MAY 5th was not just the day voters in the Six Counties went to the polls – it was the 30th anniversary of the death on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh of IRA Volunteer Bobby Sands, elected Member of Parliament for Fermanagh/South Tyrone.
There was a poignancy of the coincidence of the dates of these events that was keenly felt by republicans and nationalists.
The... Free article

Device aimed at Cairde na hÉireann like bomb sent to Celtic manager

REPUBLICANS in Scotland have been urged to be vigilant after police revealed that a parcel sent through the Post Office and intended for Sinn Féin support group Cairde na hÉireann was a bomb that could have caused “real harm”.
The device was one of a series of five targeting high-profile people in Scotland,... Free article

Big bills for water in the pipeline

FAMILY INCOMES in the 26 Counties are to be hit by an annual €175 bill from the Fine Gael/Labour Government for water regardless of household income.
The charge will be introduced in the next two years.
Both Labour and Fine Gael told voters before the election that they would not bring in domestic water charges. Fine Gael said it would not... Free article

In the whirlwind of the Cuban Revolution

CHE GUEVARA’S second-in-command in the Congo and a veteran fighter at the Bay of Pigs, VÍCTOR DREKE took time out from his visit to Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion to talk to An Phoblacht’s MARK MOLONEY about his revolutionary journey.

HE GUEVARA wrote of Víctor Dreke in a report to Fidel Castro after the... Free article

Ulster Unionist Party leader taunts ‘Sinn Féin scum’ on live TV Free article

I DON’T pay my TV licence fee. I’d like to argue that it’s a political principle, a decision motivated by the continued presence of Joe Duffy and Katherine Lynch on RTÉ but it’s actually because Roisín and I live in an apartment and the TV licence guy can’t get to us. And we’re cheap.
Occasionally, An Post leaves a polite little card in the mailbox to let us know they were in the... Free article

Electoral growth continues

TWENTY-NINE seats and a 26.9% share of first-preferences were just two of the critical markers for Sinn Féin in the 2011 Assembly election. It is not easy taking the responsibilities of power and it is even more difficult in the face of an ongoing economic crisis yet Sinn Féin’s performance in this election demonstrates a growing trust with the... Free article

I nDíl Chuimhne

1 May 1993 Alan LUNDY, Sinn Féin.
2 May 1987 Volunteer Finbarr McKENNA, Belfast Brigade, 2nd Battalion.
3 May 1974: Volunteer Teddy CAMPBELL, Long Kesh.
5 May 1981: Volunteer Bobby SANDS, H-Block Martyrs.
5 May 1992: Volunteer Christy HARFORD, Dublin Brigade.
6 May 1988: Volunteer Hugh HEHIR, Clare Brigade.
7 May 1974: Volunteer Frederick LEONARD, Belfast Brigade,... Free article

HERE are the events that the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee knows of to mark the 30th anniversary of the heroic 1980/1981 Hunger Strikes.
Updates can be got from Maureen or Deirdre at the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee at 028 9034 7350 or [email protected] or local Sinn Féin contacts in your area.
The An Phoblacht website will also list... Free article

THE findings of the public inquiry into the murder of Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson will be made public on May 23rd.
Secretary of State Owen Paterson said the report will be shown to the Nelson family before it is published in full.
Rosemary Nelson died on March 15th 1999 after a booby-trap bomb placed under her car exploded. Before she died, Rosemary, a human rights lawyer,... Free article