‘No smoking gun’ as Gerry Adams court case ends
In the News podcast: Former Sinn Féin leader spent two days in the witness box of a London court rejecting claims he was in the IRA
Belfast Agreement
The Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, is a peace accord signed on April 10th 1998, largely ending decades of violence known as the Troubles. It comprises two related agreements, the British-Irish Agreement and the Multi-Party Agreement. It led to the establishment of devolved government in Northern Ireland and other institutions
Letting the past be the past
The pursuit of ‘justice’ for the few should not usurp the need for reconciliation for society as a whole
We ran the British army. In Northern Ireland, let the past be the past
The conflict began 57 years ago, yet politicians are resisting letting the past become the past
For Northern Ireland, being a bit better than collapse is not good enough
In recent months, the early positivity of the latest version of Stormont has fallen away
US stops funding peacebuilding project for island of Ireland after 40 years
Programme to prevent young people being recruited by paramilitaries among scheme’s initiatives
First chair of modern Irish history at Cambridge University is announced
Government’s funding of modern Irish history chair at Cambridge a signal of belief in importance of independent scholarship, Micheál Martin says
Call for Ireland to apologise for the Troubles is a desperate stretch
Jon Burrows’s comparison between Bloody Sunday and Ireland’s failure to extradite terrorists will have offended nationalists and left unionists bemused
‘A bunch of freeloaders’: Increasing UK pressure on Ireland to invest in defence
Russian aggression has raised the possibility of Ireland becoming strategically important to London
Letter from Colombo: Geopolitics, cricket’s big business and a missing press pass
A radio host asks if Ireland could play in orange to avoid kit clashes at the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka
George Mitchell quits US education body as further Epstein files are released
Mitchell Institute says it is considering a ‘potential name change’
It’s ironic how it took a Corkman to teach UK’s Labour to sound like English patriots
It has been helpful for Ireland, too. But Morgan McSweeney’s reign could be coming to screeching halt
George Mitchell-Jeffrey Epstein links: why is former US senator’s name being removed at Queen’s?
The speed at which Queen’s severed ties with its former chancellor has drawn support - and criticism
Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson will go down in history as crawlers and creeps
If we want to understand why democracy is in such trouble, we can learn plenty from the careers of two men who were once stellar figures in democratic politics
Queen’s University Belfast cuts ties with George Mitchell, denaming research centre
Broker of Belfast Agreement had name removed from prestigious US-Ireland scholarship
Gardaí set to give information to delayed inquest in North about man killed by Real IRA
Kieran Doherty’s body was found outside Derry, but near Donegal border, almost 16 years ago
Loyalist paramilitaries ‘community workers by day, terrorists at night’ – former PSNI chief
George Hamilton tells Westminster how loyalists are behaving in ‘same coercive, controlling way’
Drew Harris says prosecuting his father’s IRA killers would make little difference
Former Garda commissioner says short sentences they would receive would not ‘weigh the scales’ for 1989 murder
The Northern Bank Job by Glenn Patterson: a startling tale of audacious criminality
Families’ ordeal and the wider context of the peace process is examined in this methodically compiled study of the 2004 heist
Ivana Bacik’s careless words are causing alarm among unionists
If this is how the Left chooses to present a united front, there will be wider ramifications
Anglo-Irish breakthroughs have always been intentionally vague
The Anglo-Irish Agreement, signed 40 years ago this week, didn’t bring the reassurance that was hoped for, but ultimately was a significant milestone
Forty years on, the Anglo-Irish Agreement has proved its worth
Treaty ‘normalised’ relations between Dublin and London
Plan for a united Ireland to avoid Brexit-style mess, says author from unionist background
Ben Collins favours Irish unity and encourages others of similar heritage to engage with subject
The six lines that tell us what sort of president Catherine Connolly will be
A new Republic, a call for Irish unity and a plan to let the language blossom in the Áras
Author Kevin Smith: ‘Whenever I leave the North I do feel a pull – a hankering for that coded familiarity’
The writer on his latest novel, Injury Time; his favourite funny writers; and the book that always makes him cry
Fine Gael should never again send a Protestant candidate into a sectarian storm
Presidential election: Never again should Fine Gael send a Protestant candidate out, unprepared, into a sectarian storm
Belfast Film Festival: A child of the peace process turns 25
Founded in west Belfast by Michele Devlin and Laurence McKeown, the festival now attracts 25,000 visitors each year
Human rights activist Michael Farrell: ‘We were in a period of progress, but now we seem to be galloping backwards’
Lawyer Michael Farrell represented transgender woman Lydia Foy after earning his stripes during the Troubles in the North
If Nigel Farage wins the next UK election, the consequences for Ireland will be profound
There is widespread desire for electoral change and a greater political role for England
Obituary: Patrick (Pat) Bradley: Chief electoral officer in the North who oversaw many elections in troubled hotspots
Bradley had to handle episodes such as the security of ballot boxes overnight before a count, with key figures such as Rev Ian Paisley demanding DUP oversight
Next presidential election TV debate should be a decidedly more lively affair
Your essential end-of-week politics catch up
Martin Mansergh: Mandarin who quietly nudged this island towards peace
On his secret talks with Sinn Féin in the late 1980s, he said: “I was given the instruction just to listen but I’m afraid I did a great deal more than that”
Who was Martin Mansergh, what role did he play in Fianna Fáil and North’s peace process?
Oxford-educated member of Anglo-Irish family became valued by Charles Haughey and successors
Martin Mansergh, Fianna Fáil adviser and key figure in peace process, dies aged 78
Mansergh entered electoral politics after decades as a backroom figure and served as minister of State
If Northerners had a vote, Catherine Connolly would be our next president
Northerners have a vested interest in an election portrayed as seminal for the abolition of partition. But they don’t have a vote
Simon Harris denies latest Troubles legacy proposals are ‘last roll of the dice’
Tánaiste says framework marks a ‘step change’ in relations between governments and a reset after controversial Tory Legacy Act
Belfast Agreement referendum vote ‘saved’ by U2’s concert, new book says
UUP leader David Trimble initially refused to take off his jacket, saying: ‘I don’t do that’
New crime fiction: cynical pitch-black comedy reinvigorates the spy fiction genre
New novels by Mick Herron, Nicola Upson, Seishi Yokomizo, Janice Hallett and Rav Grewal-Kök
Rev Martin Smyth obituary: Staunchly anti-agreement former Ulster Unionist MP and Orange Order leader
He tried to implicate Charles Haughey in an IRA gun-running plot during the 1980s
Foras na Gaeilge has driven Irish language growth in the North, says report
Report examines operation of all cross-border bodies set up by the Belfast Agreement
Simon Harris says European Convention on Human Rights is ‘fundamental’ to Belfast Agreement
Tánaiste to give speech to counter growing opposition in UK over European Convention on Human Rights
Ireland must stay true to human rights commitment as envisioned by Daniel O’Connell 200 years ago - Martin
Taoiseach says the political leader’s vision offered a path forward for the country both internationally and in terms of reconciliation on the island of Ireland
Nigel Farage’s immigration bombshell raises nationalist hopes and unionist fears
Unionism still faces a hard new political reality if Northern Ireland comes to be seen in Britain as an obstacle to controlling immigration
British-Irish Relations in the Twenty-First Century: A strong examination of the Belfast Agreement’s legacy and the impact of Brexit
Etain Tannam argues that John Hume’s central three-stranded idea for the agreement has been neglected
Michelle O’Neill: ‘The British state killed local people. Those moments contribute to who you are’
Northern Ireland’s First Minister discusses party leadership, presidency, teen pregnancy and ‘precious gift of peace’
Many people won’t decide how to vote in a Border poll until they see what’s on offer
Why can’t Sinn Féin spell out exactly what it means by a united Ireland and allow unionists to consider it?
Senator George Mitchell: The man Ian Paisley called ‘a foreigner and a pro-Irish republican’
Journalists were used to dealing with aloof ministers during peace talks in Belfast, but the US diplomat was cut from different cloth
‘I’m not going to do anything that isn’t possible to do together’: peacemaker Lord Eames celebrates 50 years since consecration
Anglican bishop’s outreach in 1970s Derry helped to break with history
The contrast between Kneecap charges and flag-festooned Northern Ireland is absurd
Complaints of one-sided treatment may often be simplistic or partisan, but that only underscores the corrosive effect of inconsistent application of the law
Ingredients for happier marriage between the United Kingdom and Ireland are there
Britain is ‘resetting’ its relationship with the EU, seeking that vague notion of ‘closer ties’ – Ireland should be the UK’s ally
Republic and Northern Ireland must co-operate to attract foreign direct investment to border counties, says Taoiseach
ESRI research highlights ‘huge untapped potential’ that exists for all-island co-operation
Decision on NI legacy issues due ‘within weeks’, says Tánaiste
Irish and UK governments working in ‘very good faith’ to bring about an agreed position, Harris says
Irish and British futures are codependent and entangled
Worldview: Running through contemporary debates is a battle between those who say reconciliation should come before constitutional change and those who argue for the reverse
Irish-America crucial in ‘great cause’ of Irish unity, Leo Varadkar tells US audience
Former taoiseach stresses importance of Irish-American voice in ‘political project of our generation’
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices