Sign in

Sam McBride

@sjamcbride.bsky.social
4.4K followers 25 following 800 posts

Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph & Sunday Independent. Author of Burned: The Inside Story of the Cash-for-Ash Scandal. Any views mine alone.

PostsRepliesMedia
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The (second) Drumcree Court of Appeal hearing is now under way. Follow the @belfasttelegraph.co.uk live blog for the latest from the courtroom. Residents' spokesman Breandán Mac Cionnaith has already said he will only accept the outcome if the residents win.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Drumcree standoff returns to court as residents launch new attempt to ban Orange march
Scroll down to read our live coverage
200
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Long read on Drumcree stand-off: Even moderate hearts are hardened as fears of contagion mount. Top unionists & Orange are privately both furious and worried, while previously unreported comments from Breandán Mac Cionnaith reveal the key player’s mindset.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Marching backwards: Drumcree stand-off hardens even moderate hearts as fears of contagion mount
Orange figures are privately both furious and worried, while previously unreported comments from Breandán Mac Cionnaith reveal the key player’s mindset
495
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
There are no true believers in Stormont any more. Everyone has lost their faith. It is a place united in despondency where MLAs knock off early. The Drumcree standoff is threatening to topple Stormont but this is merely a symptom of an underlying disease.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
There are no true believers in Stormont any more. It is a place united in despondency where MLAs knock off early
The Drumcree standoff is threatening to topple Stormont — but it is merely a symptom of an underlying disease
163
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Contrary to what a senior figure in the News Letter's owner told me, Rodney Edwards is now running the paper. In an email to staff, he said that "we want to see less partisan & less politically charged reporting". Strikingly, this morning Drumcree wasn't on its front page at all.
831
Reposted by Sam McBride
David McCann @dmcbfs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Was on #BBCRedLines discussing the potential electoral implications of Drumcree with @sjamcbride.bsky.social @markcarruthers7.bsky.social and Gareth Gordon www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Red Lines - Drumcree: The Winners? - BBC Sounds
Who are the political winners and losers from the Drumcree dispute?
121
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🎧 What's it really like inside Sinn Féin? Siobhán Fenton was recruited as an outsider - who doesn't even support what the Provisional IRA did. She became Mary Lou McDonald's deputy chief press secretary, but left in December 2024. I sat down with her.
youtube.com
Former Sinn Féin Spokesperson on what goes on in Ireland's most secretive party | The BelTel
YouTube video by Belfast Telegraph
331
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Could a ‘one and done’ final Drumcree parade work? Before he died, the most senior Orangeman in Portadown told me of a secret plan to definitively resolve the Drumcree dispute — with the Catholic Church at its heart.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Could a ‘one and done’ final Drumcree parade work? A dead Orangeman’s words show this was offered in a secret process
Before he died, the most senior Orangeman in Portadown revealed a plan to definitively resolve Drumcree — with the Catholic Church at its heart
330
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Mr Justice Humphreys' nine-page 2am judgment in Belfast High Court - the final and key ruling on the Drumcree parade - has now been published. The judge found the residents' grounds of challenge to the Parades Commission verdict were "unarguable".
judiciaryni.uk
022
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What has happened in Portadown over the last 48 hours has ramifications which will echo for years. Michelle O’Neill has shown an understanding of constitutional law which is closer to that of a medieval monarch than a democratic government minister.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
As the First Minister behaves like a medieval monarch, flouting courts she’s bound to respect, Stormont is lurching towards collapse
O’Neill’s view of her power akin to that of Richard Nixon, and has profoundly disturbing implications in other areas
440
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🎧 The Drumcree crisis and what's likely to happen next, with @ciarandunbarrach.bsky.social, Allison Morris, Andrew Madden and Claire Dickson.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Drumcree: Nationalist and unionist camps completely divided over Garvaghy march
There is a stalemate in Portadown and deep division in Stormont.On the Orange side, the issue is the rights of a small number of people to march their traditional route – backed by a legal ruling. On ...
243
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Amid myriad crises and without a budget half way through the financial year, Stormont is spending three days debating if someone can invent their own gender...& if people should be jailed for trying to "suppress" that. It's been a remarkable debate so far.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Amid myriad crises, Stormont is spending three days debating if someone can invent their own gender
Assembly in third sitting of wrangling over whether trying to ‘suppress’ a self-declared identity should carry a jail term
151
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant is picking up where his predecessors left off. He's now offering Stormont an extra £1.5bn. This effectively vindicates ministers' refusal to budget. Why not do the same next year, and the year after that? All the tough talk meant nothing.
1182
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A powerful article from Rory O'Kelly's daughter, Anne Frances O'Kelly: "I thought my younger brother had got on with things after our father’s murder... I was wrong, but he finally got peace on his deathbed". She says truth is key to real reconciliation.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Anne Frances O’Kelly: I thought my younger brother had got on with things after our father’s murder... I was wrong, but he finally got peace on his deathbed
Truth is the foundation for real forgiveness and lasting reconciliation, writes the daughter of Rory O’Kelly
020
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The man murdered was Rory O'Kelly. His case was largely forgotten, and even at the time got limited press coverage. Today's 124-page report sets out how he'd trained as a priest, helped found the SDLP, and assisted the civil rights movement - but the IRA killed him regardless.
171
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Northern Ireland's Legacy Commission has been highly controversial. But today after two years its first investigative report is published, leading to a "sacred and transformative moment" for the dying son of a man murdered by the IRA for being a lawyer.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Legacy body’s report into IRA murder of SDLP founder shot dead for being lawyer brought ‘sacred and transformative moment’ to dying son
ICRIR investigation examines IRA murder of devout Catholic SDLP founder killed for being a lawyer
173
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
After head-hunting and then ditching an opponent of IRA violence, Sinn Fein stands at a crossroads. Siobhán Fenton's journey into and then out of SF - right up to deputy press secretary to Mary Lou McDonald - reveals SF's vulnerability when it opens up.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
After head-hunting and then ditching an opponent of IRA violence, Sinn Fein stands at a crossroads
New book from former aide to Mary Lou an insight into the opposing forces within the party
155
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I can only assume you haven't read the article on which you're commenting. Louden was literally described as a "hero" in a graveside oration at another IRA man's funeral two days ago. He is a major republican figure. If I have a "particular bias", it's against those who murder innocent people.
200
Reposted by Sam McBride
Tommy Greene @tommygreene.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Look forward to discussing my forthcoming book 'Troubled Waters' with Sam McBride and others as part of this event on Sunday. Tickets are still available and there's more info at the @shhomeplace.bsky.social event link here: seamusheaneyhome.com/event/a-loug...
seamusheaneyhome.com
A Lough Neagh Sequence - Seamus Heaney Home
Inspired by Seamus Heaney’s enduring connection to Lough Neagh, this special afternoon presents a sequence of events exploring the beauty, fragility and future of Ireland’s largest lake. Experience A ...
143
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Louden expresses no remorse for Joe Paton, the "very quiet" working man he subjected to an awful death. Despite IRA claims to be non-sectarian, from Louden’s own lips spew a host of sectarian & racist terms. Yet this is a man many people regard as a hero, chanting 'up the Ra'.
031
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The man who murdered our printer 50 years ago is now laughingly boasting of his exploits, yet exposes his lies & bigotry. Thomas Louden didn't speak to me when I knocked his door yesterday - but the newspaper he bombed has obtained a telling video of him.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Man who murdered our printer 50 years ago is now laughingly boasting of his exploits, yet they expose his lies and bigotry
Thomas Louden, a heroic figure within republicanism and a personal friend of Bobby Sands, made a six-hour film he thought he’d hidden — but we’ve got it
271
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Northern Ireland's devolved government is in effect insolvent. It has become an unwelcome UK experiment in what happens when fiscal discipline collapses - and Stormont has little incentive to control its spending. London talks tough, but keeps acting weak.
economist.com
Northern Ireland cannot balance its budget. Nobody cares
The most expensive part of Britain
52811
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
More money well spent by Stormont. Sometimes all one can do is marvel at the wisdom of our rulers. It's frankly outrageous that the horrid Treasury isn't sending billions more so that Jayne Brady can get a proper pay rise. Shocking austerity.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Civil Service salaries on rise — with head Jayne Brady enjoying biggest hike of 8.4pc
Figures also show female and Catholic staff still subject to pay gap
060
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In today's Belfast Telegraph we have reprinted the four-page 'Penny Marvel' emergency edition which the paper's journalists - some of them injured in the blast - managed to get on the streets just hours after the bomb tried to destroy the newspaper.
022
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
When the Belfast Telegraph was bombed by the IRA in 1976, the 800 staff took refuge in St Anne's Cathedral. At midday on Saturday - the day our printer Joseph Paton died from his injuries - there will be a memorial service for him in St Anne's. All are welcome.
173
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Alf McCreary, who was there that day, recalls repeated bomb threats against the Belfast Telegraph and tells of his immense pride at how the paper responded to the bombing, producing a four-page edition which literally emerged from the rubble. ➡️ www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/comment/i-am...
000
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Half a century ago today, the IRA bombed the Belfast Telegraph. They failed to stop the newspaper, but murdered 64-year-old printer Joseph Paton. Today his family speak publicly for the first time to recall an apolitical "ordinary, innocent man".
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
‘He went out to do a day’s work and never came home’: Son remembers dad killed in IRA attack on Belfast Telegraph 50 years on
Newspaper worker died four days after the 1976 bombing of our Royal Avenue offices exactly 50 years ago
173
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
An intriguing shift has been happening of late: Some staunch Northern Ireland unionists are making a pro-Irish argument in favour of the Union. This is not entirely novel but a rediscovery of an argument which had become rusted through disuse.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Some staunch unionists are banging the pro-Irish drum to argue in favour of the union... and it’s not a totally new argument
Staunch unionists like Phillip Brett and Moore Holmes now use Irish identity to defend the Union, reshaping Northern Ireland’s constitutional debate.
011
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Stephen Walker was yesterday given an exceptional send-off by his wife and remarkable children, who did him proud. I've never attended a funeral where there were so many laughs amid the inevitable sadness. Stephen epitomised so much of the best of Northern Ireland.
060
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
More than half a century ago, one of the darkest figures in Northern Ireland’s history recorded a tape. That man was the Beast of Kincora, William McGrath. The tape lay hidden until another deeply sinister figure — Jeffrey Donaldson — was convicted of child rape three months ago.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Hidden for over half a century, audio tape exposes Beast of Kincora’s hate-filled religiosity which snared young men and fuelled Troubles
Ferociously anti-Catholic McGrath, who believed Ulster Protestants descended from Lost Tribes of Israel, recorded tape in 1971 while a rampant paedophile
063
Reposted by Sam McBride
Peter Donaghy @peterdonaghy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This year's PISA survey asked questions on AI use at school and the results are clear: increased AI use in school is associated with lower scores.
A chart showing PISA 2025 scores for the United States with scores for answers to the question "This school year, how often did you use AI tools at school?"
124
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Secret files reveal how politics overrode security advice about Queen's NI Silver Jubilee visit: Security assessment considered possibility of suicide bomber or IRA divers & fears Duke of Edinburgh young people could be shot, but visit judged politically imperative.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Secret files reveal how politics overrode security advice about Queen's NI Silver Jubilee visit
Security assessment considered possibility of suicide bomber or IRA divers, alongside fears Duke of Edinburgh Award recipients could be shot
020
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Leading loyalist bandsman warns that re-opening the Drumcree dispute could be disastrous for parades across Northern Ireland - and reveals the NIO in 2023 rejected him for the Parades Commission in favour of Billy Gamble, who has just quit in controversy.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Drumcree ‘publicity stunt’ could set parading back a decade, warns prominent loyalist bandsman
Derek Moore claims NIO rejected his application to join Parades Commission after an interview lasting a few minutes
310
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy’s error was simple, but catastrophic. Unknown to the IRA gangster, the newspaper he was suing had all but abandoned hope of winning. A previously secret file reveals key elements of The Sunday Times' seminal libel victory in 1990.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Secret file reveals IRA gangster was on cusp of £1m newspaper payout before one legal slip pulled house down on his criminal empire
The inside story of The Sunday Times’ seminal libel victory over notorious Provo leader – and how close it was to defeat
140
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This man - who is believed to have moved to Redwood City in California in 1996 - may still be alive. If you know anything about the John Kevin Wilson (date of birth 26 October 1956) referred to in this article, please contact sam.mcbride@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
020
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
‘It seems unjust’: How the NIO helped self-confessed paedophile evade justice in 1997, with child victim blamed for their own abuse and one of the NIO's most senior officials joking about the abuser.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
‘It seems unjust’: How NI Office helped self-confessed paedophile evade justice, with child victim blamed and top official joking about abuser
Declassified ocuments reveal how Northern Ireland’s criminaI justice system let child abuser John Kevin Wilson — in the words of an official — ‘get away with it’
253
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Inside IRA bomber Dolours Price’s final months in jail: ‘She sits, listless and companionless… a gaunt spectre, prematurely aged’.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Inside Dolours Price’s final months in jail: ‘She sits, listless and companionless… a gaunt spectre, prematurely aged’
Medic said ‘it seems that her advisers are pushing things to the limit...he does not see himself being able to hold the situation for more than another 10-12 days’
000
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A remarkable stat: In the years before the Good Friday Agreement, about 7,000 Irish passports a year were being issued to people in Northern Ireland. Now the figure is 84,980.
2117
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Sinn Féin controlled Tallaght using guns and "muscle", the British Embassy was told in 2000: "There's a more urgent need for decommissioning in Dublin South West than in Northern Ireland".
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Sinn Féin controlled Tallaght using guns and ‘muscle’, British Embassy told in 2000
Labour councillor warned there was ‘more urgent need for decommissioning in Dublin South West than in Northern Ireland’
241
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The Irish Government seriously explored opening an Irish passport office in Belfast more than a quarter of a century ago, but refused to make it a consulate, prompting British opposition.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Irish Government seriously explored opening Belfast passport office in 2000, but baulked at consulate proposal
Prior to Good Friday Agreement, there were 7,000 NI applications a year for Irish passports - now that figure is 84,980
141
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Under direct rule, ministerial papers were routinely shredded by the Department for the Environment after being read by the minister, declassified file reveals.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Stormont department routinely shredded papers after they were read by minister
After Good Friday Agreement, devolved departments were told to shred or return files from direct rule era
120
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Britain’s 1950 view of Northern Ireland declassified: Militarily strategic, religiously harmonious and bound to GB by racial ties. Detailed internal Foreign Office document fused self-reflective honesty about the past with wishful thinking about the present.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Britain’s 1950 view of NI declassified: Militarily strategic, religiously harmonious and bound to GB by racial ties
Internal Foreign Office document fused self-reflective honesty about the past with wishful thinking about the present
033
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
As first minister designate, David Trimble was paid £5,000 more than Seamus Mallon — despite the first and deputy first minister roles being equal. There was a plan to hike the differential to £15,000, with the NIO fearing Trimble would ‘get mad’.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
David Trimble was paid thousands more than Seamus Mallon — despite the first and deputy first minister roles being equal
Pay differential was £5,000, and plan was to hike it to £15,000 with NIO fearing equal pay lest Trimble ‘get mad’
151
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
One of the Irish Government’s most senior diplomats made what top NIO figures believed to be “bizarre” criticism of how he said the evangelical Protestant faith of future NIO head Jonathan Stephens influenced his work, according to a declassified file.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Top Irish diplomat made ‘bizarre’ comment on NI Office man’s evangelical Protestant faith: ‘I was nonplussed’
Jonathan Stephens ‘unsettled’ by conversation with Sean O hUiginn in which he was told he was ‘one of the most disliked British officials’
101
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A court has heard a recording of a former council boss allegedly asking an aide to delete (after an FoI request had been made) an email she sent to First Minister Arlene Foster regarding alleged loyalist threats to port workers.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Ex-council boss Anne Donaghy asked PA to delete email to Arlene Foster over threats to port staff, court hears
Case relates to FoI request about decision to withdraw workers over alleged loyalist threats
062
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Co Down woman admits breaching a lifetime anonymity order by publishing information likely to lead to the identification of a victim of Jeffrey Donaldson.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Woman admits breaching Jeffrey Donaldson victims’ anonymity in social media post
A Co Down woman has admitted breaching a lifetime anonymity order by publishing information likely to lead to the identification of a victim of Jeffrey Donaldson.
051
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Margaret Thatcher commissioned a highly secretive analysis of whether to create a compulsory system of identity cards for everyone in Northern Ireland, declassified Government files have revealed.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Margaret Thatcher commissioned secret analysis which examined plan to force everyone in NI to carry an ID card
RUC and Army chiefs said idea didn’t help as ‘the majority of terrorists are already well known to the security forces’
040
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A DUP politician endorsed violence, privately briefing an unnerved Government official that he was preparing for "brother against brother" fighting just weeks before the Good Friday Agreement, a declassified file reveals.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
DUP man ‘was prepared to take up weapons’ against NI peace deal
‘I was not, however, prepared for, and admit to being shocked by, his... being prepared to take up arms,’ civil servant wrote in declassified file
342
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Doubt is often seen as a vice, but can be a virtue. In an age of AI slop and slick lies, we need doubt more than ever.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
In an age of AI and slick lies, we must retain the instinct to doubt and criticise things
Sam McBride on why doubt can be a powerful force for truth, freedom and integrity, and how questioning certainty reshapes politics, faith and daily life.
171
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Jon Burrows’ greatest asset is also his greatest weakness. A year after entering politics, Burrows is the most popular man in unionism, but his feet of clay are starting to emerge. The UUP leader's path to victory still exists, but is perilously narrow.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Jon Burrows’ greatest asset is also his greatest weakness: UUP leader's path to victory still exists, but is perilously narrow
Inexperienced UUP leader is the most popular man in unionism, but his feet of clay are starting to emerge
030
Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Apparent confirmation from the News Letter's new owners that Ben Lowry is not being replaced as editor. Instead, they have advertised for an "editorial director" to oversee more that 20 newspapers, from the News Letter to the Derry Journal and Larne Times.
holdthefrontpage.co.uk
Iconic Media to appoint editorial director for Northern Ireland - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage
Senior role up for grabs
211