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📻📷The top news and sports stories from Northern Ireland. Brought to you by our NI/UK award-winning journalists.
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💥🗣NEW: ‘Sinn Féin is in power-sharing because it WANTS to be. The DUP is there because it HAS to be. Stormont is in a precarious place.’ 🎤🎥Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy tells Chief Reporter James about his party’s, and First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s, frustrations with the Stormont institutions. He also sets out his view on Stormont’s stability. On the issue of a border poll, he says the new Secretary of State, Chris Bryant, does have ‘some sense of the change’ that is happening. He was joined by Finance Minister John O' Dowd and Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald MLA. More on-air and online.
Cool FM News73,322 Aufrufe • vor 4 Tagen
⁉️⛔️NEW: 'A border poll is not for now. It’s not in my medium-term sights. NI is an integral part of the UK. I voted Remain in the Brexit referendum, and there are opportunities here.' 🎤🎥Chief Reporter James speaks to the new Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Chris Bryant. ❓️He says a border poll on a united Ireland is not on the agenda now or in the medium term. ✅️He describes Northern Ireland as “an integral part of the United Kingdom” and says its unique position following Brexit presents economic opportunities that should be better explored. 💰On the budget, he says there will be no blank cheques and that difficult decisions will have to be made. Asked about frustration surrounding the budget talks, he said he would not be laying down markers on his first day, joking that doing so could mean he would not remain in the post for very long. More on-air and online from Hillsborough Castle today.
Cool FM News64,279 Aufrufe • vor 4 Tagen
⁉️🗣NEW: 'I don’t think a lot of MPs realise that Northern Ireland is part of the UK. It’s offensive and hurtful.' 🎤🎥Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood MP speaking to Chief Reporter James. It comes as Northern Ireland gets a new Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant. Appointed by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The Lagan Valley MP believes many MPs at Westminster do not fully understand Northern Ireland’s place within the UK and says they must take the time to 'get to know us.' She also made clear that Stormont needs a budget, with talks required to continue, while warning that “free money” is not the answer.
Cool FM News158,822 Aufrufe • vor 14 Tagen
⁉️💥NEW: 'If Conor Murphy is worried about the wheels coming off, he should tighten his nuts. We are interested in delivery.' 🗣🎤DUP leader Gavin Robinson responds to comments made by Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy about the stability of Stormont. Mr Murphy said the “wheels are coming off Stormont”. Mr Robinson said Conor Murphy should “tighten his nuts”. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly BL told Chief Reporter James that the reality is things would be simpler if there were a one-party government. Mr Robinson also described the new Secretary of State, Chris Bryant, as “direct and colourful”.
Cool FM News39,041 Aufrufe • vor 4 Tagen
⚠️🗣NEW: ‘We will take stock after the election. A lot can happen in a year.’ Naomi Long outlines the point at which the Alliance Party would ‘walk away’. 🎤🎥Alliance Party leader Naomi Long MLA tells Chief Reporter James that her party will remain in the Executive only if it can deliver for people. She says a lot can happen in a year and that the party will assess the situation following the election. She also pressed the need to reform the Stormont institutions during a meeting with Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant. She was joined by Sorcha Eastwood MP, Eóin Tennyson MLA and Andrew Muir MLA.
Cool FM News34,307 Aufrufe • vor 4 Tagen
🚨BREAKING: 30-year-old Sudanese man charged with attempted murder as protests begin across Northern Ireland tonight 🎤Chief Reporter James is in north Belfast. Police say the man has also been charged with possession of an article with a blade or point in a public place and making threats to kill. The victim remains in a serious condition in hospital. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has outlined the route the man took to enter Northern Ireland in 2023, where he claimed asylum upon arrival. He was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028. The PSNI has declared a "critical incident" in response to the attack, which was captured on video and appears to show a man stabbing at the victim's head and neck while he was lying on the ground. The footage shows members of the public, including one person carrying a hurling stick, intervening to stop the attack in the Kinnaird Avenue residential area, close to the busy Antrim Road in north Belfast. A kitchen knife was recovered from the scene. Police said the suspect lived close to where the attack took place. There have been calls for calm as protests begin across Northern Ireland tonight.
Cool FM News344,478 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
🚨WATCH: Nursing assistant Ciara Corvan, who filmed and mocked dementia patients at the Bluestone Unit, has been sentenced 🎤Chief Reporter James reports from Craigavon Crown Court. A care worker who took degrading pictures of dementia patients and sent them on Snapchat has been handed a probation order and given 100 hours of community service. Ciara Corvan, 28, committed the offences while working as a healthcare assistant at a specialist ward for dementia patients at the Bluestone Unit at Craigavon Area Hospital. Passing sentence at Craigavon Crown Court today, Judge Patrick McGurgan said Corvan, from Cathedral View in Armagh, had failed to treat patients in her care with the respect and dignity to which they were entitled. Among the images Corvan sent to co-workers on Snapchat was a picture of a female patient in the bath; a video of her shaking a patient’s hand while music played in the background with a caption claiming she was having a “rave”; and a picture of her and a patient with their noses almost touching with the caption “why the f*** is she so close to me?”. Earlier this year Corvan plead guilty to a total of seven counts of ill treatment of patients under the Mental Health Order (NI) 1986. The offences, which covered the period from the autumn of 2022 to the summer of 2023, involved four dementia patients being cared for on the ward. All four have since died. Police said the case was the first prosecution of its kind in Northern Ireland. The judge warned Corvan, who now works for a grocery business, that if she breached the order she would be returned to court and would face the imposition of a custodial sentence. A barrister for the defendant told the court she had written a letter of apology to the families. More on-air and online.
Cool FM News30,613 Aufrufe • vor 8 Tagen
🚨NEW: Army's top spy in IRA, Stakeknife, was taken on holiday by handlers on a military aircraft. 🔴We heard today how the double agent within the Provisional IRA, Stakeknife, was taken on holiday via military aircraft by Army handlers. 🔴This was while he was wanted by the RUC for conspiracy to murder and false imprisonment. 🎤PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told Chief Reporter James that Stakeknife was only interested in himself. The agent was widely believed to be west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, who was 77 when he died in 2023. The UK Government has been urged to name Stakeknife, with Chief Constable Jon Boutcher stating the refusal to do so is “bordering on farce”. MI5’s initial failure to disclose all it knew about the Army's top spy in the Provisional IRA during the Troubles was a “significant failure”, an independent report into the activities of Stakeknife has said. The final report of Operation Kenova said that MI5 had “earlier and greater knowledge” of Stakeknife than it had at first stated. Stakeknife is linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions where he worked in a IRA unit known as the "nutting squad."
Cool FM News673,771 Aufrufe • vor 7 Monaten
🎥 “I was shaking like a leaf.” 🗣️ Belfast student settles sexual harassment case against former employer JD Sports for £65,000, after her male supervisor slapped her on the bottom, the company has apologised 🎤 Jayla Boyd speaks to our reporter Tara Griffiths
Cool FM News642,309 Aufrufe • vor 7 Monaten
🚨NEW: Parade passes Ardoyne shops as return leg to take place tomorrow following Parades Commission decision ✅️The parade is now making its way to the start of the main Belfast parade at Carlisle Circus. 🚫This morning's parade was permitted to pass the shops under certain restrictions but will not be allowed to return via the same route later tonight. The Parades Commission has granted permission for Orangemen to march past the Ardoyne shops tomorrow morning, the day after the main Twelfth celebrations. The parade is notified to assemble at 8.30am on Woodvale Road and disperse at 9.30am at Ligoniel Community Hub. The parade will involve one band and around 50 members, with only hymn music permitted while passing through the area. It marks the second consecutive year the parade has been permitted, after last year's passed without incident. The area has witnessed serious disorder in previous years. Chief Reporter James is there.
Cool FM News59,537 Aufrufe • vor 23 Tagen
⚠️🚫NEW: Michelle O’Neill - 'The DUP are anti-Irish. The DUP will never change, they have form.' 🎤🎥First Minister Michelle O’Neill tells Chief Reporter James she believes the DUP are “anti-Irish”. It comes after a court heard Stormont will not implement an Irish language strategy within this Assembly mandate. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons MLA appeared before a Stormont committee yesterday, where MLAs and the minister clashed. Minister Lyons says he is not hostile towards the Irish language. Last month, Sinn Féin accused the DUP minister of cutting £90,000 in annual funding for a project that helps councils with Irish-English street sign translations. However, Minister Lyons said there had been “no decision” by him or any departmental official to do that. Speaking from the Balmoral Show, Michelle O’Neill hit out at the DUP.
Cool FM News135,155 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
🚨🗣NEW: 'Orangemen and Hibernians helping each other with parades. Both sides of the community. It would be good to have that again.' 🎥🎤Grand Master of the Orange Order, Harold Henning, speaking to Chief Reporter James. 👥Ahead of this year's Twelfth demonstrations, he says he would like to return to an atmosphere where people from both sides of the community can enjoy the parades. He also reflects on how he believes things used to be, particularly before the Troubles. Mr Henning also discusses the Orange Order in the Republic of Ireland, where he says membership continues to grow. More on air over the coming days ahead of the Twelfth demonstrations.
Cool FM News41,631 Aufrufe • vor 27 Tagen
⁉️NEW: Michelle O'Neill questions how Jeffrey Donaldson was chosen to lead the DUP when he lived a life of "moral hypocrisy". 🎤First Minister Michelle O’Neill told Chief Reporter James that she wants to know how a man like Jeffrey Donaldson was ever chosen to lead the DUP. "We want the DUP to be forthcoming with all this information," she said. Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted last week of 18 counts of child sex abuse, including one count of rape, committed against two women when they were children. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said a review commissioned following Donaldson's convictions for child sex offences would be "independent" of the party and that it would 'leave no stone unturned.' There have been growing calls from Stormont parties for the DUP-commissioned review, launched in the wake of Donaldson's conviction, to provide full transparency over safeguarding issues. Subsequent media reports have raised questions about how much was known within the DUP about Donaldson's wider conduct before his arrest in 2024 over sex abuse allegations.
Cool FM News54,153 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
📣Widespread condemnation after Gardaí seized a major car bomb near the border which was destined for Northern Ireland. 🚨Officers seized the device after stopping a car in Carrickmacross, in County Monaghan earlier this week. 🗣️Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly is among those condemning the incident, saying the only place those involved are heading to is jail. Gardai investigating dissident republicans say this was an intelligence led operation and believe the bomb was intended for use in a terrorist attack. ❗️A woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s have been arrested and remain in Garda custody.
Cool FM News19,174 Aufrufe • vor 11 Tagen
🇺🇸🤝 NEW: 'Northern Ireland’s role in American independence and in life today, must be celebrated.' 👥The America250 delegation is in Northern Ireland to formally mark NI’s special status in next year’s semiquincentennial celebrations. 🎥Chief Reporter James speaking to Commissioner Joe Crowley and Executive Vice President Jen Condon. They will join Communities Minister Gordon Lyons MLA for the signing of a 'historic' Memorandum of Understanding during the two-day visit. Both spoke about the 'deep' relationship between the United States and Northern Ireland. James McHenry, born in Ballymena, signed the US Constitution. Charles Thomson, from Maghera, was the first Secretary of the Continental Congress, his name appears on the first copy of the Declaration of Independence. John Dunlap, a printer from Strabane, produced the first printed version of the Declaration of Independence. Hercules Mulligan, born in Coleraine, was a tailor, spy, and twice saved George Washington’s life.
Cool FM News276,534 Aufrufe • vor 9 Monaten
🗣️”If this was to happen in another community it wouldn’t be acceptable.” 🚨Trevor Clarke MLA speaking following DUP meeting with PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher. ⚪️🟠It follows footage of a PSNI vehicle taking part in celebrations after Armagh’s win. 🎙️ Hannah Patterson
Cool FM News648,375 Aufrufe • vor 2 Jahren
🚨⚠️NEW: Death threats made against Sinn Féin Belfast Mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly 🎤🎥Mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly has told Chief Reporter James that she does not feel "100 per cent safe", but made clear the threats will not stop her from doing her job. Also hearing from First Minister Michelle O’Neill and joined by MLA Deirdre Hargey. This comes as the clean-up from last night's violent disorder continues. The PSNI informed the Mayor that threats had been made against her life and advised her to take additional personal security precautions.
Cool FM News62,775 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
🚨🗣NEW: The prospect of a border poll is 'way off in the distance. Nobody is arguing that there is an appetite for constitutional change.' 🎥🎤Chief Reporter James speaking to Secretary of State Hilary Benn. He says we would all 'be better concentrating on the issues of the moment.' Adding that his focus is on improving the lives of people in Northern Ireland.
Cool FM News246,581 Aufrufe • vor 9 Monaten
🚨🗣NEW: 'At the heart of this... they are struggling to hide their antisemitism and sectarianism. It’s nonsense.' 🎥🎤DUP Leader Gavin Robinson standing alongside Education Minister Paul Givan, also joined by deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly BL. It follows confirmation that the SDLP, Sinn Féin and Alliance Party will back a motion of no confidence in Mr Givan, brought forward by People Before Profit. The DUP minister has faced criticism over his recent trip to Israel, during which he visited a school and asked his department to publicise it on social media. Speaking to Chief Reporter James.
Cool FM News248,291 Aufrufe • vor 9 Monaten
🚨🗣NEW: SDLP leader says Sir Keir Starmer 'let many people down over Gaza' and warns Andy Burnham faces same challenges, with UK in an “existential crisis” 🎤🎥The SDLP leader and MP Claire Hanna was speaking in Belfast as Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister. She told Chief Reporter James what she believes caused the “rupture” between Sir Keir Starmer’s government and many voters. Ms Hanna says she wishes Andy Burnham well, but warns that he still faces the same challenges and that they have not gone away.
Cool FM News18,767 Aufrufe • vor 15 Tagen