British Government apologises for Para killing schoolgirl Majella O’Hare

BY LAURA FRIEL

MAJELLA O’HARE was 12 years old in July 1976 when she was shot dead by a British paratrooper close to her home in Ballymoyer, County Armagh.
Majella was on her way to church and walking with some friends when she passed a British Army patrol. A few moments later a British paratrooper opened... Free article

Tyrone hikers salute the courage of the Hunger Strikers

ONE HUNDRED hikers braved the elements on Saturday 19th March to climb the Sperrin Mountains in a ‘Walk of Freedom’ to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike.
The hike was organised by West Tyrone Sinn Féin in conjunction with the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee and was timed to coincide... Free article

City of Portland, Oregon, joins chorus for ‘Uniting Ireland’

THE City of Portland, Oregon, celebrated St Patrick’s Day by issuing a proclamation calling for the Irish and British governments to hold a referendum on reunification of the entire Island of Ireland, pursuant to the Good Friday Agreement.
Declaring that “it is for the people of Ireland alone, without external... Free article

Taoiseach agrees to meet families of victims

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has agreed to meet with the Ballymurphy Massacre families after Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams TD raised the issue in the Dáil during Taoiseach’s Questions.
Gerry Adams pointed out that, in March, the relatives of the 11 civilians shot dead by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment in August 1971 in the Ballymurphy... Free article

Collusion and cover-up?

BY LAURA FRIEL

BY LAURA FRIEL

VITAL EVIDENCE was suppressed during the RUC investigation into the Loughlinisland massacre, according to new information from an eyewitness.
The revelation came as the publication of a report by the Police Ombudsman into the sectarian killings, already postponed for two years, was delayed once again.
Six Catholic men were... Free article

The ‘kult’ that is St Pauli

HOW does a soccer team that has never won a trophy in its 100 years of existence, only ever played in the German Premier League (the Bundesliga) on five occasions become a cult team with over 11 million Germans claiming to be fans of the club and over 200 supporters’ clubs spread across the world - including Ireland?
It was in the mid-1980s that FC... Free article

THE former Finance Ministers of Germany and Greece were among the speakers during a day of debate on March 30th organised in Brussels by the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament on the Left response to the economic crisis.
The conference ‘Crisis & EU Governance: The Left Response’ heard from German former Finance Minister Oscar Lafontaine and his Greek former counterpart,... Free article

LE DONNCHA
Mac AMHLAIDH

TÁ CÚPLA buncheist ag baint lena ndearna Éamonn Mac Con Midhe, comhairleoir de chuid Shinn Féin, nuair a shiúil sé le brat na hÉireann ar thosach an tslua i nDún Pádraig ag ceiliúradh mhórnaomh na tíre: Cén glacadh atá lenár mbrat?
Don té a thuigeann brat trídhathach s’againn, agus a ghlacann go fabhrach lenár gcur chuige pobail, is ionann ár mbrat agus... Free article

The passing of a political icon

BY PEADAR WHELAN

WHEN the news broke, on Saturday night, 12th March 2011, that Brian Moore had died, the shockwave that washed over his friends and comrades throughout Ireland – and indeed elsewhere across the world – devastated them.
Few people knew Brian was ill, let alone in danger of dying, but that was the way Brian, a very private man and... Free article

IRISH HISTORY writing has been going through a golden age with a myriad of publications covering national and local subjects. The past year has seen a further raft of books that add greatly to our knowledge of the past and understanding of the present.
As I write this I am listening to a radio documentary featuring torrents of abuse being poured on Dublin South-West Fianna Fáil... Free article