How the space vacated by local politics puts the police into an invidious position…

Our understanding is shaped by our perception. How we perceive is how we think. A trio of burials had ‘armed struggle’ advocates honour the patriot dead in demonstrations laced with race hatred of the British. Quick on their heels, a loyalist parade full of British symbolism, including the soldier F logo. In May, gunmen in balaclavas fired shots before Peter ‘Pepe’ Rooney (63) was laid to rest. Rooney was in a PIRA unit at the final stages of mounting a …

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The ugly (and recurring) mandate of history, or “údarás na staire”…

Responsible for another bright light cruelly extinguished by the forces of darkness, a “new breed of terrorist,” the senior detective told us. Unlike yesteryear, ‘volunteers’ are not expected to attend mass and recite the Rosary. But that is about it when it comes to anything new in Lyra McKee’s murder. A more valid observation, the “recurring IRA” that writer Eoghan Harris describes. Harris is a continuum of Irish intellectuals like Seán O’Casey and Conor Cruise O’Brien who understood and doggedly …

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Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental: the boy from Belsen brings urgent lessons to Belfast…

“IT starts with whispers” Tomi explained. Good people say and do nothing because they think what is happening has nothing to do with them. But they are wrong. It has everything to do with them. Prejudice-laden rumours unite as much as they divide. They get louder when good people do not to stand up and speak out. By the time they catch on, it is too late. What was at a neighbour’s door is now at their door. The bullies …

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