Another, as yet unnamed, suspect has just been arrested. This case first claimed media attention as a result of the PSNI raid, which kicked off the current political crisis. Update: Apparently the person concerned worked in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister. From Reuters. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
In his first substantial interview as Secretary of State, Paul Murphy tells Chris Thornton that we are at the stage when paramilitaries must be taken out of political life: “We’ve seen no end to the violence amongst paramilitary groups. I mean, this crucifixion (of 23-year-old Harry McCartan in Dunmurry) is such an obvious example of savagery and brutality that everybody must see this as being something which really has now to stop. That of course was on the loyalist side. …
Newshound has now made Brian Feeney’s article available. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Stephen King asks whether the decommissioning body has credibility without powers of sanction. “…why have they been so unsuccessful? De Chastelain gives the answer: ‘We are in a somewhat difficult position because we have no means of coercion.’” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
This week’s edition of the Portadown News. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Assembly members to lose £10,000 from their salary. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Carrie Twomey highlights the literary and political seriousness underlying a seemingly humorous remark. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
A new set of changes are being proposed for the intelligence branch of the PSNI. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
In the subscription-only Irish News, Brian Feeney picks out Chris McGimpsey’s assertions over the electoral politics in North Belfast in Richard Kelly’s article in Prospect magazine for a detailed rebuttal: “The most depressing aspect of McGimpseys tendentious contribution is this: Commentators criticise middle-class unionists for opting out of the political process and leaving it to the yahoos. Yet, when a middle-class unionist like McGimpsey, admittedly one who masquerades for political purposes as a mawn of the peepull, does engage in …
Sharon O’Neill in the subscription only Irish News reports: “The successful crackdown on Real IRA activity in the Republic has led the organisation to shift its power base to Northern Ireland, the latest security assessments have revealed. Evidence from Derry city points to it being the only area of the north where the Real IRA seems to have established a base from which to launch regular attacks. Suspicions that the Real IRA was now being led by members based in …
Thainig deireadh tobann Dé Máirt le ré Mhick McCarthy… níos mó Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The recent resignation of Mick McCarthy has presaged a minor civil war in the Republic over who was to blame: Keane, the FAI or McCarthy himself. Henry McDonald discusses the little talked about tension between two of the biggest teams in Belfast, which broadly splits the city east and west. Found via Newshound. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Seamus Mallon in interview in Pittsburgh. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The Examiner slates Unionists over their silence over the horrific beating of Henry McCartan at the weekend. The Belfast Telegraph adds its voice to condemn this incident. David Ford calls for the introduction of an offence of ‘hate crime’. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Trimble, speaking in Liverpool yesterday, warned that the restoration of devolution was not certain. More on UTV. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
There’s a discussion coming up on the BBC. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Looks like Eammon McCann’s reading of Sinn Fein as an organisation moving to the right may have been somewhat flawed. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Finally the strain of the World Cup spat with Roy Keane has taken its toll on the Republic’s manager, and he’s gone. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Eammon McCann seems to have been around since the troubles first kicked off for real back in 1968. He has finally produced what is probably the best review so far what is probably the most celebrated books on Northern Ireland of recent times, The Secret History of the IRA. IN fact this is more than a review, it is an essay by an acute observer who is intimate with the many intricate and subtle theologies of the Irish Republican movement. …
McCann finally suggests that the substantial change in the political character of the northern Republican movement is demonstrated in Adams’ pragmatism: “…when he veered off the path of armed struggle he veered to the right and not to the left. Having ditched the ideas that underpinned armed struggle, discarding any notion of wanting to turn the world, or even the constitutional status quo, upside down, Adams and the group around him set out to recruit the most powerful allies potentially …
