Stardust Families | Republican Women | Coronation once again

Stardust families demand truthThe inquest into the Stardust disaster opened in Dublin last week. The list of the dead from that terrible event in February 1981 is heartbreakingly long. The families of the 48 young people who died have been reading poignant pen portraits of their loved ones into the record of the inquest. All of those who were killed were aged between 16 and 26. Over two hundred others were injuredRepublican Women negotiators. The considerable media coverage of the 25 anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement frequently told the story of that negotiation through the words and voices of the leadership figures who participated. When the role of women in the talk’s process was mentioned it was almost exclusively in the context of the participation of the Women’s Coalition.While the Women’s Coalition undoubtedly played its part the absence of any focus on the part played by the many women from the other parties did a disservice to their involvement. During my contribution on the first day in the panel ‘Building Peace – the Parties’ that was chaired by Ambassador Nancy Soderberg I took the opportunity to read out a list of those women comrades who were consistently part of Sinn Féin’s negotiating team. Coronation Once AgainThis column supports the decision by First Minister Designate  Michelle O Neill and Northern Assembly Ceann Chomairle Alex Maskey to accept the invite to attend the coronation of the English King Charles. They do so in their capacity as representatives of all the people of the North