06/26/06 09:43 EST
NOV 24 DEADLINE IS SACROSANCT - IRISH MINISTER
The November deadline for the Northern Ireland's political parties to form a power-sharing executive is "sacrosanct", Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said today. Speaking after meeting Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain in Belfast, Mr Ahern said the British and Irish governments had been "somewhat under-whelmed by the progress to date at the talks". "But the very fact the parties are in talking to the Preparation for Government Committee is something positive itself," he added. "It's incumbent on them to move to a new phase and that's part of the reason why the prime ministers will come here. Both governments are adamant about the November 24 deadline and we expect people to come up to the mark." "Ultimately it's a matter for them but November 24 is sacrosanct."
06/19/06 13:13 EST
NOV 24TH DEADLINE IS FOR REAL - GORDON BROWN
The 24 November deadline to restore devolution to Northern Ireland is real, British Chancellor (finance minister) Gordon Brown has said. Mr Brown was speaking after meeting the leaders of the NI political parties at Stormont on the final stop on his tour of the United Kingdom's regions. "This is not a date plucked out of the air. This is a real deadline and a deadline we expect to be met," he said. After meeting with the Chancellor at Stormont`s Parliament Buildings, Democratic Unionist leader the Rev Ian Paisley claimed Mr Brown had a deeper understanding of Northern Ireland and of unionism because of its similarities with Scotland. "He is a Scotsman and he knows more about the real basic differences that do exist in Northern Ireland," the North Antrim MP said.
06/19/06 11:39 EST
IRA NO LONGER INVOLVED IN FUNDRAISING - REPORT
A report outlining the rate of serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland has found that the IRA is no longer involved in fundraising. The Organised Crime Task Force - a multi-agency group including police, customs and excise; the Assets Recovery Agency; and government ministers - estimates that £600 million (US$1 Billion) is raised annually in the North through organised crime by both paramilitary and criminal gangs. The content of the task force's annual report concurs with a statement by the IRA last July in which the organisation said its units were stood down and ordered to cease all activity.
06/14/06 09:44 EST
BLAIR REJECTS DUP CLAIMS ON IRA DECOMMISSIONING
British Prime Minister Tony Blair today rejected claims by the Democratic Unionist Party that the full decommissioning pledged by the IRA has not happened. However, Mr Blair stressed that it was ultimately a matter for the Independent Monitoring Commission to decide and that political judgments must flow from that. Speaking in the British House of Commons, Mr Blair also emphasised the IMC's 'crucial role' in providing independent verification amid the myriad "claims and counter claims" from all sides. He was challenged about decommissioning by the DUP's David Simpson, who referred to last week's haul of 10,000 bullets in a sealed pipe in woods near Sligo.
06/13/06 10:42 EST
CHARLES HAUGHEY: AN OBITUARY
The death of former taoiseach Charles J Haughey (80) brings down the curtain on one of the most colourful and controversial political careers in the history of the State. Mr Haughey, Fianna Fáil leader from 1979 until 1992, served three terms as taoiseach - 1979 to 1981, March 1982 to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992 - and also held several ministerial roles including the justice, agriculture and finance portfolios. He was born in Castlebar, Co Mayo on September 16th 1925.
06/12/06 10:47 EST
HAIN APPOINTS TWO DEPUTY SPEAKERS TO CHAIR COMMITTEE
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain today appointed the Stormont Assembly's two deputy speakers to chair a committee preparing for the return of devolved government. After a week of deadlock between the Democratic Unionist Party and the other Northern parties on who should chair the Preparation for Government Committee, Mr Hain decided to take the decision himself.
06/07/06 12:27 EST
POLITICAL FARCE DEVELOPS IN BELFAST
Efforts by political parties at Stormont to nominate a chairperson for the all-party committee to re-establish devolved government in Northern Ireland have ended in failure for the third day running. All of the pro-agreement parties have blamed the DUP for the failure to get the committee up and running. The DUP have denied the charge. The parties broke up today after two and a half days of talks and the issue will now be referred to Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain.
06/05/06 09:01 EST
FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING ENDS IN STALEMATE
The first meeting in Northern Ireland of the Preparation for Government Committee has ended in stalemate. The representatives of all the main parties failed to agree who would be appointed as chairperson of the body. A variety of proposals were discussed but no agreement was reached at the meeting held at Stormont today. Sinn Fein`s Martin McGuiness suggested that the committee be either jointly chaired by representatives of this own party and the DUP or rotated between the parties. This was rejected by the DUP. In turn, the DUP proposed the Assembly Speaker, Eileen Bell, as a possible chairperson, but she rejected the role herself and left the meeting.
05/30/06 15:03 EST
DUBLIN/MONAGHAN INQUIRY REPORT DATE EXTENDED
An Irish Government inquiry into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which was due to report this month, has been granted an extension until July 31st. The Commission of Investigation led by barrister Patrick MacEntee needs more time to examine information provided by an unknown individual it met outside the state a week ago. "The Commission is satisfied that this person is the person whom it had been seeking in relation to the outstanding and unresolved area of its terms of reference," Mr MacEntee said in an interim report published tonight. The senior counsel said the May 31st deadline was no longer adequate and the Irish Cabinet today agreed to his request to revise the timeframe to July 31st.
05/28/06 14:32 EST
IRISH INDEPENDENCE MOVIE WINS TOP CANNES AWARD
British director Ken Loach's movie "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," a saga set amid Ireland's struggle for independence in the early 1920s, won top honors today in an unanimous vote at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the first time veteran filmmaker Loach won the main prize after seven earlier entries in the main competition at the world's most prestigious film festival. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" stars Cillian Murphy as an Irish medical student who takes up arms against a reign of terror by the Black and Tans, British troops sent in to quell calls for independence.
05/25/06 14:19 EST
HAIN UNDER FIRE OVER INTERIM COMMITTEE PROPOSAL
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has invited all the main parties to take their places on a committee to restore devolution. The DUP and Sinn Fein have yet to state clearly whether they will join up. Mr Hain has said they have until next Tuesday to make their mind up. It is thought the committee would have three members from the four main parties and two from Alliance.
05/22/06 18:04 EST
PAISLEY SAYS NO TO POWERSHARING
The first bid by Northern Ireland Assembly members to elect a First Minister and a Deputy First Minister predictably failed today. Democratic Unionist Leader the Rev Ian Paisley rejected an attempt by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to have him appointed First Minister alongside Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister. During a 14-minute session of the Assembly, Mr Adams said: "I want to move that Iain Paisley be returned as First Minister and Martin McGuinness by returned as Deputy First Minister on the restoration of devolved government". Mr Paisley, however, when asked by Assembly Speaker Eileen Bell if he accepted the nomination replied: "Certainly not". Northern Ireland Assembly members have been given a November 24 deadline to try and form a power-sharing executive headed by the DUP and Sinn Fein.
05/18/06 12:25 EST
CONGRESS VOTES FOR FULL FINUCANE INVESTIGATION
The US House of Representatives called on Britain today to start a full investigation of the 1989 murder of Belfast attorney Pat Finucane. The House voted 390-31 for a resolution urging Britain to establish a full "independent public judicial" inquiry into the murder of Mr Finucane who was shot dead in his home in Belfast in front of his wife and three children. Since the murder, it has emerged that British intelligence agents were involved in the planning and carrying out the shooting. It also emerged that the man who supplied the weapon used in the shooting was a British Intelligence agent.
05/15/06 11:07 EST
ASSEMBLY MEMBERS RECONVENE AT STORMONT
MLA's (Members of the Legislative Assembly) in Northern Ireland today formally initiated one more effort to secure devolved government, with their first sitting after being elected two-and-a-half years ago.
05/13/06 13:45 EST
DUP SETS POLICING PRECONDITION ON SINN FEIN
Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley has issued his most recent pre-condition on entering a powersharing Executive with Sinn Fein. He has said Sinn Féin must endorse the Police Service of Northern Ireland as part of any deal to restore power-sharing government. Dr Paisley insisted: "Except we have the police issue resolved there is no way forward. The talks have no future until everyone who's going to be in the government of Northern Ireland is a complete and total supporter of the police."
05/13/06 12:26 EST
ULSTER UNIONIST MINISTERIAL GAIN IS SINN FEIN'S LOSS
Sinn Féin today faced the prospect of losing a ministerial post in Northern Ireland's next devolved government after a senior loyalist Assembly member agreed to join the Ulster Unionist group at Stormont. As Northern Ireland's 108 Assembly members prepared to gather at Stormont on Monday for the first time since they were elected in November 2003, the Progressive Unionist Party announced their leader David Ervine would form a group with Sir Reg Empey's Ulster Unionists. The move would give the new group 25 Assembly members while Sinn Féin will have 24. And it will result in the Ulster Unionists being able to claim three ministries in a future Stormont executive, with Sinn Fein getting just two.
05/10/06 09:31 EST
SINN FEIN TO NOMINATE A PAISLEY-McGUINNESS TEAM
Sinn Fein will bid to have the DUP's Ian Paisley nominated as Northern Ireland First Minister when Northern Ireland's Assembly is reconvened next week, Gerry Adams said today. As Stormont`s 108 Assembly members prepared to gather next Monday for the first time since they were elected in November 2003, Mr Adams said his party was focused on trying to get the power-sharing institutions under the Good Friday Agreement set up.
05/05/06 13:00 EST
HAIN HAPPY TO REMAIN AS NORTHERN IRELAND SECRETARY
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain today said he was delighted to be given an opportunity to finish the job of delivering devolution. After a dramatic cabinet reshuffle in the wake of Labour`s disastrous local government election results today, Mr Hain was told by British Prime Minister Tony Blair he would be remaining at the helm in the Northern Ireland Office and the Welsh Office.
05/05/06 09:13 EST
REPUBLICANS COMMEMORATE SANDS' 25TH ANNIVERSARY
The 25th anniversary of the death of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is being commemorated today with a ceremony in the prison where he died. Bobby Sands, who was the first of 10 republican hunger strikers to die, spent 66 days without food before dying on May 5th, 1981, in the Maze Prison, then known as Long Kesh.
05/03/06 10:35 EST
UUP BOYCOTT FIRST MEETING OF NEW POLICING BOARD
Ulster Unionists today stayed away from the first meeting of Northern Ireland's new Policing Board in protest at its membership. A party spokesman described it as part of a "selective boycott" because independent, non-elected representatives now outnumber political members of the authority. The party has accused Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain of turning the 19-member organisation which scrutinises Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde into a quango. Their anger was intensified over allegations that the rival Democratic Unionists reneged on a pact to stay off with them.
05/02/06 13:04 EST
NO FLEXIBILITY ON NOVEMBER DEADLINE - HAIN
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said today that there is no flexibility on the deadline of November 24th for the establishment of a fully functioning Executive and Assembly in Northern Ireland. Mr Hain was speaking after the British-Irish Intergovernmental conference in Dublin this afternoon.
04/27/06 09:51 EST
REISS CALLS ON LOYALISTS TO FOLLOW PEACEFUL PATH
President Bush's special envoy to Northern Ireland today called on loyalist paramilitaries to turn their backs on violence and criminality and destroy their weapons. Mr Mitchell Reiss issued the plea after welcoming indications in the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission that the IRA leadership was committed to following a peaceful path and there was no evidence of terrorist, paramilitary or violent activity sanctioned by its leadership. As he reflected on the latest report from Northern Ireland's ceasefire watchdog, the US State Department official said he was concerned about violence and criminality by loyalist paramilitary organisations.
04/26/06 08:57 EST
IMC REPORT INCREASES PRESSURE ON DUP TO ENTER POWERSHARING
The IRA has further dismantled its military structure and there has been a "substantial erosion" in the group's capacity to return to a military campaign, the International Monitoring Commission (IMC) said today. In its 10th report on paramilitary activity, the IMC said it believed the IRA leadership was committed to following a peaceful path and there was no evidence of terrorist, paramilitary or violent activity sanctioned by its leadership. The report also states that, although it has the means to do so, it is not engaged in intelligence-gathering activity.
"It is working to bring the whole organisation fully along with it and has expended considerable effort to refocus the movement in support of its objective," the report published this morning said. "In the last three months this process has involved the further dismantling of PIRA as a military structure."
04/24/06 10:15 EST
DUP HAS MOST TO GAIN FROM DEVOLUTION - ROBINSON
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) says is not delaying devolution and will gladly share power with Sinn Fein as soon as it believes the party has become "fully democratic". DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson today insisted his party would have the most to gain from power-sharing as the largest political grouping in Northern Ireland. Addressing for the first time the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body (BIIPB), in Killarney, Co Kerry, the East Belfast MP told republicans that they could fast-track devolution if they verifiably ended alleged criminality for good. He told BIIPB members: "The DUP is openly and eagerly a devolutionist party. We want to see an Assembly exercising the fullest range of powers and we want to see it happening at the earliest possible suitable moment."
04/16/06 08:28 EST
PARADE MARKING 1916 RISING TAKES PLACE IN DUBLIN
Ireland's Proclamation of Independence was read today on the steps of the GPO in Dublin as celebrations to mark the 90th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising got under way. The tricolour was lowered to half-mast in honor of those who died on Easter week in 1916 and a minute's silence was observed after the Proclamation was read out. An Army piper played a lament Wrap the Green Flag as the flag was lowered and members of the Defence Forces stood to attention. Captain Tom Ryan, of the sixth Infantry Battalion, re-enacted the reading of the Proclamation. During the reading, the parade stood to attention along O'Connell Bridge and Westmoreland Street, having set off from Dublin Castle a short time before. The thousands of people who turned out cheered and applauded as the names of the signatories were read out. The President, Mrs McAleese laid a wreath on behalf of the Irish people at the front of the GPO to honor those who died.
ARCHIVE
Read the full stories at The Irish American Information Service
BLAIR COMMENT PROVOKES UNIONIST OUTRAGE
British prime minister Tony Blair has provoked unionist fury by comparing Islamist extremists with Protestant killers in Northern Ireland. Mr Blair was accused of character assassination after making the reference during a speech on global terrorism and religious intolerance.
In an impassioned defence of his foreign policy, he insisted Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan was a clash about civilisation rather than between civilisations. Mr Blair also said ministers have been advised against using the phrase Islamist extremist.
He told the Foreign Policy Centre in London last night: "There are those - perfectly decent-minded people - who say the extremists who commit these acts of terrorism are not true Muslims. And of course, they are right. They are no more proper Muslims than the Protestant bigot who murders a Catholic in Northern Ireland is a proper Christian. But unfortunately he is still a Protestant bigot. To say his religion is irrelevant is both completely to misunderstand his motive and to refuse to face up to the strain of extremism within his religion that has given rise to it."
The comparison outraged Ian Paisley Jr, a Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He said today: "This is a studied insult of the Protestant community." Mr Paisley claimed Mr Blair had ignored decades of republican violence as he focused on one side of Northern Ireland's religious divide.
"The Prime Minister's comments singling out Protestantism as a root cause of terrorism is so unbalanced that it not only reveals the true nature of the Prime Minister but also identifies a weakness in his judgments, his character and his understanding," he said. "He has singularly failed to point the finger at the IRA, and the Roman Catholic Church that refused to condemn years of IRA terrorism. Why is the Prime Minister so biased when it comes to understanding Northern Ireland? Why does he feel it necessary to attack the character and identity of the majority of citizens who are loyal and indeed victims of IRA terrorists? This deliberate character assassination of the Protestant community is a disgraceful, ill-thought-out and indeed provocative attack on a community that does not deserve to be labelled in the false and unacceptable manner that he has done. The PM has revealed that he is nothing more than a charlatan and liar and cannot be regarded as a person who can even begin to understand the situation in Northern Ireland."
IAIS 03/08/06 06:44 EST
9TH IMC REPORT ON SECURITY NORMALISATION
The ninth IMC report, which deals with the program of security normalisation published by the British government last year, restates the commission's belief that the IRA "has taken a strategic decision to follow a political path".
The commission said that the organisation had instructed its members not to engage in public disorder and added that any illegal activity engaged in by the organisation or its members could now be effectively handled by the PSNI without any need for military assistance.
But the report warned that dissident republicans continued to represent a significant threat to the security forces and the public. It said that dissidents' capacity to mount "a sustained campaign" was limited but that they were "prepared to resort to extreme violence".
It pointed out that none of the loyalist groups have taken political decisions similar to that of the IRA but said that it did not consider these groups a significant threat to the security forces.
Loyalist paramilitary groups were, however, heavily involved in the drugs trade and other forms of organised crime, it added.
The report claimed that the British government had fulfilled its commitments under the security normalisation programme but noted that the authorities continued to take account of the security threat.
Measures undertaken as part of the normalisation process have so far included a reduction in the number of British troops by nearly 900 to just over 9,200; the withdrawal of the army from five of the 10 joint PSNI/army bases; the closure of Forkhill Army Base, and the removal or demolition of a number of towers and observation posts.
Ireland's Minister for Justice Michael McDowell welcomed the British government's progress on normalisation and said that it demonstrated both governments' commitment to advancing the peace process in "unequivocal fashion". The IRA movement should respond by fully engaging with policing structures in the North, he added.
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain also welcomed the progress on normalisation but said he would not hesitate to act if the security situation changed for the worse.
Full test of Ninth IMC Report
Links to all IMC Reports
27 January 2006
1916 LEADERS SOUGHT INCLUSIVE IRELAND SAYS McALEESE
"The kind of Ireland the heroes of the 1916 Irish Rising aspired to was based on an inclusivity that would 'cherish all the children of the nation equally'" President Mary McAleese said in an address to a conference in Cork today.
"In the hearts of those who took part in the Rising, in what was then an undivided Ireland, was an unshakable belief that whatever our personal political or religious perspectives, there was huge potential for an Ireland in which loyalist, republican, unionist, nationalist, catholic, protestant, atheist, agnostic pulled together to build a shared future, owned by one and all," Mrs McAleese said.
The President said that there was a tendency for "powerful and pitiless elites" to "dismiss with damning labels" those who oppose them, explaining accusations that the 1916 Rising was an exclusive and sectarian enterprise.
She said those who took part in the Rising were "attempting to establish a free country in which we ourselves could take responsibility for our own destiny, a country that could stand up for itself, have its own distinct perspective, pull itself up by its bootstraps, and be counted with respect, among the free nations of Europe and the world."
See full text of the President's speech at the University College Cork conference.
26 January 2006
Joint Statement by Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
We met today to consider the way ahead in relation to Northern Ireland.
Since the Agreement there has been, and continues to be, very significant progress in Northern Ireland - a period of unprecedented peace, prosperity and growth. Along with those opportunities, however, Northern Ireland also faces a number of significant economic and social challenges. It cannot afford either complacency or prolonged stalemate.
We strongly believe, therefore, that the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland, and throughout these islands, are best served by the earliest practicable restoration of the devolved institutions.
Decisions that affect the people of Northern Ireland should be taken by locally elected representatives exercising their rights and responsibilities in fully functioning democratic institutions, including the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, and North/South structures.
2006 is the decisive year for this process. On 6 February talks will begin with the aim of setting out the arrangements and timetable for the restoration of the institutions, which, of course, we want to see as soon as possible.
We recognize, given the previous breakdown in confidence in the process, that this is an ambitious goal. The Independent Monitoring Commission has a key role to play and the Governments look forward to receiving its next report in the coming days, as well as its further report in April.
We also acknowledge the ongoing work of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in dealing with the issue of paramilitary weapons.
We believe the parties must also take the necessary steps to allow that trust to be rebuilt - steps that, more than just the passage of time, will rebuild confidence.
This requires that promises made are borne out by actions, and that the strategic decision to commit in a full and verified way to exclusively peaceful and democratic means is being reflected in reality, whatever the practical difficulties involved after such a long period of conflict.
But trust and confidence also requires the parties to take an active role by discussing the issues affecting the future of Northern Ireland together. The Governments believe that now is the time for the parties to engage in that collective discussion.
It is also essential that through dialogue and engagement progress is made in extending active support across all sections of the community for the new policing arrangements throughout Northern Ireland so that no individual or community is denied their rightful access to police protection.
So, too, all those involved in the issues of parades need to join together to ensure that the annual disputes associated with the marching season become a thing of the past.
In that context, both governments will respond positively to those seeking genuine efforts at transformation within loyalism. In particular, we call on those with influence to help bring loyalist paramilitary and criminal activity to an end, and to encourage the full de-commissioning of loyalist weapons. As we move towards devolved Government, we are determined that the process must leave nobody behind.
We are conscious of the responsibilities that the Governments bear. We are fully prepared to exercise those responsibilities. However we are convinced that those best placed to lay the foundations for a prosperous, peaceful and shared future are the political parties themselves. We encourage them to embrace this challenge, and by doing so this year to complete the transition to peace and prosperity so long desired by the people of Northern Ireland.
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
IRA Statement on Decommissioning April 8, 2002
Speech by Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, at the Harbour Commisssioners' Offices in Belfast, 17 October 2002.
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
Report, October 23, 2001
Report, April 8, 2002
Report, October 21, 2003
Report, September 26, 2005 - Confirming complete decommissioning
Joint statement by the British and Irish governments
Programme for reaching a normal security end-state by April 2005
Joint declaration by the British and the Irish governments, May 2003
Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC):
First report - May 2004
Second report - July 2004
Third report - November 2004
Fourth report - February 2005
Fifth report - May 2005
Sixth report - September 2005
Seventh report - October 2005
Eighth report - February 2006
Ninth report - March 2006
Tenth report - April 2006
Work Programme of the Irish Presidency, 2004.
An Irish bookshop: Read Ireland
Wesley Johnston's History of Ireland
The CAIN Project (The Northern Ireland Conflict)
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry
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
North West Ireland - Gaoth Dobhair
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
BLOODY SUNDAY 26 Years On ...
BBC News Bloody Sunday Inquiry
CAIN Web Service 'Bloody Sunday', Derry 30 January 1972
Ulster Unionist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party
Fine Gael
Ulster Democratic Unionist Party, DUP
Fianna Fáil
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?