Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7) profile picture

Vincent McKenna

@IrishObserver7

Historian Specializing in Sinn Fein/PIRA 1969-2026

 The beginning of an End
Joined August 2025
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Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)Photo by Vincent McKenna (@IrishObserver7)
Vincent McKenna retweeted
Paddy Shanks (@PaddyShanks) profile picture
Paddy Shanks
@PaddyShanksOct 31
Fascinating article by Shane Paul O'Doherty, particularly around the machinations of a particularly infamous Belfast family of Irish republicans.
Shane Paul O'Doherty (@shaneodoherty) profile pictureShane Paul O'Doherty
@shaneodohertyOct 30
Were there IRA solicitors? irishpeaceprocess.blog/2026/…
Were There IRA Solicitors?

Were There IRA Solicitors?

Prominent Irish journalist, author, editor and broadcaster Tim Pat Coogan [The IRA (1970), Ireland Since the Rising (1966), On the Blanket (1980)] is still with us at or about the age of 91 years. …

irishpeaceprocess.blog
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) profile picture
Sam McBride@SJAMcBrideOct 30
Half a century ago today, the UVF murdered two Belfast Telegraph delivery men as a 10-year-old watched in terror. My colleague Liam Tunney tracked down one of the killers, whose pathetic response to questions was: “My memory is not what it used to be". belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/…
‘My daddy is dead’: Remembering the Belfast Telegraph delivery drivers murdered 50 years ago

‘My daddy is dead’: Remembering the Belfast Telegraph delivery drivers murdered 50 years ago

Charles Corbett and John Maguire were shot in north Belfast in 1976

belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Charlie Lawson (@charlie_lawson1) profile picture
Charlie Lawson@charlie_lawson1Oct 26
Fuck you Wetherspoons!
Angel Of England (@AngelUKxx) profile pictureAngel Of England
@AngelUKxxOct 25
This is disgraceful, I think Wetherspoons have forgotten their roots
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Aaron Edwards (@DrAaronEdwards) profile picture
Aaron Edwards@DrAaronEdwardsOct 26
“Like a bloody cult”
Jon Burrows MLA (@JonBurrowsMLA) profile pictureJon Burrows MLA
@JonBurrowsMLAOct 26
“One toilet in the bar and yet everyone was in at the time. It’s just ridiculous. It was a wee bit scary actually. Like a bloody cult.” The words of one of Robert McCartney’s sisters about the wall of silence surrounding her brother’s murder.
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#OnThisDay in 1988 the IRA murdered Hugh McCrone, 20. Full time RUCR (police reservist) from Stewartstown, Tyrone, engaged days earlier. Car sprayed with bullets after leaving Kinawley station, Fermanagh, 7:15pm. Injured colleague (22) paralysed tried to return fire, prayed #OTD
Image from OnThisDayTheIRA (@OnThisDayPIRA)
Image from OnThisDayTheIRA (@OnThisDayPIRA)
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
OnThisDayTheIRA (@OnThisDayPIRA) profile picture
OnThisDayTheIRA@OnThisDayPIRAOct 26
#OnThisDay in 1988 the IRA murdered Wilson Smyth, 41. Married father of 3. Post office manager murdered when bomb exploded under his car as he drove out of the staff car park, Tomb Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland #OTD. IRA said they believed Mr Smyth was in the UDR. He was not.
Image from OnThisDayTheIRA (@OnThisDayPIRA)
Image from OnThisDayTheIRA (@OnThisDayPIRA)
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Ken Murray (@NewsMurray) profile picture
Ken Murray@NewsMurrayOct 25
Very disturbing stuff about the IRA and Sinn Fein tonight on BBC NI re the murder of Robert McCartney.
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Charlie Lawson (@charlie_lawson1) profile picture
Charlie Lawson@charlie_lawson1Oct 25
No Poppy’s allowed in Wetherspoons???!! I urge you all to boycott Wetherspoons!!!! Spread these word !!!instagram.com/reel/De7Bqlyoh…
Dec Lea (@dec_lea1) • Instagram reel

Dec Lea (@dec_lea1) • Instagram reel

instagram.com
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#OnThisDay in 1989 the IRA murdered Nivruti Islania, 0. 6 months old shot with RAF father in Wildenrath, West Germany. Family were outside snack bar attached to a petrol station when 2 IRA fired on car. Mother wouldn’t leave. “She was in the car clutching the little child.” #OTD
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Aaron Edwards (@DrAaronEdwards) profile picture
Aaron Edwards@DrAaronEdwardsOct 26
Likely the right sort of soldier to have assigned on this close protection duty. Harry McCallion, another SAS soldier, reveals in his book Undercover War that the intelligence leading to Mrs McAliskey being protected came from an informer inside the UDA. “Collusion”? Hardly.
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Aaron Edwards (@DrAaronEdwards) profile picture
Aaron Edwards@DrAaronEdwardsOct 26
A public inquiry would seem justified.
Sunday Life (@TheSundayLife) profile pictureSunday Life@TheSundayLifeOct 25
A cover-up operation by the IRA after the brutal murder of Robert McCartney will be laid bare in a new documentary as his sisters continue their fight for justice 21 years on. belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunda… belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunda…
New BBC doc lays bare IRA cover-up after brutal Robert McCartney murder: ‘This wasn’t the killers’...

New BBC doc lays bare IRA cover-up after brutal Robert McCartney murder: ‘This wasn’t the killers’...

Unseen footage shows bloody aftermath of 2005 killing that shook the peace process

belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Eoin O'Malley (@AnMailleach) profile picture
Eoin O'Malley@AnMailleachOct 25
For all the hand wringing about the ‘far right’, it turns out the far left is a real danger to society. This week’s @Independent_ie column independent.ie/comment/eoin-…
Eoin O’Malley: After all our alarmism over the far right, has France shown that we’re looking in...

Eoin O’Malley: After all our alarmism over the far right, has France shown that we’re looking in...

independent.ie
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) profile picture
Charlie Flanagan@CharlieFlanaganOct 25
Sunday evening music choice is a tribute to the great Donal Lunny. May he rest in peace. - Cúnnla youtu.be/9L3XbuyaqaQ?is=8-UB… via @YouTube
Donal Lunny - Cúnnla

Donal Lunny - Cúnnla

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
BBC Spotlight NI (@BBCSpotlightNI) profile picture
BBC Spotlight NI@BBCSpotlightNIOct 25
Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice - Watch all episodes on BBC iPlayer now - Part One is on BBC One NI tonight at 10.30pm - Also on BBC Two, Wednesday at 9.00pm
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Sharon O'Neill (@sharon_scoop) profile picture
Sharon O'Neill@sharon_scoopOct 25
Must watch 👇🏼 bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0…
Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice - Series 1: 1. An Innocent Man

Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice - Series 1: 1. An Innocent Man

Stabbed on the street, Robert McCartney dies hours later. Evidence has vanished. Witnesses are frightened, and the police aren’t the only organisation trying to talk to them.

bbc.co.uk
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
John Lee (@JohnEdwardLee) profile picture
John Lee
@JohnEdwardLeeOct 25
🔴’Nothing has changed,’ says Sergeant Maurice McCabe…now, he says, @OCallaghanJim and @HMcEntee must listen @DailyMail mol.im/a/16236097
Maurice McCabe's verdict on whistleblower scandal political response

Maurice McCabe's verdict on whistleblower scandal political response

The former guard was referring to the treatment of Garda whistleblowers whose identities were exposed by former justice minister Helen McEntee.

dailymail.com
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel) profile picture
Belfast Telegraph
@BelTelOct 25
A cover-up operation by the IRA after the brutal murder of Robert McCartney will be laid bare in a new documentary as his sisters continue their fight for justice 21 years on. belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunda… belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunda…
New BBC doc lays bare IRA cover-up after brutal Robert McCartney murder: ‘This wasn’t the killers’...

New BBC doc lays bare IRA cover-up after brutal Robert McCartney murder: ‘This wasn’t the killers’...

Unseen footage shows bloody aftermath of 2005 killing that shook the peace process

belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
John Lee (@JohnEdwardLee) profile picture
John Lee
@JohnEdwardLeeOct 24
We hope the Government colleagues of @HMcEntee @OCallaghanJim read this 👇piece by a Garda Superintendent. It’s damning of their actions @DailyMail mol.im/a/16236191
I'm the Garda whistleblower Helen McEntee outed to Drew Harris

I'm the Garda whistleblower Helen McEntee outed to Drew Harris

Det Supt Brian O'Reilly, a 34-year veteran of the force, explains why the excuse being used to defend his being identified as a whistleblower simply doesn't hold water...

dailymail.com
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Just Me ✡ 🔯✡ (@rugbysock) profile picture
Just Me ✡ 🔯✡@rugbysockOct 24
I'm sure Hargey, Finucane and Colin Harvey will all be watching and calling for justice for Robert McCartney too..
BBC Spotlight NI (@BBCSpotlightNI) profile pictureBBC Spotlight NI@BBCSpotlightNIOct 24
Coming tomorrow on BBC iPlayer and BBC One NI
Image from BBC Spotlight NI (@BBCSpotlightNI)
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Vincent McKenna retweeted
Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel) profile picture
Belfast Telegraph
@BelTelOct 25
Police chiefs feared any potential dissident gun attack on the Garvaghy Road would have involved old Provisional IRA weaponry, plunging the political process into crisis. Read more: tinyurl.com/2aus3mfy
Image from Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel)
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