SAOIRSE32

Sinn Féin

Gerry Adams statement on Robert McCartney case

Published: 3 March, 2005

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams speaking today said:

“I am deeply angry about the alleged involvement of a number of republicans in the killing of Robert McCartney. I believe that I am speaking for the broad republican constituency in publicly articulating my outrage and anger at what has happened. All of those involved in this horrific incident must make themselves fully accountable for their actions. Nothing short of this is acceptable. I have made clear my support for the family in their search for justice and have called upon those involved in the killing and others with information about the killing to bring this information forward.

As part of these efforts to assist in the search for truth and justice I met the family of Robert McCartney a number of times. At a meeting on Thursday 24th February the family gave me a list of people who they allege were involved. As party President I immediately instructed the leadership of Sinn Fein in Belfast to establish if any of those named by the family were members of Sinn Féin. I was informed that seven of those named are members of Sinn Féin. All were immediately suspended from the party. This is on a without prejudice basis.

As a political party Sinn Fein is not in a position to carry out an investigation which would adequately establish the facts surrounding the killing of Robert McCartney but those named by the family are suspended from membership and from any involvement in Sinn Fein activity pending the outcome of the legal process. If any of these seven are found to have been involved in the events surrounding the death of Robert McCartney, or if they do not provide truthful accounts at this time as the McCartney family have requested, Sinn Féin will take further internal disciplinary action to expel these individuals.

All of these people have been personally instructed to provide full and frank statements. I reiterate that anyone with any information should make this available to the courts.I have given this statement to the family and to a solicitor.

Although I stress that Sinn Féin has no basis to make any allegations against any of these suspended members at this time, and some or all may be innocent of any offence, I have instructed the solicitor to pass the names given to me by the McCartney family to the Police Ombudsman.” ENDS

An Phoblacht: Nelson ousted - Remembering the Past

Nelson ousted - Remembering the Past

BY SHANE Mac THOMÁIS

click for larger view

On 8 March 1966, 39 years ago, Vice-Admiral Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson was removed from his pillar in O’Connell Street.

Nelson’s Pillar was, as the name would suggest, a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Lord Nelson, located in the centre of O’Connell Street in Dublin. Erected in 1808 to honour Nelson three years after his death at Trafalgar, it was largely paid for by rich bankers and brewers, such as the Guinness and La Touche families. The pillar cost £6,856 to erect. In the year it was completed, low-paid workers were earning £8 a year. 857 years of work!

The pillar was a Doric column that rose 121 feet from the ground and was topped by a 13-foot tall statue in Portland stone by Cork sculptor Thomas Kirk, giving it a total height of 134 feet. It was designed by Francis Johnson from Armagh, the architect whose other work on O’Connell Street, the General Post Office, was shelled by crown forces in 1916. Johnson and later architects laid out Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street) so that the buildings, the GPO and the Pillar were in scale to the size and length of the street and to each other. The original entrance to the pillar was underground, but GP Baxter designed a porch in 1894 which was added to allow direct access from the street.

With the rise of Irish republicanism in the early 20th Century, there were increased calls for this symbol of imperialism to be removed from the capital’s main thoroughfare. These largely went unheeded and Nelson remained on his perch. In 1938, an unsuccessful attempt was made by the IRA to blow up the pillar. A contingent of IRA men led by Peadar O’Flaherty left Frederick St and proceeded towards O’Connell Street with wads of highly volatile gelignite in their pockets. As they approached the pillar, they saw the gatekeeper locking up and the opportunity was lost.

The pillar was to remain in place for another 28 years, until a group of former IRA men, including Joe Christle and Liam Sutcliffe, planted a bomb that destroyed its upper half at 1.32am on 8 March 1966. Liam Sutcliffe, in an interview with RTÉ, maintained that in Operation Humpty Dumpty, the explosive used was a mixture of gelignite and ammonal. The blast threw the statue of Nelson into the street and caused large chunks of stone to be flung around the vicinity.

It is thought that the bombers acted when they did to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. No one was hurt by the explosion. The closest bystander was 19-year-old taxi driver Steve Maughan, whose vehicle was destroyed.

After the explosion, O’Connell Street enjoyed a party atmosphere for a few days as people crowded in to appreciate the novelty that was referred to around town as ‘the Stump’.

Two days after the explosion, Irish Free State Army engineers blew up the rest of the pillar, after judging the vestigial structure too unsafe to restore. These experts’ explosion caused more destruction on O’Connell Street than the original blast, breaking many windows and causing Dubliners to comment that “the republicans were much better at this sort of thing”.

The rubble was taken to the East Wall dump and the lettering from the plinth was moved to the gardens of Butler House, Kilkenny.

Following the clear up of the site, Ken Dolan and six other students from the National College of Art and Design stole Nelson’s head on St Patrick’s Day from a storage shed on Clanbrassil Street as a fundraising prank to pay off a student union debt. They leased the head for £200 a month to an antiques dealer in London for his shop window. It also appeared in a women’s stocking commercial, shot on Killiney Beach, and on the stage of the Olympia Theatre with the Dubliners. The students finally gave the head back about six months after taking it, and it is now in the Civic Museum in Dublin.

The Nelson Pillar Act was passed in 1967, transferring responsibility for the site of the monument from the Nelson Pillar Trustees to Dublin Corporation. The site was simply paved over by the authorities until the Spire of Dublin was erected there in 2003, which cost €6 million to erect. In the year it was completed, the minimum wage for a worker was €14,560 a year.

BBC

SF suspends members over killing

Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre

Sinn Fein has suspended seven of its members over their alleged involvement in the murder of Robert McCartney.

Party President Gerry Adams said the move was taken pending the outcome of the legal process.

Mr McCartney, 33, a father of two, died after being stabbed near Belfast city centre on 30 January 2005 after a row in a bar.

His family has said some republicans were involved in the killing, and its cover-up.

Mr Adams said if any of the seven were found to have been involved, Sinn Fein would take action to expel them.

Two men have been arrested over the murder in the past week, but both have been released without charge.

Mr Adams said the family handed him a list of people they say were involved in the murder at a meeting last month.

He said seven of those on the list were Sinn Fein members and have been suspended without prejudice and told “to provide full and frank statements”.

“All of those involved in this horrific incident must make themselves fully accountable for their actions. Nothing short of this is acceptable,” Mr Adams said.

“I have made clear my support for the family in their search for justice and have called upon those involved in the killing and others with information about the killing to bring this information forward.”

He added that Sinn Fein “has no basis to make any allegations against any of these suspended members” and has instructed a solicitor to pass the list of names from the McCartney family to the Police Ombudsman.

Primates’ view

Meanwhile, the Church of Ireland and Catholic primates have spoken about the campaign in the Short Strand area of Belfast over the McCartney murder.

Archbishop Robin Eames said it sent out a message to loyalist areas that the paramilitaries faced their greatest challenge from ordinary people uniting against them.

Archbishop Sean Brady said that the courage of the McCartney family was an example of how the power of love can render weak the efforts of those who bully communities.

The church leaders were taking part in an ecumenical lecture in Dublin on Thursday.

An Phoblacht

Bik rubbishes Hunger Strike claim

Members of Ógra Shinn Féin in Omagh mark the anniversary of the start of the 1981 hunger strike
Click for larger view

Bik McFarlane, OC of the republican prisoners in the H-Blocks during the 1981 Hunger Strike, has rubbished claims that the IRA Army Council rejected an offer made by the British that could have brought the protest to an end in July, preventing the deaths of six men.

Former H-Block prisoner Richard O’Rawe, in a book published through the British Sunday Times, alleges that a British Government contact, Mountain Climber, put forward proposals that he, O’Rawe — the prisoners’ PRO at the time — and Bik McFarlane had agreed to.

However, speaking to An Phoblacht this week, McFarlane dismissed O’Rawe’s contention that a substantive offer was made and totally rejected the notion that he, as OC of the H-Block protestors and the person in direct contact with the Hunger Strikers and the Republican Movement on the outside, accepted any such offer.

Before outlining the events of that crucial week in July when the hunger strike was entering its sixth month and just days before Joe McDonnell became the fifth man to die, McFarlane made it clear that “no one should be under any illusions that it was Margaret Thatcher and the British Government who are responsible for the deaths of the Hunger Strikers and no one else. For Richard O’Rawe to try and shift the blame on to the IRA is scurrilous.”

McFarlane went on to explain that Danny Morrison met with Joe McDonnell, Kieran Doherty, Kevin Lynch, Tom McElwee and Mickey Devine in the prison hospital on Sunday 5 July. Martin Hurson was too ill to attend the meeting.

McFarlane was brought to the hospital wing as Morrison was meeting the Hunger Strikers but was not allowed to be present, although Morrison did brief him after his talks with those on fast.

Morrison explained to the prisoners that the British had been in contact through Mountain Climber and outlined what was on offer.

The prisoners, already wary of British brinkmanship and bad faith from the 1980 Hunger Strike, wanted to explore the offer and tie the British to their word.

“We wanted guarantees,” said McFarlane. “We didn’t trust the Brits.”

According to O’Rawe’s version of events, McFarlane returned from the hospital and briefed him on Mountain Climber’s proposals. He claims that, in a conversation with McFarlane, both agreed the proposals amounted to an acceptable deal.

“That did not happen,” insists McFarlane. “No deal was offered to the Hunger Strikers whereby they could say it was acceptable.

“Richard’s whole thrust is to say that the Army Council was responsible for the deaths of six of the Hunger Strikers. That is scurrilous, it is wrong and absolutely inaccurate.”

Also scathing about O’Rawe’s claims was Danny Morrison. The former Sinn Féin Director of Publicity, who liaised with the prisoners during the Blanket Protest and the Hunger Strikes, was adamant that the IRA did not intervene to prevent a deal.

“After the disgraceful things that were written in that book, Richard O’Rawe should hang his head in shame,” said Morrison.

“He claims to have written the book because the families had ‘a right to know the facts’, yet he did not have the courtesy to forewarn them.”

IOL

Illegal Irish immigrants may be given right to stay in US

03/03/2005 - 07:33:48

Thousands of illegal Irish immigrants may reportedly be given the right to stay in the United States under new proposals put forward by the Bush administration.

Reports this morning said US Ambassador James Kenny briefed the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee about the proposals yesterday.

Under the plans, illegal Irish immigrants would reportedly have to present themselves to the authorities, show they have a good record and pay a fine.

They would then apparently be granted a three-year temporary visa, after which they could apply for permanent US residency.

Anonymous Comment on McCartney Murder

**I just received this comment on one of my posts concerning the McCartney murder and thought it was interesting:

If RUC wish 2 find perps - let them Q. Devine as he was intended target. - Reason - In a P.O. robberey he was involved in some time ago - he gave up his comrades in return 4 lighter sentance - Theese comrades were having a celebration drink after serving their time when Devine entered the bar. Didn’t take long 4 old grudges 2 resurface + accusation of “tout”. MY MESSAGE TO ALL INVESTIGATING THIS IS “The psni special branch knows Devine + his role. The Handler has gone 2 great leagths 2 cover this part of Devines life from media attention + it is my personal beleif that Special Branch know or can easily find out(as a matter of record) The people who done this”
Is the protection of 1 exposed mole worth allowing the IRA 2 instill fear on2 the streets of Belfast????????

Comment by I.N.Theno. — 3/3/2005

IOL

Rosemary Nelson inquiry to begin public hearings next month

03/03/2005 - 08:22:47

The British government has announced that its planned inquiry into the loyalist murder of Co Armagh solicitor Rosemary Nelson will begin public hearings next month.

The British government has announced that its planned inquiry into the loyalist murder of Co Armagh solicitor Rosemary Nelson will begin public hearings next month.

Ms Nelson, a 40-year-old mother-of-three, was killed in a car bomb outside her family home in Lurgan in March 1999.

She was best known for representing the Garvaghy Road residents in their battle with the Porrtadown Orange Order and, as a result, she was the target of loyalist death threats and hate campaigns.

Her family has accused the police and British officials of failing to take her concerns seriously, while there are also suspicions of security force collusion in the killing.

The British inquiry into her murder was established on the recommendation of retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory, who found that the evidence of possible collusion warranted further investigation.

Belfast Telegraph

Cross-border plan unveiled

By Patsy McArdle
03 March 2005

A new cross-border development plan - designed to promote projects which will have an impact in Northern Ireland and the Republic - is to be unveiled at a conference in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, tomorrow.

The plan, based on a study undertaken in South Armagh and Co Monaghan, is aimed at forming a partnership approach for Government and EU funding for a number of new projects with cross-community appeal.

Local authority representatives from both sides of the border, as well as Ulster and Eire trade leaders, are involved.

A spokesman for Mentor Economic Development Limited, which has undertaken the survey, said: “This is a major co-operative exercise - the objective is to draw down maximum grant aid from both governments and the EU for the Border region.”

The Mayor of Castleblayney, Brendan Hughes, said the conference will also discuss formalising the role of the North/South Partnership and consider ‘a new Action Plan’ for the future’

Delegates, he said, will also be exploring where maximum funding can be obtained for the most meritorious schemes.

Belfast Telegraph

McCartney killers sully the cause: Adams

By Ashleigh Wallace
03 March 2005

Those behind the killing of Short Strand father of two Robert McCartney have “sullied the republican cause” and must be made accountable for their actions.

That is according to Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, who once again called for those involved in the city centre stabbing to come forward.

Reiterating his support for the McCartney family’s quest for truth and justice, the West Belfast MP once again called on those who have information on the murder to make it available.

Mr Adams said: “Although many people have come forward, others have not, particularly some who may have been directly involved in Robert’s murder.

“In my view these people must give a full account through whatever conduit they choose. I want also to restate with absolute clarity that whoever killed Robert McCartney should come forward and take responsibility for this. That is what I meant when I said that if I was involved I would make myself accountable to the courts.

“So far, Robert McCartney’s killer has not had the courage to do this. Self-preservation and selfishness will not prevail in this case.

“I am not letting this issue go until those who have sullied the republican cause are made to account for their action.”

His words were echoed by Sinn Fein Cavan/Monaghan TD Caoimhghin O Caolain.

But he went on to say that calling on witnesses to contact the PSNI “restricts the means by which information may be given in order to help bring the killers to justice”.

The office of the Police Ombudsman has offered to assist in the investigation of the murder.

The offer was made as a way of getting republicans not traditionally anxious to make statements to the police to come forward.

Chief Constable Hugh Orde said earlier that he was quite happy for people who did not feel confident about going directly to the police to approach them through a third party.

“I have no difficulty with that, but what we need to do is get the information and then give the people the confidence to go into court and give the evidence,’” said Mr Orde.

Belfast Telegraph

Direct rule powers renewed

By Brian Walker, London Editor
brian.walker@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
03 March 2005

The House of Lords has completed the procedure for formally renewing direct rule for six months and extending the membership of district policing partnerships beyond the council elections on May 5.

DPP members who lose their council seats in the poll will remain members of the partnerships, according to the Leader of the Lords, Baroness Amos.

Unionist Lord Kilclooney said he would oppose a further renewal of direct rule unless Government took a decision on the future of the Assembly, following the failure of the interparty talks in December.

“You cannot go on for ever retaining an Assembly, Members of the Legislative Assembly and heads, with salaries and expenses. The Assembly has been heavily criticised by the public in Northern Ireland. I have defended it up to now.

“But the time is running out if you do not use the elected Assembly for some purpose in, for example, scrutinising the legislation before it is approved in this Parliament.

“If that does not happen, I fear that in six months’ time the Assembly itself will have to be closed down as well.”

Fresh support for the policing partnerships came from independent peer Baroness May Blood.

Peers also extended to the province, stronger rules already applying to England and Wales, which allow disabled children or those with special needs, to be educated in mainstream schools and colleges.

Daily Ireland

Heritage bosses decide to award Long Kesh listed-building status

The Department of the Environment has decided to award listed-building status to a number of structures at the old Long Kesh prison site in Co Down, Daily Ireland can reveal.
In a letter to Lisburn City Council, obtained by this newspaper, heritage chiefs said they “accept” proposals for statutory protection of parts of the site.
The Long Kesh buildings that will benefit from listed status include block H6, the hospital, the administration building, watchtowers, the chapel and some fencing and boundary walls. A protected relocated compound will also be set up, comprising the best surviving components from the various prison huts.
Any new development at the 360-acre (146-hectare) Long Kesh site, including the recently-mooted multisports stadium, will now have to incorporate all these imposing features of three decades of prison life.
Lisburn City Council will meet later today to discuss the listed-buildings proposals. It is expected to unanimously endorse the department’s decision to award protected status to many of the prison structures.
Lisburn Sinn Féin councillor Paul Butler described the department’s judgment as a “step in the right direction”.
He said, “Long Kesh is on a standing with other historical jails such as Robben Island in South Africa where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and Kilmainham Jail, where the leaders of the 1916 Rising were executed. Long Kesh will always be remembered as the place where Bobby Sands and nine other hunger strikers died because they refused to be criminalised.
“The importance that Long Kesh has had in the history of the conflict here has obviously formed a large part of the survey the DoE carried out on the buildings at the former prison. Long Kesh remains the ideal place to give future generations an understanding of the historical significance of the jail.”
Lisburn Mayor Cecil Calvert, a Democratic Unionist Party councillor, said he could live with the listed building proposals.
“I’m not necessarily in favour of keeping the H-blocks or watchtowers, but I have to look at the bigger picture. The consultation group came up with a number of proposals for the site, including the development of a stadium and keeping some of the buildings. I support the entire package because of the economic benefits it will bring to Lisburn, although I am not in favour of all of the content.”
SDLP councillor Patricia Lewsley said, “I fully support the plans. I expect the listed-building proposals will go through the council tonight without a hitch.”
Long Kesh hit the headlines last week when plans were submitted to transform the site into a £1 billion (€1.46 billion) multi-sports stadium for soccer, rugby and Gaelic games.
However, the future of any stadium on the former prison remains in doubt because the Gaelic Athletic Association has yet to endorse the proposal.
During its 30-year history, Long Kesh bore witness to some of the most dramatic events of the Troubles.
When special status was withdrawn from political prisoners in 1976, republicans began a blanket protest in a bid to gain political status.
That protest eventually culminated in the 1981 hunger strike and the deaths of ten republican prisoners.
In September 1983, almost 40 republican prisoners escaped from the H-blocks, the biggest escape in history from a British-run prison.

Daily Ireland

Robert McCartney killing: Top republican speaks for first time

click on thumbnail for larger view

A senior republican at the heart of the barroom brawl which culminated in the stabbing to death of Robert McCartney has spoken publicly about the incident for the first time.

Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison confirmed that a bloody row broke out in Magennis’s Bar after he approached Robert McCartney to resolve a dispute.

Mr Davison claims that while he had words with the dead man, who he knew well, the matter was sorted out amicably. But within seconds, he further alleged, another man in the McCartney group attacked him and stabbed him several times in the arm.
Here, he gives Maria McCourt his account of events.

Are you the senior republican referred to in the IRA statement?

Well, see, this craic from the start. I’m an Irish republican most of my adult life but as common sense will tell you and legal will tell you I can’t comment on what the IRA have said, it’s a matter for the IRA.

But you were in Magennis’s bar on January 30.

(Nods)

What were you doing at the bar? Had you been at the Bloody Sunday commemorations as has been reported?

No. I had just called into the bar. I was in the bar about five minutes. I called into the bar and ordered a bottle of beer. I was approached by a member, someone in the bar who I would know well, and asked me did I know a crowd of fellas sitting over at one of the tables. He pointed and I recognised Robert McCartney. He said there was sexual gestures being made to their wives and partners – stuff like that. It was gonna develop into an argument or a row, so I know Robert McCartney well as he was a neighbour – he used to live out my back. I went to approach Robert McCartney because we were neighbours, and I must stress this, in a non-aggressive way. I was trying to get a resolution to the problem and we did, we resolved it, it was sorted out in a couple of seconds. He said something to me like, ‘Jock there was a lot of drink taken, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, the boys were being boisterous,’ or something along those lines and that was it sorted.
At that point a boy in his company – who I do not know – jumped up and verbally attacked me, okay? It’s sort of hard to describe it… there was a very long table in the bar, right? He was round here, I was standing there talking away to Robert McCartney who’s here. He ran down to get round me and he was held back by a number of people in that company. He eventually broke free and he attacked. The row lasted about eight, nine, ten seconds, probably tops.
A number of people jumped into the middle of the row, a couple of people pulled me one direction, and other people pulled him in another direction, somebody threw a bottle and hit me in the head with it, someone smashed a bottle over his head at the far side of the bar and he was punching and kicking, the whole way to the bar. I’m standing here, I felt a twinge in my hand, I starts walking over towards the door, I realised I had a bad stab injury to my hand. I went straight out the front door of the bar. A number of women were there and said to me, ‘look, you’re bleeding, you’re this that and the other’. There was a doorman there, one of the girls had went in, got blue towels, blue kitchen roll, got my arm up. She wrapped all the stuff round my arm, someone went and got a black bag, put it over my arm. At this stage there was a lot of shouting and bawling outside the bar. I was trying to calm the situation down, I was asking friends could they calm the situation down, but eventually I was losing an awful lot of blood. I was feeling sick, and the guy who put the bag over my arm said, ‘right, you’re going to hospital.’ Myself, a friend and him got into his car and we left and went to hospital.

Was it a knife that was used to stab you?

I don’t know what I was stabbed with, I do not know. All I know is, I was stabbed three times, stabbed on the back of the hand, stabbed here [pointing to palm of left hand] and stabbed here [pointing to front of left hand]. All were defence wounds in my hands. The boy who was with Robert McCartney as far as I’m concerned is a thug, who jumped up and attacked me. All I done was defend myself and he attacked me, he attacked me first. I defended myself and that was my sole role in that whole affair.

This guy who jumped up, you said you had it sorted out with Robert McCartney. This guy had taken umbrage to the…

He had taken umbrage because me and Robert McCartney had sorted it out. It was only a matter of seconds. I knew Robert McCartney, as I say he used to live out my back, he’s a neighbour. I’d no issue with Robert McCartney, we sorted it out in seconds. I spoke to him in a non-aggressive way and we had sorted it out, it was a non-issue. The boy with him didn’t see it like that.

But at this stage the IRA statement says that both yourself and this other guy had received serious stab wounds.

As I said to you earlier on, I can’t comment on the IRA statement, I can just comment on what I seen. What I seen clearly was that he had a bottle smashed over his head. I was hit on the head with a bottle, that was when he was being pulled towards the door and I was being pulled in the opposite direction. There was a lot of shouting, mostly women, this boy who had stabbed me, most of the shouting was being directed from him towards me about cutting my throat. He was threatening violence, I never said a word, I never said hello, goodbye, I never commented at all. I lost an awful lot of blood. My mind was focused on my arm. I spoke to a couple of friends and I asked them could they try and calm the situation down. I spoke to the man who put the bag over my arm. I was feeling a wee bit faint, I’d lost a lot of blood. A friend of mine came back to me. I said, ‘Look I’m gonna faint here.’ He put me into the car and we left and went to the hospital.

So it was a friend who took you to the hospital – there were no ambulances called?

No, it was a man who was in the bar who had just called in. He was outside… had just come on the scene as that happened. He was the guy that got the bag and put it over my arm, he took me to hospital.

Do you know where Robert McCartney was at this stage?

I have to state clearly here, I never seen, and I told my solicitor this, I never seen Robert McCartney outside the bar. I never seen Robert McCartney from the initial yarn me and him had. I never seen Robert McCartney after that again, all I seen was this other guy on the street doing a lot of slabbering, a lot of mouthing in my direction, because that’s all it was so I wasn’t unduly worried. My concern was that I needed to get to hospital.
You hadn’t been in Market Street? This was directly outside the bar when you were taken away?

Absolutely not. I was nowhere near Market Street. I went to the hospital to get my hands sorted out. I was patched up, I went to Dundonald hospital the next morning, I had nothing to hide. I was arrested in Dundonald hospital.

This was on Monday morning?

It was Monday sometime, I don’t know, maybe lunchtime or whatever time it was, right? I was arrested. I was assaulted. It was leaked to the press that I had been arrested, my family hadn’t been informed. This whole big media hype that I had been arrested, if the police had’ve contacted me like they did with loads of others and asked them to go down and make a statement, I would have got my solicitor and went down and made one. But they made all this high-profile thing, leaked my record as an ex-prisoner in the mid-1980s, all this stuff was turned into a political thing like that. Even when I was in police custody, and my solicitor will confirm this, they were thuggish towards me and showed total disregard towards my solicitor. And as my solicitor will confirm, numerous people by the time I was taken to Antrim made numerous statements totally exonerating me and my role in this whole affair, made statements saying I was attacked in the bar.

Where were you when you heard what had happened to Robert McCartney?

I was in the hospital when they actually brought them in. This was Robert and Brendan Devine. They were brought to the same hospital. The exact same place that I was brought – the Royal.

Did you know then that Robert was dead?

No, the doctors came in and said that other people came in, maybe 20 minutes, half an hour after me. They asked me in general conversation where I was stabbed, I said Magennis’s bar. He said there’s a couple of guys here that was stabbed in Cromac Street, I still didn’t make the connection until I heard them talking about their names and stuff. I was as shocked as anybody and that’s the truth, I was as shocked as the next person. When I left that scene all it was was a mouthing match. As far as I was concerned it was over.

Before you left the scene did you give an order that the two men were to be attacked?

I would like to get somebody to stand over that. I totally refute that, it’s actually an insult to me to say that I was… even that implication, that you ordered somebody to kill a man. I’m from the Short Strand, he’s a neighbour of mine, he’s a member of my community. There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would even involve myself in an incident like that. I totally refute that allegation, it’s wrong, it’s unfair on me. I understand that family is going through hell but there’s more than one victim in this. I was stabbed as well. I know they lost their brother. I support their quest for justice, I support it wholeheartedly. I lost a member of my family who was killed by the cops and I argue for justice in that case so I have total support for everything they are trying to do and I do support them, but as I said to you at the outset of all this, this is a political arrest.
I have actually met the extended family and I asked them to meet me so we can sort this out or talk about it and they have refused. I met the extended McCartney family and I told them exactly what I have told you what happened on the night and I’ve asked for a meeting with that family and they have refused to meet me.
So, see if you want to talk about truth, let’s meet me and let’s talk about truth. I mean, as I says to you again, I never gave no order, I never gave no hand signals, I never gave no nothing.
I sorted out the problem with Robert McCartney in seconds and I was attacked by a thug so I’m as much a victim of circumstances as everybody else. What happened to Robert McCartney is totally and absolutely wrong. It actually sullies the name of republicanism and it goes against everything, everything who I’ve been in my whole life.

The clean-up operation that took place after the incident, had you any knowledge of ….?

All I can say is I left the bar and left the scene. I can’t account for what happened when I wasn’t there. People in that bar have made statements, which loads and loads of them have, which totally exonerated my position. I can’t speak for a clean-up that happened when I wasn’t there.

Have you been dismissed from the IRA?

Common sense will tell you, and legally I can’t answer questions, and whatever the IRA have said is a matter for the IRA. I can’t speak and I can’t answer questions for the IRA.

Did you come forward and make a statement with your solicitor following the incident?

Once again, that’s a legal issue again and I don’t want to discuss the legal end of that. Can I put on record here that justice for the McCartney family, I totally support it and I have no issue with anybody in that community telling the truth. Now me personally, as an Irish republican, I couldn’t go to the police, not the way they have treated me. But I would go with a solicitor. I would advise my community to do likewise, tell the truth. I want that put on record, tell the truth. They have nothing to fear, go and tell the truth. I would like people to get truth and justice for the family. I would urge that community to help them in whatever way necessary.

Why do you not go? You’ve made yourself available to the PSNI, but why would you not go voluntarily and make a statement?

A number of things here – I was arrested. They approached every single other person and told them to go down to the police station. They politicised this overnight. They actually used this and used the McCartney family. All I’m saying is I will go down, if I am asked to go down I will go down with my solicitor. I have no issue, I have nothing to hide, but I’m an Irish republican.

Did you take part in the intimidation of witnesses after the event?

Absolutely not, and I actually resent that. People approached me in the area who were actually in the bar, and if people go and check it out I advised them to go down, get a solicitor and go and tell the truth. I advised them to go down. I had no issue in doing that, I had no problem. My solicitor will tell you I actually got people to come to this office through him – to go down and make statements, so I totally resent that. I can understand maybe from the family’s point of view, there again maybe people were afraid, all I can say is that I took no art nor part in intimidating anyone and if anybody asks me, I’m saying that as an Irish republican, give it to the solicitor, go down and tell the truth.

Were you aware of any intimidation going on in the area?

I’m being honest with you, I never heard of one case of intimidation. I think if you dig into it, it’s non-existent in my view.

The people that were responsible for this, would you ask them to come forward?

I would. I’m an Irish republican and I think this whole affair has brought the republican struggle into disrepute. I have to say if I was involved in that I would take responsibilty for my own actions.

Is there anything else you can do at this stage to help the family?

If they met with me – not to exonerate me, but to hear me – if they want to hear the truth I’m prepared to give them the truth as I know it and as I seen it. I was only involved in the initial sort of row when I was attacked and that’s all I can tell them. If they want the truth I’ll tell them exactly what I have told you and I’ll deal with it. I’m prepared to meet them, I’m prepared to tell them the truth and if anybody asks me, if anybody knows anything about this then try and sort it out for that family.

Belfast Telegraph

‘I didn’t order fatal pub attack’
Top republican tells of how he was stabbed

By Chris Thornton
03 March 2005

The senior republican arrested over the murder of Robert McCartney today denied ordering the fatal attack.

Gerard “Jock” Davison, who was later released without charge, admitted being in Magennis’s bar in Belfast when the row that led to the murder broke out, but claimed he is “as much a victim of circumstances as everybody else”.

In an interview with Daily Ireland, Mr Davison said he believes the intimidation of witnesses to the murder is “non-existent”.

The republican said he had personally told witnesses to give statements to the same solicitor he has instructed in the case.

Mr Davison said he had called into Magennis’s bar on January 30 and was approached by “a member” who said that men at a table which included Robert McCartney had been making rude gestures to women.

Mr Davison said he approached Robert McCartney, a former neighbour of his, and “sorted it out in a couple of seconds”.

He said another man he did not know then “verbally attacked me” and stabbed him three times .

“I defended myself and that was my sole role in the whole affair,” he said.

He said he was treated for three hand wounds in the bar and then brought to hospital. He said he was “nowhere near” Market Street, where the worst part of the assault on Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine, who was seriously injured, took place a few moments later.

Mr Davison said he was already at the Royal Victoria Hospital when Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine were brought in “maybe 20 minutes, half an hour after me”.

The interview was published as Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern were preparing to meet in Downing Street.

It follows Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s claim that the IRA has never planned to wind up its activities, but intended to continue to exist as “gendarmerie” for Sinn Fein.

During the interview with Daily Ireland editor Maria McCourt, Mr Davison refused to answer questions about whether he has been dismissed from the IRA or if he is the senior republican described in last week’s IRA statement on the murder.

Several accounts of the row in Magennis’s bar said a senior IRA member drew his finger across his throat in a gesture to other IRA members in the bar.

But he denied ordering the attack or playing any other role.

“I would like to get somebody to stand over that,” he said.

“I totally refute that, it’s actually an insult to say that I was . . . even that implication, that you ordered somebody to kill a man.

“I’m from the Short Strand, he’s a neighbour of mine, he’s a member of my community.

“There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would even involve myself in an incident like that. I totally refute that allegation, it’s wrong, it’s unfair on me.”

He added: “I sorted out the problem with Robert McCartney in seconds and I was attacked by a thug so I’m as much a victim of circumstances as everybody else.”

Mr Davison said he has met members of the McCartney’s extended family and would like to meet Mr McCartney’s closest relatives.

Mr Davison denied knowing about the clean-up operation in the bar by IRA members, when tape from a security camera was stolen.

He said he did not believe witnesses had been intimidated.

Belfast Telegraph

‘Tell the courts, not the papers’
McCartneys hit back at murder denial

By Chris Thornton
03 March 2005

The family of Robert McCartney responded today to the senior republican who has publicly denied ordering the killing - saying he should tell his story to a court.

Gerard “Jock” Davison, who was arrested and later released over the killing, admitted being in Magennis’s bar in Belfast when the row that led to the murder broke out, but claimed he is “as much a victim of circumstances as everybody else”.

In an interview with the newspaper Daily Ireland, Mr Davison said “there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell” that he ordered the killing.

But Mr McCartney’s sister Catherine said today: “He seems very keen to exonerate himself. The best way to do that is in court, not in a newspaper.”

She also said Mr Davison’s account of the incidents that led to the murder contradicts the IRA version released last week.

Catherine McCartney said details of the incident related to the family indicate Mr Davison “knows more than he is telling”.

“He is a senior republican. Even if he wasn’t there, he has been told what happened. He still knows what happened from start to finish.”

As Mr McCartney’s sisters and his partner, Bridgeen, prepare to go to America over St Patrick’s Day to highlight the case, Mr Davison said he believes intimidation of witnesses to the murder is “non-existent”.

Around 70 people were in the bar when the attack started, but police indicated last week they had received no signed statements.

Mr Davison said he had personally told witnesses to give statements to the same solicitor he has instructed.

He said he had called into Magennis’s bar on January 30 and was approached by “a member” who said that men at a table which included Robert McCartney had been making rude gestures to women.

Mr Davison said he approached Robert McCartney, a former neighbour of his, and “sorted it out in a couple of seconds”.

He said another man he did not know then “verbally attacked me” and ended up stabbing him three times.

“I defended myself and that was my sole role in the whole affair,” he said.

He said he was treated for three hand wounds in the bar and then brought to hospital. He said he was nowhere near Market Street, where the worst part of the attack on Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine, who was seriously injured, took place later.

Mr Davison refused to directly answer questions about whether he has been dismissed from the IRA or if he is the senior republican described in last week’s IRA statement on the murder.

Several accounts of the row said a senior IRA man drew his finger across his throat in a gesture to other IRA members in the bar.

But Mr Davison denied ordering the attack or playing any other role.

“I would like to get somebody to stand over that,” he said.

“I totally refute that, it’s actually an insult to say that I was . . . even that implication, that you ordered somebody to kill a man.

“There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would even involve myself in an incident like that. I totally refute that allegation.”

He added: “I sorted out the problem with Robert McCartney in seconds and I was attacked by a thug so I’m as much a victim of circumstances as everybody else.”

Mr Davison denied knowing of the clean-up operation in the bar by IRA members, when tape from a security camera was stolen.

He did not believe witnesses were intimidated.

Sinn Féin

Demolition of Castlereagh torture centre

Published: 3 March, 2005

Commenting after work began to demolish the torture centre at Castlereagh, Sinn Féin Assembly member Michael Ferguson said:

“Castlereagh Interrogation Centre is a by word for torture and abuse by the RUC Special Branch. Thousands of people were bought through the centre and abused and tortured. Others were threatened and ultimately set up for assassination. This included defence lawyers such as Pat Finucane.

“Its demolition while symbolic and welcome is not a substitute for an acceptable and accountable policing service. The Special Branch who operated the centre still exist. The cells and the interrogation rooms have moved to another site. So much work still remains to be done before we can confidently say that the human rights abuses which reigned in that building will never be repeated again.” ENDS

BreakingNews.ie

SDLP and DUP disagree over new plastic bullets

03/03/2005 - 12:53:44

Unionist and nationalist members of the North’s Policing Board have disagreed over a proposal to allow the PSNI to purchase a new form of plastic bullet.

A decision on the matter was postponed yesterday due to concerns about the controversial use of plastic bullets, which have been blamed for killing 14 children in the North in recent decades.

The SDLP said no plastic bullets had been fired in 30 months and there was no urgency to buy any more, while the North’s Children’s Commission has also called for more research.

The DUP, however, has said the Policing Board should have authorised the new bullets.

IrishExaminer.com

Two INLA prisoners have house to themselves

03 March 2005

TWO notorious INLA prisoners in Castlerea prison are living in a house designed for at least seven inmates after refusing to share with anyone unconnected to their organisation.
Dessie O’Hare, serving 40 years for kidnapping and murder, and Declan Duffy, jailed in connection with a bloody and fatal 1999 showdown between the INLA and a Dublin gang, “will not allow anyone else share it (the house) unless they are attached to their organisation”, Inspector of Prisons, Dermot Kinlen, reported.

O’Hare, known as the Border Fox, and the organisation’s reputed leader Duffy have the house in the Grove area of the overcrowded prison to themselves while 12 “ordinary” inmates are packed into another of the seven, standalone buildings, a report by the Inspector of Prisons has revealed. The pair, like the eight IRA inmates, including the four jailed in connection with the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe, enjoy considerable freedom of movement, have their own visiting area and do not share the dining hall, the gym, workshops and educational facilities.

The IRA inmates are restoring a boat in their workshop, the report reveals.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern denied accusations the IRA inmates were in control of the prison and had an effective veto on who is transferred to the Grove area of the Roscommon facility.

Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny asked the Taoiseach to confirm reports that groceries were delivered to the inmates inside the prison.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell said: “I have directed the governor to inform those prisoners that they must obey the prison rules the same as other prisoners. If they have any difficulty with that, I can use my powers to transfer them and I would not hesitate to do so.”

There were 39 inmates in the Grove facility, including two INLA, eight IRA and three “concerned parents against drugs”.

Irelandclick.com

**I didn’t want to read this story when I first saw it, but I’m glad I did

Evil thugs cut ears off Great Dane

Samson, above, was attacked by a knife-wielding gang in Poleglass and had his ears hacked off.

We catch up with Samson and his new owner and discover how the dog has found a new home with a loving family in West Belfast.

An abused dog whose ears were ruthlessly cut off by sadists has found a new home with a local dog-lover.

Bernard McCrory from St James’ discovered the Great Dane, called Samson, at the Lisburn Dog Pound and now he’s part of the family. Bernard had not intended to get a dog for himself, as he was hoping to find a small dog to keep his ill father company. However, when he went to the dog pound he couldn’t resist taking the friendly hound back home to his wife and four kids.

“Actually he spotted me before I spotted him,” said Bernard. “As soon as I walked through the door he was up at the cage and the woman in the pound said he had never done that before.

“I fell in love with him straight away, and he loves us. We have four kids and they get on brilliantly. I brought it to the vet last week to have him neutered and the vet couldn’t believe his mood. He was so sociable, friendly and pleasant.”

This is not the first dog that the McCrory family have had – after their last dog died and the four kids took it badly.

“I wasn’t going to get a dog after the German Shepherd [their last dog] died two years ago. It broke the kids’ hearts. When I saw this one though I changed my mind and I’m glad I did.”

The name Samson seems an unusual name considering the Great Dane’s past but Bernard assured us it had nothing to do with the biblical story in which a blade featured heavily. Samson was the name of the family’s German Shepherd, and the children thought it was a fitting tribute. Bernard says that the dog pound were initially reluctant to let the dog move back into Belfast because they did not want it near where it was abused. He thinks the dog’s abusers were using it for dog fighting and cut its ears off as they were too big. However he does not think that the dog had the temperament for fighting.

“It looks like a dog out of hell, it is so frightening but in reality it is the total opposite.”

A spokesperson for Lisburn City Council noted that Samson had had at least three inches of his ears removed and described the state of the dog when they found it in the Poleglass area as “thin and malnourished”.

Chairman of the Council’s Environmental Services Committee, Councillor James Tinsley, said that he was pleased to hear that the horrific story had a happy ending. “In this case I was horrified to hear that the dog had had his ears cut off. I am delighted that a citizen from the city had a big enough heart to offer a very big dog a safe and secure home and would on behalf of Lisburn City Council wish to thank him very much.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Traders fear for the future

The latest proposals for the redevelopment of Belfast city centre have clouded the future of Smithfield market traders.

During Tuesday’s announcement of the plan, NIO Minister John Spellar promised that 4,000 new jobs would be created in total.

However, last night traders operating from the Smithfield market told the Andersonstown News that they are unsure of what the future holds for them and fear that the plans could be the final nail in the coffin for the famous old market.

Theresa Cullen, a seamstress at The Sewing Box, stressed a fear shared by others who spoke to us. “Where will we be? Will there be a place for us in this development? They might call a meeting and say that we could get a place in here [the proposed development] at a reasonable rate but we don’t know anything yet.

“I have been here 24 years and I would like to find out where we stand. These are all wee family businesses. If they put us out that’s our children’s future they are doing away with.”

If they are included in the scheme, previous experiences have given Theresa cause for concern about how the building would affect their businesses.
“When they redeveloped CastleCourt, they put a 10-foot fence right around the whole building site which separated us from the rest of the town. We couldn’t pay the rent then. We would be worried if that were to happen again.”

Charlie Brown, who sells boxing equipment in Smithfield, is worried about the downward trend of business experienced at the current site and hopes that the new proposals will have a rejuvenating effect.

“I wouldn’t mind so long as we are relocated in the city centre. This is a dying market. They don’t advertise this market the same way they have advertised St George’s Market. I think that they are looking rid of us.

“If you look around the market now you see how many empty shops are in it. I don’t mind if they relocate us so long as it is in the centre of town. What I’m doing is cross-community, so if we were moved to, say, the Falls Road then I would lose the Shankill people.”

Mary Byrne of Smithfield Buy & Sell Centre said she was being kept in the dark as to what’s going to happen in the future for the traders.

“Are there proposals for traders to remain at the site? A lot of traders are filtering out one by one and if it keeps on like this none of us will be here much longer. One of the traders of 30 years closed their business only a couple of weeks ago. I’m not against modernisation as long as Smithfield is included.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Social Development was unable to fully alleviate the fears of the traders.

“It is too early to say what will happen to Smithfield Market as the Department has just launched public consultation on a proposed master plan for the future development of the north west quadrant of Belfast’s city centre.
“One suggestion in the consultants’ report is that Smithfield might be absorbed into any future development in the area.

“Before any final decision would be made the Department will consider responses to the current consultation and would have detailed discussions with Belfast City Council, which owns Smithfield Market.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Sacked!

This single lollipop man serves five schools, but now even he’s to be…
Sacked!

A decision to pull the plug on a school crossing provision in West Belfast will put hundreds of children’s lives at risk, a local MLA has warned.

Sinn Féin’s Michael Ferguson has urged the South Eastern Education and Library Board to revise their decision to take the school crossing provision away from the busy Stewartstown Road.

Children from five local schools use the crossing to access the Lagmore, Mount Eagles and White Rise estates.

Pupils from St Mark’s and St Luke’s Primary Schools, Oakwood Integrated Primary School, Scoil na Fuiseoge and St Colm’s Secondary School use the crossing on a daily basis.

The SEELB say they have taken the decision to remove the provision of a lollipop man because the road is serviced by a pelican crossing they say the lollipop man is not needed.

Public service union UNISON intend to launch a petition in the coming days to oppose the decision taken by the SEELB and have called for local people’s backing for their campaign.

Principal at St Mark’s Primary School, Kevin Smith, said that children’s safety must not be put at risk.

“I received a letter from the Board telling me that they are unable to provide a crossing in the future. I feel very, very strongly that this crossing should be retained. The Board say that the lollipop man isn’t needed because of the pelican crossing, but very often the lights aren’t working and this adds to the safety concerns,” added Mr Smith.
continued from page 1

West Belfast MLA Michael Ferguson said that he is disgusted at the decision taken by the SEELB.

“I understand that the Education Board has scant services but it can not risk the safety of the children to make savings,” said Councillor Ferguson.

“In Lagmore, for example, there is a 40 mile an hour speed limit which is higher than other areas and even the Roads Services see the need for traffic safety wardens at these schools.

“I will write to the Minister and contact the Board. It is clear that the Minister Barry Gardiner is prepared to run down our schools and services to make what he calls efficiency savings for the English Exchequer. The current investment in education over the next three years is no greater than the total spent in the last financial year. It is a disgrace,” he added.

A spokesperson for the SEELB confirmed that the service will be cut and said, “The School Crossing Patrol Service is a discretionary service provided by the Board. Agreed Board criteria for the provision of School Crossing Patrols, based on guidelines produced by the Local Authority Road Safety Officers Association (LARSOA), are used to assess the risk at given locations and to determine whether there is a requirement for School Crossing Patrol provision.

“It is current Board policy to carry out risk assessments at all locations when a School Crossing Patrol vacancy arises. Where the result of the survey indicates that a location no longer meets the criteria for a School Crossing Patrol, the post is withdrawn.

“During the period September 2004-January 2005, 29 risk assessments were undertaken across the Board’s area.

“The results of the surveys indicated that 10 posts no longer met the criteria for the position of a School Crossing Patrol. These posts have not been filled.”

Journalist:: Roisin McManus