26.2.05
IRA2
IRA statement expelling 3 members over McCartney murder
Saturday, February 26
Politics.ie
The IRA leadership along with the leadership of the Belfast command
initiated disciplinary proceedings through Court Martial. This was in
accordance with IRA standing orders.
These proceedings were directed only against IRA volunteers.
The outcome of the Courts Martial includes the dismissal of three
volunteers, two of whom were high-ranking volunteers.
One of these volunteers had already gone to a solicitor immediately
after the incident to make a statement of his actions on that night.
The other two were advised in the strongest terms possible to come
forward and to take responsibility for their actions as the McCartney
family have asked.
Any intimidation or threats in the name of the IRA or otherwise to
any person who wishes to help the McCartney family will not be
tolerated.
The internal disciplinary steps taken by the IRA are a matter for the
IRA. They are not intended to be, nor should they be seen as, a
substitute for the requests of the McCartney family.
IRA volunteers fully understand that they are bound by rules and
regulations and a code of conduct.
There will be no tolerance of anyone who steps outside of these
rules, regulations or code.
Anyone who brings the IRA into disrepute will be held accountable.
Signed
P. O Neill
IRA statement expelling 3 members over McCartney murder
Saturday, February 26
Politics.ie
The IRA leadership along with the leadership of the Belfast command
initiated disciplinary proceedings through Court Martial. This was in
accordance with IRA standing orders.
These proceedings were directed only against IRA volunteers.
The outcome of the Courts Martial includes the dismissal of three
volunteers, two of whom were high-ranking volunteers.
One of these volunteers had already gone to a solicitor immediately
after the incident to make a statement of his actions on that night.
The other two were advised in the strongest terms possible to come
forward and to take responsibility for their actions as the McCartney
family have asked.
Any intimidation or threats in the name of the IRA or otherwise to
any person who wishes to help the McCartney family will not be
tolerated.
The internal disciplinary steps taken by the IRA are a matter for the
IRA. They are not intended to be, nor should they be seen as, a
substitute for the requests of the McCartney family.
IRA volunteers fully understand that they are bound by rules and
regulations and a code of conduct.
There will be no tolerance of anyone who steps outside of these
rules, regulations or code.
Anyone who brings the IRA into disrepute will be held accountable.
Signed
P. O Neill
BBC
Family want 'killers out of army'
Peter McBride snr wants his son's killers out of the Army
The family of a Belfast teenager shot dead by two soldiers in 1992 have again called on the Army to throw them out.
Peter McBride
It follows the dismissal "in disgrace" of three soldiers who abused prisoners in Iraq on Friday.
In 1995 Scots Guards Mark Wright and James Fisher were convicted of Peter McBride's murder. They rejoined their regiment when released in 1998.
Mr McBride's father, Peter snr, said the family cannot understand why the army allowed the soldiers back in.
"(General) Mike Jackson is contradicting himself if he is coming out and making the statement that they let the Army down and all. What about Peter?
"Did them two not let the Army down? I wish he would make a statement on that, I would like to meet him face to face and ask him what's the difference," he said.
Wright and Fisher were found guilty of killing the 18-year-old as he ran away from a military checkpoint in the New Lodge district of north Belfast in 1992.
The soldiers' claim that they opened fire because they thought Mr McBride was carrying a coffee jar bomb was rejected, and they were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
In June last year a military watchdog said that the Army had been wrong to readmit the men.
The Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures, Jim McDonald, insisted the decision dealt a major blow to the forces' reputation.
Family want 'killers out of army'
Peter McBride snr wants his son's killers out of the Army
The family of a Belfast teenager shot dead by two soldiers in 1992 have again called on the Army to throw them out.
Peter McBride
It follows the dismissal "in disgrace" of three soldiers who abused prisoners in Iraq on Friday.
In 1995 Scots Guards Mark Wright and James Fisher were convicted of Peter McBride's murder. They rejoined their regiment when released in 1998.
Mr McBride's father, Peter snr, said the family cannot understand why the army allowed the soldiers back in.
"(General) Mike Jackson is contradicting himself if he is coming out and making the statement that they let the Army down and all. What about Peter?
"Did them two not let the Army down? I wish he would make a statement on that, I would like to meet him face to face and ask him what's the difference," he said.
Wright and Fisher were found guilty of killing the 18-year-old as he ran away from a military checkpoint in the New Lodge district of north Belfast in 1992.
The soldiers' claim that they opened fire because they thought Mr McBride was carrying a coffee jar bomb was rejected, and they were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
In June last year a military watchdog said that the Army had been wrong to readmit the men.
The Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures, Jim McDonald, insisted the decision dealt a major blow to the forces' reputation.
Relatives For Justice
**I am sick of listening to unionists equate the IRA with nothing but criminality and terrorism. If stories like the following had never taken place, there would have been no need for the IRA. If the brits had not taken over someone else's country, killing, starving, and discriminating against those who lived there, there would have been no need for the IRA. If you glance quickly through the pages of Relatives for Justice, you can see all the little children who were just gunned down by brit soldiers and left to die (or killed through collusion with loyalist forces), much as the Israelis are doing now to the Palestinian children. If THAT is not terrorism, nothing is. It goes beyond criminality to an institutionalized form of terrorism, oppression, collusion, and state murder sanctioned at the highest levels.
VICTIMS - Sean O'Riardon
Sean O'Riardon 13years old, Oramore Street, Clonard, Falls Road, West Belfast, shot dead in the Clonard area on 23 March 1972, by members of the British Army's Gloucester Regiment.
Sean was the second oldest in family with six children. He attended St Gaul's Primary School and St Paul's Secondary school. He played hurling and Gaelic football, and was very good at other sports, winning several medals for swimming. He played for Springfield in the juvenile GAA. League. He was also a very good pupil in the Irish language and when he was twelve years old won a scholarship to the Gealtacht in County Donegal.
The Clonard area where Sean O'Riardon lived had experienced a lot of violence in the preceding two and half years before his death. The small narrow streets of the Clonard area where he and hundreds of other children lived and played had, like most other nationalist/republican areas of Belfast during this period, become little more than a urban battlefield. Heavily armed British soldiers in fortified posts or on foot patrol saturated the streets, while armoured cars and helicopters were a frequent and constant presence. The equipment, methods and actions of the British forces, were indicative of an army operating in a war zone.
On the evening Sean was killed local people said he had been playing with other children in Cawnpore Street, off the Kashmir Road. It was nearly 9pm when a foot-patrol of British soldiers came along Cupar Street towards the top of Cawnpore Street. A female resident in Cawnpore Street said around that time she noticed a boy running down the street and then heard the sound of gunfire. The boy who was running she said fell to the ground, hitting his face violently against the windowsill of a terrace house as he fell, badly injuring it. Immediately after the child fell, the female resident said she and others ran to the boy, and examining him, found he had been hit in the back of the head by the gunfire. She tried to stop the blood coming from the young boy's head by putting a towel around it and a covering him with a blanket. The boy she said was unconscious but was still alive.
British soldiers who arrived at the scene refused to let the injured boy go to hospital in a civilian ambulance, insisting instead he be taken the short distance to the Royal Victoria Hospital in a British military ambulance (a large armoured car with a red cross painted on it). The military ambulance took over 20 minutes to arrive at the scene and the boy eventually removed to the RVH. He died there three hours later.
The British army Press Office in a statement issued that night claimed a patrol of the Gloucester Regiment was attacked by three youths who threw petrol bombs at them in Cupar Street. A British soldier fired one shot and said they saw one youth fall. At same time members of the Kings Own Scotch Borders came under fire in Cupar Street from two other youths. One of the youths fired four shots and the other threw a petrol bomb. The soldiers returned fire and but claimed no hits.
Residents of Cawnpore Street rejected the British Army version of events. They said the soldiers responsible had fired indiscriminately down Cawnpore Street at a time when children playing there. None of them heard any shouts of warnings from the soldiers before they opened fire.
Sean O'Riardon's mother speaking in recent years to the Relatives for Justice said residents told her that one of the soldiers from the patrol involved shouted to another soldier 'we got the bastard' as they ran towards her dying son.
It was over two years before an inquest into Sean O'Riardon's killing was held in June 1974. None of the British soldiers involved in the killing attended the hearing. A military representative, who referred to each soldier only by the letters of the alphabet, read out their statements. However, the hearing had to be delayed for a time while their statements were brought to the court from British army headquarters at Lisburn.
The hearing was told that on the night of 23 March 1972, an eight-man military foot patrol came under attack in Cupar Street from the direction of Cawnpore Street. The commander of the patrol said during the attack he took aim and fired two shots, while two other soldiers fired one shot each. He also claimed two low velocity shots were fired at the patrol from the direction of the Springfield Road. He said a youth was found lying in Cawnpore Street with a gunshot wound in the back of the head and died a short time later. The day after the shooting another soldier on patrol in Cawnpore Street reported he found a milk bottle containing petrol and sugar with a rag hanging from the neck, near to where the youth was shot.
Counsel for the next of kin rejected the implication of the soldiers' statements. He said there was absolutely no evidence to suggest the dead boy was one of the petrol bombers.
A forensic expert told the hearing he found no traces of petrol on the youth's clothing, and referring to the bottle filled with petrol reportedly found the day after the shooting in a derelict house, he said he found no fingerprints on it. Evidence was also given that the fatal bullet that ended Sean's life was a ricochet.
The Coroner at the conclusion of the inquest said he agreed with the representative of the O'Riardon family that the facts of the case were obscure. However, he said he accepted that petrol bombs had been thrown and that the British army opened fired, but there was no firm evidence that the boy was one of the people who took part in that attack.
The jury returned an Open Verdict.
Mrs O'Riardon told the RFJ her son was shot three times in the head, neck and chest. She said her family also believed it was members of the British army's Parachute Regiment who had carried out the shooting and not the regiment revealed in the British army statement and at the inquest. She was adamant no warning was given before her son was shot. She also said that none of the clothes Sean was wearing on the night of his death were ever returned to her.
No British soldier was ever charged in connection with the killing of Sean O'Riardon.
**I am sick of listening to unionists equate the IRA with nothing but criminality and terrorism. If stories like the following had never taken place, there would have been no need for the IRA. If the brits had not taken over someone else's country, killing, starving, and discriminating against those who lived there, there would have been no need for the IRA. If you glance quickly through the pages of Relatives for Justice, you can see all the little children who were just gunned down by brit soldiers and left to die (or killed through collusion with loyalist forces), much as the Israelis are doing now to the Palestinian children. If THAT is not terrorism, nothing is. It goes beyond criminality to an institutionalized form of terrorism, oppression, collusion, and state murder sanctioned at the highest levels.
VICTIMS - Sean O'Riardon
Sean O'Riardon 13years old, Oramore Street, Clonard, Falls Road, West Belfast, shot dead in the Clonard area on 23 March 1972, by members of the British Army's Gloucester Regiment.
Sean was the second oldest in family with six children. He attended St Gaul's Primary School and St Paul's Secondary school. He played hurling and Gaelic football, and was very good at other sports, winning several medals for swimming. He played for Springfield in the juvenile GAA. League. He was also a very good pupil in the Irish language and when he was twelve years old won a scholarship to the Gealtacht in County Donegal.
The Clonard area where Sean O'Riardon lived had experienced a lot of violence in the preceding two and half years before his death. The small narrow streets of the Clonard area where he and hundreds of other children lived and played had, like most other nationalist/republican areas of Belfast during this period, become little more than a urban battlefield. Heavily armed British soldiers in fortified posts or on foot patrol saturated the streets, while armoured cars and helicopters were a frequent and constant presence. The equipment, methods and actions of the British forces, were indicative of an army operating in a war zone.
On the evening Sean was killed local people said he had been playing with other children in Cawnpore Street, off the Kashmir Road. It was nearly 9pm when a foot-patrol of British soldiers came along Cupar Street towards the top of Cawnpore Street. A female resident in Cawnpore Street said around that time she noticed a boy running down the street and then heard the sound of gunfire. The boy who was running she said fell to the ground, hitting his face violently against the windowsill of a terrace house as he fell, badly injuring it. Immediately after the child fell, the female resident said she and others ran to the boy, and examining him, found he had been hit in the back of the head by the gunfire. She tried to stop the blood coming from the young boy's head by putting a towel around it and a covering him with a blanket. The boy she said was unconscious but was still alive.
British soldiers who arrived at the scene refused to let the injured boy go to hospital in a civilian ambulance, insisting instead he be taken the short distance to the Royal Victoria Hospital in a British military ambulance (a large armoured car with a red cross painted on it). The military ambulance took over 20 minutes to arrive at the scene and the boy eventually removed to the RVH. He died there three hours later.
The British army Press Office in a statement issued that night claimed a patrol of the Gloucester Regiment was attacked by three youths who threw petrol bombs at them in Cupar Street. A British soldier fired one shot and said they saw one youth fall. At same time members of the Kings Own Scotch Borders came under fire in Cupar Street from two other youths. One of the youths fired four shots and the other threw a petrol bomb. The soldiers returned fire and but claimed no hits.
Residents of Cawnpore Street rejected the British Army version of events. They said the soldiers responsible had fired indiscriminately down Cawnpore Street at a time when children playing there. None of them heard any shouts of warnings from the soldiers before they opened fire.
Sean O'Riardon's mother speaking in recent years to the Relatives for Justice said residents told her that one of the soldiers from the patrol involved shouted to another soldier 'we got the bastard' as they ran towards her dying son.
It was over two years before an inquest into Sean O'Riardon's killing was held in June 1974. None of the British soldiers involved in the killing attended the hearing. A military representative, who referred to each soldier only by the letters of the alphabet, read out their statements. However, the hearing had to be delayed for a time while their statements were brought to the court from British army headquarters at Lisburn.
The hearing was told that on the night of 23 March 1972, an eight-man military foot patrol came under attack in Cupar Street from the direction of Cawnpore Street. The commander of the patrol said during the attack he took aim and fired two shots, while two other soldiers fired one shot each. He also claimed two low velocity shots were fired at the patrol from the direction of the Springfield Road. He said a youth was found lying in Cawnpore Street with a gunshot wound in the back of the head and died a short time later. The day after the shooting another soldier on patrol in Cawnpore Street reported he found a milk bottle containing petrol and sugar with a rag hanging from the neck, near to where the youth was shot.
Counsel for the next of kin rejected the implication of the soldiers' statements. He said there was absolutely no evidence to suggest the dead boy was one of the petrol bombers.
A forensic expert told the hearing he found no traces of petrol on the youth's clothing, and referring to the bottle filled with petrol reportedly found the day after the shooting in a derelict house, he said he found no fingerprints on it. Evidence was also given that the fatal bullet that ended Sean's life was a ricochet.
The Coroner at the conclusion of the inquest said he agreed with the representative of the O'Riardon family that the facts of the case were obscure. However, he said he accepted that petrol bombs had been thrown and that the British army opened fired, but there was no firm evidence that the boy was one of the people who took part in that attack.
The jury returned an Open Verdict.
Mrs O'Riardon told the RFJ her son was shot three times in the head, neck and chest. She said her family also believed it was members of the British army's Parachute Regiment who had carried out the shooting and not the regiment revealed in the British army statement and at the inquest. She was adamant no warning was given before her son was shot. She also said that none of the clothes Sean was wearing on the night of his death were ever returned to her.
No British soldier was ever charged in connection with the killing of Sean O'Riardon.
Relatives for Justice - Victims of State Killings
Dunloy Commemoration Tomorrow for Declan Martin and Henry Hogan
Declan Martin 18 years, Dunloy, County Antrim, an IRA activist, he was shot dead by undercover soldiers following a gun battle at Dunloy on 21 February 1984. Henry Hogan (21), also an IRA activist was shot dead at the same time. Private Paul Oram, a member of the 14th Intelligence Company, was killed earlier during the gun battle.
Henry Hogan 21 years, Dunloy, County Antrim, an IRA activist, he was shot dead by undercover soldiers following a gun battle at Dunloy on 21 February 1984. Declan Martin (18), also an IRA activist, was shot dead at the same time.
Dunloy Commemoration Tomorrow for Declan Martin and Henry Hogan
Declan Martin 18 years, Dunloy, County Antrim, an IRA activist, he was shot dead by undercover soldiers following a gun battle at Dunloy on 21 February 1984. Henry Hogan (21), also an IRA activist was shot dead at the same time. Private Paul Oram, a member of the 14th Intelligence Company, was killed earlier during the gun battle.
Henry Hogan 21 years, Dunloy, County Antrim, an IRA activist, he was shot dead by undercover soldiers following a gun battle at Dunloy on 21 February 1984. Declan Martin (18), also an IRA activist, was shot dead at the same time.
Belfast Telegraph
McGuinness to attend IRA service
By Debra Douglas
26 February 2005
Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness will attend an IRA commemoration service tomorrow, despite continuing pressure on the party to break its links with criminality.
Just one week after Gerry Adams appeared beside men and women in paramilitary uniforms at an IRA memorial in Strabane, Martin McGuinness will attend a parade and commemoration service for IRA volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin in Dunloy.
The men were killed in a gun battle with undercover soldiers 21 years ago.
Local DUP MLA Mervyn Storey said Mr McGuinness's attendance at the rally was further proof of the intrinsic link between Sinn Fein and the IRA.
"This clearly indicates that there is no distinction between Sinn Fein and the IRA. Sinn Fein are unprepared and incapable of divesting themselves from their republican military wing, the driving force behind their political agenda.
"The IRA are the oxygen by which Sinn Fein lives, they need to remove the mask and learn to breathe without them.
"Sinn Fein tell us that anyone involved in criminal activity or subversive acts has no place in the republican movement but Mr McGuinness is happy to attend a service for two men who were on a mission to take out members of the security forces, that is illegal and immoral activity.
"Mr McGuinness has no conscience when he says their actions were honourable."
But Sinn Fein MLA and local councillor Phillip McGuigan said the commemoration service was important.
"People have not nor should not forget the sacrifices that the likes of Henry and Declan have made.
"In the current political climate I think it is more appropriate than ever to defend this struggle and send a very clear message that all attempts to criminalise the struggle or to criminalise the mandate of Sinn Fein will fail.
"It will fail because of the sacrifices of young men and women like Henry and Declan and because of the support that now exists to finally bring an end to the causes of conflict."
McGuinness to attend IRA service
By Debra Douglas
26 February 2005
Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness will attend an IRA commemoration service tomorrow, despite continuing pressure on the party to break its links with criminality.
Just one week after Gerry Adams appeared beside men and women in paramilitary uniforms at an IRA memorial in Strabane, Martin McGuinness will attend a parade and commemoration service for IRA volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin in Dunloy.
The men were killed in a gun battle with undercover soldiers 21 years ago.
Local DUP MLA Mervyn Storey said Mr McGuinness's attendance at the rally was further proof of the intrinsic link between Sinn Fein and the IRA.
"This clearly indicates that there is no distinction between Sinn Fein and the IRA. Sinn Fein are unprepared and incapable of divesting themselves from their republican military wing, the driving force behind their political agenda.
"The IRA are the oxygen by which Sinn Fein lives, they need to remove the mask and learn to breathe without them.
"Sinn Fein tell us that anyone involved in criminal activity or subversive acts has no place in the republican movement but Mr McGuinness is happy to attend a service for two men who were on a mission to take out members of the security forces, that is illegal and immoral activity.
"Mr McGuinness has no conscience when he says their actions were honourable."
But Sinn Fein MLA and local councillor Phillip McGuigan said the commemoration service was important.
"People have not nor should not forget the sacrifices that the likes of Henry and Declan have made.
"In the current political climate I think it is more appropriate than ever to defend this struggle and send a very clear message that all attempts to criminalise the struggle or to criminalise the mandate of Sinn Fein will fail.
"It will fail because of the sacrifices of young men and women like Henry and Declan and because of the support that now exists to finally bring an end to the causes of conflict."
IrishExaminer.com
Gardaí receive Bulgarian file on money laundering probe
26 February 2005
By Noel Baker and Caroline O’Doherty in Sofia
INVESTIGATORS in Bulgaria probing alleged IRA money laundering have sent their initial findings to the Irish authorities.
A dossier on the activities of six people who went to Bulgaria in connection with potential investments there was sent to Dublin on Thursday.
The file details the movements of Cork businessman Ted Cunningham, former trade union boss and Government aide Phil Flynn, and banker Denis O’Connell during the trip to Bulgaria at the end of January.
The names of the other three are known to the Irish Examiner but are not disclosed for legal reasons.
The Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) yesterday confirmed that investigators in Bulgaria are working closely with their Irish counterparts.
Agency director Dr Vasil Kirov said he was in daily contact with the head of the Garda National Bureau of Investigations, Chief Supt Austin McNally. A counter-intelligence expert from Bulgaria is in Ireland and due to present his findings to the Bulgarian government next week. Gardaí are not expected to travel to Bulgaria until their probe in Ireland is complete.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov told the Irish Examiner yesterday there was still no evidence of a “serious intention” by the IRA to buy a bank in Bulgaria. A meeting aimed at smoothing relations between Ireland and Bulgaria took place in Dublin yesterday. A delegation from the Interior Ministry met with two senior officials from the Department of Justice at the request of the Bulgarian embassy in Dublin.
Mr Petkanov earlier explained Mr Cunningham and Mr Flynn had opened two bank accounts during their January stay in Bulgaria and that €1,000 was lodged in each.
A sum of around €58,000 was paid to a law firm in Bulgaria’s second city of Plovdiv. That money was to register the Irish businessmen’s new firms in Bulgaria.
Gardaí receive Bulgarian file on money laundering probe
26 February 2005
By Noel Baker and Caroline O’Doherty in Sofia
INVESTIGATORS in Bulgaria probing alleged IRA money laundering have sent their initial findings to the Irish authorities.
A dossier on the activities of six people who went to Bulgaria in connection with potential investments there was sent to Dublin on Thursday.
The file details the movements of Cork businessman Ted Cunningham, former trade union boss and Government aide Phil Flynn, and banker Denis O’Connell during the trip to Bulgaria at the end of January.
The names of the other three are known to the Irish Examiner but are not disclosed for legal reasons.
The Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) yesterday confirmed that investigators in Bulgaria are working closely with their Irish counterparts.
Agency director Dr Vasil Kirov said he was in daily contact with the head of the Garda National Bureau of Investigations, Chief Supt Austin McNally. A counter-intelligence expert from Bulgaria is in Ireland and due to present his findings to the Bulgarian government next week. Gardaí are not expected to travel to Bulgaria until their probe in Ireland is complete.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov told the Irish Examiner yesterday there was still no evidence of a “serious intention” by the IRA to buy a bank in Bulgaria. A meeting aimed at smoothing relations between Ireland and Bulgaria took place in Dublin yesterday. A delegation from the Interior Ministry met with two senior officials from the Department of Justice at the request of the Bulgarian embassy in Dublin.
Mr Petkanov earlier explained Mr Cunningham and Mr Flynn had opened two bank accounts during their January stay in Bulgaria and that €1,000 was lodged in each.
A sum of around €58,000 was paid to a law firm in Bulgaria’s second city of Plovdiv. That money was to register the Irish businessmen’s new firms in Bulgaria.
BreakingNews.ie
Twenty hold key to McCartney bar murder
26/02/2005 - 16:27:50
Up to 20 people hold the key to whether the killers of Belfast father of two Robert McCartney will face justice, his family claimed tonight.
Relatives called on all people, including IRA members, present during the murder last month in a Belfast bar to turn themselves in to help get to the bottom of what happened.
Their appeal came as police confirmed a man was arrested in connection with the murder after turning up at Musgrave Street station in the city with his solicitor.
As the family waited to see if other people would come forward, Paula McCartney, a sister of Robert, said: “Up to 20 people were involved in the events of that night.
“Not all of them, as we understand it, were IRA members. We want all those people to be encouraged and persuaded to hand themselves in.
“They are the key vital witnesses to Robert’s murder and the cover up.”
Mr McCartney had been drinking with a friend, Brendan Devine, in Magennis’s bar in Belfast city centre when a row broke out with IRA members.
They were both attacked. Mr McCartney, 33, was stabbed and beaten to death.
The McCartneys allege that a clean up operation took place inside the bar and over the past month they have accused the IRA of intimidating people against giving information to the police.
The IRA and Sinn Féin have, however, been under intense political pressure in recent weeks on both sides of the Irish border to face up to allegations that it was shielding members of the organisation who killed Mr McCartney.
Over the past fortnight, the Provisionals have been eager to distance themselves from the attack, insisting it was not sanctioned by them and that criminality would not be tolerated in their ranks.
In an unprecedented statement the IRA also said last night it had conducted its own internal investigation and expelled three members, two of them in high ranking positions.
One of the three had made a statement to a solicitor while the other two were strongly advised to take responsibility for their actions and come forward with information.
It was unclear tonight whether the man under arrest was one of these three members.
Gerry Adams also piled pressure today on those present during the attack to come forward with information.
The Sinn Féin leader stopped short of asking people to provide the Police Service of Northern Ireland with information but said that had he been in the bar at the time, he would have gone to a solicitor.
Sinn Féin’s reluctance to urge people to go directly to the police stems from its criticism of policing reforms in Northern Ireland and its refusal to endorse the new police service.
The West Belfast MP said: “I just think the situation is so serious that any self-respecting republican who got caught up in all of this because of drink or because of whatever else occurred, they have a responsibility to redeem themselves.”
While the McCartney family welcomed the IRA expulsions, they insisted the only way they could get justice for Robert’s killing or accept the IRA’s account of what happened would be for all those involved to turn themselves in and for evidence to be considered in court.
“It has been exhausting but at the end of the day we are getting the strength from Robert,” another sister Catherine said.
“We believe that we will get justice for Robert and we will take it to the grave if we don’t.
“But as we say, the key to this is the people who helped clean up Robert’s murder. Those are the ones who should hand themselves in.”
Twenty hold key to McCartney bar murder
26/02/2005 - 16:27:50
Up to 20 people hold the key to whether the killers of Belfast father of two Robert McCartney will face justice, his family claimed tonight.
Relatives called on all people, including IRA members, present during the murder last month in a Belfast bar to turn themselves in to help get to the bottom of what happened.
Their appeal came as police confirmed a man was arrested in connection with the murder after turning up at Musgrave Street station in the city with his solicitor.
As the family waited to see if other people would come forward, Paula McCartney, a sister of Robert, said: “Up to 20 people were involved in the events of that night.
“Not all of them, as we understand it, were IRA members. We want all those people to be encouraged and persuaded to hand themselves in.
“They are the key vital witnesses to Robert’s murder and the cover up.”
Mr McCartney had been drinking with a friend, Brendan Devine, in Magennis’s bar in Belfast city centre when a row broke out with IRA members.
They were both attacked. Mr McCartney, 33, was stabbed and beaten to death.
The McCartneys allege that a clean up operation took place inside the bar and over the past month they have accused the IRA of intimidating people against giving information to the police.
The IRA and Sinn Féin have, however, been under intense political pressure in recent weeks on both sides of the Irish border to face up to allegations that it was shielding members of the organisation who killed Mr McCartney.
Over the past fortnight, the Provisionals have been eager to distance themselves from the attack, insisting it was not sanctioned by them and that criminality would not be tolerated in their ranks.
In an unprecedented statement the IRA also said last night it had conducted its own internal investigation and expelled three members, two of them in high ranking positions.
One of the three had made a statement to a solicitor while the other two were strongly advised to take responsibility for their actions and come forward with information.
It was unclear tonight whether the man under arrest was one of these three members.
Gerry Adams also piled pressure today on those present during the attack to come forward with information.
The Sinn Féin leader stopped short of asking people to provide the Police Service of Northern Ireland with information but said that had he been in the bar at the time, he would have gone to a solicitor.
Sinn Féin’s reluctance to urge people to go directly to the police stems from its criticism of policing reforms in Northern Ireland and its refusal to endorse the new police service.
The West Belfast MP said: “I just think the situation is so serious that any self-respecting republican who got caught up in all of this because of drink or because of whatever else occurred, they have a responsibility to redeem themselves.”
While the McCartney family welcomed the IRA expulsions, they insisted the only way they could get justice for Robert’s killing or accept the IRA’s account of what happened would be for all those involved to turn themselves in and for evidence to be considered in court.
“It has been exhausting but at the end of the day we are getting the strength from Robert,” another sister Catherine said.
“We believe that we will get justice for Robert and we will take it to the grave if we don’t.
“But as we say, the key to this is the people who helped clean up Robert’s murder. Those are the ones who should hand themselves in.”
BBC
PSNI 'intervene' in tsunami march
Police have said they "intervened" in a loyalist band parade in the Whitewell area of north Belfast.
They say a suspected breach of the Parades Commision's determination over the route occured.
The parade by the Whitewell Defenders Flute Band was held on Saturday afternoon in aid of the tsunami disaster appeal.
Chief Superintendent Mike Little said that files would be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
"The organisers of today's parade have been spoken to by police and evidence has been collected," he said.
In a determination on Wednesday the Parades Commission gave permission for the march to go ahead, but put limits on the route, citing sectarian tension and division in the area.
The Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.
Commission rulings restricting marches by the Protestant loyal orders, which are opposed by nationalist residents, have led to calls by unionist politicians for the body to be scrapped.
Last week it was announced that the commission was to be given greater powers to restrict the actions of people supporting or protesting against loyal order marches.
The new laws announced by Security Minister Ian Pearson will be in place for this year's marching season.
Clashes between nationalists protesters and loyalists following a parade in Ardoyne last July led to calls for the commission's powers to be strengthened.
The legislation will be in place by the end of March to apply from 14 May.
PSNI 'intervene' in tsunami march
Police have said they "intervened" in a loyalist band parade in the Whitewell area of north Belfast.
They say a suspected breach of the Parades Commision's determination over the route occured.
The parade by the Whitewell Defenders Flute Band was held on Saturday afternoon in aid of the tsunami disaster appeal.
Chief Superintendent Mike Little said that files would be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
"The organisers of today's parade have been spoken to by police and evidence has been collected," he said.
In a determination on Wednesday the Parades Commission gave permission for the march to go ahead, but put limits on the route, citing sectarian tension and division in the area.
The Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.
Commission rulings restricting marches by the Protestant loyal orders, which are opposed by nationalist residents, have led to calls by unionist politicians for the body to be scrapped.
Last week it was announced that the commission was to be given greater powers to restrict the actions of people supporting or protesting against loyal order marches.
The new laws announced by Security Minister Ian Pearson will be in place for this year's marching season.
Clashes between nationalists protesters and loyalists following a parade in Ardoyne last July led to calls for the commission's powers to be strengthened.
The legislation will be in place by the end of March to apply from 14 May.
Irelandclick.com
Unique research project set for New Lodge Six
A ground-breaking piece of research is due to be carried out investigating how the conflict has affected generations of families in the New Lodge area.
The unique piece of research commissioned by Droichead an Dóchais will look at the families of the six men shot dead by the British army in February 1973 as well as the families of those people who survived the attacks.
The aim of the project is to investigate and chronicle the effects the tragedy had on their lives and on the lives of future generations.
The Community Relations Council is funding the exercise and over the coming weeks people will be asked to give their account of how their lives changed in February 1973 when Jim Sloan, Jim McCann, Tony Campbell, Brendan Maguire, John Loughran and Ambrose Hardy were killed and Charlie Carson was severely wounded.
The research is expected to be completed before the end of March and Michael Culbert, who is a member of Droichead an Dóchais’ advisory committee said the project was unique in its aim.
“This is a unique piece of research which hopes to track and document trans-generational trauma.
“In the past we have had a community inquiry into the New Lodge Six killings, which gave a full account of the tragedy and highlighted their quest for answers and justice.
“This piece of research is different in that we are trying to focus on the general health and well being of the victims and survivors of the killings,” said Michael Culbert.
The research and its questionnaires will also be looking at an apparent widespread negative image of the area.
“I am convinced that these were normal people who were living in abnormal times. Negative comments about the area that it is run down and that young people are running amok are casually thrown about. There might be certain grounds for this, but we need explanations,” the North Belfast counsellor said.
“Poor health and a high level of mental health issues in the area have to come from somewhere and we will be looking into this alongside effects of the conflict.”
John Loughran whose uncle was shot dead by the British army in the New Lodge Six massacre said he welcomed the initiative.
“The key part of any research is that it sets the agenda for future pieces of work and identifies key areas. How do we remedy the situation if we don’t identify the cause and extent of the problem?
“Through this research we are trying to create a context in which we can examine other atrocities in which families have been bereaved and had their rights denied. We need to look at all of these issues and examine them.”
A local councillor involved in the project said she thought it was important to establish what affect the conflict had on bereaved families.
“I would welcome this piece of research. I believe it’s important to find out what the needs of the area are,” Sinn Féin councillor Carál Ni Chuilín said.
“It’s important to understand what services people are accessing and if they’re not accessing them, then why not? Just because the families haven’t got justice doesn’t mean they can’t get support in the interim. In fact for anyone who feels they have been affected by the conflict it’s important to talk to someone.
“They could contact Droichead an Dóchais on 9074 2255 or myself at the local Sinn Féin office on 90740817.”
Journalist:: Staff Reporter
Unique research project set for New Lodge Six
A ground-breaking piece of research is due to be carried out investigating how the conflict has affected generations of families in the New Lodge area.
The unique piece of research commissioned by Droichead an Dóchais will look at the families of the six men shot dead by the British army in February 1973 as well as the families of those people who survived the attacks.
The aim of the project is to investigate and chronicle the effects the tragedy had on their lives and on the lives of future generations.
The Community Relations Council is funding the exercise and over the coming weeks people will be asked to give their account of how their lives changed in February 1973 when Jim Sloan, Jim McCann, Tony Campbell, Brendan Maguire, John Loughran and Ambrose Hardy were killed and Charlie Carson was severely wounded.
The research is expected to be completed before the end of March and Michael Culbert, who is a member of Droichead an Dóchais’ advisory committee said the project was unique in its aim.
“This is a unique piece of research which hopes to track and document trans-generational trauma.
“In the past we have had a community inquiry into the New Lodge Six killings, which gave a full account of the tragedy and highlighted their quest for answers and justice.
“This piece of research is different in that we are trying to focus on the general health and well being of the victims and survivors of the killings,” said Michael Culbert.
The research and its questionnaires will also be looking at an apparent widespread negative image of the area.
“I am convinced that these were normal people who were living in abnormal times. Negative comments about the area that it is run down and that young people are running amok are casually thrown about. There might be certain grounds for this, but we need explanations,” the North Belfast counsellor said.
“Poor health and a high level of mental health issues in the area have to come from somewhere and we will be looking into this alongside effects of the conflict.”
John Loughran whose uncle was shot dead by the British army in the New Lodge Six massacre said he welcomed the initiative.
“The key part of any research is that it sets the agenda for future pieces of work and identifies key areas. How do we remedy the situation if we don’t identify the cause and extent of the problem?
“Through this research we are trying to create a context in which we can examine other atrocities in which families have been bereaved and had their rights denied. We need to look at all of these issues and examine them.”
A local councillor involved in the project said she thought it was important to establish what affect the conflict had on bereaved families.
“I would welcome this piece of research. I believe it’s important to find out what the needs of the area are,” Sinn Féin councillor Carál Ni Chuilín said.
“It’s important to understand what services people are accessing and if they’re not accessing them, then why not? Just because the families haven’t got justice doesn’t mean they can’t get support in the interim. In fact for anyone who feels they have been affected by the conflict it’s important to talk to someone.
“They could contact Droichead an Dóchais on 9074 2255 or myself at the local Sinn Féin office on 90740817.”
Journalist:: Staff Reporter
IRA2
Consultant who travelled with Flynn is arrested
Irish Times
26 Feb 2005
Gardaí investigating the suspected money-laundering operation
linked to a Cork businessman, Mr Ted Cunningham, have arrested an
international business consultant who travelled with Mr Cunningham
and Mr Phil Flynn to Bulgaria last month. Conor Lally & Colm Keena,
Public Affairs Correspondent report.
The woman, originally from Northern Ireland but now based in Co
Kildare, has worked for a well-known international consultancy firm
and has experience of doing business in Bulgaria. In January she set
up a meeting for the Irish party with the Bulgarian Deputy Finance
Minister, Mr Ilia Lingorski, in Sofia. Mr Lingorski has special
responsibility for inward investment.
Mr Flynn has told The Irish Times he was working on setting up three
firms in Bulgaria, one of which would replicate the unlicensed
lending company, Chesterton Finance, and another which would seek a
Bulgarian licence to act as a mortgage company.
Mr Cunningham is the principal behind Chesterton in whose home in Co
Cork earlier this month the Garda discovered more than €2 million in
cash. Gardaí believe the Provisional IRA may have been laundering
money through Chesterton, including money from the Northern Bank raid.
Following the disclosure that Mr Flynn was a director of Chesterton,
he resigned as chairman of Bank of Scotland (Ireland).
A team of senior Garda investigators has spent the last few days in
Bulgaria meeting officials. Officers in Dublin from the Criminal
Assets Bureau and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation have
identified an Isle of Man-based man whom they wish to interview about
his links to Mr Cunningham's operation.
Mr Flynn told The Irish Times that this man runs a business based in
Germany and was providing legal advice on the Bulgarian projects.
Gardaí believe this man and the woman arrested here on Thursday also
worked on Mr Cunningham's behalf in Libya and Malta. The woman has
worked for several clients on business deals in Bulgaria in recent
years.
Gardaí have been anxious to speak to her since the raid on Mr
Cunningham's home in Farran, Co Cork, 10 days ago. She was still
being questioned yesterday.
Officers are expected to travel to the Isle of Man to interview the
man who gave advice on the Bulgarian trip. The man was described as
a "financier" by one Garda source, who said he was an expert on tax
breaks and tax havens.
Mr Flynn said he had been travelling to Bulgaria since the 1970s.
More recently he had been looking at the possibility of business
ventures there. Mr Flynn is a former trade unionist who was vice
president of Sinn Féin in the 1980s.
© The Irish Times
Consultant who travelled with Flynn is arrested
Irish Times
26 Feb 2005
Gardaí investigating the suspected money-laundering operation
linked to a Cork businessman, Mr Ted Cunningham, have arrested an
international business consultant who travelled with Mr Cunningham
and Mr Phil Flynn to Bulgaria last month. Conor Lally & Colm Keena,
Public Affairs Correspondent report.
The woman, originally from Northern Ireland but now based in Co
Kildare, has worked for a well-known international consultancy firm
and has experience of doing business in Bulgaria. In January she set
up a meeting for the Irish party with the Bulgarian Deputy Finance
Minister, Mr Ilia Lingorski, in Sofia. Mr Lingorski has special
responsibility for inward investment.
Mr Flynn has told The Irish Times he was working on setting up three
firms in Bulgaria, one of which would replicate the unlicensed
lending company, Chesterton Finance, and another which would seek a
Bulgarian licence to act as a mortgage company.
Mr Cunningham is the principal behind Chesterton in whose home in Co
Cork earlier this month the Garda discovered more than €2 million in
cash. Gardaí believe the Provisional IRA may have been laundering
money through Chesterton, including money from the Northern Bank raid.
Following the disclosure that Mr Flynn was a director of Chesterton,
he resigned as chairman of Bank of Scotland (Ireland).
A team of senior Garda investigators has spent the last few days in
Bulgaria meeting officials. Officers in Dublin from the Criminal
Assets Bureau and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation have
identified an Isle of Man-based man whom they wish to interview about
his links to Mr Cunningham's operation.
Mr Flynn told The Irish Times that this man runs a business based in
Germany and was providing legal advice on the Bulgarian projects.
Gardaí believe this man and the woman arrested here on Thursday also
worked on Mr Cunningham's behalf in Libya and Malta. The woman has
worked for several clients on business deals in Bulgaria in recent
years.
Gardaí have been anxious to speak to her since the raid on Mr
Cunningham's home in Farran, Co Cork, 10 days ago. She was still
being questioned yesterday.
Officers are expected to travel to the Isle of Man to interview the
man who gave advice on the Bulgarian trip. The man was described as
a "financier" by one Garda source, who said he was an expert on tax
breaks and tax havens.
Mr Flynn said he had been travelling to Bulgaria since the 1970s.
More recently he had been looking at the possibility of business
ventures there. Mr Flynn is a former trade unionist who was vice
president of Sinn Féin in the 1980s.
© The Irish Times
BreakingNews.ie
Hand yourselves in, McCartney family pleads
26/02/2005 - 13:00:09
The family of suspected IRA murder victim Robert McCartney today welcomed news that three members of the organisation have been expelled but called for all those involved in the incident to “hand themselves in”.
In a statement, the family of the Belfast father of two said they were encouraged by the IRA’s move to throw out three of its members following an internal investigation.
However, they challenged the version of events given by the IRA in its statement and insisted that members of the provisionals and others, regardless of their role, should allow themselves to be charged, tried and convicted in a trial.
The family statement said: “We are encouraged by the second IRA statement and view it as a step forward in our search for truth and justice.
“We welcome the fact that the IRA has accepted unequivocally that their members were involved in Robert’s cold-blooded murder and the subsequent cover and clean-up operation.
“We also welcome their assurances in relation to the intimidation of witnesses and hope that this will bear fruit.”
However in a reference to the IRA’s move against just three members, the family insisted more people needed to come forward to help the investigation into the fork lift driver’s stabbing and beating outside a Belfast city centre bar on January 30.
“The version of the event of January 30 as outlined by the (IRA) statement is not one family accepts as fact.
“The accuracy of this will only be confirmed or rejected when a trial takes place.
“It is, however, only when ALL those involved, that is those IRA members and others, regardless of how small a part they played in the murder and subsequent clean and cover up operation have handed themselves in and are charged, tried and convicted by the courts, that we as a family will be able to bring closure to this horrific ordeal and begin to grieve for Robert.”
Hand yourselves in, McCartney family pleads
26/02/2005 - 13:00:09
The family of suspected IRA murder victim Robert McCartney today welcomed news that three members of the organisation have been expelled but called for all those involved in the incident to “hand themselves in”.
In a statement, the family of the Belfast father of two said they were encouraged by the IRA’s move to throw out three of its members following an internal investigation.
However, they challenged the version of events given by the IRA in its statement and insisted that members of the provisionals and others, regardless of their role, should allow themselves to be charged, tried and convicted in a trial.
The family statement said: “We are encouraged by the second IRA statement and view it as a step forward in our search for truth and justice.
“We welcome the fact that the IRA has accepted unequivocally that their members were involved in Robert’s cold-blooded murder and the subsequent cover and clean-up operation.
“We also welcome their assurances in relation to the intimidation of witnesses and hope that this will bear fruit.”
However in a reference to the IRA’s move against just three members, the family insisted more people needed to come forward to help the investigation into the fork lift driver’s stabbing and beating outside a Belfast city centre bar on January 30.
“The version of the event of January 30 as outlined by the (IRA) statement is not one family accepts as fact.
“The accuracy of this will only be confirmed or rejected when a trial takes place.
“It is, however, only when ALL those involved, that is those IRA members and others, regardless of how small a part they played in the murder and subsequent clean and cover up operation have handed themselves in and are charged, tried and convicted by the courts, that we as a family will be able to bring closure to this horrific ordeal and begin to grieve for Robert.”
BBC
Man held over 'IRA bar killing'
Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre
A man has been arrested in Belfast in connection with the killing of Robert McCartney, police have said.
It is understood he handed himself in at Musgrave Street police station in the city and was accompanied by his solicitor.
It follows the expulsion of three IRA members over suspected involvement in the killing following a row in a bar last month.
The McCartney family welcomed the move but said it did not go far enough.
The 33-year-old father of two died in hospital after being stabbed.
Mr McCartney's sister Catherine, said all of those involved in the killing should now come forward.
"The IRA investigation was carried out behind closed doors therefore we are not accepting or confirming that outline," she said.
"The only way the family will know the truth is if we can hear witnesses' statements in a court.
"We believed that between 12 and 20 people were involved in the events of that night. Not all of them, we understand, were IRA members but we want all people to be encouraged or persuaded or to hand themselves in."
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also said that if he had witnessed the murder he would give evidence in court.
Mr Adams said "any self respecting republican" had a responsibility to come forward if they witnessed the fatal assault.
"Had I found myself in Magennis's Bar and was caught up in these dreadful events, I would now be making myself available to the court as the McCartney family have asked," Mr Adams told the BBC's Today programme on Saturday.
'Pretend purge'
"I say that mindful of all the difficulties that we have had trying to straighten out and get a proper judicial system and so on, but I think that this is such a serious situation."
The IRA said one of those expelled made a statement to a solicitor and called on the others to take responsibility.
Two of the men dismissed were described by the IRA as "high ranking volunteers".
The expulsions came after what the IRA called "an investigation" into last month's killing.
DUP assembly member Ian Paisley Jnr said: "No one should be fooled by this diversionary tactic of a pretend purge of the IRA ranks.
"The statement only highlights the confusion that exists within the IRA who last week told us they were not involved in criminality and tonight pretend they have purged those who are criminals."
SDLP leader Mark Durkan said that, whilst he welcomes the IRA shift in position, he does not believe it will lead to justice being done in court.
"It was only through the challenge of the McCartney family that Sinn Fein has had to take a different track that comes a bit closer to the truth but doesn't come the whole way to justice," he said.
Ulster Unionist Sir Reg Empey said unless the expulsions were accompanied "by the names of the individuals involved in a way that will lead to police prosecution", the statement would be viewed as little other than "a cynical face-saving exercise".
The IRA statement came 24 hours after Mr Adams met the McCartney family.
The family had accused republicans of pressuring witnesses not to talk, although they welcomed an earlier IRA statement urging his killers to come forward.
Mr Adams described the meeting as "constructive". "There is an onus on us to do everything we can to bring closure to this family," he said.
Man held over 'IRA bar killing'
Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre
A man has been arrested in Belfast in connection with the killing of Robert McCartney, police have said.
It is understood he handed himself in at Musgrave Street police station in the city and was accompanied by his solicitor.
It follows the expulsion of three IRA members over suspected involvement in the killing following a row in a bar last month.
The McCartney family welcomed the move but said it did not go far enough.
The 33-year-old father of two died in hospital after being stabbed.
Mr McCartney's sister Catherine, said all of those involved in the killing should now come forward.
"The IRA investigation was carried out behind closed doors therefore we are not accepting or confirming that outline," she said.
"The only way the family will know the truth is if we can hear witnesses' statements in a court.
"We believed that between 12 and 20 people were involved in the events of that night. Not all of them, we understand, were IRA members but we want all people to be encouraged or persuaded or to hand themselves in."
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also said that if he had witnessed the murder he would give evidence in court.
Mr Adams said "any self respecting republican" had a responsibility to come forward if they witnessed the fatal assault.
"Had I found myself in Magennis's Bar and was caught up in these dreadful events, I would now be making myself available to the court as the McCartney family have asked," Mr Adams told the BBC's Today programme on Saturday.
'Pretend purge'
"I say that mindful of all the difficulties that we have had trying to straighten out and get a proper judicial system and so on, but I think that this is such a serious situation."
The IRA said one of those expelled made a statement to a solicitor and called on the others to take responsibility.
Two of the men dismissed were described by the IRA as "high ranking volunteers".
The expulsions came after what the IRA called "an investigation" into last month's killing.
DUP assembly member Ian Paisley Jnr said: "No one should be fooled by this diversionary tactic of a pretend purge of the IRA ranks.
"The statement only highlights the confusion that exists within the IRA who last week told us they were not involved in criminality and tonight pretend they have purged those who are criminals."
SDLP leader Mark Durkan said that, whilst he welcomes the IRA shift in position, he does not believe it will lead to justice being done in court.
"It was only through the challenge of the McCartney family that Sinn Fein has had to take a different track that comes a bit closer to the truth but doesn't come the whole way to justice," he said.
Ulster Unionist Sir Reg Empey said unless the expulsions were accompanied "by the names of the individuals involved in a way that will lead to police prosecution", the statement would be viewed as little other than "a cynical face-saving exercise".
The IRA statement came 24 hours after Mr Adams met the McCartney family.
The family had accused republicans of pressuring witnesses not to talk, although they welcomed an earlier IRA statement urging his killers to come forward.
Mr Adams described the meeting as "constructive". "There is an onus on us to do everything we can to bring closure to this family," he said.
Daily Ireland
Children’s commissioner calls for stop on 50,000 plastic bullet order
The PSNI is about to purchase a huge batch of the controversial new plastic bullet, despite objections from the Children’s Commissioner and victims’ groups.
The new bullets - referred to as the Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) - are effectively a traditional plastic bullet with sponge on the end.
They will continue to be fired from the same guns at the same velocity as the current plastic bullets but require PSNI members to be re-trained.
The new AEP plastic bullet will be introduced by the British Army in the North, as well as by police forces throughout Britain in coming months.
The purchase is imminent and it is understood the PSNI believes it does not require authority for the move from the Policing Board.
Up to 50,000 of the new AEP plastic bullets could be purchased by the PSNI at a cost of approximately £7 each.
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde will give a presentation about the plan to the Policing Board next Wednesday, 2 March. However, it’s believed the introduction of the AEP is a fait accompli as the Chief Constable has the power to purchase in any event.
The Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner Nigel Williams wrote to the Policing Board yesterday expressing concern that the medical assessment of AEPs has not specifically focused on the impact on children.
Kathleen Duffy, mother of Seamus - the last child killed by a plastic bullet - described the purchase as “disgraceful”.
“If this goes ahead, anyone on the Policing Board who is sincere about securing human rights must resign,” she said.
Relatives for Justice spokesperson Clara Reilly said that the issue raises “very serious questions for the Policing Board”.
“Be under no illusions, these new weapons are plastic bullets, still a lethal weapon and every bit as capable of diminishing lives and breaching human rights,” she said.
Paul O’Connor of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre said that Policing Board members should resign if the PSNI buys the new bullets.
“It is our view that no democratic policing structures can evolve where plastic bullets remain part of the policing armoury,” he said. “This is an issue of such gravity that we would expect those on the Policing Board who have a genuine concern for human rights to make it clear that this is a resigning matter.”
The Children’s Law Centre Director Paddy Kelly called on Hugh Orde to defer the decision “until such time as fully independent medical research informs the PSNI and the Policing Board about the consequences of using such missiles when children are present”.
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed the issue of AEPs is currently being considered.
Children’s commissioner calls for stop on 50,000 plastic bullet order
The PSNI is about to purchase a huge batch of the controversial new plastic bullet, despite objections from the Children’s Commissioner and victims’ groups.
The new bullets - referred to as the Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) - are effectively a traditional plastic bullet with sponge on the end.
They will continue to be fired from the same guns at the same velocity as the current plastic bullets but require PSNI members to be re-trained.
The new AEP plastic bullet will be introduced by the British Army in the North, as well as by police forces throughout Britain in coming months.
The purchase is imminent and it is understood the PSNI believes it does not require authority for the move from the Policing Board.
Up to 50,000 of the new AEP plastic bullets could be purchased by the PSNI at a cost of approximately £7 each.
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde will give a presentation about the plan to the Policing Board next Wednesday, 2 March. However, it’s believed the introduction of the AEP is a fait accompli as the Chief Constable has the power to purchase in any event.
The Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner Nigel Williams wrote to the Policing Board yesterday expressing concern that the medical assessment of AEPs has not specifically focused on the impact on children.
Kathleen Duffy, mother of Seamus - the last child killed by a plastic bullet - described the purchase as “disgraceful”.
“If this goes ahead, anyone on the Policing Board who is sincere about securing human rights must resign,” she said.
Relatives for Justice spokesperson Clara Reilly said that the issue raises “very serious questions for the Policing Board”.
“Be under no illusions, these new weapons are plastic bullets, still a lethal weapon and every bit as capable of diminishing lives and breaching human rights,” she said.
Paul O’Connor of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre said that Policing Board members should resign if the PSNI buys the new bullets.
“It is our view that no democratic policing structures can evolve where plastic bullets remain part of the policing armoury,” he said. “This is an issue of such gravity that we would expect those on the Policing Board who have a genuine concern for human rights to make it clear that this is a resigning matter.”
The Children’s Law Centre Director Paddy Kelly called on Hugh Orde to defer the decision “until such time as fully independent medical research informs the PSNI and the Policing Board about the consequences of using such missiles when children are present”.
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed the issue of AEPs is currently being considered.
Daily Ireland
Children’s commissioner calls for stop on 50,000 plastic bullet order
The PSNI is about to purchase a huge batch of the controversial new plastic bullet, despite objections from the Children’s Commissioner and victims’ groups.
The new bullets - referred to as the Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) - are effectively a traditional plastic bullet with sponge on the end.
They will continue to be fired from the same guns at the same velocity as the current plastic bullets but require PSNI members to be re-trained.
The new AEP plastic bullet will be introduced by the British Army in the North, as well as by police forces throughout Britain in coming months.
The purchase is imminent and it is understood the PSNI believes it does not require authority for the move from the Policing Board.
Up to 50,000 of the new AEP plastic bullets could be purchased by the PSNI at a cost of approximately £7 each.
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde will give a presentation about the plan to the Policing Board next Wednesday, 2 March. However, it’s believed the introduction of the AEP is a fait accompli as the Chief Constable has the power to purchase in any event.
The Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner Nigel Williams wrote to the Policing Board yesterday expressing concern that the medical assessment of AEPs has not specifically focused on the impact on children.
Kathleen Duffy, mother of Seamus - the last child killed by a plastic bullet - described the purchase as “disgraceful”.
“If this goes ahead, anyone on the Policing Board who is sincere about securing human rights must resign,” she said.
Relatives for Justice spokesperson Clara Reilly said that the issue raises “very serious questions for the Policing Board”.
“Be under no illusions, these new weapons are plastic bullets, still a lethal weapon and every bit as capable of diminishing lives and breaching human rights,” she said.
Paul O’Connor of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre said that Policing Board members should resign if the PSNI buys the new bullets.
“It is our view that no democratic policing structures can evolve where plastic bullets remain part of the policing armoury,” he said. “This is an issue of such gravity that we would expect those on the Policing Board who have a genuine concern for human rights to make it clear that this is a resigning matter.”
The Children’s Law Centre Director Paddy Kelly called on Hugh Orde to defer the decision “until such time as fully independent medical research informs the PSNI and the Policing Board about the consequences of using such missiles when children are present”.
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed the issue of AEPs is currently being considered.
Children’s commissioner calls for stop on 50,000 plastic bullet order
The PSNI is about to purchase a huge batch of the controversial new plastic bullet, despite objections from the Children’s Commissioner and victims’ groups.
The new bullets - referred to as the Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) - are effectively a traditional plastic bullet with sponge on the end.
They will continue to be fired from the same guns at the same velocity as the current plastic bullets but require PSNI members to be re-trained.
The new AEP plastic bullet will be introduced by the British Army in the North, as well as by police forces throughout Britain in coming months.
The purchase is imminent and it is understood the PSNI believes it does not require authority for the move from the Policing Board.
Up to 50,000 of the new AEP plastic bullets could be purchased by the PSNI at a cost of approximately £7 each.
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde will give a presentation about the plan to the Policing Board next Wednesday, 2 March. However, it’s believed the introduction of the AEP is a fait accompli as the Chief Constable has the power to purchase in any event.
The Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner Nigel Williams wrote to the Policing Board yesterday expressing concern that the medical assessment of AEPs has not specifically focused on the impact on children.
Kathleen Duffy, mother of Seamus - the last child killed by a plastic bullet - described the purchase as “disgraceful”.
“If this goes ahead, anyone on the Policing Board who is sincere about securing human rights must resign,” she said.
Relatives for Justice spokesperson Clara Reilly said that the issue raises “very serious questions for the Policing Board”.
“Be under no illusions, these new weapons are plastic bullets, still a lethal weapon and every bit as capable of diminishing lives and breaching human rights,” she said.
Paul O’Connor of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre said that Policing Board members should resign if the PSNI buys the new bullets.
“It is our view that no democratic policing structures can evolve where plastic bullets remain part of the policing armoury,” he said. “This is an issue of such gravity that we would expect those on the Policing Board who have a genuine concern for human rights to make it clear that this is a resigning matter.”
The Children’s Law Centre Director Paddy Kelly called on Hugh Orde to defer the decision “until such time as fully independent medical research informs the PSNI and the Policing Board about the consequences of using such missiles when children are present”.
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed the issue of AEPs is currently being considered.
Daily Ireland
Bonfires cost us £750K
The 841 bonfires set alight in the North of Ireland last year cost the public almost three quarters of a million pounds.
A report by the Interagency Working Group on Bonfires has revealed that the Fire Service bill for dealing with the blazes was £232,469, while the policing bill came in at £206,623.
It cost the Housing Executive and 23 district councils a total of £292,237 to clean up the bonfire sites.
The total bonfire bill for the year stood at £731,329 — not including the costs incurred by the North’s hospitals, which were unable to provide expenditure statistics for bonfire-related injuries.
Most of last year’s bonfires were set alight on July 11.
Realising that drastic action needs to be taken to minimise bonfire costs, some district councils have already set up or are in the process of setting up bonfire management programmes. These schemes involve councils temporarily handing over public land to loyalists for bonfires on condition the bonfires are kept small and are well managed.
Unionists on Belfast City Council are trying to force the council into implementing this programme in time for this year’s bonfire season.
However, nationalist politicians remain unconvinced of the scheme’s merits.
Sinn Féin councillor Fra McCann said it would be hard to convince nationalists of the benefits of handing over public land for sectarian celebrations, especially after the full costs of the bonfires has been revealed.
“I am opposed to bonfires because they are nothing more than one community celebrating a victory over the other,” said Mr McCann.
“They are generally burned in sensitive areas close to peace lines and, in the past, bonfires have been the catalyst for attacks on the nationalist community.
“Bonfires have only ever had a negative impact on the community and been a drain on the public purse. We cannot keep spending hundreds of thousands of pounds every year on dealing with these celebrations of sectarianism.”
North Belfast SDLP councillor Martin Morgan said he was also opposed to the proposed bonfire programme.
The former Lord Mayor said, “The loyalist community needs to move away from bonfires. They destroy the fabric of society, causing huge environmental damage and costing the public a fortune. If loyalists were to move away from bonfires and develop cultural festivals like nationalists, I would have no problem in supporting them receiving council funding.”
Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers admited that last year’s bonfire expenditure figures are worrying. However, he insisted that the loyalist community should not get all the blame.
He said, “Nationalists burn bonfires as well, although not as many as loyalists. What Sinn Féin and the SDLP has to remember is that bonfires are an integral part of the unionist community. They will always be burned in Protestant areas. What local councils need to do is to ensure bonfires are well managed, and damage they cause is kept to an absolute minimum.”
Bonfires cost us £750K
The 841 bonfires set alight in the North of Ireland last year cost the public almost three quarters of a million pounds.
A report by the Interagency Working Group on Bonfires has revealed that the Fire Service bill for dealing with the blazes was £232,469, while the policing bill came in at £206,623.
It cost the Housing Executive and 23 district councils a total of £292,237 to clean up the bonfire sites.
The total bonfire bill for the year stood at £731,329 — not including the costs incurred by the North’s hospitals, which were unable to provide expenditure statistics for bonfire-related injuries.
Most of last year’s bonfires were set alight on July 11.
Realising that drastic action needs to be taken to minimise bonfire costs, some district councils have already set up or are in the process of setting up bonfire management programmes. These schemes involve councils temporarily handing over public land to loyalists for bonfires on condition the bonfires are kept small and are well managed.
Unionists on Belfast City Council are trying to force the council into implementing this programme in time for this year’s bonfire season.
However, nationalist politicians remain unconvinced of the scheme’s merits.
Sinn Féin councillor Fra McCann said it would be hard to convince nationalists of the benefits of handing over public land for sectarian celebrations, especially after the full costs of the bonfires has been revealed.
“I am opposed to bonfires because they are nothing more than one community celebrating a victory over the other,” said Mr McCann.
“They are generally burned in sensitive areas close to peace lines and, in the past, bonfires have been the catalyst for attacks on the nationalist community.
“Bonfires have only ever had a negative impact on the community and been a drain on the public purse. We cannot keep spending hundreds of thousands of pounds every year on dealing with these celebrations of sectarianism.”
North Belfast SDLP councillor Martin Morgan said he was also opposed to the proposed bonfire programme.
The former Lord Mayor said, “The loyalist community needs to move away from bonfires. They destroy the fabric of society, causing huge environmental damage and costing the public a fortune. If loyalists were to move away from bonfires and develop cultural festivals like nationalists, I would have no problem in supporting them receiving council funding.”
Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers admited that last year’s bonfire expenditure figures are worrying. However, he insisted that the loyalist community should not get all the blame.
He said, “Nationalists burn bonfires as well, although not as many as loyalists. What Sinn Féin and the SDLP has to remember is that bonfires are an integral part of the unionist community. They will always be burned in Protestant areas. What local councils need to do is to ensure bonfires are well managed, and damage they cause is kept to an absolute minimum.”
25.2.05
BBC
**It's not enough
IRA expel three over city killing
Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre
The IRA has said it has expelled three members from its ranks over the death of Robert McCartney in Belfast, Irish state broadcaster RTE has said.
It comes after what they called "an investigation" into last month's killing.
The IRA said one of those expelled had made a statement to a solicitor and called on the other two to take responsibility for their actions.
Robert McCartney, 33, was stabbed in the city centre on 30 January.
The IRA statement comes 24 hours after Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams met the McCartney family.
The family had accused republicans of pressuring witnesses not to talk, although they welcomed an earlier IRA statement urging his killers to come forward.
'Support for campaign'
Mr Adams described the meeting as "constructive". "There is an onus on us to do everything we can to bring closure to this family," he said.
He added that those responsible for Mr McCartney's death should be brought to justice.
Mr Adams said that he was told up to 70 people, and up to 21 this week, had already come forward with information about his death.
The meeting took place on Thursday.
Mr Adams was speaking in Dublin at the launch of a campaign to urge the Irish government to prepare a discussion document on Irish unity.
Earlier this week, the McCartney family met with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in a bid to win support for their campaign to find those responsible for his murder.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said that a test of Sinn Fein's stated opposition to criminality would be to turn in the killers. "Paramilitarism is 'far worse' than a bank raid", said Bertie Ahern.
No-one has been charged in connection with the killing, although it is believed there were up to 70 witnesses to the crime.
**It's not enough
IRA expel three over city killing
Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre
The IRA has said it has expelled three members from its ranks over the death of Robert McCartney in Belfast, Irish state broadcaster RTE has said.
It comes after what they called "an investigation" into last month's killing.
The IRA said one of those expelled had made a statement to a solicitor and called on the other two to take responsibility for their actions.
Robert McCartney, 33, was stabbed in the city centre on 30 January.
The IRA statement comes 24 hours after Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams met the McCartney family.
The family had accused republicans of pressuring witnesses not to talk, although they welcomed an earlier IRA statement urging his killers to come forward.
'Support for campaign'
Mr Adams described the meeting as "constructive". "There is an onus on us to do everything we can to bring closure to this family," he said.
He added that those responsible for Mr McCartney's death should be brought to justice.
Mr Adams said that he was told up to 70 people, and up to 21 this week, had already come forward with information about his death.
The meeting took place on Thursday.
Mr Adams was speaking in Dublin at the launch of a campaign to urge the Irish government to prepare a discussion document on Irish unity.
Earlier this week, the McCartney family met with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in a bid to win support for their campaign to find those responsible for his murder.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said that a test of Sinn Fein's stated opposition to criminality would be to turn in the killers. "Paramilitarism is 'far worse' than a bank raid", said Bertie Ahern.
No-one has been charged in connection with the killing, although it is believed there were up to 70 witnesses to the crime.
BreakingNews.ie
British reaction to Dublin bombings 'deplorable'
25/02/2005 - 19:03:34
The lack of British co-operation in the inquests of three men who died in the Sackville Place bombings in the 1970s was deplorable, campaigners said today.
Busmen Thomas Duffy, 24, and George Bradshaw, 30, were killed in a car bomb in Sackville Place, Dublin, on December 1, 1972.
Bus conductor Thomas Douglas, 21, was killed in another explosion in the same street on January 20, 1973.
Today a jury of three men and four women returned a verdict of unlawful killing by persons or persons unknown for all three men at Dublin Coroners’ Court.
They added a recommendation that the transcript of the inquest be sent to the Taoiseach and to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Speaking after the inquest Margaret Urwin, of support group Justice For The Forgotten, said the families were pleased that the inquest had finally been held.
But she said: “The lack of co-operation from the British authorities at all levels established by the state has to be greatly deplored.”
“We are also disappointed by the lack of information in the garda files, so that somebody looking at it today cannot have a clear understanding of what occurred.”
Earlier, the inquest had heard that two bombs went off in Dublin at Liberty Hall and Sackville Place on December 1, 1972, during a Dáil debate on the Amendment to the Offences Against the State Act.
Following a bomb warning called into the Newsletter offices in Belfast and the explosion at Liberty Hall, gardaí came into the CIE bus company canteen on Earl Place and told people there to evacuate the club.
Minutes later a bomb – planted in a silver Ford Escort which had been hired from a rental company in Belfast the day before – exploded in Sackville Place, killing the two men.
Today the inquest heard that Thomas Duffy died as a result of a lacerated aorta from a metal fragment and that father-of-two George Bradshaw died from severe head injuries.
More than 130 people were injured in the attacks on December 1.
On January 20, 1973, Thomas Douglas, who had moved from Scotland to Dublin to work, had just left his bus to buy a newspaper when an explosion occurred on Sackville Place.
The inquest was told that he died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries.
The red Vauxhall Victor used in the second explosion was hijacked in Agnes Street, Belfast, a Protestant area where a number of cars were hijacked and used for subversive activities, the court heard.
Detective Superintendent John Maloney, who was not involved in the original investigation, said there was no evidence gathered that pointed to the involvement of any specific group or organisation.
No one has ever admitted, or been convicted in connection with, the attacks.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said the three men died in appalling circumstances and that he wished to apologise to the families that it had taken so long for inquests to be held.
He said he hoped the families would no longer feel isolated or forgotten.
“The lives of Thomas Duffy, George Bradshaw and Thomas Douglas are a paradigm for the condition of Irish society in the 1970s – striving to move forward to a brighter and better future.
"But their deaths emphasise the shadow of violence which has blighted that development.”
“I sincerely wish we never return to that situation,” he said.
British reaction to Dublin bombings 'deplorable'
25/02/2005 - 19:03:34
The lack of British co-operation in the inquests of three men who died in the Sackville Place bombings in the 1970s was deplorable, campaigners said today.
Busmen Thomas Duffy, 24, and George Bradshaw, 30, were killed in a car bomb in Sackville Place, Dublin, on December 1, 1972.
Bus conductor Thomas Douglas, 21, was killed in another explosion in the same street on January 20, 1973.
Today a jury of three men and four women returned a verdict of unlawful killing by persons or persons unknown for all three men at Dublin Coroners’ Court.
They added a recommendation that the transcript of the inquest be sent to the Taoiseach and to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Speaking after the inquest Margaret Urwin, of support group Justice For The Forgotten, said the families were pleased that the inquest had finally been held.
But she said: “The lack of co-operation from the British authorities at all levels established by the state has to be greatly deplored.”
“We are also disappointed by the lack of information in the garda files, so that somebody looking at it today cannot have a clear understanding of what occurred.”
Earlier, the inquest had heard that two bombs went off in Dublin at Liberty Hall and Sackville Place on December 1, 1972, during a Dáil debate on the Amendment to the Offences Against the State Act.
Following a bomb warning called into the Newsletter offices in Belfast and the explosion at Liberty Hall, gardaí came into the CIE bus company canteen on Earl Place and told people there to evacuate the club.
Minutes later a bomb – planted in a silver Ford Escort which had been hired from a rental company in Belfast the day before – exploded in Sackville Place, killing the two men.
Today the inquest heard that Thomas Duffy died as a result of a lacerated aorta from a metal fragment and that father-of-two George Bradshaw died from severe head injuries.
More than 130 people were injured in the attacks on December 1.
On January 20, 1973, Thomas Douglas, who had moved from Scotland to Dublin to work, had just left his bus to buy a newspaper when an explosion occurred on Sackville Place.
The inquest was told that he died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries.
The red Vauxhall Victor used in the second explosion was hijacked in Agnes Street, Belfast, a Protestant area where a number of cars were hijacked and used for subversive activities, the court heard.
Detective Superintendent John Maloney, who was not involved in the original investigation, said there was no evidence gathered that pointed to the involvement of any specific group or organisation.
No one has ever admitted, or been convicted in connection with, the attacks.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said the three men died in appalling circumstances and that he wished to apologise to the families that it had taken so long for inquests to be held.
He said he hoped the families would no longer feel isolated or forgotten.
“The lives of Thomas Duffy, George Bradshaw and Thomas Douglas are a paradigm for the condition of Irish society in the 1970s – striving to move forward to a brighter and better future.
"But their deaths emphasise the shadow of violence which has blighted that development.”
“I sincerely wish we never return to that situation,” he said.
Belfast Telegraph
IRA-linked gangster is released in the us
American led cops to body of gunrunner McIntyre
By Sean O'Driscoll
25 February 2005
A notorious gangster who led Boston police to the body of IRA gunrunner, John McIntyre, has been released after five years in prison.
Kevin Weeks
Kevin Weeks, once the most trusted lieutenant of Irish American crime boss, James Whitey Bulger, was let out last week.
However, Weeks, who showed police where McIntyre and two unrelated murder victims were dumped in a pit, has refused to go into the FBI's Witness Protection Programme.
'Whitey' Bulger
McIntyre disappeared in 1984 after the interception of the Marita Ann gunrunning ship by the Irish navy. The ship, skippered by the current Sinn Fein TD for Kerry, Martin Ferris, had taken the guns from the Boston fishing vessel, the Valhalla, of which McIntyre was a crew member.
Irish American crime writer, TJ English, said Weeks' decision to remain out in the open shows Bulger's hold on Boston's Irish community has collapsed.
This month marks the tenth anniversary of Bulger going on the run after he was tipped off that he was about to be arrested.
The mystery around Bulger has lead to a huge interest from publishers and film studios.
The Showtime network is currently working on Brotherhood, a series based on Bulger's relationship with his brother Billy, the former president of the Massachusetts senate and University of Massachusetts.
Martin Scorsese is also scouring south Boston for a tale of Irish American gangsters and FBI agents that will feature Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon.
While once fear would have kept Bulger underlings from telling their story, the disintegration of his criminal base had brought a rash of new book ideas, most noticeably Edward McKenzie Jr, author of Street Soldier: My Years as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob.
The 48-year-old Weeks drove police to the makeshift burial site of McIntyre, who may have been falsely accused of telling police about an IRA arms shipment to protect Bulger.
IRA-linked gangster is released in the us
American led cops to body of gunrunner McIntyre
By Sean O'Driscoll
25 February 2005
A notorious gangster who led Boston police to the body of IRA gunrunner, John McIntyre, has been released after five years in prison.
Kevin Weeks
Kevin Weeks, once the most trusted lieutenant of Irish American crime boss, James Whitey Bulger, was let out last week.
However, Weeks, who showed police where McIntyre and two unrelated murder victims were dumped in a pit, has refused to go into the FBI's Witness Protection Programme.
'Whitey' Bulger
McIntyre disappeared in 1984 after the interception of the Marita Ann gunrunning ship by the Irish navy. The ship, skippered by the current Sinn Fein TD for Kerry, Martin Ferris, had taken the guns from the Boston fishing vessel, the Valhalla, of which McIntyre was a crew member.
Irish American crime writer, TJ English, said Weeks' decision to remain out in the open shows Bulger's hold on Boston's Irish community has collapsed.
This month marks the tenth anniversary of Bulger going on the run after he was tipped off that he was about to be arrested.
The mystery around Bulger has lead to a huge interest from publishers and film studios.
The Showtime network is currently working on Brotherhood, a series based on Bulger's relationship with his brother Billy, the former president of the Massachusetts senate and University of Massachusetts.
Martin Scorsese is also scouring south Boston for a tale of Irish American gangsters and FBI agents that will feature Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon.
While once fear would have kept Bulger underlings from telling their story, the disintegration of his criminal base had brought a rash of new book ideas, most noticeably Edward McKenzie Jr, author of Street Soldier: My Years as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob.
The 48-year-old Weeks drove police to the makeshift burial site of McIntyre, who may have been falsely accused of telling police about an IRA arms shipment to protect Bulger.
Belfast Telegraph
Next time I'll be back for good, vows Adair
By Noel McAdam
25 February 2005
Maverick loyalist Johnny Adair has vowed to return to Northern Ireland for good after a flying visit - leaving a political storm in his wake.
The terrorist chief defied UDA death threats as he reportedly shook hands on the Shankill and went to Drumcree Hill in Portadown.
The leading loyalist walked the streets of the Shankill on the same day Irish President Mary McAleese had called off a visit to the area just a month after his release from jail.
On the Shankill, Adair (41) said he had been welcomed with people coming out to shake his hand.
"I told them it was only a flying visit but it wouldn't be too long before I was back for good," he said.
In a gesture of defiance to the UDA leaders who banished Adair, his family and supporters from the area, the convicted loyalist leader posed in front of a wall mural to the dead Loyalist Volunteer Force leaders Billy Wright and Mark Fulton in Union Street, Portadown.
He said: "They said I'd be shot on sight if I ever set foot back in Northern Ireland but it didn't take an army for me to walk back around the Shankill road."
Adair said he could not confirm when he would return to the province - but his plans were "coming along nicely".
As word of his presence spread, the UDA sent men to the Seagoe Hotel area of Portadown where police vehicles also arrived.
A UDA spokesman described the situation as "volatile" but it was later confirmed Adair had again left the province.
SDLP Upper Bann Assembly member Dolores Kelly said: "This will be a worrying development for the entire community here.
"Portadown has quietened down in recent years and Johnny Adair's presence here can only be a worrying sign.
"Johnny Adair brought nothing but death and destruction to the nationalist community and his own community in Belfast.
"He must not be allowed to do the same in Portadown.
"I have already been in contact with the police to express my concerns and will be liaising with them further on this worrying development," she said.
Adair, who was released last month after serving two-thirds of a 16-year sentence for directing terrorism, was expelled by the leadership of the UDA in late 2002.
Next time I'll be back for good, vows Adair
By Noel McAdam
25 February 2005
Maverick loyalist Johnny Adair has vowed to return to Northern Ireland for good after a flying visit - leaving a political storm in his wake.
The terrorist chief defied UDA death threats as he reportedly shook hands on the Shankill and went to Drumcree Hill in Portadown.
The leading loyalist walked the streets of the Shankill on the same day Irish President Mary McAleese had called off a visit to the area just a month after his release from jail.
On the Shankill, Adair (41) said he had been welcomed with people coming out to shake his hand.
"I told them it was only a flying visit but it wouldn't be too long before I was back for good," he said.
In a gesture of defiance to the UDA leaders who banished Adair, his family and supporters from the area, the convicted loyalist leader posed in front of a wall mural to the dead Loyalist Volunteer Force leaders Billy Wright and Mark Fulton in Union Street, Portadown.
He said: "They said I'd be shot on sight if I ever set foot back in Northern Ireland but it didn't take an army for me to walk back around the Shankill road."
Adair said he could not confirm when he would return to the province - but his plans were "coming along nicely".
As word of his presence spread, the UDA sent men to the Seagoe Hotel area of Portadown where police vehicles also arrived.
A UDA spokesman described the situation as "volatile" but it was later confirmed Adair had again left the province.
SDLP Upper Bann Assembly member Dolores Kelly said: "This will be a worrying development for the entire community here.
"Portadown has quietened down in recent years and Johnny Adair's presence here can only be a worrying sign.
"Johnny Adair brought nothing but death and destruction to the nationalist community and his own community in Belfast.
"He must not be allowed to do the same in Portadown.
"I have already been in contact with the police to express my concerns and will be liaising with them further on this worrying development," she said.
Adair, who was released last month after serving two-thirds of a 16-year sentence for directing terrorism, was expelled by the leadership of the UDA in late 2002.
Belfast Telegraph
Call to probe jail conditions
By Deborah McAleese
25 February 2005
The Human Rights Commission has been asked to investigate allegations that republican prisoners are being forced to endure increasingly poor conditions in Maghaberry jail.
Major concern has been aired by the Republican Prisoners Action Group over issues including excessive strip searches, 23-hour lock ups, and poor access to a doctor.
A delegation from the group has met with NIHRC chief commissioner Professor Brice Dickson to highlight the "deteriorating conditions" within the jail.
A spokesperson said the situation was a concerted by British authorities effort to criminalise republican prisoners.
"We are asking that the NIHRC seek to highlight these grievances and again seek access to the prison so they can both speak to the prisoners and assess at first hand the attempts by the prison authorities to infringe on the human rights of our prisoners."
The NIHRC assured the delegation they were concerned about the issues and have undertaken to visit republican prisoners in Maghaberry.
Call to probe jail conditions
By Deborah McAleese
25 February 2005
The Human Rights Commission has been asked to investigate allegations that republican prisoners are being forced to endure increasingly poor conditions in Maghaberry jail.
Major concern has been aired by the Republican Prisoners Action Group over issues including excessive strip searches, 23-hour lock ups, and poor access to a doctor.
A delegation from the group has met with NIHRC chief commissioner Professor Brice Dickson to highlight the "deteriorating conditions" within the jail.
A spokesperson said the situation was a concerted by British authorities effort to criminalise republican prisoners.
"We are asking that the NIHRC seek to highlight these grievances and again seek access to the prison so they can both speak to the prisoners and assess at first hand the attempts by the prison authorities to infringe on the human rights of our prisoners."
The NIHRC assured the delegation they were concerned about the issues and have undertaken to visit republican prisoners in Maghaberry.
Belfast Telegraph
US to announce Pat's day invites
By Sean O'Driscoll
25 February 2005
The US government is expected to formally announce in the next week that none of the Northern Ireland parties will be invited to the White House for St Patrick's Day.
The State Department has said privately to Irish government officials that it was waiting for President Bush and Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to return from their tour of Europe before making the announcement.
The State Department is concerned that President Bush should be shielded from any negative publicity that could arise from the decision and want them back from Europe before the statement is made.
Joe Hackett, a spokesperson for the Irish Embassy in Washington, confirmed that the final decision is to be made at the end of the tour, which finishes today.
He said that any announcement would have to be made before invitations are sent out in the first week in early March.
The statement is expected to focus on the St Patrick's Day meeting between President Bush and Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern and will not given reasons why the Northern Ireland parties are not included.
US to announce Pat's day invites
By Sean O'Driscoll
25 February 2005
The US government is expected to formally announce in the next week that none of the Northern Ireland parties will be invited to the White House for St Patrick's Day.
The State Department has said privately to Irish government officials that it was waiting for President Bush and Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to return from their tour of Europe before making the announcement.
The State Department is concerned that President Bush should be shielded from any negative publicity that could arise from the decision and want them back from Europe before the statement is made.
Joe Hackett, a spokesperson for the Irish Embassy in Washington, confirmed that the final decision is to be made at the end of the tour, which finishes today.
He said that any announcement would have to be made before invitations are sent out in the first week in early March.
The statement is expected to focus on the St Patrick's Day meeting between President Bush and Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern and will not given reasons why the Northern Ireland parties are not included.
IrishExaminer.com: McGuinness condemns McCartney killers
McGuinness condemns McCartney killers
25 February 2005
By Dan Collins
SINN FÉIN’S chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, last night denounced those behind the murder of Robert McCartney.
“I do not want to be associated with anyone who was in any way involved in the killing,” he said.
However, he stressed that mistrust between the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland and the PSNI was a significant factor in the unsolved murder.
He said the party was “in total and absolute sympathy” with the family of the dead Belfast man.
“We have made it absolutely clear that this was a deplorable murder and that those responsible have no place in republicanism.”
He appealed to the Short Strand community in Belfast “not to hold back any information they might have” with regard to the killing and removal of evidence at the crime scene.
“Now, who do they give information to? Some people might decide to give that information to the PSNI, that’s a matter for themselves. I don’t have any confidence in the PSNI.
“These people have bugged the cars I travel in, they have bugged the very offices that I work out of and of course they bugged my home phone ... how can I have confidence in the PSNI?”
Mr McGuinness said the IRA had made “very powerful contributions” to the search for peace. Those who portray the IRA as “the problem” in the peace process were making a big mistake, he said.
Sinn Féin will advance its position in forthcoming elections in the North after which Mr McGuinness predicted a return to the negotiating table by all sides.
“We are not going to shirk away from the difficult challenges which are ahead,” he said. Those challenges would also have to be faced by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the DUP, he said. Mr McGuinness reacted angrily to recent comments by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, which he said were part of a co-ordinated campaign of vilification by those who feel threatened by Sinn Féin. “He calls himself the Minister for Justice, but he is really the minister for smears,” he said.
Mr McGuinness was in Cork last night to attend a party fundraising event at Cork Greyhound Track.
McGuinness condemns McCartney killers
25 February 2005
By Dan Collins
SINN FÉIN’S chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, last night denounced those behind the murder of Robert McCartney.
“I do not want to be associated with anyone who was in any way involved in the killing,” he said.
However, he stressed that mistrust between the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland and the PSNI was a significant factor in the unsolved murder.
He said the party was “in total and absolute sympathy” with the family of the dead Belfast man.
“We have made it absolutely clear that this was a deplorable murder and that those responsible have no place in republicanism.”
He appealed to the Short Strand community in Belfast “not to hold back any information they might have” with regard to the killing and removal of evidence at the crime scene.
“Now, who do they give information to? Some people might decide to give that information to the PSNI, that’s a matter for themselves. I don’t have any confidence in the PSNI.
“These people have bugged the cars I travel in, they have bugged the very offices that I work out of and of course they bugged my home phone ... how can I have confidence in the PSNI?”
Mr McGuinness said the IRA had made “very powerful contributions” to the search for peace. Those who portray the IRA as “the problem” in the peace process were making a big mistake, he said.
Sinn Féin will advance its position in forthcoming elections in the North after which Mr McGuinness predicted a return to the negotiating table by all sides.
“We are not going to shirk away from the difficult challenges which are ahead,” he said. Those challenges would also have to be faced by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the DUP, he said. Mr McGuinness reacted angrily to recent comments by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, which he said were part of a co-ordinated campaign of vilification by those who feel threatened by Sinn Féin. “He calls himself the Minister for Justice, but he is really the minister for smears,” he said.
Mr McGuinness was in Cork last night to attend a party fundraising event at Cork Greyhound Track.
IOL
**How much simpler this would be if the matter were handled internally so that the common person would not have to fear retribution
Adams appeals for info in McCartney murder hunt
25/02/2005 - 14:06:39
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has reiterated his call on anyone with information about the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney to come forward to the authorities.
The 33-year-old was beaten and stabbed to death outside a pub in the west of the city on January 30, allegedly by senior IRA members.
His family has accepted that the killing was not an IRA operation, but has claimed witnesses are being intimidated to prevent them from providing information to the police.
The matter has led to a backlash against Sinn Féin among some of its staunchest supporters in republican west Belfast.
**How much simpler this would be if the matter were handled internally so that the common person would not have to fear retribution
Adams appeals for info in McCartney murder hunt
25/02/2005 - 14:06:39
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has reiterated his call on anyone with information about the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney to come forward to the authorities.
The 33-year-old was beaten and stabbed to death outside a pub in the west of the city on January 30, allegedly by senior IRA members.
His family has accepted that the killing was not an IRA operation, but has claimed witnesses are being intimidated to prevent them from providing information to the police.
The matter has led to a backlash against Sinn Féin among some of its staunchest supporters in republican west Belfast.
IOL
Man due in court charged with murder of Ennis taxi driver
25/02/2005 - 11:44:48
A 53-year-old man is due to appear in court in Co Kerry later today charged with murdering Ennis taxi driver Liam Moloney.
The man was arrested yesterday during a raid on a holiday home in a remote area of Co Kerry.
A 15-year-old youth who was arrested during a follow-up operation in Shannon, Co Clare, is still being questioned by gardaí.
Mr Moloney, a 56-year-old father-of-four, was stabbed to death in his cab on the night of February 11.
His body was found in a field in Ruan, near Ennis, the following day, while his vehicle was found partially burned out in the village of Barefield.
Man due in court charged with murder of Ennis taxi driver
25/02/2005 - 11:44:48
A 53-year-old man is due to appear in court in Co Kerry later today charged with murdering Ennis taxi driver Liam Moloney.
The man was arrested yesterday during a raid on a holiday home in a remote area of Co Kerry.
A 15-year-old youth who was arrested during a follow-up operation in Shannon, Co Clare, is still being questioned by gardaí.
Mr Moloney, a 56-year-old father-of-four, was stabbed to death in his cab on the night of February 11.
His body was found in a field in Ruan, near Ennis, the following day, while his vehicle was found partially burned out in the village of Barefield.
BreakingNews.ie
Ahern: ‘Release of McCabe killers off the table for good’
25/02/2005 - 11:13:30
The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has reiterated his previous vow that the release of the IRA killers of Garda Jerry McCabe is no longer on the negotiating table.
The Government had been prepared to release the IRA gang behind the 1996 killing in Adare, Co Limerick, as part of a comprehensive peace deal that fell apart at the last minute late last year.
However, it subsequently took the offer off the table after accusing the IRA of being behind the £26.5m (€38m) bank robbery in Belfast.
Speaking in Limerick this morning, Mr Ahern said: "I don't see it coming back on the table. The situation, as far as I'm concerned, is now closed on this.
"Whatever negotiations we have on the next round, this issue won't be part of those discussions."
Ahern: ‘Release of McCabe killers off the table for good’
25/02/2005 - 11:13:30
The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has reiterated his previous vow that the release of the IRA killers of Garda Jerry McCabe is no longer on the negotiating table.
The Government had been prepared to release the IRA gang behind the 1996 killing in Adare, Co Limerick, as part of a comprehensive peace deal that fell apart at the last minute late last year.
However, it subsequently took the offer off the table after accusing the IRA of being behind the £26.5m (€38m) bank robbery in Belfast.
Speaking in Limerick this morning, Mr Ahern said: "I don't see it coming back on the table. The situation, as far as I'm concerned, is now closed on this.
"Whatever negotiations we have on the next round, this issue won't be part of those discussions."
BreakingNews.ie
Pat Finucane murderer moves step closer to early release
25/02/2005 - 11:46:29
The man convicted last year of murdering Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has moved a step closer to being freed under the Good Friday Agreement after he was moved to a prison in the North.
Last September, 41-year-old UDA paramilitary Ken Barrett was jailed for life by Belfast Crown Court after pleading guilty to carrying out the 1989 murder.
He was then taken to prison in England, where he would be ineligible for early release under the Good Friday Agreement.
However, his transfer to the North means he can apply to be released on licence under the terms of the 1998 peace deal.
The Finucane family have already said that they have no interest in Barrett's fate and instead want those within the "members of the British establishment who planned the murder to be brought to justice".
Pat Finucane murderer moves step closer to early release
25/02/2005 - 11:46:29
The man convicted last year of murdering Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has moved a step closer to being freed under the Good Friday Agreement after he was moved to a prison in the North.
Last September, 41-year-old UDA paramilitary Ken Barrett was jailed for life by Belfast Crown Court after pleading guilty to carrying out the 1989 murder.
He was then taken to prison in England, where he would be ineligible for early release under the Good Friday Agreement.
However, his transfer to the North means he can apply to be released on licence under the terms of the 1998 peace deal.
The Finucane family have already said that they have no interest in Barrett's fate and instead want those within the "members of the British establishment who planned the murder to be brought to justice".
BBC
Stadium proposal for former jail
How the Maze site could look under the new proposals
A world-class sports stadium has been recommended for the site of the former Maze prison in County Antrim.
The Maze Consultation Panel has also proposed a national arts centre and centre for conflict transformation on the 360-acre site near Lisburn.
The cross-party body revealed its recommendations following two years of debate. The government will consider it before making a final decision.
The £55m stadium plan will see a 30,000 seat arena for soccer, rugby and GAA.
If the development goes ahead, the panel believes it could lead to £1bn of public and private investment.
The panel's report is supported by all its members, including the four main political parties.
Panel chairman David Campbell said: "We now have the real prospect, as the prime minister said on commissioning our work, of literally turning swords into ploughshares and providing a beacon of hope for Northern Ireland and beyond.
"We strongly recommend that the government gives a firm commitment to the early development of all of the elements of our agreed proposals through a coherent masterplan."
One of the notorious H-blocks would be retained if the plan goes ahead
As well as a stadium, the report also proposes an International Centre for Conflict Transformation built on another part of the site.
This would involve the retention of the prison hospital where republican hunger strikers died, and one of the H-blocks, as well as other buildings including the administration block.
It is proposed the centre would have links to Harvard and Boston Universities in America.
The proposals also include an international equestrian centre and showgrounds.
It is thought the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society wants to move from its current home at Balmoral where it stages an annual show.
The proposals also envisage a zone for industrial development.
Coca Cola has been linked to the Maze site, as facilities would include bars, restaurants and a hotel.
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble welcomed the panel's report.
"The panel's recommendation will provide over £1bn of much-needed investment into the site and will turn it into a tremendous signal of positivity for Northern Ireland," he said.
Plan includes a new £55m multi-sports stadium
Sinn Fein assembly member Raymond McCartney, a former IRA hunger striker, welcomed the retention of one of the H-blocks and commended the advisory panel on its work.
He added: "There is still a lot to be done to achieve the recommendations in the report. Key to this will be the commitment of the British Government to resourcing the recommendations."
Edwin Poots, a Democratic Unionist panel member, played down the significance of retaining part of the prison.
"At the outset Sinn Fein were looking for a museum, there's no museum here. If they ever want to get one, they will have to ask unionists to support it, so we have a veto over that."
SDLP assembly member Patricia Lewsley urged great care in the handling of the International Centre for Conflict Resolution.
"We must be able to reassure victims that it will not be a shrine to paramilitarism or an instrument of retrospective justification for violence," she said.
The Maze has been one of three locations short-listed for the site of the stadium.
The others have been the North Foreshore of Belfast Lough and the Titanic Quarter in east Belfast.
Last month, Sports Minister Angela Smith said no decision would be taken until a detailed economic appraisal and business case had been completed.
Stadium proposal for former jail
How the Maze site could look under the new proposals
A world-class sports stadium has been recommended for the site of the former Maze prison in County Antrim.
The Maze Consultation Panel has also proposed a national arts centre and centre for conflict transformation on the 360-acre site near Lisburn.
The cross-party body revealed its recommendations following two years of debate. The government will consider it before making a final decision.
The £55m stadium plan will see a 30,000 seat arena for soccer, rugby and GAA.
If the development goes ahead, the panel believes it could lead to £1bn of public and private investment.
The panel's report is supported by all its members, including the four main political parties.
Panel chairman David Campbell said: "We now have the real prospect, as the prime minister said on commissioning our work, of literally turning swords into ploughshares and providing a beacon of hope for Northern Ireland and beyond.
"We strongly recommend that the government gives a firm commitment to the early development of all of the elements of our agreed proposals through a coherent masterplan."
One of the notorious H-blocks would be retained if the plan goes ahead
As well as a stadium, the report also proposes an International Centre for Conflict Transformation built on another part of the site.
This would involve the retention of the prison hospital where republican hunger strikers died, and one of the H-blocks, as well as other buildings including the administration block.
It is proposed the centre would have links to Harvard and Boston Universities in America.
The proposals also include an international equestrian centre and showgrounds.
It is thought the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society wants to move from its current home at Balmoral where it stages an annual show.
The proposals also envisage a zone for industrial development.
Coca Cola has been linked to the Maze site, as facilities would include bars, restaurants and a hotel.
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble welcomed the panel's report.
"The panel's recommendation will provide over £1bn of much-needed investment into the site and will turn it into a tremendous signal of positivity for Northern Ireland," he said.
Plan includes a new £55m multi-sports stadium
Sinn Fein assembly member Raymond McCartney, a former IRA hunger striker, welcomed the retention of one of the H-blocks and commended the advisory panel on its work.
He added: "There is still a lot to be done to achieve the recommendations in the report. Key to this will be the commitment of the British Government to resourcing the recommendations."
Edwin Poots, a Democratic Unionist panel member, played down the significance of retaining part of the prison.
"At the outset Sinn Fein were looking for a museum, there's no museum here. If they ever want to get one, they will have to ask unionists to support it, so we have a veto over that."
SDLP assembly member Patricia Lewsley urged great care in the handling of the International Centre for Conflict Resolution.
"We must be able to reassure victims that it will not be a shrine to paramilitarism or an instrument of retrospective justification for violence," she said.
The Maze has been one of three locations short-listed for the site of the stadium.
The others have been the North Foreshore of Belfast Lough and the Titanic Quarter in east Belfast.
Last month, Sports Minister Angela Smith said no decision would be taken until a detailed economic appraisal and business case had been completed.
BBC
Blair warning over IRA activity
Tony Blair made the comments during a news conference
Sinn Fein cannot be part of the government of NI unless the IRA gives up paramilitary and criminal activity, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.
He said the refusal of the IRA to give up such activity was the reason for the current political stalemate.
Sinn Fein is facing sanctions after a £26.5m Belfast bank robbery was blamed on the IRA. The IRA has denied this.
Mr Blair said the impasse had arisen because the governments had not got the commitment and action from the IRA.
"This has now got to happen. It's the only way to move this situation forward, he told reporters at his monthly news conference at Downing Street on Friday.
The prime minister added: "The overwhelming view now in the whole of the island of Ireland, north and south, is there cannot be a place for Sinn Fein in an inclusive government in Northern Ireland unless there is a complete end to all forms of paramilitary activity and criminality by the IRA.
"That's what the Good Friday Agreement said."
Sinn Fein could face penalties of more than £500,000 a year following the accusations about December's Northern Bank robbery.
Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy has given the party until next Tuesday to defend itself before a final vote is taken on the sanctions.
Poll indicates satisfaction with Gerry Adams is on the wane
Meanwhile, the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern appears to have toughened his position on republican demands for the early release of the IRA killers of a police officer.
Detective Jerry McCabe was shot dead by the IRA during a robbery in County Limerick in 1996.
Last December, Mr Ahern said the men would be recommended for early release as part of a political deal in Northern Ireland.
However, Mr Ahern told Radio Limerick on Friday that it would not happen on his "watch" and that the killers' release was "no longer an issue".
The comments come on the same day a poll in the Irish Independent newspaper suggested support for Sinn Fein was almost unchanged, despite claims about the Northern Bank raid.
The new Millward Brown IMS poll indicated that support for the party stood at 9% - down just one point on the last comparable poll in November.
However, the poll of 1,000 people in Ireland, also suggested a big drop in satisfaction with Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams.
Satisfaction with Mr Adams stood at 31%, down 20% since November.
Three out of every five people questioned also believed the IRA was responsible for the Northern Bank raid, while 62% said Sinn Féin and the IRA were "one and the same".
It also indicated that 46% believed the claim of Irish Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, that senior Sinn Féin leaders were in the IRA.
Blair warning over IRA activity
Tony Blair made the comments during a news conference
Sinn Fein cannot be part of the government of NI unless the IRA gives up paramilitary and criminal activity, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.
He said the refusal of the IRA to give up such activity was the reason for the current political stalemate.
Sinn Fein is facing sanctions after a £26.5m Belfast bank robbery was blamed on the IRA. The IRA has denied this.
Mr Blair said the impasse had arisen because the governments had not got the commitment and action from the IRA.
"This has now got to happen. It's the only way to move this situation forward, he told reporters at his monthly news conference at Downing Street on Friday.
The prime minister added: "The overwhelming view now in the whole of the island of Ireland, north and south, is there cannot be a place for Sinn Fein in an inclusive government in Northern Ireland unless there is a complete end to all forms of paramilitary activity and criminality by the IRA.
"That's what the Good Friday Agreement said."
Sinn Fein could face penalties of more than £500,000 a year following the accusations about December's Northern Bank robbery.
Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy has given the party until next Tuesday to defend itself before a final vote is taken on the sanctions.
Poll indicates satisfaction with Gerry Adams is on the wane
Meanwhile, the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern appears to have toughened his position on republican demands for the early release of the IRA killers of a police officer.
Detective Jerry McCabe was shot dead by the IRA during a robbery in County Limerick in 1996.
Last December, Mr Ahern said the men would be recommended for early release as part of a political deal in Northern Ireland.
However, Mr Ahern told Radio Limerick on Friday that it would not happen on his "watch" and that the killers' release was "no longer an issue".
The comments come on the same day a poll in the Irish Independent newspaper suggested support for Sinn Fein was almost unchanged, despite claims about the Northern Bank raid.
The new Millward Brown IMS poll indicated that support for the party stood at 9% - down just one point on the last comparable poll in November.
However, the poll of 1,000 people in Ireland, also suggested a big drop in satisfaction with Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams.
Satisfaction with Mr Adams stood at 31%, down 20% since November.
Three out of every five people questioned also believed the IRA was responsible for the Northern Bank raid, while 62% said Sinn Féin and the IRA were "one and the same".
It also indicated that 46% believed the claim of Irish Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, that senior Sinn Féin leaders were in the IRA.
BBC
McCartney family meets with Adams
Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre
The family of a man murdered in Belfast last month has held a private meeting with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.
Robert McCartney, 33, was stabbed in the city centre on 30 January.
His family has accused republicans of pressuring witnesses not to talk, although they welcomed an IRA statement urging his killers to come forward.
Mr Adams described the meeting as "constructive". "There is an onus on us to do everything we can to bring closure to this family," he said.
He added that those responsible for Mr McCartney's death should be brought to justice.
Mr Adams said that he was told up to 70 people, and up to 21 this week, had already come forward with information about his death.
The meeting took place on Thursday.
Mr Adams was speaking in Dublin at the launch of a campaign to urge the Irish government to prepare a discussion document on Irish unity.
Earlier this week, the McCartney family met with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in a bid to win support for their campaign to find those responsible for his murder.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said that a test of Sinn Fein's stated opposition to criminality would be to turn in the killers.
No-one has been charged in connection with the killing, although it is believed there were up to 70 witnesses to the crime.
McCartney family meets with Adams
Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre
The family of a man murdered in Belfast last month has held a private meeting with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.
Robert McCartney, 33, was stabbed in the city centre on 30 January.
His family has accused republicans of pressuring witnesses not to talk, although they welcomed an IRA statement urging his killers to come forward.
Mr Adams described the meeting as "constructive". "There is an onus on us to do everything we can to bring closure to this family," he said.
He added that those responsible for Mr McCartney's death should be brought to justice.
Mr Adams said that he was told up to 70 people, and up to 21 this week, had already come forward with information about his death.
The meeting took place on Thursday.
Mr Adams was speaking in Dublin at the launch of a campaign to urge the Irish government to prepare a discussion document on Irish unity.
Earlier this week, the McCartney family met with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in a bid to win support for their campaign to find those responsible for his murder.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said that a test of Sinn Fein's stated opposition to criminality would be to turn in the killers.
No-one has been charged in connection with the killing, although it is believed there were up to 70 witnesses to the crime.
BreakingNews.ie
McAleese calls for end to ‘tradition of armed struggle’
25/02/2005 - 08:27:01
President Mary McAleese has pleaded with republicans "to close the door on the tradition of armed struggle" for the sake of future generations.
Speaking at St Malachy's College in north Belfast last night, Mrs McAleese said the peace process was facing a difficult period, but all sides should make a renewed effort to achieve progress.
She said old patterns of thinking must give way to new ones that are unambiguously peaceful, lawful and egalitarian.
The President urged those involved in the peace process to show courage and honour their promises and commitments.
McAleese calls for end to ‘tradition of armed struggle’
25/02/2005 - 08:27:01
President Mary McAleese has pleaded with republicans "to close the door on the tradition of armed struggle" for the sake of future generations.
Speaking at St Malachy's College in north Belfast last night, Mrs McAleese said the peace process was facing a difficult period, but all sides should make a renewed effort to achieve progress.
She said old patterns of thinking must give way to new ones that are unambiguously peaceful, lawful and egalitarian.
The President urged those involved in the peace process to show courage and honour their promises and commitments.
Daily Ireland
Gulags to GAA
Bobby Sands predicted that the “laughter of our children” would be the epitaph of the H-Block hunger strikers. Even he could hardly have envisaged a day when the H-Blocks would give way to a world-class stadium crammed to capacity for the gladiatorial clash of Ireland’s greatest hurlers and footballers.
That’s exactly the mouth-watering prospect served up to sports fans in the blueprint for the Maze-Long Kesh site which will be unveiled tomorrow. It would have been a brave person indeed back in the throes of the H-Block agony in 1981 who would have dared suggest we might someday move from gulags to GAA.
And that’s only half of the dream plan for the site that once epitomised conflict and anguish. The proposals to be endorsed tomorrow by the four main parties in the North also sign off on a pioneering conflict transformation centre and heritage site. Central to that development will be the H-Block hospital where the ten hunger strikers died, a H-Block, a watchtower and part of the perimeter wall as well as one of the internee ‘cages’.
Public access will enable visitors, from home and abroad, to visit the one-time crucible of conflict and to make their own mind up about what happened there.
On paper at least, we’ve come a long way from the proposal by the ‘no-men’ of unionism that the entire site be bulldozed. Rather than trying to bury the past, the refusniks should join the rest of us in trying to use the history of Long Kesh to build into the future.
All of this of course, could be just so much pie in the sky. There is the very real danger that rather than being a testament to the great unifying nature of sport here, the stadium, and indeed, the entire site, will be hijacked by the red, white and blue brigade who, with their flags and apartheid policies on the local council, have brought shame to Lisburn.
Similarly, there could be foot-dragging and bad faith on the proposals for a peace zone. Or the GAA may refuse to endorse the project on the basis that their own facilities are sufficient for their needs, thanks very much all the same. There are also very real worries about the decision to site a showcase stadium ten miles outside Belfast when best practice in urban regeneration throughout the western world is to bring stadiums into the heart of cities.
Of this we are sure: the days when the GAA or the nationalist community could be ignored when creating a flagship facility in the North of Ireland are long gone. In fact, if the stadium isn’t used as a national stadium rather than a six county venue, it’s doomed to failure. The implementation of the plan, bringing peace zone and stadium to fruition simultaneously, doesn’t leave space for any hurlers on the ditch. All those who want to see the stadium become a shared facility need to get to work now if the report of the Maze-Long Kesh panel isnt to gather dust on some bureaucrat's desk.
Gulags to GAA
Bobby Sands predicted that the “laughter of our children” would be the epitaph of the H-Block hunger strikers. Even he could hardly have envisaged a day when the H-Blocks would give way to a world-class stadium crammed to capacity for the gladiatorial clash of Ireland’s greatest hurlers and footballers.
That’s exactly the mouth-watering prospect served up to sports fans in the blueprint for the Maze-Long Kesh site which will be unveiled tomorrow. It would have been a brave person indeed back in the throes of the H-Block agony in 1981 who would have dared suggest we might someday move from gulags to GAA.
And that’s only half of the dream plan for the site that once epitomised conflict and anguish. The proposals to be endorsed tomorrow by the four main parties in the North also sign off on a pioneering conflict transformation centre and heritage site. Central to that development will be the H-Block hospital where the ten hunger strikers died, a H-Block, a watchtower and part of the perimeter wall as well as one of the internee ‘cages’.
Public access will enable visitors, from home and abroad, to visit the one-time crucible of conflict and to make their own mind up about what happened there.
On paper at least, we’ve come a long way from the proposal by the ‘no-men’ of unionism that the entire site be bulldozed. Rather than trying to bury the past, the refusniks should join the rest of us in trying to use the history of Long Kesh to build into the future.
All of this of course, could be just so much pie in the sky. There is the very real danger that rather than being a testament to the great unifying nature of sport here, the stadium, and indeed, the entire site, will be hijacked by the red, white and blue brigade who, with their flags and apartheid policies on the local council, have brought shame to Lisburn.
Similarly, there could be foot-dragging and bad faith on the proposals for a peace zone. Or the GAA may refuse to endorse the project on the basis that their own facilities are sufficient for their needs, thanks very much all the same. There are also very real worries about the decision to site a showcase stadium ten miles outside Belfast when best practice in urban regeneration throughout the western world is to bring stadiums into the heart of cities.
Of this we are sure: the days when the GAA or the nationalist community could be ignored when creating a flagship facility in the North of Ireland are long gone. In fact, if the stadium isn’t used as a national stadium rather than a six county venue, it’s doomed to failure. The implementation of the plan, bringing peace zone and stadium to fruition simultaneously, doesn’t leave space for any hurlers on the ditch. All those who want to see the stadium become a shared facility need to get to work now if the report of the Maze-Long Kesh panel isnt to gather dust on some bureaucrat's desk.
Daily Ireland
Sinn Féin/SDLP bitterness continues
Political relations between the North’s nationalist parties continued to sour yesterday with Sinn Féin’s West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty branding remarks by former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon as “bordering on racist”.
Speaking on television at the weekend, Mr Mallon said that “the people in South Armagh and West Belfast and West Tyrone and other parts don’t want policing, because if you have policing you don’t have criminality”.
Mr Doherty slammed those comments yesterday, saying, “Seamus Mallon’s remarks about the people of West Tyrone, West Belfast and South Armagh are completely without foundation and represent a demeaning slur, which verges on the racist.
“It’s almost a surprise that he did not also single out the people of North Belfast, South Down, Foyle, North Antrim, North Kerry, Dublin, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, Donegal, Sligo, South Antrim, South Belfast, East Belfast, East Antrim, Wexford, Waterford, Cork or indeed any of the parts of Ireland where Sinn Féin draw significant electoral support from,” Mr Doherty said.
“It was not a slip of the tongue but a clear reflection of the resentment Seamus Mallon harbours against people who support Sinn Féin’s political analysis and vision for Irish reunification and our work for people on the ground.
“Sinn Féin has long eclipsed the SDLP in electoral terms. Unable to offer a rational explanation as to the demise of the SDLP in many areas he has instead reverted to the tactic, used throughout history by the British, of demonising entire communities.”
Seamus Mallon said, “My remarks were very clear. I referred to the IRA, not to the people of South Armagh or other Border areas. The IRA wants to continue its criminality and that is why it rejects policing and the murder of Robert McCartney proves that point.”
Meanwhile, in a keynote address in South Belfast last night SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell welcomed Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to Belfast as “a long-time friend of the SDLP”.
Dr McDonnell was speaking as his party launched the first in a series of seminars building relationships with parties from the South.
He used the opportunity to call for the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation to be reconvened.
“The SDLP doesn’t embrace consensus-building and persuasion politics because the numbers tell us we must,” Dr McDonnell said. “We do it because our desire to create a shared future for all on this island tells us we should.
“The SDLP has more than just a vision of unity - we have a strategy for unity. We offer the people, North and South, a better way to a better Ireland."
Sinn Féin/SDLP bitterness continues
Political relations between the North’s nationalist parties continued to sour yesterday with Sinn Féin’s West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty branding remarks by former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon as “bordering on racist”.
Speaking on television at the weekend, Mr Mallon said that “the people in South Armagh and West Belfast and West Tyrone and other parts don’t want policing, because if you have policing you don’t have criminality”.
Mr Doherty slammed those comments yesterday, saying, “Seamus Mallon’s remarks about the people of West Tyrone, West Belfast and South Armagh are completely without foundation and represent a demeaning slur, which verges on the racist.
“It’s almost a surprise that he did not also single out the people of North Belfast, South Down, Foyle, North Antrim, North Kerry, Dublin, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, Donegal, Sligo, South Antrim, South Belfast, East Belfast, East Antrim, Wexford, Waterford, Cork or indeed any of the parts of Ireland where Sinn Féin draw significant electoral support from,” Mr Doherty said.
“It was not a slip of the tongue but a clear reflection of the resentment Seamus Mallon harbours against people who support Sinn Féin’s political analysis and vision for Irish reunification and our work for people on the ground.
“Sinn Féin has long eclipsed the SDLP in electoral terms. Unable to offer a rational explanation as to the demise of the SDLP in many areas he has instead reverted to the tactic, used throughout history by the British, of demonising entire communities.”
Seamus Mallon said, “My remarks were very clear. I referred to the IRA, not to the people of South Armagh or other Border areas. The IRA wants to continue its criminality and that is why it rejects policing and the murder of Robert McCartney proves that point.”
Meanwhile, in a keynote address in South Belfast last night SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell welcomed Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to Belfast as “a long-time friend of the SDLP”.
Dr McDonnell was speaking as his party launched the first in a series of seminars building relationships with parties from the South.
He used the opportunity to call for the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation to be reconvened.
“The SDLP doesn’t embrace consensus-building and persuasion politics because the numbers tell us we must,” Dr McDonnell said. “We do it because our desire to create a shared future for all on this island tells us we should.
“The SDLP has more than just a vision of unity - we have a strategy for unity. We offer the people, North and South, a better way to a better Ireland."
Daily Ireland
Stolen car sets boy (8) alight
An eight-year-old boy suffered horrific burns when a stolen car was set alight near where he was playing earlier this week.
Sam Lackey sustained severe burns to his back and legs after playing near a burning vehicle which was stolen, driven around, dumped and set alight by a group of youths in Albert Street in west Belfast on Monday.
The youngster is being treated in the burns unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital where he is expected to remain for at least two weeks.
His aunt, Deirdre Lackey, yesterday said the entire neighbourhood lives in fear of death-drivers.
“It’s an absolute disgrace. People are literally afraid to leave their homes.”
The threat of death-driving used to terrorise residents mainly at weekends but the problem has now become an everyday occurrence, even in broad daylight in the narrow streets of the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
Official PSNI figures state that 295 vehicles were stolen between April and December last year in west Belfast. Residents in the Lower Falls area say it is not unusual to find ten burnt-out vehicles in one week.
One community worker from the area, who does not wish to be named, said, “Kids from all over the area come to congregate in Albert Street because they know hoods will be racing cars there.
“The kids get to wreck the cars afterwards, they think it is a game. They now go to Albert Street after school with the expectation that something is going to happen.”
Residents and parents are so sickened by death-driving and the way it impacts on their lives and the safety of their children that they organised a rally in the area last night.
Local people have also formed a protest group which will take to the streets of the Lower Falls this weekend, patrolling for death-drivers to send a stark message to the youths who continue to terrorise the streets that it will not be tolerated any more.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Fra McCann has been involved in anti-car crime campaigns for over 20 years.
He says the problem begins in young children and while a few grow out of their anti-social behaviour and realise the damage they cause by death-driving, others are simply beyond help. Mr McCann believes the only realistic way for communities to deal with the problem is to exclude death-drivers.
He said, “Some of the people who continue to death-drive are general nuisances. Whenever I talk to them they say they do it for the ‘excitement of it’.
“They have a basic problem and no matter how you try to work with them and help them they want the excitement and they go on to lead general anti-social lifestyles.
“The difficulty is that other kids see them driving flashy cars at 80 mph and they think it is big and exciting. What we try to do is get to somebody and show him what it can do to you.”
Mr McCann has called for a tougher co-ordinated community response and said, “My advice to communities is that the only people who can really solve this is themselves.
“If these people don’t want to be part of society then people should let them know that it won't be tolerated."
Stolen car sets boy (8) alight
An eight-year-old boy suffered horrific burns when a stolen car was set alight near where he was playing earlier this week.
Sam Lackey sustained severe burns to his back and legs after playing near a burning vehicle which was stolen, driven around, dumped and set alight by a group of youths in Albert Street in west Belfast on Monday.
The youngster is being treated in the burns unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital where he is expected to remain for at least two weeks.
His aunt, Deirdre Lackey, yesterday said the entire neighbourhood lives in fear of death-drivers.
“It’s an absolute disgrace. People are literally afraid to leave their homes.”
The threat of death-driving used to terrorise residents mainly at weekends but the problem has now become an everyday occurrence, even in broad daylight in the narrow streets of the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
Official PSNI figures state that 295 vehicles were stolen between April and December last year in west Belfast. Residents in the Lower Falls area say it is not unusual to find ten burnt-out vehicles in one week.
One community worker from the area, who does not wish to be named, said, “Kids from all over the area come to congregate in Albert Street because they know hoods will be racing cars there.
“The kids get to wreck the cars afterwards, they think it is a game. They now go to Albert Street after school with the expectation that something is going to happen.”
Residents and parents are so sickened by death-driving and the way it impacts on their lives and the safety of their children that they organised a rally in the area last night.
Local people have also formed a protest group which will take to the streets of the Lower Falls this weekend, patrolling for death-drivers to send a stark message to the youths who continue to terrorise the streets that it will not be tolerated any more.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Fra McCann has been involved in anti-car crime campaigns for over 20 years.
He says the problem begins in young children and while a few grow out of their anti-social behaviour and realise the damage they cause by death-driving, others are simply beyond help. Mr McCann believes the only realistic way for communities to deal with the problem is to exclude death-drivers.
He said, “Some of the people who continue to death-drive are general nuisances. Whenever I talk to them they say they do it for the ‘excitement of it’.
“They have a basic problem and no matter how you try to work with them and help them they want the excitement and they go on to lead general anti-social lifestyles.
“The difficulty is that other kids see them driving flashy cars at 80 mph and they think it is big and exciting. What we try to do is get to somebody and show him what it can do to you.”
Mr McCann has called for a tougher co-ordinated community response and said, “My advice to communities is that the only people who can really solve this is themselves.
“If these people don’t want to be part of society then people should let them know that it won't be tolerated."
Guardian
Crisis talk puts Sinn Féin on the back foot
Allegations over bank raid and bar killing see party fighting to maintain electoral momentum amid talk of split in republican movement
Owen Bowcott
Friday February 25, 2005
The Guardian
Sinn Féin supporters filed into Cork's Curraheen Park greyhound stadium for a fundraising meeting last night, defying snow flurries and threats of being frozen out of Ireland's political establishment.
Martin McGuinness, the party's chief negotiator, flew down from Derry to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the party's foundation.
Among rival Irish politicians the idea that the republican movement - in Cork, of all places - needs a windfall provokes incredulity. They believe its coffers are already stuffed with the proceeds of Belfast's £26.5m Northern Bank robbery. The prospect of the party going to the dogs, however, is one they would relish.
For the past 10 days it has been open season in the republic for snapping at Sinn Féin's heels, warning it must sever all paramilitary connections and renounce every aspect of criminality. The arrest of eight suspects, including a former candidate in Cork, in a police investigation into IRA money laundering has been the signal to savage the party's promotion of itself as a political alternative.
Has the best-disciplined party machine on the island suffered an irreparable setback? Within its heartlands the evidence suggests it should hold its own. But can it continue to make converts?
Sinn Féin claims that its rapid electoral advance, generated by the success of the Northern Ireland peace process, has panicked the traditionally dominant parties. It has five deputies in the Irish Dail and one MEP. There has been talk of it entering a coalition government after the next general election.
Jonathan O'Brien, the party's longest-serving councillor in Cork, contends that the onslaught is down to jealousy. Neither Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael nor Labour, he asserts, can match the enthusiasm and commitment of republican supporters.
Memorabilia
Sitting in the Sinn Féin office in Cork's Barrack Street, he is surrounded by familiar memorabilia from 30 years of the Troubles. There is a Republican Prisoners' Fund collection box and, on the wall outside, a granite plaque commemorates two IRA volunteers killed in 1973.
"The media have decided to try and criminalise Sinn Féin members," he says, "but it's not succeeding. People on the ground don't recognise that picture because they see ordinary republicans like us working for them day after day.
"We are out there 52 weeks a year, whether or not there's an election. We are no longer seen as a one-issue party, only associated with the northern question."
Charges for emptying rubbish bins have turned into a bitter political controversy in the republic. Sinn Féin has opposed them, claiming that the socially disadvantaged cannot afford to pay. Such policies have bolstered its support on working class estates, helping evict Labour from former strongholds.
Labour's leader, Pat Rabbitte, claims that Sinn Féin, flushed with cash, motivates its members by giving them money for community work. "That's nonsense. We don't pay our supporters," responds Mr O'Brien, a roofer by profession.
As for the allegations that the Provisionals carried out the Northern Bank robbery, he says: "The IRA have said they were not involved. I can only take them at their word."
On Barrack Street the lampposts are decorated with green, white and yellow posters reading: "Republicanism in Crisis. Is there an anarchist alternative?"
But in Knocknaheeny, a windswept housing estate high above Cork's prosperous Georgian waterfront, there is little sense that the Northern Bank robbery will inflict much political damage. "I've voted Sinn Féin," says Annette Murphy, hurrying to pick up a child from school. "They really get things done for you. I don't think [the robbery] will cause any problems. I'd still vote for them."
Near the Super-Valu supermarket another woman says with a smile: "Fair do's to them. But they went and got caught. There's still a lot of support for Sinn Féin around here." Gable-ends are scarred with graffiti, including fading IRA slogans.
"I'd say there's going to be a split," says Mary Ahern. "There's the guys who want to rule by the gun and the guys getting involved in the peace process."
On St Patrick Street in the centre of Cork, where flagpoles advertise the city's status as European City of Culture 2005, responses are varied. "They weren't robbing it off the Irish people," says Séamus Gillen, a construction worker taking a break. "Everyone here is voting Sinn Féin. Look at the massive profits the banks are making from their customers."
Others are waiting to make up their minds. "I've thought about voting for Sinn Féin because they've been so active in the community," says Gary Laffan, "but in the last few weeks so much has come out. I find it hard to believe the leadership could be so stupid. Perhaps it's a smear?"
Soured
Over the mountains into neighbouring County Kerry, the twisting road carries heavy lorries and tourist traffic into a Dail constituency held by one of Sinn Féin's veterans, Martin Ferris, a convicted IRA gunrunner.
In Tralee, the county town, some residents have begun to have doubts about republican values.
"I was always pretty pro-Sinn Féin," says Susie Nix, a 21-year-old student, "but [events have] soured my sympathies. A couple of friends who used to work for the party have left because of what happened, particularly the recent killing."
The murder in Belfast of Robert McCartney, allegedly by IRA activists, and the conviction in Dublin this week of five men for IRA membership - their van contained election posters for Aengus O'Snodaigh, a Sinn Féin deputy in the Dail - have added to the party's troubles.
This week, the Irish premier, Bertie Ahern, unusually conceded that the republican movement might have to split if it was to stay in the democratic process.
Avoidance of a split within the movement has been a guiding principle for Sinn Féin's president, Gerry Adams. Having failed before Christmas to reach a political deal with unionism that would have in effect dissolved the IRA, he may now face renewed difficulties reconciling what could become increasingly divergent strands of the movement.
Crisis talk puts Sinn Féin on the back foot
Allegations over bank raid and bar killing see party fighting to maintain electoral momentum amid talk of split in republican movement
Owen Bowcott
Friday February 25, 2005
The Guardian
Sinn Féin supporters filed into Cork's Curraheen Park greyhound stadium for a fundraising meeting last night, defying snow flurries and threats of being frozen out of Ireland's political establishment.
Martin McGuinness, the party's chief negotiator, flew down from Derry to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the party's foundation.
Among rival Irish politicians the idea that the republican movement - in Cork, of all places - needs a windfall provokes incredulity. They believe its coffers are already stuffed with the proceeds of Belfast's £26.5m Northern Bank robbery. The prospect of the party going to the dogs, however, is one they would relish.
For the past 10 days it has been open season in the republic for snapping at Sinn Féin's heels, warning it must sever all paramilitary connections and renounce every aspect of criminality. The arrest of eight suspects, including a former candidate in Cork, in a police investigation into IRA money laundering has been the signal to savage the party's promotion of itself as a political alternative.
Has the best-disciplined party machine on the island suffered an irreparable setback? Within its heartlands the evidence suggests it should hold its own. But can it continue to make converts?
Sinn Féin claims that its rapid electoral advance, generated by the success of the Northern Ireland peace process, has panicked the traditionally dominant parties. It has five deputies in the Irish Dail and one MEP. There has been talk of it entering a coalition government after the next general election.
Jonathan O'Brien, the party's longest-serving councillor in Cork, contends that the onslaught is down to jealousy. Neither Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael nor Labour, he asserts, can match the enthusiasm and commitment of republican supporters.
Memorabilia
Sitting in the Sinn Féin office in Cork's Barrack Street, he is surrounded by familiar memorabilia from 30 years of the Troubles. There is a Republican Prisoners' Fund collection box and, on the wall outside, a granite plaque commemorates two IRA volunteers killed in 1973.
"The media have decided to try and criminalise Sinn Féin members," he says, "but it's not succeeding. People on the ground don't recognise that picture because they see ordinary republicans like us working for them day after day.
"We are out there 52 weeks a year, whether or not there's an election. We are no longer seen as a one-issue party, only associated with the northern question."
Charges for emptying rubbish bins have turned into a bitter political controversy in the republic. Sinn Féin has opposed them, claiming that the socially disadvantaged cannot afford to pay. Such policies have bolstered its support on working class estates, helping evict Labour from former strongholds.
Labour's leader, Pat Rabbitte, claims that Sinn Féin, flushed with cash, motivates its members by giving them money for community work. "That's nonsense. We don't pay our supporters," responds Mr O'Brien, a roofer by profession.
As for the allegations that the Provisionals carried out the Northern Bank robbery, he says: "The IRA have said they were not involved. I can only take them at their word."
On Barrack Street the lampposts are decorated with green, white and yellow posters reading: "Republicanism in Crisis. Is there an anarchist alternative?"
But in Knocknaheeny, a windswept housing estate high above Cork's prosperous Georgian waterfront, there is little sense that the Northern Bank robbery will inflict much political damage. "I've voted Sinn Féin," says Annette Murphy, hurrying to pick up a child from school. "They really get things done for you. I don't think [the robbery] will cause any problems. I'd still vote for them."
Near the Super-Valu supermarket another woman says with a smile: "Fair do's to them. But they went and got caught. There's still a lot of support for Sinn Féin around here." Gable-ends are scarred with graffiti, including fading IRA slogans.
"I'd say there's going to be a split," says Mary Ahern. "There's the guys who want to rule by the gun and the guys getting involved in the peace process."
On St Patrick Street in the centre of Cork, where flagpoles advertise the city's status as European City of Culture 2005, responses are varied. "They weren't robbing it off the Irish people," says Séamus Gillen, a construction worker taking a break. "Everyone here is voting Sinn Féin. Look at the massive profits the banks are making from their customers."
Others are waiting to make up their minds. "I've thought about voting for Sinn Féin because they've been so active in the community," says Gary Laffan, "but in the last few weeks so much has come out. I find it hard to believe the leadership could be so stupid. Perhaps it's a smear?"
Soured
Over the mountains into neighbouring County Kerry, the twisting road carries heavy lorries and tourist traffic into a Dail constituency held by one of Sinn Féin's veterans, Martin Ferris, a convicted IRA gunrunner.
In Tralee, the county town, some residents have begun to have doubts about republican values.
"I was always pretty pro-Sinn Féin," says Susie Nix, a 21-year-old student, "but [events have] soured my sympathies. A couple of friends who used to work for the party have left because of what happened, particularly the recent killing."
The murder in Belfast of Robert McCartney, allegedly by IRA activists, and the conviction in Dublin this week of five men for IRA membership - their van contained election posters for Aengus O'Snodaigh, a Sinn Féin deputy in the Dail - have added to the party's troubles.
This week, the Irish premier, Bertie Ahern, unusually conceded that the republican movement might have to split if it was to stay in the democratic process.
Avoidance of a split within the movement has been a guiding principle for Sinn Féin's president, Gerry Adams. Having failed before Christmas to reach a political deal with unionism that would have in effect dissolved the IRA, he may now face renewed difficulties reconciling what could become increasingly divergent strands of the movement.
THE BLANKET
Tragic Legacy
Mick Hall • 22 February 2005
More than three weeks after the killing of Robert McCartney, the PIRA has still not delivered up the murderers of the Short Strand man, despite the fact that on the 16th of February, the Provisional IRA issued a statement signed by its nom de plume P O'Neill, saying that as an organisation they had no part in the murder and ''We wish to make it absolutely clear that no-one should hinder or impede the McCartney family in their search for truth and justice. Anyone who can help the family in this should do so."
>>>READ ON
Tragic Legacy
Mick Hall • 22 February 2005
More than three weeks after the killing of Robert McCartney, the PIRA has still not delivered up the murderers of the Short Strand man, despite the fact that on the 16th of February, the Provisional IRA issued a statement signed by its nom de plume P O'Neill, saying that as an organisation they had no part in the murder and ''We wish to make it absolutely clear that no-one should hinder or impede the McCartney family in their search for truth and justice. Anyone who can help the family in this should do so."
>>>READ ON
24.2.05
BBC
Family dismisses loyalist claims
The family of a man killed in north Belfast earlier this month has dismissed a loyalist paramilitary group's claim that it murdered him.
Stephen Montgomery, from Mountainview Drive, was found unconscious with head injuries on Jamaica Road, Ardoyne, in the early hours of 13 February.
He died in hospital. The Red Hand Defenders now claims it killed him.
Police say they are continuing to treat the death as a hit-and-run incident while they investigate the RHD claim.
They say they are trying to establish the veracity of it.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name previously used by the Ulster Defence Association, said it was responsible in a phone call to a Belfast newsroom on Thursday.
A number of people were questioned about the killing of the 34-year-old and released pending reports to the DPP.
Family dismisses loyalist claims
The family of a man killed in north Belfast earlier this month has dismissed a loyalist paramilitary group's claim that it murdered him.
Stephen Montgomery, from Mountainview Drive, was found unconscious with head injuries on Jamaica Road, Ardoyne, in the early hours of 13 February.
He died in hospital. The Red Hand Defenders now claims it killed him.
Police say they are continuing to treat the death as a hit-and-run incident while they investigate the RHD claim.
They say they are trying to establish the veracity of it.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name previously used by the Ulster Defence Association, said it was responsible in a phone call to a Belfast newsroom on Thursday.
A number of people were questioned about the killing of the 34-year-old and released pending reports to the DPP.
Sinn Féin
MI5 move designed to prejudice policing
Published: 24 February, 2005
Sinn Féin policing spokesperson, North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly has said that the announcement about the role of MI5 from 2007 is a pre-emptive strike by the British establishment designed to prejudice the transfer of powers in favour of British state.
Mr Kelly said:
"A new beginning to policing and justice requires a policing service which is democratically accountable, civic-based, rooted in human rights and politically non-partisan. Transfer of powers on policing and justice is central to accomplishing that new beginning.
"Today's announcement is a pre-emptive strike by the British establishment ahead of the transfer of powers. It is designed to prejudice the transfer of powers in favour of British state interests by designating matters due to be transferred, as excepted matters. Sinn Fein made it clear to both governments that this is unacceptable.
"It gives no comfort to the nationalist community that the very agencies of the British state which have been implicated by Judge Corey in state murder and criminality against Irish citizens, are to have that role perpetuated." ENDS
MI5 move designed to prejudice policing
Published: 24 February, 2005
Sinn Féin policing spokesperson, North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly has said that the announcement about the role of MI5 from 2007 is a pre-emptive strike by the British establishment designed to prejudice the transfer of powers in favour of British state.
Mr Kelly said:
"A new beginning to policing and justice requires a policing service which is democratically accountable, civic-based, rooted in human rights and politically non-partisan. Transfer of powers on policing and justice is central to accomplishing that new beginning.
"Today's announcement is a pre-emptive strike by the British establishment ahead of the transfer of powers. It is designed to prejudice the transfer of powers in favour of British state interests by designating matters due to be transferred, as excepted matters. Sinn Fein made it clear to both governments that this is unacceptable.
"It gives no comfort to the nationalist community that the very agencies of the British state which have been implicated by Judge Corey in state murder and criminality against Irish citizens, are to have that role perpetuated." ENDS
BBC
Adair pictured back on Shankill
Johnny Adair returned to Northern Ireland
Convicted loyalist leader Johnny Adair has been in Northern Ireland, several weeks after being freed from Maghaberry prison.
Adair was photographed on Belfast's Shankill Road and was also seen elsewehere on Thursday.
The UDA became aware of his presence and sent men to Portadown.
A UDA leadership source described the situation as volatile. However, it is understood Adair has since left Northern Ireland.
After being released from prison in January, Adair joined his family who settled in Bolton after fleeing Northern Ireland during a loyalist paramilitary feud two years ago.
The former leader of the Ulster Freedom Fighters had served two-thirds of a 16-year sentence for directing terrorism on behalf of that organisation.
He was expelled by the leadership of the Ulster Defence Association, of which the UFF is a part, in late 2002.
Feud
Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy ordered Adair to be sent back to prison in January 2003 at the height of a vicious power-struggle between his "C Company" faction and the rest of the UDA.
Members of Adair's brigade blamed for the killing of rival UDA leader John Gregg were later routed and forced to flee their Shankill Road powerbase.
Adair was photographed on the Shankill Road on Thursday by the Sunday Life. The newspaper says it did not pay any money for the photographs.
Adair's wife Gina, who confimred on Thursday morning that her husband was in Northern Ireland, later said she knew nothing.
Adair pictured back on Shankill
Johnny Adair returned to Northern Ireland
Convicted loyalist leader Johnny Adair has been in Northern Ireland, several weeks after being freed from Maghaberry prison.
Adair was photographed on Belfast's Shankill Road and was also seen elsewehere on Thursday.
The UDA became aware of his presence and sent men to Portadown.
A UDA leadership source described the situation as volatile. However, it is understood Adair has since left Northern Ireland.
After being released from prison in January, Adair joined his family who settled in Bolton after fleeing Northern Ireland during a loyalist paramilitary feud two years ago.
The former leader of the Ulster Freedom Fighters had served two-thirds of a 16-year sentence for directing terrorism on behalf of that organisation.
He was expelled by the leadership of the Ulster Defence Association, of which the UFF is a part, in late 2002.
Feud
Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy ordered Adair to be sent back to prison in January 2003 at the height of a vicious power-struggle between his "C Company" faction and the rest of the UDA.
Members of Adair's brigade blamed for the killing of rival UDA leader John Gregg were later routed and forced to flee their Shankill Road powerbase.
Adair was photographed on the Shankill Road on Thursday by the Sunday Life. The newspaper says it did not pay any money for the photographs.
Adair's wife Gina, who confimred on Thursday morning that her husband was in Northern Ireland, later said she knew nothing.
IRA2
MI5 to take over NI security intelligence
THURSDAY 24/02/2005 14:17:59
UTV
MI5 is to take charge of national security intelligence work in
Northern Ireland, Secretary of State Paul Murphy announced today.
By:Press Association
It will assume lead responsibility from Hugh Orde`s police service in
2007, falling into line with the rest of the UK as part of British
Government moves to provide a consistent and co-ordinated response to
international terrorism.
In a Commons written statement, Mr Murphy said: "Sharing of
intelligence on a cross-border and international basis will be
particularly important in combating money laundering and other
aspects of organised crime."
The security service, he said, would continue to work in partnership
with the PSNI, which will provide the operational police response in
countering terrorism.
The powers of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the office of
police ombudsman Nuala O`Loan will not be affected by the change.
It is understood that Ms O`Loan has some reservations about the
changeover.
Her spokesman said: "She will be studying the detail very closely,
particularly with regard to ensuring that all elements of policing in
Northern Ireland continue to be fully accountable to the public."
Northern Ireland Policing Board chairman Professor Desmond Rea
confirmed members would question Chief Constable Hugh Orde next
Wednesday about the implications of the intelligence move.
"I have called, on behalf of the Board, for a briefing from
Government at an early opportunity," he said.
"National security is, and always has been, a matter reserved to
Government, and is not a matter for the Policing Board. However since
it impinges operationally on the PSNI the Board will want to explore
the implications of this decision.
"As the statement from Government notes, the PSNI will, as now,
provide the operational police response in countering terrorism, and
in protecting the whole community of Northern Ireland."
MI5 to take over NI security intelligence
THURSDAY 24/02/2005 14:17:59
UTV
MI5 is to take charge of national security intelligence work in
Northern Ireland, Secretary of State Paul Murphy announced today.
By:Press Association
It will assume lead responsibility from Hugh Orde`s police service in
2007, falling into line with the rest of the UK as part of British
Government moves to provide a consistent and co-ordinated response to
international terrorism.
In a Commons written statement, Mr Murphy said: "Sharing of
intelligence on a cross-border and international basis will be
particularly important in combating money laundering and other
aspects of organised crime."
The security service, he said, would continue to work in partnership
with the PSNI, which will provide the operational police response in
countering terrorism.
The powers of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the office of
police ombudsman Nuala O`Loan will not be affected by the change.
It is understood that Ms O`Loan has some reservations about the
changeover.
Her spokesman said: "She will be studying the detail very closely,
particularly with regard to ensuring that all elements of policing in
Northern Ireland continue to be fully accountable to the public."
Northern Ireland Policing Board chairman Professor Desmond Rea
confirmed members would question Chief Constable Hugh Orde next
Wednesday about the implications of the intelligence move.
"I have called, on behalf of the Board, for a briefing from
Government at an early opportunity," he said.
"National security is, and always has been, a matter reserved to
Government, and is not a matter for the Policing Board. However since
it impinges operationally on the PSNI the Board will want to explore
the implications of this decision.
"As the statement from Government notes, the PSNI will, as now,
provide the operational police response in countering terrorism, and
in protecting the whole community of Northern Ireland."
