Free Republic

After the announcement last week that Spain, Norway and Ireland would recognize the state of Palestine, a visibly-delighted Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations came to talk to the press. “We need somebody to take pictures,” Riyad Mansour said, ushering the Irish, Spanish and Norwegian envoys into an impromptu photoshoot just outside the UN Security Council. “A glorious day today,” Mr. Mansour declared as the four ambassadors stood shoulder-to-shoulder. […] All this, the supporters of Palestinian statehood hope, is gathering momentum towards the implementation of a two-state solution. That is not how Israel, nor its closest ally, the US, see...

Irish Ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness was summoned to the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem today and reprimanded over Ireland’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine. The ambassadors of Spain and Norway attended the same meeting for the same reason. Before any discussions, they were shown a previously unaired video of Hamas taking female army conscripts captive on 7 October last year. It is understood the Irish Government was disappointed at this, on the basis that it fell below the established procedures and practices regarding diplomatic engagement. What is believed to have been a “forthright exchange of views”...

A Garda was injured and 13 people were arrested following a night of unrest on Wednesday outside a site in Dublin earmarked to house asylum seekers, just one day after anti-refugee protesters "impeded" efforts to bring International Protection Applicants there. The centre on Ballyogan Road, around 12 kilometres south of the capital, was the scene of a shocking display on Tuesday evening, when people gathered outside the site stopped a bus carrying asylum seekers from entering the facility where they would be safely housed. Following the horrific unrest on Tuesday, a further standoff ensued between Gardaí and people in attendance...

I’m allowed to say the following because I’m Irish. We get to say it about each other. Except this time, the N-word is “Nazi.”Ireland, Norway, and Spain are now recognizing a country that does not exist and never has.Ireland Recognizes Palestine As Independent StateSo: Hamas butchers and rapes a bunch of innocent people, diligently documents it all on livestream video, and now the world is supposed to hand them a state? Please take that idea and stuff it up your bottom with a broom handle till your tonsils ache.It’s official: Antisemitism is mainstream, and nobody cares because none of these...

The Israeli foreign ministry has posted a video message directed at Ireland, which claims that if the Irish Government recognizes the State of Palestine, it will be encouraging terrorism. The headline states: “Recognizing a Palestinian state will lead to more terrorism, instability in the region and jeopardize any prospects for peace. Don’t be a pawn in the hands of Hamas.” In the 35-second video, the script declares: “Ireland: The possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state risks turning you into a pawn of Iran and Hamas.” It continues: “Such a move will only strengthen Hamas and weaken an already dysfunctional Palestinian...

CV NEWS FEED // The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference is calling on the faithful to join in praying the Conference’s third annual pro-life novena on May 23. The Pray for Life Novena will be led once more by the Council for Life of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, and will continue until May 31, the Feast of the Visitation, according to a CatholicNews press release. “As we embark on our third annual Pray for Life Novena, we form a community of prayer, whether online or in person,” Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin stated in the release. He continued: We pray not...

A British museum will remove the bones of a true-life giant in an effort to honor the deceased’s final wishes, but trustees want to retain the remains in the interest of “bona fide research.” “John Hunter and other anatomists and surgeons of the 18th and 19th centuries acquired many specimens in ways we would not consider ethical today and which are rightly subject to review and discussion,” trustees of the Hunterian Museum wrote in a statement. Irishman Charles Byrne reached a staggering height of 7-foot-7, earning the nickname of the “Irish Giant.” Upon his death in June 1783 at the...

FLATIRON, Manhattan (WABC) -- A new art installation in New York City that transports viewers more than 3,000 miles away to Dublin will temporarily shut down Tuesday to address some bad behavior. The installation, called the Portal, features two identical sculptures with a visual live stream connecting the two cities. It was unveiled last Wednesday next to the famed Flatiron Building.

The economy is experiencing a golden moment thanks to exports and tourism after cleaning up its accounts. But the country has paid a price in migration of qualified workers and reduction of public services. Ten years after the departure of the “men in black” — the international managers of the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank who cleaned up Portugal’s accounts with a machete, the country has emerged as the most diligent student in southern Europe. In 2023, for the first time, public debt fell below 100% of GDP (it stood at 98.7%) and there was a...

Ireland, Spain and a number of other EU member states are considering 21 May as the date on which they will jointly recognize the State of Palestine, RTÉ News understands. Two sources have said that 21 May is being looked at. A third source said contacts between Dublin and Madrid, as well as between Slovenia and Malta, have been intensifying with a view to the countries jointly recognizing Palestinian statehood. […] Currently, eight EU member states recognize the State of Palestine, the most recent being Sweden in 2014. Ireland has been in ongoing discussions with “like-minded” states for a number...

Sir Dermot Turing, renowned historian and nephew of Alan Turing, delivered a lecture based on his book "X Y & Z: The Real Story of How Enigma Was Broken" on 29 March, 2023, in Trinity College Dublin.Drawing on recently declassified archives Sir Dermot Turing told in full the real story how Enigma was broken. He fully acknowledged the groundbreaking work of Polish mathematicians produced as early as 1930s which subsequently led to the joint efforts of the French, British and Polish secret services (X, Y and Z) during the Second World War.Who really broke Enigma? - lecture by Sir Dermot...

The Irish state is now at war with its own people as clashes grow between police and Irish citizens who are protesting against unchecked migrants being forced into their communities.

"This is Lilian Seenoi-Barr. She is the African woman serving as the mayor of Derry, Northern Ireland. She was APPOINTED, not ELECTED. She says that native people protesting mass immigration to Ireland are domestic terrorists." Way of the World Twitter video

The rate of carbon tax will increase today with consumers of carbon fuels set to pay more for such products. Carbon tax is applied per tonne (1.1 ton) of carbon dioxide emitted by carbon fuels, and from today it increases by €7.50 ($8), bringing the rate to €56 ($59.71) per tonne. From today, natural gas customers will also pay just over 1c (1.1¢) extra per kilowatt hour, adding just under €17 ($18.22) to annual bills. It will bring the total carbon tax that customers pay in a year to around €122 ($130), based on average consumption of 11,000 kilowatt hours...

Dozens of tents have appeared in Dublin near the International Protection Office - and the encampment has been labelled a ‘tent city’ buy the Irish Examiner. Several of their tents have been daubed with messages that read 'we are not subhuman' and 'homes for all'. The pictures emerged as UK Government ministers today rejected Dublin's demands to take back asylum seekers crossing from Northern Ireland. Rishi Sunak has said the movement of migrants across the border shows that Downing Street’s Rwanda plan ‘is working’ - and he has said he is "not interested" in any sort of returns deal. He...

In Ireland six protesters arrested by police as they demonstrated against a housing site for migrants... At least 155 dead with 200,000 people forced from their homes in Tanzania due to flooding... In the midst of all the protests in support of Palestinians on university campuses the University of Southern California opting to cancel its main graduation ceremony... At the White House today Vice-President Kamala Harris hosting reality TV star Kim Kardashian to discuss criminal justice reform... Two US Marines died in on-duty accidents in the last week... The US military beginning construction of a temporary humanitarian relief pier off...

The former leader of Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party was jeered as he left court Wednesday following his appearance on sexual abuse charges dating back nearly four decades. Some members of the public shouted at Jeffrey Donaldson and lunged toward him, and he had to be surrounded by police as he left Newry Magistrates’ Court following his first appearance since his arrest last month. Donaldson, 61, faces one charge of rape, a single charge of gross indecency and nine indecent assault charges dating from 1985 to 2006. His wife, Eleanor Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, 58, faces four counts of aiding and...

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an “obstacle” in a two-state solution between Israel and Gaza and said he should resign. In an interview with RTÉ’s Six One News during a visit to Ireland, Pelosi spoke about the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Netanyahu’s deadly counteroffensive that has left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health officials. “We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu,” she said. “Terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response?” “He should...

Irish folklore has many mythical characters such as the banshees or Tir na nOg, but according to one man Leprechauns are 100 per cent real. Kevin Woods, recognised as Ireland’s one and only leprechaun whisperer, recently shared astonishing claims on Ireland AM. During the broadcast, Woods, who comes from Carlingford, County Louth and affectionately known as McCoillte, shared some of the secrets involving leprechauns and their long history which has become intertwined with human spirits. Is British wine the next big thing? According to woods’ official website: ‘He talks to the 236 leprechauns that still exist there. They are affectionately...

Ireland is close to formally recognizing a Palestinian state and would like to do so in concert with Spain and other like-minded countries, its new prime minister Simon Harris said on Friday after meeting his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, reported the Reuters news agency. “Let me this evening say our assessment is that that point is coming much closer and we would like to move together in doing so,” Harris said after meeting Sanchez, the first premier to visit Dublin since Harris became prime minister this week. “When we move forward, we would like to do so with as many...