A new inquiry into the Omagh bomb disaster three years after it took the lives of 29 men, women and children has been announced by the RUC. However, the RUC itself is denying allegations that it knew of the bomb two days before it was detonated by the Real IRA in August 1998. And an investigation is said to be underway into the allegations by the police Ombudsman in Northern … [Read more...] about New Inquiry into Omagh Bombing
IRA
The Last Word: The Far Side of Revenge
There was a terrible silence in Omagh in the days after the bombing. It seemed that not even birdsong could be heard in a town that was full of life and joy and laughter when the world turned upside down on 15 August 1998. To those who know nothing of Northern Ireland it may seem distasteful to engage in the arithmetic of tragedy, but the difference with Omagh was that the … [Read more...] about The Last Word: The Far Side of Revenge
The First Word: “Dear Sir or Madam”
When Northern Ireland comes to lunch, it can be uncomfortable. It nags at complacency and the notion that everything will be okay and peace will hold, even though there are signs that say otherwise. On June 19 – a beautiful New York morning – I make my way to the Mutual of America building on Park Avenue for a National Committee on American Foreign Policy lunch to hear … [Read more...] about The First Word: “Dear Sir or Madam”
The First Word: Something to Remember
"Irish people didn't get me out of jail. It was English people who got me out of jail." – Paul Hill I don't remember Bloody Sunday. I don't remember seeing footage on TV or being shocked by the carnage that left thirteen people dead and a fourteenth who would die later from wounds. How do I explain this? The Ireland I grew up in largely ignored the North. It … [Read more...] about The First Word: Something to Remember
Real IRA Informer in Protective Custody
A former leading figure in the Irish American dissident republican community is in protective custody after it was revealed that he had been working as a double agent for years. According to Irish and British news accounts, David Rupert, 49, a trucker from Illinois, infiltrated the Real IRA, the republican splinter group opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, gaining access … [Read more...] about Real IRA Informer in Protective Custody