sinn fein – Page 78 – Slugger O'Toole

Canning trial gets underway

Pete Baker on June 16, 2010, 6:53 pm | Readers 90

Yesterday’s Irish News reported the opening remarks at the Belfast Crown Court trial of Marvin Canning – the brother-in-law of Northern Ireland deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness. Canning, who has been out on bail since March 2008, faces seven charges relating to the abduction and assault of a businessman and his partner from their home in Mullingar, County Westmeath, in April 2007. The couple were later found in the High Park area of Creggan, Londonderry. The man had been shot in both ankles and subsequently lost …

George Young on SF expenses: “Ahem, that would be an ecumenical matter…”

Mick Fealty on June 10, 2010, 3:11 pm | Readers 7

This is very interesting. The line on Sinn Fein’s expenses for their abstaining MPs from Sir George Young today in Parliament is no longer a matter for the Government but for the newly Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). Why is that interesting? Well, because, so far as I can see, the IPSA’s only role is to decide whether the expenses are legitimate, not who can claim. The inclusion of funding for Sinn Fein was taken by Parliament under the direction …

In solidarity?

Blank on June 9, 2010, 9:03 pm | Readers 20

Joe Higgins, Irish Socialist Party MEP, is sponsoring a march and rally in Dublin as part of a ‘Europe-wide week of solidarity and protest’ something he initiated within his European political group (nothing arranged north of the border that I can see). The poster advertising it states the rally has been endorsed by; Socialist Party, Workers Party, Socialist Workers Party, PBP, Right to Work, Workers Solidarity Movement, éirígí, Irish Socialist Network and Socialist Democracy. Sinn Féin are not noted as …

“Leaving Sinn Féin is like leaving the Mafia.”

Pete Baker on June 5, 2010, 3:49 pm | Readers 102

Not my words, but those of independent Councillor Dessie Ward – who left Sinn Féin in March of this year. The Irish News reports today that he’s complained of having been threatened and harrassed since he resigned from the party. “There were various reasons why I left the party,” [Cllr Ward] said. “But I tried not to go into too much detail at the time becasue I wanted to leave on a positive note.” “But from the day and hour I left the …

Sinn Féin’s veiled threat over police co-operation

Pete Baker on May 28, 2010, 7:32 pm | Readers 439

As reported by BBC NI’s Vincent Kearney, Sinn Féin MLA Alex Maskey has been making veiled threats about reviewing the level of the party’s co-operation with the police unless an ongoing legal action taken by the brother of a former Sinn Féin candidate is resolved to their satisfaction. I say veiled threat because, despite Vincent Kearney’s best efforts on Evening Extra, Alex Maskey wouldn’t specify on air what it was the party was going to do. From the BBC report Sinn …

Should nationalism unify? And if so, why?

Mick Fealty on May 27, 2010, 1:43 pm | Readers 31

There are no indications that there has been any serious contemplation of an O’Loan scenario, in which the SDLP might seek terms with Sinn Fein inside the former. But in today’s Irish Times Fionnuala O’Connor thinks there might be some mileage in it. She notes the immediate context for the idea: Realignment inside unionism has been much discussed, if not to much purpose, since defeat for both the UU and DUP leaders at the polls on May 6th. By contrast …

Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast…

Pete Baker on May 27, 2010, 12:52 pm | Readers 7

The BBC reports that a police spokesperson has said it was “not an appropriate action” for an officer to play “ice-cream van” music when young people were throwing bottles at a Land Rover vehicle in the Twinbrook area on 22 May. Although they also admit that this humorous approach had defused the situation and the trouble had stopped. From the report Sinn Fein councillor Angela Nelson told the Andersonstown News that the officer’s actions “beggared belief”. “The PSNI are put on …

Sinn Féin: “a criminal gang whom we consider has connections to MI5”

Pete Baker on May 23, 2010, 1:27 pm | Readers 82

Via Newshound. Here’s an interesting little story to consider from the News Letter A SINN Fein property has been razed to the ground in an apparent arson attack in south Armagh. The portable building in the Ford Cross area, close to Silverbridge, was used by the Burns Moley cumann as both a meeting place and for storage. It said a number of historical artefacts were also destroyed in the blaze. Councillor Colman Burns condemned the incident, which took place in the …

Justice Minister is ‘cross’ community when it comes to republican prisoners

Blank on May 20, 2010, 10:43 pm | Readers 5

A SF delegation recently visited Magheraberry to investigate complaints from Republican Prisoners which have resulted in growing protests on the streets. SF MLA Raymond McCartney reported a very positive engagement: “A range of issues were raised by the prisoners. They included complaints about a number of punitive actions such as the use of strip searching as harassment of both prisoners and their visitors and a range of other conditions-related issues that were very familiar to the former prisoners on the …

Civil servant failed 2004 security vetting due to intelligence report on brother

Pete Baker on May 19, 2010, 10:28 pm | Readers 132

BBC Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney, reports on the case of Kevin Kennedy, who is suing the PSNI after he was forced to resign from a job with the Northern Ireland Policing Board in 2004 after failing a security vetting. Last month, Mr Kennedy failed in a legal attempt to gain access to the intelligence information on which the police based their assessment. During a hearing at the High Court in Belfast, it was revealed that the Board was told during …

Hanlon jailed for three years and three months for IRA membership

Pete Baker on May 19, 2010, 3:26 pm | Readers 216

To add to the convictions resulting from Operation Phoenix noted previously – “Northern Bank robbery – redux”. Former Sinn Féin councillor, and unsuccessful candidate in the 2002 general election, Tom Hanlon has been sentenced to 3 years and 3 months for IRA membership at the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin. Convicting Hanlon, Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding, said that the court was satisfied that Hanlon was “intimately involved in highly suspicious financial transactions involving monies which have been proved to have included …

“Is abstention from Westminster now an end in itself?”

Pete Baker on May 11, 2010, 12:28 pm | Readers 167

With an abstentionist Sinn Féin irrelevant to the number crunching at Westminster it’s interesting to see Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, in the North Belfast News, musing aloud about the “elephant in the room”. At his Irish Central website, Niall O’Dowd argues that “The time is now to take that step” [end Sinn Féin’s abstentionism] – although he mistakenly believes that “the Sinn Fein party is abstaining because of the oath of loyalty to the Queen”. As Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams stated …

Adams, SF, West Belfast and a missing 10%?

Blank on May 9, 2010, 12:03 am | Readers 17

Gerry Adams was always guaranteed to take West Belfast and he did at a canter – 71% of the vote. I will attempt to delve into the numbers and forgive me if this gets confusing and correct me if I am wrong.. In 2005 he took 24K votes from 34.5K on a 64% turnout. With the boundary changes he should have expected 27K (+3K) votes from 39.5K (+5K). Turnout was down 10% so to tread water Adams should have received …

Gildernew victory after 3rd recount

Blank on May 7, 2010, 10:28 pm | Readers 26

After the tightest of votes and three recounts Michelle Gildernew has taken Fermanagh South Tyrone. Declaration made on Radio Ulster. Gildernew 21304 – Connor 21300 McKinney 3574 / Vasundhara Kamble 437 / John Stevenson 188 Blank

Winners and losers

Blank on May 7, 2010, 6:05 pm | Readers 7

A few weeks ago I tried to present some ways the parties could judge if the election was a success or not. DUP Retaining seats all their Westminster seats will be the main aim. Adding a seat in South Belfast, as a full gain or countering a single seat loss elsewhere, would also be an excellent result. The can’t expect a gain in vote in percentage or real terms from the last Westminster election as the TUV are now involved …

Gerry Adams: It’s not about the oath

Pete Baker on May 4, 2010, 12:33 pm | Readers 337

On BBC NI’s Talkback the Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, was asked whether, if elected, Sinn Féin candidates would take their seats in Westminster if they didn’t have to take, or affirm, the Parliamentary oath of allegiance. Answer, “No”. There’s a Parliamentary research paper on the history of the oath and Sinn Féin’s legal challenge in 1997 here [pdf file]. The research paper contains a quote from an Irish Times report dated 5 December 1997. Mr Adams said the question of the oath was “a bit …

A picture worth a thousand words

Blank on May 3, 2010, 8:48 pm | Readers 21

As the Belfast marathon made its way through the streets of West Belfast it negotiated a white line picket of hundreds protesting over conditions faced by Republican prisoners in British gaols. At Sevastapol Street there was this striking shot of a PSNI armoured jeep acting barrier between the iconic image of Bobby Sands, at a closed SF HQ, and those that would take to streets on behalf of current Republican prisoners. Blank

Northern Bank robbery – redux

Pete Baker on May 2, 2010, 9:01 pm | Readers 121

In an under-reported move on Friday, 63 year-old George Hegarty, of Donnybrook Cottages, Douglas, Cork, pleaded guilty to money laundering at his address in February 2005, knowing or believing that the £66,000 Sterling found at his home represented the proceeds of a robbery at the Northern Bank, Belfast in December 2004, or being reckless as to whether that money was or represented such proceeds. As yesterday’s Irish News noted Mr Hegarty was originally arrested in February 2005 at the same time as …

Sinn Féin’s hidden crisis? updated

Blank on April 30, 2010, 8:46 pm | Readers 118

In the comments on Pete’s entry covering Padraig McShane’s resignation from Sinn Féin I noted the following list (now substantially updated) of Councillors that have resigned recently (this list is confined to those that have left during the current council terms north and south – those that left in previous terms are excluded): Dessie Ward Padraig McShane Briege Meehan Domhnall O’Cobhthaigh Gerry McHugh Bernice Swift Barry Monteith Gerard Foley Michael Tallon Poilin Ui Cathain Killian Ford Christy Burke John Dwyer …

Another Sinn Féin councillor resigns from party

Pete Baker on April 30, 2010, 1:58 pm | Readers 335

The BBC reports that Moyle District Councillor Padraig McShane has resigned from Sinn Féin. From the report In a statement on Friday, he said he was leaving Sinn Fein. But he remained tight lipped about the reason why. He said that his decision followed “certain allegations” which might be taken up by “certain hostile media elements”. “My adjudication on this matter leads me to believe that those hostile elements within the media would use any allegation to attack my party and …