Category Archives: Northern Ireland

Taoiseach says Northern Ireland must not ‘spiral back to dark place’

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On 23rd anniversary of Good Friday agreement, Martin says onus on political leaders ‘to step forward’

The Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that political leaders must not allow Northern Ireland to “spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord” after the region was marred by another night of disorder.

On the anniversary of the Good Friday agreement 23 years ago, the taoiseach said there was “a particular onus on those of us who currently hold the responsibility of political leadership to step forward and play our part and ensure that this cannot happen”.

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Belfast police use water cannon on Northern Ireland rioters – video

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Rioters have been blasted with water cannon by police on the streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland, as unrest continued into a seventh day.

Stones and fireworks were thrown at police by gangs of youths gathered on the nationalist Springfield Road, close to where riots took place on Wednesday night

After calls for calm this week, there was a heavy security presence, with water cannon and riot officers at the scene as police charged the youths with dogs 

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Belfast: police use water cannon on rioters in seventh night of unrest

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Gangs of youths gathered near the scene of Wednesday night’s violence and hurled stones and fireworks at police

Rioters have been blasted with a water cannon by police as unrest stirred on the streets of Northern Ireland once again.

After calls for calm this week, violence again flared up on the streets of west Belfast on Thursday. Stones and fireworks were thrown at police by gangs of youths gathered on the nationalist Springfield Road, close to where riots took place on Wednesday night.

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White House expresses concern over Northern Ireland violence – video

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The White House has expressed concern over a week of riots in Northern Ireland, with Joe Biden joining Boris Johnson and the Irish prime minister in calling for calm after what police described as the worst violence in Belfast for years. The president’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that Biden remained ‘steadfast’ in his support for a ‘secure and prosperous Northern Ireland in which all communities have a voice and enjoy the gains of the hard-won peace’

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Northern Ireland executive holds emergency meeting over Belfast unrest

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Chief constable briefs party leaders after political crisis intensified by another night of riots in Belfast

Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive is holding an emergency meeting in Stormont after another night of riots scarred parts of Belfast and ratcheted up a political crisis.

Simon Byrne, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, briefed party leaders on the security situation on Thursday before a debate at the assembly, which has been recalled from its Easter break.

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Northern Ireland clashes reflect loyalists’ fear of marginalisation

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Analysis: Brexit terms and handling of funeral seen as latest in a litany of perceived or real concessions

A Sinn Féin funeral was the spark but loyalists in Northern Ireland have been throwing petrol bombs and burning cars partly because they fear political marginalisation.

The union flag no longer flutters daily over Belfast city hall, a trade border separates the region from the rest of the UK and the police are allegedly beholden to Sinn Féin. Add to this a criminal gang’s resentment at recent arrests and you have the context for three consecutive nights of rioting in several towns that have left dozens of police officers injured, including five on Sunday night.

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What is allowed under Covid lockdown rules around the UK?

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How restrictions are being eased varies in the UK’s four constituent parts

The lockdown is being gradually eased in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the details of how and when this is happening vary in the four constituent parts of the UK.

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UK weather: Wednesday could be hottest March day on record

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Spell of early spring warm weather continues after record 24.5C on Tuesday

Forecasters say there is a small possibility the UK could see the hottest day on record on Wednesday, as the spell of early spring warm weather continues.

It has been particularly welcomed in England, where temperatures have been the highest and people have just emerged blinking into the light as the nation begins to shake off a long national lockdown.

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Gerry Adams unveils Irish unity-themed Easter egg

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Limited supply of chocolate eggs launched by former Sinn Féin president only available in Belfast

Gerry Adams has launched his latest bid for Irish unity, this time in the form of a chocolate egg.

In a video shared on Twitter, the former Sinn Féin president unveiled a “very, very, very special package that we have put together at considerable expense” – a chocolate egg wrapped in a sheet of paper that says #Time4Unity.

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UK to force Northern Ireland to speed up abortion services

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Exclusive: Brandon Lewis to take new powers to make executive act, as more than 100 women cross Irish Sea for help

The UK government is to take unprecedented action to force Northern Ireland to speed up abortion services, using parliament to give the secretary of state new powers amid concern many women are still being forced to seek help in England.

New figures suggest that more than 100 women have still sought abortions in England from Northern Ireland, despite the risks of the pandemic, including those seeking later-term abortions for significant foetal complications or health risks.

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Dominic Raab ‘totally misunderstands’ Northern Ireland Brexit terms, warns EU

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European vice-president Maroš Šefčovič says claim about Brussels trying to erect barrier down Irish Sea undermines UK’s reputation

Britain’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has been accused by Brussels of displaying a “total misunderstanding” of the Brexit deal after claiming the EU was trying to erect a barrier between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Maroš Šefčovič, the European commission’s vice-president, said Raab’s comments raised major questions, and warned that Britain was tarnishing its global reputation by ignoring the terms of its agreements with Brussels.

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Biden urges UK and EU to preserve Northern Irish peace amid Brexit row

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Remarks follow EU formally launching legal action over protocol arrangements in the region

The White House has urged London and Brussels to work together to preserve the peace in Northern Ireland, after the EU formally launched legal action against the UK over Brexit arrangements in the region.

Joe Biden’s spokesperson said: “We continue to encourage both the EU and the UK government to prioritise pragmatic solutions to safeguard and advance the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland.”

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IRA Brighton bomber ‘scouted Labour conference seven years earlier’

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Patrick Magee says he was in IRA team that visited town in 1977 to potentially target government figures

The IRA bomber who almost wiped out Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative cabinet in 1984 secretly scouted a Labour party conference in Brighton seven years earlier, he has disclosed.

Patrick Magee surveilled the Brighton conference centre in October 1977 when the IRA sought to hit back at the then Labour government for its policies in Northern Ireland.

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US-based Sinn Féin support group places ads for vote on Irish unification

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Adverts in New York Times, Washington Post and other US papers seek to rally Irish-American support

A US-based Sinn Féin support group has placed half-page advertisements in the New York Times, Washington Post and other US newspapers calling for a referendum on Irish unification.

Friends of Sinn Féin placed the ads on Wednesday to rally Irish-American support behind the party’s push for a referendum in Northern Ireland.

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‘There’s a lot of nasty stuff’: the people living with long Covid

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Sufferers say they have had little specialist help despite NHS England setting up dedicated clinics

“It’s not that I feel I have been abandoned, I think that is perfectly obvious,” says Rachel Pope. “If you speak to any long Covid patient, they have been abandoned.”

Until exactly a year ago – 5 March 2020 – Pope was “an incredibly fit woman”. A senior lecturer in European prehistory at the University of Liverpool, her work and lifestyle were very active. But after falling ill to Covid, she spent four months unable to walk, then three more when she could manage little more than “a sort of shuffle”.

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Brexit: EU to launch legal proceedings against UK ‘very soon’

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Threat of action follows UK moves to unilaterally delay implementation of part of deal relating to Northern Ireland

Brussels has warned it will launch legal action “very soon” following a move by the UK to unilaterally delay implementation of part of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland.

The European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, said the announcement by the government on Wednesday had come as a “very negative surprise”.

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Brexit: Northern Ireland loyalist groups renounce Good Friday agreement

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Loyalist Communities Council warns of ‘strength of feeling’ over border checks but says protests should stay peaceful

A body that claims to represent loyalist paramilitary organisations has told Boris Johnson the outlawed groups are withdrawing support for Northern Ireland’s historic peace agreement.

The Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) said the groups were temporarily withdrawing their backing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement amid mounting concerns about the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol governing Irish Sea trade post-Brexit.

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Northern Ireland’s five steps out of Covid lockdown: key points

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Plan for moving from lockdown to relaxation of restrictions will be guided by data

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, has unveiled a cautious five-step plan to ease the region’s Covid-19 lockdown. The plan has no hard dates and will be led by data, notably the reproductive rate of the virus, O’Neill told the Stormont assembly on Tuesday.

The 28-page plan, titled Moving Forward: the Executive’s Pathway out of Restrictions, envisages a five-stage process moving from lockdown to relaxation of restrictions for nine different sectors.

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DUP leadership starts legal challenge against Northern Ireland protocol

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Arlene Foster and senior MPs want new post-Brexit trade arrangements to stop disruption at Irish Sea ports

The leader of the Democratic Unionist party, Arlene Foster, and senior DUP MPs are launching a legal action challenging the Brexit deal’s Northern Ireland protocol.

They will be joining other unionists from across the UK in judicial review proceedings unless alternative post-Brexit trade arrangements are put in place that secure their consent.

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