SAOIRSE32

BBC

An arms find in the Ormeau Road area of south Belfast is believed to be linked to loyalists.

A number of weapons, ammunition, and substances thought to be explosives were recovered from a house on Burmah Street on Friday night.

Residents had to spend the night out of their homes as Army bomb experts examined the weapons.

Police have said paramilitary involvement is a line of inquiry. Three men and a woman have been arrested.

A number of other items were removed from the property for further examination.

www.rsf.ie

25 Feabhra / February 2005

Level of opposition to Loyalist march underestimated

The scenes witnessed in Dublin today only serve to illustrate how out of touch the 26-County political establishment was with the depth of opposition to the routing of a loyalist march through Dublin.

Indeed 26-County Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s willingness to meet with the organisers of this march while at the same time refusing to meet with the relatives of those killed in the British-directed loyalist Dublin and Monaghan bombs or the relatives of the Stardust tragedy, only serves to further highlight the gulf that exists between the 26-County political establishment and the views of ordinary Irish people.

The people of Dublin have shown their rejection of the ideology of sectarian hatred and bigotry represented by those who organised this march. The routing of such a march through Dublin was a completely irresponsible act with scant thought given to the consequences or the dangers it posed to people.

ENDS

Daily Ireland

25/02/2006

The revelation that the British security service, MI5, withheld crucial intelligence information in the lead-up to the Omagh bomb in 1998 will come as no surprise to those familiar with the machinations of such shady organisations. The fact emerged during an investigation into an FBI agent who was working as a double agent inside the Real IRA at the time of the attack.
To MI5 and the other agencies of British intelligence, the lives of ordinary people are of little concern in their efforts to achieve their broader goals – in this case the undermining of republicans and the destruction of republicanism as a political force. The nameless, faceless individuals who pull the strings behind the scenes care no more about the death of 29 innocent people than did the people who planted the bomb.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan tied the news in with the recent decision to expand MI5 operations in the North. “Allowing MI5 to have a lead role in intelligence in Northern Ireland would be like appointing Herod as children’s commissioner.” He’s right, of course, but it is also true to say that none of the various intelligence arms of the British state is any less cynical and callous. Spies and spooks lie and hide and cover up – it’s what they do. And it has been an unwritten rule that no matter what they do, no matter what outrage they commit in the ‘defence of the realm’, they will not be brought to book, unless, of course, they blow the whistle, at which point they will very speedily feel a hand on their collar.
The families of the victims say the failure to come forward with vital information that may have stopped the bombers in their tracks is criminal negligence. Clearly, it is just that. But the prospect of anyone from MI5 ending up in the dock for their role in the Omagh carnage is slim to non-existent. It would be nice to think that those who kept this information to themselves with such devastating results will some day be made accountable for their actions, but that won’t happen. It would be nice to think that the British will stop lecturing the rest of us on morality, but that won’t happen either. This is the same British government, remember, which continues to stick two fingers up to the Irish people and to the basic concepts of justice and fair play by refusing to co-operate with the Oireachtas inquiry into the Dublin/Monaghan bombs. The Irish government says Sinn Féin still has a number of hoops to jump through before it can be considered a coalition partner, the issue of ‘criminality’ in particular.
Would that it would be as forthright in telling the British that the dirty war needs to stop and that the spooks and spies need to be sent home, not increased in number.
The Irish government is the only one of the players in this drama with any power to do anything about all this. The longer the Irish government continues to turn a blind eye and treat such behaviour as acceptable, the more the British government will feel free to indulge in it.

Sinn Féin

Published: 25 February, 2006

Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Sean Crowe has said there was absolutely no justification for the disgraceful scenes, which occurred in Dublin city centre this afternoon. He called on those involved to end their confrontation with Gardaí immediately.

Deputy Crowe said:

“Willie Frazier and the Love Ulster campaign came to Dublin today to be provocative and get a reaction. Sinn Féin urged people not to be provoked and to stay away and the vast majority of Dubliners, including members and supporters of Sinn Féin, did just that.

“It is disappointing that a small number of individuals did exactly what Willie Frazier wanted. There is absolutely no justification for the disgraceful scenes, which occurred in the city centre this afternoon. I would call on those involved to end their confrontation with Gardaí immediately.”ENDS

BBC

Irish police clash with protesters in Dublin

Several police officers and a journalist have been hurt during a republican riot in Dublin.

Disturbances broke out in O’Connell Street in the city centre, where a unionist rally to remember the victims of republican violence was to start.

Stones and fireworks were thrown after republican demonstrators mounted a counter-march. The loyalist rally was cancelled as a result of the trouble.

A number of protesters were also injured during the clashes.

The demonstrators said they would “not allow a loyalist march to pass”.

Republicans have been throwing missiles at police in riot gear.

It is understood the counter-march was organised by Republican Sinn Fein - a political party which broke away from Sinn Fein in the 1980s.

Sinn Fein have maintained they are in no way involved in the violence.

Up to 1,000 people had been expected to take part in the Love Ulster rally to remember those affected by republican violence.

DUP and Ulster Unionist politicians were among those who had hoped to parade through the centre of the city, in a march organised by the victims group Fair.

A delegation was to meet the Republic’s Justice Minister, Michael McDowell after the march.

Earlier this week, the Republic’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dermot Ahern, said the government had hoped the parade would pass off peacefully.

BN.ie

25/02/2006 - 13:33:05

Hundreds of republican demonstrators clashed with riot police in central Dublin today in a bid to block a parade by the Orange Order and victims of IRA violence.

About a dozen fireworks, metal barricades, bottles and stones were thrown at Gardai as loyalist marchers gathered 100 yards away.

Two gardaí sustained head injuries as fireworks exploded.

Dozens of extra gardaí in full riot gear were called in to try to quell the disturbances.

A line of about 40 riot police blocked the entrance to O’Connell Street as hundreds of youths pelted them with rocks, bottles and sticks.

The officers slowly moved in to disperse the rioting crowds.

Rubble and barricades from construction work on O’Connell Street were set on fire as riot police forced the crowd further into the city centre.

Republican slogans were chanted and around 20 protesters attempted to hold a sit-down protest in the middle of the street.

Gardaí quickly moved in and prevented the youths from blocking the road.

At the front of the GPO, the headquarters of the 1916 Easter Rising, rioters charged police and fought hand-to-hand battles with around 100 officers.

Mounted police were also drafted in to prevent more protesters joining.

A stand-off ensued for several minutes as dozens of the demonstrators again attempted to hold a sit-down protest.

All shops, in one of the city’s busiest shopping districts, shut their doors for business.

BBC

The attack happened in Maghaberry Prison

The police are investigating an incident in Maghaberry after a female warder had a bin containing urine and excrement poured over her.

The Prison Service said the officer - who was with a male colleague - was attacked in Bush House, which houses loyalist paramilitary prisoners.

Both warders received medical treatment after the incident. Prison governor Alan Longwell condemned the attack.

“The attack was highly vindictive and particularly revolting,” he said.

“It was calculated to cause maximum distress.”

The prisoner has been transferred to the Special Supervision Unit and has been placed on Rule 32, restricting freedom of association.

BBC

Unionists have already staged a similar event in Belfast

Several police officers have been injured in a worsening riot situation in the centre of Dublin.

Disturbances broke out ahead of a unionist rally in the city.

Stones and other missiles have been thrown after republican demonstrators mounted a counter-march. The rally has now been halted.

Gardai and republicans have been involved in skirmishes in O’Connell Street and unionists are penned in at Parnell Square.

The demonstrators said they would “not allow a loyalist march to pass”. A number of demonstrators have also been injured.

Republicans have been throwing missiles at police in riot gear.

It is understood the counter-march was organised by Republican Sinn Fein - a political party which broke away from Sinn Fein in the 1980s.

Sinn Fein have maintained they are in no way involved in the violence.

Up to 1,000 people had been expected to take part in the rally to remember those affected by republican violence.

DUP and Ulster Unionist politicians are among those hoping to parade through the centre of the city, in a march organised by the victims group Fair.

‘Not simply airbrushed’

A delegation will also meet the Republic’s Justice Minister, Michael McDowell.

UUP deputy leader Danny Kennedy said it was important their message was heard.

“We want to remind the people who live in the Republic of the great price and cost that there was in the campaign of violence waged by republicans who are now seeking places in government, both north and south,” he said.

“We simply want to make sure that their past is not simply airbrushed out of history.”

Earlier this week, the Republic’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dermot Ahern, said the government had hoped the parade would pass off peacefully.

Daily Ireland

By Jarlath Kearney
24/02/2006

Sinn Féin yesterday disclosed details of a major British army surveillance operation in Co Armagh.
During a press conference in Belfast, Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy revealed a British army document which appeared to show that a dozen cameras are trained on Dromintee GAA club from Faughil mountain in the Dromintee area of south Armagh, as well as local homes.
All the homes belong to people who are members of Dromintee GAA club.
Mr Murphy said the one-page document had been discovered by a local farmer on land near the Faughil mountain British army spy installation last week.
“There are at least 30, possibly over 30, fixed spy cameras located on the top of Faughil mountain. This reference document shows you the location of 12 of those only and we can only speculate as to where the other 20-plus cameras are fixed on,” Mr Murphy said.
“Some of them are not in use, according to the British government’s own document here, but most of them are spying on individuals in their homes.
“Equally worrying is that one of the cameras was fixed on the GAA club in Dromintee which services all of the community in that area and has a substantial membership in the community.
“It begs the question as to what the nature of this spying activity was for. I think this points to what has been a very intrusive British army spying operation for many years.
“This points up very clearly, that the focus of that spying was not on what British army people would allege were IRA activities, but on the entire community and south Armagh area,” Mr Murphy said.
Mr Murphy said that his party will be raising the ongoing spying activities with British prime minister Tony Blair during a meeting next week.
Mr Murphy’s party colleague, councillor Patrick McDonald, was the only Sinn Féin member targeted in the surveillance operation. The Sinn Féin press conference was also attended by Dromintee GAA club spokesperson Declan Fearon and Sinn Féin assembly member Davy Hyland.
Speaking to Daily Ireland yesterday, a British army spokesperson refused to comment on the document.
“We do not comment on alleged operational activity,” the spokesperson said.
The grid-type document released by Sinn Féin was headed R21M Pathfinder Camera Reference Guide. A British army insignia of a sphinx over the title ‘EGYPT’ was visible in the top-left hand corner of the original document.
A total of 12 cameras were detailed on the document by reference to the domestic or social locations associated with surveillance targets. Each location was cross-referenced with a numbered camera, believed to be mounted on the Faughil Mountain spy installation. Four of the cameras were marked ‘not in use’.
The Pathfinder camera system is an ‘intelligent’ video motion sensor system which reacts only to the movement of people or vehicles, but is not affected by environmental movement from foliage or climate changes. Pathfinder can loop a large number of cameras onto a single monitoring system.
When a Pathfinder camera detects movement within its field of vision, it can automatically display images of the scene which has been activitated onto a monitor.
However, Pathfinder is also the name of a special forces unit within the Parachute Regiment which has close links with the SAS.
The Para’s Pathfinder Platoon is a key surveillance and covert reconnaissance unit which specialises in the “location and marking of drop zones, tactical landing zones and helicopter landing sites”.
Despite the prevalence of helicopter activity in south Armagh, a British government source yesterday adamantly denied that the Pathfinder Platoon has ever been deployed in Ireland.
While the insignia of a sphinx is used prominently by the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, it also features as an integral part of the badges and colours of some other units of the British army.
Both the Parachute Regiment and the Blackwatch – which is currently stationed in South Armagh – have ‘Sphinx’ batteries attached to them. The Royal Artillery’s 4/73 (Sphinx) Special Observation Post Battery is also known to have been involved in staffing spy posts across the North.

Irelandclick

MLA for North Belfast, Gerry Kelly responds to Gearóid ó Cairealláin’s column in our last edition

In his column last week on the launch of the SDLP’s North-South‚ document, Gearóid Ó Cairealláin set down a challenge for Sinn Féin ‘to tell us what their vision for our future is’. Or rather, what practical measures we propose for all-Ireland development, and what are the concrete steps to be taken in order to achieve that scenario.
I’m only too glad to take Gearóid up on his request, to outline Sinn Féin’s All Ireland Agenda programme of work, to touch on the projects which make it up, and how all our activity fits into our vision of an Ireland of equals - the vision of the 1916 Proclamation.
Sinn Féin welcomed the SDLP proposals as part of a growing consensus on the development of an All Ireland agenda, from political parties, the Irish and British governments, and from industry, educationalists, healthcare workers and other sectors.
In February 2004, Sinn Féin published its 75 page proposals for ‘Expansion of All Ireland Institutions and Areas of Work’ after presenting them to the two governments as part of the review of the Good Friday Agreement.
The paper contained detailed proposals for:
1. Expanding the remits of the existing All-Ireland implementation bodies and areas of cooperation
2. Identification of new areas of cooperation and further implementation bodies
3. The establishment of the all Ireland institutions of the GFA - the All Ireland Parliamentary Forum and All Ireland Consultative Civic Forum
4. The initiation of a process to produce an All Ireland Human Rights Charter to underpin All Ireland governance, asserting comprehensive social economic, cultural and political rights.
With our 32 county wide representation, Sinn Féin are also using these proposals in a campaigning way, with our MLAs and TDs involved in meetings with groups and NGOs in each and every sector, outlining our ideas for All Ireland expansion, and working to create the demand for increased and structured cooperation.
But anyone who watched the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis live on RTÉ on Saturday will know that this is only one of the elements of our All Ireland Agenda project.
In February last year Gerry Adams launched our discussion document, ‘A Green Paper for Irish Unity’ to open up a campaign to urge the Irish government to table a green paper in Leinster House, to begin the practical planning and preparation for re-unification.
Sinn Féin’s document has been launched publicly in many parts across the 32 counties, from Ballinasloe to Lurgan, Portlaoise to Waterford, and distributed locally by our cumann activists. In Council chambers North and South, Sinn Féin councillors have tabled motions on this subject. In the last two weeks, both Omagh and Strabane Councils have passed this motion, and are now to officially write to An Taoiseach, urging him to move on this issue. In November our TDs in Leinster House sponsored a debate on our proposals, to make the other parties in the chamber tell the people where they stood on the aspiration to re-unification, to which they all at least pay lip service.
Sinn Féin councillors in the border corridor region are involved in the Cross Border Corridor Groups (CBCGs) which involve representatives from all the councils in that area coming together and working through the EU Interreg funding partnerships to promote, encourage and fund local projects which cut across the border.
Our councillors come together as the party’s AONTU (Unity) group, to coordinate their strategy on the CBCGs. One of our objectives is to promote and lobby for Integrated Area Plans for this region, to work to make the border irrelevant and invisible for those who live and work in this multi-deprived and isolated region.
Across the 32 counties, Sinn Féin’s councillors are now involved in implementing our Regional Campaigning strategy, where our elected representatives come together on a regional basis, identify the campaigns which are important and relevant to the people in their area.
And they work to both lead and empower local communities to agitate on these issues - whether in the south east, in Connacht, in greater Dublin or in the north-west region of Derry, Donegal and Tyrone.
We are also involved in constant lobbying around the refusal of the Irish government to move on the issue of the representation of Northern MPs in the Oireachtas, and Ógra Shinn Féin have organised an energetic campaign around ‘A President For All’ to enable all Irish citizens to be allowed to vote in Presidential elections
Sinn Féin are also continuing with an island-wide consultation on our “Rights For All Charter”, which was first launched in 2004. This discussion paper will open up the debate on the shape and form of the All Ireland Charter of Human Rights.
And over the past 18 months we have engaged with groups and NGOs, to listen to them and their views of what rights such a charter should contain.
We have met with anti-poverty groups, disability groups, women’s groups and a wide range of others.
The shape and form of the new Ireland is at the centre of Sinn Féin’s activity on our All Ireland Agenda project.
Our vision for the future is for a rights-based society, one which truly does ‘cherish all of the children of the nation equally’, as the Easter Proclamation of 1916 stated.
It’s fitting in this, the 90th anniversary of that historic rising, that modern-day republican activists are carrying on that vision, engaging with the people, right across Ireland, on the detail of the society we aspire to create.

Irelandclick

A war of words has broken out between two North Belfast MLA’s after a Sinn Féin representative accused the SDLP of joining with the DUP to “undermine the Good Friday Agreement.”
Gerry Kelly was speaking following the British and Irish governments’ confirmation that the SDLP and DUP had agreed to take part in round-table discussions without Sinn Féin. The talks process was criticised by the UUP and the republican party.
“In our discussions this afternoon [Tuesday] the two governments indicated that they wished to press ahead with a round-table meeting involving the DUP and the other parties but excluding Sinn Féin. We told the two governments in no uncertain terms that this approach was completely unacceptable and it was simply not an option to try and exclude the vast majority of nationalist opinion from such dialogue.
“It also became clear that the UUP were not on board for such an approach being adopted but that the SDLP and DUP had indeed signed on which saw the exclusion of the largest nationalist party from the round table.
“The SDLP now have serious questions to answer. It was the SDLP who complained bitterly that they were excluded by the two governments from playing a full role in the talks of late 2004 yet have now aligned themselves with Ian Paisley and the DUP in trying to exclude nationalist and republican opinion from these discussions.”
But North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness hit back at Sinn Féin saying the SDLP want to see everyone involved in round-table discussions.
“The SDLP is certainly committed to full and comprehensive negotiations amongst all the parties, including the DUP and Sinn Féin.
“Unlike Sinn Féin at Leeds Castle, who dealt exclusively with the DUP through intermediaries, we are committed to an inclusive talks process and seek agreement amongst all the parties including the DUP with whom Sinn Féin are very anxious to build a political accommodation to the exclusion of the SDLP.”

Journalist:: Evan Short

Irelandclick

Local community worker Joe Doherty has faced the widow and daughter of a paratrooper who died in the Narrow Water bombing.
The former IRA member met the two women and two former paratroopers as part of a BBC series called ‘Facing The Truth’ which brings opposing sides of the Troubles together to discuss the past.
The parties involved in the programme met in the presence of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The programme is due to be broadcast in March.
Joe Doherty was in prison when an IRA bomb killed 18 members of the Parachute regiment in Warrenpoint in 1979.
Joe Doherty was not involved in the Narrow Water bombing, but he was willing to talk to the family of Walter Beard, who died that day, as well as one soldier who was seriously injured in the attack and another soldier who was part of the rescue party.
Joe Doherty said that when he met up with the family and the soldiers they each gave their own accounts of what their experience had been through the conflict.
The BBC approached Joe Doherty to be in the series last year. He said he wanted to be sure the show would be balanced.
“If the show was going to be a success it needed to open up dialogue between former combatants and victims and it needed to include all the parties involved,” he said.
Joe said he got a chance to explain his life and background to those he was facing, saying it was important that actions were placed in context of the time.
“I explained that I had been involved in the republican movement from 1970, I have been interned without trial and have spent a total of 23 years in prison. I believe we were living in a quasi-apartheid state. Civil rights marches were banned and people were beaten off the streets. That was the foundation for discontent within the nationalist community”.
Joe is apprehensive about how the show will be received. “I worry about what will be left on the cutting room floor because the show is only an hour long”.
Bishop Tutu asked Joe whether he had regrets. “I said no, not in a political sense, it’s difficult to reflect back on that. Certainly you regret that almost 3,000 people died,” he said.
“I did not go to war, the war came to me. In pure moral terms, of course, people shouldn’t die. But you have to qualify that. It’s not the republicans or the loyalists on the ground who were responsible. It was the environment in which we all grew up”.
Joe said it was important to listen to the experiences of the woman whose husband died in Narrow Water. “She told about how the chaplain came to tell her that her husband had died and all the trauma that she went through,” he said.
Joe was asked about the day he found out about the bombing. “I was in Long Kesh at the time and I cheered it on. I told her that it had to be put in the context of the conflict. Each attack on the British army, we saw that as part of an objective to bring us towards negotiations. At that time we didn’t think about a chaplain telling a woman her husband was dead or that he had a family,” he admitted.
After the programme had been filmed Joe went out for lunch with the two women and the two soldiers. Joe, who’s presently working as a community development worker for the Parkside Community Association, listened to their stories and then talked over lunch about the work he does with young people.
The programme was a positive step, according to Joe, and he feels that “the next step would be a truth and reconciliation process in which all parties are involved”.

Journalist:: Staff Journalist

Daily Ireland

by Ciarán Barnes
24/02/2006

Relatives of those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings have criticised the Irish Justice minister for agreeing to meet with loyalists taking part in a march through the capital tomorrow.
Michael McDowell is to host a Love Ulster delegation that includes organiser Willie Frazer and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Jeffrey Donaldson.
The Justice for the Forgotten group, which campaigns on behalf of the 33 people who lost their lives in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan attacks, have criticised the get-together.
The organisation is unhappy that Mr Frazer will attend the meeting.
In 2003, the high-profile Co Armagh loyalist had his gun license revoked, and an application to carry a personal protection firearm turned down.
The PSNI refused the personal firearm application on the grounds that he was associating with individuals believed to have had contact with persons linked to paramilitary organisations.
Speaking to Daily Ireland on Wednesday, Mr Frazer said he could not guarantee that images of loyalist paramilitary, Robert McConnell, who took part in the Dublin bomb attack, would not be on display during the Love Ulster rally.
In light of these comments and the PSNI’s belief that Mr Frazer has associated with “persons linked to paramilitary organisations”, there have been calls for Mr McDowell to cancel his Love Ulster meeting.
Margaret Irwin, of Justice for the Forgotten, said: “Families of those who died in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings are angry with the minister.
“Mr McDowell should call off the meeting immediately. I can’t believe he has agreed to meet with Mr Frazer – a man with alleged paramilitary associations – after a rally that will involve loyalists with connections to the gangs who blew up Dublin and Monaghan.
“The Justice for the Forgotten families are really offended. It is bad enough having this parade through the centre of Dublin, but for our Justice Minister to then meet with the organisers is nothing more than a slap in the face.”
The Department of Justice said Mr McDowell was invited to meet the delegation from south Armagh Protestant victims’ group Families Acting for Innocent Relatives, by DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson.
A spokesperson added that the Minister was never asked to attend the rally or speak at it.
Around 1,000 loyalists, including members of the Orange Order, and six bands are to take part in the afternoon Love Ulster demonstration along O’Connell Street. Dissident republicans opposed to the march are to stage a counter-demonstration at Parnell’s monument.

Nenagh Guardian

O’Donoghue’s View

Our good president, Mary McAleese, has been making a few waves in recent times. And judging by the reaction of various media commentators and letter writers, it would seem that she has stirred up quite a few hornets’ nests. But then, the same woman was never averse to expressing her opinion when she felt it necessary, and like everyone else with an opinion she won’t please all the people all the time.

I for one couldn’t agree with the views she expressed recently in Saudi Arabia when she said that the Irish people “abhorred” the publication of the Danish cartoons lampooning the prophet Mohammed. She said this as if she was speaking for us all, but I think she got it wrong - totally. Very few Irish, with the exception of some native Muslims, some politically correct types and the overly sensitive, would have felt abhorrence at the cartoons. Most of us have seen this kind of thing many times before, and whether we like it or not we live with it and then it goes away and is deservedly forgotten. Anyway, it is obvious she tailored her speech to suit her audience and she wouldn’t be the first to do that.

A few weeks before, towards the end of January, Mrs McAleese made another speech which was much more relevant to the people of Ireland and much more important in terms of how we see ourselves as a nation and where we came from. On this occasion she was in UCC addressing a conference entitled The Long Revolution - the 1916 Rising in context. Given that this year is the 90th anniversary of the Rising and the fact that the Government are reinstating an Easter parade in commemoration of the event, and the fact that the historical conflict appears to be reaching its endgame, it is entirely appropriate that our president should take up the issue.

This speech has provoked quite a lot of reaction, which I will come back to, but for its direct engagement with the men and women involved and the ideals they aspired to, it was an address of the highest significance for all living on this island. I have read the text of the speech but for those who haven’t I will quote a few excerpts.

“We who are of this strong, independent and high-achieving Ireland would do well to ponder the extent to which today’s freedoms, values, ambitions and success rest on that perilous and militarily doomed undertaking of nine decades ago………”

President McAleese places particular emphasis on the Proclamation and in particular the following section: “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all of its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally…..“. The rights of women were enshrined in this document as being no different to the rights of men. These included the right to vote at a time when the British Government were battering the suffragettes off the streets.

Near the end of her speech Mrs McAleese brought the relevance of the Proclamation right up to the present day. “In the hearts of those who took part in the Rising, in what was then an undivided Ireland, was an unshakeable belief that whatever our personal, political or religious perspectives, there was huge potential for an Ireland in which loyalist, republican, unionist, nationalist, Catholic, Protestant, atheist, agnostic, pulled together to build a shared future , owned by one and all.“

Now it seems to me that the sentiments expressed here, whether those from the Proclamation or from the president herself, are entirely admirable and worth aspiring to. Unfortunately not everyone agrees. Since the speech was made, the opinion and letters pages of the newspapers have been crammed with all sorts of views of the speech itself and the events which it recalled. Many contributions have been very supportive of Mrs McAleese but a significant number have taken her to task.

She has been accused of glorifying violence, of being old fashioned, of giving succour to the Provos, of being immature. All of this, of course, is nonsense and it makes me wonder about some of the people we have living on this island. Why do some of us agonise over, and ultimately disown, those men and women who sacrificed life and liberty to give us what freedoms and nationhood we have today, at least in the twenty six counties? Sometimes I think there are some in this country who would prefer if the British were still here lording it over us.

And what about the political parties? Fianna Fáil, having abandoned our dead patriots back in the seventies are now attempting to wrap the green flag around themselves again. Fine Gael think they are the rightful heirs to the legacy of the Rising, but were quite content to go along with the others in discarding our acknowledgement of this strike for freedom. And get this, Labour now want us to include the British soldiers killed during the Rising in any commemoration. Yeah, I’m sure the defenders of Stalingrad, when remembering their heroic stand, will commemorate the masses of German troops who slaughtered tens of thousands of their fellow citizens.

As President McAleese said: “There is a tendency for powerful and pitiless elites to dismiss with damning labels those who oppose them.” This is as true now as it was in 1916. But while these elites and their lackeys in the media rant and rave, a few more words from our president on the brave souls of that Easter long ago: “Their deaths rise far above the clamour - their voices insistent still.”

Tom O’Donoghue

‘It makes me wonder about some of the people we have living on this island’

BBC ON THIS DAY

25 February1991

The “Birmingham Six” have always insisted they were innocent

After 17 years in prison, the Birmingham Six could be freed within weeks.

It follows an announcement by the Director of Public Prosecution, Alan Green, that their convictions can no longer be considered safe and satisfactory.

Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker were all jailed in 1975 for an IRA attack on two pubs in Birmingham in November 1974 in which 21 people died.

They have consistently maintained their innocence.

Speaking during a live radio broadcast by Irish broadcaster RTE, one of the six, Hugh Callaghan, spoke about his ordeal.

“It should have happened a long time ago. It has been known for years and years that we were innocent,” he said.

Today’s preliminary hearing was told both scientific and police evidence presented at the original trial could no longer be relied upon and that therefore the Crown’s case against the men had collapsed.

Their third appeal will be heard at the Court of Appeal on Monday, 4 March.

New evidence collected in the past year will be presented to the court, which will make the final decision on whether or not to release the men.

Family joy

Friends, family and supporters were overjoyed by the news.

The Irish government issued a statement saying it shared their relief and joy.

Gareth Pierce, the solicitor for five of the men, said the case was “a national disgrace” and called for the evidence to be made public.

Patsy Power, William Power’s wife, said: “It’s over and done but the system has to be altered so nothing like this happens again.”

Former Master of the Rolls Lord Denning, who rejected the men’s appeal in 1980, said he was saddened by the case.

“As I look back I am very sorry, because I always thought that our police were splendid and am very sorry that in this case it appears the contrary,” he said.

In Context

The Birmingham Six were released amid scenes of wild jubilation on 14 March 1991 after their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Their case - and that of the Guildford Four freed in 1989 - led to the creation of a Royal Commission on Criminal Justice which made various recommendations in 1993.

The six men have struggled to cope with freedom since their release. Several turned to drink and most of their marriages suffered as a result.

Their fight for what they consider adequate compensation for one of Britain’s most notorious miscarriages of justice continues.

Patrick Hill set up his own pressure group - Miscarriages of Justice Organisation - and in 2002 said there were up to 4,000 people wrongfully imprisoned in the UK.

In February 1999 Gareth Pierce, a lawyer for five of the six, handed back a CBE awarded to her at the New Years Honours list.

The real Birmingham pub bombers have not been prosecuted.

RTÉ

24 February 2006 22:32

Police in Northern Ireland are investigating a bank robbery in Belfast in which up to £200,000 was stolen.

Police were alerted to the robbery at Carlisle Circus at around 10am today.

It is understood that a family member of an employee at the Ulster Bank was held hostage during the raid.

At this stage police sources cannot confirm whether there had been any paramilitary involvement.

Sinn Féin

Published: 24 February, 2006

Commenting on the case of three Co Antrim Loyalists who were today jailed for pointing a rifle at motorists, and who had previously escaped sentencing, Sinn Féin MLA for North Antrim Phillip McGuigan has today said:

“The initial decision will no doubt reinforce the notion amongst many people that there is an inherent tolerance of violent loyalism and ambivalence towards their actions. It is only a few short months since the nationalist community of North Antrim came under an orchestrated and sustained attack from loyalist thugs in the area.” ENDS

Rolla Daily News

**Please see also The Wild Geese

J Lynn Haslag
Friday, February 24, 2006 8:09 AM CST

Author Jack Morgan will be signing copies of his new book entitled “Through American and Irish Wars: The Life and Times of General Thomas W. Sweeny” at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Feb. 25, at the Reader’s Corner, located at 819 N. Pine Street.

As the title suggests, the book is an historical biography about Thomas Sweeny, an Irish immigrant who played a major part in the opening of the Civil War in St. Louis and Missouri in 1861, and who led an Irish Republican army in an attempt to capture British territory in Canada after the war began.

“He attempted an invasion of Canada as a way of striking British territory where it was closest at hand,” Morgan said, “because to go in ships all the way to Ireland and take on British ships would have been impossible.”

Morgan’s book explains the plan, the attempt, and the reasons why it failed. It also covers Sweeny’s life and his adventures before and during the Civil War, including the journey of his command through Rolla to Springfield, Mo., before the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.

“A lot of the book has to do with the Battle of Wilson’s Creek,” Morgan said.

Though Sweeny was an important figure in Civil War Missouri, before Morgan’s book he was probably best known through the personal memorabilia of physician Tom Sweeney, who owned the General Sweeny Museum in Republic, Mo. until it was purchased last summer by the National Park Service. Located just north of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield visitor center, the General Sweeny Museum features an extensive collection of rare artifacts and exhibits of civil wars fought west of the Mississippi River.

Morgan has brought the stories of those artifacts together in Sweeny’s biography, the first to be written about the Irish General. Critics have praised Morgan for his contribution to Missouri history and Irish-American Civil War studies, and for putting the Fenian invasion in proper historical context.

Morgan said his interest in American history and Irish immigration provided much of the inspiration for his book.

“My parents were Irish immigrants,” Morgan said. “I was interested in American studies generally, and as an angle of that, immigration, particularly the history of Irish immigration.”

Originally from Hartford, Ct., Morgan has taught American Literature at the University of Missouri-Rolla for more than 30 years. He has previously written two other books, “The Irish Stories of Sarah Orne Jewett” which he co-edited, and “The Biology of Horror: Gothic Literature and Film,” which was published in 2003.

He has also written extensively for scholarly journals over the years, on subjects such as Irish Fenianism, the antagonism between the Catholic Church and Irish Nationalism, and the relationship of these topics to St. Louis.

Morgan plans to continue his work in the area of Irish immigration studies, and is currently working on his next book, entitled “The Fair in Irish Literature and Culture.”