MARK BAIN, Belfast Telegraph, November 11th, 2026
There's a scene at the end of Cast Away starring Tom Hanks where the main character Chuck Noland stands at a crossroads in a desolate landscape.
He's unsure of which road to take next, having found so many things have changed since getting on board that FedEx flight that left him stranded on a desert island.
But a decision has to be made. There's little point in just standing there and hoping something will happen. To get to whatever lies ahead, and to control his own destiny, he can't split himself in four different directions. Time to pull himself together and move forwards.
Yes, it's a big budget Hollywood movie. Yes, it's sentimental. But throughout it, despite being in dire circumstances, there's a single-minded nature to Chuck. There's a will to survive, a will to get back to his real life. And when that doesn't turn out to be as expected, a resolution to move on and carve out a new future than the one he believed he had planned.
Things change. You survive, you have to adapt. It's a crossroads at which unionism now stands. Indeed, it's a crossroads unionism has been standing at, and not moving forward, for some considerable time.
Hanks was only cast away for four years and things around him changed remarkably. Four decades and whole landscapes can shift.
Opinion polls may be dismissed by some as reactionary to the events that surround the period they are conducted in. But it would be foolish not to stop and consider the implications.
Over the last weekend, one statistic was glaringly obvious.
At a time when some elements of unionism want to call time on Michelle O'Neill's position as First Minister, it remains firmly in unionist hands to do just that. Not by collapsing the Executive, but by collecting the mandate themselves at the next Assembly election.
While unionists pull themselves apart in four directions, Sinn Féin is all aboard the freight train powering down the tracks and out of sight.
No wonder there's a big challenge ahead in addressing the regular unionist sticking point of voter apathy.
They all recognise the need to mobilise the unionist voters, to get them out of their homes and into polling stations on election days.
That's not easy when most either feel there's nothing left worth voting for or can't decide which direction to vote in.
A broad church
The increasingly broad church of unionism mimics the religious nature of Protestantism. Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Free Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist. All believe they are right and shall not be moved.
Catholicism is one whole, as is Sinn Féin, with one Holy Grail. Though they may have different thoughts and opinions, it is they who are united in a common purpose.
Unionism has, you would believe, a common purpose, namely maintaining the Union. And for the typical unionist voter, it's harder and harder to understand why there isn't a single, unified party.
On 28pc, Sinn Féin would again be the biggest party after the Assembly election if the opinion polling is mirrored next year.
With the Ulster Unionist Party on 15pc, and DUP and TUV both on 14pc, unionism is split almost evenly three ways, and you can throw a couple of independents into the mix. Even without those independents, that's a total unionist vote of 43pc.
The maths should be easy to work out from there, and it's long past time unionism did its homework and all came to the same answer. Even two of them singing from the same hymn sheet would be more than enough.
Unionism has learned nothing over the last 30 years. Again this week angry words have been spouted between DUP leader Gavin Robinson and Drumcree cheerleader-in-chief Jamie Bryson. Mr Robinson says the latest polls show the need for unionists to work together.
There's panic on the streets of Portadown, Newtownards, Coleraine, Carrick — all towns where sitting DUP MPs could be unseated.
Carla Lockhart has already jumped ship. Jim Shannon, Gregory Campbell and Sammy Wilson are all in their 70s and trying to arrest slides in majorities, if they even stand at all.
If it continues, then any hopes of hanging on to the Union they claim to love will disappear like Noland's beloved volleyball Wilson, cast adrift on the Irish Sea, crossing that 'invisible' border never to be seen again.
All nationalism has to do is stand by the side of the road and watch the carnival of squabbling, at the end of which the keys to the kingdom will be fumbled.
It's then a simple matter for Sinn Féin to pick them up and march onwards as unionism remains at the crossroads amid a frenzy of finger-pointing.
You'd think impending disaster would steel the nerves, heighten the senses and strengthen the resolve. But, as usual, it looks like 'every man for himself'.
God knows which desert island they'll wash up on. But if they put a shell to their ears, they may just hear the echo of those firebrand preachers of the past delivering the obituary: “Protestants should have had more babies.”
Sinn Féin has ‘The Big Mo’ and unionists have nowhere to go
BRIAN FEENEY, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
THE sight of the British proconsul going out to the gates of his vice-regal lodge at Hillsborough to greet the Sinn Féin delegation for talks on a Stormont budget last week wasn’t well received in unionist circles.
To cap it all, his warm embraces for Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill added insult to injury.
After all, O’Neill is the villain of the piece as far as unionism is concerned, yet there was Britain’s representative in this remnant of its first colony welcoming her literally with open arms.
He felt he needed to explain his actions by saying the Sinn Féin delegation was late and he went out to the gate to hurry them in to get the meeting started. Really?
For unionists, Michelle O’Neill is at the heart of the crisis they’ve provoked by backing the Orange Order’s preposterous attempt to reopen the Garvaghy Road issue. Unionists demand something must be done about her, but what?
Unionism is deeply divided about the answer to that question. The DUP leader is caught on the horns of a dilemma of his own making. He said there would be “profound consequences” for O’Neill’s actions without thinking what they would or could be.
Time is now running out after dreadful opinion poll results both for him personally and his party.
Robinson is desperate to avoid pulling down the Stormont Executive because most unionists don’t want that to happen, but a growing number in his own party and in the TUV do want that to happen.
What Robinson has done is to sacrifice Carla Lockhart, the Orange Order’s most stalwart supporter, so as to keep O’Neill in the Executive.
Unforgivable crime
There’s no other way of looking at it. He chose to keep O’Neill over Lockhart, an unforgivable crime in the eyes of Jim Allister and his TUV, and indeed for many of his own MLAs.
Now here’s the thing. Suppose O’Neill is eventually charged – eventually being the word, because this saga is going to drag on and on into the spring. Anyway, suppose she’s charged. She won’t resign. So what does Robinson do then? Pull Emma Little-Pengelly and collapse Stormont? He has to.
Suppose, eventually, O’Neill isn’t charged – quite likely. Cue unionist outrage. Robinson has to pull Little-Pengelly and collapse Stormont.
In both cases his opponents inside and outside the party ask: “Why didn’t you do that in the first place?”
Worse, unionism’s handling of the whole business, plus Robinson’s leadership of what was the largest unionist party, has handed Sinn Féin a huge boost which will see O’Neill returned with increased numbers of MLAs to elect her First Minister after May’s assembly elections.
“ Agitating to return to the days of enforcing an official monocultural British identity – the so-called ‘culture war’ – is a political dead end. There’s no going back
What does Robinson do then if he’s still DUP leader, and/or leader of the largest unionist party? Refuse to nominate a Deputy First Minister so there’s no Executive?
In short, unionism is and will remain in complete disarray, while the misguided attempt to resurrect the days of supremacy and Orange swagger has resulted in galvanising the nationalist body politic. The LucidTalk poll showed 98% of Sinn Féin and SDLP voters support O’Neill’s actions.
The mass blocking of Garvaghy Road showed something else; the confidence of the nationalist population nowadays.
What nationalism did was take ownership, not only of the Garvaghy Road, but of the political scene in the north, with Sinn Féin demonstrating that they have that priceless asset, what Americans call ‘The Big Mo’: momentum which has an unexplained but inordinate effect in politics, as in sport.
By contrast unionism is divided, disoriented and directionless. There is no agreed goal, no strategy.
No going back
Some believe having a political institution in the north is essential. Others believe that having an institution in the north that they can’t control is unacceptable.
Yet others, like Jim Allister, believe you can’t have an institution in the north where there’s compulsory power-sharing with Sinn Féin.
Allister asks: “Does anyone seriously believe Sinn Féin want this place to work?” Yet there can’t be an institution without Sinn Féin for it is the largest party.
At present it looks like those in unionism who don’t want to share power with Sinn Féin are in the ascendant in unionism, so their demand to pull Little-Pengelly and collapse the Executive is simply a ploy to end power-sharing.
In the final analysis the disarray in unionism is their failure to come to terms with the sea change in the north’s society and politics where there’s now a substantial and growing nationalist majority under the age of 35, inevitably reflected in the professions.
In politics Sinn Féin are a majority in most councils, in the Assembly and the biggest party in Westminster seats.
Agitating to return to the days of enforcing an official mono-cultural British identity – the so-called ‘culture war’ – is a political dead end. There’s no going back.
Why must unionists obey law in Scarva, but not nationalists on Garvaghy Road?
CARLA LOCKHART, MP, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart argues that ‘tolerance has to go both ways’
OVER the past few months, what happened at Scarva and Drumcree has challenged something fundamental about how we live together in Northern Ireland.
Are we prepared to uphold the law when it gives us an answer we don’t like?
There were strong and well-founded objections to the notified procession going through Scarva, a predominantly unionist village.
Some of those who took part in that procession were among the most vocal opponents of Orange-men walking in silence along the Garvaghy Road. I think they have a question to answer.
In Scarva, unionists were expected to accept the Parades Commission’s decision and make any objections through lawful protest.
Yet when the decision at Drumcree went in unionism’s favour, some of those same voices said defying the law was the “right thing to do”. How can both positions be right?
The argument we hear at Drumcree is that if a majority of local residents oppose a parade, it should be stopped.
Residents’ views matter, but human rights law does not give a local majority a veto. And if that is the principle some nationalists want us to accept, why did it carry so little weight in Scarva?
Why does it carry so little weight when it comes to Irish language street signs?
Under some council policies, support from 15 per cent of residents or fewer can be enough for a sign to go ahead. If 85 per cent were opposed, their opposition could still be overruled.
A parade passes in a matter of minutes, early in the morning. A street sign is a permanent fixture.
When I ask how those positions can be squared, I’m usually told that “the Irish language is different”. That doesn’t answer the question.
I accept that many nationalists see Irish language signage as a harmless expression of their culture. There are people in my community who see it differently.
In the same way, many in my community see an Orange parade as a harmless expression of their culture.
I know there are people who see our parades differently too. I’m asking for the same understanding in return.
There will always be competing views about parades and public assemblies. Where we can’t reach agreement, we have a process for making a decision.
At Drumcree, the Parades Commission allowed 35 Orangemen to walk in silence along the Garvaghy Road. That decision stood after challenges in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The men had gone through the very process we are all asked to use.
Mutual understanding
“ I know many readers of The Irish News will disagree with me. But if we’re serious about understanding each other, I have a responsibility to put the concerns I hear from unionists in plain language, even if it makes for uncomfortable reading
Yet some of those who opposed the parade rejected the outcome, and the men were still prevented from walking.
Where does that leave us? If every difficult decision has to go nationalism’s way for the arrangements we’ve had since 1998 to be seen as working, then what confidence can unionists have in those arrangements?
When a decision goes our way, we’re told the system has failed or that allowing it to stand would mean “going back”.
I find that particularly hard to take given the PSNI intelligence alleging that some of those gathering in opposition had hidden firearms with the intention of using them. There were also reports of known members of the Provisional IRA blocking the road.
Even if you set those reports aside, the question remains. What good is it telling unionists they have the same access to the law as every-one else if, when they win, they’re expected to give up the rights they’ve secured in the name of “moving forward”?
People in my community know what that amounts to in practice. Unionism must give and nationalism must get.
So I say directly to those in the nationalist community that tolerance has to go both ways.
If we’re going to talk about rights and equality, we have to be prepared to stand over those words when they apply to people we disagree with.
Unionism has every right to stand against a two-tier society. I believe my former party, the DUP, should have been much firmer in doing so. I believe it should have acted to remove Michelle O’Neill from office.
A republican First Minister has the same duty to uphold the law as a unionist First Minister would.
My objection is to her stated willingness to defy the law when it works in unionism’s favour.
In my view, the DUP’s failure to act only emboldened those who believe they’re entitled to decide when the law applies.
I know many readers of The Irish News will disagree with me. But if we’re serious about understanding each other, I have a responsibility to put the concerns I hear from unionists in plain language, even if it makes for uncomfortable reading.
I am a committed unionist. I make no apology for that, and I stand shoulder to shoulder with my fellow unionists.
As an MP, I was elected to serve everyone in Upper Bann. I do that without fear or favour whenever someone gets in touch or comes through my office door.
Many of the people my office helps do not identify as unionist. They have every right to expect the same help from me as anyone else. And I will always speak up for the law to be upheld, whoever the decision goes in favour of.
A stable society depends on all of us being equal under the law. We should do all we can to settle our differences through agreement or through politics.
When we can’t, we have to be willing to let the law settle them and accept the outcome, even when it goes against us.
Garvaghy protesters ‘didn’t act unlawfully’
CONNLA YOUNG CRIME and SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
Advisor’s briefing to the Policing Board
A HUMAN rights advisor to the Policing Board has said nationalist protesters did ‘not act unlawfully’ by blocking the Garvaghy Road.
Aonghus Kelly briefed board members days after large numbers of nationalists gathered on the Garvaghy Road in opposition to a planned Orange Order parade through the area in September.
A major PSNI operation was put in place after the Parades Commission had earlier given the controversial Drumcree march the go-ahead.
The parade was eventually banned by Secretary of State Chris Bryant after a request from PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher.
Several High Court hearings were held, including a failed eleventh-hour bid by residents to stop the parade.
An application to hold a protest involving 5,000 people was withdrawn as part of court proceedings, which continued into the early hours of September 27 – the day the parade was due to take place.
Police later launched an operation to identify those who took part in the protest, which included blocking sections of the Garvaghy Road.
Last week, the PSNI said it had identified 65 suspects and at that stage 23 people had been interviewed.
It has now emerged that Mr Kelly briefed board members that the protest on the Garvaghy Road was not unlawful.
Policing Board minutes reveal Mr Kelly, who was appointed to the human rights role in February, believes those taking part in the protest were protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Article 11 of ECHR
“In his opinion, the residents at Garvaghy Road had not acted unlawfully in their peaceful protest, the right to peaceful protest is protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and it should be noted that it also extends to the Orange Order,” the document states.
‘The right to peaceful protest must be protected to preserve the rule of law…’ document states
“The right to peaceful protest must be protected to preserve the rule of law and the protestors, who include children and the elderly, must be allowed to protest peacefully with the PSNI seeking the least restrictive means to allow both parties to proceed and using the minimum amount of force necessary,” the document states.”
The human rights advisor, who “made personal visits to Drumcree”, told members that Article 11 placed a responsibility on police.
“Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights would not permit the PSNI to use whatever force necessary to permit the Orange Order march to proceed, this would have extended into disproportionate force which would have been contrary to the law,” the document said.
Daniel Holder, of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, has previously said the European Court “has held that in certain circumstances rights to hold spontaneous protests in immediate response to events where the protest would be pointless if delayed may override notification requirements”.
Speaking last week, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the first files linked to the Drumcree protest investigations are to be sent to the Public Prosecution Service in the coming days.
O’Neill: DUP ‘punishing children’ by blocking Bills over Drumcree row
JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE and CLAUDIA SAVAGE, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said the DUP is blocking Sinn Féin legislation because the unionist party “called it wrong” in the Drumcree march row.
The Sinn Féin vice-president said the DUP is “punishing children” in opposing the passage of a number of Bills through the Stormont Assembly.
Relations between parties in the power sharing Executive have soured in the fallout from the Drumcree parading dispute, which has seen Ms O’Neill being interviewed by police in relation to her participation in an allegedly unlawful protest on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown in September that was held to try to block an Orange Order parade from Drumcree Church proceeding down the predominantly nationalist road.
The row has had political consequences at Stormont, with DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly having stopped joint engagements with Ms O’Neill.
On Monday, the DUP said it would use a petition of concern in an attempt to block legislation around Irish-medium education proposed by a Sinn Féin MLA.
Pat Sheehan has proposed a private member’s bill to require Stormont’s Department of Education to prepare a workforce plan for Irish-medium education.
The Bill was scheduled to go through its final stage at the Assembly yesterday.
The petition of concern forces a cross-community vote, and requires majority support from both unionist and nationalist MLAs to pass.
Other unionist parties have indicated they will support the petition.
The move comes after Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald confirmed her proposed overhaul of Northern Ireland’s employment law, Sinn Féin’s “top priority piece of legislation”, will not pass in this mandate as a result of being blocked by the DUP at executive level.
School meals
Ms O’Neill spoke to reporters at Stormont alongside Mr Sheehan and Danny Baker, who is bringing the Education (Holiday Meal Payments) Bill, which would support children on free school meals, and is expected to be voted against by the DUP.
The First Minister said her MLAs’ legislation would “actually make a difference to people’s lives”.
“I think the question that it begs is why? Why are the DUP blocking support for children across the board?,” she said.
“And it is about covering the fact that they are in complete chaos and in a complete mess. It’s about the fact that they have so much internal turmoil that they are choosing to punish children because of their failings, and that is not acceptable by anybody’s standards.”
Ms O’Neill said the attempts to block Bills are “about the DUP and their actions”.
“The DUP and their antics – this is all about covering up for the fact that they completely called it wrong on the situation on the Garvaghy Road.
“They tried to support and force an Orange march down that road, and now the direct results from failing to do so, they are now punishing children, and people will really ask the question why? And only they can answer that.”
Alliance Party deputy leader Eóin Tennyson said the DUP move to use a petition of concern on the Irish Medium Bill was a “petty stunt intended to walk these institutions to the brink”.
He said: “My question this morning for (DUP leader) Gavin Robinson and for (Ulster Unionist leader) Jon Burrows is, is your identity so fragile that you are threatened by children being educated through the medium of Irish?”
United Ireland could swallow Republic’s €23 billion ‘rainy day fund’ in 7 years
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
BORROWING to fund Irish unity would outstrip the Republic’s €23 billion rainy-day funds within seven years, according to economic analysis published as part of Fine Gael’s plan for a united Ireland.
The report by economist Professor Stephen Kinsella of the University of Limerick also found that even in the best case, repaying that borrowing within 25 years would require Northern Ireland’s economy to grow at more than double the rate it has managed since 2000.
United Ireland borrowing would burn through Republic’s €23 billion rainy-day funds within seven years, report finds
The Republic’s two long-term savings funds, the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, are expected to hold more than €23 billion by the end of this year.
But the report finds the borrowing needed to cover the cost of unity would pass that sum within two to seven years of reunification, depending on how the two systems are brought together.
The Future Ireland Fund also cannot be drawn on before 2041 without new legislation.
Professor Kinsella pointed to Germany, where support for the eastern states after reunification “was meant to be short but ran for almost thirty years”.
The report examines four ways of merging the two systems and finds that at 2% growth a year, the rate assumed for the Republic, none of them would pay off the borrowing within 25 years.
Under the phased approach, and with Britain continuing to pay the north’s pensions and debt interest, the Northern Ireland economy would need to grow by between 3 and 4.7% a year.
However, it has averaged about 1.3% since 2000.
If Dublin were left to cover those pensions and debt costs, growth of about 5.2% or more would be needed even in the lowest-cost scenario.
However, Professor Kinsella suggested there was “a lot of untapped growth within Northern Ireland, particularly in the growth of its private sector”.
“That is a high bar to meet, but it is possible,” he writes.
He also found that if the cost of bringing northern pay and benefits up to southern levels sits at the lower end of estimates, the borrowing would stay within the report’s affordability limits even at two per cent growth, concluding that “unity is affordable at the growth rate already assumed for the Republic”.
Corporation Tax cushion
The figures come as the Republic forecasts a €9.5 billion surplus next year, although the Department of Finance’s own figures show that would become a €13.4 billion deficit without windfall corporation tax from a handful of multinationals, which it warns could disappear.
SDLP Matthew O’Toole MLA said he welcomed “the growing recognition in both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil that the future of this island requires serious preparation.”
“The point of proper preparation is to answer questions like this honestly,” he said.
“Nobody is claiming that Irish unity won’t require investment, but informed analysis indicates those costs are manageable with the right planning, economic growth and phased transition.
“We also need to talk about the cost of doing nothing. The North continues to underperform economically, with duplicated services, barriers across this island and political dysfunction holding us back. Is anyone seriously arguing that the status quo is as good as it gets?
“The challenge is not whether Irish unity has a price tag. The challenge is whether we have the ambition and foresight to build a more prosperous future that can meet that cost.”
Professor Peter Shirlow, of the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies, said the figures would give southern voters pause.
“There are, of course, two approaches to this. There’s an identity, heart approach, and then there’s the head approach: what will this cost me? What will the consequences be?,” he said.
Professor Shirlow said constitutional change was “not really on southern voters’ radar”.
“You see that very clearly in the polls. As a priority, constitutional change is down a very long list. It registers at around one or two percent, and sometimes it doesn’t register at all,” he said.
“This is the overall problem when you have a tactic for unity as opposed to a strategy.
“When you get into independent analysis, you find that what has been claimed is not necessarily as factual as what a neutral arbiter will say.”
Northern envy at Republic’s pay rates
MARK HENNESSY, Common Ground, Irish Times, November 10th, 2026
The world can look very different from either side of the Irish Border
Angela McGowan, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in Northern Ireland, watched TV news reports on Monday night on the pay offer to public servants in the Republic.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I was thinking of my poor members on the Border, if they have to keep up with this. And I don’t even know if it was accepted,” she said about the then 10.5 per cent pay offer on the table.
McGowan’s incredulity was displayed at the launch in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin of a major report by the CBI, the Dublin-based employers’ group, Ibec and recruitment firm Hays.
The North/South pay gap is one of many issues affecting the all-island jobs market, particularly for Northern organisations on the Border unable to compete with better-paid and easy-to-get-to jobs just a few kilometres away.
For Eileen O’Malley of The Wheel, which has with European Union help recently created the first all-island alliance of charities, community groups and social enterprises, the issue is a daily problem.
In the alliance’s first few meetings, recruitment, taxes and pay issues across the island have been flagged again and again, with people living just a few kilometres apart getting dramatically different wages.
Four-year-old figures suggest 18,000 people cross the Border daily for work, though, in reality, the number has grown dramatically in the years since – especially in construction.
However, there are complications aplenty for employers, especially in hiring workers who want to work remotely – since cross-Border tax laws have not fully caught up with hybrid working.
“There is a groundswell of frustration, particularly since Covid, but even before that,” Fergal O’Brien of Ibec declared, “particularly in the Border areas who have been really active on this agenda.”
Pensions and PRSI
“Some companies are saying that unfortunately they can now no longer hire cross-Border because they are worried about tax compliance issues,” said O’Brien, adding the issues went beyond tax.
McGowan agreed, pointing out that differences in Irish and UK pensions rules cause real complications: “Unless your pension is recognised in the UK, you’re not entitled to relief there.”
The headaches for HR departments are illustrated by someone who works four days in Dublin and one day at home in Northern Ireland paying southern income tax for the days spent in Dublin.
Such a person is liable for UK tax on all income, with credit for Irish taxes paid. Equally, they are liable for Irish PRSI, but not UK national insurance if they work for a day at home – but they are if they work two days at home.
Top-up tax bills are a particular issue for people from the North working in the Republic, with more than half surveyed for the report saying such bills were a deterrent.
Less than a third of people in the Republic working in Northern Ireland find top-ups such a fear because southern tax rules offer cross-Border workers’ relief, removing foreign earnings from Irish income tax liability.
For McGowan, things do not have to be exactly the same: “But they do need to be aligned so that two payrolls, two regulatory systems can work as close as possible together.”
The difficulties facing employers increase with foreign-born staff, since they do not enjoy the same Common Travel Area rights as do Irish and British citizens, even if they are legally living in the Republic.
One in five people working in the Republic is not an Irish citizen, but such employees could not be stationed by their employers in Northern Ireland-based operations.
“That’s a real practical day-to-day challenge for some firms, who need to have a single organisational chart. They don’t have that ability within their own teams,” said O’Brien.
Making cross-Border hiring easier brings all sorts of advantages, said O’Brien: “This is a really in-depth piece of research. The bit that jumps off the page for me is how tight our labour markets are.
“Things are exceptionally tight. Hiring managers say that over two-thirds of them believe the skills that they need are available on the other side of the Border. That’s really, really significant.
“That demonstrates the untapped potential there. The skills are out there. We need to work harder to make sure that they’re fully accessible, and that the all-island labour market functions well,” he said.
Knowledge is everything, the research shows. Half of those in firms that have hired cross-Border think of the island as a whole when they think about recruitment.
Yet just a fifth of those in firms that have never done so think the same.
Fermanagh men face trial over armour piercing projectile device
JOHN CASSIDY, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
As part of the same case, two other men successfully challenged a charge of preparation of acts of terrorism
TWO Co Fermanagh have denied possessing a radio-controlled explosive device capable of piercing armour-plated vehicles.
Rory Martin Logan (45), of Ross Close, and Emmet John Maguire (45) of Station Road, both in Enniskillen, appeared before Belfast Crown Court yesterday for an arraignment hearing on three charges they jointly faced.
The defendants are charged that on June 8, 2024, they “unlawfully and maliciously had in their possession or under their control explosive substances, namely a radio-controlled explosively formed projectile with intent to endanger life or damage property”.
They were further accused of possessing the explosive device in suspicious circumstances and preparation of acts of terrorism “namely the possession, transport and deposition of explosive substances” on the same date.
When the three charges were put to them by the court clerk, Logan and Maguire replied “not guilty” to all counts.
Defence counsel Joseph O’Keefe said the trial had the potential to last up to two weeks. The case will be reviewed on December 8, 2026, when it is expected a trial date will be set for 2027.
Logan and Maguire were released on continuing bail.
Judge Gordon Kerr KC had earlier in proceedings rejected a ‘No Bill’ application by the defendants that they had no case to answer based on the prosecution evidence.
It was the prosecution case that on June 8, 2024, An Garda Siochana (AGS) were conducting an operation targeting dissident republican activity in the Co Louth area.
Maguire and Logan are alleged to have travelled to Cullies Cemetery in Co Cavan where they collected the radio-controlled explosively formed projectile which they transported to Dromad in Co Louth.
Explosive device in graveyard
It was claimed AGS observed the vehicle taking “anti-surveillance movements”, driving past the cemetery four times, then entering and leaving several times before allegedly picking up the device.
Gardai are said to have later observed a black pick-up truck entering an abandoned site called NV Nightclub near Junction 20 on the NI road close to the Carrickdale Hotel.
The vehicle was insured in the name of Emmet Maguire.
The pick-up truck was observed stopping beside an abandoned blue trailer and the passenger is alleged to have got out “for a number of seconds”, went to the rear of the trailer before returning to the truck.
In a follow-up search, Gardai are said to have found a suspicious device at the rear of the trailer.
When the device was eventually recovered, it was found to be “cleanly wrapped”, indicating its recent placement at the deposition site.
The bomb contained 300 grams of high explosive of military grade which the prosecution claimed it was designed to penetrate armoured vehicles.
An Explosive Ordnance Officer (EOO) later rendered the object safe before removing it for a field test.
During the field test, the object tested positive for PETN, a high-grade explosive. The device contained a detonator, a tin can and a metal dome.
Forensic tests were carried out on the items recovered from the scene and allegedly showed PETN and RDX, which was indicative of Semtex plastic explosives.
The EOO stated that the device contained “all the component parts for an improvised explosive device and had the ability to cause serious harm”.
His view was that what was recovered was a “radio-controlled device which could be left at the side of the road and it had the ability to penetrate armour plating”.
SatNav from Maguire’s truck allegedly showed the exact journey it had taken. The data went back to 2022 but it was the first time it had allegedly made the journey to the deposition site at NV Nightclub.
It showed the truck travelling from Maguire’s home, across the border to the abandoned nightclub, picking up Logan along the way and then returning home, a round trip of 80 miles.
The court heard that throughout the journey neither men possessed their mobile phones.
On June 9, 2024, police attended Maguire’s home and recovered a number of mobile phones and the pick-up which was parked in the driveway.
Dismissed
As part of the same case, two other men, one from Co Fermanagh and the other from Co Tyrone, also challenged a single charge they each faced, saying they had no case to answer.
Brian Francis Cavlan (50) of Corrainey Park in Dungannon, and Peter Granaghan (46) of Gurteen Road, Garrison, were jointly charged with preparation of acts of terrorism.
It was alleged that on June 4, 2024, they “engaged in conduct in preparation for giving effect to their intention, namely logistical planning and preparation in respect of the intended possession of explosive substances on June 8, 2024.
The case against them arose out of the same investigation into the radio-controlled device and it was the prosecution contention that the defendants were actively engaged in logistical planning for the transport and activation of the device from Cullies Cemetery to the NV Nightclub.
The prosecution claimed that on June 4, 2024, Granaghan and Cavlan allegedly travelled in a car of another male from Belleek in Co Fermanagh to Co Cavan.
Prosecutors alleged that this was to allow for the transfer of information to where the device would be left and this information was so precise it had to be given in person.
Neither defendant carried their mobile phone during their journey, the court heard.
In his ruling, Judge Kerr said the prosecution case could only establish that while in the Republic of Ireland their car “was in the same vicinity” of Cullies Cemetery and could have visited the graveyard before the device was allegedly collected four days later.
“There is no significant, definitive evidence to establish that the device was picked up at that location. The evidence for that is in itself circumstantial,” said Judge Kerr.
In conclusion, Judge Kerr ruled: “I am convinced that a properly directed jury could not convict the defendants on this charge based on the circumstantial evidence put forward and I grant the ‘No Bill’ application. Cavlan and Granaghan can leave the dock.”
Following the ruling, solicitor Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law said in a statement: “We welcome today’s decision in respect of our clients Peter Granaghan and Brian Cavlan.
“From the outset, we have always said the prosecution were grasping at straws. There are now serious questions for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to answer.
“Our clients were remanded for a significant period of time in a case that never had any prospect of a conviction.”
Catholic and Protestant groups unite in new Irish project for Palestine
MARK ROBINSON, Irish News, January 11th, 2026
MEMBERS from across Ireland’s Christian denominations are to unite in a ‘first’ as they launch a project to support churches in the West Bank.
The Palestine-Ireland Ecumenical Twinning Alliance (PIETA) launched yesterday to initially support the Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in Taybeh and Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.
Organisations involved in the alliance include Christians4Palestine, Gaels Against Genocide, Belfast Jesuit Centre, Priests Against Genocide, Bangor Peace Movement and others, as well as individuals from Quaker, Presbyterian, and Church of Ireland faith communities.
The alliance is initially aiming to work with the churches in the West Bank to fund their educational support programmes for young Palestinians.
Michael Malone, who is a member of both Christians4Palestine and Gaels Against Genocide, said that while some twinning exists between individual parishes in Ireland and Palestine, this is the first of its kind across denominations.
Children of Daif Allaa, a Bedouin Palestinian who along with his family says he was forced to flee land seized by an Israeli-settlement, play football outside their home in the Palestinian village of Duma, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank
“This is the first time we’ve been able to get different people from different religious denominations involved and working together with a common cause on both sides,” he said.
“It’s truly about bringing different Christian faiths and lay people as well as ministers, who want to do something to make a positive contribution together.”
Mr Malone said that while the project is linking Christians in Ireland with those in Palestine, the alliance works to help those from all faiths.
He added that the number of Palestinian Christians had been driven down “over the last number of decades”.
“The Christians out in the West Bank are truly ecumenical – they all work together. So Catholic, Protestant, Greek, Orthodox, etc. all work together. But they also provide for their Muslim neighbours.
“At the Catholic school in Bethlehem, 75% of the students are Muslim.
“So they’re going way beyond their own population, because they don’t see it as Catholic, Protestant, Muslim – they just see them as Palestinian. And that’s naturally our approach.”
Mr Malone said that those who want to learn more about the group can find out more on the Christians-4Palestine website or at this weekend’s Church at the Crossroads conference in Belfast.
Ex-PSNI officer no longer up for top job
CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, November 11th, 2026
A FORMER senior PSNI officer is no longer the “preferred candidate” to become the next Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police.
Emma Bond was confirmed as the frontrunner for the job by Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire, Philip Seccombe, in June.
However, Mr Seccombe has now brought the recruitment process to an end, meaning Ms Bond’s “preferred candidate” status has been withdrawn.
No reason has been given for the sudden end of the process. In a statement, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner said Mr Seccombe “has decided to bring the recruitment process for the next Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police to an end.
The name’s not Bond on this occasion
“As a result, the preferred candidate status previously announced for Emma Bond MBE has been withdrawn,” he said.
“The Commissioner thanks Emma for the time and commitment she has given to the recruitment process and wishes her well for the future.
“The confidentiality of the recruitment process will be respected.”
Ms Bond was awarded £31,000 after winning a high-profile case against the PSNI in 2023.
Holding the rank of chief superintendent, she was the first woman to act as commander in Derry City and Strabane policing district.
An industrial tribunal later found her tenure in that position was “cut short”.
Ms Bond said she was moved from her position after “pushing” for action against officers who stayed at home for two weeks during the first covid lockdown in April 2020 without approval.
In 2022, Ms Bond took up an Assistant Chief Constable role with Police Scotland and is currently seconded to the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in Warwickshire confirmed that Acting Chief Constable David Gardner will continue to lead the force until he takes up his appointment as Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police.
“The commissioner is putting arrangements in place to ensure continuity of leadership for Warwickshire Police and will announce further details as these are confirmed,” the statement added.
Two arrested as former US president Joe Biden arrives at event in Dublin
DARRAGH NOLAN, Belfast Telegraph and Irish Independent, November 11th, 2026
HUNTER BIDEN WAS HONOURED BY TRINITY COLLEGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT CEREMONY
Former US president Joe Biden and former first lady Dr Jill Biden surprised attendees at an event at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) yesterday afternoon.
The Bidens were sitting in the front row at an event honouring their son, Hunter, in TCD's Examination Hall. They were also joined by other members of the Biden family, including their daughter Ashley, Hunter's wife Melissa, and his children Beau and Maisy.
Hunter Biden was being awarded the College Historical Society's Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse.
He has been the subject of much public discourse himself in recent years, having been scrutinised over his battles with drug addiction.
While Hunter Biden's appearance was advertised well in advance by the College Historical Society, also known as the Hist, there was no prior notice that the former president and first lady would also be in attendance.
During their brief visit to TCD, the couple also met Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
A number of arrests were made after an incident that took place while Mr Biden was leaving the venue.
There was a significant garda and security presence on the TCD campus and the convoy carrying the Bidens was able to leave unimpeded.
Two arrests made
However, some people moved forward and objects were thrown. Garda public order unit vans and officers were on site and at least two arrests were made.
Earlier, while Hunter Biden was speaking on stage, pro-Palestine chanting could be heard by those gathered inside the venue.
During the afternoon, there appeared to be a small amount of security as attendees entered the hall for the event, but the garda presence ramped up closer to the former US president's arrival.
Proceedings inside the Examination Hall lasted around an hour-and-a-half and, while protesters could be heard, the event went by with little interruption, aside from one question directed towards Hunter Biden about Gaza.
During his acceptance of the award, he spoke at length about his recovery from addiction, family life, the Bidens' ties to Ireland and the future of US politics.
“It's an incredibly great honour, thank you,” he said after receiving the Gold Medal. “And I especially want to thank my family and friends who made the trip here with me today.”
Following his acceptance speech, Mr Biden took several questions from Jane Freyer, the auditor of the College Historical Society. After this, members of the audience were given the opportunity to ask a question.
A man in the audience, without being handed a microphone, stood up and asked a question about the genocide in Gaza. He referenced the crowd outside the building, who he said were protesting against the visit of the former US president due to his administration's support for Israel.
Pro-Palestine critics of the Biden administration previously condemned its continuation of the US's long-standing policy of providing military aid to Israel.
Members of security approached the man and it appeared he was being asked to leave, but the former president's son interjected and repeatedly said “He can stay”, promising to answer his question.
Vocal critic of Trump
“Number one is that I don't speak for my dad. He can speak for himself. He's not going to do it here because, amazingly, for once, this is about me and not him,” he said, followed by laughter and applause from the audience.
He said he felt his father “tried to make the best decisions at the time on the information that he had” during his time in office.
“Now, I totally understand and I totally agree that what's happening in Gaza, particularly right now… is absolutely and completely wrong,” he said.
Speaking about debates around whether Israel's actions in Palestine should be labelled a genocide, he described them as “mass murder” and said “it's not right”.
Directing responsibility for what is happening in Gaza now at the Trump administration, he said: “Here's my request. Where's that energy for the current administration?
“Let's focus on what we can change now, rather than looking into the past and deciding who to blame. That's for history.
“By the way, it's a legitimate debate, but right now, we have a president of the United States and a family that are literally putting out fake videos and digital images saying that they're going to turn Gaza into a golf course; a Trump-branded golf course.”
Since the 2024 US presidential election and the return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office, Hunter Biden has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration.
Joe Biden, who served as US president from 2021 to 2025, following his election victory over Donald Trump in 2020, recently announced he will limit promotional activities for his upcoming presidential memoir due to ongoing cancer treatment.
However, in a positive update, he said doctors had been encouraged by his response to treatment.
Report asks DUP to 'take responsibility' for role in Ulster Resistance
NIALL MCGREEVY, Belfast Telegraph, November 11th, 2026
The DUP has been asked to “take on responsibility” for its initial involvement with the loyalist paramilitary group Ulster Resistance in a newly published report.
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the public launch of Ulster Resistance at the Ulster Hall in 1986.
The group was originally formed by the DUP in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
During its inauguration in the Ulster Hall, leader Ian Paisley said: “I intend to give this movement of Ulster Resistance my undivided support. I will give whatever political cover it needs.”
In December of that year, Ulster Resistance representatives met with other loyalist paramilitaries to discuss smuggling weapons into Northern Ireland.
The DUP maintains it severed links with the Ulster Resistance before the arms shipment arrived the following year. The party stated it has “consistently rejected violence”.
More than 300 guns and 450 grenades arrived in Belfast docks from Lebanon in December 1987.
Weapons that were jointly shipped into Belfast by Ulster Resistance have since been linked to over 70 murders.
‘Where are their weapons?’
On the 40th anniversary of the group's formation, Sinn Féin MP John Finucane spoke at the launch of the pamphlet by the nationalist Time for Truth Campaign group in west Belfast, named 'Who are Ulster Resistance and where are their weapons?'
Mr Finucane said there has been an attempt to “airbrush” over the organisation's past.
“What the report rightly identifies is the serious attempts to airbrush what happened from the history books,” he said.
“When we approach our past, there is a way in which we do so that has to be honest and respectful towards those who were directly impacted, whether that be having lost loved ones or being directly injured themselves.
“We must not approach it in a partial manner. But the DUP has time and time again portrayed republicans as the only aggressive actors in our history.”
Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín previously mentioned the DUP's initial support for the group in an Assembly meeting. She was criticised for this at the time due to her involvement with the Provisional IRA.
Yesterday, Mr Finucane said republicans have acknowledged the hurt they “both inflicted and suffered”, but claimed the DUP has never done the same.
He said: “I think, to our credit, we have accepted republicans both inflicted and suffered enormous hurt in this conflict. It's not something anyone should take satisfaction from.
“But the British state and loyalist actors were central to this conflict as well, and in the midst of all of that we have the DUP.
“In front of our eyes, they stood proudly with the Ulster Resistance, and spoke openly about men being prepared to die for Ulster, and about the need to form in a military context and arm and prepare.
“All of that language has consequences. There are names in this report that you won't have to Google to see who they are. The leader of the TUV, Jim Allister, is a central name here.
“The report is fascinating reading. There are serious questions for the DUP and it undermines the position when they take a very high-handed approach to our past.”
Speaking in the Assembly yesterday, Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason also said that “questions remain about Ulster Resistance and its links to senior DUP figures”.
She said: “Within a short period, Ulster Resistance was involved in procuring and importing a substantial consignment of weapons from South Africa.
“Those weapons later entered the hands of loyalist paramilitary organisations, including elements of the UDA and UVF, in a strategic effort to mount a murderous campaign against the Catholic community in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Loughinisland
“That murderous campaign tore my community of Loughinisland apart. The weapons used in the Loughinisland massacre did not appear out of thin air.
“What did senior DUP figures know about Ulster Resistance, and when?
“More than 30 years later, many of those weapons remain unaccounted for, while families are still denied the full truth about how they came to be used against their loved ones.”
A spokesperson for the DUP said the party has “consistently rejected violence” and stated Ms Mason's message was “ludicrous”.
They said: “We utterly reject the ludicrous and false claims by Sinn Féin under the safety of Parliamentary Privilege. We challenge Cathy Mason to make her comments outside the Chamber.
“Unlike Sinn Féin, the DUP has consistently rejected violence whether that was in the 70s, 80s, 90s or in more recent years. All forms of terrorism were and are wrong.”
The TUV was contacted for comment.
