News from IAIS
2002-11-23 11:45:00 EST
PAISLEY ISSUES EXPULSION WARNING
Any Democratic Unionist caught making contact with Sinn Fein will be expelled, party leader the Rev Ian Paisley has warned. The fierce opponent of the Good Friday Agreement also insisted it was time to scrap the four-year-old accord and start again. Mr Paisley pledged that the DUP will not negotiate with Sinn Fein while the IRA holds on to its weapons. At his party`s annual conference in Belfast, he said: "We will not sit down and negotiate with the representatives of terrorism."
2002-11-21 13:03:00 EST
GOOD START MADE TO TALKS - GOVERNMENTS
A good start has been made in talks between the Northern Ireland pro-Agreement parties aimed at restoring devolution, the British and Irish Governments have said. Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen hosted the first face-to-face talks between the parties today since the suspension of devolution by the British government on 14 October.
2002-11-20 16:36:00 EST
AGREEMENT MUST BE IMPLEMENTED SAYS BLAIR
British Prime Minister Tony Blair today told Northern Ireland's political parties the Good Friday Agreement should be implemented - not renegotiated. Tony Blair issued a strong message to the North at Commons question time, saying: "I want to see the Good Friday Agreement implemented and I think the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland want to see it implemented."
2002-11-19 11:02:00 EST
HAASS IN IRELAND FOR MEETINGS
President George W. Bush's special envoy Richard Haass is arriving in Northern Ireland today for a series of meetings with the political parties on the latest crisis in the peace process. His discussions precede round table talks taking place at Stormont on Thursday as part of efforts to restore the North`s power-sharing Assembly.
2002-11-18 12:02:00 EST
ADAMS WARNS AGAINST RE-NEGOTIATION
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams today warned the British government against attempts to re-negotiate the Good Friday agreement. As parties in Northern Ireland prepare for round-the-table talks later this week in a bid to restore the power-sharing institutions, Mr Adams said his party would be trying to force the government to fully implement all aspects of the agreement.
2002-11-15 17:34:00 EST
TRIMBLE LETS FLY ON REPUBLIC
The Republic of Ireland is held together by anti-British sentiment and religion, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party Mr David Trimble has claimed. The Chicago Sun-Times says Mr Trimble made the comments to an editorial meeting of the paper yesterday. "If you took away Catholicism and anti-Britishness, the State doesn't have a reason to exist," the paper reports. "Its institutions are British and American," he claimed.
2002-11-13 12:21:00 EST
GOVERNMENTS SET DATE FOR ROUND-TABLE TALKS
The Irish and British governments are to hold a series of roundtable talks between pro-Agreement parties in Belfast next week, it emerged this afternoon. The talks are aimed at breaking the impasse in the peace process brought about by the suspension by the British government of the Executive and Assembly last month.
2002-11-13 08:18:00 EST
NEW POLICING LEGISLATION TO BE INTRODUCED
New legislation on policing in Northern Ireland is to be brought forward in the new term of Parliament in Westminster. The plans were announced during the Queen's speech at the state opening of Parliament today.
2002-11-12 13:57:00 EST
IRA DISBANDMENT NEEDED SAYS DURKAN
The IRA needs to be completely dismantled to end allegations of republican espionage, SDLP chief Mark Durkan claimed today. The nationalist party leader claimed some intelligence gathering was carried out before Northern Ireland`s powersharing regime was suspended. As he warned direct rule ministers they will still be held to account despite the halt to devolution, Mr Durkan insisted it was time for the IRA to help to restore battered confidence.
2002-11-08 15:42:00 EST
SINN FEIN CALLS FOR APOLOGY FROM TRIMBLE AND BLAIR
Sinn Fein has called on UUP leader David Trimble and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to apologise for comments made after the arrest of a civil servant following the release without charge of the man today. The party`s policing spokesman Gerry Kelly said: "Mr Blair described the arrest as a 'serious and grave matter'. Mr Trimble said 'it has huge implications for the peace process'. Both should now apologise publicly for their remarks."
2002-11-08 10:13:00 EST
'SPY' RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGE
A civil servant arrested by police in Northern Ireland investigating IRA intelligence gathering at Stormont has been released without charge, the police have said. Four people, including Denis Donaldson, head of Sinn Fein's administration at the Northern Ireland Assembly, were charged last month after police carried out much publicized raids on the homes of republicans and on Sinn Fein's offices at government Buildings in Stormont.
2002-11-07 05:57:00 EST
TRIMBLE AIDE ARRESTED IN SPYING PROBE
Police investigating alleged IRA intelligence gathering have arrested a civil servant who is believed to have worked in the private office of the former Northern Ireland First Minister, David Trimble.
2002-11-06 14:57:00 EST
GOVERNMENTS TO ANNOUNCE ALL PARTY TALKS
The British and Irish governments will soon be in a position to make an announcement on talks aimed at resolving the deadlock in the Northern Ireland peace process, it emerged today. Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy said there was no quick-fix solution, but stressed that the Good Friday Agreement must be implemented in full.
2002-11-02 16:43:00 EST
FEARS OVER RENEGOTIATION OF AGREEMENT
Concern was today raised by Sinn Fein that the British government was trying to renegotiate the Good Friday Agreement. Party chairman Mitchel McLaughlin warned that there could be no unpicking of the agreement.
2002-11-01 17:20:00 EST
BLAIR SAID EXCLUDE SINN FEIN
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has said British Prime Minister Tony Blair told him there were grounds to exclude Sinn Fein from Northern Ireland's power-sharing government instead of suspending devolution. Mr Durkan alleges that Mr Blair also tried in vain to persuade him to back a motion to exclude Sinn Fein.
2002-10-25 15:18:00 EST
BLAIR REMAINS COMMITTED SAYS AHERN
British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair remains "deeply committed" to the Belfast Agreement, Irish premier Bertie Ahern said after meeting him this morning. The two met on the fringes of the EU summit in Brussels to discuss current difficulties in the peace process. It is understood Mr Bertie Ahern and Mr Tony Blair discussed a timetable that could restore the political institutions in the North over the coming months.
2002-10-24 06:58:00 EST
DOWNING STREET APPOINTS NEW NORTHERN SECRETARY
The British government has appointed a new Northern Ireland secretary after a cabinet reshuffle prompted by the resignation of the British education secretary. Welsh Secretary Mr Paul Murphy is to take Dr John Reid's job in Belfast, with Dr Reid becoming new Labour Party chairman, Downing Street announced. Mr. Murphy served in Belfast before, as Minister of State between 1997 and 1999.
2002-10-22 03:52:00 EST
GOVERNMENTS TO MEET IN BELFAST
Talks between the British and Irish governments today are to attempt to find a way to rescue devolution in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Secretary of State John Reid will meet Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen at an Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Hillsborough Castle, County Down today.
Read the full stories at The Irish American Information Service
Saturday, October 19, 2002:
FINAL RESULTS:
NO: 37.11 per cent.
Monday, October 14, 2002:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland suspended the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Executive with effect from midnight on 14 October, 2002.
The Secretary of State, assisted by his team of Northern Ireland Office Ministers has assumed responsibility for the direction and control of the Northern Ireland Departments.
Speech by Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, at the Harbour Commisssioners' Offices in Belfast, 17 October 2002. Read the full text.
Friday, May 17, 2002:
FINAL RESULTS
| Party | Seats | Seats last election |
| Fianna Fáil | 81 |
77 |
| Fine Gael | 31 |
54 |
| Labour | 21 |
21 |
| Progressive Democrats | 8 |
4 |
| Green Party | 6 |
2 |
| Sinn Féin | 5 |
1 |
| Socialist Party | 1 |
1 |
| Others | 13 |
6 |
May 16, 2002
April 8, 2002
Irish Proclamation of Freedom Read by Patrick Pearse from the Steps of the General Post Office, Dublin, Ireland on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916
The Irish Government, June 1997:
Bloody Sunday and the Report of the Widgery Tribunal
Full text of the Good Friday Agreement, April 10, 1998.
Investigation into the human rights in Northern Ireland, September 29, 1998
Statement by Rosemary Nelson, solicitor for Garvaghy Road residents
Nobel Peace Price Award, December 11, 1998:
Nobel Address by David Trimble, First Minister and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
Nobel Address by John Hume, leader of the catholic SDLP
George Mitchell's Peace Principles, November 1999:
Statements of November 16 and 17, 1999, by Ulster Unionist Party, Sinn Féin, Progressive Unionist Party and IRA
George Mitchell's statement, November 18, 1999
Suspension of Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive. February 2000:
Decommissioning reports, Mandelson in House of Commons, IRA statements
Peace process resumed. May 2000
British-Irish joint statement and IRA statement.
Inspection of IRA weapons dumps, June 2000
Arms inspector's report
Abortion Referendum March 7, 2002
An Irish bookshop: Read Ireland
Wesley Johnston's History of Ireland
The CAIN Project (The Northern Ireland Conflict)
Danish Irish Society
Sinn Féin Homepage
The Irish Times
I started reading about Ireland and about its history in order to understand just a bit of the Irish paradoxes. Although I started from the very beginning the matter was still incomprehensible. I therefore began to write down the headlines in Danish.
In 1998 when I got my own website I wondered what to put there. My family, my career or my garden could not attract much attention. But my Danish survey of the history of Ireland would be different from most other websites, so I uploaded the whole story.
I considered my web-project to be complete by then. However the beginning of 1998 was to become a turning point in the history of Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement created optimism and a new hope of lasting peace. I therefore added new chapters on the peace agreement and on the ups and downs since then. Obviously there is still a way to go before a real peace has been achieved and right now I can't see the end of my project.
A lot of people wrote to me asking for details or references. This has proved the need for a brief Danish version of the history of Ireland. In 2001 more than 50 persons on the average have been visiting my website every day.
However about 10 % of the visitors on my website are non-Scandinavians. I have added this page in order to serve these people with some information about my project and with some of the important references.
I considered reference documents and speeches most interesting in the original English language. I also have to admit that a proper translation of the documents to Danish is not that simple. On the other hand the number of visitors to the reference pages in English has been very limited. Therefore all information in English will be concentrated in this English section of my website together with selected news.
I have no intention of making an English version of the whole story. I have neither the ability nor the capacity to write in English and several excellent sites already offer that sort of information.
E-mail me your comments and questions
Ireland History in Maps
Irish History on the Web
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
Ulster Unionist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party
Fine Gael
Ulster Democratic Unionist Party, DUP
Fianna Fáil
Ulster Democratic Party
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Progressive Unionist Party
Ulster Nation
The Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Wild Geese (USA) Irish soldiers in exile
Visit Danish Irish Society
December 16, 2001 Top
Since my first visit to Ireland the history of Ireland was a puzzle to me. Why has this beautiful country with its charming and hospitable population become the arena of a never-ending conflict? Differences in religion, language, race or culture gave no reasonable explanation. Which coincidence has caused so much suffering in Ireland while other countries such as Denmark had nothing but trifles to quarrel about?