Latest news with #IanPaisley
Belfast Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Sam McBride on the DUP's route to power sharing: Deceit, flattery and secret Sinn Féin talks
Publicly the DUP refused to speak with Sinn Féin - but declassified files show a different side to the storyTwo factions of the party disagreed on power-sharingTalks of the early 2000s ultimately floundered Flattery, deceit, a bung, MI5, and the secret back-channel to Sinn Féin - uncovered files have revealed the DUP's route to power-sharing. Publicly the DUP refused to talk to Sinn Féin, Ian Paisley wanted 'Sackcloth and Ashes'. But the truth was that the party was in direct talks with Republicans. In public, Ian Paisley's party insisted it was united – but the reality was very different. Peter Robinson was briefing the government on how to deal with an increasingly frail Paisley – and the two big factions of the party disagreed on power-sharing. Whilst the DUP did end up going into government with Sinn Féin, the talks of the early 2000s ultimately floundered just before the IRA's audacious Northern Bank robbery. To tell this tale of political intrigue, money, and what some might call betrayal, Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraph's Northern Ireland editor Sam McBride, who has been looking through the formerly classified Kew Files in London.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
CBE for journalist Peter Taylor who reported on the Troubles
A former BBC Panorama journalist who spent decades reporting on the Troubles has been formally made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) at Windsor Taylor, 82, from Henley-on-Thames, said covering Bloody Sunday in his 20s as his first assignment in Northern Ireland inspired much of the work in his decades-long soldiers shot 13 civil rights protesters dead in Londonderry on 30 January 1972 and Mr Taylor said he felt guilty he "knew nothing, or very little" about the conflict at the time."I remember that day thinking I better start trying to find out, so I spent the past 50 years trying to do exactly that," he said. Mr Taylor earned the trust of major figures, including former IRA commander and Northern Ireland's deputy first minister Martin McGuinness, whose funeral he was also invited to the memorial for Ian Paisley, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and first minister. Mr Taylor spent nearly a decade to get permission to make a documentary inside the notorious high-security Maze serving sentences for murder "and a whole series of dreadful atrocities" were jailed there, Mr Taylor conversations with them were conducted without prison officers' oversight. "In the end, when they saw the film they were glad that they had taken part because it gave a different view of the contribution that they were potentially prepared to make towards peace," he added."You know you've succeeded when you get that kind of reaction, when they're clearly expecting to take you to the cleaners for what you've done, and they say 'wasn't bad for a Brit'."Fewer programmes like Mr Taylor's are now made because of a lack of funding, he said."My worry is that public service broadcasting and the climate in which I grew up and learned my trade is under threat," he added."It needs finances. What we do, people like me try and do, is to help people understand and make political choices and pass judgments on these extremely difficult, complex issues." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Belfast Telegraph
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Jeffery Dudgeon on the story of the NI Gay Rights Association and his doubts about ‘queer' activism today
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Jeffery Dudgeon was the public face of the gay rights movement in Northern Ireland. He was a prominent figure in the campaign again laws targeting homosexuals – a campaign which endured a vicious backlash in the shape of Ian Paisley's 'Save Ulster from sodomy' group. His victory in the campaign for decriminalisation has now been beautifully told in a short film from the BBC called 'Outlasting'. The piece was directed by Lewis Doherty. Both Mr Lewis and Mr Dudgeon joined Ciarán Dunbar on the BelTel.
Irish Examiner
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
OPW bans tour guides from wearing green or orange at site of the Battle of the Boyne
The Office of Public Works (OPW) has banned tour guides from wearing green or orange clothing at the site in Meath where the Protestant King William III defeated the Catholic King James II in the Battle of the Boyne. The location is of particular significance to unionists, as William's victory in 1690 established Protestant dominance in Ireland, and is commemorated by the Orange Order with a series of marches on July 12 each year. The rule prohibiting guides from wearing green or orange at the Battle of the Boyne visitor centre is not contained in the official OPW Guide Handbook, which is supplied to guides and information officers at heritage sites. Instead, the directive is being communicated directly to new guides by a supervisor at the visitor centre after they have been hired, according to emails released under freedom of information laws. The instruction, which is believed to be aimed at respecting the sensitivities of both unionist and nationalist visitors, is not the only unusual dress code directive issued by the OPW to its guides. A section of the handbook dealing with clothing and uniform requirements specifies that 'nudity is prohibited at all sites'. Asked why it was considered necessary to include this in its dress code for new tour guides, the OPW declined to comment. The Battle of the Boyne visitor centre was developed following the allocation of €15 million of government funding in 2005. Last year, a further €10 million was provided for the centre under the Shared Island initiative. The site was famously chosen as the venue for Ian Paisley's (left) first official meeting as Stormont first minister with Bertie Ahern (right) in 2007 where he presented the DUP leader with a musket used in the battle. File picture: Collins The site was famously chosen as the venue for Ian Paisley's first official meeting as Stormont first minister with Bertie Ahern in 2007. The then-Taoiseach presented the DUP leader with a musket used in the Battle of the Boyne. An email titled 'Welcome aboard' sent by a supervisor to a newly hired seasonal guide last year contained details of the dress code for staff at the visitor centre. It prohibits items including army jackets and clothes that feature 'slogans, badges or emblems'. The email stated that 'green and orange are not permitted on site'. The OPW provides an annual allowance for guides where colour-coded clothing is mandated by local management. This is payable at a rate of €210 for permanent guides, and €100 for seasonal workers. The OPW declined to comment when asked about the prohibition of green and orange clothing at the Battle of the Boyne site. Read More Loyalist bonfire on site with asbestos lit despite warnings
Irish Independent
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
OPW bans green and orange colours from Battle of the Boyne site and tells staff they can't be nude
The location is of particular significance to Unionists, as William's victory in 1690 established Protestant dominance in Ireland, and is commemorated by the Orange Order with a series of marches on July 12 each year. The rule prohibiting guides from wearing green or orange at the Battle of the Boyne visitor centre is not contained in the official OPW Guide Handbook, which is supplied to guides and information officers at heritage sites. Instead, the directive is being communicated directly to new guides by a supervisor at the visitor centre after they have been hired, according to emails released under freedom of information laws. The instruction, which is believed to be aimed at respecting the sensitivities of both Unionist and Nationalist visitors, is not the only unusual dress-code directive issued by the OPW to its guides. A section of the handbook dealing with clothing and uniform requirements specifies that 'nudity is prohibited at all sites'. Asked why it was considered necessary to include this in its dress code for new tour guides, the OPW declined to comment. The Battle of the Boyne visitor centre was developed following the allocation of €15 million of government funding in 2005. Last year, a further €10 million was provided for the centre under the Shared Island initiative. The site was famously chosen as the venue for Ian Paisley's first official meeting as Stormont first minister with Bertie Ahern in 2007. The then-Taoiseach presented the DUP leader with a musket used in the Battle of the Boyne. An email titled 'Welcome aboard' sent by a supervisor to a newly hired seasonal guide last year contained details of the dress code for staff at the visitor centre. It prohibits items including army jackets and clothes that feature 'slogans, badges or emblems'. The email stated that 'green and orange are not permitted on site'. The OPW provides an annual allowance for guides where colour-coded clothing is mandated by local management. This is payable at a rate of €210 for permanent guides, and €100 for seasonal workers. The OPW declined to comment when asked about the prohibition of green and orange clothing at the Battle of the Boyne site.
