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.
Continue reading...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.”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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
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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Brexit and the surprising gains for Sinn Féin in Ireland’s general election have combined to reopen the debate about economic and political partition
Continue reading...Irish parliament set to meet on Thursday despite no party having a majority
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s taoiseach, has said he is prepared to lead his ruling Fine Gael party into opposition and to let Sinn Féin and other parties try to form a government.
Varadkar emerged from a six-hour meeting with Fine Gael’s parliamentary party on Monday night saying he “relishes” the chance to rebuild it from the opposition benches.
Continue reading...Sinn Féin president’s statement comes after senior party figures were threatened
Violent dissident republicans should disband, the leader of Sinn Féin has said. Anti-peace process renegades threatened the party’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, and veteran policing spokesman Gerry Kelly after they supported a recent recruitment campaign for new Catholic officers.
The party’s president, Mary-Lou McDonald, said they would not be deterred or intimidated by the gunmen. She added: “These people have no politics, no strategy and nothing to offer. They are at war with their community and are now threatening political representatives who serve the people.”
Continue reading...Decision leaves Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael with choice of a deal or risking fresh election
Ireland’s largest party, Fianna Fáil, has said it will not consider going into government with Sinn Féin, a decision likely to prevent the leftwing nationalists from entering power for the first time.
It effectively leaves Ireland’s two dominant centre-right parties – Fianna Fáil and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael - with a choice of joining forces or risking a fresh election that could further boost Sinn Féin.
Continue reading...Mary Lou McDonald will talk to Greens and others but pact with Fianna Fáil is also possible
Sinn Féin has started reaching out to leftwing parties to try to form a ruling coalition but potential allies have said there are insufficient parliamentary numbers to produce Ireland’s first government of the left.
Ireland’s traditional ruling parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, signalled on Tuesday that they would give Sinn Féin’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, time to try to forge a rainbow alliance in recognition of her party’s stunning general election results.
Continue reading...For almost a century, political power in Ireland has been held by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The two centrist parties have ruled in some form or another, be it through coalitions or confidence-and-supply arrangements with other smaller parties. Saturday’s general election has upended this political duopoly.
Sinn Féin topped the poll in first-preference votes for the first time, with a share of 24.5%. Fianna Fáil received 22.2%, while Fine Gael, in government since 2011, came third with 20.9%. Under Ireland’s proportional representation voting system, it will take several days for the calculations to be made to establish exactly how many seats each party will win. Once that’s clear, negotiations will begin to see who can somehow form a government.
Continue reading...A Sinn Féin coalition will rattle unionists, who consider Boris Johnson’s EU deal a betrayal
Sinn Féin won the most first-preference votes in Saturday’s Irish general election, delivering a shock to the country’s political landscape after decades of domination by the centrist rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
However, the fragmented results will produce a hung parliament with no party close to 80 seats, meaning there could be weeks – possibly months – of negotiations between party leaders before a government is formed.
Continue reading...Party leader Mary Lou McDonald calls for talks with main rivals to form coalition
Sinn Féin has declared victory in Ireland’s general election and called for talks with other main parties to form a coalition government.
Its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, urged Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to start negotiations with the republican party as the scale of its breakthrough confirmed a realignment of Irish politics.
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