Passing on the burden of our tortured history
Riposte to Former Senator and Peace Envoy George Mitchell
Finola Meredith, Belfast Telegraph, April 18th, 2025
Our sons and daughters did not choose to be born here... and they should not be burdened with our tortured history
Senator George Mitchell has given a lot of his life to Northern Ireland. No one can doubt the energy, commitment and patience the American mediator brought to negotiating the historic peace deal in 1998.
Now aged 91, and in ill health for the past number of years, Senator Mitchell came back to Belfast this week to give a talk to young people at Queen's University, where he is chancellor emeritus. The name of the event was 'Passing the Torch', and the aim was to inspire the next generation of peace-builders.
What was Senator Mitchell's message to his young audience? Don't leave.
“You, the young people of this island, are needed here in order to sustain this ongoing peace,” he said.
“Do not let your truths and your dreams leave when there is so much to be done at home.
“I am here today to ask you to take the job of the future seriously. Do not let us down. Listen, consider, move forward.”
The senator continued to drive his point home: “I make this call to teachers, to artists, to leaders, to workers, to businesses, to non-profits, to community organisations, to civil servants, but most of all to our young people — you are the leaders and the lightning rods of tomorrow.”
Senator Mitchell's words were received enthusiastically. But to be honest, I was dismayed by them.
What a burden to lay on the young, I thought, just as they are starting out in life, full of excitement, the world and all its possibilities opening up to them.
Guilt Trip
“Do not let us down”? Seriously? What a guilt trip.
Telling youngsters not to leave home, not to take their truths and their dreams elsewhere, because there is still so much work to be done here in Northern Ireland.
Telling them, in essence, that it's their duty to remain in order to shore up the fragile peace.
Look, it feels distinctly uncomfortable to criticise the words of an elderly, unwell man who has devoted so much effort and time to the peace process.
No wonder he wants a new generation to take over his legacy.
Unfair Burden
But it's unfair to place that heavy load on the shoulders of the young.
“Alarmingly, we have a 'brain drain' of young people leaving Northern Ireland,” said Senator Mitchell in his speech on Wednesday.
“All of this has meant that a sense of fear and tribalism still remains in certain quarters. This fear and tribalism can instil rigidity, and that rigidity can create a climate of coldness and fear. And the bitter chill of that reality is that it could possibly cause an unforeseen snap.”
“We simply cannot — ever — allow a return to the violence that other generations have witnessed.”
Some people might call this message inspiring, a clarion call to action.
To me, it sounds more like emotional blackmail.
In choosing to move away from Northern Ireland, young people are apparently abandoning their duty to their homeland, and thus contributing to an atmosphere of “fear and tribalism” which may end in “an unforeseen snap”, and a potential return to violence.
I think that's a terrible and entirely unjustifiable moral load to lay on the young.
Brain drain a real problem
The so-called 'brain drain' is, undoubtedly, a real phenomenon. It's been observed for many years. Students leave in substantial numbers to study in other parts of the UK, or in the Republic, and many of them never return to live here.
But can you blame them for wanting to spread their wings and escape the restrictions of life in Northern Ireland for a bigger and possibly better future?
Can you blame them for wanting to escape the petty sectarianism that continues to dominate our politics, all these years after the Good Friday Agreement which, it must be admitted, enshrined a sectarian solution to the Troubles?
I don't. Our sons and daughters did not choose to be born in Northern Ireland. They did not choose to grow up here, with all the implications that childhood and adolescence in a former war zone — a place still fanatically obsessed with the past — tends to bring.
So forgive me if I reject the good senator's emotionally-freighted plea for them to stay here and take care of the peace. If they want to be a part of Northern Ireland's present, and future, then that's a wonderful thing, and we should be grateful for it.
If they don't, then let them fly free.
Otherwise, we're not passing on the torch. We're passing on the burden of our tortured history.
Remembering the past – and inspiring leaders of tomorrow
Pro Fide et Patria, Irish News, April 18th, 2025
THE people of Ireland will always owe a deep debt of gratitude to Senator George Mitchell.
As chair of the peace talks that produced the Good Friday Agreement 27 years ago this month, he deserves as much credit as anyone for the transformed society we inhabit today and the opportunity to build happy, prosperous lives free from threat of violence.
It was appropriate therefore that the still sprightly 91-year-old was back in Belfast to address young people about their responsibility to “sustain the peace” that his generation worked so hard to establish.
The former US special envoy to Northern Ireland made the comments during a speech on Wednesday at Queen’s University Belfast, which he served as chancellor for 10 years.
More than 600 young people and politicians gathered in the Whitla Hall, where a youthful panel discussed how they could use their voice to shape change on issues that matter to them.
Senator Mitchell urged the next generation to resist the temptation to leave this island, saying the work of 1998 is constantly unfinished. “I ask the people of Northern Ireland, especially the young people, to look forward, into the future, the deep and sometimes unfathomable future, and to enshrine the peace, making it last for their own children, and their children’s children, and beyond,” he said.
The fact that peace, in the words of the former US senator, now “seems normal” is testament to the long road travelled since the dark days of conflict.
Confidence in politicians ‘strikingly low’
A reminder of the job that remains, however, to ensure young people see a future here for themselves and the children they will raise, came in research highlighted in this paper this week. Despite the achievements of Easter 1998, a survey of attitudes a quarter of a century after the Good Friday Agreement showed confidence in political parties and government is strikingly low.
The World Values Survey mirrors other poll findings, no doubt reflecting frustration at the failure of our political institutions to deliver on a range of basic levels.
The assembly has been in a state of collapse for around 40% of its existence. And during the periods when parties do grace Stormont with their presence, difficult decisions are all too often ducked or there is deadlock at the executive table.
The result is that schools are underfunded, poverty levels remains stubbornly high and the health service has deteriorated almost to the point of collapse.
It may be that a new generation is needed to finish the work of 1998 and realise the potential George Mitchell still sees during visits to these shores. It must be hoped some will have listened to his words and been inspired to become the leaders of tomorrow.
'Nurture the green shoots of peace': Church leaders in NI deliver their Easter message
Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, April 18th, 2025ge about hope in a time of uncertainty ahead of Easter.
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin and Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell urged people to continue to “nurture the green shoots of peace and reconciliation”.
In a joint message, they said: “The recent warm spell has brought out the best in springtime and helped to raise our spirits in time for Easter.
“To see the trees bursting into life and the green shoots of spring flowers everywhere lifts our hearts, and reminds us of the promise and hope of new life after the dark sleep of winter.
“Of course, even in the midst of spring, it is difficult to escape the reality that the world is currently experiencing a high level of instability and uncertainty.
“The darkness of war and violence continues to rage; countless families are displaced, and lasting peace seems elusive as more and more countries divert resources from welfare to warfare.”
Both reflected on the impact of faith on the peace process, having addressed Congress Members and staff on Capitol Hill in Washington on their St Patrick's Day visit to the US.
“This opportunity allowed us to emphasise once again the importance of not giving up on hope, and of maintaining a strong Christian voice in the public square,” they said.
Contradictions of Good Friday
Presbyterian Moderator Dr Richard Murray said society is confronted with crises such as wars, environmental emergencies, attacks on free speech and the huge drug problem.
“Jesus conquered death and the worst the devil could throw at Him,” he said.
“He also promised to come back as the judge on the last day. Those putting their hope in Jesus will be as safe on that day as people in a stone tower are safe from arrows.
“There is hope, and it can be found in found in the person Jesus.”
Rev Dr John Alderdice, president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, remarked on the contradictions of Good Friday.
“Today is a dark day, we remember what must have been a dreadful death for Jesus and a distressing experience for those closest to him. How could it be 'good' in any way?
“Yet, as we read the gospel story, focusing on the events in the lead-up to Good Friday, we can see that Jesus knew what was coming and embraced it.
“He knew of the greater good in the midst of a great injustice.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has paid tribute to Christians “facing hardship, persecution or conflict around the world who cannot celebrate freely” in his Easter message.
Starmer: Easter is ‘central to Christian Faith’
Sir Keir Starmer also called on people to “work together for the flourishing and renewal of our country”.
According to the 2024 World Watch list, a report published by Open Doors, around 365 million Christians are subject to “high levels of persecution and discrimination”, and in 2023 4,998 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons.
The PM said: “The story of Easter is central to the Christian faith: it is a story of hope, redemption and renewal.
“This Easter, as churches hold special services across the UK... we remember those Christians facing hardship, persecution or conflict around the world.
“I also want to thank you for the ways in which you follow Christ's example of love and compassion in serving your communities.”
Parades Commission gives green light to controversial Easter parade
Conditions imposed on Saoradh-linked event
By Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, April 18, 2025
THE Parades Commission has approved a controversial Easter Monday parade that previously ended in violence.
The march, marked sensitive, has been organised by the National Republican Commemoration Committee, which arranges events for anti-Agreement party Saoradh, and is themed ‘Unfinished Revolution’.
A similar commemoration in 2022 was led by a masked colour party with men and women in combat gear, as it made its way from Free Derry Corner to the City Cemetery.
Trouble later broke out when youths hurled petrol bombs at police vehicles. Several arrests were made.
This year the route is from the Creggan shops to republican memorial site Séadchomhartha Na Ndaoine (the People’s Monument) at Free Derry Corner. Two bands, 500 participants and 100 supporters are expected.
The commission said that “historically there has been serious criminal offending associated” with the parade. It imposed conditions including that “no paramilitary-style clothing” is to be worn and “flags, bannerettes and symbols relating to a proscribed organisation shall in no circumstances be displayed”.
Anti-Social Behaviour
The event will take place on the same day that a separate parade by the Derry 1916 Commemoration Committee is normally held. That march is never notified to the commission and in recent years saw trouble erupt when young people threw petrol bombs at police vehicles. Disorder was avoided at last year’s event, which included a masked colour party, after police stayed out of the Creggan.
SDLP MLA and Policing Board member Mark H Durkan welcomed that the parade “has gone through the correct process”.
“For a number of years there had been antisocial behaviour around the Easter Monday commemoration in Derry and there was a negative impact on the Creggan community,” he said.
“Over the past couple of years we have seen a more intelligent approach from the police to minimise the damage done.
“I would appeal to people to come to Derry and enjoy the event and please abide by the conditions set out by the Parades Commission.”
National Republican Commemoration Committee spokesman Paddy Gallagher said: “We invite all revolutionary socialist republicans committed to the continuing fight for Irish freedom to join with us to commemorate our martyred dead in a dignified, honourable and appropriate way.”
Peace line ‘cross-walk’ has helped unite communities
Mark Robinson, Irish News, April 18th, 2025
A PASTOR who has been holding a ‘cross-walk’ along the Falls-Shankill peace line has said that the 20 yearlong annual event has helped divided communities unite.
Pastor John McKee from the New Life City Church first decided to hold the walk in 2002 after believing the church should be more vocal against ending a loyalist feud at the time.
The church is located beside the interface on Northumberland Street and the walk has taken place around Easter time for most years since.
This year, Pastor McKee organised a five-day walk to finish on Good Friday, with the cross travelling from their building onto the Falls Road, Springfield Road, Lanark Way and Shankhill Road before returning to the church.
“It was following [the loyalist feud] that I felt that we needed to do something more permanent in order to publicly lift our message,” he told The Irish News.
“I felt that it was appropriate to take the cross out into the community and to lift it as a message of reconciliation and also to lift it above the gun – lift the cross above the gun.
“We felt that even then, even though we were a few years past the Good Friday Agreement, there were still a lot of division and still violence taking place and so it was appropriate to lift a positive message – and that’s why we did that in 2002 and have continued to do it.”
While the violence of the past is largely consigned to history, Pastor McKee said the event continues to bring people together.
A cross as a common burden
He recalled the words of American evangelist Billy Graham, who visited the north during the height of the Troubles and said that the cross was “the one thing these people have in common”.
“He did an interview, and he said that when he walked through the Shankill community, he saw churches and he saw crosses.
“He said when [he] walked across the dividing line into the Falls community, [he] saw churches and crosses.”
Pastor Jack McKee from New City Life Church organised a ‘cross-walk’ for five days across peacelines around the Falls and Shankill areas of west Belfast
“We have seen results in us walking with the cross in that a lot of people, especially within the Falls community, who would have been suspicious of us, they have responded and a lot of them have responded amazingly well.”
“We now have a church with, I would say, certainly 15 to 20 per cent of our people from the Catholic community. We don’t like to use the term ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’ – we only use it just to put things into context because we’re neither.”
Pastor McKee added that the reception to this week’s event has been “amazing” from both sides of the community.
'Easy targets': 600-plus crimes at NI churches inside a three-year period
Kurtis Reid, Belfast Telegraph, April 18th, 2025
THEFT AND VANDALISM THE MOST COMMON OFFENCES, WITH 74 VIOLENT INCIDENTS
More than 600 crimes have been recorded at churches and their properties across Northern Ireland since the start of 2022, according to new figures.
The data was released by the PSNI following a Freedom of Information request by the Countryside Alliance and shows that a total of 605 crimes were reported at church locations between January 2022 and November 2024.
These included incidents of theft, vandalism, assault, and harassment.
The breakdown reveals 243 cases of burglary, robbery, or theft; 257 incidents of criminal damage; and 105 offences involving violence or harassment. Among the thefts recorded, five cases specifically involved lead being stolen from the roofs of church buildings — three in 2022 and two in 2023. No such incidents were recorded in the first 11 months of 2024.
The vandalism-related offences — grouped under 'criminal damage' — ranged from arson and damage to buildings or vehicles, to other forms of property destruction.
There were 111 incidents in 2022, 81 in 2023, and 65 up to November 2024.
Violent incidents
Violence against individuals at church properties also formed a concerning part of the figures. There were 20 incidents of violence with injury, 54 cases of violence without injury, and 31 incidents of harassment.
The Countryside Alliance, which submitted the FoI request, said the figures were “particularly saddening” as they indicate Northern Ireland is one of the worst affected areas in the UK.
“These figures bring into stark relief the devastating fact that many churches and places of worship are being treated as easy targets by criminals,” said Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance.
“These are supposed to be places of refuge and tranquillity, where people go to worship or seek solace — but all too often they are being subjected to heinous crimes, in or on their property.
“It is particularly saddening to see that Northern Ireland is the one of the worst-affected areas in the entire country.
“We cannot allow these precious places, which are often the centre of villages and towns across the country, to go unguarded and be so exposed,” she added.
“Easy access to protective funding schemes is of the greatest importance, but it is just as vital that members of the public keep an ever-watchful eye on churches and report suspicious behaviour to police.
“It is also our hope that there will be further progress on the development of a new aggravated offense relating to the loss or damage of heritage assets, a move some parliamentarians have already supported.
Vandalism and desecration
“Irrespective of faith or none, churches are more than just community buildings, they are often part of our centuries-old history and heritage. They must be protected.” According to the Countryside Alliance, in December last year, a burglar stole £6,000 worth of items from Buckna Presbyterian Church in Co Antrim, while just a few months before, a priest was found guilty of stealing £10,000 from his own church, St Colman's Parish Church in Dunmurry.
In 2023, the Church of the Sacred Heart in Cloughoge was targeted by vandals who smashed several windows, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. The church had only recently been refurbished.
And in 2019, both Sacred Heart Church in Ballyclare and St Mary's Church in Limavady were vandalised and desecrated with paint.
Nationally, 179 lead thefts were recorded along with 3,937 thefts, 3,237 incidents of vandalism and criminal damage — including arson — and 1,974 incidents of violence, including sexual assault and assault on an officer.
Some 228 other crimes were recorded, including drug trafficking and crimes against society.
MI5 Stakeknife report branded ‘whitewash’
Connla Young, Irish News, April 18th, 2025
AN MI5 review into the failure of British security service to disclose information to the team investigating agent Stakeknife has been branded a “whitewash”.
The report was ordered by the security services after it emerged that hundreds of pages, including “significant new information”, had not been passed to the Operation Kenova investigation team.
It was set up in 2016 to examine the activities of the British agent known as Stakeknife – identified as Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci in 2003.
A former commander of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit (ISU), Scappaticci has been linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions.
Also known as the ‘Nutting Squad’, the ISU was responsible for hunting down and killing informers during the Troubles.
Director general of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, commissioned a review to be carried out by former Metropolitcan Police assistant commissioner Helen Ball between October 2024 and January 2025 after it emerged information had been withheld from the Kenova team.
A summary of her report was published by Operation Kenova yesterday.
In the document Ms Ball, who was senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing from August 2013 to October 2016, “concluded that none of the material was, deliberately withheld from Operation Kenova at either an individual or an organisational level”.
Ms Ball said the new material was identified “because MI5 was proactively working to organise and digitise its Northern Ireland ‘legacy’ archive”.
The former senior officer added that in some cases “material was not properly stored and indexed when it should have been, and in others that it was indexed in a way that meant its relationship to Operation Kenova’s remit was not recognised”.
Freddie Scappaticci was unmasked as the British agent known as Stakeknife
Recommendations
She also made six recommendation six recommendations to MI5, which she says have been accepted, including two about the management of legacy material in the north.
Another recommendation is that “an accurate timeline of MI5’s knowledge of and engagement with those running” Stakeknife is created.
While it was previously known Scappaticci worked for the British army’s Force Research Unit (FRU), the documents suppressed by MI5 documents have now confirm he was instructed by the agency via his military handlers.
Last year former MI5 director general Eliza Manningham-Buller claimed her organisation only became aware of the agent’s status after it was asked to resettle him, which is thought to have been around 2003.
However, it is understood the organisaiton knew about Stakeknife in the early 1980s – two decades before the former MI5 chief claimed it was made aware.
Solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, who represents 21 families linked to Operation Kenova, criticised the MI5 review.
‘Whitewash’
“Our client constituency will see through this for what it is – a whitewash,” he said.
“The three-page summary is risible and actually insulting to victims’ families. “Then again they are conditioned to being let down.
“A poor filing and indexing system is a lame excuse for failures to send hugely significant material to one of the most important independent police investigations ever seen.”
Mr Winters expressed surprise that MI5 have been asked to provide a timeline of their involvement with Scappaticci.
“MI5 are being urged now to complete a full chronology of their relationship with Stakeknife,” he said.
“A remarkable request given that the inquiry started almost nine years ago.”
Operation Kenova produced an interim report last year, with a final version expected to be published later this year.
In total Operation Kenova submitted 28 prosecution reports relating to 35 individuals, to the Public Prosecution Service, but no action was taken in any.
Neither confirm nor deny
In a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Benn last year Operation Kenova head Sir Iain Livingstone described some of the new material disclosed as “significant” adding it appears to “point to new investigative leads not previously known”
He added the material “does appear to cast doubt on some of the documents and witness evidence obtained by Kenova and some statements made in the Interim report”.
“This includes information provided by the security service around the dates when they became aware of the agent Stakeknife”.
Yesterday Sir Iain said the impact of the undisclosed material will be considered when the final report is published.
“It is of course deeply regrettable that material was discovered and disclosed after the investigative phase of Kenova had concluded and after the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland had made decisions concerning prosecutions of the Kenova cases,” he said.
“Our client constituency will see through this for what it is – a whitewash. The three-page summary is risible and actually insulting to victims’ families
“The circumstances and relevance of the non-disclosed material will form part of the Kenova final report which is due to be published later this year.”
Last month the Kenova chief said MI5 has now agreed to allow the release of some private family reports and highlighted his frustration over delays in providing the documents.
He confirmed security checking has been delayed by British government officials until a decision is made about naming Stakeknife, which has not taken place due to a long-standing ‘neither confirm nor deny’ policy.
Stakeknife victims deserve civil rulings to reflect the harm done
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, April 18th, 2025
We may never know the full extent of the activities of the informer known as Stakeknife.
As a member of the IRA's so-called 'nutting squad' — the internal security unit tasked with finding informants within the ranks of the organisation and investigating failed operations — he was privy to top-level information.
The IRA required its members to adhere to a strict code of silence for survival. Stakeknife — known to be west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci — was in a prime position, as a double agent, to break that wall of secrecy and carry those secrets back to British intelligence.
Operation Kenova found that Scappaticci was involved, either directly or indirectly, in 18 murders.
However, in delivering those interim findings, they were unaware that there was further information in MI5's archives.
Following the discovery of this new material in 2024, a review was carried out at MI5's request by a former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Helen Ball.
She was tasked with finding out if this material was deliberately withheld. Kenova sent files on a number of people to the PPS, but despite this, no one has been charged.
Scappaticci — the son of an Italian immigrant — died in April 2023, having lived for many years in witness protection in England.
The Ball review of MI5 has ruled that the intelligence agency did not intentionally withhold documents from the Kenova team.
Recommendations
The review also made six recommendations — including that MI5 creates “an accurate timeline” of knowledge of and engagement with those running Stakeknife.
Kenova has already delivered an interim report, with the full findings withheld until after the examination of the newly-discovered material.
Because of the Home Office's 'never confirm, never deny' policy, they cannot even officially name Scappaticci as Stakeknife. That policy is unlikely to ever be lifted, but not even those in the highest ranks of republicanism deny privately who and what Scappaticci was.
There was never any real prospect of Scappaticci or the high-level intelligence agents who handled him being prosecuted. Their activities were just too murky — they all knew secrets about each other that were mutually destructive if ever revealed in a courtroom. If one went down, they all went down — and that was never going to happen.
The full Kenova report should make for chilling reading. There were many myths surrounding the activities of the agent, who was under suspicion of fellow IRA members since 1990 after the arrest of former Sinn Fein director of publicity Danny Morrison in a house in Andersonstown, where another informer - Sandy Lynch - was being held.
Morrison always claimed he was there to organise a press conference and was entrapped by Scappaticci and his handlers, along with others arrested at the same time. He had his conviction quashed in 2008.
That timeline reveals that while the same unit of the IRA was involved in killings after 1990, Scappaticci was not. This was disappointing for those families who have fallen outside of Kenova's remit.
There are those within the ranks of British military intelligence who recruited, paid and signed off on his activity. While retired, some of those intelligence officers are still alive. MI5 tried to justify their actions claiming this was essential work, covert infiltration of the IRA to save lives.
Kenova dismissed speculation that Stakeknife had saved hundreds of lives as simply wrong. It was more likely between high single figures and low double figures. In fact, he cost more lives than he saved.
Uncomfortable truths
But it is also uncomfortable for those members of Sinn Fein who initially tried to deny he was an agent, running a short and ultimately ineffective propaganda campaign to try to divert attention from the revelations.
In the meantime, there are families who have been left without justice, their loved ones' names blackened and stigmatised.
They cannot just be handed a report and sent on their way, with their trauma, grief and the injustice they have suffered unresolved. The actions of Stakeknife cannot simply be erased.
Many — not all — come from staunchly republican families who were left with the stigma that their loved one was an informer and had potentially taken lives of people in their own community, when the reality was that they had been interrogated and sentenced to death by the most valuable asset of them all.
They deserve an apology and redress for a death that was — in the majority of cases — entirely preventable. The interim report called for apologies from both the UK Government and Irish republican leadership on behalf of the IRA.
It is the very least they deserve. If there is to be no justice in criminal courts, there must at least be civil rulings that reflect the harm done during this murky time in our troubled past.
It’s Martin’s cannier approach to Irish unity that worries me
ALEX KANE. Irish News, April 18th, 2025
THERE has been a lot of chatter from southern voices about Irish unity in the past week or so.
To be honest, there usually is around the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement: not least because both Sinn Féin and the SDLP built much of their support for it on the prospect it offered for a united Ireland.
Yet here we are, 27 years on, and unity seems no closer than it was in 1998.
Indeed, the paragraph in the agreement dealing with a border poll remains as woolly and constructively ambiguous as it was. All of which is irking nationalists on both sides of the border.
What irks them more, I suspect, is that the polling numbers on both sides have yet to provide demonstrable evidence of a comfortable majority in favour of uniting Ireland any time soon.
Which may explain why some of them are reaching beyond Ireland to convince local nationalism.
Tortuous routes to Unity
Speaking at an event in Brussels a week ago, Sinn Féin’s national chair, Declan Kearney, said: “Colonial rule, partition and separate states in Ireland have all failed. Unity, through self-determination, is the way forward. The EU can play a role in supporting the peaceful, democratic pathway to securing that objective. It should help us open up the next phase of the peace process, and the achievement of reconciliation, reunification and a new Ireland for all.”
It sounded like a rather torturous attempt to underpin the party’s demand for a twin referendum in 2030, and maybe Kearney hopes that the fact Northern Ireland is presently subject to EU regulations would be a handy enough route for EU involvement (or interference, as some would describe it) in its constitutional future.
Fair enough, I’ve been no fan of the EU’s extra-territorial activities in other states – a view which Sinn Féin used to share not very long ago – but even I don’t believe Brussels would want to get involved in what could be a very divisive and fractious poll.
Meanwhile, Leo Varadkar was Ireland’s Future’s keynote speaker in Philadelphia on April 10: “I firmly believe that building a new and united Ireland is the next step in our national journey and I believe that Irish-America can help us to make those next steps. While there is not yet a majority for it north of the border, support grows with every year and unification now is supported by a clear majority of younger voters. The tectonic plates are shifting and in one direction only.”
Regular readers will know that none of this surprises me. I’ve written a couple of columns since Varadkar stepped down as taoiseach, suggesting that his priority was unification right now rather than the much vaguer ‘some time in my lifetime’ approach of his former Fine Gael colleagues.
Maybe he harbours an ambition to be the first president of a newly-united Ireland and reckons that actually playing a key part in its delivery is the best way to achieve that.
He did admit in the speech that unity was not inevitable: “The case has to be made and worked for. But it should be an objective and not just an aspiration”.
The main caveat I would offer is that he, like Sinn Féin and many in Ireland’s Future, set a great deal of electoral store in what might be described as the younger demographic. But just look at what that demographic is doing in many parts of the world right now: it is shifting to the hardline, nativist, populist right. So, it may not be as biddable on the prospect of bundling hundreds of thousands of British-identifying unionists into what is usually described as a ‘new’ Ireland.
Trojan Horse
The canniest of all approaches – even though he annoys many in the unity lobby – is from Micheál Martin.
In an interview last week with Sam McBride, Martin argued that uniting Ireland constitutionally was less important than building relationships.
He insisted that his Shared Island initiative was not some sort of Trojan Horse for unity. “It very much is grounded on people-to-people connections and basically the simple question: Can we share this piece of ground together in a harmonious way that involves real sustainable peace and friendliness for generations to come.”
“ What is absolutely clear is that the unity debate is here to stay. And every section of the pro-union community needs to have their own counter arguments marshalled
Some critics have described this as his ‘latest’ – and still weak – position on the issue, but he said exactly the same thing to me in an interview in 2014.
And while I have a lot of time for the man, I actually think his softly-softly-catchy-monkey approach is likely, in the long term, to be more successful than the unity now lobby. Which, as a unionist, worries me.
So be it. What is absolutely clear, though, is that the unity debate is here to stay.
Language warriors have last word
Shauna Corr, Irish News, April 18th, 2025
QUB society will continue fight for dual language signs
IRISH language campaigners at Queen’s University have vowed to continue their fight to get dual language signs that put Irish on equal terms with English across campus.
An Cumann Gaelach held a protest last week calling for bilingual signage at the university.
Young unionists railed against the proposal saying the money would be better spent providing free sanitary products.
A spokesperson for the university said at the time: “Queen’s management team are keen to listen and engage on the issues that matter most to our student body and staff.”
But now An Cumann Gaelach says talks with university management have broken down.
A spokesperson told us: “We are extremely disappointed and frustrated to announce that our meeting with Queen’s University Belfast management was unsuccessful.
“Talks broke down after the university made it apparent that physical bilingual representation of the Irish language would be unsustainable.”
The group hit out at the university’s “refusal to recognise the language on equal terms with English as the indigenous language of this state”.
It said multilingual digital signage would help create “a more welcoming and inclusive campus for our international students”.
“This, however, is not enough for the Irish speaking community in Queen’s University, who pay thousands in fees year after year,” the group added.
“According to their own Public Authorities Report 2023/24, QUB is a public authority, as mentioned in, ‘Section 75 and Schedule 9 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998’, a piece of legislation which public authorities must adhere to.
“QUB have a duty to uphold, as a public authority, to protect and develop the Irish Language on campus.
An Cumann Gaelach has criticised the university’s “refusal to recognise the language on equal terms with English as the indigenous language of this state”
“We will not give in on our demands, and we are happy to announce that we will be returning to the campaign trail, until QUB are happy to fulfil their duties.”
The Irish language and Queen’s University have a chequered past.
In 1997, the students’ union removed English/Irish signs saying it “had no choice”.
A subsequent campaign by QUB Irish society, An Cumann Gaelach, for bilingual signage failed in 2018.
A QUB spokesperson said the university was “always keen to listen and engage with our student body and earlier this week, the university leadership met with Cumann Gaelach”.
“Talks broke down after the university made it apparent that physical bilingual representation of the Irish language would be unsustainable.
“We discussed the progress made to date in promoting the Irish language, such as the creation of accommodation for Irish speakers, and the appointment of a support officer for Irish at the University’s language centre.
“Discussions are ongoing to identify other measures that could help promote the language within the context of the wider student experience at Queen’s and we will continue to engage with Cumann Gaelach.”
Late New supplement
Sean’s Browne’s widow refused intervention by Supreme Court
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, April 18th, 2025
THE Supreme Court in London has refused the widow of GAA official Sean Brown permission to intervene in a case linked to the loyalist murder of a Catholic man but granted approval to British government departments linked to several intelligence agencies.
Bridie Brown’s husband Sean was attacked and beaten as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolf Tones GAC, in Co Derry, and later shot dead near Randalstown, Co Antrim, in May 1997.
His 87-year-old widow had wanted to join a case linked to the UDA murder of Paul ‘Topper’ Thompson (25) in west Belfast in April 1994.
Collusion is suspected in the murder.
It has now emerged that applications by Mrs Brown and Amnesty International to intervene in the case have been rejected.
However, the Supreme Court has allowed the British home secretary, whose department has links to MI5, the foreign secretary, who oversees the work of MI6 and secretary of state for defence, with oversight of British military intelligence, to intervene orally and in writing along with the advocate general.
The Northern Irish Human Rights Commission has also been granted permission to intervene in writing.
Public Interest Immunity
Mr Thompson’s inquest was one of several abandoned last year as the British government’s controversial Legacy Act loomed and involved a Public Interest Immunity (PII) process.
PII certificates are used by state agencies to withhold information they do not want the public to see.
The British government is currently challenging a decision by a coroner in the Thompson inquest, Louisa Fee, to provide a gist, or summary of facts, to his family.
An unsuccessful High Court attempt to stop the coroner issuing the gist last year was later brought to the Court of Appeal by the British government, where it was knocked back for a second time.
It has since been referred to the Supreme Court in London.
The decision by Ms Fee to issue a summary came after a similar gist was ordered by the coroner in the Sean Brown inquest, High Court judge Patrick Kinney, before he was also forced to halt the proceedings early.
In an unprecedented development, Mr Kinney’s legal team revealed that more than 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder of Mr Brown, including several state agents.
The British government also launched a retrospective judicial review of the decision by Mr Kinney to provide his damning gist.
On closing the Brown inquest last year, Mr Kinney said he was writing to the then Conservative Secretary of State Chris Heaton Harris requesting a public inquiry.
Earlier this month the Court of Appeal ruled the British government’s refusal to hold a public inquiry is “unlawful”.
The court also found it breaches Article Two obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights – which protect the right to life.
The court has given current Labour Secretary of State Hilary Benn four weeks to “reflect upon the judgment”.
After the recent hearing Mrs Brown urged Mr Benn to “do the right thing and please don’t have me going to London”.
It is not yet clear if the British government will grant an inquiry, suggest an alternative, or force the case into the Supreme Court despite the pleas from Mrs Brown.
First victim’s family to be granted ‘gist’ of Inquest findings
Mr Brown’s daughter Siobhan Brown believes her family’s experience of receiving a summary “would have assisted the Supreme Court’s comprehension of the value of such gists”.
“We felt that we had a duty to participate in the Thompson case,” she said.
“As far as we know, we are the first family to have ever received such an important gist of information.
“As a result of the secretary of state’s appeal to shut down gists of sensitive information, we fear we will be the only and last family to have received such important judicially endorsed facts.
“We know why the government vehemently opposed to our participation in the Supreme Court, as we had a truth that we wanted to speak to power.
“Our opportunity to speak on behalf of the truth has been denied to us by those administering the interests of the state in London.”
“We know why the government vehemently opposed to our participation in the Supreme Court, as we had a truth that we wanted to speak to power.
Role of state agents
Niall Murphy of KRW Law said said the pending Supreme Court action will “will deal with the lawfulness of the state’s use and application of the principle to Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND), the role of state agents in murders”.
“The secretary of state’s assertion was that the release of a gist would breach the NCND policy in a manner that would be contrary to the national security interests of the state,” he said.
“The legal fact of the matter is that there is no such legal principle as the ‘NCND principle.’ It is an executive policy, the operation of which is subject to the proper application of the law.”
Daniel Holder of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, which represents Mr Thompson’s family, said: “We have been notified that the UK home secretary, the foreign secretary, and the defence secretary, along with the Advocate General have all been granted permission to intervene.
“The three departments have a role in overseeing MI5, MI6 and military intelligence respectively.
“They will join the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, so multiple British government ministries will therefore now be involved in the proceedings.”
Paul O’Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre said: “It’s vital that the secretary of state understands the depth of feeling right across this island on this issue.
“An online campaign was launched yesterday and we would urge people to sign up, send an email and share with family and friends at actnowni.org
“This is the time to show people power at its best.
“The secretary of state needs to get the monkey of ‘national security’ off his back and show his mettle.”
