A few columns ago I cited a story often told among journalists, for fun and to caution against self-importance, usually in vain. Variously attributed to small newspapers in remote locations at some time in the 19th century, an editorial discussing Russian foreign policy is said to have thundered: “We warn the Tsar!”
Related: The Last Czars: the historical drama that the whole of Russia is laughing at
Continue reading...Crashing out could make a united Ireland more likely, Irish PM says
Boris Johnson has set the UK on an apparent course towards a no-deal Brexit by playing down the likelihood of any talks with the EU unless Brussels agrees to scrap the existing withdrawal agreement and Irish backstop, both of which it has ruled out.
The seemingly intransigent tone prompted Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, to warn that a no-deal departure could lead more people in Northern Ireland to seek a united Ireland.
Continue reading...One man taken to hospital and another man arrested after incident at service in Dundalk
A man was seriously injured when a car drove at speed through a cemetery while thousands of people were attending an annual blessing of the graves service in Ireland.
Police said a man aged in his 20s believed to be the driver was arrested at the scene at St Patrick’s cemetery in Dundalk, Co Louth, on Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading...Exclusive: newly elected EU chief suggests there could be emergency help for Ireland
The European commission’s new president has said a hard Brexit would have “massively negative consequences” for both Britain and the EU, and said Brussels could provide emergency help for nations such as Ireland that bear the brunt of such an outcome.
In her first interview since narrowly being approved for the post by the European parliament on Tuesday, Ursula von der Leyen said the withdrawal deal concluded between Theresa May and the commission’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Barnier, would remain the basis of any future talks.
Continue reading...Report identifies Zimbabwe-style seizures as key concern in the event of a united Ireland
Some unionists in Northern Ireland fear Zimbabwe-style land seizures by Irish nationalists if the region joins a united Ireland, according to a report that lays bare anxieties about any Brexit-fuelled breakup of the UK.
Farmers and others with Protestant and unionist backgrounds worry that Catholic and nationalist neighbours would claim their land in a cultural, economic and political takeover by Dublin – “the mother of all fears”, the report found.
Continue reading...Next PM will be told in ‘no uncertain terms’ that axing backstop amounts to no deal
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt’s Brexit plan to axe the Irish border backstop from the withdrawal agreement will be rejected outright by the European Union, EU sources have said.
Informed sources say that it is doomed to failure and if the next prime minister goes to Brussels with such a plan, he will be told in “no uncertain terms” that it amounts to a declaration of no deal.
Continue reading...Decision fuels speculation that troubled plane will be rebranded once it is given all clear to fly
A Boeing 737 Max due to be delivered to Ryanair has had the name Max dropped from the livery, further fuelling speculation that the manufacturer and airlines will seek to rebrand the troubled plane once it is given the all clear to fly again.
Photos have emerged of a 737 Max in Ryanair colours outside Boeing’s manufacturing hub, with the designation 737-8200 – instead of 737 Max – on the nose. The 737-8200 is a type name for the aircraft that is used by aviation agencies.
Continue reading...Nominee to lead European commission also says ‘precious’ backstop must be defended
Ursula von der Leyen, the nominee to lead the European commission, has signalled she will not reopen Brexit talks with the next British prime minister and stressed the “precious” Irish backstop must be defended.
She said she still hoped the UK would remain in the European Union, while indicating she had no intention to renegotiate the withdrawal deal agreed by Theresa May and EU leaders.
Continue reading...Residents and campaigners say fast-growing Sitka spruces are spoiling the landscape
Ireland is ramping up its response to the climate crisis by planting forests – lots of forests. East, west, north, south, the plan is to plant forests, the more the better.
With enough trees, goes the hope, Ireland can compensate for many of the cows, vehicles and fossil-burning power plants that make it one of Europe’s worst climate offenders.
Continue reading...Ifrah Ahmed refuses to let the horrific female genital mutilation she suffered at the age of eight define her. “I don’t want to be a victim. I want to be a voice,” says the 32-year-old campaigner.
She is one of the first women to publicly speak out about female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somalia – a country where it is estimated that 98% of women have undergone the ritual – and now her journey from powerless victim to powerful role model has been dramatised in a film. A Girl from Mogadishu has just had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh film festival and will be released across the UK in cinemas later this year.
Continue reading...Prosecutors obtain warrant to arrest man over Denis Donaldson shooting in 2006
Irish authorities are preparing to charge a man for the murder of Denis Donaldson, a British spy within the IRA who was shot dead in 2006.
The news emerged on Wednesday when an Irish police officer told an inquest in Letterkenny, County Donegal, that prosecutors had obtained a warrant to arrest and charge the suspect with murder.
Continue reading...In 2013 the Irish capital was ranked among the world’s top 20 bike-friendly cities, but only a small part of the promised cycle network was ever built
One sunny May afternoon in Dublin, as the Spice Girls prepared to kick off their Spice World 2019 tour at Croke Park stadium, the coaches bringing their fans unwittingly sparked another reunion – the city’s cycle activists.
It had been two years since the direct action group I Bike Dublin had mobilised to protect cycle tracks from car parking – uniting around twice a week under the hashtag #freethecyclelane – but as police officers directed coach drivers to park in the bike lane by Dublin Bay, blocking the track, the protesters were back.
Continue reading...Report on keeping border open, backed by Nicky Morgan and Greg Hands, suggests special economic zones
Alternative arrangements for keeping the Irish border open in the event of a no-deal Brexit or the collapse of future trade talks with the EU could be up and running within three years, a report concludes.
The interim report by a non-government organisation calling itself the Alternative Arrangements Commission will be unveiled at a special conference on the Irish border in London on Monday.
Continue reading...If a test in 2011 had been accurate, Vicky Phelan might have avoided cancer. Now she is trying to give some hope to terminal patients
When Vicky Phelan was told in January 2018 to get her affairs in order because she had less than a year to live, she crumpled. “The legs went from under me,” she recalled.
Emerging from the doctor’s office she avoided the gazes of her daughter and mother waiting outside and sought refuge in a bathroom. “I was in there for about 20 minutes. I bawled my eyes out.”
Continue reading...On a spring afternoon last year, a 13-year-old boy called at the home of Ana Kriégel, a 14-year-old girl living in the Dublin suburb of Lucan.
He had exciting news: his friend, whom she had a crush on, wanted to meet her. Ana was delighted. She grabbed her hoodie and followed him through a park to a derelict farmhouse where his friend, also aged 13, was waiting. It was a trap.
Continue reading...Victim Ana Kriégel was lured from her home, beaten and sexually assaulted in May 2018
Two 14-year-old boys have been found guilty of murdering a female classmate who was lured to an abandoned house, savagely beaten and sexually assaulted in a case that has shaken Ireland.
The battered and partially clothed body of Ana Kriégel was found in a derelict farmhouse in Lucan, a Dublin suburb, on 17 May 2018, three days after she went missing.
Continue reading...Taoiseach wants to keep a guarantee there will be no return to hard borders
Leo Varadkar has said that removing the border backstop would be as bad for Ireland as a no-deal Brexit.
Some contenders to replace Theresa May as prime minister, including frontrunner Boris Johnson, have proposed changes to the policy.
Continue reading...US president’s behaviour seemed tame in comparison with disastrous visit last year
He insulted London’s mayor, abused an American actor on Twitter at 1.20am, turned Brexit into a threat to the National Health Service, described Meghan Markle as nasty, and behaved as if he was a kingmaker offering audiences to aspirants from the 51st state, and yet to Whitehall’s diplomats Donald Trump’s state visit was by no means the worst in living memory.
It may be that the bar had been set vertiginously low, or that Trump, as a repeat visitor, has lost some of his capacity for shock and awe. Somehow, it seemed tame and normalised in comparison with his previous disastrous visit a year ago. Even the protests felt familiar, and like Trump’s insults aimed at Sadiq Khan, heartfelt but formulaic.
Continue reading...Donald Trump has started his visit to Ireland by comparing the country's post-Brexit border with Northern Ireland to the US border with Mexico, along which the US president wants to build a permanent wall. The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who looked visibly uncomfortable at the joint press conference, responded by saying that 'the main thing we want to avoid, of course, is a wall or a border'
Continue reading...As the US president heads to Ireland to meet the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, here are the highlights of his state visit to the UK – from the red-carpet welcome in Buckingham Palace to the 'Trump baby' blimp
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