Martin confident in Irish-UK ties amid Belfast legacy talks

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin expressed strong confidence in the relationship between the Irish and UK governments during a visit to Belfast on Thursday, despite facing starkly opposing views from Northern Ireland parties on Ireland's ongoing interstate case against the UK over legacy issues from the Troubles.

Martin met leaders from major Stormont parties at Parliament Buildings, where the 2023 case, initiated by Ireland over the previous UK government's Legacy Act, dominated discussions. The Irish government argued the act breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK's Labour government plans to introduce replacement legislation, though concerns persist among some families of Troubles victims about access to truth and justice.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald and First Minister Michelle O'Neill urged Martin to maintain the case, citing fears that the UK might compromise the joint UK-Irish legacy framework by prioritizing military veterans. "We have been given assurances that there will be absolute vigilance on the part of the Irish Government in that regard, and that the interstate case still remains live," McDonald told reporters at Stormont. O'Neill...