Governments close to announcing a legacy framework, says Tánaiste
CILLIAN SHERLOCK, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
THE UK and Irish Governments are “close to announcing a framework” on legacy issues in Northern Ireland, Ireland’s deputy premier is expected to tell a conference.
It comes as Unionists have reacted negatively to the UK Government’s dealings with Dublin on the controversial Legacy Act and the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
While the Labour Government has committed to repealing parts of the Act, which has faced opposition from political parties in Northern Ireland and victims’ organisations, it has decided to retain and reform the Commission.
Over the past year, the UK and Irish Governments have engaged in a process for “root and branch” reform of the Act and the ICRIR.
Tánaiste Simon Harris is expected to outline progress on the matter as he delivers remarks at the British-Irish Association (BIA) conference in Oxford on today.
Mr Harris, who has hailed a “reset” in relations between the UK and Irish Governments, will tell conference attendees that the new era of collaboration will be meaningful only if it includes and delivers for the people of Northern Ireland.
He will say that any agreement will be based on promoting reconciliation, upholding the rule of law, addressing the suffering of victims and survivors, and facilitating the pursuit of justice and information recovery.
ECHR red line for Dublin
Mr Harris, who is also the Republic’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, will tell the BIA that all reformed legacy mechanisms must be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has ordered a review into whether the UK should quit the ECHR, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has long supported leaving it.
It is the Irish Government’s position that guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights cannot be negotiated.
Mr Harris is also expected to outline victims’ calls for effective representation, maximum disclosure arrangements and independent oversight in legacy bodies.
Irish Govt will do more on Legacy
He will also address calls for public hearings with next-of-kin participation and the need for a separate cross-border information retrieval body.
Unionist politicians have been critical of any move to allow the Irish Government to have influence on ICRIR, while stating that Dublin has not done enough to address legacy itself.
On this matter, it is anticipated that Mr Harris will say that the Irish Government will do “more” in relation to its own obligations on addressing legacy in its jurisdiction.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn, who is among expected attendees at the conference, has already indicated the government is “close” to a fresh agreement on how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
Dublin says new agreement - 'must be compliant with the ECHRT'
By Cillian Sherlock, PA, Belfast News Letter, September 5th, 2025
The UK and Irish Governments are "close to announcing a framework" on legacy issues in Northern Ireland, Ireland's deputy premier is expected to tell a conference.
It comes as Unionists have reacted negatively to the Government's dealings with Dublin on the controversial Legacy Act and the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
While the Labour Government has committed to repealing parts of the Act, which has faced opposition from political parties in Northern Ireland and victims' organisations, it has decided to retain and reform the Commission.
Over the past year, the UK and Irish Governments have engaged in a process for "root and branch" reform of the Act and the ICRIR.
Mr Harris, who has hailed a "reset" in relations between the UK and Irish Governments, will tell conference attendees that the new era of collaboration will be meaningful only if it includes and delivers for the people of Northern Ireland.
He will say that any agreement will be based on promoting reconciliation, upholding the rule of law, addressing the suffering of victims and survivors, and facilitating the pursuit of justice and information recovery.
Mr Harris, who is Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, will tell the BIA that all reformed legacy mechanisms must be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has ordered a review into whether the UK should quit the ECHR, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has long supported leaving it.
ECHRT ‘non-negotiable’ says Harris
It is the Irish Government's position that guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights cannot be negotiated.
Mr Harris is also expected to outline victims' calls for effective representation, maximum disclosure arrangements and independent oversight in legacy bodies.
He will also address calls for public hearings with next-of-kin participation and the need for a separate cross-border information retrieval body.
Unionist politicians have been critical of any move to allow the Irish Government to have influence of ICRIR, while stating that Dublin has not done enough to address legacy itself.
On this matter, it is anticipated that Mr Harris will say that the Irish Government will do "more" in relation to its own obligations on addressing legacy in its jurisdiction.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, who is among expected attendees at the conference, has already indicated the Government is "close" to a fresh agreement on how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
Mr Benn also discussed legacy issues with Stormont leaders on Thursday.
O’Neill ‘unburden today’s generation
First Minister Michelle O'Neill said there was a need to "unburden today's generation with yesterday", adding that whatever agreement is reached needs to "command the biggest support possible".
She said the framework would have to be compliant with human rights standards and the Windsor Framework, which provides for no diminution of rights in Northern Ireland.
"Those are fundamentals. If we're going to be successful, I want us to get to the point where we have a package that actually allows us to deal with the past.
"We have to unburden today's generation with yesterday, and I want us to do everything that we can to do that. It remains to be seen what this looks like, but I believe that's going to become more clear in the weeks ahead.
Mr Harris, who will be attending the BIA conference for the first time, is also expected to say that paramilitarism must be tackled to resolve "unresolved wounds" of the Troubles.
The two governments are jointly to appoint an independent expert to determine whether a structured process on paramilitary group transition to disbandment should be established.
The conference is a major event in the calendar of the BIA, which aims to promote good relations between the governments and people of the UK and Ireland as well as helping to build peace in Northern Ireland.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs , the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Northern Ireland Office are among current sponsors of the BIA.
Outbreak of flag-flying putting rest of the UK in danger of resembling NI
FINOLA MEREDITH, Belfast Telegraph, September 5th, 2025
There has been a severe outbreak of flag-flying in England.
During a recent trip to Brighton, I noticed that the place was festooned with Union and St George's flags, which seemed to appear suddenly overnight. It was all the more surprising because the only flag you normally see flown in Brighton is the rainbow Pride flag. This was more like Sandy Row on the Twelfth of July.
And it's not just Brighton — thousands more flags are to be found fluttering from lampposts and emblazoned on roundabouts and zebra crossings throughout the country. The movement, known as 'Operation Raise the Colours', began in Birmingham in July and has since spread in all directions.
Those in favour of the outbreak of flags say that it's a legitimate expression of English pride and patriotism; those against say it's an insidious and borderline racist form of intimidation against immigrants.
One thing I know for sure: when people start nailing their colours to the mast in this way, trouble is just around the corner. It signals a departure from reason, goodwill and engagement, and a grim lurch towards tribalism, with all the petty and not-so-petty hostilities that go with that.
I hate political flags and flag-flying, whatever their colour, country or creed. It's a product of being born and growing up in Northern Ireland — you see how flags reduce everything to basic, oppositional, us-or-them politics, all sense of common humanity lost.
I know it might be hard for some people to understand, but neither the Union flag nor the Irish tricolour stir any feeling of mystical allegiance in my heart. I regard both of them not as emblems of patriotic pride but as symbols of division.
To me, nationalism of any kind — and of course unionism and republicanism are both forms of nationalism — is an alien, sometimes sinister, notion.
‘Flags are dumb’
The idea of identifying strongly with the country you happen to be born in, perhaps so much that you're willing to fight or die for it, is completely inexplicable to me.
When taken to extremes, this kind of ideology, like any other ideology, warps the mind and spirit. If you make it an insuperable guiding force in your life, you become a slave to the cause, and the really important things — relationships, people, a sense of common humanity — start to wither away and become moribund.
The official response to 'Operation Raise the Colours' in England has been interesting.
In Dorset, where mini-roundabouts have been painted to resemble the St George's cross, the council has described this as “targeted vandalism”. In Birmingham, the council has removed hundreds of flags from lampposts, claiming that they put the lives of pedestrians and motorists “at risk”. Try that in Northern Ireland, eh?
Yet the Labour leadership are suddenly keen to proclaim their patriotism, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper telling Times Radio that people should hang flags of St George “anywhere” because they are an important symbol of Britain “coming together”.
And, of course, self-declared “patriot” Sir Keir Starmer previously revealed that he hangs the English flag in his own home. (Where? Behind the sofa?)
On the issue of hanging flags from motorway gantries, Ms Cooper said: “Oh, put them up anywhere. I would put them up anywhere... I think it's good for us to feel proud of flags, of the Union Jacks, when we sing the national anthem, but also to really be proud of our British values that underpin that and those British values.”
Despite Cooper's effortful and not entirely convincing enthusiasm for the St George's cross and “British values”, you sense the unease in every word. The Government knows that once flags start flying, the public temperature is rising dangerously high.
Long experience of living in Northern Ireland shows that flags — of whatever colour or country — are much less about celebrating cultural identity and much more about staking out territory. They are the equivalent of dogs cocking their legs on lampposts.
These rectangular pieces of brightly coloured cloth are crude responses to complex problems.
As we in Northern Ireland know, when it comes to contentious symbols and emblems, suppression and condemnation doesn't work, but neither does appeasement and endorsement.
Flags are dumb — they can't talk. That's the whole problem. The only answer to the current outbreak of flag-waving in England is more talking and more listening. More talking, on all subjects, however contentious, is always better than closing down debate.
Otherwise the rest of the UK will start resembling Northern Ireland at its most territorial and intractable. And nobody wants that.
PSNI chief considered drafting in British murder detectives
CONNLA YOUNG CRIME AND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher considered drafting in homicide detectives from Britain after 10 people were murdered across the north in the past two months.
Mr Boutcher revealed details of the unprecedented move to bolster the number of murder squad detectives at a meeting of the Policing Board yesterday.
The PSNI’s most senior officer told political and independent board members that nine murders had been committed since the end of June, a period covering just over two months.
Then, later yesterday, a man was arrested on suspicion of murder after a body was discovered at a property in Mountnorris, Co Armagh.
Under mutual assistance agreements, the PSNI can call in extra support from police forces in England, Scotland, and Wales during major events or periods of pressure.
In June extra officers were drafted in from Scotland to help with several nights of race riots in Ballymena, Co Antrim, and other areas.
In recent months PSNI chiefs have warned of a funding crisis and the impact it is having on policing.
Earlier this year the force said it needs £200m over five years to recruit hundreds of new officers as it seeks to raise its numbers to 7,000.
During yesterday’s board meeting Mr Boutcher described the number of murders in recent weeks as a “shocking statistic”. “Too many families are now grieving and attempting to come to terms with the appalling loss of a loved one in shocking circumstances,” he said.
“At times like this when we stop to take stock of policing we must not forget that.”
The chief constable added that due to a resourcing crisis he has considered drafting in police officers from Britain to help with murder probes.
“Our teams of detectives whose investigative case loads are already far too high compared with other forces across the United Kingdom are working flat out to support those families to get answers and justice,” he said “They are doing incredible work. “But due to the high number of cases being managed, coupled with our low numbers of detectives, I considered seeking national mutual assistance for our homicide teams.
“I think that would be unprecedented.”
Mr Boutcher added that “eventually, people are going to listen to the resourcing challenges of this organisation”.
Situation ‘frightening’
Police Federation chair Liam Kelly said the position outlined by the chief constable is “frightening”.
“We are all too aware of unsafe staffing levels within the PSNI and it is no surprise to hear how the chief constable considered seeking mutual aid to assist the major crime unit.
“This is damnable, frightening and wholly unacceptable.
“We need a substantial increase in detective numbers to adequately cope and thousands more officers to carry out ordinary, everyday policing duties.” Mr Kelly urged politicians to do more.
“The PSNI is starved of resources – left at the back of the queue,” he said.
“At some point, there will have to be some honest re-assessment of the services that will have to be pared back.
“It is an indictment of our executive that ministers are turning a blind eye to a service in dire straits.
“This is a crisis that will only get worse if ministers continue to sit on their hands.”
Boutcher slams others' failure to address pyre issues 'forcing police to step in'
NIAMH CAMPBELL, Belfast Telegraph, September 5th, 2025
The failure of others to tackle bonfire-related issues left police “stepping in at the last minute” once again, the PSNI's Chief Constable has said.
Jon Boutcher said 16 of the 300 bonfires held across Northern Ireland this summer were flagged as causing concern. These included Eleventh Night bonfires, as well as republican anti-internment pyres.
More than 1,600 parades took place in July and August alone.
“On July 11 and 12, our officers responded to a range of bonfire-related incidents, including one declared as a major incident due to its proximity to critical infrastructure,” Mr Boutcher said.
This was the controversial bonfire off the Donegall Road in south Belfast, which was discovered to have a high level of asbestos on the site and was extremely close to an electricity substation.
Police refused to assist in its removal at the time, citing safety concerns.
“And in Moygashel, an effigy-laden bonfire prompted understandable concerns and was rightly recorded and investigated as a hate-motivated incident,” Mr Boutcher continued.
Effigies of migrants and Apprentice Boys relics burnt
The Moygashel bonfire involved effigies of migrants on a boat and was festooned with anti-immigration placards, with one reading “Stop the boats” and another stating “Veterans before refugees”.
No one has been arrested or charged in connection with the 'hate incident'.
The Moygashel bonfire has drawn particular PSNI attention in previous years; in 2024, a silver Vauxhall Vectra, painted in police livery, was placed atop the pyre.
Mr Boutcher stated: “As an organisation, we will continue to emphasise that our role is to keep people safe. However, the repeated failure of others to take meaningful responsibility for addressing issues associated with bonfires has again left police to step in at the last minute, often becoming the focus of criticism.
“I want to be clear that bonfires that display items intended to threaten, intimidate or cause offence are unacceptable.
“And it's not right that policing alone is left to confront the consequences.”
The PSNI also treated the burning of Union flags and poppy wreaths in Derry as hate crimes, following controversial pyres in the city during August, which are lit annually to mark internment.
It is also reported that a replica flag belonging to the Apprentice Boys of Derry was burned after being stolen from St Columb's Cathedral in the city. There was further condemnation after the names of a dead teenager and a former senior detective who was shot and seriously injured appeared on a bonfire in Creggan.
Mr Boutcher later pointed out the large-scale concerts and sporting events held across NI this summer, notably The Open, with some 280,000 golf fans attending over a week.
UDA linked to attacks against Catholic families
CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
PEOPLE with links to the UDA have been involved in a sectarian campaign against Catholic families in north Belfast.
A senior PSNI officer confirmed links between the violent attacks and the paramilitary group at a meeting of the Policing Board yesterday.
Several Catholic families, including women and children, have been forced to flee a cross-community development, which borders a loyalist district, in the Lower Oldpark area over recent months.
The UDA has been blamed for launching sectarian attacks against homes in the Annalee and Alloa Street areas since May this year.
Responding to a question from Sinn Féin board member Gerry Kelly, Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said a series of recent violent attacks on family homes occupied by Catholics are linked to the UDA at a local level.
“I believe that individual members and local groups linked to paramilitaries, specifically the UDA in that area, have been involved in those incidents,” he said.
Not sanctioned ‘at a senior level’
“We also have information indicating that these attacks were not sanctioned at a senior level.
“However, I believe that individual members were involved in those incidents.”
Mr Kelly later pressed senior officers on the involvement of the UDA in the recent attacks. Several Catholic families have been forced to flee a cross-community development which borders a loyalist district in the Lower Oldpark area over recent months
“My assumption is that you have a considerable number of people within these organisations who give you information, because that has been the history of the UDA going right back,” he said.
“So, I am assuming you are getting good information.
“I just want to understand when you say ‘it’s not sanctioned’ but you get groups of these people involved in this and then doing it again -that’s what the residents are afraid of….could you explain what is meant by….is that different incidents, just one individual, or is it in a local area?”
Mr Beck responded: “What I am saying is individual members and groups in that local area that I believed are aligned to the UDA.
“What I am also saying is that we have information that would suggest that this is not sanctioned at a senior level.
“So, I think there is a differential between local groups taking action at a local level, and perhaps that command level, for the want of a better description.
“So, there is a distinction, what I am giving you is a flavour how we assess the situation at this minute in time.”
Mr Beck added that in respect of recent race incidents in Ballymena, Co Antrim and Donaghadee, Co Down, “at this minute in time we have no information to suggest any paramilitary links to those incidents”.
PSNI drawing up agreement with Sinn Féin-run department over paramilitary flags
CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
THE PSNI is drawing up an agreement with a Stormont department run by Sinn Féin over how to deal with flags promoting paramilitary groups.
Details were revealed during a meeting of the Policing Board yesterday.
Each year thousands of paramilitary flags are placed on lampposts across the north, mainly in loyalist areas.
The flags, which often promote proscribed organisations such as the UVF and UDA, have in the past been placed close to PSNI stations.
In June The Irish News reported that UDA flags, were hung from lampposts near Knocknagoney PSNI station inn east Belfast.
Union and Ulster flags were also hoisted directly in front of the police station.
Asked by Alliance board member Peter McReynolds about the PSNI’s approach to dealing with paramilitary flags, chief constable Jon Boutcher said his force has no “tolerance for paramilitary flags but there’s a challenging history here”.
He said PSNI officers were provided with guidance “on flags and hate displays” last year.
He added that the Policing Board’s human rights adviser was given the “updated version” of the PSNI guidance this week.
“In my time here, you will recall, I have said… that where there are flags that we can get down, we should take them down quickly,” he said.
“And where we are able to that, that is my direct instruction, where it’s on street furniture where we can reach it and safely get down, let’s just get them off the street.
“If it’s not safe to do it then the responsibility is on the owner, or land owner, to remove that flag and we will do everything that is required to make sure they are aware of the legal responsibility and where there are concerns, which inevitable there are… we are there to support them and make sure it can be safely done.”
Union and Ulster flags have been fixed to lampposts outside Knocknagoney Police Station in east Belfast.
Talks with Dept of Infrastructure
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton revealed that talks have been taking place with the Department for Infrastructure, which is led by Sinn Féin minister Liz Kimmins.
He said police have sought “to put our own house in order first” adding that “clear guidance” has been given to officers and staff”.
He said senior officers had a meeting with the infrastructure minister in June and “there’s a clear commitment from them to work with us on an improved MoU [Memorandum of Understanding], which, hopefully, will make the process far more dynamic than its ever been in terms of them coming to assist in terms of the removal”.
“And visa versa, when they seek to take a lawful action and seek the support of police that again… make that as smooth a position as possible.” He said police “retain operational discretion as to how we act”.
Mr McReynolds asked when the updated MoU would be published.
Mr Singleton said confirmed there was an existing MoU “for a number of years” adding there was “frustration with how that was operating and it didn’t seem to be achieving… the objective we want”.
“It was so ineffective as to give rise to a legitimate amongst some communities that actually we were either ambivalent to these displays, or in some way complicit in the as well. So, it’s about a revised MoU first and foremost.
“It needs more work, it definitely does. We need to move it on to the next stage in terms of really thrashing out the detail around this.”
MLAs call for zero tolerance of racist and sectarian attacks on first day back
DAVID YOUNG AND CILLIAN SHERLOCK, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
STORMONT’S leaders called for a zero-tolerance approach to racist and sectarian attacks as they voiced support for tougher prison sentences for perpetrators.
Those guilty of violence against women and girls should also spend longer in jail, First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said.
They made the comments after all Stormont ministers agreed a joint statement condemning recent sectarian and racist attacks.
The statement branded the intimidation as “abhorrent” and expressed solidarity with victims. It stressed the need for a “zero tolerance approach” and called for calm across all communities.
“All acts of intimidation must stop immediately,” it said.
Police figures show that racist hate crimes in Northern Ireland have reached record levels, with 2,049 race incidents and 1,329 race crimes in the 12 months from July 1 last year to June 30 this year.
Rates spiked significantly in 2024/25, with 646 more race incidents and 434 more race crimes recorded compared with the previous 12 months.
Ballymena
While Belfast has seen the most attacks, Ballymena has also witnessed a surge in race-related violence, included a spate of anti-immigration rioting in June.
A number of cars belonging to members of the town’s Filipino community were set on fire in the latest attack on Sunday, while recent weeks have also brought reports of vigilant gangs confronting people from ethnic minority communities in parts of Belfast.
The first meeting of the executive since recess also came after a summer that has also seen several women and girls lose their lives in violent circumstances.
Vanessa Whyte (45) and her children James Rutledge (14) and Sara Rutledge (13) died in a shooting at their house in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, in July. Agricultural contractor Ian Rutledge (43) who also died in the incident, is understood to be the only suspect in the shooting of his family.
The recent racist and sectarian attacks and the challenge of tackling violence against women and girls were all discussed during yesterday’s executive meeting.
On the racist and sectarian intimidation, Ms O’Neill said afterwards that “political leadership” was needed.
“Political leadership is required to send out that message that we will not accept this behaviour, and it does not reflect the vast majority of society,” she said.
“In my opinion, there’s a small minority of people who are causing havoc, and it needs to be dealt with at a criminal level in terms of policing response, but also then judiciary and everything else.
“So we need to throw everything that we have to ensure we create a society that’s inclusive and welcoming.”
The Sinn Féin vice president added: “This is our first executive meeting since the recess. So it was important that we collectively and all parties in the executive send this united front message today that we stand unequivocally together in saying no to racism and no to sectarianism. I think that’s a crucial message that we collectively want to deliver today.”
Deputy First Minister Ms LittlePengelly said the intimidation and violence was “totally unacceptable”.
“Any threat or any intimidation of any person in Northern Ireland is absolutely wrong, no matter what that is motivated by,” she said.
“By issuing an executive statement today, we are demonstrating our determination to work together to ensure that people can be safe.”
Race issues affect Britain, Ireland ‘and beyond’
Ms Little-Pengelly said the racist attacks were not just an issue for Northern Ireland and were also “playing out on the streets” across Britain, Ireland “and beyond”.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the two joint leaders of the administration were asked about the issue of sentencing for perpetrators and whether they thought current jail terms were sufficient.
Ms Little-Pengelly responded: “In terms of tougher sentences, I think you’d probably find it hard to get an issue where I don’t think there should be tougher sentences. I do believe that the law needs to be more muscular and robust when it comes to criminality.”
Ms O’Neill added: “At the executive we’re discussing sentencing across a whole range of things, not least given the issue of tackling violence against women and girls and dealing with the perpetrators. So this is an area that we all I think would share a view that tougher sentencing is where we need to be.”
Secretary of State Hilary Benn welcomed the joint executive statement: “There can never be any justification for the shocking scenes we have witnessed,” he posted on social media.
Priest and former school principal to appeal historical abuse conviction
Irish News, September 5th, 2025
A PRIEST found guilty of historical sexual abuse charges against pupils maintains his innocence and plans to appeal a court has heard.
Canon Patrick McEntee (70), from Esker Road, Dromore denied sexual offences against five boys at St Michael’s College over various dates between 1978 and 1989.
The trial at Dungannon Crown Court lasted just over two weeks, during which the jury heard similarities in Canon McEntee taking victims to his private quarters.
The youngest described how McEntee called him into a room and chastised him over his behaviour in class, then touched the boy’s genitals, pulled his trousers down and sexually assaulted him.
McEntee sent him off with a warning not to get into trouble again.
About three weeks later McEntee took the boy into a study where a similar incident occurred.
On a third occasion, McEntee grabbed him by the arm and said “you’re coming with me”, but this time the victim pushed him away.
Another victim often found himself in detention, which was usually in the college library, but when McEntee was on duty he took him to his private quarters, where he put on classical music and had the boy sit on his knee.
A third victim said his unwillingness to do homework resulted in him being sent to McEntee, and also described classical music playing.
McEntee sat him on his knee “for a chat” then allegedly touched him under his shirt.
The final victim said McEntee “had a habit of taking him to his private quarters” when he was about 13 or 14.
He would have the boy sit on his knee and ask if he’d been good or bad, then smack his bottom.
McEntee denied the allegations, insisting: “None of it happened. It’s downright lies… it’s not for me to speculate as to their motives.”
But the jury didn’t agree, taking around four hours to unanimously convict on all but one charge.
Judge Richard Green ordered McEntee to sign the Sex Offender register then remanded him in custody ahead of the pre-sentence reports.
On return yesterday, defence counsel Gary McHugh KC contended he was “hollowed” by what he could say given McEntee’s stance and confirmed an appeal has been lodged against conviction.
Following consideration, Judge Green decided to adjourn sentencing until September 12.
Executive complicit in ecocide says actor
JOHN MANLEY, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
ACTOR Stephen Rea has berated the Stormont executive over Lough Neagh, describing the deteriorating state of Ireland’s largest fresh water lake as “nothing less than an act of ecocide”.
The Belfast-born Oscarnominee said the ecological catastrophe that for the past three years has led to the growth of huge swathes of toxic algae was a result of “decisions and non-decisions, taken and not taken” by ministers.
He was speaking yesterday as he unveiled a photographic portrait of himself taken by David Stephenson at the National Portrait Gallery in Dublin.
While the executive has been in recess over the summer, it has emerged that just 14 of more than three dozen ‘actions’ aimed at improving water quality in Lough Neagh have been delivered. Commercial eel fishing on the lough has also been suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Mr Rea told guests at the gallery that he was grateful to be invited with family and friends.
But he also offered what he termed “an apology on behalf of his relative/kin, Lough Neagh, on account of her suffering from a grave illness.”
“Loch nEathach – the lake of Eachaidh – is in the throes of death,” he said.
“We are bearing witness to the death of a beloved relative: our kin… Lough Neagh.”
The 78-year-old actor said the state of the lough was “no accident or oversight”.
“It is nothing less than an act of ecocide – ecocide by default… by decisions and non-decisions, taken and not taken by an executive seemingly paralysed and taken hostage by special interests,” he said.
“Death by a thousand trade-offs; death by incrementalism; death by compromise.”
His remarks came as Stormont’s first and deputy first ministers defended their record on Lough Neagh, the improvement of which is a Programme for Government priority.
The Irish News asked Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly whether either accepted that policies they supported or a lack of executive action had contributed to the ecological catastrophe in Lough Neagh.
“I think we all accept as an executive that we have a huge problem on our doorstep and we need to fix it,” the first minister said.
Ms O’Neill said the lough’s plight was as a result of a “combination of factors” and that she was “solution focused”.
Ms Little-Pengelly said: “We immediately worked with the relevant minister in terms of bringing forward proposals. We put it in to our Programme for Government as a key priority and we prioritised additional money to the tune of many millions to go towards the actions of that plan, so I don’t believe that we have been found lacking.”
Lough Neagh, wastewater and house building top list for returning executive
ANALYSIS: JOHN MANLEY, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
STORMONT ministers returned to the executive table yesterday after an extended summer break that even some teachers would regard with envy.
The first and deputy first ministers’ last public appearance together was back in mid-July at the Open in Portrush, when plans for a joint press conference went awry.
The challenges facing ministers on their return are the same as they were when the executive last met, with the only real difference being that we’re closer still to the end of the mandate in spring 2027, meaning there’s relatively little time to make effective interventions.
What they need to do and on what issues is spelled out, albeit in rather vague language, in the Programme for Government. The problem is matching words with actions; actions that in order to be effective require difficult decisions, which in turn need political courage.
Over the summer, we’ve seen the manifestations of executive inaction. As the blue/green algae on Lough Neagh again returned with a vengeance, we were reminded of how when Stormont was down it was cited as an issue that a restored executive could tackle.
Yet once in power, the problem suddenly became more complex than first presented, and crucially, involves facing down farmers and the agrifood industry, who together represent a powerful force to which historically Stormont has consistently rolled over.
One solution will be presented to the executive by Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir in the coming weeks but already his proposed Nitrates Action Programme has been met with opposition from Sinn Féin, the DUP and the Ulster Unionists, who seemingly believe you can combat the effects of pollution without targeting the polluters.
“ Finding the finances to address a range of issues looks to be the Stormont executive’s greatest challenge but we are increasingly seeing how refusing to act has consequences
The deteriorating health of Ireland’s largest fresh water lake is also related to the historical underinvestment in wastewater infrastructure. NI Water has had to abandon its upgrade of sewerage infrastructure in the Greater Belfast area due to a lack of capital funding, a pattern that is expected to be repeated across the north.
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has announced investments that will relieve individual pressure points but this is a piecemeal rather than a sustainable solution.
Ageing wastewater infrastructure then feeds into the growing housing crisis because new developments are not permitted to connect to an inadequate sewerage system. The shortage of homes may not be as acute as the Republic but it is very real to thirty-somethings living with their parents or in accommodation with inflated rents.
The Programme for Government identified the need for up 6,000 new homes every year to meet demand, yet within weeks of announcing the target, it emerged that funding would be available to build only a fraction of what’s required.
Finding the finances to address a range of issues looks to be the Stormont executive’s greatest challenge but we are increasingly seeing how refusing to act has consequences: failure to tackle pollution leads to an environmental catastrophe; an undersupply of houses feeds the racist narrative that foreigners are to blame for homelessness; a populist approach to revenue-raising leaves the coffers empty.
Money, as well as the will, is needed to tackle healthcare waiting lists, as well as the long-awaited transformation of public services.
Unless addressed, these issues only fester, creating greater discontent and disillusionment with our political class.
It’s hard not to be pessimistic the closer we get to the next assembly election and more distractions from bread and butter issues.
Intra-unionist rivalries will see the DUP increasingly drawn into culture wars, as the party fights a rearguard action against a buoyed TUV. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s semi-detachment and ‘blame the Brits’ strategy will continue as the northern party seeks to ensure it does nothing that will damage its electoral prospects south of the border.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the current approach isn’t working and that without a distinct change in attitude and a clear demonstration of the executive’s determination to collaborate and take tough decisions, things will only get worse.
Friends reunited… now we need them to get to work
OPINION: JOHN MANLEY POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, September 5th, 2025
IT wasn’t quite on the scale of a Simon & Garfunkel reunion but the sight of the first and deputy first minister back together again after a prolonged absence was welcome.
Not since June 11 in the aftermath of the racist violence in Ballymena, when they spoke outside the Ulster Hall have Stormont’s leaders faced the media side-by-side.
The extended summer break appears to have done both Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly some good. The pair looked refreshed, reinvigorated even.
The Sinn Féin first minister described yesterday’s Executive meeting as a “fresh opportunity to renew our focus on the issues that really matter most to the people”, while her DUP counterpart said it “reflected a sense of energy and enthusiasm”.
After pre-recess rumours of a rift, absence may have indeed made the heart grow fonder.
Topping the agenda were the recent racist and sectarian attacks. In a statement issued on behalf of all ministers to coincide with the post-executive meeting press conference, they collectively condemned the attacks on homes in Ballymena, Donaghadee and north Belfast.
There is an obvious tension between the first and deputy first ministers about how the issue of migration should be handled. Elements within Ms Little-Pengelly’s party are aligned to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage when it comes to dealing with asylum seekers, or what they like to term “illegal immigration”.
DUP vulnerable
The DUP is also mindful that the TUV will exploit any perceived weakness, while the other executive parties will call out the smallest hint of racism, so the party must walk a thin line.
Sinn Féin, more so in the south, has its own conflicts over how to handle migration but has to date remained loyal to its inclusive roots.
Apart from Ms Little-Pengelly calling for the Home Office to deal with a non-devolved matter and saying there had been “an impact in terms of social cohesion”, she and Ms O’Neill were generally reading from the same script – albeit one that focused solely on condemning and dealing with violence.
The respective ministers’ response to UDA-linked intimidation in north Belfast is also potentially fraught, especially if one casts their mind back to 2017, when the then South Belfast MP response to UVF flags going at a mixed development in her constituency was to say residents “didn’t want a public fuss”.
The publicity earlier this week surrounding peace campaigner Raymond McCord’s unanswered request for the ministers to together show solidarity with the Catholic families forced out in north Belfast has clearly struck a nerve.
The statement from the executive was unambiguous and united in its condemnation. The first minister stressed that both “words” and “leadership” are important when tackling racism and sectarianism, as is action – something Stormont isn’t renowned for.
Let’s hope that in future all ministers can also learn to walk the walk.
'I didn't realise I was having a stroke at 37'
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, September 5th, 2025
FORMER UNIONIST AND PUP COUNCILLOR CORR-JOHNSTON OPENS UP ABOUT TRANSFORMING HER LIFE AFTER MAJOR HEALTH SCARE
After suffering a stroke at 37, former unionist councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston took stock of her life, making a change that has taken her from politics to performing.
Now working as a singer, she says she is proud that she's found a way of raising her young family and doing something she loves, but it took a major health scare to bring about the transformation.
In December 2023, the north Belfast woman was involved in an incident in Union Street.
She was shoved and hurt her neck, but put the pain down to whiplash.
“At the time, I didn't have any MRI or CT scans or anything, it didn't seem that serious,” she said.
“But I kept going back to the doctors as I lost hearing in one ear, so it was through an ENT (ear, nose and throat) appointment that I ended up being sent for the MRI and that was when it was thrown up.
“They said I had a carotid artery dissection, a tear in one of the carotid arteries in the neck, caused by the trauma.
“You hear that and you think, what's going to happen to me?
“But the doctor reassured me that I would be fine, they said if something was going to happen it would have happened already.”
At the time Julie-Anne was teaching the Change Makers, an access to politics class with the Shankill Women's Centre.
“I used to be a past participant of the Shankill Women's Centre, so it was really exciting to be working there — it was a job that I completely fell in love with,” she says.
First female Unionist elected in Old Park
Prior to that, in 2014, Julie-Anne had made history as the first female unionist elected to the Oldpark constituency in north Belfast for the Progressive Unionist Party. She was also the first openly lesbian unionist councillor.
Despite losing the seat in the 2019 council election, she remained active in politics and for a short time was the Ulster Unionist representative for the area.
However, she has found being a liberal unionist challenging at times.
“I believe in the Union, but I am very liberal when it comes to social and economic issues,” she said.
“When I was diagnosed with the dissected artery, I started to think 'Do I really need to be doing something so stressful?' Even today on social media, if I put something up that is even slightly controversial, I get this pile-on of people who completely disagree with me.
“I've learned that I don't have the same views as the majority in my community.”
When Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly visited the women's centre last year, there was a protest outside and concerns that any of the staff pictured during the visit of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister were leaving themselves open to abuse.
“When Michelle visited the women's centre, I hugged her coming through the door,” Julie-Anne adds.
“You'd have thought I was going to be disowned within the community.
“But Michelle's never done anything on me. We have very different politics on certain things, but there's also common ground around social and economic policy.
“She was another woman involved in politics, and she was there to celebrate the exact same cause that I was — the launch of the brand new building that was bringing women from across the divide together, and that's the kind of work that's been happening with women's groups for the past 30 years.
“The volume was really turned up and I don't want to say I was frightened, but I was stressed and I was at home obsessing about social media posts, and so I just felt it was time for a change.”
So she left the community sector, handing over the reins of the course to one of her former pupils, something she says she's extremely proud of.
“It was a good time to step out and I'm happy that the course will thrive for years to come,” she says.
Julie-Anne then spent some time working as a bar manager.
“I thought, 'I can do that', from being in a political party to starting my own parties in a pub, and so that's what I did.”
It was while working a shift in the bar on June 30 this year that she started to feel unwell.
“I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know I was having a stroke,” she added.
“The Public Health Agency ads concentrate on 'Face, Arms, Speech and then Time' — mine started with a pain over my right eye.
“It wasn't a burning like they show — it was like a pulsing and it was affecting my vision, and I was feeling a bit off balance.
“I started trying to pour a pint and my left arm felt numb, like pins and needles, but I still didn't connect it, because the pain in my head was on the right.
“I now know that the right side of the brain controls the left. By then I was getting a tight chest, so went to the hospital. It wasn't until then I was told my speech was slurring and my face was drooping.
“I felt as though I was talking normally but wasn't. I was lucky I arrived in the hospital at 10pm and by 8am the following morning the symptoms were gone, all I was left with was exhaustion.”
After a series of tests she was diagnosed with a mini-stroke and remains under the care of the stroke clinic. She will be on Aspirin for the rest of her life.
When she was released from hospital Julie-Anne said she thought long and hard about what she wanted to do and her eight-year-old twins she shares with her ex-wife Kerry Johnston were top of the list.
“I knew I wanted to spend more time with my children, but I still needed to earn a living and support myself.
“Before politics, I used to sing around the pubs and the clubs, I was even in an Abba tribute band.
“But it has been so long since I held a microphone and my voice isn't what it was when I was 17 or 18.”
Julie-Anne said she contacted another female pub singer she knows and said she was thinking of taking it up again.
‘Here’s my speaker, off you go’
“She said, 'Do it and here's my speaker, off you go'.
“There are women who have been on the circuit for years who have been so full of love and support.”
Now signed with agent Colin Beckinsdale, she is doing four to five gigs a week and is loving the freedom of her new-found career.
“I'm doing about 15 hours a week and earning a full-time wage,” she adds.
“I do a three to four hour set, sing all the crowd pleasers. It's high energy and great fun and then I'm back home, so it's like a night out without the hangover.
“I'm my own boss, I can say yes or no to work.
“After all that has happened, I'm able to stand on my own two feet, and do you know what? I'm really proud of that.”
Revered author's daughter leaves £340k to Sinn Fein in her will
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, September 5th, 2025
ELECTORAL RECORD SHOWS DONATION FROM ACTIVIST WHO DIED AT 96
The daughter of a revered Irish author has donated almost £340,000 to Sinn Fein.
Pegeen O'Sullivan, described as a lifelong republican, died three years ago at her home in England aged 96.
Her father, Liam O'Flaherty, is regarded as one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience from their perspective.
Ms O'Sullivan's donation appears in the latest update from the Northern Ireland Electoral Commission.
It lists donations and public funds registered between April and June this year.
Electoral Commission records state that “Ms Elizabeth known as Pegeen O'Sullivan” donated £338,550 in cash to Sinn Fein. The party accepted the donation in May.
At her funeral in 2022, Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan said Mrs O'Sullivan was a dedicated activist who regularly appeared at protests into her 90s and had a “deep sense of opposition to partition”.
The commission's latest update states parties registered here reported accepting £723,576 in donations and public funds during the second quarter of 2025.
Sinn Fein accepted £467,642 in total, while the DUP accepted £104,325, the SDLP £82,537, Alliance £57,216, the UUP £8,544, TUV £6,859 and People Before Profit £6,453.
Pegeen O'Sullivan was born in Dublin in April 1926 to writer and journalist Margaret Barrington and Liam O'Flaherty.
According to a profile published in An Phoblacht when she died, she spent most of her life in London and lived in Rossendale Way, Camden Town, for 36 years.
She reportedly helped to produce practical advice cards on 'What to do if you were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act'.
Seminary to Holywood via Western Front and Communist Party
Her father, Liam O'Flaherty, was born in 1896 in Gort na gCapall, on one of the Aran Islands in Co Galway.
In 1908, aged 12, he went to Rockwell College, and went on to study at Holy Cross and University College, Dublin. He did not attend the first two schools for long.
O'Flaherty initially intended to join the priesthood, but in 1917 he left school to join the Irish Guards, enlisting under the name 'Bill Ganly'.
He was injured on the Western Front, and some believe that shell shock may have been responsible for his mental illness, which became apparent when he suffered the first of two mental breakdowns in 1933.
After the war O'Flaherty left Ireland and moved to the United States, where he lived in Hollywood for a short time. He also travelled throughout the United States and Europe, and the letters he wrote during his wanderings were later published.
Many of O'Flaherty's works of fiction have common themes of nature and Ireland; some his best short stories were written in Irish.
In 1923, O'Flaherty published his first novel, Thy Neighbour's Wife, thought to be one of his best.
In 1935, his novel The Informer was made into a film by the well-known director John Ford, a cousin of O'Flaherty.
Over the next couple of years he published other novels and short stories, while struggling with mental illness and breakdowns.
He died in Dublin in 1984, aged 88.
