyer Now A Judge
IT 01/29/07 Ex-Hunger Striker Complains Over M15
BB 01/29/07 Shoukri Ordered To Go To England
IN 01/29/07 Ervine Told Of Anger Over Hunger Strike
IN 01/29/07 Bloody Sunday Victims Remembered 35 Years On
IN 01/29/07 Opin: DUP Left With Responsibilities
IN 01/29/07 Opin: DUP Must Now Commit
TH 01/29/07 Opin: Why The Unthinkable Is About To Happen
IN 01/29/07 Opin: More Topsy-Turvy Times Ahead After
BT 01/29/07 Over 5,500 Caught Using Phone While Driving
IT 01/29/07 Free Wireless Internet Planned For Dublin
ST 01/29/07 Stark Portrayal Of The Bloody Sunday March
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01/29/07 – Who Will Pay For Mass Murder?
BP 01/28/07 Who Will Pay For Mass Murder?
IT 01/29/07 SF Endorses PSNI By Overwhelming Majority
IT 01/29/07 Delegates Urged To End Pillar Of Corrupt State
IT 01/29/07 D-Day 'To Deliver For Ireland' - McGuinness
IT 01/29/07 Ógra Warns Of A 'Massive Mistake'
IT 01/29/07 Ard Fheis Vote:SF Had Crossed Last Great Hurdle
BB 01/29/07 Assembly Launches Final Session
IT 01/29/07 Parties Must Live Up To Commitments - Hain
BN 01/29/07 SF Policing Move Puts Pressure On DUP
BN 01/29/07 Dodds Questions Timeframe For Testing SF
BN 01/29/07 Former IRA Prisoner To Stand Against SF
IT 01/29/07 Opin: After Sinn Féin, DUP Must Deliver
IT 01/29/07 Opin: SF Leadership Gets Their Way Over PSNI
BT 01/29/07 Opin: Has Devolution Come Any Closer?
IT 01/29/07 Casey Claims Pope Did Not Want Him To Resign
IT 01/29/07 Knock To Operate Transatlantic Flights
IT 01/29/07 Irish Film Wins Award At Sundance Festival
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01/28/07 – Adams Closing Remarks To Ard Fheis
SF 01/28/07 Adams Closing Remarks To Ard Fheis
SF 01/28/07 Motion Passed By SF Ard Fheis - 01/28/07
IT 01/28/07 Sinn Féin Vote Broadly Welcomed
GU 01/28/07 Historic Vote Ends SF's Battle With PSNI
TO 01/28/07 Not So Alone
BN 01/28/07 Paisley: SF Must Show Support For Policing
SB 01/28/07 How Collusion Was Built Into The System
SB 01/28/07 Opin: IRL Faces Fight To Hold On To Investment
TO 01/28/07 Opin: Momentous Day For Both IRA & Law & Order
GU 01/28/07 Opin: The Incredible Journey Continues
TE 01/28/07 Opin: Sinn Fein's Agenda
SB 01/28/07 New Restaurant To Open At Cliffs Of Moher
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01/28/07 – SF Votes To Support PSNI
IT 01/28/07 SF Votes To Support PSNI
AP 01/28/07 Sinn Fein Votes To Back Police - A 1st
WP 01/28/07 Sinn Fein Backs N.Irish Police In Historic Vote
IT 01/28/07 Orde Welcomes SF Policing Move
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01/28/07 – Sinn Fein Votes to Support Police
SF 01/28/07 Sinn Fein Votes to Support Police
SF 01/28/07 Gerry Kelly MLA Delivering Policing Rprt To AF
SF 01/28/07 Caitriona Ruane Address To Ard Fheis
SF 01/28/07 Unionist Outreach Speech To Ard Fheis
IA 01/28/07 Text Of Sinn Fein Policing Motion
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01/28/07 – How Britain Created Ulster’s Murder Gangs
SH 01/28/07 How Britain Created Ulster's Murder Gangs
RT 01/28/07 Sinn Féin Delegates Debating Policing Policy
IT 01/28/07 Text of Adams' Address To Conference
PT 01/28/07 McGuinness: 'Police Must Earn Republican Trust'
SF 01/27/07 Delegates Should Back Transforming Police
SL 01/28/07 SF Knows That IRA Has Already Given Assent
IT 01/28/07 Orde Says SF Support 'Inevitable'
SL 01/28/07 Where To Now For The Republican Refusniks?
SL 01/28/07 McCartneys:Back Police & Our Fight For Justice
SL 01/28/07 Party Bosses To Keep Guns
SM 01/28/07 Flim-Flam Flanagan
SB 01/28/07 MP: Flanagan’s Position Untenable
SB 01/28/07 Collusion Officer Gets PSNI Promotion
IT 01/28/07 Handling Recommendations 'Niave'
SL 01/28/07 Family Of IRA Victim Want Collusion Inquiry
SL 01/28/07 Genealogy: Voyage Of Discovery
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01/27/07 – Policing: The Time Is Right Say SF Leaders
IN 01/27/07 Policing: The Time Is Right Say SF Leaders
UT 01/27/07 Sinn Fein Perpare For Ard Fheis
IT 01/27/07 RSF: Ex-Prisoners 'May Run' In North Elections
UT 01/27/07 McCord Urges SF To Say Yes To Policing
BT 01/27/07 McCord: Campaign Not About RUC But Justice
UT 01/27/07 McAleese Condemns 'Despicable' Collusion
IN 01/27/07 Dr Clarke Responds To O’Loan Report
IN 01/27/07 Ombudsman ‘Needs Access’ To MI5
BT 01/27/07 Collusion: The Home Truths…
IN 01/27/07 Don Mullan Urges Other Ways To Uncover Truth
BT 01/27/07 Devolution Or Dublin, DUP Is Told
BT 01/27/07 Dublin Helps Pay For Derry Airport Extension
BT 01/27/07 Asset Recovery Costs Us A Fortune
IN 01/27/07 Framed Man Criticises UDR Victims’ Fund
IN 01/26/07 Opin: Ard Fheis ‘Yes’ Vital For Peace
BT 01/27/07 Opin: Time To Grow Up, DUP
IN 01/27/07 Opin: Fings Ain’t What They Used To Be
IN 01/27/07 Opin: Fulton’s Cohorts Must Be Pursued
IN 01/27/07 Holy Cross Doubles Despite Closure Threat
IN 01/27/07 Alex Maskey’s Father Dies
BT 01/27/07 Tributes As SDLP Man McTeague Dies At 82
KY 01/27/07 Mary M. McGarr, 88, Of Fort Wright – RIP
BT 01/24/07 Celtic Drama: Ballad Of An Irish Playboy
BT 01/27/07 Ulster People Go For Bottle To Handle Stress
BT 01/27/07 Mary Black Headlines West Belfast Festival Bill
HC 01/27/07 St Brigid Feast Day Celebrated in Houston
CY 01/27/07 How Irish Invented Gambling Slang
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01/26/07 – Sinn Féin Looks Set To Back PSNI At Ardfheis
IT 01/27/07 Sinn Féin Looks Set To Back PSNI At Ardfheis
GU 01/27/07 Hain Hopeful As Political Endgame Draws Closed
BB 01/26/07 Team To Probe Collusion Killings
BB 01/26/07 Leading LVF Man Jailed For Murder
IT 01/27/06 Opin: Adams Prepared For Historic Ardfheis
IT 01/27/07 'Playboy Of The Western World' 100 Years On
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Brian Friel’s Play “Translations”
YN 01/26/07 Translations Receives Welcome Revival
NP 01/26/07 Words Fail When You're Remapping Ireland
NT 01/26/07 Eloquent Tongues But Anguished Irish Hearts
ND 01/26/07 Nothing Lost In 'Translations'
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IT 01/26/07 A Festival? Sure That's Mad Ted
IT 01/27/07 Viking Ship Found In Boyne To Be Excavated
IT 01/27/07 20,000 Cars To Bypass Ennis As New Road Opens
----
01/26/07 – Adams In 'Police Manners' Promise
BB 01/26/07 Adams In 'Police Manners' Promise
BT 01/25/07 I Would Applaud SF Support For Police: Widow
BT 01/26/07 Glossy Pamphlet Campaign Is Just Words Says DUP
BT 01/26/07 Ard Fheis Police Verdict Only A Start: DUP
BB 01/26/07 McGuinness Threat 'Quite Ironic'
BT 01/26/07 IMC To Issue New Report Next Week
AP 01/26/07 Ombudsman's: Collusion Went Right To The Top
BT 01/26/07 Haddock: Pressure Piles On Flanagan
BT 01/26/07 O’Loan: Ex-Branch Officers Did Refuse To Help
BT 01/26/07 Analysis: Place Of Secrets Leaking Like A Sieve
BT 01/26/07 Haddock's Drug Den & Link To A Gun Tragedy
IN 01/26/07 SF: Patterns Of Collusion Exist Outside Belfast
BT 01/26/07 Unionists Are 'In Denial' Over Report: McCord
IN 01/26/07 Tohill Issues Mercy Plea For Kidnappers
IN 01/26/07 Survivors: McDougall Plan A Sop To The DUP
IN 01/26/07 2 Guns Used By Loyalists In 14 Deaths
BB 01/26/07 Loyalist In Feud Murder Retrial
BT 01/26/07 Opin: Sinn Fein Stands Poised At Cross-Roads
IN 01/26/07 Opin:1st Step To Accountable Policing Is Support
IN 01/26/07 Opin: Stalling Of Report Blame For Bad Timing
AP 01/26/07 Seamus Harvey 30th Anniversary
BT 01/26/07 Latest House Price Hotspot: The Shankill Road
IN 01/26/07 Derry Implored To Change Name Despite Ruling
IN 01/26/07 Museum Of Free Derry Launched
----
01/25/07 – Dissidents Targeting McGuinness
BB 01/25/07 Dissidents 'Targeting McGuinness'
IE 01/25/07 Collusion Is Past; Cites Root & Branch Reform
EX 01/26/07 McCabe Widow Gives SF Benefit Of Doubt Policing
NW 01/26/07 MP: Investigate PSNI 'Harassment' In Castlederg
KN 01/25/07 What’s So Special About The Special Branch?
NL 01/25/07 Ex-Informer Defends RUC Against Critics
IT 01/26/07 Adams Offers To Meet Dissidents
IT 01/26/07 Palestinian Envoy Praises SF On Policing
UH 01/25/07 British Policing Is Not An Alternative - Mackey
BT 01/25/07 SF Rejects Plans To Compensate UDR Families
IT 01/25/07 Fall In Political Emblems On NI Streets
EX 01/25/07 Woman On Hunger Strike Over N Bank Claims
NL 01/25/07 Unionists Block Calls For Collusion Debate
IT 01/26/07 Opin: Adams And Symbolism Of Clonard
IT 01/25/07 McDowell Rules Out Joining Rainbow Coalition
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01/25/07 – Special Branch Facing Second Collusion Probe
BT 01/25/07 Special Branch Facing Second Collusion Probe
BT 01/25/07 Haddock Allowed To 'Poison Children'
BN 01/25/07 DUP Defends Police Who Hampered Collusion Inq
BT 01/25/07 Ombudsman Thanked Us Says Special Branch Chief
BT 01/25/07 SF: Unionist Stop Collusion Debate
BT 01/25/07 Tele To Publish SF Policing Pamphlet
BT 01/25/07 Duddy Confident Motion On PSNI Will Be Passed
BT 01/25/07 Support For Move On Policing Will Be Secured
BT 01/25/07 Justice Schemes 'Halted 500 Attacks'
BT 01/25/07 McDougall Call For £8m Fund & Forum For Victims
BT 01/25/07 Opin: O'Loan, What She Didn't Say
BT 01/25/07 Opin: Don’t Speak Of Media & Provos Collusion
RT 01/25/07 Court Rejects Change Of City Name To Derry
IT 01/25/07 Thousands In Dublin For Trad Festival
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01/24/07 – McGuinness - Collusion Went Right To The Top
SF 01/24/07 McGuinness - Collusion Went Right To The Top
IT 01/25/07 Blair Sidesteps Questions On Flanagan
RT 01/24/07 Blair Promises Action Over Collusion
BB 01/24/07 Assembly Row On Collusion Debate
SF 01/24/07 Unionists Running Scared Of Debate On Collusion
BB 01/24/07 Top Officers Are Named In Commons
UT 01/24/07 Raymond McCord Calls For Flanagan To Be Sacked
IT 01/24/07 Named Ex-Branch Officers Hit Out At O'Loan
BB 01/27/07 Police Debate Mirrors History
BB 01/24/07 Loyalist Accused Told To Leave NI
DK 01/24/07 Blog: Polish Policemen in PSNI
FH 01/24/07 Forgotten Founder Of Irish Free State Profiled
IN 01/24/07 Celtic Drama: Ballad Of An Irish Playboy
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01/23/07 – House Committee Approves Finucane Resolution
PR 01/23/07 House Committee Approves Finucane Resolution
IT 01/24/07 Ahern Welcomes Bush Immigration Comments
BB 01/24/07 O'Loan Briefs Board On Collusion
BT 01/24/07 RUC Brown Would Gladly Give Evidence To Inquiry
NL 01/24/07 Former SB Men Blast 'Rewriting Of History'
IN 01/24/07 Ombudsman Rejects Retired Officers’ Claims
IN 01/24/07 Appeal For More Probes Of Collusion
BN 01/24/07 Fullerton Family To Meet Police Ombudsman Staff
SF 01/23/07 Adams Speaks To Blair Over Collusion Report
BT 01/24/07 Bertie Promises To Seek Action On Collusion
BN 01/24/07 D Ahern To Discuss O’Loan Report With SDLP & SF
BT 01/24/07 SF Seeks Stormont Debate On Collusion Report
SF 01/23/07 O'Loan Report Could Never Happen In Republic
IN 01/24/07 Statement Issued By Sir Ronnie Flanagan
IN 01/24/07 Denial An Insult Says Brother Of UVF Victim
IN 01/24/07 Flanagan’s RUC Pension: £431k Plus £86k A Year
IN 01/24/07 Officers Guard Haddock In Hospital
BB 01/23/07 McCord To Stand In NI Election
BT 01/24/07 Informer Saved My Life Says McCord
IT 01/24/07 Adams Denies Outside 'Pressure' On PSNI Policy
BB 01/24/07 Derry Meeting Held On SF Policing Move
BN 01/23/07 SF Youth Wing Will Not Back Policing Motion
BB 01/24/07 Extra Voters 'Good For Democracy'
SF 01/24/07 Improved Electoral Rgstr Doesn’t Hide Problems
IT 01/24/07 Executive Role Crucial To Cross-Border Plans
SF 01/23/07 McLaughlin - National Development Plan
BN 01/24/07 DUP Welcomes NDP Spending In Northern Counties
BT 01/24/07 Bertie Can Stick His Handout - Bloggers
BT 01/24/07 Politicians Apart Over 11-Plus Replacement
BT 01/24/07 Walsh Wins Right To Appeal ‘91 Conviction
IN 01/24/07 PUP Leader Purvis To Stay On Police Board
BT 01/24/07 Opin: UVF Murders: Police Must Reveal All
IN 01/24/07 Opin: British Remain Silent Despite Revelations
IT 01/24/07 Medjugorje Pilgrim Laid To Rest
IT 01/24/07 Chapter One Awarded Michelin Star
IT 01/24/07 O'Toole Gets 8th Oscar Nom For Best Actor
IT 01/24/07 Paisley Praises For Island Jesuit Priest
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01/23/07 – Special Branch Cave Still Hides Many Secrets
BT 01/23/07 Special Branch Cave Still Hides Many Secrets
BN 01/23/07 SF: Ahern Take EU Court Action Against Britain
BT 01/23/07 Sinn Fein Winning The Battle On Policing
BT 01/23/07 Policing: SF Woos Roots; DUP Dissent Grows
BB 01/23/07 Ex-RUC Chief Urged To Quit Body
BT 01/23/07 Defiant Flanagan Comes Out Fighting
BT 01/23/07 Officers Criticised For Not Co-Operating
BT 01/23/07 Sir Hugh Receives Vote Of Confidence
BT 01/23/07 Board To Hold Special Meeting Over Report
DR 01/23/07 Timeline: Exposed Conspiracy With Killers
BT 01/23/07 McKenna- Murdered While Police Turned Blind Eye
BT 01/23/07 We'll Fight On, Vow Victims' Relatives
BT 01/23/07 My Fears For McCord's Life
BB 01/23/07 UVF Victim's Family Want Justice
BT 01/23/07 Doubts About Intelligence Safeguards In UK
BB 01/22/07 Reaction To Ombudsman's Report
BN 01/23/07 IRA Chef Charges Had €94,000 In Daz Box
BB 01/23/07 Republic Unveils Cash Plan For NI
BT 01/23/07 EU Slams Irish Part In CIA Torture Flights
BT 01/23/07 Republic 'Failed To Protect Wildlife'
BT 01/23/07 Opin: PSNI Must Show Lessons Have Been Learnt
IT 01/23/07 Opin: Policing The North's Police
GU 01/23/07 Opin: Máirtín Ó Muilleoir - A Silenced Alarm
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01/22/07 – Collusion: Catologue of Murders
IT 01/22/07 Catalogue Of Murders
BN 01/22/07 Hain Rules Out Public Enquiry Into Collusion
BN 01/22/07 Greens Calls For Independent Collusion Inquiry
SF 01/22/07 Adams Raises Collusion Report With British
SF 01/22/07 Dáil Parties Should Act On O'Loan Report
BN 01/22/07 SDLP Calls For Resignation Of Inspectorate
RT 01/22/07 Survey On US Attitudes To Irish Business Costs
----
01/22/07 – Police Destroyed Evidence to Avoid Prosecution
----
01/22/07 – Profound Regret From Blair After Collusion Report
----
01/22/07 - RUC & PSNI Colluded with Loyalist Murders
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01/22/07 – Police Ombudsman: Public Statement – Operation Ballast
----
01/21/07 Haddock Is The Tip Of The Iceberg
SL 01/21/07 Haddock Is The Tip Of The Iceberg
SL 01/21/07 Attorney-General's Mystery Files
SF 01/21/07 Adams Commemoration In Crossmaglen
BN 01/21/07 Hold Your Nerve, Hain Tells Sinn Féin
SF 01/21/07 McGuinness Encourages Participation
BN 01/21/07 McGuinness: We Need Plan B
SF 01/21/07 Durkan Attempting To Re-Write History
SL 01/21/07 IRSP Drops Support
SL 01/21/07 Time Is Right For Policing Decision
SL 01/21/07 Paisley's Church Faces Real Crisis, Says Foster
SL 01/21/07 Evil Klan Hoods In Ulster Net Hate Campaign
BN 01/21/07 Islands in Father Ted Festival Row
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01/20/07 – RUC Was Running UVF Gang
SB 01/21/07 RUC Was Running UVF Gang
IN 01/20/07 Collusion Charges May Never Happen
BB 01/20/07 Report To Confirm Collusion: SDLP
SB 01/20/07 RUC Collusion Officers Still In Police Force
BT 01/20/07 McCord Fears Over O'Loan Report
GU 01/20/07 'I Will Pursue My Son's Murderers'
IN 01/20/07 Fr Reid Confident SF Can Deliver On Policing
SF 01/20/07 Adams Seeks Community Backing For Policing
IT 01/20/07 Prominent US Neo-Con To Become Envoy To NI
BB 01/20/07 Bloody Sunday Remembered At March
IN 01/20/07 Bloody Sunday Families Call For Support
IN 01/20/07 Appointment On Parades Commission
IN 01/20/07 IRL: Spend E1 Bil On Cross-Border Initiatives
BT 01/20/07 Opin: A Good Deal Will All Depend On Timing
RT 01/20/07 Mamas And The Papas Singer Dies Aged 66
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01/19/07 – Paula Dobriansky Replaces Mitchell Reiss
IT 01/20/07 US Envoy To NI To Step Down
WP 01/20/07 Wikipedia: Paula Dobriansky
SD 08/08/05 Bio: Paula J. Dobriansky
SD 02/28/05 Dobriansky On 2004 Report On Human Rights
IT 01/19/07 O'Loan Uncovers RUC Collusion With Killers
SF 01/19/07 Sinn Féin Will Continue To Challenge IMC
BB 01/19/07 Call For All-Ireland Soccer Team
RT 01/19/07 Blair Aide Arrested In Cash-For-Honours Probe
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01/19/07 – Can Of Worms Opens On Informers & Handlers
BT 01/19/07 Can Of Worms Opens On Informers And Handlers
BT 01/19/07 Killer Tout's Blood Money
BT 01/19/07 Sectarian Killing Began Evil Chain Of Death
BT 01/19/07 Grim Future Lies In Store For Haddock
NL 01/19/07 Adams: I'll Work With The DUP
NL 01/19/07 DUP Denies Go-Between
DJ 01/19/07 A Big Ask, But It's The Only Way - Fr. Canny
DJ 01/19/07 Cool Response To Adams' Offer - INLA Source
BT 01/19/07 Deadline For Stormont Is Final: Hain
UT 01/19/07 Sinn Fein Lose Funding Court Battle
AP 01/19/07 POWs: Irish Government Reneged On Commitments
VI 01/18/07 Bertie Reneged On Promise To Release Killers
UT 01/19/07 Michael Stone Back In Court For Murder Charges
RD 01/19/07 Public Visit Adams To East Belfast Significant
BT 01/19/07 Fury Greets Plan To Cut PSNI Numbers To 6,000
BT 01/19/07 Opin: It's A Bad Time To Gamble On Policing
BT 01/18/07 Opin: A Good Deal Will All Depend On Timing
NL 01/19/07 Opin: Yet Another BS Play Takes To The Boards
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01/18/07 – Republican SF Dismisses PSNI Talks With Adams
IT 01/19/07 Republican SF Dismisses PSNI Talks With Adams
BT 01/18/07 Return To Violence Not Ruled Out
BB 01/18/07 Armed Factions Need Time: Adams
UH 01/18/07 Adams Challenges Behaviour Of Castlederg PSNIf1
BN 01/18/07 HR Commissioners Call For Omagh Review
SF 01/18/07 Martina Anderson To Address Bloody Sunday March
IT 01/19/07 €18m Of Assets Held In Manchester Operation
NL 01/18/07 Ervine's Wife Lauds 'Brave' Gerry Adams
IT 01/19/07 Colombia Lifts Visa Rule For Irish Visitors
IT 01/19/07 Opin: SF Seeks To Curtail NI Policing
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01/18/07 – Adams: Goal Of United Irish, But Means Changed
IN 01/18/07 Adams: Goal Of United Irish, But Means Changed
BB 01/18/07 Adams Offers To Meet Dissidents
BT 01/18/07 Poll: St Andrews Has Support, But Slim Chances
BB 01/18/07 Crown Appeals Loyalist Acquittal
IN 01/18/07 PSNI Appeal Over 1993 Murder Of Woman ‘Spin’
BN 01/18/07 Ombudsman 'In Witch-Hunt Against RUC Officers'
IN 01/18/07 Paisley Should Apologise For UVF Murders
BB 01/18/07 PSNI: Police Cuts Plan 'Ill-Conceived'
BN 01/18/07 Assets Agency Freezes £12m Of 'IRA Property'
IN 01/18/07 Opin: Another Special Moment On Road To Peace
IN 01/18/07 Opin: Mystery Surrounds Shinners Resignations
RT 01/18/07 Cost Of Living Highest In Four Years
IN 01/18/07 MRSA Drug Welcomed By Belfast Hospital
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01/17/07 - Collusion Report To Name RUC Officers
IT 01/17/07 Collusion Report To Name RUC Officers
IT 01/18/07 Orde Warns About Scrutiny Of PSNI
BN 01/17/07 Patten Commission Urges SF To Accept Policing
BB 01/17/07 From Armalites To Assets
BN 01/17/07 Families Of Shot IRA Men In Lords Challenge
RT 01/17/07 O'Dea Promises 1916 Military Ceremony
IT 01/18/07 Primate Says End Royal Ban Against Catholics
IT 01/18/07 Opin: Devolution Now No Longer If, But When
BT 01/18/07 Opin: Why We Need To Spy On The Spies
IT 01/18/07 Opin: Prices Rising Faster Than Average Incomes
BN 01/17/07 Irish-Language Newspaper Launched
IT 01/18/07 Famous First Words: Gaeilge Makes Its EU Debut
RT 01/17/07 Death Of Seán Mac Réamoinn At 85
IT 01/18/07 Irish Battlefields To Be Better Protected
IT 01/18/07 Historic Irish Battle Sites
PR 01/18/07 Irish-American Heritage Month (March) Facts
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01/17/07 – Report On RUC/UVF Collusion In Killings
IN 01/17/07 Report On RUC/UVF Collusion In Killings
IN 01/17/07 Confessed Agent Stayed Free To Take More Lives
BT 01/17/07 UVF Collusion Report Must Lead To Inquiry
KA 01/17/07 Kilkenny SF To Host 'Expose Collusion' Event
BT 01/17/07 PSNI Should Be Slashed By 1,500: Report
IN 01/17/07 Trio Killed By Loyalists ‘Innocent’
BB 01/17/07 Threats Will Not 'Unnerve' SF
EE 01/17/07 2nd SF MLA Quits In Protest At Policing Moves
BB 01/17/07 Direct Rule Is 'Harming Society'
BB 01/17/07 Judge To Consider Omagh Verdict
IN 01/17/07 Omagh Accused’s Lawyer Says ‘DNA Was Planted’
BT 01/17/07 Ervine Widow Thanks Adams For Support
IN 01/17/07 Opin: Flat-Earthers Get A Grip On Reality
BB 01/17/07 New Troubles Archive Is Launched
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01/16/07 – Sinn Féin Members Receive Bullets Threat
BN 01/16/07 Sinn Féin Members Receive Bullets Threat
SF 01/16/07 SF Announce Public Meetings On Policing
BT 01/16/07 Ahern: DUP Is 'Signed Up' For New Police
BB 01/16/07 Ombudsman Probes Adams Shooting
IT 01/16/07 Closing Statements In Omagh Case
BW 01/16/07 Bloody Comedy: Lt of Inishmore
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01/16/07 – Holy Cross Girls School May Close
IN 01/16/07 Holy Cross Girls School May Close
BB 01/15/07 No Move On NI Deadline, Says Hain
RT 01/16/07 NI Deadline Depends On St Andrews Deal: Blair
IN 01/16/07 McGuinness Admits Playing For Big Stakes
DT 01/16/07 Adams In Derry Next Week & Bullets in Post
UT 01/16/07 McGlinchey Slams SF Policing Move
IN 01/16/07 SF Dougan Follows Through On Resignation Threat
IN 01/16/07 DUP Berry To Defend His Seat As Independent
IN 01/16/07 SDLP Row Erupts Over Deselection
BT 01/16/07 Sinister Twist To Dissident Threats
IN 01/16/07 Traffic Wardens Out Of Falls Road After Threats
BT 01/16/07 Opin: A Working Class Hero Is Something To Be
IN 01/16/07 Tributes Paid To Frmr General Secretary Of SDLP
RT 01/16/07 34,000 Civilian Deaths In Iraq In 2006 - UN
IT 01/16/07 Affordable Scheme To Offer Killiney Apartments
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01/15/07 – Paisley Praises SF Policing Move
BB 01/15/07 Paisley Praises SF Policing Move
IT 01/16/07 Blair Believes Paisley Remarks Are Significant
IT 01/16/07 SF Position 'Should Satisfy' DUP
BN 01/15/07 SF Policing Motion Criticised By Unionists
BB 01/15/07 FBI Spy David Rupert Testifies At Omagh Trial
ST 01/15/07 Irish Politics: The Gap Closes
GU 01/15/07 Opin: A Faustian Dilemma
BN 01/15/07 Taoiseach Bemoans Catastrophic Failures In Iraq
BB 01/15/07 Heaney Wins TS Eliot Poetry Prize
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01/15/07 – Adams Out To Win Over SF Supporters On Policing
IT 01/15/07 Adams Out To Win Over SF Supporters On Policing
IT 01/15/07 SF Supporters Accept Change Inevitable
IT 01/15/07 SF May Face Dissident Candidates
IN 01/15/07 Mother Of Hunger Striker Stands For Election
IN 01/15/07 Supporting PSNI ‘Disturb’ Family Of IRA Man
BT 01/15/07 Stakes High: Gamble SF Will Back Policing Move
IT 01/15/07 DUP Criticises SF Policing Motion
BT 01/12/07 Sinn Fein President On Loyalist Road
BB 01/15/07 Attacks Force SDLP Ex-Mayor To Leave Derry Home
BB 01/15/07 Deal Reached On UDA Man's Assets
BB 01/15/07 Victims' Appointment Not Quashed
BB 01/15/04 QC Findlay Guilty Of Sectarian Misconduct
IT 01/15/07 Opin: Adams Needs To Win Convincingly
BT 01/15/07 Opin: Parties Must Step Up To Their Marks
IT 01/15/07 Reynolds' Secret Meeting With Ervine & Spence
IT 01/15/07 High-Speed Trains Link Cork And Dublin
IT 01/15/07 Promotion Flights Between US And Knock
IT 01/15/07 Fáilte Ireland Staff Picket Offices
IT 01/15/07 Kerry Salmon Rivers Closed To Anglers
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01/14/07 – RUC: Leave Us Alone
SL 01/14/07 RUC: Leave Us Alone
SF 01/14/07 Motion For Extraordinary Ard Fheis
RT 01/14/07 SF Publishes Details Of Ard Fheis Motion
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01/14/07 – Charges Loom After Report On RUC Collusion
ST 01/14/07 Charges Loom After Report On RUC Collusion
SF 01/13/07 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis To Go Ahead On January 28th
UT 01/13/07 Text of Gerry Adams' Speech On Policing
IT 01/14/07 SF To Consult Grassroots Over Ardfheis
ST 01/14/07 UVF States Plan To Lay Down Arms
SL 01/14/07 PUP Party Members' Invite To McCord Report
BB 01/14/07 Premiers Welcome Sinn Fein Move
BN 01/14/07 SF Move Puts Pressure On Unionists
BT 01/14/07 Hain Has Delivered Nothing: DUP Chairman
ST 01/14/07 Opin: Ahern Chats Up SF, But Hearta On Dif Dalliance
SB 01/14/07 The Death Knell For Rural Life?
ST 01/14/07 Ireland: The Unusual Suspect
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01/13/07 – Adams Reaffirms Commitment To Policing Policy
RT 01/12/07 Adams Reaffirms Commitment To Policing Policy
BN 01/13/07 Unionists 'Will Not Throw SF A Lifeline'
IT 01/13/07 SF Failure To Back PSNI Will Increase Doubts
BT 01/13/07 Old Enemies United In Grief At Ervine Loss
BT 01/13/07 Opin: Ervine -A Sense Of Loss For So Many Of Us
IN 01/13/07 Opin: Orde Admission Vital To Families
IN 01/13/07 Death Of Popular Passionist Priest
BN 01/13/07 Plaque Unveiled To 'Forgotten Woman' Of 1916
IT 01/13/07 Pubs And Rural Life
NJ 01/13/07 Band To Play Up A Gaelic Storm
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01/12/07 – SF: DUP Had Agreed Policing Timeframe
BB 01/12/07 DUP 'Agreed Policing Timeframe'
IN 01/12/07 DUP ‘Will Move If SF Signs Ups’ But When?
UT 01/12/07 Orde Concern Over Inquiry Costs
RT 01/12/07 Orde Makes Some Significant Statement
BN 01/12/07 SF Welcomes Adm About Use Of Plastic Bullets
BN 01/12/07 Sinn Féin Leader Attends Ervine's Funeral
BT 01/12/07 A Deal Is What David Would Have Wanted
BT 01/12/07 Gusty Spence Remembers His Protegé
IN 01/12/07 Opin: Policing Offers Little To Most People
IN 01/12/07 Opin: DUP’s Ambiguity Has Limited Lifespan
BT 01/12/07 Opin: Why Pessimistic About Success Of Devo
IN 01/12/07 Ltr: Sinn Fein Must Beware Any DUP Double-Cross
BB 01/12/07 No English? No Irish More Like
IN 01/12/07 Family: Publisher Was Not In Gestapo
PL 01/12/07 Obit: Edward V. Kelly Jr.
----
01/11/07 – Orde Hopes To End Baton Gun Use
BB 01/11/07 Orde Hopes To End Baton Gun Use
BB 01/11/07 Sinn Fein Wrong On Agreement: DUP
BT 01/11/07 Foster Attacks Paisley Again Over Agreement
BN 01/11/07 'Bik' McFarlane In Trial Prevention Bid
RT 01/11/07 Dublin Man Charged With IRA Membership
NW 01/11/07 Strabane Man To Stand On Anti-Policing Ticket
IT 01/11/07 Storm Causes Power Outages, Disrupts Travel
----
01/11/07 – Ahern Urges SF To Hold Ardfheis
IT 01/11/07 Ahern Urges SF To Hold Ardfheis
IN 01/11/07 2007 -Defining Time In Future Of North
IN 01/11/07 Ahern Announces Investments For N/S Projects
IN 01/11/07 O’Loan Investigates Omagh Trial Witnesses
BB 01/11/07 Cocaine On '100% Of Irish Euros'
IT 01/11/07 Flight Of Earls Website To Go Live
----
01/10/07 – SF Secured Reversal of Integrated PSNI & MI5
SF 01/10/07 SF Secure Reversal Of Integrate PSNI & MI5
BN 01/10/07 SF And SDLP Clash Over MI5 Policing Role
BT 01/10/07 SF Hails MI5 Pledge As Major Victory For Republicans
BN 01/10/07 Legal Battle May Close Bewley's Café
IT 01/11/07 Four Of Missing Men Live In Dunmore East Area
----
01/10/07 – Blair Sets Out MI5's Future Role
BB 01/10/07 Blair Sets Out MI5's Future Role
SF 01/09/07 SF To Meet Amid Concerns At DUP Position
BN 01/10/07 Ahern Seeks DUP Clarification On Power-Sharing
BT 01/10/07 McGuigan Daughters Released From Hospital
BT 01/10/07 Opin: SF Likely To Proceed With Conference
BT 01/10/07 Opin: Blair Scare For Gerry?
BT 01/10/07 Opin: A Wind Of Change That's Long Overdue
WP 01/10/07 Castlebar Bridge To Be Named After Patriot
IT 01/09/07 Laws Dating Back To 1066 To Be Repealed
IV 01/10/07 AOH Fund Raiser For ILIR
BG 01/10/07 S. Boston's James Kelly Dies At 66
----
01/09/07 – McGuigan Daughters 'Miracle' Recovery
BB 01/09/07 McGuigan Daughters 'Miracle' Recovery
BN 01/09/07 Hain Warns Of Policing 'Outsider'
BB 01/09/07 Blair 'To Reassure Over MI5 Role'
SF 01/09/07 SF Look Forward To Brits Statement On MI5
BN 01/09/07 SF To Reassess Moves To Endorse Policing
BN 01/09/07 DUP: Devolution Should Go Ahead Without SF
BT 01/09/07 Ervine: His Final Wish
BT 01/09/07 Opin: Soft Words & Optimism Are Not Enough
TE 01/09/07 Ireland 'Welcomed Hitler's Henchmen'
BN 01/09/07 Exhibition Highlights Irish Life In 1950s
BT 01/09/07 Cillian Murphy Nominated For Rising Star Award
----
01/08/07 – Blair: SF Has Right To Speedy Policing Transfer
BN 01/08/07 Blair: SF Has Right To Speedy Policing Transfer
IT 01/08/07 Text Of Blair’s Article In Irish Times
IT 01/08/07 Gerry Adams Urges Resolution Of Difficulties
IT 01/09/07 Paisley Comment Puts SF Ardfheis In Doubt
BT 01/07/07 McGuinness Calls For Positive Signal By Paisley
BT 01/08/07 Devil Still In The Detail Of The Peace Process
SF 01/08/07 Loughinisland: Why MI5 Must Mot Be In Policing
BB 01/08/07 Ahern Accused Of Sinn Fein U-Turn
IT 01/09/07 Ahern Rules Out Government Dependent On SF
TO 01/08/07 Obit: David Ervine
BB 01/08/07 PUP's Ervine Has Died In Hospital
IN 01/08/07 Fr. Mc Manus On Death Of David Irvine
BN 01/08/07 Colleagues And Opponents Alike Praise Ervine
BB 01/08/07 Loyalist Ihab Shoukri Denited Bail
IT 01/09/07 Opin: Ervine's Death Leaves Void In Loyalism
BB 01/08/07 £1bn Titanic Area Plan Submitted
IT 01/09/07 Fitting In With Our Friends In The North
IT 01/09/07 Clare Council Gets Cliffs Of Moher Trading Ban
----
01/08/07 – Paisley Denies Blair's DUP Claim
BB 01/08/07 Paisley Denies Blair's DUP Claim
BB 01/08/07 PUP Leader Remains Critically Ill
----
01/07/07 – McGuigan Daughters Out Of Danger
BT 01/07/07 McGuigan Daughters Out Of Danger
BB 01/07/07 Power-Sharing In 2007 – Donaldson
SL 01/07/07 Paisley Says No To Helping Shinners
BT 01/07/07 McGuinness To Give Speech At Commemoration
SB 01/07/07 Crunch Time For Peace Process
SL 01/07/07 IMC Report Set To Focus On Policing Issue
GU 01/07/07 Gunrunner In Poll Threat To Sinn Fein
SL 01/07/07 Lindsay Robb: Dead Man Talking
SL 01/07/07 Loyalists: 'We Won't Be Policing Flashpoints'
SL 01/01/07 An Evans-Sent Witness For Kevin Fulton Case
SL 01/01/07 DNA To Unmask Evil UDA Murderers
ST 01/07/04 Monument For Controversial IRA Chief Russell
SL 01/07/07 Opin: Republicans- Actions Louder Than Words
SL 01/07/07 Opin: Time For Leaders To Do Precisely That
GU 01/07/07 Opin: One Man's Irish Dream Could Be Shattered
BN 01/07/07 Number Of Homeless Irish In London Drops
IT 01/01/07 Pilot Scheme For New Dublin Toilets
RT 01/01/07 260 Boston-Bound Stranded In Shannon
II 01/07/07 Who’s Who: Bertie Snubs Miriam
----
01/06/07 – Sinn Fein Want Paisley 'Clarity'
BB 01/05/07 Sinn Fein Want Paisley 'Clarity'
IT 01/05/07 No More To Say On Policing Impasse - DUP
RT 01/06/07 Donaldson: Powersharing To Be Achieved
BN 01/06/07 SF Need To Deliver On Policing - DUP
SF 01/05/07 SDLP Seek To Dismiss Nationalist Concerns
IN 01/06/07 Neglect Amounts To Collusion: Solicitor
IN 01/06/07 Ombudsman: PSNI Renew Your Hunt For Murder Gang
IN 01/06/07 O’Loan Team Due To Meet Murdered Man’s Family
IT 01/06/07 Son Calls For Inquiry Into Fallon Murder
SF 01/05/07 SF Accompany Loughinisland Families To Meeting
IN 01/06/07 Case To Proceed Against Teacher
IN 01/06/07 Series Documents Estate Agent’s Fall
IN 01/06/07 Opin: DUP’s Is Fossilised In 17th Century
IN 01/06/07 Opin: SF Choreographing Steps Into Society
IT 01/06/07 Opin: SF Policing Stance Parallels FF’s
IN 01/06/07 Opin: O’Halloran Case Must Be Reopened
----
01/05/07 – Hain Optimistic Over NI Impasse
BB 01/05/07 Hain Optimistic Over NI Impasse
BN 01/05/07 Adams Urges Republicans Not To Lose Nerve
BT 01/05/07 Sinn Fein Plans Crucial Meeting Over Policing
DJ 01/05/07 If Paisley Agrees with Blair-That's Progress
BT 01/05/07 Paisley, Adams Face Test Of Nerve On Policing
BT 01/05/07 Assembly Meets Hain Over Minister Controversy
NW 01/05/07 Mc Guinness Is The Man In The Middle
BT 01/05/07 The Unthinkable Is Now Within Reach For Us All
BT 01/05/07 Did Blair's Move Halt Devolution Meltdown?
GU 01/05/07 Power-Share For Ulster Hit By New Crisis
IT 01/05/07 McCabe Backs Fallon Death Inquiry
BB 01/05/07 Political Snub At Ambush Memorial
BT 01/05/07 MPs' Double Trouble
BT 01/05/07 Opin: Honesty And Transparency Required
----
01/04/07 – Blair: Enough Agreement For Elections In North
BN 01/04/07 Blair: Enough Agreement For Elections In North
BB 01/04/07 Positive Replies To Blair Views
SF 01/04/07 Adams: We Await DUP Response To Tony Blair
IT 01/05/06 Dr Ian Paisley's Response
IT 01/05/06 NI Office Response
SF 01/04/07 Police Proposals In Line With SF Positions
IT 01/04/07 Adams Now Faces Crucial Call On Ardfheis
UT 01/04/04 Dougan Threatens To Leave Over Policing Wrangle
RT 01/04/07 DUP Seeks 'Upfront Delivery' From Sinn Féin
UT 01/04/07 McCord In Victim's Commissioner Bid
BB 01/04/07 Church To Appeal On Disappeared
IT 01/05/07 Opin: SF Facing Pressure On Policing
IT 01/05/07 Runway Sealed Off By Unexpected Marine Visitor
IT 01/04/07 Belfast One Of Healthiest UK Cities
HO 01/04/05 The Chieftains & The Houston Symphony
----
01/04/07 – Blair Warns NI Parties Must Act
BB 01/04/07 Blair Warns NI Parties Must Act
UK 01/04/07 Text Of Blair’s Statement On N Ireland
BB 01/04/07 Dropped SF MLA 'Sour Grapes' Claim
BT 01/04/07 Hain Ignores Call Re: Restructuring Of Councils
BB 01/04/07 Delight As Bank Charges Dropped
BT 01/04/07 Nazi Background Of Irish Publisher Exposed
BN 01/04/07 Numbers Training To Become Priests Up 7 In 2006
BT 01/04/07 Connemara Man Swept To Death Off West Coast
II 01/04/07 Saw Doctors Top Bill At US Political Ball
----
01/03/07 – SF In Intense Talks On Policing
BB 01/03/07 Intense Talks On Policing Held
IT 01/04/07 Blair Cuts Short Holiday To Deal With North
BN 01/03/07 Govts Urged To Stress Power-Sharing Deadline
BN 01/03/07 Hyland Quits Sinn Féin
BT 01/03/07 Assembly Will See 10 New Members After Election
BT 01/03/07 SF Bid To Silence Policing Rebels
BN 01/03/07 Police Blamed As Bank-Heist Charges Dropped
BN 01/03/07 Adams Challenged Over Disappeared Info Plea
IE 01/03/07 Immigration Reform Rising
IM 01/03/07 Bloody Sunday 35th Anniversary
AZ 01/03/07 Opin: Irish Catholic Model Being 'Hispanicized'
BN 01/03/07 Property Market Keeps Celtic Tiger Roaring
BT 01/03/07 Irish Becomes The 23rd Official Language Of EU
RT 01/03/07 Michael Yeats, Son of WB Yeats, Dies, Aged 86
IT 01/04/07 Sea Eagles Return In 5-Year Killarney Project
----
01/03/07 – Northern Justice Minister Row Escalates
BN 01/02/07 Northern Justice Minister Row Escalates
BT 01/02/07 All Change As SF Loses A Fifth Of Sitting MLAs
SW 01/03/07 Sinn Fein Makes Peace With Police
BB 01/03/07 NI Bank Robbery Charges Dropped
BB 01/03/07 Adams Appeal Over The Disappeared
WP 01/03/07 Ring Keeps Pressure On For Illegal Irish In US
LA 01/03/07 Opin: Sinn Fein And The Cops
BN 01/02/07 More People Moving To North Than Leaving
BN 01/02/07 Glendalough Park To Be Extended
----
01/02/07 – Adams: Support Police For A United Ireland
TH 01/02/07 Adams: Support Police For A United Ireland
BB 01/02/07 Paisley: Sinn Fein 'Must Act On Policing'
BN 01/02/07 DUP: 'On-The-Runs' A Potential Deal-Breaker
IM 01/02/07 Conway Mill Videos
OS 01/02/07 Blog: Women In Struggle Interview: Grace Lynch
BN 01/02/07 55 Million New Year Text Messages Sent
HC 01/02/07 Euro Opens 2007 Strong Against Dollar
BT 01/02/07 108th Birthday For Woman Who Saw The Titanic
----
01/01/07 – Adams – SF Wants To Achieve Maximum Change
SF 01/01/04 Adams – SF Wants To Achieve Maximum Change
BT 01/01/07 New Warnings From DUP Over Devolution
BB 01/01/07 Deadlines, Deadlock And New Dawns?
UT 01/01/07 UUP's Jim Wilson Steps Down
BT 01/01/07 Sinn Fein Assembly Member To Step Down
BN 12/31/06 Sister Makes Plea For Margaret Hassan's Body
BG 12/31/06 Bostonians Of The Year: Peter Meade
----
01/01/07 – Adams Urges Supporters To Take Long-Term View
BN 01/01/07 Adams Urges Supporters To Take Long-Term View
IN 01/01/07 Crowd Beat Up Mum At Shops
IN 01/10/07 NIPS Criticised For Shredding Prison Files
BN 01/01/07 Taoiseach Welcomes EU Recognition Of Irish Language
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: MP’s UVF Training Allegations Probed
IM 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: Marchers Blamed For Civil Rights Fire
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: Student March A Sell-Out Of Ulster
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: Unionist Hostility To Easter Celebrations
IN 01/01/07 30 Yrs Ago: RUC Warning About Disputed Orange Parades
BB 01/01/07 Opin: Seismic Shift Or Cause For Dissention?
BT 01/01/07 Opin: Political Stability Is Within Our Grasp
IN 01/01/07 IRA Deaths That Caught Whole Country’s Imagination
----
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Adams To Challenge Blair on Collusion
News About Ireland & The Irish
SF 01/31/07 Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
BB 01/31/07 Adams Backs PSNI McCartney Probe
SF 01/31/07 Call for DUP To Respond To SF Initiative
IT 01/31/07 Rea To Be Questioned On Orde Dossier
IT 01/31/07 Chief Constable In Appointment Row
BB 01/31/07 DUP Anger At SDLP Police Claim
BN 01/31/07 McGeough: SF Forced Into U-Turn
IT 01/31/07 SDLP Launches All-Island Economy Plan
IE 01/31/07 House Calls For Finucane Probe
RT 01/31/07 Order Stops Casual Trading At Cliffs Of Moher
*************************
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/17632
Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
Published: 31 January, 2007
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams will lead a party
delegation tomorrow to hold a meeting with the British
Prime Minister Tony Blair on the issue of Collusion.
Mr. Adams said:
"The O Loan report is the tip of the iceberg. Collusion was
an integral part of British policy. It existed under the
Tories and Labour in the 1970s but became a more focussed
weapon of state terror under the Thatcher government.
"Not only did MI5, the Force Research Unit, Special branch
and other state agencies run informers and agents but they
trained, equipped and supplied specific information on
potential targets. The Glenanne gang which carried out the
Dublin Monaghan bombings is one example, but perhaps the
example which best exposes the extent of institutionalised
collusion was the murder of human rights lawyer Pat
Finucane.
"The British government and its agencies also encouraged
and facilitated informal acts of collusion which were
always part and parcel of the relationship between the RUC
and UDR and unionist paramilitaries.
"It isn't good enough for Hugh Orde to express support for
the O'Loan report and then criticise Sinn Fein for
condemning those who carried out these actions, and others,
some still within his organisation who covered them up.
"Neither is it enough for this British government to
express concern and do nothing to right this wrong. British
government ministers who sanctioned collusion must face the
consequences of their actions.
"We intend telling Mr. Blair tomorrow that British
government figures, including successive Prime Ministers
who sat around the British Cabinet table, and who
sanctioned collusion, and received reports on its
implementation, must be held accountable. 10 years ago when
we first met Mr. Blair in Downing Street we gave him a file
on Collusion and specifically the case of Pat Finucane.
Years later he told me that since his time in Downing
Street he had not authorised any such activities in
Ireland. Then who did authorise the killing and the cover-
ups, which have occurred while he has been British prime
Minister? Who authorised the running of the drug pushers,
or the payments of these killers?
"Who authorised their non-prosecution by the DPP? Who
within the British establishment thinks they are more
powerful than the British Prime Minister? Moreover, four
years ago the Stevens Inquiry sent files on 25 individuals
to the DPP with a view to charging them. Four years later
nothing has happened. This is the same DPP office that made
a sordid little side deal with Brian Nelson, the
UDA/British agent who helped kill Pat Finucane and many
others. What does Mr. Blair intend doing about the DPP?
"These are questions which demand answers. Mr. Blair must
be prepared to open up this can of worms to public
scrutiny. And as a first step he should accede to the
Finucane family's request for a proper public,
international based, enquiry.
"But Mr. Blair also has to acknowledge the great hurt
successive British governments have inflicted on almost a
thousand citizens who were killed, and their families who
have suffered directly, and all the thousands of others who
had their rights undermined and subverted by a policy,
which encouraged paramilitarism and violence and which in
turn corrupted Protestant working class communities.
"The reality is that Collusion is a symptom of a bigger
problem; British rule in Ireland. The RUC Special Branch,
British intelligence and their agents were doing exactly
what they were paid to do. It was a political policy
decided in Downing Street by the British government and
implemented by the Special Branch, FRU and others.
"Collusion and State terrorism was used by the British
government to uphold the Union; to defend and assert
British government involvement in Irish affairs. The
history of that involvement is littered with examples like
this. Sinn Féin remains resolute in our determination to
end that involvement." ENDS
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6317565.stm
Adams Backs PSNI McCartney Probe
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has said anyone with
information about the murder of Belfast man Robert
McCartney should go to the police.
Mr McCartney, 33, was beaten and stabbed to death outside a
bar near Belfast city centre on 30 January 2005.
Mr Adams made the appeal after being challenged by the DUP
and Irish justice minister Michael McDowell.
Mr McCartney's murder - allegedly by IRA members - placed
huge pressure on Sinn Fein at the time.
The issue has resurfaced after the party voted to back the
PSNI in a special meeting at the weekend, held just days
before the second anniversary of the killing.
In 2005, Sinn Fein refused to explicitly tell people to
contact the PSNI, but Mr Adams now says: "Anybody who has
any information about the McCartney killing should give it
to police."
He added: "Michael McDowell should not be setting tests for
anyone - this is the minister who refuses to put into place
in the other jurisdiction on this island, the type of
accountability and mechanisms that are in place in this
one.
"Mr McDowell, like Ian Paisley, is in no position to
lecture or to give tests or to in any way put preconditions
upon Sinn Fein."
Fresh appeal
As police were issuing a new appeal for information on
Tuesday, the second anniversary of the killing, Mr
McCartney's sister Catherine said his death should be a
"litmus test" of Sinn Fein's support for policing.
"Sinn Fein members (in the bar) refused to speak to police.
They had a nonsense of talking to third parties like
priests, but that was fruitless. Police are trained to take
statements, not priests.
Mr McCartney, a father-of-two, died the day after he and
his friend Brendan Devine were attacked - allegedly by IRA
members - inside Magennis' Bar in May Street and then in
Cromac Square.
One man has been charged with his murder, and another with
the attempted murder of Mr Devine.
Sinn Fein said it had suspended a number of its members
after the killing, and Mr Adams previously said he
supported the family's campaign for justice.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 14:37:10 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/17633
de Brún Calls On DUP MEP Jim Allister To Respond Positively
To Sinn Fein Initiative
Published: 31 January, 2007
Speaking during a debate in the European Parliament Sin
Fein MEP Bairbre de Brún called on the DUP to 'respond
positively by the weekends Ard Fheis by Sinn Fein.'
Ms de Brún said:
'The last week has seen significant developments in the
Irish peace process.
'Following the historic decision by last Sunday's Sinn Féin
Ard Fheis (National Conference) to support the new police
service in the north of Ireland a considerable opportunity
now exists for further progress.
'I would call on all Irish political parties, including the
DUP and UUP to work with Sinn Féin to ensure the full
implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
'In particular I would call on Jim Allister MEP to fully
play a full and constructive role in the peace process.
'Last week also witnessed further confirmation of the
existence of collusion between unionist paramilitaries and
the British state. The Police Ombudsman's report released
on January 22nd confirms what the families of the hundreds
bereaved by collusion between British state forces and
unionist death squads have been saying for years.
'This report is only the tip of the iceberg. It is clear
from the seniority of those involved within the old Royal
Ulster Constabulary and referred to in this investigation
that collusion was a matter of political and administrative
practice which existed at all levels of the RUC and of the
British government.
'Is suntasach ar fad iad imeachtaí na seachtaine seo a
chuaigh thart i bpróiseas na síochána in Éirinn.
'I ndiaidh chinneadh stairiúil ard fheis (Chomhdháil
Náisiúnta) Shinn Féin ar an Domhnach seo a chuaigh thart
chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don tseirbhís póilíneachta nua i
dTuaisceart na hÉireann tá deis shuntasach ann anois le
haghaidh tuilleadh dul chun cinn.
D'iarrfainn ar gach páirtí polaitiúil Éireannach, an DUP
agus an UUP san áireamh obair a dhéanamh le Sinn Féin chun
cur i bhfeidhm Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta ina iomlán a
chinntiú.
'D'iarrfainn ar Jim Allister FPE ach go háirithe chun ról
iomlán cuiditheach a ghlacadh sa phróiseas síochána.
'Sa tseachtain seo a chuaigh thart chonacthas daingniú go
raibh ann do chlaonpháirtíocht idir paraimíleataigh
aontachtacha agus stát na Breataine. Deimhníonn tuarascáil
an Ombudsman a cuireadh amach ar 22 Eanáir an rud a dúirt
teaghlaigh a chaill baill teaghlaigh trí chlaonpháirtíocht
idir fórsaí na Breataine agus scuaid an mharaithe
aontachtacha le blianta anuas.
'Níl sa tuarascáil seo ach barr an scéil. Tá sé soiléir
nuair a amharctar ar shinsearacht iad siúd a raibh páirt
acu ann laistigh den seanRUC, an tsean péasfhorsa, a
rinneadh tagairt orthu san fhiosrú seo, gur cleachtadh
polaitiúil agus riaracháin í an chlaonpháirtíocht a raibh
ann di ag gach leibhéal den péasfhorsa sin an RUC agus de
rialtas na Breataine.
'Is í an mhórcheist atá ann anois ná cad é a dhéanfar leis
an tuarascáil. Cad é an gníomhú a ghlacfar agus cad é mar a
chuirfear ceartas i bhfeidhm.' Crioch.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking39.htm
Rea To Be Questioned On Orde Dossier
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Policing Board chairman Sir Desmond Rea was today urged to
rule on a deepening row over Special Branch collusion with
loyalist killers.
Sir Desmond was meeting justice campaigner Raymond McCord
and his wife Vivienne to discuss Police Ombudsman Nuala
O'Loan's devastating report into their son's murder by
paramilitary informers.
Her revelations that ex-Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) boss
Mark Haddock was shielded from prosecution for up to 15
murders stretching back to the early 1990s unleashed a
barrage of criticism against former chief constable Sir
Ronnie Flanagan.
Even though Sir Ronnie insisted he knew nothing about any
officers under his command collaborating with UVF men in
north Belfast, Mr McCord and nationalist political leaders
have rejected his denials.
They have pointed to allegations first raised months after
Raymond McCord Jr, 22, was beaten to death in November 1997
by members of Haddock's Mount Vernon gang.
Sir Desmond and his vice chairman, Barry Gilligan, will be
told that before current chief constable Hugh Orde was
appointed by the board, he investigated loyalist collusion
with the RUC as part of the sprawling Stevens Inquiry.
Mr McCord claimed Sir Hugh passed a dossier of his findings
to police in Belfast.
He also stressed that he held talks with Sir Ronnie back in
1998 to discuss what rogue Special Branch officers knew
about the UVF killing of his son.
"If Ronnie Flanagan's trying to say he didn't know about
collusion what was it I went to meet him about? The traffic
arrangements in north Belfast?" he said.
With the furore over Mrs O'Loan's findings — and what
police chiefs did and didn't know — still to subside, Mr
McCord vowed to put Mr Rea on the spot.
"After studying the report, does he believe Hugh Orde's
version or Ronnie Flanagan's version of who knew about
collusion and who didn't.
"This is in his remit as chairman of the Policing Board
that holds the chief constable to account.
"He has to make a decision whether Hugh Orde is fit to hold
the office bearing in mind all that has been said."
A spokeswoman for Sir Desmond said the meeting with Mr
McCord and his wife was private. "Issues raised will be
brought to the Policing Board when it meets next on
February 7th."
PA
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking74.htm
Chief Constable In Appointment Row
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde was at the centre of a
deepening row with nationalist politicians in Northern
Ireland tonight.
SDLP claims that they ensured his appointment to the job
over four years ago provoked a ferocious backlash.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board has written a letter of
protest to the SDLP's leader Mark Durkan about the
appointment claims.
"The Northern Ireland Policing Board undertook a thorough,
professional and legislatively compliant appointment
process which was based on appointing a new chief constable
solely on merit and included independent assessments," a
spokeswoman said.
"The chairman of the Board (Professor Sir Desmond Rea) has
written to the leader of the SDLP in relation to the
comments published in an advert."
Mr Durkan used that commercial to claim the kudos for
keeping out what he called the old Royal Ulster
Constabulary order.
Sir Hugh won the recruitment competition over senior RUC
candidates Alan McQuillan, a former senior officer in the
Belfast district, now head of the Assets Recovery Agency,
and fellow assistant chief constable Chris Albiston, who
are now reportedly considering legal action.
The Chief Constable was a deputy assistant commissioner of
the Metropolitan Police at the time of his 2002 promotion.
The senior officer is due back from a trip to New York to
face a stormy Policing Board meeting about the affair.
Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party has called for an
investigation into the SDLP's claims. DUP Board member
Willie Hay said there needed to be a close look at
procedures linked to Sir Hugh's appointment.
"We need to look at the scrutiny mechanism used by the
members on that panel when the appointment was made to see
if there are any inaccuracies," he said.
"It does call into question the members of the SDLP who sit
on the Board, they need to look at their position because
we all have a duty on the Board to act impartially in all
aspects of policing, especially senior appointments."
He added that confidence in the Board had been shaken by
recent revelations and added that an inquiry into the
matter should also look at the actions of independent non-
political panel members.
"It has angered a number of senior police officers in the
service and a number on the ground, there is a feeling that
they are being used as a political football in all of
this," he added.
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6317447.stm
DUP Anger At SDLP Police Claim
The DUP has called for an investigation into the SDLP's
claims that it ensured the Policing Board appointed Sir
Hugh Orde as Chief Constable of the PSNI.
Sir Hugh, in a memo sent to almost 10,000 police officers,
has also reacted angrily to the suggestion and also to
remarks by Sinn Fein last week.
He said both parties were "using policing as a political
football".
Sir Hugh, who is in the US, also said they were making
insulting comments about the PSNI and its staff.
'Solely on merit'
Sir Hugh was angered by remarks by Gerry Adams last week,
when he said republicans "would put manners on the police".
He was also annoyed by a statement by Mark Durkan in a
newspaper advert in which the SDLP leader claimed his party
had ensured that the Policing Board appointed Sir Hugh as
chief constable of the PSNI - to keep out what he called
"the old RUC order."
A spokesman for the Policing Board said it undertook a
"thorough, professional and legislatively compliant
appointment process".
This had been based "solely on merit and included
independent assessments", he said.
"The chairman of the board has written to the leader of the
SDLP in relation to comments published in an advert in the
Irish News on Friday 26 January 2007. "The matter will be
raised at the Policing Board meeting next week," said the
spokesman.
Two former RUC assistant chief constables have consulted
their lawyers over claims.
The two unsuccessful candidates who were interviewed for
the job are Alan McQuillan and Chris Albiston.
Policing Board member Ian Paisley Junior has called for an
investigation into the SDLP's claim.
"This is one of the most senior appointments in Northern
Ireland," he said.
"They are entitled, by dint of their membership of the
Policing Board, to sit on the recruitment panel and yet
this advert implies that they openly rigged that
recruitment process."
'Sensitive side'
Ulster Unionist board member Fred Cobain called on Mark
Durkan to apologise for his remarks.
The SDLP's Alex Attwood rejected the criticism and said his
party had not excluded any RUC officer from the process,
but had resisted government pressure to exclude external
candidates.
The SDLP leader refused to apologise to Sir Hugh and the
other applicants. Mr Durkan denied the advertisement was
insulting and provocative.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said it was "quite
ridiculous" that Sir Hugh's memo was referred to as
"confidential".
"This is the PSNI showing its sensitive side. The fact is,
the O'Loan report said that a serial killer was being paid
taxpayers' money."
Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the Commons that Special
Branch officers criticised in the report "were a minority
within the police force".
Mr Blair said collusion was wrong and was to be deeply
regretted.
"I don't think that should take away from the work that the
majority of officers, both in the police and in the
service, the majority of the work that they did was of
enormous benefit to the local community."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 14:09:59 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWSNOJSNOJOJ&rss=rss1
McGeough: SF Forced Into U-Turn
31/01/2007 - 21:39:10
Sinn Féin is being forced into u-turn after u-turn because
of the insatiable demands of Ian Paisley, a former party
member said tonight.
Gerry McGeough, a former IRA gun runner who is challenging
the party as an independent candidate in the Stormont
Assembly Election, claimed his former colleagues had turned
their backs on a united Ireland by endorsing the Police
Service of Northern Ireland.
At the launch of his campaign in Fermanagh and South
Tyrone, he also said he would prefer a Plan B of more all-
Ireland political arrangements to Bertie Ahern and Tony
Blair’s Plan A of resuming power sharing.
Mr McGeough said: “We have a very energetic and competent
campaign which is going to offer the people of Fermanagh
and South Tyrone a viable alternative.
“We are in this battle to win and expect to poll well.
“But whether we get 10 or 10,000 votes, the important thing
is someone is making a stand in this constituency for
traditional republican values.
“Sinn Féin, by endorsing the Crown forces, has taken the
united Ireland agenda out of the equation.
"My campaign’s aim is to put it back in there.”
Former Sinn Féin Assembly member John Kelly was among those
who turned out for the launch of the campaign in Lisnaskea.
A message of support for Mr McGeough was also read from
former IRA hunger striker, and vociferous critic of Gerry
Adams, Brendan Hughes.
Mr McGeough is hoping to capture one of six seats up for
grabs in the Assembly election in the Fermanagh and South
Tyrone constituency.
Sinn Féin currently has two Assembly seats.
The party’s Michelle Gildernew is also the MP for the
constituency.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone came to prominence in 1981 when
IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands won a House of Commons seat
there in a by-election.
Mr McGeough tonight challenged Ms Gildernew to an open,
level playing field public debate in the constituency on
the policing issue.
Following Sinn Féin’s comments in recent days urging
republicans to go directly to the police to report crimes
including the murder of Belfast father-of-two Robert
McCartney and Gerry Adams' assertion that he would have no
difficulty if a young republican joined the PSNI, Mr
McGeough said his former party was capitulating to the DUP.
“I actually feel vindicated by everything which has been
said since last Sunday’s Ard Fheis,” he said.
“I said no matter what Sinn Féin did it would not satisfy
the insatiable demands of the DUP.
“What we are witnessing now is the ongoing capitulation of
Sinn Féin, who have no option but to keep dancing to the
tune of the DUP and the British government.”
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking75.htm
SDLP Launches All-Island Economy Plan
Ciara O'Brien
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
The SDLP has unveiled its blueprint for an all-Ireland
economy, with plans to help address skills shortages,
create a single corporation tax regime and tackle
infrastructure deficits.
The party is also proposing to remove tax barriers on
cross-border workers in an effort to improve the flow of
labour throughout the island.
The party argued that the lack of recognition for
qualifications in some areas was impeding the movement of
skilled workers to the areas they were needed most.
Part of the SDLP's plan includes accelerating the opening
of an all-Ireland energy market, and advocating the
recognition of the island as a European Energy Zone to help
reduce costs, meet targets and improve planning.
Speaking at the reception, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern said both
sides of the border faced similar economic challenges,
including greater competition from low-cost economies, the
promotion of investment in R&D, the need to deliver quality
health and education services and the need to build world-
class infrastructure.
"We want the children of this country to grow up in peace
and prosperity and with equal opportunity for all," he
said. Mr Ahern also pressed home the importance of power-
sharing in the North.
"Everyone who goes up for election knows that it is about
power-sharing, support for policing and all within a time-
frame of March 26th," he said.
Mr Ahern said it was crucial to look to the future. "As
attitudes change in the North, so we must look up and
appreciate what is happening. Now is the time to focus on
Northern Ireland, not to look away.
"We particularly need to understand the Unionist people and
build a new and durable relationship with them. We must be
ready to play our part in building a better island, on the
basis of respect for all."
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=18279
House Calls For Finucane Probe
By Ray O'Hanlon
rohanlon@irishecho.com
Coming hard on the heels of the Police Ombudsman's report
on collusion, the U.S. House of Representatives called
Tuesday for a full independent inquiry into the 1989 murder
of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane. Recently, the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Democratic Rep.
Tom Lantos, took a bipartisan line in voting through a
resolution authored by New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris
Smith that renewed its call for an inquiry into the murder.
That vote took place a day after the publication of what
Smith described as a "devastating report" detailing acts of
collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and police in
Northern Ireland.
The House resolution calls on the British government to now
begin a full "independent public judicial" investigation of
Finucane's murder.
"Pat Finucane was a courageous human rights activist and a
loving father and husband. It is imperative that the
questions surrounding Mr. Finucane's murder are answered in
order to restore full confidence in the rule of law in the
north of Ireland," Rep. Smith said in a statement
"Any agents of the government who may have colluded in the
murder of a defense attorney must be held accountable,"
added Smith, who over the years has authored three separate
congressional bills alleging human rights abuses by the
police in Northern Ireland.
Finucane was gunned down in front of his wife and children
and in the years since his death political figures and
human rights groups have charged that the murder was
carried out by loyalist gunmen with the aid of members of
the security forces.
The resolution, formally entitled house Concurrent
Resolution 20, calls on the British government to
"reconsider its position" on the matter of an inquiry into
the murder of Finucane, to amend the Inquiries Act of 2005,
and to take fully into account objections raised by the
Finucane family.
"For years, numerous international bodies and
nongovernmental human rights organizations have raised
allegations that Mr. Finucane's murder resulted from
collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British
security forces," Smith said during the committee's pre-
vote hearing on the resolution.
"In 2004, retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge Peter Cory,
who was appointed by the governments of Ireland and the
United Kingdom to examine these allegations under the
Weston Park agreement, reported that sufficient evidence of
collusion existed to warrant a full, independent and public
judiciary inquiry without delay. Unfortunately, the British
government has yet to comply."
While the British government, as part of the Weston Park
agreement, committed itself to following Judge Cory's
recommendation, the subsequent Inquiries Act placed strong
limitations on the potential scope of any inquiry.
This in turn provoked sharp criticism from the Finucane
family, human rights groups, Judge Cory and the Irish
government.
"During congressional hearings, the one theme that kept
recurring was the ongoing concern about human rights abuses
by members of the police service in Northern Ireland. The
concerns about collusion may never be put to rest without a
full investigation into the possibility of collusion in the
Finucane murder," said congressman Smith.
"A stumbling block to greater acceptance of the police by
the community has been that the charges of official
collusion in the murders of people such as Mr. Finucane
remain unresolved.
"People are hesitant to move forward if they are not
confident that those guilty of abuses will be held
accountable. As I have emphasized in other areas of
conflict, there can be no peace without justice," Smith
said.
This story appeared in the issue of January 31 - February
6, 2007
*************************
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0131/moher.html?rss
Order Stops Casual Trading At Cliffs Of Moher
Wednesday, 31 January 2007 15:59
Clare County Council has secured a court order at Ennis
Circuit Court to prevent casual trading and busking at the
Cliffs of Moher.
It comes after the council sought injunctions on 19 traders
and buskers operating at the site last year.
It has already offered licenses to 17 buskers under a new
scheme set up to maintain standards, and says it intends to
fully implement the terms of today's order at the cliffs.
AdvertisementThe cliffs attracted more than a million
visitors last year.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will officially open the new €31.45m
'Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience' on Thursday, 8
February.
----
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To January Index
To Index of Monthly Archives
To Searches & Sources of Other Irish News
SF 01/31/07 Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
BB 01/31/07 Adams Backs PSNI McCartney Probe
SF 01/31/07 Call for DUP To Respond To SF Initiative
IT 01/31/07 Rea To Be Questioned On Orde Dossier
IT 01/31/07 Chief Constable In Appointment Row
BB 01/31/07 DUP Anger At SDLP Police Claim
BN 01/31/07 McGeough: SF Forced Into U-Turn
IT 01/31/07 SDLP Launches All-Island Economy Plan
IE 01/31/07 House Calls For Finucane Probe
RT 01/31/07 Order Stops Casual Trading At Cliffs Of Moher
*************************
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/17632
Adams To Challenge Blair On Collusion
Published: 31 January, 2007
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams will lead a party
delegation tomorrow to hold a meeting with the British
Prime Minister Tony Blair on the issue of Collusion.
Mr. Adams said:
"The O Loan report is the tip of the iceberg. Collusion was
an integral part of British policy. It existed under the
Tories and Labour in the 1970s but became a more focussed
weapon of state terror under the Thatcher government.
"Not only did MI5, the Force Research Unit, Special branch
and other state agencies run informers and agents but they
trained, equipped and supplied specific information on
potential targets. The Glenanne gang which carried out the
Dublin Monaghan bombings is one example, but perhaps the
example which best exposes the extent of institutionalised
collusion was the murder of human rights lawyer Pat
Finucane.
"The British government and its agencies also encouraged
and facilitated informal acts of collusion which were
always part and parcel of the relationship between the RUC
and UDR and unionist paramilitaries.
"It isn't good enough for Hugh Orde to express support for
the O'Loan report and then criticise Sinn Fein for
condemning those who carried out these actions, and others,
some still within his organisation who covered them up.
"Neither is it enough for this British government to
express concern and do nothing to right this wrong. British
government ministers who sanctioned collusion must face the
consequences of their actions.
"We intend telling Mr. Blair tomorrow that British
government figures, including successive Prime Ministers
who sat around the British Cabinet table, and who
sanctioned collusion, and received reports on its
implementation, must be held accountable. 10 years ago when
we first met Mr. Blair in Downing Street we gave him a file
on Collusion and specifically the case of Pat Finucane.
Years later he told me that since his time in Downing
Street he had not authorised any such activities in
Ireland. Then who did authorise the killing and the cover-
ups, which have occurred while he has been British prime
Minister? Who authorised the running of the drug pushers,
or the payments of these killers?
"Who authorised their non-prosecution by the DPP? Who
within the British establishment thinks they are more
powerful than the British Prime Minister? Moreover, four
years ago the Stevens Inquiry sent files on 25 individuals
to the DPP with a view to charging them. Four years later
nothing has happened. This is the same DPP office that made
a sordid little side deal with Brian Nelson, the
UDA/British agent who helped kill Pat Finucane and many
others. What does Mr. Blair intend doing about the DPP?
"These are questions which demand answers. Mr. Blair must
be prepared to open up this can of worms to public
scrutiny. And as a first step he should accede to the
Finucane family's request for a proper public,
international based, enquiry.
"But Mr. Blair also has to acknowledge the great hurt
successive British governments have inflicted on almost a
thousand citizens who were killed, and their families who
have suffered directly, and all the thousands of others who
had their rights undermined and subverted by a policy,
which encouraged paramilitarism and violence and which in
turn corrupted Protestant working class communities.
"The reality is that Collusion is a symptom of a bigger
problem; British rule in Ireland. The RUC Special Branch,
British intelligence and their agents were doing exactly
what they were paid to do. It was a political policy
decided in Downing Street by the British government and
implemented by the Special Branch, FRU and others.
"Collusion and State terrorism was used by the British
government to uphold the Union; to defend and assert
British government involvement in Irish affairs. The
history of that involvement is littered with examples like
this. Sinn Féin remains resolute in our determination to
end that involvement." ENDS
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6317565.stm
Adams Backs PSNI McCartney Probe
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has said anyone with
information about the murder of Belfast man Robert
McCartney should go to the police.
Mr McCartney, 33, was beaten and stabbed to death outside a
bar near Belfast city centre on 30 January 2005.
Mr Adams made the appeal after being challenged by the DUP
and Irish justice minister Michael McDowell.
Mr McCartney's murder - allegedly by IRA members - placed
huge pressure on Sinn Fein at the time.
The issue has resurfaced after the party voted to back the
PSNI in a special meeting at the weekend, held just days
before the second anniversary of the killing.
In 2005, Sinn Fein refused to explicitly tell people to
contact the PSNI, but Mr Adams now says: "Anybody who has
any information about the McCartney killing should give it
to police."
He added: "Michael McDowell should not be setting tests for
anyone - this is the minister who refuses to put into place
in the other jurisdiction on this island, the type of
accountability and mechanisms that are in place in this
one.
"Mr McDowell, like Ian Paisley, is in no position to
lecture or to give tests or to in any way put preconditions
upon Sinn Fein."
Fresh appeal
As police were issuing a new appeal for information on
Tuesday, the second anniversary of the killing, Mr
McCartney's sister Catherine said his death should be a
"litmus test" of Sinn Fein's support for policing.
"Sinn Fein members (in the bar) refused to speak to police.
They had a nonsense of talking to third parties like
priests, but that was fruitless. Police are trained to take
statements, not priests.
Mr McCartney, a father-of-two, died the day after he and
his friend Brendan Devine were attacked - allegedly by IRA
members - inside Magennis' Bar in May Street and then in
Cromac Square.
One man has been charged with his murder, and another with
the attempted murder of Mr Devine.
Sinn Fein said it had suspended a number of its members
after the killing, and Mr Adams previously said he
supported the family's campaign for justice.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 14:37:10 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/17633
de Brún Calls On DUP MEP Jim Allister To Respond Positively
To Sinn Fein Initiative
Published: 31 January, 2007
Speaking during a debate in the European Parliament Sin
Fein MEP Bairbre de Brún called on the DUP to 'respond
positively by the weekends Ard Fheis by Sinn Fein.'
Ms de Brún said:
'The last week has seen significant developments in the
Irish peace process.
'Following the historic decision by last Sunday's Sinn Féin
Ard Fheis (National Conference) to support the new police
service in the north of Ireland a considerable opportunity
now exists for further progress.
'I would call on all Irish political parties, including the
DUP and UUP to work with Sinn Féin to ensure the full
implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
'In particular I would call on Jim Allister MEP to fully
play a full and constructive role in the peace process.
'Last week also witnessed further confirmation of the
existence of collusion between unionist paramilitaries and
the British state. The Police Ombudsman's report released
on January 22nd confirms what the families of the hundreds
bereaved by collusion between British state forces and
unionist death squads have been saying for years.
'This report is only the tip of the iceberg. It is clear
from the seniority of those involved within the old Royal
Ulster Constabulary and referred to in this investigation
that collusion was a matter of political and administrative
practice which existed at all levels of the RUC and of the
British government.
'Is suntasach ar fad iad imeachtaí na seachtaine seo a
chuaigh thart i bpróiseas na síochána in Éirinn.
'I ndiaidh chinneadh stairiúil ard fheis (Chomhdháil
Náisiúnta) Shinn Féin ar an Domhnach seo a chuaigh thart
chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don tseirbhís póilíneachta nua i
dTuaisceart na hÉireann tá deis shuntasach ann anois le
haghaidh tuilleadh dul chun cinn.
D'iarrfainn ar gach páirtí polaitiúil Éireannach, an DUP
agus an UUP san áireamh obair a dhéanamh le Sinn Féin chun
cur i bhfeidhm Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta ina iomlán a
chinntiú.
'D'iarrfainn ar Jim Allister FPE ach go háirithe chun ról
iomlán cuiditheach a ghlacadh sa phróiseas síochána.
'Sa tseachtain seo a chuaigh thart chonacthas daingniú go
raibh ann do chlaonpháirtíocht idir paraimíleataigh
aontachtacha agus stát na Breataine. Deimhníonn tuarascáil
an Ombudsman a cuireadh amach ar 22 Eanáir an rud a dúirt
teaghlaigh a chaill baill teaghlaigh trí chlaonpháirtíocht
idir fórsaí na Breataine agus scuaid an mharaithe
aontachtacha le blianta anuas.
'Níl sa tuarascáil seo ach barr an scéil. Tá sé soiléir
nuair a amharctar ar shinsearacht iad siúd a raibh páirt
acu ann laistigh den seanRUC, an tsean péasfhorsa, a
rinneadh tagairt orthu san fhiosrú seo, gur cleachtadh
polaitiúil agus riaracháin í an chlaonpháirtíocht a raibh
ann di ag gach leibhéal den péasfhorsa sin an RUC agus de
rialtas na Breataine.
'Is í an mhórcheist atá ann anois ná cad é a dhéanfar leis
an tuarascáil. Cad é an gníomhú a ghlacfar agus cad é mar a
chuirfear ceartas i bhfeidhm.' Crioch.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking39.htm
Rea To Be Questioned On Orde Dossier
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Policing Board chairman Sir Desmond Rea was today urged to
rule on a deepening row over Special Branch collusion with
loyalist killers.
Sir Desmond was meeting justice campaigner Raymond McCord
and his wife Vivienne to discuss Police Ombudsman Nuala
O'Loan's devastating report into their son's murder by
paramilitary informers.
Her revelations that ex-Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) boss
Mark Haddock was shielded from prosecution for up to 15
murders stretching back to the early 1990s unleashed a
barrage of criticism against former chief constable Sir
Ronnie Flanagan.
Even though Sir Ronnie insisted he knew nothing about any
officers under his command collaborating with UVF men in
north Belfast, Mr McCord and nationalist political leaders
have rejected his denials.
They have pointed to allegations first raised months after
Raymond McCord Jr, 22, was beaten to death in November 1997
by members of Haddock's Mount Vernon gang.
Sir Desmond and his vice chairman, Barry Gilligan, will be
told that before current chief constable Hugh Orde was
appointed by the board, he investigated loyalist collusion
with the RUC as part of the sprawling Stevens Inquiry.
Mr McCord claimed Sir Hugh passed a dossier of his findings
to police in Belfast.
He also stressed that he held talks with Sir Ronnie back in
1998 to discuss what rogue Special Branch officers knew
about the UVF killing of his son.
"If Ronnie Flanagan's trying to say he didn't know about
collusion what was it I went to meet him about? The traffic
arrangements in north Belfast?" he said.
With the furore over Mrs O'Loan's findings — and what
police chiefs did and didn't know — still to subside, Mr
McCord vowed to put Mr Rea on the spot.
"After studying the report, does he believe Hugh Orde's
version or Ronnie Flanagan's version of who knew about
collusion and who didn't.
"This is in his remit as chairman of the Policing Board
that holds the chief constable to account.
"He has to make a decision whether Hugh Orde is fit to hold
the office bearing in mind all that has been said."
A spokeswoman for Sir Desmond said the meeting with Mr
McCord and his wife was private. "Issues raised will be
brought to the Policing Board when it meets next on
February 7th."
PA
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking74.htm
Chief Constable In Appointment Row
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde was at the centre of a
deepening row with nationalist politicians in Northern
Ireland tonight.
SDLP claims that they ensured his appointment to the job
over four years ago provoked a ferocious backlash.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board has written a letter of
protest to the SDLP's leader Mark Durkan about the
appointment claims.
"The Northern Ireland Policing Board undertook a thorough,
professional and legislatively compliant appointment
process which was based on appointing a new chief constable
solely on merit and included independent assessments," a
spokeswoman said.
"The chairman of the Board (Professor Sir Desmond Rea) has
written to the leader of the SDLP in relation to the
comments published in an advert."
Mr Durkan used that commercial to claim the kudos for
keeping out what he called the old Royal Ulster
Constabulary order.
Sir Hugh won the recruitment competition over senior RUC
candidates Alan McQuillan, a former senior officer in the
Belfast district, now head of the Assets Recovery Agency,
and fellow assistant chief constable Chris Albiston, who
are now reportedly considering legal action.
The Chief Constable was a deputy assistant commissioner of
the Metropolitan Police at the time of his 2002 promotion.
The senior officer is due back from a trip to New York to
face a stormy Policing Board meeting about the affair.
Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party has called for an
investigation into the SDLP's claims. DUP Board member
Willie Hay said there needed to be a close look at
procedures linked to Sir Hugh's appointment.
"We need to look at the scrutiny mechanism used by the
members on that panel when the appointment was made to see
if there are any inaccuracies," he said.
"It does call into question the members of the SDLP who sit
on the Board, they need to look at their position because
we all have a duty on the Board to act impartially in all
aspects of policing, especially senior appointments."
He added that confidence in the Board had been shaken by
recent revelations and added that an inquiry into the
matter should also look at the actions of independent non-
political panel members.
"It has angered a number of senior police officers in the
service and a number on the ground, there is a feeling that
they are being used as a political football in all of
this," he added.
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6317447.stm
DUP Anger At SDLP Police Claim
The DUP has called for an investigation into the SDLP's
claims that it ensured the Policing Board appointed Sir
Hugh Orde as Chief Constable of the PSNI.
Sir Hugh, in a memo sent to almost 10,000 police officers,
has also reacted angrily to the suggestion and also to
remarks by Sinn Fein last week.
He said both parties were "using policing as a political
football".
Sir Hugh, who is in the US, also said they were making
insulting comments about the PSNI and its staff.
'Solely on merit'
Sir Hugh was angered by remarks by Gerry Adams last week,
when he said republicans "would put manners on the police".
He was also annoyed by a statement by Mark Durkan in a
newspaper advert in which the SDLP leader claimed his party
had ensured that the Policing Board appointed Sir Hugh as
chief constable of the PSNI - to keep out what he called
"the old RUC order."
A spokesman for the Policing Board said it undertook a
"thorough, professional and legislatively compliant
appointment process".
This had been based "solely on merit and included
independent assessments", he said.
"The chairman of the board has written to the leader of the
SDLP in relation to comments published in an advert in the
Irish News on Friday 26 January 2007. "The matter will be
raised at the Policing Board meeting next week," said the
spokesman.
Two former RUC assistant chief constables have consulted
their lawyers over claims.
The two unsuccessful candidates who were interviewed for
the job are Alan McQuillan and Chris Albiston.
Policing Board member Ian Paisley Junior has called for an
investigation into the SDLP's claim.
"This is one of the most senior appointments in Northern
Ireland," he said.
"They are entitled, by dint of their membership of the
Policing Board, to sit on the recruitment panel and yet
this advert implies that they openly rigged that
recruitment process."
'Sensitive side'
Ulster Unionist board member Fred Cobain called on Mark
Durkan to apologise for his remarks.
The SDLP's Alex Attwood rejected the criticism and said his
party had not excluded any RUC officer from the process,
but had resisted government pressure to exclude external
candidates.
The SDLP leader refused to apologise to Sir Hugh and the
other applicants. Mr Durkan denied the advertisement was
insulting and provocative.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said it was "quite
ridiculous" that Sir Hugh's memo was referred to as
"confidential".
"This is the PSNI showing its sensitive side. The fact is,
the O'Loan report said that a serial killer was being paid
taxpayers' money."
Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the Commons that Special
Branch officers criticised in the report "were a minority
within the police force".
Mr Blair said collusion was wrong and was to be deeply
regretted.
"I don't think that should take away from the work that the
majority of officers, both in the police and in the
service, the majority of the work that they did was of
enormous benefit to the local community."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 14:09:59 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWSNOJSNOJOJ&rss=rss1
McGeough: SF Forced Into U-Turn
31/01/2007 - 21:39:10
Sinn Féin is being forced into u-turn after u-turn because
of the insatiable demands of Ian Paisley, a former party
member said tonight.
Gerry McGeough, a former IRA gun runner who is challenging
the party as an independent candidate in the Stormont
Assembly Election, claimed his former colleagues had turned
their backs on a united Ireland by endorsing the Police
Service of Northern Ireland.
At the launch of his campaign in Fermanagh and South
Tyrone, he also said he would prefer a Plan B of more all-
Ireland political arrangements to Bertie Ahern and Tony
Blair’s Plan A of resuming power sharing.
Mr McGeough said: “We have a very energetic and competent
campaign which is going to offer the people of Fermanagh
and South Tyrone a viable alternative.
“We are in this battle to win and expect to poll well.
“But whether we get 10 or 10,000 votes, the important thing
is someone is making a stand in this constituency for
traditional republican values.
“Sinn Féin, by endorsing the Crown forces, has taken the
united Ireland agenda out of the equation.
"My campaign’s aim is to put it back in there.”
Former Sinn Féin Assembly member John Kelly was among those
who turned out for the launch of the campaign in Lisnaskea.
A message of support for Mr McGeough was also read from
former IRA hunger striker, and vociferous critic of Gerry
Adams, Brendan Hughes.
Mr McGeough is hoping to capture one of six seats up for
grabs in the Assembly election in the Fermanagh and South
Tyrone constituency.
Sinn Féin currently has two Assembly seats.
The party’s Michelle Gildernew is also the MP for the
constituency.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone came to prominence in 1981 when
IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands won a House of Commons seat
there in a by-election.
Mr McGeough tonight challenged Ms Gildernew to an open,
level playing field public debate in the constituency on
the policing issue.
Following Sinn Féin’s comments in recent days urging
republicans to go directly to the police to report crimes
including the murder of Belfast father-of-two Robert
McCartney and Gerry Adams' assertion that he would have no
difficulty if a young republican joined the PSNI, Mr
McGeough said his former party was capitulating to the DUP.
“I actually feel vindicated by everything which has been
said since last Sunday’s Ard Fheis,” he said.
“I said no matter what Sinn Féin did it would not satisfy
the insatiable demands of the DUP.
“What we are witnessing now is the ongoing capitulation of
Sinn Féin, who have no option but to keep dancing to the
tune of the DUP and the British government.”
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking75.htm
SDLP Launches All-Island Economy Plan
Ciara O'Brien
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
The SDLP has unveiled its blueprint for an all-Ireland
economy, with plans to help address skills shortages,
create a single corporation tax regime and tackle
infrastructure deficits.
The party is also proposing to remove tax barriers on
cross-border workers in an effort to improve the flow of
labour throughout the island.
The party argued that the lack of recognition for
qualifications in some areas was impeding the movement of
skilled workers to the areas they were needed most.
Part of the SDLP's plan includes accelerating the opening
of an all-Ireland energy market, and advocating the
recognition of the island as a European Energy Zone to help
reduce costs, meet targets and improve planning.
Speaking at the reception, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern said both
sides of the border faced similar economic challenges,
including greater competition from low-cost economies, the
promotion of investment in R&D, the need to deliver quality
health and education services and the need to build world-
class infrastructure.
"We want the children of this country to grow up in peace
and prosperity and with equal opportunity for all," he
said. Mr Ahern also pressed home the importance of power-
sharing in the North.
"Everyone who goes up for election knows that it is about
power-sharing, support for policing and all within a time-
frame of March 26th," he said.
Mr Ahern said it was crucial to look to the future. "As
attitudes change in the North, so we must look up and
appreciate what is happening. Now is the time to focus on
Northern Ireland, not to look away.
"We particularly need to understand the Unionist people and
build a new and durable relationship with them. We must be
ready to play our part in building a better island, on the
basis of respect for all."
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=18279
House Calls For Finucane Probe
By Ray O'Hanlon
rohanlon@irishecho.com
Coming hard on the heels of the Police Ombudsman's report
on collusion, the U.S. House of Representatives called
Tuesday for a full independent inquiry into the 1989 murder
of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane. Recently, the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Democratic Rep.
Tom Lantos, took a bipartisan line in voting through a
resolution authored by New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris
Smith that renewed its call for an inquiry into the murder.
That vote took place a day after the publication of what
Smith described as a "devastating report" detailing acts of
collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and police in
Northern Ireland.
The House resolution calls on the British government to now
begin a full "independent public judicial" investigation of
Finucane's murder.
"Pat Finucane was a courageous human rights activist and a
loving father and husband. It is imperative that the
questions surrounding Mr. Finucane's murder are answered in
order to restore full confidence in the rule of law in the
north of Ireland," Rep. Smith said in a statement
"Any agents of the government who may have colluded in the
murder of a defense attorney must be held accountable,"
added Smith, who over the years has authored three separate
congressional bills alleging human rights abuses by the
police in Northern Ireland.
Finucane was gunned down in front of his wife and children
and in the years since his death political figures and
human rights groups have charged that the murder was
carried out by loyalist gunmen with the aid of members of
the security forces.
The resolution, formally entitled house Concurrent
Resolution 20, calls on the British government to
"reconsider its position" on the matter of an inquiry into
the murder of Finucane, to amend the Inquiries Act of 2005,
and to take fully into account objections raised by the
Finucane family.
"For years, numerous international bodies and
nongovernmental human rights organizations have raised
allegations that Mr. Finucane's murder resulted from
collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British
security forces," Smith said during the committee's pre-
vote hearing on the resolution.
"In 2004, retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge Peter Cory,
who was appointed by the governments of Ireland and the
United Kingdom to examine these allegations under the
Weston Park agreement, reported that sufficient evidence of
collusion existed to warrant a full, independent and public
judiciary inquiry without delay. Unfortunately, the British
government has yet to comply."
While the British government, as part of the Weston Park
agreement, committed itself to following Judge Cory's
recommendation, the subsequent Inquiries Act placed strong
limitations on the potential scope of any inquiry.
This in turn provoked sharp criticism from the Finucane
family, human rights groups, Judge Cory and the Irish
government.
"During congressional hearings, the one theme that kept
recurring was the ongoing concern about human rights abuses
by members of the police service in Northern Ireland. The
concerns about collusion may never be put to rest without a
full investigation into the possibility of collusion in the
Finucane murder," said congressman Smith.
"A stumbling block to greater acceptance of the police by
the community has been that the charges of official
collusion in the murders of people such as Mr. Finucane
remain unresolved.
"People are hesitant to move forward if they are not
confident that those guilty of abuses will be held
accountable. As I have emphasized in other areas of
conflict, there can be no peace without justice," Smith
said.
This story appeared in the issue of January 31 - February
6, 2007
*************************
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0131/moher.html?rss
Order Stops Casual Trading At Cliffs Of Moher
Wednesday, 31 January 2007 15:59
Clare County Council has secured a court order at Ennis
Circuit Court to prevent casual trading and busking at the
Cliffs of Moher.
It comes after the council sought injunctions on 19 traders
and buskers operating at the site last year.
It has already offered licenses to 17 buskers under a new
scheme set up to maintain standards, and says it intends to
fully implement the terms of today's order at the cliffs.
AdvertisementThe cliffs attracted more than a million
visitors last year.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will officially open the new €31.45m
'Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience' on Thursday, 8
February.
----
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McAllister's Anguish Over Father's Funeral
News About Ireland & The Irish
IN 01/31/07 Malachy McAllister’s Anguish Over Funeral
IN 01/31/07 Gunshots Of BS Marked By Minute’s Silence
IT 01/31/07 NI Politicians Start Election Campaign
BT 01/31/07 Blair: March Election Is Crucial For Ulster
BT 01/31/07 Indecisive Paisley - A Wait & See Attitude
BT 01/31/07 The Loyalists Are Long Way Behind
BB 01/31/07 Orde Anger At 'Policing Insults'
BT 01/31/07 SF & SDLP Backlash In Orde Leak Row
IT 01/31/07 PSNI In New McCartney Murder Appeal
NL 01/31/07 IMC's View On Fuel Fraud Is 'Kidology'
BT 01/31/07 Irish School Is Refused New Funding
IN 01/31/07 Gracey Toast Apology
BT 01/31/07 House Backs Improved Finucane Inquiry
IN 01/31/07 Opin: SF Can Sit & Watch Unionist Bigot-Fest
IN 01/31/07 Opin: Irish Americans Back SF On Policing
BB 01/31/07 Belfast 1907 Strike Marked
IN 01/31/07 Gaiety All Set For Major Facelift
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547613
Ex-Prisoner’s Anguish Over Funeral
By Allison Morris
The family of former INLA prisoner, who is fighting
deportation from America, say he is devastated at being
unable to attend his father’s funeral in Belfast.
Malachy McAllister, fled Belfast with his young family in
1988 after loyalist gunmen fired 26 shots into his lower
Ormeau home.
He is fighting a Supreme Court of Appeal decision to deport
him and his three younger children back to Northern Ireland
from New Jersey.
His father Robert died suddenly on Monday after a short
illness. The funeral of the 76-year-old father-of- eight
will take place today.
Mr McAllister’s eldest son Gary (30) arrived in Belfast
from America on Tuesday to attend his grandfather’s
funeral. He is the only member of the family with
recognised immigration status.
“My dad is obviously very upset at the loss of his father
and the fact he can’t be here to pay his respects,” Gary
said.
“He’s been on the phone to check my flight got in safe and
to speak to the rest of the family. He’s just grieving and
feels helpless at not being able to be here for his
mother.”
It is the second tragedy to hit the family in the last two
years. In 2004 Mr McAllister’s wife Bernie died of cancer
in America.
Bernie – along with the couple’s three younger children –
had been given leave to stay in America.
But after her death the family’s status was again called
into question.
Mr McAllister’s original application for citizenship was
unsuccessful because of a 1983 conviction for acting as a
lookout during an INLA attack on an RUC officer.
He was released from Long Kesh in 1985 and after the
loyalist gun attack on his home fled with his family to
Canada and then to the US.
His mother, Ellen McAllister, says her son’s greatest fear
was that something would happen to one of his parents while
he was still unable to travel.
“Malachy and the children have built their lives in
America. He has his own business there and the children
know no other life,” she said.
“Because of all this he hadn’t seen his father in 20 years.
“I last saw him two years ago when his wife Bernie died and
I went over and stayed with him for a while.
“We all know his thoughts are with us. It’s just so sad
that he can’t be here in person.”
Robert McAllister will be buried today at Roselawn Cemetery
following Requiem Mass 12.30pm at St Malachy’s Church,
Alfred Street.
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547646
Gunshots Of Bloody Sunday Marked By Minute’s Silence
By Seamus McKinney
Around 100 people held a minute’s silence in Derry’s
Bogside yesterday to mark the moment that British
paratroopers opened fire on Bloody Sunday.
Records show the soldiers moved into the Bogside at 4.10pm
on January 30 1972, about 15 minutes after John Johnston
and Damien Donaghy had been shot on the edge of the
district.
Thirteen people were killed that day and the injured Mr
Johnston died on June 16 that year.
At yesterday’s ceremony at Rossville Street, civil rights
activist Eamonn McCann paid tribute to the Bloody Sunday
families for their campaign to uncover the truth.
He said as the families contemplated “that moment of horror
and gunfire” when the shooting started 35 years ago, Bloody
Sunday continued to ring out through the world.
When the truth comes out, the grief of families will remain
but they will leave Bloody Sunday as an issue behind them,
he said.
“That day is not here yet but we will be here until it
comes,” Mr McCann said.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking19.htm
NI Politicians Start Election Campaign
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Northern Ireland politicians were today embarking on an
Assembly Election Campaign with British Prime Minister Tony
Blair warning he could pull the plug at any stage before
polling day.
Mr Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday decided to
press ahead with plans for a March 7th election.
After their meeting in Downing Street, however, the two
warned the election must result in a power-sharing
government.
"The Assembly Election, due to be held on March 7th, is an
integral part of the process and timetable agreed at St
Andrews," they said.
"It is being held for the explicit purposes of endorsing
the St Andrews Agreement and of electing an Assembly that
will form a power-sharing executive on March 26th, in
accordance with that agreement and time-frame.
"If, at any point, it became clear that parties were
unwilling to fulfil their commitments in the St Andrews
Agreement to the twin pillars of power-sharing on March
26th and support for policing, it would be unreasonable to
expect the people of Northern Ireland to continue with an
election to an Assembly which would not exist."
The notice for an Assembly Election in Northern Ireland was
published today, marking the start of what could
potentially be a fierce campaign.
The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will
be hoping to remain the largest grouping in the next
Assembly, with their leader becoming First Minister if the
party is convinced it can form a power-sharing government
with Sinn Fein.
The DUP has signalled it will only share power with Gerry
Adams' party if it is sure the IRA has abandoned
paramilitary activity and criminality for good and Sinn
Fein is actively encouraging its supporters to join and
work with the police.
A report yesterday by the Independent Monitoring Commission
(IMC) said the Provisional IRA was moving decisively away
from criminality and into politics.
Sinn Fein's decision at the weekend to support the police
in Northern Ireland for the first time in its history and
further comments from Mr Adams urging republicans to report
crime and join Sir Hugh Orde's Police Service of Northern
Ireland (PSNI) if they wanted to, has added more pressure
on Mr Paisley to say yes to power-sharing.
Sir Reg Empey, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, said
the question which the DUP will have to answer during the
election campaign is whether or not there will be power-
sharing as envisaged on March 26th.
On the nationalist side, Sinn Fein will go into the
election buoyed by its leadership's success in persuading
rank and file party members to sign up to policing in
Northern Ireland.
The party, which has in recent years overtaken the SDLP as
the largest nationalist grouping in the Assembly, believes
it can make further headway and will eventually become the
largest party in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein's party machine will go into the election already
firing on all cylinders, having undertaken a huge internal
consultation on policing and in anticipation of the General
Election this year.
Mark Durkan's SDLP will, however, trade blows with Sinn
Fein on policing, its support for Northern Ireland
Secretary, Peter Hain's local government reform plan and
argue that neither Mr Adams' nor Mr Paisley's parties can
be trusted to deliver political progress.
PA
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2201507.ece
March Election Is The Most Crucial Poll For Ulster In
Decades: Blair
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 09:02]
Voters in Northern Ireland will go to the polls on March 7
and make their biggest democratic decision in "many, many
decades", Tony Blair declared last night.
After talks in Downing Street, the Prime Minister and
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed they will press ahead with
a March election.
Both leaders stressed the election will be staged on the
basis of Sinn Fein supporting the rule of law and policing
and the DUP committing itself to a power-sharing executive
on March 26.
Mr Blair refused to speculate on the possibility of either
party failing to live up to those obligations but did warn:
"There is no point in going forward with this election
unless we are going to have an Assembly that is going to be
functioning with an Executive alongside it."
He said there was a "tremendous yearning" for the
restoration of devolution and that Northern Ireland now has
the prospect of "a different future that its people
desire".
Sinn Fein's decision to support the PSNI and yesterday's
Independent Monitoring Commission report "gives us, I
think, the right context in which elections can take
place."
He added: "The election is going to go ahead. Of course
this is probably the most serious decision people in
Northern Ireland have taken for many, many decades because
it is a major, major question."
And in a direct appeal to the political parties, now on the
verge of launching their election manifestos, he said:
"People will want to know where they stand.
"Are we going into a power sharing executive or not? Is
there proper support for policing or not? I think these
questions will be pretty firmly determined during the
course of that campaign."
Mr Ahern said that he would like to have "greater clarity"
from the DUP but he said Mr Blair was "convinced" from his
talks with Ian Paisley, that the democratic unionists were
ready to engage in a power-sharing executive.
When pressed by reporters, he added: "I accept that."
And he made clear that both governments had agreed that
they would move to the 'Plan B' of joint partnership
arrangements if the political process failed.
He said: "...we believe this election is for one single
process - a democratically elected assembly that will have
powersharing on March 26.
"And if it doesn't, that's over. That process is over.
There will be no executive. There will be no Assembly. We
will then proceed with our partnership arrangements, which
is a second best."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201807.ece
Indecisive Paisley Adopts A 'Wait And See' Attitude
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 11:00]
By Mark Hookham and Noel McAdam
Ian Paisley has refused to make clear if he is prepared to
join a power-sharing Executive as First Minister with
Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister.
As the Government confirmed the go-ahead for new Assembly
elections on Wednesday, March 7, the DUP leader adopted a
"wait and see" stance.
After a meeting with Direct Rule Security Minister Paul
Goggins, Mr Paisley said many issues still had to be dealt
with despite Sinn Fein's ard fheis motion and Gerry Adams'
encouragement for republicans to co-operate with the PSNI.
The issues, Mr Paisley said, included the murder of Belfast
man Robert McCartney.
After their Downing Street mini-summit, Prime Minister Tony
Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed they will press
ahead with a March election.
But both leaders stressed the election will be staged on
the basis of Sinn Fein supporting the rule of law and
policing, and the DUP committing itself to a power-sharing
executive on March 26.
Mr Blair refused to speculate on the possibility of either
party failing to live up to those obligations, but did
warn: "There is no point in going forward with this
election unless we are going to have an Assembly that is
going to be functioning with an Executive alongside it."
He said there was a "tremendous yearning" for the
restoration of devolution and that Northern Ireland now has
the prospect of "a different future that its people
desire".
Sinn Fein's decision to support the PSNI and yesterday's
Independent Monitoring Commission report "gives us, I
think, the right context in which elections can take
place," he said.
He added: "The election is going to go ahead.
"Of course this is probably the most serious decision
people in Northern Ireland have taken for many, many
decades because it is a major, major question."
And in a direct appeal to the political parties, now on the
verge of launching their election manifestos, he said:
"People will want to know where they stand.
"Are we going into a power sharing Executive or not?
"Is there proper support for policing or not? I think these
questions will be pretty firmly determined during the
course of that campaign."
Mr Ahern admitted that he would like to have "greater
clarity" from the DUP, but he said Mr Blair was "convinced"
from his talks with Mr Paisley that the democratic
unionists were ready to engage in a power-sharing
Executive.
When pressed by reporters, he added: "I accept that."
And he made clear that both Governments had agreed to move
to the 'plan B' of joint partnership arrangements if the
political process failed.
He said: "We believe this election is for one single
process - a democratically elected Assembly that will have
powersharing on March 26.
"And if it doesn't, that's over. That process is over.
There will be no executive. There will be no Assembly. We
will then proceed with our partnership arrangements, which
is a second best."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201805.ece
The Loyalists Are Long Way Behind
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 10:58]
By Brian Rowan
If it was the IRA it would be very different. But it's not
the IRA. It's the loyalists on the Shankill.
On that road there is something happening that demonstrates
the continuing control and power of the paramilitaries.
The police are monitoring the developing situation.
In the 31 pages of yesterday's report by the Independent
Monitoring Commission, there were the two stories we had
expected.
The IRA is going away, but the loyalists are still out
there - out there and up to all sorts of the usual
activities, including the business of paramilitary justice.
In the IMC assessment, you'll read that there are senior
leadership figures trying to change things.
That's right. There are.
I know them - know what they're trying to do.
But I also know that's not all of the story.
There was an incident last Friday - an incident that falls
outside the reporting period of this latest assessment of
the monitoring commission - but a story worth telling as an
example of what's still going on.
A senior figure in the UDA was "thumped" by a former Red
Hand Commando prisoner.
It was between the two of them, and there's a complicated
explanation about the background to the incident.
But the point is not so much what happened, but what is now
expected to happen.
At the highest level of the UDA and Red Hand Commando there
has been contact.
The UDA wants the Red Hand Commando to "punish" or "
discipline " the former prisoner who thumped 'Mo' Courtney,
a one-time close associate of Johnny Adair.
And what does that tell us? It tells us that the business
of paramilitary justice is still part and parcel of the
loyalist playground.
The man who wants to even the score is the most senior
figure in the UDA on the Shankill Road.
He was involved in recent talks with the British and Irish
governments - talks about loyalists wanting to change,
wanting to be part of the peace process, not wanting to be
left behind.
But they still want scores settled - and settled in the old
way.
This is the continuing reality of life on the loyalist
street.
It is where the loyalists are stuck.
For all that it was trying to say yesterday about some
within loyalism wanting to make things better, there was
another message from the IMC.
On the loyalist side, "the pace of movement has been slow".
It's a gentle way of putting it.
The fact is they are a long way behind the IRA.
And this waiting for all the political i's and t's to be
dotted and crossed, is to wait too long.
Why not do something to help the process - to make it work?
And what are they going to do if they don't like the
political outcome?
Is there a threat in the waiting?
The loyalist paramilitary focus needs to be on the bigger
picture of the peace process, not on petty inter-
organisational rows on the streets of the Shankill.
Those who can make things happen - who have the
paramilitary rank to make a difference - need now to use
that rank, that leadership.
If they wait much longer, they might find that any loyalist
initiative has been so devalued to be dismissed as "so
what?"
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6315721.stm
Orde Anger At 'Policing Insults'
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has accused the SDLP and Sinn
Fein of insulting his staff and using the police as a
political football.
His criticism is contained in a confidential memo, obtained
by the BBC.
It is understood that Sir Hugh was angered by a number of
remarks by nationalist politicians.
It follows the report by the Police Ombudsman last week,
which said there had been collusion between some members of
Special Branch and the UVF.
The chief constable said in his memo, sent to almost 10,000
police officers last week when the report was published,
that it had been "a difficult week for policing."
He again points out that he has accepted the
recommendations made in Nuala O'Loan's report, which he
described as "uncomfortable reading".
Sir Hugh then accuses some political parties of making
"unfair and damaging statements about our organisation".
It is believed that he was angered by remarks by Sinn Fein
leader Gerry Adams last week, when he said republicans
would "put manners" on the police.
Sir Hugh is also believed to be annoyed by comments made by
Mark Durkan in a newspaper advert last Friday.
In it, the SDLP leader claimed his party had ensured that
Sir Hugh was appointed chief constable of the PSNI - to
keep out what he called "the old RUC order."
In the memo, Sir Hugh said it was "unacceptable that some
individuals have used policing for political purposes".
He said they had made "insulting comments about the
organisation, its staff and retired colleagues", who he
holds in the highest esteem.
Sir Hugh tells staff that he has spoken directly to the
SDLP leadership to express his anger - and taken steps to
speak to Sinn Fein, but says their leadership appears to
have "gone on-the-run".
He ends his message by saying he is "proud to lead the
PSNI" and says his staff "can hold their heads up high".
SDLP policing spokesman Alex Attwood told the BBC's Good
Morning Ulster he was surprised by the content of Sir
Hugh's memo.
"I would suggest to the police leadership that they are on
the wrong side of the argument," he said.
"They need to get back on the right side of those people
who, over the last five or six years, have done so much to
reshape Northern Ireland society in the interests of and to
the benefit of everyone."
Sinn Fein assembly member John O'Dowd rejected Sir Hugh's
claim that the party had "gone to ground" when he tried to
contact them.
"Sinn Fein is out there trying to introduce an accountable
policing service," he said.
"And if he comes to Sinn Fein with the same attitude that
he has displayed in that memo, he will be getting a short
shrift answer."
Meanwhile, party president Gerry Adams is to meet the prime
minister on Thursday to discuss the implications of the
Ombudsman's report on collusion.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 11:27:07 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201515.ece
SF, SDLP Backlash In Orde Leak Row
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 08:42]
By David Gordon
PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde was embroiled in a
bitter dispute with nationalist politicians today after
accusing them of insulting the force and treating policing
like a "political football".
The Chief Constable used a confidential email to officers
and civilian staff to denounce comments made following last
week's collusion report by Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.
A Sinn Fein MLA today declared himself "livid" at the
broadside, while the SDLP said it would cause hurt and
anger among its party members.
In the email, which has been leaked to the Belfast
Telegraph, Sir Hugh said he had conveyed his anger to the
SDLP, but had been unable to contact Sinn Fein, as its
leadership appeared to have gone "on the run".
He stated that last week had been "difficult" for policing
and Mrs O'Loan's findings had made "uncomfortable reading".
But he stressed that he had accepted all of the Ombudsman's
recommendations and was confident systems were in place to
address the problems identified in the report.
The Chief Constable continued: "It is unacceptable that
some individuals over the past days have chosen to use
policing for political purposes and make what can only be
described as insulting comments about this organisation,
its staff and retired colleagues who I hold in the highest
esteem.
"I have spoken directly to the SDLP leadership to express
just how angry I am and have taken steps to speak to Sinn
Fein, but their leadership appears to have gone 'on the
run'."
He also stated: "The officers and police staff I meet on a
daily basis, whether they have worked for this organisation
for three years, 10 years or 30 years, have been
responsible for driving forward the reforms that have shown
to the world just how good we are."
The email, which was distributed right across the force,
concluded: " The most effective response to those who
choose to use policing as a political football is to
continue to do what we are doing now, providing a high
quality police service to everyone.
"Thank you for your continued efforts, we can hold our
heads up high."
Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd today commented: "I'm livid that
the Chief Constable of the PSNI thinks it's his duty to
email his staff and say that the political representatives
of the community most affected by collusion have gone too
far. How do you go too far?
"If he had wanted to send an email out, he should have said
that anyone involved in collusion should pack your bags
before we come looking for you."
Sir Hugh's fury is believed to be partly connected to a
controversial newspaper advert placed by the SDLP last
week. It claimed the party had played a pivotal role in Sir
Hugh's appointment as Chief Constable in place of Sir
Ronnie Flanagan.
SDLP Assembly member Alex Attwood today said people in the
"highest places of the British Government" had tried
unsuccessfully to persuade SDLP Policing Board members to
support an extension to Sir Ronnie's contract and the
appointment of an internal candidate as his successor.
"The Board made these decisions. They did it independently
and on merit and not at the whim of the British
Government," he added.
Criticising Sir Hugh's email, Mr Attwood added: "I think
there will be a lot of people in the SDLP today who will be
hurt and angry, given all their work on the ground when
they were being demonised and attacked, to help the Board
and the PSNI implement the Patten reforms.
"I think they will be saying that the police leadership has
got itself on the wrong side of this argument and they need
to quickly get back on the right side."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking8.htm
PSNI In New McCartney Murder Appeal
Patrick Logue
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Police in the North have made a new appeal in their
investigation into the murder of Robert McCartney near a
Belfast bar two years ago today.
The 33-year-old died and his friend Brendan Devine was
seriously injured when they were stabbed repeatedly during
a fight outside the city centre bar.
The murder of the 33-year-old sparked a political crisis
after accusations that members of the Republican Movement
were involved.
Mr McCartneys sisters and his partner Bridgeen Hagans
claimed the IRA was shielding those responsible for the
murder. Following the murder Sinn Féin suspended 12 of its
members and called on witnesses to come forward to the
police.
The IRA denied involvement but later claimed it had
expelled three of its men, and even offered to shoot those
responsible.
Last night, detectives investigating the murder renewing
their appeal for information.
Detective Superintendent Kevin Dunwoody said: "Both Robert
and Brendan were stabbed following an incident which
started in Magennis' Bar in May Street around 10.40pm on
the Sunday night of January 30th and continued outside the
bar in Market Street and into Cromac Square.
"Brendan Devine was stabbed and was seriously injured but
survived the attack. Robert, tragically, later died of his
injuries. While a small number of people actually assaulted
Robert and Brendan, others helped and supported those in
what they did and afterwards".
So far, one person has been charged with Mr McCartney's
murder. A number of other individuals have been reported
for offences linked to the murder.
Detective Superintendent Dunwoody called on a number of
drivers who were in the area to come forward.
"There were two cars - one blue and one silver - waiting at
the traffic lights to turn right onto Cromac Street. We are
still appealing for the people in the blue car to come
forward and to tell us what they saw," he added.
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.belfasttoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=3425&ArticleID=2009164
IMC's View On Fuel Fraud Is 'Kidology'
THE Petrol Retailers' Association has rejected the IMC's
latest verdict on paramilitary fuel fraud as "a spurious
attempt at kidology".
Spokesman Ray Holloway yesterday branded the report "a
joke" because it only mentions the word "fuel" once and in
context of the PIRA winding up – despite Government figures
showing no change in what he estimates to be a £360m per
year industry.
Yesterday's IMC report said PIRA as an organisation
"continues not to be involved" in other forms of crime
outside terrorism.
"There are indications that in response to the leadership,
the involvement of individual members (in other forms of
crime) has declined," said the report.
It added that some IRA members continue to be engaged in
crime such as smuggling, fuel laundering and tax evasion
but that such activity is now "contrary to the policy" of
PIRA.
But Mr Holloway said the fact this was the only time fuel
fraud was mentioned in the report was "quite
extraordinary".
"Legitimate fuel deliveries for Northern Ireland are still
not back to the level they were in 1995 despite the fact
that road traffic has increased by 35 per cent since then,"
he said.
"This report is a joke, and displays the ability of
Government and its agencies to turn a blind eye to this
form of crime which they say doesn't affect the residents
of Northern Ireland.
"The Westminster Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
reported last year that paramilitaries were heavily
involved in fuel fraud.
"If the IMC wishes to have any credibility, then it needs
to publish something other than this spurious attempt at
kidology. The Government's own statistics says it is not
true."
He said that diesel and petrol deliveries in Northern
Ireland are only 60 and 80 per cent respectively of 1995
figures.
The National Audit Office figures show £360 million of lost
tax revenue annually because of fuel fraud and although the
figure includes cross-border fuel shopping, he believes the
broader cost to the economy would make it an accurate
estimate of total fuel fraud per year.
"Cheap but illegal fuel is the main reason the main high
street petrol retail brands no longer own any property or
petrol stations in Northern Ireland," he said.
"And this IMC report is indicative of the Government's
entire position – stand back and endorse this form of
gangland crime."
Newry and Mourne District Council confirmed yesterday that
it dealt with 10 incidents of dumped fuel laundering waste
last year, costing in total some £45,000 to clear up – five
of them in south Armagh and five around Newry. Three
incidents were in the period covered by the latest IMC
report – September, October and November – with the latest
the latest seizure of 16,000 litres on 15 December.
In the same three-month period, Customs and Excise went
public on four fuel fraud operations in Northern Ireland.
31 January 2007
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201821.ece
Irish School Is Refused New Funding
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 11:19]
By Kathryn Torney
Education Minister Maria Eagle has announced that an
application for grant-aided status for new Irish-medium
primary school, Gaelscoil Éanna, in Glengormley, has been
turned down.
"There are two Irish-medium primaries in the surrounding
area and I am concerned that establishment of a new school
could impact on these schools, " she said. "It is important
that we have a stronger pattern of intakes to confirm that
additional provision in the area will be required for the
long term. I therefore cannot approve this proposal at this
stage.
"My Department has a duty to encourage and facilitate the
provision of Irish-medium education, but in doing so we
must ensure that strong, viable schools are created,
providing good quality education for their pupils.
"My Department is undertaking a broad review of Irish
medium education provision, taking stock of the best way to
facilitate continued and sustainable growth for the next
decade."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547607
Gracey Toast Apology
By Staff Reporter
BRITISH military chiefs have apologised after a general
toasted the death of Orange Order leader Harold Gracey by
likening him to Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein, it
was revealed last night.
Mr Gracey, who led the Drumcree protest, died on March 29
2004.
According to the Iraq war veteran Colonel Tim Collins, an
unnamed general made the remark after a brigadier had
raised his glass at an army dinner in March 2004 to say Mr
Gracey had died.
Orangemen were outraged at the disclosure made in Col
Collins’s book Rules of Engagement.
The order wrote to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) nearly a
year ago.
An MoD letter said those who attended could not clearly
remember details of the private dinner at Warminster in
Wiltshire nearly three years ago. “Nevertheless, it does
appear that a comment was made concerning Mr Gracey, and
the Ministry of Defence regret any distress that has been
caused to his family and friends following Colonel Collins’
mention of the incident,” the letter said.
Dr David Hume, director of services of the Grand Orange
Lodge of Ireland, welcomed the apology, which was received
this month.
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201802.ece
US House Backs Campaign For Improved Finucane Inquiry
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 10:56]
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution
calling on the British Government to set up a fully
independent inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.
The move follows lobbying from the family of the Belfast
solicitor, who was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in
1989.
There have long been allegations that the British security
services helped the men who carried out the shooting.
The British Government has set up an inquiry, but the
family are refusing to co-operate as certain evidence can
still be kept secret.
They want a fully independent inquiry where all evidence
can be assessed and witnesses compelled to testify.
On a vote of 364-34 with 25 members voting "present," the
House accepted a resolution that demanded "the
establishment of a full, independent and public judicial
inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane."
It also urged the British government to scrap the 2005
Inquiries Act that allows it "to block scrutiny of state
actions," under which a previous investigation into
Finucane's death was carried out.
Republican U.S. Representative Chris Smith said the British
government should "live up to its commitment as part of the
Northern Ireland peace process to implement a public,
independent, judicial inquiry into the murder of courageous
human rights attorney and activist."
"The questions of police collusion surrounding his murder
need to be answered," he said.
Democratic Representative Tom Lantos, chairman of the House
foreign affairs committee, said: "The time to bring justice
and put an end to this tragic matter is long past due."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547574
Opin: SF Can Sit And Watch Intra-Unionist Bigot-Fest
By Brian Feeney
Yesterday’s statement by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime
Minister Tony Blair fired the campaign starting gun for the
March 7 assembly elections.
The statement is also an indication that as far as both the
Irish and British governments are concerned, the election
is a two-horse race between Sinn Fein and the DUP.
It is going to offer slim pickings for the SDLP and UUP as
both parties struggle to find an answer to the question
‘What are they for?’
The result of the governments’ posture is to maximise
support for SF and the DUP.
In effect both governments are asking the voters of each of
the north’s two communities to endorse the respective
positions of their tribal leaders – encourage the DUP to
share power and encourage SF to support the police and
criminal justice system.
They think these encouragements are necessary because it’s
far from clear that the DUP will be able to deliver its
part of the bargain Dublin and London have concocted.
Since Sunday’s vote Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have
both already encouraged people in nationalist districts to
report serious crimes to the police – assaults, rape,
aggravated burglary, causing death by dangerous driving.
On the other side of the fence Ian Paisley is paralysed by
the bigots his lifetime of inflammatory rhetoric has
encouraged to join his party.
He has so far proved unable even to convince a majority of
the MPs in his party to support sharing power. As soon as
one like Jeffrey Donaldson suggests it is a possibility,
another one like Nigel Dodds tries to postpone the prospect
indefinitely.
Within the party there is a grim tussle going on for
selection for assembly seats.
There is a distinct possibility that Paisley will end up
with an assembly party opposed to the verbal assurances
their leader has given Mr Blair. For those reasons Sinn
Fein made their ard fheis motion highly conditional on the
DUP delivering the institutions of the Good Friday
Agreement.
For those same reasons both governments are appealing to SF
to help what are laughingly called the ‘modernisers’ in the
DUP.
They want SF to move on support for policing institutions
before the election: in other words to breach the terms of
the resolution passed on Sunday which says that ‘only when
the power-sharing institutions are established and the ard
chomhairle is satisfied that the policing and justice
powers will be transferred’ will the motion be implemented.
SF will not move. Here’s why. The DUP will not enter this
election campaign with a manifesto advocating power-
sharing. They can’t, because a majority in their party
opposes the concept, and why wouldn’t they, since Paisley
spent the last 37 years railing against it? What Sinn Fein
has done is set the scene for another set of negotiations
in the period from the election results on March 8 to the
proposed establishment of the executive on March 26 – a
crucial 16 days.
Quite right too. Only when they see the election results
will they know whether Paisley can deliver power-sharing.
Will Paisley need the support of the surviving UUP assembly
members to complete the Good Friday institutions which,
remember, the DUP has never agreed? Or will Paisley be able
to ride roughshod over his dissenting bigots, secure in the
knowledge that seats in an executive and committee chairs
are in his gift and that the lure of filthy lucre has
proved just as tempting for his hot gospellers as it is for
fenian sinners?
The DUP is afraid of its voters so its manifesto will be
cowardly, full of bombast and bluster, castigating Sinn
Fein as the great evil over whom Protestant voters must
triumph despite the fact that not one DUP vote will have
the slightest effect on SF’s vote.
Only when the election is safely over and the DUP has
consigned its UUP rival to oblivion will Paisley be able to
contemplate delivering on his political obligations.
Suggesting that SF can in any way help in this intra-
unionist bigotfest is fanciful in the extreme.
SF has delivered on all its obligations. How would they
join the Policing Board between now and March 7 anyway?
Now they can sit back and enjoy the spectacle of Paisley on
the frying pan. There’s plenty of him to roast.
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547576
Opin: Irish Americans Back Sinn Fein On Policing
By Ray O'Hanlon Letter from America
The Irish in America know a thing or two about policing. So
it is no surprise that Irish America has long taken a
particular interest in policing in Northern Ireland.
This has been no less the case as Sinn Fein has wrangled
with the issue of its participation in policing.
The north’s slow march towards political and legal
normality has drawn diminished coverage in the American
press in recent times, most especially since Iraq reportage
became a daily imperative.
But last week’s collusion report and the subsequent
policing embrace at the extraordinary ard fheis did draw
front page ink.
Last weekend’s vote in Ballsbridge prompted the New York
Times
to report that the ard fheis vote signalled a shift in the
thinking of Irish republicans, who, since 1922, had
distrusted the police, courts and prisons in Northern
Ireland as institutions of British rule. Some who read the
Times report will not have changed their minds on that
score.
But Sinn Fein will draw the bulk of active Irish American
opinion with it so long as participation in policing is
seen to pay the right dividends.
Congressman Richard Neal, chairman of the Friends of
Ireland in Congress, was first out of the stall with his
reaction to the ard fheis vote. The decision “to
overwhelmingly support accountable policing is
unprecedented and potentially transformative” Neal said in
a statement.
The Massachusetts congressman, a grizzled political veteran
of Irish America’s role in the quest for peace, said that
the vote was particularly significant coming in the wake of
the Police Ombudsman’s report on collusion.
The vote, Neal added, had the potential to create the new
political landscape identified in the Good Friday
Agreement.
“And it should begin a process that leads to a power-
sharing government and the devolution of policing and
justice powers in the St Andrews agreement timeframe”.
Neal concluded that the vote deserved to be “welcomed
positively by political leaders on both sides of the
Atlantic in the strongest possible terms”.
Congressman Joe Crowley from New York also hailed the vote
but then turned his attention to the DUP, urging that party
to now “formally agree to the conditions of a power-sharing
government with Sinn Fein as deigned in the conditions of
the St Andrew’s agreement”.
Across the aisle, Republican Congressman Jim Walsh, the
former Friends chairman, was also turning his beams on Dr
Paisley.
“We now look to Ian Paisley and the DUP to step up and
deliver on behalf of the unionist community.
“It is time for the DUP to validate their word given at St
Andrews by unequivocally committing to a devolved power
sharing government with Sinn Fein.
“They must make good on their word and consummate their
remarkable achievement. An historic moment is dawning on
the island of Ireland.
It is time to act.”
Down the steps from Capitol Hill, Sinn Fein was also
drawing support from the Irish American street.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians was one supporter, Irish
Northern Aid another.
Better known as Noraid – and perhaps best pronounced in
Fleet Street-ese as Nor-ide – the group was once a regular
target of critics who felt that Irish America had far too
big a blind spot when it came to the IRA’s campaign in
particular.
But Noraid has moved with the peace process and was eager
to have its own, cautiously supportive, say on the future
of policing.
“There are deep seated political and emotional problems
which exist in tackling the policing issue and there are
enormous challenges that the Sinn Fein leadership must
overcome,” Noraid stated.
“However, Sinn Fein has made significant progress in
negotiations in recent years and especially in recent
months on this issue.
Because of this, and the leadership that Sinn Fein has
consistently demonstrated throughout the peace process, we
are certain that Sinn Fein will resolve this difficult
issue as they have so many others in recent years.”
This is not the only view of course.
There are individuals and groups such as the New York-based
Irish Freedom Committee that have taken sharp issue with
Sinn Fein’s sea change on policing.
This critical stance was due to be on display last night at
a venue in Manhattan during which members of the IFC
debated backers of the new Sinn Fein position.
There will be more such discussions.
Most of Irish America is with Sinn Fein on this one. But,
no surprise, all argument hasn’t gone away you know.
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6311853.stm
Belfast 1907 Strike Marked
The centenary of a Belfast strike when Catholic and
Protestant workers united briefly has been marked in
Dublin.
More than 5,000 dockers downed tools for four months in the
1907 Belfast Lockout for better pay and conditions.
Royal Irish Constabulary police later mutinied when ordered
to escort "scab" workers to the docks.
Soldiers were called in to end the strike, which was led by
trade union crusader Jim Larkin who is commemorated with
statues in Belfast and Dublin.
Union leaders from Northern Ireland and the Republic
gathered on Tuesday at Larkin's grave in Dublin's Glasnevin
Cemetery to lay a wreath to mark the centenary.
Catholics and Protestants were just as divided by politics
and religion in those days, but Larkin achieved a fragile
unity for several months as Falls Road and Shankill Road
came together, said political historian Eamon Phoenix.
"Larkin was a giant of a man and he used his charisma and
oratorical skills to articulate grievances of the working
classes," he said.
"Sectarianism was sidelined and Home Rule dropped off the
agenda for a short period in 1907."
A Siptu spokesman said of the commemoration: "This is the
first of a series of events to mark the 1907 general strike
in Belfast, when Catholic and Protestant workers united to
demand trade union recognition and decent working
conditions.
"The strike brought the city to a standstill, even the
police joining in the dispute. It was eventually put down
by the use of troops."
Larkin later founded the unions that eventually formed
Siptu and also co-founded the Irish Labour Party with James
Connolly in 1912.
Former Irish Labour Party leader, Ruairi Quinn, who
attended the event, said the Belfast Lockout was one of the
first examples of the worker radicalism and led to the
famous Dublin Lockout in 1913.
"The Belfast strike was a major event in the early years of
the trade union movement," Mr Quinn added.
Casual workers such as dockers and carters in Belfast at
the turn of the century often worked under extreme
hardship. They received no holidays and were often laid off
during work shortages.
Most of the striking workers were employed by industrialist
Thomas Gallagher who owned the Belfast Steamship Company
and members of the National Union of Dock Labourers.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 07:59:58 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547654
Gaiety All Set For Major Facelift
By Staff Reporter
One of Dublin's most famous venues, the Gaiety Theatre, is
to shut its doors for a multi-million euro refurbishment.
The city centre building, which has seen numerous stars
tread its boards, will close for five months on Sunday
February 4th for the biggest refurbishment in its history.
The project has been funded under a e7.5 million (£4.9
million) grant from the Arts Department and e2 million
(£1.4 million) from its owners, Denis and Caroline Desmond.
The biggest refurbishment since its opening over 130 years
ago will see the stage completely rebuilt to include an
enlarged orchestra, stage and scenery accommodation area.
Sections included in the upgrade will be the dressing
rooms, fire prevention, roof and the front of house and bar
areas.
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To January Index
To Index of Monthly Archives
To Searches & Sources of Other Irish News
IN 01/31/07 Malachy McAllister’s Anguish Over Funeral
IN 01/31/07 Gunshots Of BS Marked By Minute’s Silence
IT 01/31/07 NI Politicians Start Election Campaign
BT 01/31/07 Blair: March Election Is Crucial For Ulster
BT 01/31/07 Indecisive Paisley - A Wait & See Attitude
BT 01/31/07 The Loyalists Are Long Way Behind
BB 01/31/07 Orde Anger At 'Policing Insults'
BT 01/31/07 SF & SDLP Backlash In Orde Leak Row
IT 01/31/07 PSNI In New McCartney Murder Appeal
NL 01/31/07 IMC's View On Fuel Fraud Is 'Kidology'
BT 01/31/07 Irish School Is Refused New Funding
IN 01/31/07 Gracey Toast Apology
BT 01/31/07 House Backs Improved Finucane Inquiry
IN 01/31/07 Opin: SF Can Sit & Watch Unionist Bigot-Fest
IN 01/31/07 Opin: Irish Americans Back SF On Policing
BB 01/31/07 Belfast 1907 Strike Marked
IN 01/31/07 Gaiety All Set For Major Facelift
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547613
Ex-Prisoner’s Anguish Over Funeral
By Allison Morris
The family of former INLA prisoner, who is fighting
deportation from America, say he is devastated at being
unable to attend his father’s funeral in Belfast.
Malachy McAllister, fled Belfast with his young family in
1988 after loyalist gunmen fired 26 shots into his lower
Ormeau home.
He is fighting a Supreme Court of Appeal decision to deport
him and his three younger children back to Northern Ireland
from New Jersey.
His father Robert died suddenly on Monday after a short
illness. The funeral of the 76-year-old father-of- eight
will take place today.
Mr McAllister’s eldest son Gary (30) arrived in Belfast
from America on Tuesday to attend his grandfather’s
funeral. He is the only member of the family with
recognised immigration status.
“My dad is obviously very upset at the loss of his father
and the fact he can’t be here to pay his respects,” Gary
said.
“He’s been on the phone to check my flight got in safe and
to speak to the rest of the family. He’s just grieving and
feels helpless at not being able to be here for his
mother.”
It is the second tragedy to hit the family in the last two
years. In 2004 Mr McAllister’s wife Bernie died of cancer
in America.
Bernie – along with the couple’s three younger children –
had been given leave to stay in America.
But after her death the family’s status was again called
into question.
Mr McAllister’s original application for citizenship was
unsuccessful because of a 1983 conviction for acting as a
lookout during an INLA attack on an RUC officer.
He was released from Long Kesh in 1985 and after the
loyalist gun attack on his home fled with his family to
Canada and then to the US.
His mother, Ellen McAllister, says her son’s greatest fear
was that something would happen to one of his parents while
he was still unable to travel.
“Malachy and the children have built their lives in
America. He has his own business there and the children
know no other life,” she said.
“Because of all this he hadn’t seen his father in 20 years.
“I last saw him two years ago when his wife Bernie died and
I went over and stayed with him for a while.
“We all know his thoughts are with us. It’s just so sad
that he can’t be here in person.”
Robert McAllister will be buried today at Roselawn Cemetery
following Requiem Mass 12.30pm at St Malachy’s Church,
Alfred Street.
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547646
Gunshots Of Bloody Sunday Marked By Minute’s Silence
By Seamus McKinney
Around 100 people held a minute’s silence in Derry’s
Bogside yesterday to mark the moment that British
paratroopers opened fire on Bloody Sunday.
Records show the soldiers moved into the Bogside at 4.10pm
on January 30 1972, about 15 minutes after John Johnston
and Damien Donaghy had been shot on the edge of the
district.
Thirteen people were killed that day and the injured Mr
Johnston died on June 16 that year.
At yesterday’s ceremony at Rossville Street, civil rights
activist Eamonn McCann paid tribute to the Bloody Sunday
families for their campaign to uncover the truth.
He said as the families contemplated “that moment of horror
and gunfire” when the shooting started 35 years ago, Bloody
Sunday continued to ring out through the world.
When the truth comes out, the grief of families will remain
but they will leave Bloody Sunday as an issue behind them,
he said.
“That day is not here yet but we will be here until it
comes,” Mr McCann said.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking19.htm
NI Politicians Start Election Campaign
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Northern Ireland politicians were today embarking on an
Assembly Election Campaign with British Prime Minister Tony
Blair warning he could pull the plug at any stage before
polling day.
Mr Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday decided to
press ahead with plans for a March 7th election.
After their meeting in Downing Street, however, the two
warned the election must result in a power-sharing
government.
"The Assembly Election, due to be held on March 7th, is an
integral part of the process and timetable agreed at St
Andrews," they said.
"It is being held for the explicit purposes of endorsing
the St Andrews Agreement and of electing an Assembly that
will form a power-sharing executive on March 26th, in
accordance with that agreement and time-frame.
"If, at any point, it became clear that parties were
unwilling to fulfil their commitments in the St Andrews
Agreement to the twin pillars of power-sharing on March
26th and support for policing, it would be unreasonable to
expect the people of Northern Ireland to continue with an
election to an Assembly which would not exist."
The notice for an Assembly Election in Northern Ireland was
published today, marking the start of what could
potentially be a fierce campaign.
The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will
be hoping to remain the largest grouping in the next
Assembly, with their leader becoming First Minister if the
party is convinced it can form a power-sharing government
with Sinn Fein.
The DUP has signalled it will only share power with Gerry
Adams' party if it is sure the IRA has abandoned
paramilitary activity and criminality for good and Sinn
Fein is actively encouraging its supporters to join and
work with the police.
A report yesterday by the Independent Monitoring Commission
(IMC) said the Provisional IRA was moving decisively away
from criminality and into politics.
Sinn Fein's decision at the weekend to support the police
in Northern Ireland for the first time in its history and
further comments from Mr Adams urging republicans to report
crime and join Sir Hugh Orde's Police Service of Northern
Ireland (PSNI) if they wanted to, has added more pressure
on Mr Paisley to say yes to power-sharing.
Sir Reg Empey, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, said
the question which the DUP will have to answer during the
election campaign is whether or not there will be power-
sharing as envisaged on March 26th.
On the nationalist side, Sinn Fein will go into the
election buoyed by its leadership's success in persuading
rank and file party members to sign up to policing in
Northern Ireland.
The party, which has in recent years overtaken the SDLP as
the largest nationalist grouping in the Assembly, believes
it can make further headway and will eventually become the
largest party in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein's party machine will go into the election already
firing on all cylinders, having undertaken a huge internal
consultation on policing and in anticipation of the General
Election this year.
Mark Durkan's SDLP will, however, trade blows with Sinn
Fein on policing, its support for Northern Ireland
Secretary, Peter Hain's local government reform plan and
argue that neither Mr Adams' nor Mr Paisley's parties can
be trusted to deliver political progress.
PA
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2201507.ece
March Election Is The Most Crucial Poll For Ulster In
Decades: Blair
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 09:02]
Voters in Northern Ireland will go to the polls on March 7
and make their biggest democratic decision in "many, many
decades", Tony Blair declared last night.
After talks in Downing Street, the Prime Minister and
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed they will press ahead with
a March election.
Both leaders stressed the election will be staged on the
basis of Sinn Fein supporting the rule of law and policing
and the DUP committing itself to a power-sharing executive
on March 26.
Mr Blair refused to speculate on the possibility of either
party failing to live up to those obligations but did warn:
"There is no point in going forward with this election
unless we are going to have an Assembly that is going to be
functioning with an Executive alongside it."
He said there was a "tremendous yearning" for the
restoration of devolution and that Northern Ireland now has
the prospect of "a different future that its people
desire".
Sinn Fein's decision to support the PSNI and yesterday's
Independent Monitoring Commission report "gives us, I
think, the right context in which elections can take
place."
He added: "The election is going to go ahead. Of course
this is probably the most serious decision people in
Northern Ireland have taken for many, many decades because
it is a major, major question."
And in a direct appeal to the political parties, now on the
verge of launching their election manifestos, he said:
"People will want to know where they stand.
"Are we going into a power sharing executive or not? Is
there proper support for policing or not? I think these
questions will be pretty firmly determined during the
course of that campaign."
Mr Ahern said that he would like to have "greater clarity"
from the DUP but he said Mr Blair was "convinced" from his
talks with Ian Paisley, that the democratic unionists were
ready to engage in a power-sharing executive.
When pressed by reporters, he added: "I accept that."
And he made clear that both governments had agreed that
they would move to the 'Plan B' of joint partnership
arrangements if the political process failed.
He said: "...we believe this election is for one single
process - a democratically elected assembly that will have
powersharing on March 26.
"And if it doesn't, that's over. That process is over.
There will be no executive. There will be no Assembly. We
will then proceed with our partnership arrangements, which
is a second best."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201807.ece
Indecisive Paisley Adopts A 'Wait And See' Attitude
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 11:00]
By Mark Hookham and Noel McAdam
Ian Paisley has refused to make clear if he is prepared to
join a power-sharing Executive as First Minister with
Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister.
As the Government confirmed the go-ahead for new Assembly
elections on Wednesday, March 7, the DUP leader adopted a
"wait and see" stance.
After a meeting with Direct Rule Security Minister Paul
Goggins, Mr Paisley said many issues still had to be dealt
with despite Sinn Fein's ard fheis motion and Gerry Adams'
encouragement for republicans to co-operate with the PSNI.
The issues, Mr Paisley said, included the murder of Belfast
man Robert McCartney.
After their Downing Street mini-summit, Prime Minister Tony
Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed they will press
ahead with a March election.
But both leaders stressed the election will be staged on
the basis of Sinn Fein supporting the rule of law and
policing, and the DUP committing itself to a power-sharing
executive on March 26.
Mr Blair refused to speculate on the possibility of either
party failing to live up to those obligations, but did
warn: "There is no point in going forward with this
election unless we are going to have an Assembly that is
going to be functioning with an Executive alongside it."
He said there was a "tremendous yearning" for the
restoration of devolution and that Northern Ireland now has
the prospect of "a different future that its people
desire".
Sinn Fein's decision to support the PSNI and yesterday's
Independent Monitoring Commission report "gives us, I
think, the right context in which elections can take
place," he said.
He added: "The election is going to go ahead.
"Of course this is probably the most serious decision
people in Northern Ireland have taken for many, many
decades because it is a major, major question."
And in a direct appeal to the political parties, now on the
verge of launching their election manifestos, he said:
"People will want to know where they stand.
"Are we going into a power sharing Executive or not?
"Is there proper support for policing or not? I think these
questions will be pretty firmly determined during the
course of that campaign."
Mr Ahern admitted that he would like to have "greater
clarity" from the DUP, but he said Mr Blair was "convinced"
from his talks with Mr Paisley that the democratic
unionists were ready to engage in a power-sharing
Executive.
When pressed by reporters, he added: "I accept that."
And he made clear that both Governments had agreed to move
to the 'plan B' of joint partnership arrangements if the
political process failed.
He said: "We believe this election is for one single
process - a democratically elected Assembly that will have
powersharing on March 26.
"And if it doesn't, that's over. That process is over.
There will be no executive. There will be no Assembly. We
will then proceed with our partnership arrangements, which
is a second best."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201805.ece
The Loyalists Are Long Way Behind
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 10:58]
By Brian Rowan
If it was the IRA it would be very different. But it's not
the IRA. It's the loyalists on the Shankill.
On that road there is something happening that demonstrates
the continuing control and power of the paramilitaries.
The police are monitoring the developing situation.
In the 31 pages of yesterday's report by the Independent
Monitoring Commission, there were the two stories we had
expected.
The IRA is going away, but the loyalists are still out
there - out there and up to all sorts of the usual
activities, including the business of paramilitary justice.
In the IMC assessment, you'll read that there are senior
leadership figures trying to change things.
That's right. There are.
I know them - know what they're trying to do.
But I also know that's not all of the story.
There was an incident last Friday - an incident that falls
outside the reporting period of this latest assessment of
the monitoring commission - but a story worth telling as an
example of what's still going on.
A senior figure in the UDA was "thumped" by a former Red
Hand Commando prisoner.
It was between the two of them, and there's a complicated
explanation about the background to the incident.
But the point is not so much what happened, but what is now
expected to happen.
At the highest level of the UDA and Red Hand Commando there
has been contact.
The UDA wants the Red Hand Commando to "punish" or "
discipline " the former prisoner who thumped 'Mo' Courtney,
a one-time close associate of Johnny Adair.
And what does that tell us? It tells us that the business
of paramilitary justice is still part and parcel of the
loyalist playground.
The man who wants to even the score is the most senior
figure in the UDA on the Shankill Road.
He was involved in recent talks with the British and Irish
governments - talks about loyalists wanting to change,
wanting to be part of the peace process, not wanting to be
left behind.
But they still want scores settled - and settled in the old
way.
This is the continuing reality of life on the loyalist
street.
It is where the loyalists are stuck.
For all that it was trying to say yesterday about some
within loyalism wanting to make things better, there was
another message from the IMC.
On the loyalist side, "the pace of movement has been slow".
It's a gentle way of putting it.
The fact is they are a long way behind the IRA.
And this waiting for all the political i's and t's to be
dotted and crossed, is to wait too long.
Why not do something to help the process - to make it work?
And what are they going to do if they don't like the
political outcome?
Is there a threat in the waiting?
The loyalist paramilitary focus needs to be on the bigger
picture of the peace process, not on petty inter-
organisational rows on the streets of the Shankill.
Those who can make things happen - who have the
paramilitary rank to make a difference - need now to use
that rank, that leadership.
If they wait much longer, they might find that any loyalist
initiative has been so devalued to be dismissed as "so
what?"
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6315721.stm
Orde Anger At 'Policing Insults'
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has accused the SDLP and Sinn
Fein of insulting his staff and using the police as a
political football.
His criticism is contained in a confidential memo, obtained
by the BBC.
It is understood that Sir Hugh was angered by a number of
remarks by nationalist politicians.
It follows the report by the Police Ombudsman last week,
which said there had been collusion between some members of
Special Branch and the UVF.
The chief constable said in his memo, sent to almost 10,000
police officers last week when the report was published,
that it had been "a difficult week for policing."
He again points out that he has accepted the
recommendations made in Nuala O'Loan's report, which he
described as "uncomfortable reading".
Sir Hugh then accuses some political parties of making
"unfair and damaging statements about our organisation".
It is believed that he was angered by remarks by Sinn Fein
leader Gerry Adams last week, when he said republicans
would "put manners" on the police.
Sir Hugh is also believed to be annoyed by comments made by
Mark Durkan in a newspaper advert last Friday.
In it, the SDLP leader claimed his party had ensured that
Sir Hugh was appointed chief constable of the PSNI - to
keep out what he called "the old RUC order."
In the memo, Sir Hugh said it was "unacceptable that some
individuals have used policing for political purposes".
He said they had made "insulting comments about the
organisation, its staff and retired colleagues", who he
holds in the highest esteem.
Sir Hugh tells staff that he has spoken directly to the
SDLP leadership to express his anger - and taken steps to
speak to Sinn Fein, but says their leadership appears to
have "gone on-the-run".
He ends his message by saying he is "proud to lead the
PSNI" and says his staff "can hold their heads up high".
SDLP policing spokesman Alex Attwood told the BBC's Good
Morning Ulster he was surprised by the content of Sir
Hugh's memo.
"I would suggest to the police leadership that they are on
the wrong side of the argument," he said.
"They need to get back on the right side of those people
who, over the last five or six years, have done so much to
reshape Northern Ireland society in the interests of and to
the benefit of everyone."
Sinn Fein assembly member John O'Dowd rejected Sir Hugh's
claim that the party had "gone to ground" when he tried to
contact them.
"Sinn Fein is out there trying to introduce an accountable
policing service," he said.
"And if he comes to Sinn Fein with the same attitude that
he has displayed in that memo, he will be getting a short
shrift answer."
Meanwhile, party president Gerry Adams is to meet the prime
minister on Thursday to discuss the implications of the
Ombudsman's report on collusion.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 11:27:07 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201515.ece
SF, SDLP Backlash In Orde Leak Row
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 08:42]
By David Gordon
PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde was embroiled in a
bitter dispute with nationalist politicians today after
accusing them of insulting the force and treating policing
like a "political football".
The Chief Constable used a confidential email to officers
and civilian staff to denounce comments made following last
week's collusion report by Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.
A Sinn Fein MLA today declared himself "livid" at the
broadside, while the SDLP said it would cause hurt and
anger among its party members.
In the email, which has been leaked to the Belfast
Telegraph, Sir Hugh said he had conveyed his anger to the
SDLP, but had been unable to contact Sinn Fein, as its
leadership appeared to have gone "on the run".
He stated that last week had been "difficult" for policing
and Mrs O'Loan's findings had made "uncomfortable reading".
But he stressed that he had accepted all of the Ombudsman's
recommendations and was confident systems were in place to
address the problems identified in the report.
The Chief Constable continued: "It is unacceptable that
some individuals over the past days have chosen to use
policing for political purposes and make what can only be
described as insulting comments about this organisation,
its staff and retired colleagues who I hold in the highest
esteem.
"I have spoken directly to the SDLP leadership to express
just how angry I am and have taken steps to speak to Sinn
Fein, but their leadership appears to have gone 'on the
run'."
He also stated: "The officers and police staff I meet on a
daily basis, whether they have worked for this organisation
for three years, 10 years or 30 years, have been
responsible for driving forward the reforms that have shown
to the world just how good we are."
The email, which was distributed right across the force,
concluded: " The most effective response to those who
choose to use policing as a political football is to
continue to do what we are doing now, providing a high
quality police service to everyone.
"Thank you for your continued efforts, we can hold our
heads up high."
Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd today commented: "I'm livid that
the Chief Constable of the PSNI thinks it's his duty to
email his staff and say that the political representatives
of the community most affected by collusion have gone too
far. How do you go too far?
"If he had wanted to send an email out, he should have said
that anyone involved in collusion should pack your bags
before we come looking for you."
Sir Hugh's fury is believed to be partly connected to a
controversial newspaper advert placed by the SDLP last
week. It claimed the party had played a pivotal role in Sir
Hugh's appointment as Chief Constable in place of Sir
Ronnie Flanagan.
SDLP Assembly member Alex Attwood today said people in the
"highest places of the British Government" had tried
unsuccessfully to persuade SDLP Policing Board members to
support an extension to Sir Ronnie's contract and the
appointment of an internal candidate as his successor.
"The Board made these decisions. They did it independently
and on merit and not at the whim of the British
Government," he added.
Criticising Sir Hugh's email, Mr Attwood added: "I think
there will be a lot of people in the SDLP today who will be
hurt and angry, given all their work on the ground when
they were being demonised and attacked, to help the Board
and the PSNI implement the Patten reforms.
"I think they will be saying that the police leadership has
got itself on the wrong side of this argument and they need
to quickly get back on the right side."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0131/breaking8.htm
PSNI In New McCartney Murder Appeal
Patrick Logue
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
Police in the North have made a new appeal in their
investigation into the murder of Robert McCartney near a
Belfast bar two years ago today.
The 33-year-old died and his friend Brendan Devine was
seriously injured when they were stabbed repeatedly during
a fight outside the city centre bar.
The murder of the 33-year-old sparked a political crisis
after accusations that members of the Republican Movement
were involved.
Mr McCartneys sisters and his partner Bridgeen Hagans
claimed the IRA was shielding those responsible for the
murder. Following the murder Sinn Féin suspended 12 of its
members and called on witnesses to come forward to the
police.
The IRA denied involvement but later claimed it had
expelled three of its men, and even offered to shoot those
responsible.
Last night, detectives investigating the murder renewing
their appeal for information.
Detective Superintendent Kevin Dunwoody said: "Both Robert
and Brendan were stabbed following an incident which
started in Magennis' Bar in May Street around 10.40pm on
the Sunday night of January 30th and continued outside the
bar in Market Street and into Cromac Square.
"Brendan Devine was stabbed and was seriously injured but
survived the attack. Robert, tragically, later died of his
injuries. While a small number of people actually assaulted
Robert and Brendan, others helped and supported those in
what they did and afterwards".
So far, one person has been charged with Mr McCartney's
murder. A number of other individuals have been reported
for offences linked to the murder.
Detective Superintendent Dunwoody called on a number of
drivers who were in the area to come forward.
"There were two cars - one blue and one silver - waiting at
the traffic lights to turn right onto Cromac Street. We are
still appealing for the people in the blue car to come
forward and to tell us what they saw," he added.
© 2007 ireland.com
*************************
http://www.belfasttoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=3425&ArticleID=2009164
IMC's View On Fuel Fraud Is 'Kidology'
THE Petrol Retailers' Association has rejected the IMC's
latest verdict on paramilitary fuel fraud as "a spurious
attempt at kidology".
Spokesman Ray Holloway yesterday branded the report "a
joke" because it only mentions the word "fuel" once and in
context of the PIRA winding up – despite Government figures
showing no change in what he estimates to be a £360m per
year industry.
Yesterday's IMC report said PIRA as an organisation
"continues not to be involved" in other forms of crime
outside terrorism.
"There are indications that in response to the leadership,
the involvement of individual members (in other forms of
crime) has declined," said the report.
It added that some IRA members continue to be engaged in
crime such as smuggling, fuel laundering and tax evasion
but that such activity is now "contrary to the policy" of
PIRA.
But Mr Holloway said the fact this was the only time fuel
fraud was mentioned in the report was "quite
extraordinary".
"Legitimate fuel deliveries for Northern Ireland are still
not back to the level they were in 1995 despite the fact
that road traffic has increased by 35 per cent since then,"
he said.
"This report is a joke, and displays the ability of
Government and its agencies to turn a blind eye to this
form of crime which they say doesn't affect the residents
of Northern Ireland.
"The Westminster Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
reported last year that paramilitaries were heavily
involved in fuel fraud.
"If the IMC wishes to have any credibility, then it needs
to publish something other than this spurious attempt at
kidology. The Government's own statistics says it is not
true."
He said that diesel and petrol deliveries in Northern
Ireland are only 60 and 80 per cent respectively of 1995
figures.
The National Audit Office figures show £360 million of lost
tax revenue annually because of fuel fraud and although the
figure includes cross-border fuel shopping, he believes the
broader cost to the economy would make it an accurate
estimate of total fuel fraud per year.
"Cheap but illegal fuel is the main reason the main high
street petrol retail brands no longer own any property or
petrol stations in Northern Ireland," he said.
"And this IMC report is indicative of the Government's
entire position – stand back and endorse this form of
gangland crime."
Newry and Mourne District Council confirmed yesterday that
it dealt with 10 incidents of dumped fuel laundering waste
last year, costing in total some £45,000 to clear up – five
of them in south Armagh and five around Newry. Three
incidents were in the period covered by the latest IMC
report – September, October and November – with the latest
the latest seizure of 16,000 litres on 15 December.
In the same three-month period, Customs and Excise went
public on four fuel fraud operations in Northern Ireland.
31 January 2007
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201821.ece
Irish School Is Refused New Funding
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 11:19]
By Kathryn Torney
Education Minister Maria Eagle has announced that an
application for grant-aided status for new Irish-medium
primary school, Gaelscoil Éanna, in Glengormley, has been
turned down.
"There are two Irish-medium primaries in the surrounding
area and I am concerned that establishment of a new school
could impact on these schools, " she said. "It is important
that we have a stronger pattern of intakes to confirm that
additional provision in the area will be required for the
long term. I therefore cannot approve this proposal at this
stage.
"My Department has a duty to encourage and facilitate the
provision of Irish-medium education, but in doing so we
must ensure that strong, viable schools are created,
providing good quality education for their pupils.
"My Department is undertaking a broad review of Irish
medium education provision, taking stock of the best way to
facilitate continued and sustainable growth for the next
decade."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547607
Gracey Toast Apology
By Staff Reporter
BRITISH military chiefs have apologised after a general
toasted the death of Orange Order leader Harold Gracey by
likening him to Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein, it
was revealed last night.
Mr Gracey, who led the Drumcree protest, died on March 29
2004.
According to the Iraq war veteran Colonel Tim Collins, an
unnamed general made the remark after a brigadier had
raised his glass at an army dinner in March 2004 to say Mr
Gracey had died.
Orangemen were outraged at the disclosure made in Col
Collins’s book Rules of Engagement.
The order wrote to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) nearly a
year ago.
An MoD letter said those who attended could not clearly
remember details of the private dinner at Warminster in
Wiltshire nearly three years ago. “Nevertheless, it does
appear that a comment was made concerning Mr Gracey, and
the Ministry of Defence regret any distress that has been
caused to his family and friends following Colonel Collins’
mention of the incident,” the letter said.
Dr David Hume, director of services of the Grand Orange
Lodge of Ireland, welcomed the apology, which was received
this month.
*************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2201802.ece
US House Backs Campaign For Improved Finucane Inquiry
[Published: Wednesday 31, January 2007 - 10:56]
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution
calling on the British Government to set up a fully
independent inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.
The move follows lobbying from the family of the Belfast
solicitor, who was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in
1989.
There have long been allegations that the British security
services helped the men who carried out the shooting.
The British Government has set up an inquiry, but the
family are refusing to co-operate as certain evidence can
still be kept secret.
They want a fully independent inquiry where all evidence
can be assessed and witnesses compelled to testify.
On a vote of 364-34 with 25 members voting "present," the
House accepted a resolution that demanded "the
establishment of a full, independent and public judicial
inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane."
It also urged the British government to scrap the 2005
Inquiries Act that allows it "to block scrutiny of state
actions," under which a previous investigation into
Finucane's death was carried out.
Republican U.S. Representative Chris Smith said the British
government should "live up to its commitment as part of the
Northern Ireland peace process to implement a public,
independent, judicial inquiry into the murder of courageous
human rights attorney and activist."
"The questions of police collusion surrounding his murder
need to be answered," he said.
Democratic Representative Tom Lantos, chairman of the House
foreign affairs committee, said: "The time to bring justice
and put an end to this tragic matter is long past due."
© Belfast Telegraph
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547574
Opin: SF Can Sit And Watch Intra-Unionist Bigot-Fest
By Brian Feeney
Yesterday’s statement by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime
Minister Tony Blair fired the campaign starting gun for the
March 7 assembly elections.
The statement is also an indication that as far as both the
Irish and British governments are concerned, the election
is a two-horse race between Sinn Fein and the DUP.
It is going to offer slim pickings for the SDLP and UUP as
both parties struggle to find an answer to the question
‘What are they for?’
The result of the governments’ posture is to maximise
support for SF and the DUP.
In effect both governments are asking the voters of each of
the north’s two communities to endorse the respective
positions of their tribal leaders – encourage the DUP to
share power and encourage SF to support the police and
criminal justice system.
They think these encouragements are necessary because it’s
far from clear that the DUP will be able to deliver its
part of the bargain Dublin and London have concocted.
Since Sunday’s vote Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have
both already encouraged people in nationalist districts to
report serious crimes to the police – assaults, rape,
aggravated burglary, causing death by dangerous driving.
On the other side of the fence Ian Paisley is paralysed by
the bigots his lifetime of inflammatory rhetoric has
encouraged to join his party.
He has so far proved unable even to convince a majority of
the MPs in his party to support sharing power. As soon as
one like Jeffrey Donaldson suggests it is a possibility,
another one like Nigel Dodds tries to postpone the prospect
indefinitely.
Within the party there is a grim tussle going on for
selection for assembly seats.
There is a distinct possibility that Paisley will end up
with an assembly party opposed to the verbal assurances
their leader has given Mr Blair. For those reasons Sinn
Fein made their ard fheis motion highly conditional on the
DUP delivering the institutions of the Good Friday
Agreement.
For those same reasons both governments are appealing to SF
to help what are laughingly called the ‘modernisers’ in the
DUP.
They want SF to move on support for policing institutions
before the election: in other words to breach the terms of
the resolution passed on Sunday which says that ‘only when
the power-sharing institutions are established and the ard
chomhairle is satisfied that the policing and justice
powers will be transferred’ will the motion be implemented.
SF will not move. Here’s why. The DUP will not enter this
election campaign with a manifesto advocating power-
sharing. They can’t, because a majority in their party
opposes the concept, and why wouldn’t they, since Paisley
spent the last 37 years railing against it? What Sinn Fein
has done is set the scene for another set of negotiations
in the period from the election results on March 8 to the
proposed establishment of the executive on March 26 – a
crucial 16 days.
Quite right too. Only when they see the election results
will they know whether Paisley can deliver power-sharing.
Will Paisley need the support of the surviving UUP assembly
members to complete the Good Friday institutions which,
remember, the DUP has never agreed? Or will Paisley be able
to ride roughshod over his dissenting bigots, secure in the
knowledge that seats in an executive and committee chairs
are in his gift and that the lure of filthy lucre has
proved just as tempting for his hot gospellers as it is for
fenian sinners?
The DUP is afraid of its voters so its manifesto will be
cowardly, full of bombast and bluster, castigating Sinn
Fein as the great evil over whom Protestant voters must
triumph despite the fact that not one DUP vote will have
the slightest effect on SF’s vote.
Only when the election is safely over and the DUP has
consigned its UUP rival to oblivion will Paisley be able to
contemplate delivering on his political obligations.
Suggesting that SF can in any way help in this intra-
unionist bigotfest is fanciful in the extreme.
SF has delivered on all its obligations. How would they
join the Policing Board between now and March 7 anyway?
Now they can sit back and enjoy the spectacle of Paisley on
the frying pan. There’s plenty of him to roast.
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547576
Opin: Irish Americans Back Sinn Fein On Policing
By Ray O'Hanlon Letter from America
The Irish in America know a thing or two about policing. So
it is no surprise that Irish America has long taken a
particular interest in policing in Northern Ireland.
This has been no less the case as Sinn Fein has wrangled
with the issue of its participation in policing.
The north’s slow march towards political and legal
normality has drawn diminished coverage in the American
press in recent times, most especially since Iraq reportage
became a daily imperative.
But last week’s collusion report and the subsequent
policing embrace at the extraordinary ard fheis did draw
front page ink.
Last weekend’s vote in Ballsbridge prompted the New York
Times
to report that the ard fheis vote signalled a shift in the
thinking of Irish republicans, who, since 1922, had
distrusted the police, courts and prisons in Northern
Ireland as institutions of British rule. Some who read the
Times report will not have changed their minds on that
score.
But Sinn Fein will draw the bulk of active Irish American
opinion with it so long as participation in policing is
seen to pay the right dividends.
Congressman Richard Neal, chairman of the Friends of
Ireland in Congress, was first out of the stall with his
reaction to the ard fheis vote. The decision “to
overwhelmingly support accountable policing is
unprecedented and potentially transformative” Neal said in
a statement.
The Massachusetts congressman, a grizzled political veteran
of Irish America’s role in the quest for peace, said that
the vote was particularly significant coming in the wake of
the Police Ombudsman’s report on collusion.
The vote, Neal added, had the potential to create the new
political landscape identified in the Good Friday
Agreement.
“And it should begin a process that leads to a power-
sharing government and the devolution of policing and
justice powers in the St Andrews agreement timeframe”.
Neal concluded that the vote deserved to be “welcomed
positively by political leaders on both sides of the
Atlantic in the strongest possible terms”.
Congressman Joe Crowley from New York also hailed the vote
but then turned his attention to the DUP, urging that party
to now “formally agree to the conditions of a power-sharing
government with Sinn Fein as deigned in the conditions of
the St Andrew’s agreement”.
Across the aisle, Republican Congressman Jim Walsh, the
former Friends chairman, was also turning his beams on Dr
Paisley.
“We now look to Ian Paisley and the DUP to step up and
deliver on behalf of the unionist community.
“It is time for the DUP to validate their word given at St
Andrews by unequivocally committing to a devolved power
sharing government with Sinn Fein.
“They must make good on their word and consummate their
remarkable achievement. An historic moment is dawning on
the island of Ireland.
It is time to act.”
Down the steps from Capitol Hill, Sinn Fein was also
drawing support from the Irish American street.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians was one supporter, Irish
Northern Aid another.
Better known as Noraid – and perhaps best pronounced in
Fleet Street-ese as Nor-ide – the group was once a regular
target of critics who felt that Irish America had far too
big a blind spot when it came to the IRA’s campaign in
particular.
But Noraid has moved with the peace process and was eager
to have its own, cautiously supportive, say on the future
of policing.
“There are deep seated political and emotional problems
which exist in tackling the policing issue and there are
enormous challenges that the Sinn Fein leadership must
overcome,” Noraid stated.
“However, Sinn Fein has made significant progress in
negotiations in recent years and especially in recent
months on this issue.
Because of this, and the leadership that Sinn Fein has
consistently demonstrated throughout the peace process, we
are certain that Sinn Fein will resolve this difficult
issue as they have so many others in recent years.”
This is not the only view of course.
There are individuals and groups such as the New York-based
Irish Freedom Committee that have taken sharp issue with
Sinn Fein’s sea change on policing.
This critical stance was due to be on display last night at
a venue in Manhattan during which members of the IFC
debated backers of the new Sinn Fein position.
There will be more such discussions.
Most of Irish America is with Sinn Fein on this one. But,
no surprise, all argument hasn’t gone away you know.
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6311853.stm
Belfast 1907 Strike Marked
The centenary of a Belfast strike when Catholic and
Protestant workers united briefly has been marked in
Dublin.
More than 5,000 dockers downed tools for four months in the
1907 Belfast Lockout for better pay and conditions.
Royal Irish Constabulary police later mutinied when ordered
to escort "scab" workers to the docks.
Soldiers were called in to end the strike, which was led by
trade union crusader Jim Larkin who is commemorated with
statues in Belfast and Dublin.
Union leaders from Northern Ireland and the Republic
gathered on Tuesday at Larkin's grave in Dublin's Glasnevin
Cemetery to lay a wreath to mark the centenary.
Catholics and Protestants were just as divided by politics
and religion in those days, but Larkin achieved a fragile
unity for several months as Falls Road and Shankill Road
came together, said political historian Eamon Phoenix.
"Larkin was a giant of a man and he used his charisma and
oratorical skills to articulate grievances of the working
classes," he said.
"Sectarianism was sidelined and Home Rule dropped off the
agenda for a short period in 1907."
A Siptu spokesman said of the commemoration: "This is the
first of a series of events to mark the 1907 general strike
in Belfast, when Catholic and Protestant workers united to
demand trade union recognition and decent working
conditions.
"The strike brought the city to a standstill, even the
police joining in the dispute. It was eventually put down
by the use of troops."
Larkin later founded the unions that eventually formed
Siptu and also co-founded the Irish Labour Party with James
Connolly in 1912.
Former Irish Labour Party leader, Ruairi Quinn, who
attended the event, said the Belfast Lockout was one of the
first examples of the worker radicalism and led to the
famous Dublin Lockout in 1913.
"The Belfast strike was a major event in the early years of
the trade union movement," Mr Quinn added.
Casual workers such as dockers and carters in Belfast at
the turn of the century often worked under extreme
hardship. They received no holidays and were often laid off
during work shortages.
Most of the striking workers were employed by industrialist
Thomas Gallagher who owned the Belfast Steamship Company
and members of the National Union of Dock Labourers.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/01/31 07:59:58 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*************************
http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=547654
Gaiety All Set For Major Facelift
By Staff Reporter
One of Dublin's most famous venues, the Gaiety Theatre, is
to shut its doors for a multi-million euro refurbishment.
The city centre building, which has seen numerous stars
tread its boards, will close for five months on Sunday
February 4th for the biggest refurbishment in its history.
The project has been funded under a e7.5 million (£4.9
million) grant from the Arts Department and e2 million
(£1.4 million) from its owners, Denis and Caroline Desmond.
The biggest refurbishment since its opening over 130 years
ago will see the stage completely rebuilt to include an
enlarged orchestra, stage and scenery accommodation area.
Sections included in the upgrade will be the dressing
rooms, fire prevention, roof and the front of house and bar
areas.
----
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