Belfast Blogs.com

... and all I got was this lousy power-sharing executive.Well, I wasn't, but a lot of people I'm aware of, have met, have socialised with, were part of the militant Republican movement.The war was declared over some years back. Now the British overlords have confirmed that the transition to mainstream political activity is complete.I suppose there wasn't much time left for Martin McGuinness (see pic, far right) to be holding IRA council meetings since his day job as Deputy First Minister to Ian Paisley and Mr Iris Robinson (who himself was a terrorist in his day, as the people of Clontibret can testify, see pic below) takes up so many hours.But today's final nail in the Provo coffin must be hard to bear for some of the ground level volunteers - the people who took a guerilla war to what...

I was recently required to do an analysis of an academic research paper. A colleague I was working with chose this one, which I hadn't read before. There are some fascinating things in the responses. Page 6 of the PDF shows the huge swing in support for the agreement before finally resting where it started. I'm a bit dubious about the unexplained sharp rises towards the end of the campaign, but maybe I'm just forgetting something. Page 8 highlights the fact that the republic had a vote one third larger than in the north, but 10 times more spoilt ballots. On page 11 we get into the really interesting stuff. Only half of Protestant no voters objected to power sharing. Two thirds of them supported the establishment of an assembly. 86% of catholic nationalists supported NI remaining...

The Assembly Commission, which runs the estate at Stormont, has drawn up new rules that mean events held in the Long Gallery now require "cross-community backing of three MLAs" (I'm guessing this means three from each community?). This effectively means that Sinn Fein's murderer commemoration day at Stormont will not be allowed to go ahead in the Long Gallery. Sinn Fein are to hold the event in their ministerial offices instead, though the commission has said TV cameras will not be allowed in. Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann, organising the event, said the decision was "unfair and undemocratic". What a laugh; the DUP, UUP, Alliance and SDLP all support the decision . That's 74% of voters represented there; I think you'll find that's quite democratic. It's a bit late now for the Sinners...

The traditional view of Americans participation in the "Peace Process" here is generally seen as "cynical playing to the green Irish vote" by taking the side of nationalists and/or republicans. This was particularly true under the Clinton years. With the new presidency race I think the best some of us were hoping for was that any new administration would have more important things to worry about than the rather tedious affairs of Northern Ireland, yet still its hard to shake the feeling that the votes of 36 million "Irish Americans" may prove too tempting to ignore. That's why I was so surprised to read today that President Bush's special envoy to Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, has criticised Tony Blair for giving too much to Sinn Fein/the IRA, who he said became used to the government...

The Assembly has rejected any suggestion that the IRA's sectarian murder campaign was a war. A good thing, and fairly unsurprising. I've always liked Danny Kennedy, but his performance since devolution has impressed me, and he is clearly im proving as time goes on. I enjoyed this contribution during the debate: Mr McCartney: The Member made an intervention and stated that Ireland was only ever united under the British Crown. Is that an acceptance that uniting Ireland is a worthy cause? Mr Kennedy: Yes — under the British Crown. If the Republic wants to rejoin the British Commonwealth and renegotiate the terms and conditions for the union, I would withhold any objection. Here here. Unionism should never be afraid to espouse Irish unity, it should probably be Unionism's...

http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/02/19/terrorism_not_warfareThe Assembly has rejected any suggestion that the IRA's sectarian murder campaign was a war. A good thing, and fairly unsurprising. I've always liked Danny Kennedy, but his performance since devolution has impressed me, and he is clearly im proving as time goes on. I enjoyed this contribution during the debate: Mr McCartney: The Member made an intervention and stated that Ireland was only ever united under the British Crown. Is that an acceptance that uniting Ireland is a worthy cause? Mr Kennedy: Yes — under the British Crown. If the Republic wants to rejoin the British Commonwealth and renegotiate the terms and conditions for the union, I would withhold any objection. Here here. Unionism should...

http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/02/04/no_more_death_no_more_farcVenezuelan president Hugo Chavez recently called for governments to recognise Colombian terrorists (and friends of the IRA) FARC to be recognised as "an army". Sound familiar? Today Colombians will take to the streets to march in protest against FARC following a call to action which began on Facebook. No Mas Secuestros / No More Kidnapping No Mas Mentiras / No More Lies No Mas Muerte / No More Death No Mas FARC / No More FARC I can only wish them...

Approximately 30 supporters from Bohemians, a Dublin football team, launched a sectarian attack on the Tavern; the last Protestant-owned city-centre bar in Londonderry west of the Foyle on Tuesday evening before a match with Derry City [BBC video report]. The mob of "about 30 males" attacked the bar when it was populated only by a handful of people, including two Canadian tourists. Current reports suggest the attack may have been planned in advance using the internet. Happily, 4 of those involved have been arrested, charged and convicted already (it's just a shame there's no word on the other 26). => Read...

The fact that the hospital wing was the location for serial suicides is of insufficient historic moment. Jim Allister, MEP => Read...

http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/everythingulster/2007/04/01/soldiers_leaving_crossmaglen_holding_heaIt was funny to watch republicans reach near orgasm over the withdrawal of the army from Crossmaglen following a job well done. Yesterday the last soldiers left the village Possibly the most amusing thing was the placard carried by some of the terrorist supporting rabble. "Intimidation, torture, murder" in capital letters adorned the middle. Ironically, that's exactly why the army came in - to put an end to the IRA's campaign of, you guessed it, intimidation, torture and murder. Now seems an appropriate time to thank all the soldiers who served here over the decades of the troubles, doing a difficult and often thankless job in even more difficult circumstances. I'm not...

http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/everythingulster/2006/08/22/hunger_striker_profile_10_michael_devineConviction: Theft and posession of firearms Sentence: 12 years Joined Hunger Strike: 22nd June Suicided: 20th August Michael (or Micky) Devine was born in Springtown, a former US army camp In Londonderry, in 1954 where the family lived until they moved into a brand new council house in 1960. His father Patrick, a coalman by trade, had served in the British merchant navy during the Second World War. It's reported that Micky had an "unremarkable, but reasonably happy" childhood until the age of 11, when his father died of a serious illness. After seeing the civil rights marches on TV in 1968, Devine's attitude towards the police changed. As a child he'd been taught not to...

http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/everythingulster/2006/08/30/commemorations_another_weaponAn MLA has claimed that "hunger strike commemorations are only being used as another weapon in what republicans would describe as 'the struggle'". Commenting on the use of a parish centre near Dunloy, Co. Antrim, for a hunger strikers commemoration DUP assemblyman Mervyn Storey said he was "extremely disappointed" that the centre was being used to stage what he called "an insult to the victims in north Antrim". Of course he's right, all the various Sinn Fein's have been trying to use the commemoration of the hunger strikes to bolster their own standing. In Dungiven, Co. Londonderry, there are crudely erected 'memorials' looking like cheap billboards, at least one of which was...

An MLA has claimed that "hunger strike commemorations are only being used as another weapon in what republicans would describe as 'the struggle'". Commenting on the use of a parish centre near Dunloy, Co. Antrim, for a hunger strikers commemoration DUP assemblyman Mervyn Storey said he was "extremely disappointed" that the centre was being used to stage what he called "an insult to the victims in north Antrim". Of course he's right, all the various Sinn Fein's have been trying to use the commemoration of the hunger strikes to bolster their own standing. In Dungiven, Co. Londonderry, there are crudely erected 'memorials' looking like cheap billboards, at least one of which was emblazoned with the faces of the 10 dead criminals and simply the words "Republican Sinn Fein" and another...

Conviction: Theft and posession of firearms Sentence: 12 years Joined Hunger Strike: 22nd June Suicided: 20th August Michael (or Micky) Devine was born in Springtown, a former US army camp In Londonderry, in 1954 where the family lived until they moved into a brand new council house in 1960. His father Patrick, a coalman by trade, had served in the British merchant navy during the Second World War. It's reported that Micky had an "unremarkable, but reasonably happy" childhood until the age of 11, when his father died of a serious illness. After seeing the civil rights marches on TV in 1968, Devine's attitude towards the police changed. As a child he'd been taught not to talk to them and generally to have nothing to do with them, but following riots at the march he developed overnight...

IRA infighting could cause problems in County Londonderry According to Irish newspaper the Sunday Tribune, the South Derry brigade of the IRA (comprising around 25 members) are to split away from the provisionals because they are "disillusioned" that Sinn Fein are "wanting to sign up" to support of the PSNI (hat tip Fair Deal). The last time there was a serious split in the IRA Northern Ireland witnessed the birth of the Real IRA and, together with the rest of the world, witnessed one of the worst atrocities of the troubles - the Omagh bomb. The group is said to include members in their 20s who joined the IRA post-ceasefire. If nothing else this demonstrates exactly why Unionists are right to call on the IRA to disband completely, and the fact that these men reportedly have access to...

When Monsignor Denis Faul died last week I have to confess as to now knowing who he was or why he was important. In fact it wasn't until Mick Fealty pointed out this piece in the Times and I then googled a bit until I came across his obituary in the Guardian. Provo Priest? If I'm honest, seeing Gerry Adams and (as if that wasn't bad enough) Rory O'Brady at the man's funeral made me seriously doubt the Monsignor Faul's integrity, wondering if maybe he was an anti-British republican sympathiser. Well as it turns out he was the latter, as he said himself he wanted to see Ireland united, but he was quick to add "but I am not going to kill anybody for it." He earned the 'Provo Priest' nickname after causing some unease for the state earlier in his life, including when he was the chaplain...

A cat and a dog have started a fight in a room after being locked in together. The owner of the two pets, a Mr Peter “Orangeskin” Hain, denied accusations that he shouldn’t have put the two animals in the same room, given that everyone under the age of four knows that cats and dogs don’t get on. You can sort out for yourselves which party takes the role of bullying dogs or sneaky......

Sinn Fein have reacted angrily to claims that a senior member of the party, Gerry Adams, has never been a spy for British intelligence. “Its a disgraceful slur to suggest that anyone who gets to such a senior level hasn’t sold his soul to the British,” a spokesman for the party said, burning his Irish dictionary and humming God Save the Queen. “We vet people severely before they reach the upper reaches, to make sure they’ve no traces of idealism and that they’re happy to call themselves republicans whilst agreeing to serve a partitionist assembly.  Of course people like that will take the Queen’s shilling and rat out their colleagues.” Reports from the other side that Ian Paisley has been saying the Hail Mary in Gaelic remain...

Its a bit difficult for a blog commenting primarily on Northern Irish affairs not to say something about Denis Donaldson’s murder. It hasn’t stopped me before, but thats because Robyn is normally better at this sort of thing.  There are a few interesting things to be said here though. If the assassination was authorised by the PIRA, then I’m a single cell ameobia, and they can’t type very well.  It makes no sense whatsoever for provisional republicans to have carried this out.  The condemnation of the murder was swift from Sinn Fein.  Contrast this to yer woman with no skirt chatting to Pat Kenny a few weeks ago (oh all right, Toireasa Ferris) where the murder of Garda McCabe still wasn’t condemned.  All the way through the troubles Sinn Fein refused...

So a new round of talks have started, focussing once again on attempts to get Sinn Fein and the DUP in the same executive. In many respects, of course, there’s nothing between the parties.  They’re both strongly nationalist with a small n, they’re suspicious of the European Union and they believe they’re both on a great crusade with right on they’re side.  They also both revel in hypocrisy with the best of the them. Ian Paisley claims that the DUP “will not be entering into government with criminals”.  That rules him out then.  He has been found guilty of organising an illegal demonstration.  It also rules out his deputy, Peter Robinson, who has been found guilty of unlawful assembly.  Not the most henious crimes, but perhaps the good...

The Government appear to be a bit confused about the current activities of the IRA.  BBC’s Northern Ireland news website currently (but probably not for much longer) has a gem of insititutional schizophrenia, reprinted below.  Are members of the IRA still involved in crime?  Almost definitely, as are members of every institution, including all the “major” Northern Ireland parties.  Is this sanctioned by the IRA leadership?  Probably not.  Are the people in Northern Ireland mature enough to understand this?  Sadly, I wouldn’t have thought so.......

There was a good piece over at Young Unionists by Kenny Donaldson which I felt the urge to reply to: Northern Ireland has hardly been a great bastion of democracy. I am not aware of there ever having been a truly democratic government here, Unionists have been making excuses since 1921 to prevent Catholics from having an equal say and this continues today. Times have changed and Britain has changed, England can not present itself as a spreader of democracy to the world while supporting an autocratic regime on its own territory. Peter Hain has the unfortunate task of trying to ensure that Unionism does not get caught on the wrong side of History. As long as Northern Ireland functions as economic ballast in the UK our representatives carry little weight. There was spying in Stormont but...