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Relatives of those killed in a Loyalist massacre in Derry 50 years ago today will gather tonight to remember their loved ones. Charles Moore, Frank McCarron, Michael McGinley, Barney Kelly and Charlie McCafferty were shot dead as they enjoyed a drink in Annie's in the Top of the Hill area of Derry, just five days before Christmas in December 1972. There will be a special Remembrance Mass at 6pm this evening (Tuesday) at St Columb’s Church on Chapel Road. It was from this same church that some of the victims were laid to rest following Requiem Mass in the days...

NORTHERN IRELAND & LONDON — "I'm starting to hear things that I haven't heard in a long time," Eileen Weir told Business Insider. "There was a republican funeral here yesterday and they shot over the coffin. I know that's a matter of honour for that fallen comrade, but at the same time, the IRA said all of there guns were out of use, so where did they get that gun?" Weir runs a cross-community women's centre in Shankill, west Belfast. Shankill was a focus of violence during The Troubles. Irish republican and unionist paramilitaries carried out lethal bomb attacks and...

London (AFP) – A no-deal Brexit could lead to a united Ireland as more people in Northern Ireland would “come to question the Union” with Great Britain, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has said. His comments came after new British prime minister Boris Johnson said the current Brexit deal was unacceptable and set preparations for leaving the EU without an agreement as a “top priority” for his right-wing government. Tension around the withdrawal deal centres on the so-called Irish backstop — a mechanism designed to keep Northern Ireland in the bloc’s Single Market and prevent a customs border between it...

Gerry Adams has stated that he still believes violence and the use of “armed actions” can still be justified to reach political aims — in certain circumstances. The former Sinn Féin president gave an interview to Hamburg-based newspaper Der Spiegel (The Mirror) reflecting on The Troubles, strife in Northern Ireland, and his stance on an array of issues including the use of violence. In the interview, which was conducted in the run up to the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement — April 10th — Adams vehemently denied every shooting anyone during The Troubles or being a member of...

Civil right leader Rev. Jesse Jackson paid enormous tribute to the late Martin McGuinness this week in a rousing speech to open the Museum of Free Derry. Comparing the Derryman, who died earlier this year after a short illness, to the likes of Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela, the activist laid a wreath at the Sinn Féin leader’s grave, meeting with other members of the political party to pay tribute. “It was a great honor to welcome the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Derry today, as he laid a wreath at the grave of Martin McGuinness, accompanied by Martin’s...

New York state representative Peter King is not one to hold his tongue on his true feelings about anything, so did you think the outspoken pol wasn’t gonna dig in on Ted Cruz today? Fuhgeddaboudit. During an appearance on The Joe Piscopo Show Thursday morning, Rep. King slammed the Texas Senator amid the controversies he’s facing in — and prior rhetoric about — New York. Just twelve days before the New York primary, Cruz is on major damage control on the campaign trail after a disastrous day in the Bronx saw Cruz getting booed, heckled, and become subject of a...

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday shied away from throwing his support behind either Donald Trump or John Kasich, instead stressing his position on the third Republican running for president. "I can tell you one thing: I would never vote for Ted Cruz," King, a former backer of Marco Rubio, said during an appearance Tuesday afternoon on CNN. King has long criticized the Texas senator, including telling him in January to "go back under a rock" after the candidate questioned Trump's "New York values." Cruz has since emerged as the top challenger to Trump and several former rivals, including Jeb...

A former soldier has been arrested by detectives investigating the events of Bloody Sunday in Londonderry. Thirteen people were killed when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march through the city in January 1972. A fourteenth died later. The 66-year-old is a former member of the Parachute Regiment. He was detained in County Antrim on Tuesday by the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch. He is the first person to be arrested as part of the investigation.

Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, says Tea Party Republicans like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are to blame for the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner. “I think he could of been influenced by the pope being here yesterday and that it’s just time to end the fighting that’s gone on, the needless fighting that’s gone on,” King said to radio host John Grambling on Friday. “But having said that I’m disappointed. I think John was as good as a speaker that you could find and he’s undermined by people in his own party from day one. It’s...

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams arrested

The IRA has a secret arsenal of deadly munitions capable of bringing down military helicopters and penetrating PSNI Land Rovers, killing all personnel traveling inside. Millionaire Florida stockbroker turned IRA gunrunner, Mike Logan, says he sent the powerful incendiary shells to the Provisionals who tested them and were “delighted with the results”. […] As well as arming the Provisionals with hundreds of handguns as previously reported, he has now disclosed that he also sent munitions as powerful as those the US Army deployed against Saddam Hussein in the Iraq war. He claims that years after the IRA ceasefire, the Provos...

Retired police officers have warned they could be forced to reveal information which would undermine the peace process during any truth commission into Northern Ireland’s past. The warning from The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers’ Association (NIRPOA) came in a 64-page submission to the Haass Commission for dealing with the past. The submission makes it clear that the body represents officers who have been involved in what was known as the “shoot to kill” policy, a term they reject, and it is also known to represent many retired Special Branch officers. …

Today I want to talk about The Troubles. I previously talked about Operation Banner An Analysis of British Operations in North Ireland.That is worth reading though it is a bit dry. So here we go. For a brief recap the problems between England and Ireland probably go back 900 years or so. We will focus a bit more on current history. The Anglo- Irish war from roughly (start and stop points are hard for guerrilla wars) 1919 to 1922 ended up partitioning Ireland into 2 entities. The 26 counties that make up the majority of Ireland were granted Dominion...

See for example this thread first. It wasn't Ben and Jerry's plans for their new ice cream called "Black and Tan" to raise such a stink. (In Ireland, I think the name conjures dead football fans.)

Breaking News::BELFAST, Northern Ireland The Irish Republican Army issues statement apologizing for killings of noncombatants over 30 years.