David McCann on the challenges facing Sinn Féin and a United Ireland

Sinn Féin are still top of the polls north and south – but all polls show the party has lost ground. Many commentators think Sinn Féin have lost their direction and sense of purpose. So - has Sinn Féin really lost its mojo and what can it do about it? Ciarán Dunbar is joined by politics lectur…

PSNI slammed by review of Katie Simpson murder investigation

A report has lambasted ‘institutional misogyny’ in PSNI over failings in the Katie Simpson murder investigation. Police officers on the case were responsible for a catalogue of basic failures including not preserving evidence, missing forensic opportunities, dismissing key witness statements, faili…

Julia Holmes: The Castlederg woman, her 40 aliases, and the lives she destroyed

Julia Holmes was born as Cecilia McKitterick in Castlederg, County Tyrone. After leaving Northern Ireland when she was 19, she eventually settled in Texas, where she started her career as a scam artist - using more than 40 names to dupe her targets into handing over huge sums of money. She posed as…

Noah Donohoe: Laptop thief denies photo of hand on teen’s phone is his

The inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe, which is being heard before a jury, has now heard 13 weeks of evidence. The 14-year-old’s body was discovered in north Belfast on June 27, 2020, six days after he went missing as he cycled to meet friends. On Monday, the jury heard from Daryl Paul, t…

‘No one in the New IRA thinks bombings will lead to United Ireland’

Dissident republican bombers have struck twice in recent weeks. On Saturday a bomb exploded at Dunmurry PSNI station in Belfast. The bombers used an almost identical method to those who tried to attack Lurgan police station last month. In both attacks a delivery driver was hijacked, threatened, an…

Kew Files: Spooks tried to suppress Stakeknife story – and feared McGuinness article

Today we know that Stakeknife existed, and that he was Freddie Scappaticci. We know that Scappaticci, at the top of the IRA unit hunting informers was himself an informer for British security forces. But prior to the story being brought to light by journalist Liam Clarke, then at the Sunday Ti…

Noah Donohoe: Daryl Paul says he’s telling the truth

The Noah Donohoe inquest has been hearing evidence from Daryl Paul – the man convicted of stealing the teenager’s rucksack. It had earlier heard in evidence from Maria Nolan that claims the teenager had been attacked were based on “rumour and speculation”. Earlier this week, the inquest heard th…

Stormont backed CIA-linked firm's software used by Donald Trump’s ICE

Stormont, through Invest NI, is funding a CIA-linked firm whose secretive and powerful tech is being used by Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown force - ICE. Software developed in Belfast by Nisos, a company founded by former intelligence operatives, is now being used by the US Immigration and Cus…

LucidTalk: Majority believe Gerry Adams was in IRA – but don’t care

A majority of those polled in from the latest Belfast Telegraph / Lucidtalk polling believe that Gerry Adams was a member of the IRA. The former Sinn Féin leader has always denied being a member of the organisation. However, the overwhelming majority of people across the political spectrum say t…

Kew Files: What happened when the Garda arrested the SAS men

When a lone Garda decided to arrest a squad of SAS men found in the Republic of Ireland on 1976, little did he know he had sparked an international incident which would involve the Taoiseach and Prime Minister – or that it would see the Irish government interfere with the justice system. Top secret…