Naming Freddie Scappaticci: Micheál Martin ends the charade

Editorial: Irish Times, February 16th, 2026

The Kenova report concluded that the protection of the agent by British security forces could not be justified

The obvious question to be asked about the Taoiseach’s decision to name Freddie Scappaticci as “Stakenife” in the Dáil this week is why now? Micheál Martin, or any of his recent predecessors, could have safely named the British army’s double-agent, who operated from inside the IRA, at pretty much any stage over the last two decades.

The proximate reason is the publication of the final report of Operation Kenova last December, which removes the last plausible excuse for not naming him. The multi-year investigation concluded that the protection by British security forces of Scappaticci – who is implicated in 14 murders and 15 abductions – could not be justified.

The report did not name Scappaticci due to the UK’s policy of neither confirming nor denying the actions of its security forces – known as NCND. Its authors, however, were among the individuals and groups who supported naming him, first and foremost being the families of his victims.

In that context, the Taoiseach has done the families and others a service by bringing this charade to an end, partly at least.

His move may also have served a more narrow political purpose. He took the opportunity to hold Sinn Féin to account as the political arm of the IRA during this period by seeking an apology for “the activities of the Provisional IRA as documented in this report”.

Boiler Plate

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald sidestepped the request with a boiler plate expression of sorrow for “all the lives lost during the conflict, and for the hurt and loss endured, without exception”.

More heat than light. And it is hard not to be sceptical about what naming Scappaticci will achieve beyond providing ammunition for a routine Dáil scuffle.

Some argue it will put pressure on the British government to set aside its NCND policy but as this could add to the woes of Keir Starmer, the UK’s embattled prime minister, it looks unlikely in the short term. The policy of NCND is a wedge issue in British politics. Regardless of their motives, its supporters draw on the genuine affinity most British people feel for their armed forces and veterans in particular.

Starmer is committed to a delicate balancing act of accommodating this reality while repealing the 2023 Legacy Act, which grants conditional immunity to former security force members. The act was opposed across the board in Northern Ireland and was found to be in breach of European human rights law. Its replacement will lift the protections granted to veterans – with some safeguards – and allow civil proceedings and inquests. This is in the interest of victims of the Troubles. The Irish Government should do what it can to encourage its passage. However, political stability in the UK may well be a prerequisite to progress.

TUV says the PSNI failing to act on terror symbols 'while IRA tributes tolerated'

By Adam Kula, Belfast News Letter, February 12th, 2026

The TUV has said that whilst republican areas remain “saturated” with tributes to murderers, the PSNI cannot be claiming to tackle terror symbols.

It comes after news emerged this week that the PSNI has formalised its policy on paramilitary and “offensive” emblems into a Service Instruction to officers, telling them to remove such items if it is safe.

If this is not possible, it suggests officers contact the property owner (like the Department for Infrastructure), which can in turn call on the police – whose attendance “will be contingent on our own assessment of its feasibility, necessity, proportionality and legality”.

The Service Instruction also says “negotiation” to remove flags remains open to officers.

In any case, “failing to act is not an option”, it says.

Sammy Morrison, the TUV’s policing and legacy spokesman, and press officer, said: “Unionists will have no confidence whatsoever in new guidance on ‘public displays’ unless it is applied consistently across Northern Ireland – including to the countless IRA murals, plaques, memorials and other displays which glorify terrorism and have been left untouched for decades.

“The police cannot credibly claim that ‘failing to act is not an option’ while republican areas remain saturated with tributes to IRA murderers, and while GAA trophies and clubs continue to honour men who took part in the terror campaign.

“The real test is simple: will this instruction be enforced equally against IRA propaganda, or will it become yet another exercise in selective policing where law-abiding communities are scrutinised while republican glorification is tolerated?

“Unionists have seen this pattern too many times before – strong words and swift action in one direction, silence and excuses in the other.

“If the PSNI is serious about tackling unlawful and intimidating displays, then it must start with those which celebrate terrorism, not merely those which happen to be politically fashionable targets in the current climate.

“Anything less will deepen the perception that policing in Northern Ireland remains uneven, politicised and unwilling to confront republican paramilitarism.”

When these comments were put to it, the PSNI said it had nothing to add to earlier statements.

Previously it had quoted Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney as saying: “As a police service, we are dedicated to safeguarding people and property while taking action against any offenders of hate crime incidents.

“There has always been guidance available to our officers on the steps that can legally be taken in regard to complaints on public displays.

"This has now been developed into a service instruction which outlines clearly when to act and how to respond.

“The primary responsibility for removing material remains with the material’s owner, or the owner of the street furniture or property where it’s displayed.

"However, where any offences have been committed, the circumstances will be investigated within statutory functions, and in accordance with law and Human Rights obligations.

“Our officers, who are well supported by this information, will engage and work with local community representatives and partner agencies in relation to any complaints about displays in public spaces.”

PSNI urges Bryson to contact them if he has information on paramilitaries

CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, February 13th, 2026

THE PSNI has urged loyalist activist Jamie Bryson to contact them if he has any information about paramilitary groups.

The call comes after the prominent loyalist claimed the UDA removed paramilitary flags from outside a PSNI training facility two years ago.

Controversy erupted in 2023 when UDA, UFF and Union flags were put up outside The Police College, a PSNI training centre at Garnerville in east Belfast.

The compound is used to train hundreds of PSNI recruits each year.

Mr Bryson made the claims during a BBC debate days after the PSNI said “failing to act” over controversial displays, including paramilitary flags and emblems, is no longer an option for the force.

“The UDA took down the flags,” Mr Bryson said to Stephen Nolan yesterday.

The north Down based loyalist refused to elaborate when pressed on whether the flags were removed after police engaged with the UDA.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton has said the sight of paramilitary flags outside the police facility “looks appalling”.

In a statement, the PSNI did not respond directly when asked if it engaged with the UDA, or asked the loyalist group to remove the paramilitary flags.

PSNI aware of Bryson’s comments

However, a spokeswoman said: “As was stated at the time flags were removed in the Garnerville Road area in June 2023 following a local community resolution.”

The spokeswoman confirmed police are aware of Mr Bryson’s comments and urged him to come forward if he has any information about paramilitary groups.

“We are aware of claims by Jamie Bryson that those who removed the flags were members of the UDA,” the spokeswoman said.

“If Mr Bryson or anyone else has information about the activities of paramilitary groups we would encourage them to provide it to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.”

In recent days it has been confirmed that Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is in the process of being amended – a move that will eventually give the PSNI new powers to remove paramilitary displays.

Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson yesterday told Stephen Nolan that the UDA took down flags from outside the PSNI training centre in 2023

The amendment was proposed by Jonathan Hall KC, Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, after he visited the Garnerville facility and personally witnessed the controversial paramilitary display.

Mr Hall has told The Irish News he was “shocked” by what he saw.

Stormont ups regional rate by 5% as councils finalise plans

ALLAN PRESTON, Irish News, February 13th, 2026

Finance Minister John O’Dowd says the regional rates increase would provide a vital boost for public services.

THE Stormont Executive has hiked regional rates for households by 5% as councils finalise their own increases.

Rates that households pay are a combination of the district rate set by councils and Stormont’s regional rate.

The 5% increase is significantly higher than the current 3.75% rate of inflation.

Finance Minister John O’Dowd said rates raise over £1.6bn a year for public services, and the new regional rate would raise over £900m for the executive.

“With many households still feeling the pressure of rising living costs, and businesses facing increased costs, the executive has aimed to strike a balance between raising the revenue required to support essential public services and protecting workers, families and businesses from unnecessary financial strain,” he said.

“The executive’s decision to keep the domestic uplift at the same level as last year is a recognition of the cost of living pressures felt by households. Keeping the non-domestic rate below the current rate of inflation reflects the pressures facing local businesses and their vital role in supporting jobs in our local communities and driving local growth.”

He also said that domestic ratepayers had access to a targeted, means-tested package of help for low-income households, with three-quarters of non-domestic properties benefiting from rate relief -offering around a £250m in support.

“These uplifts, to be debated in the Assembly in March, would generate an additional £47million of funding power during 2026/27, compared to Budget 2025-26, for our vital public services that our citizens and businesses rely on.”

Saving Assembly Rooms will reclaim Belfast’s Forgotten Identity as ‘Athens of the North’

Finola Meredith, Belfast Telegraph, February 13th, 2028

There are buildings in Belfast so neglected it's as if we don't even see them any more. The Assembly Rooms, which has stood at the corner of North Street and Waring Street since 1769, is one such structure, scandalously ignored and abandoned for years.

But there's more to this story than architectural decay. It is about collective amnesia — and those who have refused to accept it.

The recent £200,000 grant from the World Monuments Fund, part of a $7m programme supporting endangered heritage sites across the globe, is undeniably good news for the Assembly Rooms.

It will fund documentation, planning and urgent stabilisation. More than that, it signals that this Georgian landmark is not merely a local embarrassment, but a site of international significance. Yet long before New York turned its gaze to North Street, a group of determined campaigners had already made the case that saving the Assembly Rooms was about saving something far more elusive: our sense of ourselves.

John Gray

The Save the Assembly Rooms Alliance, established in February 2023, has been spearheaded by John Gray, former librarian of the Linen Hall Library. It is rooted in the belief that the Assembly Rooms embodies the humane, civilised and tolerant virtues of Belfast's Enlightenment era, and that allowing it to rot was a form of civic self-harm.

In an article written before Belfast City Council acquired the building last year, Gray delivered a pointed comparison: “The Assembly Rooms are to Belfast what Leinster House and the Guildhall are to Dublin and London respectively.”

No one, he argued, would contemplate leaving those buildings to “fall into dangerous dereliction”. Yet that is precisely what happened here.

It's hard to believe that Belfast was once known as “the Athens of the north” - and yet it was. The town had an atmosphere of debate, dissent and reforming energy. This was a place where arguments were sharpened rather than suppressed, where political and philosophical ideas were in everyday currency. The Assembly Rooms was not incidental to that culture; it was one of its principal theatres.

1798

Built in 1769 as a market house and transformed into Assembly Rooms in 1776, the building lay at the heart of that confident 18th-century town. Within its walls, the extraordinary 1792 Harp Festival set out to revive an ancient musical tradition. Here, a proposal to establish a Belfast-based slave-trading company was defeated. United Irish prisoners, including Henry Joy McCracken, faced court martial here during the 1798 rebellion.

At a recent talk about the Belfast Enlightenment at Clifton House, Gray described the period as animated by an internationalist “spirit of invention and enquiry” and by a belief in emancipation for all.

These were not narrow, inward-looking people. They were curious, outward-facing and argumentative in the best sense. They believed in ideas.

And that is the inheritance we should be celebrating.

Despite its grade B1 listing, the Assembly Rooms was placed on the 'at risk' register in 2003. In 2008, artist Brian Vallely staged a major retrospective there. Harpers played in the banking hall, and visitors felt momentarily transported back to 1792. Vallely later spoke of his “disappointment and distress” when, once his exhibition ended, the building was allowed to sink again into neglect. The episode felt emblematic: a flash of cultural confidence, followed by retreat.

A 2024 survey described its condition as close to catastrophic. It had become, in the words of conservationists, a derelict eyesore.

Multi-faceted Legacy

The Save the Assembly Rooms Alliance refused that retreat. Its objective was clear: to preserve the building for public use as a centre for arts, heritage and community life. It could even accommodate a Museum of the Troubles and Peace — consciously avoiding a single overarching narrative and instead offering a multifaceted experience through which visitors might reach their own informed conclusions. That approach is itself Enlightenment in spirit. It privileges enquiry over dogma, plurality over propaganda.

The grant from the World Monuments Fund is modest. It will steady the structure and prepare the ground. But its deeper significance lies in what it affirms: that this building — and the values it represents — are worth rescuing.

Ultimately, the campaign to save the Assembly Rooms is about more than conservation. It is about reclaiming a tradition of civic confidence and intellectual generosity that once earned Belfast its classical epithet.

To restore the building is to assert that we are heirs to a culture of invention, debate and emancipation — and that these are not relics to be admired from a safe distance, but principles to be lived.

Saving the Assembly Rooms, then, is inseparable from saving a view of ourselves.

Bonfire builders make early start in collecting material for Eleventh Night

CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, February 13th, 2026

LOYALIST bonfire builders across Belfast have started work on Eleventh Night pyres a full five months before the annual July event takes place.

Dozens of pallets have been collected in parts of south, east and west Belfast over recent weeks.

Despite still being in the grip of winter, youths have been snapped in the Shankill area of west Belfast pushing trolley loads of pallets through the streets.

A builders’ hut has been constructed in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast where dozens more pallets are being stored.

Elsewhere, loyalists have already laid out the base of a bonfire on a greenway in the Flora Street area of east Belfast, while a stacks of pallets has been stashed nearby.

The Flora Street site, which is part of the Connswater Greenway, was one of the first pyres to gather material last year.

Located close to a primary school and a leisure centre, the greenway is popular with walkers and cyclists and cost £40 million to develop.

In recent years, there has been controversy over loyalist bonfires with some concerns focusing on health and safety issues.

Last July, loyalists ignored warnings about the presence of asbestos at a bonfire site in the Meridi Street area of south Belfast, setting the large pyre alight.

Other fears had been raised over the supply of power to two major hospitals due to the proximity of the bonfire to an electricity substation.

Pallets and a hut for a Eleventh Night bonfire on Sandy Row; (above left) Youths push a trolley loaded with pallets in the Shankill area; (right) the base of a bonfire laid out on the greenway near Flora Street in east Belfast

It later emerged that asbestos was discovered in the remains of a bonfire in Randalstown, Co Antrim.

Department slammed over 14-year Catholic schools funding drought

GARRETT HARGAN, Belfast Telegraph, February 13th, 2026

OF 36 NEW BUILDS ACROSS NI SINCE 2012, NONE OF THEM WERE IN DERRY

The Executive has not funded one new-build Catholic maintained or Irish medium school in Londonderry city for at least 14 years.

The admission came from the Department of Education in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd headed the department from May 2011 to March 2016, with the DUP in charge since then, minus the Stormont collapses.

Of 36 new builds across Northern Ireland funded by the Executive since 2012, 18 (50%) fall under the controlled sector, 12 the Catholic maintained, two integrated, three Irish medium, and one voluntary. None were in Derry.

Separately, six integrated schools were funded under the Fresh Start Agreement, and 14 were paid for through Public Private Partnerships or the Private Finance Initiative. The Department of Education said providing information from any further back would “involve a significant diversion of staff resources in identifying multiple paper files”.

In Derry city, Foyle College, Ebrington Primary, Eglinton Primary and Ardnashee Special School received funding from the Executive.

No Catholic maintained or Irish medium school in Foyle was funded directly by the department.

The Catholic maintained schools St Mary's and St Cecilia's were Public Private Partnership builds.

The model has been criticised for burdening the taxpayer with huge bills for inflexible contracts that run for as long as 30 years.

Funding shortages are a problem across Northern Ireland, and data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows disparities between school sectors in different areas.

Two schools in danger of collapse

The figures in Derry come against the backdrop of two Catholic maintained schools in the city having to close because their roofs were found to be at risk of collapse, after applications from 2017 were not prioritised.

The Irish medium Bunscoil Cholmcille has been using 'temporary' huts with a £1.4m works backlog for decades.

The DUP was criticised last year after it emerged Lisneal College had been awarded funding for a football pitch without a formal application and months after meeting DUP ministers.

Research found Lisneal had consistently received more money for maintenance, was at one time the only school in the Western Trust area with a dedicated nurse, and secured an extension worth more than £2m after being selected as one of only 10 schools across Northern Ireland for a special educational needs pilot programme.

Education Minister Paul Givan approved funding for the pitch and extension.

He also wanted to know how legal constraints relating to the construction of a sports dome at the school might be overcome. Furthermore, Mr Givan paused new-build plans for St Brigid's College and Lumen Christi College, while allowing seven schools in the east to move forward.

SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said: “It is clear that schools in Derry have suffered from a sustained lack of investment over more than a decade, during which both Sinn Fein and the DUP have held the education ministry.

“We are now at the point where schools are being closed or disrupted because buildings are no longer safe, with roofs at risk of collapse.”

Political manipulation

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin accused the minister of “manipulating funding to suit his political objectives”, with schools in less need awarded funding ahead of those with dilapidated buildings.

Sinn Fein MLA Padraig Delargy said it was the responsibility of the Education Minister to approve funding for new builds rather than the Executive as a whole.

“Previous unionist Education and Economy Ministers have historically neglected areas such as the north-west. That is without doubt,” he added.

“Sinn Fein ministers are working to address regional balance and ensure all communities have access to the best opportunities.”

The Department of Education said its strategy for capital investment was focused on supporting the development of a network of viable, sustainable schools.

“Schools are nominated for new builds by their respective managing authorities; the CCMS in the case of Catholic maintained schools,” it added.

“All nominated schools are assessed using robust, objective data on the condition and suitability of school buildings.

“This assessment is carried out through the department's Major Works Protocol, which is designed to ensure that every proposal is considered fairly, consistently and transparently, promoting equity across the schools estate.”

The department said there were 20 Public Private Partnership or Private Finance Initiative school projects between 2000 and 2011.

It added that balancing limited capital resources against significant investment was a “major challenge”.

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools said its role was to support schools, articulate need and advocate within the department's established processes.

The DUP was contacted for comment.

Stormont ups regional rate by 5% as councils finalise plans

ALLAN PRESTON, Irish News, February 13th, 2026

Finance Minister John O’Dowd says the regional rates increase would provide a vital boost for public services.

THE Stormont Executive has hiked regional rates for households by 5% as councils finalise their own increases.

Rates that households pay are a combination of the district rate set by councils and Stormont’s regional rate.

The 5% increase is significantly higher than the current 3.75% rate of inflation.

Finance Minister John O’Dowd said rates raise over £1.6bn a year for public services, and the new regional rate would raise over £900m for the executive.

“With many households still feeling the pressure of rising living costs, and businesses facing increased costs, the executive has aimed to strike a balance between raising the revenue required to support essential public services and protecting workers, families and businesses from unnecessary financial strain,” he said.

“The executive’s decision to keep the domestic uplift at the same level as last year is a recognition of the cost of living pressures felt by households. Keeping the non-domestic rate below the current rate of inflation reflects the pressures facing local businesses and their vital role in supporting jobs in our local communities and driving local growth.”

He also said that domestic ratepayers had access to a targeted, means-tested package of help for low-income households, with three-quarters of non-domestic properties benefiting from rate relief -offering around a £250m in support.

“These uplifts, to be debated in the Assembly in March, would generate an additional £47million of funding power during 2026/27, compared to Budget 2025-26, for our vital public services that our citizens and businesses rely on.”

New law will see longer time in jail for killers refusing to disclose where victims bodies hidden .

Jonathan McCambridge, Belfast Telegraph, February 13th, 2026

The Sentencing Bill will also create a new offence for those who assault police officers or others delivering a public service, and increase the maximum jail term for killer drivers under the influence of drink or drugs.

Ms Long said the legislation would have a “positive impact on the lives of thousands of people across Northern Ireland”.

She said: “It will increase the maximum penalty for causing death, or serious injury by dangerous driving or careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs, from 14 years to 20 years. It will also introduce a new offence and higher sentences for assaulting those providing a service to the public or performing a public duty.

“The Bill will also create 'Charlotte's Law', which aims to reduce the trauma experienced by families of murder victims in so called 'no body' cases.”

The law is named after Charlotte Murray, who was murdered by her former partner Johnny Miller.

Ms Murray went missing in 2012 and her body has never been found.

It will see the creation of a statutory aggravator for failure to disclose the location of victims' remains and new sentence reductions for post-sentence disclosures. It will also introduce provisions equivalent to Helen's Law in England and Wales, requiring Parole Commissioners to consider failure to disclose the location of victims' remains in release decisions.

Listened to Victims and stakeholders

Ms Long said: “In developing this Bill, I have met and listened to a range of victims and stakeholder organisations.

“Their voices have been crucial and as we move closer to introducing the Sentencing Bill.”

The bill will also set statutory starting points for life sentence tariffs for murder cases —with 15 years as the starting point where there are no significant aggravating features and 20 years for the worst cases.

It will also make provision in Northern Ireland legislation for unduly lenient sentences.

The Bill will introduce a statutory aggravator model for hate crime where the victim belongs or is assumed to belong to a “racial group”; a “religious group”, a “sexual orientation group”, or a “disability group”.

It will also include a vulnerable victim aggravator, where the offender knows or ought reasonably to have known the victim was vulnerable;

It will also introduce a discretionary life sentence for repeat offenders and make provision so that driving disqualification periods will normally be served after release from prison.

Ulster Unionist justice spokesman Doug Beattie said the Bill was coming before the Assembly later than had first been proposed.

He said: “To improve confidence, we need more than just a review of sentence guidelines.

“We need a sentencing council for Northern Ireland in line with England, Wales and the Irish Republic to give direction to our judiciary.

“The remission of sentences process needs overhauling, particularly for late guilty pleas, where presently you can plead guilty on the day your trial starts and still get up to 25% off your sentence.

“Given some of our most serious trials can be delayed up to three years, this is an excessive sentence discount.”

Gerry Hutch says ‘karma’ will follow former Sinn Féin cllr who testified against him

Conor Lally, Irish Times, February 13th, 2026

The Monk also confirms he will contest upcoming Dublin Central byelection due to be held in May

Veteran criminal Gerry Hutch, known as The Monk, has said “karma” will follow former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall, who gave evidence against him when he was charged with murder three years ago. But he said he “certainly” has no plans to harm Dowdall.

Hutch also confirmed he will contest the upcoming byelection in the Dublin Central constituency just over a year after getting close to taking a seat there at the general election.

Hutch confirmed his plans while meeting members of the media during a press event for actor Rex Ryan’s play, The Monk, which is based on Hutch’s life and is about to open at the Ambassador Theatre, Dublin.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has been the star performer in the constituency, and the byelection is seen as her party’s to lose.

“It is what it is. Win, lose or draw,” Hutch (62) said when asked about the strong opposition likely to come from Sinn Féin, which has yet to select a candidate.

Hutch was closely associated with Dowdall, who is also from the north inner city. Dowdall was jailed for assisting the Hutch gang attack at the Regency Hotel, north Dublin, in 2016 which was part of the Kinahan-Hutch feud and claimed the life of David Byrne.

When Hutch was put on trial for the murder of Kinahan associate Byrne, he was acquitted in 2023 by the Special Criminal Court despite Dowdall sensationally opting to give evidence against him. However, the court described Hutch as the leader of the Hutch family and said the evidence in the case suggested he had control of the guns from the attack in the period after it.

When asked about Dowdall (who was freed from prison last year to enter the witness protection programme), Hutch said he did not want to comment about whether it would be safe for him to come back to Ireland.

“You’d know. Is it safe? Are you going to do anything to him? I’m certainly not, I think karma will do that itself,” he said.

Pursued by Revenue

Hutch secured more than 2,000 first-preference votes in the general election in November 2024, shocking political observers. Marie Sherlock (Labour) eventually surged past him on transfers to take the seat.

Since the general election he has contacted political scientists to learn more about the electoral system and the finer points of proportional representation, including maximising transfers.

While he is being pursued by the Criminal Assets Bureau at present for almost €800,000 (the amount the bureau alleges he owes in unpaid taxes), a lacuna in the law means Hutch would not be blocked from taking up a seat if he were elected.

The Standards in Public Office Act 2001 introduced a tax clearance requirement for members of the Dáil. Due to the tax demand, Hutch would not be in a position to secure a tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners.

However, despite the legislation, a newly elected TD’s inability to produce a tax clearance would not block them taking their seat. Such a TD could be suspended from the Dáil in a members’ vote, but they would still remain a TD.

Frank Stagg and the power of the hunger strike in Irish history

CORMAC MOORE, Irish News, February 13th, 2026

Frank Stagg died after 62 days on hunger strike in protest at his detention in an English prison

“ McSwiney’s words – ‘It is not those who can inflict the most, but those who can suffer the most, who will conquer’ – have resonated with many on this island and far beyond ever since

FIFTY years ago, on February 12 1976, Frank Stagg died after being on hunger strike for 62 days.

He was the second person to die due to a hunger strike during the Troubles, but followed a longer line of republicans during the 20th century.

The hunger strike had been a potent weapon during the different republican struggles in the first half of the century, through either forcing the British or Irish governments to back down, or as a powerful means of propaganda if hunger strikers were to pay the ultimate sacrifice and die.

Hunger striking had been a form of self-sacrifice much in use in the 1910s, particularly within the suffragette movements in Ireland and Britain.

The death of Thomas Ashe in September 1917 after being forcefed while on hunger strike in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin “changed the mood and mind of Ireland almost overnight”, according to his biographer Seán Ó Lúing.

Hunger strikes were used extensively by IRA members during the War of Independence.

In most instances, the British authorities relented and released prisoners before they perished, as was the case at Mountjoy in April 1920 and at Wormwood Scrubs in London the following month.

As part of a wider hardened policy towards Ireland from the summer of 1920, the British authorities changed tack and refused to give in to such demands.

‘Ghoulish, fatal contest’

When a hunger strike began in Cork in August 1920, in the words of historian William Murphy, “a ghoulish, fatal contest unfolded”.

Three prisoners died in October: Michael Fitzgerald, Joseph Murphy and the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, whose death totally eclipsed those of the other two men.

The propaganda value for Sinn Féin was enormous. No other event in Ireland generated more international media coverage than the death and funeral of MacSwiney in 1920.

His words – “It is not those who can inflict the most, but those who can suffer the most, who will conquer” – have resonated with many on this island and far beyond ever since.

While the deaths of Ashe and MacSwiney have been widely memorialised, those of others such as Fitzgerald and Murphy have almost been forgotten.

As have those of the hunger strikers Joseph Whitty, Denis Barry and Andy O’Sullivan, who died shortly after the Irish Civil War ended in 1923.

Likewise, the deaths of IRA members Tony Darcy, Jack McNeela and Seán McCaughey during and immediately after the Second World War, in conflict with Fianna Fáil governments, are barely remembered.

Price sisters

Giving its history within the movement, unsurprisingly the use of hunger strikes was adopted by republicans with the onset of the Troubles, most famously when the Price sisters – Dolours and Marian – sought to be transferred from an English to a Northern Ireland prison in late 1973.

A similar pattern emerged to previous eras, with the authorities initially conceding to the demands of hunger strikers followed by a hardening of tactics.

By the time Frank Stagg embarked on his last and fatal hunger strike in December 1975, the British Home Secretary Roy Jenkins declared he was prepared to let Stagg die.

The British authorities had discontinued the practice of force-feeding hunger strikers by then.

Stagg had been part of a hunger strike with fellow Mayo man Michael Gaughan, coinciding with the one embarked on by the Price sisters, Gerry Kelly and Hugh Feeney, where they were subjected to force-feeding.

Gaughan died in June 1974, with many claiming the barbaric practice of force-feeding had contributed to his death.

Stagg, who was convicted of planning bomb attacks in Coventry in 1973, refused to do prison work and was held in solitary confinement for long spells of his incarceration in different prisons in England.

He and members of his family were also subjected to humiliating body searches.

For his last hunger strike, he demanded an end to solitary confinement, no prison work and repatriation to a prison in Ireland.

With the British government refusing to concede to any of his demands and Stagg committed to enduring the horrendous physical and psychological ordeal to the bitter end, it was clear by the beginning of February 1976 that Frank Stagg would die.

After 62 days, he died on February 12, aged 34.

His death was followed by violent riots in Belfast and elsewhere.

Grave struggle

Following a show of strength by republicans at Michael Gaughan’s funeral in Ballina in Mayo in 1974, the Irish government was determined to prevent a reoccurrence at Stagg’s interment.

While republicans and many members of his family waited for the arrival of his body at Dublin

Airport, the Irish government had the plane diverted to Shannon, and then had the body flown by helicopter to Ballina.

Despite Stagg wishing to be buried in the republican plot beside Gaughan’s grave, he was buried close to the family plot.

His grave was then covered with concrete, with gardaí providing an armed guard at the site for six months.

The body was subsequently taken and Stagg was re-buried at the republican plot in November 1977.

The Irish government’s heavy-handed tactics caused considerable controversy at the time, as did the very open split in the Stagg family between those in favour of a republican burial and those opposed.

Frank Stagg was the twelfth republican to die due to a hunger strike in Ireland in the 20th century. Five years later, in 1981, ten more died in the space of months.

While other movements around the world have used hunger strikes as a weapon to advance their causes, it has particular meaning for the republican movement in Ireland, with those who have succumbed while on hunger strike attaining mythical status ever since.

BREXIT: Making the Best of a Bad Decision

Belfast News Letter, February 12th, 2026

A statement from Caoimhe Archibald:

In a letter published by the News Letter (‘Sinn Fein minister has used economic data that disguises the recent slow growth of Northern Ireland’s exports, and so seems to be boosting the impact of the Irish Sea border,’ Saturday January 31) Messrs Birnie and Gudgin ask why I use the last two years of data, rather than one, when commenting upon the north’s export performance under the Windsor Framework.

They point out that using two years of data indicates a stronger level of export growth than using the last year, which has been a difficult one for global trade, not least due to US tariffs.

Birnie and Gudgin also suggest that I have used figures over two years because “Sinn Fein is on the side of those who wish to demonstrate that NI has the best of both worlds from these arrangements”. They further express their “suspicion that civil servants” within my department must “have been prevailed upon” to use an additional year of information.

The reason for using the last two years is very simple. The Windsor Framework came into effect in 2023 so we now have two years of data to draw upon. Two years is a longer – and therefore fairer - time period to assess export performance since the Windsor Framework came into effect.

As for the politics of this issue, like most economists and like most people in the north, I was always of the view that Brexit would be economically disruptive. I have no hesitation in acknowledging that leaving the EU has been and is harmful for our economy.

But I have a responsibility to make the best of the situation, including the export opportunities created by dual market access. In that regard it is worth noting that over the 12 months to September 2025 (the latest published annual data), exports from the north to the EU increased by 5.5%. Over that same period Britain’s exports from Britain to the EU fell by 2.7%.

That is my political agenda. It is fair to say that Birnie and Gudgin also have an agenda. As zealous advocates of Brexit they dismissed widespread concerns that leaving the largest market in the world would cause significant economic damage.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of their campaign, they now turn their ire to the Windsor Framework. Of course, Birnie and Gudgin are fully entitled to express their political opinions and to present statistics in a way that supports their objectives.

Political attacks on me are par for the course. But it is regrettable that Birnie and Gudgin question the professionalism and integrity of my departmental officials. I hope that on reflection they will be minded to withdraw that comment.

For my part, as economy minister I will continue to promote the north as a great place to do business, to invest in – and yes to export from.

Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Economy minister, Stormont