Irish Northern Aid
News
 |
||||
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/shot-ira-mans-family-want-inquest-obstacles-removed-14201398.html
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
The family of an IRA man killed by the police will call for the last obstacles to an inquest to be set aside during a meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward today.
Relatives of Pearse Jordan, 23, shot dead by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in west Belfast, are still awaiting a full coroner's hearing into his 1992 death.
Mr Jordan's father, Hugh, has been seeking more information from PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde.
Mr Jordan said: "For the last 17 years we have attended over 130 of almost 200 hearings regarding an inquest. This is an intolerable situation for any family.
"We will be asking Shaun Woodward to ensure that the coroner (John Leckey) and our lawyers receive the necessary material allowing the inquest to proceed uninterrupted."
In 2001 the European Court of Human Rights ordered the British Government to pay £10,000 to the families of 10 IRA men, including Mr Jordan's, after ruling that the men's human rights were violated by flawed inquest procedures.
Mr Jordan was involved in a car crash in disputed circumstances on the Falls Road when he was killed.
Relatives want police to provide an inventory of material in their possession about the death.
Holding a separate meeting with Mr Woodward at Hillsborough Castle will be families of 11 people killed by the Army's Parachute Regiment in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 1971.
Briege Voyle, daughter of victim Joan Connolly, 50, a mother-of-eight, said: "The families will be presenting the need for an independent investigation into the full circumstances.
"We will also be demanding that the British Government move swiftly to address the consequences of the cover-up."
West Belfast Sinn Fein MP Gerry Adams will also be present.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/24/northern-ireland-compensation-row
Proposed £12,000 compensation to families of all victims of the conflict has been surrounded by controversy
Henry McDonald in Belfast guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 24 February 2009 14.08 GMT
The authors of a controversial report into Northern Ireland's violent past that has proposed a £12,000 cash payout to the families of all victims of the Troubles are to be given a rough ride at Westminster tomorrow.
The Tories have pledged that, if elected to office, they would scrap the scheme because it puts terrorists who died in the conflict on the same par as politically uninvolved civilians and members of the security forces who were killed.
Lord (Robin) Eames and Denis Bradley will face tough questions over their proposal from the Northern Ireland affairs select committee when they appear at 3pm in the Palace of Westminster.
Among the members of the cross-party committee are four Northern Ireland MPs – Lady (Sylvia) Hermon, Alasdair McDonnell, Iris Robinson and David Simpson.
The committee is chaired by the Conservative MP Sir Patrick Cormack, whose party's Northern Ireland spokesman, Owen Paterson, has already attacked the payout scheme.
Paterson said the Tories would scrap the £12,000 payment if they won power at the next general election but would retain the Historical Enquiry Team, despite the proposal by the Eames-Bradley report to shut it down.
He said: "The HET is doing very good work and has been giving value so it should be retained. Their role should be expanded – they could, for instance, do a new inquiry into the Omagh bomb."
The HET is an independent police unit working with the Police Service of Northern Ireland with the sole task of investigating unsolved murders of Ulster's Troubles.
Eames and Bradley – who co-chaired the Consultative Group on the Past – made a number of proposals in their report on how to deal with more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.
They suggested the creation of a Legacy Commission, to deal with the past, and a Reconciliation Forum.
However, the most controversial proposal was payment of a five-figure tax-free sum to the families of all those who died during the Troubles, including IRA, UDA, INLA and UVF terrorists.
The "recognition" money will cost the public purse about £40m if it is accepted by the British government.
The proposal has met with bitter opposition across Northern Ireland and now the cross-party group of MPs will get their chance to question the report's authors on the reasons behind the payment plan.
Last week, Sinn Féin's junior Stormont minister, Gerry Kelly, said the payment proposal was a "mistake''.
Sally Craig, whose UVF son Colin Craig was murdered by the Irish National Liberation Army in 1994 while apparently under house arrest by the terror group, has also condemned the plan. "I wouldn't accept any money. I don't think it is right,'' said Craig, who is being treated for cancer.
Even the message board on the Consultative Group on the Past's website has not been wholeheartedly in support of the £12,000 award.
One message from Anon says: "My partner's brother was murdered by 'rogue' RIR soldiers. This proposed compensation has brought to the fore all the hurt and outrage again particularly for his now elderly parents. It should be condemned by all sides of the community.''
And a message from Francis reads: "This debate on the compensation has stirred up a lot of trouble and will forever continue to do so. It is still not too late to consult."
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/sdlp-and-sinn-fein-battle-as-europoll-moves-closer-14200866.html
By Noel McAdam
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Sinn Fein and the SDLP have clashed in the Assembly as the parties shift closer towards election mode — even though the Euro-poll is still four months away.
SDLP European candidate Alban Maginness said comprehensive equality legislation had become the latest casualty — along with the Maze sports stadium project, an Irish language act and replacement for the 11-plus — which Sinn Fein had “surrendered” to the DUP.
And his party colleague Alex Attwood earned the Speakers' rebuke after saying the failure to organise a ‘single issue' meeting of the North South Ministerial Council to focus on the economy was another example of the DUP saying ‘no' and SF saying ‘OK'.
But Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said his party and the DUP had achieved what the SDLP and Ulster Unionists had failed to accomplish — all parties meeting regularly around an Executive table.
Under UUP First Minister David Trimble and SDLP deputies Seamus Mallon and Mark Durkan, the DUP consistently refused to attend Executive meetings.
As the speaker demanded order, Ulster Unionist David McNarry repeatedly shouted at the DUP benches “you're compromised” and his party's deputy Assembly leader Danny Kennedy asked Mr McGuinness: “can we have that in writing?”
McGuinness said Maginness was indulging in “wishful thinking” and added: “It's quite easy to seize on issues if you are hoping to score political points.”
“You can heckle and mutter and moan all you like,” the Sinn Fein Minister told SDLP benches, after their Upper Bann MLA shouted that the DUP and Sinn Fein had transformed the political situation “into paralysis”.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/sinn-fein-ard-fheis-tough-talk-and-a-call-for-plain-speaking-from-dup-14199362.html
By Noel McAdam
Monday, 23 February 2009
Martin McGuinness has called on the DUP to “come clean” on accepting partnership government or seeking a voluntary coalition which would mean a return to majority rule.
The Deputy First Minister told the Sinn Fein ard fheis that the transition from Ian Paisley to Peter Robinson as First Minister had not been “smooth or certain”.
And referring to the five-month gap in Executive meetings last year, Mr McGuinness said he had been “very up front” with the DUP leader and made it clear the institutions “could only work on the basis of partnership and equality or they would not work at all.”
Political evolution, like climate change, has been demonstrated, Mr McGuinness said.
Joking about the row over whether his title should be “joint” or “co”-First Minister with the DUP leader, Mr McGuinness said: “The important thing is that the unionist people know what I am.”
To applause, the Mid-Ulster MP said Unionist claims of a lack of confidence over policing and justice are “bogus” and insisted that the public was now ready for the transfer of powers from Westminster to take place.
Ian Paisley had finally agreed to sharing power with republicans and the fact he and McGuinness had worked together in a civil and progressive way gave an important glimpse into “what the future holds for us,” he said.
“Ian Paisley once famously said he was a plain-speaking Ulsterman. We now need that same plain speaking from the new DUP leadership both in the public domain and more importantly within the privacy of their own party meetings.
“There is no logic to the DUP on the one hand telling us, as they repeatedly do, that they accept and have bought into the partnership required for these institutions to work, and then on the other to publicly call for a voluntary coalition, which in essence means unionist majority rule.”
Majority rule is history and will not return — and the DUP leadership “knows this and knows it well,” he went on.
Delegates passed an emergency motion welcoming Secretary of State Shaun Woodward’s announcement that legislation on the transfer of policing and justice powers will be announced soon.
Executive Environment Minister Conor Murphy said work was ongoing with Dublin Ministers to develop planning linkages across the country and a consistent approach to policy “across Derry, Donegal and the North-West”.
“The concept of a Newry-Dundalk twin city region is now beginning to take hold and become accepted as an integral part of a key corridor on the eastern seaboard...a snapshot of the changing political, social and economic landscape across this island. Irish unity is our core and primary objective,” he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7905967.stm
Sinn Féin has lodged complaints about Environment Minister Sammy Wilson and another DUP MLA with the Assembly's Standards and Privileges Committee.
One of the complaints is against Newry and Armagh MLA William Irwin, who was recently fined £750 for polluting a river near his farm.
In a letter, Daithí McKay, alleged Mr Irwin was in breach of the code of conduct and the members' handbook.
He also complained to the committee about remarks made by Mr Wilson.
Mr McKay took exception to Mr Wilson's suggestion on the BBC's Politics Show that where candidates have equal skill, jobs should go to the local person.
He claimed this would be illegal and alleged Mr Wilson had also breached the code of conduct.
Speaking about Mr Irwin, Mr McKay said: "I think at the very least, he should apologise to the Assembly and state clearly on the record that environmental crime and the polluting of rivers is something that is as abhorrent as any other crime," he said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7905967.stm
Published: 2009/02/23 13:31:46 GMT
© BBC MMIX
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/sinn-fein-to-take-its-case-for-irish-unity-to-britain-14200541.html
By Noel McAdam
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Sinn Fein is set to enter ‘enemy territory’ by staging its first major conference in Britain.
While republicans resolutely maintain their historic boycott of the House of Commons, the party is planning the event for next year. It will follow separate events in the US this summer as Sinn Fein attempts to build international support for a united Ireland.
Gerry Adams, who told his ard fheis of the plans at the weekend, said: “Our intention is to engage with the Irish diaspora and to marshal its political strength in support of a united Ireland.”
DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said, however, Mr Adams has been reduced to holding a ‘conversation’ about Irish unity — while warning the forthcoming European election could still “breathe new life” into the Sinn Fein campaign.
“Sinn Fein representatives have often spoken of their desire to see Ireland unified by 2016, yet today — only a few years from their target date — they sit in Stormont, exercising British power within part of the United Kingdom's political system and support the Police Service of Northern Ireland and our British justice system,” the Executive Finance Minister said.
“Even those who were once ardent nationalists now recognise that it has never been more beneficial for Northern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom and the fifth largest economy in the world. It defies logic how Adams and co. could see any economic benefit for Northern Ireland to be operating in a united Ireland context.”
But Mr Dodds went on: “The European election has the potential to breathe that new life into Sinn Fein and their ideals. As a result of bitter unionists splitting the unionist vote Sinn Fein is favourite to come out as the biggest party in this Province-wide electoral test. It need not be the case.”
But the SDLP said both Sinn Fein and the DUP were in danger of deepening the economic crisis facing the province.
Alban Maginness, who is the party’s Euro-candidate, said: “We have a three-year budget which is now badly out of date and which was deeply flawed to begin with. We have an Executive in the tight grip of two parties which are so terrified of disagreeing on any plan of action to deal with the downturn that they prefer to have no plan at all. We are in constant danger of Sinn Fein and the DUP walking us into an even deeper crisis. We are facing hard times and we should be able to expect the Finance minister to make some hard choices. His budget is no longer fit for purpose.”
Mr Adams argued, however: “Building a united Ireland... means more than a change of flags. We need to build this party everywhere. And we need to make political alliances. We also need to build support internationally.”
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/eric-waugh/is-anyone-really-interested-in-sinn-feinrsquos-call-for-irish-unity-14201369.html
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
The realists in the propaganda game always argue that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
They mean that there is no news story so bad that a resourceful operator cannot turn it to advantage. There are many sceptics; but political parties are not among them. Their faith in media coverage is what keeps them going. They know that, to be ignored, means death. I do not feel Sinn Fein is dying. But the indifference of key Sunday newspapers to their annual conference in the Royal Dublin Society last weekend will be giving them cause for thought. Unless my eyes deceive me, The Sunday Independent, the Irish market leader, ignored the occasion entirely.
The Sunday Times Irish edition managed a brevity, two short sentences, the copy measuring four centimetres by three, at the bottom left-hand corner of an inside page; although Liam Clarke had a prominent article — critical — on the op-ed page. But elsewhere, of agenda, speeches, debates, attendance, votes ... nothing.
To some observers this is no surprise. Sinn Fein, south of the border, fell on hard times in the 2007 general election, following a lack-lustre campaign. Gerry Adams came off worst in an RTE debate with Labour's Pat Rabbitte and Michael McDowell of the Progressive Democrats which attracted 560,000 viewers.
He appeared ill-briefed on the economic debate in the Republic. The party was on record as calling for a stiff increase in the Republic's prized low corporation tax, which has proven a powerful magnet to outside investment. Late in the campaign it got cold feet and it switched to a policy of no change. The party expected to pick up seats, introducing a new, younger generation of activists to the Dail. It ended by losing one — in Dublin South West; and failing to have Mary Lou McDonald, a much-promoted Dublin MEP, elected in Dublin Central. The party has been reduced to a mere four seats in the Dail and a recent poll put it on only 9% support, behind Fine Gael, first with 32, Labour (24) and the governing Fianna Fail (22).
As the Fianna Fail figure shows, times are dire south of the border. (‘Country's Fight for Survival’ was a recent Irish Times headline.) They are set to get a great deal worse when the gravity of the banking crisis is fully revealed. In such circumstances a party of protest like Sinn Fein would expect to pick up votes. It has not. Why? One theory is that Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland bias — which boosted its poll ratings at the time of the devolution deal with the DUP —is now a liability; that it is seen as a ‘northern’ party with little core relevance in the Republic. The Northern Bank heist in Belfast at Christmas 2004 (which Bertie Ahern attributed flatly to the IRA) and the Belfast murder of Robert McCartney caused further unease south of the border. The spread of open gang warfare among rival drug dealers in Dublin and Limerick has increased civil distaste for the gun in the Republic —which does not help a party with Sinn Fein's recent history.
In the face of this, and in hard times, one would expect a party cultivating a radical image to mount a considered programme of social and economic reform. Instead, Gerry Adams preaches about the evils of partition and the party's intention to launch a new drive for Irish unity. Conferences in Britain and America are to ‘marshal’ the political strength of the Irish abroad.
But this is talk from 1948 when I used to listen to old lags like William Norton TD and Sean MacBride TD holding forth at anti-partition meetings outside the GPO in O'Connell Street. No doubt Sinn Fein feels obliged to give the lash to the carthorse labouring to move the bogged-down unity wagon.
But are there many votes in it? I doubt it. Plans to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising butter few parsnips in Ballymun.
As for partition, Ireland's historic problem, fundamentally, was always lack of coal, a commodity upon which its neighbours' wealth was based. Latterly, the Irish have tapped that wealth — on both sides of the border and with some success. The Republic's tiger was made possible by funds from the Germans, the Dutch and the British, the main net contributors to the coffers of the EU, while Northern Ireland is sustained generously by the British exchequer.
Without partition, the whole island would depend solely upon Brussels funds —which are now being sharply reduced. In this of all times, how unity would benefit the economic equation, as Sinn Fein claims, is a question without an answer.
Sinn Fein's problem is that the electorates — on both sides of the border — appreciate in the gut which side their bread is buttered.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0224/1224241710607.html
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
LUCK CAN play an important role in politics. And, for the moment, Sinn Féin’s luck appears to be out. Its ardfheis deliberations last weekend were drowned out by the sound of marching feet on the streets of Dublin. And while complaints about Government incompetence, banking scandals and falling living standards might have been common features of the two events, the bulk of media coverage went to trade unions.
Still, public anger against the Government remains to be harnessed and, in his presidential address, Gerry Adams appealed to voters to root out corruption and build a new society. With the local and European elections only four months away, the party is expected to make gains.
Sinn Féin has learned from past mistakes. Last year, buoyed by Assembly election results and its entry into government in the North, it fought the general election on a slogan of “sharing power in the North and ready for government in the South”. But its anxiety to do a deal with Fianna Fáil, the development of a presidential-style battle between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and Mr Adams’s poor grasp of economic matters all conspired to thwart that ambition. It lost one of its five Dáil seats.
This time, there is no talk of a deal with either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Instead, the party has suggested a deal with the Labour Party, the Green Party and other smaller groups. As a proposition, it is unlikely to attract immediate or enthusiastic attention.
The party made deliberate efforts at the ardfheis to appeal to the electorate in the Republic. Debate was centred around issues arising south of the Border. The dominance of a Northern leadership was played down. Promotion of European election candidates featured heavily. On the basis of recent opinion polls, the party could do well. Support has increased from 7 to 9 per cent since the general election. And while Gerry Adams has not been immune to the recent “plague on all your houses” attitude towards party leaders, the organisation still attracts large numbers of young, lower income supporters. Its main problem may lie in getting them out to vote.
The defeat of the Lisbon Treaty last summer gave Sinn Féin a much-needed boost in confidence, following its earlier electoral setback. Now, with another referendum planned and the public mood altering, it is boxing clever. Mr Adams declared his support for the European project, but repeated his criticisms of the original Lisbon Treaty as a dilution of democracy and a move towards militarism. If the Government tried to foist that document on the public, Sinn Féin would say “No” again.
The benefits of a single all-Ireland economy were promoted, along with the progress being made by Sinn Féin ministers in government in Northern Ireland. And while Mr Adams excoriated corrupt bankers and called for the resignation of Government here, his ideas on restructuring the economy were unconvincing. In spite of that, the promise of financial reform and a competent government will resonate with many voters.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/ministerrsquos-exdriver-facing-rifle-charge-14200540.html
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
A former driver for Sinn Fein minister Conor Murphy, who was allegedly found in possession of an AK47 assault rifle when gardai searched his home, will be tried this summer.
Padraig Treanor was sent for trial to the Circuit Criminal Court in Cavan on June 10 when he appeared on remand on bail at Carrickmacross District Court, Co Monaghan, yesterday.
Treanor (31), with an address at Corinshigagh, Cullaville, Co Monaghan, was charged with unauthorised possession of a firearm.
He also faced three other charges relating to possession of an air rifle and ammunition.
Treanor was one of a pool of drivers employed by Sinn Fein to drive senior members but since leaving the party’s employment he has worked as a tyre-repairer in Cullaville, south Armagh. He was a driver for the Newry and Armagh MP until late 2007.
It is understood Treanor had been arrested previously by gardai investigating the murder of Cullyhanna truck driver Paul Quinn. Mr Quinn was savagely beaten to death by a gang who lured him to a cow shed in Castleblayney in October 2007.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0224/breaking39.htm
Gardaí from the Bureau of Fraud Investigation have begun a number of searches at the offices of Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin.
The officers are working with the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), which is investigating a series of financial scandals related to the bank.
A Garda spokesman said that a search warrant had been issued yesterday by a judge in the Dublin District Court.and was executed this morning.
Up to 20 officers working under the ODCE are involved in the search.
The gardaí are understood to be searching the St Stephen’s Green offices for books, documents and other materials that could provide evidence of any offences under company law.
Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised last month after the share price plummeted amid a wave of controversies, including a loans-for-shares scandal, revelations about secret loans to former chairman Sean FitzPatrick and a multibillion-euro deposit from an apparent rival bank to boost its books.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0224/1224241710888.html
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
TIM O'BRIEN
A WICKLOW resident whose bank collapsed amid revelations that as chairman he availed of large personal loans and engaged in dubious financial practices, will be remembered in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow next April.
As part of celebrations to mark their 150th anniversaries, three parishes will launch a “graveyard trail” taking in some of the famous – or infamous – people buried locally. William Shaw’s grave is among those on the trail.
Shaw was chairman of Munster Bank when a run on the bank happened in 1885. It emerged that Shaw, who was also a politician, received a personal loan of £80,000, while dividends that were seen as too generous were paid to him and other directors at a cost to the shareholders.
The New York Times reported on July 14th, 1885, that the directors’ conduct had amounted to “plain fraud”. The Munster Bank was liquidated but was quickly replaced by the Munster and Leinster Bank which took on much of the business. It was subsequently subsumed into Allied Irish Banks.
Shaw, who represented Co Cork in the Westminster Parliament, did not contest the 1885 general election, which took place just months before the collapse of his bank. He was ruined and reduced to working in journalism before retiring to Enniskerry, where he settled with his sister in a house on Church Hill, passing away in September 1895.
Prior to the collapse of his bank, Shaw had been a well-respected businessman and independent Liberal MP, a nationalist and leader of the Home Rule movement between the tenures of Butt and Parnell.
More than 100 years after his death, he is to be commemorated by three local churches – St Patrick’s Church of Ireland at Powerscourt where he is buried, St Mary’s Catholic Church in the village and Kilbride Church of Ireland at Kilcroney.
As well as Shaw, those who rest in St Patrick’s include artist Paul Henry, who died in August 1958. Henry was a Northern Irish artist who painted the west of Ireland landscape with a spare post-impressionist style. In the 1920s and 1930s he was Ireland’s best known artist. The National Gallery of Ireland held a major exhibition of his work in 2004.
The graveyard also houses the remains of Lieut Gen Sir Arthur Purves Phayre, a career army officer who was the first commissioner of British Burma, 1862-1867, governor of Mauritius, 1874-1878, and author.
St Mary’s Catholic Church and St Patrick’s Church of Ireland were built with the financial support of the seventh viscount of Powerscourt.
St Mary’s replaced a temporary building in the village called Dixon’s Barn in 1859. The two Church of Ireland buildings date from the same year.
A 64-page yearbook with features about the history of the village and the three churches over the last 150 years has also been published to mark the anniversaries.
Enniskerry – Celebrating 150 Years of its Three Parish Churches is available (price €10) from the parish offices
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0224/1224241710876.html
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs CorrespondentPEOPLE IN Ireland have been urged to abstain from alcohol for Lent by the Pioneer Association, or to reduce their intake over the six-week period.
With Ash Wednesday occurring tomorrow, Pádraig Brady, chief executive of the association, said: “Alcohol abuse is having a very serious effect on Irish society.
“Alcohol-related problems such as healthcare, crime, accidents and absenteeism now costs the State €3 billion a year.”
He continued: “This Lent can be a great opportunity for people collectively to support each other and make the effort to either cut back or abstain altogether from alcohol.”
Pioneers, Mr Brady emphasised, “are not anti-drink, but members do take a lifelong pledge not to drink alcohol . . . we want to help create a healthy society, avoiding all the ills that arise from the excessive use and abuse of drink.”
It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 pioneers on the island of Ireland.
Mr Brady’s call has been welcomed by Minister of State for Health and Children Mary Wallace.
“There is a social acceptance of alcohol in our society and I believe that we need to question the signal that this is sending, particularly to our young people.
“There are benefits for society as a whole if everyone tries to reduce their alcohol consumption. It is never too late to start and the onset of the season of Lent provides an ideal starting point,” she said.
Bishop Éamonn Walsh, vice-chair of the Irish Bishops Drugs Initiative, also said in support: “The six weeks of Lent provide a good length of time for people to really make a change for the better in their drinking, if they need to, and that’s much easier to do if you feel you’re not on your own.”
Updated: 8/26/2009
Use the Guest Book to Comment on the web site or individual stories.
To get Irish News updates emailed to you
