SAOIRSE32

Daily Ireland

BY DAVID LYNCH
03/08/2006

Families of victims of the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings are hoping that a current investigation could lead to a full public inquiry.
Thirty-three people, including a pregnant woman, were killed when the bombs exploded on May 17, 1974
Senior counsel Patrick MacEntee is looking into the 1974 Garda investigation into the bombings.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last week published the fifth interim report from Mr MacEntee.
The taoiseach also agreed to a request from Mr MacEntee for an extension for the lawyer’s work.
Mr MacEntee’s final report is to be presented to the government on October 31.
Margaret Urwin, a spokeswoman for the Justice for the Forgotten group, told Daily Ireland: “We were kind of expecting that there would be a further extension called for.
“However, we thought it might be late September rather than October.
“But it is probably better that it was not published on 31 July because many politicians and families would be away at this time of the year.
“We are hoping that Mr MacEntee will call for a full public inquiry into the bombings. That is what we and the families have long campaigned for.
“His work is only into the Garda handling of the investigation into the bombings so, even if he uncovers everything, that is only part of the story of the 1974 bombings.
“His investigation will not look into collusion or what happened in the North.
“We have long believed that a full public inquiry is the only way at getting at all the facts.
“The UK government should be called on publicly and formally to co-operate with such an inquiry. And if they refuse, let the whole world see that they have refused publicly.”
Mr MacEntee’s investigation is focused on specific areas of the 1974 Garda investigation
Firstly his work will report on why the Garda investigation into the bombings was wound down in 1974.
He is also investigating why gardaí did not follow up on specific leads. Mr MacEntee is also looking into documents that went missing during the 1974 Garda investigation.
In his fifth interim report, Mr MacEntee wrote that he had “substantially completed” his investigation.
The final report was to have been presented to the taoiseach on Monday this week but Mr MacEntee said he needed more time to finalise his report.
“There are no proceedings concerning this statutory investigation pending before the High Court,” he wrote in his interim report.
“And no person has indicated to the commission an intention to commence legal proceedings concerning the inquiry or reporting work of this statutory investigation.”

Daily Ireland

**Must make the PSNI feel really big and important to do this to a small child when they can’t or won’t solve sectarian murders and attacks.

Girl was photgraphed, fingerprinted and had DNA swabs taken

By Connla Young
03/08/2006

An 11-year-old girl caught scribbling her name on a section of Derry’s walls was subjected to a terrifying ordeal by the PSNI, her father claimed yesterday.
The primary school girl was detained, along with two 14-year-old friends, by three carloads of heavily-armed PSNI officers on July 24, who took to her parent’s home. The parents were then instructed to take the young girl to Strand Road PSNI station last Sunday.
After being brought to the station by her mother Eileen, the youngster was put through a harrowing ordeal which included being forced to stand for a mug shot, having her finger and hand prints taken and being swabbed for DNA.
The Human Rights Commisison last night expressed concern about the incident.
The terrified youngster, who comes from the Creggan in Derry, was released back to the care of her mother who had earlier been told she would be arrested if she didn’t comply with the PSNI’s orders.
Last night the child’s father Patrick Millar said he is stunned at the treatment his daughter received at the hands of the PSNI.
“It is a shock to me that they can take a child away from her prams and dolls and terrorise it in such a way. The policeman said: ‘I don’t think she’ll be back here because we scared the life out of her.’ He’s right. They did scare the life out of her. They terrorised her and her mother. If someone was arrested for murder they would be treated exactly the same way my daughter was.
“I’m not making excuses for my daughter. What she did was wrong. She simply wrote her name on a wall that was already covered in graffiti. There was nothing political in what she wrote. We took her down to the police station for what we thought would be a slap on the wrists and then she was put through this ordeal. I haven’t been able to sleep right since it – and neither has she. She’s bottling it up and this has affected her.”
Mr Millar says he will be contacting the Police Ombudsman and has challenged Hugh Orde to explain the treatment his child received: “I want to find out from the chief constable if this is our new police force. It hasn’t changed in the last 30 years.
“This is a police force that wants my daughter to join them in 15 years’ time. But my daughter won’t be joining the police. She won’t be going out to terrorise ten and 11-year-olds in the same way she has been terrorised.”
Chief executive of the Human Rights Commisison, Paddy Sloan, said: “We are obviously concerned about the alleged circumstances involving the young 11-year-old child and we will be liasing with other relevant bodies about the matter.”
Derry-based solicitor Paddy McDermott, who is representing the Millar family, says he will contact the Police Ombudsman and the children’s commission later this week.
“I have never come across such a response to a young person in relation to such a trivial matter,” said the solicitor.
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: “We received a report on Monday, July 24 that graffiti was being painted on the city walls. Police went to the scene and spoke to three girls, who gave ages indicating they were in their mid-teens. The girls were taken home to their parents and arrangements were made to interview them at a later date.
The girl was a voluntary attender at Strand Road. As is routine, a photograph and DNA sample were taken – with the consent of her parents.”

BN.ie

03/08/2006 - 12:30:37

The “Black Diaries” of Roger Casement should be destroyed when they are eventually exposed as fakes, it was claimed today.

On the 90th anniversary of the revolutionary’s execution for treason in 1916, supporters called for Casement’s legacy to focus on his humanitarian work in Africa and South America rather than other controversies about his life.

The Black Diaries, which claim to detail Casement’s explicit homosexual urges, are currently kept in the Public Record Office outside London.

Jack Moylett, chairman of the Roger Casement Foundation said today: “I think they are horrible things and should be eventually destroyed when it is proven they are counterfeit.

“If they are to be exhibited, they should only be criminal exhibits.”

A two-month forensic analysis of the diaries in 2002, funded by RTE and the Taoiseach’s Department, found they were genuine examples of his handwriting.

However, the Foundation disputes these findings and is currently raising funds to carry out its own linguistic study of the documents using a Canadian computer software programme.

“We will be examining the words, phrases and style of expression, which we believe Casement would never have used at all,” said Mr Moylett.

The Diaries, which comprise two office diaries, an army field notebook, a pocket diary and a 1911 cash ledger, were used by the British to smear Casement at his trial for treason in 1916.

Mr Moylett said he would block any attempts to have the documents housed in an Irish museum.

The Roger Casement Foundation was formed in Dublin in 1995 and has up to 100 members. It also holds an annual one-day symposium on the revolutionary.

Mr Moylett has written a stage play about the revolutionary in which he plays Casement himself.

A distinguished British diplomat who served in the Congo and the Amazon basin, Casement tried to import arms for the Easter Rising but was arrested at Banna Strand Co Kerry after leaving a German submarine.

He was hanged for treason at Pentonville Prison outside London on August 3, 1916.

His body was repatriated in 1965 and he was given a state funeral and buried with full military honours in the Republican Plot in Glasnevin Cemetery.

President Eamon de Valera defied doctors’ advice to attend the ceremonies, along with 30,000 Irish citizens.

The Foundation will lay a wreath at Casement’s grave at Glasnevin Cemetery on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his death.

Sinn Féin will mark his anniversary with a march to his birthplace in Sandycove on Saturday.

BBC

A third man has appeared in court charged with murdering a Scottish man in County Derry at the weekend.

Ronald Mackie, 36, was from near Stirling in Scotland

Ronald Mackie, 36, was attacked by a gang outside a football club before being pushed onto the road, where he was then struck by a car on Saturday.

Paul Eric Cecil Johnston is the third person to be charged with his murder.

The 20-year-old accused, of Park View, Castledawson, County Derry, was remanded in custody until 22 August. He denied the charge, a detective said.

Derry Magistrates Court heard on Thursday that when the murder charge was put to him, he replied: “Not guilty.”

A defence solicitor said there was insufficient evidence to charge the defendant.

The detective inspector said he disagreed with the solicitor, who also said the police case “at its height” related to the statement of one witness.

Asked if forensic evidence was put to the accused, the police officer said investigations were continuing and results were not yet complete.

He agreed that the accused had given an account of his movements and that it was not the case that he had remained silent throughout police interviews.

The victim, from near Stirling in Scotland, was watching a band parade on Friday night before going to the club.

BBC

Sinn Fein’s Turlough Murphy has won the by-election in the Fews district of Newry and Mourne Council.

Mr Murphy polled 4,092 votes, defeating the victims campaigner, William Fraser, it was announced on Thursday.

Mr Fraser secured 1,427 votes. The turnout was 47%. The Fews area includes Newtownhamilton, Camlough, Bessbrook and Donaghmore.

The by-election followed the resignation of Sinn Fein councillor Breandan Lewis six weeks ago.

BBC

Loyalist and security sources have said they hope a potential feud within the UDA has been averted after a leading member of a breakaway faction left NI.

Riot police blocked the entrance to Westland Road

The police said they escorted a convoy of cars out of the Westland estate “as a number of people felt under threat”.

It is believed Alan McClean and his family travelled to Dublin to catch a flight out of the country.

It came after 300 Ulster Defence Association supporters gathered in the Oldpark area of north Belfast.

Tensions have been high following a weekend stand-off between the factions.

Alan McClean is widely believed to have taken over the leadership of the UDA in north Belfast after Ihab and Andre Shoukri were expelled from the organisation last month.

Mr McClean, his wife and two sons, a younger brother of the Shoukris and a small number of supporters left their homes at about 0400 BST on Thursday to catch a flight out of the country.

The PSNI said some of its officers were forced to draw their weapons in Ballysillan because of the serious situation.

Chief Superintendent Wesley Wilson said houses had been attacked in the Ballysillan and Tyndale areas earlier in the evening by crowds armed with cudgels and baseball bats.

“Our officers went into deal with that. At one stage our officers were between two mobs and actually had to draw weapons to protect themselves - luckily they didn’t have to discharge the weapons,” he said.

A large crowd gathered very quickly and officers were ordered to go to the Westland estate area, he said.

‘Gathering information’

The officer said loyalist representatives had met nationalist community leaders “and reassured them that there was no threat to nationalist residents”.

“There was a convoy of cars that left Westland Road area in the middle of the night and police did accompany them as far as the Westlink.

“This was to prevent any breach of the peace or attacks and was about preventing any loss of life.

“We realised they were people from the Westland Road area and wanted to leave the area and obviously felt under threat.

He said police were still gathering information about the occupants of the cars.

“If we can firm up on the intelligence, perhaps with this faction gone it might ease the situation - but I don’t know that as yet.”

A Sinn Fein spokeswoman said nationalist residents felt intimidated and some had left their homes in fear.

The loyalist protests follow the expulsion of leading north Belfast loyalists Ihab and Andre Shoukri.

Earlier this week, members of the UDA’s so-called ruling council held talks with representatives of the breakaway faction.

It followed a weekend stand-off between the rival factions and a public show of strength by the UDA leadership.

BBC

There will be no new digs to locate the graves of the so-called disappeared unless a panel of judges agrees, the government has said.

A series of searches have taken place to locate the bodies

An Independent Commission will have to rule there is a good prospect a body will be found, the British and Irish governments said on Thursday.

Nine “disappeared” were murdered by the IRA and secretly buried in the 1970s.

SAS Captain Robert Nairac, killed in 1977 after going undercover in south Armagh, is one of four other cases.

A confidential telephone and DNA tests will also be used in the searches.

DNA samples will be taken from the remaining relatives.

The governments’ decision came in response to a series of recommendations made by the Independent Commission on the Location of Victims Remains after work to find the bodies of the “disappeared” was undertaken by an independent forensic expert.

In the light of a number of unsuccesful excavations in recent years, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said it was important “not to raise unrealistic expectations”.

Jean McConville was abducted and murdered in 1972

The services of the forensic expert are being retained and DNA samples will be taken from the closest relatives of those victims whose bodies have yet to be recovered.

A new Post Office box number and a telephone line will be established to enable confidential information to be passed on.

The bodies of four of the “disappeared” - people abducted and murdered by the IRA - have been recovered. Five more have not been found.

So far, the remains of IRA victims Eamon Molloy, Brian McKinney, John McClory and Jean McConville have been recovered.

Among the others still missing are:

Seamus Wright from Belfast: A member of the IRA, he was accused of being a British Army agent and a member of the Military Reaction Force (MRF). He was interrogated and murdered by the IRA in 1972.

Kevin McKee from Belfast: An IRA member, he was alleged to have been an Army agent and member of the MRF. He was interrogated and murdered by the IRA in 1972.

Columba McVeigh, 17, from Donaghmore in County Tyrone: Abducted and murdered in 1975 by the IRA after allegedly confessing to being an army agent with instructions to infiltrate the IRA.

Brendan McGraw, 24, from Belfast: Allegedly confessed to being a British provocateur and MRF member in 1978.

Danny McIlhone, from Belfast: Said by the IRA to have admitted to stealing weapons in 1981

Last month, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said new levels of cooperation between the IRA, Sinn Fein and the Irish government should see the recovery of the remaining five bodies.

He also revealed that IRA members involved in the killings have visited burial sites with a forensics expert.

Other cases being investigated include those of Charles Armstrong and Gerard Evans, who disappeared from County Armagh, Seamus Ruddy who disappeared in France and whose disappearance has been attributed to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and Captain Nairac.

Gerry Adams urged the government to move speedily

Seamus McKendry, son-in-law of Mrs McConville, said the onus was on republicans to end the pain of other families whose loved ones’ bodies had not been recovered.

“In reality the only likelihood of ever retrieving another body is with the co-operation of Sinn Fein and the republican movement,” he said.

“Surely the government should be thinking about penalising them in some way and pushing them until they come clean with the information they have?”

Mr Adams urged the Irish government to move speedily to ensure that, where practical, digs took place.

“The suffering of these families has gone on too long. They have been victims of a grievous injustice done by Republicans,” he said.

“The IRA has acknowledged this and its engagement with the forensic expert, and the report he has now produced, is evidence of its determination to right this wrong.”

Patricia Lewsley, SDLP, said the announcement was “welcome but overdue”.

“Many families have been waiting over 30 years for the bodies of their loved ones,” Mrs Lewsley said.

“Bureaucracy must not leave them waiting longer. There also needs to be a renewed will to find the bodies.”