Why did 20th century Irish Govts make so many mistakes dealing with the North and unity?
Posted on Wednesday, 27 August, 2025 by Andy Pollak on his 2irelands
Much of my summer reading this year has been 20th century Irish history, and the work of superb historians like Alvin Jackson, Paul Bew, Diarmaid Ferriter, Oliver MacDonagh and others. One thing that has struck me forcibly is how many mistakes were made by successive Irish governments during the fifty years after independence when dealing with the single largest and enduring block to Irish unity: the fierce opposition of Northern unionists.[A separate, even longer article could be written about the abandonment of Northern nationalists by the Free State and successive governments].
It started early. Alvin Jackson writes that “perhaps the supreme paradox of the reunification strategy was that Dublin sought an end of partition through consolidating the structures and attitudes that maintained it. When – as in early 1922 – the Belfast government was politically vulnerable and open to moderate concession on the constitutional question, the Dublin ministry, sensing blood, ruthlessly applied the principal of northern subordination to any cross-border deal. When, in early 1923, the Northern government was economically vulnerable, the Dublin ministry sought to reinforce the economic divide between the two territories. Reunification was admittedly never likely in the early twenties, but there were certainly junctures when perhaps critical cross-border institutions might have been put in place. These passed unattended, partly because of the Free State government’s untenable claims to absolute supremacy over its northern counterpart.”1
Free State Govt boycotted Council of Ireland
The most striking example of this was the Free State government’s refusal to have anything to do with a Council of Ireland, proposed in Westminster’s 1920 Government of Ireland Act. Edward Carson told the House of Commons in November of that year: “I am optimistic enough to believe that it is in this Council…that there is the germ of a united Ireland in future.” The Northern finance minister, H.M.Pollock, when asked in the following year about the “ultimate unity of the country”, replied: “Through the Council of Ireland – Yes. North and South would be brought into constant contact, and the possibilities of ultimate union are, on the whole, great.”2 That British proposal remained stillborn for the following 53 years, until it was resurrected as part of the abortive Sunningdale Agreement in 1974.
Ernest Blythe, a rare republican from a Northern Protestant background and a minister in the first Cumman na nGaedheal government, said there was no need for a full-time, permanent post in the Free State government for North-South cooperation. One consequence of this extraordinary short-sightedness was that there was no senior Dublin official responsible for and/or knowledgeable about Northern Ireland affairs for nearly 50 years, leading to ignorance, confusion and panic in the Irish cabinet when the ‘Troubles’ broke out there in the summer of 1969.
Oliver MacDonagh’s view was that “Britain’s ultimate objectives in the 1921 [Anglo-Irish] negotiations were to keep Ireland within the empire, and to maintain the system of imperial defence intact. The fate of the Ulster Protestants was a secondary concern…Thus in return for an oath of allegiance to the Crown, no larger measure of independence than dominion hood for the Irish Free State, and three naval bases, the British government was prepared to coerce Northern Ireland into either some form of union with the remainder of the island or the cession of (in all likelihood) something between 30 and 45% of its total territory” [through the ill-fated Boundary Commission]. MacDonagh concluded that any far-sighted British statesman should have seen that this would be preferable to storing up future trouble by keeping the six counties of Northern Ireland intact.3
Partitionist mentality dominated Treaty debate
During the debates on the Anglo-Irish Treaty in January 1922, it seems extraordinarily revealing of the already partitionist mindset of most TDs that less than 3% of speaking time was devoted to the North. Things had not improved by 1935, when Taoiseach Eamon de Valera admitted in the Dail in relation to ending partition, “we have no plan…by which we can inevitably bring about the union of this country.”4 Four years later, in a speech to the Seanad, he said he would not sacrifice 26 county sovereignty or the policy of gaelicisation for the possibility of unity.
In June 1940, with the German threat to Britain at its height, an emissary from British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, Malcolm McDonald, came to Dublin with an offer to De Valera. If the Free State joined the Allies and set up an All-Ireland Defence Council, Britain would immediately declare its acceptance of the principle of a united Ireland and create a North-South body to work out the practical details of such unity. De Valera and his cabinet rejected the proposal, sceptical about the British government’s ability to deliver the Unionists.
Northern premier James Craig may have angrily rejected such a proposal. But Henry Patterson writes that Basil Brooke, a future prime minister, had told his son that faced with the choice between the destruction of ‘western civilisation’ by the Nazis and Irish unification, he would have had to accept the latter. However De Valera’s preference for maintaining the neutrality of the 26-county state (a popular position in the country) and the unity of Fianna Fail, which would have split over any jettisoning of that neutrality, saw the end of “a historic opportunity to undermine partition.”5
Leaving the Commonwealth
Then in April 1949 came the South’s witless departure from the Commonwealth, nine months before India declared itself a republic and stayed in the Commonwealth. Predictably, this was followed by legislation in the Westminster parliament to consolidate Northern Ireland’s position within the United Kingdom.
The implications of leaving the Commonwealth for further alienating the unionists didn’t seem to have occurred to Fine Gael Taoiseach John A.Costello or his external affairs minister Sean MacBride. British prime minister Clement Attlee concluded that “the government of Eire considered the cutting of the last links which united Eire to the British Commonwealth was a more important objective of policy than ending partition.”6 The ultimate irony was that 1949 also marked the launch of the Irish government’s hopeless international anti-partition campaign.
In 1959 the new Taoiseach, Sean Lemass – who would overturn the old nationalist taboos by seeking friendly relations with the Northern unionist government – told the British ambassador that “a great number of mistakes have been made here in relation to Northern Ireland.” In 1967 the Committee on the Constitution recommended the replacement of Article 3 of the Irish Constitution with the more conciliatory wording: “The Irish nation hereby proclaims its firm will that its territory be re-united in harmony and brotherly affection between all Irishmen.” (Women were not considered!) This was not well received by the ruling Fianna Fail party and no action was taken on it. 31 years and three and a half thousand deaths in the North later, an almost identical wording was voted into the Constitution by the Irish electorate, following the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Sinn Fein
Are we done with Irish governments making grave errors in their Northern policies? I fear not. I fear that some Sinn Fein-led government in the near future will pile pressure on the British government to hold a premature, ill-prepared Border poll on unity. And people in the South need to actually want unity with the difficult Northerners, something I have doubts about after more than 50 years of conversations with Southern friends and colleagues. I believe that not much has changed since Frank McDermot, a rare independent TD who argued in the 1930s for persuading rather than coercing the unionists, said “the question of curing the evil of partition is our own job and nobody else’s job. If we are to undertake it, the first essential is that we should be in earnest about it, that we shall really want the reunion of Ireland on a voluntary basis.”7
1 Alvin Jackson, Ireland 1798-1998: War, Peace and Beyond, p.277
2 Paul Bew, Ireland: the Politics of Enmity 1789-2006, p.
3 Oliver MacDonagh, States of Mind: Two Centuries of Anglo-Irish Conflict, 1780-1980, p.136
4 Diarmaid Ferriter, ‘De Valera’s Long Shadow’, Irish Times Weekend, 23 August
5 Henry Patterson, Ireland since 1939: The Persistence of Conflict, p.58
6 Diarmaid Ferriter, The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000, p.455
7 Clare O’Halloran, Partition and the Limits of Irish Nationalism, p.165
New search in Co Monaghan bog for IRA victim Columba McVeigh
By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA, Belfast News Letter, August 27th, 2025
A new dig is taking place at Bragan Bog in Co Monaghan to search for the remains of Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh. The 19-year-old from Donaghmore was abducted by the Provisional IRA, killed and secretly buried in 1975. He is one of the "Disappeared" victims of the Troubles whose bodies have still to be found.
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) has previously conducted six unsuccessful searches at Bragan Bog in Co Monaghan since 1999, covering more than 26 acres.
After the last search ended without a breakthrough in November 2023 , a review was carried out by the ICLVR into parts of the bog that had and had not been searched previously.
They identified "a small piece of ground" that had not been searched previously, lead ICLVR investigator Eamonn Henry said.
"It's a continuation of previous investigation, we decided to review the whole thing," he told the PA news agency.
"After the ground was last searched in 2023, we looked at the grid plans."
He said the new dig began on Monday August 18 and it will be five weeks in total before the identified area is searched.
He said the operation was due to take place six month ago but there was an "ecological issue" as protected hen harriers were nesting in the area.
"We worked with the National Parks and Wildlife Service in relation to the optimum time to come in, and because the nearest nest failed, we were able to come in," he said.
The ICLVR was set up by the UK and Irish governments during the peace process to investigate the whereabouts of some 17 people murdered and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles.
While 13 have been formally found, Mr McVeigh, former monk Joe Lynskey , British Army Captain Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire , who was in his mid-20s and from near Lurgan, Co Armagh , remain missing.
Columba's brother Oliver McVeigh said he was "optimistically hopeful" at the latest dig as he appealed for those with information to come forward.
"I've been on this road six times before, so we have to have caution as well," he told the Press Association.
"Every time they're digging and searching for him in that particular area is an opportunity to find him.
"It's finding the right place and people that are involved people who know are still free to come forward and give whatever tuppence worth they need to give to possibly locate him."
He added: "I don't have any doubt that they (the ICLVR) want to find him but there's some people there that aren't coming forward that could come forward.
"It's not easy work in the bog, there's a lot of work to do before they actually start physically digging because it can be damp and they have to move stuff about.
"It is coming up to 50 years, but they have found so many people before so it shows it can be done."
Stormont cannot afford another wasted mandate
Pro Fide, Pro Patria, Irish News, August 27th, 2025
STORMONT is once again heading towards a legislative logjam of its own making.
More than two dozen members’ bills are on the table, yet Speaker Edwin Poots has warned that barely half of them are likely to progress before the current mandate ends.
With only 18 months remaining, the Assembly now faces the unedifying prospect of shelving initiatives that many citizens have waited years to see addressed.
The bills in question are not trivial. They include Alliance MLA John Blair’s renewed attempt to outlaw hunting with dogs, Sinn Féin’s Danny Baker’s proposal to tackle holiday hunger among schoolchildren, and DUP representative Paul Frew’s call for a duty of candour in the health service.
People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll has advanced measures to strengthen housing rights, while independent MLA Claire Sugden put forward legislation to outlaw age discrimination in accessing services.
Each represents a genuine attempt to improve life across our society.
Yet many of these efforts are heading for the shredder, not because they lack merit, but because Stormont lacks time and resources.
Mr Poots has already pointed to the embarrassment of the previous mandate, when a ban on hospital car-parking charges was rushed through only to collapse almost immediately once the Executive returned and declared there was no money to fund it.
Poorly thought through legislation
That mismanagement was a lesson in how poorly-thought through legislation can rebound.
There is truth in the Speaker’s warning that executive business must take precedence in any legislature.
But here lies the deeper problem: this Executive has been painfully slow to bring forward its own programme of laws.
If ministers had acted with urgency earlier in this mandate, the Assembly would not now be facing such an impossible backlog.
It is profoundly dispiriting for MLAs who have carried out consultations and shaped thoughtful proposals to be told that their efforts may simply be “rolled over” into the next mandate.
For the public, it reinforces the perception that Stormont is a place of delay, where even modest reforms are mired in process and obstruction.
Stormont should not become a graveyard for ideas that enjoy wide civic support.
If the Executive is serious about restoring faith in devolution, it must bring clarity and energy to its legislative priorities, while also ensuring that members’ bills of genuine public value are not discarded without debate.
The people of Northern Ireland deserve action, not excuses. Another wasted mandate would not just be a failure of process. It would be a failure of democracy itself.
'We weren't told': Mum of victim in dark over release of paedophile
Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, August 27th, 2025
MURDER PROBE LAUNCHED AFTER THE DEATH OF SEX OFFENDER IN CO DOWN
The mother of a child who was a victim of a murdered sex offender has said she is “angry” after police failed to notify her of his release weeks before he was killed.
Sean Small was found dead outside a property in Newcastle on Sunday night. Police have launched a murder investigation following his death.
Last night a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Small (84) was jailed in 2022 after a hearing at Newry Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual assault by penetration, two counts of sexual activity by an adult with a child under 16 years old and one count of intentionally inciting a child under 16 to engage in a sexual activity.
The offences were committed against two separate female victims between September 30, 2016 and April 2, 2018.
Small spent three years of his sentence in prison, with the remainder on licence.
It is understood he was released a few weeks prior to his death.
The mother of one of Small's victims said she and her daughter had not been informed of the paedophile's release.
“There was a rumour going about that he was released about three or four weeks ago,” she told the Belfast Telegraph.
No answers for Victim’s family
“I phoned Victim Support and they said that once a case is closed from the courts, that's it done. I tried to ring Maghaberry Prison because that's where we all knew he was.
“I did not get any answer from there, so I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I didn't know whether he was in or whether he was out, because we weren't told.
“Then I actually heard on the radio when I was heading down to my friend's house on Monday that somebody had been murdered in Newcastle.
“I didn't know if it was true or not, because I basically just do not listen to rumours, but then it was confirmed before the police even phoned me.
“They've phoned me to tell me that he's deceased, but nobody phoned us to tell us that he got released from prison.”
During Small's sentencing in 2022, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the paedophile had shown “limited insight” into the consequences of his crimes and engaged in “an element of victim blaming”.
Police also described his crimes as “sickening”.
His victim's mother said the news of Small's death had left her daughter shaken.“She has been very quiet; she has been through an awful lot. All I can do is support her now,” she said.
“She did get herself back up and I'm super, super proud of her.
“I just need her to continue to stay strong because she's my baby girl, and I love her.”
“To be honest, I had really no reaction myself. I was a bit shocked to hear that somebody was murdered in Newcastle, and I was shocked again to find out it was himself, but I had no real reaction.”
The victim's mother said that victims of crime needed to be kept informed if a perpetrator is set to be released from prison.
“The first phone call I got was from the detective yesterday,” she said.
“They'll tell me that he's deceased, and yet nobody told me when he got released. I'll be honest with you, I was angry at that.
“It was drummed into us during the court proceedings that we would be told when he got released and we weren't notified.”
The Department of Justice and Probation Board NI were approached for comment.
A spokesperson for the NI Prison Service said: “'The Prisoner Victim Information Scheme is a statutory scheme which provides information to victims and their families about a prisoner's sentence; any periods of temporary release from prison for which a prisoner is being considered; and their release from prison at the end of their period in custody.
“Victims must be registered with the Scheme to receive information, and we would encourage all victims to register.”
£20,000 reward
It comes after police offered a reward of up to £20,000 in exchange for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder.
Forensic teams were continuing to work at the scene yesterday, with the PSNI revealing the victim was last seen alive on August 19.
Detective Chief Inspector Kerrie Foreman said: “I know that the local community will be in shock following the news of this terrible crime, however, I want to provide reassurance that detectives are working as quickly as possible to understand how and why this murder has taken place.
“Your information could be crucial in helping officers understand exactly what has happened, and to ensure we can secure justice for the victim's family.”
Farage ‘making the case for a new Ireland’, says Eastwood
John Manley, Political Correspondent, Irish News, August 27th, 2025
REFORM UK leader Nigel Farage is “making the case for a new Ireland” after claiming he would renegotiate the Good Friday Agreement as part of his party’s plan to stop small boat crossings, former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has claimed.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Farage said he wanted to remove human rights law from the peace accord to make it easier to deport illegal migrants.
Reform has signalled that if it gets into power in Britain the party will leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act and pass the Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill.
The ECHR is incorporated into the 1998 Northern Ireland Act, which codified the Good Friday Agreement into law.
Mr Farage said that as prime minister he would, in time, be able to renegotiate the agreement.
“We are not far away from major civil disorder,” he told a press conference.
“It is an invasion, as these young men illegally break into our country.”
But according to Mr Eastwood, the former UKIP MEP’s plans to “gut human rights protections” echoes “the rhetoric that Brexiteers and others have deployed since 2016”.
“People on this island see the turmoil in Britain and the narrow, insular, divisive vision of the future being promoted by people like Farage and they increasingly want no part of it,” the Foyle MP and chair of the New Ireland Commission said.
“It is slowly melting old certainties about what people in a range of communities think their own future and the future of their family looks like. In that regard, by trashing the value of human rights, by talking fast and loose about the legal framework that underpins the Good Friday Agreement and peace in Northern Ireland, and by promoting a politics of resentment in Britain, Farage is making a powerful case for people here to choose a new Ireland.”
The former SDLP leader said building a new Ireland with a “new and deep relationship with Britain built on shared values and cooperation in common interests” was more appealing than “being tethered to the rise of Reform and the moral decline of British politics”.
Addressing the plans to alter the Good Friday Agreement, Mr Eastwood said: “They have no answers to the serious questions about the impact that repealing the Human Rights Act would have on the legal framework negotiated under the Good Friday Agreement.
“They haven’t spoken to any of the parties in Northern Ireland about undermining our peace deal for a cheap headline. This is a process that took decades of hard work by political giants who compromised to win a better future for people across these islands – Farage isn’t fit to tie their boots.”
Farage plans overhaul of Good Friday Agreement
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, August 27th, 2025
IDEA TO STRIP HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTION FROM DEAL 'NOT THAT OF A SERIOUS PERSON', INSISTS PM STARMER
Nigel Farage has been criticised for stating that a Reform UK-led government would seek to renegotiate the Good Friday Agreement as part of a plan to stop small boat crossings.
Under the 1998 peace deal, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is incorporated in Northern Ireland law.
Speaking during a press conference yesterday, Mr Farage said, as prime minister, he would renegotiate the agreement to remove the ECHR elements.
“Can we renegotiate the Good Friday Agreement to get the ECHR out of it? Yes,” he said.
“Is that something that can happen very, very quickly? No, it will take longer.”
The Reform UK leader said he would repeal the Human Rights Act, leave the ECHR and disapply several international treaties to make it easier to deport asylum seekers.
In response to Mr Farage's comments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official spokesperson said: “The ECHR underpins key international agreements on trade, security, migration, and the Good Friday Agreement, and anyone who is proposing to renegotiate the Good Friday Agreement is not serious.”
SDLP MP Colum Eastwood said the focus of the debate around Britain's future is “moving troublingly to the right”.
“Plans announced today by Nigel Farage which would gut human rights protections in order to throw people out and pull up the drawbridge are just the latest example in a long line of charged rhetoric that Brexiteers and others have deployed since 2016,” he said.
“People on this island see the turmoil in Britain and the narrow, insular, divisive vision of the future being promoted by people like Farage and they increasingly want no part of it.
“It is slowly melting old certainties about what people in a range of communities think their own future and the future of their family looks like.
“In that regard, by trashing the value of human rights, by talking fast and loose about the legal framework that underpins the Good Friday Agreement and peace in Northern Ireland and by promoting a politics of resentment in Britain, Farage is making a powerful case for people here to choose a new Ireland.” In his speech, Mr Farage also said that a Reform UK government, would detain women and children who enter the UK illegally upon arrival.
The MP for Clacton added that without an immigration overhaul there would be “genuine threat” to public order.
In May last year, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee told MPs the UK Government would be in breach of the Good Friday Agreement if it withdrew from the ECHR.
It added: “Given the convention is embedded in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, written into the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and determines how the NI Assembly legislates, we note Northern Ireland is often overlooked whenever the prospect of ECHR withdrawal is raised.”
Londonderry bandsman who took part in Feile says Union is safe for at least 50 years
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, August 27th, 2025
EVEN SF VOTERS WON'T BACK POLL, CLAIMS CAMPAIGNER
A prominent Londonderry unionist has said he does not believe there will be an Irish unity referendum within the next 50 years.
Derek Moore, the coordinator of the North West Cultural Partnership, told this newspaper the criteria for holding a poll would not be met.
Speaking after taking part in Feile events in Derry, he added: “I think the turmoil is still far too great to be talking about any form of change. Maybe in 50 years' time that will change, but at this moment in time, it's not there.
“I don't see how they could reach the criteria for it because, speaking to a lot of nationalists through work, even in the community sector, and even some out of Sinn Fein, they wouldn't feel like they could vote for a united Ireland due to a lack of detail. The structural change would be far too much for a lot of people.”
The founding member of the William King Memorial Flute Band said any 50-plus one majority would have to include the “total voting population, because I would count the people who didn't vote as people who were happy”.
He also claimed the reluctance of the Irish Government to initiate discussions about unification showed no real conversation was taking place.
He said if southern voters were interested in a united Ireland, Sinn Fein representatives would have been elected in higher numbers by now.
At Feile, Mr Moore took part in a discussion with ex-DUP special advisor Tim Cairns and community practitioner Ruth Moore about constitutional change.
Personalised perspective from Derry
He also delivered a presentation titled The Case for the Union: A personalised Protestant perspective from Derry.
The former resident of the Fountain estate praised Feile organisers for giving him the opportunity to express an “alternative view”, comparing it to the time he represented the Londonderry Bands Forum at a Sinn Fein Ard Fheis.
He said the organisers of neither event had attempted to sanitise his opinions nor “ask a single thing about what I was going to say” in advance.
“I always contrast that to my appearance at a DUP conference, where they censored my speech four times before they allowed me to do it,” he continued.
“That was in 2016, quite a while back, but they didn't want me saying positive things that might conflict with their points of view.”
Mr Moore described Derry as a “very clear microcosm of what a so-called New Ireland could look like”.
He cited “the complete removal of the flying of the country's flag on all public buildings”, the “blanking of the Centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021, and the council proclamation against the very formation of Northern Ireland and its legitimacy” as examples.
He also pointed to a “complete disregard of Queen Elizabeth's death and the subsequent ambivalence towards King Charles' coronation” and a “decision in 2023 to control [Londonderry's] mayor position for nationalism only”.
“Given these past experiences and the continuation of electoral control by the nationalist majority in Derry, I feel confident in my assessment that this is how [...] any proposed New Ireland would evolve, and I won't be alone in this thinking,” he said.
Mr Moore said the axing of the decades-long tradition at the local council of allowing a unionist party to select a mayor for the year, despite not having a mandate, was “unnecessary, stupid and detrimental” to relations in the city.
Asked if the spirit of the gesture could have been reciprocated in majority unionist councils, he said he “wouldn't know enough” about other areas but believed good representatives should be given a chance.
Mr Moore acknowledged a feeling of being overlooked and disrespected in majority unionist areas would be “mirrored” among nationalists.
He said: “I'm quite sure that in areas like Ballymoney and Ballymena, where there are big Protestant councils, nationalists are having the same issues there as we're having here, and I bring that up to people in those areas.
“Part of our Envisioning the Future events is about what's good for Northern Ireland PLC.”
Twelfth of July 'flasher' turns up for latest court date in sash and beret
Christopher Woodhouse, Belfast Telegraph, August 27th, 2025
Twelfth flasher Clodagh Byrne turned up to court in Orange Order regalia for the latest update in her long-running legal case.
The 32-year-old is facing a series of charges after she was filmed exposing her breast while walking beside the main procession last year in Belfast.
Byrne, of Tullycar Road, Aghyaran, Co Tyrone, appeared in the dock of the city's Magistrates Court for the brief hearing without the sash.
Her barrister told District Judge Steven Keown she required two further weeks to make representations to the prosecution.
Judge Keown adjourned the case until September 16, when Byrne will be required to attend court and enter pleas to the charges.
The former social worker is accused of seven offences including outraging public decency and obstructing a lawful public procession.
After proceedings Byrne left the court sporting a collarette similar to the one she was wearing in July last year, along with a black beret.
Byrne was charged after a series of clips she posted on social media of herself during the Twelfth went viral.
In addition to the footage of her walking and flashing during the parade, she filmed herself naked inside a classroom at Campbell College in Belfast.
Comments she made during one of the videos led to her to being charged with behaviour likely to stir up hatred.
Byrne is further charged with improper use of communications, trespass, indecent behaviour, outraging decency and obstructing a public procession.
When she first appeared in court last year, she said: “I am deeply ashamed of myself. “I'm an absolute eejit who should not be flashing her breasts in public. I am deeply sorry for all the hurt I have caused, and I plan to make it up to the loyalist people by giving money as a sorry for saying that.”
While on bail she was filmed exposing herself at the 2024 All-Ireland senior football final between Armagh and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin.
She is now subject to a range of strict bail conditions including the wearing on an electronic tag and the imposition of a curfew.
PSNI launches investigation into fraud claims dismissed by NI Water
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, August 27th, 2025
PUBLICLY OWNED COMPANY ACCUSED OF MISLEADING MLA AND WHISTLEBLOWER OVER POLICE REFERRAL
Months after NI Water claimed it had fully investigated a whistleblower's claims about systemic fraud against the taxpayer, the PSNI is now examining the allegations.
Amid growing concern about the publicly owned utility's handling of allegations that a firm was being paid multiple times for work which was never even done once, last night the force confirmed it was involved.
Significantly, the PSNI said the allegations were only reported to it last week when the whistleblower contacted police, despite NI Water leading him to believe it had asked police to investigate long ago.
The whistleblower first alerted NI Water to what he was seeing in November 2023. He said that at the time he didn't even realise the full significance of the issue, simply believing he was doing his duty by telling NI Water about problems found at multiple sites.
He said it was only several months later that an NI Water manager said that what he was referring to would be fraud.
NI Water then called in the Deloitte consultancy to conduct what it said was an independent investigation and for which it was paid £144,000.
Whistle Blower
The whistleblower, who first spoke to the Belfast Telegraph a year ago and whose identity is known to us, said he supplied Deloitte with considerable evidence gathered by his staff.
But as time passed, he became increasingly concerned. Deloitte declined to even speak to him as part of its investigation.
It later turned out that Deloitte hadn't even looked at key elements of what he'd sent to it, nor had it engaged a specialist with understanding of the area where the alleged fraud happened.
In February, NI Water issued a press release with the title 'Independent Investigation finds no evidence of NI Water wrongdoing or fraud'.
It said that after “a detailed investigation”, an “independent forensic team” had found “no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing”.
The statement went on to refer to an “extensive investigation” which was “an important piece of work to independently examine allegations of fraud and wrongdoing”.
The Belfast Telegraph immediately asked for a copy of this report, but to this day, NI Water refuses to release it.
Last week we reported NI Water had quietly deleted its February statement from its website, effectively withdrawing its claim that the allegations had been disproved.
Now it has employed someone else to carry out a “technical review” of the allegations, and has referred to multiple investigations which are under way.
The PSNI said: “Detectives from the Economic Crime Unit are currently reviewing a complaint into this matter. This report was made on Tuesday, August 19.”
The whistleblower told us he made a report to police on that date, meaning that until that point, NI Water had not formally asked the police to investigate the alleged crime.
The PSNI said that NI Water contacted police in August last year “to advise that it was launching an internal investigation”.
From conflicting statements to no statements
However, SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone, who for years has been raising concerns about how NI Water has been run, said that conflicted with what NI Water said in a meeting where he accompanied the whistleblower.
He said that in the meeting earlier this year, NI Water led them to believe it had reported the matter to the PSNI, even saying it had legal advice not to share the crime reference number.
Mr McGlone added: “NI Water had said that there was a crime reference number but that they were legally constrained from sharing that with anyone.
“When there's a crime reference number, that should tell me that a crime or an alleged crime has been reported to police.
“I just wish they would come clean on all the issues that they have — be open, be honest.
“I hope this investigation will deal, fully, openly and frankly, with the many issues that have been reported to them that I'm aware of.”
We asked NI Water why it hadn't asked the PSNI to investigate the situation, and who had taken the decision not to do so.
NI Water said it reported the matter to the PSNI “for information” on August 9 last year “and received a reference number”.
It denied it had led the whistleblower to believe it had reported the allegations to the PSNI for investigation.
NI Water said it was “continuing with its technical review” of the allegations, and when that was done, it would be shared with the PSNI.
NI Water has still failed to produce a copy of its fraud prevention policy, despite insisting the document exists and trumpeting its importance on its website.
We asked for a copy almost three weeks ago, but NI Water still hasn't been able to send it to us.
Earlier this month, the whistleblower told us his advice to others who see what they suspect is fraud in the public sector in Northern Ireland was to “shut your mouth” because after blowing this whistle, his contract with NI Water — for which he'd been working for 20 years — was ended, just weeks after a senior NI Water director wrote to him personally to praise the quality of the firm's work.
NI Water insisted that decision was entirely unrelated to him raising concerns.
Revealed: 40 PSNI officers given criminal convictions in last five years
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, August 27th, 2025
A total of 40 PSNI officers have received criminal convictions in the last five years.
Seventeen were dismissed without notice, according to figures described as “concerning” by one Policing Board member.
The figures were revealed after a Freedom of Information request. Details of the nature of the convictions are not included.
Anyone seeking to join the PSNI will be automatically rejected if they have served a custodial sentence, a suspended sentence, or a period in a Young Offenders' Centre.
They will also be rejected if they have more than one disqualification from driving; been convicted of causing death or grievous bodily harm by dangerous or reckless driving; or have been or are a registered sex offender.
Once recruited, officers convicted of a crime are subject to internal misconduct procedures, which can result in dismissal. Other sanctions include written warnings or the officer receiving “management advice”.
Under PSNI rules, the only mechanism for an officer to be dismissed after a conviction is through the PSNI's misconduct regulations. If the conviction is deemed gross misconduct, one sanction is dismissal.
19 officers dismissed
Of the 40 PSNI officers who received criminal convictions, 17 were dismissed without notice, two were dismissed “via other processes” and seven given management advice.
Another two officers were given a written warning, two were given a final written warning and three cases are still pending. No further action was taken in relation to one officer and six others resigned.
DUP MLA Trevor Clarke, a member of the Policing Board, said: “It is obviously concerning that any officer tasked with enforcing the law is prosecuted for breaking the law.
“However, these figures do show that those officers who do step outside the law are pursued and prosecuted. Forty individuals represent just over 0.6% of the total complement of PSNI officers and in no way reflects on the vast majority. Clearly there will be a different approach taken depending on the details of each individual case. The figures show that of the 37 cases that have concluded, 25 are no longer employed by the PSNI.
“It is important to bear in mind also that an officer can be dismissed or subject to other disciplinary action even if their actions have not crossed the threshold for criminal conviction.
“As in any workplace the PSNI must act proportionately, but it is also important that public confidence is maintained.
“When any issue relating to an officer comes to light it is important that those processes are carried out quickly and effectively to maintain that public confidence.”
UUP MLA Jon Burrows, a former PSNI officer, said: “Clearly, it is unacceptable when police officers break the law, as they are responsible for upholding it. It is right that robust conduct procedures are used in these cases.
“The fact that 17 officers were dismissed shows that there are consequences for police officers who break the law, and many officers are fired even without a criminal conviction.
“It is hard to make a properly informed comment on these figures without knowing what the offences were. Sometimes, offences can be committed in a very technical way, such as a minor breach of data protection laws.
“For example, an officer could be found to have unknowingly driven without insurance due to a lapse in their policy. In such cases, a warning or final written warning may be appropriate.
“Clearly, when officers commit any offence involving dishonesty, a breach of integrity, or violence, they should be dismissed. However, there will be a small category of very minor offences where dismissal would be disproportionate.
“Police officers should be held to the highest standards but also treated fairly.”
Trio performing at Electric Picnic ‘really important’
Cillian Sherlock, and Grainne Ní Aodha, Irish News, August 27th, 2025
THE inclusion of Kneecap on the Electric Picnic line-up is “really important” for the music festival, organisers have said.
The rap group, who say they are coming under pressure for openly expressing support for the Palestinian people, are to perform this Saturday at Ireland’s largest music festival, a day after supporting Fontaines DC at their Belfast Vital gig at Boucher Road Playing Fields in Belfast.
Electric Picnic’s promoter said it will not turn the group’s mics off while on stage and said they “did nothing wrong” during their Glastonbury performance.
Among the other acts that will perform in Stradbally, Co Laois for some 80,000 people are Chappell Roan, Hozier, Sam Fender and Kings Of Leon.
Melvin Benn, the managing director of Electric Picnic promoters Festival Republic, said “adding Kneecap was really important for us”.
“It was a really important statement and musically [they are] fantastic but in terms of what is going on in the world, it’s really important that they are here adding their voice.
“I will hasten to remind people that they headlined the Hazelwood stage in 2018 so we’ve had a long history with Kneecap.”
Asked whether the festival has a policy for handling Kneecap’s performance, following pressure placed on the BBC for broadcasting the rap group’s Glastonbury set, Mr Benn said there was not.
“No, mics won’t be switched off. They’re great kids, they’re great lads, they’ve got really important songs, they’re brilliant live, but they’ve also got really important messages.
“They didn’t do anything wrong at Glastonbury, it’s yet to be proven whether they have done anything wrong anywhere else in the world.
“So, you know, they are on home territory here and I think they will be really relaxed and the crowd will be really appreciative of it.”
Kneecap announce new song release date
Hannah Roberts, Irish News, August 27th, 2025
RAP trio Kneecap have announced the release date of their latest song a day after cancelling a string of US tour dates.
The group said on Monday it would be cancelling 15 gigs because of the “proximity” of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh’s next court hearing in London, where prosecutors allege the 27-year-old displayed a flag in support of proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah at a London gig last year.
Yesterday, the trio, comprising O hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Caireallain and JJ Ó Dochartaigh, announced their new track Sayonara would be released digitally on September 2 after performing it at festivals and gigs over the summer.
The rap group said they teamed up with Paul Hartnoll from electronic music duo Orbital for the song, which has a physical release date of October 10.
Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, will return to Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 26, after his legal team argued the case should be thrown out because of a technical error in the way the charge was brought against him.
At the adjourned hearing in September, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring will rule on whether he has the jurisdiction to try the case.
In a social media post, the band said refunds for their US tour will be available from point of purchase, and promised they would be “sharing something very special” for their US fans next week which would mean “we can still link in with you all in October”.
The band, who formed in Belfast and released their first single in 2017, confirmed their four sold-out October shows in Canada, in Vancouver and Toronto, should go ahead as planned.
Kneecap will release Sayonara on September 2
It comes after months of sold-out shows and festival performances across the country, including a set at Glastonbury Festival in June which was investigated by Avon and Somerset Police, who later said they would be taking “no further action”.
