Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin Solidarity with Striking Workers

Indymedia ireland (Free subscription) | 17 hours ago

Sinn Féin workers in Leinster House took a principled decision not to pass the picket lines during yesterday's industrial action.

“there is nothing like an election to purge the system”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago

Stephen King, writing in the Irish Examiner, argues that “an election to purge the system” “cannot come soon enough” If policing has become too big a deal, perhaps a measure of confidence can be restored by making progress on other fronts. Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin, in a comprehensive statement to the Seanad earlier this month, listed a whole array of outstanding...

London and Dublin must act to halt this deepening crisis | Seumas Milne

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago

There is now a 'terrorist incident' every day in Northern Ireland, but Britain is allowing unionists to fuel the fire From the way terrorism is discussed in the British media you might easily imagine that most political violence in the United Kingdom is the work of would-be jihadists in England. In fact, the overwhelming majority of armed attacks are being carried out by dissident republican groups...

SF to raise DUP stance on justice

BBC News (Free subscription) | 12 hours ago

Sinn Fein is to raise the DUP's refusal to agree a date for the devolution of policing and justice powers to the NI Assembly with the prime minister.

McGuinness wins blog's top award

BBC News (Free subscription) | 19 hours ago

The blog Slugger O'Toole choses Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness as its politician of the year.

C4 invests in political blogger Slugger O'Toole

Media: PDA | guardian.co.uk (Free subscription) | yesterday

Channel 4's 4iP fund is continuing its pattern of investing in projects that "keep an eye on money and power" by funding Northern Ireland's best-known political blog, Slugger O'Toole , paidContent:UK has learned. It is 4iP's first joint investment with media agency Northern Ireland Screen . The investment size is unknown, along with whether 4iP has taken equity, and the deal will be announced...

• C4 Invests In Political Blogger Slugger O'Toole - paidContent:UK

“When this place becomes durable, functioning and sustainable..”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | yesterday

I previously asked, on Sinn Féin’s selection (unopposed) of Northern Ireland Executive Junior Minister, Gerry Kelly, MLA, as their candidate for north Belfast in the next general election, whether the party thinks the new restrictions on multiple mandates won't apply to them? So reports of yesterday’s debate in the Assembly on ending “double-jobbing” led me to scan Hansard...

From the archive: Bomber with the luck of the Irish

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/24/2009

Originally published on 24 November 1979 Until he was stopped in a random check on the morning of Lord Mountbatten's murder, Thomas McMahon had had the luck of the Irish. Twice during a lengthy terrorist career he had been taken in by the police. Twice, through no apparent fault of the Irish police, he went free. Sitting in the dock, McMahon cut a singularly unimpressive figure. He is a short, tubby...

Criminal thugs attack home

Belfast Media | Home (Free subscription) | 11/24/2009

Community leaders from both sides of the divide have joined forces in support of a North Belfast interface worker whose home was attacked this week for the seventh time in the past year. A vigil of support will be held tomorrow (Friday) in Spamount Street close to the home of Gerry O'Reilly whose front windows were smashed with a claw hammer in the early hours of Sunday morning. Sixteen panes of glass...

“the dissidents themselves are actually attacking the direct local accountability institutions”

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009

BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport has been properly sceptical before of the suggestion that “having a local Justice Minister might dampen down any dissident violence”. And, following the weekend car bomb attack on the Policing Board headquarters, on today’s Stormont Live he put one of his “stupid” questions to Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly. “Would it...

Special Reconnaissance Regiment involved in foiling Garrison attack

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009

The BBC are reporting that the Army’s Special Reconnaissance Regiment were involved in the apprehension of the terrorists who attempted to murder a young police officer in Garrison. Apparently the SRR which has been particularly active in Fermanagh provided the initial information that the police officer was being targeted and were then involved in watching the terrorists for a number of days....

Tip-off saved Catholic officer targeted in Fermanagh gun attack

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009

Dissident republicans blamed for attempted murder The target of a republican dissident murder attempt in Northern Ireland was spirited out of his home before his potential killers arrived thanks to an Irish police intelligence report, sources revealed. The man, a Catholic officer with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and his family were moved out of their house in the border village...

Maskey attacks SDLP over justice

BBC News (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009

Sinn Fein assembly member Alex Maskey launches a scathing attack on the SDLP during an assembly debate on policing and justice.

Instability ahead in Northern Ireland | Paul Bew

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009

Dissident republican violence has the potential to set off a chain reaction that will strain the current political compromise Can the dissident republicans repeat the provisional IRA campaign? The answer, happily, is no. But they do have a purchase on events in Northern Ireland. Their activities serve to intensify unionist fears about the devolution of policing and justice at the very moment when...

Clear and not so clear messages at the weekend

Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009

As the UK national media had ignored the latest Stormont kerfuffle, they were hardly likely to sit up and pay attention to the weekend convolutions from La Mon House. Ears did prick up though when dissident republicans spoke in language they could easily understand. The obvious conclusions, fair and unfair, will be drawn: the more nationalists think the DUP are screwing Sinn Fein, the more the dissidents...