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Reduced Corporate Taxes May Help in the North's Struggle With Finances

By Joe Leary, special to the BIR, September 1, 2010

Like most of the world today, Northern Ireland is facing an uncertain financial future. But unlike most countries, it is an unsettled society, just emerging from 40 traumatic years of tragedy after tragedy. Although Northern Ireland now has its local, self-governing assembly, the purse strings are still controlled in London where the new conservative government is taking severe steps to limit spending while keeping the government running. Read more

July Still Means Troubles in Belfast

By Joe Leary, special to the BIR, August 1, 2010

The July parades in Northern Ireland celebrate a Protestant military victory over a Catholic army at the Battle of the Boyne in the Republic of Ireland over 300 years ago. The marches are an in-your-face expression by some of Northern Ireland's Protestants to maintain their appearance of superiority over Catholics. Read more

Is Sinn Fein's Abstention Policy Dying?

By Bill O'Donnell, May 1, 2010

Maybe it's because Gerry Adams has had some recent personal setbacks along with his party's electoral hopes, but the call for the voice of the Provos to end their parliamentary abstention is growing louder. The new leader of the SDLP, Margaret Ritchie, has openly suggested to the republicans that it might be time for elected Sinn Fein representatives in the House of Commons to start actively representing their constituents instead of playing hard to get. Read more

British Elections Loom Crucial to Peace in Northern Ireland

By Joe Leary, special to the BIR, May 1, 2010

The results of the upcoming British Parliamentary elections will have a profound effect upon peace and understanding amongst the conflicted people of Northern Ireland. The people of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, will elect 650 members of the newly constituted Parliament, which will rule the country for the next five years unless the new government fails to maintain its majority. Read more

British Election a High Stakes Game for Three Party Leaders in the North

By Robert P. Connolly, special to the BIR, May 1, 2010

BELFAST - While the party leaders who have the most at stake in this month's British election are named Brown, Cameron, and Clegg, the leaders of three of Northern Ireland's four main political parties also have a lot riding on the outcome of the Westminster vote. Read more

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

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

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

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

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

Cardinal Daly, Leader of Ireland's Catholics During Violent Years in Belfast, and Hero of the Peace Process, is Dead at 92

By Joe Leary, special to the BIR, February 6, 2010

One of the more substantive heroes of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, Cardinal Cahal Daly, died in a Belfast hospital last month at the age of 92. A saintly man of small stature, the cardinal was trusted by Protestant church leaders on all sides. A quiet man who carried a pleasant wry smile, he served as the bishop of Belfast and the surrounding area during the height of the bombings and shootings that pervaded Northern Ireland in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Read more

'Salesman' for Northern Ireland Brings Belief, Zest to His Economic Envoy Post

By Robert P. Connolly, special to the BIR, February 6, 2010

Declan Kelly describes himself as "a salesman for Northern Ireland" and like any good salesman, he comes to the job armed with facts and figures - and brimming with energy, determination, and ideas. Read more

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

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

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

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