Category Archives: Sinn Fein

UK plan to end Troubles prosecutions ‘could breach international law’

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European human rights commissioner warns Northern Ireland secretary that amnesty is ‘deeply problematic’

Boris Johnson’s plan to impose a statute of limitations to end all prosecutions related to the Troubles before 1998 could be in breach of international law, a European human rights commissioner has told the government.

Dunja Mijatović of the Council of Europe has written to the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, saying the UK’s proposals appear indistinguishable from an unconditional amnesty for those not yet convicted.

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Majority of Northern Irish voters want vote on staying in UK

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Two-thirds of people say a border poll should be held at some point in the wake of Brexit

Two-thirds of voters in Northern Ireland believe there should be a vote over its place in the UK, but only 37% want it to take place within the next five years, according to a new poll for the Observer.

Some 31% of voters said there should be a vote at some point about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK but after 2026, the LucidTalk poll found. A further 29% said there should never be such a vote. There is currently a seven-point lead for Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK should any vote take place.

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Northern Ireland’s deputy leader urges calm before loyalist parades

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Michelle O’Neill concerned about site of unionist bonfire, as tensions rise over post-Brexit trading rules

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister has urged people to celebrate peacefully before the start of the loyalist parade season, as tensions increase over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill – who is deputy to the new first minister, Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), in the power-sharing administration – called particularly for calm over a bonfire set up in a contentious site in north Belfast.

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Sinn Féin designates deputy first minister to avert Stormont crisis

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Westminster-backed deal to legislate for Irish language protections saves Northern Ireland executive from collapse

Sinn Féin will nominate Michelle O’Neill as deputy first minister at Stormont after the party president, Mary Lou McDonald, said she received a commitment from the UK government to legislate for Irish language protections at Westminster.

McDonald earlier said she was going to meet the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, as her party and the DUP attempted to avert a fresh political crisis at Stormont.

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Irish-language row threatens to derail Northern Ireland government

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Standoff between DUP and Sinn Féin blocking ratification of Arlene Foster’s designated successor

A dispute between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) over an Irish-language act is threatening to derail the Northern Ireland assembly and executive.

Arlene Foster formally resigned as first minister at 1pm on Monday but a standoff between the two biggest parties at Stormont is blocking her designated successor, Paul Givan, 39, from taking the post.

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Sinn Féin president apologises for murder of Lord Mountbatten

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Mary Lou McDonald says she is sorry the late Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle was killed by IRA bomb in 1979

The Sinn Féin president, Mary Lou McDonald, has apologised for the IRA’s 1979 murder of Lord Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle.

Speaking after the funeral of Prince Philip, she told Times Radio she was sorry that Mountbatten, 79, had been killed when the fishing boat he was on was blown up by an IRA bomb.

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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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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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How EU’s floundering vaccine effort hit a fresh crisis with exports row

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A new rule on exports from Europe suddenly blew up into a threat to the withdrawal agreement – and a hasty backtrack

It started with a tweet by a blogger at 4.36pm on Friday. It ended with the prime ministers of the UK and Ireland warning the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, during late night calls, that she had put peace at risk by effectively seeking to erect a vaccine border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

“OK, I’m not usually on here any more, but I’m making an exception because this is very interesting: the EU’s regulation on export controls for vaccines *does* include vaccines going to Northern Ireland, and the EU is invoking Article 16 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol,” @dijdowell had tweeted. “I really didn’t have Article 16 being used *by the EU* in the first month of the Protocol’s operation on my list of predictions for 2021. I would be fascinated – *fascinated* – to know what the Irish Government makes of setting this precedent.”

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Bloody Sunday families reject decision to charge only one soldier

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Relatives of some of the 14 people killed to challenge ruling by Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service

The families of those who died in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry are to challenge a legal decision not to prosecute any more former soldiers in connection with the shootings.

Relatives expressed dismay after a review by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS), published on Tuesday, confirmed that only one former member of the Parachute Regiment, known as Soldier F, should face charges.

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EU trade chief faces fresh criticism over breaking Covid rules in Ireland

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Phil Hogan gave more detail about his trip but said he was exempt from lockdown restrictions

The embattled European trade commissioner Phil Hogan is facing fresh accusations that he flouted coronavirus regulations during a golfing break in Ireland.

Hogan attempted to douse the controversy and save his job in a media interview on Tuesday evening, but ended up tacitly admitting he had violated quarantine rules, triggering more questions and calls for his resignation.

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Micheál Martin becomes Irish taoiseach in historic coalition

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Fianna Fáil leader forms government with Fine Gael and Greens vowing end to ‘civil war politics’

The Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has been elected as the Republic of Ireland’s taoiseach – prime minister – after the formation of an historic coalition government.

The three-way coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green party is the first time the first two parties – former civil war rivals – have been in government together.

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Colombia grants amnesty to alleged IRA bomb-making trio

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Men fled country while on bail after their arrest in 2001 and a highly-publicised trial

Three alleged IRA members accused of training Colombian rebels in bomb-making techniques have been granted amnesty nearly two decades after they were arrested, as part of the South American nation’s ongoing peace process.

Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley, who became known as the Colombia Three, were arrested at Bogotá’s El Dorado airport in 2001. They were charged with travelling on false documents and teaching members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (or Farc) how to build improvised mortar bombs.

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Ireland’s old political rivals hold talks over historic coalition

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Coronavirus crisis spurs Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil government formation talks

The coronavirus crisis has spurred government formation talks in Ireland between Leo Varadkar’s ruling Fine Gael party and its old rival, Fianna Fáil.

Both parties lost seats in a general election last month that marked a revolt against the political establishment, but parliamentary arithmetic and the coronavirus pandemic have prodded them towards an unprecedented coalition.

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Dismay over UK plan to close unsolved Troubles cases

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Irish government says No 10 proposal to pursue only cases with compelling new evidence betrays Stormont agreement

The UK government has proposed closing the book on most unsolved killings during the Troubles, prompting dismay from the Irish government and Northern Ireland’s nationalist parties.

A new independent body will review cases, and only those deemed to have compelling new evidence and a realistic prospect of prosecution will receive a full police investigation, the government announced on Wednesday.

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Ireland’s shock election: did a ‘youthquake’ really drive up the Sinn Féin vote? – video

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Sinn Féin won the popular vote in Ireland’s recent elections shaking up a two-party system that has been dominated by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for decades. The success was described as a youthquake but was that really the case? We meet some of the activists, politicians and voters to ask them what the result says about Ireland and about their hopes for a government as coalition talks continue


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Micheál Martin faces a battle of conscience to form Irish government

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Fianna Fáil leader is a key player in breaking parliamentary deadlock, but has ruled out working with Sinn Féin

Ireland’s political deadlock hinges on the cold, hard numbers of parliamentary arithmetic, but there is an additional, nebulous factor: the conscience of Micheál Martin.

The leader of Fianna Fáil is the party leader best positioned to wrangle a government and emerge as taoiseach. It would safeguard his job as party leader and crown his career, giving him a chance to shape history in the Brexit era.

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Gerry Adams will be Sinn Féin negotiator, leaked brief reveals

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Party challenged over IRA links as former leader quietly chosen to help form next government

Sinn Féin has included Gerry Adams on its negotiating team to form the next Irish government, fuelling renewed scrutiny over the party’s links with the IRA.

A party briefing note leaked on Friday named Adams as a negotiator, raising questions as to why he was not on the published list. The disclosure came as political opponents piled pressure on Sinn Féin to renounce the IRA in advance of talks to form a coalition government.

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Varadkar resigns as Irish government enters stalemate

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Taoiseach will continue as caretaker leader after inconclusive sitting of Dáil Éireann

Leo Varadkar has resigned as taoiseach after Ireland’s hung parliament entered deadlock over the choice of a new premier.

Varadkar submitted his resignation to Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, on Thursday night after a tempestuous but inconclusive sitting of Dáil Éireann, which met for the first time since the 8 February election. It adjourned until 5 March, giving party leaders three weeks to try to form a ruling coalition.

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