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http://www.dumbartonreporter.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2009/07/21/389775-orange-parade-of-sectarian-hatred/
Published: Tuesday, 21st July, 2009 8:00am
Profile by Mike Farrell
Image related to story 389775, see caption or article text
A RELIGIOUS leader has blasted plans for an Orange-type march through Dumbarton, branding it a parade of "sectarian bile and hatred".
Outspoken Reverend Kenny Macaulay, pictured, of St Augustine's Church, launched a stinging attack on the proposed walk by the Provincial Grand Black Chapter of Scotland on his online church blog.
In it, he proposes sitting down in front of the marchers in an act of civil disobedience and says there is no place for the event in communities today.
The 53-year-old Episcopalian priest of the High Street church – which is on the proposed route of the walk – states: "I'm having a wee rant just now about a proposed Orange Walk in Dumbarton due to take place on August 8.
"Thirty-seven bands from the West of Scotland and Ireland, flute and accordion, will descend on our town on this date to parade their sectarian bile and hatred on our streets.
"Three-thousand marchers and at least the equivalent number of supporters will march past my church playing songs about 1690 [the year of the Battle of the Boyne] and all that."
He adds: "It's bad enough listening to this crap at Ibrox Park, (Rangers' ground), every second week, without it being on our usually decent streets. Some of you will have already picked up my views here, and I make no apology for the fact that I believe sectarianism has no place in our communities today, nor should it be held up as an option for our children and grandchildren.
"I grew up with this mentality and it has no place in our common life. If this was an anti-Muslim march, it would be banned. Anti-Roman Catholicism is okay then?
"My parish has arranged our annual outing for August 8, most of us will just get out of town.
"I'm seriously considering civil disobedience. If I'm sitting on the road, they can't march over me, can they?"
A special council meeting to decide whether to grant permission for the march is expected to be held on Tuesday August 4 – just FOUR days before the walk is due to take place.
However, WDC has still to confirm the time and venue.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0721/1224250996701.html
MARK HENNESSY, Political Correspondent
Tue, Jul 21, 2009
SINN FÉIN’S operations in the Republic have suffered another blow with the departure of the latest Dublin City Council member from the party’s ranks.
So far, it is not known which party Cllr Louise Minihan will join on the city council, or whether she will sit as an Independent. She had been co-opted in 2002 to fill the Ballyfermot/Drimnagh seat vacated by Tony Smithers.
However, Ms Minihan does have ties with others who quit Sinn Féin in recent months and years to form Éirígí, arguing that Sinn Féin has abandoned its socialist republican roots.
Last night, Dublin South Central TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh sharply criticised Cllr Minihan, pointing out that she had been happy under the party’s flag in the June local elections.
“She had an opportunity to run as an Independent but chose not to do so. She should now return the seat to Sinn Féin so that we can continue to represent the people of Ballyfermot, Chapelizod, Drimnagh and Inchicore as we were elected to do,” he said.
The haemorrhage of Sinn Féin councillors is a serious worry for many members of the party. Cllr Killian Forde is now the only Sinn Féin councillor in Dublin elected in 2004 to still represent the party.
Early this month, Dublin councillor Christy Burke left, saying he had resigned in protest at what he described as a lack of support from the party during his Dublin Central byelection campaign. However, relations between Mr Burke, the Cabra-based, 25-year council veteran, and the party have been cool for some time, party sources told The Irish Times .
Confirming that she will remain on the city council, Ms Minihan said she “no longer” believed that Sinn Féin remained committed to its stated objective “of ending British rule in Ireland and the establishment of an Irish democratic socialist republic”.
Rejecting Sinn Féin’s demands to return the council seat, she said: “It would be hypocritical of me to hand over my seat to a party I no longer support or believe in.
“I know from speaking to people in my constituency that many of them voted for me on the basis of the politics I promote and my track record of community activism.”
© 2009 The Irish Times
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/politics/New-MLA-hits-out-at.5477056.jp
Published Date: 21 July 2009
THE Assembly's newest MLA has said that he has been unimpressed by what he has seen of Stormont.
South Antrim UUP Assemblyman Danny Kinahan, who last month replaced David Burnside in the Assembly, said that he was frustrated by the "petty party politics" of the institution.
"I know I am new and maybe a little naive but some of what I have seen has not impressed me," he said.
"Sinn Fein claiming that the UK needs to pay for ever and a day for all the damage they have done to the island of Ireland, and the SDLP replying that republicanism has done some £11 billion of damage itself, did not really help the debate on the Finance Bill."
Mr Kinahan also attacked the DUP ministers' performance on BBC Question Time, accusing them of blackening other parties.
"Yes, let's have the banter and the quick quips but not the dull, bland, petty point scoring that achieves nothing," he said.
"It is long past the time for the SF/DUP alliance to start putting half the effort they put into being elected into governing the country instead.
"The trouble is an alliance between two opposites cannot work."
http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Give-public-help-to-Whiteoaks.5476485.jp
Published Date: 21 July 2009
By Staff reporter
Health ministers in both the North and South have been urged to help fund an addiction treatment centre on the Derry/Donegal border.
Derry Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson said there was an onus on both governments to support the Whiteoaks Rehabilitation Centre in Muff as at present service users are being asked to part fund their own treatement.
Ms Anderson said both she and party colleague Pádraig MacLochlainn, a Donegal County Councillor, had been "extremely impressed” by the facilities at Whiteoaks during a recent visit to the centre which offers a 30-day residential treatment programme.
"This programme has proved to be extremely successful with a high percentage of clients remaining abstinent after treatment."
But she said a government backed funding package was urgently needed.
“As with many organisations, funding is an ongoing difficulty for Whiteoaks and clients are asked to contribute towards their treatment. Given the clear need for residential addiction treatment in the Derry/Donegal area and the fact that many clients are referred to Whiteoaks by statutory agencies I have written to both Michael McGimpsey and Mary Harney requesting that they engage with Whiteoaks with a view to securing additional funding for this vital service," she said.
http://www.tyronetimes.co.uk/2617/Complaints-against-PSNI-double.5477976.jp
Published Date: 21 July 2009
THE number of complaints and allegations made against police officers in South Tyrone has almost doubled in the last 12 months, it can be revealed.
Some 78 complaints and 141 allegations about officers stationed in the Dungannon area were investigated by the Police Ombudsman during the 2008/09 year - a significant rise on the previous 12 months.
However the PSNI has pointed out that just __ of those complaints were upheld.
Across Northern Ireland some 3,120 matters were referred to the Ombudsman last year - 3% more than in the 2007/08 year.
The figures were revealed in Al Hutchinson's first report as Police Ombudsman.
Allegations
It states that in Dungannon and South Tyrone, the number of complaints and allegations against the PSNI has almost doubled from 44 complaints involving 67 allegations which were recorded during the 2007/08 year.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Cookstown the ombudsman was asked to investigate 54 complaints involving 89 allegations last year, compared to 41 complaints and 79 allegations during 2007/08.
In the Omagh area there were a further 46 complaints involving 78 allegations last year.
Sinn Fein MLA Francie Molloy, who is also a member of the borough's District Policing Partnership, said the rise in complaints was "a sad reflection" of the PSNI's failure to engage with the community.
"This is a reflection of the growing concerns which people have about how the new police service is performing," he said.
"It is unacceptable that there is such a high level of incidents where people feel they have to make a complaint."
Mr Molloy said he has been contacted by numerous constituents who have complained about the PSNI's performance in the borough.
"I am hearing complaints time and time again from people who are dissatisfied with the PSNI's response to incidents and about how they seem to dismiss complaints," he added.
"There are two issues - the time which the PSNI takes to respond to incidents is unacceptably long while there is also dissatisfaction about how the police actually deals with incidents.
"Both have to be improved and the DPP also has to take some responsibility to ensure that the PSNI is held accountable."
However Inspector Stephen Moneypenny from Dungannon station said just a handful of those complaints were upheld.
"The percentage of complaints that are upheld is usually very, very small," he said. "I have asked the Ombudsman to provide a more detailed analysis of these figures.
"There is no single issue that can be identified, however we are using emergency legislation, such as stop and search powers, more and more and this may be a factor."
There were 3,120 matters referred to the Police Ombudsman last year with the majority (3,081) made against officers by members of the public. In 374 cases the Police Ombudsman's Office found evidence to support the complaint.
As a result of investigations, 12 police officers faced prosecution and 306 were subject to discipline.
http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Views-wanted-on-city-name.5476561.jp
Published Date: 21 July 2009
By Staff reporter
Derry's citizens are being urged to give their views on the city's name as part of an equality assessment.
Derry City Council is to canvass opinion on the controversial changing the city’s official name to Derry.
A spokesperson for local authority said: “Derry City Council agreed it would undertake an EQIA (Equality Impact Assessment) on its decision to make an application to the Privy Council to have the formal name of the city changed from Londonderry to Derry.”
Responses to the canvass are due to be discussed in the autumn.
Sinn Fein Councillor Kevin Campbell said his party would be going door-to-door to urge local people to fill in the questionaires.
Councillor Campbell said: "This process will give the citizens of this city the opportunity to express their opinions on this issue. The name of our City has become a byword for division with many different forms of alternative descriptions, a phenomenon that speaks volumes about the divisions, disagreements and confusion that surrounds this issue.
“Commentators variously talk about the Maiden City, the City on the Foyle, Stroke City, Derry/Londonderry, Doire Calgach just to name a few. There is a perception amongst many citizens of our city that rather than an expression of culture or historical accuracy that the London prefix is used in many instances to make a political statement.”
Sinn Féin believes that the historic name Derry is best suited to market the city on a global basis to attract inward investment and jobs.
Colr Campbell added: “I would appeal to community groups, sporting organizations and the business community to seize this opportunity to fill in the EQIA and have their say on this important issue.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8158868.stm
People in County Londonderry and north Antrim are at risk following splits within the UDA and Ulster Political Research Group, it has been warned.
SDLP MLA John Dallat said the time for "pussyfooting with the UDA" was over.
"The announcement that the UPRG no longer recognises the authority of the PSNI cannot be ignored," he said.
One hundred and fifty loyalists gathered in Derry last Thurdsay. The UPRG said it was a protest at unionist leadership, not a show of strength.
The group walked around mainly loyalist housing estates in the Waterside for two hours before dispersing.
Sinn Fein Foyle MLA Martina Anderson described it as a sinister development.
"It was dignified, it was silent, it didn't intimidate anybody," said David Malcolm, regional secretary of the Ulster Political Research Group.
The police said they monitored the group throughout and no offences were committed and no complaints were made by the public.
'Partnership'
Mr Dallat has written to the the Secretary of State and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
"I do not want to see another generation of innocent people sacrificed and I do take some comfort from the fact that the PSNI have made successes in recent times and feel certain that this has provoked a great deal of resentment within the UDA at local level.
"The time for horse-trading with paramilitaries is over and the time for genuine partnership at every level of society leading to permanent reconciliation between our people is the only show in town," he said.
The UPRG said in July they are withdrawing support for the police in Londonderry and north Antrim.
The group, which has links with the UDA, has also withdrawn support for the political institutions after consulting with grass roots loyalists in the area.
Mr Malcolm said loyalist communities had not reaped any of the benefits of the peace process.
"They have been cut adrift," he said.
"Communities in the north west have sat back and watched all the benefits of the peace process go to communities around Belfast and the east of the province."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8158868.stm
Published: 2009/07/20 09:48:39 GMT
© BBC MMIX
http://www.herald.ie/world-news/downfall-of-the-us-tycoon-unmasked-as-ira-millionaire-1830867.html
By David Brown
Monday July 20 2009
He was living the American dream. Sean O'Neill, once a penniless immigrant from the North, had built a multimillion-dollar empire.
He was a respected member of the business community in the Philadelphia suburb where he lived with his wife and three children.
There was a home on the East Coast, a house in the country and a property in his former home in Coalisland, Co Tyrone.
But the family's life has crumbled with the revelation that he is a convicted IRA terrorist.
Shooting
His marriage has been revealed as bigamous and he faces a 146-year jail sentence and $4m (f2.8m) fine after admitting immigration fraud, tax evasion and gun offences.
O'Neill has also seen his son convicted of accidentally shooting a friend, while his daughter faces prison for killing a grandmother while drink-driving.
His spectacular downfall has been compared to David Cronenberg's film A History of Violence in which a father's past returns to haunt him. Things started to untangle in 2006 after O'Neill went on a weekend break with his wife, Eileen.
While they were away their son, Sean Jr (17) threw a party.
After drinking, he began to play a game with his father's gun, which ended with the accidental shooting of Scott Sheridan, also 17.
Police were called by Roisin O'Neill (23) who found her brother clutching his friend's lifeless body.
While searching the home, detectives unearthed paperwork that revealed O'Neill's terrorist past and old photographs of O'Neill with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
In 1977, O'Neill had pleaded guilty to membership of Fianna na h'Eireann, the IRA's youth wing.
In an attempt to build a new life he travelled to the US on a six-month visa, failing to disclose his terrorism conviction. He then entered into a sham marriage so he could stay.
O'Neill worked hard, building up a construction, pub and restaurant business in Philadelphia.
But his immigration status meant he had to continue to lie. He failed to obtain a divorce before marrying Eileen in 1986. He used a false identity on at least four occasions when he bought a gun to shoot squirrels.
As the investigations widened to include his businesses it was revealed that he had failed to file personal tax returns between 2005 and 2007 and had paid some employees at his Maggie O'Neill's pub "off the books".
While O'Neill was awaiting trial, Roisin drove the wrong way down a road and killed Patricia Waggoner (63). Six months later, she was back in court accused of breaching bail conditions after being caught in a car with under-age youngsters, an open bottle of wine at her feet. Her brother was driving.
Sean Jr was also returned to house arrest for the juvenile manslaughter conviction after it was revealed he had breached the terms of a treatment programme.
He had become involved in a violent altercation during which he had said he had "killed a better man for less" and had twice spent the night with a girlfriend, who is now pregnant.
O'Neill's lawyers insisted that whatever the children's sins, the father was innocent.
They said he was being pursued because of a perceived anti-Catholic and anti-Irish bias in the American legal system.
In one statement they claimed that the charges "were a thinly veiled attempt to convince the jury that Mr O'Neill is a terrorist with a propensity for buying guns and allegedly lying".
Conspiracy
However, that defence was abandoned when O'Neill pleaded guilty to three counts of immigration fraud, one count of possessing a firearm silencer without a serial number and one count of conspiracy to commit tax fraud. Charges relating to bigamy and other gun offences were dropped.
O'Neill, who has been released on $1.2m (f840,000) bail, will be sentenced next month.
- David Brown
http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/UPRG-more-dignified-loyalist-protest.5474508.jp
Published Date: 20 July 2009
Following Thursday night's "spontaneous" loyalist protest march in the city's Waterside, the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) has issued a scathing attack on mainstream unionism and what they describe as the lack of support for loyalist communities from elected unionist representatives.
David Malcolm, spokesperson for the Derry and North Antrim Branch of the UPRG - which is linked to the UDA - described the march as 'silent and dignified' and said he didn't rule out further marches in future.
Mr. Malcolm said the march wasn't designed to "stoke up sectarian tensions."
He claimed that approximately 350-400 members marched through the area in protest at the 'vilification' of loyalism and a policing agenda, which the organisation says, is "set against" loyalist communities.
Police and Sinn Fein said that up to 150 people took part in the march.
The UPRG say working class loyalist communities have been disenfranchised, isolated and have received no benefits from the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Malcolm refuted suggestions that UDA personnel were present at the protest march. And, when asked about the presence of an alleged senior UDA figure known as 'The Mexican' at the protest, David Malcom said: "I never saw him."
The UPRG representative also hit back at claims from Sinn Fein that the loyalist protest was heading for the city's west bank via Craigavon Bridge. A Sinn Fein statement suggested the march had been dispersed at Spencer Road, but David Malcolm said the protest march remained within areas of the Waterside from which they draw support. He also said the march remained "silent and dignified."
Under parades legislation, 28 days notice to the PSNI is obligatory for all parades except funerals and Salvation Army processions. Confirming that no notice had been given, David Malcolm also did not rule out similar protests in the future. He said that providing notification of protest would afford sinister elements within republicanism the chance to attack the protests.
Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson described the loyalist march as a "sinister development."
East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell said that, according to police, those taking part in Thursday's march hadn't broken the law and they took action to ensure there was no breach of the peace at Craigavon Bridge.
"This is to be welcomed considering the fact tensions have been on the rise in the city over the past few weeks and months," he said.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/probe-launched-after-man-shot-by-police-officer-14418149.html
Monday, 20 July 2009
A man was shot and injured by police after reports that a vehicle had been stolen by a thief armed with a petrol bomb.
The shooting happened in the Gilford area of Co Down at 5am on Saturday when police found the vehicle and fired a shot at its driver.
The Police Ombudsman is now investigating the incident.
The man suffered a wound to his abdomen and is in hospital, where police said his condition is not thought to be life-threatening.
Police were called at 4.30am after a Range Rover was stolen from a house in the Tullygally area of Craigavon, Co Armagh, by a man who threatened the occupant of the property with a petrol bomb.
Officers in a patrol car spotted the stolen vehicle in Gilford shortly after 5am.
A police spokesman said: “One shot was discharged by a police officer, striking the driver of the vehicle, who has been taken to hospital with an injury to his abdomen.”
Sinn Fein Assembly member for the Upper Bann area, John O'Dowd, said he had serious concerns over the police decision to shoot the man in the stolen car.
“This individual was clearly involved in criminality and we must also bear in mind the distress of the family he threatened,” he said.
The Sinn Fein representative said the full details had yet to be established, but he questioned the use of a firearm.
“It is completely unacceptable for the PSNI to fire live rounds in what was essentially a stolen car incident,” he said.
“This incident happened in daylight hours. There are numerous other non-lethal options available to stop stolen cars and indeed apprehend unarmed people running from a situation like this.
“This incident clearly could have resulted in the death of the driver of the Range Rover and it is now important that the Police Ombudsman begins his investigation and completes it speedily in an open and transparent way.”
The Police Ombudsman's office said it had begun an investigation into the shooting.
A spokesman said: “Police Ombudsman investigators have been at the scene, which has been forensically examined, and have been conducting house-to-house inquiries in the area.”
The Ombudsman confirmed the case had been referred to it by the PSNI for independent investigation.
Updated: 10/4/2009
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