‘If the peace wall wasn’t there, we would not be living here’
Seanin Graham, Irish Times, August 12th, 2025
The wall separating the Catholic Falls Road from the Protestant Shankill Road is a popular tourist site, which seems strange to those living in its shadow
For the first time in more than 50 years, Jean Canavan walks the stretch of road under an enormous wall at the back of her Belfast home. Her sister, Patsy, is by her side when they turn a corner on to Cupar Way in the west of the city.
This is the “Protestant side” of the so-called peace wall separating the Catholic Falls Road from the Protestant Shankill Road.
It is July and the height of marching season. To their left, a digger is on site at Lanark Way where an Eleventh Night bonfire was once lit.
Jean Canavan (71) touches a miraculous medal around her neck. “I’ll just hide my medal. You would have got into trouble when you were young with this on round here,” she says laughing, before tucking it away.
Red double-decker buses packed with tourists whizz past and there is a constant stream of black taxis pulling up. Passengers armed with markers jump out to sign the wall.
Reading the messages written there, Patsy Canavan (69) shakes her head in disbelief. Freshly painted flags representing the United States, Brazil, Canada and Australia are visible at the far end of the wall covered in writing.
“‘Most people want to live in peace and freedom’, ‘love from Washington’. They’re from everywhere,” says Patsy.
“To be honest, this is the first time we’ve walked round here, ever. And it’s only because there’s four of us (nodding to The Irish Times). We’ve gone past it in a car.
“I’m fascinated by this wall – and the names on it.”
Burning of Bombay Street
The Canavan sisters have lived in Bombay Street beside the peace wall – or peace line – since it was built at the beginning of the Troubles.
In August 1969, they were teenagers when a loyalist mob set fire to the houses and burned the entire street to the ground. The family of seven spent a winter in a tiny caravan with no toilet or electricity.
“If I won a caravan in a ballot now, I wouldn’t take it,” says Patsy.
The burning of Bombay Street was an attack that became synonymous with the outbreak of the Troubles.
Within a year, the homes were rebuilt through an extraordinary community effort, and the Canavans moved back. No 45, which was the home of Jean Canavan’s grandfather, is now No 25, where she lives.
Upstairs in the back bedroom, the retired care worker opens the blinds to show a large metal cage that covers the window.
Beyond it is the wall – it reaches 14 metres in height at certain points and stretches for 650 metres – the highest and longest of the remaining interface structures that are mainly in Belfast.
In the back bedroom, clothes are folded neatly on a single bed; it is a room that’s barely used.
“We’re living here all our lives so we’ve got used to it. We don’t even realise the peace line is behind us sometimes,” says Jean.
“But if that wall came down you wouldn’t know what would happen. You feel safer with it up.”
She points to “our neighbours who we never see” on the Shankill side. “They’re not looking out on to cages like us, they look on to a road,” she says.
“We’ve never met anyone the other side of that peace wall; they don’t want it down either, I know that.
“It’s entirely different now across the road, there’s all new estates and new houses in those wee streets leading to the Shankill.”
The siblings have invited us to their homes – they live facing each other – on a small street which is filled with dozens of tourists by 11am. A third sister lives on the same street and a fourth is around the corner.
American accents and the rumbling of black taxi engines (the taxis do official tours of the communities) echo around a republican memorial garden at the entrance to Bombay Street. Overlooking it is a mural of the original street on the night it was set alight.
Under its shadow is the concrete wall, reinforced with green corrugated metal sheeting and topped with barbed wire.
Scorch marks beside their sister’s front door are a visible reminder of a petrol bomb hurled across from the “other side”, says Jean.
“There was no peace line before the Troubles. It went up as timber at first . . . and then they kept building it higher with wire around the top.
“During the Troubles, it was bad, but it seems to have settled down a bit, our houses still get stoned now and again. Some mornings you would wake up and find the stones lying outside your front door.”
The sisters say they know when it’s “only kids” throwing stones because they “just hit the wires. But we know when it’s bigger people because they come right over and smash the windows of these houses.”
To protect their cars, they park them on different sides of the street.
“My brother-in-law’s car sits at my front door because when we get hit, it’s our roofs get smashed. But on the opposite side (where Patsy lives), the cars get it,” says Jean. “There’s nothing you can do, really. We’ve learned to live with it.”
Irish dancing
As a Malaysian tour bus pulls in, a little girl living on the street changes into a pair of heavy Irish dancing shoes and dances a jig for her grandfather at their front door.
There are cones outside homes to ensure residents keep their car parking spaces.
Tourist guides provide a running commentary on the history of the area.
“I’ve seen them coming in on New Year’s Eve. It’s constant,” says Jean. “Boycie (the late actor John Challis) from Only Fools and Horses even visited.”
For Patsy Canavan, there’s “too many people coming in, too many cars”. She adds: “I tell you, some of them look into your window.”
At the top of Cupar Way, the sisters point to a sign outside a new coffee shop advertising souvenirs. Jean is curious to know what they are selling.
“People have said to us: ‘Why don’t you open up a wee tea room?’” she says, giggling.
Inside the shop, owner Sandy McDermott points to a half-empty display of peace wall fridge magnets, one of their biggest sellers. Small glass jars of Belfast soil are given away “for free” with each purchase, he adds.
“It’s weird, coming to look at a wall but people love it. We take it for granted. Americans still can’t believe it’s in operation,” says McDermott, a builder who grew up on the Shankill Road and opened his shop a fortnight earlier.
“You want to see how many Brazilians come here, it’s unbelievable.”
In 2013, the Stormont Executive set a target to remove all peace walls by 2023. Jean says reaching that target was always going to be difficult.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see it coming down in our days.”
But she believes there is progress. “Walking down past the other side of the wall today, I don’t feel as bad as I would have done 10 or 20 years ago. But it’s because we were all together. I wouldn’t do it on my own.
“This is the only scar it leaves us with; we have to watch and we’re afraid to go into certain places.
“My grandson doesn’t care walking past it – which is good. You say to yourself, if you went to live somewhere else, god knows what it would be like.
“We’ve witnessed a lot and our lives would have been very different if the Troubles hadn’t happened. But you just get on with it.”
Passing through the peace gates at Lanark Way – which have roads running through them but still close at 10.30pm each night and reopen at 6am – Patsy is also firm in her opposition to change.
Last month, Stormont’s Department of Justice leafleted the area about plans to “reimage” the steel gates.
Relative stability
While there has been relative stability in recent years, some of the worst sectarian violence in decades took place near the Lanark Way gates in 2021.
“They’re talking about them being replaced with see-through gates. I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” says Patsy.
She is aware of those who would like to see the walls demolished.
“If the peace wall wasn’t there, we wouldn’t be living here. We wouldn’t want to see it coming down, it’s far too early.”
Disgust over 'eulogising' of IRA killer McFarlane at Féile event
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, August 12th, 2025
IMAGE OF BOMBER WHOSE ATTACK ON BAR LEFT FIVE DEAD SHOWN TO CROWD
A Féile tribute to a former IRA man once jailed for his role in a bar bombing that killed five people has been condemned as an insult to the families of the dead.
On Sunday night at Falls Park, during the closing event at Féile an Phobail, the band Shebeen played a song written by Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane in memory of hunger striker Bobby Sands.
McFarlane, who died earlier this year following a short illness, was sentenced to life in prison in 1976 for his role in the Bayardo Bar attack at Belfast's Aberdeen Street. The blast claimed five lives and injured more than 60.
He was Officer Commanding of the IRA in the Maze Prison during the 1981 hunger strikes and in 1983 he took part in a break-out from the prison and went on the run.
McFarlane was re-captured in 1986 and was released from prison in 1997.
At the time of his death, tributes were paid, including from North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly, who described him as a “republican activist all his life right to the end and gave all that he had to the struggle for a united Ireland”.
During Shebeen's performance an image of McFarlane was projected on a large screen to the 12,000-strong crowd at the event.
Speaking about the display, the DUP's North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett said: “McFarlane was not a hero.
“He was a convicted terrorist who bore responsibility for murder and destruction, including his role in the Bayardo Bar bombing, which claimed the lives of five people and injured many more.
Insult to bereaved
“Such attempts to romanticise the actions of the IRA are an insult to the families left bereaved and communities still dealing with the scars of violence.
“When Sinn Fein previously attempted to eulogise Brendan McFarlane, I set the record straight — and I will continue to stand up for victims every single time.
“Victims deserve better than selective outrage and silence from those who claim to hold truth to account.
“We owe it to victims to tell the truth: Brendan McFarlane was part of a campaign of violence which devastated lives. No amount of music, speeches, or banners will erase that reality.”
Kenny Donaldson of the victims' group the South East Fermanagh Foundation said: “Mr McFarlane is directly responsible for the murders and deaths of many people, and he is indirectly responsible for the deaths of many others given his roles within the Provisional IRA.
“We grieve the way in which he chose to live, the lack of humanity within his heart and we regret the eulogising of him by some within the political system and sections of the broader community.”
In a statement, Féile an Phobail Director Kevin Gamble said: “This year's Féile an Phobail saw the biggest Féile ever held.
Bonfire free
“Also significantly, due to the hard work and commitment of Féile staff and volunteers, community organisations, political representatives and Belfast City Council, and the support of our young people and the local community, Belfast was bonfire free on 8th August.
“All those involved in achieving this deserve praise. In past years these unwanted bonfires have brought destruction and an increase in anti-social behaviour to the areas in which they were held.
“The benefit of the absence of these unwanted bonfires on 8th August is significant.
“As well as the positive images emanating from the festival events showcasing Belfast in a positive light, there is also the considerable benefit to the city's economy which the associated increase in visitor footfall and spending over the duration of the festival brings to the city, over £6m last year alone.
“This year, representatives from all communities were welcomed to Féile to have their voice heard, both as spectators and participants.
“All political persuasions attended and participated in various panel discussions, as did representatives from minority ethnic communities, and international visitors.
“Féile an Phobail includes all opinions and provides a platform for many different views.”
Féile tribute to McFarlane ‘deeply offensive to victims’
IRA member commemorated days before anniversary of attack for which he was convicted
John Breslin, Irish News, August 12th, 2025
FÉILE an Phobhail paid tribute to a late IRA member just days before the 50th anniversary of a fatal gun and bomb attack he was convicted of being involved in.
Five people, including a 17 year old girl, were killed when the Bayardo Bar off Belfast’s Shankill Road was attacked on August 13 1975.
Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane, who died earlier this year aged 74, was convicted of involvement in the attack.
On Sunday, his image was displayed on the closing night of the west Belfast festival.
In a social media post, Féile an Phobail wrote: “A tribute to Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane on the screen at the Falls Park tonight as Shebeen sing Marcella, the song Bik wrote in memory of his friend and comrade Bobby Sands.”
Féile an Phobail was contacted for further comment.
Images of Brendan McFarlane displayed on the final night of Féile an Phobail
Victims
Tomorrow will be the 50th anniversary of the deaths of William Gracey (63), his brother-in-law Samuel Gunning (55), both gunned down as they were standing were outside the Bayardo. A bomb was then left inside.
Joanne McDowell (29) and Hugh Harris (21) were killed in the explosion, while 17-year-old Linda Boyle later died from her injuries. Harris was later identified as a member of the UVF. More than 50 people were injured in the attack.
McFarlane was the officer commanding in the H-Blocks during the 1981 hunger strikes and was involved in the Maze prison escape of September 1983.
Two months later, in November 1983, the IRA kidnapped businessman Don Tidey. In December, a joint Garda and Irish Defence Forces party came upon the hideout in Derrada Wood outside Ballinamore in Co Leitrim.
Private Patrick Kelly and Garda Gary Sheehan were shot dead at the scene, McFarlane was suspected of being one the members of the IRA gang but was never successfully prosecuted.
North Belfast DUP MLA Phillip Brett condemned the tribute to McFarlane at Féile an Phobail, describing it as “deeply offensive to victims and their families”.
Mr Brett said: “Such attempts to romanticise the actions of the IRA are an insult to the families left bereaved and communities still dealing with the scars of violence.”
He added: “Victims deserve better than selective outrage and silence from those who claim to hold truth to account.”
Bonfire flag-burning described as ‘sickening sectarianism’ by MLA
Conor Sheils, Irish News, August 12th, 2025
A Sinn Fein Foly MLA has described the burning of Irish tricolours and Palestinian flags at a bonfire in Derry’s Fountain Estate over the weekend as “despicable”.
Pádraig Delargy’s comments come after a bonfire was held as part of the “Relief of Londonderry 1689 celebrations” on Friday.
Videos seen online showed tricolour and Palestinian flags atop the bonfire, which also included a number of loyalist bands performing.
“The bonfire in the Fountain area at the weekend was a naked display of sickening sectarianism that should be long consigned to the past,” the Foyle MLA said.
“Burning Irish Tricolours and the flag of a nation currently experiencing genocide and starvation is a clear attempt to stoke division and tension among local people.
“Unionist politicians should show consistency, strong leadership, and join me in calling this despicable behaviour out for what it is.
“These scenes once again reinforce the need for regulation of all bonfires to end the illegality and hate-fuelled behaviour associated with them.”
The latest controversy comes as Sinn Féin has criticised those organising an annual internment bonfire in the Bogside.
In recent days, politicians have condemned the pyre – which is due to be lit in Meenan Square in the city describing it as “anti-community”.
Mr Delargy made a statement speaking out against the bonfire, citing health and safety concerns for residents and the local area.
However, the organisers have since released a statement defending the planned blaze at the site.
“The Bogside bonfire is not a threat — it’s a message. It stands for Free Derry, for working-class youth, and for a community that has been ignored, insulted, and let down by those in power.
“This fire is not about division — it’s about defiance, about the right of working-class people, especially young people, to take space, to be seen, and to be heard.
“We are not anti-community. We are the community.”
It is being built on privately-owned land which has been earmarked for an £11 million redevelopment project in conjunction with The Executive Office.
Last year police said they were investigating flags and banners placed on the fire as hate crimes.
The Fountain Estate bonfire in Derry has been described by Foyle MLA Padraig Delargy as ‘‘despicable’’.
Legacy body set to investigate Narrow Water and M62 attacks
Jonathan McCambridge, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, August 12th, 2025
THE body tasked with probing outstanding cases from the Northern Ireland Troubles is to investigate the Narrow Water attack in which 18 soldiers were killed in Co Down in 1979.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) will also investigate the 1974 M62 coach bombing in England, which killed nine soldiers and three civilians.
They are among the latest cases that have been accepted by the commission and are in the information recovery stage.
The Narrow Water atrocity occurred on August 27 1979, as a convoy of vehicles transported Parachute Regiment soldiers from Ballykinler barracks to Newry.
As they passed the old Narrow Water castle ruins, the IRA remotely detonated the two bombs from a firing point across the Newry River in the Republic.
Eighteen soldiers were killed, the highest death toll suffered by the army in a single day during the Troubles.
The 19th victim
There was also a 19th victim – Michael Hudson, who had been visiting the Republic from London, who was killed by army gunfire across the river following the blasts.
Nobody was ever convicted over the attacks.
The incident came just hours after Lord Mountbatten, two members of his family and a Co Fermanagh teenager had been killed by the IRA in a boat bomb in Co Sligo.
The M62 coach bombing in West Yorkshire occurred on February 4 1974.
The coach was carrying soldiers and their families back to their Catterick base when an IRA bomb hidden in the luggage compartment of exploded.
Twelve people were killed, including two children aged five and two.
The ICRIR was created by the previous government’s controversial legacy act and is headed by former Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan.
Bereaved families, victims and certain public authorities can request the commission carry out an investigation into Troubles incidents.
While the Labour government has said it will repeal and replace parts of the act and reinstate inquests and civil cases, it is retaining the ICRIR.
Many bereaved families are unhappy with the retention of the commission and have vowed not to engage with it.
Victims have questioned the body’s independence and its ability to uncover answers about Troubles crimes.
The commission has previously revealed that it is carrying out an investigation into the Guildford pub bombings of 1974 and has also been asked to investigate the Kingsmill massacre in Co Armagh in 1976.
Appointment of expert to 'scope out' the prospects for paramilitary disbandment delayed
Alison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, August 12th, 2025
EXPERT WILL ENGAGE WITH GROUPS IN BID TO FINALLY END THEIR TERRORIST ACTIVITIES
There has been a delay in announcing an interlocutor to carry out a scoping exercise into paramilitary disbandment, with a shortlist of two men and a woman for the role.
Former South African politician Roelf Meyer, who was involved in negotiations to end apartheid and has advised on peace processes around the world, including in Sri Lanka, the Middle East, Rwanda, Iraq and Kosovo, is understood to be one of the candidates.
He has also worked here in the past, and is trusted by loyalists and republicans.
Now in his 70s, he would be required to relocate to Northern Ireland for a period.
The interlocutor, appointed by London and Dublin, was to be announced in the first week of this month.
The two governments said in February they would engage an independent expert to examine the potential for a formal process of engagement with paramilitary groups.
The appointed person will decide if there is merit and support for such an exercise to facilitate a “comprehensive paramilitary group transition” to disbandment.
Candidates ‘acceptable’ to all sides
Delays have continued around someone acceptable to both loyalists and dissident republicans, who the expert would be expected to hold negotiations with.
Another name on the shortlist is Geoff Loane.
Mr Loane is the head of mission for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the UK and Ireland. He was formerly head of the ICRC's regional delegation in Washington, and is a trusted peace negotiator.
He previously worked in Kenya, Uganda and Serbia.
Several local names were also put forward in an original list of 16, although there were concerns such a candidate might alienate some of the paramilitary groups.
Sources say there were also discussions around Dutch expert Annelieke van de Wiel.
As head of the peace negotiations programme at Clingendael Academy, she provides training programmes for negotiators, mediators and mediation support officers to build peace and prevent conflict.
She has worked in Ukraine, Libya, Yemen and the Ivory Coast. She also conducted training for mediators, civil servants and diplomats from Ethiopia.
The Belfast Telegraph understands loyalists wanted Jonathan Powell to be considered for the role.
Mr Powell, a former adviser to Tony Blair, was present at the launch of the Loyalist Communities Council (LLC) in 2015.
The LCC has the backing of the mainstream UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando.
The South East Antrim UDA did not participate in the LCC process, and has been involved in separate talks with the UK Government through an intermediary.
Given that the interlocutor will also be engaging with dissident republican groups, Mr Powell, who is the government's current National Security Adviser, was ruled out at an early stage.
The Irish Government and NIO are overseeing the appointment process, with an announcement now expected before the end of the month.
The independent expert will operate within the Independent Reporting Commission's existing legislative framework.
The four commissioners — solicitor John McBurney; former Women's Coalition leader and ex-human rights commissioner Monica McWilliams; former Irish civil servant and diplomat Tim O'Connor, and former US special envoy for Northern Ireland Mitchell Reiss — welcomed the agreement to appoint an expert as a “very positive development”.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn said this will include a programme of engagement with paramilitary bosses to “scope out perceived barriers to paramilitary group disbandment and to consider whether they might be addressed through a formal process”.
Vigilantes who confront 'migrants' on camera led by alleged animal abuser
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, August 12th, 2025
SOCIAL MEDIA CLIPS OF MEN ASKING FOR ID CONDEMNED AS RACIAL HARASSMENT
The leader of a gang of vigilantes who film themselves confronting people perceived to be migrants is known to police for his alleged involvement in animal cruelty.
Sources say there is no organised paramilitary involvement in the vigilante group, and instead it is being led by a man from east Belfast known to police after numerous reports of animal cruelty dating back over a decade.
Neil Pinkerton has had dogs removed from his care and has twice been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to animals, although on both occasions he was acquitted.
In a separate incident last year, he was handed a suspended sentence after a dog in his care attacked an 11-year-old child.
In 2022, Pinkerton featured in the BBC Spotlight investigation, Exposed: Hunting with Dogs.
Following a year-long investigation by the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA), the PSNI raided his home and seized 12 dogs that were being kept in cages in his garden and his kitchen. But the dogs were returned after Belfast City Council failed to pursue criminal charges.
He was found not guilty of cruelty charges at Belfast Crown Court in 2018 after one of his terriers suffered injuries during a fox hunt.
NI is only region in UK where hunting witn dogs legal
Northern Ireland remains the only region where hunting with dogs is still legal, having been outlawed in other parts of the UK in 2004.
Calling themselves the East Belfast First Division (EBFD), the gang of around a dozen men have posted multiple videos online of them approaching foreign nationals, claiming they are on “nightwatch”.
In one video, a man is heard telling a foreign national that “anyone that is on these streets at night time, they will be asked what the f*** they're doing”.
Others show the vigilantes demanding to see the passports and “papers” of foreign nationals.
In several of the videos Pinkerton is clearly visible.
In some he is seen walking with bull terrier-type dogs 'on patrol' in and around parts of east Belfast.
The Belfast Telegraph has contacted Mr Pinkerton for comment.
The Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime in Northern Ireland, Geraldine Hanna, said she has been “sickened and deeply troubled” by the videos posted on social media showing people being harassed on the street by vigilante groups.
“My first thoughts are with those who have been accosted simply because they are in a public space and not white,” she said. “I can only imagine their terror at being confronted and demonised by these gangs.
“Gangs, with no right or legal reason, stopping people who are of a different race to them and demanding to see their papers is something from an Orwellian nightmare.
“These chilling incidents are also potentially racially motivated hate crimes, creating more victims, and I trust the police will do everything in their power to curb these groups and investigate where a hate crime may have been committed,” Ms Hanna said.
“There are many things that need to be done to better protect and support victims of crime — this is not one of them.
“The gangs who are carrying out this harassment have no right to claim authority over our streets.
“They create victims, breed fear, and there is no justification for them taking it upon themselves to go about harassing and intimidating people.
“We have a criminal justice system for a reason and if anyone has concerns about suspicious activity or law-breaking, they should contact the police.” In the most recent video posted online a large crowd of people — including one person dressed in a Batman costume — were filmed outside a home in the Ravenhill area, with a large police presence at the property.
Police said they received a report of a protest outside the property on the Ravenhill Road area of east Belfast on Sunday.
Chief Inspector Dunne said: “At approximately 11pm, it was reported that a large crowd had gathered outside the house and had become hostile towards the residents.
“Officers attended and spoke to the crowd, which dispersed without incident. No arrests were made.
“The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not tolerate any type of vigilante activity and would caution any individual or group against taking the law into their own hands.
“It is the responsibility of the police service to enforce the law in Northern Ireland and we are committed to supporting the needs of all of our diverse communities.
“We will robustly review and deal with any offences reported to us.”
India Day postponement decision was very ‘difficult’ and ‘emotional’
Grainne Ní Aodha, Irish News, August 12th, 2025
INDIA Day in Ireland has been postponed following a “spate of violent attacks” on members of its community in recent months.
The co-chairman of the Ireland India Council, Prashant Shukla, said making the decision was “very difficult” and “emotional”, but that the safety and security of the community was more important.
He said the event has been held in Ireland since 2015 and this had never happened before.
Hundreds of performers had been preparing for the event at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park on Sunday.
“We are not too much concerned about the safety at the event, we are more concerned about the perception on social media,” he said adding that they had created a perception that Indians had “taken over the state” and had caused housing problems.
“So we want to actually balance these counter narratives, they are very, very negative.
“We will review the situation and we will announce new dates for India Day this year.”
The announcement was made after representatives of the Indian community met with Tánaiste Simon Harris at Government Buildings yesterday.
Mr Shukla said he raised their concerns about what he said was “organised propaganda” online targeting the Indian community in Ireland.
He said incidents of violent assaults began after the Dublin riots in November 2023, but had increased significantly since January this year.
Mr Shukla said the ministers in the meeting outlined actions they would take in the next two weeks.
“The Dublin riots was actually the first time when these things actually started,” he said.
“But I feel after actually January this year, there’s a lot of propaganda going on. So social media accounts created and closed in a few days.
“That gives me the indication that it is some sort of organised agenda, organised propaganda, that is specifically targeted to Indians, because whenever we have the situation, this time only, the Indians are attacked and identified.”
Attacks against members of the Indian community in Ireland have been highlighted in recent weeks after an Indian man was the victim of an unprovoked attack in Tallaght, Dublin, last month.
A silent vigil was held outside the Department of Justice by Friends Of India in response.
The Indian embassy in Dublin has also issued a warning that there has been “an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently”.
They said Indian citizens in Ireland should take “reasonable” precautions and avoid deserted areas.
Mr Harris said on Sunday that he was “deeply concerned” about the incidents and that one of the most concerning things was the “very young age of those that have been involved in some of this racist activity”.
Gardaí struggle to reassure Indian community amid spate of attacks
Conor Gallagher, Irish Times, August 12th, 2025
No statistical sign of rising threat to Indian people, but that message is hard to deliver
Following a recent series of seemingly random, unprovoked attacks on Indian nationals in Ireland, Garda analysts were asked to determine whether the assaults were part of a growing trend.
This was easier said than done, however, as Garda systems do not allow for easy recording of crime victims’ ethnicity. However, after combing through the data, they determined there had been no significant increase in Indians living in Ireland being so targeted.
That has not been reflected in national and international headlines. Large Indian media outlets have featured dozens of articles on the attacks, with headlines such as “Indian taxi driver rang doorbells after racist attack in Ireland, no one helped” (Hindustani Times, August 5th).
Online, an open letter from “an Indian nurse in Ireland” recounted witnessing a group of Irish teens surrounding an eight-year-old Indian girl: “They were pushing her. Bullying and laughing. For no reason. Just because she looked different. I helped her escape. They ran. And I stood there shaking, wondering . . . what kind of place is this becoming?”
Warnings from the Indian embassy in Dublin only served to escalate worries among the near-80,000 Indians living here.
“There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” said the embassy in a statement. It advised Indian nationals to “take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours”.
Gardaí concede there has been an increase in racially motivated attacks in recent years, ranging from abuse and intimidation to serious assaults. In some cases, such as the violent attack on an Indian tech worker in Tallaght last month, the incidents are accompanied by false claims that the victim was a threat to women or children.
There were 676 hate crimes and hate-related incidents in the State in 2024. Garda sources say that number is on track to increase this year. But there is little statistical evidence to show Indian nationals are being singled out, they add.
Sources stressed they are not downplaying the attacks which have occurred. Nor are they saying racism is not a motive in at least some of them. What they are saying is that Indians living in Ireland have no more reason to feel afraid than they did a few months ago.
It is a difficult message to get out there without it being seen as an attempt to minimise “the genuine and understandable fear” felt by the Indian community, said one source.
Growing pressure
An added hurdle is the difficulty in prosecuting perpetrators of hate crimes.
Legislation introduced earlier this year mandated tougher sentences for crimes motivated by hatred. However, so far, the Director of Public Prosecution has set a “high bar” for designating an offence as a hate crime, said one source.
There is growing pressure on the force from prominent community figures and the Government, which is particularly worried about Ireland’s reputation overseas. Last week, Ireland’s ambassador to India wrote an op-ed in an Indian newspaper saying the attacks “could not be further from the values Ireland holds dear”.
In response, Garda management is trying to find a way of getting two messages to the Indian community. The first is that there has been no dramatic uptick in violence against Indians. The second is that if a person is attacked, they are urged to come forward, and the matter will be treated seriously and with compassion.
Garda engagement with various groups representing the Indian community is ongoing. The force had also planned to attend events surrounding India Day this Sunday to further reassure people. However, the main event, a festival due to have taken place in Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park, has now been cancelled by the organisers due to safety concerns.
Protests in Belfast and Dublin over Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza
Brett Campbell, Belfast Telegraph, August 12th, 2025
DELIBERATE STRIKE ON AL JAZEERA CREW SPARKS OUTRAGE ACROSS THE GLOBE
Protests have taken place in Belfast and Dublin after a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent was killed alongside four colleagues by the Israelis in Gaza City at the weekend.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) held demonstrations at Writers' Square in the Cathedral Quarter and at the Spire in Dublin city centre yesterday evening to condemn the outrage.
Israel's military described Anas al-Sharif (28) as the leader of a Hamas cell.
Both Al Jazeera and Mr al-Sharif, whose colleague Mohamed Qreiqeh also died in the blast, previously dismissed the allegation as baseless.
Ireland's foreign affairs minister Simon Harris said: “Can I say firstly, just to extend the sympathy and solidarity of the people of Ireland with Al Jazeera and the journalists — the five staff members of Al Jazeera and the one other reporter — who have been killed in a horrifying attack in Gaza.
“In many ways, it is the silencing of some of the few journalistic voices left in Gaza.
“Of course, any attack on any civilian — including, of course, any attack on any journalist — should always be absolutely condemned for what it is.
“At a time when the people of Gaza desperately need to see a ceasefire, an end to the violence, a surge in humanitarian aid, and of course, the release of the hostages, all of the indications from Netanyahu is of an Israeli government intended to go in the complete opposite direction to that.
“I do think it is interesting in recent days to have seen an increase in protest within Israel, Israeli people standing up and saying to their government 'not in my name', Israeli people wanting to live in peace and security as well, alongside the Palestinian people and, of course, Israeli people rightly wanting hostages released immediately too.”
Officials at Shifa Hospital confirmed the deaths and said the strike also killed four other journalists and two other people. It also damaged the entrance to the hospital's emergency building.
Israel admits deliberately targeting journalists
The incident marked the first time during the war that Israel's military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike.
It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused Mr al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of terror groups.
In a July 24 video, Israel's army spokesman Avichay Adraee attacked Al Jazeera and accused Mr al-Sharif of being part of Hamas' military wing.
Al Jazeera has branded the strike a “targeted assassination” and accused Israeli officials of incitement, connecting Mr al-Sharif's death to the allegations that both the broadcaster and correspondent had denied.
“Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
Apart from rare invitations to observe Israeli military operations, international media have been barred from entering Gaza for the duration of the war. Al Jazeera is among the few outlets still fielding a big team of reporters inside the besieged strip, chronicling daily life amid air strikes and hunger.
Al Jazeera has suffered heavy losses during the war, including 27-year-old correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, killed last summer, and freelancer Hossam Shabat, killed in an Israeli air strike in March.
Like Mr al-Sharif, Mr Shabat was among the six that Israel accused of being members of militant groups last October.
Hundreds of people, including many journalists, gathered on Monday to mourn Mr al-Sharif, Mr Qreiqeh and their colleagues.
Mr al-Sharif reported a nearby bombardment minutes before his death.
In a social media post that Al Jazeera said was written to be posted in case of his death, he bemoaned the devastation and destruction that war had wrought and bid farewell to his wife, son and daughter.
“I never hesitated for a single day to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification,” the 28-year-old wrote.
Nearly 200 journalists killed
The journalists are the latest to be killed in what observers have called the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern times.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday that at least 192 have been killed in Gaza.
Mr al-Sharif began reporting for Al Jazeera a few days after war broke out. He was known for reporting on Israel's bombardment in northern Gaza, and later for the starvation gripping much of the territory's population.
Mr Qreiqeh, a 33-year-old Gaza City native, is survived by two children.
Both journalists were separated from their families for months earlier in the war. When they managed to reunite during the ceasefire earlier this year, their children appeared unable to recognise them, according to video footage they posted at the time.
In a July broadcast he cried on air as a woman behind him collapsed from hunger.
“I am talking about slow death of those people,” he said at the time.
Al Jazeera is blocked in Israel and soldiers raided its offices in the occupied West Bank last year.
Mr al-Sharif's death comes weeks after the Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel had targeted him with a smear campaign.
Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, on July 31 said that the killings were “part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth, obstruct the documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday that it was appalled by the strike.
“Israel's pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” Sara Qudah, the group's regional director, said.
‘You have to give your name in English or we will arrest you’
West Belfast grandmother reveals what she was told by police officer before being carried into PSNI vehicle at pro-Palestinian demonstration
Conor Sheils, Irish News, August 12th, 2025
A WEST Belfast grandmother says was arrested for wearing a Palestine Action T-shirt after giving her name and address in Irish.
Máire Mhic an Fhailí (74), from Poleglass, was carried into the back of a PSNI vehicle by officers after attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Belfast on Saturday.
It comes after the British government made expressing support for, or being a member of Palestine Action, a criminal offence under terrorism legislation.
Ms Mhic an Fhailí said she believes police only arrested her after she spoke in Irish.
“One of the police officers came over and asked me my name, so I gave him my name. I gave it in Irish. He asked me my address, I gave him my address in Irish, and he went away and came back and said ‘you have to give it in English or we will arrest you’.
“In the meantime, one of the other officers went away to try and find out whether our offence was arrestable because of the proscription of Palestine Action.”
And she added: “But the words had no sooner come out of his mouth when the other one came up and said ‘we’re arresting you under Article 13 of the Terrorism Act for wearing the T-shirt in support of a proscribed organisation’.”
She added that another man gave his name and address in English and he was given a caution.
One was cautioned, the other arrested
“So two of us were stopped, one was given a caution, I was arrested.”
The Identity and Language Act 2022 made Irish an official language in Northern Ireland with the same le-gal status as English.
Ms Mhic an Fhailí added that she wore the T-shirt because she supports Palestine Action.
“I support any organisation that is doing what they can to prevent the genocide in Gaza,” she said.
“It is their duty as a citizen to prevent genocide. So why it’s being proscribed and people are going to jail for it is so wrong. It is a bad law.”
Despite her arrest on Saturday, the west Belfast grandmother said she has no plans to stop.
“I’ll be back out at the next march. I will carry on. I’ll be wearing my T-shirt, and I will be marching and protesting. And if I get arrested again, I will be arrested again.
“I would say to the police: look at what is happening. Stand on the right side of history with all the people who are opposed to the mass slaughter in Gaza.”
The PSNI said policing decisions were taken impartially and considered within the individual circumstances relevant to any specific case.
“In recognition of language diversity, the Police Service of Northern Ireland provides free interpretation and translation services on request, including both face-to-face and telephone interpreters, and dedicated support for deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals,” a spokesperson said.
“Any arrests are based solely on reasonable grounds that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed.”
Would Máire Mhic an Fhailí have been arrested for carrying UDA flag?
Pro Fide, Pro Patria, Irish News, August 12th, 2025
ALMOST 60 years after the beginning of the civil rights movement, freedom of expression is still a criminal offence here.
On Saturday, the PSNI arrested 74-year-old grandmother Máire Mhic an Fhailí in Belfast because of the writing on her T-shirt.
She was taking part in a peaceful protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza, where local authorities say that 61,000 people have now been killed and thousands are suffering from malnutrition.
In London, more than 500 people were arrested at the same time for the same alleged offence, also during a peaceful protest.
Their “crime” was to express support for Palestine Action, which was banned last month after some of its members broke into an RAF base and sprayed paint on two planes.
“According to Keir Starmer’s government, a slogan on a T-shirt is a terrorist act, but supplying an estimated £500 million worth of arms to Israel over the past 10 years is not”
Under current anti-terrorism legislation, a person can be sent to prison for up to 14 years for expressing support for the group, or wearing an item of clothing that would arouse “reasonable suspicion” that a person supports the organisation.
Meanwhile, the British government is supplying arms to Israel even though the International Criminal Court has a warrant out for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is accused of “crimes against humanity”.
So, according to Keir Starmer’s government, a slogan on a
T-shirt is a terrorist act, but supplying an estimated £500 million worth of arms to Israel over the past 10 years is not.
As a former human rights lawyer, Mr Starmer might be expected to recognise terrorism when he sees it.
If we can regard the prime minister as blinkered, we can only conclude that the PSNI is blind.
Palestine Action is banned under the same anti-terror legislation which outlaws the UDA, UVF and other paramilitary organisations.
However, the PSNI regularly ignores those erecting flags in support of illegal paramilitaries.
They threw Máire Mhic an Fhailí into the back of a police van, but they have yet to do the same to those with flags, banners or paramilitary regalia.
If Máire Mhic an Fhailí had been carrying a UDA flag, would she have been arrested?
In February, Keir Starmer lectured the US vice-president, JD Vance, that “we’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom and it will last for a very, very long time”.
In view of that claim, he might now like to change the law to allow charges against all those arrested on Saturday to be dropped.
When he has done that, he should then apologise to Máire Mhic an Fhailí – and that will allow the PSNI to go after those more deserving of their attention.
LETTERS: IRISH NEWS
Northern Ireland is crying out for a re-shaping of the political spectrum
ALEX Kane’s comments last week that the SDLP is too small a party force to make a credible charge at the role of opposition highlight the need for a re-think in our local political system. The SDLP has done a good job with what it can do – Matthew O’Toole is an extremely competent leader who has made ministers feel uncomfortable when they are in the Assembly for question time. The question however is put: if the SDLP can’t build a credible opposition at Stormont with the power to mount an electoral challenge to the government parties, then who can?
The answer is unknown as of now, but some would have thought the role of a credible opposition with teeth to be an electoral threat to the DUP and Sinn Féin would have suited Alliance down to the ground. Unfortunately, the decision by Naomi Long and her party to enter the Executive highlighted a fundamental problem with their perceived desire to see the end of mandatory coalition at Stormont.
The moment the party entered government last year with both larger parties showed us that Alliance is not prepared to sacrifice ministerial office in the short-term to construct a credible alternative to the government system we have today. Alliance and the UUP entered government because of mandatory coalition, which grants them ministerial office with less than 15 per cent of the vote at the Assembly election.
“The question is for many of those who want to move beyond the constant stalemate at Stormont – is there anyone out there willing to do it?”
Sinn Féin and the DUP between them have an overall majority in the Assembly chamber – Alliance and the UUP don’t make a difference to that majority if they are in government or in opposition. Instead, Andrew Muir, Naomi Long and Mike Nesbitt sit at the Executive table while the DUP and Sinn Féin ministers fire criticism and blame at them. When the DUP and Sinn Féin ministers make mistakes or take the wrong decisions, neither Alliance nor the UUP can credibly argue against them because they are in government, not opposition.
So, if Alliance and the UUP can’t be the credible alternative, then who? A new political party is the only answer – one that, like Alliance, appeals to voters in both sections of the community but one that has the credibility to mount a serious electoral challenge to the government parties, and one that has not served in a mandatory coalition before. Only then will Stormont have a credible opposition in constant battle with an Executive unaccustomed to scrutiny of the kind an official opposition brings to the political stage.
To use an Irish example of how a new party in the political arena quickly changed things at the heart of government can be that of the now defunct Progressive Democrats, founded by Desmond O’Malley. From its establishment in 1985, the PDs led the cause for fiscal rectitude in the public finances at a time when Ireland’s debt was out of control during the Haughey-Fitzgerald era. The party’s excellent performance in the 1987 Dáil election fostered enough electoral appetite for the Haughey government to cut spending and the national debt substantially over the years following.
The addition of a new party to Stormont would bring challenges – NI21 had a promising start to life before it had the quickest fall from grace for any new party in Northern Ireland’s political history.
A new party must have a strong purpose – a credible opposition to the Sinn Féin-DUP mandatory coalition could be its first. Northern Ireland politics is crying out for an O’Malley-style re-shaping of the political spectrum. The question is for many of those who want to move beyond the constant stalemate at Stormont – is there anyone out there willing to do it?
EDWARD FERRIN Belfast BT14
When it comes to politics we live in a very convenient world
IT is breathtaking to see the Irish government insist on a two state solution for what is left of Palestine and Israel when it would never accept it in relation to Northern Ireland.
The Troubles could be described as a smaller-scale genocidal or cleansing conflict, where 3,720 people were killed. Dublin appears to have a very big problem in formulating viewpoints on other countries on the international scene, while forgetting its own part of the world and the position taken as it applies to domestic policy.
Today, many Irish government ministers talk of a border poll and what they see as something “which is coming”. Of course the come back would be that the Hamas-Israeli conflict is different from the British government and the IRA, and other republican factions. How different?
Just like conflict in Northern Ireland, there have been several cease-fires and peace processes. Similarly, one side blames the other. There have been issues to do with missing people and hostages during the Troubles. So what is the difference other than starvation as to a reason why there should be a two-tier solution?
Many families lived on the brink of starvation during the Troubles, albeit not as bad as the Gaza situation, but just as desperate from a humanitarian point of view. The Israelis are helped by the US in the conflict as we know, but the IRA was helped by the Gaddafi regime in Libya and other sympathizers. At one stage claims were made that the Irish government directly helped republicans in Northern Ireland and gave them arms. What a very convenient world we live in indeed, especially when it comes to politics as a time-proven hypocritical science.
MAURICE FITZGERALD Shanbally, Co Cork
It’s time to re-evaluate whole issue of illegal immigration
IT’S time we re-evaluate the whole issue of illegal immigration and whether it is benefiting us in any way, perceivable or otherwise.
Illegal immigration includes those arriving without documentation. According to UK Government sources, this amounts to tens of thousands each year.
We don’t know their past; we don’t know what age they really are. Some may have criminal records and adult migrants may be placed in schools.
From experience we know that many are placed in vulnerable communities. The solution is to send them back.
This is illegal immigration I’m talking about. Let’s be clear about that.
Legal immigration into the UK can be on a points system, based on health, age, English language proficiency, academic and vocational qualifications, criminal record and suitability for the UK’s workforce and shortages of labour thereof.
We need to stop the labelling of all those concerned about mass immigration as ‘racists’.
All those calling for unbridled and ‘all welcome’ style immigration also need to be called out for the lunacy of this approach.
The geo-political reasons for allowing mass immigration will be made clear most likely when it’s too late and the consequences are irreversible, but it won’t have been done in anyone’s name as such matters have been absent from the ballot box – with those vulnerable communities absent from any consent procedures.
LOUIS SHAWCROSS Hillsborough, Co. Down
Bombs discovered in suspect's Co Tyrone bedroom after arrest for unrelated hit-and-run, court told
Tanya Fowles, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, August 12th, 2025
IEDS DISCOVERED WHILE DEFENDANT WAS BEING QUIZZED ABOUT DRIVING INCIDENT, COURT TOLD
A 31-year-old man has been remanded in custody for allegedly possessing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which were discovered while he was being quizzed by police about separate motoring offences.
Barry McCann was in custody following a hit-and-run in the Killyman Road area of Moy, Co Tyrone, on August 8, when a relative reported the discovery of “bomb-making equipment” in his bedroom.
A detective constable told Enniskillen Magistrates Court the charge could be connected to the defendant.
The witness explained that McCann, from Oakfield Gardens in Moy, came to the attention of police when they attended the scene of the collision and discovered a car embedded into the rear of the vehicle in front, which in turn shunted into another.
Witnesses described seeing a male running away from the scene towards Oakfield Gardens.
A description was provided and police attended McCann's home. However, when being spoken to, he provided a false name.
“Ideations to harm people”
Because the vehicle airbags had deployed in the collision, the suspect was taken to Craigavon Area Hospital for assessment. It was there that the patient disclosed to police that he had “ideations to harm people”.
CCTV of the collision was obtained, which showed McCann driving on the wrong side of the road and leaping from the car while it was rolling, before it crashed into the vehicle in front.
One victim told police he had observed McCann pull out in front of a lorry, then drive “erratically” around Moy Square.
After assessment, the defendant was discharged into police custody.
During interrogation, a relative phoned the PSNI, stating that they had found “bomb-making equipment” in McCann's bedroom.
A glass jar was found to contain petrol and there was also black powder and matches.
The discovery resulted in local residents being evacuated from their homes.
Specialist Army technical officers attended the scene and confirmed that a viable improvised explosive device was present. A controlled explosion was then carried out.
Searches revealed a further eight similar viable devices in a built-in wardrobe — these were also made safe by controlled explosions.
In addition, 10 mobile phones were seized, most of which appeared to be new, as well as a number of SIM cards.
The reporting person said McCann had been spending a lot of time in his bedroom and garden shed.
A defence barrister told the court the hit-and-run charges, as well as careless driving without a licence or insurance and obstructing police, were all admitted.
There was no application for bail and the defence urged that the motoring charges be dealt with. However, District Judge Alana McSorley refused and instead ordered pre-sentence reports.
Remanding McCann in custody, Judge McSorley ruled that he is to undergo a psychiatric assessment.
The case will be mentioned again at Dungannon Magistrates Court next month.
