Chris Donnelly The Stephen Nolan Show this morning has had numerous calls from irate residents of the predominantly unionist North Down town of Bangor, some of whom are calling for Orange parades to be banned from the town in the aftermath of violent scenes at yesterday’s Junior Orange parade. The violent scenes were not confined to the town but continued on a train carrying supporters back to Belfast. Chris Donnelly
The SDLP are considering taking legal action over government schemes which specifically rule out catholic areas for funding. The Arts Council awards scheme and Belfast Education and Library Board schemes highlighted restrict funding to Protestant areas exclusively. Interestingly, the controversial Renewing Communities fund- launched last year by the British government and under which both awards schemes mentioned were initiated- will shortly fall within the Executive remit of Margaret Ritchie, the SDLP’s solitary Minister. Sinn Fein has also expressed concerns about …
This year marks the 91st anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, an event commemorated by republicans throughout Ireland by the wearing of the Easter Lily. There will be numerous commemorations across the country to mark the event. The speeches accompanying the numerous commemorations are likely to include reference to the new political dispensation that is now upon us, where all significant strands of unionism and nationalism/ republicanism on the island are prepared to enter new political relationships which can only …
An Ulsterbus employee at the company’s Ballymena depot has been rewarded almost £80,000 after successfully claiming he was a victim of sectarian harassment. Catholic man, Gerald Duffy, was repeatedly singled out by fellow employees for sectarian abuse, including threats to his life. Chris Donnelly
Loyalists in Coleraine have picketed against the decision of the majority-unionist council to hold a civic reception for a local GAA club, Eoghan Rua, who progressed to the final of the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship. The Ulster Unionist Mayor of Coleraine, William King, condemned the protesters, whose picket forced the players to enter through a side door. The picket highlights the continuing demonisation of the GAA within some elements in society in the north. No doubt future DCAL DUP Minister …
Another DUP councillor, Banbridge’s Stephen Herron, has announced his resignation from the party, bringing the total number of post-Adams/Paisley Kodak moment walkout DUP councillors to seven across the north. Whilst the trickle of disaffected deserters won’t pose any real threat to the DUP leadership, it is an indication of the continuing shock within a section of the DUP (formerly?) faithful at the pace of change as we move towards Devolution Day in May. Meanwhile, newly-declared Independent Unionist MEP, Jim Allister, …
In the aftermath of the Assembly election, in which Sinn Fein captured the solitary unionist seat in west Belfast (held by Diane Dodds of the DUP), Sinn Fein President- and local MP- Gerry Adams has declared that Sinn Fein will be exploring possible ways of expanding the party’s constituency service to make it more accessible to unionists. In a letter carried in the Andersonstown News, Adams stated that his party “has begun reviewing our programme of work across the West …
Brian Feeney has been articulating the need for a new political vocabulary in the aftermath of the Adams-Paisley ‘moment’ and in anticipation of the imminent return of devolved government. He argues that the NIO must be purged of its ‘Alliance mentality,’ which promoted an artificial sense of neutrality in its dealings, and substituted with a thinking more in line with the Good Friday Agreement promise of full equal rights for nationalists and unionists. While Feeney was doubtlessly thinking of more …
We’ve grown so accustomed to the sight and sounds of Johnny Giles and Eamon Dunphy on International football night that it’s hardly an exaggeration to say that they are a collective sporting institution in Ireland. The pair have been regular fixtures on RTE’S Studio programmes for two decades now and it is to RTE’s credit that they have remained loyal to the ‘grumpy old men’ of Irish football, whose analysis, bickering and outbursts have provided the bright spots on many’s …
The PSNI have publicly admitted that reports linking the attempted shooting of a man in Ardoyne last week with the double murders carried out by suspected members of the Continuity IRA- reported here on Slugger- were false. According to the North Belfast News, eyewitnesses have claimed that no warning was given and that at least three of the six shots were fired at head height. Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín has accused the PSNI of “deliberately misleading the public” …
The latest Red C/ Sunday Business Post poll indicates a tighter race may be on the cards in this year’s 26 county elections than some may have suspected. The gap between the current governing parties and Fine Gael/ Labour has been cut to 4 points. Apart from that, Sinn Fein are the big movers in the poll, up three points to 10%, clearly benefitting from the northern election triumph and the Ard Fheis exposure. With the election scheduled for some …
The DUP’s kick for touch today has put the spotlight on the British government. Secretary of State Peter Hain has staked a lot on Monday’s deadline being rock solid. With Gerry Adams indicating that Sinn Fein believe the British government must follow through on its commitments to put Plan B into operation in a post-March 26 scenario, the focus will now be on whether or not the coming hours bring with them a fudge from London, or a wake up …
Following on from the Equality Commission’s statement criticising Omagh District Council for not acting against the erection of a republican memorial in Dromore, Sinn Fein MLA Paul Butler has criticised the commission for its failure to speak out against plans by Lisburn Council to provide land for the erection of a monument to the UDR in the centre of Lisburn.The issue of the erection- and maintenance- of contentious monuments could become a fierce political battleground, given the plethora of British …
The Police Federation has announced it is cutting all ties with the Police Ombudsman’s office as its campaign against Nuala O’Loan would seem to be intensifying in the aftermath of the publication of the Ballast report. In his statement justifying the development, Federation chairman, Terry Spence, stated, “Her office has managed to give the impression, on the back of a report, that there was widespread collusion among the RUC with the paramilitaries, which is clearly a nonsense but deeply upsetting …
Chris Thornton had a piece in the Belfast Telegraph last week assessing the likely impact of demographic change on the 2007 Assembly election and future elections to come. He noted that the overall unionist number of MLAs dropped from 59 to 55 in this election, with two seats going directly to Sinn Fein- the others to Alliance and the Greens. Chris Donnelly
Ronan Bennett’s clearly unimpressed by Peter Mandelson’s interpretation of the relationship between Tony Blair and Sinn Fein outlined in the Guardian this week during an interview conducted with the former chief spin doctor of New Labour. Bennett argues that “the lesson Mandelson and those who nod so approvingly at his interview have still to learn is that [Sinn Fein’s] success is an acknowledgment by voters that the republican leadership drove the peace process, while the British government and unionists have …
Mick’s already pointed out that this weekend provides a real sporting feast for Irish fans across the globe. Aside from the rugby and cricket, there’s the small matter of Crossmaglen’s bid for their 4th All-Ireland, with ‘The Gooch’ Cooper and Dr. Croke’s standing in their way. Also, Derry’s own John Duddy was victorious last night in front of a sell-out crowd in Madison Square Garden, retaining his IBA title and moving him closer to a challenge for either the WBA …
It has long been accepted that the track record of ‘professional’ polling firms in the political sphere in the north of Ireland is one that leaves much to be desired. However, the consistency of their incompetence begs the question: are these organisations professionally incompetent? Or is predicting election results in the north of Ireland simply beyond the capacities of these pollsters? Or, given the recurrence of a theme indicating a reduced level of support for Sinn Fein and the DUP, …
The 2007 winner of the Brid Rodgers’ sponsored Most Over-Hyped Election Candidate must surely go to her unfortunate party colleague, Sharon Haughey. Haughey had been widely tipped by commentators as providing the SDLP’s best chance at taking a seat back from Sinn Fein in this election, and even up to the morning of the count SDLP ‘insiders’ were briefing the media that she looked good for the seat. In the end, she was well out of the reckoning. But who …
In a result unparalleled by any other party, Sinn Fein has taken 5 from 6 seats in west Belfast, on the back of a superbly delivered vote management programme. The party’s first preference share of the vote was a whopping 70%, with the SDLP seeing its core base vote reduced even further to just 4,110 votes. In spite of improving her 1st preference vote, Diane Dodds lost out on the final seat, marking the DUP’s only incumbent loss of the …
