‘It can take its toll...we're not unbreakable' - PSNI

17 May

DAVID O'DORNAN, Sunday Life, May 17th, 2026

PSNI OFFICER OPENS UP ABOUT CHALLENGES OF UNSEEN JOB POLICE UNIT WHICH COMFORTS FAMILIES IN THEIR DARKEST MOMENTS ON EFFECT IT HAS MENTALLY

It's one of the lesser known roles in the PSNI but it's become vital for countless families and victims of crime — that of the family liaison officer (FLO).

Sergeant Elaine McCabe became one in 2009 and is now one of five dedicated family liaison co-ordinators (FLCs) who manages a team of around 50 FLOs across Northern Ireland who take on the bolt-on work in addition to day-to-day policing.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Life to shine a light on the work that they do supporting families as they come to terms with the darkest hours of their lives, she was joined by one man who can attest to how important they are.

Charles Little's life changed forever in May 2017 when his elderly father-in-law and mother-in-law, Michael and Marjorie Cawdery, were killed in an attack in their Portadown home by Thomas McEntee.

He said: “We had a double homicide by a mental health patient in our home, my wife's parents were both 83 and brutally and savagely killed by a man who had been looking for help for four days beforehand and hadn't got any.

“We lived within a quarter mile of the Craigavon Area Hospital emergency department. He walked out and we were all out shopping, and he broke into the house. Mike and Marjorie arrived back and he was in the house and he'd completely flipped.

“And so it comes out of the blue. It's a complete shock. When we arrived back, I confronted him at the scene and when these instances happen, you can't take it in, your head explodes, basically.

“He stole Mike's car and drove away. And then, of course, the police arrive and you're there, you're covered in blood because you've been doing CPR and there's two dead bodies, myself and my wife with blood all over us.

“If I remember rightly, Elaine came in the next day and suddenly your whole life has changed. You're in this world where people are using a language you don't speak, they're using terms you've never heard of, and you've been interviewed and things are going on, you've no idea what's happening.

Process

“So who do you turn to? Where do you get help? The family liaison officer arrives and you latch on to them because they're the only person who is there who's saying, 'I'm here to help you, I can explain to you what's happening'.

“When all this is going on around you, you turn to the family liaison officer and say, 'What does that mean? What's happening now? What's going to happen next? and so on. And basically, she holds your hand and walks you through the process as it's happening.”

Elaine was able to signpost Charles and his family to Hundred Families, a charity in England which supports people who have been bereaved by mental health homicide, who were “extremely helpful” in their hours of need.

Charles added: “In the blink of an eye you are propelled from what was your normality into a completely different world, it's almost as if you've been parachuted into an alien planet.

“You're trying to deal with A; you're in shock, and B; you've got all this strange activity going around you. You've got people telling you things, people asking you things, and you want help. You want somebody to tell you what's going on and what's going to happen.

“And really, the only person in all of that chaos around you is the family liaison officer. In that period between the incident happening and the court case, Elaine was the most important person in our lives.

“You latch on to her because she's the only rock you've got to anchor to in that whole confused world, who has got the time to sit down and explain to you what's going on.

“The service they provide is incredible, they're wonderful people, and it's the only help that comes to you when you're standing there with your head exploding, not knowing where to turn. Up comes the family liaison officer and says, 'I'm going to help you.' And that's exactly what you want to hear.”

Elaine is now a sergeant in tactical training but after years as a FLO on top of her day job, she became a family liaison co-ordinator to plan responses in relation to cases such as road deaths and murders.

She told us: “I joined the police in 2002 and I became a family liaison officer in 2009. There certainly was a misconception that a family liaison is going out and holding people's hands and handing them tissues and making them tea.

“And that's not being flippant, I think that was a genuine conception people had. What we are there really to do is to act as a conduit between the investigation team and the family, that two-way communication to support and signpost families.

“This year already, I think we're well above the figures that we even had last year for the same period, particularly fatal road traffic collisions, but everybody steps up.

“To me, that's the dedication within the FLOs — they people doing it are really dedicated and step up when you need them.

“Everybody that does the role is incredibly passionate and incredibly good at what they do. It's a collective effort.”

Mindful

Elaine revealed that dealing with tragedies in her own life influenced her decision to become a FLO and said that it can be challenging work that means officers have to be mindful of their mental health too.

She explained: “I lost a brother in a car accident 31 years ago, so it was before I even joined the police.

“I never have an understanding of every family that we go and deal with, but I certainly have that empathy to understand, 'What do they need? What can I do to help them?'

“The initial visit can be really, really difficult, because you're trying to absorb as much information and you're absorbing all that emotion as well. So the first visit can be challenging and you're only human. You go home and you mull over things and you also think, 'Can I do anything better? What can I do to support the families?'

“For the large part of my career I thought, 'I'm unbreakable. The worst things have already happened to me. I've lost my brother.' I lost my dad quite suddenly too.

“You build up this, 'Well that stuff's happened in my personal life, so I can deal with anything' but you're human at the end of the day and ultimately it does take a toll.

“No matter how difficult I find it, I'm able to walk back and go to my normal family life. So that's kind of how I deal with it, the family are always going to be having a more difficult time than you are.

“But I did avail of counselling within the last year and it just really stuck with me that the counsellor said a normal person who's not in the police or this type of blue lights career will have something like five or six traumatic incidents on average within their life.

“And she said police officers will deal with potentially 600 so when you look at that, it's no wonder people's mental health will be tested. So I think what I'm trying to say is we are very much aware.

“We will try and look after our FLOs. We'll encourage them to get the counselling. It's not weakness. Just get the counselling, because you may just need somebody to listen to you.

“I do think it's something certainly that I have become more aware of with my own circumstances, that you're not unbreakable. You do have to appreciate that you're human and you can only take so much.”

With the wheels of justice turning more slowly in Northern Ireland than other parts of the UK, it means Elaine and her colleagues have to juggle many cases at the same time and are often on call.

She continued: “I have a case that was in court last week, I was a family liaison officer for a fatal road traffic collision that happened in Omagh four Christmases ago, and it's only going to court now, so I'm still dealing with that family four years later.

“All the officers that deal with family liaison do it as a bolt-on role. It's not a primary role. If a murder comes in when I'm on call as FLC, I deploy two FLOs to go out to that. It's dual deployment now for all our cases. I'm co-ordinating 17 cases between murders and fatal motor traffic collisions this year.

“You need a certain mindset to be a FLO for a multitude of reasons. You have to be able to go into a family at the worst time of their lives and you have to be able to engage with them and be empathetic, but also because it is a bolt-on role, it's something that you have to be passionate about.

“You have to really want to do it and want to help, because there are rewards within it, but it is so challenging initially and can be challenging for families for years and your relationship with them, so you have to be a certain type of person.”

Violent nazi's summit with council over immigration

EXCLUSIVE CIARAN BARNES, Sunday Life, May 17th, 2026

FURY AS CHIEF EXEC INVITES RACIST THUG AND FAR-RIGHT PALS TO AIR VIEWS ON TOPIC

A self-confessed violent Nazi was among a group of far-right protesters welcomed into a council headquarters for talks with senior officials about immigration.

Mark Brown — who has convictions for race hate attacks, woman beating, and who was questioned by police about a UDA murder — was one of several members of Our Northern Ireland Voice (ONIV) who met with Causeway Coast and Glens Council chief executive David Jackson.

The unashamed Nazi was filmed walking into the meeting with Dan Grundle — who was previously jailed for loyalist rioting — and Coleraine community worker Stephen O'Hara, an ex-member of the racist National Front.

After leaving the tea and biscuits chat with council bosses, ONIV thanked TUV councillor Allister Kyle “who made the effort tonight”.

But other councillors have been left horrified at Brown and his far-right pals briefing council bosses on their immigration views at their Cloonavin House HQ.

One council source said: “Council officials are saying that they didn't know about Mark Brown's background, which isn't good enough because you don't have meetings with people you don't know, especially high-profile Nazis about a topic as inflammatory as immigration.”

On its own website Causeway Coast and Glens Council boasts of how it “aspires to ensure that fairness, inclusion and respect are at the heart of everything we do”.

Only last week, its representatives laid wreaths at the cenotaph in Coleraine to remember those soldiers from the area who died during the Second World War fighting the Nazis.

Asked if meeting with Mark Brown — a Nazi and convicted race-hate attacker — contradicts these positions, a council spokeswoman said: “A small group of protesters raised concerns regarding HMO enforcement with council officials.

“The meeting was arranged to ease tensions by providing an opportunity for the group to formally present their views. No debate took place.

“Council neither held nor sought information about the individuals' personal backgrounds. At the meeting, it was agreed that the council would provide a formal written response in due course.”

The council added that it remains willing to meet with any group or individuals who wish to raise concerns through the appropriate channels.

But a spokesman for Alliance, whose Causeway councillor Peter McCully had his Portrush home targeted in a hate crime attack in 2023, expressed concerns about some elements of the council “cosying up to the extreme right wing”.

There is no suggestion OVNI was involved in the incident which saw a hoax pipe-bomb wrapped in a gay pride flag being left in Mr McCully's garden.

An Alliance spokesman said: “The TUV must explain why it is cosying up to the extreme right wing in our society and helping it perpetuate nasty tropes about immigration, instead of challenging them and concentrating on the facts.

“These groups represent nobody except an extremely small minority of people in our area, and the vast majority condemn their views and actions.”

Asked whether he arranged the ONIV meeting with council bosses, TUV councillor Allister Kyle, who the far-right group thanked afterwards, said: “No I did not.”

Heroes

When it was pointed out to him that Nazi Mark Brown's summit with Causeway chief executive David Jackson took place just days after the council had honoured Coleraine's war heroes, Mr Kyle replied: “Would you speak to the (TUV) press office about this?”

The far-right Our Northern Ireland Voice (ONIV) has also been promoting a group styling itself as Causeway Coast and Glens Research Group which has been supporting anti-immigration protests outside the Magherabouy Hotel in Portrush.

The complex has been used as temporary emergency accommodation for asylum seekers and refugee families. According to the most recent statistics, 144 asylum seekers were being housed in the council area which stretches more than 30 miles between Limavady and Ballycastle.

But these relatively tiny numbers in comparison to geographical spread mean little to ONIV which has been making increasingly inflammatory and unverified claims about immigrants on the north coast.

In a recent social media post, the group accused asylum seekers of tearing up bibles to use as kindle for a fire, adding: “The behaviour of these welfare tourists is macabre and grubby”.

What ONIV is less keen to talk about is the background of some of its members who met with the Causeway Coast and Glens chief executive last Monday.

Mark Brown, who was pictured wearing sunglasses entering the council headquarters in Coleraine, is a notorious Nazi supporter with criminal convictions stretching back over a decade.

Assault

He was previously jailed for a “vile”, racially motivated assault on an Iranian taxi driver who has lived in Northern Ireland for over 30 years.

The self-confessed racist called his victim a “Muslim c**t” following a row over an £18.40 cab fare. He then punched him on the head and ran off, refusing to pay.

The unashamed Nazi has been pictured leading 'white pride' marches in Scotland and has links to the North Antrim UDA.

Challenged about these previously by Sunday Life and his arrest in connection with the 2015 UDA murder of Brian McIlhagga in Ballymoney, he said: “I am not at liberty to talk about loyalism or any grouping.”

Brown has been arrested at anti-immigration rallies in Portrush and was banned by a court from contacting some politicians over harassment claims. Last year the race hate thug was convicted of assaulting a woman, causing criminal damage to the car of another female, and making a threatening call to her during which he warned that both she and her partner “are both dead”.

Brown's ONIV pal Dan Grundle, who also uses the name Dan Douglas and attended last Monday's meeting with council bosses, is another who is familiar with the inside of a prison cell.

He was jailed for three years in 2023 for taking part in loyalist riots against the Northern Ireland Protocol in Coleraine.

Grundle, who admits to being a recovering drug addict and glue sniffer, cut himself throwing a toilet at the PSNI, with DNA recovered from the scene used to identify him. It was revealed in court that the 31-year-old has previous convictions for disorderly behaviour and assaulting police.

Coleraine community worker and ex-National Front activist Stephen O'Hara was also part of the ONIV delegation that met with council boss David Jackson.

He was pictured walking into Cloonavin House wearing shorts with both Mark Brown and Dan Grundle.

O'Hara has previously spoken of his regrets over his behaviour as a young man, even describing himself as a “thug”.

New IRA's botched bombs swell cells of Maghaberry

SUNDAY LIFE REPORTER, May 17th, 2026

MORE THAN HALF THE TERROR GANG'S PRISONERS ARE LOCKED UP ON EXPLOSIVES CONVICTIONS OR CHARGES

The New IRA's bomb-making capabilities have been branded a “joke” after dissident Charlie Love was jailed for trying to kill police in an explosion in Strabane.

Of the 15 prisoners currently on the paramilitary gang's segregated Roe House wing in Maghaberry, eight have either been convicted or charged with bomb-related offences.

Love's conviction last Thursday has led to internal demands for the New IRA to reassess its campaign of violence.

One insider told Sunday Life: “When more than half of the movement's prisoners are inside on explosives convictions or charges, you have to admit that something is going wrong.”

Love was found guilty of trying to kill PSNI officers in Strabane in 2022. He was also convicted of causing an explosion likely to endanger life and possessing explosives with intent.

His DNA was found on a drill used to trigger a bomb that was detonated as a police car drove along Mount Carmel Heights.

No one was injured in the attack.

Dissident sources described Love as “expendable” and claimed the bomb was “all flash and no bang”.

“It didn't even damage the cop car — it was all flash and no bang,” said an insider. “This bomb, like all the recent ones which people have been lifted or convicted for, was a joke.

“People are going to jail, sometimes for 20 years, just so the leadership can say that it's fighting the Brits. These attacks are having no impact on the political situation, all they are doing is ruining the lives of those involved.”

In the past fortnight two leading dissidents have been remanded in custody charged with carrying out separate bomb attacks at Dunmurry PSNI station and Lurgan PSNI station.

High-profile republican Kieran 'Zack' Smyth denies involvement in the Dunmurry plot that saw a takeaway delivery driver forced to take a bomb to the PSNI station gates.

The car erupted into a fireball shortly after the terrified driver raised the alarm.

Smyth is currently remanded in custody, as is Barry Toman, who is charged with offences linked to a similar attack at Lurgan PSNI station in March. In that incident a takeaway driver was also forced to ferry a bomb to the gates of the police base.

The New IRA claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Judgment

Two dissident republicans, Sean Farrell and Ciaran Maguire, are currently on remand on the New IRA wing of Maghaberry Prison awaiting judgment following a trial on charges of attempting to kill an off-duty policeman in a bomb attack. They both deny involvement.

Three others, Sean McVeigh, Christie Robinson and Gavin Coyle, are serving lengthy sentences for New IRA booby-trap explosion attacks on police.

McVeigh is serving a 25-year sentence for attempted murder, Robinson a 22-year sentence for murder, and Coyle an eight-year sentence for attempted murder.

Our source added: “Charlie Love will be going down for at least 10 years, and for what? An explosion that didn't even damage the cop car.”

Friends of Love are also still angry with the New IRA's political wing Saoradh after it failed to invite his partner Symone Murphy to an event last Christmas to remember republican prisoners.

Murphy was found not guilty last Thursday of withholding information which might assist terrorists.

“There is still bad blood about how that girl was treated,” explained a dissident source.

“The names of New IRA prisoners were put on baubles which were placed on a Christmas tree in Dungannon last December.

“Their families were invited to attend a vigil for them, but for some reason Charlie Love's partner was ignored. It was a dirty move at the time and friends of Charlie Love are still very sore about it.”

When Love was found guilty of attempted murder at Belfast Crown Court last week, trial judge Mr Justice Fowler said he would sentence the New IRA bomber in September.

We can talk about immigration, Bertie — just not the way you did!

MÁIRÍA CAHILL, Sunday Independent, May 17th, 2026

In recent years, victims of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been using poetry to process their trauma. They use pseudonyms for fear of retribution against themselves or their families. One of them, Soleil, writes: "But I hope that humans, rebellious as they may be/are aware of the psychological repercussions that a weapon can have/when placed on this innocent girl's head/who was then asked to take off her knickers.”

The brutality of war. That reality was lost amid last week's headlines sparked by immigration comments from former taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Instead of addressing the conditions driving people from their country, we spent days debating whether his comments were racist. Quite a lot of people think they were. He does not.

"But the ones I worry about are the Africans,” he told a voter who secretly recorded the exchange on her phone. "We can't be taking in people from the Congo and all these places.”

The fact that most Congolese fleeing war travel to neighbouring countries does not appear to have been mentioned. In Ireland, they make up a tiny percentage of our immigrant population — a mere 2,000 people at the last count, in 2020.

Ahern's timing was woeful. Fianna Fáil had barely begun setting out the centenary birthday cake candles for its ard fheis this weekend when the controversy blew up in the party's face. Micheál Martin is either tearing his hair out, or wishing he could say to his internal critics: "See? I told you he wasn't the right man for Uachtarán.”

For years now, at crucial moments for the party such as presidential and general elections, Ahern, rather than act as an elder statesman, has popped up like an elder meerkat, surveying the landscape and causing mischief. Admittedly, he did not know that what he was doing this time would be made public. No matter. He said it.

Ahern built a career on his everyman persona, the affable Dub who related to everyone. It served him well during Fianna Fáil's highs and explains his post-Mahon Tribunal visibility. But the caricature he so lovingly created is also his Achilles' heel. After all these years, does anyone know what he stands for? Or is it simply a perfected cute-hoorism, telling people what he thinks they want to hear?

Add in a canvass, when sympathetic vote-seeking Bertie is in full flow, and it was only a matter of time before he waded into a scenario a Council of State member should know to avoid.

Inflammatory

"I don't worry about this generation of Muslims,” he said. "The next generation, when the kids start growing up, that's when I think the problem will be.”

Labour leader Ivana Bacik called Ahern's remarks "dangerous and inflammatory”. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy accused him of "disgusting racism”. The Social Democrats' candidate for the Dublin Central by-election, Daniel Ennis, said Ahern was "happy to toe this odious line… to promote discrimination for a vote”. Sinn Féin's silence was noticeable, perhaps fearful of alienating Janice Boylan's voting base. Principled stuff.

Speaking to the Indo Daily podcast on Friday, Ahern nearly apologised, not to immigrants, but to Donald Trump and Keir Starmer for "wiping them off the news for two days”, sounding as remorseful as a former politician apologising for the inconvenience of being overheard. He now believes it was wrong to "single out any nationality or group of people”. How magnanimous.

But let's not frame this as an attempt to shut down conversations on immigration, as he seemed to suggest by telling the Indo Daily it was a "sad day” if Ireland had reached the point where you are "jumped on” for discussing it. Many people can converse without generalising.

Fianna Fáil's Dublin Central candidate, John Stephens, spluttered on RTÉ when asked by David McCullagh whether he disowned Ahern's comments, answering: "I would certainly say some of the language used maybe wasn't right.” You don't say.

Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan, who said Ahern's comments were "inadvisable, inappropriate, but not racist”, offered a bizarre example of the former taoiseach's track record, as if to prove he isn't prejudiced: "I don't think there's anyone on the island who has done as much to build trust and links with the Protestant unionist community.” Case closed, then?

Meanwhile, people in Congo are suffering war crimes, including rape, forced displacement, abduction and executions of children and entire villages. Last week alone, 69 people were killed in the north-east of the country, and a further 65 died from Ebola.

That's what should really worry people like Bertie Ahern. It should haunt us all enough to want to do something about it. It doesn't win any votes, though, does it?

'F**k the Shankill' leg tattoo loyalist shot by uvf...in leg

CIARAN BARNES, Sunday Life, May 17th, 2026

TERROR GANG MAKE GOOD ON VOW TO AVENGE HOLIDAY STUNT

A loyalist who had 'f**k the Shankill' tattooed on his leg was the victim of a UVF shooting-by-appointment in Bangor.

Kane Watson was blasted once in the calf, suffering what the PSNI described as “severe injuries”.

Loyalist sources say the attack came after he was involved in a recent row with a UDA member in north Down.

The UDA complained to the UVF, which ordered Watson to attend a shooting-by-appointment on the Bloomfield Road last Tuesday.

This was the second time he has been targeted in a punishment-style attack. Watson was shot in similar circumstances in the Whitehill estate several years ago.

The PSNI said ambulance workers and police were called to the scene prior to the victim being taken to hospital for treatment.

“Although his injuries are thankfully not likely to be fatal, they are severe and will no doubt leave him with lasting physical and emotional trauma,” a detective sergeant said.

“This attack has caused fear and disruption in the very community those responsible for this criminal act claim to protect. There is no justification for this violence.”

Eighteen months ago, Watson was threatened by the UVF after he boasted of getting 'f**k the Shankill' tattooed on his leg while on a lads' holiday in Benidorm.

The act of bravado came amid tensions in the East Belfast UVF when a new leadership was installed by the terror gang's bosses on the Shankill Road.

Taunted

Watson was friendly with members of the ousted leadership, and taunted its rivals with the tattoo.

At the time, a UVF source warned: “Every one of those idiots who had that tattooed on their leg is going to have that same leg broken.”

Less than two years later, that threat has become a reality with Watson blasted in the calf by the UVF.

Watson is close to leading loyalists in north Down and is open in his support for paramilitary groups, having attended commemorations for the Red Hand Commando.

His uncle is Rab Gilmore, who was once charged with the attempted UVF murder of self-confessed petty criminal Stephen Paul in Bangor, as well as possessing a 9mm pistol. The case against him later collapsed.

UVF sources have denied the Watson shooting makes a mockery of claims by the organisation that it is transitioning away from criminality. The Action for Community Transformation Initiative, which it supports, has received millions of pounds of government funding for community and reconciliation projects.

Describing the Watson shooting as “housekeeping”, a UVF source said: “This doesn't affect the transitioning process — it's housekeeping and it has sorted out a situation which had the potential to spiral out of control.”

Watson was approached for comment via his social media channels.

Fianna Fáil keeps head in past at centenary ard fheis

CÓNAL THOMAS, Sunday Independent, May 17th, 2026

The soldiers of destiny poured into cramped lobbies and meeting rooms in the swanky Dublin Royal Convention Centre for the Fianna Fáil centenary ard fheis, hell-bent on marshalling pride in their legacy.

Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary told the party faithful that the party was not doing this "with a sense of arrogance”, as it looks to future milestones. Public Expenditure Minister and deputy party leader Jack Chambers spoke of "the need for reform” in the years ahead.

A short distance away, party leader in perpetuity Micheál Martin said the party founders who met in the La Scala Theatre across the River Liffey in May 1926 would be "impressed in terms of the transformation that has occurred in modern Ireland”.

Fianna Fáil, he added, had been at the heart of that.

While there were more young members than at previous gatherings, the sense of direction was unclear. Fianna Fáil returned as the largest party in the Dáil following the 2024 general election, but has drifted in government. Its own members are privately confused about what the party now stands for.

Mr Martin has been damaged by successive missteps, but an ard fheis is not traditionally a time for back-biting. Instead, the 101 motions members voted on carried the usual amount of internal backslapping.

A "rules-based immigration system” would be supported, while the party members voted to "congratulate the Taoiseach on the Shared Island initiative”.

More telling was a motion to give all elected public representatives and full voting members of the party a vote in the selection of a future presidential candidate.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr Martin spoke in broad strokes around the principles of the party, and of how the fragmentation of Irish politics had impacted all parties, not just the two Civil War outfits now governing together.

"I don't think that's ideal, but we had good success in the last general election, not just in terms of numbers and where we were, but rather in terms of the cohort of people that have come in,” said the Taoiseach.

A new generation has brought significant energy to the party, he said, which "gives us a good platform to build for the future”.

What that future looks like may not be up to him. Bruised by the presidential fiasco and the fuel protest response, Mr Martin shed his characteristic tetchiness for the day, telling the media his party was focused on the issues.

Outside on Ship Street, as gardaí lined up to guard the entrance into the convention centre, pro-Palestine protesters chanted, demanding the Government enact the Occupied Territories Bill.

Inside, much of the focus throughout the day, as always, was on the budget.

The Fianna Fáil approach, at least, would be "prudent”, while addressing "urgent need”. Speaking in general terms, Mr Martin said the cost of childcare may be reduced and that the pressure on families would be "alleviated”.

Budget kite-flying was infrequent, though, with two by-elections looming next weekend. And, given the tenor of a few private admissions, it seems Fianna Fáil doesn't believe it has much hope of success.

Dublin Central by-election candidate John Stephens — described for some reason by the Taoiseach as having a "very confident, bouncy manner about him” — mingled far and wide, but recent polling shows little chance of him claiming the seat vacated by former Fine Gael finance minister Paschal Donohoe.

Despite Mr Martin's claims of the party being "competitive” in both constituencies, the Galway West candidate looks a long way from success too.

Higher Education Minister James Lawless, who had been sacrificed for the first doorstep of the day, was downbeat, saying he would be "disappointed, but not especially surprised” if Fianna Fáil fails to win either seat.

"I wouldn't obsess really on the by-elections,” he said.

"I think that they're important contests for the party and for the candidates involved, and I hope they'll do extremely well. And I'll be out again with both of them.

"But I do think that there's a risk of reading too much into local contests at a particular point of the electoral cycle.”

Lack of direction

Perhaps, but a double loss will compound the sense of direction-lessness afflicting Fianna Fáil.

Mr Chambers offered something of a vision for the party's future, albeit one that would be hard to sell to a squeezed public.

"Economic credibility is at the centre of why this Government was elected,” the Public Expenditure Minister said.

"It's why Fianna Fáil leads this Government.

"We have very clear fiscal parameters, which we agreed in the medium-term fiscal and structural plan, but hard decisions in Government are also about reform.”

Fianna Fáil still has reasons to be optimistic. It has survived this long, even if it is a diminished force. It also still has — on paper at least — three-and-a-half years in coalition ahead.

For the day, the party could lean on past glories. Mr Martin recalled the success of the late Bobby Aylward, who won the 2015 Carlow-Kilkenny by-election after a herculean count.

When it was put to Mr Martin that Bertie Ahern said there is no one in the party willing to challenge him for the leadership and that it will be up to him to decide when to go, the Taoiseach deftly dodged the question.

"Bertie's a very experienced politician and I think we're focused on the issues that the people are concerned about,” he said.

"It's not about us all the time — the public want to see us really dealing with the problems.

"I've even been on the doorstep in Dublin Central. To me, the big issue is housing.

"There's huge concern with housing, with the cost of it, parents worried about capacity, and are young people going to buy a house that they can afford or that they can rent.

"They want to see us really moving on those issues, and the cost of living clearly is a very significant issue for many families.”

And with that, the soldier of destiny marched on.

NI INFLUENCER 'BARRED' FROM UK ENTRY AHEAD OF FAR-RIGHT RALLY

JOHN TONER, Sunday Life, May 17th, 2026

A high-profile businessman who claims he was due to speak at Tommy Robinson's far-right rally in London has said he has been barred from entering the UK.

Andy Malone, an influencer from Newry, took to social media to moan about being banned from entering the country ahead of the Unite the Kingdom rally.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through London on Saturday afternoon, with the government earlier saying they had blocked 11 “far-right” agitators from entering the UK ahead of the event.

Speaking from abroad, fitness boss Malone complained about having to cancel flights after being threatened with arrest.

“Keir Starmer, you're nothing but a rat,” he said in a rant on Instagram, adding: “You sat beside Donald Trump reading from a WWF script... 'England, we pride ourselves on freedom of speech'.

“And you're stopping me, the Americans, and everyone from entering to have freedom of speech.”

ARRESTED

Pleading with his followers to 'like' and 'share' the post, he continued: “I have been contacted and told I would be arrested on arrival into the UK.

“I have an Irish passport, I live in Northern Ireland, these f*****s are coming in rubber dinghies and they don't even have a passport, but they can come in.

“They get funding, new iPhones and clothes, they're put up in hotels and I have had to cancel my flights and hotels and I don't even get the money back. What is going on?

“It's a shame and disgrace, (Keir Starmer) must resign immediately, freedom of speech is no more,” added an increasingly agitated Malone.

“I am disappointed as you can see that I can't represent Ireland and stand for my children and your children.

“Unfortunately Keir Starmer is trying to wreck (the protest), I will not be there, but I will be there in spirit. Keir Starmer you must go.”

Mr Malone, who has 175k followers on Instagram, has been posting regular videos to social media recently railing against “Transgenderism” and “illegal immigration” while promoting Christianity.

Another high-profile anti-immigration activist from Northern Ireland, Steven Baker, did manage to make it to London for the demonstration.

Documenting his trip on Facebook, Baker posted a photo of himself with Ryan Bridge, leader of far-right British nationalist group Raise the Colours, with the caption: “So it begins.”

Ten minutes later Baker uploaded a video of Bridge being arrested by a group of Metropolitan Police offcers.

Up to 80,000 people are estimated to have attended both Unite the Kingdom and the pro-Palestine Nakba Day rally in London on Saturday afternoon with police also stretched due to the FA Cup final taking place at Wembley Stadium.

Sir Keir Starmer earlier said “we're in a fight for the soul of this country” ahead of the Tommy Robinson-inspired rally.

The Metropolitan Police said it was anticipating one of its busiest days in recent years and had drafted more than 4,000 officers over fears of clashes.

law society chief in court ref row declines offer to discuss victims

KURTIS REID, Sunday Life, May 17th, 2026

The chief executive of the Law Society of Northern Ireland has remained silent when asked about the victims of a predator schoolteacher who he described as a “settled family man” with Christian faith.

David Lavery, who is the cousin of paedophile William Lloyd-Lavery, provided the reference ahead of his sentencing.

Lloyd-Lavery, of Richmond Avenue in Lisburn, was convicted and handed a two-year sentence for abusing four schoolgirls aged 13 and 14 between 1975 and 1979 while a history teacher at Richmond Lodge School.

A former political press officer, the 77-year-old will also spend the next 10 years on the sex offenders' register.

A character reference is a letter to the court from someone who knows the defendant personally. It's designed to give the judge or magistrate insight into the defendant's character, background and circumstances.

One of his victims described the former teacher as “hunting her like prey” in school. Another recalled Lloyd-Lavery lifting her in a stationery cupboard and, while her feet were off the ground, holding her with his left hand whilst he used his right hand to touch her genitals, leaving her “frozen in horror.”

In his character reference, David Lavery wrote: “My impression of Mr Lloyd-Lavery was principally formed when I got to know him when he was working at Stormont.

“By that time, he was a middle-aged man in his late 50s and early 60s and was happily married with two adult children.

“I knew that he had a Christian faith and attended Lisburn Cathedral. He appeared to me to be a settled, family man who wanted to contribute to society through his work on behalf of a number of elected representatives.

“I know that he was well respected in these circles and was viewed as a person of sound judgement and good character.”

David Lavery has since apologised for providing the character reference, according to an email t signed by Law Society president Mark Borland which said the committee “considered this matter with deep concern and the gravity it requires” particularly in light of its “commitment to justice, equality, the rule of law and its advocacy on behalf of victims and survivors of sexual abuse”.

“David Lavery has apologised sincerely and unreservedly to council and has acknowledged that providing the reference was a serious error of judgement,” the correspondence states.

When the Belfast Telegraph visited David Lavery's home in the Lisburn area on Thursday, he declined to speak.

Asked if he had anything to say to the victims of Lloyd-Lavery, two of whom have waived their right to anonymity, he replied: “Not at all.”

A number of Law Society members previously described the situation to the Belfast Telegraph as “disgusting” and said they were “appalled” by how it has been handled.

David Lavery joined Loyalist Communities Council founder and former chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party, David Campbell in providing a reference.

Asked by the Belfast Telegraph if he regretted providing the character reference, Mr Campbell said: “No I don't regret it.”

Dublin candidates on campaign trail say it's all coming down to housing

WAYNE O’CONNOR and ALI BRACKEN, Sunday Independent, May 17th, 2026

Our reporters join canvassers with less than a week to go until by-election

May Kenny recently retired from working in the Mater Hospital and is sleeping on a pullout couch in her sitting room.

She told would-be TDs canvassing in Cabra for the by-election seat in Dublin Central that this is not the life she and her children were promised.

"There are three families living in this house,” the 65-year-old told the Sunday Independent yesterday.

"My daughter is in here because she can't get a house,” she said, pointing to a small extension off the side of her former Dublin Corporation house.

"My oldest daughter is living upstairs in the front room. I'm inside in a pullout couch in the sitting room.

"I've only retired after working all my life. My husband is a taxi driver and we can't sleep in our own bedroom because my daughter needs it with her kids.

"She works as an SNA. She can't get the HAP [housing assistance payment] because she's working. My son is back in college studying. He's 34 and living in the back room upstairs.”

Ms Kenny worked in the Mater's catering department before retiring. She came to the door early yesterday morning to tell the Social Democrats' Dublin Central candidate Daniel Ennis that her family's experience is not good enough.

"It's a disgrace,” she said, her eyes welling up. She said there is an empty house down the road, and more lying vacant around the corner.

"They're building apartments, but they're only glorified flats. They took Ballymun down and then did the same thing again. I worked through Covid and this is what I retired into.”

Daniel Ennis said housing keeps comes up on the doorsteps.

"During the week I had people crying to me about kids that went to Australia, came back, and went back to Australia again,” he said. "It's all about housing and the cost of living.”

Last week's polls have Sinn Féin's Janice Boylan leading the by-election race here, but Mr Ennis is well positioned to benefit from transfers from Labour, the Green Party, possibly even some Government supporters.

Yesterday he was targeting Cabra, the stomping ground of Boylan's party leader Mary Lou McDonald. At times he was running between houses to catch up with a 20-strong campaign team that included TDs Gary Gannon and Rory Hearne.

Mr Gannon says it would mean the world to him to see his party colleague elected.

"It's a race to the finish,” Mr Ennis said.

In one estate, the Soc Dems crew bumped into Green candidate Janet Horner and exchanged pleasantries.

"It's a strong area for us,” Ms Horner said. She added that she is hearing much of the same issues that Mr Ennis is: the cost of living, housing and childcare.

"I think there is a sense of frustration with the Government,” Ms Horner adds. "I'm trying to talk with people about the fact we're in an energy crisis and the Government is trying to address that with subsidies, rather than by investing in renewable energy.”

A clear anti-Government sentiment comes through at a few doors.

Grown too cocky

Pensioner Clare Stanley told two Social Democrat volunteers that she traditionally voted Fianna Fáil, but won't do so again.

"I think they have grown too cocky,” she says.

Younger families raise other issues. Ciara Norton is concerned about health and infrastructure. Her daughter is six years old, but has spent two thirds of her life on a waiting list for speech and language therapy.

"She has basically grown herself out of it at this point, but that's something we would like to see changed,” Ms Norton said.

"I care a lot about the environment and sustainable travel, so cycling infrastructure is a big one. We use a cargo bike for the kids to bring them to school. But we have no safe cycling infrastructure.”

Ms Horner says there has been a notable change in public attitudes towards her party since it got a bit of a kicking at the last election. Roderic O'Gorman is currently the only Green TD in the Dáil, but Ms Horner is hopeful of joining him.

"People can see that the Green voice is missing,” she said. "There is a lot of warm number-two support, so we are trying to convince people that they won't get the same value from electing the second TD of another opposition party or a Government backbencher, as they would by electing us.”

An Ipsos B&A poll for the Irish Times and TG4 last week had veteran criminal Gerry Hutch in third place.

Hutch

Hutch told the Sunday Independent: "It could go any way. On a bad day I'll come third; on a good day I'll come first. It's open season.

"There's 12 horses in the race. Nine are just out for the run. Three are contenders at the moment — Janice Boylan, Daniel Ennis and me. All I know is that we're getting a very warm reception all over the constituency, not just in the working-class areas, and I'll be out canvassing until the last day.

"'No-one has told me to f**k off. I've had a few people just say: 'No, no, I've no interest,' and close the door, which is fair enough. I've had the odd person say: 'Gerry, I know your background.' I say: 'I know all about it myself, I've a chequered past. Thanks very much for opening the door.'”

Hutch was acquitted in 2023 of the Recency Hotel murder of Kinahan cartel lieutenant David Byrne, and remains under investigation in Spain over alleged money laundering.

Another issue that repeatedly came up during canvassing was special needs facilities for children in schools, he said. And housing has been frequently raised.

"There are 35-year-old adults in their parents' house, they can't get their own house even though they're on a decent wage. I'm not able to make promises to anyone. But if I get in, I'll be asking questions on behalf of people. I'd try my best for the constituency.

"The least warm reception I got was in Drumcondra, but that was still very friendly. I was welcomed by about 85pc of people there.”

Hutch said he was also struck by how many elderly people he came across while out canvassing who were living alone and isolated.

Voting in the by-elections will begin on Friday, with the results due a day later. Polling will take place between 7am and 10pm.

The electorate for Dublin Central is over 57,000. The electorate for Galway West is over 103,000.

Anger as rent at LDA schemes increases by €1,000 a year

CÓNAL THOMAS, Sunday Independent, May 17th, 2026

The Land Development Agency has been accused of heaping pressure on its existing tenants after hiking rents for some homes by up to €1,000 a year.

The State-backed affordable housing agency has confirmed that following a series of rent reviews, monthly rents have been increased by between 2.5pc and 3.5pc in eight existing developments in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

One tenant at Harpur Lane, Leixlip, recently saw their rent increase from €1,585 to €1,677 a month, a rise of 5.8pc, after their first rent review.

The LDA confirmed that a further 375 rent reviews had taken place this year, with an average rent increase of 2.8pc or €492 a year.

The move has been criticised by Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, who accused the agency of adding pressure "in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis” through "unjustifiable” rent hikes.

Among the schemes to which rent increases have been applied are Parklands and The Quarter, both in Citywest, Dublin; Harpur Lane in Leixlip, Co Kildare; and Archers Wood in Delgany, Co Wicklow.

Cost-rental schemes are designed to support those who cannot afford to buy a home, but earn too much to qualify for social housing.

These schemes, where rents are set at least 25pc below market rates, place conditions on appli- cants, including that the rent paid cannot be more than 35pc of their income.

Applicants for cost-rental schemes must earn less than €66,000 per household to be eligible for homes in Dublin, or €59,000 elsewhere.

They must also go through an affordability test to ensure they can pay the rent.

Higher increases than private sector

Increases of up to €1,000 a year were "even higher than private landlords would be permitted to raise the rent under existing rent pressure zone rules”, said Mr Ó Broin.

"The LDA operate on a cost recover basis, so they should only be able to raise their rents when their actual costs increase,” he added.

The agency "needs to reverse their rent hikes,” the TD for Dublin Mid-West said.

A spokesperson for the LDA said any rent increase is determined "by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, which is published by the CSO as per the regulations on cost rental rent setting and reviews”.

They added: "This index level can vary from month to month. Rent reviews are designed to ensure operating costs are covered throughout the life of the home and not just initially at rent setting.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said the cost-based model was entirely separate from the rent review process for the private rental sector and different from the commercial market.

"The initial rents for new cost-rental homes are based on the costs of providing the homes, while also delivering rents at least 25pc below comparable local market levels,” they said.

"This involves a financial model which spreads costs over at least 40 years, including cost of development, financing and ongoing management and maintenance costs.”

If gradual increases for cost-rental were not allowed, "then the initial rents would have to be set significantly higher in order for the financial models to work”, they added.

MLA secures funding for band with ties to UDA killers of his brother

JOHN TONER, Sunday Life, May 17th, 2026

DUP MAN SCOFFS AT QUESTIONS OVER PICTURE: 'JUST ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO DEMONISE OUR COMMUNITY'

A DUP politician whose brother was murdered by the UDA has proudly posed for pictures alongside a loyalist band that carries the terror gang's flags and standards.

North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett was pictured smiling in front of UDA-inspired insignia after securing public funding for the Cloughfern Young Conquerers (CYC) band.

The CYC is based in Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, and the band regularly commemorates notorious UDA figures including John 'Grugg' Gregg, who was killed during a loyalist feud.

Mr Brett's brother Gavin (18) was gunned down by the UDA in 2001 while standing on the Hightown Road in Glengormley. He was mistaken for a Catholic.

UDA boss John Gregg ordered the random shooting for which no one has ever been prosecuted.

In a post on his MLA Facebook account earlier this month, Mr Brett uploaded several pictures with the caption: “I'm delighted to have worked alongside the band committee and councillor Matthew Brady last year to successfully secure Arts Council funding.

“The new instruments arrived several weeks ago just in time for the new marching season.

“Thank you very much to the band for the invitation to see them in action. Best wishes to the CYC for the summer ahead.”

The CYC regularly march under UDA banners and have annual parades to memorialise notorious UDA leaders like Gregg and Rab Carson, who were both shot dead during a loyalist feud in 2003.

Mr Brett posed for pictures alongside fellow DUP man Matthew Brady and prominent loyalist David 'Dodo' McCrea, a former spokesman for the UDA's now defunct UPRG political wing, inside a band hall.

A video of children dancing and singing a UDA song called 'Orange Wings' while wearing CYC uniforms recently went viral on social media, causing outrage online.

Encouraged by adults, the kids were recorded chanting the chorus: “We're the men and the women, and the children of the UDA”

Mr Brett declined to explain why he was publicly associating with a band which carries UDA banners, but said he took pride in securing funding for them.

He said: “Unlike others, I have consistently opposed paramilitarism and the glorification of terrorism. Those engaged in criminality or terrorism should face the full force of the law.

“This is yet another attempt to demonise the DUP and wider loyalist communities.

“I am extremely proud that, since my election, I have secured more than £100,000 for bands across north Belfast because I recognise the vital role they play in celebrating our proud culture and heritage, while also contributing positively to community life across our constituency.

“These bands have hundreds of members who make a positive contribution to society every single day.”

Earlier this year Mr Brett spoke to the BelTel podcast about why he got into politics and said he opposed loyalist criminal gangs.

Criminality

He said: “I can speak with great authority in terms of the impact of loyalist terrorists in Northern Ireland, my brother was murdered by them.

“I stand up and condemn the people responsible for that, I am very clear that paramilitaries have no role in Northern Ireland.

“They are a stain on our society and they hold back our society, anyone engaged in criminality or paramiltarism should be dealt with by the police and should be in jail.

“People who claim to be unionists, who deal drugs and intimidate people, who murder their nieghbours are a disgrace.”

Another DUP politician was also recently celebrated by the CYC as they wished happy birthday to the deputy mayor of Mid and East Antrim Council, Tyler Hoey.

They uploaded an image of Hoey in front of UDA-inspired insignia and its motto 'Quis Seperabit' with the caption: “Happy birthday to our PROUD member, deputy mayor Tyler Hoey.

“Tyler is a proud conqueror and bandsman, one we are very proud to have among the ranks of the CYC.

“He is a true leader within his community and is always going above and beyond for everyone.

“We wish you a fantastic birthday deputy. From your family the CYC.”

When he was appointed deputy mayor last year, Mr Hoey refused to address concerns around UDA links and previous controversies including racist comments and praising the Greysteel massacre.