SAOIRSE32

Belfast Telegraph

By Lisa Smyth
January 29, 2007

Beyond the dark imposing structure of the Crumlin Road jail lies 150 years of history - including some of the most haunting episodes of Northern Ireland’s bloody past

The bleak stone structure opened in 1845 during the Famine and remained in use throughout the Troubles before officially closing in 1996.

When it opened, Crumlin Road jail with its radial wings and underground link to the courthouse was a model of Victorian excellence.

But little changed over the years and when it finally shuts its doors the primitive conditions under which prisoners were housed were widely held to be unacceptable.

Inmates complained bitterly of the squalor, in which the smell of urine and human excrement was overpowering and mice and cockroaches rife in the cells.

Speaking at the time the jail closed, one its most famous inmates, former UVF commander Gusty Spence, told the Belfast Telegraph of his joy at its demise.

He said: “I’ll dance on its grave. I always promised myself I would do that one day - and I will.

“Shutting it is not enough. I want it razed completely to the ground.”

During its lifetime as Northern Ireland’s best-known prison, 17 men were executed within the walls of the building between 1854 and 1961.

The last person to be executed at the jail was 26-year-old Newry man Robert McGladdery who was convicted of murdering Co Down girl Pearl Gamble.

She was killed after a dance at Newry Orange Hall in a case that caused sensation at the time.

Belfast Telegraph

By Lisa Smyth
January 29, 2007

This is an artist’s impression of the infamous Crumlin Road jail returned to its original appearance following a planned million pound facelift.

The graphic was released today as Social Development Minister David Hanson announced the massive cash investment as part of a major programme of repair and restoration to the jail.

In ensuring that the facade of the jail is restored to its original 1845 glory, extensive renovations will be carried out and the work is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.

The programme of repairs and restoration at the Grade A listed building will open up the front of the jail with removal of all extraneous security structures, restoration of the existing cast iron railings, repairs to damaged masonry, the use of appropriate lighting and a range of hard and soft landscaping.

The security walls and fencing that have obscured the frontage of the jail for a number of decades will be removed and the railings and main gates repaired and restored.

The use of sandstone and bespoke castings for the railings will help achieve a sympathetic restoration.

Commenting on the start of the works, Mr Hanson said: “This major programme of works at the jail should significantly enhance the physical appearance of the facade and help to transform the overall look of the frontage of what is a magnificent Grade A listed building.

“This investment will play an important role in increasing confidence within the community and business sector in the long term regeneration potential of this area.

“It is an exciting signal of the gathering momentum in the overall redevelopment of the jail and Girdwood site.”

Other repairs to the jail, including the removal of asbestos and a programme of weatherproofing and health and safety improvements to the wings of the jail, are progressing in tandem.

The total cost of the work is expected to be almost £1m and comes after Mr Hanson set up a local advisory panel to make recommendations to him on a masterplan.

Telegraph.co.uk

By Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor
21/01/2007

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry will not publish its report for another year, officials said yesterday.

Lord Saville is likely to take three years longer than originally expected to complete his report into the shootings by British troops in 1972, taking the inquiry into its second decade. He blames the “sheer volume of material”.

The inquiry heard oral evidence from 922 people and must consider written statements from about 1,500 more.
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The total cost is officially put at £172 million, of which more than £80 million was paid to lawyers. The longer it takes to complete the report, the more expensive it will be.

There are up to a dozen staff working with Lord Saville at a secure location in London as he types drafts on to his computer.

Jan 30 will be the 35th anniversary of the events in Londonderry that left 13 people dead and 14 injured on the streets of a British city after a civil rights march. Another man later died of his injuries.

The first inquiry, conducted by Lord Widgery, published its report within 11 weeks.

In January 1998, Tony Blair announced an “urgent” new inquiry and Lord Saville, a recently-appointed law lord with what looked like a promising career ahead of him in Britain’s highest court, agreed to take it on.

He finished taking evidence from all but a handful of witnesses in February 2004 and heard closing speeches in November of that year. He made it clear at the time that he planned to submit his report to the Government in the summer of 2005.

But the report is still being written and it is not likely to be ready before 2008.

A statement on his inquiry’s website says that “it is extremely difficult to predict how long the outstanding work will take”, while adding that Lord Saville and the two retired Commonwealth judges sitting with him “consider it most unlikely that they will complete the report before the end of 2007 at the earliest, and they may need a longer time even than that”.

The families of those who were killed on Bloody Sunday are understood to be content with the delay, anxious that Lord Saville should have all the time he needs to compile a definitive report.

Officials denied any suggestion that he was finding it difficult to cope with the volume of material, explaining that he was “very thorough” in sifting the evidence.

Lord Saville has rejected pleas from lawyers for the soldiers involved not to make a finding implying criminal conduct on behalf of an individual unless the allegation could be proved beyond reasonable doubt and to avoid any finding of serious misconduct falling short of criminality without evidence stronger than the mere balance of probabilities,

As the former soldiers continue to wait for a ruling on a chapter of their lives most of them will have closed many years ago, the only comfort for them was that Lord Saville promised not to entertain allegations that “have no sensible foundation at all”.

BBC ON THIS DAY

30 January 1972

Bogsiders say the troops opened fire on unarmed men

British troops have opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators in the Bogside district of Derry, killing 13 civilians.

Seventeen more people, including one woman, were injured by gunfire. Another woman was knocked down by a speeding car.

The army said two soldiers had been hurt and up to 60 people arrested.

“They just came in firing - there was no provocation whatsoever.”
Father Daly

It was by far the worst day of violence in this largely Roman Catholic city since the present crisis began in 1969.

Bogsiders said the troops opened fire on unarmed men - including one who had his arms up in surrender.

The trouble began as a civil rights procession, defying the Stormont ban on parades and marches, approached an Army barbed wire barricade.

The largely peaceful crowd of between 7,000 and 10,000 was marching in protest at the policy of internment without trial. Some of the younger demonstrators began shouting at the soldiers and chanting, “IRA, IRA”.

A few bottles, broken paving stones, chair legs and heavy pieces of iron grating were thrown at the troops manning the barrier.

Stewards appealed for calm - but more missiles were thrown and the area behind the barricade was quickly strewn with broken glass and other debris.

The 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, which had been standing by in case of trouble, sprang into action. Squads leapt over the barricades and chased the demonstrators.

The gates were opened and eight armoured vehicles went into the Bogside and the remaining demonstrators were quickly surrounded.

Army claims provocation

The army says it opened fire after being shot at first by two snipers in flats overlooking the street. It claims acid bombs were also thrown.

The gun battle lasted about 25 minutes.

Father Edward Daly, a Catholic priest, was caught on film helping to carry a teenager who had been fatally wounded, to safety.

He said: “They just came in firing. There was no provocation whatsoever.

“Most people had their backs to them when they opened fire.”

Major General Robert Ford, Commander, Land Forces Northern Ireland, who was in charge of the operation, insisted his troops had been fired on first.

In Context

A 14th man later died of injuries received during the demonstration.

An inquiry into what became known as Bloody Sunday headed by Lord Widgery in 1972 exonerated the Army. It said their firing had “bordered on the reckless” but said the troops had been fired upon first and some of their victims had been armed.

The results of the inquiry were rejected by the Catholic community who began a long campaign for a fresh investigation.

In 1998, Tony Blair’s government announced a new inquiry into Bloody Sunday.

The inquiry, headed by Lord Saville, spent two years taking witness statements. It ended in November 2004 and had cost about £150 million.

Lord Saville’s final report and conclusions are not expected to be made public until summer 2005.*

*Still waiting

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the tragedy called ‘Bloody Sunday’.

Click to view - photo from CAIN

**Please take some time to visit these sites. They are just a start. You will find many more links and resources listed within their pages:

>>CAIN - Key Events - Bloody Sunday

**I cannot say enough about this site for use as a resource on Bloody Sunday. It has so many links concerning the background history, chronology, information about the victims, maps, posters, murals, audio clips, sources for further research, photographs taken by eyewitnesses and a list of important websites available. Please be sure to visit >>CAIN

~~~~~~~~~

Remembering Bloody Sunday

>>Larkspirit

January 30, 1972

‘On January 30, 1972, soldiers from the British Army’s 1st Parachute Regiment opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilian demonstrators in the Bogside, Derry, Ireland, near the Rossville flats, killing 13 and wounding a number of others. One wounded man later died from illness attributed to that shooting’.

~~~~~~~~~~

>>The Bloody Sunday Inquiry Web Site

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>>Bloody Sunday Trust

truth - justice - reconciliation - healing

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>>Guardian - Bloody Sunday coverage

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>>BBC - Bloody Sunday Inquiry coverage

Click to view - Soldiers enter the Bogside

Click to view - Seventeen-year-old Michael Kelly lies on the ground after being shot. After this picture was taken 20-year-old Michael McDaid, partially visible in the top left, was also shot and killed.

Many different links to coverage of different aspects of the tragedy and the subsequent report and Inquiry. Includes archive articles, audio and visual resources.

~~~~~~~~~

Image from CAIN

BBC

Belfast loyalist Ihab Shoukri has been granted bail in the High Court.

Ihab Shoukri was granted bail in the High Court

He was ordered to live in England after a judge refused to consider intelligence documents supporting claims he is a leading paramilitary.

Mr Shoukri was previously refused bail three times on charges arising from a raid on a Tiger’s Bay bar last March.

In light of the on-going risks to his life, he was released on his own bail of £500 but ordered to live in England at an address approved by the police.

Prosecution counsel told the hearing in Belfast on Monday that he had intelligence documents which, he claimed, would prove Mr Shoukri was “not an ordinary paramilitary but a leading paramilitary”.

But a defence lawyer said the three page-document was not being presented as evidence in the Crown court against him and should, therefore, not be considered in the bail hearing.

Granting bail, Mr Justice Weatherup said that due to “the climate of today”, he would not accept the intelligence documents.

Mr Shoukri was also banned from associating with his co-accused “either directly or indirectly” and was told to obey a curfew and report to police on a daily basis.

Irish Times

29/01/2007 19:29

The centenary of a famous Belfast labour strike when Catholic and Protestant workers united briefly will be marked in Dublin tomorrow.

More than 5,000 dockers downed tools in the Belfast Lockout from May until September 1907 to win better pay and conditions from their employers.

Royal Irish Constabulary police later mutinied when they were forced to escort “scab” workers to the docks and British troops were called in to end the strike.

The strike was led by trade union crusader “Big Jim” Larkin who is now commemorated with statues in Belfast and Dublin.

Union leaders from Northern Ireland and the Republic will gather tomorrow at Larkin’s grave in Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery where they will lay a wreath to mark the Lockout’s centenary.

Larkin’s niece, Stella McConnon Larkin, is due to attend tomorrow’s commemoration.

Catholics and Protestants were just as divided by politics and religion in those days, but Larkin achieved a fragile unity for several months as Falls Road and Shankil Road came together, says political historian Eamon Phoenix.

“Larkin was a giant of a man and he used his charisma and oratorical skills to articulate grievances of the working classes. Sectarianism was sidelined and Home Rule dropped off the agenda for a short period in 1907,” he said.