Republican ardour dims in Australia

Australians are even less inclined to clip their links to the British monarchy and dump their governor-general than they were five years ago, according to an Australia Day survey commissioned by The Australian newspaper. Less than half the 20 million population would support a constitutional change to allow a local to take over as head of state and to get their own flag.Just 46 per cent want Australia to become a republic – the lowest level of support since 1999 …

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North in Crisis

Writing in this weekend’s Village magazine, Eoin Ó Murchú says one of the reasons the North is in crisis because parties north and south of the border seem more interested in damaging Sinn Féin for party political reasons than fighting for peace or the rights of northern nationalists. He also makes a valid point that Michael McDowell sees no problem in honouring his uncle who died “gun in hand” fighting against his legitimate government in the Civil War or the …

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Sinn Fein support holds steady

The results of an mrbi poll in today’s Irish Times (subs needed) show a slight drop in support for Sinn Fein, from 12% to 11% although party leader Gerry Adams’ approval rating has plummeted 9 points to 42%. Core support for the party remains unchanged at 9%.Disapproval of Adams’ leadership of his party has also risen a whopping 14 points to 38%. Bertie Ahern’s socialism approach seems to be working with Fianna Fail support up 3 points to 38% and …

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Aughrim is lost to the M6

It appears it’s not just the proposed M3 through Tara which is raising the hackles, the M6 to Galway has angered an Taisce just because it meanders through the battlefield of Aughrim. On a less contraversial note, at least the Carrickmacross bypass, or Patrick Kavanagh bypass as it will be called, will be opened tomorrow, and, along with the upcoming Castleblayney and Monaghan bypasses, should cut the travel time from Dublin to the border by nearly 50 minutes on the …

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Hitler planned to kidnap pope

Hitler planned to kidnap Pope Pius XII in 1944 and have him taken to Germany, according to Italian reports.Hitler gave a direct order to SS General Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff to kidnap the head of the Catholic Church but the general refused to carry out the order and warned the pontiff of the danger, La Repubblicca reported Sunday. The information was contained in a written statement by the general in 1972 and released by the Vatican as part of documentation …

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Spanish PM asked to do a Tony Blair and bring ETA in from the cold

Criminalising the political wing of ETA certainly doesn’t seem to have put the stoppers on moves by the region to distance itself from Spain with the result that Batasuna are now being called in from the cold.Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, speaking in San Sebastian Saturday, has indicated that he is willing to open talks with Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA as moves to create a Basque Free State gain momentum. In a …

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Adams hits back at southern parties and calls for Green Paper on Unity in 2005

Adams hits back at southern parties and calls for Green Paper on Unity in 2005 Gerry Adams says the ongoing opprobrium against Sinn Fein south of the border is merely an indication that Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are all running scared of the party’s electoral success as well as having a swipe at many parties in the south dusting off their republican credentials for the battles ahead.“It is amazing to watch the feverish efforts of parties in this …

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Cork murder sees calls for measures to protect children

The horrific murder of 11-year-old Cork boy Robert Holohan – my deepest condolences to his, family, friends and loved ones – has invariably led to discussions to how we can best protect children in society.The mayor of Midleton Ted Murphy calls for the return of the death penalty for child killers while district court judge Michael Patwell believes electronic tagging should be used for convicted sex offenders as well as petty criminals although he did make his comments without knowing …

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