Slugger O'Toole Sinn Fein cheif negotiator Martin McGuinness seems to have outed an unofficial channel of communication between the harder line DUP and his own party. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Richard Haass has hit the ground running. In the Irish Independent, he both asks for a bold move from Republicans and a generous response from Uniionists Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Sorry for the delay in today’s blogging. We’ve had problems with web access here at Slugger central. We will now resume Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Over government, according to some commentators, is an ongoing problem in Northern Ireland. However, during the hiatus in the Executive, local councils are talking about clawing back more power towards themselves and away from devolved departments and quangos. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Tom Kelly goes back in time to put the business case (subscription needed) for a full backing of the PSNI: “If the police are not given full community support to rout these remnants of paramilitarism and their structures now, we are likely to face decades of criminality similar to that faced in the Republic of Ireland 30 years ago. At that time the splintering of the republican movement into various factions in the early and late 70s which bequeathed a …
Richard Hass’s return to NI, signals Washington’s effort to push party’s towards a substantial agreement. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
One perhaps unforeseen consequence of the reform of the House of Lords could be increased representation for Northern Ireland there. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Speculation continues on just how close we are to major bloodshed in a feud that has done little more than simmer since autumn. The Daily Telegraph reports a call from Ken Maginnis to re-introduce internment to head off the worst possible effects of a possible escalation. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Sinn Fein MLA, Gerry Kelly suggests there is a lack of balance to recent calls from various unionist and British government sources for the disarmament of the IRA: “This is why we get the briefings, the anonymous sources, the planted articles. This is why we get the singular focus on the IRA at a time when the loyalists are killing people. This is why a senior loyalist PUP politician recently stated that the issue of loyalist decommissioning has never even …
Despite a period of calm, the retaliatory feud continued at the weekend with shooting of John Gregg and a junior associate after they returned from a football match in Scotland. The Examiner has picked up a rumour that he was set up by a fellow Glasgow Rangers supporter. Suzanne Breen believes it is now only a matter of time before the next round of killings resumes. The dead man apparently issued a warning, only hours before his death, to Johnny …
Warm review of the autobiography (The Speckled People) of Irish writer Hugo Hamilton, who grew up out-of-place in a trilingual family in the 50s and 60s. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Due to appear shortly on the Irish Echo site, this piece from Eamon Lynch takes a critical look at recent claims that the government has removed 200,000 voters from the electoral list in Northern Ireland. On Sinn Fein’s base support he comments: “The party casts a wider electoral net today than ever before, a fact evidenced by poll victories and a post-cease-fire influx of first-timers and moderate nationalists. Tossing red meat to the base is gradually less important too because …
John Fay, editor of NI Newshound newsfilter site, talks (subscription needed) about the unease he feels at a growing anti-American sentiment in the Republic. However, he contrasts this with the actions of the Irish government: “As an American, I accept that Irish people have the right to decide what nations they side with as they see fit. However, for many Irish Americans, the fact that many in Ireland would choose not to support the U.S. is stunning, if only because …
Interesting argument in favour of an IRA stand, from a Republican point of view. Plus an rundown of the last week from Paul Dunne, picking up on this article by Brian Feeney that we missed here on Slugger. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
And other interesting facts from American blogger Jack O’Toole, has dug out of yesterday’s Daily Telegraph. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Taking a global view of a word which is daily bandied around NI, Umberto Eco argues that one of our problems in the west is that we assume that peace is the natural and perfect state of being. “In the era of globalisation, global peace becomes impossible. So there remains just one possibility for peace: working for peace on a case-by-case basis, creating each time a possible peaceful solution in the context of wars that follow one after another. Peace …
Well it looks like Sinn Fein have accepted the legitimacy of the PSNI, as Mitchell McLoughlin announces that his party will take their places on the policing board. However, Gearóid Ó Cairealláin hints in the Andersonstown News that this doesn’t mean an end to the evolution of the Service. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on Unionists already on the board; some of whom have stated in the past that they will walk out when Sinn …
Whilst Martin McGuinness discounts a formal disbandment of the IRA, he draws attention to the other side of the equation: “People recognize that against the backdrop of ongoing attacks by the UDA against Catholics, and the failure of the British to demilitarize, that this is something that is not going to go anywhere. So that seems to have gone off the radar screen in the course of recent times.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other …
Well, maybe not quite yet. But this American blogger in the Republic is pleased about Bertie Ahern’s body language over attacks on his decision to allow American airplanes to re-fuel at Shannon. Update: this graphic shows which European countries will remain officially neutral. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Whatever happens as a result of the current negotiations, the Real IRA have made it clear they will not be going on ceasefire. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.