Spotlight – Slugger O'Toole

Spotlight #3 – IRA fundraising, arms shipments, a priest’s lack of repentance, and the slow shift from the armalite to the ballot box #TheTroubles (9pm Tue 24 Sep on BBC One NI and BBC Four)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on September 24, 2019, 12:01 am

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The third episode of Spotlight on the Troubles: A Secret History includes an interview with former parish priest Patrick Ryan who looks back on his times organising weapons shipments to Ireland, saying that he has “big regrets … I regret that I wasn’t even more effective … I would like to have been much more effective that I was … but we didn’t do too badly.”

Spotlight on the Troubles #2: intermediaries, talks, ceasefires and a mounting death toll (Tue 17 Sep at 9pm on BBC One NI and BBC Four)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on September 17, 2019, 12:04 am

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The second episode in BBC Spotlight’s seven-part series A Secret History of the Troubles picks up the conflict timeline in 1972 and runs through to 1979. The programme will be broadcast tonight at 9pm on BBC One NI and BBC Four. The key themes explored are the changing of the guard within the IRA that hardened attitudes towards ceasefires and opened the door to ‘the long war’; figures and initiatives that kept communication channels between the British and the IRA …

Spotlight NAMA investigation finds Cushnahan playing both ends off the middle…

Mick Fealty on March 3, 2016, 2:35 pm

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Mandy McAuley’s Spotlight documentary on Monday is well worth watching in full. It does an excellent job of decyphering some of the Chinese whispers that have been running since independent TD Mick Wallace set a number of hares running last July. But for me this is the absolutely critical passage in the documentary… Most of the critical evidence appears to relate to the failed sale of the portfolio to PIMCO. The sale failed when NAMA learned that its advisor Frank …

From giant rats to Noel Thompson: A Spotlight on democracy…

Samuel Thompson on February 19, 2016, 7:00 am

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SPOTLIGHT ON SPOTLIGHT – The view from an audience member at the recording of Tuesday evening’s Spotlight debate. And a close encounter with two large rats on the way home!

Mairia Cahill honoured with James Larkin award

The Firemen on February 28, 2015, 8:20 pm

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UPDATED – WITH VIDEO Mairia Cahill was last night presented with the ‘Larkin Thirst for Justice Award’ at the Labour Party’s National Conference in Killarney. The award, named after the trade union leader and founder member of the Labour Party James Larkin, is awarded to a person who, in their personal and/or professional life has made an outstanding contribution in the area of human rights and justice. Speaking at the INEC in Killarney minutes before Joan Burton’s keynote address Ms. …

“…why else would MLA’s fail to protest when their office expenses are taken from them?”

Pete Baker on December 1, 2014, 5:18 pm

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As the Irish Times reports Former Minister of State, Ned O’Keeffe has been fined €3,500 and given a suspended seven month jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to five counts of submitting false invoices to claim over €3,700 in mobile phone expenses. O’Keeffe of Ballylough, Mitchelstown, Co Cork was arrested by gardaí this morning and brought before Cork District Court where he was charged with five offences contrary to Section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act. …

Questions arising for Sinn Fein from Tuesday’s Spotlight programme..

Mick Fealty on November 28, 2014, 2:17 pm

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I’m just pinning these videos from the Sinn Fein end of Mandy McAuley’s two part Spotlight, with minimal comment in part because I haven’t worked out what to think on the matter, and because I want to hear what you guys think. It’s worth doing so just to isolate the scale of that end of the problem. Firstly, there’s a wholly owned private company Research Services Ireland (£700k): Secondly a party bill for secretarial work of £3.7m: Then there are …

Assembly report clears Peter Robinson over Spotlight

David McCann on November 28, 2014, 12:27 pm

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Well after a number of attempts the report from the Assembly Standards Commissioner has finally released the report into the BBC Spotlight programme into Iris Robinson in January 2010. The report clears Peter Robinson of any wrong doing, whilst Iris Robinson has been found in “serious breach” of the Stormont code of conduct by failing to declare two payments. Speaking about the reports publication the DUP’s Alastair Ross said; The Committee takes allegations of breaches of the Assembly’s Code of …

Cartoon – Spencer on Tuesday

Brian Spencer on November 25, 2014, 3:26 pm

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Last week Spotlight looked into Stormont expenses and the use public money to rent offices. Spotlight revealed that Sinn Féin paid office rent to three different cultural societies whose identity is unknown. The next *extended* instalment is tonight. The Firemen have last week’s here. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

Sinn Féin MP: “I think this is part of an ongoing process by the BBC of insulting the Irish people…”

Pete Baker on November 18, 2014, 3:04 pm

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The DUP and Sinn Féin have united, again, to complain about the BBC’s use of subtitles during an interview with County Londonderry blacksmith, Barney Devlin, on its Sunday evening Countryfile programme. Of the two parties, the DUP’s Peter Weir, MLA, was relatively restrained The DUP MLA, Peter Weir, told BBC 5Live that he also felt it was wrong. “I felt that what Barney had to say was relatively distinct and that the use of subtitles was both unnecessary and somewhat …

Adams on Cahill & how the IRA dealt with these issues in the past

David McCann on October 20, 2014, 8:53 am

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Over on his blog Leargas, Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams TD has written the following post on the recent Spotlight programme on Mairia Cahill; The recent allegations made by Maíria Cahill are of serious concern to myself and Sinn Féin. While I refute completely Maíria’s allegations against myself and Sinn Féin it does raise the significant issue of how allegations of abuse had been handled in the past by republicans. Abuse respects no political boundaries. It affects all classes, creeds …

#SpotlightNI: Rape made known to former west Belfast MLA and kept within Sinn Fein

Mick Fealty on October 15, 2014, 12:56 am

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It’s hard to know what to say about tonight’s Spotlight programme, except to recall that the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung who once noted that the possession of secrets acts like a poison which alienates their possessor from the community. It was the public confession of Aine Adams in late 2009 that finally persuaded Mairia Cahill to try unburden herself of a secret she had been carrying since she was just 16 years old. The details are clearly still distressing for her to …

UPDATED: Victim claims IRA and Sinn Fein members assigned to deal with her rape allegations internally

Mick Fealty on October 12, 2014, 8:11 pm

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And on Tuesday night Spotlight according to today’s Sunday Independent is on a controversial case of a young woman who makes specific allegations against a named member of the IRA. According to the report a case was prepared against the man concerned but he was acquitted when seemingly at the last minute no evidence was offered at his trial. We’ll have to watch the programme for the actual detail, but the matter is already a subject of some political controversy: Last year, after the jailing of Gerry Adams’ brother …

The optics are poor and it looks like “the party comes first” (updated with TUV+DUP amendments & results)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 7, 2013, 9:47 pm

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On Thursday morning the Social Development committee agreed to hold an inquiry into the issues raised in BBC NI’s Spotlight programme. The recalled Assembly will sit in plenary on Monday at noon. After prayers the Private Members’ Business brought by Mr R Swann (UUP), Ms C Ruane (SF), Mr S Dickson (Alliance), Mrs K McKevitt (SDLP) will be the only business before adjournment. Call for an Inquiry into Allegations of Wrongful Political Interference in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Potential …

What happens next? Where will the Spotlight now shine?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 4, 2013, 7:11 pm

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With only thirty signatures needing to be submitted to the Speaker, the Assembly is very likely to be recalled early next week to allow a piece of predictable political theatre to be rehearsed in the chamber. Party leaders will compete for sound bites; DUP back and front benchers will interject and vigorously support their embattled minister, and there will be more heat than light. The Social Development Committee will hold an inquiry with invitations extended to Mandy McAuley and the …

Nelson McCausland gives his reaction to Spotlight at Social Development Committee (updated with audio)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 4, 2013, 10:41 am

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After an exchange of late night/early morning text messages between the Social Development committee chair Alex Maskey and DSD Minister Nelson McCausland, the minister appeared before the commttee at 11am this morning. The committee’s current membership is: Alliance- Judith Cochrane DUP Paula Bradley, Sammy Douglas, Gregory Campbell, Pam Brown Independent – David McClarty SF – Alex Maskey (chair), Mickey Brady (deputy chair), Fra McCann SDLP – Mark H Durkan UUP – Michael Copeland Background – I talked to the committee’s …

Red Sky on Spotlight, minister’s sleepless night?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 4, 2013, 12:22 am

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The first half of tonight’s BBC NI Spotlight investigation (now available on iPlayer) looked at the history of Red Sky losing its contract with the NI Housing Executive. Examples of poor workmanship; charging for work not done, sometimes in buildings that no longer existed; and claims of the Red Sky contract being targeted for sectarian rather than business reasons. Mandy McAuley’s investigation then looked at the attempts to get the NI Housing Executive to extend Red Sky’s contract. It was …

“Just following orders”: SF Ministers are subordinate to their own command structure

Andrew Gallagher on June 23, 2011, 1:42 pm

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Tuesday night’s Spotlight on the killing of Mary Travers was indeed fascinating, not so much for the story of the ambush itself – although I had never seen the family members speak on camera before, and their continuing suffering was palpable – but for its insights into the inner workings of Sinn Féin. SF’s arrogant attitude towards journalists is well-known (how dare they ask impertinent questions!), but it was the juxtaposition of Carál Ní Chuilín’s bad-tempered interview and her relationship …

NI Commissioner for Public Appointments: “We couldn’t find out how people had ended up being interviewed…”

Pete Baker on February 9, 2011, 4:50 pm

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It’s worth highlighting the comments by the NI Commissioner for Public Appointments, Felicity Huston, to the BBC NI Spotlight programme last night on the NI Water saga. From the BBC report Felicity Huston said: “I was a bit shocked about how chaotic it was considering the importance.” Mr Murphy said he had full confidence in the process. However, Ms Huston said it was one of several conducted by DRD she had found to be unsatisfactory. The chairman of NI Water, Chris Mellor, …