PAT FINUCANE CENTRE

Barry McCaffrey: Will Finucane Inquiry be allowed to get to the truth? Journalist Barry McCaffrey asks whether the new inquiry will answer the question of whether collusion was the work of rogue agents, or the product of policy

"If the new inquiry does not examine decision-making at senior government level, it will struggle to answer the question of whether collusion was the work of rogue agents, or the product of policy."

The US-Israeli strategy failed to defeat Iran quickly – now they are moving to plan B | Paul Rogers It’s called the Dahiya doctrine – and the IDF and US air force are using it to destroy domestic support in Iran, says emeritus professor of peace studies Paul Roger

The US-Israeli strategy failed to defeat Iran quickly – now they are moving to plan B | Paul Rogers

Government accused of colluding with ‘narrow agenda’ of UK on human rights issues Groups say Council of Europe proposal would weaken protections of the European Convention on Human Rights

With @cajni.bsky.social @amnestyni.bsky.social @rfjustice.bsky.social @finucanecentre.bsky.social @pilsni.bsky.social and others, we wrote to Minister McEntee urging the government to defend the ECHR, rather than colluding with agendas that seek to undermine it.

www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...

Irish government minister says NI legacy body ‘not human rights compliant’ after Gardaí reject info requests Controversial legacy body rejected by some victims and relatives

www.irishnews.com/news/norther...

Do the IT have a PR contract with the British Army? If they don’t i’m unclear why they let their personnel write such outrageous columns essentially aiming to deny baseline human rights to those murdered by their Army in the North.

Fintan O’Toole: Donald Trump is not mentally ill, but he is mad Someone needs to tell him the truth or swathes of the world could be turned into Gaza writ large

Donald Trump is not mentally ill, but he is mad

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Middle East conflict is 'assault on international law' President Catherine Connolly has described the situation in the Middle East as a "deliberate assault on international law".

President Catherine Connolly has described the situation in the Middle East as a "deliberate assault on international law".

Secretary of State Hilary Benn is scheduled to make an announcement in the House of Commons today on the Pat Finucane Enquiry and the Terms of Reference for the proposed public enquiry. We will post more details as they become available.

UK faces growing calls from locals to remove Cyprus military bases Foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, tells Guardian Iranian-made drone that hit airbase was launched from Lebanon Britain is facing growing calls to withdraw its military bases from Cyprus as locals step up protests against facilities seen as a threat to their security after an unprecedented drone attack on RAF Akrotiri. Anger over the installations spilled on to the streets of Nicosia, the capital, as protesters chanting “out with the bases of death” marched to the colonial-era presidential palace on Saturday amid fears of the Mediterranean nation being dragged into the wider Iran conflict. Continue reading...

UK faces growing calls from locals to remove Cyprus military bases

Event marks 50th anniversary of Castleblayney bombing A ceremony has taken place to mark the 50th anniversary of the Castleblayney bombing.

www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

‘British Bases Out’: Anger in Cyprus over UK bases after drone strike Protests grow as attack on British military site stirs fears that Cyprus is being dragged into a regional conflict.

www.aljazeera.com/features/202...

In “Constant Crisis,” a report on Lebanon for @gulfcentre4hr.bsky.social at the end of 2025, local Human Rights Defenders told me how they would respond when Israeli attacks resumed:
“Every organisation has to become a frontline provider…”
@kstockwood.bsky.social
www.gc4hr.org/new-report-e...

Are the US-Israeli attacks against Iran legal under international law? Analysts say the joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran appear to breach the UN Charter's prohibition on aggression.

““This is not lawful self-defence against an armed attack by Iran, and the UN Security Council has not authorised it,” the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion of human rights and “counterterrorism”, Ben Saul, told Al Jazeera.”

www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/...

🚨Don't forget that our National Women's Basketball team is to play Israel on *St. Patrick’s Day*. Take action to ask Basketball Ireland not to play the apartheid state and to respect the Palestinian boycott call.
#BDS #BanIsrael
Email ➡️ www.ipsc.ie/action-item/...

Minab school bombing: how the worst mass casualty event of the Iran war unfolded – a visual guide A strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh school during the US-Israeli bombing campaign killed up to 168 people. The Guardian has pieced together the incident and its aftermath using verified footage and images from the site

Minab school bombing: how the worst mass casualty event of the Iran war unfolded – a visual guide

‘We’ll run out of food this week’: Israel’s Iran war brings new Gaza siege Israel has closed all crossings into Gaza, threatening to plunge 2 million people into a new hunger crisis

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

I think about this Tony Benn speech much more than I used to

Open Letter of Scholars in Support of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese

Over 1000 scholars write in support of Francesca Albanese

"We call on you and your governments to immediately cease attacks on Albanese, issue a public apology, and reaffirm your commitment to the independence and integrity of UN mandate holders and agencies."

voelkerrechtsblog.org/open-letter-...

Trump administration meets with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson Agitator whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was hosted by senior adviser at US state department The far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been hosted by the Trump administration for a meeting at the state department in Washington. Robinson, 43, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was hosted by Joe Rittenhouse, a senior adviser at the state department. Rittenhouse wrote on X: “Honoured to have free speech warrior @TRobinsonNewEra at Department of State today. “The world and the West is a better place when we fight for freedom of speech and no one has been on the front lines more than Tommy. Good to see you my friend!” Robinson, who has convictions for assault, using a fake passport, mortgage fraud and contempt of court for repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee in breach of an injunction, wrote on X: “In America making alliances & friendships, today I had the privilege of an invite to the @StateDept.” Earlier this month, the far-right agitator said he has left the UK after he was warned by police that they received intelligence he was named in a so-called Islamic State publication which encouraged others “to commit violence” against him. He posted a clip of a phone call from police to his X account in which an officer told him he had been identified in a magazine called Yalghaar, which is reportedly published by ISKP (Islamic State Khorasan Province). Robinson wrote on X: “I have now left the country, I need time to work things out for my safety and the safety of my family. “I will probably have to relocate them.” In November, the far-right activist was cleared of a terror-related offence after being accused over a refusal to give police access to his phone during a border stop in Folkestone, Kent. After his acquittal, he thanked the US tech billionaire Elon Musk, who he said had funded his legal costs in the case. Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman told The National the Trump administration welcoming Robinson would be “deeply alarming”. She said: “This is a man who has built his profile on division, racism and Islamophobia, and whose politics are rooted in the most vile hatred and fascism, so it’s perhaps no surprise that Donald Trump’s White House are among his fans. “When communities across the UK are facing rising levels of hate crime and far-right extremism, the idea that figures like Robinson are being treated as legitimate political actors by what are supposed to be our international allies should concern us all.” Continue reading...

Trump administration meets with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson

Big win at Belfast Court of Appeal today as Laurence O’Neill had his 1972 convictions overturned. We supported the @finucanecentre.bsky.social & local human rights lawyers to have the convictions quashed. #speirgorm
Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

Important post from @humanrightsfirst.org researchers Brian & Suchita who spoke at the @museumfreederry.bsky.social recently on the Soldier f scandal.

People are on the move from all around the country to join our National March for Palestine. See you at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm. Let's show our unbreakable solidarity with the Palestinian people and keep demanding our government sanctions apartheid Israel. #FreePalestine

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Authoritarians, strongmen and dictators: Who is on Donald Trump’s Board of Peace? Representatives of repressive regimes from around the world are flying to Washington for the inaugural meeting of the body

Authoritarians, strongmen and dictators: Who is on Donald Trump’s Board of Peace?

Gaza death toll in early part of war far higher than reported, says Lancet study Research suggests more than 75,000 killed in the first 16 months of conflict, 25,000 more than announced at the time

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Opinion: Population decline is a warning - but Derry & Strabane can choose a different future Recent population projections for Derry and Strabane should concern every one of us.

Population decline is a warning - but Derry can choose a different future. "Simplistic claims 'Ireland is full’ or immigration is the cause of our problems are not just wrong, they are dangerous distractions. The truth is this region is losing people." trib.al/oq7SVNs

The @hindrajabfoundation.be has filed a complaint in 🇨🇱 #Chile, seeking investigation and prosecution of sniper Rom Kovtun for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The filing details his alleged participation in the siege and destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital.

→ https://bit.ly/4tF1EJt

Really poor performance on Morning Ireland.

Shannon Airport and ICE deportation flights raise fresh questions over Irish neutrality ICE deportation stopovers at Shannon Airport reignite debate about neutrality, accountability and Ireland’s complicity in US removals

‘Former Washington Post staff writer Gillian Brockell has been tracking the movements of ICE-contracted aircraft and documenting repeated stopovers in Shannon since last May.’

- Colin Sheridan @gbrockell.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING FREE MINNEAPOLIS painted on a wall in the style of the Free Derry Corner.

This rules. I love how delighted they all look!