Common Ground

Evolving Islands: Ireland & Britain - a special series from The Irish Times exploring the complex relationship between the two

Naming IRA spy Stakeknife would help recruit more Catholics to PSNI, committee hears

PSNI chief expresses frustration at UK government’s refusal to name Stakeknife

Drew Harris says prosecuting his father’s IRA killers would make little difference

Former Garda commissioner says short sentences they would receive would not ‘weigh the scales’ for 1989 murder

Government withdraws file alleging Gerry Kelly IRA leadership role from National Archives

Letter written by senior Garda Noel Conroy outlined group’s most influential figures in 1996

The Irish Revolution: How the diaspora helped make independence an international affair

New collection of essays dwells comprehensively on role of Irish overseas during revolutionary period

Kevin Kilbane: The record needs to be set straight about the Saipan film. We were not a pub team on tour

Cartoonish film is funny but the record needs to be set straight on a few falsehoods

UK and Ireland are both being reminded of their fragility. This should bring them closer

North and south share several specialisms, especially on cyber security. Could this be an area of co-operation across the Border and the Irish Sea?

‘Some nights I do not sleep’: Families remember 16 sectarian killings in 24 hours in North

Relatives reflect on 50th anniversary of Kingsmill, O’Dowd and Reavey murders

British army morale at ‘low ebb’ in Crossmaglen months before ceasefire

Barracks required construction work to boost security and lack of heavy casualties was ‘due to luck’

Slow progress a feature of North’s early powersharing that endures to this day

Executive struggled under weight of paperwork and protracted decision-making process

Unionist legal challenge to Anglo-Irish Agreement sparked panic in Dublin and London

McGimpsey brothers claimed treaty was unconstitutional under Articles 2 and 3 of Irish constitution

Republican no-go areas for Protestants in rural Northern Ireland, loyalists claimed

Tensions in 2002 worse than any time since 1969, loyalist representatives told Bertie Ahern

Studio Ulster: ‘We can create environments that are impossible to find anywhere else’

Studio Ulster, which opened earlier this year in Belfast, offers film-makers cutting-edge technological capabilities

State carried out secret study on asking UN to make Northern Ireland a trusteeship

Confidential report on inviting peacekeepers to North was ‘very helpful’ to minister Garret Fitzgerald

British ID card plan caused concern for Irish citizens in UK before being abandoned

Idea, revived by current PM Keir Starmer, led to fears for identity rights under Good Friday Agreement

There’s just one problem with Ulster Scots. Unlike the Irish language, it doesn’t exist

There is a great deal of cynicism about Ulster Scots among unionists. Many consider it a desperately contrived counterweight to Irish

The most remarkable thing about Britain’s €650m Erasmus deal is the lack of outrage

The move may help Labour appeal to those aged 18-24 where its support has collapsed

Letters home: ‘London can swallow you up. There’s a lot of madness’

Emily Bourke is doing her bit to promote the Irish language in a city that can ‘swallow you up’

Sinn Féin’s property portfolio: Inside the wealthiest political party in the State

Some properties claimed as being owned by party in 2023 were not included in accounts lodged for the following year

Am I Irish-ish? I’m not not Irish. Being second-generation Irish in Britain is complicated

Us second-generation Irish in Britain, raised with back-home accents and framed aerial photos of bungalows - who are we really?

The Northern Standard recorded the childhood sporting careers of me and many others. Its closure is a sad day

After 186 years of publication, The Northern Standard will put out its last edition next week. What a sad, grim thing

Patrick Cooney obituary: Minister who confronted Provisional IRA with implacable resolve

Last surviving member of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition which held office from 1973 to 1977

Border was confirmed a century ago but the blame game is still a live issue

Negotiations led to deep feelings of betrayal on the part of nationalists in Northern Ireland with enduring implications

Why are British social media influencers in dark snugs seeking perfect pints of Guinness?

Is Guinness, especially in an Anglo-Irish context, a more palatable brand of Irishness for the wax-jacket set?

Manufacturing in Northern Ireland definitely not a thing of the past

Nearly 100,000 people work in a sector critical to the North’s economic success

PSNI chief warns of ‘dangerously low’ numbers in force: ‘No votes in funding the police here’

Jon Boutcher says Northern devolution has failed the force, with budget stuck at 2010 levels

‘Huge demand’ for Irish language classes as adult learners return to school decades on

Conradh na Gaeilge scheduling extra classes as expressions of interest rise more than five-fold between summer and January terms

John FitzGerald: The North must deal with its economic and social failings before unity

While many Northern nationalists see unification as a solution to poor governance, that is a fallacy

Dublin must move ‘in lock-step’ with London on tackling Troubles legacy, say MPs

House of Commons Northern Ireland committee complains about ‘lack of commitment’ from Republic on investigations

SNP leader John Swinney: ‘Scotland and England are going in completely different directons’

Scotland’s nationalist first minister visits Dublin on Tuesday and Wednesday to talk economics, culture and space rockets

Ivana Bacik’s careless words are causing alarm among unionists

If this is how the Left chooses to present a united front, there will be wider ramifications

Irish secret Troubles files can be shared with Northern legacy body, Minister says

New Garda unit agreed as part of Anglo-Irish deal to be created before end of year but will not investigate Troubles killings

All-island children’s heart surgery now world class, say doctors

Republic and Northern Ireland together have the critical population needed to make centres of excellence viable, politicians hear

Ronan McGreevy on the most damaging leak in Irish history

The Morning Post’s scoop on the Boundary Commission was a profound shock to the Free State government

Asylum seekers should not view Ireland more favourably than UK, says O’Callaghan

‘Over 80%’ of those claiming asylum in Republic are reaching Dublin via Northern Ireland, says Minister

‘We have betrayed the trust’: Presbyterian Church apologises to parishioners for ‘inexcusable’ failures

Church’s acting leadership appealed to abuse survivors to come forward in statement read to parishioners on Sunday

Noel Dorr: ‘To understand the Troubles, you must go back much further’

Forty years after the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the former diplomat still sees Sunningdale as the peace deal that got way

When the Border was being drawn, my grandad tried to put Derry in the Free State

What if Derry city was included in the Irish Free State or Donegal included in Northern Ireland? Or if there was no Border at all?

Social media companies not co-operating with police, says PSNI Chief Constable

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly noted the role played by international social media actors in the recent disturbances at the Citywest Hotel

At the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, we sensed we were witnessing a historic event

While the importance of the Anglo Irish Agreement is sometimes overlooked, it was the foundation on which all subsequent progress has been based

Anglo-Irish breakthroughs have always been intentionally vague

The Anglo-Irish Agreement, signed 40 years ago this week, didn’t bring the reassurance that was hoped for, but ultimately was a significant milestone

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