Northern Ireland

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/19849055

A banner accusing Sinn Féin of being "traitors" has been put up at the office of the party's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill.

The banner was stuck to the office shutters after O'Neill laid a laurel wreath at the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall on Sunday, becoming the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance ceremony.

The banner - which was put up at the office O'Neill shares with Mid Ulster MP Cathal Mallaghan in Cookstown in County Tyrone - featured the word "traitors" alongside bloody handprints and a poppy.

The sign is being treated as a "hate-motivated incident", police have said.

Asked about the sign, O'Neill said it was "difficult" to hear criticism about her decision to attend the commemoration but she had a role to play.

"I've committed to being a first minister for all and I will live up to that at every turn," she said.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/18155281

Fans of mockumentary horror such as Ghostwatch or the more recent Late Night With the Devil prepare to add another to your nightmarish collection with Haunted Ulster Live, which takes viewers back to Halloween night, 1998, where a live broadcast from a haunted house in Belfast goes hauntingly wrong. The footage is so disturbing that it hasn’t been seen in 25 years.

Bloody Disgusting is excited to share the trailer for Halloween-themed horror that will release across all platforms, including our SCREAMBOX streaming service, on October 8th.

Haunted Ulster Live takes place on Halloween night. Gerry Burns (Mark Claney) teams up with popular children’s presenter Michelle Kelly (Aimee Richardson) to investigate poltergeist activity in a haunted house in Belfast. Dead Northern writes: “Ghostwatch finally meets its match with Haunted Ulster Live!”

Written and Directed by Dominic O’Neill (“Belfast 1912”), the film also stars Siobhan Kelly.

“We’re found footage fanatics, and devotees of the genre will hopefully enjoy the faux doc chills of Haunted Ulster Live,” said O’Neill. “We grew up on old Irish and British horror TV, the kind of TV that makes you want to hide behind the couch when you’re a kid! Our film is firmly rooted in 90’s Belfast, drawing from the rich well of Irish folk stories, and the conflict of that time.”

Trailer

IMDb

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17417258

The chances of Northern Ireland hosting matches at the Euro 2028 football tournament appear to have gone.

The UK government announced on Friday night that the estimated cost of rebuilding Casement Park stadium in Belfast has "risen dramatically" to more than £400m.

The government said it will not be providing funding to redevelop the stadium in time for the tournament.

It said there was a "significant risk" that the stadium would not be built in time.
[…]
In order to be ready for the 2028 tournament, Casement Park needs to be rebuilt by the summer of 2027.

Northern Ireland could have a role as a training base or host warm-up matches at the existing Windsor Park stadium, but hosting tournament fixtures appears to be over.

Plans have been in place to build a new stadium at Casement Park since 2011.

The initial estimated cost of rebuilding Casement was £77.5m, with £62.5m coming from the Stormont executive and £15m from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

That was more than a decade ago, and since then costs have risen dramatically.

To try to cater for soccer as well as GAA matches increased the cost further, as UEFA requires a higher specification of stadium.

Although hopes of being part of the Euro 2028 tournament may be over, it does not mean the stadium cannot be rebuilt for the GAA, which was the original purpose.

However, that will not be cheap either, and the GAA will be hoping that even though the UK government has said it will not be funding a Euro 2028 compliant stadium, it may still contribute to the redevelopment whenever it happens.

The Irish government has already pledged more than £40m.

Staff at a Belfast hospital were disciplined after a plaque marking its formal opening by the Duke of York went missing, according to emails seen by the BBC.

The plaque sparked an investigation by health officials after it was removed without permission from Belfast City Hospital in January 2022.

It came after Prince Andrew faced civil action in the US over sexual assault allegations - claims he has denied.

The Belfast Trust said the plaque has since been recovered, staff "behaviours" were addressed "in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures," and no decision has been made on reinstating the plaque.

...

The incident was investigated by independent consultants appointed by officials, according to an email from a senior staff member in December 2023.

That staff member said it led to "action taken to address staff behaviours in accordance with trust disciplinary procedures".

In another email, he said it had been claimed the plaque had been removed "out of sensitivities arising from allegations circulating on national media at the time".

...

The trust had received a complaint in January 2022 saying the plaque was "causing offence" and asking for it to be removed, according to the emails.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) health spokesperson Colin McGrath described the idea of staff being disciplined over the matter as "outrageous".

The Stormont assembly member said that "if anything, they've done the trust a favour by removing the reference".

Still wearing the Icthys as well 😬

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16661917

“When I went to comic book stores, I would've been the only girl there."

Comic books have been a huge part of Marianna Mooney's life growing up and in recent years she believes stereotypes have changed.

Originally from Kildare, Marianna moved to Belfast in 2021 and she is among a number of local artists to feature in the debut print issue of Low Intensity, a comics anthology.

...

Low Intensity's founder, Andrew Pope, said the publication's aim is to showcase comics and sequential art from this part of the world.

“Having it in print really felt important,” he said. “Now, market forces are against us, and it's totally understandable why print media has gone the way it has.

“But having comics in print; I like it, I really do like it”.

Andrew’s hope for Low Intensity is to eventually print older archived material to include in the anthology.

“I would love to get some stuff from the seventies, eighties, nineties and two thousands, reprinted and in the anthology to show to a new audience,” he continued.

Low Intensity is being published by Local Colour Comics, which also runs the Belfast Comic Jam, a collaborative comic making event, where many of the artists became involved in the project.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16522788

A man has appeared in court accused of stealing a packet of crisps worth £1.25.

Patrick McDonagh (37) of Erne Park, Kesh, appeared at Enniskillen Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

He is facing a single charge of theft, whereby he is accused of stealing crisps to the value of £1.25 from Lakeside Service Station on April 30 of this year.

Translation: "crisps" are what Americans call "chips".

The PSNI has said there is "no doubt" there is a loyalist paramilitary link to violence in Belfast in recent days.

Trouble erupted in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast last night for the second time in 72 hours.

The area, close to the city centre, is one where the Ulster Defence Association has a strong presence and influence.

More than 300 police officers in riot gear and a large number of armoured Land Rovers were deployed in the area last night.

A small crowd of rioters - most of them teenagers - attacked police with petrol bombs, chunks of masonry and other items.

They also again attacked a shop owned by a Syrian family that was virtually destroyed when set on fire on Saturday night following an anti immigration rally in the city centre.

...

The senior officer also said there was a degree of orchestration and organisation of last night's violence.

"I have no doubt there is a paramilitary element to this, but I am not in a position to say that it is this that is the main organiser or orchestrator of these events.

"However, we do keep an open mind to this and this will be part of our investigative strategy."

The PSNI has banned members of its riot squad from wearing emblems on uniforms after an officer was pictured with a patch similar to insignia used by a far-right militia group in the US.

The officer, who is s a member of the Tactical Support Group (TSG), was pictured wearing the distinctive patch while policing an anti-racism protest outside Belfast city hall on Saturday.

Just yards away far-right protesters holding both tricolours and union flag held a separate anti-immigration rally.

The controversial uniform patch appears to show a gladiator-style helmet and includes the Roman numeral for the number three.

In the past a similar symbol has been linked to the US and Canada based far right militia, the Three Percenters.

The group advocates gun ownership and resistance to the US government.

It has previously been reported that it is among the ‘most dangerous’ in north America.

...

Chief Superintendent Amanda Ford said the wearing of emblems has now been halted.

“Having made enquiries into the wearing of emblems by our tactical support groups following on from images captured during disorder in Belfast on Saturday evening, we can confirm that some units have designed an emblem that represents their identification colour/number and these have been worn on their uniform during deployments.

“The designs were not based on any other groups or affiliations and were intended purely for the identification of each individual unit and for ease of reference for supervisors when units are working together.

“They were never intended to cause any offence.

“They do not comply with our uniform standards however and will not be worn again. "

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13301154

The source of a mystery humming sound which has plagued people living in Omagh may now have been identified – but is not being made public.

People in the County Tyrone town first started to report a persistent humming that was keeping them them awake in the second half of last year.

A Fermanagh and Omagh District Council investigation has now ended.

John Boyle, the council’s director of community and wellbeing, said it had been “complex” but had been able to “hone in on a specific spot”.

Mr Boyle said the noise “wasn’t audible every night", and was linked to atmospheric conditions, making the investigation very difficult.

“We were able to hone in on a specific spot, and undertook a targeted screening exercise with a number of industrial businesses using equipment on a 24-hour basis," he said.

“However, a particular premises became the focus, and environmental health officers engaged with the management.

“While nothing was absolutely concluded, the noise did cease in a sense, but we will keep the complaint open and under review over the next number of months."

He told the council’s regeneration and community committee the council had received a total of 11 hum complaints.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/12553938

The “gunfluencer” turned Texas Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera posted to YouTube a video in which he wears a balaclava, fires an Armalite rifle, uses Irish stereotypes while joking about the IRA, and says he “fucking hate[s] the British.”

“I’m not doing it because I like or support the IRA,” says Herrera, now 28 and a candidate for the Republican nomination in Texas’ 23rd U.S. House district, in the video posted on March 17, 2023—St Patrick’s Day—and titled “The AR-180: The IRA’s Lucky Charm.”

“They were pretty heavily socialist. Of course they really hurt a lot of innocent people sometimes. I’m not doing this video because I like the IRA or I support them. I’m doing this video because I fucking hate the British.

“Guys, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Mostly.”

...

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Aidan McQuade, from Northern Ireland and a former director of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights group, condemned Herrera for displaying “jaw-dropping stupidity” in his IRA-themed video.

“It is quite an achievement to make a video of which the anti-Irish stereotyping is the least offensive part,” McQuade said.

Other remarks by Herrera in the video include a promise to get “belligerently drunk” to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and, “The IRA [were] very famously unhappy for a certain group of folks going after their Lucky Charms,” a reference to famous ads for a U.S. breakfast cereal featuring a leprechaun character.

Over footage of a gun jamming, meanwhile, Herrera says: “This is why Ireland isn’t free.”

McQuade said: “From a historical perspective it is jaw-droppingly stupid to suggest that the course of the Troubles could have been changed with a more dependable Armalite.

“From a human perspective, Herrera’s attitude to violence seems that of an adolescent video-gamer blissfully ignorant of the trauma that war inflicts on a society, and the unending grief of victims’ devastated families.”

Archive

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/11812280

The High Court in Belfast on Monday morning ordered the "disapplication" of sections of the act as they undermine human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements.

The Illegal Migration Act provides new powers for the government to detain and remove asylum seekers it deems to have arrived illegally in the UK. Central to the new laws is the scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Mr Justice Humphreys said aspects of the Illegal Migration Act were also incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Following Brexit, the UK and the EU agreed the Windsor Framework, which stipulates there can be no diminution of the rights provisions contained within the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998, even if they differ from the rest of the UK.

The judge found several elements of the Illegal Immigration Act cause a "significant" diminution of the rights enjoyed by asylum seekers in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

"I have found that there is a relevant diminution of right in each of the areas relied upon by the applicants," he said.

cross-posted from: https://fedinews.net/m/ImproveTheNews/t/6697

• Jeffrey Donaldson appeared in court on Wednesday, for the first time since his arrest in March over accusations of rape and sexual assault. Bloomberg
• According to prosecutors, the former leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is facing 11 sex offense charges, including one count of rape. MSN
• The allegations span from 1985 to 2006 and involve two alleged victims. Donaldson appeared in court with his wife Eleanor Donaldson, who has been charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault, and two counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16. IrishCentral.com
• Neither Donaldson nor his wife entered pleas on Wednesday, and spoke only to confirm their names and affirm that they understood the charges. They were released on bail, with the court adjourned until May 22. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• Donaldson was arrested for "non-recent sexual offenses" on March 28, 2024. The DUP confirmed the following day that Donaldson had stepped down as leader and that he had been suspended from the party. BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• Donaldson was Northern Ireland's longest-serving parliamentary lawmaker — having first been elected in 1997 — and played a significant role brokering a deal with the British government over post-Brexit trade rules. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)

Narrative A:

• Donaldson has vigorously denied the allegations against him. The claims are awful, but he and his wife have not yet been convicted of the crimes they are accused of. Media outlets should avoid speculating on this case, as they could risk interfering with the trial and being in contempt of the court.
  BELFASTTELEGRAPH.CO.UK

Narrative B:

• The serious allegations of rape and sexual assault against Donaldson are not just upsetting in themselves, but they have also destabilized the politics of Northern Ireland. His arrest and subsequent charges have led to a leadership change within the DUP, highlighting the instability of the party. With the government in Northern Ireland just recently resuming, this abrupt change may cause unease amongst DUP supporters, which will make it difficult for the party to address urgent issues.
  ECONOMIST (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 50% chance that the DUP will win at least 5 seats in the next UK general election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)

WTF Northern Ireland

The orchid has been spotted in areas of Sligo and Dublin before in the Republic of Ireland, but has never before been located in Northern Ireland, according to local botanists.The orchid has been spotted in areas of Sligo and Dublin before in the Republic of Ireland, but has never before been located in Northern Ireland, according to local botanists.

...

The BSBI recorder for County Down, Graham Day, said he was thrilled to hear of the find.

He said this was a significant discovery as it is most unusual for a new native species to turn up in your patch, especially an orchid.

Killard National Nature Reserve, which is the site of the discovery, is on the Killard Peninsula, where Strangford Lough meets the Irish Sea.

The nature reserve is a popular spot with local botanists, known for its wealth of orchid species and coastal plants.

Jake said that the site is extremely well-managed, with careful attention paid to grazing, and maybe that is the secret as to why the new species was able to colonise.