Political and Paramilitary Developments in the North

Timeline of Recent Unrest, Sectarianism, Paramilitary Activity and Developments in the Peace Process

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March 2009	April 2009	May 2009	June 2009
July 2009	August 2009	September 2009	October 2009
November 2009	December 2009	January 2010	February 2010
March 2010	Latest

March 2009
1st	It was reported that a cache of arms had been found close to the border in County Donegal the previous day.
4th	The threat level from republicans opposed to the peace process was raised by the British government. A question raised in the House of Commons revealed that £300m had been spent on conflict-related inquiries.
5th	A report by the Intelligence and Security Committee showed that 15% of its spending went on what it called 'Irish-related terrorism'.
6th	It emerged that British officers were to go back undercover in Northern Ireland. Deputy First Minister Michael McGuinness criticised this move.
7th	Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams warned that Chief Constable Hugh Orde risked losing republican support. Later that same day, two British soldiers were killed in an attack by the RIRA at the Massereene army base. They had been collecting pizza from delivery men who were also injured in the assault.
8th	Gerry Adams called the Massereene attack 'wrong and counter-productive'.
9th	Gordon Brown arrived in Belfast for security talks. PC Stephen Carroll was shot dead by the CIRA after going to answer an emergency call.
10th	Two men, aged 17 and 37, were arrested. Police raids on homes in Craigavon had led to minor disturbances. On the same day, pro-paramilitary graffiti appeared in response to the attack on the barracks, and a hoax bomb in Derry was blamed on republicans. Martin McGuinness called the RIRA and CIRA 'traitors' who 'have betrayed the political desires, hopes and aspirations of all of the people who live on this island.'
11th	Thousands of people gathered to protest against the recent violence, while security in the province was heightened.
12th	It was reported that police were trying to stop a RIRA bomb plot. A bill paving the way for devolved policing and justice became law.
13th	Funeral of Stephen Carroll.
14th	The British government ruled out the idea of holding talks with republicans opposed to the peace process.
15th	Prominent republican Colin Duffy was arrested, bringing the total number of men detained over the killings to four. Rioting erupted in Lurgan in response to Duffy's arrest. Paul Anthony John McCaugherty was accused of buying weapons and explosives for the RIRA.
16th	Hardline republican Ruairi O'Bradaigh was quoted as saying that 'I would feel that what happened last weekend could have happened and will happen at any time.' Plans to hold a (British) military parade through Belfast were cancelled. Two more suspects in the Stephen Carroll case were arrested, while two guns were retrieved from close to the scene of the shooting.
17th	Gerry Adams warned against a greater role for the security forces. Barack Obama praised the response of people in the province to the recent violence.
18th	Funeral of Mark Quinsey.
19th	Sinn Féin policing spokesman Alex Maskey condemned the detention of paramilitary suspects beyond seven days.
20th	Funeral of Patrick Azimkar.
21st	It was disclosed that the 31-year-old arrested over the shooting of Stephen Carroll was on hunger strike.
22nd	Police were given more time to question suspects over the RIRA and CIRA killings earlier in March. Police also announced that they were examining bank notes used to buy the car used in the Massereene attack for DNA evidence.
23rd	The six men detained over the killings challenged their detention while it was emerged that Colin Duffy had gone on hunger strike. Two men were released without charge. A security alert in Poleglass was declared a hoax.
24th	A 17-year-old youth and a 37-year-old man, later named as former Sinn Féin councillor Brendan McConville, were charged with the murder of Stephen Carroll. The CIRA were alleged to be threatening prison officers.
25th	Colin Duffy, who had won a legal challenge to his detention, was re-arrested at the police station.
26th	Republican Sinn Féin made a public statement describing the recent violence as regrettable but necessary acts of war. A third man was in court over the Carroll shooting. The sentences on two Loyalists who had used a police database to search for details on nationalists were reviewed.
27th	Colin Duffy was charged with the killings of Azimkar and Quinsey. Ted Cunningham became the only person to be convicted over the Northern Bank Raid.
29th	Three people were arrested in Dublin over their involvement in 'dissident' republican activity.
30th	A series of hoax bomb alerts in Belfast caused roads to be closed.
31st	Belfast continued on high alert and a primary school was closed. A convicted rapist was shot in a paramilitary-style punishment attack.

April 2009
1st	A man arrested in connection with the murder of loyalist leader Tommy English was released. Two men were shot in paramilitary-style attacks, one in Derry and one in Belfast.
2nd	A 19-year-old was arrested in connection with the deaths of Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey. Residents in Creggan were reported to be handing in legally held guns which they feared could be stolen.
3rd	A bomb was found in Moygashel, County Tyrone. Ian Paisley Junior was ordered to reveal his sources in the inquiry into the death of Billy Wright, or face jail. Loyalist Steven Brown was given thirty years in prison for the murder of two teenagers in 2000. The murder was claimed to have been sparked when one of the teenagers made a disparaging remark about UVF commander Richard Jameson.
5th	PIRA representatives were said to have warned the Irish government that they had lost control of Ardoyne to republicans opposed to the peace process. First Minister Peter Robinson praised loyalist leaders for not retaliating after the attacks in March. A car was set on fire and other vehicles were damaged during trouble in Newry.
6th	The home of Sinn Féin assembly member Mitchel McLaughlin was targetted in an overnight attack.
9th	A gang called the 'Divis Heights Liberation Army' were said to be threatening anti-social youths. In Ardoyne, a 25-year-old man was shot while sitting in his car. Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin said that 'those responsible for this attack are not representative of this community in any way, they have no support and they offer our people nothing but further distress in the time ahead.'
10th	Loyalist paramilitaries were blamed for attacks on Polish immigrants. An Phoblacht omitted the IRA Easter message for the first time.
11th	Two petrol bombs were thrown at an Orange Hall.
12th	The CIRA issued a statement warning of further attacks: 'As long as British occupation forces remain in Ireland, that will be the inevitable result of their presence here. The lessons of history are working out again in our time.'
13th	The Real IRA admitted to killing Denis Donaldson.
15th	Sinn Féin said that one of their offices in West Belfast had been attacked three times in two weeks.
21st	Sinn Féin announced it would block any attempt to prevent IRA members from being defined as victims of the conflict.
22nd	ETA member Arturo Arteaga faced extradition from Belfast.
24th	Ted Cunningham, the only person to be convicted over the Northern Bank robbery allegedly carried out by the PIRA, was sentenced to ten years jail. He was not a member of the PIRA. Martin McGuinness publicly stated that threats had been made against his life by republicans opposed to the peace process, who he called 'imposters'. UDA members met the head of the Catholic church, Cardinal Sean Brady.
25th	Senior security sources made public their belief that republicans opposed to the peace process would bomb Britain.
27th	Martin McGuinness accused republicans opposed to the peace process of turning the Bogside into a 'ghetto'. Financial advisor Geoff Kerr was shot dead by a loyalist gang.
28th	Belfast council staff were said to have been threatened by both loyalist and republican paramilitaries.
29th	Colin Duffy was granted permission to find out whether his conversations in prison had been bugged.

May 2009
3rd	Allegations surfaced that the leader of the gang who killed Geoff Kerr had been a British agent.
5th	A spokesman for the 32CSM claimed that one of their supporters had been attacked by loyalists in Merseyside during the weekend.
7th	The Independent Monitoring Commission revealed that republicans opposed to the peace process were still a serious threat. Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward warned that if loyalist paramilitaries did not begin to decommission by August, their special amnesty would end.
10th	A gang attacked fire crews in the Bogside.
11th	Martin McGuinness called on the 32CSM to condemn an attack on Sinn Féin member Mitchel McLaughlin's home.
12th	Two men were charged with IRA membership during the investigation into the Northern Bank robbery.
14th	It was reported that a 100lb bomb had been found near the border. Lisnaskea police station was granted extra security over fears of a heightened threat from republicans opposed to the peace process.
15th	A 44-year-old man who had been arrested over the Massareene killings was released without charge.
20th	The lords in London ruled that a homelessness charity, the Simon Community, did not break anti-discrimination laws when it refused to hire two republican ex-prisoners.
24th	Catholic youth worker Kevin McDaid was murdered by a loyalist mob.
26th	Police ombudsmen were asked to investigate whether the police failed to intervene to save Kevin McDaid. Police had to inform McDaid's son that a threat had been made against him by loyalists. SDLP canvasser Dolores Kelly was threatened by masked men.
27th	A loyalist parade that was due to take place in the area where Kevin McDaid was killed was shortened by its organisers.
31st	It was reported that the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade were ready to decommission.

June 2009
1st	Accusations were made that a policeman had helped organise in the Loyalist 'invasion' of The Heights area in County Down which led to the murder of Catholic Kevin McDaid.
2nd	Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness accused some unionist politicians of failing to do enough to heal communal divisions following the murder of Kevin McDaid. Late in the evening, a man in his twenties was shot in a paramilitary-style attack.
4th	Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy blamed republicans opposed to the peace process for an arson attack on his house in the early hours of the morning.
5th	It emerged that five witnesses to the Kevin McDaid murder were under threat. Solicitor Manhoman 'Johnny' Sandhu was given ten years in jail for inciting loyalists to kill.
7th	A teenage boy was shot in the legs in West Belfast.
8th	The relatives of those caught up in the Omagh bombing won the right to sue the Real IRA. Sinn Féin topped the poll in the European elections for Northern Ireland.
12th	Journalist Suzanne Breen, northern editor of the Sunday Tribune, told a court she would be in 'grave danger' if she revealed her sources for stories about the Real IRA. Police re-opened the investigation into Sean Hoey, who had been cleared of involvement in the Omagh bomb.
14th	It was reported that the UVF had selected observers to oversee its arms decommissioning.
15th	Romanian families were forced to flee their accommodation in the early hours of the morning following attacks by a mob.
18th	It emerged that the UVF had begun to disarm. Reporter Suzanne Breen won her case, meaning that she would not have to hand over her notes on the RIRA. Esther Rantzen accused people in Northern Ireland of being 'addicted to hatred'.
19th	It came out that the UDA had asked for money and prisoner releases in return for decommissioning. Sinn Féin accused republicans opposed to the peace process of encouraging children to attack an Orange march in north Belfast.
24th	A Hindu priest said he would be moving after an attack on his house in Belfast.
26th	The High Court heard that police believed the UDA were involved in the sectarian murder of Catholic Kevin McDaid.
27th	The UVF and Red Hand Commando announced that they had put their weapons beyond use. The Whiterock Orange parade was held up by hoax bombs. In Glasgow, a parade to honour British troops was disrupted by republican protestors.
28th	A man was shot in the legs in a punishment attack in Derry. Allegations were made that a child had been used to lure the man to the door.
30th	Ian Paisley Junior was fined £5000 for contempt of court after refusing to reveal his sources over the destruction of files following the killing of Billy Wright. Shots were fired at a house during an argument about flags.

July 2009
2nd	Barrister Kieron Mallon accused the PSNI of 'naked sectarian policing' for facilitating the display of loyalist flags near the murder scene of Kevin McDaid.
3rd	The collapse of a case against Larry Zaitschek, accused of stealing files from Special Branch Offices, raised suggestions that someone was being protected. On the same day, a Loyalist paramilitary leader was quoted as saying that the shootings in March 2009 nearly led to a violent retaliation from Loyalist forces.
5th	Head of the UDA Jackie McDonald said that loyalists had a duty to inform if they knew the identity of racist attackers.
8th	A Catholic teenager was beaten by a Loyalist gang in Coleraine.
9th	Attacks on five Catholic churches and a GAA club were described as sectarian.
11th	Hijackers claiming to have a bomb forced a van driver to leave his vehicle on a bridge, blocking it for most of the day until a controlled explosion could be carried out. Lord Robert Eames admitted that the proposal to grant the families of all victims of the Troubles, including paramilitaries, the same monetary payout as a mistake.
13th	Orange Order parades saw disturbances, with republicans firing shots at police in north Belfast. Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly blamed the RIRA for firing the shots. Violence continued for three nights. A number of sectarian attacks were reported over the preceding weekend. An Orange Lodge and an Ancient Order of Hibernians hall had both been attacked.
14th	A petrol bomb was thrown at an Orange hall.
21st	A 44-year-old man was arrested over the shooting of Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar. Loyalist Mark Haddock was taken in for questioning over four murders.
23rd	Brian Shivers was in court over the killing of Quinsey and Azimkar.
24th	A family narrowly escaped injury in a loyalist bomb attack in Brantwood Gardens, Antrim.
25th	Two community workers in Antrim were warned of threats from republicans opposed to the peace process. Councillor Johnny McGibbon commented that some criminals were masquerading as republicans.
28th	Research found that the number of 'peace walls' in Belfast had trebled after the Loyalist and IRA ceasefires.
29th	The huge bill run up by the PSNI to pay informers was revealed.
30th	Progress was announced in the establishment of a justice department for Northern Ireland.
31st	A protest organised by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement disrupted a meeting of the District Policing Partnership.

August 2009
2nd	Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson called for RIRA videos to be removed from YouTube.
3rd	A woman blamed the UDA for an attack on her nine-year-old son in Newtownabbey.
4th	A 51-year-old man was arrested over the murders of Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey.
5th	The UK Crown Prosecution Service announced there was no realistic prospect of convicting IRA escapees Pearse McAuley and Nessan Quinlivan.
7th	UVF man James Crockard was ordered back to prison for having breached his licence.
8th	The Apprentice Boys' Parade in Derry led to violence and nine arrests.
9th	A 20-year-old from Greenisland was beaten with iron bars by a gang of seven men wearing balaclavas.
10th	Brian Shivers, accused of involvement in the shooting of Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey, applied for release from prison on the grounds that he could contract swine flu, which would be fatal to him as he suffers from cystic fibrosis.
11th	Matt Baggott was named as the new chief of the PSNI.
12th	Two men were shot in punishment attacks. A third man had been beaten with baseball bats the night before.
15th	The Ministry of Defence announced that it had cancelled a planned military parade so as not to antagonise anti-peace process republicans.
16th	A number of businesses in Garvagh were damaged in sectarian attacks. The businesses were all Catholic owned. The Crumlin Road Courthouse was set on fire for the second time in two days.
18th	In a court case, the brother of a man involved in the Omagh bomb, Michael Campbell, was accused of trying to buy arms for the RIRA. A family were forced to flee their home in Strabane after a confrontation with masked men. Sinn Féin's Danny Breslin said the attack had 'the hallmark of dissidents'.
20th	The Sports Minister Nelson McCausland called for an investigation into a hunger strike commemoration held on GAA grounds.
21st	Armed men set up a roadblock in south Armagh. Around eight men distributed leaflets warning locals not to co-operate with the police or Sinn Féin.
22nd	Long Kesh escapee Pól Brennan was deported from America to the Irish Republic.
25th	Chief Constable Hugh Orde described republicans opposed to the peace process as a growing threat, but said "this is not the Provisional IRA. This is not an organisation that is highly organised, highly capable and supported internationally."
27th	James McAfee of Coleraine was remanded over the sectarian murder of Kevin McDaid.
29th	A small bomb was found on the pavement in Armagh.
31st	Sectarian rioting broke out between loyalist and nationalists in East Belfast. The UDA's top man in the north west told the UDA's Inner Council that decommissioning would not be possible.

September 2009
1st	Second night of disturbances in East Belfast. It was revealed that more than twenty people were living under death threats following the sectarian murder of Kevin McDaid in May.
2nd	Teenager, Patrick Quinn, shot in a paramilitary-style attack.
4th	A new Troubles Victim Forum was founded.
6th	Families of IRA victims pressed the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take action against Libya.
7th	The International Independent Commission on Decommissioning said it believed the UDA would disarm by February.
8th	The British army defused a 600lb bomb on the border. Óglaigh na hÉireann were blamed.
9th	Three CIRA men admitted possessing a bomb in April 2007.
10th	Gary Donnelly, a republican opposed to the peace process, was found not guilty of attacking police officers in 2006.
11th	The RIRA claimed three overnight attacks in Derry. Bombs had exploded outside the houses of the parents and sister of a serving policeman. A man had also been shot in the legs and hand. A bomb was made safe in Donegal.
13th	Judith Gillespie, acting Chief Constable, said that the threat from republicans opposed to the peace process was 'severe'.
16th	Hugh Orde warned that the 'forces of hate' could fill the political vacuum left by the ruling parties' inability to tackle sectarianism.
17th	A coffee-jar bomb was found in a car in Newtownabbey. Three nights of rioting followed the sentencing of three CIRA men over a mortar bomb plot.
18th	The PSNI stepped up its crackdown on anti-GFA republicans ahead of the appointment of a new Chief Constable. This operation was known as 'Operation Dissent'.
19th	During rioting in Lurgan, hijackers told a female lorry driver that a bomb had been placed in her vehicle, and forced her to drive to a police station. No bomb was found.
21st	John O'Dowd of Sinn Féin commended the police for their handling of recent street disturbances.
22nd	Matt Baggott became the new Chief Constable. He described the threat posed by anti-GFA republicans as 'complex', 'very real' and a 'priority'. Anti-Catholic sectarianism was reported at the Lisneal College in Derry.
23rd	The awaited Bloody Sunday report was postponed. Up to fifty republicans opposed to the peace process disrupted a meeting of the District Policing Partnership in Derry.
24th	Arguing that budget cuts would weaken the fight against security threats, the Police Federation of Northern Ireland revealed that there had been 750 republican bomb alerts in the last two years.
27th	Shots were fired at a house in Ballymena, but this was believed to be linked to a feud between two families. Lord Laird of Artigarvan told the Observer newspaper that IRA victims might consider suing the Irish government.
28th	The leader of Republican Sinn Féin, Ruari O'Bradaigh, announced he was to stand down for health reasons.
29th	A District Policing Partnership meeting was cancelled over a bomb scare. A man was shot five times by a masked gang in Belfast. Two men were arrested the following day.

October 2009
4th	Well-known anti-GFA republican John Brady apparently committed suicide in a police station.
5th	A shot was fired during a disturbance in Newry. However, all those arrested were foreign nationals.
6th	Policing and justice talks moved to London. A man was arrested over the killings of Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey.
7th	Republican Action against drugs carried out a punishment shooting against a man in Derry.
8th	A paramilitary-style funeral was held for John Brady.
11th	The INLA announced an end to their armed struggle. A crowd of 150 people attacked police in Armagh. Hilary Clinton, who was visiting Belfast, called republicans opposed to the peace process 'out of step'.
13th	Glen Dowd was given a five-month prison sentence for taunting the relatives of Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey. It emerged that police had foiled a republican plot to kill Ian Paisley Junior.
14th	A man was shot in the stomach, hand and leg in West Belfast.
15th	A controlled explosion was carried out on a van said to contain a 600lb bomb. This was later uncovered as a hoax.
16th	A policeman's girlfriend was injured in a bomb attack on her car in East Belfast. This was called a significant development as republicans had not been active in the area recently.
17th	A Protestant family were driven from Rasharkin after suffering sectarian attacks on their property.
18th	A gang shot a teenage boy in the legs in the Waterside area of Derry, and a policeman called to the scene was knocked unconscious.
20th	A 47-year-old man was arrested over the shooting of Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, but released the following day.
22nd	A bomb exploded with no casualties at a Territorial Army base in north Belfast during the early morning.
23rd	A court heard that secret MI5 operatives would give evidence at the trial of three RIRA members due to begin in April 2010.
27th	DUP MP David Simpson claimed some Unionist MPs saw the BBC as biased towards republicans. A cross-border police action broke up a cigarette smuggling gang believed to have links with the Real IRA. It was reported that traces of a component used in Semtex explosives had been discovered in republican cells at Maghaberry prison.
28th	The British government revealed that the threat of violence from republicans opposed to the peace process was the highest it had been in a decade.
29th	A 37-year-old man was questioned over the Massereene killings and released.

November 2009
3rd	Tony Dalzell became a victim of a punishment shooting by Republican Action Against Drugs. It was reported that the republican Paddy Murray had been arrested in England.
4th	The Independent Monitoring Commission released a report in which they said ex-PIRA members had joined republican groups opposed to the peace process, and also that punishment attacks carried out by loyalists had increased. Both loyalists and anti-GFA republicans were said to be involved in criminality. The threat to security from so-called 'dissident' republicans was the highest it had been in six years, with attacks on Britain a possibility. It was reported that sheep belonging to a Protestant farmer had been daubed with the tricolour in an apparent sectarian attack.
5th	Concerned Families Against Drugs denied allegations by the IMC that they were involved in violence. Sinn Féin chairperson Declan Kearney warned of a 'complete [political] free-fall' over the devolution of policing and justice.
6th	A court heard about forensic evidence said to link Colin Duffy to the killings of Quinsey and Azimkar. DUP leader Peter Robinson accused Sinn Féin of 'blackmail' over policing and justice.
7th	Fifty houses were evacuated during a bomb alert at Dundonald Heights.
8th	A Remembrance Day parade was postponed amid claims that a suspicious device had been seen at Bellaghy. Nothing was found.
9th	It emerged that republicans opposed to the peace process had made threats against judges, some of whom were put under police protection.
10th	A security alert in Derry city centre was sparked by an imitation gun. The assets of republican Sean Hughes were frozen among allegations of fraud.
11th	Four men appeared in court over alleged UDA threats to the victim of an assault.
12th	Police searching Maghaberry Jail denied the search was related to reports of three guns being smuggled into the republican wing. Former senior policeman Norman Baxter said another Omagh could occur because the security forces were failing to recognise the danger posed by republicans opposed to the peace process.
14th	A 21-year-old man was beaten in a sectarian attack.
15th	Parts that could have been used in a bomb were reported found in the search of Maghaberry Jail. Claims were made that a republican group, 'Saor Ulaid', had been paying travellers to steal guns. A 51-year-old man was arrested in connection with the deaths of Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey, only to be freed the next day.
16th	Republican Sinn Féin elected a new leader, Des Dalton.
17th	Former IRA activist Marian Price was arrested over the Massereene killings. She was released without charge the following day.
19th	A 'horizontal mortar type device' apparently intended to kill police officers was found and made safe in Armagh.
20th	A 42-year-old man was arrested over the mortar bomb found in Armagh.
21st	A bomb was left outside the Policing Board's headquarters in Belfast, where it partially exploded. Republicans opposed to the peace process were blamed. A gun attack was also reported against police in Garrison, near the border. Four men were arrested. It was claimed later that the intended target, a Catholic police officer, had been tipped off about the attack.
22nd	Gardaí claimed that republicans opposed to the peace process were 'making millions' from smuggling.
23rd	A bomb alert in Armagh turned out to be a hoax. Colin Duffy was refused bail. Three of the five men arrested over the gun attack at Garrison were released without charge.
24th	Two men were charged over the shooting in Garrison. The US economic minister, Declan Murphy, said that 'dissident' republicans were 'bad for business'. Loyalist and nationalist youths fought during the Christmas lights switch-on in Belfast. A house in Derry was petrol-bombed.
25th	Kevin Barry Nolan and Gerard James McManus were appeared in court over the shooting in Garrison. McManus was also charged with using a gun to resist arrest. He claimed to have fired the gun while running from the police.
26th	The row between Sinn Féin and the DUP over justice and policing continued, with Martin McGuinness accusing the DUP of game-playing and Peter Robinson calling Sinn Féin's stance unreasonable and unacceptable.
27th	A judge condemned 'gangster' vigilantes who had caused a suspected robber to turn down his own bail. Police inspector Jon Burrows said that vigilantes were 'damaging' Derry's image. It emerged that one of those accused of the Garrison shooting, Gerard James McManus, had been a soldier in the Irish Army. During the court case of three republicans accused of gun smuggling, it came out that MI5 had secretly recorded 190 hours of their conversations. In another case, two former IRA men were accused of blackmailing businessmen with threats of violence.
28th	Disturbances late at night in Portadown were blamed on a 'carefully-orchestrated loyalist mob'. It was said afterwards that the trouble stemmed from an incident a month earlier when two men were barred from a pub.
29th	Speaking at a commemoration for IRA men Henry Hogan and Declan Martin, Sinn Féin's Declan Kearney said that the DUP's approach to justice was 'a train wreck political strategy and political consequences will be inevitable'. A controlled explosion was carried out on a car in East Belfast.
30th	A suspicious device was reported in Strabane. The DUP's Gregory Campbell said he believed the devolution of justice was years away. British PM Gordon Brown, however, during a meeting with the Taoiseach Brian Cowen, said he felt optimistic about devolution. It emerged in court that the widow of Kevin McDaid, killed in a sectarian attack, had been forced to move from Coleraine because of verbal abuse.

December 2009
1st	Patsy Devine, the mother of two IRA men who had been killed by the SAS, condemned republicans who had thrown a petrol bomb against a police station in Strabane. She said 'surely the war's over. Who wants it? I don't want it and a lot of people round here don't want it.' Meanwhile, Chief Constable Matt Baggott told the Belfast Telegraph that he had 'no problem with dissident republicans', only their use of violence. This drew stinging criticism from the UUP's Tom Elliot who said he showed a 'complete disregard for the fragility of the political situation'. The NI justice bill passed its final stage.
2nd	A man from Newry was arrested in County Louth after it was found he was carrying a balaclava and bullets in his car. First Minister Martin McGuinness said he wanted to see a date for the devolution of justice powers by Christmas. The Belfast Telegraph reported an alleged republican plot to shoot down a police helicopter.
3rd	Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris said he believed another attack on the NI Policing Board by republicans opposed to the peace process was 'a strong possibility'.
4th	Martin McGuinness warned that a 'full-blown crisis' would occur at Stormont, but Peter Robinson refused to agree on a Christmas deadline to sort out their differences over policing and devolution. A court ordered that the police should pay the court costs in the Suzanne Breen case.
5th	A former soldier whose details had been stolen during the Castlereagh break-in demanded his gun back from the PSNI so he could protect himself after twice finding bullets left outside his home. A man was injured when shots were fired into a house in west Belfast.
6th	A 'suspect object,' later revealed as a gun, was found in the grounds of a house in south Down. Martin McGuinness called on Peter Robinson to name his pre-conditions for devolving police powers. Petrol bombs were thrown at police dealing with security alerts in Derry. It was reported that the new head of Maghaberry prison, Steve Rodford, had quit his post after his address and car number plate were found in the cell of a republican.
7th	Hoax bombs were left near to banks in Belfast. A security alert in Twinbrook, which caused sixty residences to be evacuated, was declared a hoax.
8th	Two men were arrested and then released over the murder of Kevin McDaid. NI Secretary of State Shaun Woodward ruled out a suspension of Stormont if the wrangle over justice was not resolved by the New Year. Police warned retailers to be on their guard over a possible republican Christmas bombing campaign.
9th	The family of John Brady, a RIRA member who killed himself in police custody, held a protest against the police. Concerned Families Against Drugs met with the Independent Monitoring Commission to discuss their designation as 'vigilantes' in an IMC report. Gerry Kelly's family home was the target of a bomb threat.
10th	Two men were found guilty of possessing bomb-making equipment in Dublin.
11th	Robert McAllister from Crossmaglen admitted to bomb-making charges. The army carried out controlled explosions on two vans that had been used in an armed robbery. Police were attacked in Derry while coming to the aid of two men who had been shot in the legs.
14th	It was reported that a top judge, Justice Treacy, had moved house over a threat from republicans opposed to the peace process. Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson argued in public for the first time over the devolution of justice.
15th	Police issued a public warning to retailers about a possible Christmas bombing campaign: 'Incendiary devices can be left anywhere that can catch fire easily, in garments, soft furnishings and upholstery'.
16th	Leading republican Brian Arthurs launched a legal challenge against his coming trial without jury for deception and possession of criminal property. It was reported that a republican imprisoned for possessing explosives, Terence McCafferty, had had his release licence revoked after intelligence suggested he was a RIRA leader who could have been involved in future attacks. Secretary of State Shaun Woodward announced he was optimistic that the UDA might decommission more weapons before Christmas. Meanwhile he promised that the government would do everything it could to protect people under threat from republicans opposed to the peace process. The NI Affairs Committee stated that they did not believe people had reached a consensus on how to move on from the events of the last few decades. The UDA pulled out of a proposed meeting with Martin McGuinness after the story broke in The Belfast Telegraph.
17th	It emerged that a decommissioning project headed by Martin McAleese, involving funding UDA-controlled areas in exchange for decommissioning, had failed. Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown issued a joint statement urging progress on the devolution of policing and justice. 18-year-old John Paul Wootton, an alleged CIRA member accused of being involved in the killing of Stephen Carroll, was denied bail. A punishment shooting occurred in West Belfast.
18th	A hoax bomb alert at Belfast station resulted in some trains being cancelled. An investigation was launched into whether a note giving the home address of the Maghaberry Prison governor had been planted in a republican's cell by a member of the prison staff, who was opposed to the governor's reform plan. The Historical Enquiries Team of the PSNI announced their intention to investigate Loyalist killings from the 1990s.
20th	A man was charged with 'possession of articles for use in terrorism' following the vandalism of a house and car in Hollymount Park on the 18th.
21st	Loyalist Jackie Mahood lost his compensation claim against other Loyalist paramilitaries who had destroyed his taxi business. Three men were charged in relation to the attack on the house in Hollymount Park. Liam Holden appealed against his sentence for murdering a British soldier in 1973, claiming he had been tortured by waterboarding.
22nd	A suspicious object was found in west Belfast. Former INLA prisoner Paul Maxwell claimed he had been threatened by other republicans, who accused him of stealing from a taxi firm. It was reported that a family in north Belfast were being forced out of their home by racist attacks.
23rd	A man from north Belfast was abducted and shot in the legs. It was later revealed that the shot man had been convicted of murdering the greengrocer Harry Holland.
24th	Peter Robinson said in his Christmas message that he would be working for a 'safe, secure, stable and prosperous Northern Ireland' and that 'the wreckers will not succeed'.
29th	The Belfast Telegraph reported that the UDA would be fully disarmed by the end of January. An elderly couple were victims of sectarian intimidation in west Belfast. A man was chased and shot by three assailants in Derry.
30th	A security alert in south Armagh disrupted cross-border traffic. Police subsequently said that the van involved in the alert contained bomb-making components. The Guardian reported that more than 20 police officers have had to move home in the last six months following threats from republicans, and that 'Óglaigh na hÉireann is understood to have rearmed with up to 70 new rifles.' Shots were reportedly fired at a police station in Crossmaglen.

January 2010
1st	Éirígí said in their New Year statement that "As 2010 dawns Ireland, more then ever, needs a radical mass movement that will represent one class in society — the working people — and which will adopt but one attitude to the British occupation — that of uncompromising active resistance." Vandals sprayed "Merry Christmas" onto Rasharkin Orange Hall. A local DUP Councillor said he regarded the message as "ironic and a threat upon the Protestant community in north Antrim. "
4th	A 47-year-old man was injured in a paramilitary-style shooting on Beechmount Parade in West Belfast. A newspaper survey showed that 54% of Catholics and 15% of Protestants believed Stormont deserved to fall if no agreement was reached over policing and justice powers. It was reported that the Orange Hall at Ballintoy had been damaged in a sectarian attack. Independent security reviewer Robert Whalley called the 2009 marching season the 'most difficult' in recent history.
5th	The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland met the Irish foreign minister at Hillsborough to discuss the Stormont crisis.
6th	The UDA confirmed that they had decommissioned their weapons. Gerry Adams called the Secretary of State Shaun Woodward's comments on the devolution of justice 'silly and banal'. He believed that Woodward was 'passing the buck' for the deadlock to Sinn Féin.
7th	Gary Donnelly, a republican opposed to the peace process, was fined over three public order offences. His arm had been broken during a confrontation with police. Sinn Féin reported that no progress was being made on policing and justice. A 24-year-old was shot in a paramilitary-style attack in Armagh.
8th	A policeman was seriously injured after a bomb exploded under his car. The policeman was a Catholic, an Irish speaker and captain of a GAA team. Republicans were suspected of planting the bomb. It later emerged that a remote control device had been used. Irish police arrested three people and recovered a gun during a raid on hardline republicans in Cavan.
9th	NI Secretary Shaun Woodward issued a warning to First Minister Peter Robinson that the crisis involving his wife Iris must not damage the assembly. It was reported that the republicans involved in the previous day's car bomb may not have belonged to a known group. However, Oglaigh na hÉireann were later held responsible.
10th	Sinn Féin said that Gerry Adams had received a death threat from the Orange Volunteers. Former First Minister David Trimble called on Peter Robinson to resign, saying he had lost authority.
11th	Peter Robinson stepped down as First Minister for a period of six weeks. Arlene Foster took over in the interim. David Jordan from Donaghmore was charged in connection with the discovery of a semi-automatic pistol and bullets at his house on the 8th.
12th	The retrial of Colm Murphy in connection with the Omagh bombing began. Gerry Adams said that talks over policing were at a 'sensitive and serious stage'. Police said that they believed Peadar Heffron, victim of the car bomb on 8th January, had been spied on by the bombers for weeks or months before the incident.
13th	It was reported that Peadar Heffron's right leg had been amputated. According to The Belfast Telegraph, four more bombs from the same batch used in the car bomb were still unaccounted for. After a security alert on the M1, the components of a bomb were found by the side of the road. A 33-year-old man was shot in the legs in a paramilitary-style attack.
14th	A pipe bomb was found at a community centre in Antrim where a GAA team were training. PSNI members were given mirrors to help them check for booby-trap bombs. Police passed on a warning from the Orange Volunteers that Alex Maskey was under threat.
15th	A man from County Down appeared in court over the bomb parts found on the M1. Republican Brian Arthurs won the right to seek a trial by jury over allegations of fraud. Three controlled explosions were carried out at Thiepval Barracks. It was reported that talks over the devolution of justice would continue over the weekend. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Martin McGuinness on the telephone regarding the negotiations.
17th	Peter Robinson of the DUP shook hands with Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin for the first time, while acting First Minister Arlene Foster commented on the positive atmosphere at the justice devolution negotiations.
18th	A man was shot in a paramilitary-style incident in Kilwilkie, Lurgan. Talks between Sinn Féin and the DUP over the devolution of justice continued all day. GAA commentator Joe Brolly condemned the hardline republicans who had tried to kill Peadar Heffron.
19th	A 44-year-old man was arrested and then released over the Massereene killings. Basil McCrea of the UUP said that he had 'extreme reservations' about a justice minister from the Alliance Party. It emerged that the UUP, the DUP and the Conservatives had been holding secret talks over the weekend. Republican Jerry Gallagher, a member of the Republican Network for Unity, was given a military funeral.
20th	Talks on policing and justice drew to a close. A man was shot when a gang raided his house looking for guns. Two raids were carried out in west Belfast. A drug dealer, Gerard Stanton, was shot dead in Cork. The shooting was later claimed by the Real IRA.
21st	It was reported that the number of stop-and-searches had trebled in a year.
22nd	Two teenagers were shot in west Belfast in a suspected punishment attack.
23rd	Sinn Féin met to discuss the collapse of their talks with the DUP. They called for a 'critical and defining' meeting on policing. The Alliance Party leader David Ford warned that the crisis could 'boost the paramilitaries'.
24th	It was reported that the injured policeman Peadar Heffron had regained consciousness. DUP spokesman Jeffrey Donaldson said his party were ready for policing talks, while it was announced that the Taoiseach Brian Cowen and British PM Gordon Brown would meet to discuss the issues at Stormont. Gunmen fired shots at Crossmaglen police station.
25th	Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown met to discuss the Stormont crisis. It was announced that talks would continue overnight. Two men were arrested over the attack on Peadar Heffron. They were released unconditionally next day. Alastair McDonnell of the SDLP accused the Conservatives of 'playing the Orange card'.
26th	All-party crisis talks began at Hillsborough castle. Police ombudsman Al Hutchinson said that republicans opposed to the peace process wanted to sabotage the talks. Police fired shots during a disturbance in County Down. The Orange Order condemned attacks on two of its Orange Halls at Rasharkin.
27th	British PM Gordon Brown left the talks without a conclusion being reached, giving a 48-hour ultimatum for an agreement. Most parties expressed disappointment with progress. A shopkeeper was shot, apparently as a punishment by paramilitaries for selling legal drugs.
28th	Talks continued at Hillsborough Castle. The Northern Ireland Policing Board were warned to spend millions on security or move premises. Irish President Mary McAleese described Stephen Carroll and Peadar Heffron as 'heroes'.
29th	A protest was held against the January 27th shooting of businessman Raymond Coyle who had supplied drugs for 'legal highs'. Hopes faded for a prompt agreement over policing and justice.
30th	Talks continued at Hillsborough Castle, after which the UK government said it believed progress had been made. Sinn Féin were 'optimistic' while the DUP talked about 'considerable advancement'. Two INLA men were jailed in the Republic for bomb-making offences.
31st	The Real IRA fired shots at Bessbrook police station. There were no injuries.

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February 2010
1st	The DUP and Sinn Féin reported they were close to a deal.
2nd	Nigel Dodds of the DUP insisted that the party was totally behind Peter Robinson despite reports that he was struggling to convince the rank and file of the policing deal. At the same time the Guardian claimed 'senior Unionists' had confirmed merger discussions with the Conservatives. Robert MacAllister of Crossmaglen was jailed for twelve years for grinding fertilizer to make bombs.
3rd	A pipe bomb was thrown at the Old Park police station in Belfast in the early hours of the morning. Later, a suspected attack by republicans opposed to the peace process was stopped in County Donegal. Peter Robinson returned as First Minister. Gordon Brown said that elections would be held if the Assembly failed. It was announced that a joint UUP-Conservative candidate list would be published within a fortnight.
4th	MLAs of the DUP met to discuss the policing deal. Meanwhile, Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin said he believed a power-sharing deal was possible.
5th	It was made public that the DUP and Sinn Féin had agreed to devolve policing and justice powers in April. The decision had been reached late the night before. The Apprentice Boys gave the new plan for policing parades a 'guarded welcome'. Gordon Brown called the deal a 'new chapter'. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited Robinson and McGuinness to Washington, while Barack Obama called the policing deal 'an important step'. A man appeared in court over the planned attack in Donegal. A bomb alert in north Belfast turned out to be a hoax.
6th	It was reported that the INLA had dumped all weapons in the previous weeks. Republican Sinn Féin warned that Catholics joining the PSNI were 'putting themselves in the line of fire'. President Des Dalton said that 'our message to young nationalists is that your place is not there in the PSNI. The logic of the situation remains the same – if you join a force that upholds British rule then you are putting yourself in the line of fire. It is worth remembering all the recent reports of Catholic PSNI officers being unable to live in the communities they came from.' Sinn Féin announced that its officer board had endorsed the deal struck at Hillsborough Castle.
7th	Sinn Féin reported that a death threat had been made against Gerry Adams.
8th	The INLA officially confirmed that it had disposed of its weapons. The Official IRA announced that it too would be giving up its weapons. The UDA's South East Antrim Brigade decommissioned the 'remainder' of its weaponry.
9th	The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning stood down. Police targeted anti-peace process republicans on both sides of the border, seizing guns, cash and imitation firearms in Cork. A man was shot in the ankle in west Belfast. Two men and a woman were arrested over the shooting of Stephen Carroll. Peter Robinson warned that the justice agreement 'must be honoured'. He warned he would collapse the Assembly if it was not. Six assembly members, three from the DUP and three from Sinn Féin, held their first meeting to discuss parades. The meetings were to continue every day until the 23rd of February.
10th	The Belfast Telegraph reported that Gardaí feared a drugs war involving the RIRA in Cork.
11th	19-year-old Stephen Paul Ratcliffe appeared in court charged with possessing a petrol bomb during the 2009 Apprentice Boys' Parade.
12th	A controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious object on Craigavon Bridge. The 32 County Sovereignty Movement wrote to a local newspaper, The Derry Journal, saying that they would picket shops and schools that worked with the PSNI. The DUP called Gerry Adams' comments on parades 'crass' and 'irresponsible'. Gerry Adams had said that Unionist marchers should not enter disputed areas without the residents' consent. Martin McGuinness suggested that the Orange Order should give up the idea of marching down the Garvaghy Road. The Ulster Unionists set a new type of 11-plus test as a precondition to acceptance of the Hillsborough deal. An explosion occurred at a house in Enniskillen. Police subsequently treated it as suspicious.
13th	A controlled explosion was carried out on a van outside the court house on Bishop Street, Derry, damaging a historic deanery. Nothing suspicious was found afterwards. Two days later the police said that the incident had not been a hoax. Legally-held guns were stolen during three break-ins in Magherafelt. A shot was fired at a house in west Belfast.
14th	A security alert in Ballymena was declared a hoax.
15th	Taxi drivers in Derry said that weekend attacks from the Protestant Fountain estate had been motivated by sectarianism.
16th	Two men were arrested in connection with the shooting of Stephen Carroll. Senior Orange Order officials were involved in talks over the parading issue.
17th	The two men arrested over the Stephen Carroll shooting were released without charge.
18th	Former UDA leader Jackie McDonald said he believed the Orange Order should not march down Garvaghy Road unless agreement was reached with local residents. RIRA leader Michael McKevitt lost his legal challenge to view FBI files relating to his trial over the Omagh bombing.
19th	A pipe bomb was thrown at a house in Tyrone. A mortar bomb was abandoned near a police station in South Armagh. A 21-year-old man appeared in court accused of 'possessing documents likely to be of use to terrorists'. It was reported that a dozen ex-UDR soldiers had been threatened by republicans opposed to the peace process.
20th	Grand Master Robert Salters said that members of the Orange Order were concerned about the proposals over parades. Sinn Féin's Pat Doherty said that the 'denial of the Irish people's right to self-determination' was the main outstanding issue in the peace process. It was reported that Peadar Heffron was out of intensive care.
21st	A petrol bomb was thrown at a house in Portglenone. It was not clear who was responsible. Most people who had been forced to leave their homes in Keady following the discovery of a mortar bomb on the 19th were able to return. It was reported that according to Republican Sinn Féin, army special forces units had been carrying out surveillance on two housing estates in Lurgan.
22nd	A car bomb exploded near a courthouse in Newry. It was the first car bomb in around a decade. Five men were arrested in Donegal during an investigation into republicans opposed to the peace process. Petrol bombs were thrown at a house in Turf Lodge, west Belfast. A Sinn Féin spokeswoman said the attack was 'disgraceful' and that people want to live 'peacefully and in safety'.
23rd	Police said it was a 'sheer miracle' that the Newry bomb hadn't killed or injured anyone. The bombing was condemned in the Assembly. It was reported that an historic church had been damaged in the blast. A 29-year-old man was shot in both legs.
24th	Colm Murphy was cleared of involvement in the Omagh bomb. A security alert outside the courthouse in Dungannon turned out to be a false alarm. The DUP and Sinn Féin agreed on a plan to fight sectarianism. Three men were charged with membership of Óglaigh na hÉireann in Dublin. Chief Constable Matt Baggott said that the PSNI were ready to deal with the security threat.
25th	Martin McGuinness blamed the Real IRA for the killing of former republican prisoner Kieran Doherty, whose naked body had been found the night before near the border. He said that 'I am calling on the 32 County Sovereignty Movement to give us an explanation why another young Derry man has been murdered'. The Real IRA subsequently admitted the killing, stating he had been a member of their organisation but had been involved in drugs. Doherty had previously claimed to have been approached by MI5.
26th	The family of Kieran Doherty issued a statement to deny he was a drug dealer or informer. They said that he had been 'under continuous harassment by MI5 in the months before his death. Repeated attempts were made to recruit him as an informer. He rejected all these attempts... We would like to know, where were the MI5 people who were monitoring his every movement on the night he was abducted and brutally murdered?' Ian Paisley said he believed the cold relations between Robinson and McGuinness were harming the peace process.
27th	A candlelight peace vigil was held in Newry in response to the bomb of the 22nd. Republicans were blamed for firing a mortar at Craigavon police station, which was not hit. A hoax device was also said to have been planted to lure police, who were then pelted with flagstones and other missiles. Petrol bombs were thrown at the police in Dunmurry, Belfast.
28th	Ireland's Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern warned that the threat posed by republicans opposed to the peace process was as high as it had been at any time in the last thirty years. He said that the number of major incidents had escalated since September 2009, and that there was now 'cross-fertilisation' between groups.

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March 2010
1st	Funeral of Kieran Doherty. A boy was arrested after youths threw petrol bombs at police in west Belfast.
2nd	It was reported that according to the RIRA, a six-week investigation had revealed links between Kieran Doherty and a cannabis factory discovered in Donegal. They believed that MI5 had been involved in 'trying to blacken the IRA's name and link us with the drug trade which we abhor and oppose'. They said that 'after the drugs factory was uncovered, the IRA stood down its entire Derry brigade pending the outcome of our investigation.' Other reports suggested that Doherty had been executed because his tip-off had resulted in the seizure of the cannabis factory. At a rally held for Kieran Doherty, his sister spoke up in defence of him. Ian Paisley, aged 83, announced he would not be standing for election again.
3rd	It was reported that police in Derry had asked judges to withhold the names of drugs suspects to protect their safety. Republican Action Against Drugs were said to have shot at least 15 drug dealers. Justice minister Paul Goggins said that non-jury trials were still essential. The Independent Commission on Decommissioning released its final report, in which it said that the '[Andre] Shoukri paramilitary element' had fully disarmed.
4th	Youths threw petrol bombs in the Stewartstown Road area of west Belfast. The anti-peace process republican Gary Donnelly was jailed for assault. The SDLP criticised new measures that meant MI5 would not be accountable for its actions to the devolved justice minister. It was reported that the Loyalist march through Stoneyford had been restricted. It should last no more than 15 minutes, and paramilitary trappings were banned.
5th	A viable pipe bomb was found on the Stewartstown Road in west Belfast. Petrol bombs were thrown at a house in Armagh at around midnight. George W Bush phoned David Cameron of the Conservative party to ask him to use his influence on the devolution vote. However, Cameron explained that he could not influence the Unionist vote.
6th	The Belfast Telegraph reported that sensitive intelligence information had been leaked, which listed three top republicans opposed to the peace process as informers. During the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in Dublin, Gerry Adams praised the transfer of police powers to Stormont as a hugely important staging post. A Grand Lodge meeting of the Orange Order voted for a resolution welcoming the progress being made on the parades issue.
7th	It was reported that a car suspected of being linked to the Newry courthouse bomb on February 22nd had been left for two days and then removed without examination, because of fears it was a trap for the police. A memorial service was held for Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey. Dermot Ahern commented that the determination of some republicans to derail the peace process was 'getting stronger and stronger', representing 'a constant battle'. According to the BBC, Hillary Clinton had been talking to Northern Irish politicians ahead of the 9th March vote on the devolution of justice. Secretary of State Shaun Woodward denied claims by republican Gerry McGeough that some IRA 'on-the-runs' had been pardoned.
8th	The UUP executive endorsed the party's decision not to support the devolution of justice. The case began against Gerry McGeough, accused of attempting to kill UDR man Samuel Brush in 1981. McGeough had been shot by his intended victim and had gone on the run. The police made an appeal for information on the death of policeman Stephen Carroll, saying that 'his family still struggles to come to terms with losing him in such a violent and pointless way'. Operation Ballast, which was investigating the Mount Vernon UVF, made four arrests.
9th	The NI Assembly voted in favour of the devolution of policing and justice, at 88 votes to 17. The US State Department singled Tory leader David Cameron out for praise over the justice devolution agreement. A spokesman said that 'we, the United States, including Secretary Clinton, have been actively engaged in helping Northern Ireland reach this point, as have a number of officials in the British government, including not only the Brown government but also the strong support that David Cameron and the Conservative party have given to the Hillsborough agreement.' A gun was found and six people were arrested when police raided suspected hardline republicans.
10th	Three Loyalists were remanded in connection with a 2003 pipe bomb attack in Larne. The Belfast Telegraph reported that there had been calls for a special PSNI unit to deal with the upsurge in paramilitary violence.

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