I  OBVIOUSLY lead a very sheltered life as prior to watching Celebrity Bainisteoir I had never heard of Breffni Morgan or Gavin Duffy or Mairead Farrell or Derek Burke (although I do confess to having watched Crystal Swing on YouTube).
My ignorance is particularly inexcusable as from time to time Kaniah gets me to trawl through the tabloids for the Sinn Féin Press Office in the... Free article

Being Donnacha

BY GERRY ADAMS

I REMEMBER very well the time Anne Rynne told me Donnacha had multiple sclerosis. We were on the phone. It must have been about 15 years ago. Or thereabouts. Donnacha was in his mid-20s. Although she was scared, Anne was very brave about this traumatic development in the life of her son. Donnacha was even braver. They are like that, this mother and... Free article

SPEAKING today during a Dáil debate on the Economy, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance Arthur Morgan said the Government’s strategy is ideologically driven rather than being based on commonsense.

Deputy Morgan said:

When we are told that the economy is shrinking significantly, that Government spending is far too high and Government borrowing becoming unsustainable, that the economy... Free article

TODAY, October 27th, marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the 1980 Hunger Strike by republican prisoners in Long Kesh, who were later joined on the strike by women in Armagh Jail.

Lurgan man Leo Green went without food for 53 days during the 1980 Hunger Strike. He is currently working as part of Sinn Féin's Assembly support team at Stormont.

Leo was arrested in 1977 and... Free article

THE 30th anniversary of the start of the 1980 Hunger Strike by republican prisoners in Long Kesh and Armagh women's jail who were protesting for political status is to be marked by republicans in Belfast on Wednesday October 27th.

In west Belfast, white-line pickets will be held at the top of the Whiterock, the Andersontown Leisure Centre and Poleglass roundabout at 5.30pm.

In... Free article

SPEAKING in the Dáil debate on the Economy today, Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (right) said savage cuts in Budget 2011 would prevent recovery and that a better, fairer approach is possible.

He said:

Sinn Féin stands as the real opposition in this debate.

Deputy John Gormley’s call for talks between party leaders and all that followed served one very useful purpose –... Free article

TWO cheers for RTÉ, Today FM and Newstalk this morning for not jumping too much on the 'exports growth' bandwagon.

RTÉ, like many other news media outlets, have reported on Irish Exporters’ Association (IEA) figures which show a 9.3% increase in exports in the months July to September 2010. Exports for the first nine months of 2010 are 4.4% ahead of the same period in 2009. So... Free article

PICKETS outside the Dáil are fairly commonplace these days so it was no surprise to see a small but determined-looking group waving placards as I pulled in last week.

The protester in chief – dressed in what can best be described as a Fidel Castro outfit – approached. He started to sing “Hello, Mary Lou” (I know, I know) through a loudhailer and handed me a CD. I took a closer... Free article

SINN FÉIN TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has welcomed a tweet from Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews in which the Fianna Fáil TD says:

FG are not getting the traction in the polls because people see little difference between FF and FG. A merger makes sense to me.

Sinn Féin Deputy Ó Snodaigh said in response that such a merger would bring about a real Left/Right divide in Irish politics... Free article

MINISTERS' PAY will be cut by 40% and TDs' salaries by 20% in Sinn Féin's Budget plan, Mary Lou McDonald has announced.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader said in Dublin:

It is simply unacceptable for the Government – or indeed the ‘government in waiting’ – to advocate massive cuts and a scaling down of public services to meet their 2014 Budget deficit reduction deadline without... Free article