President Catherine Connolly began three days of engagements in Northern Ireland with a visit to Stormont Castle in Belfast on Wednesday morning. The engagements this week are Connolly’s first official visit to the North during her presidency. On arriving at Stormont Castle, she was welcomed by First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma … Read more
The rules of a Stormont committee were subverted in 2015 to cause “political embarrassment” to former first minister Peter Robinson, a court has heard. The trial of loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, former Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay and Thomas O’Hara on charges related to a committee hearing that examined the sale of the National Asset … Read more
More than 60,000 birds are to be slaughtered after a suspected avian flu case was detected at a poultry operation in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture has said. Disease control measures have been initiated as a precaution in response to the suspected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) case, which was reported from a … Read more
Considered a party heavyweight, Conor Murphy is one of Sinn Féin’s most experienced representatives at Stormont. The current economy minister, he is also the party’s chief negotiator having held two previous ministerial portfolios in finance and regional development. Insiders say the 61-year-old’s departure from Northern politics will be a large blow to Sinn Féin’s Executive … Read more