The IBRC scandal won’t go away
It was once famously said that a week is a long time in politics. Make that a day. For weeks the government parties in Dublin have been rejecting any suggestion that there should be a Commission of...
View ArticleA Biblical crisis
With the good weather in the Mediterranean the numbers of refugees seeking to cross to Europe has dramatically increased. Last weekend an estimated 7000 men, women and children were rescued from the...
View ArticleCollusion - Britain’s shameful record on human rights
The British establishment knows something about hypocrisy and brass-necked politics. Especially when it comes to Ireland. This week was a case in point. The British media extensively covered the...
View ArticleLá breithe shona duit Fr. Des
Where to begin? Fr. Des will be 90 on July 8th. It’s hard to believe. He has lived a full life. A good life. And in the course of his years of service Fr. Des has helped thousands of people. During...
View ArticleThe gravest crisis - institutions of Good Friday Agreement hangs by a thread
The future of the political structures created by the Good Friday Agreement hangs by a thread. In the 17 years since it was achieved the Agreement has faced many challenges but the determination of the...
View ArticleNAMA at centre of new scandal
NAMA is once again in the news. This time over the sale of its northern loan portfolio. Regular readers of this blog will know that the Fianna Fáil Government established the National Asset Management...
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Reclaiming the Vision of 1916: Sinn Féin's Programme for 2016
Bobby Ballagh and mise Wynn’s Hotel in Lower Abbey Street in the centre of Dublin played a pivotal role in the formation of two of the key groups that shaped the 1916 Easter Rising; Oglaigh na...
View ArticleThe tragedy and courage of Ballymurphy
Today - Wednesday - the Dáil debate an all-party motion in support of the Ballymurphy Massacre Relatives. Their story is one of great tragedy, courage and tenacity. Its also a story of my home place -...
View ArticlePress Council uphold complaint against Irish Independent
It only seems like yesterday when BBC newsrooms would have to scramble to find an actor to pretend to be me when they wanted to carry an interview. I always felt like I was making some small...
View ArticleNAMA scandal
Since this blog last posted on the latest NAMA scandal a number of weeks ago, details are still emerging bit by bit and this scandal is now the focus of a criminal investigation and an Assembly...
View ArticleSupport marriage equality
Following the hugely successful referendum vote in May in support of marriage equality in the south the denial of this basic human right for citizens in the six counties has now taken on an added...
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Celebrating O’Donovan Rossa - A continuum of struggle
The funeral cortege for O'Donovan Rossa moves through DublinIn February Sinn Féin launched our national campaign to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. It was and is a first class programme which...
View ArticleWell done Féile
Féile an Phobail is the largest community festival on these islands – and the best in the world. This year it celebrated its 27th birthday. It was born in 1988 at a time of great hurt and conflict. It...
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St. Colmcilles – A Remarkable GAA Club
Eimear Ferguson is a Sinn Féin Councillor on Meath County Council. She represents East Meath which is part of the Louth constituency. Her father, Dessie, is a former inter county Gaelic footballer with...
View ArticleIrish Times: Anti-Sinn Féin Polemics
April 9th 2015:Below is the text of a letter which I have been trying to get the Irish Times to carry for the last two weeks. It has refused. A chara,The Irish Times has set out its clear opposition to...
View Article2016 – A time for Renewal
There are countless dates in Ireland’s long struggle for freedom that deserve commemoration and celebration but none resonate more deeply in the Irish psyche than the Easter Rising of 1916. One reason...
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Vote Yes for Marriage Equality
Dublin Launch of Referendums CampaignTwo years ago this week the 100 members of the Constitutional Convention, meeting in the Grand Hotel in Malahide in north Dublin, delivered a decisive vote of 79%...
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Rambling On Rathlin
A view from Rathlin Rathlin Island, off the coast of County Antrim, is our most northern off shore island. I was there at the weekend. The journey over in the ferry from Ballycastle was sublime. It...
View ArticleA scandal at the heart of government
Following the economic crash eight years ago two toxic banks in the 26 counties – Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide - were amalgamated into the state owned Irish Bank Resolution Company set up for...
View ArticleRemembering the Hunger Strikers - National Commemoration Sunday August 23rd
National Hunger strike March is on Sunday August 23rd. Assemble 2.15pm Bailigh at 2.15 to walk to New Inn, Newry Road at 3pm1981 was a tumultuous period in modern Irish history and the 1981 hunger...
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