BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
During Monday's "Stormont Live" I asked Alasdair McDonnell if it really mattered who won the SDLP leadership contest as the party would inevitably face a squeeze at the next Assembly elections, given that Sinn Fein would tell nationalists it had a realistic chance of becoming the biggest Stormont party. Consequently Sinn Fein would have the right to nominate Martin McGuinness as First Minister,...
SUBROSA (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
British-Irish council representatives of Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey all voted for the permanent secretariat of the council to be based in Edinburgh. Guess who vetoed the move? You're right, the Welsh Secretary Peter Hain ( pictured above ), who was representing the UK, at a meeting of the BIC on Friday in Jersey. Listen to this for an excuse...
Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
David Gordon played his own part in ‘The Fall of the House of Paisley’ by providing the print media’s most comprehensive coverage of the political dynasty’s links to property magnate Seymour Sweeney, and reporting other scandals which rocked the DUP during 2007 and 2008. Indeed the journalist brought to popular attention a number of the important scoops which underpin his new...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
A new book charting the downfall of Ian Paisley and his son retells one of the most remarkable political events in Northern Ireland of recent years Unionist hardliner Jim Allister likes to compare himself to a latter-day David-the-giant-slayer. At the annual conference of his Traditional Unionist Voice party in Belfast last weekend Allister relished the prospect of taking on a political Goliath that...
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Martin McGuinness has thrown down the gauntlet for Peter Robinson on the return of policing and justice powers. The deputy first minister said: “What we have to do is lead. It is not easy leading. Leadership is a lonely post. We need to confront those people who would wish to hold us back.” The deputy First Minster went on to say: “What is absolutely an imperative is to have an agreement...
BBC News (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Martin McGuinness warns of trouble for the NI process unless a date for devolving justice and policing is agreed by Christmas.
BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
There was a sense of unreality during much of today's marathon debate on the Justice Bill. We had plenty of discussion of SDLP and Ulster Unionist objections to the Sinn Fein DUP deal on a future Justice department. We had the SDLP suggesting December 7th as the date for the transfer of powers. But there seemed little or no acknowledgment of the general belief that the devolution of justice is balanced...
Dunedin Napier News (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
by Nicola Branagh US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton met with First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Belfast’s Stormont Castle on the 12th October 2009 in light of the ongoing talks of the devolution of policing and justice in Northern Ireland. Mrs Clinton held private talks with the First Minister and Sinn [...]
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
There shouldn’t be a problem with this and it’s an example of where Democracy Live should be going. It’s a short clip from today’s questions to OFMDFM in the Northern Ireland Assembly, via Stormont Live , in which the NI deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness answers replies to a question asking how the necessary community confidence will be assessed...
The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown held further talks at Downing Street at the weekend with First Minister Peter Robinson and Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness amid continuing uncertainty over when policing and justice powers will be devolved to the Northern Executive.
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Sinn Féin councillor Conor Maskey has criticised the DUP MEP Diane Dodds for double-jobbing - she’s still a councillor apparently - “Sinn Féin is committed to ending dual-mandates within our party..”. Meanwhile the party has selected Northern Ireland Executive Junior Minister, Gerry Kelly, MLA, as their candidate for north Belfast in the next general election. Do they...
Airforce Amazons (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
After a recent morbid exchange on an issue of blame , I was reminded of the above strip, my favourite of many by Dublin’s leading Finnish cartoonist, Arja Kajermo . (Click image to enlarge.) Regarding God and his mam in the last panel, as Iraqi Mojo will explain, America is God now. In the hunt through back issues of In Dublin magazine for the first strip, I also found this one, on terrorists...
SAOIRSE32 (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
An Phoblacht 22 Oct 2009 THE financial package from the British Government to support the transfer of powers over Policing and Justice from Britain to the North of Ireland was published on Wednesday. The development follows the latest round of negotiations on the package between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the North’s First and Deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson of the DUP and...
SAOIRSE32 (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
THE HUNGER STRIKE Was there a deal? Irish News 22/10/2009 Richard O’Rawe – former republican prisoner, PRO of the 1981 hunger strikers and author of Blanketmen – responds to Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams on claims a deal was available which would have saved the lives of six hunger strikers There is now no room for doubting that the hunger strikers, by their sacrifice and courage,...
BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 10/22/2009
I wasn't in the office yesterday so didn't get blogging about Gordon Brown's £1 billion offer. It's looking definitely good enough for Martin McGuinness, almost certainly good enough for David Cameron and probably good enough for Peter Robinson. However today the TUV's Jim Allister thought he had spotted a sleight of hand in the Prime Minister's package. claiming that any cash drawn from the...
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