Micheál Martin: Legacy of 1916 is to build rather than to divide the Irish nation…

Just out of embargo, here’s today’s speech from the Fianna Fail leader made just now at Arbour Hill church, where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were buried. The added emphases are mine: Every state should take time to commemorate and celebrate the people and events of their founding. This commemoration is organised by Fianna Fáil the Republican Party, but we come here as Irish men and women to fulfil our responsibilities to the great generation of 1916. After …

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“They’ve had the time, they’ve had the money, they’ve had the opportunity…”

Refreshing to hear someone call it as it is.. and John Cunningham of the Camlin Group certainly laid it on the line last night on The View… “It’s like watching children argue, arguing at school. What relevance does it have? Why don’t they put it all behind and really look and address the problems that we’re facing. “We’re not facing these arguments and these historical things are not going to change the way we go forward. “They’re only going to …

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“it is important that other schemes that may be in a position to be progressed ahead of the A5 are given full consideration by the Executive”

As the BBC report, the Northern Ireland Regional Development Minister, the UUP’s Danny Kennedy, has announced that his department will not be appealing the Belfast High Court ruling quashing the decision to go ahead with the controversial A5 £330m dual carriageway project.  A “costly mistake [not appealing] but will not be the end of this project“, according to the “Sinn Féin MLA for West Tyrone and member of the Regional Development Minister [sic], Declan McAleer”.  The chair of the NI Assembly’s Regional Development Committee, the …

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“the British Government, and the British State, no longer claim jurisdiction over this part of the island”

So claimed Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, MLA, in his recent appearance on UTV Live.  Here’s the quote again. The fundamental difference between before the Good Friday Agreement and after the Good Friday Agreement is that the British Government, and the British State, no longer claim jurisdiction over this part of the island.  That’s very very important, and that’s a very important building block for us to convince those who, at this moment in time, don’t support the idea of a united …

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SF adopting the Bertie Ahern ‘whatever you’re having yourself’ approach to policy?

There’s a lot of interesting response to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis, but one of the most intriguing was this from Liam Clarke… The snap survey of 50 members, conducted by the ‘Belfast Telegraph’, shows surprisingly sharp divisions on several key issues. On dissidents, a picture emerged that showed grassroots attitudes are not as strongly opposed to such republican terrorism as the party leadership. Party members were asked if an armed campaign was justified while British rule remained. Some 26pc …

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Gerry Adams says loyalists have much in common with republican neighbours and calls for dialogue

Gerry Adams closed the Sinn Fein ard fheis with his presidential speech. It was live on RTE (and the sinnfein.ie website) and will be repeated on BBC Two NI on Sunday at 6pm. The full text is available; below are some excerpts. On a border poll … There would be no peace process and no Agreement without the commitment, initiatives and political risks taken by Irish republicans. Or, without the great work of individuals like Des Wilson, Harold Good, Inez …

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Eighty years later Sinn Fein belatedly attempts Dev’s transformation

Great piece by Harry McGee in the Irish Times which raises some critical questions that may be exercising Sinn Fein delegates in Castlebar today.. Sinn Féin is not experiencing a New Departure, rather a long drawn-out process of change – mainstreaming, as we inelegantly describe it. As evidenced by the rapid growth of Fianna Fáil from 1926, a large swathe of the population shared its vision, believed as it did that the party was pursuing a reasonable programme based on …

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Sinn Féin and abortion – two more motions challenging the party’s current stance

For the second year in a row, motions about abortion have been submitted to the ard fheis. The Ard Chomhairle has its own motion this year around legislating “to give effect to the 1992 judgement of the Supreme Court in the X Case”. But the motion from headquarters is joined by two others that largely reflect last year’s unsuccessful attempts to liberalise the party’s standpoint on abortion. The simplest of the motions is adapted from last year’s unsuccessful “articulate, campaign …

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Martin McGuinness: “a lack of cohesion between Unionist and Republican Ministers … frankly this isn’t good enough” (updated with his Saturday observations about dissidents & Orange Order)

Some excerpts below from this evening’s speech by Martin McGuinness at the Castlebar ard fheis. You can listen along … though he was rudely interrupted in the live stream by adverts for Gaviscon Double Action and Harpic White and Shinner Shine at one point! listen to ‘Martin McGuinness @M_McGuinness_SF addressing 2013 Sinn Fein Ard Fheis #sfaf13’ on Audioboo Fifteen years ago this weekend the eyes of the world were firmly fixed on Ireland. Hope, Expectation, even Disbelief were in the …

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Sinn Féin ard fheis gets underway with motions on candidate gender, flags, Royal Exchange and Easter Lily stickers (updated)

Sinn Féin’s ard fheis gets underway this evening in Castlebar, County Mayo. Martin McGuinness will give his now-traditional Friday night keynote, followed by debate around motions on a United Ireland and the peace process. The majority of the business is tomorrow – with blocks of motions debated throughout the day, peppered with a band of two minute speeches around 11am that will be carried live on RTE. Party president Gerry Adams closes the ard fheis with his speech at 8.30pm. …

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OFMdFM parties tell Villiers she cannot take their money ball away…

That productivity deal that Theresa Villiers has been talking about putting on the table went down well with OFMdFM, NOT… Noel MacAdam in the BelTel: The controlling parties in the Executive also argued the attempt to use the promised package – believed to include EU Peace cash – as leverage could backfire. Finance Minister Sammy Wilson insisted it was the first time the Government had made the prospective funding conditional. Mr Wilson also described Ms Villiers warning, revealed in the …

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“But we’re still part of the UK…”

The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson, MP, and Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, MLA, appeared separately on UTV Live this evening to give their thoughts on the 15th anniversary of the 1998 Agreement.  Apparently Alex Maskey hadn’t arrived at the studio in time for the first segment…  Whether by accident, or design, it was left to presenter Seamus McKee Paul Clark to ask the obvious question to Alex Maskey’s opening assertion.  Here’s what the Sinn Féin MLA claimed The fundamental difference between before the …

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Theresa Villiers: “our economic package will be closely linked to, and conditional on real progress by the executive…”

The Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, was in west Belfast today on the 15th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement.  Here’s a couple of lines from her press statement The Agreement called for ‘reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust’ and as I’ve travelled around Northern Ireland, I’ve seen many fantastic initiatives that are bringing different parts of the community together. Forthspring Inter Community Group and the Argyle Business Centre are two great examples of the courage, leadership and tenacity that local …

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Is the proof of Margaret Thatcher’s Northern Ireland policy the prosperity of modern Sinn Fein?

So Gerry Adams is persisting with the idea that Margaret Thatcher’s policy failed in Northern Ireland in his piece for the Guardian yesterday (longer version here at Leargas). In fact Thatcher’s policy was little different from her predecessors. It was Merlyn Rees who introduced the idea of criminalising political prisoners, not Thatcher. It was mostly dictated, as Gerry Collins noted on Prime Time by her military advisors, since the military threat posed particularly by Republicans at that stage was very …

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Margaret Thatcher is like Alex Ferguson…

I don’t intend to comment on the putative legacy of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher [Too early to say? – Ed]  Perhaps.  And Mick has it covered…  But I will point to Tom Chivers’ observations on some of the more, erm, extreme reactions. My own hypothesis, and it’s only a hypothesis, is that she’s hated by some of the less thoughtful elements of the Left in the same way that Sir Alex Ferguson is hated by less thoughtful Liverpool fans: because she …

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Meath East: We’ve seen it all before

Irish by-elections, by and large, are a bit of harmless fun. The outcome rarely influences the balance of forces in parliament, but it gives the voters a chance to give the incumbent party – whatever incumbent party – a good shoeing. Everyone feels better about themselves except whatever hapless candidate has been persuaded to stand by the ruling party. Famously, no government party had won a by-election for 30 years until Patrick Nulty stood under the Labour banner in 2011 – and he was an opposition politician in all but name, remedying even that within a couple of months.

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Theresa Villiers: “I’m extremely pleased that we were able to answer the Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill’s request for a military helicopter…”

Following a request yesterday from the Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister, Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, to the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, for “urgent access to helicopter support“, an RAF Chinook flew from its Hampshire base today to airlift supplies in order “to get food on the ground for stranded animals“.  [It’s just “a transport helicopter“! – Ed]  And the NI Agriculture Minister explained to UTV that the request was made “for helicopter support from the MOD” because it was “becoming very …

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“This gang thought they could exploit rules for genuine British filmmakers and thieve from the public purse for their own gain”

When the BBC report notes that the actress/producer sentenced to 5 years 5 months, reduced to 4 years 8 months, for her part in a £2.8million VAT and film tax credits scam, was “from London”, what they mean is that she was from Newry, with an address in London – as UTV correctly reported.  [I blame the PA copy – Ed]  Perhaps… What neither mentioned, but both the Irish Times and the Irish News do report today, is that the actress involved, Aoife …

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“Already, two Sinn Fein special advisers have been submitted to vetting procedures put in place by Sammy Wilson, the finance minister, as a condition for paying them.”

In the Belfast Telegraph, Liam Clarke adds some interesting background detail on Jim Allister’s Bill legislating for the vetting of ministerial special advisers.  As he points out, vetting began following the resignation of Sinn Féin’s Mary McArdle – who had been jailed for her part in the 1984 murder of Mary Travers.  From the Belfast Telegraph article When Sinn Fein eventually replaced Ms McArdle with Mr Kearney, a journalist, Mr Wilson refused to pay him until he was vetted under special …

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“The department of justice said discussions about the precise source of funding for the HET are continuing…”

The issue of funding the ongoing work of the Historical Enquiries Team, as well as its perceived independence, may be about to become a matter of political disagreement…  As the BBC NI home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney, reports Hundreds of families have co-operated with the team on the basis that it was acting independently. Many families of people killed during the Troubles, including relatives of some RUC officers, did not want former police officers from Northern Ireland involved in the review …

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