SAOIRSE32

BBC

Twenty-nine people died in Omagh bombing in August 1998

A bid to have the £15m Omagh bomb compensation case dismissed has been rejected in the Court of Appeal.

Two defendants - Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly - claimed alleged irregularities by solicitors representing the families meant it should be thrown out.

The 1998 Real IRA bomb killed 29, including a woman pregnant with twins.

Earlier this year Mr Justice Morgan dismissed an application by Murphy and Daly to strike out the claim and Friday’s decision upheld that.

The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Brian Kerr, said one of the grounds advanced on behalf of Murphy and Daly, two of the five defendants, was that the writ did not comply with court rules because the London legal firm of H20 had no business address within Northern Ireland.

Sir Brian said a Belfast firm of solicitors had agreed to allow their offices to be used as an address for service but were unwilling to be named as agents of the plaintiffs’ solicitors for security reasons.

He said that if a local address was necessary, “we consider that the circumstances of the case justify our refusal to set aside the proceedings on account of that irregularity”.

Sir Brian added: “Because of the nature of the case the plaintiffs have found it impossible to engage solicitors in Northern Ireland.

“To require the present solicitors to establish business premises here simply to secure technical compliance with the rules would not be in the interests of justice.”

An Phoblacht

BY Mícheál MacDonncha

Extract from Sinn Féin - A Century of Struggle

Arthur Griffith - founder of Sinn Féin - see wikipedia.org

The founding date of Sinn Féin is 28 November 1905. On that date the first Annual Convention of the National Council was held in the Rotunda, Dublin. The meeting began at 11am and among the over 100 delegates were Arthur Griffith, Edward Martyn, Thomas Martin, John Sweetman, Jenny Wyse-Power, Pádraig Mac Piarais, Máire de Buitleir, Patrick McCartan, Oliver St John Gogarty, Peadar Ó Cearnaigh, Seán T Ó Ceallaigh and William Cosgrave. Two of those delegates, Mac Piarias and Michael O’Hanrahan of Wexford, were among the executed leaders in 1916.

Máire de Buitléir wrote that most of the audience “consisted of young clerks or working men and some intellectuals, chief of whom was Pádraig Pearse”.

Opening the Convention, Edward Martyn, President of the National Council, explained the background:

“The National Council was suddenly called into being in the early summer of 1903 when the visit of the King of England threw so many nationalists off their balance, caused them to forget their principles, whether from weakness or corruption, and afforded the anti-national party a means to triumph over the apparent ineffectiveness of Ireland’s aspirations. It was then that, in the general confusion of ruinous lies and credulity, it was found necessary to establish some platform upon which nationalists might meet who recognised the folly and treason to Ireland of voluntarily recognising a king who was ruling in defiance of our Constitution.

“Owing to the work of the National Council, King Edward was refused an address from Dublin Corporation. This was the first time since the invasion of Ireland by Henry II in the 12th Century that an official Dublin body performed such a patriotic act. Its influence and its success in Dublin strengthened the hand of every nationalist in the country. Emboldened by such success the members of the National Council thought it a pity that such a body should be dissolved at the conclusion of the royal visit.

“Then there appeared in Ireland a pamphlet of extraordinary political ability which at once flew over the country and established for its author a reputation for statesmanship such as no Irishman has since Parnell. The Resurrection of Hungary has set Ireland thinking of the policy of Sinn Féin. It is this policy that our convention has chiefly to consider at this conference.”

Arthur Griffith, author of The Resurrection of Hungary (1904) then presented a detailed programme which was later published as The Sinn Féin Policy.

“No law and no series of laws can make a nation out of a people which distrusts itself. If we believe in ourselves — if each individual in our ranks believes in himself, we shall carry this policy to victory against all the forces that may be arrayed against us.

“We go to build the nation up from within, and we deny the right of any but our own countrymen to shape its course. That course is not England’s and we shall not justify our course to England. The craven policy that has rotted our nation has been the policy of justifying our existence in our enemy’s eyes. Our misfortunes are manifold but we are still men and women of a common family, and we owe no nation an apology for living in accordance with the laws of our being. In the British Liberal as in the British Tory we see our enemy, and in those who talk of ending British misgovernment we see the helots. It is not British misgovernment, but British government in Ireland, good or bad, we stand opposed to, and in that holy opposition we seek to band all our fellow-countrymen.

“For the Orangeman in the North, ceasing to be the blind instrument of his own as well as his fellow-countrymen’s destruction, we have the greeting of brotherhood as for the nationalist of the South, long taught to measure himself by English standards and save the face of tyranny by sending Irishmen to sit impotently in a foreign legislature whilst it forges the instruments of his oppression.”

Resolutions adopted at the meeting in the Rotunda on 28 November 1905

“That the people of Ireland are a free people, and that no law made without their authority or consent is or ever can be binding on their conscience. That the General Council of County Councils presents the nucleus of a national authority and we urge upon it, to extend the scope of its deliberation and action; to take within its purview every question of national interest and to formulate lines of procedure for the nation.

“That National self-development through recognition of the duties and rights of citizenship on the part of the individual, and by the aid and support of all movements originating from within Ireland, instinct with National tradition, and not looking outside Ireland for the accomplishment of their aims, is vital to Ireland.”

After the conference, which lasted most of the day, the first Sinn Féin public meeting was held that evening when the programme was presented to the large crowd which thronged the Rotunda Round Room. The meeting concluded with the singing of Thomas Davis’s anthem, A Nation Once Again.

On 28 November 1905, 100 years ago, Sinn Féin was founded in the Rotunda, Dublin.

Daily Ireland

Ciarán Barnes

Relatives of people killed by ‘death drivers’ in the North last night urged judges to use new legislation to crack down on car thieves.
The call was made after the first person to be charged with a tough new anti-death driving offence yesterday appeared at Belfast magistrates’ court.
Eighteen-year-old Kevin Barry Valliday, from Lady Street, in the Lower Falls area was charged with causing death by aggravated vehicle taking.
The charge followed a horrific six-car pile-up at Boucher Road last May when 17-year-old Stephen McDade was killed.
He was catapulted through the window of a car which had been stolen a short time previously from a woman at Botanic Avenue.
Valliday, who was also seriously injured in the crash, faced further charges of causing the woman grievous bodily harm and stealing her car keys. He was remanded in custody.
The new offence of aggravated vehicle taking causing death or serious injury was brought in after a high profile campaign by the group, Families Bereaved Through Car Crime (FBTCC), following a series of fatalities involving stolen cars.
Conviction carries a jail sentence of up to 14 years whereas the maximum for causing death by dangerous driving is ten years.
FBTCC spokesman Tommy Holland last night urged judges to hand out as severe a punishment as possible for aggravated vehicle taking.
He said: “In the past, judges complained of not having enough powers to give death drivers tough sentences.
“They have those powers now, so the onus is on the judiciary to enforce them.
“There is no point in having this new law, but not utilising it. Death drivers need to know that they are risking a long time in prison if they steal a car and joyride in it. There is no joy in joyriding.”

Daily Ireland

Jarlath Kearney

Senior government officials in the North last night refused to comment after complaints about the activities of the Social Security Agency’s fraud squad.
Earlier this week, Sinn Féin north Belfast assembly member Kathy Stanton wrote to direct-rule minister David Hanson outlining a range of serious concerns about the agency’s Benefit Investigation Services.
Specifically, Ms Stanton highlighted the agency’s decision to require tape-recorded interviews under policing legislation as “a very, very intimidating approach to vulnerable individuals in society”.
Daily Ireland has obtained a pro forma letter issued by the agency requiring a claimant to attend an interview “under caution”.
“Because there is reason to believe your claim may be fraudulent, it is necessary to conduct the interview under caution,” the letter stated.
“The interview will be tape-recorded and conducted under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, and therefore you may wish to consult a solicitor,” the letter said.
At no stage did the pro forma letter indicate the specific reason for alleging the individual’s benefit claim may be fraudulent.
Rather, it stated that an individual must first agree to be interviewed under caution before they can find out “specific information about the matter”.
Nor does the letter notify individuals that their legal representative would be prohibited from speaking or making representations during the interview.
Last night, the Department for Social Development refused to specify the grounds on which the Police and Criminal Evidence Order was being invoked.
“This smacks more of an interrogation than an interview,” Ms Stanton said.
“In fact, it appears that the SSA fraud section believe they have more powers than the PSNI.
“I have very serious concerns about the human-rights implications associated with this approach and will be urgently seeking expert legal advice.
“It is quite clear that the manner of the approach and the so-called interview is extremely intimidatory, particularly for vulnerable sectors of society such as the elderly or those with mental health problems.
“It could take up to 18 months to go through one of these procedures, at the end of which many people are simply cleared of wrongdoing.
“This strategy of intimidation against those sectors of society least able to defend their rights cannot be justified,” said Ms Stanton.
In her letter to David Hanson, Ms Stanton called for a change in the language used in the letters issued by the fraud squad.
She stated that welfare rights groups “believe, if the terminology were changed, it would prevent a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety”.
A spokesperson for the Department for Social Development said the department was “not in a position” to respond to the questions of Daily Ireland.

Belfast Telegraph

By Ben Lowry
blowry@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 November 2005

THE partner of a dead man believed to be from Northern Ireland has appealed for information on his background ahead of his burial in America next week in a pauper’s grave.

The man had told Patti Maloney, who lived with him in Kentucky for the last two years of his life, that his name was Sean Angus Donnelly (45), but she never saw documentation to this effect.

The Belfast Telegraph has been passed pictures of Mr Donnelly by Jefferson County Coroner’s Office as part of the bid to identify him.

The paper revealed on Saturday that Mr Donnelly, thought to come from Omagh, has been lying embalmed since he died of natural causes in Louisville on October 29, because no next of kin have been located.

“That is what he told me - Omagh, in Co Tyrone,” Ms Maloney said.

Mr Donnelly, who will be given an indigent’s burial on Monday, had also told Ms Maloney that he was a stone mason. But he did not work when they were together, because of a past gunshot wound that had been inflicted to his right leg.

“The injury was like from the kneecap down. It was down the whole side of his calf,” Ms Maloney recalled. “He always said he was shot at one of the Army checkpoints in Belfast.”

She added: “He always said he was an Irish nationalist but I was not entirely sure what that meant. He was very political, that is the way he talked all the time.”

No-one from Northern Ireland has contacted the coroners since the Belfast Telegraph article.

Ms Maloney said: “I am thinking he maybe came over here under a different name. But he stuck by that name (Sean Angus Donnelly) the whole time.”

Mr Donnelly - who was around 6ft tall, spoke with a “thick” Irish accent and had a Playboy tattoo on his left arm - told Ms Maloney that he was an only child.

Anyone with information can contact the coroners on (502) 574 3506.

BBC

Michael Rogan is freed after being cleared of bombing charges

A Belfast man accused of involvement in a double bomb attack at the Army’s Northern Ireland headquarters nine years ago has walked free from court.

Michael Rogan, 45, from Easton Avenue, was arrested in Tenerife last year after spending seven years on the run.

A soldier was killed and 33 people injured in the IRA attacks on Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn, in October 1996.

The judge gave his not guilty verdict after considering a defence claim of “no case to answer”.

A defence lawyer had claimed there was no evidence of any knowledge on the part of Mr Rogan “to cause any explosion, to engage in any type of criminal or indeed terrorist activity”.

Mr Rogan was also cleared of two further charges of collecting information useful to terrorists.

‘No case’

The accused had been granted bail in November 1997, but failed to appear back in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Belfast Crown Court judge Mr Justice McLaughlin said he had considered a “no case to answer application” and had decided to clear 45-year-old Mr Rogan of involvement in the attack which cost of the life of Warrant Officer James Bradwell, (46).

The judge said he had prepared a judgement setting out his reasons for the acquittals, but it was not yet ready to be delivered.

He added that it would be “handed down in the near future”.

The defence lawyer said anything beyond stating Rogan purchased the two Volvo cars said to have been used in the attacks was “pure speculation”.

BBC :

Footballing legend

Former football star George Best has died in hospital at the age of 59.

Son Calum, 24, who had kept an all-night vigil at Best’s bedside, said: ‘Not only have I lost my Dad but we’ve all lost a wonderful man.’

Best died in intensive care at 1255 GMT following ‘a long and very valiant fight’, said a statement from west London’s Cromwell Hospital.

The ex-Manchester United and Northern Ireland star had multiple organ failure following weeks of ill health.

Best’s father Dickie, 87, who was among relatives at his bedside overnight, asked for the family to be left to grieve in peace.

Best’s sister, Barbara McNarry, said: ‘To the thousands upon thousands of people who have sent cards and e-mails, we have taken great comfort from them, especially during the long hours.’

The family later viewed the many flowers and messages left by fans outside Cromwell Hospital.

A statement released by Best’s second wife, Alex, said: ‘George was the love of my life. He was a unique and talented person who made a lot of people very happy.’

Tributes

Prime Minister Tony Blair led tributes to the man he called ‘probably the most naturally gifted footballer of his generation, one of the greatest footballers the UK has ever produced’.

‘Anyone who has seen him as a football fan will never forget it,’ Mr Blair said from the Commonwealth Head of Governments meeting in Malta.

Republic of Ireland Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said: ‘George should be remembered as the very best at what he did. He was quite simply a football genius.’

Sir Bobby Charlton said his former Manchester United team-mate ‘made an immense contribution to the game, and enriched the lives of everyone that saw him play’.

‘Football has lost one of its greats, and I have lost a dear friend. He was a marvellous person.’

A statement from the club said: ‘For the goals, the audacious dribbles and all the wonderful memories, Manchester United and its legions of fans worldwide will always be grateful.’

A minute silence is to be observed at every Premiership football match this weekend in Best’s memory.

Deterioration

He had been in hospital since entering with flu-like symptoms on 1 October, later suffering a kidney infection.

His condition deteriorated sharply last Friday with the development of a lung infection that led to internal bleeding.

Best made a television pledge never to drink again

Best, a recovering alcoholic, was particularly susceptible to infection because of medicines he needed after a 2002 liver transplant.

The Belfast-born former footballer and television pundit had been prescribed medication to suppress the immune system and prevent his body rejecting the new liver.

At the time of his hospital admission in October, Best’s agent Phil Hughes said his client had been ‘off the drink’ before being admitted to the hospital.

Dr Akeel Alisa, part of the medical team which had been treating Best, described him as ‘delightful to look after - he was very brave, a fighter to the end’.

Heyday

click to view

Best is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to have graced the British and world game.

His heyday occurred during the 1960s, and he brought a pop star image to the game for the first time.

click to view

But the accompanying champagne and playboy lifestyle degenerated into alcoholism, bankruptcy, a prison sentence for drink-driving and, eventually, his controversial liver transplant.

He helped Manchester United win the First Division title in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968. His role in the team’s success was recognised by his becoming the European Footballer of the Year in 1968.

Best made 466 appearances for the Old Trafford club, scoring a total of 178 goals.

He also won 37 caps - scoring nine goals - for Northern Ireland.”

RTÉ

25 November 2005 10:46

Assets worth about £200,000 belonging to the murdered loyalist paramilitary leader, Jim Gray, have been frozen.

They include cash, a BMW car and an 18-carat gold bracelet.

Northern Ireland’s Asset Recovery Agency said it had been granted a freezing order by the High Court in Belfast.

Mr Gray, 47, was shot dead outside his father’s home in east Belfast last month.

He had been released on bail from prison three weeks earlier after being in custody facing a series of charges including money laundering.

The killing is believed to have been carried out by former associates in the Ulster Defence Association.

Mr Gray had been arrested in April close to the border in Co Down, and police suspected he was preparing to leave Northern Ireland.

He had survived a murder bid three years ago when he was seriously injured in a shooting linked to a loyalist feud.

RTE

24 November 2005 20:07

The Northern Secretary, Peter Hain, has indicated that the British Government may be prepared to modify some of its controversial legislation relating to ‘on the run’ suspects.

The plans were criticised by delegations from the SDLP, the Ulster Unionists and the Alliance party when they met Peter Hain and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern in Hillsborough this afternoon.

The legislation could allow dozens of paramilitary fugitives to return to Northern Ireland without serving a jail sentence.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell has said that suspects in the killing of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe who are currently ‘at large’ will not qualify for amnesties.

Mr McDowell said an Eligibility Board would be established in the future, where persons who believed they were wanted for crimes in the Republic could seek an amnesty under the Good Friday Agreement.

Irish Examiner

24/11/2005 - 7:13:08 PM

Sinn Féin was today accused of selling out on the families of victims of alleged state murders and collusion in the North.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan also called on Sinn Féin party president Gerry Adams to withdraw his support for the controversial legislation involving so-called on the runs which is passing through Westminster.

Under the proposed new laws, members of the security forces allegedly involved in killings would not have to stand trial – a deal with the republican leadership agreed with the British and Irish governments, according to Mr Durkan.

If and when the legislation is passed, several republicans who fled the North years ago after being allegedly involved in terrorism will be free to return home without running the risk of going to jail.

Tribunals of inquiry into any charges they could face will be held in their absence.

Mr Durkan said: “In return for the greater advantage of getting their on the runs back with no questions asked, Sinn Féin sold out the families that for years they claimed to fight for.

“They let state killers and loyalists totally off the hook.”

Yesterday in London, Mr Adams said no members of the security forces involved in killings should be free from prosecution.

Mr Durkan added: “But if a panicked Gerry Adams is now changing position, there is a simple thing that he must do – call on Tony Blair to withdraw this legislation immediately and entirely.

“That is what Gerry Adams must now do. The British have made clear that they do not like this legislation. So Sinn Féin should release them from the side deal and call the whole thing off.”