Slugger O'Toole

Noel McAdam suggests that yesterday’s speech from Tony Blair has caused serious unease amongst parties right across the board. Whilst a strongly negative reaction might have been expected from Sinn Fein, it is more surprising to hear this from Assembly man Billy Armstrong of the UUP: “He had his opportunity last week to remove Sinn Fein from the Assembly and the Executive, and he chickened out. That was his opportunity to keep the written word he had given. Mr Blair, …

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He continued: “…in return for equality and justice – in politics, policing, in acceptance of nationalist identity – all parties were to commit exclusively to peace. And for unionism, the right of the people of Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK so long as a majority want to, was enshrined. Indeed, provided, in effect, unionists agreed to equality and to recognising the legitimacy of the identity of nationalists, the union would remain.” Previously: the benefits. Slugger O'TooleA general …

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The Irish News says that whilst it is clear that the IRA has no intentions of going back to war “…as long as the IRA operates in its present twilight zone, it will always have the potential to cause huge damage to our political structures” and gives the British PM a seal of approval: “…Blair remains focussed on the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, which still in every respect represents the best hope for all sections of the …

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A useful, if slightly lengthy biography of the Secretary of State by writer Kevin Toolis in the Guardian last March. He concludes: “Is Dr John Reid a nice person? I doubt it. In fact, I’m glad he’s not. Reid is an old-fashioned, straightforward devious political operator: you know where you stand with him. Reid might of political necessity dole out some pain, but he’s not going to give you a hug, cry or share “your sorrow”. But, in a tough …

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Blair goes on to outline the fierce opposition the Agreement has faced from a number of otherwise unlikely bedfellows: “…the malignant whisperings of those opposed to the process, always pointing out its faults, never aiding its strengths; and the evil violence from dissidents, from so-called loyalists, designed to re-ignite sectarian hatred to convulse such progress as we have made. At every step, those working for peace, trying to make the Agreement function, were being undermined, often from within their own …

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A small but growing theme of discussion in NI has centred around the possible re-alignment of politics. According to Toby Harnden, operating to purely party interests may not be the most effective means of achieving a United Ireland. He digs up a 1990 quotation from Gerry Adams: “Adams mused about a ‘gradualist scenario with Dublin taking up more and more responsibility and the British influence slowly waning’. This meant ending up ‘with a situation that may be very bad for …

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Terence McMenamin has been writing reams of good copy on Northern Ireland and the Nice referendum over the last week, unnoticed by the Letter. Natalie Solent mentions our Bloody Sunday report from yesterday. British Spin has an extract from the Blair speech. Update: Paul Dunne casts a sceptical eye over the Blair speech. Brendan O’Neill believes Blair is playing pantomine politics. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

In his speech at Belfast Harbour Authority Blair went on to outline some of the difficult issues thrown up in the process: “Prisoner release was there in black and white in the Agreement. But who could not understand the anguish of the families of the victims of terrorism when they saw their dearest ones’ murderers given a rapturous welcome as they were released? Or those who were prepared to die in the cause of a united Ireland who saw their …

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Letter Slugger O’Toole has it’s first syndication. The Irish in Britain site has added the top five posts from the Letter to its front page. Again many thanks! If you would like to do the same for your own website, just click on the EML button at the top of the page and you’ll find the appropriate code. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Rosie Cowan believes the ball is in the Sinn Fein court. It is not going to be easy for them to play, but that it may be the logical destination for the generations old organisation: “No one should under-estimate the monumental scale of the concept of disbanding the IRA for republicans: decommissioning was a huge issue, but the Provisional organisation itself has been an integral part of their identity and their everyday lives for generations. But some think the Rubicon …

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“A soldier giving evidence at the Bloody Sunday inquiry said today that two of his colleagues had a ”game plan” for the 1972 shootings.” More at UTV. And The Times, and The Irish Independent. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Suzanne Breen in the Irish Times (courtesy of Newshound): “It was an invited, staunchly pro-Agreement audience from the business and community sector who assembled in the opulent surroundings of the Harbour Commissioners’ offices. There would be no heckling here. There wasn’t a dissident republican or DUP member in sight.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Tony Blair’s speech yesterday was long and detailed. He has clearly learned much from Clinton’s thorough-going research and sensitivity to multiple audiences. Rather than giving you the whole speech at once, we’ll look at different aspects of the speech throughout the day. First, he reminds the audience of the reasons for the putting together the agreement in the first place: “Enemies would become not just partners in progress but sit together in Government. People who used to advocate the murder …

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There has been pressure from the media in the last few days on the IRA to make the next move in the peace process. Tony Blair in Belfast today told ‘No camp’ loyalists that there was no other game but that laid out by the Belfast Agreement, but reserved his most direct message for the Republican movement: “Another inch by inch negotiation won`t work. Symbolic gestures, important in their time, no longer build trust. It is time for acts of …

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More on the poll mentioned earlier. There’s a discussion beginning on this unmoderated board. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

The Irish News editorialises on the murder of Joseph O’Connor, a leading member of the dissident republican group, the Real IRA two years ago. It gives two main reasons for serious concern: “One was the strong belief held both by detectives and the victim’s family – and fully reported at the time by this newspaper – that Mr O’Connor was killed by the Provisional IRA, a group which is supposed to be observing a ceasefire. The second was that not …

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Another incident in a steady campaign of intimidation aimed at uprooting Catholics from Larne has taken place. In that sense this is a tragic, but unremarkable story. The DUP have been slow to condemn such incidents in the past, prefering to leave it to others in the UUP and the PUP. This time local councilor Jack McKee was unequivocal in his condemnation: “This woman is petrified. She had to leave her home late in the evening and take refuge with …

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It looks like we’ve hit the most crucial witness in the Saville enquiry at the Guildhall in Derry. Rosie Cowan in the Guardian: “He believed two soldiers in particular were responsible for triggering the shooting, and that between them they killed eight or 10 people. He did not see any civilians with guns or bombs and said there was no justification for a single shot he saw any soldier fire. But he claimed statements he gave to Royal Military Police …

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The BBC have published a new poll that indicates that support of the Belfast Agreement has suffered a major loss of confidence: “It suggests support for the Agreement is now only 56% – compared to more than 70% at the time of the referendum four years ago. Only a third of unionists would vote for the Agreement if the referendum were held today – that is about 10 percentage points down since the programme sampled opinion a year ago.” More …

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Despite the suggestion that the IRA will have to disband to bring all parties back into government, the precidents are not encouraging. Brian Feeney in the Irish News, delves back into history: “The IRA did not disband after the Civil War. It divided. The winners continued as the Free State army: most of the losers eventually joined Fianna Fail after 1926. In fact, many Fianna Fail cumainn in the early years of the party’s existence were one and the same …

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