Joan Burton should have been made Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. She was not. Why? Because a man wanted the job. Not a better qualified man. Not even an equally qualified man. Burton, an accountant, has been Labour’s finance spokeswoman for nine years. She is tough, not least because she’s taken part in far too many meetings at which she was the only woman.... Free article

A COMMEMORATION will take place in County Donegal on Sunday 13th March at 2.30pm to mark the 23rd anniversary of Caoimhín Mac Brádaigh, who was killed along with two other nationalists by a loyalist attacker at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast on 16th March 1988.

This Sunday’s commemoration will start at Paddy Óg’s in Crolly and proceed to Caoimhín’s monument at Leo’s in... Free article

A UNITED STATES Congressional Hearing will be heard in Washington DC on Wednesday into the ‘Ballymurphy Massacre’ carried out by the British Army in west Belfast in 1971.

Two days after internment, 11 civilians – including a local priest and a mother of eight children – were shot dead by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment.

None of those killed had any connection to any armed... Free article

GERRY ADAMS TD has expressed his sadness at the news of the death of Seán Cronin and extended his sincere condolences to Seán ‘s wife Reva and family circle.

The Sinn Féin president said:

Seán Cronin was a pivotal figure in Irish republicanism for decades but particularly during the 1950s. He was an author who wrote the definitive book on Irish nationalism and other books... Free article

A TORY MINISTER cancelled a visit to west Belfast after Sinn Féin organised protests against Conservative/Lib Dem Government cuts.

!-- @font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } -- Sinn Féin Councillor Janice Austin praised those who... Free article

NEWLY-ELECTED Sinn Féin TDs Mary Lou McDonald and Sandra McLellan have said that women’s rights will be a priority for their party in the new Dáil.

Deputies McDonald and McLellan were launching five priorities for Sinn Féin in the new Dåil to mark International Women’s Day.

Speaking at Leinster House, Mary Lou said:

It is very clear that inequality is as real and rampant as... Free article

SPEAKING as the Sinn Féin TDs arrived at Leinster House for the first meeting of the new Dáil today, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD said the Fine Gael/Labour Party Programme for Government represents more of the same failed policies which were just rejected by the electorate.

Deputy Adams said Sinn Féin will provide strong and effective opposition to the new Government.

LABOUR TD Joanna Tuffy has been challenged by Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin to back up her opposition at the Labour conference to the Fine Gael/Labour coalition by voting in the Dáil against public sector jobs cuts, sale of state assets and increases in university fees.

Eoin Ó Broin said:

The Programme for Government commits the Labour Party to implementing the Fianna Fáil... Free article

FOUR YEARS is a long time in politics but it was four years ago that Eoghan Harris accepted a bet from Jude Collins which eventually cost Mr Harris one thousand pounds. Here is the story as told by Jude Collins.

MONEY TALK AT TALKS BACK

THERE ARE STORIES that have a happy ending and there are stories that have an unhappy ending. This is a happy-ender.

It began back in... Free article

THESE are historic times. We remember the sacrifices of countless others and pay tribute to them through our efforts now.
March 1st marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the 1981 H-Blocks Hunger Strike.
March 8th marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.
And March marks the arrival in Leinster House of Sinn Féin as a truly significant political force in the 26... Free article