Nuala and Nell have been part of the nation's life, through the women's movement that liberated Ireland, and through the stories of their own lives that are part of our fabric

By Susan McKay 

When Helena, a HIV positive victim of war-time rape, sought refuge in Ireland, she encountered callous treatment and a 'culture of disbelief' from Irish officials. By Susan McKay

As history creaks on its bloody hinge, And the unspeakable is done again

“Mammy…Where's Mammy?” A little girl screamed it through the flames and smoke and the tumbling debris of slates, planks, bits of cars and arms and legs in Market Street, Omagh, moments after the bomb exploded. Mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sons, husbands, fathers and friends lay dead in the rubble. Twenty one people died at the scene. Others were horribly injured. Seven have since died and eight more are, as we go to press, still critically ill. Many people have lost limbs.