Where politics once stagnated, events in Northern Ireland now chase each other helter-skelter. As Magill went to press, a new joint government document turned recent perceptions head over heels. Fionnuala O'Connor charts the doubts behind the instant reactions.
Bernadette Sands is no publicity seeker. Since the launch of dissident republican group The 32 County Sovereignty Committee, of which she is vice-chairperson, she has had hundreds of requests for media interviews. That's hardly surprising. Bobby Sands, the dead IRA hunger-striker, is the modern republican movement's greatest icon. When his sister criticises the peace process and, by implication, the strategy of the Sinn Féin leadership, it's big news.
On 30 January 1972, 14 civilians were shot dead by the British army. They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry, protesting against internment without trial. Lord Widgery was highly selective in the evidence he used in his official report on the matter—and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since. Their case is too strong to ignore any longer. By Eamonn McCann
The murder of LVF leader Billy Wright has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process. He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy. By Emer Woodful
On August 29, 1996, shortly before the CLMC's death threat against him expired, Emer Woodful interviewed LVF leader Billy Wright in his Portadown home.
A special investigation by Magill into the finances of the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, reveals:
It is the great Irish murder mystery, dominating the political landscape for nearly three-quarters of a century: Was Eamon de Valera behind the assassination of Michael Collins? Michael Mills contends that not only was de Valera aware of the ambush being prepared for Collins but also that he attended the meeting
of IRA officers at Beal na Blath where
Hysteria in the media about crime has caused a moral panic and calls for extreme measures such as zero tolerance. But do the front pages reflect the true picture of crime in Ireland? And are vested interests turning a manageable problem into a crisis? By Dr. Mick O'Connell.
The last 25 years have seen profound changes in our economic, social and political life, beyond what was imaginable at the time of our accession to the European Union. The accession negotiations opened in Luxembourg in June 1970, with a team led by the then minister for foreign affairs, Dr Patrick Hillery, assisted by officials from the Departments of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Industry and Commerce, and were completed in January 1972. Following a referendum, we joined the (then) European Communities on 1 January 1973.
How is a low-crime country like Ireland so frequently convulsed by moral panic about criminal justice, and how does it come to be gripped by the certain conviction that it has a major crime problem? By Dr Paul O'Mahoney.