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☆ Leader of Northern Ireland’s main pro-union party resigns after police charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s main pro-union party, is stepping down after he was charged with “allegations of an historical nature,” the DUP announced on Friday. “Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland arrested and charged a 61-year-old man for non-recent sexual offences,” the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement said. Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill said Friday her “priority” was to “continue to provide the leadership the public expect and deserve” following Donaldson’s resignation. Under his leadership, the DUP refused to participate in Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government in protest over post-Brexit trading rules. The DUP announced on Friday it had unanimously appointed Gavin Robinson as interim party leader.

Persons: Jeffrey Donaldson, Mr Donaldson, “, Donaldson, Michelle O’Neill, ”, O’Neill, Sinn Fein, Emma Little, ” Donaldson, Gavin Robinson Organizations: CNN, Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, Northern Ireland’s, Party, Party Officers, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Police Service of Northern, Facebook, Northern Irish, United, Ulster Unionist Party Locations: Northern, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Newry, Ireland, Northern Ireland

☆ Tensions over Israel-Hamas war loom over Irish Taoiseach’s usually jovial annual visit to White House
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

There will still be shamrocks this year, but Israel’s war in Gaza is lending a darker backdrop to the occasion. While he rebuffed calls by some Irish politicians to boycott the annual White House stop, he has made plain the Gaza war lends fresh urgency to this year’s talks. “I’ll use that opportunity to put across Ireland’s perspective on this and tell them how Irish people feel. Last year, Varadkar declared Biden “unmistakably a son of Ireland” and announced the president’s forthcoming visit to the island. Barry’s opposition to Biden’s foreign policy predated the war in Gaza; he boycotted Biden’s address to the Dáil in April.

Persons: Patrick’s, Joe Biden, —, Leo Varadkar, Biden, “, ”, Varadkar, “ I’m, Ireland ”, Israel ”, Jane Ohlmeyer, Arthur Balfour, Mick Barry, Biden’s, Michelle O’Neill, O’Neill, Sinn Fein, Carter, Clinton Organizations: Washington CNN, shamrocks, Irish, RTE, White, Muredach’s, Hamas, Trinity College Dublin, Socialist Party, Capitol, Northern, St, ”, Irish Republican Army, Biden Locations: United States, Ireland, Gaza, Boston, St, Ballina ., Israel, Dublin, Palestine, British, Ireland’s, Northern Ireland, Northern

☆ The prospect of a united Ireland emerges as a republican leader takes office in Belfast
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - FEBRUARY 3: First Minister Michelle O'Neill speaks during proceedings of the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont on February 3, 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. LONDON — A referendum on Irish reunification could be in the cards within a decade, according to Northern Ireland's first-ever nationalist first minister, who took office at the weekend. Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill was appointed as first minister on Saturday, the first Irish nationalist to hold the office since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state in 1921. The island to the west of England is divided in two; Northern Ireland is part of the U.K., whereas its neighbor, the Republic of Ireland, is an independent nation and a member of the European Union. The deal that secured their return includes a contribution of more than £3 billion ($3.8 billion) from the British government for Northern Ireland's public services.

Persons: Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, Democratic Unionist Party's Emma Little, Pengelly, Sinn Fein Organizations: Northern Ireland Assembly, Stormont, Northern Ireland's, Irish, Democratic Unionist, DUP, European Union, Northern Locations: BELFAST, IRELAND, Belfast , Northern Ireland, Northern, Northern Ireland, England, Republic of Ireland, Republic

☆ N. Ireland Has 'Brighter Future' With Power Sharing Return, Sunak Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Amanda FergusonBELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland faces a "brighter future" with the restoration of devolved government after two years of deadlock, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on a visit to Belfast on Sunday. Sunak's government brokered a deal with the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to allow the return of power sharing by easing post-Brexit trade frictions. "In the last few days we've made significant progress towards a brighter future for people here," Sunak told broadcasters. O'Neill told Sky News on Sunday that it was a "decade of opportunity" for Northern Ireland. Under the power-sharing agreement, the post of deputy has equal power but less symbolic weight than the First Minister.

Persons: Amanda Ferguson BELFAST, Rishi Sunak, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, we've, Sunak, Sinn Fein, O'Neill, Emma Little, Paul Sandle, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Britain's, Sunday, Irish, British Democratic Unionist Party, Irish Republican Army, IRA, Sky News, Belfast Good, First Locations: Northern Ireland, Belfast, British, Ireland

☆ Historic day in Northern Ireland as Michelle O’Neill becomes first nationalist leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Amy Cassidy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —In a historic moment, a nationalist politician has become First Minister of Northern Ireland as power-sharing resumed after a two-year break. But the symbolism of a Sinn Féin representative becoming first minister is still obvious and in Northern Ireland symbols matter a lot – perhaps too much. “The whole point of creating Northern Ireland a century ago was that it would always have a Protestant majority committed to staying within the United Kingdom. “It doesn’t mean that a United Ireland is an immediate prospect but it does mean that the whole future of Northern Ireland is very much an open question. The task now is to make that openness promising and full of opportunity rather than threatening and full of fear.”The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland.

Persons: Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin, ”, “, ” O’Neill, Emma Little, –, “ Michelle, Protestants –, ’, Fintan O’Toole, Michelle O’Neill’s Organizations: CNN, Irish Republican Army, IRA, Unionist, Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, Northern Ireland Assembly, Irish Republican, Protestants, Northern, Westminster Locations: Northern Ireland, Ireland, Irish, United Kingdom, United Ireland, London

☆ Northern Ireland appoints Irish nationalist as First Minister in historic shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - FEBRUARY 3: Michelle O'Neill makes her way to the Assembly chamber before being nominated as First Minister at Stormont on February 3, 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill becomes the new Northern Ireland First Minister. This appointment marks the first time a nationalist has held the post of First Minister. Britain's minister for the region, Chris Heaton-Harris, said the restoration of government represented a "great day for Northern Ireland". As the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Sinn Fein was long shunned by the political establishment on both sides of the border.

Persons: Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, Charles McQuillan, Michelle O'Neill's, Sinn Fein's, O'Neill, Chris Heaton, Harris, Sinn Fein, Emma Little Organizations: Stormont, Northern Ireland First, DUP, Sinn Fein, Democratic Unionist Party, Irish Republican Army, IRA Locations: BELFAST, IRELAND, Belfast , Northern Ireland, British, Ireland, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Irish Republic

☆ ‘A Long Time Coming’: Northern Ireland Deal Receives Broad Welcome
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain, Ireland and the United States on Tuesday welcomed a deal to end almost two years of political deadlock in Northern Ireland that will, for the first time, hand the territory’s top leadership role to Sinn Fein, a party that mainly represents Roman Catholic voters committed to a united Ireland. The breakthrough came in the early hours of Tuesday morning when the Democratic Unionist Party, whose largely Protestant supporters want to remain in the United Kingdom, said it was ready to end a lengthy and crippling boycott of Northern Ireland’s political assembly. “I believe that all the conditions are now in place for the assembly to return,” said Chris Heaton-Harris, Britain’s secretary of state for Northern Ireland on Tuesday. Claire Cronin, the U.S. ambassador to Ireland, said she welcomed the news. “The people of Northern Ireland are best served by a power-sharing government in Stormont as outlined in the Good Friday Agreement,” she wrote on social media, adding that President Biden “has long made clear his support for a secure and prosperous Northern Ireland.”

Persons: Sinn Fein, ”, Chris Heaton, Harris, Claire Cronin, Biden “ Organizations: Roman Catholic, Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland Locations: Britain, Ireland, United States, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Northern, U.S, Stormont

☆ Opinion | A United Ireland May Be More Than a Dream
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Megan K. Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The agreement, he told me, is like a train with only one destination: a united Ireland. The agreement simply handed self-determination to the people of Northern Ireland. What Mr. Bryson is protesting, in other words, is the failure of a fair process to dependably produce the results he wants. The Northern Ireland Assembly will vote, every four or eight years, on whether to keep the protocols in place, and one-third of Northern Ireland lawmakers, so long as they represent at least two parties, will be able to formally object to E.U. Once again, Northern Ireland will get what a majority want.

Persons: Bryson won’t, That’s, Bryson, you’re, ”, we’re Organizations: Northern, Northern Ireland Assembly, European Union Locations: Belfast, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Britain

☆ Sinn Fein sweep past unionist rivals again in Northern Ireland local elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Amanda Ferguson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELFAST, May 20 (Reuters) - Irish nationalists Sinn Fein followed up last year's historic Northern Ireland Assembly victory by overtaking their unionist rivals by a wide margin in council elections on Saturday to become the biggest party at local level for the first time. It is the latest political milestone for the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who want to leave the United Kingdom and form a united Ireland. The left-wing party also comfortably leads opinion polls in the Republic of Ireland ahead of national elections due in 2025. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), until last year the biggest party at local and regional level, had 118. The poll also marked the first time a Black person was elected to office in Northern Ireland, with Maasai woman Lilian Seenoi-Bar winning a seat for the nationalist SDLP.

☆ Takeaways from Biden's trip to Ireland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Biden’s trip came as he nears a decision on running again for president. “I own property in Ireland, I’m not going to Ireland,” former President Donald Trump said during Biden’s trip. Patrick Semansky/APDiplomatic legacy: ‘Keep the peace’White House officials made little attempt at ascribing major policy objectives to Biden’s trip. Kevin Lamarque/ReutersBiden makes Ireland visit a family affairMore than anything, Biden’s trip this week had the feeling of a family spring break. Throughout the sometimes-rainy trip, Biden kept his head dry with a baseball cap from the Beau Biden Foundation.

☆ Biden plans to focus heavily on the economy in Belfast speech marking Good Friday Agreement anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Biden’s optimistic speech did not paper over tensions that persist 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed. “It doesn’t change the political dynamic in Northern Ireland,” said Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, which withdrew from the government in dispute of Brexit trade rules. Ahead of the speech, Biden sat for brief talks over coffee with Sunak, though won’t participate in any major public events with him while he’s here. That includes the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party Arlene Foster, who previously served as the first minister of Northern Ireland. The region along the border with Northern Ireland was where Biden’s great-great-great-grandfather, Owen Finnegan, was born in 1818.

☆ 'Unfinished business': Biden visits Northern Ireland as political tensions persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

He will give a speech in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, before traveling south of the border to the Republic of Ireland, where he will remain until Friday. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. while the Republic of Ireland is a separate nation state that remains part of the EU. "Whilst it's positive in many ways — particularly on movement of food and medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it really removes a lot of the frictions — it doesn't deal with all the problems of the Northern Ireland protocol, so I'm afraid it's unfinished business," Villiers told CNBC's Tania Bryer. Clinton became the first sitting U.S. President to visit Northern Ireland and the first to appoint a U.S. special regional envoy. Though Biden is expected to use the trip to promote a return to functioning government in Stormont, his previous support for the Northern Ireland Protocol has drawn criticism from DUP politicians.

☆ Biden heads to Northern Ireland at delicate political juncture
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Conor Humphries | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BELFAST, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden arrives in Belfast on Tuesday at a delicate political time in Northern Ireland as he helps mark the 25-year anniversary of a peace deal that largely ended 30 years of bloodshed there. Biden was expected to meet representatives from five Northern Irish parties in advance of his speech at Ulster University but was not planning to pressure them, a senior administration official said. Biden, who will float the possibility of closer investment ties between the U.S. and Northern Ireland to try to encourage an end to the impasse, clashed with the British government at times during the Brexit talks, drawing a rebuke from the DUP. Britain's MI5 intelligence agency recently increased the threat level in Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to "severe" - meaning an attack is highly likely. "Since (Jonh F.) Kennedy there hasn't been as Irish American a president as Joe Biden and we're really looking forward to welcoming him home," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Sunday.

☆ Biden Must Tread Rocky Path in Belfast Before Tending His Irish Roots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Though Mr. Biden deplored I.R.A. The events became one of the most infamous episodes of the Troubles, known as Bloody Sunday. Mr. Powell said Mr. Biden had made his own contribution later on by pressing the British government to break an impasse with the European Union over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. In doing so, he fulfilled a promise he made to Mr. Biden when the two met last fall at a summit in Indonesia, during which the prime minister vowed to resolve the issue. “It is possible that Biden could be seen as adding more pressure on the unionists,” said Katy Hayward, a professor of politics at Queen’s University in Belfast.

☆ Twenty-Five Years After the Good Friday Agreement, an Uneasy Peace Prevails in Northern Ireland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( David Luhnow | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

BELFAST—In mid-February, Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell finished coaching his son’s soccer team and was putting soccer balls into the trunk of his car in Omagh, Northern Ireland, when two masked gunmen shot him multiple times in front of his son. British authorities suspect that pro-Irish republicans targeted Mr. Caldwell, who remains hospitalized. On Tuesday, U.S. President Biden will travel to the British province to celebrate the deal’s anniversary along with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar . Mr. Biden, whose ancestors were Irish, will hail the deal that brought an uneasy peace between a mostly Protestant community that sees itself as British and wants to remain part of the U.K., and a mostly Catholic community that endured decades of discrimination and which views itself as Irish and aspires to see a united Ireland. Within hours of Mr. Caldwell’s shooting, the leaders of the province’s five main political parties—which include pro-British unionist parties and pro-Irish nationalist ones—condemned the attack.

Sunak has tried to end years of wrangling over Brexit by revisiting one of the trickiest parts of the negotiations - to ensure smooth trade to Northern Ireland without creating a hard border with Britain or with European Union-member Ireland. "I welcome parliament voting today to support the Windsor Framework," Britain's Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris said on Twitter. "This measure lies at the very heart of the Windsor Framework which offers the best deal for Northern Ireland, safeguarding its place in the Union and addressing the democratic deficit." Sunak hailed securing the deal last month as a "decisive breakthrough" but by alienating the DUP he has failed in restoring the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told parliament his party could not return to Northern Ireland's power-sharing government "at this stage".

☆ Despite opposition, UK's Sunak wins post-Brexit trade vote in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak won the backing of parliament on Wednesday for a key element of a reworked post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland. Despite the opposition, Sunak won the vote by 515 to 29, suggesting that several in his Conservative Party had abstained on the vote. "The Stormont brake is at the heart of the (Windsor) Framework," Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris told parliament ahead of the vote. "It restores practical sovereignty for the United Kingdom as a whole and the people of northern Ireland in particular." Johnson, the face of the campaign to leave the EU, and his successor, Truss, both said they would vote against the brake.

☆ Only 16% of DUP voters back British PM's Northern Ireland deal - poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, March 11 (Reuters) - Only 16% of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party voters would back British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's recent deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules if a referendum were held, a poll showed on Saturday. The survey by polling company LucidTalk for the Belfast Telegraph newspaper found that just 38% of the region's wider unionist electorate would vote in favour of the Windsor Framework agreement if a referendum were held. While 73% of DUP voters and 50% of unionist voters would oppose the deal, 67% of all voters in the region were in favour thanks to strong support among nationalists, the poll showed. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, while nationalists favour a united Ireland. Reporting by Conor Humphries and Amanda Ferguson Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: What is the Good Friday Agreement and when was it signed?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Good Friday Agreement largely ended the "Troubles", three decades of violence that had racked Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. It was signed on April 10, 1998 - which fell that year on Good Friday in the Christian Easter holiday. The deal was formally two interlinked agreements: a treaty between the British and Irish governments and an agreement between the Northern Irish parties. "North-south" bodies were created to encourage cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, while "east-west" institutions linked Britain and Ireland. Overall, Northern Ireland has enjoyed peace for much of the 25 years since the agreement was signed, with only a small number of splinter groups involved in sporadic attacks.

☆ Northern Ireland has more Catholics than Protestants for first time - census
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBELFAST, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland has more Catholics than Protestants for the first time, census results showed on Thursday, a historic shift that some see as likely to help drive support for the region to split from Britain and join a united Ireland. 45.7% of respondents identified as Catholic or were brought up Catholic, compared with 43.5% identifying as Protestants, data from the 2021 census showed. A decade ago the previous census showed Protestants outnumbered Catholics by 48% to 45%, after falling below the 50% mark for the first time. The shift comes a century after the Northern Ireland state was established with the aim of maintaining a pro-British, Protestant majority as a counterweight to the newly independent, predominantly Catholic, Irish state to the south. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Amanda Ferguson, editing by Padraic Halpin and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Liz Truss and King Charles III could be the end of the 'United' Kingdom
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Peter Mcloughlin | World Politics Review | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

King Charles III and Prime Minister Liz Truss now lead a United Kingdom with profound divisions. However, when this ends with the late queen's funeral Monday, the new heads of state and government, King Charles III and Liz Truss, will be left leading a United Kingdom that is profoundly divided. However, the EU, the Irish government and most nationalists in Northern Ireland oppose any unilateral changes to the treaty. Nationalists, who are growing in numbers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, might see this as the moment to unravel the union. Peter McLoughlin is a lecturer at Queen's University Belfast, where he focuses on contemporary political history in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

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