SDLP leader accuses Stormont's main parties of being 'allergic to responsibility' and brands Farage 'an architect of chaos'
ADRIAN RUTHERFORD, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
Northern Ireland's divided politics is holding people back, with parties in government unable to wield real power, the SDLP leader has claimed.
Claire Hanna accused the DUP and Sinn Fein of being “allergic to responsibility”.
She was addressing delegates at the party conference in Belfast yesterday.
The SDLP is the official opposition in the Assembly, which was restored in 2024 after a two-year, DUP-enforced shutdown.
However, in her keynote address, Ms Hanna accused the main parties of failing to deliver since Stormont's return.
“Politics here holds our people back,” she said. “Successes are in spite of government — certainly not because of it.”
While critical of the main parties, Ms Hanna also accused Alliance of just being “along for the ride”.
She added: “We have power shared out, but no one can call it good government.
“The result? Marathon waiting lists, a housing crisis, public services people can no longer rely on.
“Confidence is draining in politics. (We have) an Executive that kicks big decisions into the long grass and that never seems far from collapse. In government, but not truly in power.”
Ms Hanna also urged the UK and Irish governments to focus more on planning for a border poll, calling for a new ministry in Dublin dedicated to the issue.
While Sinn Fein wants a unity referendum by 2030, Ms Hanna stopped short of putting a timeframe on a vote.
“This is not about an arbitrary deadline for a border poll. It never has been for this party,” she said.
“To the Irish and British Governments, now is the moment to begin real planning.”
Ms Hanna said today's Britain “is more and more at odds with our values”.
She also warned of the prospect of Reform UK's surge in the polls, and the danger its leader Nigel Farage could pose to politics here.
Comatose
“He has never hidden his complete disinterest in this place,” she said.
Ms Hanna called for “a way of living defined by empathy, restraint and reflection”.
She said: “The UK is changing, no matter what we do. I know there are parties here who'll tell you just how awful it all is…but who seem happy to sit back and let the future sort itself out.”
Earlier, Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole also hit out at the Executive's main parties.
He said: “DUP MLAs spend much of their time pursuing tribal grievances or Maga-style culture wars. Sinn Fein MLAs don't say much at all, beyond short, scripted remarks.
“The brutal, unavoidable truth is that the Executive isn't delivering at all. It isn't just failing, it's inert, it's comatose.”
Unionists opposed to Irish don't see the signs of a changing Belfast
Symbols of Britishness are embedded in the everyday life of Belfast.
Suzanne Breen, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
However, you'd never guess that from listening to those protesting loudly about the council's new Irish language policy.
The names of prominent places, institutions and thoroughfares in our city reflect royalty, aristocracy and empire.
We have Queen's University, the Royal Victoria Hospital, King's Bridge, Queen's Bridge, Albert Bridge, Royal Avenue, Great Victoria Street, and Chichester Street, to mention but a few.
Applications for 256 Irish language street signs have been approved in Belfast over the past three years. The council's draft Irish language policy, adopted on Wednesday, will include the introduction of English-Irish signage at its facilities and a new bilingual logo.
This historic move threatens no community, identity or individual. No rights are being taken away. The English language isn't being eradicated, Irish is just being added. This is about inclusivity, not exclusivity.
Irish signs no more “impose” that language on people, as the DUP claims, than English signs on our streets and buildings impose that language on Irish speakers.
The party's contention that unionists are being “ignored” is equally untrue. There was a lengthy public consultation period last year: from August 22 to November 28.
There were seven public consultation events held at various locations across the city and online.
Sources from a range of parties in City Hall say private approaches were also made to unionist councillors on the Irish language draft policy, but they wouldn't engage. Out of 60 members of the council, 17 oppose it. Belfast has changed politically and demographically. No amount of protesting — no matter how loudly — is going to change that.
Only one of the city's four MPs is a unionist — East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson.
The number of unionist councillors is likely to decline after the next local government election. The power dynamic once at play in City Hall is never coming back.
Unionists have triggered a 'call in' of the council's decision. There will be a legal opinion on whether or not the 'call-in' has merit. If the opinion is that the concerns raised aren't valid, then a judicial review is likely to be taken by loyalist Jamie Bryson and the unionist parties.
The council and legal process must run its course, but supporters of the Irish language policy believe that the objectors will succeed only in delaying and not denying its implementation.
A year ago, there was loud opposition to Scoil na Seolta in east Belfast. A banner appeared saying: “Relocate Irish school to where it is needed; relocate Irish school to where it is wanted.”
It was argued that there was no consultation, no engagement and no respect for the Clonduff community.
Welcoming
There was nothing sectarian, offensive or provocative about what was being planned.
The school explained it would be welcoming children from all religions and none.
Its co-founder was east Belfast-born and bred Linda Ervine. She's from a Protestant background. Her brother-in-law David was a former UVF man who went on to be leader of the PUP.
Her husband Brian also led that party.
Those supporting the school explained the irony. Clonduff literally is Cluain Daimh — Meadow of the Ox. It's in Castlereagh, An Caisleán Riabhach. Irish is not a foreign language.
Bunscoil na Seolta is now up and running. Nobody in Clonduff is in the slightest disadvantaged or inconvenienced by it.
The same will be true when our city's Irish language policy swings into action.
We'll torch council vans, vow loyalists
CIARAN BARNES, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
PARAMILITARIES PLANNING ARSON CAMPAIGN IN PROTEST AGAINST IRISH LANGUAGE SIGNAGE
Loyalist paramilitaries are planning an arson campaign to prevent Irish language signage from being displayed on Belfast City Council buildings and vehicles.
In a briefing to Sunday Life yesterday, representatives of both the UVF and UDA warned of future violence, saying: “Loyalists will embark on a campaign of burning any council vans or centres displaying Irish language signage in order to make the Belfast City Council policy unworkable.”
The sinister threats come after a majority of councillors in City Hall endorsed a new draft Irish language policy that contains pledges to adopt dual signage at its facilities and bilingual logos.
Unionist councillors have objected to the plan, as have loyalist paramilitaries, with the latter threatening a campaign of violence to make it “unworkable”.
Sunday Life understands that several council depots in unionist areas of Belfast where vehicles are stored will be targeted if Irish signage appears on the premises.
“They will be burned to the ground,” said a UVF source. “This isn't something anyone in the loyalist community wants to see happen, but it will happen if the Irish language is forced upon us.
“Many of the staff in these facilities are from a unionist background and they are also opposed to wearing uniforms or working in buildings with Irish language signs.”
UVF and UDA leaders say at the moment there is no plan to target leisure centres as they are seen as key community facilities, however, they have warned that could change.
“The council and the PSNI should not underestimate how real this threat is,” said a UDA source.
“It'll be down to councillors now to work out how best to deal with this and reach a compromise.”
The PSNI is also understood to be aware of the UVF and UDA threats and has been briefed about possible violence.
Unionist councillors have been vocal in their opposition to the council's new draft Irish language policy and will use a 'call-in' in a bid to have it reversed.
This is a rarely used method to have decisions reviewed.
Violence
TUV councillor and party deputy leader Ron McDowell said the Irish language is being “weaponised, politicised and forced on communities that don't want it”.
He added: “There are huge areas of the city that don't have an Irish population, don't identify as Irish and why should we therefore have Irish thrust upon us?”
DUP leader and former Belfast Lord Mayor Gavin Robinson said: “If this is a shared city, we don't stand in the way of anybody trying to engage their interest to speak Irish, but nor do we want it foisted upon the vast majority who have no interest or knowledge.”
The Irish language proposals have the support of Sinn Fein, Alliance, the SDLP and the Green Party, whose councillors form a majority in the City Hall.
Sinn Fein councillor Natasha Brennan said the policy was “a historic moment for the city in terms of equality for the indigenous language within the city”.
She added that it followed best practice guidelines set out in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Alliance's Michael Long also gave the proposals his seal of approval, saying it would cost ratepayers “not a penny more” to implement the policy.
Several councils throughout Northern Ireland already adopt dual language signage and logos on their uniforms, vehicles and facilities.
These include Derry City and Strabane Council, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
Unionists opposed to Irish don't see the signs of a changing Belfast
Symbols of Britishness are embedded in the everyday life of Belfast.
Suzanne Breen, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
However, you'd never guess that from listening to those protesting loudly about the council's new Irish language policy.
The names of prominent places, institutions and thoroughfares in our city reflect royalty, aristocracy and empire.
We have Queen's University, the Royal Victoria Hospital, King's Bridge, Queen's Bridge, Albert Bridge, Royal Avenue, Great Victoria Street, and Chichester Street, to mention but a few.
Applications for 256 Irish language street signs have been approved in Belfast over the past three years. The council's draft Irish language policy, adopted on Wednesday, will include the introduction of English-Irish signage at its facilities and a new bilingual logo.
This historic move threatens no community, identity or individual. No rights are being taken away. The English language isn't being eradicated, Irish is just being added. This is about inclusivity, not exclusivity.
Irish signs no more “impose” that language on people, as the DUP claims, than English signs on our streets and buildings impose that language on Irish speakers.
The party's contention that unionists are being “ignored” is equally untrue. There was a lengthy public consultation period last year: from August 22 to November 28.
There were seven public consultation events held at various locations across the city and online.
Sources from a range of parties in City Hall say private approaches were also made to unionist councillors on the Irish language draft policy, but they wouldn't engage. Out of 60 members of the council, 17 oppose it. Belfast has changed politically and demographically. No amount of protesting — no matter how loudly — is going to change that.
Only one of the city's four MPs is a unionist — East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson.
The number of unionist councillors is likely to decline after the next local government election. The power dynamic once at play in City Hall is never coming back.
Unionists have triggered a 'call in' of the council's decision. There will be a legal opinion on whether or not the 'call-in' has merit. If the opinion is that the concerns raised aren't valid, then a judicial review is likely to be taken by loyalist Jamie Bryson and the unionist parties.
The council and legal process must run its course, but supporters of the Irish language policy believe that the objectors will succeed only in delaying and not denying its implementation.
A year ago, there was loud opposition to Scoil na Seolta in east Belfast. A banner appeared saying: “Relocate Irish school to where it is needed; relocate Irish school to where it is wanted.”
It was argued that there was no consultation, no engagement and no respect for the Clonduff community.
Welcoming
There was nothing sectarian, offensive or provocative about what was being planned.
The school explained it would be welcoming children from all religions and none.
Its co-founder was east Belfast-born and bred Linda Ervine. She's from a Protestant background. Her brother-in-law David was a former UVF man who went on to be leader of the PUP.
Her husband Brian also led that party.
Those supporting the school explained the irony. Clonduff literally is Cluain Daimh — Meadow of the Ox. It's in Castlereagh, An Caisleán Riabhach. Irish is not a foreign language.
Bunscoil na Seolta is now up and running. Nobody in Clonduff is in the slightest disadvantaged or inconvenienced by it.
The same will be true when our city's Irish language policy swings into action.
Former red hand prisoner rejects hypocrisy claims
JOHN TONER, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
Former loyalist prisoner Jim 'Bimbo' Wilson has defended the use of Irish on loyalist murals amid the row over dual-language street signs.
Belfast City Council passed a motion last week to broaden the use of the language, sparking loyalist anger and a legal challenge.
There are numerous murals in Belfast featuring the Irish mottos of the Red Hand Commando (RHC) and the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR).
The RIR's slogan is 'Faugh a Ballagh', an anglicisation of 'Fag an Bealach', meaning 'Clear the Way'.
The RHC's motto is 'Lamh Dearg Abu', which roughly translates as 'Red Hand Forever', and can be seen in loyalist strongholds such as the Shankill Road and Rathcoole estate.
War
Wilson (73), a former RHC internee and member of the Loyalist Communities Council, rejected any suggestion of hypocrisy in opposing Irish signage while revering loyalist murals which contain it.
“It's absolutely not hypocritical,” he said.
“How and why should it be? The hypocrisy is in Sinn Fein weaponising it and demanding it here, there and everywhere.
“I've never heard anyone saying it should be removed (from the RHC murals), nor should it be. It wasn't forced upon people. This (the city council signage) is being forced upon people.
“It wouldn't be accepted in nationalist communities. Isn't that why they went to war?
“The fact that stuff is being imposed on people is the issue. You start doing that, and they will hit back and react.
“They're not being asked but being told.
“It (the use of Irish on loyalist murals) was to show we knew what they were at and to tell them they weren't going to bomb and murder us into a united Ireland.
“Republicans were constantly using Irish in Long Kesh, thinking unionists didn't know what they were saying, when some knew exactly.”
Wilson, who acts as a representative for former RHC members, said he respected people's right to learn the language but it was not for him.
He added: “The difference in the Irish language whenever Presbyterians and people from the Protestant communities were fighting for it was that it wasn't being used as a weapon, whereas it is now.
“A republican famously once said, 'Every word spoken in the Irish language is a bullet in the gun for freedom for the Irish people', so why would I want to shoot myself or my people?
“I respect people's right to learn the language. It's not for me, my children, or a lot of the community I come from, and that should be acceptable to everybody.
“It's being weaponised and rammed down our throats by imposing it on street signs and so on.”
On Thursday, a unionist coalition at Belfast City Council announced a legal bid to block the introduction of further Irish signage in the city after it had been voted through by a majority.
A TUV spokesman said: “The required number of signatures has been obtained.
“The text has been agreed and the call-in should be with Belfast City Council's solicitor (on Thursday).
“It is signed by councillors from the TUV, DUP and UUP.”
Mystery over conflicting accounts at SF-linked Easter Rising project
BILL BREATHNACH, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
TD SCATHING OF PARTY AS REVENUE DOESN'T TALLY WITH NUMBERS WHO REPORTEDLY VISITED VENTURE
A Sinn Féin-linked company established to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising has left at least €440,000 unaccounted for.
Ireland 1916 Commemorations CLG was responsible for managing the controversial Revolution 1916 exhibition in the Ambassador Theatre in Dublin throughout 2016.
In response to two complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority in 2016 over tributes to the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin involvement, the company stated that more than 50,000 had attended the exhibition.
However, company accounts report that Ireland 1916 Commemorations CLG received a turnover of just €159,390 in 2016 — meaning at least 36,717 people would needed to have attended the exhibition for free for both the reported attendance and income listed on the accounts to be correct.
Activities
A turnover of at least €600,000 would have been expected if all 50,000 who reportedly attended had just purchased a discounted ticket which was worth €12 — with standard adult ticket prices being charged at €15 and rising to €18 at the weekends.
Ireland 1916 Commemorations reported an overall loss of €116,658 for 2016.
A note in the 2017 accounts states that the “company did not engage in any activities during the year”.
Digital records from the company website — which no longer exists — record that it was not possible to purchase merchandise online after 2016, with no events being advertised after this time either. As such, the source of the income is unclear.
Despite this, Ireland 1916 Commemorations is reported to have made a profit in 2019, 2021 and 2022, although the accounts do not report any tax being paid for these years.
Strangely, for all the years were a profit was reportedly made, reported expenses exceeded income.
Accounts for 2019, which were reportedly audited, maintain that the company had a turnover of €3,589 and experienced “other expenses” of €15,498, resulting in a reported “profit” of €19,087.
The accounts also show that the company had assets worth €94,961 from debtors who owed money to the company at the end of 2015.
Companies generally have debtors when they provide goods or services on credit and haven't yet received payment.
However, it is unclear what goods or services Ireland 1916 Commemorations could have provided in 2015, as the exhibition did not commence until February 2016.
The accounts also provide two separate figures — with a difference of over €115,000 — for the deficit run by the company in 2015. On one page, this figure is stated to be €564 whereas on another page this figure is stated to be €116,658.
Reacting to the details outlined in this report, Fine Gael TD Barry Ward excoriated Sinn Féin and accused the party of demonstrating “contempt” for those who fought in the 1916 rising.
He said: “The very fact that Sinn Féin set up this company demonstrates the real contempt they have for the men and women who put their lives and futures on the line for Irish freedom.
“It would be inconceivable that the heroes of 1916 would show such contempt for laws written by Irish men and women.
“Time after time, the party has shown contempt for the rules that apply to every other party, seemingly thinking that Sinn Féin is above them. This appears to be a clear cut case where questions need to be answered.”
TIES
Both directors of the Ireland 1916 Commemorations, Brian Dowling and Treasa Quinn, have close ties to Sinn Féin, with the latter being the party's finance manager. Mr Dowling and Ms Quinn are the directors of Republican Merchandising Ltd which trades as The Sinn Féin Bookshop.
Furthermore, both individuals were also the directors of Parnell Publications Ltd, which operated the party's newspaper An Phoblacht until it ceased trading last April.
Sinn Féin and organisations affiliated with the party have had significant financial involvement with Ireland 1916 Commemorations.
Accounts for 2017 note that the company owed €49,349 to Sinn Féin and €109,494 to Friends of Sinn Féin, which could potentially refer to one of six international organisations based in Scotland, England, Wales, Canada, Australia or the United States.
Accounts for 2021 also note that the company owed Republican Merchandising Ltd €16,153.
Despite this, the party strenuously denied having any involvement in the running of the exhibition and maintained that Ireland 1916 Commemorations was the sole entity responsible for its management when questioned about the matter in 2016.
However, at the time it was reported that the exhibition shared a business address and phone number with the Sinn Féin offices in 58 Parnell Square, Dublin 1.
On the 'contact us' section of the exhibition's website, the email address provided was 1916@sinnfein.com.
Both Sinn Féin and Ireland 1916 Commemorations CLG were approached for comment, as were Mr Dowling and Ms Quinn, but at time of going to press, Sunday Life had received no reply.
Far-right agitator in court charged with wrecking bus stop
JOHN TONER, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
GARDENER 'TOO ANXIOUS' TO TAKE STAND DURING CASE
A high-profile anti-immigration activist has appeared in court charged with criminal damage of a bus stop.
Stephen Baker (44) refused to enter the dock saying “it makes me anxious” but acknowledged the charge against him at Laganside Magistrates Court in Belfast last week.
The indictment alleges Baker, of Cregagh Road, east Belfast, damaged a bus shelter belonging to Translink on August 29 this year.
The gardener, who represented himself in court, was told he will be served with evidence by the Public Prosecution Service in due course, with the matter adjourned until later this month.
Baker was accompanied to court by Charles Johnston, aka CJ Audits, a self-styled 'citizen journalist' who has recently become involved in far-right anti-immigration demonstrations.
Johnston (50) was initially refused entry into Court 10 at Laganside Courthouse last week as he was wearing a body-worn camera on his chest. The law prohibits filming or taking pictures inside courts and their precincts.
After initially telling security they were going to get a “free education” in the law, he eventually removed the camera.
Outside court Baker made abusive comments to our reporter with Johnston taking photographs.
Raid
Last month Baker labelled the PSNI “bullies” and “paramilitaries” after he was arrested in an early-morning raid on his home.
He was arrested by police in the early hours of Friday, August 29, before being charged over the alleged bus-stop incident.
Baker was held by detectives for almost 24 hours and the conspiracy theorist later took to social media to whine about his arrest, which he likened to terrorism.
“Yes I was arrested for criminal damage,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“I despise bullies, as anyone who went to the Boys' Model with me will know, I got stuck into them.
“The PSNI are bullies who are destroying communications with the people of east Belfast because we stand up and protect our people.
“They're paramilitaries, them knocking my door with guns at two in the morning is f***ing terrorism, it's bullying. The PSNI are out to get me because I am speaking out about fighting-age males being housed in hotels.”
Baker has been a high-profile figure at recent anti-immigration protests in Belfast alongside fox hunter Neil Pinkerton and convicted armed robber Mark Sinclair, AKA FreedomDad, and others.
Ex-UVF thug Sinclair is the cousin of William Moore, a notorious murderer and member of the Shankill Butchers.
Baker was a prominent anti-vaxxer and anti-lockdown protester during the Covid-19 pandemic and was convicted of breaching coronavirus regulations in 2021.
Ex-squaddie stashed guns for the uvf
EXCLUSIVE CIARAN BARNES, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
SCOTTISH SOLDIER 'FELL IN WITH LOYALISTS AND STORED AMMO TO PAY OFF COCAINE DEBTS'
A former soldier who admitted storing UVF guns did so to pay off a £2,000 cocaine debt to drug dealers connected to the terror gang.
Bryce Pounder — who sources say is originally from Lanarkshire in Scotland — moved to east Belfast after serving in the Royal Irish Regiment.
Security insiders explained how he became friendly with loyalist paramilitaries through attending Rangers football games before falling into debt to UVF cocaine pushers.
To pay off the money he owed, Pounder agreed to mind a pipe-bomb, fake Beretta pistol, 98 rounds of ammo and a silencer for the terror gang.
The 37-year-old, with an address on Parker Street in the lower Newtownards Road area, pleaded guilty to possessing the weapons haul at Belfast Crown Court last Monday.
Parade
Pounder has been on court bail since his arrest during intelligence-led searches of his home in November 2022.
A judge heard that during police interviews the ex-squaddie told detectives he had been instructed to keep the weapons after amassing an £1,800 drug debt.
The week before his arrest Pounder — who will be sentenced on November 24 — had taken part in a loyalist Remembrance Sunday parade in east Belfast dressed in UVF-style uniform, however none of the charges he has pleaded guilty to are terrorist-related.
One source revealed: “Pounder was wearing a UVF-style uniform at the parade and carrying a big duffel bag in full view of the PSNI, is it any wonder then that his home was searched a few days later?
“He was well-known to the police because he liked to be front and centre of parades and commemorations. There was even a picture of him on his social media holding a Protestant Action Force (PAF) flag.”
The PAF was a cover named used by the UVF to claim sectarian murders it carried out during the Troubles.
The source added: “Pounder would be considered a Walter Mitty character. He's not someone loyalists in east Belfast would take seriously, especially as he had a self-confessed drug problem.”
Pouder's court appearance last Monday, during which he entered guilty pleas, heard how he is suffering from suspected Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that his lawyers are seeking medical reports ahead of sentencing.
The ex-soldier confessed to possessing explosives, possessing an article for use in terrorism, and possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances.
The PSNI said his arrest was part of an investigation targeting the East Belfast UVF.
Army commander 'made NI soldier sniff letters from home to check for Semtex'
ANGELA DAVISON, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
A serving soldier from Co Down has claimed a commander victimised him during a training camp in England because he was Northern Irish.
In a video posted on his Ranger Media YouTube channel, Luke Johnston said the experience led him to leaving the platoon and joining the Royal Irish Regiment around 20 years ago.
He said of his time at the training camp: “I started training, and away I went. The first week was brilliant, the second week was fine. The further I got on, I just started to hate it.
“When I look back now, I got absolutely tortured.
“The Army is good now, and they've started to clamp down on a lot of bad behaviours, but looking at it now, I was severely bullied.
Idiot
“I can't remember his (the Army commander's) name, but he was an absolute idiot. He just had it in for me.”
Luke said his superior even gave him grief over parcels sent to the base by his family.
He explained: “My family were quite good at posting letters.
“My granny would post chocolate cakes, but the commander wouldn't give the mail out.
“Every time I got something in the mail, he'd say, 'Flip me, this is probably going to be Semtex or something'.
“He'd have to get me out the front, sniffing the letter, just really exposing it (that he is from Northern Ireland).
“I sort of laughed and got on with it, but it started isolating me big-time as I was the only person from Northern Ireland in that platoon.
“Everyone else was from either England, Scotland or Wales, and they all had, I believe, a little bit of a connection.
“I just felt completely on my own, and when he was doing this all of the time to me, it was just chipping away at me.
“It got to week eight or so, and I was like, 'I'm done with this. I need to get out of here'.
“I was phoning back home and (saying to his family) 'I need to leave'.”
Mr Johnston said his “bad choice” of regiment almost ended his British Army career before it had begun.
However, a chat with a friendly corporal made him reconsider.
Welcomed in Royal Irish Regiment
Spotting the Irish Guards book he had been reading, the corporal recommended the Royal Irish Regiment and helped arrange an interview with a platoon sergeant.
Mr Johnston recalled seeing pictures of Irish rangers stationed around the globe on the wall, and said it felt like “a different vibe”.
He continued: “He (the corporal) really got me into it. He said 'It's just a little home away from home'.
“At the time, they were in Inverness but soon to move to Shropshire, and he asked me (if I wanted)to give it a go.”
Mr Johnston transferred after his passing out parade.
He was part of the biggest intake to the regiment, which was training with the Rifles at the time.
Surrounded by Northern Irish accents, he straight away felt like he was at home.
Mr Johnston said he had “never looked back” since joining the regiment.
His YouTube videos document all aspects of military life, past and present.
He has more than 20,000 subscribers on the platform.
High politics meets raw capitalism in North's Nama corruption trial
SAM MCBRIDE, Sunday Independent and Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
In Belfast's Laganside Courts complex over recent days, the outline of a legal thriller has been unfolding, replete with secret recordings, back-stabbing and claims of insatiable greed, alleged fraud and money-laundering. The scale of what's involved is extreme: this criminal case involves the biggest property transaction in the history of Northern Ireland, with allegedly corrupt kickbacks totalling £7.5m (€8.6m).
It's a cross-border case, with multiple references to meetings with the then taoiseach Enda Kenny, finance minister Michael Noonan and a series of other senior figures from Irish public life, none of whom face any allegations.
The identities of the defendants and the names of those being mentioned in court also make this something of a who's who of Belfast's political, business and legal establishments.
At the heart of the trial is the National Assets Management Agency (Nama) — the "bad bank” set up after the 2008 financial crash. When Nama took over failing loans that Irish banks had made to developers, many of them involved properties north of the Border. At one time, they were worth more than £4bn; when they were sold to Cerberus, Irish taxpayers got £1.1bn.
On one level, this case is a window into how such vast deals are constructed — fixers, middle-men, lawyers in London, New York and Belfast, corporate ruthlessness and the always uneasy relationship between high politics and raw capitalism. But if the prosecution proves its case, this was a much darker episode.
A decade ago, the PSNI began investigating the transaction and called in the National Crime Agency, the UK anti-crime body that handles the most complex serious criminal investigations. Myriad delays mean the case is only now coming to trial.
Former solicitor Ian George Coulter (54), of Templepatrick Road, Ballyclare, Co Antrim, faces two charges of fraud by false representation and charges of making or supplying articles use in fraud, removing criminal property and transferring criminal property. He had been the head of a major Belfast law firm Tughans and is a former head of the CBI, the British business lobbying group, in Northern Ireland.
His co-accused is former banker Frank Hugh Cushnahan (83), of Alexandra Gate in Holywood, Belfast. A former chairman of Belfast Harbour Commissioners and a former board member of the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, he is charged with fraud by failing to disclose information and fraud by false representation. Both men deny all the charges.
Prosecution barrister Jonathan Kinnear KC told the jury that despite the case's three-month timeframe and the number of documents they would be shown, "it's not particularly complicated, we say”. He told the jury that both men had lied again and again.
Cushnahan was nominated by a DUP minister to sit on Nama's Northern Ireland advisory committee, for which he was paid €1,000 a meeting. The prosecution alleges he repeatedly failed to declare he was working for two huge US funds trying to buy Nama's loans, something they say he realised was improper because he made far lesser declarations in line with the anti-corruption legislation the role entailed. It is alleged that he stood to make millions, planning to split the £7.5m with Coulter.
Trusted figure in world of politics and finance
The jury were told that Cushnahan was a major business figure "known and trusted by many prominent politicians”. He was secretly recorded boasting of his top-level political connections and his central role in a deal that Nama was assured did not involve him.
Cushnahan had an office in Tughans' Belfast building, where Coulter was the boss. Coulter was dealing with London lawyers who in turn put proposals to potential buyers. At one point, a senior figure at one of those funds asked a colleague to tell Coulter he was "a greedy fker” (sic) for trying to get the €16m success fee changed to £16m (about €19.4m at the time).
Coulter is accused of plotting a sophisticated way to funnel £9m into a dormant account at Tughans and then through a series of money transfers to the Isle of Man, where he had taken over a "shelf company” that had "front men” as directors. In fact, the court heard, a secret legal agreement meant he controlled its activities and its bank account.
The jury was told that this elaborate money-laundering scheme fell apart when, quite by chance, Tughans heard of a routine Law Society audit. As panic set in, questions were asked by Coulter's senior colleagues, one of whom recorded a meeting where they grilled him about what had happened.
The prosecution say that to "save his own skin” he tried to buy their loyalty by sharing £1.5m with them (they repaid it when they more fully understood what had gone on) and that he made highly unusual requests to his secretary and the firm's IT director to delete material linked to the deal.
The prosecution barrister compared Nama's vast portfolio to a house transaction and Cushnahan's role to that of an estate agent working for the seller while secretly also helping the buyer for an undisclosed fee. The scale was different, he said, but the principle was not — this was obviously improper.
Thus far we have only heard the prosecution case. Over the next 11 weeks, a host of witnesses will be called before barristers for the accused set out their defence.
The jury is likely to be hearing the case until just before Christmas. In their hands lies an exceptionally consequential decision.
Just as what happened in Dublin boardrooms affected Belfast developers, so the coming months of revelations in a Belfast courtroom could have implications on both sides of the Border.
RIP Ian Milne, yours was a life well lived
Ivan Little, Sunday Life, October 5th, 2025
Undertaker Ian Milne who died suddenly last week was a whirlwind of a man who was a million miles removed from the perceived stereotypes of his livelihood of death and lived a remarkable life of diversity.
I was privileged that the former policeman, prison officer, confidant of terrorists and peacemaker — and a host other things besides — entrusted me with writing his biography, A Matter of Life and Death, which was published several years ago.
Yet I have to admit that when I was first approached about the book, I knew absolutely nothing about him and wondered how anyone could make the story of a funeral director an interesting read.
But within hours of meeting Ian face-to-face for the first time, I was totally invested in the project.
Over endless cups of coffee on Saturday morning get-togethers in the Stormont Hotel in Belfast, Ian regaled me with stories that ranged from the side-splittingly hilarious to the spine-chillingly shocking — though none of his anecdotes were relayed at the expense of, or betrayed the confidences of, his funeral clients.
His honesty was as engaging as his humour. He insisted that one of his earliest traumatic memories — of being sexually abused as an 11-year-old boy by a family acquaintance — had to be included in the book, as well as the story of how he came close to suicide decades later after the collapse of a property business.
But his personal experiences were almost as of nought compared to the biggest revelations over those cappuccinos.
Mediator behind scenes at Drumcree
The most intriguing of all was how, virtually unknown to the general public or the media, Ian worked behind the scenes in a bid to find a resolution to the Drumcree crisis in Portadown where as a one-time member of an Orange lodge, he mightn't have been welcomed with open arms by nationalist residents on the Garvaghy Road.
At the same time, some former colleagues in collarettes resisted Ian's mediation moves. But he stubbornly persisted and eventually had the ears of the main movers and shakers on both sides — whose friendships he still valued.
And though his negotiations did break new ground, they didn't find enough of the middle ground to finally end the stand-off which broke his heart.
As part of his journey, Ian also took it upon himself to directly appeal to terrorists for an end to the murders, including to the LVF leader Billy Wright after the shooting of Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick.
And though the killing — said to be a birthday present for 'King Rat' — was off the table, the undertaker was able to use the trust he'd established with the killer to help in later times to defuse sectarian tensions in mid-Ulster.
On one occasion he even took Wright to see a terrified Catholic family whose home had been attacked, and the loyalist assured them that they wouldn't be targeted again.
And they weren't. Another unlikely figure with whom Ian bonded was former IRA man Sean 'Spike' Murray whom he met at a gathering of republicans who wanted to know what made loyalists in Portadown tick.
Murray and Milne were later to offer their condolences in person to each other after the deaths of parents.
Through everything, however, Ian Milne told me he detested the violence on all sides and he never forgot how as a 14-year-old, a bomb exploded at Ballygargan Orange Hall near his home, killing a soldier who'd been searching the premises after a female hoax caller warned the security forces that loyalists were storing arms there.
Later Ian and his father visited the wrecked hall and found small pieces of human remains which they buried, saying the Lord's Prayer as they did so.
Ian was a generous sponsor of sport, from motorcycling to football, where he insisted he was a fan of both Glenavon and Portadown.
My wife and I once arrived at a hotel in Fermanagh where I was told that the dinner drinks had been paid for over the phone by “a Mr Milne”, though I didn't know how he knew we were there.
Just a few weeks ago Ian asked me to meet him to talk about his concerns about the state of the funeral industry. We were back in the Stormont but I never imagined it would be my last encounter with this astonishing livewire.
Presidential Election in the Republic
Connolly leads in Áras race as support for Gavin drops
Sunday Independent, October 5th, 2025
Poll suggests transfers from FF candidate would seal her victory.
Catherine Connolly is now leading the race for the Áras and is ahead of Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys by nine points, a new poll for the Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks today shows.
The Independent Galway TD is on 32pc, with Ms Humphreys on 23pc and Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin on 15pc in the first poll since the nominations closed.
It shows the former Dublin football manager has a mountain to climb to close the gap in what could be shaping up to be a two-horse race for the presidency. He is faring particularly badly with women, with just 10pc of female voters giving him their backing.
Serious questions will now be raised over the decision by Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and his deputy leader Jack Chambers to back Mr Gavin for the party candidacy, over candidates such as Billy Kelleher and Bertie Ahern.
While the findings will cause a major headache for Mr Gavin, they also suggest there remains a sizeable cohort of the electorate still undecided (31pc).
Support for Ms Connolly, the Independent candidate, has jumped 12 points since last month's poll, when nominations for the presidency had yet to close. Mr Gavin is down five points in a month, while Ms Humphreys is up two points.
It follows Sinn Féin backing Ms Connolly in what party leader Mary Lou McDonald promised would be a "game-changer”.
The poll also shows that if Mr Gavin is eliminated and his second preferences are distributed, Ms Connolly is still on track to claim the presidency by a margin of eight points, on 53pc, with Ms Humphreys claiming 47pc of the vote.
Of those polled on Thursday and Friday, 44pc said they believed Ms Connolly came out on top during the Virgin Media presidential debate last Monday night, compared to just 6pc for Ms Humphreys and 5pc for Mr Gavin; 45pc of people said they did not know who performed best in the debate.
The findings this weekend also suggest Ms Connolly has suffered minimal damage after she defended her decision in 2018 to hire a woman convicted of firearm offences.
On Thursday, she had to answer for her decision, describing the woman as a model prisoner and a good example of rehabilitation. Parties backing Ms Connolly in her bid for the presidency, including Sinn Féin and Labour, have said they were satisfied with her explanation. Separately, 70pc of those polled believe a TD should not be allowed to hire someone with a serious criminal conviction.
Connolly leads among men and women
Less than three weeks out from the presidential vote, support for Ms Connolly is the highest among women at 36pc, compared to Ms Humphreys at 22pc and Mr Gavin at just 10pc.
Among men, Ms Connolly was highest on 28pc, Ms Humphreys on 24pc and Mr Gavin on 21pc.
The poll also reveals where crucial second preference votes would go, with 60pc of Mr Gavin's second preference votes going to Ms Humphreys, compared to just 24pc of his second preference votes going to Ms Connolly.
The poll also shows Fine Gael leader Simon Harris's approval rating is recovering. It now stands at 39pc, after falling to 36pc in September from 40pc in August.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is on 34pc, down one point from last month.
Micheál Martin has also taken a hit in his personal ranking as Fianna Fáil leader, now on 43pc, down one point on last month's poll and down two points since August.
However, the Taoiseach remains the most popular leader in the country.
Cork TD and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, who recently returned from maternity leave, sees her support at 39pc, from 36pc last month.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik has seen her support unchanged at 32pc in this month's poll.
Just days out from the budget, which is being framed as one of the tightest in years, the cost of living has risen as one of the major issues for the public, jumping by three points since the last poll.
Housing remains the biggest issue for the public on 48pc, a drop of two points compared to September.
The overall approval rating for the Government is 33pc — no change since the last poll.
Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are now neck and neck in approval from the public, with support for Fianna Fáil dropping by two points.
The latest Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll shows Taoiseach Micheál Martin's party on 20pc, with support for Sinn Féin rising by a point to 21pc. Fine Gael is also on 21pc.
Micheál Martin promised us Top Gun. But Jim Gavin gave us Thunderbirds instead
Catherine Connolly is setting the agenda, writes Fionnán Sheahan
Sunday Independent, October 5th, 2025
In the green room in the Virgin Media studios, two of the candidates were quite nervous, while one was oozing confidence.
Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys were showing signs of apprehension, but Jim Gavin was assured. The Fianna Fáil candidate was riled up and ready to burst on to the field like a Dubs player heading out for an All-Ireland final.
Ninety minutes later his braggadocio had blown over. Gavin had the most to win — and the most to lose — from the debate format. A newcomer to politics, he had the opportunity to show he was capable of performing at this level.
Fianna Fáil later blamed the questions, which didn't really allow him to shine. As the late Larry Gogan used to say to 60-second quiz contestants who got no answers right: "Ah sure, they didn't really suit you.”
The constant hand gestures with the rigid smile on his face made Gavin look like a Thunderbirds puppet. Micheál Martin promised us Top Gun, the best of the best. The forcefully delivered soundbites lacked any real depth. There's only so many times he can mention being a "positive” president, bringing "energy” to the office and talking about being "committed to public service”.
Adopting the old Fianna Fáil trick of being all things to all men, he was critical of the party he represents on housing, crime and funding for the Defence Forces. Although new to the Soldiers of Destiny, he managed to master the ability of being both for and against the party at the same time. Bertie would be proud. "I'm not here to defend the Government,” he declared.
Shot he never fired
Nor was he there to challenge Connolly on her views on the rearmament of Europe in the face of the threat posed by Russia. Connolly's comparisons with Nazi Germany in the 1930s surely presented a shot to someone with his military background. Gavin never took it. His answers became more meandering as the briefing notes dried up. Instead, Connolly had him on the ropes over his clumsy comment on Israel achieving its military objectives.
Humphreys did her best to avoid the debate entirely, letting it play out on either side, and wanting it all to just end as soon as possible.
Connolly dominated the debate, but was aided by a failure of either of her opponents to challenge her perspective. It's hard to see how Billy Kelleher as the Fianna Fáil candidate, as an MEP who has travelled frequently to Europe's eastern borders since the outbreak of war in Ukraine and has seen first-hand the mass graves in Bucha, wouldn't have pushed back on Connolly's world view.
Kelleher wasn't the ideal candidate by any means, but in this contest he would have come across as Glanmire's answer to Barack Obama. Alas, Fianna Fáil decided to go the celebrity route. And now the celebrity misadventure is coming back to bite Micheál Martin.
Today's Sunday Independent Ireland Thinks poll shows Connolly was the clear winner of the debate for the public, with Humphreys and Gavin stuck on single digits.
The real trouble for Gavin, though, is in voting intentions, where he is now cut adrift. He is coming a firm third in what is now a two-horse race.
The poll shows that Connolly is leading the field on 32pc, followed by Humphreys on 23pc and Gavin on 15pc. All three had been level in the corresponding poll a month ago on about 20pc each. Now Connolly has raced ahead and Gavin has dropped back. The 'don't knows' accounted for four in 10 voters four weeks ago, but this cohort has dropped to three in 10 now. When the 'don't knows' are pushed, they are more likely to go for Connolly or Humphreys.
Playing out the scenario with the 'don't knows' accounted for, when the Gavin transfers are distributed, Connolly gets across the line on 53pc to Humphreys 47pc. A two-point swing would put Humphreys back in front, so it's not an insurmountable lead.
Connolly needs to be well ahead on the first count, so she can't be caught on transfers. Humphreys is getting a more than two-to-one share of the Gavin transfers when compared to Connolly. The Fine Gael candidate gets 60pc of the Fianna Fáil runner's second preferences, while the Independent candidate gets 24pc. The pattern there is clear. Connolly can top the poll, but she has to have a big enough gap not to get caught on the second count.
The coalition parties worked the transfers well in the general election last year and the same is set to happen in the presidential election.
And the problem for Gavin at this point of the campaign is that just as success breeds success, failure breeds failure. Voters identify who is in contention to win and sway in their direction. Gavin's distant third place in this poll sucks any energy from his campaign.
Voters drift away towards their next most preferred candidate. Beyond the debate, Gavin's campaign had a calamitous week. He speaks of his record of managing big projects, yet his campaign has been amateur hour. The candidate is not alone in taking the blame there. Fianna Fáil is still a relatively big political beast, which should be able to organise a few videos without turning it into a three-day shambles of corrected clarifications and deleted social media posts.
Defence force record an electoral liability
Gavin was the rules man in the Defence Forces and the Irish Aviation Authority and yet the regulations weren't applied. Senior Fianna Fáil figures in Gavin's campaign are blaming Fine Gael for spinning against them, failing to recognise they put all these mishaps out there into the public domain.
Gavin's gaffes were down to own goals, not dirty tricks. The absence of anyone in authority stepping up to lock down the stream of videos falling foul of the do's and don'ts was glaring. The former Dublin manager wouldn't have won a five-in-a-row if he had repeatedly picked players who were getting sent off in game after game.
The poll shows that picking a deliberately low-profile GAA manager, without name recognition beyond sports fans, was a strategic error. The gender gap in Gavin's support is proving costly. He attracts twice as many men as women, the poll shows. His counterparts in the race don't have this problem. Humphreys is pretty evenly split and Connolly does get more female than male supporters, but not disproportionately.
A path to victory is clear now for Connolly. The Protest President has set the agenda in this election and has mobilised support from across the left-wing of politics.
Her friend, Senator Eileen Flynn, summed it up best at her launch. It's not that the left united around one candidate, it's that Connolly unified the left.
The momentum is now clearly with Connolly; however, her uncompromising positions will galvanise the base but won't necessarily broaden her appeal.
Humphreys is not out of contention at all. She will need to dramatically improve her performance in the forthcoming debates. She has the luxury of knowing she will get a substantial surplus from Gavin, but has to be within shooting distance.
Mind the gap.
'His presence was always felt': Tributes paid as Enniskillen bomb survivor
By Johnny McNabb, News and Sports Journalist, Belfast News Letter, October 4th, 2025,
Enniskillen bomb survivor Jim Dixon and his wife Anna lay flowers at the cenotaph in the town, to mark the 34th anniversary of the atrocity, in November 2021
Political, community, and victims’ groups have expressed sorrow at the passing of Jim Dixon, who suffered serious injuries during the 1987 Enniskillen bomb.
Twelve people were killed and almost 70 others were injured in the IRA bombing of a Remembrance Sunday commemoration in Enniskillen in 1987 which shocked the world.
Mr Dixon survived the bomb but had to endure many surgeries in the aftermath of the atrocity and told the News Letter iEnisn 2021 that “my head was smashed badly and that is where most of the pain comes from”, with his tongue left 80% paralysed and his cheeks also paralysed.
He passed away at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen on Thursday (October 2).
A death notice reads that “Jim will be lovingly remembered by all his family and friends.”
It adds that Mr Dixon was the beloved husband of Anna, dearly loved father of Suzanne (Jeff), Sharon (Gordon) and Serena (Stephen) much loved grandfather of Gareth (Gabrielle), Victoria (Nigel), Matthew, Ashley, Andrew and great-grandfather of Louie, Gavin and Sophie.”
A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Jim will take place in Enniskillen Independent Methodist Church, Tempo Road, Enniskillen on Monday (October 6) at 3.00pm.
In a heartfelt social media post, Roy Crawford, UUP Councillor for the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, posted: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jim Dixon.
"Jim was a mentor, a man of great faith and integrity, and someone who gave so much of himself to others. His quiet strength, wisdom and compassion left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him.
‘Will be sorely missed’
“My thoughts and prayers are with Anna and all the family circle at this difficult time. Jim will be sorely missed.”
Mr Dixon helped form the Ely Centre in Enniskillen who provide support to veterans and other victims/survivors impacted by the Troubles.
In a statement, written by Lee McDowell & Roy Crawford, they paid tribute to a “beloved father, grandfather, friend, patron, and brother in Christ.”
They added: “The impact of Jim Dixon’s life is impossible for me to capture fully in words, but those of us who knew and loved him will carry the lessons he taught us for the rest of our lives. Whether as a father, a trusted friend, a respected boss, or a loyal brother, Jim led by example—with wisdom, fairness, compassion, integrity, and a quiet resolute strength.
"Jim was a man of integrity. His leadership in the Ely Centre was grounded not in position or title, but in character. We can all testify that he led with fairness, he listened without judgement, and he stood firm in his Christian value and the Truth. If Jim gave you his word, that was it. In a world full of noise and uncertainty, Jim was a steady voice of calm and reason.
"What we admired most about Jim wasn’t just what he did, but how he did it. We all knew the relentless suffering that Jim endured on a daily basis ever since the Enniskillen Bomb, many days in the office we knew he was in agony, but he always kept going. There was a quiet strength grounded in his deep faith in the way he carried himself. He never sought the spotlight, but his presence was always felt.
Fiercely loyal
“Jim was fiercely loyal— to his beliefs, to his family, to the truth and to us all here at the Ely Centre. He respected those who held differing perspectives on our past and always surprised many during our meetings and speaking events in confirming that he was a Proud Irishman, a Unionist, Gaelic Speaking Christian from Clones. He really was one in a million, whose perspective is so desperately needed in our country.”
Victims’ group SEFF also paid tribute and offered their condolences following his passing.
Kenny Donaldson, director of SEFF, said on Facebook: "Jim was someone well-known throughout County Fermanagh and much further afield and whilst already a personality within his community through the earlier years of his life, it was the Enniskillen Poppy Day bomb which brought Jim’s name and story to the fore, front and centre.
“Jim’s horrific injuries were projected across the world and he proved his abilities as a fighter, defying the predictions of medical professionals and others, to not only survive that fateful day but to also reach the grand age of 88 years.
“Jim’s journey was of course not an easy path, he suffered profuse pain and challenging health, however supported by his devoted wife Anna and their children, grandchildren and the wider family and medical support, he persevered and achieved against the odds.
“Jim’s legacy post the bomb is his central role in the development of The Ely Centre, (as former Chairman for many years) and he will have taken immense joy and encouragement through the group’s growth and journey.”
How IRA Docklands Bomb caused good-natured Martin Mansergh and me to (briefly) clash
‘I first met Martin Mansergh – who died last week on a parliamentary trip to the Western Sahara – in the 1980s when he was an adviser and speech writer for Fianna Fail.’
Ruth Dudley Edwards, Belfast News Letter, October 2nd, 2025
Charlie Haughey had recruited him from the Department of Foreign Affairs and was the mentor to whom he always remained loyal.
Apart from Martin’s undoubted talent as an historian and a negotiator of exceptional patience and tolerance, Haughey also saw him as a status symbol.
He had an Oxford Ph.D and – even more importantly for the social-climbing Haughey – Mansergh was Anglo-Irish and had been brought up in the Georgian ‘Grenane House’ and surrounding estate in Tipperary.
It had been in the Mansergh family for three centuries and had a memorial to seven Manserghs who died in the Great War.
Martin managed the trick of being proud of his roots and a loyal parishioner of the Church of Ireland, but also self-deprecating and committed to Irish republicanism.
Haughey enjoyed showing off such a well-bred bag-carrier, who became Fianna Fail’s trusted expert on how to handle negotiations with the British throughout the peace process.
He would become the main back channel with republican paramilitaries from the IRA and other murderous spin-offs.
That continued even after 2002, when Martin graduated from the covert roles of speech writer and deniable negotiator to public roles as a senator and then TD for Tipperary South.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin called him a “true Irish republican”, whose “contribution to securing peace on this island marks him as a figure who will always be honoured” – which was, I think, a deliberate jibe at the men of violence.
From the beginning of my career as a political columnist I wrote for the Sunday Independent, which was greatly hated as almost the only Irish newspaper that was critical of the peace process.
In the Republic, Eoghan Harris, Eilis O’Hanlon and I – like Kevin Myers in solitary splendour in the Irish Times – were loudly at odds with what we saw as the appeasement of paramilitaries of both stripes.
I was also no lover of Fianna Fail (despite family links), had contempt for Haughey and loathed Sinn Fein/IRA.
But somehow Martin and I avoided clashing until February 10, 1996.
It was the morning after the IRA ended what they called “the cessation of violence” with a 1,000lb explosion in London’s Docklands that killed two newsagents.
In a world where we recently saw the horrors committed by Hamas on October 7 2023 blamed on the Jews, we shouldn’t be surprised to be reminded that John Major’s government was blamed for this bomb.
Martin and I were at yet another Foreign Office-hosted conference agonising over Northern Ireland.
When I saw him sitting alone on a bench in the garden with the shock, devastation and betrayal etched all over his face, I stopped by and commiserated.
“Aren’t you pleased?” he asked bitterly.
“You don’t really think that of me, do you?” I asked.
He instantly apologised, and in the ensuing years of public debate we argued good-naturedly in public and had a friendly drink afterwards.
Martin was a gentleman. We could do with a few more prominent republicans like that. Even if they’re women.
Ruth Dudley Edwards is the author of ‘The Faithful Tribe: an intimate portrait of the loyal institutions’ and ‘Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families’ Pursuit of Justice’
