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1981 Hunger Strike - inflicted a historic defeat on the Thatcher government
A section of the huge crowdFor a brief period the rain eased as we walked through Dundalk on Sunday but for most of the time it lashed. Thousands of brave souls, many soaked to the skin despite all...
View ArticleRemembering Garrett O Connor
Dr. Garrett O’Connor was a world renowned psychiatrist. Last week dh died peacefully in his sleep at home in Aughrim, Co. Wicklow. Garrett was married to the equally well known actress Fionnula...
View ArticleIt’s about elections - stupid
In my weekly column for the Andersonstown News I wrote last week about the current political crisis. Today the talks begin.This week 21 years ago the IRA announced its “complete cessation of military...
View ArticleRefugees: The Road to compassion
There are some images that have seared their way into the collective consciousness of humanity. Most are traumatic. In my lifetime the screaming face of a naked young girl – Kim Phuc – badly burned...
View ArticlePolitical institutions hanging by a threat
The political institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 hang by a thread. The historic agreement which internationally stands as a beacon of hope for efforts to advance conflict...
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Uncomfortable Conversations for Reconciliation
Declan Kearney, Cllr Críona Ní Dhálaigh, Dominick Chilcott, Gerry Adams Uncomfortable Conversations – An Initiative for Dialogue towards Reconciliation is a book published by Sinn Féin which contains...
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Addressing the Dublin Chamber of Commerce
This morning I spoke to a breakfast meeting of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and set out some of the party’s plans for business and the economy and Sinn Fein's vision for Dublin. Below is the text of my...
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Remembering Tomás Ceannt – soldier, patriot, revolutionary
Mise agus nieces of Tomás Ceannt On a bright May morning in 2000 I spoke at the unveiling of a memorial in Cork City to the 1916 patriot Tomás Ceannt at Ceannt railway station. The Ceannt Memorial had...
View ArticleOur man in Havana
The sun was shining gloriously in a clear blue sky last Friday in Havana. It was a hot and humid Cuban morning. Our small delegation – myself, Lucilita Bhreatnach, Eric Scanlon and Richard McAuley –...
View ArticleExpressions of sympathy following weekend tragedies
Last weekend the Carrickmines fire claimed 10 victims. On Sunday a homeless man died on the streets of Dublin and later that evening Garda Tony Golden was murdered and Siobhan Phillips was critically...
View ArticleUnionists must provide certainty
Following the murders of Jock Davison and Kevin McGuigan; the political fallout from these events and amid threats by unionist leaders to crash the institutions, the British government appointed a...
View ArticleA sea change in attitude toward Travellers is needed
Funerals can occasionally be surprisingly joyous events. A celebration of the life of someone who has lived it to the full, and made a unique contribution to family, community or society. But mostly...
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Con Colbert: The only fitting memorial is a United Ireland
Last Saturday I travelled down to Limerick for a quick walkabout with Maurice Quinlivan and his team of Councillors and activists. It was a lovely day. Everyone was in great form and the response...
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Paddy McGeady: "I would love to see Treasure Island again" he told me.
Paddy with Hillary and Bill ClintonFor the last two weeks in August Paddy McGeady and I spent a few minutes together every night. We stood at his back door listening to the birdsong, discussing the...
View ArticleProtecting Moore Street and Dublin’s Battlefield site
In six months the centenary celebration of the 1916 Rising will take place. Central to that act of remembrance will be the GPO. It was there that much of the fierce fighting that followed the Rising...
View ArticleSpies and Spooks: The same old story
As long as Britain has been involved in Ireland it has bought or cajoled or intimidated some people into acting as their eyes and ears, their spies and spooks, and advocates. Some of these do so...
View ArticleGrilled filet mignon for mains
Some of the Irish media got carried away last week with the success of the annual Friends of Sinn Féin dinners in New York and Toronto. The $500 a plate event in the Sheraton Hotel on 7th avenue got...
View ArticleParis Attacks condemned - Adams
Today the Dáil heard expressions of sympathy on the attacks in Paris last Friday which saw 129 killed.To understand those events it is necessary to set them in their context. Below is the text of my...
View ArticleA new opportunity for progress
The agreement reached at Stormont on Tuesday is far from perfect. But it is the best that was possible at this time. It is the culmination of over three months of intense and difficult negotiations...
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Free Arnaldo Otegi – Bring them home
Thursday saw the launch of the Free Arnaldo Otegi and Bring Basque Political Prisoners Home campaign in Ireland. The event took place in Leinster House and was jointly sponsored by myself; Maureen...
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