Security sources say it is believed the device was being transported to a target in Northern Ireland Five men remain in custody in the Irish Republic over the discovery of a bomb close to the border with Northern Ireland. The arrests north of Dundalk, Co Louth, were part of a long-term surveillance operation against republican dissident terrorist activity. The men, aged between 50 and 70, are being...
Fans and locals descend on luxury Castlemartyr resort in Cork following reports of newlyweds' arrival Tourism chiefs in Ireland are aiming to cash in on reports of one of the world's most famous couples honeymooning in the country. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West reportedly flew into Cork on Monday evening for a supposedly secret getaway after their Italian wedding. Continue reading......
A Brussels dinner brings together the walking wounded from an election that has reshaped the politics of at least four nations Prime ministers, presidents, and chancellors from across Europe are to dine in Brussels on Tuesday evening, and digest the verdict from their respective disenchanted voters. Many will arrive as walking wounded, their credibility battered, their reputations bruised, their policies...
Gerry Adams's plan to govern on both sides of border by 100th anniversary of Easter Rising in 2016 moves a step closer Sinn Féin has secured the single biggest number of first preference votes in Northern Ireland's local government elections, while across the border in the Republic it won 25% of the vote and its highest number of councillors. The electoral success brings a step closer Gerry...
Irish author reveals pleasure and pain of creating pathologist in Benjamin Black books set to star in BBC TV adaptation There are two John Banvilles. The first, a Booker prize-winning novelist, is famed for his poetic and sensory fiction. The second, a crime fiction alter-ego by the name of Benjamin Black, is the one the author admires most. "My Benjamin Black books are a triumph of nerve and...
As literary festivals spring up around the UK, Claire Armitstead heads for Charleston House to examine the alchemy between author and audience Continue reading... ...
Wife of ex-IRA prisoner involved in recordings has asked Garda to investigate phone and email spying allegations The wife of an ex-IRA prisoner who was the key researcher involved with the controversial Boston College archive tapes has complained to the Irish police that her phone and email communications are being spied on. Carrie Twomey told the Guardian on Friday night she wants the Garda Síochána...
Ken Loach's thoughtful take on Irish communist Jimmy Gralton's battle to save a community hall from an uptight priest is powerful, if a little pedagogic Jimmy's Hall set visit: Ken Loach battles sight problems to direct the dance He built it and they came. The hall in question was the Pearse-Connolly Hall, put up in the 1920s in County Leitrim by the charismatic Irish communist leader Jimmy Gralton....
The veteran film-maker tells Cannes film festival why the suppression of Irish communist James Gralton and people like him is a vital political matter Peter Bradshaw's review of Jimmy's Hall Danny Leigh goes on set with Ken Loach British director Ken Loach said that the central message of his new film Jimmy's Hall was that it was vital to give space to "dissident voices" who opposed the neoliberal,...
There's been talk of Jimmy's Hall which premieres at Cannes today being Ken Loach's last feature. But a visit to its Irish set finds the 77-year-old director on fighting form despite his failing eyesight Drive east from Sligo into County Leitrim and the view becomes a sweep of green the Irish postcard industry would reject as cliched. As Rebecca O'Brien navigates the country lanes, she recalls how...
Descriptions of Irish mezzo soprano Tara Erraught's weight condemned by leading opera figures The opera world has reacted with anger to the disparaging remarks made by several critics about the appearance of the female soprano star of this year's Glyndebourne festival opera, Der Rosenkavalier. Irish mezzo soprano Tara Erraught, who is the principal soloist in the Bavarian State opera ensemble, made...
Donal O'Sullivan, found naked and critically injured at the bottom of a staircase, is 'unable to shed any light on the incident' An Irishman who went missing for five days in Sydney's eastern suburbs has told police he does not have a clue what happened to him. Donal O'Sullivan was found, largely by chance, lying naked and suffering critical injuries at the bottom of a stairwell in Bondi Junction's...
The sooner we all start drinking like Italians, the better: despite liberal regulations, the way they drink in moderation reduces serious risk The summer before I went to university in Dublin, I was in a state of high anxiety not about the prospect of leaving home or the coming course work so much as my ability to drink alcohol in any quantity. To my young mind, being able to drink a lot was as important...
Samuel Devlin, 55, appears at special criminal court in Irish Republic capital following discovery of fertiliser mix bomb A Belfast man has been charged following the discovery of a bomb outside a hotel in Dublin where he had been staying at the weekend. Samuel Devlin, 55, appeared at the special criminal court in the Irish capital on Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading... ...
Paul Bew, professor of Irish politics at Queen's university in Belfast, was ennobled in 2007 because of his contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process. But would he have become Baron Bew of Donegore in the County of Antrim if we had known then what we know now about his key role in the discredited Boston College tapes project ? "He was a message boy from Boston College to a number of...
Inquiries underway into three airline incidents Small plane crash lands in Arizona, killing one A US Airways flight from Italy to Philadelphia has been diverted to Ireland, after several flight attendants fell ill. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating Saturday's incident, which involved Flight 715 from Venice. Federal and airline officials have yet to say what caused several flight...
Questions about the fate of those who vanished during the Troubles and who was responsible will not go away The intention had been to bury for ever some of the Provisional IRA's most uncomfortable secrets: the presence of informers close to the heart of the movement; the traitors who hailed from prominent republican families; the decision to murder a widowed, impoverished mother of 10. There would...
Moves followed Thursdays comments from Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, suggesting the central bank might cut interest rates next month Irelands long term cost of borrowing fell below that of the UK for the first time in six years on Friday with other eurozone bond yields also heading lower. The moves followed Thursdays comments from Mario Draghi, president of the European Central...
Alan Shatter steps down after claims of corruption within the police force and political interference in policing Ireland's justice minister has resigned over a critical report concerning allegations by a police whistleblower. Alan Shatter offered his resignation to the Irish premier, Enda Kenny. Continue reading... ...
Sinn Féin president calls on police ombudsman to review his detention, and denies any connection to Jean McConville murder Sinn Féin's president, Gerry Adams, says he understands the "antipathy" the family of IRA murder victim Jean McConville feel towards republicans and has revealed he has made a formal complaint to the police about aspects of his detention in connection with the...