Sinn Féin has come in for scathing criticism in the past weeks, with many blaming the party for the deadlock in the peace renegotiations, after the Stormont Assembly was suspended at the beginning of August by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland John Reid to allow a six-week break during which the parties could returnRead more..
There was a terrible silence in Omagh in the days after the bombing. It seemed that not even birdsong could be heard in a town that was full of life and joy and laughter when the world turned upside down on 15 August 1998. To those who know nothing of Northern Ireland it may seemRead more..
On election day in Northern Ireland, David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and First Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly, was roughed up by Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) supporters as he approached the polling station. Trimble needed the protection of the police to get in and out of the building unharmed, and endedRead more..
Kelly Candaele talks to Gerry Adams about recent developments in Northern Ireland. ℘℘℘ Gerry Adams is no stranger to violence. In 1984, he told reporters that he believed there was a ninety percent chance he would be assassinated. Two months later, he was shot by loyalist paramilitaries. While he denies ever having been a memberRead more..
In war-torn Northern Ireland, for women to fight for equal rights would have been seen as a betrayal to the Nationalist or Unionist cause, Anne Cadwallader examines the position of women on the political front post ceasefires. ℘℘℘ The women of Northern Ireland have, in virtually every sphere of influence, through their work in theRead more..
Another political crisis in Northern Ireland was narrowly avoided and a new one born when at the end of October Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble won his party’s confidence vote, defeating a challenge from anti-agreement MP Jeffrey Donaldson for the leadership of the UUP. This was the third challenge Trimble faced in his leadershipRead more..
Pro-Agreement and anti-Agreement Unionists were united recently at the funeral of Sir Josias Cunningham, a leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, the largest Unionist party in Northern Ireland. Cunningham was killed on August 9 in a two-car collision in Belfast. He was 66. Cunningham was elected president of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1991. TheRead more..
“Hushed be that sigh, be dry that tear,Nor let us lose our heaven here…” – Richard Brinsley Sheridan ℘℘℘ On a plane to San Francisco a young couple sit across from me with two boys. The younger one is kicking up a ruckus. As I reach for my ear-plugs I hear the wife say somethingRead more..
The Northern Ireland Assembly is back – but intransigence could still damage the prospects for peace. ℘℘℘ Glimpse a furrowed brow or lips shut tight against gritted teeth at Stormont right now and you’re looking at someone who was counting on the peace process ending in failure and recriminations. Those with a spring in theirRead more..