blog

NELL McCAFFERTY, journalist, author, women’s rights activist, feminist and civil rights campaigner, has died at the age of 80. She passed away at a Donegal nursing home after a long illness. McCafferty was born in 1944 in Derry's Bogside, one of six children. After school, she graduated from Queen's University in Belfast, working as an English teacher, briefly, in Belfast … [Read more...] about Nell McCafferty, campaigning journalist and activist, dies at 80

A FAR-RIGHT Slovak politician sparked outrage locally after he disrupted a performance of Dublin playwright Elaine Murphy's play Little Gem. The incident, which happened at a village in northern Slovakia, was interrupted  because of its ‘perverted contents’, according to  the politician. Štefan Kuffa, Slovakia’s secretary of state for the environment, temporarily disrupted an … [Read more...] about Slovak politician stops ‘perverted’ Irish play

SHANE Frane who killed a PSNI officer in Derry in 2024 has been extradited from the Republic of Ireland to serve out the rest of his sentence. At his trial in 2014, Frane admitted to the manslaughter of Constable Philippa Reynolds, who was 27, following a fatal car crash in the Waterside area of Derry in February 2013. Frane (36), originally from Limerick, was driving a stolen … [Read more...] about Extradition of man convicted of killing PSNI officer

Blue-green algae has been found on the north coast of Derry and Antrim. Scientists noted an increase in the amount of the potentially toxic algae at Lough Neagh at the beginning of August, and had established it was in the Bann River system. The Bann flows from Lough Neagh to the Atlantic, joining the sea just beyond Coleraine. The algae had already been detected in the Bann … [Read more...] about Toxic blue-green algae spotted on Ireland’s north coast

KAMALA Harris' presidential running mate Tim Walz has Irish roots, but it’s unclear exactly where they lie. The man who could well be the USA’s next Vice President has possible links to Co. Wexford, but exactly where in the county has given rise to some debate. American genealogist Megan Smolenyak has been tracking politicians' roots since Barack Obama first ran for president … [Read more...] about Tim Walz’s Irish roots traced