Controversial dissident Derry bonfire covered in flags and signs ahead of being lit tonight
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, August 15th, 2025
A controversial bonfire in Derry’s Bogside has been festooned with flags ahead of being lit tonight.
The bonfire has been at the centre of criticism each August in recent years due to offensive items placed on it including poppy wreaths and the names of murdered police officers.
Shots have also been fired in the vicinity in recent times.
A different bonfire in the Creggan area of the city was widely criticised this week after a placard bearing the name of a 15-year-old boy who drowned and the name of a former detective who narrowly survived a New IRA murder bid appeared on it, as well as the name of a Sinn Fein MLA for Foyle who had voiced opposition to “anti-community” pyres.
The placard referencing Kyle Bonnes and John Caldwell was taken away following intervention from the local community, but other offensive signs remain.
Meanwhile, in the Bogside this morning, a smaller bonfire, sometimes referred to as a “children’s bonfire”, and the larger bonfire could be seen. They had been covered in flags and other items on Thursday night.
Unlike other years, material has been gathered at the site as early as April. Lorries could also be seen delivering pallets and machinery was observed on site assisting the bonfire builders.
Orange Order, UVF, UDA and Parachute Regiment flags to be burnt
The base of the main bonfire is covered in Union flags and Ulster banner flags. Other flags include those linked to the Orange Order.
Paramilitary flags of the UVF and UDA also appear. A Parachute Regiment flag also appears on the pyre. There is a flag with the image of King Charles, a sign with a police Land Rover and another saying “A wee country so great, even her haters won’t leave”.
Those behind the bonfire have attempted to justify each of the items that are placed on it, claiming they are not sectarian.
The Belfast Telegraph first reported in July that a person was hospitalised following an incident at the Bogside bonfire.
Owners of the site, Apex Housing Association refused to confirm whether the area would be secured and has ignored approaches for comment since.
At the time, sources told the Belfast Telegraph that the individual fell from a partially-constructed bonfire and sustained a broken bone.
The vacant Meenan Square site where the bonfire is situated will be developed as part of the Executive Office’s Urban Villages initiative which was launched by Martin McGuinness and Arlene Foster in 2016.
Plans for a £12m mixed use project comprising housing, a community centre and shops have been pushed back numerous times.
Apex has said that work was due to commence in June to decommission and demolish an existing electrical substation to construct a new one – the work was to involve redirecting underground services currently crossing the site.
Protracted negotiations between the Executive Office and landowner Westco Developments Ltd meant the site was only purchased by Apex Housing Association in 2023. That year Stormont said construction would start in autumn 2024.
But it was delayed again with Stormont stating construction is “anticipated to start in early 2026”.
Acts of madness have no place in a healing society
Pro Fide. Pro Patria. Irish News, August 15th, 2025
IT IS telling that the latest attack carried out by the republican splinter group Óglaigh na hÉireann (ONH) had nothing whatsoever to do with Irish unity in any form but was simply another chapter in a long-running, bitter internal feud.
ONH claimed responsibility, in a statement using a recognised codeword earlier this week, for attaching a pipe bomb to a Housing Executive van parked in a residential area of west Belfast a month ago.
Planting the device at Colinvale, in the densely populated Poleglass district, could only be regarded as an act of madness, which could easily have resulted in the death or serious injury of anyone in the vicinity.
“It always needs to be stressed that there was never any justification for the use of violence by loyalists, republicans or the forces of the state over the past 60 years, as it only resulted in bitterness and grief on an enormous scale
It appears that an attempt was actually made to detonate it, but it failed to explode and was subsequently made safe by a British army squad, after considerable disruption to community life.
This was not an isolated incident, as it followed the attempted murder by ONH of a taxi driver as he sat in his vehicle in mid-morning in another west Belfast neighbourhood earlier in the year.
The victim, believed to be a member of the small political party Republican Network for Unity, was shot twice from close range and was initially said to be in a critical condition but survived after emergency surgery.
Two masked gunmen opened fire on him beside the Bell Steel Road, another busy thoroughfare, again risking the lives of any pedestrian or motorist who happened to be nearby.
Multiple death threats
Multiple death threats are understood to have been issued by ONH so far this year, and a plan to kill another man in north Belfast last March was only abandoned at the last minute.
There are close parallels with loyalist groups like the UDA and the UVF, who have long since abandoned any pretence at political motivations and only turn their weapons on those they regard as their internal enemies.
It always needs to be stressed that there was never any justification for the use of violence by loyalists, republicans or the forces of the state over the past 60 years, as it only resulted in bitterness and grief on an enormous scale.
However, how the remaining paramilitary organisations have descended since the Good Friday Agreement into feuds and open criminality is beyond pathetic.
They have the option of pursuing their wider aims through purely political means, turning themselves into what have been described as fraternal associations for old colleagues or simply leaving the stage.
What they need to accept is that there can be no role within republicanism or loyalism for any organisation which is prepared to use the gun or the bomb. Their day has gone.
Caldwell case sees the largest number of paramil defendants in decades
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, August 15th, 2025
SUSPECTS CHARGED IN CONNECTION TO CALDWELL MURDER ATTEMPT RISES TO 17
The investigation into the attempted murder of former detective John Caldwell has resulted in the largest number of people charged over a single terror-related incident since the murder of two Army corporals in 1988.
Earlier this week, detectives charged two more people in connection with the shooting of the now-retired senior police officer, bringing to 17 the number of suspects charged in connection with the February 2023 attack.
There have also been 36 arrests in connection with the shooting claimed by the New IRA.
Mr Caldwell was shot a number of times at a sports pitch in Omagh. The PSNI said an earlier attempt to kill him was abandoned by the dissident gang after the officer didn't show up for a weekly training session for a children's football team that he coached.
Caoimhin Murphy (25), from Altowen Park, Coalisland, and Liam Robinson (45), of Ardstewart, Stewartstown, are both charged with preparation of terrorist attacks and perverting the course of justice.
Both men appeared in court on Wednesday via videolink from Musgrave Street police station in Belfast. Neither responded when asked if they understood the charges.
A detective sergeant told the court he could connect both men to the offences.
Murphy is the son of Kevin Murphy, the alleged leader of the New IRA, currently facing charges of directing terrorism as part of the Operation Arbacia MI5 sting.
Also facing charges connected to the attempted murder are Ardoyne dissident Alan Lundy, accused of disposing of cars used in the bid; Brian Carron, from Tyrone, also charged with IRA membership; and Gavin Coyle, who is currently serving a jail term for a Real IRA murder bid on a Catholic police officer in Co Tyrone in 2008, is charged with attempted murder.
Tony Slevin, from Coalisland, is charged with preparation of terrorist acts; car trader Jonathan McGinty is alleged to have supplied a “clean-up” vehicle used in the aftermath of the attack.
John Gallagher, from Newtownabbey, and James McSorley, from Belfast, are charged with the preparation of terrorist acts — charges linked to cars allegedly used in the shooting.
Also charged with the attack is ex-UVF prisoner James Ivor McLean (73) and his son-in-law Alan McFarland, both from Omagh. Two other Omagh men are also charged, although there are reporting restrictions on naming them due to an upcoming, unrelated trial.
William McDonnell, Caolan Robert Brogan and Tiernan McFadden, all from Derry, are charged with possessing documents for use in terrorism linked to the attack. They are accused of pasting a New IRA claim of responsibility for the shooting on a wall in the Creggan area of the city.
A fourth man charged in connection with the incident cannot be named at this stage for legal reasons. Along with McFadden, he faces a second charge of the “dissemination of terrorist publications”.
During a court hearing for Murphy and Robinson on Wednesday, a prosecution barrister said the probe into the shooting of Mr Caldwell had been a “complex, circumstantial case”, pointing out that several people had already been charged. The court was also told that the investigation had found “there was a prior attempt” on Mr Caldwell's life on February 1, 2023.
The barrister said that, in the first attempt, an Audi and a Volkswagen had been used and, when he was later shot, two Ford Fiestas had been used.
She told the court the case against Murphy is that it is alleged he had moved a vehicle involved in the first failed attack, moved a vehicle involved in the later attack, and had been involved in burning a car after the detective was shot.
The case against Robinson is that it is alleged he assisted in the recovery of a vehicle used in the first attempt, moved a vehicle in the second attempt, and assisted in burning a car.
The detective sergeant told the court: “The investigation has identified what is believed to have been a failed attempt to attack DCI Caldwell on February 1.
“On this occasion, DCI Caldwell wasn't at Youth Sport, which would have been his usual routine. At that time, a Volkswagen Tiguan, on false registration plates, was observed on CCTV entering the site in similar fashion to the movements of Fiesta number one on [February] 22, the evening of the attempt.”
The officer laid out elements of the police investigation which stretched over events on dates in February 2023 and included phone and CCTV evidence and what police believe are suspects taking place in “walk-and-talk” conversations.
Number of ASU’s involved
He said the shooting of the detective is believed to have been “a joint venture between a number of active service units”, including Belfast and Tyrone New IRA.
Murphy's defence solicitor, Peter Corrigan, told the court there was “not one iota” of surveillance evidence linking his client to the vehicles used in the shooting.
Robinson's solicitor, Gavin Booth, said it was not part of the prosecution case that his client had taken part in the shooting of Mr Caldwell and he had been in Coalisland at the time of the attack.
Police objected to bail and both men were remanded in custody.
It brings to 17 the number of people charged with the attack, with several others, including a woman, still under investigation. It is the largest number of people charged with a single terror attack since 1998, when 22 were convicted in connection with the murders of Army corporals Derek Wood and David Howes.
The pair were attacked by mourners attending the funeral of Caoimhín Mac Brádaigh, who had been murdered days earlier by Michael Stone during an attack on the funeral of three IRA members killed in Gibraltar.
British Veteran says he was intimidated in east Belfast car park by GAA fans
Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, August 15th, 2025
A veteran who says he was intimidated because of a UDR tattoo on his leg has said he won’t be reporting the matter to police.
The 53-year-old issued a statement after footage showing an altercation in an east Belfast car park circulated online.
It features two individuals in GAA jerseys in an apparent exchange with a third individual.
It is understood the incident occurred in the Connswater area of east Belfast on Wednesday and that one individual is a former member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
What sparked the incident is unclear from the footage available online.
"We are aware of footage circulating on social media” – PSNI spokesperson
DUP leader refered incident to PSNI
DUP leader Gavin Robinson highlighted the matter on Thursday evening and said he trusted the PSNI would investigate the incident.
"Nobody should face harassment or threats simply out doing shopping in their own community,” he said.
"But much less those who have stood in defence of the freedoms that allow our society to go about our daily lives without the threat of terrorism that was very much more present in years gone by.”
He said DUP colleagues in east Belfast had notified police of the footage.
However, in a statement released via loyalist activist Moore Holmes, the veteran said he would not be reporting the matter.
He said that “two days ago, in my own area, just going to the shop, I was confronted, intimidated, and threatened all because of the UDR tattoo on my leg”.
He said that a bystander had filmed the incident for his protection.
‘People tried to kill me before’
The veteran added: “People tried to kill me before during the conflict and they nearly succeeded. This took me straight back to that time.
"The stress and memories have been eating away at me ever since. That is why, for now, I do not intend on going to the PSNI. The thought of going through statements, interviews, and the whole court process would wreck me.”
He added: “I should be able to walk into a shop, be myself, and be proud of my history without being targeted in my own community.”
The PSNI said they had not yet received any reports in relation to the incident, but confirmed they were aware of the footage.
"While we have not received any reports, we are aware of footage circulating on social media and are conducting enquiries into this,” a spokesperson said.
"We would encourage the public to report any incidents by ringing us on 101, or online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport. Always call 999 in an emergency.”
Standards Commissioner for Assembly to step down as five-year term concludes
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, August 15th, 2025
The Assembly's Standards Commissioner is to stand down after serving her five-year term.
Dr Melissa McCullough was appointed to the role in September 2020. Her term ends in a few weeks and a new commissioner will take over in September.
Prior to Ms McCullough's appointment, the role had been vacant since Douglas Bain stepped down in September 2017.
Ms McCullough moved to NI from the US in 1994 and obtained her PhD from Queen's University.
According to the commissioner's website, she also has a Masters degree in Bioethics and Applied Ethics, a Bachelor of Laws degree and a degree in Biology.
Since 2005, Dr McCullough has worked as an academic in law, ethics and professionalism in the UK and Ireland.
She served as non-executive director (ministerial appointment) for the Health and Social Care Board in Northern Ireland from 2009 until 2020 and is currently a visiting academic at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and an assessor for undergraduate medical programmes for the Medical Council of Ireland.
In the five years to April, the commissioner received 663 complaints, of which 57 (8.6%) were deemed admissible.
When it comes to those specifically made against MLAs, 368 were received and 46 (12.5%) of those found to be admissible. Her final annual report was published last June.
The commissioner said: “In my first annual report, I committed to tackling the significant backlog of complaints, modernising internal procedures, updating policies to meet GDPR standards, and creating a dedicated, independent website to improve transparency and public engagement.
“Since then, I have cleared the three-year complaints backlog and have now considered eight years of complaints in total during my term.
“The office has made substantial progress: a GDPR-compliant case management system is now in place; a standalone website has been launched, helping demystify the standards process and increase public understanding and engagement; and a full suite of data protection policies and procedures has been developed in line with legal obligations.
“These reforms have strengthened the foundations of the commissioner's office and improved its capacity to serve both the public and members.
“For the system to work, both the public and members must trust that complaints will be taken seriously, that investigations will be conducted with integrity, and that the values underpinning our democracy will be upheld.
“It has been a privilege to contribute, even in a small way, to the integrity of public life in Northern Ireland.”
The commissioner's office has been contacted.
