Reid congratulates Trimble, Durkan 
Special to The Irish American Post 
"I congratulate David Trimble and Mark Durkan on their election as First and Deputy First Minister. I am sure each of them will fill his post with distinction. David has already done so, and knows very well the demands that face a First Minister. Mark has been an excellent Finance Minister, handling with great skill the Executive's decisions on the budget."[More]

Punches Thrown Following Trimble Reelection
Irish American Information Service
Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble and the SDLP’s Mark Durkan were elected as First and Deputy First ministers by the Northern Ireland Assembly, on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Ninety-nine members voted after the Assembly consented to allow three Alliance party members to redesignate themselves as unionist, to ascertain the required cross-party consent. [More]

Hume Praises IRA Movement on Arms
Irish American Information Service
Outgoing SDLP leader John Hume has praised the IRA's move to put its weapons beyond use. He says the gesture has breathed new life into the political institutions at Stormont. The Foyle MP's comments came Saturday, Nov. 10, in his last party conference speech as SDLP leader. [More]

Rodgers elected deputy leader of SDLP
Irish American Information Service

Northern Ireland's Minister of Agriculture, Brid Rodgers, has been elected deputy leader of the SDLP at the party's annual conference in Newcastle in County Down. Rodgers, who takes over from Seamus Mallon, was elected on the third count. [More]

Durkan Stresses North-South Cooperation
Mark Durkan, the new leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, highlighted the importance of cooperation across the Irish border tonight as he met Dublin premier Bertie Ahern for the first time since his election as Northern Ireland's deputy first minister. [More]

Finucane Family Granted Judicial Review
Irish American Information Service
The widow of murdered Belfast attorney Pat Finucane has been granted leave for a judicial review. Geraldine Finucane will challenge the Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir John Stevens in the High Court over his failure to give her documentary evidence relating to her husband's murder in 1989. [More]
 

Finucanes Skeptical of Fresh Judicial Inquiry
Another judicial investigation into the murder of Belfast attorney Patrick Finucane will be held in the New Year, the British government said Nov. 26. However, the announcement was greeted with skepticism by the Finucane family. [More]

Trial of Finucane Suspect Collapses
Irish American Information Service
The trial of the man accused of aiding and abetting in the murder of the Belfast attorney Pat Finucane collapsed Nov. 26 after Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Carswell returned a verdict of not guilty in the absence of evidence against suspect William Stobie. [More]

Stobie: I Was a Pawn in a Larger Conspiracy
Irish American Information Service
The recent acquittal of William Stobie, accused of aiding and abetting the 1989 murder of Belfast human rights attorney Patrick Finucane, has again prompted allegations that the Stevens Inquiry into the killing has served as a smokescreen to conceal a much larger conspiracy behind the murder. 
[More]

Belfast School Burned in Arson Attack
Irish American Information Service
An elementary school on the outskirts of Belfast was extensively damaged in a fire on Sunday, Nov. 25.  The alarm was raised about 0430 GMT when flames were seen coming from St Anne's (Catholic) Primary School in Dunmurry. [More]

Loyalism Responsible for Bulk of Violence
Irish American Information Service
Loyalist paramilitaries have been responsible for three times as many terror attacks as republicans this year, according to Britain's Northern Ireland security officials. [More]

Ulster Democratic Party Disbands
Irish American Information Service, Wire Services and Post Staff
The Ulster Democratic Party is to disband after a fallout with loyalist paramilitaries over backing for the Good Friday Agreement. Twelve years after its formation as the political wing of the Ulster Defense Association, the leadership announced Nov. 28 that it was folding "without rancor or ill-will." [More]

Trimble Predicts Difficulty with Loyalist Arms
By A.J. Burton
Special to The Irish American Post
Loyalist disarmament could be even more difficult to achieve than IRA decommissioning, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble predicted Nov. 28. Trimble, who has urged the party to back him ahead of a crucial meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council on Dec. 1, accused his critics of focusing solely on republicans. [More]
 

Collusion Link Alleged in Journalist's Killing
Irish American Information Service
Journalist Martin O'Hagan was set to expose an RUC Special Branch officer's collusion with a notorious loyalist killer when he was shot dead in Lurgan in September, it has been revealed by Irish media sources. [More]