Bertie Ahern stated, 'I will be back on the doorsteps canvassing for Fianna Fáil candidate John Stephens to fill the seat vacated by former finance minister Paschal Donohoe.'
Freezing, knock-kneed and shivering in a tartan pleated skirt. A withering bunch of shamrock attached by safety pin to the only green jumper I owned, still damp from its overnight submersion and the splash of holy water from early mass. A grey, damp day, squashed up against a cold metal barrier since early morning, to 'get a good spot', a red line for my father.
I was not involved in any way in the planning, preparation or conduct of any of the bombings, and have never been a senior, let alone most senior figure, in the IRA. I had no involvement in or advance knowledge of the Old Bailey bombing (1973), the Canary Wharf bombing (1996) or the Manchester bombing (1996).
February 25, 2006 was a busy day in Dublin, where concert goers, rugby fans and film festival attendees mingled on the city streets. It was a bright spring day in that optimistic era that followed the Good Friday Agreement, a time when "reconciliation" was the word on everyone's lips. So few could have imagined that reconciliation would become rioting before the afternoon was out.
Even unionists would struggle to object to such a move, even if the Irish Government has shied away from it Why is there no Irish passport office in Belfast? Once, such a question would only have been asked by the most ideologically committed northern nationalists. Demand for Irish passports was limited, the issue was seen as controversial and even if those objections were overcome, security considerations would have made such a proposal problematic.
When the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky first addressed the Dáil via video link back in 2022, Mary Lou McDonald was amongst his most ardent supporters. It was the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Sinn Féin leader hit out at the "ferocious violence" and the "shameful disinformation war" being waged by the Putin regime "to justify the savagery of its military invasion".
When the gunmen came for Jimmy Graham they were thorough. They fired the first two shots as he parked his bus in the school yard, then boarded the bus and fired another 24 shots. As the killers sped away they whooped in delight. Yahoo, they screamed. Yahoo. It was 1 February 1985 and the IRA team had special reason to celebrate: it had bagged a third Graham brother. They had killed Ronnie Graham in June 1981, Cecil Graham in November 1981 and now, just over three years later, they got Jimmy. A hat-trick.
I was absolutely delighted to welcome Uachtarán na hÉireann Catherine Connolly to Belfast today. She's here for a packed visit over the next couple of days, many community events. It was my honour as First Minister to welcome her to Stormont Castle. She is very much fulfilling her pledge that she made to be a president for all, to make her first official visit to the north. It was just great to have her here today. I believe that her whole campaign was about hope, about opportunity. It was about inclusion, it was about unity, it was about building for the future, and I think that we are going to enjoy a very good relationship with her throughout her tenure as Uachtarán na hÉireann.
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