26 January 2006 19:22
Four donkey mares have been stolen from Banbridge, Co Down.
They were last seen at approximately 10.30pm last night.
Two of the animals are in foal and one was wearing a red and blue collar.
The youngest is darker in colour compared to the others.
The PSNI want to hear from anyone who may have seen a horsebox or cattle trailer with donkeys on board yesterday on the roads around the Banbridge district including the A1.
**Via Newshound
Danny Morrison
25/01/2006
Mary Peters — the “Belfast girl” (News Letter) — had just set a new world record in the pentathlon and won Britain’s first gold medal in the competition.
Peters said: “When I saw the Union Jacks and heard the cheers from the British crowd, it lifted me and I knew I would do well.” When she was told that Prime Minister Ted Heath was in the stadium, she said: “I hope he’s as proud to be British as I am.”
Two days later, members of the Palestinian Black September organisation infiltrated the Olympic village in Munich and broke into the Israeli compound. Two Israeli athletes died in the initial confrontation and nine others were taken hostage.
The militants demanded the release of 236 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and their free passage to an Arab country. When this was refused, they demanded an aeroplane to fly them to the Middle East. The German authorities agreed. The captors and their hostages were flown by helicopter to a nearby airport. German snipers opened fire and provoked a shoot-out that left nine Israelis, four Palestinians, a German policeman and a pilot dead.
Later this week, Steven Spielberg’s film Munich opens in Ireland. It tells the story of Munich in September 1972 and its aftermath when Israeli agents across Europe assassinated suspected Palestinian militants in revenge.
“If things had gone according to plan, nobody would have been killed,” said Abu Daoud, one of the organisers of the Black September attack. He said that no one in the West cared or had heard about the 50 Palestinian children who were killed when the Israeli army bombed a school in al-Rasheda two weeks before Munich.
“People were more interested in sports than in the plight of the Palestinians.”
One morning, a year before Munich, 18-year-old Brian Holmes (aka Homer) was going for an early morning cycle when he noticed scores of British army Saracens and Jeeps parked in the Suffolk area of west Belfast. He saw veteran republicans Jimmy Drumm and Gerry Maguire being marched over to one of the vehicles. Assuming it was a just a routine arrest, he waved to them, without realising that this was the beginning of internment, which would literally lead to an explosion of IRA activity and a major turning point in the conflict.
On his return journey a few hours later, Homer couldn’t get back to his street. The British army had sealed off Andersonstown. Homer had to scale a fence and cross the M1 motorway, only to get caught up in the middle of a clash between soldiers and local residents. He saw a soldier take aim and fire at a young man, hitting him in the chest. Homer went to help and then realised that it was his friend, 17-year-old Frank McGuinness. A car was waved down but McGuinness died shortly afterwards. The British army claimed he had been throwing a petrol bomb.
Homer said: “That had a profound effect on me and I decided to join the republican movement. I cut back on the cycling but then, in the summer of 1972, Con McHugh, a well-known republican, approached me and asked me to start training again. He said he would tell me all about it later.”
Homer was a member of the National Cycling Association, a 32-county body that was critical of the official cycling bodies — the Irish Cycling Federation, which catered for the 26 Counties; and the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation, which was set up in 1949 to cater for the Six Counties — that is, unionist sensibilities. The NCA was denied access to international sporting events because of its principled opposition to partition.
1972 was the year of Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday. It was also the year when loyalist paramilitaries unleashed a sectarian murder campaign against innocent Catholics. In August 1972, the British government introduced Operation Motorman (**see Museum of Free Derry), and the British army occupied Catholic schools and GAA grounds.
“It was then I learnt what I was training for. The NCA — which wasn’t recognised and had been excluded by the Irish Olympic Committee, despite having some superior cyclists — was going to organise an unofficial team for the Munich Olympics. We were aiming to protest against the British occupation of our areas, including GAA property, the brutalisation of prisoners, the loyalist murder gangs with whom the Brits were colluding, and the fact that there was no all-Ireland cycling team,” said Homer.
Seven members went out to Munich and joined four others. After the shoot-out and the massacre at the airport, they thought that the games — and thus the protest — would be called off. However, the International Olympic Committee president declared that “the games must go on” and so they did, with the flags flying at half-mast.
“We weren’t sure what to do but Benny, our manager, said: ‘No, this is an ideal time for us to do it because it’s going to be a peaceful demonstration.’
“We knew how to beat security by being out at the crack of dawn before they arrived. We had taken up several positions around the course and waited for hours. However, the games had been postponed for a day out of respect for the dead. We went back the following morning.
“All the teams — about 50 in all — were riding up and down this long track waiting to be called for the road race and have their numbers checked. It was our intention to get into the middle of them and participate and for others, in front of the stadium, to distribute leaflets and explain our protest. Four of our members were challenged at the very start because they had no numbers.
“At another spot, I climbed up a pole which carried the PA system and severed the wires. The Hungarians and Russians didn’t hear themselves being called but, when an official came down and waved to three or four teams, we jumped into the middle.
“We were challenged by a steward but he was pushed aside and the lads cycled through to the starting line. A couple of us had made our way over to the British team. I pulled off my track top and underneath was my Irish shirt. Over the speakers around the grandstand, there were calls for the Irish team to please come to the side. One of the Brits said: ‘Next time I’m back in Ireland, there’ll not be too many Irish teams!’ Well, when he said that, I just had to give him a thump. There was total confusion. Batty Flynn from Kerry made his way over to the official with the firing pistol, pulled it from him and fired. Half the cyclists thought the race had begun. Others were trying to stop it.”
The protesters scattered leaflets protesting against British rule in Ireland and handed out press packs in four languages — German, French, English and Irish. The police pounced on them but not before Homer had shouted towards German Chancellor Willy Brandt in the VIP grandstand: “Your friend Heath has Irish blood on his hands!”
Further out the road, another protester, Jean Mangan from Kerry, joined Flynn — who, to the consternation of the official Irish team, opened up a ten-yard lead. For the next two laps, there were, bizarrely, three Irish teams in the race and commentators didn’t know the identity of the lead cyclist because Flynn had no number. After five miles (eight kilometres), Flynn was forcibly taken out of the race by police on motorcycles.
All of the protesters were taken into custody until after the event and their bikes impounded. They took some flak at a subsequent press conference, especially from RTÉ over the question of mixing sport and politics. They said they had been exposing Britain for using the Olympic Games to assert British occupation.
At the same Olympics, ten African nations forced the international body to withdraw its invitation to Rhodesia, and two black American athletes who won gold and silver in the 400 metres final gave clenched-fist salutes as members of the Black Panther movement.
Today, one organisation — the Irish Cycling Federation — represents the majority of cyclists, North and South, with the exception of a few Northern clubs that prefer to be licensed by the British Cycling Federation.
Two months after the protest at the Munich Olympics, Brian Holmes was interned without charge in Long Kesh. In 1973, the British government introduced quasi-judicial hearings in an attempt to assuage international criticism of internment.
“I was brought up in front of one of these tribunals,” he said. “From behind a screen, an anonymous Brit intelligence officer told the tribunal commissioner that I had attempted to disrupt the 1972 Munich Olympics and that I and my group had co-ordinated the protest with Black September. It was absolute nonsense, of course, but that’s what was said and that’s what was believed.”
Brian Holmes was interned for another two years.
Danny Morrison is a regular media commentator on Irish politics. He is the author of three novels and three works of non-fiction.
Published: 26 January, 2006
Sinn Féin MP for Newry & Armagh Conor Murphy commenting on the announcement that the British government are moving motions to reinstate the party’s Westminster allowances and other monies due to the party today said:
“The removal of Sinn Féin allowances and the denial of policy development grants to the party was an attempt by the British government to damage the electoral rise of Sinn Féin and skew the political landscape in favour of our opponents.
“The announcement today by Peter Hain that he is to table motions dealing with both the Westminster allowances and the other monies due to the party is a first step in righting this wrong and ending what is blatant discrimination against our electorate.
“Sinn Féin will continue to watch this situation closely and we will not rest until our electorate are afforded their full rights and entitlements.” ENDS
26 January 2006 17:40
The Taoiseach has described today’s talks with the British Prime Minister on the future of Northern Ireland as ‘positive and focused’.
Bertie Ahern met Tony Blair in Farmleigh House in Dublin this afternoon.
Mr Ahern said progress on restoring Northern Ireland’s political institutions must be made as soon as possible. He said serious issues remained to be addressed and it was not the time for sitting back.
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Mr Blair said 2006 would be a very decisive year for Northern Ireland.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, and the Northern Secretary, Peter Hain, are to hold further talks on 6 February.
Unionist politicians remain sceptical about republican intentions. The DUP said last week it could not envisage devolved government with Sinn Féin in the foreseeable future.
The Nomadic took passengers out to the Titanic
The SS Nomadic, the last of the White Star ships and a vital link to the Titanic story, is returning to Belfast.
The Northern Ireland Office bought the ship at an auction in Paris for £171,320.
Social Development Minister David Hanson said his department had been hoping to buy the vessel for some time.
“My department has been working behind the scenes since before Christmas to establish the case for acquiring this historic vessel,” he said.
“It was necessary to maintain confidentiality round this work to ensure that government’s bidding for the Nomadic at open auction was not compromised.”
The luxury ferry, built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast the year before Titanic, took first class passengers to the great liner which sank with the loss of more than 1,500 people in 1912.
Campaigners had been lobbying the government in an attempt to take the ship back to Belfast.
Mr Hanson also announced the setting up of a charitable trust to coordinate fundraising and oversee the restoration of the Nomadic.
“Belfast Harbour Commissioners have agreed to provide a berth for the ship to allow the trust time to take forward the restoration project,” he said.
“While no further public funding is available for the cost of restoration, I greatly welcome the contribution of £100,000 pledged by Belfast City Council.”
He added: “If the trust is unable to progress the fundraising and restoration over the next 18 months, the vessel will be sold to prevent it deteriorating.”
DUP East Belfast MP Peter Robinson said the ship could become the new centrepiece for the Titanic Quarter of the city.
“I look forward to the prospect of this last White Star Line ship becoming the focal point of a world class visitor centre in the Titanic Quarter area,” he said.
“A fully restored Nomadic berthed in the area will bring the prospect of even more job opportunities and improved economic prosperity.”
Prior to the auction, Sinn Fein councillor Michael Browne said he was concerned at the cost of such an enterprise.
Alliance assembly member Sean Neeson, who represents Northern Ireland on the UK Historic Ships Committee, said the ship could help develop the city’s links with the Titanic.
“The main priority now is to get the ship listed on the core collection of the National Historic Ships register,” he said.
“If this is achieved, then it would make the Nomadic eligible for possible grant aid from the Heritage Lottery Fund.”
The reserve price on the Nomadic had been £165,000.
Following a public appeal, £40,000 was raised in private pledges and Belfast City Council agreed to contribute £100,000.
War service
The 221st ship ferried passengers to the White Star liner Olympic, and in April 1912, it did the same job for Titanic.
Nomadic saw service in both world wars and was later used as a restaurant on the Seine in Paris.
More recently, it has been languishing semi-derelict in the port of Le Havre.
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage to New York
A feasibility study by Belfast City Council estimated the cost of buying the ship and bringing it back to the city would be around £750,000.
It would then need about £7m to restore the ship to its former glory.
Campaigners, including Belfast Industrial Heritage, had been behind efforts to bring Nomadic back to the city where it was made.
It is hoped that the ship will become the centrepiece of a new tourist quarter dedicated to the world’s most famous ship.
Other attractions include the slipway where Titanic was built, the drawing offices where the blueprints for the ship were drawn and the Thompson Dock and pump house where she was fitted out.
Titanic entered into legend in 1912 when more than 1,500 people died during its maiden voyage from the UK to America.
Lindsay Robb was murdered on Hogmanay
Police have arrested a man in connection with the death of a former loyalist gun-runner in Glasgow.
Lindsay Robb, 38, was assaulted on 31 December last year outside shops in Gartloch Road, in the Ruchazie area.
Strathclyde Police said a 29-year-old man was in custody and a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
Mr Robb was jailed for 10 years in 1995 for involvement in a UVF gun-smuggling plot and released four years later under the Good Friday Agreement.
He was a prominent member of the Progressive Unionist Party and was convicted along with four other men following an extensive undercover operation.
by Francesca Ryan
& Damian McCarney
Up to 20 families are facing life on the street after it emerged that Laburnum Hostel in Twinbrook, which caters for homeless people, is facing possible closure.
The charity which runs the hostel on behalf of the Housing Executive, the Novas Group, plans to pull the plug on a number of sheltered accommodation hostels across the North as early as March 31.
The move has been slammed by Sinn Féin’s Michael Ferguson who is concerned that the decision could affect the homeless using the Twinbrook premises.
“It is not acceptable for the Housing Executive to allow this hostel to close or for the staff to lose their jobs just because of their own poor judgement in employing a private company to do what they should be doing themselves, and that is providing temporary accommodation for the homel
ess and supporting the accommodation with professional staff.”
Sinn Féin have made representations to the British government requesting that the Housing Executive have full responsibility for meeting housing need, and building and managing housing stock because the private sector do not have either the commitment or the expertise.
“The homeless people in Laburnum Hostel all come from the West Belfast area, their families are all in West Belfast and they should not be dumped on the streets or sent out of West Belfast.
“The Housing Executive should immediately take responsibility for keeping the hostel open and protecting the staff in post because they are the professionals trained to do the job,” said Cllr Ferguson.
Councillor Ferguson’s comments were echoed by party colleague, Councillor Fra McCann, who will be meeting with the Housing Executive’s Chief Executive as a matter of urgency on the issue.
“It was with some alarm that I learnt from my colleague that the hostel could close and staff lose their jobs,” said Cllr McCann.
“This is unacceptable given the huge levels of homeless in West Belfast. To close this facility and lose good trained staff would be poor management indeed.”
UNISON organiser, Dessie Donnelly, has called on the Housing Executive to take action to save jobs.
“This is obviously very concerning for our members,” he said.
“What UNISON members need are assurances that the essential services being provided to families in need, and the jobs that keep these services going, will be protected and sustained.
“If it is not possible, due to time constraints, to secure a new long-term managing agent then the Housing Executive should either find a temporary agent to take over during the interim period or temporarily take over the running of the services themselves.
“Our members need answers and they need action by the Housing Executive. As it stands currently, we don’t seem to be getting either.”
A Housing Executive spokesperson told the Andersonstown News that the Executive is committed to retaining the services.
“The Housing Executive is committed to ensuring that these services, currently provided through the Novas Group at a number of locations in Northern Ireland, are maintained. The Housing Executive is in discussion with other agencies to ensure that this is the case.”
Laburnum Hostel consists of 20 flats housing families comprising of upwards of 50 vulnerable people and employs six people.
Journalist:: Francesca Ryan
The Nomadic took passengers out to the Titanic
The SS Nomadic, the last of the White Star ships and a vital link to the Titanic story, is due to be auctioned.
The luxury ferry, built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, is to go under the hammer in France on Thursday afternoon.
The ship, built the year before Titanic, took first class passengers to the great liner which sank with the loss of more than 1,500 people in 1912.
Campaigners have been lobbying the government in an attempt to take the ship back to Belfast.
Belfast Sinn Fein councillor Michael Browne said he was concerned at the cost of such an enterprise.
“I don’t think it is a council responsibility to act alone here and attempt bring the Nomadic back to Belfast,” he said.
“From what I understand the SS Nomadic is worth little more than scrap value.”
‘Island race’
The Alliance assembly member Sean Neeson, who represents Northern Ireland on the UK Historic Ships Committee, said the ship could help develop the city’s links with the Titanic.
“We’re part of an island race,” he said.
“The very fact that we have had perhaps the most important shipbuilding yard in the world and have depended so much on the sea over the years, I think means there is an urgency.
“I would hope at the very last minute the Northern Ireland Office would step in and put forward a bid,” he said.
However, the Department of Social Development has, as yet, refused to be specific on whether it will commit to plans to save the ship.
The reserve price on the Nomadic is £165,000.
Following a public appeal, £40,000 has been raised in private pledges and Belfast City Council has agreed to contribute £100,000.
But even if the ship is secured, much more money is needed to bring her back to Belfast from France intact.
War service
The 221st ship ferried passengers to the White Star liner Olympic, and in April 1912, it did the same job for Titanic.
Nomadic saw service in both world wars and was later used as a restaurant on the Seine in Paris.
More recently, it has been languishing semi-derelict in the port of Le Havre.
A feasibility study by Belfast City Council estimated the cost of buying the ship and bringing it back to the city would be around £750,000.
It would then need about £7m to restore the ship to its former glory.
Campaigners, including Belfast Industrial Heritage, have been behind efforts to bring Nomadic back to the city where it was made.
It is hoped that the ship will become the centrepiece of a new tourist quarter dedicated to the world’s most famous ship.
Other attractions include the slipway where Titanic was built, the drawing offices where the blueprints for the ship were drawn and the Thompson Dock and pump house where she was fitted out.
Titanic entered into legend in 1912 when more than 1,500 people died during its maiden voyage from the UK to America.
IT’S CLAIMED Belfast City Council IS to use city’s emergency funds for East Belfast attraction
Damian McCarney
Click to view - photo from >>here
The prospective purchase of a so-called ‘mini-Titanic’ using money from the public purse has been branded a “reckless waste” by a Sinn Féin councillor.
The SS Nomadic, which was built in 1911 at the infamous Harland and Wolff yard, is being sought by Belfast Industrial Heritage (BIH) as a tourist attraction. The ship is up for auction today in France.
It is estimated that buying the ship will cost around £175,000 with transportation to Belfast from Le Havre costing a further £85,000 to £100,000.
BIH have received £40,000 in donations but require assistance from public money to meet the shortfall. At its January meeting the Council’s Development Committee agreed to draw £100,000 from City Hall reserve funds.
Sinn Féin’s Michael Browne has slammed the Council’s contribution.
“To my mind this represents a reckless waste of ratepayers’ money. Council reserves are there for contingency purposes and at this time are needed to offset the potentially severe financial impact on ratepayers that waste management costs will bring about.
“There are a whole range of implications stemming from our responsibility to meet waste management requirements. The Council have approached this in a sensible manner by putting this money aside. The question is, would the ratepayers want to see it used in a worthwhile manner, or squandered on the remnants of a rusting boat?”
And Cllr Browne harbours concern over future costs attached to the purchase of the ship.
BIH have already said that they will be seeking Lottery funding if they are successful in their bid for the Nomadic in order to assist with the huge renovation costs. The costs are estimated by BIH at between £3m and £10m.
“The reality,” said Cllr Browne, “is that buying the Nomadic is only part of the story. Having it transported to Belfast will cost a further £85,000. The question then for Council will be, what does it do with this vessel once it arrives in Belfast?”
A survey conducted by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) estimates that the total cost of restoration will amount to £7 million while additional services such as mooring will add again to overall costs. Will Belfast ratepayers be expected to foot these bills?
“With no other body interested in a Nomadic restoration project it is now time that Belfast City Council abandons the idea. Sinn Féin will use the opportunity presented by the February meeting of the Council to block plans to spend Council money on this futile project.”
Chief of BIH, Kathleen Neill, expressed her surprise that a Sinn Féin councillor was objecting to the proposed purchase as she said that she had received support in the past from the party on Belfast Council. Ms Neill defended the proposed purchase believing that it can become a major tourist attraction.
“Anyone who says that it is a waste of money lacks vision. It will recoup the money in the long run, provided it is in the right hands,” said Ms Neill.
Journalist:: Damien McCarney
**Via Newshound
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
POLICE are investigating a claim that a member of Altnaveigh House was assaulted by a representative of Willie Frazer’s FAIR group, the Democrat has learned.
The incident is alleged to have occurred on Wednesday afternoon during a meeting arranged by the Department of Social Development at Altnaveigh House’s Newry HQ.
It was attended by NIO Minister of State David Hanson and a number of Protestant victims’ groups.
According to a source, a member of Altnaveigh House who was showing a disabled person the way to the bathroom was grabbed by the throat by Kilkeel man Maynard Hanna.
The Democrat made repeated attempts to speak to Mr Hanna but was unable to contact him.
However, Willie Frazer, the director of FAIR, denied that any incident had occurred and claimed the allegation was a smokescreen to hide what he claims is the “hatred” that some members of Altnaveigh House have for his organisation.
“I know nothing about this,” he said. “It certainly didn’t happen in the room where the meeting was held. This is just a ploy by Altnaveigh to draw attention from themselves.
“I don’t know where this took place, if indeed it did take place. It’s unbelievable that people would make allegations like this. Most FAIR members would have been outside before anyone else.
“There were police there and if there had been an assault I’m sure they would have apprehended someone. I’ve spoken to members of the other groups, including someone who came out of the building with Maynard Hanna, and he didn’t see a thing.
“My personal opinion is that this is a smokescreen to try and distract attention from the aggression shown to me by members of Altnaveigh House and their hatred of FAIR.”
Mr Frazer and a number of other members of his group walked out of the meeting amidst what he claimed was confusion about its nature.
A spokeswoman for Altnaveigh House said she would not be making a statement on the situation at this stage, while a representative of the DSD said that it would be ‘inappropriate’ for the Government body to comment.
A PSNI spokesman confirmed that police are aware of an alleged incident in Altnaveigh House and are dealing with it according to the wishes of the person who made the complaint. It is thought unlikely that there will be a prosecution.
Maynard Hanna was the secretary of the Kilkeel branch of the Ulster Unionist Party until it was dissolved in January 2004. At the time, he was quoted as saying that members were disillusioned with the then party leader David Trimble and his policies.
A police officer has fired a shot after a car drove through a checkpoint in County Tyrone.
The PSNI said the shot was fired when the driver of the car tried to knock the officer down.
The Police Ombudsman’s Office has been informed about the incident, which took place at Dooish Road in Dromore, said the police.
“Police followed the car, which twice rammed their vehicle,” said a PSNI spokesman.
“At St Dympna’s Road, the car attempted to knock down an officer, and as this point a shot was discharged.
“The car, with two men on board, then made off, but was subsequently recovered. At this stage we have had no reports of anyone being hit by the shot.”
The incident took place on Thursday morning.
Doors open for special public tours
By Roly Laird
26 January 2006
The Lord Mayor of Belfast will tonight throw open the doors of his parlour to visitors for tea and a chat in a bid to encourage more people to see the role that the City Hall plays in the life of the province’s capital.
As part of the City Hall’s centenary celebrations, a special behind the scenes tour has been devised to show areas of the building that are not included in the usual daily tour.
The first of the centenary tours, which will take place once a month throughout 2006, will leave the City Hall foyer at 7pm.
Lord Mayor Wallace Browne said: “Normally the tours talk about the history behind the building.
“The centenary tours will demonstrate that this is very much a working building and visitors will have a chance to learn about life behind the facade.
“I am looking forward to welcoming participants to my parlour.”
The centenary tour guide Diane Leeman said: “About three-quarters of Belfast people have never been inside their own City Hall.
“It is a wow with foreign visitors from all over the world but local people, including even people who work for the council, do not come into the building.”
She is keen to break down what she thinks is a “perception that the building is not open to visitors”.
“Belfast people’s money built this place and we want them to enjoy it and have a real sense of civic pride about it,” Ms Leeman added.
Tour visitors will have a chance to see the civic regalia, including the chains of office for the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and High Sheriff.
They will also get a chance to chat to the Lord Mayor about the work of the council, see the council chamber and the many wonderful works of art and historic artefacts which belong to the people of Belfast.
“There are limited numbers available on each tour so people should book their free ticket in advance by ringing the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau on 028 9024 6609,” said Ms Leeman.
By Michael McHugh
26 January 2006
A special police team to investigate Troubles murders involving the Republic of Ireland should be established, a Dail committee has heard.
The recommendation was made to the joint justice committee in Leinster House in Dublin yesterday and could boost efforts to solve murders on both sides of the border.
The PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team (HET) was set up earlier this month with a £30m budget to investigate an estimated 3,268 unsolved murders.
The Justice Committee is looking at the police investigation into the 1976 murder of Dundalk labourer Seamus Ludlow, for which nobody was ever charged.
A witness to the inquiry, Jane Winter from the British/Irish Rights Watch lobby group, said a HET in the Republic would be welcomed by the Northern Irish authorities.
I think that (a southern counterpart) would be extremely helpful. The HET has met with the Garda Commissioner and are in the process of drawing up a protocol (of information sharing).
“If there was such a unit I think it would benefit them and could help to lay a lot of ghosts on both sides of the border.
“There is a real desire now to find out or indeed share information with the families as far as it’s possible and close the door on the past.”
The first step in the process would be for the Justice committee to recommend the measure when it reports its findings in March.
A spokesman for the Garda said: “I certainly have not heard of anything like that but if it is going to happen it will be announced in due course.”
Other cases which could benefit from a formal review team include the Dublin/ Monaghan bombings in 1974, which Mid-Ulster loyalists have been implicated in.
Many IRA bombings also originated in the Republic, including the Omagh bombing in 1998.
“It would be very useful for the HET to have a dedicated body in the Republic which it could work with,” said Ms Winter.
BY JIM GIBNEY
26 January 2006
Outside Long Kesh
Long Kesh, for over 30 years the property of the British Government, where it interned thousands without trial and imprisoned thousands more sentenced political prisoners. A monument to the failure of partition and the occupation of Ireland.
But now Long Kesh is in the hands of the four main political parties in the Six Counties, including Sinn Féin. Late last year the British Government handed over the future of the prison and the 360-acre site to the Maze Long Kesh Panel.
Central to its future is the preservation of part of the prison, including the H-Block hospital where ten Hunger Strikers died in 1981, and the building of a multi-sports stadium. Long Kesh is set to become a symbol of the new Ireland emerging from decades of armed conflict.
Sinn Féin’s representatives on the panel are no strangers to the prison. Panel Vice Chair Lisburn Councillor Paul Butler served a life sentence in Long Kesh as did Raymond McCartney MLA.
Three years ago, urged on by unionists, bulldozers circled the prison with the intention of demolishing it. It was saved from destruction by an effective campaign by ex-prisoners organisation Coiste na n-Iar Chimi.
A British Government appointed body, the Maze Consultation Panel, recommended preservation of the prison and the building of the stadium. Unionists tried to cherry pick the report but were told to chose between both projects together or none at all. Not surprisingly they chose both because the stadium brings economic dividends to the local unionist hinterland.
Conference
Last week Coiste organised a conference entitled Developing and Interpreting Contested Sites to outline their ideas and listen to others.
Raymond McCartney said republicans were not interested in the prison as a ‘trophy of history’. They sought to use it as a centre for national and international reconciliation. The plan for an International Centre for Conflict Transformation at the prison would ensure its turbulent history would be the backdrop against which conflicts around the world would be analysed.
Patrick Cook curator of Dublin’s Kilmainham Jail provided a fascinating insight into the political and social history of the jail and the difficulties experienced by those trying to preserve the prison as a museum to the struggle for national independence.
It was an emotional site, which provoked great passion and bitterness among republicans. For this reason and others the prison was left to the elements when it closed its doors in 1924. By the late 1960s, through voluntary labour, it was painstakingly restored. Today, a tour of Kilmainham is an account of the ‘inner motivation of those who were held there’. Almost 175,000 people visited Kilmainham last year.
Margaret Edwards spoke about Derry’s Tower Museum and the part it plays in the city’s tourist revival.
Louise Purbrick took the meeting through three different museum experiences to illustrate how people relate to and engage with artifacts of historical interest. One was a bare field south of Auckland in New Zealand where 41 Maoris and British soldiers died fighting each other. The field is a contested site visited to remember those who fell there.
The other was a prison in Berlin used by the Stasi to torture suspected dissidents. Former inmates of the jail take visitors on guided tours of the place.
The third was an exhibition of art by internees being held in English prisons.
Alan McBride, who lost his wife in the IRA bombing on the Shankill, conditionally approved of Long Kesh being maintained, provided it was an ‘inclusive’ venue.
Coiste spokesperson Mike Ritchie assured those present that the preserved Long Kesh would tell the stories of those held there: republicans, loyalists, prison officers and British soldiers.
Quite an achievement in this the 25th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike
BY Jonathon O’Meara
26 January 2006
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In almost every decade of the last century, Irish republican prisoners held in jails in Ireland and England have been forced to embark on hunger strike as a last resort in support of their demands for political status. The second of the 12 republicans to die on hunger strike during the latest phase of struggle was IRA Volunteer Frank Stagg.
Born in the village of Hollymount, County Mayo in 1941, Stagg was the seventh child of a family of 13. He attended Newbrooke Primary School and later went on to attend the Christian Brothers Secondary School in Ballinrobe. People in his native village remembered him as being a “nice lad from a nice family”, others recalled his prowess at Gaelic football and handball. On leaving school he worked with his uncle as a gamekeeper before emigrating to England.
In England, Frank was employed as a bus conductor and later qualified as a bus driver. In 1970 he married Bridie Armstrong from Carnicon, County Mayo. He joined Sinn Féin in Luton in 1972 and shortly afterwards joined the IRA. Frank remained in touch with home and spent his annual holidays in Hollymount up to the year of his arrest and imprisonment in 1973. In the words of his mother: “He never forgot he was Irish.”
Stagg was arrested in Coventry in April 1973 and was convicted in November of conspiring to commit arson, for which he received a ten-year sentence. At his trial the following October with six others, including Rev Patrick Fell, he was described as Commanding Officer of the Coventry IRA unit. There was little or no evidence to connect him with the charge.
Stagg was convicted under the notorious British Conspiracy Laws, brought in during the latter half of the 19th Century to imprison Irish political activists without a fair trial.
Frank Stagg began his sentence in Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. Insisting that he be treated as a political prisoner, he refused to do any prison work, which resulted in him spending most of his time in solitary confinement. In March 1974, while in Parkhurst Prison, he and Michael Gaughan joined the hunger strike begun by the Price sisters, Hugh Feeney and Gerry Kelly demanding repatriation to Ireland. All suffered the horrific ordeal of forced-feeding.
Stagg continued for 70 days. Following the death of Gaughan, as a result of force-feeding, the remaining hunger strikers ended their fast after assurances from the prison authorities that they would be transferred to a prison in Ireland.
Frank’s prison life was one of broken promises and torture. Promises that his demands would be met. They were three simple demands:
• A guarantee that he would not be returned to solitary confinement;
• The right to educational facilities and not to do prison work;
• The setting of a ‘reasonable’ date for a transfer to an Irish prison.
The authorities however, pursued a policy of appearing to meet prisoners’ demands when they were on hunger strike only to renege on those promises once the prisoner came off protest. Frustrated by such vindictive tactics and determined to secure his demands or die, Stagg embarked at the end of 1975 on another hunger strike, his fourth in two years.
In early February 1976, as Stagg and Mealey entered their eight and seventh weeks, respectively, on hunger strike. Stagg, recognising the intransigence of the British Home Office and the hopelessness of his own status, persuaded his comrade to end his fast, for the sake of his wife and children.
One week later, Frank Stagg died after fasting for 62 days. In his final message to his comrades in the Republican Movement he wrote: “We are the risen people, this time we must not be driven into the gutter. Even if this should mean dying for justice. The fight must go on. I want my memorial to be peace with justice.'’
In order that he be afforded a republican funeral, Stagg stated in his will that his body should be entrusted to Derek Highstead, then Sinn Féin organiser in England. The Wakefield coroner complied with his request.
While the remains were being flown home to Dublin, the 26-County Government tried to cajole, intimidate, and bribe members of the Stagg family to collaborate in a week of desecration. Having failed, the institutions and servants of the state were used to hijack the body and orchestrate a parody of a funeral of honour. The Fine Gael/Labour Coalition Government, under Fine Gael Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, chose to defy in the most callous and insulting manner imaginable the deathbed wishes of a hero and used the Garda Special Branch to bury him.
The state’s hijacking of Frank Stagg’s body was vile enough and virtually a carbon copy of the crown’s treatment of Tomás Mac Suibhne’s remains in 1920, but not even the crown dared to defy Irish traditions and interfered no more once the diverted coffin reached Cork. It was a shaming and shameful affair.
On Saturday 21 February, Requiem Mass, boycotted by almost all his relatives, was held. His body was taken to Ballina, where it was brought, under Special Branch guard to a grave some 70 yards from the Republican Plot in Leigue Cemetery, where he asked to be buried. In order to prevent any re-interment by republicans, the Special Branch afterwards poured six feet of concrete on top of the coffin.
The following day, republicans held their own ceremonies at the Republican Plot, despite a mass presence of Gardaí. A volley of shots was fired by IRA Volunteers to salute their fallen comrade.
Following an oration by Joe Cahill, a pledge was made that Frank Stagg’s body would be moved to the Republican Plot to fulfil his wishes. On 6 November 1976, Frank Stagg’s remains were removed by IRA Volunteers and re-interred beside the remains of his comrade, Michael Gaughan, in the Republican Plot.
Volunteer Frank Stagg died on hunger strike on 12 February 1976.
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