Chris Donnelly One of the great rivalries to emerge during the Championship of recent years has been that between Dublin and Tyrone. Having lost to the Dubs in the 1995 Final, Tyrone got their revenge in the 2005 and 2008 Championships, knocking out the Dubs at Croke Park in each year. Alas, 2010 saw a new page turned, with the Dubs seeing off Tyrone to earn a semi-final place. And so, in 2011, the Red Hand-Dublin rivalry is renewed, with a place against …
RTE is carrying a story with regard to speculation that Fianna Fail have attempted to persuade former RTE Presenter, Gay Byrne, to enter the Race to the Aras. Whilst Fianna Fail has refused to speculate, the former presenter refused to comment on the matter during an interview on RTE 2FM. The news comes a day after it emerged that Dana Rosemary Scallon was considering seeking nomination to enter the race. Chris Donnelly
26 days on and it would appear that some progress is being made by the PSNI. The BBC are reporting that four individuals have been arrested in relation to rioting in Ballyclare in July, including one “on suspicion of attempted murder.” Update: Three men have been charged in relation to rioting in Ballyclare, with another two released on bail “to be questioned at a later date ” (quote from BBC story.) Chris Donnelly
The beleaguered leader of the SDLP, Margaret Ritchie, could be forgiven for feeling somewhat betrayed as the summer coup launched by Deputy Patsy McGlone further exposes her tenuous grip on power within the troubled minor party of northern nationalism. The Irish News (yesterday) has tried and failed to identify any show of support for the leader from within the party’s Assembly team, with the solitary exception of the West Belfast MLA and party’s only Minister, Alex Attwood. Most intriguingly, as …
Over at The Detail, Barry McCaffrey has a story concerning links between the UVF and UDR which was prominently covered in the Irish News on Monday. The secret MOD papers reveal how senior figures in the British Army believed up to 70 members of one UDR unit in west Belfast were linked with the UVF, as well as suspecting that £47,000 was siphoned off by a UDR unit for the UVF. The documents were included in a Feile an Phobail exhibition entitled …
To Ballyclare journeyed I earlier this week, reviving memories of the summer of ’94, when I spent a few months visiting the bars and clubs of rural Antrim and Down replenishing cigarette vending machines, including in the Ballyclare region. Ballyclare’s loyalists are clearly fond of their flags, and it took little time to mentally tally a total figure of lamp post flags in excess of 100 in the small town. Intriguingly, the five flags fluttering in unison above one of …
Front runner in the Race to the Aras has suffered an effectively fatal blow to his campaign with the news that he wrote a letter to an Israeli court pleading for clemency for his former partner who was awaiting sentencing having been found guilty of statutory rape of a 15 year old Palestinian boy. The letter was written on Seanad headed note paper. A number of prominent members of his election team have already resigned and the Senator has conceded …
Having introduced a weekly Wednesday night protest march to accompany the pre-existing weekend protest march, Orangemen in Portadown have attempted to ratchet up the tension in Portadown following recent sectarian rioting by breaching a Parades Commission determination and marching to the edge of the Ballyoran estate. Interestingly, Suzanne Breen had noted in the Sunday World a couple of days ago that the Order failed to attempt to march the road on July 3rd, when PSNI officers didn’t show up to …
It is now Day 18 since loyalist rioting erupted in Ballyclare and the south east Antrim area following the removal of loyalist flags outside a catholic church in the town. And still, no arrests nor charges. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly accused the PSNI of double standards, a charge denied by PSNI Detective Chief Inspector, Alan Little. The leading North Belfast republican representative was speaking (subs reqd) after the PSNI released video footage of rioting in Ardoyne. Gerry Kelly: There …
Following on from Mick’s earlier initiative, I have decided to start a Ballyclare Riot Arrest & Charge Watch to keep Slugger readers updated on the PSNI’s progress on this front. In yesterday’s Irish News, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable, Dave Jones, penned a later in which he angrily rejected the charge made in an earlier letter to the paper by a ‘Fra Hughes’ that the organisation was ‘institutionally sectarian.’ Unfortunately for Mr Jones, the facts surrounding the behaviour of his organisation …
Feile an Phobail returns for the 23rd time in a couple of days, with a number of political events likely to interest some of our readers. Dr Hanan Ashrawi (PLO) will be delivering the annual PJ McGrory Lecture on 6th August. The BBC’s Stephen Walker will be talking with Danny Morrison about his book ’Hide and Seek,’ written about the fascinating experiences of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, a Vatican-based Irish priest during World War II. Former Newsletter Editor, Austin Hunter, will …
Following rioting from Belfast to Derry, Magherafelt to Larne, Ballyclare and beyond in the past few weeks, it is interesting to assess the differing reactions of political leaders to the violent scenes that have prominently occupied our screens. Whilst the First and Deputy First Ministers made a concerted effort to maintain a united leaderly front throughout the violent outbreaks that have plagued the north for the past month- with the notable exception of Peter’s UVF outreach following that organisation’s premeditated …
In an unusual step (in his own words), the PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott decided to pen a letter to the Irish News published this morning in reply to a column written by Newt Emerson in the paper yesterday. Emerson’s article (subs required) was entitled ‘PSNI pawns in loyalist grant application scheme’ and in the piece, Emerson lambasted the PSNI for capitulating to the marauding loyalists in Ballyclare. In the piece, Emerson noted how six police officers were injured in …
In his Open Letter to the Grand Master of the Orange Order, Edward Stevenson, Liam Clarke indulges in some straight talking and in the process points to an incident which suggests the Order’s leadership were involved in a petulant sectarian maneouvre to get one over on both the Parades Commission and local catholics. The Order’s leader had written to the Parades Commission asking that loyalist bands be permitted to play hymns as they passed by St. Matthews’ Church in East Belfast. The …
When loyalists decided to erect flags outside the catholic church in Ballyclare, their motivation was clearly sectarian and merely followed a long tradition noted on Slugger last year at Chapel Hill, Lisburn and previously in Antrim town of loyalists seeking to antagonise catholics in majority unionist towns as they attended their places of worship. The widespread violence across the North Saturday night would indicate that loyalists have clearly entered the Marching Season of a mind similar to that of …
Loyalist paramilitaries seem to have been behind rioting in the County Antrim town of Ballyclare last night. The disturbances occurred after loyalists had blocked roads earlier in the day around the village to protest at the PSNI’s removal of a small number of loyalist flags erected in the village. Violence was also reported in nearby loyalist estates in Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey. Perhaps there needs to be an urgent meeting at Stormont to clarify the price being demanded the issues causing such …
DUP MLA Jonathan Craig has condemned a Housing Association for requesting a tenant remove the Union Flag erected from outside her house after signing up to a shared housing charter. The Lagan Valley MLA has made the case on Talkback today in favour of effectively abandoning the fledgling shared housing charter provision which was initiated to try and encourage the growth of integrated housing. Of course, Craig was at pains to point out that no one should be offended by National …
An abiding memory of my childhood years spent in Phoenix, Arizona –or ‘The Valley of the Sun,’ as it is known Stateside- is the smell of warm rain. Every now and then I detect the smell in Belfast, which immediately triggers thoughts of baseball in the diamonds at Madison Number One and cycling out past the Greek Orthodox Church under Squaw Peak. The summer seemed to begin around Groundhog Day and last until Hallowe’en, with roaring hot temperatures ensuring that …
East Belfast DUP MLA Robin Newton has released a press statement in regard to the developing Red Sky – Nelson McCausland story and in the process has given credence to those identifying a sectarian agenda in the DUP’s approach to this story to date. Here’s Newton’s statement as carried by the DUP website (my italics): “It speaks volumes about Jim Allister and his politics that when the DUP in East Belfast is fighting to protect 400 jobs all he can …
The fallout continues from the DUP Social Development Minister’s decision to request the Housing Executive reinstate and extend the multi-million pound contract for the East Belfast based Red Sky company following clear evidence of overcharging and poor workmanship after earlier investigations, a decision labelled ‘incomprehensible’ by a leaked Housing Executive memo. The SDLP Minister formerly in charge of the Department, Alex Attwood, had previously terminated the contract following a two-year long investigation. Jim Allister has asked for the DUP Minister, Nelson McCausland, to …
