THIS YEAR marks the 20^th anniversary of the murder of Fergal Caraher in Cullyhanna. On December 30th 1990, Fergal was murdered and his brother Míceál seriously injured.

The shooting

Fergal and Míceál were in Cullyhanna when they stopped to help a man whose car had broken down and were then approached by a group of British soldiers. They checked them – their names, addresses... Free article

THE Government’s cut of €19.80 per week to students on VTOS means that many students who were failed by the education system the first time around will be denied a second chance, Sinn Féin Mayo County Councillor Rose Conway Walsh has said.

The allowance paid to students on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme who are long-term unemployed has been cut from €31.80 to... Free article

THE National Pension Reserve Fund should be used to stimulate Ireland’s economy and create jobs and not to bail out banks, Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has said.

The newly-elected TD was speaking on December 23^rd as Finance Minister Brian Lenihan went to the High Court in Dublin for approval to put a further €3.7billion of taxpayers’ money into Allied Irish... Free article

Monday 27th December 2010
Belfast City Hall
3pm
Commemoration marking 2nd anniversary of Operation Cast Lead

BETWEEN 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009, over 1,400 Palestinians were killed by Israel in a brutal and illegal attack on the Gaza Strip, destroying lives and infrastructure.

Two years on, Gaza's infrastructure has still not been repaired due to Israel's blockade.... Free article

Nollaig shona do gach duine agus bliain úr faoi mhaise daoibh go léir.

I want to wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a good New Year.

This time of the year is an opportunity to relax, to spend time with family and friends and to enjoy the pleasure Christmas gifts bring, especially to children.

But it is also important that we remember all of those for whom this... Free article

THE North’s Housing Executive should set up an ‘emergency repairs unit’ to deal with the huge number of tenants’ heating and water supply problems caused by the harsh winter weather, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Fra McCann MLA has said.

Speaking on Christmas Eve night as he and other Sinn Féin Assembly members and councillors battled alongside families to get emergency... Free article

TURKEY should open a dialogue with the Kurdish people to try and resolve the conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has claimed 45,000 lives since 1984, Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle member and Meath County Councillor Joe Reilly has said in Istanbul.

Joe, a former Mayor of Navan and ex-prisoner who has been involved in the Irish Peace Process, has been in... Free article

MEMBERS of the Ballymurphy Massacre Committee have returned from a successful trip to America and a lobby of the Obama administration, the US Congress and Irish-American organisations for an international independent investigation and a Congressional hearing into the Parachute Regiment rampage in August 1971 in which 11 people were shot dead.

In the three days following the... Free article

IT WAS toward political, financial, cultural and linguistic sovereignty that Irish men and women sacrificed their lives in the GPO nearly 100 years ago. Perhaps the reason we feel the loss of sovereignty so sharply after the IMF's financial takeover is because, unlike Iceland and Greece, we don't yet collectively speak our own language.

The 20-year plan to promote the further use... Free article

ASSEMBLY Agriculture & Fisheries Minister Michelle Gildernew MP has expressed her concern about the welfare of migrant workers in the agri-food sector at Christmas and the New Year.

Speaking today she said:

Migrant workers play an important part in the production and processing of the food we will be eating over the Christmas season.

Many of them will have been able to return... Free article