Gaza - death toll now exceeds 66,000 and inaction on the environmental is a threat to all
‘It felt like we were targets in some twisted computer game’
As Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza City, one resident describes ‘hell on earth’
REHAM MAHDI AL JARRAH Women’s Affairs Centre, Gaza.
Irish News, September 29th, 2025
‘HOW are you?’ is the hardest question you can ask Palestinians living in Gaza right now. Every day is worse than the day before. It’s hard to say I’m fine. Over the last few weeks, the situation in Gaza City got much worse.
We were constantly hearing the sound of war planes and drones flying overhead. It felt like they were playing with us – like we were all targets in some kind of twisted video game.
My family were living in the ‘red zone’ from the first days of Israel’s military offensive to take control of the city, leaving us open to being targeted for simply being in the area. For two whole weeks we endured the ear-splitting sound of the bombardment all around us.
The day before we finally evacuated, the Israeli military started levelling houses and high-rise buildings in our area, even while people were still inside.
To try and get us to flee our area, a quadcopter drone opened fire on our house. We had to lie on the ground for an hour until it left our neighbourhood.
I had been living with my parents and siblings in what was left of our badly-damaged home. The day before we left, we gathered as a family. I told my father that if we stayed, our home would likely be bombed, and this would mean death for us all.
I was terrified that my family would be trapped under the rubble, and I told him I would not be able to not bear hearing their screams.
It was hard to convince my father to leave our home because his mom, my grandmother, was originally forcibly displaced from her ancestral home in Jaffa in 1948. My grandmother longed her entire life to return but never got the chance. She passed away recently, aged 84, due to lack of medication as well as the toll malnutrition from lack of food was taking on her body.
My father saw the misery in my grandmother’s eyes when she talked about Jaffa and I believe that he didn’t want to have to live with that same feeling, and would rather die than be trapped living with the memory of a home and a city that he would never be able to return to.
But two weeks ago, out of love for his children, he agreed it was impossible for us to stay any longer, so we packed what we could and headed south.
It was so hard to leave a home that was built brick by brick with love. To leave the place where I first opened my eyes as a baby.
‘Everything that once grounded you is now gone’
What’s truly excruciating about displacement is that it’s not just what you leave behind, it’s the weight of that loss and the fear of the unknown. Everything that once grounded you is now gone.
Some of my colleagues in the Women’s Affairs Centre decided to remain in Gaza City. My boss, Amal, the director of the organisation, told me that despite the dangers she would stay there for as long as we have women coming to our centre asking for help.
I am now living in central Gaza, but I worry for my colleagues still in Gaza City every single day.
Just two days ago, I was on a call with Amal when five civilians were killed in an air strike as they were walking past our office.
Through the dust, my colleagues were desperately calling and searching for one another. I heard it all live while I was on the call. There was a lot of damage to the office, and my colleagues barely got away with their lives.
I am only 27 years old but I have already survived three wars and two military offensives. However, I don’t know if I will be able to survive this time.
If there was a word stronger than genocide to describe what is happening in Gaza and to the men, women and children living there, I would use it.
The Israeli blockade has meant that for many months now next to no food has been allowed into Gaza. We are all starving. I am only able to eat one small bowl of lentil soup a day.
Parents, including my own, are quietly giving away their portions to their children to stave off their hunger while their own bodies shrink into skeletons. I am seeing this happen to my own parents.
I am tired of the endless wait for help that never comes. Hell on earth is unfolding before the eyes of the world and yet it hasn’t been enough to spur global leaders into action.
To politicians still dragging their feet, know that your silence and inaction is complicity.
Without meaningful action now, most of us will die in the dark underneath the rubble. So many of us already have.
Reham Mahdi Al Jarrah is communications co-ordinator with the Women’s Affairs Centre, a parter organisation of Christian Aid Ireland which supports women in Gaza. To donate to Christian Aid’s appeal as they support local partners, visit caid.ie/famine-gaza.
In the shadows of the Maze
A quiet group of Quakers provided a little normality for prison families
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
RELIGIOUS GROUPING WAS ASKED TO HELP KEEP REPUBLICANS AND LOYALISTS ONSIDE
A little boy playing on a rocking horse in the shadow of a security lookout tower of what was at one time the most infamous prison in Europe seems an unlikely setting for a child care facility.
But it was once a familiar scene at HMP Maze — which housed 600 republican and loyalist prisoners at the height of the Troubles and closed 25 years ago this week.
While much has been written about that time and some of the infamous prisoners housed there, the work of one small religious group went on below the radar.
The Religious Society of Friends, better known as Quakers, provided support services for visitors and families at the prison on the outskirts of Lisburn.
What started as a tea-making service staffed by volunteers progressed to running a family centre and crèche for the children of prisoners, as well as transport for visitors living rurally.
Coming from Silence
Felicity McCartney is joint author of Coming From Silence, a book that details the peace work carried out by Quakers after the Troubles erupted in 1969.
A lifelong Quaker, she said they were originally approached about setting up a small tea-making service: “It was easy to get volunteers, because everyone knows how to make tea.
“Quakers were actually asked to do it by the Northern Ireland Office, and that was because republicans and loyalists, neither of them would be able to run a visitors' centre that the other side would have attended.
“Also there would have been some difficulty with — in particular republicans — attending one run by the Government or Prison Service.
“So they looked around, and Quakers were already involved in relief work; we'd families sleeping on floors after Bombay Street and that type of thing.
“Frederick Street — our city centre meeting — had women and children sleeping there at night. They were then asked could they run the visitors' centre, because Quakers have a history of work in prisons, dating back to Elizabeth Fry and even before that.”
Often referred to as Betsy Fry, the Quaker was an English prison reformer, social reformer, and philanthropist instrumental in the 1823 Gaols Act.
She was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the treatment of prisoners, especially female inmates. She has been called the 'Angel of Prisons', and was the first Quaker to appear on a bank note.
Doing something Useful
Felicity said: “It was the beginning of the Troubles and everyone wanted to do something useful.
“The volunteers didn't have to be all Quakers, some people would bring their friends along.
“Once they got to know the families they soon worked out what the other issues were, and that's when they set up the crèche and a counselling service, and then there was a crèche inside the prison for people who wanted their kids to see their father for a short time.
“Instead of leaving them out in the visitors' centre they took the kids in and there was a small crèche there as well.
“They also started a befriending service, which is still going.”
Privatised
The Quakers' involvement in running the visitor centre moved to nearby Maghaberry Prison after the closure of the Maze, a service they provided for over 40 years before the contract was lost to a private company in 2016.
A handful of prisoners who were not entitled to early release under the Good Friday Agreement also moved to Maghaberry.
That work in looking after prisoners in a non-judgmental way continued.
Quaker Martie Rafferty, who now lives in the US, was awarded the Butler Award for her peace work at the Maze.
“We would befriend prisoners who hardly get any visitors, sometimes because they are from another country, sometimes because their families have rejected them because of their crime, or because they don't want anything to do with the prison system,” said Felicity.
“It is usually more vulnerable prisoners, and then they would support them with work when they come out.
“That's usually in groups.”
Originally from Lurgan, Felicity now attends a Quaker meeting house just off Belfast's Lisburn Road where around 50 people attend each Sunday.
“Every time there's a crisis, for example the Second World War, or the Troubles here, people defect from other churches and join Quakers because they want to be seen as being part of building peace and we are known for that.
“We've had a lot of new people since Covid for some reason.
“But at the start of the Troubles there was an influx, but there are only 2,000 of us in Ireland, so an influx for us is less than 10 people.”
‘Leaving toxic legacy for our kids unless we deal with the Lough Neagh crisis’
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
There is no greater example of political failure than the state of Lough Neagh. Pollution is killing the freshwater lake and there seems little urgency to deal with it.
I'm not going to pretend I'm some tree-hugging friend of the earth, but I do despair at the now weekly stories highlighting the environmental disaster which is unfolding there.
Lough Neagh supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's drinking water, including the supply to my own taps at home.
It's supposed to be protected under international and European law, and yet the toxic blooms of blue-green algae forming on its surface is nature's way of loudly telling us that there are serious issues occurring.
One of the main causes is fertiliser run-off from farming, and no one seems willing or able to introduce and enforce legislation to deal with it.
The foul-smelling algal mats banked up around the shore of Lough Neagh consist of bacteria primarily associated with faeces from livestock or human effluent.
It is hard to think of anything more disgusting.
The body of water is now a major health hazard. Water quality is poor, and the birds, fish and the lough's famous eel population are disappearing.
Last year researchers at Queen's University Belfast released a study into the profound ecological impact and significant environmental and public health risks that come with blue-green algae in Lough Neagh.
‘Hypertropic’
The lead author, Dr Neil Reid, said at the time: “These results confirm Lough Neagh as 'hypertrophic' which is the worst category of waterway nutrient pollution, indicative of decades of agricultural, industrial and domestic run-off.
“Our results are consistent with claims of faecal contamination of Lough Neagh and its tributaries, most likely from farm livestock and human effluent wastewater treatment plants.”
He added: “No one wants our environment full of potentially nasty bacteria and harmful toxins, so we need to look forward and prioritise ecological restoration and recovery.”
Since that study, however, little has changed.
The algae has been detected more than 100 times across Northern Ireland since the start of this year, with the majority of sightings in Lough Neagh and the Lower Bann, as well as Lough Erne.
Stormont's agriculture and environment minister Andrew Muir said the “distressing scenes” were “sadly not unexpected because of decades of neglect”.
“I'm giving my heart and soul to turn the situation around,” he told the BBC.
“I'm very disappointed at the lack of support from other parties in recent months and urge them to rethink their positions.
“There's going to be a lot of very big decisions to be made, I need them to back me.”
I used to live close to the lough and along with my then-young children attended the annual eel festival, a glorious locally organised celebration of the natural beauty spot.
It was a thriving and important part of the community. People, lived, played, swam and fished on the lough.
That way of life is now in jeopardy.
From the Lough Neagh Action Plan — approved by the Executive last year — the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said just 14 out of 37 actions have been completed, while another 22 are being progressed.
Doing the Right Thing
Politicians need to do the right thing and make difficult decisions which may not be popular.
Farming is a big part of the local economy but should not be allowed to use damaging practices at the long-term expense of our environment.
Recently bathing alerts were put in place on two north coast beaches, following confirmation of high levels of blue-green algae.
Swimming was not permitted at Downhill and Portstewart beaches.
Increased levels of algae were also detected at Castlerock beach.
In August, the first algae-related bathing ban on the coast was put into place at Benone.
Part of the problem is lack of enforcement — there were just 63 fines handed down for water pollution between 2020 and 2024.
In the same period, 4,202 water pollution incidents were logged by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
Daera is consulting on whether fixed penalty notices should be introduced, which would mean polluters could be fined without the lengthy process of prosecuting them through the courts.
Under the current rules, the maximum fine that can be handed down is £20,000 with proposals that this should be increased to £50,000.
But that alone won't solve the crisis. It needs a real political change and that just isn't happening because it is not popular in rural communities, where many of our MLAs rely heavily on support to keep themselves in a job.
We are in danger of leaving our children and grandchildren with an environmental disaster that cannot be fixed, and that really would be the most catastrophic of failings.
Ireland’s environment in ‘very poor’ condition, EU finds
Report says water quality, habitats and species are all suffering in Ireland
CAROLINE O’DOHERTY, Climate and Science Correspondent, Irish Times, September 29th, 2025
Nature in Ireland is in a “very poor” state with the country’s economic growth achieved at the expense of the environment, EU analysis has found. The state of Europe’s environment report also criticised the poor quality of Ireland’s natural waters, the country’s growing waste volumes and its heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
It said there is excessive car dependency despite some increase in public transport use, and agriculture and food production are too intensive and environmentally unsustainable in their current form.
The report is compiled every five years by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which monitors conditions in the 27 EU member states and 11 neighbouring countries.
Its findings in relation to Ireland undermine the country’s projected green image.
“The assessment of nature is very poor, with 85 per cent of Ireland’s protected habitats and almost one third of protected species of flora and fauna having an unfavourable status,” it said.
“Over half of native plant species are in decline and more than 50 bird species are of high conservation concern.
“Significant measures are needed to address declines.”
Water quality is also assessed as “poor” with no improvement in the condition of rivers or lakes over the last five years.
Agriculture, forestry, urban sewage discharges and artificial interference with water flows and riverbanks are the main pressures it cited.
“Compliance with EU obligations remains a challenge,” it said.
The Government published a Water Action Plan last year, will publish a Nature Restoration Plan next year and has a Land Use Review under way, but the EEA report shows there is no time to waste in implementing rescue measures.
Ireland’s wasteful habits are highlighted, as is the failure to create a circular economy where goods and services are routinely shared, repaired, reused or recycled.
“Ireland’s economy remains substantively linear, marked by material overconsumption, increasing waste volumes and reliance on waste exports,” the report said.
Huge economic growth not matched by environmental protection
The EEA acknowledges the country has undergone huge growth in a relatively short period, the population rising by two million in 50 years.
“At the same time, the nation and economy have prospered. However, this success has been heavily dependent on environmental resources.”
In the last progress report, Ireland ranked bottom among EU member states for expenditure on environmental protection. The EU average was 2.2 per cent of GDP, but Ireland’s expenditure was just 0.9 per cent.
“Scaled-up investment in water, energy, transport and waste management infrastructure to address the significant environmental challenges is essential to meet the demands of Ireland’s growing economy and population,” it said.
The report said Ireland’s food systems “need urgent transformational change”.
“There are many plans and programmes in place, with positive actions being implemented at farm scale, but there is no clear evidence that the current measures will collectively achieve the scale of environmental outcomes needed.
“The intensification of livestock farming in response to ambitious growth policies has contributed to increased environmental degradation.”
Time to change who can stand – and vote – to be Irish President
NOEL DORAN, Irish News, September 27th, 2025
WHAT should become apparent from the opening images of the first live television debate in the Irish presidential election tonight is that a system which only permits three candidates is completely outdated.
The faces of Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys are due to appear at the start of Virgin Media’s Tonight Show, followed by detailed exchanges in which they will each try to confirm that they are entitled to be regarded as serious contenders for the vacancy.
However, the cameras should really be panning around a studio which features a number of other credible individuals from diverse backgrounds who could offer the electorate viable options.
There were six rivals for the presidency in 2018, with seven in the 2011 field, and three is the smallest total in a year in which an election has actually been required since back in 1990, when Ireland was a very different place.
Anyone wishing to be the head of state plainly should be able to demonstrate that they have the backing of a reasonable number of elected representatives, as Connolly, an independent who is supported by a broad left coalition, Gavin of Fianna Fáil and Humphreys of Fine Gael have already done, but the likes of Conor McGregor could thankfully never have managed.
Missing candidate
What is surprising in a Dáil context, where seats are shared almost evenly between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, is that the latter party did not enter the race and instead decided at a noticeably late stage to fall in behind Connolly instead.
Sinn Féin is pushing strongly for a border referendum to be staged during the seven-year term of office for the incoming first citizen, and logic suggests that its prospects would have been considerably enhanced both symbolically and practically by seeing a party member entering Áras an Uachtaráin for the first time.
The other missing element involves a very different figure holding the kind of traditional conservative and faith-based views articulated by Maria Steen, who came within touching distance of satisfying the electoral guidelines.
Aubrey McCarthy, the independent senator, put it well when he said that he was nominating Steen to allow voters to make a choice rather than to personally endorse her as the next president.
Sinn Féin voluntarily withdrew from the process, while Steen made every possible effort to get across the line, but democratic objectives would have been better served if both were on the ballot paper.
The next step should be examining the rule which requires runners to have the assent of either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four out of the 31 district authorities, and perhaps replace it with a new threshold of 10 TDs or senators.
A review could also include the prospect of reducing the presidential term from seven years, which has been the case for almost a century, to a much more realistic five.
The most important priority on the agenda, as previously pointed out in this column, should be allowing northern citizens to play a full part in selecting the first citizen.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has already indicated a willingness to consider the move, but said it would require a referendum, so it is essential that all the necessary discussions should be completed well before the presidential poll scheduled for 2032.
More mature approach
If Irish passport-holders from both sides of the border were already eligible to vote, there is every chance that a much more mature approach would have been taken to the curious attempts to make an issue out of the former connections between the husband of Heather Humphreys and the Orange Order.
Eric Humphreys has never sought public office, but it would hardly be a surprise if, as a border Protestant, he might at one stage in his life have worn a sash, even though his wife is an advocate of Irish unity.
Most northern nationalists would be unperturbed about such a link, and it was striking that, despite some coverage in a couple of Dublin-based outlets, the other two candidates have so far been equally disinterested in the story.
The eventual outcome next month may come down to tight margins in any event, and the hope must be that whoever ultimately prevails is capable of reaching the same standards as their distinguished re-cent predecessors.
Watching Mary Robinson speaking out with authority and passion over international human rights, as well as highlighting the grave risk to the planet presented by the climate crisis, during a Channel 4 news interview from New York last week, reminded us that the platform provided by the presidency matters deeply to the Irish people.
United Ireland ‘easier’ under Humphreys, McConkey says
MARK HENNESSY, Ireland and Britain Editor, Irish Times, September 29th, 2025
Irish unification would be “more likely and easier” to achieve over the next 20 years if Fine Gael’s presidential candidate, Heather Humphreys, is elected, a leading member of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic has declared.
The election of a Monaghan Presbyterian would portray the Republic as “the very opposite” of “the Vatican-dominated theocracy” that dominated unionist thinking for much of the last century, said Prof Sam McConkey.
Many Presbyterians in the Republic “including Heather and myself look to the bigger picture” and favour Irish unity, Prof McConkey, an elder at the Presbyterian Church in Clontarf, told The Irish Times.
“If Heather were to be the president of the Republic of Ireland, that would, I would say, make it more likely and easier to reach a peaceful transition over perhaps 10 or 20 years to achieve a united Ireland,” he said.
Prof McConkey, who is Monaghan-born, added, however, that decades living in Dublin has shown him that unity “to be frank, is fairly low on people’s agenda”, adding: “Nobody really worries too much about it, there are lots of other issues to worry about.”
The membership by some Presbyterians of the Orange Order is not an issue for the majority of people living in the Republic “south of a line drawn between Sligo and Dundalk”.
“South of that, people don’t worry about my ancestral background, or whether my ancestors were part of the Orange Order. People north of it, perhaps, do,” said Prof McConkey, who heads the Royal College of Surgeons’ School of International Health and Tropical Medicine.
“I think we’ve all grown up a bit and realised that what our grandparents or great-grandparents may or may not have done, frankly, doesn’t matter much, that we’re now creating our own selves,” he said.
Death of Billy Fox ‘a seminal moment for every Protestant living along the Border
Growing up, he said the killing of Fine Gael Senator Billy Fox, the only member of the Oireachtas to be killed during the Troubles, was a seminal moment for every Protestant living along the Border.
Strongly pro-unity, the Church of Ireland politician was wrongly accused by Fianna Fáil’s Brian Lenihan and Kevin Boland of being “a B-Special”, though they subsequently were forced to apologise.
On March 11th, 1974, Fox was killed by a 13-strong IRA gang who had raided the home of his girlfriend near Clones, shooting Fox when he arrived to visit her.
“That was the defining story for me. I tell the story of Billy Fox frequently to people in Dublin when they’re asking about my growing up in Monaghan.
“One of the people who was convicted for it was working as a hair trimmer in Clones and clipped my hair. Another one of them had worked for my father,” said Prof McConkey.
“As a minority community, it was seen that the only reason conceivably to kill him was because of his faith and his allegiance to the Protestant community in Monaghan.”
Though not a member of the 230-year-old Orange Order, Prof McConkey said people would benefit from a greater study of the organisation, which, he accepted, is “explicitly anti-Vatican”.
But today “a large proportion of people in the Republic of Ireland now are also strongly anti-Vatican”, he said.
Gavin vows to ‘work hard in the north’ if elected president
NICOLE MCBRIDE, Irish News, September 29th, 2025
TAOISEACH Micheál Martin said Jim Gavin would “inspire young people and bring people together” as the Fianna Fáil candidate launched his presidential campaign.
Mr Martin said Mr Gavin has experience of serving the people of Ireland and “considerable life experience”.
“We know he’s a proven innovator in life and the aspects of his life today,” he said. “Fundamentally, he’s a person who has served a nation in many different capacities,” he added.
“And his life has been about service, on seeking to serve the people of Ireland, the highest office of the land, residency in presidency.”
Speaking at The Exo Building in Dublin, Mr Gavin said, if elected, he will work to highlight the “strength and the voice” of the Irish people.
As a former member of the Defence Forces, Mr Gavin said he has been adamant about developing close ties with other countries across Europe to “highlight Ireland’s humanitarian and democratic values to the wider world”.
“I believe that I have shown time and time again my ability to bring out the best in people and communities,” he said. “The great strength of our presidents has been how each of them have addressed the needs of the country at a particular moment.
“Each has been unique and, in Ireland just like throughout the world, these are uncertain times.
“People worry we risk losing the strong ties that remind us of who we are. My commitment to you is that I will work every single day to strengthen our sense of what unites us, to find and promote the good in our country. My vision is to work from the ground up to bring people together to ensure that every section of our society has a voice.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin (right) and Jim Gavin at the launch of the Dublin Gaelic football manager’s presidential campaign at The Exo Building in Dublin yesterday
Youth and Community
Throughout his campaign, the former hugely-successful Dublin football manager has aimed to shine a light on issues such as youth activities, community-led development and inclusion for disabled people and their families.
When asked about a united Ireland, Mr Gavin said: “We have a shared Ireland. I will work in my presidency if I’m honoured, if I’m elected, to work in the border counties and to work in the north.”
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, at a speech at the British Labour Party conference, called on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer “to be true to the obligation and commitment to unity referendums in the Good Friday Agreement – the referendums need to be held by the end of this decade”.
Ms McDonald said: “Since 1998, successive British governments have failed to implement in full the Good Friday Agreement. British Prime Ministers raising obstacles to Unity Referendums flies in the face of the spirit of progress that made history in 1998.”
She welcomed the decision by the British government to recognise the state of Palestine, but added: “The failure of the British government and of other European governments to take a stand against the actions of the Israeli state, to afford impunity to Netanyahu’s regime in the face of genocidal slaughter, continuing to arm this slaughter is abhorrent, is shameful and unacceptable.”
'More to be done' so no Irish unity poll before 2030, insists Taoiseach
TABITHA MONAHAN, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
MARTIN HITS OUT AT SINN FEIN OVER 'FALSE NARRATIVE' IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE
There will be no border poll on a united Ireland by 2030, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said.
Last night, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald repeated calls for a border poll to take place in this decade at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
Sinn Fein, which has joined others in backing Independent Catherine Connolly's Irish presidential candidacy, believe a united Ireland will be an important part of the upcoming election, with Ms McDonald saying unity will be at the heart of Ms Connolly's campaign.
However, Mr Martin criticised Sinn Fein for pushing for a united Ireland to be a part of the presidential campaign and described it as a “false electoral narrative”.
“The whole issue of border, that's an executive function of government, not of the president. So it's a false electoral narrative that Sinn Fein are peddling, that it's about unity. It's not,” Mr Martin said.
He added that the role of the president was to “facilitate reconciliation” and bring communities together.
Asked about the poll, Mr Martin said “there won't be a border poll before 2030” but said he believed it “makes logical sense, that we would have unity in the country”.
Mr Martin said that there was still more work to be done on fulfilling the potential of the Good Friday Agreement.
“The Good Friday Agreement has to fulfil its potential, and there's more to be done,” Mr Martin said.
“The British government is working with us in a practical, open, transparent way, and we have a framework now to deal with legacy once and for all.
“I hope Sinn Fein get on board with this, because this is an opportunity with this British government that may not arise again with a future British government.”
Last week, the UK and Irish governments agreed a new legacy deal that will include a legacy commission and a dedicated legacy unit within An Garda Síochána.
Stormont Assembly will have to work
The Fianna Fail leader said he sees an “evolutionary approach” to unity and that “the Assembly and the executive have to work”.
“Politicians in the north need to demonstrate the capacity to work together,” he said.
“I suppose my basic proposition is the hard work on reconciliation has to happen.
“Political institutions will work if you have an under bidding, if you like, of that reconciliation between people,” Mr Martin said.
Mr Martin also said Sinn Fein has not come up with a “blueprint” for a united Ireland.
“Sinn Fein criticise us for not having a blueprint,” he said.
“Where's Sinn Fein's blueprint? Why is Sinn Fein always saying somebody else has to write the blueprint?”
Ms McDonald spoke at Sinn Fein's event 'Peace to Unity: A New Chapter in British-Irish Relations' at Labour's annual conference last night.
“The unity conversation is live, happening in real time. The people are ahead of the governments and they must catch-up.
“We require now a systematic focus on the constitutional futures of Britain and Ireland.
“This must be led at the highest levels within the British and Irish governments.
Sinn Fein and Unionists clash
“In March this year Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Micheal Martin established a 'UK-Ireland 2030 Steering Group' led by the Cabinet Office and Department of the Taoiseach to advance a shared policy agenda. But this work must now go much further.
“A border poll and referenda on Irish reunification cannot be ignored.”
Robbie Butler MLA, deputy leader of the Ulster Unionists, accused Ms McDonald of being “stuck on repeat” as her “unity dream falls flat”.
“Mary Lou McDonald's latest intervention shows once again that Sinn Fein are like a stuck needle on a record. No matter how many times they repeat that 'change is happening', the evidence simply is not there. They have failed to persuade the majority in Northern Ireland, and the louder they shout, the clearer that failure becomes,” he said.
“What Sinn Fein are demanding is nothing short of a rewriting of the Belfast Agreement.
“The Agreement enshrines the principle of consent, that the future of Northern Ireland lies in the hands of its people, not in the gift of politicians in Dublin or London.
“For governments to set a referendum timetable would rip the Agreement apart.”
What’s in a (Street) name?
From two-thirds support to just 15%... changing of dual language regulation
ANDREW MADDEN, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
While Belfast City Council's policy on Irish language signage has evolved over the years, the latest regulations are the most controversial.
For many years it was fairly limited, but no longer.
Initially, from 1998, any individual could apply for dual language signage, as long as their request was accompanied by a petition signed by at least a third of registered electors on the street in question. A consultation would then be carried out, requiring at least two-thirds of residents to signal their support, before the application would go to the council for approval.
In 2012, the council considered loosening the policy, reducing the threshold of support from two-thirds to a simple majority, but this was ultimately rejected.
It wasn't until 2022 when a new policy was introduced, lowering the threshold to 15%, following a vote by the full council.
The change was supported by Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Alliance, the Green Party and People Before Profit. The DUP, UUP and PUP voted against it.
UN Rapporteur
So where did the 15% figure come from? Well, in 2017 a report was published by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, which concluded that public bodies cannot require majority support for a minority language.
Guidance from the Special Rapporteur noted that the threshold “where it is reasonable and practical to provide such signs varies between 5% and 20% of the local population”.
After this report was published, new policy proposals were developed by council officers at City Hall, in consultation with the city solicitor and director of Legal and Civic Services.
Under the new policy, a resident, a developer or a councillor could request a dual language sign in their District Electoral Area. A survey would then be carried out to gauge support, with non-replies no longer considered as an objection. The threshold was set at 15%.
Following the survey, a report would be provided to the council's People and Communities Committee, who would have to approve the request, before going to the full council for ratification.
There are important caveats. For instance, the council has the power to reject an application, regardless of the level of support.
The council has to take into account several factors when considering an application, including the potential impact on good relations.
Celtic urged to act over tribute to founding member of INLA by 'Green Brigade' fans
JESSICA RICE, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
Celtic FC has been criticised for its silence after fans paid tribute to a founding member of the INLA during Saturday's match.
During the home draw against Hibernian, some fans held up a banner for republican socialist Tommy McCourt.
McCourt was a founding member of the INLA and a member of the IRSP, its political wing.
In his later life, he managed Rosemount Resource Centre in Derry, which acts as an intermediary between paramilitaries and anyone threatened by them.
He died on Friday, with some Celtic supporters paying tribute with a banner saying, “Saoirse go deo (forever freedom) Tommy McCourt.”
The IRSP shared a photo of it to social media with the caption: “Massive respect to the Celtic Ultras, the Green Brigade for this fantastic tribute to Tommy McCourt at the Celtic game yesterday.
“Tommy was a founding member of the IRSP & INLA in Derry and a respected community activist.”
In an earlier tribute, the IRSP said: “A proud son of Derry, Tommy was a former political prisoner, a founding member of both the IRSP and INLA, and a trusted adviser to (founding leader of the IRSP and INLA) Seamus Costello during their formation.
Tireless community worker
“Throughout his life, Tommy dedicated himself to his country and to the people of Derry, working tirelessly for his community until ill health prevented him from doing so. His loss will be felt by all who knew him.”
DUP MP Gregory Campbell said he was saddened but not surprised to see the Celtic fans' tribute to Mr McCourt.
“This is the latest in a series of so-called tributes to terrorists from this section of Celtic supporters,” he said.
“A few months ago it was a sectarian bomber now it's a founder of the INLA.”
Celtic fans faced backlash over a tribute for Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane during a home game against Aberdeen in February.
Mr McFarlane was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the IRA's 1975 Bayardo Bar bombing which killed five people. He was also part of the Maze prison breakout in 1983.
Above the tribute, including a photo and the words “Óglach Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane”, a second banner read: “They said he was a rebel then, he's a hero now.”
Some fans used what appeared to be bin liners to form a black background around the banner.
Mr Campbell said he has attempted to address his issue with such tributes with Celtic on multiple occasions but doesn't believe anything has been done.
“Despite the club being written to privately and requested publicly to condemn these actions they have refused to comment or even reply to correspondence on the seriousness of the issue.”
He criticised their silence and urged them to act against those responsible.
“Celtic will now be regarded as a club that is silent in the face of this terrorist-supporting section of their support if they refuse to act once again.”
The starry plough flag was also erected at Free Derry Corner in memory of McCourt on Friday.
Celtic has been contacted for comment.
Anti-migrant groups crying foul over ‘mass migration’ says MLA Carroll
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, September 29th, 2025
WEST Belfast MLA Gerry Carroll has accused anti-migrant groups of “crying foul” over supposed mass migration after new figures estimated that the population of Northern Ireland has grown by less than 0.4%.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that the UK-wide population grew by a net figure of 750,000 between mid-2023 and mid-2024.
However, the statistics show that the bulk of the population increase is in England with a very different picture painted for Northern Ireland and elsewhere over the same period.
In fact, the ONS estimates show that there was a net increase of just a few thousand people across all of the north over the 12-month period.
According to the ONS data, the north’s net population increased by 7,467 between mid-2023 and mid-2024, representing a net growth of 0.39%.
Across the north’s 11 council areas, Newry, Mourne and Down saw its population fall, with the remaining areas recording estimated increases of less than 2,000 people each.
The Belfast City Council area added just 1,857 new residents over the 12 months.
Belfast was followed by Derry City and Strabane with 1,524, Lisburn and Castlereagh with 847, and Antrim and Newtownabbey with 802 people.
The remaining seven council areas recorded even smaller increases, with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon gaining 757 people, MidUlster adding 712, and Ards and North Down up by 502.
‘Government neglect is the problem – not migration,’ says Carroll
Fermanagh and Omagh saw an increase of just 492 people, while Causeway Coast and Glens added 221 residents and Mid and East Antrim recorded the smallest growth with just 73 new people.
It comes after race riots in Ballymena in the early summer an anti-migrant protests across the north.
Mr Carroll criticised the groups behind the protests, who he said are guilty of “crying foul about mass migration”.
“For some time unionist parties and the far-right have been crying foul about ‘mass’ migration and how we are being overwhelmed with people deciding to live here,” he said.
“These figures show this is absolutely not the case and we actually have had a tiny increase in population growth.
“But it has to be said, in any instance, it’s not population increase or migration which causes people to struggle for housing or access to healthcare, these are problems cause by decades of government neglect.”
PSNI snooping report cost ‘in the region of’ £750,000
McCullough Review revealed that the the force had attempted to uncover journalists’ sources
CONNLA YOUNG CRIME AND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, September 27th, 2025
A MAJOR review into the extent of PSNI surveillance cost in the region of £750,000, members of The Policing Board have been told.
The McCullough Review has revealed that the PSNI carried out a “defensive operation” involving hundreds of journalists over a 13-year period.
Headed by London-based barrister Angus McCullough KC, the review also confirms 21 unlawful uses of covert powers to attempt to identify journalists’ sources – more than double the figure provided to The Policing Board last year.
It has emerged that eight journalists were subject to unlawful use of powers to identify their sources.
It is now known that lawyers were also placed under surveillance, including Darragh Mackin and Peter Corrigan, of Phoenix Law.
They say the safety of the convictions of two men, Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton, jailed for the murder of PSNI officer Stephen Carroll in 2009 “must be re-examined” after it emerged the PSNI spied on them.
The case of two other wellknown Belfast solicitors, Kevin Winters and Barry O’Donnell, both of KRW Law was not considered by Mr McCullough as it is part of ongoing proceedings at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).
The (IPT) examines complaints from people who believe they have been the victim of unlawful covert interference by state agencies.
Members of The Policing Board met last Tuesday to discuss the content of the report.
It is understood members of the board have been told the cost of the review was in the region of £750,000.
It is believed board members are considering if they should order what is known as a Section 60 inquiry, which allows the board to hold an inquiry following a report by the chief constable.
While Sinn Féin has said it is “actively considering pursuing a Section 60 inquiry” other parties have called for a public inquiry into the activities of intelligence agencies, including MI5.
In relation to the cost of the McCullough Review, spokeswoman for the PSNI said the “the final cost is not yet known”.
Ulster Day parades held across Northern Ireland to celebrate unionist resistance to a Dublin parliament
By Staff Reporters, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
An image posted on Facebook by the DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen of the Ulster Day parade in Carrickfergus. Photo: Michelle McIlveen / facebook
Parades were held across Northern Ireland at the weekend to commemorate Ulster Day – when almost half a million citizens signed a pledge to oppose an all Ireland parliament by “any means necessary”.
Over 2000 people were expected to take part in parades in Tandragee, Ballymena, Carrickfergus and Newry to mark the historic event which took place on 28 September 1912 – when approaching 500,000 men and women signed an oath known as the Ulster Covenant.
Re-enactments of the signing of the historic pledge – made in opposition to Home Rule for Ireland – took place in Carrickfergus and Tandragee on Saturday.
The Westminster government had planned to give some autonomy to the island of Ireland, based in a parliament in Dublin. It prompted fierce resistance from unionists, particularly in Ulster.
The pledge was led by prominent unionist political figures of the day, Sir Edward Carson (leader of the Irish Unionist Party) and James Craig (the Unionist MP for East Down).
The Saturday afternoon parade in Tandragee was led by the Schomberg Fife and Drum Re-Enactment Band. The Schomberg Mourne Ulster Scots group said that on the 28th September 1912, in the Kingdom of Mourne, many people had attended church services in advance of the signing of the Covenant.
“It was great to play our part in marking this anniversary yesterday in Tandragee, and a special thanks must go to Moyrourkan True Blues LOL 305 for the invitation to take part”, the group said on Facebook.
The County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge congratulated their local lodge for marking “this very important event in Unionist history”.
DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen, who attended the event in Carrickfergus on Saturday, posted on social media that “despite the rain, it was a great night” for the parade, led by the Goldsprings True Defenders Flute Band. As well as a parade through the town, the CWA Brass band performed in the town hall to mark Ulster Day.
UUP MLA for the area John Stewart said the annual event “remains a powerful reminder of the courage, conviction and unity of our forebears. Their stand for faith and freedom continues to inspire us today”.
Ahead of the parade, Mr Stewart said that people in the town like marking Ulster Day because it is such an important date in the unionist calendar. He added: “It is potentially getting bigger each year because people are very keen to promote their British identity”.
The parade in Ballymena was branded as the Ulster Covenant Festival 2025 – and included events from a re-enactment of the signing of the covenant to Lambeg drumming.
Last week, one of the organisers of the Tandragee event – Jamie-Kyle Moore – told the News Letter that today, “the Ulster Covenant is still a declaration of our Britishness… something that today, many would argue, has been eroded with the Irish Sea border.”
The 1912 covenant was signed in a passionate atmosphere by all classes of Unionism, including labourers, professionals, gentry, aristocracy and clergy.
Related topics:Northern IrelandCarrickfergusBallymenaNewry
North justice system ‘too lenient’ says UUP MLA
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, September 29th, 2025
FORMER PSNI officer Jon Burrows has said Northern Ireland has the softest justice system in the UK.
The former police superintendant and now UUP MLA made the comments after it emerged that scores of violent offenders have been released back onto the streets after being given non-custodial sentences.
Figures released by the Department of Justice show that scores of offenders were given community-based sentences instead of prison time since 2020.
Those given community sentences committed offences including cruelty to children, domestic abuse and GBH. The community-based sentence figures were released in response to an assembly question by DUP MLA Stephen Dunne.
They included a range of serious offences.
The statistics showed that 11 offenders found guilty of causing death or grievous bodily injury by careless driving were given community sentences.
The figures show that six offenders convicted of GBH received community-based sentences.
There were 35 community-based sentences handed out for indictable common assault.
There were 66 community-based sentences handed out for common assault.
Since 2020 there have been three cases of cruelty to children and three domestic abuse offences that received community sentences.
Nine offenders received community sentences for threats to kill, and three people were handed non-custodial sentences for wounding.
Meanwhile, six offenders who breached restraining orders were given non-custodial sentences.
Fifteen people were given community sentences for harassment.
Fifteen people were handed non-custodial sentences for resisting police.
There were nine cases of obstructing police where offenders avoided prison.
The statistics show that assaults on police accounted for 73 such sentences.
Mr Burrows hit out at the “leniency” in sentencing for violent offences.
“I have long been alarmed by the stark leniency in sentencing in Northern Ireland and my party colleague Doug Beattie has tirelessly raised this issue,” Mr Burrows told The Irish News.
“Too often the punishment doesn’t fit the crime and we won’t effectively tackle issues like VAWG (violence against women and girls) when we have a justice system that is not only the slowest in the UK but also the softest.
“The number of combinations orders is clearly rising according to these statistics and I fear that the backlogs in the criminal justice system and the lack of capacity in our prisons is encouraging soft non custodial sentencing.
Gerry Adams wanted to know if plot to murder him was in my book: author
CLODAGH TRAYNOR, Belfast Telegraph, September 29th, 2025
A broadcaster and historian has recalled the surreal moment Gerry Adams phoned him to ask whether a book he was writing contained any information about a plot to murder the former Sinn Fein president.
Mark Urban, former Diplomatic Editor of the BBC's flagship Newsnight programme and author, revealed that the call came after unedited proof copies of his 1992 book, Big Boys' Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle Against the IRA, had reached “certain hands” in Belfast.
The book examines SAS and other security force operations against the IRA in Northern Ireland, from the mid-1970s to the 1987 Loughgall ambush, in which eight IRA members were killed.
The book details whether the Army knew beforehand about a loyalist plan to kill Mr Adams.
In a Sunday Times column, the author recalled: “I got a call from Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, asking me whether my book said the Army had known in advance of a plot to kill him and had not tried to stop it.
“It was indeed in my book, and it stayed in, despite government attempts to remove it.”
Before the book was published Urban had come under increasing pressure from the authorities “to censor revelations” about the State's methods of combatting terrorism.
By mid-March 1992, Urban said his “position had hardened” as Prime Minister John Major had called a general election, adding: “I did not believe the government would want to ban a book during the campaign; and I had a secret weapon.”
Urban's book recounts various attempts to block the book's publication, with one official branding its contents “a ghastly load of claptrap”. By this time, unedited proofs had somehow made their way into the hands of others, including “into certain hands in Belfast”.
He added: “Evidently my arguments were too much for the D-notice man, who wrote on its top: 'What a ghastly load of claptrap.'
“Faced with evidence that stories were spreading, and the government's refusal to go to court, they gave up, and the book was published in May 1992, appearing briefly in the top 10,” he wrote.
“We refused to make 11 of Whitehall's 16 requested changes.
“I did cut important passages relating to Operation Bleep.”
Sinn Fein 'stuck on repeat' after latest border poll call says UUP
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, September 29th, 2025
UUP deputy leader Robbie Butler says Sinn Fein are trying to tear up the Belfast Agreement with their call for a border poll by 2030.
The latest call for a referendum on Northern Ireland’s place in the UK shows a recognition that Sinn Fein have failed on their united Ireland dream – as an MLA accuses republicans of demanding a rewrite of the Belfast Agreement.
Mary Lou McDonald has said the British and Irish governments must set out proposals for delivering “legal, fair and decisive referenda and a negotiated timeframe by the end of this decade”.
The Belfast Agreement says that a border poll should be called by the Secretary of State, if he or she believes that there would be a majority for constitutional change.
Sinn Fein’s call for its own arbitrary deadline of 2030 has been branded an attempt to rewrite the principle of consent in the 1998 peace deal.
UUP deputy leader Robbie Butler has accused the republican party of being “stuck on repeat” as their united Ireland dream falls flat.
The Lagan Valley MLA said: “They have failed to persuade the majority in Northern Ireland, and the louder they shout, the clearer that failure becomes.
“What Sinn Féin are demanding is nothing short of a rewriting of the Belfast Agreement. The Agreement enshrines the principle of consent, that the future of Northern Ireland lies in the hands of its people, not in the gift of politicians in Dublin or London. For governments to set a referendum timetable would rip the Agreement apart.
“It is also worth reminding Ms McDonald that in 1998 the Irish people themselves voted to amend their Constitution, removing the territorial claim over Northern Ireland. That change was made in recognition of the principle of consent, and it expressly prohibits what Sinn Féin are now calling for. Dublin cannot constitutionally deliver a timetable for unity, and Sinn Féin know it.
“Far from seeking the leader of Sinn Féin to stay silent or change their tune, I say keep it up, because it only highlights the truth that the biggest obstacle to their united Ireland dream is actually themselves. Each time they rehash the same tired rhetoric, it becomes more obvious that they have no credible plan, no majority support, and no answers to the real challenges facing households today”.
He said the UUP will continue to stand firmly on the principles of the Belfast Agreement, democracy, consent, and respect for both traditions.
“Sinn Féin may want to tear up that settlement, but we will not allow them”, Mr Butler said.
DUP Foyle MLA Gary Middleton said Sinn Fein’s border poll calls “are an implicit recognition of nationalist failure”.
He said: “Each new call conveniently ignores all the previous predictions of imminent success. They also ignore the fact that nationalism’s electoral support has barely shifted in the last 25 years.
“Conversations in the last few weeks about a so-called ‘new Ireland’ haven’t been an advertisement for it. The treatment of Heather Humphries should act as a warning for anyone foolish enough to have believed the spin. There’s nothing new about the prejudices laid bare recently.
“None of this means that unionism should be complacent, but it does mean our positions shouldn’t be driven by Sinn Fein’s latest statement. We need to highlight the case for the Union and why Northern Ireland is better off within the United Kingdom”.
