Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THE TAOISEACH AND Tánaiste will both travel to Northern Ireland this weekend to attend Remembrance Day events in Eniskillen and Belfast.
On Sunday, Enda Kenny will participate in a service at the Cenotaph in Eniskillen, where 25 people were killed by an IRA bomb in 1987.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore will attend the SDLP Conference in Armagh on Saturday where he will give a key not address before travelling to Belfast.
Advertisement
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told TheJournal.ie today that Gilmore will lay a laurel wreath in the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall on Sunday.
Gilmore will become the first Irish minister to accept the city council’s invitation to participate in the Belfast ceremony. Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson will also attend the service in Belfast.
Following the Remembrance Sunday service, Gilmore will meet with various staff members and Irish language cultural groups at a function at the Cultúrlan in west Belfast.
In the evening he will join Deputy First Minister Marin McGuinness at the All Island School Choire Competition final at the Titanic Centre where they will present the winners with their prize.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Funny to see how upset the journo hacks have got over this. Screaming blue murder because they’ll have to wait till 30 seconds after the meeting to find out what was said.
The establishment have no respect for democracy enda is making an absolute mockery of this state our media should be tearing strips off fg at the moment.
@Si Mac Ruairí:
Bizarre is right. He heads off to the White House to meet the new president. Introduces himself and no doubt tells Donald what a great little country it is to business. A week or two after Paddys day Donald phones up to be told “sorry Enda does not work here anymore”. What sort of message is that sending out to the us administration ? Not a very friendly one considering who’s now in charge.
@D H: enda’s leadership is gone,,enda’s dignity is gone,,enda’s soul is gone,,we are left with an empty vessel and this enda empty vessel makes more noise,,that’s all enda is noise,,as useful as a toothless comb
Called it. He will play on Paddy’s and when he becomes a record breaker. This has nothing to do with the outrage about McCabe. Just jockeying for position within the party and that has become the narrative.
Hilarious how it’s being spun that Fitzer is out of the running now ….She should be out of a job for jaysus sake.
there was a time ff supporters would have been all over fg for this type of rubbish, sadly we have become a one “party” dail, well done all in ff/fg ya yellow bellied snivelling twits
cannot wait now for election time, will they go half’s on the posters?
“statesman” is a distant memory yet will be used and abused when this ff/fg crowd eventually swap turns “leading” the “party”
no amount of spin or yarn can deny there is literally no backbone in ff/fg if Kenny can scare them
@Enda Ireland: I don’t see meeting Trump will go well for Enda, shamrock is not what Trump is looking for. Trump will be looking for Shannon as a US service base.
It’s OK Bobby. Just like Kenny, FG are yesterday’s ( idiot ) men and women like that idiot Mitchell O’Conner, Regina Doherty, and the make whips that populate the parliamentary party !
Trump could, and might him without salt and send him home with a flee in his ear. On the other hand Trump might keep him as one of his ” Yes Men” , although I’m sure Trump has more COP that that
Is it not simple manners to have phones off during a meeting? Mind you, if these are work phones, they aren’t personal property – but there are always some who think it’s acceptable to keep a laptop here, a phone there, a painting, a house that goes with the job…
There’s not a hope in hell I hand my phone over to one of that lot. You’d never know who they’d leak the information stored on it to… or that they wouldn’t use the opportunity to install god knows what on it… All calls and texts suddenly being CC’d to Blue Shirt HQ… Stopping leaks my hoop.. good chance they’re trying to find who’s leaking….
@John Smith: After observing many of your contributions to this site John it appears to me that you are a stooge, a chump, a sucker and well many other synonyms attributed to someone who has been easily duped.
The only thing fake about the fake news moniker is that it is fake to those of a particular persuasion to the rest of the sane population its merely a story from one source – and anyone with half a brain knows that to get to the essence of truth one must acquire more sources to present a rounded version of the event. It’s why court cases usually have more than one witness to an event – its why we don’t just have one newspaper one news channel and one reporter – the irony is that the people who believe in fake news of course usually only trust one source that corroborates their world view. Its like members of say Sinn Féin who only read an phoblacht for their news decrying the Irish Times or whatever as being biased against them… now knowing members of SF that is not wholly the case. So John in a rather long-winded riposte i’m suggesting that those who accuse news sources of being fake – usually garner their news sources from one outlet (which only solidifies their world view). Can i suggest that in this wonderful era of the internet that you read the two sides to a story – and then make a judgement?
@Aaron Roche:Hmm perhaps… apropos of nothing I have a hankering for some tayto all of a sudden. Some subliminal message must be contained in this thread somewhere.
What an absolute joke of a party. Their minions were on here recently giving out about how the shinners elected Michelle O’Neill and now look at the absolute childish antics of the party that is supposed to be running the country. How can they claim to be running the government when they are stabbing each other in the back, jostling for power and looking over their shoulders every day? Say what you like about SF but they had a new NI leader in a few days, no messing and straight down to business of fighting an election. FG on the other hand will be at this stupidity for at least another 2 months.
No, it was straight down to the provo commemoration to tell everyone how she personally knew the terrorists and that they were great lads. Saw her cousin was done for fuel laundering there as well. What a breath of fresh air and a new outlook for the party.
Did you miss me cupcake? I’ve been busy watching amateur hour in Merrion street as your beloved fine gael tears itself apart like a bowl of particularly appetising chicken wings.
@For Connolly: Pray tell how does a bowl of chicken wings tear itself apart – i have to assume that the chicken was dead upon its re-incarnation as an appetising entré?
Poor little terrier, will charlie not entertain your deflections? Lol. I must say its reassuring to note the shinners in the north havent changed. Equally, your devotion to them is endearing. lol
@Charlie Wrex: Jaysus Charlie you’re sounding like Arlene Foster. O’Neill hasn’t any personal provo baggage so point the finger at Gerry or her family in a desperate attempt to deflect a new generation of republicans. As for commemorations doesn’t FG and FF politicians go to those every year to commemorate people who carried out the same acts of violence as the provos did? While you are on about cousins why don’t you ask a Fine Gael member who Gay Mitchells cousin is? People are responsible for themselves and not for their families but if you are that desperate then carry on.
@Charlie Wrex: If I’m a ‘cult member’ who views ‘cirticism as a mortal threat’, how come I am the first one to criticise Sinn Fein on positions I don’t agree with them on?
I asked your twin diarmuid this as well, no answer was forthcoming.
Glad you see the DUP as a cult Charles. They can’t seem to separate their rabid religious bigotry from their politics as Foster is pointing out every day. At as recent 15 minute press conference to launch their policies she mentioned Adams no less than 12 times! Even the press are now mocking her desperation to deflect from the RHI scandal and their living in the past.
You criticise sf jamming as part of your modus operandi, so you can write things like ‘if I love Sinn Fein so much, why can I disagree with so vehemently about the price of turnips’. Classic deflectionism and whataboutery. Keep up the good work from parnell street though, your paymasters will be happy with you.
@Stephen murphy: If she was a puppet she would have just been installed but she was actually elected by her peers within the party. If they didn’t want her then they could have asked for someone else. The point is that the shinners could see that MMcG was about to bow out, they looked for a replacement, found one that suited the role and duly elcted her into her present position. She certainly is besting the hell out of the DUP at the moment as well.
FG on the other hand knew that Kenny’s days were numbered and if they didn’t they only had to look at the last issue of Phoenix magazine who predicted Kenny’s demise with the headline line”Beware the Ides of March” . They now have a leadership crisis that has the party in turmoil and everyone concentrating on their own personal priorities rather than doing the job that they are supposed to be doing and that is running the country.
The difference between the 2 parties is that SF seem to plan for the future whereas FG just waits for the crap to hit the fan and then try to bluster through it. Leaving out policies and political ideology aside SF certainly looks like a party better suited to planning ahead than FG.
Make no mistake about it.. it’s secret meetings like this one where the next leader is chosen…and they rebuke other parties for not choosing a leader in a transparent fashion.
Colm Brophy, after another of Endas gaffes this time suggesting a FG/SF collation, said: “God knows Fianna Fáil have their faults, but they are a modern DEMOCRATIC party; Sinn Féin is NOT. As long as that remain the case they should not be in government.”…. That’s just the first thing Google threw up… Go on…tell us “what he meant to say”, how “he’s being taken out of context” or how it’s “fake news”…
Edna can stay as long as he likes. He’s a first class clown who’s reputation is in ruins. He wants to be the longest serving Taoiseach for FG in history. He can have that and his dictatorship will also be part of his history. Along with Maurice McCabe and whatever dirt comes out when he’s gone. He’s no leader and has just put the tin hat on his history page. As for clapping him? His fellow FG members better be ready to bear the brunt of his fecking history when the election comes. They will be sorry for his lovely history.
Ah they really don’t want everyone to know just how bad the publicity seeking back stabber’s act in private…Heard they have also been talk of confiscating paper and pencil , so know one slips a note under the door..
Do they think taking phones from people will stop leaks? Are they so thick they will have forgotten anything to ‘leak’ by the time the meeting has finished?
So minimum unit alcohol prices- good. Being unable to access your phone whilst carrying out your duties and obligations to the the electorate- bad? Nanny state-ism should only apply to the little people.
Then again it might be a good idea to confiscate phones before entering the Dáil chamber. Then they might take notice of what’s going on atherosclerosis than playing candy crush. Who else is allowed play with a phone at work.
Why is the Patricks Day trip treated like an event requiring great concentration and minimal disruption? Does it take Enda 3 weeks of mental preparation to hand over a bowl of shamrocks? Something is seriously wrong if something so empty and ceremonial is the critical government event which everything must pivot around.
@Rochelle: It’s just an excuse for Enda to drag this out as long as possible. It’s our feckin country, not Enda’s toy to play with as he likes! I’m up for wheeling a guillotine down to Leinster House and lining these arseholes up.
The masters of deflection and deception strike again. This had SFA to do with kenny. It was to take the heat & outrage off the Maurice McCabe cluster of ****.
FG aka Frankfurt’s Gestapo following the old East Germany Stasi control orders. Blueshirts must have got hints off their boss Mekel was a member of the old East German communist party.
An ovation?! For what? More fool those who gave him one! Sooner he bites the bullet and stops delaying the inevitable the better. Plus he’s not going to visit the White House in my name!
@ed w: Well to a point but as ‘the state’ pays their wages (the parliamentary party that is) – there is an argument for suggesting that it is not wholly a private affair – considering that they are doing the job as outlined in their job description and what they are paid for. I’m being facetious of course.
Enda is a Joke. No work being done in government as election looms. Sure let him fall on his sword after he visits Trump. That visit is a poisoned chalice anyway.
Fobbed off by the grey porridge Enda Kenny. No real answer and avoiding all the questions as usual… Easily pleased as usual to keep the status quo I guess.
Why do they need their phones during a meeting? I see one TD commented that it was ‘nanny state tactics’ well if they act like children – running to tell tales then they are in obvious need of a ‘nanny’!
Added extra being… It’s gonna bury the McCabe scandal for a few months.. probably until the summer hols… so that’s that until September at least. Plenty of time for files to go missing etc….
This silly wee Fu–er should have been fuc-ed under a bus, he has the country in a mess and his big ego is all he thinks about, how badly do they need a free holiday that the country comes second to this boll- cks leave the stage even your own party did not want you
If they didn’t act like kids on their phones this might notice come up. Frightening to see leaders of the state been chastised over misuse of their phones.
I have no interest in defending Fine Gael but they should be entitled to privacy the same as everybody else.
If nobody has any interest in recording the discussion, what’s the problem?
I’m sure somebody will be looking at the 20 phones on a table and if somebody rings, they can get you.
Suppose it’s reflecting a lack of trust and integrity that people in the party can’t hold the line and feel compelled to go on solo runs. Must be frustrating for party leadership to be explaining Whatsapp leaks… doubt it’s an exclusive Fine Gael problem.
Seems people generally can’t be trusted to do what their asked without seeing it as ‘Nanny’ stuff. Would be nice if they weren’t throwing their toys out of the pram all the same..
Wonder did Noel Rock have a change of underwear in his office and send an underling out to Dunnes. In fairness to Enda – he’s good for the auld put down when dealing with the children. Not a peep from Farell or Deering either. Little boys in short pants
Whoever leads FG into the next Election will be Tanaiste to Michael Martin. There must be some God awful scandal concerning politicians relating to the McCabe affair, that they are all so intent on keeping a lid on. FF do not want other options to materialise. Put your money on a FF/FG Coalition being inevitable. The TD’s know this and know how the swing vote has worked so far, gains for FF will be losses for FG. Scamble for survival. Deflection from real issues.
This TD might want to get his facts straight about what a nanny State is. It is where the law is overreaching and controlling. A political party, one which members are free to leave, cannot be a nanny State because (duh!) it is not a State.
Unless he’s suggesting that Kenny is trying to make the surrendering of phones law.
another tall story from our great leader Enda he might push till the next budget, it looks like two ways of getting rid of him Silver bullet or steek through the heart!
Edna had his say. Let’s see is Leo a lion or a mouse now. Leo all talk but no action. Then again what else could you expect from the likes of him. Roll on Ends.
I predicted this outcome about 10 days ago, the only difference was I said Enda would be nailed to the doors of Leinster house on Good Friday. He’s out to break all FG records to make the History books. He’s not gone yet guys!
An Bord Pleanála raised concerns over use of ChatGPT for inspector's report into Limerick plant
Eoghan Dalton
9 hrs ago
12.7k
Good Morning
The 9 at 9: Friday
Updated
26 mins ago
1.2k
United Arab Emirates
Kinahan gang figure Sean McGovern lands in Dublin ahead of court appearance
14 hrs ago
52.5k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 198 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 137 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 178 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 141 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 103 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 104 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 47 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 43 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 161 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 73 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 96 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 102 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 45 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 60 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 30 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 113 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 116 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 85 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 63 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 108 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 91 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say