Category: politics

SDLP Elects Margaret Ritchie as 'Leader' - First Woman to Head Major Party in North

March 1, 2010 by Joe Leary, special to the BIR

In a close election last month, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) of Northern Ireland elected Minister Margaret Ritchie, 51, as its "leader" to guide the party into the second decade of the 21st century. With her ascension, Miss Ritchie becomes the first female head of a major party in Northern Ireland. Read more

Officials See North's Policing Accord As Signaling End to 'Troubles' Era

March 1, 2010 by Robert P. Connolly, special to the BIR

Northern Ireland's Troubles began with its police force front and center and in a very real sense may have ended with a grand compromise on the vexing question of where the ultimate control over policing should rest. Read more

Climate Change in Scott Brown's Massachusetts

February 6, 2010 by Jim O'Sullivan, special to the BIR

The Jan. 19 election to succeed Paul Kirk - and Ted Kennedy - in the United States Senate was supposed to be the tripwire. The vote that launched a thousand domino campaigns, Democrats vying against Democrats for seats long held safe by Democrats, and expected to be held by Democrats long into the foreseeable.

Instead, state Sen. Scott Brown's election over Attorney General Martha Coakley has sent the state's plurality party into an unaccustomed place: the wilderness contemplative. Read more

Murphy, a Mover on the Boston City Council, Takes Stock of Voter Anger in Mulling Future

February 6, 2010 by Greg O'Brien, special to the BIR

The view is serene from Stephen John Murphy's office on the fifth floor of Boston City Hall. It overlooks Faneuil Hall and a swath of Boston Harbor in the distance on this promising late January day when the sun is a bit higher in the sky and the temperature is flirting with the 50s. Inside this dense concrete bunker, the political climate is chilling, as observers assess the damage from the storm surge of angry voters that swept Scott Brown into the United States Senate faster than you could say "All bets are off!" Read more

For Gerry Adams, It Was a Year of Trials at Work and at Home

January 6, 2010 by Robert P. Connolly, special to the BIR

First came the startling news that the republican leader's brother, Liam Adams, was on the run, charged with having sexually abused his daughter for an eight-year period that began when the girl was 4. He was reported to be hiding in the Republic of Ireland and Gerry appealed to his brother to return to Northern Ireland to face the charges lodged against him. Read more

Jim Hunt and Community Health Care: Combo That Spells Success - and Promise

December 5, 2009 by Greg O'Brien, special to the BIR

On the lip of a historic and yet contentious vote in the U.S. Senate on a health care reform bill that would extend health benefits to about 31 million uninsured Americans, James W. Hunt Jr., longtime president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, a cornerstone of the health care reform push, is reminded of a comment from an old friend, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy: "If we didn't have community health centers, we'd have to invent them." Read more

E-mail and Politics: Uneasy Relationship

December 5, 2009 by Jim O'Sullivan, special to the BIR

In broad state government terms, this year so far has been largely about corruption allegations, and their fallout. Such outbursts are often cyclical, play themselves out, and fade away for a while. Read more

Now in charge, DUP's Robinson faces challenges with confidence

December 5, 2009 by Robert P. Connolly, special to the BIR

For decades, Peter Robinson was the man in the background, a key player in the world of hard-line unionism but almost entirely obscured by Ian Paisley's epic shadow. Read more