Category Archives: Ireland

Leo Varadkar steps down as Irish prime minister in shock move

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Varadkar announces decision to resign as taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael party for ‘personal and political’ reasons

Leo Varadkar has announced he is standing down as Ireland’s prime minister and also giving up his role as leader of the Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition, in a surprise move described by pundits as a “political earthquake” for the country.

Citing “personal and political” reasons, Varadkar, 45, announced his decision at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday, saying in an at-times emotional speech that he no longer felt he was the “best person” to lead Ireland.

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Rose Dugdale, English heiress turned IRA bomb maker, dies aged 83

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Sinn Féin members pay tribute to Dugdale, who was also involved in 1974 art heist and police station attack using hijacked helicopter

Rose Dugdale, who went from a background of wealth and privilege in England to become an IRA militant and bomb maker, has died in a Dublin nursing home aged 83.

Dugdale was presented as a 17-year-old to Queen Elizabeth as part of the 1958 summer debutante season. Years later, in 1974, Dugdale was given a nine-year prison sentence, in part for her role in the theft of 19 paintings from the home of a wealthy British politician.

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‘Longing for home’: letters of Irish emigrants to US reveal 400 years of trials and triumphs

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A collection of more than 7,000 letters will form a publicly accessible digital archive that offers a window to the past

In the week that Ireland turns ­everything green and celebrates its diaspora, a new online archive has given voice to the human cost paid by generations of emigrants.

More than 7,000 letters from emigrants to North America spanning four centuries have been collected and digitised, giving poignant insight into the homesickness, tribulations, and occasional triumphs, of those who crossed the Atlantic.

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‘Tallest jockey in the world’ has rival for the title at Cheltenham

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Thomas Costello, who at 6ft 4in is same height as Jack Andrews, says ‘people in weighing room looked at me like I had four heads’

You don’t come across many lofty figures in the weighing rooms of the UK’s racecourses but two jockeys standing at a (relatively) towering 223cm (6ft 4in) will rub shoulders when the Cheltenham festival begins on Tuesday.

Jack Andrews, 25, from Warwickshire, rose to fame last year when he was billed as the tallest jockey in the world during his appearance at the festival, but this week has a rival for the title – Thomas Costello, from County Clare in Ireland.

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‘Real awe’: wave of Irish jubilation greets Cillian Murphy’s Oscars win

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President of Ireland, artists, academics and friends pay tribute to actor, who dedicated award to ‘peacemakers’

Ireland used to take pride in begrudgery – a venerable tradition of belittling success – but Cillian Murphy’s win at the Oscars has ruined that legacy by uniting the country in delight.

The actor’s triumph in Los Angeles prompted a wave of tributes from Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, as well as the government, artists, academics, commentators and childhood friends, with no dissenter.

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Ireland’s referendums: what went wrong, and what happens now?

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Rejection of proposed changes to constitution represent stunning defeat for government and country’s entire political establishment

Proposals to reword Ireland’s 1937 constitution to get rid of outdated language about the role of women and the nature of the family have been comprehensively rejected in a double referendum.

All the major political parties had supported a “Yes-Yes” vote, and the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, had warned that any other result would be a setback for the country. But when the results came in on Saturday they were a resounding “No-No”. So what went wrong, and what happens now?

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Irish voters overwhelmingly reject proposed changes to constitution

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Taoiseach says government did not do enough to convince people over amending provisions on family and care

Ireland has overwhelmingly rejected proposed changes to references on family and women in its constitution, delivering a rebuke to a government that had urged voters not to take a “step backwards”.

Voters repudiated the family referendum with 67% voting “no”, and buried the care referendum in an even bigger landslide of 74%.

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Ireland to vote in ‘women in the home’ referendums amid apathy and confusion

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What appeared to be relatively low-stakes amendments could turn into embarrassing defeat for government

When the Irish government announced it would hold two referendums on International Women’s Day it billed the votes as opportunities to embed inclusivity and equality in a constitution dating from 1937.

Voters will on Friday be asked to delete article 41.2, the so-called “women in the home” provision, and enshrine two proposed amendments on care and family.

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‘A clash of cultures’: Irish opinion split over Travellers’ elaborate headstones

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Community representatives say a ‘good sendoff’ is a religious necessity, but others say it introduces a competitive element

The latest addition to Ballyhaunis cemetery in Ireland’s County Mayo towers over neighbouring headstones in a blaze of white marble and ornamentation. Rose-wreathed pillars frame a tableau of statues showing Jesus, angels, cherubim and biblical scenes, including an engraving of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

Marble tablets express bereavement in gold letters, a photo of the deceased gazes from a carved stone bench and lanterns with diamond-shaped bulbs and electric sensors flank the central slab.

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Politicians from 12 countries unite to press for arms ban on Israel

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Letter aims to bring public anger over 30,000 deaths of Palestinians in Gaza into heart of parliaments

More than 200 MPs from 12 countries have committed themselves to trying to persuade their governments to impose a ban on arms sales to Israel, arguing they will not be complicit in “Israel’s grave violation of international law” in its assault on Gaza.

The letter, organised by Progressive International, a network of socialist MPs and activists focused on international justice, is seen as the best practical measure possible to bring public anger over the 30,000 deaths of Palestinians in Gaza into the heart of parliaments, where calls for an immediate unconditional ceasefire have so far fallen on deaf ears or been rejected by national governments.

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Irish president Michael D Higgins is taken to hospital after feeling unwell

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The 82-year-old will stay in overnight and has already undergone tests but spokesperson says no immediate concerns identified

The president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, has been taken to hospital after feeling unwell.

The 82-year-old was taken for tests in Dublin on Thursday after being assessed by a doctor at his official residence in the capital, Áras an Uachtaráin.

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Food trade bodies consider legal action over post-Brexit ‘not for EU’ labelling

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Producers say the labelling could add £250m a year to their costs, further fuelling inflation

Food industry trade bodies are discussing whether to take legal action against the government over post-Brexit plans that will require all meat and dairy products sold in the UK to be labelled as “not for EU”.

Food producers say the labelling could add £250m a year to their costs, further fuelling inflation, and they are discussing a legal challenge as a viable option if a solution with the government is not found.

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Woman loses £650,000 injury claim after being seen tossing Christmas tree

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Irish court throws out Kamila Grabska’s case for car crash injuries after she was pictured winning charity competition

A woman’s £650,000 claim for injuries allegedly suffered during a car crash has been thrown out of court in Ireland after she was pictured winning a Christmas tree-throwing competition.

Kamila Grabska, 36, sued an insurance company and said injuries to her back and neck meant she was unable to work for more than five years or play with her children. She claimed she was left with the “disabling” condition after a car she was travelling in was hit from behind in an accident in 2017.

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Ireland and Spain demand EU reviews Israel trade deal over rights obligations

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Joint letters from prime ministers implore the bloc to act over ‘deteriorating’ situation in Gaza

The prime ministers of Ireland and Spain have implored EU leaders to take action over the “deteriorating” situation in Gaza, demanding an immediate assessment of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations that are stipulated in a trade deal with the bloc.

The letter was sent amid mounting international calls for Israel to drop plans for a military assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1 million Palestinians from the north and centre of the territory have fled seeking safety. At least 74 Palestinians were this week killed in an Israel rescue mission in the city in which two hostages were freed.

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Ireland and Spain among EU nations striking a different note on Gaza war

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In taking alternative direction to likes of US and UK, group has played a role in shifting perspectives on the conflict

When the UN agency for Palestinian refugees became embroiled in a scandal last month, Britain and Germany quickly froze their funding, and other countries on the continent soon followed. But instead of joining the pack, Spain and Portugal decided to go in the opposite direction. They responded with promises to up their funding.

For years, but especially in the past few months, they have been part of a grouping of countries across Europe that have consistently sought to strike a different note when it comes to conflict in the Middle East. Others include Ireland, which has called for a review of the EU’s trade ties with Israel, and Slovenia, which said it expected Israel to swiftly implement provisional measures ordered by the international court of justice in a case looking into allegations of genocide.

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Grisly secrets of the ‘disappeared’ of Anglo-Irish war uncovered by research

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Irish state’s founding fathers killed and disappeared five times more people than Provisional IRA would do over 30 years

The Irish Republican Army’s executioners shot and secretly buried their victims in fields and bogs, leaving them to decay and enter the ranks of Ireland’s “disappeared”.

Some were British soldiers, others were suspected informers or turncoats. Uncertainty about their fate and the location of their remains added a cruel twist to a brutal conflict.

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Former Irish PM John Bruton hailed as ‘humbling and unassuming’ at funeral

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Leaders pay respects to former taoiseach of 1990s ‘rainbow coalition’ as he is laid to rest in Dunboyne

The former Irish taoiseach John Bruton has been described as a “humbling and unassuming” man at his state funeral, attended by senior political figures including the president, Michael D Higgins, and the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.

Ministers, TDs and parliamentary ushers were among those who attended the service at Saints Peter and Paul’s church in Bruton’s home town of Dunboyne, County Meath.

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Michelle O’Neill: Sinn Féin leader from IRA family who has vowed to respect royals

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She’s pledged to be first minister ‘for all’ and her ability to navigate political tensions will shape her Stormont tenure

When Michelle O’Neill is sworn in as Northern Ireland’s first minister, it will be a moment of personal triumph steeped in irony.

As a teenage mother, she was treated as if she had the “plague”, and wept, yet went on to ascend the ranks of Sinn Féin and is now poised to make history as the first nationalist to lead Northern Ireland – a state that, in theory, she wishes to eradicate.

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With Sinn Féin in first minister post, has the republicans’ day come at last?

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Michelle O’Neill has taken the top job but Irish unity is unlikely to be ‘within touching distance’

The elevation of Michelle O’Neill as Northern Ireland’s first minister is a historic moment that breathes new life into the republican slogan “tiocfaidh ár lá” – “our day will come”.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader, a working-class republican, has taken charge of a state that was designed in 1921 to enshrine a unionist majority in perpetuity, and that the IRA vowed to destroy.

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Dublin not expecting EU objections to new trade rules for Northern Ireland – UK politics live

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Irish foreign minister says he does ‘not anticipate any particular difficulties in respect of the EU side’

Back at the home affairs committee James Daly (Con) asks why so few police investigations end up in people being charged.

James Cleverly, the home secretary, says the Crown Prosecution Service is independent. He wants to make sure investigations are as professional as possible.

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