The conflict didn’t end in April 1998 — so why pretend it did?
MÁIRÍA CAHILL, Irish News, October 18th, 2025
WHICH genius at the Northern Ireland Office or the Department of Foreign Affairs decided that the cut-off date for legacy proposals should be April 10 1998? Was it a politics student on work experience? Because it sure as hell wasn’t anyone who lived through the conflict.
Anyone who did would know full well: paramilitary groups like the IRA, UDA and UVF didn’t stop maiming, raping or killing people when politicians shook hands at the Good Friday Agreement table. The violence didn’t vanish simply because our politicians wore better suits for their television interviews. That both governments have introduced legislation, as they did last Wednesday, which excludes anyone harmed after April 1998, is a betrayal of any promise made to victims in the name of truth and justice.
On a personal level, it is wearying. Here we go again, spinning the carousel of chaos that betrays the fact that politicians in Westminster and the Dáil don’t really have much of a clue about the appalling acts of violence that paramilitaries and the state put people through here.
That doesn’t let them off the hook: our parties have been complicit in this process for months now. How did they get it so catastrophically wrong? How did the well-paid officials?
Two explanations exist. Either the violence never impacted them, or they simply don’t care about those who were.
Here’s how farcical this legislation is.
Between April 1998 and 2006, 124 people were killed. Forty-two of them from April 10 to December 31 1998. Which of our politicians is going to explain to those families that their loved ones don’t count, or that they are not entitled to any services this bill offers, because they were murdered too late?
The Omagh bomb victims, the largest single atrocity of the so-called Troubles? Excluded.
The Quinn children, burned to death by a loyalist firebomb during marching tensions? Excluded.
Eamon Collins, a former IRA member battered to death by republicans in 1999? Excluded.
Rosemary Nelson, blown to bits by a loyalist car bomb? Excluded.
Journalist Martin O’Hagan, shot dead by loyalists? Excluded.
William Stobie, notoriously linked with the Pat Finucane case? Excluded.
The Northern Bank incident in 2004? None of its victims are included, and with it goes the chance to really discover what happened on that day. The Stormont spy ring? Not included.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn, right, and Tánaiste Simon Harris unveiled a new legacy deal between the UK and Irish governments
The murder of Denis Donaldson is also not included, which is particularly egregious given that his family, who are still awaiting an inquest into his murder, have been provided with no answers whatsoever, and are just as entitled to truth and justice as the next victim.
“The Omagh bomb victims? Excluded. The Quinn children? Excluded. Eamon Collins? Excluded. Rosemary Nelson? Excluded. Journalist Martin O’Hagan? Excluded. Paul Quinn’s parents are shamefully not included
Paul Quinn’s parents, who have been begging for answers since 2007, are shamefully not included.
Between 1998 and 2006, there were 113 paramilitary shootings of children and over 200 beatings. These were not random acts of sprinkled fairy dust from a magical Good Friday Agreement wand, but conflict-related barbarity which spiked post-Agreement precisely because paramilitaries were under pressure to find alternatives to guns.
So, they hit their victims with concrete blocks, nail-studded cudgels or hammers, and in some cases, crucified them in housing estates instead. Many of those hurt continue to need support services today. They don’t all get them. Almost none of them have seen their perpetrators charged, let alone held accountable. And yet our politicians, who know the harm caused, are content to allow both governments to swing the axe in the middle of 1998 and cut them off. Worse still: even those who were beaten or raped before 1998 won’t qualify under the bill’s deliberately narrow definition of serious injury. Unless you’re paraplegic, quadriplegic, blind, deaf, missing limbs, severely disfigured, or your mind has severe psychiatric damage, you don’t count. Shot in the knees, but kept your legs? Sorry — you’re too intact to qualify.
Sexual assault? Domestic violence? Not mentioned once. Surprise surprise. It took Julian Smith to raise the issue of sexual offences directly with Hilary Benn last Wednesday on the floor of the House of Commons. Isn’t it staggering that our local parties didn’t have it on their radar despite all the noise about our legacy of violence against women and girls?
I was raped by an IRA man from the summer of 1997 through to September 1998. The IRA’s “investigation” into my abuse spanned 1999 and 2000. The state had intelligence that not only were children abused, but that the IRA was involved. It failed to act on it. When it could no longer ignore the issue, after the victims made a complaint, the criminal justice response was botched so badly that the current British Prime Minister (then a former UK Director of Public Prosecutions) was brought in to investigate the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service.
I received apologies from Barra McGrory and the Chief Constable George Hamilton. I also received confirmation, both verbally and in writing, from victims’ commissioners, secretaries of state, and taoisigh, that there is no question that my case is a Troubles-related case and I am a Troubles-related victim.
Yet, under this proposed legislation, the IRA aspect of my case would be excluded. I am excluded. So, which one of our political parties is going to tell Hilary Benn and Simon Harris that the conflict didn’t end with a handshake; it ended when the last person was killed?
And which of them, who cautiously welcomed the bill, is going to apologise to the victims they have deliberately turned a blind eye to?
The conflict didn’t end in April 1998 — so why are they pretending that it did?
Anger over event in honour of Provo killed at Loughgall
AMY COCHRANE, Belfast Telegraph, October 18th, 2025
Anger over event in honour of Provo killed at Loughgall
Unionists have branded the launch of a Jim Lynagh Winter School in Co Fermanagh as a sickening celebration of a legacy of IRA bloodshed and misery.
Lynagh, one of the terror group's most ruthless figures, was killed during the ambush on Loughgall RUC station in 1987.
Adverts have appeared online for an event named in his honour, which appears to be organised by the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum.
According to adverts, the event is scheduled to take place today at the former St Eugene's school near Lisnaskea.
It is billed as involving talks about “republicanism in the Tyrone, Fermanagh and the border counties, past, present and future” and “Palestine, Ireland and the Black and Tans: imperialism past, present and future”.
The event also includes conversations with former hunger striker Tommy McKearney.
Lynagh was one of eight Provos killed by the SAS as they were mounting a gun and bomb attack on Loughgall RUC station on May 8, 1987.
Anthony Hughes, a civilian who was travelling through the village in a car at the time, was also shot dead.
Victor Warrington, a UUP councillor in Fermanagh, said the event was “nothing short of disgraceful”.
“Hosting such an event in a disused primary school outside Lisnaskea is as cynical as it is offensive, turning what was once a place of learning into a lesson for terrorism,” he said.
“Jim Lynagh and his gang weren't heroes, freedom fighters or patriots. They were unrepentant killers whose only legacy is one of bloodshed and misery.”
He added: “This so-called school is nothing more than an attempt to airbrush history and romanticise terrorism.
“It's a propaganda exercise dressed up as education, and the people of south Fermanagh aren't fooled.
“As someone born in Rosslea, I know full well what republican terrorism really meant for our communities. It wasn't liberation they were after; it was annihilation. Their campaign was one of pure sectarian hatred, a calculated attempt at genocide against anyone who didn't bow to their warped ideology.”
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone TUV said: “Jim Lynagh was the face of evil and a sectarian murderer who killed not to save Ireland from the Brits, but to destroy his Protestant neighbours.”
The Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum was contacted.
Anger over event in honour of Provo killed at Loughgall
AMY COCHRANE, Belfast Telegraph, October 18th, 2025
Unionists have branded the launch of a Jim Lynagh Winter School in Co Fermanagh as a sickening celebration of a legacy of IRA bloodshed and misery.
Lynagh, one of the terror group's most ruthless figures, was killed during the ambush on Loughgall RUC station in 1987.
Adverts have appeared online for an event named in his honour, which appears to be organised by the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum.
According to adverts, the event is scheduled to take place today at the former St Eugene's school near Lisnaskea.
It is billed as involving talks about “republicanism in the Tyrone, Fermanagh and the border counties, past, present and future” and “Palestine, Ireland and the Black and Tans: imperialism past, present and future”.
The event also includes conversations with former hunger striker Tommy McKearney.
Lynagh was one of eight Provos killed by the SAS as they were mounting a gun and bomb attack on Loughgall RUC station on May 8, 1987.
Anthony Hughes, a civilian who was travelling through the village in a car at the time, was also shot dead.
Victor Warrington, a UUP councillor in Fermanagh, said the event was “nothing short of disgraceful”.
“Hosting such an event in a disused primary school outside Lisnaskea is as cynical as it is offensive, turning what was once a place of learning into a lesson for terrorism,” he said.
“Jim Lynagh and his gang weren't heroes, freedom fighters or patriots. They were unrepentant killers whose only legacy is one of bloodshed and misery.”
He added: “This so-called school is nothing more than an attempt to airbrush history and romanticise terrorism.
“It's a propaganda exercise dressed up as education, and the people of south Fermanagh aren't fooled.
“As someone born in Rosslea, I know full well what republican terrorism really meant for our communities. It wasn't liberation they were after; it was annihilation. Their campaign was one of pure sectarian hatred, a calculated attempt at genocide against anyone who didn't bow to their warped ideology.”
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone TUV said: “Jim Lynagh was the face of evil and a sectarian murderer who killed not to save Ireland from the Brits, but to destroy his Protestant neighbours.”
The Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum was contacted.
Just 16% of serious water polluters fined
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, October 18th, 2025
LESS than one in five of the most serious water pollution cases received a fine – with more than eight in 10 not paying a penny, according to new figures.
It comes amid ongoing concerns about environmental pollution as the crisis at Lough Neagh continues.
The latest figures show that just 63 fines were issued for water pollution despite 383 confirmed incidents qualifying for formal action since 2020.
During this period, a total of 4,204 confirmed water pollution incidents were recorded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).
Of these, 383 cases met the crite-ria for enforcement action under the department’s policy.
However, only 63 fines were issued, just 16% of the total number of cases where action could be taken.
Of the 63 fines issued, 16 related to high-severity incidents and 47 related to medium-severity incidents. No fines were issued for low-severity incidents.
This means that of the 4,204 confirmed pollution incidents, 3,821 cases did not meet the threshold for formal enforcement action under the department’s current policy.
According to the department, the cases which did not receive fines received other actions including prosecutions, cautions and warning letters and enforcement notices.
The latest figures come at a time of growing concerns around the situation at Lough Neagh.
Toxins linked to the pollution of north’s largest freshwater lake were detected in the flesh of fish for the first time earlier this year.
Sampling of various species to determine the level and types of toxins that may be present in fish, including the world-renowned lough eels, have been taking place since large-scale algal blooms began appearing two years ago.
The Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Op, which sells and distributes eels and other fish on behalf of its members, extended a ban on commercial eel fishing on the lough for the entire summer season for the first time this year.
The figures emerged in response to a written question from SDLP MLA Cara Hunter.
Speaking to The Irish News, the East Derry representative said:
“It’s been clear for some time that those who pollute our water are not having to face serious consequences. The devastating results are evident in the toxic algae blooms at Lough Neagh and other waterways across the north.
“These figures indicate that less than one in ten pollution incidents face any kind of enforcement action. With the environmental challenges facing our waterways there are real questions whether the current approach is working.
“The minister and Daera must get to grips with this crisis, putting measures in place which deter polluters and improves compliance with the law.”
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs was contacted for comment.
Givan vindicated in major defeat for integrated education
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, October 18th, 2025
A withering High Court judgment has seen Education Minister Paul Givan vindicated, the integrated education lobby lashed by a judge, and the likelihood that the number of new integrated schools will now plummet.
But it also prompts two far deeper questions: What even is integrated education? And — contrary to the widespread public perception — has integrated education failed to achieve its objectives?
Mr Justice McAlinden is one of Belfast High Court's most fearlessly outspoken judges. In June, he threw into disarray the Executive's plan to build the A5 road by ruling in a 50,000-word judgment that Stormont was breaking its own Climate Change Act by “not even paying lip service” to the legislation.
Last month, he told the Executive to maturely resolve a dispute about Irish language signage at Grand Central Station to avoid being seen as “a laughing stock”.
Last week, he expressed “surprise” that the daughter of an IRA man killed by the SAS had been given legal aid to pursue what he said was an unarguable case over his death.
On Wednesday, he delivered a robust dismissal of an attempt to overturn Givan's rejection of proposals to transform two state schools - Bangor Academy and Rathmore Primary - into integrated schools. Judges decide cases based on the facts laid out before them, but sometimes those cases involve far wider issues - and that is the case here.
Givan's rejection in January of the proposals to transform the two north Down schools was widely denounced. Alliance criticised it as exemplifying DUP ideological opposition to integrated education, and it certainly appears that the DUP is now much more sceptical about the integrated movement.
Some of the DUP's opponents believe it suits the party to maintain societal division because that helps prop up its voter base.
However, the judge found unambiguously that Givan was legally correct.
At the heart of this is an ideological dispute far bigger than the schools in question: What really is integrated education? Is it a badge, an ethos, or a certain percentage of Catholics and Protestants being educated together?
Most people would answer that its most important component is jointly educating Catholic and Protestant children.
Yet in the case of these two schools there were going to be very few Catholic children. Just 3% of Bangor Academy's children are Catholic and the judge found it had no real plan to drastically grow that number.
If changing the name of the school doesn't also involve radically rebalancing the school population, Givan's argument was that this wouldn't really be integration at all.
Proponents of integrated education essentially say 'build it and they will come'. They point to surveys which show far more parents support integrated education than the 8% of integrated places currently available.
Sean Pettis, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) said at the time that he was “shocked” at Givan's decision.
A central criticism of Givan was that he'd gone against his officials' recommendation - rare in a Stormont system where ministers routinely rubber stamp what civil servants suggest.
But the judge swept away the applicants' argument that this was somehow problematic. He said: “Ministers are entitled to disagree with officials. That is part and parcel of the democratic process.”
As it happened, the judge said the department in advising the minister had “really taken its eye off” the legal requirements and it was responsible for “a leap of faith and a leap which is patently unjustified on the basis of the evidence”.
Mr Justice McAlinden said: “Rather than being critical of the minister for not agreeing with his officials, I would have genuine concerns about the strong possibility of a misinterpretation of the meaning of the word “support” by departmental officials leading to an inappropriate recommendation to the minister for transformation in this case.”
The judge was scathing about “meaningless padding” in the legal arguments put to him, said the arguments made were “unsustainable”, and refused to even allow leave for a full judicial review hearing.
Some incredibly weak arguments are given leave to go to a full hearing before rejection.
Knocking this out as an essentially unarguable case raises questions for those overseeing the legal aid system, given that it funded the applicants at a time when we are told the legal aid budget is under intense strain.
What lies behind this decision involves an awful lot of politics as well as law. All over Givan's decision are the fingerprints of his special adviser, Richard Bullick. The veteran spad is known to be hands-on, and — unusually in unionism — strategically minded.
Rather than simply rejecting the schools' proposals in January, Givan set out detailed reasoning for his decision. This wasn't just detailed reasoning, but detailed legal reasoning. This was a decision which reads as if it was from the outset being written for the eyes of a judge.
Givan is a sharp minister, but he's not a lawyer. Bullick, however, is a lawyer who has spent more than two decades dealing in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the other legislation underpinning Stormont.
Lawyers for the applicants - parents acting for children whose names were anonymised - set out 11 grounds of appeal, including that Givan's decision was irrational, procedurally unfair, failed to follow guidance, and broke the law which imposes a duty on the department to encourage integrated education.
But that part of the law is held in tension with another which states that the department “shall not approve” a school becoming integrated unless it appears that the school would “be likely to provide integrated education”.
Otherwise, any school could apply to be integrated without really changing very much and the whole value of the concept would be lost.
The judge said this language was “clear and unambiguous” and meant that “the minister had no power to approve the [proposals] and, to the contrary, was required to not approve them”.
This is significant for a future minister. Here the High Court has said that the department “cannot approve” a proposal for integration if it doesn't seem likely that the school will really provide integrated education, a key component of which is adequate numbers of Catholics and Protestants.
The judge said it was “a nonsense” to say that unmet demand for integrated education automatically means a reasonable balance of both religions in the school if the demand for integration doesn't come from the minority religion in a locality.
Likening the situation to 'The Emperor's New Clothes', he said supporting integration “does not mean praising and flattering the emperor on his lovely, new outfit when he hasn't got a stitch on his back”.
The judge reserved particular criticism for the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) which hadn't bothered to respond to the department's initial request for comments prior to the minister's decision — but then once that decision was taken provided the applicants' solicitors with detailed statistics seeking to demonstrate that after other north Down schools had become integrated the number of Catholic pupils had increased.
He said the IEF “remained absolutely mute” until after the decision had been taken.
The IEF told me NICIE is the main organisation which gives detailed information on such proposals and it would just give a “simple letter” of support. However, it added: “On this occasion, the simple answer is that there was a changeover in staff in the IEF at the time of the communication” which meant it didn't respond.
Analysing the statistics belatedly introduced after the decision, he said that they didn't demonstrate what was contended, instead showing that while other integrated schools had significantly increased their Catholic intake in north Down over the last 25 years, they were still “significantly less” than the local Catholic population.
The judge cited a recent policy paper from Givan on what “reasonable numbers” of Catholics and Protestants means. It set out how historically the department had said a school transforming to be integrated should be able to show that they would get a minimum of 10% from the local minority religion in their first year and the potential to get to 30% in the longer term.
NICIE says that integrated schools aspire to have an annual intake of at least 40% from a perceived Protestant background and at least 40% from a perceived Catholic background.
Others question whether this is now out of date, as Northern Ireland secularises; 40% of pupils at Bangor Academy say they're neither Protestant nor Catholic.
Givan's new policy argues that 'contact theory' emphasises “the importance that groups should interact as equals preventing one group from dominating the other and ensuring no group feeling marginalised. Positive contact between different groups under specific conditions can reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations”.
Self-evidently, having some contact between children is better than having none, but if one religious group is a tiny minority that won't encourage them to feel they can fully express who they are.
The judge noted that in the six post primary schools to become integrated, none has “come close to the 40:40:20 aspiration and none seem likely to do so at any point in the foreseeable future”.
He quoted Givan's statement saying that many schools which have become integrated “are less balanced now than when they first transformed…in several cases, the minority community (whether Protestant or Catholic) remains significantly under-represented sometimes by ratios as high as 10:1”.
That appears to be an extraordinary example of failure.
The judge sharply criticised the effort to overturn the minister's decision, saying it was “an attempt by some proponents of integrated education to effect a reversal of the realistic stance taken by the minister… such an attempt is doomed to failure for all sorts of reasons, but I would highlight one.
“The courts are not here as tools to be used by one party or another in disputes or arguments on socio-economic, cultural, educational, healthcare or other policies.”
He added: “All too often now, matters are brought before the courts in the guise of a legal challenge when in fact they are blatant policy challenges. Such litigation strategies are to be deprecated.”
The IEF stressed that integration isn't just about Catholics and Protestants but involves diverse abilities, cultures, and social backgrounds. It said that “an overly rigid approach to reasonable numbers which fails to consider the unique circumstances facing each school should be avoided”.
Wednesday's judgment is as comprehensive a verdict as Givan could have hoped for. It will have not just legal, but psychological, implications for other schools considering embarking on the path to integration. That road is now much trickier to navigate with far less chance of success.
There is a perception that some state schools have been going down this route in part to make it easier for their pupils to access the top integrated schools such as Lagan College or when falling numbers or financial difficulties mean they think the department's duty to support integrated education could give them a lifeline.
The Catholic church remains the biggest barrier to integration. It doesn't want to give up its place in the educational system, or even to dilute the power it currently has.
This extends beyond the Northern Irish context; Catholic education is a global movement which involves a religious and philosophical component extending far beyond the sectarian confines of our experience. Only one Catholic school has ever become integrated.
There are some in the DUP who do not oppose integration of Catholics and Protestants but who believe the movement has lost its way and become too entwined with progressive liberal causes.
But there is a vulnerability for DUP. It needs Northern Ireland to work; if interminably divided, the Union will be forever in question. If it is now frowning on widespread adoption of integrated education, it needs other cross-community initiatives such as shared education or mixed housing to work.
And it needs to convince a sceptical public that this isn't motivated by base opposition to Catholic and Protestant kids going to school together.
Just 16% of serious water polluters fined
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, October 18th, 2025
LESS than one in five of the most serious water pollution cases received a fine – with more than eight in 10 not paying a penny, according to new figures.
It comes amid ongoing concerns about environmental pollution as the crisis at Lough Neagh continues.
The latest figures show that just 63 fines were issued for water pollution despite 383 confirmed incidents qualifying for formal action since 2020.
During this period, a total of 4,204 confirmed water pollution incidents were recorded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).
Of these, 383 cases met the crite-ria for enforcement action under the department’s policy.
However, only 63 fines were issued, just 16% of the total number of cases where action could be taken.
Of the 63 fines issued, 16 related to high-severity incidents and 47 related to medium-severity incidents. No fines were issued for low-severity incidents.
This means that of the 4,204 confirmed pollution incidents, 3,821 cases did not meet the threshold for formal enforcement action under the department’s current policy.
According to the department, the cases which did not receive fines received other actions including prosecutions, cautions and warning letters and enforcement notices.
The latest figures come at a time of growing concerns around the situation at Lough Neagh.
Toxins linked to the pollution of north’s largest freshwater lake were detected in the flesh of fish for the first time earlier this year.
Sampling of various species to determine the level and types of toxins that may be present in fish, including the world-renowned lough eels, have been taking place since large-scale algal blooms began appearing two years ago.
The Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Op, which sells and distributes eels and other fish on behalf of its members, extended a ban on commercial eel fishing on the lough for the entire summer season for the first time this year.
The figures emerged in response to a written question from SDLP MLA Cara Hunter.
Speaking to The Irish News, the East Derry representative said:
“It’s been clear for some time that those who pollute our water are not having to face serious consequences. The devastating results are evident in the toxic algae blooms at Lough Neagh and other waterways across the north.
“These figures indicate that less than one in ten pollution incidents face any kind of enforcement action. With the environmental challenges facing our waterways there are real questions whether the current approach is working.
“The minister and Daera must get to grips with this crisis, putting measures in place which deter polluters and improves compliance with the law.”
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs was contacted for comment.
Anger over event in honour of Provo killed at Loughgall
AMY COCHRANE, Belfast Telegraph, October 18th
Unionists have branded the launch of a Jim Lynagh Winter School in Co Fermanagh as a sickening celebration of a legacy of IRA bloodshed and misery.
Lynagh, one of the terror group's most ruthless figures, was killed during the ambush on Loughgall RUC station in 1987.
Adverts have appeared online for an event named in his honour, which appears to be organised by the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum.
According to adverts, the event is scheduled to take place today at the former St Eugene's school near Lisnaskea.
It is billed as involving talks about “republicanism in the Tyrone, Fermanagh and the border counties, past, present and future” and “Palestine, Ireland and the Black and Tans: imperialism past, present and future”.
The event also includes conversations with former hunger striker Tommy McKearney.
Lynagh was one of eight Provos killed by the SAS as they were mounting a gun and bomb attack on Loughgall RUC station on May 8, 1987.
Anthony Hughes, a civilian who was travelling through the village in a car at the time, was also shot dead.
Victor Warrington, a UUP councillor in Fermanagh, said the event was “nothing short of disgraceful”.
“Hosting such an event in a disused primary school outside Lisnaskea is as cynical as it is offensive, turning what was once a place of learning into a lesson for terrorism,” he said.
“Jim Lynagh and his gang weren't heroes, freedom fighters or patriots. They were unrepentant killers whose only legacy is one of bloodshed and misery.”
He added: “This so-called school is nothing more than an attempt to airbrush history and romanticise terrorism.
“It's a propaganda exercise dressed up as education, and the people of south Fermanagh aren't fooled.
“As someone born in Rosslea, I know full well what republican terrorism really meant for our communities. It wasn't liberation they were after; it was annihilation. Their campaign was one of pure sectarian hatred, a calculated attempt at genocide against anyone who didn't bow to their warped ideology.”
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone TUV said: “Jim Lynagh was the face of evil and a sectarian murderer who killed not to save Ireland from the Brits, but to destroy his Protestant neighbours.”
The Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum was contacted.
