SAOIRSE32

Irish Examiner

01 December 2005
By Ian Kilroy, Arts Editor

THREE paintings by Irish artist Jack B Yeats, owned by the Allen family of Ballymaloe House in Cork, sold for €1.38 million under the hammer in Dublin yesterday.

One of the works, A Blackbird Bathing in Tír na nÓg, sold for €820,000, establishing a new auction record for a Yeats.

The paintings, which were on loan to the University of Limerick for the past seven years, date from the 1930s and 1940s, a prolific period in the artist’s life.

The three works had previously hung in the Yeats Room at Ballymaloe.

The auction, held at the Royal Hibernian Academy by de Veres art auctioneers, attracted mostly Irish buyers, according to Rory Guthrie of de Veres.

Works by Paul Henry, Maurice MacGonigal, Tony O’Malley, William Leech and Roderic O’Connor also went under the hammer.

“I think the pictures will all stay in Ireland,” said Mr Guthrie.

“The days of overseas buyers are over. The demand and the money are here in Ireland,” he said.

Click to view - An example of Jack B Yeats’ painting - this one of Rosses Point in Sligo done in 1948 - photo from >>here

The painting that attracted most attention was Yeats’ A Blackbird Bathing in Tír na nÓg, an oil on canvas from 1943.

“It’s the big one. It’s one of Yeats’ masterpieces. It’s from one of the artist’s most popular periods and it has a special, magical quality. It’s a bit of a trophy picture,” said Mr Guthrie

A Blackbird Bathing in Tír na nÓg is “one of Yeats’ better paintings”, according to visual arts consultant with the Arts Council, Oliver Dowling.

He added that Yeats is as popular as ever.

“He will hold his place, and if anything will gain in value,” he said. The guide price for the Tír na nÓg work was €500,000 to €700,000 before auction.

The other two Yeats pieces, The Little Door (oil on canvas, from 1946) and Water Lilies (oil on canvas, from 1930) sold for €360,000 and €200,000 respectively.

Mr Guthrie said it was a good time for the Allen family to sell. “They’ve had the paintings for a long time and they haven’t been in their possession for a while. And the market is very strong.”

The figures reached by the paintings back up Mr Guthrie’s claim, giving the Allens a considerable profit, as the paintings were bought at a time when Yeats was in no way valued as he is today.

DANNY MORRISON

1 December 2005

Radio Ulster’s ‘Arts Extra’ – one of local BBC’s best programmes – had an item on last week about the Terrorism Bill currently making its way through Westminster. The presenter, Marie-Louise Muir, interviewed John Gray of the Linenhall Library about that part of the bill dealing with “indirect incitement/glorification” of terrorism and how it could be used against librarians.

There are also potential ramifications for the media in publishing announcements or claims from proscribed organisations since such statements could be interpreted as promoting the objectives of terrorism or inciting fear. Indeed, only this week we have learnt of a suppressed memo which shows that George Bush had to be talked out of bombing the Arab television station, Aljazeera, using that very rationale, that the station was promulgating Islamic terrorism.

Under the proposed legislation a person commits an offence “if he – (a) distributes or circulates a terrorist publication; (b) gives, sells or lends such a publication; (c) offers such a publication for sale or loan; (d) provides a service to others that enables them to obtain, read, listen to or look at such a publication…”

We already have had a foretaste of this in the recent case of John O’Hagan – as the alleged book borrower. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for having documents “likely to be of use to terrorists”, which included extracts from two borrowed books from Belfast’s Central Library – biographies on former senior Conservatives, John Major and Norman Lamont.

Linenhall Library’s John Gray told ‘Arts Extra’ that when the Northern Ireland Political Collection was first established in the early days of the conflict the library was visited by the RUC who said that they would be back in the afternoon to seize the material and arrest the librarian. However, the library contacted Stormont and obtained permission from the then Ministry of Home Affairs to collect and preserve such material. Under the new legislation it would be potentially illegal to possess much of this material particularly if it “glorifies the commission or preparation (whether in the past, in the future or generally) of such acts” [of terrorism].

Ironically, one of Linenhall’s largest donations came from Sinn Fein Councillor Tom Hartley, a republican archivist of great prescience who has been collecting material for over thirty years. It was Tom who preserved the history of the prison protests and hunger strikes contained in prison ‘comms’ [communications], which are currently held in the National Library of Ireland.

The issue of what is an illegal document has always been open to widespread abuse by the political police in Ireland, North and South.

Former Secretary of State, Roy Mason, took exception to ‘Republican News’ publishing the confidential itinerary of Queen Elizabeth’s planned visit to the North in 1977 and ordered a crackdown against the paper. Millions of pounds were spent mounting a case against the editorial staff of ‘Republican News’ and the Belfast executive of Sinn Fein. Around fifteen people were arrested and charged with IRA membership and conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice.

Many of the documents used against us – I was the editor of the paper - were from the archives of the Northern Ireland Public Records Office - documents, including telex messages and press releases, which Tom Hartley had been lodging with NIPRO under an agreement that they would not be made available to the public for thirty years. However, the Special Branch was secretly seizing the documents almost as fast as Hartley was lodging them. I was charged with IRA membership because my fingerprints and handwriting were on a copy of a telex message which contained an IRA press release. I had made a synopsis of some paragraphs before re-sending an edited version of the IRA statement to the ‘Irish People’ in New York for which I wrote a weekly column called ‘Seven Days’.

I would have been sentenced to five years had it not been for another exhibit which Tom had lodged and the Branch had seized. It was another of my telexed weekly columns, which contained a UVF statement claiming responsibility for a fatal sectarian bombing. On it were my fingerprints and handwritten amendments to the UVF statement. Why wasn’t I charged with UVF membership on the same basis as the IRA charge, I asked the judge, who agreed, and granted me bail. A few months later the case against all of us collapsed and the charges were withdrawn.

In 1985, during a debate in Leinster House, Limerick TD Dessie O’Malley, complaining about the security situation, said it was clear that, “The IRA calls the shots.” That week’s ‘An Phoblacht/Republican News’ re-used the quote beside a large photograph of an IRA Volunteer and later Republican Publications reproduced the front page illustration as a poster which sold in its thousands. Subsequently, the Special Branch raided the Cork offices of Sinn Fein and charged local organiser, Don O’Leary, with membership of the IRA on the basis of possession of the poster. He was sentenced to five years in jail for having a poster which reproduced the words of government minister Dessie O’Malley.

In 1986 the RUC seized a blank RUC diary from my car and arrested me. The diary had been in my car for some time and hadn’t been taken in earlier searches. It had actually been thrown into my car by an RUC man the previous December at a checkpoint at Harpers Bridge in Tyrone in exchange for sweets which he ‘stole’ from my passenger seat. I took a court case to have the property returned but the judge refused. He said that the diary contained information “likely to be of use to terrorists”, that is, the name of the printer and of businesses which had placed advertisements.

Yet the diary was freely circulating and available, at least within the unionist community, and only became ‘illegal’ when it was in the possession of a member of the nationalist community. No wonder there is great concern within British Muslims at this new legislation.

Clearly, with some twisting, turning and distorting almost anything – a telex message, a news report, a biography, a poster, a diary - can be turned into an item “likely to be of use to terrorists” - although through hard experience we know that in reality all such materials are more likely to be of use to oppressors.

BBC

Granting amnesties to British soldiers and security agents will cause deep hurt to victims of their alleged crimes, Sinn Fein has said.

Gerry Adams was speaking after meeting Irish PM Bertie Ahern in Dublin.

He said including security personnel in legislation intended to allow paramilitary fugitives to return to NI was a breach of faith by PM Tony Blair.

The NI (Offences) Bill passed through its second stage in the House of Commons last month.

Mr Ahern has already said he had no advance knowledge that British soldiers would be included under its terms.

However, Mr Adams said the Irish government should tell the British government to exclude them from the terms of the legislation.

“It is in breach of the Joint Communique issued after Weston Park,” he said.

“If this isn’t resolved, it will cause even greater hurt to those people who have been bereaved or injured as a result of actions here by the British in Dublin city, or Monaghan, or in my own constituency, or any part of the six counties.”

Mr Adams also called on both governments to come up with a plan to restore Northern Ireland power-sharing institutions in early 2006.

“The main focus of our meeting was to see those institutions put back in place,” he said.

“We want to be there with the other parties working through our mandate and being accountable and answerable to the populace for doing that.”

Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuiness and assembly member Caitriona Ruane were among the delegation to meet Mr Ahern in Dublin.

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh and Chris Thornton
01 December 2005

The appointment of two Portadown Orangemen to the Parades Commission leaves the marching body “very unbalanced”, Garvaghy Road residents’ spokesman Brendan MacCionnaith said today.

Nationalists expressed concerns today about the commission’s new line-up, which includes David Burrows, the former leader of the Drumcree protest lodge, and senior fireman Donald MacKay, a member of the Portadown ex-servicemen’s lodge.

But new chairman, Roger Poole, said in his first interview that he was “delighted” to welcome the Orangemen on to the commission. He said he hoped it would lead to talks with the Orange Order.

The Order and two other marching organisations said they were interested to see the new line-up but said the commission remains “fundamentally flawed”.

Mr MacCionnaith said he fears that the commission has “carte blanche” to change the approach to ruling on marches.

“We have David Burrows and we have two people who are closely associated with the policing partnerships and no representation whatsoever from any of the nationalist or republican communities directly affected by the marching issue,” said the residents’ leader, who is also a Sinn Fein policy worker.

“So clearly there’s an imbalance in this.

“This whole process is overseen by the people within the security, policy and policing division within the NIO and we have to ask if those securocrats who have been playing games with the political process are at their work again.

“One view is that the Secretary of State has given this new commission carte blanche to do away with all the existing procedures that have been in place.”

Sinn Fein and the SDLP also expressed concerns about the line-up. Former SDLP MP, Dr Joe Hendron, is the main nationalist voice on the new commission.

In their statement, the Orange Order and other marching organisations said they plan to engage with the Government “and other stakeholders” in the New Year.

Sinn Féin

Published: 1 December, 2005

Sinn Féin MP for Newry Armagh Conor Murphy today revealed that papers have been lodged in the High Court in London seeking to have the establishment of the IMC declared unlawful.

Speaking today Mr Murphy said:

“When the IMC was established Sinn Féin made clear our absolute opposition to this body. It was established outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and has proven itself to be little more than a tool of anti-peace process securocrats.

“The decision to challenge the legality of the IMC is the latest stage in our legal and political campaign against the IMC and the cover it has provided for the British government to sanction and discriminate against our electorate.

“In this case we will be arguing that the establishment of the IMC was unlawful. We will be arguing that the IMC should be declared unlawful on the grounds of apparent bias and lack of any application of standards of proof. We are seeking the reports of the IMC to date declared void and the reliance on these reports by the British Secretary of State declared unlawful.

“Sinn Féin have consistently rejected the IMC and their attacks on our party and electorate. It is undemocratic, unaccountable and entirely unacceptable and our campaign to ensure that the British government returns to the Good Friday Agreement position on sanctions against those in breach of the GFA will continue.” ENDS

BreakingNews.ie

01/12/2005 - 16:19:07

The nationalist SDLP tonight rejected claims it lobbied the British government to have one of its former MPs, Dr Joe Hendron appointed to the Northern Ireland Parades Commission.

In a hard hitting attack on the new-look commission which also includes Portadown Orangeman David Burrows, Sinn Féin Assembly member Alex Maskey claimed it was biased, with no representative of the working class nationalist and republican community on it.

The South Belfast MLA said: “It has instead at least two members of the loyal orders and two members of the local policing DPPs.

“Given this bias in make up nationalists and republicans will be justifiably sceptical of this commission’s ability to reach impartial and fair determinations.

“Another point which needs to be clarified is the role of the SDLP in putting this new Commission together.

“It would seem that the SDLP has colluded with the British government to ensure its own representation, in the shape of Joe Hendron, in exchange for the rest of the Parades Commission being loaded in favour of the unionist and loyal order position.”

Mr Maskey’s comments were labelled farcical, however, by SDLP policing spokesperson Alex Attwood.

The West Belfast MLA countered: “Gerry Kelly has declared Sinn Féin believe the Parades Commission is ‘obsolete’.

“This was said publicly, on the record, and has never been withdrawn.

“Sinn Féin’s latest comments are hollow and contradictory. Their concern about the new makeup of the Parades Commission are in open contradiction of their views that it is obsolete.

“The SDLP will judge each and every member of the commission against the exact same standards.

“Will they stand by the principles developed by the previous commission around genuine dialogue, respect for reconciliation and a proper assessment of the rights of all? Will all members stand by the proper principles and thinking of previous commissions around contentious parades?

“We will judge each member against these standards. Be it the new chair, David Burrows, Joe Hendron or any other member.”

Mr Attwood said the new commission, which will be chaired by former trade union negotiator Roger Poole, had a different complexion from its predecessors.

He insisted the SDLP would resist any approach which engineered different outcomes on contentious parades and that disregarded proper standards and principles.

The West Belfast MLA continued: “The SDLP has a proven record around the commission.

“Sinn Féin have only a proven unprincipled approach to the work of previous commissions.

“Unlike Sinn Féin on on-the-runs and state killings, the SDLP has not colluded with the British government on the appointment of the Parades Commission.

“Unlike Sinn Féin, our biggest ally and best friend is not the British government.

“The SDLP have no nominee on the Parades Commission and made no representations that any one individual should join the Parades Commission, whoever that individual might be.

“Each member and all members of the Parades Commission need to get parading decisions right. That is what the SDLP is working to do.”

BreakingNews.ie

01/12/2005 - 17:33:50

British Prime Minister Tony Blair tonight faced demands from Sinn Féin to remove clauses from a controversial Bill which would allow police and British army involved in murders during Northern Ireland’s Troubles to avoid jail.

Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy issued the call after the rival nationalist SDLP claimed Sinn Féin signed up to a deal with the British government which would not just affect republican on-the-run (OTR) terror suspects but also rogue members of the security forces.

Mr Murphy, who denied his rivals’ claims, said: “The issue of OTRs was raised by Sinn Féin and negotiated at Weston Park in 2001, a process involving the SDLP.

“There are no British OTRs. The issue of British state violence and those involved in it had no part of these discussions.

“The British government have unilaterally taken a decision to attach the provisions for Crown forces on to this Bill, a fact acknowledged by all parties including the two governments. We are absolutely opposed to this approach.

“The British government should have legislated for the agreement reached at Weston Park, an agreement which covered the small number of republicans displaced as a result of the political conflict.

“Sinn Féin is, therefore, opposed to the legislation in its current form.

“The British government should withdraw the offending clause. That is what Sinn Féin is seeking to achieve.”

Under the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill, individuals suspected of unsolved crimes during the Troubles, can avoid going to jail by applying to a certification commissioner.

If the police suspect them of an offence before the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998, the commissioner will issue them with a certificate outlining the crimes they are suspected of and guaranteeing they will not be arrested.

The certificate will set in train a legal process which will see their offences examined by a specially set-up tribunal with its own prosecutors and judges.

On-the-run paramilitaries, rogue members of the police and army and other people suspected of crimes before 1998 would not have to attend the hearings.

If they are found guilty, they will be issued with a licence similar to the one given to the republican and loyalist prisoners who were freed early from jail under the Good Friday Agreement.

If they offend again, their licences will be revoked and they will be sent to prison.

Critics of the Bill have hit out at its failure to compel terror suspects to attend the tribunal hearings and face their victims.

The legislation has been condemned by victims of IRA violence and also those who lost relatives to collusion between members of the security forces and loyalists.

It has also been opposed by the cross community Alliance Party, unionists, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and human rights groups such as British Irish Rights Watch.

During the launch of a document entitled 12 Things They Don’t want You To Know About the Northern Ireland Offences Bill, SDLP policing spokesperson Alex Attwood claimed Sinn Féin signed up to a deal in April 2003 which stated a qualifying offence would be any scheduled offence before April 10, 1998.

“Scheduled offences are offences like murder, bomb making, possession of weapons and are always tried in Diplock Courts,” the West Belfast MLA said.

“State killings in Northern Ireland are scheduled offences. That’s why people like Guardsmen Fisher and Wright and Lee Clegg were tried in Diplock Courts.

“So when Sinn Féin signed up to anybody who committed any scheduled offence before 1998 being able to skip jail, they accepted state killers getting away with it – now and in the future. They accepted this in black and white in the Hillsborough side deal.”

Mr Attwood also claimed while the IRA had to decommission and commit itself to end all activity before the Government would commit itself to legislation, Sinn Féin had secured a Bill which made no such requirements on loyalists.

“Loyalists will be able to benefit even if they do not decommission a single bullet, even if they do not end their drug dealing, intimidation, punishment shootings and crime,” he said.

BreakingNews.ie

01/12/2005 - 17:37:13

A face-to-face meeting between Gerry Adams and the Rev Ian Paisley would be truly historic, Sinn Féin claimed tonight.

The party warmly welcomed a first-ever meeting between Mr Paisley and Irish Opposition leader Enda Kenny in Belfast tomorrow.

But Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness added: “The really historic meeting will be the meeting between Mr Paisley and Mr Adams.”

Party leader Mr Adams earlier said of the talks: “I think the more dialogue there is, the better. It’s for everybody’s benefit that all sides of the political equation should be talking to each other.”

The Sinn Féin leaders were speaking after holding talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin.

Mr Adams said the people of Ireland expected the British and Irish governments to have a plan in early 2006 to restore power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland.

Mr Kenny will tomorrow head a four-member Fine Gael delegation to meet Mr Paisley, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson, MP Nigel Dodds and party chairman Maurice Morrow at Stormont Buildings.

The Mayo TD will also hold talks with a SDLP delegation led by deputy leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell.

A first meeting between Fine Gael and the Ulster Unionist Party’s new leader Sir Reg Empey is also planned at its Belfast headquarters.

The Fine Gael delegation includes opposition justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe, British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body vice-chairman and Border TD Seymour Crawford and Seanad leader and Northern Ireland spokesman Brian Hayes.

“Mr Paisley requested to meet Fine Gael when he last visited Government Buildings on November 18, but it didn’t suit our diary,” a Fine Gael spokesman said.

“We were then happy to agree to pay a return visit to Belfast.”

A DUP spokesman said: “The DUP welcomes tomorrow’s meeting and is looking forward to it.

“The party welcomes all engagement with constitutional parties in the Republic.”

Fine Gael said the talks with Mr Paisley will include a general discussion focusing on the peace process, on-the-runs legislation, proposed Dáil speaking rights for Northern MPs and other current issues.

“It will be a get-to-know-you session while also concentrating on some of the current pressing North-South issues,” a party spokesman said.

Mr Paisley visited Dublin for political talks with the Irish Government for the first time last autumn and made a return trip last month.

BreakingNews.ie

01/12/2005 - 17:51:49

Wayne O’Donoghue contemplated suicide on the day that he killed his next door neighbour, 11-year-old Robert Holohan, a judge and jury at the Central Criminal Court were told in Cork this afternoon.

O’Donoghue was in a state of panic and was contemplating suicide, the court was told. He could not go through with it that afternoon, within minutes of killing the child.

He decided to get rid of the body first and then kill himself later by hanging himself from a tree in the garden when everyone was gone to bed.

It was 12 days before Wayne O’Donoghue (aged 21) broke down and confessed to gardaí that he killed Robert.

“I am deeply sorry for what has happened. Robert was my friend, he was like a brother to me. If I could switch roles with him I would. There was never any intention to harm him. What happened was a fluke or accident. I am sorry I did not come forward to explain what happened earlier,” he stated.

Wayne O’Donoghue of Ballyedmond, Midleton, has admitted manslaughter and is on trial on a charge of murdering Robert Holohan on January 4, at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.

He made several statements to gardaí during the course of the search and investigation.

Looking at the front page coverage of Robert’s funeral in a local shop he could not bear it any longer and went home to confess to his dad, Ray, that he had killed Robert. The gardaí were called to his home, as was solicitor, Frank Buttimer.

Over the course of seven hours, Wayne O’Donoghue made a detailed confession about what he did on January 4.

Wayne and his father both cried as the accused confessed for the first time.

Before he said what he did, he blurted out repeatedly to his father in their home: “I love you, I’m sorry, it was an accident.”

He told his dad that Robert was throwing stones at his car and at the back of his head after he refused to take him to McDonald’s for a milkshake.

“I asked him to go. I gave him a nudge. I pulled him away from his bike. I put my right hand around his neck. I grabbed him by the throat with my left hand and said will you stop throwing the f**king stones.

“I could not say how long I had my left hand to his throat. When I took my hand away he fell down.

“I don’t know how long I held him. It seemed very short. I didn’t mean to cause him any harm or injury. I called, ‘Rob’. There was no response. I had no problem lifting him. I brought him in the front door (it was around 3.30pm and nobody else was home). I laid him on the bathroom floor.

“I called his name a few times I threw some water on his face. I listened for breathing. At this stage I believe he may have died.

“(In the kitchen) I took out a black handled knife. I was in complete shock and panic. I cannot describe my feelings. My intention was to cut my throat. I went back to the bathroom. I went to the mirror. I put the knife to my throat. I looked at Robert. I dropped my hand with the knife to my side,” he
said in his statement.

He put two black bags over the body and drove it away in the boot of the car and disposed of it in a remote area of very rough ground near Inch strand.

On the way he threw the BMX bike on the side of a ditch in another area.

BBC

Workers’ Party leader Sean Garland failed to appear in court

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the Workers’ Party President Sean Garland after he failed to appear at court in Belfast.

Mr Garland, 71, from Navan in County Meath, is facing possible extradition to the US on counterfeiting charges.

The US government alleges he and others bought, moved and either passed as genuine or re-sold high quality counterfeit $100 notes.

Last month his bail was varied to let him go to Navan for medical treatment.

A short time later, Mr Garland issued a statement from the Irish Republic saying he did not intend to return to Belfast to face the court.

Mr Garland was arrested in Belfast in October on the eve of his party’s annual conference and appeared in court the next day, where he was released on bail.

When the extradition hearing resumed on Thursday, the court was told Mr Garland was not present and the judge issued an arrest warrant.

The judge adjourned the hearing until the New Year and said that he would deal with applications to collect bail money totalling £30,000 at that time.

‘Super dollars’

The money represented cash lodgements of £10,000 each which three bailsman had to pay into court before Mr Garland was freed.

At the hearing in October, Mr Garland’s defence lawyer said his client “strongly protested” his innocence.

The US government indictment also alleges that Garland arranged with North Korean agencies for the purchase of some of the counterfeit notes, known as “super dollars”, and enlisted others to disseminate them within the UK.

A BBC investigation last year claimed that ex-KGB officers, the Russian Mafia and the North Korean government were also involved in the counterfeiting operation.

BBC

Rescue workers at the floods on the Ormeau Road

Nursery children in south Belfast have had to be carried to safety by their teacher after heavy flooding.

River Terrace off Cooke Street in the Lower Ormeau Road is under four and a half feet of water. Sewage pipes have also overflowed.

Emergency services are using inflatable boats to rescue people trapped in their homes.

Flooding has also been reported at Castlereagh Road, Belfast. The rain is affecting the east of Northern Ireland.

Counties Down and Antrim and Belfast city centre are the worst affected.

Cornelia McCluskey, playgroup leader at St Malachy’s playgroup off the Ormeau Road, said she had to ensure that the children escaped after the area became flooded.

“The sewer outside the nursery school has busted,” she said.

Trapped

“I have had to carry children through raw sewage to get them out of the building myself.

“I am now stuck in the building and can’t get out. The fire brigade is here and have said there is nothing they can do about it.”

Residents in the lower Ormeau were stranded and could not get back to their cars.

“I’ve been waiting 20 minutes, trying to get back to my car,” said Anne Mallon.

“I have a dog in it and the flood waters seem to be rising.”

Flooding caused traffic problems in Castlereagh

A man in a wheelchair was trapped in his home as the flood waters rose. Neighbours went to his rescue.

Margaret McCormac who lives in the area was trying to sweep the flood waters out of her home.

“The sewers are blocked, raw sewage is floating into the house,” she said.

“It really stinks. It is the third time we have been flooded. It is absolutely ridiculous.”

Many roads, including part of the M2 motorway, were closed because of the heavy rain.

The M2 Motorway between Greencastle and Sandyknowes has now been reopened. However, the Greencastle on-slip remains closed.

A Department of Regional Development spokeswoman said there were indications that pumps were operating normally at River Terrace pumping station.

“The Water Service has squads on the ground assisting and a clean up operation will take place,” she said.

Flooding has been reported across south Belfast and Roads Service staff are working to clear gullies and issue sandbags, she said.

**Posted by D. Michele Duarte to republicanarmy

Subject: Press statement /Groups oppose proposed legislation
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 12:28:06
From: Pat Finucane Centre: info@PATFINUCANECENTRE.ORG;

Press statement …for immediate release

Groups oppose proposed legislation

Joint statement from Justice for the Forgotten, Relatives for Justice; and the Pat Finucane Centre

30 November 2005

A number of groups which support victims and survivors have spoken out against the proposed NI (Offences) Bill. Relatives For Justice, the Pat Finucane Centre and Justice for the Forgotten* have called on the Secretary of State “to go back to the drawing board and drastically rethink these proposals which show no consideration whatsoever for the rights and needs of families who have lost loved ones. This proposal is a complete non-starter. ”

The groups listed a numbers of concerns with the legislation which is intended to make special provisions for all those accused of having committed serious crimes before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

* No allowance has been made for international involvement as was the case with prisoner releases, policing reform, decommissioning and the talks process;
* No proper provision is made for the involvement of relatives;
* Decisions on what if any information should be provided to families is discretionary;
* The Secretary of State (SoS) will have the power to direct that all information surrounding a certificate application be withheld from relatives;
* The SoS will have the power to direct that an individual who applies for a certificate should remain anonymous;
* The members of the Special Appeal Tribunal and the Special Prosecutor will all be appointed by the SoS and are thus open to political interference;
* The SoS will have sole power to appoint the certificationcommissioner who is thus open to political interference;
* An applicant must supply any information or document required by the commissioner but the SoS can direct that the PSNI withhold documents and information from the same commissioner;
* The SoS can also withhold information from the certification commissioner;

Speaking today RFJ spokesperson Mark Thompson said,

“Together these groups represent hundreds of families who have lost loved ones from as far back as 1969 and as recently as last year, from throughout the North, in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, in the Murder Triangle and in hundreds of other individuals incidents. We are all united in opposition to the present legislation. Let no-one be fooled; the principal beneficiary is the British state. They drew up the legislation and it is they who are pushing it through their parliament. Two principles must apply.

The rights and needs of families must be at the core of any proposal. Relatives have a right and need to know the truth. This legislation makes no allowance whatsoever for a truth recovery process linked to certification.

The only truth recovery process that will enjoy cross-community and cross border support is one that has international involvement from the outset. The NIO, security forces, prosecution service and judiciary have been part of the problem and cannot be allowed to determine the process alone. We need respected international figures to be involved in making appointments and deciding procedures. We also need respected international figures who themselves can be appointed.”

Speaking on behalf of Justice for the Forgotten Margaret Irwin said,

“The Northern Secretary withheld documents and refused to give evidence to an inquiry led by a former supreme court judge, Justice Barron, in this jurisdiction. In doing so the NIO showed unbelievable contempt for a senior judicial figure. How can we trust a process totally determined by the Northern Secretary and the NIO? It’s not rocket science to figure out that the NIO will use the ‘national security’ clause to close down anything that might embarrass them on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.”

In a similar vein Paul O’Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre argued that “this legislation is a dream come true for the spooks at Vauxhall Bridge. (MI5 HQ) Had this legislation been in place in 1992 the Secretary of State could have withheld the name of Brian Nelson, directed that the RUC, FRU and MI5 withhold evidence from the prosecution and withheld all information regarding charges and eventual prosecution from the Finucane family. The NIO cannot be allowed to determine this process. It is part of the problem.

We have seen the use of Public Interest Immunity Certificates, anonymity rulings, evidence from behind screens and so called ‘national security’ in order to cover up the truth. If this legislation goes through it will have profound implications for the criminal justice and policing institutions for decades to come. A chance to deal with the past honestly and fairly will have been lost.”

END

Contact RFJ @ 02890 220100 info@relativesforjustice.org

PFC @ 02871 268846 info@patfinucanecentre.org

JFTF @ 003531 855 4300 1974bombings@esatlink.com

* Justice for the Forgotten represents the families of those killed and  injured in the 1972 and 1973 Dublin bombings and the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

Belfast Telegraph

Court date with husband for custody of son

By Claire Regan
01 December 2005

An Ulster mother spoke of her anguish today after she was ordered to return to the US to fight her estranged husband in a custody battle over their young son.

Paula Savage and her two-year-old son, Gregory, will have to leave their new home in Castlewellan, Co Down, to go to Tennessee within the next few weeks to face her husband in court.

Ms Savage recently appeared at the High Court in Belfast where an order was served under the Hague Convention for her to return to the US with her son. Her estranged husband, who has not seen Gregory in over a year, successfully applied for the case to be dealt with in the state of Tennessee.

The Hague Convention is an international legal agreement in which a parent can apply to have a child returned to a country in which he or she has been resident if they believe the child has been wrongly removed. It was the same law which forced Londonderry woman Cara Gunn to return to the US to fight a custody battle with her ex-husband Bobby in 2003.

Ms Savage (35), lived with her husband in Florida up until October of last year when she returned to her native Castlewellan with Gregory. Her husband, who she does not wish to name, has since moved from Florida to Tennessee. He is seeking full custody of his son.

“I don’t want to go into the details of the break-up of our marriage but the situation had got to the stage where I could not go on anymore and I had to leave with Gregory. It was an unhappy time,” said the mother-of-two.

“I came back to Castle- wellan just over a year ago. Gregory and I have been settling in well to the area. We enjoy living close to family and friends and getting on with life here.”

Ms Savage, who also has a nine-month-old daughter Chloe living with her in Castlewellan, said she is distraught at having to return to the US.

“This is a massive upheaval for us. Gregory has lived in Northern Ireland for almost half his life now and we’re very settled here. It’s very daunting to have to go back to America and fight for Gregory in court. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.

“I will have to pay legal costs and living expenses while we’re there. The case could last up to two months and I’m worried this could cost me about £10,000. I am now trying to gather up donations to help.”

The young mother’s family and friends organised a fund-raiser for her in Savage’s bar in Castlewellan last week. The local Ulster Bank branch has also set up an account in the name of ‘Paula’s Appeal’ which donations can be made to.

“The support I have received from the community has been fantastic. I am very grateful to everyone who has helped. I need as much help as I can get to gather up the money to fight this.”

SDLP councillor for the area, Eamon O’Neill, said the community’s “heart is with Paula”.

“I know the community will want to give her all the help and support that they can. I look forward to the matter being dealt with quickly and fairly,” he said.

Irish Independent

Brendan Keenan
Group Business Editor

MIGRANT workers, mostly from Eastern Europe, are fuelling an astonishing jobs boom, with employment growing by almost 100,000 in just 12 months.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed the labour force grew by 5pc in the 12 months to September, with almost two million people now at work. This is more than twice the rate of increase in the US, and five times that in Britain.

Immigrants accounted for almost half the 96,000 increase. But that left more than 50,000 Irish-born people finding jobs. Much of this was older people taking up employment, having been out of the labour force.

The scale of the boom was shown in the extra 10,000 people aged 60-65 who started work during the 12 months. About half of them were women, helping to bring the total percentage of females in the labour force to 53pc.

But trade unions expressed alarm over figures for industry which showed a drop of 11,000 in employment, even though 8,000 extra foreign workers were hired. They said this indicated that Irish workers are being replaced by cheaper immigrant labour.

“The numbers provide strong evidence to suggest that a policy of displacement of existing workers’ jobs by cheaper migrant labour is already well under way in Irish industry,” said SIPTU general president Jack O’Connor.

“Taken in conjunction with the fact that average hourly industrial earnings increased by only 2.4pc in the 12 months to June, when national pay rises alone should have yielded a 4pc increase, these figures confirm what Irish employers are currently about,” he said.

Economists agree big changes in employment patterns are taking place. “This has important implications for the labour market and has exerted downward pressure on Irish wage rates,” said Dermot O’Leary, economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers.

BreakingNews.ie

30/11/2005 - 14:46:44

Three groups working with the victims of alleged collusion have called on the British government to reconsider its plan to allow paramilitary fugitives to return to the North without fear of imprisonment.

The move had been demanded by Sinn Féin to resolve an anomaly surrounding fugitives who have been on the run since before the Good Friday Agreement.

However, the British government has decided that the legislation paving the way for the amnesty should also apply to police officers and soldiers accused of colluding with loyalist organisations.

Relatives for Justice, the Pat Finucane Centre and Justice for the Forgotten have now come out in opposition to the move, saying it shows no consideration for the rights of families who lost loved ones.

Relatives for Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre both represent the victims of alleged collusion between the British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries.

Justice for the Forgotten, meanwhile, represents the families of people killed and injured in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which were allegedly carried out by loyalists with the support of the British army.

The British-Irish Rights Watch organisation had already criticised the proposed fugitive amnesty, saying it would be used to cover up incidents of official collusion.