Donaldson’s Daughter says father ‘thrown to wolves’ while Stakeknife ‘carefully sheltered’ by British and republicans
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, May 21st, 2025
A DAUGHTER of murdered informer Denis Donaldson has highlighted the difference in approach shown to her father and British agent Stakeknife by state forces and republicans.
The former Sinn Féin official was shot dead in April 2016 at a remote cottage in Co Donegal after being exposed as an MI5 agent.
The deadly attack was later claimed by the now defunct Real IRA, although Mr Donaldson’s family has branded the admission “bogus”.
Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams is currently suing the BBC in a Dublin court over claims broadcast in 2016 that he ordered the killing of Mr Donaldson.
Mr Donaldson was thrust into the public spotlight in 2002 when an alleged IRA spy-ring was exposed at Stormont.
The controversy, dubbed ‘Stormontgate’, resulted in the collapse of the fledgling administration.
As the peace process evolved he played a central role as part of Sinn Féin’s backroom team.
West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, a former commander of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit (ISU), was named as Stakeknife in 2003.
Double Standards
Denis Donaldson was shot dead in Co Donegal
Also known as the ‘nutting squad’, the ISU was responsible for hunting down and killing informers.
After initially denying he was an agent, Scappaticci later moved to England and is said to have died in April 2023.
In a statement on Tuesday, his daughter Jane Donaldson repeated her family’s dismissal of the Real IRA claim.
“It has been speculated that some republicans and some in state agencies shared a common contempt for the fate of my father,” she said.
“However, my family has made it publicly known that we never accepted the bogus claim of responsibility, which lacks all credibility, by a single Real IRA source in 2009.”
A 2022 Police Ombudsman’s report found no evidence of PSNI involvement or collusion in the murder, although Marie Anderson said the force had been guilty of a “corporate failure”.
Corporate Failure
“So far, all that we have proven through the Police Ombudsman, is the ‘corporate failure’ by British state agencies to protect my father’s life,” Ms Donaldson said.
“On the other hand, it is now a matter of public record that before my father was exposed, the identity of the British Agent Stakeknife had been protected by a number of common interests.”
Ms Donaldson contrasted the treatment of her father to that of Stakeknife.
“As I wrote last year, while my father was subsequently thrown to the wolves, agent Stakeknife had – for some time – been carefully sheltered in west Belfast by British security agencies and by republicans, before being publicly defended and then quietly shepherded away to safety in England,” she said.
“None of those involved have accounted for that.
“The full truth has still to emerge about the conspiracy surrounding my father’s exposure and murder.”
Ms Donaldson said that although references have been made to members of her family in the ongoing legal case in Dublin, her family “are not a party to those proceedings”.
Kincora House, Tara and Lord Mountbatten - Jeff Dudgeon
To Padraig Yeates
Truth Recovery Process (TRP)
I must respond to a series of newspaper articles reproduced in TRP based on the reissued Chris Moore book about the Kincora boys home which are stated to be 'deeply damaging' to unionism.
The so-called revelations are in fact few and noticeable for lack of verification. The allegations of criminal misbehaviour attributed to Lord Mountbatten have been countered on many occasions, not least by members of his staff at Classiebawn Castle in Mullaghmore.
The new stories are for the most part hard to credit and essentially require one to believe in a conspiracy between the RUC and in turn the Guards to turn a blind eye to the trafficking of boys across the border from Belfast to Sligo. One, Richard Kerr, is quoted as explaining that he and a friend "were driven by Kincora warden Joe Mains to the car park of the Manor House Country Hotel outside Enniskillen in August 1977. Two of Mountbatten's security men then allegedly arrived in separate black Ford Cortinas to ferry the boys to Mullaghmore, 45 miles away. The teenagers were dropped off separately at Classiebawn Castle “before being taken individually from a guest reception room to the green boathouse where they were sexually assaulted and then returned to the Manor House."
I understand there is no boathouse at the castle while the Guards would not have crossed the border. Mountbatten would only have had RUC protection if he travelled into the north which he apparently rarely did. I imagine if he had asked the RUC for security advice they would have said do not go to the Republic, least of all to holiday there.
The problem with Richard Kerr is that he was long associated with Carl Beech and his fantasies about Ted Heath and other prominent political figures. Beech was jailed for 18 years in 2019 for perverting the course of justice and fraud.
The other new story, new to me anyway, is that an RUC detective "contacted by concerned social workers, secretly photographed VIPs visiting Kincora including NIO officials, lay magistrates, police officers and businessmen." However no names of these recognisable visitors or indeed photographs have been produced. Why not?
The long Sunday Life extract from the book on Chris Moore's meeting with William McGrath is remarkable for the absence of any substance. McGrath was a practised deceiver and determined homosexual who even misbehaved with a family member. Regardless of his later denials, he pleaded guilty in 1982 to a series of charges relating to boys at Kincora as did two other staff who were less vicious.
It is important to note that boys' homes in Northern Ireland were cleaned up decades before those in England or the Republic.
That the brother of Brian McDermott, the boy murdered and dismembered in Belfast in 1973, allegedly confessed to the crime was of course not mentioned when another name, that of a minor unionist figure, is suggested as the culprit with no back-up evidence.
Kincora was heavily investigated by Sir Anthony Hart's public inquiry (the last of a series) which reported in 2017. It had a whole module devoted to the home whose many chapters are available on the internet.
The evidence around a VIP vice ring out of Kincora was forensically examined. Hart's inquiry concluded they did not find "any credible evidence to show that there is any basis for the allegations that have been made over the years about the involvement of others in sexual abuse of residents in Kincora, or anything to show that the security agencies were complicit in any form of exploitation of sexual abuse in Kincora for any purpose."
Kerr along with the three other main conspiracy theorists declined to give evidence at the inquiry and are fairly robustly treated in the report, with their various, often conflicting, statements on Kincora taken apart.
On William McGrath, the report stated, "Based on our extensive examination of a very large number of files held by RUC Special Branch, by MI5, by SIS and by the Ministry of Defence, we are satisfied that McGrath was never an agent of the State, although he may have enjoyed creating an air of mystery about his activities, part of which may well have involved him hinting at, or implying in an oblique fashion, that he was an agent of the State."
Journalists who on the one hand call for judicial public inquiries in legacy matters and then discount or ignore the findings, as with Hart, lose their credibility and can be seen instead as simply pushing a nationalist line to feed tabloid conspiracy theories.
Jeff Dudgeon
19 May 2025
PSNI Chief constable used NCND policy to avoid questions on £10k US trip
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, May 21st, 2025
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher took a £10,000 trip to the US as part of St Patrick’s Day celebrations
THE PSNI has used a policy previously criticised by chief constable Jon Boutcher to avoid answering questions about a £10,000 trip to the US as part of St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
A series of questions about Mr Boutcher’s March visit to the states have been met with a ‘neither confirm nor deny’ (NCND) response by police.
In the past Mr Boutcher has been critical of the use of NCND by the British government in relation to Troubles cases.
Despite this, the PSNI has now deployed the same tactic to avoid answering questions about the US visit.
One out of Ten
Of 10 questions put to the PSNI about Mr Boutcher’s stay in America, the force refused to answer nine.
These included a request for details of all meetings and engagements attended by Mr Boutcher.
The PSNI also refused to confirm how many staff members travelled with him and if any other officials from its senior executive team were on the trip.
In its response the PSNI said it was “neither confirming nor denying that the individual that you named [Mr Boutcher] was accompanied”.
“ To confirm or deny that information is held or is not held relating to security measures taken to protect any individual could be useful to terrorists and jeopardise the PSNI’s current or future law enforcement capabilities and security commitments
PSNI statement
“Consequently, the PSNI can neither confirm nor deny that it holds the information you have requested.”
In its response the PSNI outlined reasons why it believes NCND provisions apply.
“Any information identifying the focus of policing activity could be used to the advantage of terrorists or criminal organisations,” it insists.
“To confirm or deny that information is held or is not held relating to security measures taken to protect any individual could be useful to terrorists and jeopardise the PSNI’s current or future law enforcement capabilities and security commitments.”
Mr Boutcher, a former head of Operation Kenova, which investigated the activities of British agent Stakeknife, has previously said the “iron curtain” of the British government using NCND in relation to the identity of state agents was feeding a narrative of “collusion and conspiracy”.
Stakeknife was identified as Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci in 2003, however, he was not named in an interim Operation Kenova report published last year.
That report suggested NCND policy should be reviewed.
Giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee last year Mr Boutcher said he was “at odds” with then Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris over the use of NCND in the case.
“But by this iron curtain approach, it leads to a lack of trust and confidence towards the security forces, and it is unnecessary and the world has moved on from that,” he said.
The PSNI has confirmed that the cost of Mr Boutcher’s trip totalled more than £10,600, including more than £7,477.32 for flights.
Despite being asked, police refused to confirm what class Mr Boutcher and his party travelled.
Internal flights totalled more than £550 with accommodation coming in at more than £1,8000.
Taxis and food in Washington amounted to almost £300.
A total of £420 has been listed for “other travel arrangements UK” while Wi-Fi came in at £17.99.
PSNI should be 'clear and unambiguous' about accusations of sectarianism in force says Doug Beattie
By Adam Kula, Belfast News Letter,May 20th, 2025
Doug Beattie has added his voice to the criticisms of the police top brass over their handling of accusations of sectarianism from a retired officer.
The former UUP leader said that the PSNI should have been “direct”, “clear,” and “unambiguous” about the matter.
The chief constable Jon Boutcher said earlier this month that he does not believe that the officer in question – known publicly only as “Sean” – suffered sectarianism.
But he also went on to stress that Sean is a “thoroughly decent” man.
Doug Beattie, former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, has added his voice to calls for clarity over the 'Sean' affair
This has caused Jon Burrows, a former senior officer who is representing scores of retired personnel that dispute Sean’s allegations, to wonder how the chief constable reconciles those two things.
The News Letter has repeatedly pressed the PSNI on that question, but it has declined to elaborate.
Sean made his accusations of anti-Catholic bias in March in a press interview, including the claim that he heard someone say “fenian b******s” while he was working in the Tactical Support Group, and that staff had disparaged the wearing of ash by Catholics at Lent.
Upper Bann MLA Mr Beattie said he believes the charge of sectarianism in the police “doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” adding: “It is clear that the accusations made by ‘Sean’ were accepted as truth by some media outlets, political commentators and even politicians, before they were examined fully.
"I have no doubt the chief constable has attempted to get to the bottom of these accusations, taking these issues seriously as you would expect.
"However, I do believe that the PSNI should have been direct in what they found and ensured that a clear, unambiguous statement was released to all media outlets laying out the facts.”
He added that “I would also expect our justice minister to have made comment” on the matter too.
There was no response received from the PSNI or Department of Justice at time of writing last night.
Sean’s solicitor Kevin Winters was recently quoted as saying that the sectarianism Sean experienced was “nuanced” rather than “overt”.
He emphasised that “Sean’s narrative hasn't changed” and that he is keeping open the option of legal action against the force over the issue.
NI Health ‘not confident’ he has enough to cover health workers pay rises
By David Young PA, Belfast News Letter, May 29th, 2025
The Health Minister has expressed concern he has not allocated enough in his budget to cover salary increases recommended by independent pay bodies.
Mike Nesbitt told the Assembly his budget had factored in a 2.8% uplift for healthcare staff this year.
But he said he was “no longer confident” that would be enough to meet the recommendations when they are published.
The minister has already warned MLAs that the health sector in Northern Ireland is facing a £500 million funding gap in the current financial year.
The two bodies that make recommendations on health service pay have passed their proposals for 2025/26 to Health Secretary Wes Streeting in England.
Mr Streeting is expected to publish those in the near future and announce whether the Government intends to implement the recommended increases.
If the increases are higher than what health officials in England were budgeting for, the Government’s next move will have implications for Northern Ireland.
If new money is diverted to the sector to pay for the pay rises in England, then Stormont will also get extra funding through the Barnett formula.
However, if the Government asks the health sector in England to cover the additional pay increases by making cutbacks and efficiencies, then there will be no extra money flowing to Northern Ireland to help cover the bill.
Waiting on London
Mr Nesbitt provided an update to the Assembly in response to a question from his Ulster Unionist colleague Alan Chambers.
“We currently await the pay recommendations coming out of London for doctors, dentists and allied health professionals. I think that is imminent,” said the minister.
“I have said before, all things being equal, I wish to enact those recommendations at speed.”
However, the minister warned that he may not have enough within his current funding envelope to cover the increase.
“What I would say in terms of the pay pressures is that we made an assumption – we had to make an assumption in working out our budget, and that was of a 2.8% pay rise,” he said.
“As I have said already, I think the two sets of recommendations – for allied health professionals on one hand and doctors and dentists on the other – have been received by the Department of Health and Social Care.
“So we await the publication of those figures and the response of the Secretary of State, Wes Streeting.
“I am no longer confident that we have budgeted a large enough percentage to meet what we are expecting to be published.”
Prominent loyalist Irvine is jailed for gun offences
'WINKIE' ORDERED TO SERVE HALF OF 30-MONTH SENTENCE BEHIND BARS
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, May 21st, 2025
Loyalist Winston 'Winkie' Irvine has been sentenced to 30 months for firearms offences, while his co-accused Robin Workman has been handed a five-year tariff.
Irvine (49) and Workman (54) previously pleaded guilty to a raft of charges relating to the seizure of weapons and ammunition by police in north Belfast in June 2022.
Judge Kerr KC said there were factors in respect of Irvine that “could be considered exceptional”, in particular his work in peace-building, which meant he did not see it fit to hand down a statutory minimum sentence starting at five years. The judge also said he did not believe there was a terrorist link to the seized weapons.
Regarding Workman, the judge said there was nothing exceptional in his case and sentenced him to five years.
Prior to handing down sentences at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, Judge Kerr KC outlined the facts of the case.
The court heard how, on the morning of June 8, 2022, police observed both men in the Glencairn Crescent area of the city.
Workman, of Shore Road in Larne, was in a red Volkswagen Transporter van, while Irvine, of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast, was in a black Volkswagen Tiguan.
Police observed Workman removing an item from his van and placing it into the open boot of Irvine's car.
After the boot was closed, Irvine drove to nearby Disraeli Street, where he was stopped by police.
False Statements
Irvine initially told police he could not account for the bag in the boot of his car and did not know what it contained, which the judge said was Irvine's “first false statement”.
When the bag was searched, police found a Brixia pistol, a Brocock air cartridge revolver, ammunition and magazines. CCTV footage had also captured both vehicles travelling in the area that morning.
Judge Kerr outlined how Irvine and Workman were both arrested and a search of Workman's Larne home uncovered a number of items that were seized by police, including a UVF magazine, a UVF armband and an air rifle.
When interviewed by police, Workman denied ever seeing, possessing or touching any of the items recovered from Irvine's car; however, forensic analysis found his DNA on the handle of the bag.
He also denied knowing Irvine, the court heard, but his number was found in Irvine's phone, which showed both were in contact with each other.
Irvine gave police a pre-prepared statement when he was interviewed, which outlined his community work. He also reiterated he did not know what was in the bag found in the boot of his vehicle.
Both men initially denied all the charges, which included possessing a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances, possessing a handgun without a certificate, and possessing a prohibited firearm. Despite these denials, both men later pleaded guilty to all charges.
In court yesterday, the judge outlined submissions from Irvine's defence counsel, which detailed his “character and long-term commitment to peace-building in Northern Ireland”, community work and the fact that he was the main provider for his family.
Several references from David Campbell, chairman of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), and former Northern Ireland Policing Board member Debbie Watters were cited in court.
Exceptional circumstances
Judge Kerr said he had taken into account these references when assessing whether the case involved exceptional circumstances.
“I do consider a combination of the matters relating to the defendant do reach a level which could be described as exceptional, in particular the defendant's work for peace and charity work in the community,” he said, adding it would therefore not be proper to impose the statutory five-year sentence.
“My finding does not, however, mean that I should ignore the purpose behind that provision in deterring such offences by the imposition of custodial sentencing, but such sentence should reflect the defendant's circumstances and allow for appropriate mitigation.”
Workman's counsel submitted positive character references from several individuals.
Handing down a 30-month sentence to Irvine, the judge said the defendant will serve half in prison and half on licence.
Workman was given a five-year sentence, with half to be served in prison and half on licence.
A disposal order was given for all items seized.
Reacting to the judgement, PSNI Detective Superintendent Moutray, after describing the specifics of the arrests and subsequent searches and seizures, said: “Illegal firearms are synonymous with violence. We want to reiterate that the possession or use of firearms, imitation or otherwise, is unacceptable in any modern society.
“We are committed to apprehending perpetrators and this demonstrates our commitment towards keeping people safe from the fear, intimidation and control illegal firearms can cause.
“Anyone with information, or concerns, about firearms should contact us on 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
A money man who wore facade of a peacemaker
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, May 21st, 2025
He was at one time the poster boy for loyalism moving away from paramilitarism — a figure the great and good were happy to be pictured with.
But Winston 'Winkie' Irvine is now behind bars for gunrunning, his reputation as a 'peacemaker' in tatters.
Yesterday, Irvine, of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast, was sentenced to 30 months for firearms offences, and his co-accused, Robin Workman of Shore Road in Larne, was handed a five-year tariff.
Irvine's conviction for possession of weapons and ammunition is embarrassing for all those who openly courted the Shankill loyalist.
That includes representatives of the British and Irish Governments, members of the NIO, politicians on both sides of the political divide, and senior police officers.
The Master's degree he was studying for in Maynooth prior to his arrest was organised and funded by the Irish Government.
This was a loyalist who was on the invite list for every champagne function. The policy of streaming funding to paramilitaries without the need for them to sign up to any code of conduct which would have seen that money stripped away if they were found to be involved in criminality led to questions over accountability.
Community groups without the proper connections were pushed out, while Winkie, the darling of the funders, became the gatekeeper to vast sums of money intended for working-class loyalist communities.
There were those who argued that many of those in receipt of funding were community workers by day and paramilitaries by night.
Irvine believed he was so untouchable he was doing both in broad daylight.
In June 2022, he was observed by police being handed a holdall by his co-accused Robin Workman.
When police stopped his car a short time later, an array of weaponry was discovered in the boot.
He has never offered any explanation for this.
Woodvale and Shankill incidents
Until his arrest, he was a director and board member of The Woodvale and Shankill Community Housing Association (WSCHA), which had a £2.4m annual turnover.
He stood down shortly after his arrest with a statement from the housing body saying: “Winston Irvine is no longer a board member of the association nor a director in any of the association's subsidiaries.”
In 2017, the Sunday Life reported that the WGS construction firm had been awarded the contract to carry out all maintenance work on hundreds of WSCHA's social housing homes in the Woodvale area. Irvine was a director of WGS Property Services from 2016 until his resignation in June 2022 just after his arrest. His occupation is listed with Companies House as 'community worker'.
Around that time, graffiti had appeared on walls in the Shankill making untrue allegations about FASA (Forum for Action on Substance Abuse) workers.
The closure of FASA premises on the Shankill Road in March 2016 left a gap in service provision for individuals struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
The intimidation against support workers was said to have been orchestrated by Irvine.
Some of FASA's workload was taken on by other organisations outside the Shankill, and the building is now occupied by ACT, a loyalist ex-prisoners 'civilianisation' group.
Part of the premises is now a loyalist museum, and the addiction services were never fully replaced.
More recently, one of the first duties taken on by First Minister Michelle O'Neill was a joint visit with deputy Emma Little-Pengelly to the Shankill Women's Centre.
As the Sinn Fein MLA approached, a small group of women with posters heckled and shouted abuse at Ms O'Neill.
Irvine was behind organising the protest, and sources say he has always been furious at the success of the Shankill women's group while acting independently.
He was said to be angry at the funding and support the centre was receiving, funding that he had no control over.
The protest at Sinn Fein's presence raised eyebrows in loyalist circles given Irvine's close relationship with republicans.
He worked for many years for Intercomm — a conflict resolution organisation — on the Antrim Road that has employed a number of Sinn Fein members over the years.
Intercomm sacked Irvine after he was charged, and he threatened to take them to an employment tribunal. However, he withdrew this and instead moved to another paid role with NI Alternatives, a restorative justice programme that operates in loyalist areas and where he worked until his guilty plea last December.
Irvine would often be called upon to negotiate around interface issues, problems that were only ever resolved with a fresh funding package.
At his sentencing hearing, his legal team pointed to his mediation around the Crumlin Road parading dispute and other issues.
He was also tasked with mediation around a South East Antrim UDA feud, despite most members of the renegade group of loyalists refusing to speak to him.
Lack of oversight
Insiders say that the complete lack of oversight or the inability to seek out more credible loyalist mediators by the two governments allowed Irvine to earn vast sums of money for settling disputes that only ended with him receiving facilitation fees.
Companies House records show Irvine was a director of WGS New Developments with an address on the Woodvale Road. He resigned from that role on June 20, 2022.
He was also a previous director of WGS Residential Limited and of WGS Green Energy, resigning from both in February 2018.
He was a director of NI Research and Consultancy with an address in Portadown and Community Strategies Limited, both of which have been dissolved.
He was a director of the Twaddell and Woodvale Residents Association in June 2023, a year after his arrest.
He resigned from the directorship of the Duncairn Community Partnership in September 2022.
Until his conviction, Irvine lived a charmed existence.
In September 1998, as a young UVF member, a masked Irvine was filmed for the Loyalists BBC documentary, masked and reading a statement at a commemoration for Brian Robinson — the UVF gunman shot dead by undercover soldiers in 1989 while escaping the scene of the murder of Catholic Paddy McKenna.
In 2013, journalist Peter Taylor revisited the documentary and Irvine was named as a UVF commander by the BBC.
He was never arrested or charged, and at the time sat on the North Belfast Policing and Community Safety Partnership, being paid £60 of public money every time he attended a meeting with senior PSNI officers to discuss how to combat crime in his area.
In 2005, he was filmed throwing a crate during sectarian rioting at the Crumlin Road interface in the north of the city — but again he was never charged.
While on bail for the firearms charges, Irvine was paid to host an event in a plush Belfast hotel attended by civil servants, politicians and, more remarkably, police officers.
He was employed by Building Cultural Networks, funded by the International Fund for Ireland, at the time despite facing serious charges.
Coveney incident
His lucky streak seemed to run out after Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was targeted in March 2022 in a loyalist hoax bomb incident. Mr Coveney had been speaking at an event organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation. The Chief Constable later blamed the UVF.
Despite the hoax alert, linked to tensions over Brexit, coming from B company of the UVF on the Shankill, Irvine attempted to spin it, telling Irish Government officials that they were coming under pressure from hardliners in east Belfast.
It is unclear if he will serve his sentence in the loyalist separated wing of Maghaberry in Bush House.
Irvine is also subject to an internal UVF investigation, which is looking at his dealings with the PSNI and other agencies as well as the vast sums of money he was earning by claiming he could move loyalism away from violence.
It appears to be the end of the road for Winkie, but will it mark a change in how government agencies deal with funded groups and the policy of allowing a chosen few to monopolise the lucrative industry.
Loyalist band calls for boycott of social club linked to Irish league side
By Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, May 20th, 2025
A LOYALIST band has urged Protestants, unionists and loyalists to boycott a social club linked to Irish league soccer club Coleraine FC after they were shown the red card.
Coleraine-based Pride of the Bann Flute Band made the call amid claims that bands, “Rangers clubs” and loyal orders have been refused permission to use a function room at the social club.
Coleraine FC launched an investigation after loyalists chanted ‘F*** the Pope and Virgin Mary’ and sang UVF songs at an event held in in its social club last year.
Among the offensive tunes played by Glasgow-based Pride of the North Flute Band was the sectarian anthem ‘No Pope of Rome’.
The offensive loyalist song includes the lyrics “No, no Pope of Rome, no chapels to sadden my eyes, no nuns and no priests, no Rosary beads, every day is the Twelfth of July.”
Some bystanders sang the hatefilled lyrics and were heard chanting “f*** the Pope and the Virgin Mary”.
At the time Coleraine FC said that “while the club does not oversee activities that occur during private functions” it was conducting an investigation and said it “will review our hire policy”.
Coleraine parade due on May 30th
Pride of the Bann, which says it falls into the category of “blood and thunder”, is due to hold a parade in Coleraine on May 30 involving more than 50 bands and 1,500 participants.
“ We ask all members of the PUL [Protestant, unionist, loyalist] community to search their soul and ask yourselves, ‘should I be giving this club any of my hard earned money’?
In a social media post the band says it intends to change the start and end point of the parade this year adding “we cannot support a club Pride of the Bann Flute Band which does not support all sections of our community”.
“Furthermore we ask all members of the PUL [Protestant, unionist, loyalist] community to search their soul and ask yourselves, ‘should I be giving this club any of my hard earned money’?
“Not just at parades but any day of the year, given the stance they have now introduced against one section of the Coleraine community.” Coleraine FC was contacted. The Coleraine fallout comes after footage emerged of loyalists singing a UVF song from an open top tourist bus in Belfast.
Footage has also emerged of audience members singing “F*** the Pope and the IRA” at a Glasgow Rangers themed event at the SSE Arena at the weekend.
Described as the “biggest and best Rangers show in the world” a message on The Journey Back Facebook page says it is “a must see for bluenoses of all ages”.
The SSE arena was contacted.
'Local homes for local people' posters in Belvoir slammed as 'vile'
Conor McParland, Belfast Media, May 21st, 2025
POSTERS erected in Belvoir estate in South Belfast demanding "local homes for local people" have been branded "vile".
Directed at housing associations, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and private landlords, the posters have appeared on bus stops, litter bins and utility street cabinets in the Belvoir area.
The posters state: "For over six decades, the communities of Belvoir, Milltown and Besthill have welcomed people from all religions, backgrounds and cultures. These individuals and families have integrated into our neighbourhoods and become a valued part of our shared community. We remain proud of this spirit.
"However, recent and alarming numbers of local residents are now unable to find housing near their families and where they were raised. This is not acceptable. From now on, local homes for local people. Keep Belvoir, Milltown and Besthill safe!"
Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey slammed those behind the posters.
“It is sickening these posters have been erected in this part of South Belfast — a clear and deliberate threat to international members of our community,” she said. “I am urging political and community representatives to show leadership and demand the immediate removal of this vile material.
“There can be no place for the hateful attitudes that fuel these actions — in any part of our society.”
The PSNI say they are working with the local community to "secure removal" of the posters.
District Commander for South Belfast, Supt Finola Dornan said: "We are aware of community concern surrounding this issue.
"We know that incidents like this have a really damaging impact on everyone living in the local area and their sense of safety."
This is not the first time that posters targeting immigrants have been erected in Belvoir. In November 2023 we reported that an attack on a block of flats in the Belvoir estate was linked to racist banners in the area.
Kneecap member Liam O'Hanna, AKA Mo Chara, charged with terrorism offence linked to Hezbollah flag
By Jordan Reynolds PA, Belfast News Letter, May, 21st, 2025
A member of rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence, the Metropolitan Police said.
Liam O’Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged over the displaying of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north-west London, on November 21 last year, the force said.
O’Hanna, of Belfast, was charged by postal requisition and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18, the Met said.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on April 22 of an online video from the event, the force said.
An investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge.
