Gerry and Alec’s very different views of where we are and where we are heading
End of IRA armed campaign ‘opened up the ground for all of us who want a new Ireland’
John Manley, Political Correspondent, Irish News, July 25th, 2025
Twenty years after urging the paramilitary group to ‘fully embrace’ the political alternative, the ex-Sinn Féin leader tells John Manley he couldn’t have predicted what it would lead to
GERRY Adams has insisted he “couldn’t have foreseen the outcome” of his 2005 appeal for the IRA to end its armed campaign.
The former Sinn Féin leader urged the paramilitary group’s leadership to “fully embrace” the political alternative in his Easter message 20 years ago, a matter of weeks before the Provisional IRA made a statement ending its 37-year campaign of violence.
The July 28, 2005 announcement, which came almost 11 years after the IRA’s first ceasefire, was made via video by former republican prisoner Séanna Walsh.
Within two months of the statement, the decommissioning watchdog, headed by General John de Chastelain, declared that the IRA’s last remaining weapons had been put beyond use.
Both Mr Adams and Mr Walsh, now a Belfast councillor, will on Saturday take part in a Féile an Phobail event marking the 20th anniversary of what is described as a “historic occasion”.
Speaking to The Irish News ahead of the event at the Balmoral Hotel in west Belfast, the former Sinn Féin president described the IRA’s 2005 statement as “hugely significant”.
“If you consider that there had been 200 years of armed interactions through various generations of republicans, and this was saying ‘it’s over’,” he said.
‘The IRA deserves huge credit’
“I’m always very conscious to preface my comments by acknowledging the hurt that the IRA caused and to people who have been bereaved or injured, but I do think that the IRA deserve huge credit for taking that very courageous position.
“It has opened up the ground for all of us who want a new Ireland, for all of us who want a united Ireland, an end to the union, or an end to partition.”
“I don’t accept that the IRA was an impediment to unity. I do accept that its day had come, and it was gracious enough to also accept that and to exit stage left, and now it’s down to the rest of us and anybody else to build the new Ireland.”
Mr Adams said the IRA statement “speaks for itself”.
“It said there was now the possibility of the opportunity to proceed towards republican objectives through peaceful and democratic means, and ordered its volunteers to abide by that and to be involved in no other activity whatsoever, except developing programmes to do just that,” he said.
“It was a huge vote of confidence in the people – it was an undefeated army basically saying: ‘Look, it’s over to you. We’re satisfied that no one else needs to be killed or go to prison. Let’s proceed to find ways of governing ourselves in the future.’”
The former West Belfast MP said circumstances over the past 20 years had increased the likelihood of a united Ireland.
“I can say with certainty, there’s going to be a referendum on the future of Ireland,” he said.
“We don’t know when. We know the British government doesn’t want to do it; we know this current taoiseach doesn’t want to do it; we know the unionists don’t want to do it, but it’s going to happen because that’s the direction of travel, and that’s what all the indicators suggest, and that’s what we are totally and absolutely committed to working with others to bring about.”
Brexit
Mr Adams said he didn’t believe Brexit was “solely the reason” increased numbers of people were seemingly amenable to Irish unity.
He also rejected the assertion that the IRA campaign was an impediment to a united Ireland.
“What the IRA did, if it did nothing else, was show that the British could not rule this place on their terms, that the unionists could not rule this place on their terms,” he said.
“The IRA could not have done that unless it had very sizeable support from a section of the people here, so it isn’t all just down to the IRA.
“I don’t accept that the IRA was an impediment to unity. I do accept that its day had come, and it was gracious enough to also accept that and to exit stage left, and now it’s down to the rest of us and anybody else to build the new Ireland.”
In relation to his Easter 2005 appeal for the Provisionals to end their campaign, Mr Adams – who has consistently denied being a member of the IRA – stressed that he could not have known how the organisation would respond.
“I couldn’t have foreseen the outcome,” the 76-year-old said.
“Obviously, I wouldn’t have made the appeal had we not worked very, very hard at creating the conditions that would have made it easier for people to embrace what was being set out.”
Mr Adams, who stepped down as Sinn Féin leader in 2018, urged Taoiseach Micheál Martin to convene a citizens assembly to prepare the ground for a border poll.
“He has to embrace the notion that he could be taoiseach for the whole of Ireland if he paid attention to what people are saying to him about the need to have dialogue and discussion about what sort of Ireland we want,” he said.
Gerry Adams will take part in a Féile An Phobail event tomorrow to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the IRA’s armed campaign.
Whisper it, but the truth is we don’t like the ‘other’ culture
Alex Kane, Irish News, July 25th, 2025
I KNOW it’s a mistake to set too much store by online exchanges.
That said, over the last week or so it has been particularly difficult – on my timeline at least – to ignore the torrent of intolerance and abuse swishing backwards and forwards between unionism/loyalism and nationalism/republicanism.
It’s a perfect example of political Newtonianism (equal and opposite responses) in action: for every “The GAA celebrates terrorists” there’s a “Look at those Orange banners with Cromwell, King William and loyalist paramilitaries”.
No quarter is given in these exchanges. Your culture bad. My culture good. It’s as basic as that.
And let’s not forget the avalanche of memes, old newspaper headlines and video footage that accompany these us-and-them barrages.
To be honest, if you went by these exchanges alone you’d be convinced that substantial numbers on each side actually despise each other.
I really do mean despise, by the way, because there is so little evidence of any willingness to remove motes from our own eyes before complaining about the beams in the eyes of others.
But the fact is that most of us are very protective of our own culture.
Even when we have some difficulties in how that culture manifests itself in given circumstances (many in mainstream unionism, for instance, do have concerns about towering pyres of pallets adorned in election posters, effigies and migrants in a boat), our gut reaction, in the face of criticism from others, is to stay silent.
It doesn’t mean we support what’s happening, it’s just that we don’t want to be on the same side as those attacking a culture that matters very much to us. Especially when there are elements of their culture which discomfit us.
Support for competing cultures increasing
Something else worth bearing in mind. The level of support for the competing cultures is not reducing.
On July 12, tens upon tens of thousands of people – and we must assume the vast majority are both local and pro-union – took part in the parades and in the bands, or simply lined pavements, sometimes for a couple of hours.
The Twelfth still means something to my community. And I describe it as ‘my community’ because that is what it is.
I don’t belong to any of the loyal orders, but many of my friends and family do.
Like so many other elements of identity – that sense of who we are and who we want to be – it attracts greater support when it is under pressure: which is why I think there seemed to be more feet on the streets and pavements this year than I have seen for quite some time.
On the nationalist/republican side we also see huge support for their culture during the summer.
Not least the annual Féile an Phobail (which is still summed up by many across unionism as an ‘ooh, ah, up the Ra’ celebration).
I have been a panel guest at a number of events down the years, but I don’t kid myself that I’m there to persuade the audience that unionism isn’t as bad as they clearly think it is.
But I accept invitations because I always learn something from being in the lion’s den: and columnists should always be prepared to be a lone voice in a debate.
Unionists get particularly angry, too, when they hear Michelle O’Neill insist there was ‘no alternative’ to the IRA campaign; or see footage of Sinn Féin leaders at commemorations for IRA volunteers; or hear Jarlath Burns eulogising Seán Treacy and “all that he stood for” at a GAA event last Sunday.
We get angry even though we know that what fuels our anger has no impact because it has ingrained relevance to non-unionists.
In other words, there is no meeting of minds when it comes to the culture war (which embraces politics, history, arts, legacy, language, identity et al) stuff. It seems impossible not to offend each other.
Worse, it also seems that most of us don’t particularly care if we cause offence – even if we wouldn’t normally go out of our way to do so.
No meeting of minds
“There is no meeting of minds when it comes to the culture war stuff. It seems impossible not to offend each other
Indeed, I’m fairly sure that even those who would be classed as moderate, but who do have a set position on the constitutional question, can be quietly belligerent in response to any attacks on their ‘culture’ from those who don’t share that culture.
What all of this boils down to is that no-one should be surprised by how both main communities react to each other.
It’s not just the Twelfth, or Féile an Phobail, or commemorations for ‘fallen’ IRA or loyalists, or even fairly stark differences on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Most of us, I suspect, would never say it out loud, or in mixed company, that we don’t actually like the ‘other’ culture.
But to be honest, the most likely truth of the matter is that we don’t.
Man to be sentenced over IRA placards
Eamonn MacDermott, Irish News, July 25th, 2025
A MAN will be sentenced after being convicted of displaying an article in support of a proscribed organisation.
William Martin McDonnell (39) of Circular Road in Derry had denied one charge that he added and abetted the display of three IRA placards on dates between April 8 and April 11 2023.
At a contest at Derry Magistrates Court, evidence was given that men were seen carrying IRA signs into Mc-Donnell’s house. Two other men charged in connection with the same incident were acquitted but McDonnell was convicted. District Judge Conor Heaney adjourned the case until September 19 for a pre-sentence report and McDonnell was released on continuing bail.
Police probe potential link between three bomb alerts close to car recovery yards
Belfast Telegraph, July 25th, 2025
Police are investigating a potential link between three security alerts in counties Antrim and Down yesterday.
Army bomb disposal teams dealt with reports of suspicious objects left close to three car recovery yards in Belfast, Carryduff, and Dromore.
Two of the devices were later described by police as “viable”.
Shortly before 1am, police were called to reports of a suspicious object in the Mill Road area of Carryduff.
On arrival, officers tasked Ammunition Technical Officers to the scene.
One week earlier, police reported that a lorry had been set alight at the same location.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Ammunition Technical Officers attended and the object was removed from the scene for further examination.”
At around 8am, police were alerted to another suspicious object close to a yard on the Crumlin Road, north Belfast.
Apartments evacuated
Police officers evacuated several apartments as bomb disposal teams worked on the object between Silvio Street and Tennant Street.
An Army bomb disposal robot examined the object behind a fence in the yard.
The alert ended at 2.30pm with the object being removed from the scene for further examination. Last night, police described it as a viable pipe bomb.
In a third alert, a childcare facility was evacuated in Dromore, Co Down, with children taken to a nearby leisure centre.
PSNI Detective Inspector Keon said police were notified of a suspicious object in the area at around 9.30am. It was also later described as viable.
The Old Station Nursery assured parents that children were safe, and police had advised them to remain in the building after being informed of a security alert at nearby premises.
However, later the same afternoon, parents and caregivers were contacted and asked to come and collect their children from the nearby leisure centre, part of which is also used as an after-school summer club.
Two suspicious objects were discovered in the same location on Church Street in April, causing disruption to the nursery school.
Inspector Keon added: “At this time, we continue to work to establish a motive for this and are exploring a number of potential motivating factors.”
Additional Reporting: Mark Edwards and Niamh Campbell
Latest: ‘Viable’ devices found in two separate NI security alerts
The PSNI also attended a second security alert in Co Down
A security alert in north Belfast that started this morning is now over, with police having discovered a ‘viable pipe bomb device’.
The Crumlin Road was not accessible from the junction of Tennent Street to the Oldpark Road for several hours.
Multiple apartments were evacuated earlier.
The Belfast Telegraph understands the focus of the alert was between Silvio Street and Tennant Street.
Shortly before 8pm on Thursday night, Detective Inspector Keon said: “At approximately 8.00am, police received a report of a suspicious object in the area.
“Ammunition Technical Officers attended and removed a pipe bomb type device for further examination. The device has been described as being viable.
“I am appealing at this time to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or to anyone with CCTV or other footage that could assist with the investigation to contact detectives. We are continuing to work to establish a motive for this and are exploring a number of potential motivating factors."
Sinn Féin councillor Ryan Murphy said condemned those responsible for the incident.
Meanwhile, police also earlier attended a second security alert at Dromore in Co Down, again discovering a ‘viable’ device.
Church Street in the town had not been accessible, but the alert ended by the evening time also.
Detective Inspector Keon added: “Shortly after 9:30am on Thursday 24th July, police received a report of a suspicious object located at a property in the area.
"A public safety operation was commenced and the object, which has been described as viable, has been removed for further forensic examinations.
“A number of cordons in the area, which were in place, have been lifted.
“Enquiries are continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and police would appeal to anyone with any information in relation to the incident, to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 331 24/07/25.”
Séanna reflects on delivering historic IRA statement 20 years on
Conor McParland, Belfast Media, July 25th, 2025
SENIOR republican Séanna Walsh says the nature of the struggle for a united Ireland has changed and the future promises much more.
He was speaking 20 years after he read out an IRA statement announcing an end to its armed campaign. The historic statement, delivered on July 28 2005 in a video address by Séanna Walsh, was broadcast around the world.
Séanna served over 21 years in both the Cages and H-Blocks of Long Kesh, and was among the first republicans on the blanket protest after his arrest in 1976.
He was a friend and cellmate of Bobby Sands, Officer Commanding in the H-Blocks and first of the hunger strikers to die in 1981.
An event to mark the historic 20th anniversary of the IRA initiative has been organised for Saturday, July 26.
Gerry Adams and Seánna Walsh will take part in a discussion chaired by Mairead Farrell TD in the Balmoral Hotel on the Blacks Road, commencing at 2pm.
Looking back to 2005, Seánna says he consulted with his family before delivering the historic address.
"In 2005, it was one of those periods when there were a few hiccups in the peace process. Unionists had really dug their heels in and there was still so much to be done," he explained.
"People like myself spent time travelling the length and breadth of Ireland, meeting with the Republican community talking to them and trying to help them and get their head around this whole notion of a peace process and how we expected it to work, how we hoped it would work and what we saw for the future.
"On July 28, 2005, the IRA formally declared an end to its armed campaign.
‘Are you okay with it?’
"For me personally, I was asked to deliver that message. I remember sitting my family down and explaining to them and said, look, listen, this is what I've been asked to do. This is what I'm going to do. Are you okay with it?
"I had two teenage daughters and one youngster. I was concerned that my actions would have an impact on their lives. My wife was a Republican activist in her own right but I was concerned about the two girls, so therefore I explained to them why I was doing what I was doing.
"But for me, the main thing about 2005 was that we were creating a situation to ensure that the life that we had led would never be the life of any future generations of Republican young people and that's why I just felt it was fairly momentous.
"I was also concerned how it would be accepted within the Republican activist base.
"I understood that there was a whole generation of Republican activists, IRA volunteers and party members who had spent their lives fighting the British or supporting the fight against the British.
"To an extent, I understood that the way that some of them were looking at it was you were taking away their reasons for getting up out of bed in the morning. I was confident they could engage with me to help get their heads around it.
"At the same time, I was very focused on the fact that this was a positive, that we were moving forward to a new plan."
Looking ahead to Saturday's event, Séanna said it is a time to reflect on the past and look ahead to the future.
"There is a whole generation who weren't even born 20 years ago. It is up to people like me to help others understand the circumstances that led to that ceasefire, how momentous a step it was," he added.
"For me, I believe it was the nature of the struggle changing and there is still so much work to do today.
"We've changed again to the extent that today there are more United Irelanders than there has been since partition. I would say that Sinn Féin as a party has never been as strong North and South. We are on the cusp of achieving this referendum.
"Politics in the North of Ireland has changed. The Orange State has gone and the British have no reason to be here and that it is now time to call a border poll.
"On Saturday, myself and Gerry Adams will speak about the events of July 2005, the context to it and the future. There will be an opportunity for audience participation which is very important and we hope to see as many people there as possible."
Adams 'regrets so many' Troubles lives lost - but suggests UK to blame for IRA ceasefire taking so long
By Rebecca Black, PA, and Newsdesk, Belfast News Letter, July 25th, 2025
The IRA’s 2005 ultimate ceasefire took decades to bring about, Gerry Adams has said – but he suggested the UK government was responsible for it taking so long, due to a focus on ‘defeating republicanism’.
Although a number of ceasefires had been announced and collapsed since 1994, the July 2005 statement saw the formal end of the IRA’s paramilitary campaign.
Seeing the start of weapon decommissioning, the statement said IRA members had been instructed to use exclusively peaceful means, and not to engage in any other activities whatsoever.
Speaking ahead of an Feile An Phobail event to mark the 20th anniversary of the ceasefire, the former Sinn Fein president also said he regretted the number of lives lost during the Troubles, but maintained the IRA has already apologised for “civilian casualties” in events such as Bloody Friday – the July 1972 atrocity that killed nine and injured 130 when at least 20 bombs were detonated in Belfast city centre over an 80-minute period.
Reflecting on the 2005 ceasefire, Mr Adams described the move as seismic, and an “indication of confidence” by “all the IRA” and not just its leadership.
“The statement came after there had been some sort of internal process, a huge vote of confidence in people,” he said. “It took decades for it to be put together.
“You have to go back to Father Alec Reid, Father Des Wilson, myself, John Hume and the endeavour to put together an alternative to armed struggle.
“It took all that time to do that, but that’s what the IRA said in its statement; that they believed there was now a peaceful way to pursue republican and democratic objectives, and ordered its volunteers to not be engaged in any other activity whatsoever, and authorised contact with the International Commission on Decommissioning.
British delay
“It took decades and one of my regrets is that it took so long. In my humble opinion it took so long because the two governments, particularly the British government, only sought peace on its terms, which meant defeat the IRA, it meant defeat republicanism and that doesn’t work, our people are resolute.”
He added: “The proof of it is that 20 years later the IRA isn’t a feature. Some may want to make it a feature, invent, fabricate and so on, but that’s the proof of it.”
Asked whether he felt the IRA should issue an apology for all the lives lost by their actions, Mr Adam pointed to a statement in 2002 on the anniversary of Bloody Friday.
It included an offer of “sincere apologies and condolences” to the families of all “non-combatants” killed or injured by IRA actions.
“I think in fairness that the record will show that the IRA leadership have apologised on a number of occasions about specific incidents or operations which it was involved in, particularly around the issue of civilian casualties or fatalities,” he said.
“One of the big regrets that I have is that so many people were killed, and particularly people who weren’t involved and particularly children, that’s a real concern. I say that from a community and a family which lost loved ones in the course of all of this.”
'Vanessa so long here in Fermanagh, she was part of the county'
Niamh Campbell, Belfast Telegraph, July 25th, 2025
ELLIOTT'S TRIBUTE TO TRAGIC VET FROM CO CLARE AND CHILDREN AFTER HORROR
Tributes have poured in for a “hugely respected” woman and her two “vibrant and much valued” children killed in a shooting in Co Fermanagh.
Vanessa Whyte (45), her son James Rutledge (14) and daughter Sara Rutledge (13) died after Wednesday's attack at their house at Drummeer Road, Maguiresbridge.
A man in his 40s, who suffered gunshot wounds and is from the same household, remains in a serious condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Police are investigating the incident as a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide.
Ms Whyte was originally from Barefield in Co Clare. She was a hurling fan and coach, and was described as “hugely admired by all who came across her”.
The mother-of-two was educated at Colaiste Muire in Ennis, and later at UCD before becoming a veterinarian.
She recently held the position of divisional veterinary officer for Fermanagh.
Ulster Unionist peer Tom Elliott, a former MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone and cattle farmer, knew Ms Whyte for around 12 years through her job.
“I knew her first through her private veterinary practice years ago and I always found Vanessa a fine worker and easy to work with,” he said.
“Then, when she moved into the Department of Agriculture, I would have had dealings with her as a public representative.
“I always found her very practical and straightforward.
“She never beat about the bush and if she could do something, she would do it. If she couldn't, she would just have told you.
“She was good at her job both in private practice and with the department, and I know we keep saying this, but the huge shock of this... people are almost not able to believe this has happened to Vanessa and her children.
“It's just a tragic shock, especially because they're well-known. She was so long in the county, she was just part of it.”
Department of Agriculture permanent secretary Katrina Godfrey said: “Vanessa was a valued member of our veterinary services and animal health group and a hugely respected member of the veterinary profession. She will be greatly missed by all who worked alongside her.
“On behalf of the department we offer our sincere condolences to her family, friends and all those in the community impacted by her and her children's deaths. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers in the difficult days and months ahead.”
Chief veterinary officer Brian Dooher added: “Many of us had the privilege of knowing Vanessa personally and she was hugely admired by all those who came across her.
‘The loss is immense’
“The loss we feel today is immense and it has profoundly affected us.”
Ms Whyte and her children were “active and beloved” members of both St Mary's Maguiresbridge Gaelic Football Club and Lisbellaw St Patrick's Hurling Club.
Ms Whyte volunteered as coaching officer at the hurling club, and helped with its underage training sessions. She was previously praised for her dedication to the club's development.
James had won the Táin Óg League with his under-14s hurling team at the beginning of last month.
Both clubs said they are “working with the GAA at county, provincial and national level, to implement the association's critical incident protocols”.
Mayor of Ennis Mary Howard paid tribute also.
She said: “I turned off the radio because it was so distressing, the whole thing is very upsetting. I know Vanessa's mum — there are no words. What can you say to someone who is going through something like that?
“It is truly heartbreaking. Everybody is shocked and gutted for the family, the family are in their thoughts and prayers.
“People just want to help; they are on offer to do what needs to be done for the family.”
On Wednesday evening the PSNI warned members of the public not to share misinformation and unverified speculation about the shooting.
“We would ask that people refrain from sharing misinformation or images as this may ultimately have a negative impact on the criminal justice process,” police said.
The First and Deputy First Ministers said on Thursday they are “deeply saddened” by the deaths, stating that Ms Whyte was a “greatly respected civil servant”.
“This terrible tragedy has devastated her colleagues and all those who knew her and her children,” they said in a joint statement.
“We want to express our deepest sympathy to the friends and family of Vanessa, Sara and James; our thoughts are with them at this time.”
First Minister Michelle O'Neill also urged young people who knew the teenagers to ask for support if they think they need it.
“I think there are moments in your life where things really stop you in your tracks,” she said speaking in Coalisland with local Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen.
“And this for me certainly is one of those moments.”
Earlier, the children's school paid tribute to their “vibrant and much valued pupils”.
Enniskillen Royal Grammar principal Elizabeth Armstrong said everyone at the school will “hold each other close in this time of loss”.
She added: “It is with a very heavy heart and much sadness that we mourn the loss of two vibrant and much valued pupils, James and Sara Rutledge, who died in tragic circumstances on Wednesday.
“James and Sara engaged fully and very successfully in school life and enriched our school community enormously.
“Our senior leadership team and pastoral staff are working with the Education Authority critical incident team to support our school community of pupils and staff at this difficult time.
“The support team will be available for pupils and staff on the Cooper Crescent Site on Friday from 9.30am. I know that our school community will hold each other close in this time of loss.”
Happy to talk about gun reform but it's for the future: O'Neill
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, July 25th, 2025
TIGHTER FIREARMS CONTROLS MAY BE ON THE AGENDA IN WAKE OF LATEST INCIDENT
First Minister Michelle O'Neill said yesterday she was “happy to talk about” gun reform at a later date following the deaths of two women and two children in domestic violence-related gun attacks in the last seven months.
“I think there's plenty of time to have a conversation around that going forward,” she said.
Vanessa Whyte (45) and her children James Rutledge (14) and Sara Rutledge (13) died from gunshot wounds in their home at Drummeer Road in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday.
A man in his 40s, who also suffered gunshot wounds, remains in a serious condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Police are treating it as a triple murder and attempted suicide and are not seeking anyone else in relation to the attack.
Detectives have not released any information about what kind of weapon was used, who owned it, or whether it was legally held.
The Ambulance Service said it received a call at 8.21am on Wednesday and dispatched emergency crews, where Ms Whyte and one child were pronounced dead at the scene.
An air ambulance took the injured man to the RVH, while an ambulance took the other child to hospital in Enniskillen, where the teenager was pronounced dead.
Domestic gun attacks increasing
The death of the three members of the same family brings to four the number of people murdered in domestic gun attacks in less than a year.
In December children's nurse Karen Cummings was shot dead at her home in Co Down.
Glenn King (32), of no fixed address in Lurgan, and 42-year-old Kevin McGuigan Jnr, of Annacloy Park in Hillsborough, have been charged with her murder.
Ms Cummings was found unconscious with a head injury in Laurel Heights in Banbridge and died at the scene.
McGuigan has also been charged with possession of a double-barrelled shotgun and ammunition and handling the allegedly stolen shotgun on dates between January 21 and December 14, 2024.
King was known to Ms Cummings.
When asked on Thursday should gun control reforms be part of Stormont's strategy on ending violence against females in the wake of the tragedies, Ms O'Neill said: “I think there's plenty of time to have a conversation around that going forward. But today I want to convey a message of support and love to the family and for the loss felt by so many people.
“Certainly there will be lots of things that flow in the aftermath of this and we will come back to those conversations and I'm very happy to talk about that at that time.”
Easy access to firearms a threat to life
Academic and campaigner Rea Johnston is currently working on a PhD in relation to femicide in Northern Ireland.
Ms Johnston said the easy availability of firearms, both legal and illegal, was contributing to women living under threat.
She added: “I did a thesis looking at the Covid-19 lockdown, and in other parts of the UK domestic violence calls went up but murder rates went down.
“Northern Ireland was the only place they went up — in fact, they almost doubled.
“Our perpetrators have easy access to firearms, that gives them an additional power source.”
Ms Rea said the late introduction of coercive control and non-fatal strangulation legislation by Stormont left women here in a much more vulnerable position to their counterparts in Britain.
“We need a unique provisional approach. After the ceasefires all that paramilitary linked hyper-masculinity went into the home — it had to go somewhere,” she said.
“That is why we need a unique approach looking at our very particular circumstances.”
Plans for new police museum revived a decade on
John Breslin, Irish News, July 25th, 2025
A 1608 bible once belonging to Sir Robert Peel will be the oldest exhibit at the planned museum
A PLAN for a new police museum is being revived more than a decade after it was first proposed with more than £5 million in UK government funding later secured.
The plan to build the museum to replace a smaller, existing one within the grounds of PSNI’s headquarters on the Knock Road in east Belfast was first proposed in 2012.
Planning permission to construct the 1,500 square metre structure telling the story of policing in the north from 1814 was granted in 2016.
However, permission lapsed as no work was carried out.
Pre-planning papers were lodged with Belfast City Council in early 2023, with the PSNI announcing it has signalled to the Charity Commission its intention to register a new trust to manage the new facility, to be called the Museum of Policing Northern Ireland.
Stephen White, chair of RUC George Cross Foundation
The board of trustees will be made up of representatives from the PSNI, the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation and the Police Historical Society (N.I.), alongside a number of independent members yet to be appointed.
Funding of £5.5m was secured more than a decade ago from the UK Treasury, while a further £350,000 comes from Part-Time RUC Reserve pension settlement.
It is hoped the museum will be open by autumn 2028.
A bible dating from 1608 and once belonging to Sir Robert Peel, widely regarded as the father of modern policing, will be the oldest exhibit when the museum opens.
‘Will be whole life learning resource’
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he is “delighted that we will be able to progress the building of a new museum here at police headquarters”.
“The museum will offer cross curricula and whole-life learning opportunities for schools, students, adults and community groups through exhibitions, educational programmes and engagement activities,” he said.
“This will be a facility that the whole community can enjoy as we highlight the ongoing role of policing in conflict resolution, reconciliation and keeping people safe.”
Stephen White, of the RUC GC Foundation, said the stories of police officers will be preserved for future generations.
“The foundation is proud to support this project to make the important role of policing more accessible and visible to our communities,” he said.
“It will exhibit the service and bravery of police officers across the decades and ensure that their stories are preserved for future generations.”
George Clarke, of the Police Historical Society (NI), added that the “new facilities will enable us to present and preserve the many artefacts we hold relating to policing in Ireland”.
“Our collection contains approximately 12,000 artefacts of a diverse nature including uniforms, medals and other items telling the story of policing from 1814 to the present day; our oldest exhibit is a Bible from 1608 which belonged to Sir Robert Peel.
“We look forward to these being accessible to the wider public to illustrate the history of policing over more than 200 years.”
Council chief distances herself from DUP man's 'foreigners' comments
Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph, July 25th, 2025
EXCHANGE SPARKED BY DISCUSSIONS OVER BALLYMENA AND LARNE RACIST RIOTS
The chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Borough has disassociated herself from controversial comments by a DUP councillor in an exchange on Ballymena's racist violence.
The council's monthly meeting on Monday began with a discussion on how to respond to the disturbances in the town and an attack on Larne Leisure Centre last month.
Chief executive Valerie Watts proposed a “coordinated and strategic recovery plan” to address “the causes of the disorder and work towards a shared vision of a better future for all our residents”.
The DUP's Reuben Glover questioned who was allowed to attend some meetings in the aftermath of the disorder.
He then said: “Can I just say this and I have it in my book which the people told me of Clonavon, and I told this to the police. They weren't happy, but I don't care.
“Number one, they don't want any more foreigners in their area. And number two, because they don't want their area wrecked by what went on.”
Ms Watts immediately responded: “I'm sorry, councillor Glover, you and I will have to have a difference of opinion on that matter. I will not associate myself with any racist comments.”
‘Legitimate concerns’
The DUP has defended Mr Glover's comments.
A party spokesman said: “Residents in Clonavon have every right to raise concerns about the impact of uncontrolled immigration on their area. These are legitimate concerns that deserve to be heard and taken seriously.
“Too often those who raise issues around immigration are unfairly branded as intolerant or racist. That is wrong.
“There is a clear distinction between genuine racism and speaking out about public services, housing pressures or changing neighbourhoods.
“We urge decision makers to listen carefully to the concerns being expressed rather than dismiss them out of hand.”
Masked youths attacked the homes of immigrants and threw missiles at the PSNI during the disturbances.
The violence began on June 9 following an alleged sexual assault on a teenage girl.
Ms Watts said she had spent weeks reflecting on the disturbances and talking to many people about a way forward.
She added community relations must be “reset”, “the trauma of what happened” allowed to heal, and the area must “move on and learn from what happened”.
Need to rebuild trust
She also said it was necessary to rebuild trust both between communities and between agencies and communities.
The council boss said she planned to write to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to request a meeting and to “seek their help and support in drawing up a recovery plan”.
She said: “I must express my very, very deep concern following the recent incidents of public disorder in Ballymena and indeed in Larne, which have significantly impacted our communities. We need to work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive.”
A “robust communications strategy” was needed to “ensure factual messaging”, and how misinformation was spread on social media during the unrest.
Police last week released more photos of suspects being sought in connection with the violence.
At least 46 people have been arrested so far. As they published the latest batch of images, the PSNI said: “Can you identify the following individuals?
“Police would like to speak with these people in connection with our ongoing investigation into a number of incidents of disorder and attacks on police officers since Monday, June 9, 2025, in the Ballymena area.”
More than half of schools surveyed so far in poor condition
By John Manley, Politics Correspondent, Irish News, July 6th, 2025
160 mobile classrooms at 45 schools inspected so far are in ‘poor condition’
Up to 15% of the north’s schools that have been surveyed have mobile classrooms in a “poor condition”, new figures reveal.
But one MLA says he is concerned that the Education Authority is failing to access whether the substandard spaces are “suitable for learning”.
In a response to a written question from Newry and Armagh representative Justin McNulty, Education Minister Paul Givan revealed that of the 39% of schools assessed so far in the Education Authority’s latest five-year condition survey programme, some 45 schools have mobile classrooms “identified as being of poor condition”.
A total of 309 schools have been surveyed to date, with 166 classrooms within 107 mobiles being classed as substandard.
However, Mr Givan revealed that the Education Authority’s maintenance service “does not specifically assess the suitability of mobile classrooms for educational activities”.
“Condition surveyors identify mobiles that are of poor condition only,” the minister said.
“Where appropriate, a full structural engineer’s report will be undertaken to consider if a mobile should be replaced. If a mobile unit has been recommended for replacement, this will be progressed via the minor capital works programme.”
Mr McNulty said it was “deeply concerning” that the Education Authority had identified the classrooms in poor condition, “yet does not assess whether these spaces are suitable for learning”.
“Our children deserve better than being taught in rundown, temporary units with no clear oversight of their educational value,” he told The Irish News.
“This lack of proper evaluation highlights the chronic underinvestment in our school estate and raises serious questions about the department’s priorities.
“Parents and teachers across the north will rightly be asking why more hasn’t been done to ensure all pupils are taught in safe, fit-for-purpose environments.”
The SDLP MLA urged the minister to “set out a plan to phase out substandard mobiles and commit to delivering long-overdue investment in permanent classroom spaces that gives our children and young people the best education possible”.
The Education Authority was contacted for comment.
37-point plan to save lough launched a year ago – but only 14 implemented
John Manley, Irish News, July 25th, 2025
JUST 14 of more than three dozen ‘actions’ aimed at improving water quality in Lough Neagh have been delivered, the Irish News can reveal.
More than a year since Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir announced a raft of measures to tackle the pollution crisis in Ireland’s largest fresh water body, a majority of the initiatives, many of which require executive approval, have yet to be put into effect.
Mr Muir’s department has confirmed that there have been ten reports of blue-green algae at Lough Neagh this year, including five blooms in the first three weeks of July.
Run-off from agricultural fertilisers is primarily responsible for the pollution, with other significant factors including sewerage discharge by NI Water and poorly-maintained septic tanks servicing homes around the lough.
Signs warning the public of the presence of toxic algae were recently erected by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council close to the mouth of the Six Mile Water River. However, it has emerged that the presence of algae in the lough was first reported in April.
Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir with First Minister Michelle O’Neill (on left) and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at the edge of Lough Neagh last year
Earlier this month, The Irish News revealed that commercial eel fishing on the lough had been suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera), current concentrations of algae “remain significantly lower than those recorded during the peak blooms of August 2023/24”.
Some £12.8m capital funding has been earmarked to support the minister’s action plan, which the department said will “allow several projects to progress”, including measures aimed at reducing slurry run-off.
Four of the 37 actions tabled by Mr Muir last year correspond with the next phase of the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP), a series of measures aimed at farmers which are designed to improve water quality.
There has been vociferous opposition to the draft proposals, which include a restriction on chemical fertilisers containing phosphorous, from the DUP, Sinn Féin, Ulster Unionists and TUV, with all four parties recently voting against the measures in the assembly.
It could take decades to fix Lough Neagh
A Daera spokesperson said it needed to be acknowledged that “there are no quick fixes to addressing the issues and improving the water quality of Lough Neagh”.
“It will take many years, if not decades, to see substantial recovery, such is the depth and complexity of the problem at Lough Neagh,” the spokesperson said.
“The scope of DAERA’s current work and the Lough Neagh action plan is focused on the necessary short and medium-term interventions in respect of the blue-green algae and water quality issues, not the longer-term issue of ownership.”
SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone said the reappearance of toxic blue-green algae this year was “yet another clear warning that this crisis is far from under control”.
“The failure of the minister and the wider executive to properly resource and implement the action plan is putting our environment, economy and public health at serious risk,” the Mid-Ulster representative said.
“While we accept it will take time to deal with the issues at Lough Neagh, we are not seeing the action promised by executive parties, particularly given the contradictory behaviour of those who voted against the consultation on the Nutrients Action Programme.”
'Scandalous secrecy' around advisory group - Govt hides members' identity on privacy grounds
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, July 25th, 2025
A horticultural working group was set up to tackle issues with the movement of plants and seeds across the Irish Sea border.
The government has decided not to release the names of individuals involved in a Windsor Framework advisory group to “protect the identities of those involved” – a situation branded “scandalous” by a DUP peer.
The Horticulture Working Group was set up under the ‘Safeguarding the Union’ deal with a view to issuing guidance on the movement of plants across the Irish Sea border – and to report on potential solutions to trade friction.
However, four members of the group have objected to their involvement being made public – a situation accepted by the Cabinet Office, which now deals with Windsor Framework implementation.
In response to a letter from Lord Dodds seeking the names of those on the advisory panel, Cabinet Office minister Baroness Twycross said to protect the identity of individuals whose names aren’t in the public domain, it is “not possible to disclose the names of individual members of bodies which are part of the group”.
In previous correspondence the Labour minister had named the Ulster Farmers’ Union, National Farmers’ Union, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) – and referenced unnamed “leaders of businesses” involved in the HTA.
She said that “a small number of other horticultural businesses” were involved.
Lord Dodds said that transparency in government “is not optional” – and that despite those involved advising on the implementation of a controversial international agreement, the public is being given “no right to know who is in the room, shaping that advice”.
The DUP peer told the News Letter: “For over five months, I have been seeking one very basic and reasonable piece of information from the government: the names of the individuals, companies, and organisations who make up the Horticulture Working Group – a body established under the ‘Safeguarding the Union’ Command Paper to advise on the implementation of the Windsor Framework. This should be entirely uncontroversial. Everyone agrees such a group can play a vital role in helping businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland.
“Yet despite repeated requests, the government is refusing to reveal who is actually advising ministers on matters of significant consequence to Northern Ireland’s horticulture sector.
“Paragraph 37 of the ‘Safeguarding the Union’ Command Paper is clear: this group was established to work through ‘remaining issues’ and to develop guidance, beginning with the movement of seeds to consumers in Northern Ireland. In short, this is not some informal roundtable – this is a government-backed advisory group whose guidance is shaping policy.
“In February, the government confirmed in a written parliamentary answer to me that the group is co-chaired by senior officials from DEFRA and the Cabinet Office, supported by officials from across Whitehall.
“It also confirmed the involvement of industry bodies, including the Ulster Farmers’ Union, the National Farmers’ Union and the Horticulture Trade Association, along with ‘leaders of business’.
“But when asked to go further and publish the actual names of the individuals and companies involved – something entirely normal for advisory groups – the government has refused.
Unacceptable
“This is unacceptable.”
Lord Dodds said he has repeatedly written to ministers asking for an explanation as to why this information is being withheld.
“Other groups established under similar auspices – such as the Veterinary Medicines Working Group – have had their full membership disclosed, including names of individuals. Why is this group being treated differently? What is there so special that a group set up under a government Command Paper is allowed to remain secret in terms of its membership?
“We are told that disclosure requires permission. On 29 April, Baroness Anderson stated in the House of Lords that the government could not share names without individual consent. Most recently, I received a letter confirming that all but four members of the group have given permission for their business names to be disclosed – yet we still do not have the names of the people themselves. And four refuse even to have their businesses disclosed.
“Let me be clear: this is a scandalous situation. We have a government-established group advising on the implementation of a controversial international agreement – yet the public has no right to know who is in the room, shaping that advice.
“Transparency in government is not optional. It is a cornerstone of democratic accountability. The refusal to disclose this information erodes trust, undermines the legitimacy of the group’s work.
“The public has a right to know who is advising ministers, especially when those advisors are helping to shape the implementation of agreements with real consequences for communities, businesses, and consumers in Northern Ireland.
“This secrecy must end,” he said.
The Cabinet Office declined to comment.
IRA ‘showed no grace’: DUP MLA slams Adams on 2005 ceasefire reflections
Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, July 25th, 2025
A DUP MLA has hit out at Gerry Adams, claiming he is “sanitising” terrorism, after the former nationalist leader claimed the IRA were “gracious” in ending their campaign of murder and violence.
Mr Adams made the remark ahead of the 20th anniversary of what he called “the most historic and transformative events in the Irish peace process” when, on July 28, 2005, the IRA issued a statement which ended its ‘armed struggle’.
However, the DUP’s Phillip Brett slammed Mr Adams’s words as yet another attempt by Sinn Fein to “rewrite the past”.
Speaking to the Irish News, Mr Adams said he refused to accept that the IRA was an impediment to Irish unity.
“I resist the temptation to refight the war. It’s over,” he said.
“The IRA showed that the British could not rule this place on their terms, that the unionists could not rule this place on their terms.
“The IRA could not have done that without sizeable support. They weren’t going to bow the knee.
“I do accept that its (IRA) day had come. It was gracious enough to also accept that and to exit stage left.
“Now it’s down to the rest of us and anybody else who has a view on the type of future we want
“Not many people get the opportunity to write the future. We can write the past in whatever way we want depending on our take on it. We now have an opportunity to write our own future.”
IRA was ‘brought to its knees’
Responding, Mr Brett said: “The IRA did not graciously step aside, it was forced to abandon its campaign of sectarian terror due to being brought to its knees by the British security services.”
“The IRA brought nothing but misery and heartache to the people of Northern Ireland,” the North Belfast MLA added.
“There was nothing ‘gracious’ about the Shankill Road bomb, which slaughtered nine innocent people — including two children, or the La Mon massacre, where 12 people were burned alive in one of the most horrific atrocities of the Troubles.
“This is part of Sinn Féin’s ongoing effort to airbrush history and recast the IRA’s actions as some sort of reluctant but dignified struggle.
“The Democratic Unionist Party will continue to challenge every attempt to sanitise or justify terrorism. We owe it to the victims, their families, and future generations to ensure the truth is told and that no one is allowed to romanticise the horrors of the past.”
During the interview, Mr Adams also admitted he does enjoy some of the music played by loyalist marching bands and said he believes the Sash is “not a sectarian song”.
The former Sinn Féin president said it was better to understand the “culture, the uniforms, the music”.
“I like the music and all that goes with it,” he said, adding that many Orange Order gatherings are family days out enjoyed by many, though they may not be “everybody’s cup of tea”.
“Scenes at interfaces, where there is sectarianism and young people potentially fuelled by drugs, are a different matter,” he said.
“Orange parades will happen in a new Ireland, will be accommodated and not interfered with, but the law should be respected.”
The former TD also claimed that the west Belfast Féile, which begins this weekend and runs until August 10, attracts more and more people from what are described as Protestant or unionist backgrounds.
“On the big dance nights, there are huge numbers of youngsters from Sandy Row, from the Shankill and from east Belfast,” he said.
“So those barriers are slowly being broken down.”
Kneecap branded ‘security threat’ and banned from Hungary for three years
Paul Ainsworth, Irish News, July 25th, 2025
KNEECAP have been banned from Hungary for three years after their planned performance at an upcoming festival was labelled by the country’s government as a “security threat”.
The Irish language rappers have been accused of being “anti-Semitic” and supporting “terror” by the hardright Hungarian government, over the group’s criticism of Israel’s conflict in Gaza.
Kneecap had been due to perform at the Sziget Festival in the Hungarian capital Budapest on August 11, alongside acts including Chappell Roan and The Last Dinner Party.
However, the group – comprising Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin from west Belfast, and Derry’s J. J. Ó Dochartaigh – learned on yesterday they would not be allowed into the country.
In a statement posted to the X platform, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said they had moved to ban the group “citing antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification”.
“The official message: “zero tolerance for antisemitism” and a duty to protect Hungarian – especially Jewish – communities,” said Mr Kovacs, who is the country’s secretary of state for international communication.
“The government insists that festival organizers must ensure compliance with Hungarian law and morally sound programming.”
Hungary is considered one of the least democratic countries in Europe under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Electoral autocracy
In 2022, the European Parliament warned Orbán’s Hungary had become an “electoral autocracy”.
In another post, Mr Kovacs said his words were “straight from the Government Information Center”.
Kneecap have been accused of being ‘anti-Semetic’ and supporting ‘terror’ by the hard-right Hungarian government, over the group’s criticism of Israel’s conflict in Gaza
“Kneecap’s members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups,” he said.
“Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form.
“Their planned performance posed a national security threat, and for this reason, the group has been formally banned from Hungary for three years. If they enter, deportation will follow under international norms.”
Kneecap have been outspoken critics of Israel, which is thought to have killed almost 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since its invasion of the territory in 2023.
Mass starvation warning from WHO
An Israeli blockade of Gaza is risking mass starvation, the World Health Organisation has warned.
Israel and those supporting the country often label criticism of the state and its actions in Gaza as “anti-Semitic” without evidence.
In a statement, Kneecap said the decision was “outrageous” given that Mr Orbán had recently welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court following a war crime investigation.
“It is clear this is political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people,” they said.
The group’s appearance at last month’s Glastonbury Festival prompted calls for organisers to ban them, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying their appearance was “not appropriate” as rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, AKA Mo Chara, is facing a terror charge over allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London gig last year.
He denies the charge, and is due to appear again at a court in London next month.
Kneecap’s planned appearance at French festival Rock-en-Seine next month prompted the local municipality to pull €40,000 of funding from the festival.
The rappers are due to perform a homecoming gig in a supporting slot for Dublin group Fontaines D.C in Belfast’s Boucher Playing Fields on August 29.
