SAOIRSE32

An Phoblacht

13 December 2007

Sinn Féin Policing Board member Martina Anderson has said that the recent death of a man in Canada from the use of TASERs provides further evidence of the lethal nature of these weapons.
Anderson said that since Sinn Féin joined the North’s Policing Board there had been much debate about TASERs and that it is vital that the Patten recommendations on a non-lethal alternative to Plastic Bullets and Firearms are delivered. She said Sinn Féin would work with the Policing Board and the PSNI to ensure that no lethal weapons are added to the armoury of the PSNI.
“Two weeks ago the lethal nature of TASERs was demonstrated, when a Polish man, who did not speak English, was killed at an airport in Canada by a TASER.
“Sinn Féin is opposed to the use of what is obviously a lethal weapon. We want to see a policing service that is fully compliant with international human rights standards and that can deal with public order without resorting to lethal force”, Anderson said.
“The recent death of a man in Canada demonstrates the lethal capability of TASERs. It is even more regrettable that Hugh Orde has chosen to ignore the view of the board in October.
“The Policing Board asked for a number of clear conditions to be met before Hugh Orde did anything. This position is also supported by the Equality Commission and a number of Human Rights organisations that have voiced opposition to the introduction of TASERs. We will be raising this issue with Hugh Orde at the Policing Board meeting this week”, she said.

An Phoblacht

BY LAURA FRIEL
13 December 2007

The decision of PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde to allow the North’s senior coroner access to the Stalker/Sampson report into the summary execution of six unarmed men in County Armagh in 1982 marks the latest breakthrough in the long running battle to secure a public forum to examine state killings in the North.
Over 88% of those killed by the state were from the nationalist community. The majority were civilians and a significant number were children. Almost all were unarmed or posed no threat at the time they were killed.
Over 90% of combatants killed by the state were republican compared to 10% loyalist. In the case of 90 killings, the perpetrators remain unidentified and the British Government denies involvement but the evidence suggests otherwise.
More than twice the number of people killed directly by the state have died at the hands of unionist paramilitaries, armed and controlled by state forces. In other words around half the fatalities in the conflict resulted from the actions of state and pro-state forces.
While around 15,000 republicans and nationalists have collectively served a total of over 100,000 years imprisonment, only four serving members of the British army have been jailed, serving a total of just over 15 years.
The disproportionately high number of nationalists killed by state and pro-state forces has been compounded by the disproportionately low number of those responsible being held accountable both in terms of investigation and prosecution.
This represents a massive justice deficit which relatives and campaign groups have been attempting to address for years. The figures also give lie to the notion most favoured by state propaganda that the British state was a neutral in the conflict rather than a key protagonist.
The inquest system in the North emerged as a site of struggle as all alternative avenues of accountability and address were systematically closed down.
But even coroners’ courts were not immune from British government interference. In 1985 an international lawyers inquiry into the shoot-to-kill scandal was held in Dublin headed by Kader Asmal, later a minister in post Apartheid South African.
The inquiry concluded that coroners’ courts in the North “lacked the capacity to carry out fully independent and impartial inquiries” where civilians had been shot dead by crown forces on duty.
The lawyers listed concerns including delays in holding inquests, often for political reasons, absence of material witnesses, the jury selection process (in the hands of the RUC) and restrictions which deprived juries from delivering a verdict.
Unlike inquest juries in England and Wales, jurors in the North of Ireland were restricted to delivering ‘findings’, reiterating basic facts relating to who the person was and the medical definition of how they died. With the introduction of ‘amendments’ by the British government in 1980, coroners’ courts were denied the ability to apportion blame with even the option to deliver an ‘open’ verdict denied.
In the event that someone was shot dead by British Crown forces, this bizarre restriction left the inquest unable to comment on the use of lethal force and could only deliver the ‘finding’ that the deceased died of gunshot wounds.
“We felt bound to conclude,” said the international lawyers’ inquiry, “that the recent amendments to the coroners’ rules have been designed to protect members of the security forces from all public criticism.”
Amnesty International reiterated the Dublin inquiry’s concern. “The procedures used to investigate disputed killings in Northern Ireland are ineffective in establishing all the facts and in making them public. In some cases evidence has shown that police investigations may have been deliberately superficial in order to protect security force personnel,” said Amnesty.
“Particular restrictions on coroners’ inquests which are applicable only in Northern Ireland made such an inquest an inadequate mechanism to bring out the full facts in cases of disputed killings,” said Amnesty.
Other practices also curtailed the ability of relatives and their legal teams to impact on proceedings. Families’ lawyers were not allowed prior scrutiny of evidence restricting their ability to respond to what was often dubious scientific practice.
There was no opportunity to cross examine key witnesses. Those responsible for the killing could not be compelled to attend the court and their evidence was presented as a prewritten statement read out by someone else. The denial of legal aid and the difficulty of obtaining independent forensic evidence made it even more difficult for families to challenge official versions of state killings.
But they did. Relatives and their legal teams asked questions and raised issues that the inquest system was never intended to answer. They challenged the constraints imposed by state and exposed investigative incompetence and cover up. Sometimes the families prevailed; many times they were frustrated but the campaign for truth and justice continued.
In April 2000 the families of Gervaise McKerr, Pearse Jordan killed by the RUC, Patrick Shanaghan by loyalists colluding with state forces and those killed by the SAS in Loughgall brought their cases to the European Court of Human Rights.
The British had already bowed to the inevitable and after refusing for years, signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights. A few months later the Strasburg court found the British Government guilty of violating human rights in all 12 cases brought against them. The rulings related not to the killings themselves but to the inadequacy of subsequent investigations and public scrutiny mechanisms such as the inquest.
This placed the North’s inquest system at the coalface of international human rights scrutiny. By 2004 senior coroner John Leckey was writing a submission, Inquests and Human Rights in Northern Ireland as part of a public consultation process in relation to the “modernising” the coroners service.
Leckey was frank:
“My coronial experience in relation to holding inquests into troubles related deaths was not a happy one.
“Many deaths occurred in controversial circumstances, particularly where the death resulted from direct intervention by the security forces, and the subsequent inquests were often contentious. The adequacy of a coroner’s inquest as the means of investigating such deaths was called into question and from the mid 1980s this led to an exponential growth in legal challenges.”
But after “many decades of stagnation” said Leckey, “the coronial landscape now is very different to what it was twenty years ago.” And the “key reason” was the Human Rights Act.
“The coronial landscape was forever changed. Within a few years of it coming into force it became noticeable to me how the human rights ‘language’ was being used routinely by bereaved families whether in court or in correspondence. I was impressed by the grasp so many non-lawyers had acquired of the important human rights concepts and of their impact on the investigation of deaths through the medium of a coroner’s inquest,” said Leckey.
Of course, as clearly illustrated by yet another adjournment of the inquest into the killing of Pearse Jordan took place this week, the struggle is far from over. But there’s a small justice in the fact that some of the cases that the British have tried the hardest to suppress are those currently scheduled to be revisited, now under more favourable conditions for the victims.
“We’ve been left in limbo again,” said Pearse’s father Hugh Jordan commenting on the adjournment of his son’s inquest. “I am not really surprised that the inquest has been adjourned again. This seems to be the way it operates,” said Jordan.

An Phoblacht

13 December 2007

ATTEMPTS to airbrush the issue of collusion out of the murders of members of the Miami Showband 32 years ago is unacceptable and will fail, Sinn Féin Newry/Armagh MLA Mickey Brady has said.

The infamous Miami Showband massacre took place on 31 July 1975, near Newry, while the band was travelling home to Dublin after a gig in Banbridge, County Down. Their tour bus was stopped at a roadblock, flagged down by men who were not only serving soldiers in the British Army’s Ulster Defence Regiment but active members of a unionist death squad, the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Photo: The new memorial to murdered Miami Showband members Tony Geraghty, Fran O’Toole and Brian McCoy

Speaking on Monday as a memorial to murdered Miami Showband members Tony Geraghty, Fran O’Toole and Brian McCoy in Dublin, Mickey Brady said that attempts by sections of the media to airbrush the involvement of serving members of the UDR and RUC out of what happened that day is unacceptable and a disservice to the victims.
“The facts are well documented and therefore there is no excuse for the media to present these murders as simply another sectarian attack by the UVF. It has long been accepted that this was an ambush set up and carried out by serving members of the UDR and RUC in an attempt to further inflame sectarian tensions in the North. No amount of revisionism will be able to change these facts and it should be treated by all seeking truth and justice with the contempt it deserves.”

Belfast Telegraph

Tuesday 11, December 2007

Vulnerable young people suffered vicious sexual and physical abuse at a residential facility for the disabled over three decades, it emerged tonight.

A damming report outlined harrowing allegations of assault, with 21 residents claiming they were raped and beaten.

One terrified youngster said he escaped from his sex offender every night by climbing out a window, while another tied a bed sheet tightly around him.

The children and teenagers, who are current and former clients of the Brothers of Charity services in Galway, said they were assaulted by 18 people - including 11 Brothers, four lay members of staff, and three past service users.

“Some of the abuse was very vicious in the sense that it ranged from what might be called minor assaults to very serious sexual assaults with force involved, basically rape,'’ said report author Dr Kevin McCoy.

Even though two of the accused have been convicted, the report apportioned no blame in respect of any of the allegations.

Eight others accused have died and the remainder are no longer involved in the provision of services to vulnerable clients with the religious order.

The report said the majority of the allegations have been denied by the accused, but tonight the Brothers of Charity apologised to those who were abused.

The inquiry studied claims that residents at the Holy Family School, the associated Woodlands Residential Centre, and the Kilcornan Residential Centre were assaulted between 1965 and 1998.

Clients claimed that as teenagers they were sexually abused - some on a weekly basis for about one year - adding they later suffered depression, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism, and recurring nightmares.

Residents also complained of buildings being cold, no privacy, communal showers, no-one to turn to, poor education, Brothers opening personal letters, and children punished in the classroom if they couldn’t answer a question.

Dr McCoy made no findings as to the veracity of the allegations, but reported overcrowding and insufficient staff levels at the facility the 1970s.

In total 27 allegations of sexual abuse were made against 16 individuals, and six allegations of physical abuse against three.

The majority said they did not report the alleged abuse at the time as they felt there was no one who would listen.

:::u.tv:::

12 December 2007

German authorities who wanted to try a woman for a 1996 IRA attack in the country will not appeal against a ruling that she should not be extradited.

Last month, Roisin McAliskey, 35, from Co Tyrone, was told by Belfast High Court that she was free from the threat of legal proceedings over the alleged attempted murder of British soldiers at an Army base at Osnabruck.

She was arrested at her home in Coalisland last May. A previous extradition order was set aside seven years ago on medical grounds.

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Court Service said: “The German authorities have notified the court that they will not be lodging an appeal against the order made by the Recorder of Belfast, Judge Burgess, on November 23, 2007, that Roisin McAliskey should not be extradited.”

Her lawyers have argued that to extradite her would be an abuse of process as the previous application failed.

Judge Burgess refused the application by the German authorities last month, adding it “would be oppressive because of the passage of time”.

The judge determined that Ms McAliskey believed the threat of extradition was behind her from the time in 1998 when then Home Secretary Jack Straw announced in the House of Commons that he was refusing to extradite her on medical grounds.

The judge said this was confirmed in Ms McAliskey`s mind by a statement made in the House of Commons in 2000 by Attorney General Lord Williams that there were no grounds for instituting proceedings against her in the UK.

The Insider: The Belfast Prison Diaries of Eamonn Boyce, 1956-1962
Edited by Anna Bryson
Lilliput Press
Price €40

Reviewed by Shane MacThomáis
An Phoblacht
13 December, 2007

AT HOME on my shelf I have a little box in which I keep small artefacts of republican history. In it lies, amongst other things, the belt worn by Joe Clarke in Mount Street in 1916, a purse woven by the Countess Markievicz in Kilmainham Jail in 1923, handkerchiefs made by Rita O’Hare and Rose Dugdale in Limerick Jail in 1973, and an old wallet beautifully crafted and inscribed “P Kearney, Crumlin Road, 1957.”
For many years I looked at the wallet and wondered who P Kearney was, what he had done to end up in Crumlin Road, and what had become of him. Now, thanks to a wonderful new book called The Insider: The Belfast Prison Diaries of Eamonn Boyce, 1956-1962 (edited by Anna Bryson) my questions have finally been answered.
Eamonn Boyce was born in Dublin in 1925. He joined the IRA in 1952 when the Dublin Brigade numbered just 22 Volunteers. When that generation of dedicated republicans was called to arms, Eamonn and his fellow Dubliners, although few in number, were not found wanting. Eamonn was a key figure in the successful raid on Gough Barracks in 1954 which gained international attention and a handsome cache of arms for the IRA.
An attempted repeat of the Gough raid backfired at Omagh, in County Tyrone, in October 1954, and eight IRA Volunteers were caught and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for “treason felony”. Amongst them was the then Intelligence Officer for the Dublin Brigade, Eamonn Boyce, sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
On arrival at Crumlin Road Prison, Eamonn was told that one of a rules of the prison forbade the keeping of a diary so he did what any IRA man would have done – he started one immediately. He maintained “act of defiance”, as he called it, from December 1956 to September 1962. Against the odds, the manuscript has survived and has been painstakingly translated from the old Irish script or cló Gaelic that Eamonn wrote into English by the historian Anna Bryson and Eamonn himself.
The Insider is an essential book for anyone who has an interest in the 1950s campaign or how one man deals with the daily monotony of imprisonment. It is truly an insider’s perspective on the unfolding IRA campaign gleaned from newly-arrived prisoners, secret correspondence with the IRA and the latest news reports on a smuggled and cleverly hidden transistor radio.
Within the bleak confines of Crumlin Road Prison, Eamonn sets down hopes, dreams and fears. The diary became an indispensable tool to keep human dignity alive.
Anna Bryson sets the tone for the book by giving an insightful and honest account of the period leading up to and covering the 1950s campaign and has diligently sourced and footnoted all the people mentioned by Eamonn in his diary. As you read the book you find out who was ‘Max’ and how he was planning an escape.
You also come across many names of men forgotten about by history who played a part in the 1950s campaign, including a current Labour MEP lifted in the Dublin Mountains while arms training! This book has its moments of fun – as when a good game of football is played – and its moments of tragedy as when Eamonn recounts that “he has the bonk [depression] today” or when his spirit of rebellion is slowly dwindling as the armed campaign taking place outside the prison walls slowly starts to unravel.
Well, thanks to this gem of a book I found out who P Kearney was (a CIE worker who was arrested on the Omagh raid and sentenced alongside Eamonn) and many other facts that I didn’t know, including the news that my own father went around in a wig and glasses to evade arrest. It was something I thought curious until I realised this wasn’t the bearded and bespectacled man I grew up with but a clean faced youth in his 20s.
The Insider is a worthy book, a celebration of the courage and defiance of Eamonn Boyce, an historical archive of who’s who in the 1950s campaign and a testament to those who sacrificed their freedom and sometimes their lives in the pursuit of a united Ireland.

sinnfein.ie
Published: 13 December, 2007

Speaking in Dublin this afternoon Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MLA has called on everyone on this island who will have a vote to come out and oppose the Lisbon Treaty.

Mr Adams said:

“Today Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will join EU heads of state in Lisbon to sign the Lisbon Treaty.

“Over the coming months Sinn Féin will be the only significant political party campaigning throughout the island against the Lisbon Treaty referendum.

“I believe that we will be standing with the majority of people on this island who share Sinn Féin’s concerns about the direction of the EU and the power of the larger states.

“Ireland’s place is within the European Union. Many benefits have come to Ireland as a result of our membership but moves towards greater integration are certainly not in this country’s interest.

“The Lisbon Treaty involves the most substantial transfer of powers from member states to the European Council and Commission in the history of the union.

“The influence of smaller states will be reduced as the dominance of the larger states is consolidated. It significantly accelerates the militarization of the EU, and advances an economic agenda based on a race to the bottom for wages and workers rights.

“Today, I want to call on everyone on this island who will have a vote to come out and oppose this Treaty.

“I make a particular appeal to supporters of the Labour Party and the Green Party to join with us in the coming months in opposing this treaty.”

Derry Journal
13 Dec 2007

A Sinn Féin MLA has hit out at a republican splinter group which has threatened to kill members of the party for its support of District Policing Partnerships.

The self-styled Irish Republican Liberation Army has ordered Sinn Fein’s DPP members to remove themselves from DPPs in the North before Christmas or face being targeted.

Foyle assemblyman, Raymond McCartney slammed those behind the threats for their “cowardice”, adding that Sinn Fein would “not bow” to the threat.

“These so-called republicans have nothing constructive to offer the republican struggle,” he said.

“These threats, like those in the past from the British S
tate and their Loyalist surrogates, will not undermine the commitment of republicans to Irish Unity and a just and lasting peace.”

The IRLA, which is believed to be made up of former IRA and INLA members, made its threat during a display of weapons held at a secret location in west Belfast. Members brandished handguns and an AK47 assault rifle.

Sinn Fein in Strabane was unable to nominate councillors to two of the five seats allocated to them on the area’s District Policing Partnership body last week.

Meanwhile, Mr. McCartney has castigated those behind the recent attacks on a Belfast republican which were believed to be carried out by the Real IRA.

“The recent targeting of Briege Meehan in Belfast by people who claim to be republicans is a disgrace. She has only just lost her husband and between the two of them they have given a lifetime of commitment to republicanism.”

BBC
12 December 2007

Prisoners from rival paramilitary factions should not be housed in separate wings, a group of MPs says.

MPs said existing facilities at Magilligan were inadequate

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee acknowledged that a certain degree of controlled movement was still needed.

However, it said the current regime was hampering education and recreation opportunities for some prisoners.

The committee also said the government must take immediate action to improve prison buildings. An announcement on a new £200m jail is expected next week.

It is believed that it will be located at Magilligan, near Coleraine - a move endorsed by the committee, which said rebuilding on the site would “capitalise on the accumulated experience and many areas of good practice there”.

It said existing prison buildings at Magilligan were inadequate and must be replaced.

Women’s prison

The committee also said a prison solely for women was needed, adding that “further investment in short-term solutions at the shared Hydebank Wood site is not an adequate response to this issue”.

Welcoming the report, Prisons Minister Paul Goggins said a review of services for female offenders was already underway with a report due next summer.

“I thank the committee sincerely for their efforts in producing this report - I will give it due consideration and make a full response within the next two months,” he said.

The committee said existing prison buildings at Magilligan were inadequate and must be replaced.

It recommended rebuilding on the Magilligan site “in order to capitalise on the accumulated experience and many areas of good practice there”.

It said people in jail for defaulting on fines “represent a disproportionate demand on scarce resources” - the committee said it was “astounded” that 59% of people who enter prison in Northern Ireland are fine defaulters, compared to just over 2% in England and Wales.

In 2006, fine defaulters spent on average six days in prison, and the report found that at any time, they make up as much as 3% of the jail population.

It is proposed that a non-custodial sentence should be introduced for this offence, although some prisoners told the MPs they preferred a short stay in jail as it wiped out their debts.

The committee also made a number of additional recommendations:

–It welcomed the transfer of responsibility for prison healthcare to the health service, and urged the government and MLAs to ensure this process is completed soon;
–The high proportion of remand prisoners “represents another unjustifiable burden”, it said, and called for a review of why the criminal justice process is so slow in Northern Ireland;
–Early implementation of the security reclassification is essential and must underpin the Prison Service’s estate strategy in order to meet the needs of the future jail population, it said;
–According to the committee, large numbers of prisoners with personality disorders and the lack of a high-security hospital facility in Northern Ireland create further strains for the Prison Service.

BBC

A pipe bomb has been found at a GAA ground in County Down. It was discovered during an overnight alert at the ground on the Ballela Road outside Banbridge.

A pipe bomb was found at the ground on the Ballela Road

Police have described the device as “viable” and it has now been removed by the Army.

The alert began at about 2100 GMT on Wednesday after a telephone warning. A male caller said a device had been left at the ground.

SDLP assembly member Dolores Kelly said the incident was despicable.

“Children and young people often go to the playing field for a kick around or a puck, and could have very easily come across this device with disastrous consequences.

“The entire community will strongly condemn this incident, and those responsible must desist in this type of threatening attack on a community facility,” she said.

Police have appealed for anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area on Wednesday evening to contact them.

Irish Times
13/12/2007

The Government must protect the rights of Irish speakers in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said today.

Mr Adams met Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuív in Dublin to push for an Irish Language Act in the Stormont Assembly.

In October, Northern Ireland Culture Minister Edwin Poots of the DUP ruled out introducing an Irish Language Act because he claimed it would prove too divisive and costly.

But Mr Adams said today: “Sinn Féin feels very strongly that the Irish Government has a responsibility to ensure that Irish speakers have their rights protected.

“It’s my very firm opinion that there will be an Irish Language Act. I note that when Minister Poots ruled out an Act he said ‘at this time’ so he himself hasn’t ruled it out. He hasn’t closed the door on the Act.”

Mr Adams said he asked Mr O’Cuiv to raise the issue with the British government, and that he had held meetings with Mr Poots and First Minister Rev Ian Paisley on the issue.

Mr O Cuiv said that the Irish Language Act is enshrined in the Belfast Agreement and the St Andrew’s Agreement, and the Irish Government was keen that all the commitments entered into in the pacts are honoured.

Sinn Féin’s Francie Brolly, who also attended today’s meeting, said a decision by Aer Lingus to drop its Irish language greeting on Belfast flights was “political correctness gone mad”.

rte.ie
Wednesday, 12 December 2007 20:56

The case against leading Republican Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy is to be delayed by one week after a large amount of new documentation was uncovered.

The 58-year-old farmer and businessman is facing eight charges under the Taxes Consolidation Act of failing to make full tax returns.

In Dundalk District Court today, a solicitor for the DPP said it was seeking an additional week to prepare the Book of Evidence against Mr Murphy.

Thomas Murphy, facing charges on tax returns

He said that since the case first came before the court, a large amount of documentation has been found which had to be considered.

He also cited the complexity of the case and what he described as various other reasons why the State was seeking this extra week.

Thomas Murphy’s solicitor, Paul Tiernan, said he had also received a large amount of documents in the court from the State as part of its disclosure to the defence.

Mr Tiernan told Judge Flann Brennan that they had been led to believe the Book of Evidence would have been ready today.

He also sought to have one of Mr Murphy’s bail conditions changed. At present Mr Murphy has to sign on daily at a garda station but Mr Tiernan said his client often had to wait 30 minutes or longer for this.

Mr Murphy had signed substantial sureties as part of his bail conditions and, Mr Tiernan added, the case would not be proceeding until the Circuit Court in April at the very earliest.

He sought to vary the signing on conditions to once a week. Gardaí, however, objected to the change in bail conditions.

Judge Brennan remanded Mr Murphy on continuing bail to appear before the court again next week.

It is expected the Book of Evidence will be finished by that stage.

The judge also declined to vary the terms of Mr Murphy’s bail but said he would consider doing so next week.

By Chris Thornton
Belfast Telegraph
Thursday 13, December 2007

A High Court judge has become involved in a 13-year battle over secret inquest evidence about the sectarian murder of a pensioner which was witnessed by a hidden Army patrol.

For what could be the first inquest in Northern Ireland overseen by a High Court judge, Mr Justice Weir has told the PSNI to deliver him a full, unedited set of papers about the 1994 murder of Roseanne Mallon.

Soldiers a few hundred yards away heard the murder attack but were ordered ” not to react”.

The judge indicated that the secret papers should be delivered to him, instead of being reviewed in a secure PSNI location. The previous coroner hearing the case had been required to view the material in a PSNI station and was not allowed to take notes.

But in papers submitted to the High Court, the PSNI appears to be wrangling about letting go of the secret material - saying they would require his staff and premises to “undergo stringent security assessment”.

A High Court hearing on the case and another delayed inquest is due to take place tomorrow.

Mr Justice Weir’s demand for the documents represents a major escalation in the 13-year fight for an inquest into the murder, which has been hampered by police refusal to hand over documents.

Miss Mallon (76) was shot by UVF gunmen at her sister-in-law’s home outside Dungannon on May 8, 1994.

Two months later, a hidden Army camera - believed to be monitoring republican suspects - was found aimed at the scene of the crime.

Police said it did not record the murder because it could not operate at night. But the Belfast Telegraph later revealed that a hidden Army patrol was dug in to look after the camera and they had reported the attack.

But they were ordered “not to react” by their base. It also emerged that senior police officers decided not to tell detectives investigating the murder that soldiers were witnesses or about the secret camera - even though the killers are believed to have scouted the scene when the camera was operating.

After two years of preliminary hearings, Miss Mallon’s inquest stalled in 2004 over the secret material.

Martin Mallon, a nephew of the murdered woman, said he has concerns about police releasing material.

“They’re making a stand about protecting their sources. We’re not talking about IRA personnel being killed here, we’re referring to a woman, a 76-year-old pensioner, being shot down. There would need to be some sort of explanation about what they’re talking about when they’re mentioning sources. ”

Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent
Thursday December 13, 2007
Guardian

Police officers in Belfast have been forced back into their flak jackets because of an increased threat from dissident republicans.

Officers on duty in Greater Belfast have been told to put the body armour back on because several have been targeted over the last few weeks, according to Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) sources.

The move is a setback for the programme to demilitarise policing. Until the recent upsurge in dissident republican activity, officers patrolled Belfast without flak jackets and travelled in cars without armour. Two officers were shot in Derry and Dungannon last month. The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the attempted murders, in which the officers were lightly wounded.

A PSNI spokesman refused to discuss in detail new security arrangements after the shootings: “We keep our security response under constant review and it would not be appropriate to go into details on any measures we take.” Security sources said there had been three separate threats against officers in Belfast over the last fortnight. They said the Real IRA had switched its attention towards Belfast after the shootings in Dungannon and Derry.

The attacks were carried out to coincide with the handing over of intelligence gathering against dissidents from the PSNI special branch to MI5.

The security services in Northern Ireland operate from a new £20m hi-tech building inside Palace barracks in Holywood.

A security source said: “There is strong intelligence that the dissidents are planning some kind of attack. Police officers on the ground have been told to be extra vigilant as we approach Christmas. We are working flat out between Belfast and the country to keep a lid on these guys.”

The dissident groups have been responsible for a series of bomb hoaxes at Belfast shopping centres over the last fortnight. A bomb alert yesterday between Portadown and Moira partially closed the Belfast to Dublin rail link.

Targeting police officers is part of the dissidents’ campaign against Sinn Féin, which at the start of this year formally offered its support to the reformed policing structures in Northern Ireland. The attacks are also aimed at dissuading Catholics from joining the PSNI. Most of the officers who have recently been told their movements were being watched are Catholics, security sources added.

The government is planning to devolve the control of policing and justice in Northern Ireland to the power-sharing executive.

However, the Democratic Unionist party has said that these powers cannot be devolved until the entire structure of the Provisional IRA is dismantled, including its ruling body, the army council.

BBC

A County Antrim pigeon who received a medal for his war-time bravery is being remembered at a special ceremony in England.

Paddy the pigeon from Carnlough was a war hero

Paddy the pigeon was bred in Moyleen, Carnlough.

He was decorated for being the first bird to fly back with news of the D-Day landings in Normandy in World War II.

Paddy is one of 62 animals who received the PSDA Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, for bravery in the war.

Like many homing pigeons, he was “volunteered” by his owners in response to an appeal by the government to support the war effort.

As radio signals could compromise operations, carrier pigeons were used to ferry important messages back to Britain. The pigeons formed the National Pigeon Service.

Paddy even had his own number - NPS.43.9451.

Paddy received a bravery medal

The Germans rumbled the importance of the winged courier service and stationed a flight of hawks at Calais to intercept the Allied pigeons.

Paddy, however, wasn’t only a brave pigeon, he was also incredibly quick.

He received the PDSA Dickin Medal on 1 September 1944 for recording the quickest time to return with information from the D-Day landings at Normandy on 6 June that year while he was serving with the RAF.

Dogs, horses, pigeons and a cat received medals because they helped save thousands of lives in the war.

They are buried at the PDSA animal cemetery in Redbridge, Ilford and all are being remembered at a special ceremony.

Veteran military personnel who served with the animals will stage a march past and a bugler will sound the Last Post.

A fly-past by pigeons will commemorate the 32 birds who were honoured for their bravery.

Actress Jenny Seagrove is to formally reopen the cemetery. Restoration work was carried out over the past year with the help of a £50,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Millions.

Paddy’s medal was sold to a pigeon fancier for almost £7,000 at an auction in Dublin in September 1999.

Belfast Telegraph

Wednesday 12, December 2007

I’ve suffered from depression since I was around 13, but I didn’t go to see the doctor about it until I was 21. When I was at school the general attitude from older people was that I was too young to be depressed. Kids my age weren’t supposed to know about things like that.

I didn’t feel comfortable talking to anyone about it and I thought that no one understood me. I didn’t want to burden anyone with my problems.

My depression was on and off, I had good days and bad days. I went to St Rose’s Girls High School and I was cheeky and disruptive in class. I was always late and I ended up failing all of my GCSEs. I went on to complete an NVQ Level 1 in cooking, but after that I became my mum Tilly’s carer. She’d been sick with depression since she was a wee girl. She was very bad with it.

Depression’s not something that you can brush under the carpet. It’s a big problem here and I don’t think the public realise that.

Mum lost her parents when she was young - her mum died when she was nine and her dad when she was 15. She’d been in and out of hospital all of her life. She eventually took her life two years ago.

I’m not angry with her for doing it. I think she missed her mummy and daddy, and wanted to be with them again. There’s nothing worse than feeling that you’re alone in the world.

Jo Murphy, a co-ordinator from the PIPS project (Public Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide and Self Harm), visited the house at the time and left a bereavement pack with information, support and advice.

They do such an important job right throughout the whole community and I decided that I wanted to help them in whatever way I could. I’m now a volunteer, giving talks on suicide prevention. But PIPS also was a great help to me. Jo took me down to the doctors to get treated for my depression.

It was good to have people that I could go to if I wanted to talk things through and I found myself starting to open up a bit more. I finally felt like people were starting to understand me a bit better.

But my head was all messed up after my mum died. All it takes is a bad day …

I overdosed on anti-depressants a few months after I lost my mum. I took 14 and if I’d been able to get anymore I would have taken them, too. After I took them I went for a walk. I don’t know why. I think I wanted to see my friends one last time to say goodbye. I went down to PIPS and the admin worker knew there was something not right. She contacted the doctor at the Mater Hospital and I was admitted to the psychiatric ward for nine days for monitoring. Back then, I didn’t regret what I had done but now that I’m older, I realised I caused a lot of hurt to those around me.

I live by myself now, but I have two older brothers who work in England and a younger brother who lives in Belfast.

At this moment in time, I would never want to put anyone through suicide, but when I get sick I start to think the world is such a cruel place. The mind is a tricky thing - you can be feeling fine one minute and looking to the future. I could be talking about wanting to get more training within PIPS.

Then the next day, things might not look so good. On bad days, I don’t want to get out of my bed, answer my phone or open my door to anyone. I just want to sit on my own.

When I was feeling really down I wondered what my mummy would say to me if she could see me now or what I would say to her if I saw her again.

I think there needs to be a better understanding of depression, it’s not something you can just snap out of or think will go away by itself. It’s real life and it’s always going to be there.

Earlier this year, in July, I didn’t feel well again and I was admitted into the psychiatric ward again for two weeks. I knew myself I didn’t feel right and it was better to get treated. I couldn’t think straight about anything. I wanted to get away from the world. I thought I could hear people talking to me.

Although I’m on medication to treat my depression now I think I should have been on it a long time ago. A few months ago I went on a trip to Lourdes and I think it helped to change my frame of mind and the way I looked at the world. It gave me a different take on life.

I was surrounded by sick people who wanted to get better, people who wanted to live longer and there I was … someone who had tried to end her life.

Some people are embarrassed by suicide, they don’t want to talk about it or bring it up, but it needs to be talked about.

If anyone is thinking of going down the road of suicide or self-harm, they need to confide in someone whether it’s a family member, a close friend or a doctor.

They need to seek help. It’s important for me to use my voice to get the message out to the community that there is help available.

There is always light at the end of the tunnel. ”

Need to talk to someone in confidence? Contact PIPS, tel: 0808 800 8000 or visit www.pipsproject.com

Belfast Telegraph

Tuesday 11, December 2007

Naomi Wilson should have celebrated her 15th birthday on October 9. The bubbly schoolgirl had a weekend of fun planned including go-karting with friends. She’d told relatives what gifts she wanted for Christmas and later in the afternoon she was going shopping with her dad’s partner, Roma, to get a brand new computer.

Instead, at 9am on the morning of her birthday, Naomi was discovered dead in the bedroom of her home in Dromore, Co Down, after overdosing on painkillers to take her own life. Her family are still fighting to come to terms with what happened. “Nine weeks on and we’re still in shock,” says her aunt, Shiralee Bailie. “The pain is always going to be there and every day it gets harder to cope with because it just becomes more clear that she’s gone. I still expect to see her coming off the bus or appearing round the corner.” Naomi used to stay with Shiralee (49), her uncle Peter (49) and cousins Rosie (26) and Neil (24) on Wednesday nights and weekends. Her parents David Wilson and Belinda Orr separated when their daughter was four and Shiralee, David’s sister, was used to Naomi staying with them, thinking of her almost as a second daughter. “We did everything that a mother and daughter would have done,” she says. “If I bought something for the other children I would always have bought for her, and I still find myself picking up tops in shops thinking ‘Naomi would like that’. In some ways it makes it harder that we were so close to her and have so many memories.”

Naomi was a popular teenager in year 11 at Dromore High School. Her parents had separated when she was four, and in the past three years she had moved in with her father and started a new school. ” She’d everything going for her, she liked school and had friends coming out of her ears,” explains Shiralee.

She was fascinated by stock car racing and a keen member of Lambeg Girls’ Brigade where Rev Ken McReynolds is chaplain. “She was always so full of life,” recalls the rector, who also preached at Naomi’s funeral. “She was outgoing, attractive and interested in so many different things - she would have been the envy of her peers and was a very popular member, especially among the more senior girls. It’s so baffling that someone so vibrant could have had a problem that would lead to such a drastic action.”

This is the question that tortures Shiralee - why? “Stupid things come back to me like should I have told her off for wearing make-up or short skirts? They are stupid things but they keep me awake. People say ‘you did everything for her, what more could you have done’? But I’ll always think I should have done more. I didn’t know something was troubling her. She knew we were here and we were always open and talked about everything so what did I do wrong that she couldn’t tell me?”

More confusing is the fact that Naomi had made so many plans for the future. She wanted to run the Lisburn fun run next June; she had persuaded her older brother to buy her tickets to see rapper 50 Cent perform last month in Belfast; she’d high hopes of heading off to university one day. “She was not someone without a purpose in life,” says Shiralee. “And she’d told all of us what she wanted for Christmas.” The Jordan fleece bought for her and all her birthday presents now lie untouched upstairs in the Bailies’ home. Naomi was an outgoing, fun-loving girl with a wide circle of friends and never showed any signs of feeling depressed or suicidal.

The last time Shiralee saw her niece was on Wednesday night, October 3, at Lambeg Girls’ Brigade where Shiralee and her daughter Rosie are both officers. The girls had been learning hand bell ringing with Mr McReynolds. “She was acting like a wee clown,” remembers Shiralee, with Mr McReynolds also fondly recalling the night as “great fun”.

On Monday, October 8, Naomi came home from school, opened a present from her grandparents and then went to her room. She decided she didn’t want dinner, which was not unusual for her. At around 8pm she met her dad in the corridor outside her bedroom and said she was going to head to bed. “There was nothing particularly unusual,” says Shiralee. “She would have spent a lot of time in her bedroom like most teenagers.” The next morning Roma went to wake her. Although normally she would have shouted in, today she opened the door to see Naomi lying as if asleep. It was only when she went over to her and lifted her arm she realised she was dead. She phoned paramedics who attempted to resuscitate her, but it was too late.

At 9.30am that morning of October 9, Shiralee got a phone call telling her Naomi was dead. ” I just screamed,” says Shiralee. “In my mind I thought she’d had an accident on her way to school. I never once thought she’d have done that.”

There was no note and the packet of painkillers was found under Naomi’s bedclothes where she lay fully clothed. Her funeral was held in Dromore Cathedral on the Friday and was attended by hundreds of mourners who filled the church and spilled outside. “There must have been over 300 young people there - I’ve never seen so many young people at a funeral,” recalls Mr McReynolds. “I found it a very difficult service. Pastorally it’s hard to know what to say as I was conscious there were so many young people before me and we don’t really know what problems young people go through today.”

Shiralee says: “So many people thought a lot of her to be there. Her favourite colour was yellow and everyone brought something yellow to the church. The people who were special people in her life all wore yellow roses and once the coffin was lowered down, we threw the roses on top of it. She was carried out to the tune Bright Eyes. She’d the biggest, shiniest eyes I’d ever seen and ‘Bright Eyes’ is what her dad called her. She had her dad wrapped around her little finger, she was his life. I know eventually he’ll pick up again, but he just can’t at the moment.” As difficult as the funeral was for the family to get through, it’s been the days since then that have been hardest. ” Girls’ Brigade is so hard now,” says Shiralee. “We buried Naomi in her uniform so now every time I put on the uniform I’m thinking of her. On Wednesday nights we don’t even make dinner anymore. We used to always have lasagne and chips on a Wednesday, that was Naomi’s favourite, but when I made it the Wednesday after she died it ended up in the bin - I’ve never made it since. We’ve no life at the moment, what’s happened is there all the time. There are little reminders of her all around, like the space where she used to curl up on the sofa to watch TV or the Christmas decorations she bought for us to put up.

“We’re really dreading Christmas, but we’re still going to have it. Naomi loved Christmas and every year on Christmas night she loved to have a family party and get everyone singing. She hadn’t a note in her head, but she loved beating out The Gambler.” Naomi was the youngest grandchild of 13, with 11 great grandchildren also in the family. “She’d already bought all the little ones their Christmas presents,” reveals Shiralee. “We don’t want them to forget her. People say suicide is a coward’s way out, but Naomi was a brave wee girl and I think if she could see us now she wouldn’t have done it. If children could see just what suicide does to a family then they wouldn’t want to put them through it. I don’t think they realise it is forever.”

Perhaps most frightening of all is that the tragedy of Naomi Wilson’s death is not an isolated incident. Dean Clarke (16) took his own life last month, Paul Cairns (14) in August, Wayne Browne, Stuart Fletcher and Lee Walker, all aged 15, committed suicide in June. Barry McGlade (20) and Nicolas Jamieson (24) were found dead in a Tyrone lake after a suicide pact in June and in the same month Londonderry student Louise Meenan (21) took her own life. And those are only some of the young names in Northern Ireland where the suicide rate is now among the worst in Europe. “I know a mother from Annahilt whose 15-year-old killed themselves a few months before Naomi,” says Shirley. “That is now something that me and this woman have in common. So many families are affected by suicide. People need to be more aware, especially of the fact that it’s not always the quiet ones that we need to watch. And children need to know there’s help. In school they learn about sex, drugs and drink driving - there’s someone that talks to them about anything apart from what they’re feeling.” Mr McReynolds agrees: ” I’m keeping in regular touch with my Girls’ Brigade group, just keeping an eye on them and how they are coping, and I know some efforts were made in Naomi’s school in the first few days after her death to facilitate pupils needing to talk.

“In bygone years if someone committed suicide their last act was considered a sin and they would be lost, but I think now there is a growing acceptance among most people of my profession that that person is a victim of something. Naomi wasn’t in control of her thinking processes, I don’t think she set out that morning thinking ‘I’m going to kill myself’. It’s so sad that she couldn’t have turned to somebody.

“I don’t believe the God I believe in would hold against someone driven to that.” Sadly, until more time, money and effort is spent understanding what drives young people to take their own lives, suicide will continue to be an epidemic across Northern Ireland. Naomi’s family is just one of many who this Christmas will be wondering why their child is no longer with them - tragically, by this time next year, there will be more.

Naomi’s family are holding a fundraising craft fair this Saturday, December 15 at the Lower Maze Hall, Halftown Road, Lisburn with proceeds going to help Realteen (a youth suicide helpline). Contact Shiralee Bailie for more details, tel: 07754560209

BBC

Tuesday, 11 December 2007

There will be no devolution of policing and justice powers to the NI Executive without complete dismantling of the IRA’s structure, a DUP MP has said.

Jeffrey Donaldson warned that the IRA’s so-called army council would have to be destroyed.

He was speaking after the chief constable met a DUP delegation to discuss the murder of Paul Quinn and recent dissident republican attacks.

The MP said dissidents were planning more attacks before Christmas.

Dissidents were blamed for attacks on two police officers in recent weeks.

In October, south Armagh man Paul Quinn, 21, was beaten to death in farm outbuildings across the border in County Monaghan.

His family blamed the IRA for the killing, however, Sinn Fein has denied republican involvement.

Mr Donaldson said Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde told them that while there was “no indication” it was authorised by the IRA leadership there were “IRA members involved”.

Mr Donaldson said: “We have made it absolutely clear that there is no room for private armies in a situation where you have the assembly operating.

“It is unfinished business, it is business that needs to be finished and resolved.”

Mr Donaldson said it was hoped the First Minister Ian Paisley would meet the Quinn family soon.

He said the DUP had made it clear that it wanted “full disclosure” of all information regarding the murder.

“If it is shown that the Provisional IRA authorised and executed the murder of Paul Quinn there will be serious repercussions,” he said.

BBC

Plans for a sports stadium at the site of the former Maze prison in County Antrim are to be unveiled at Stormont.

How the Maze site could look if the plans get the go ahead

They will be shown to members of the culture, arts and leisure committee, who will also question the sports minister, Edwin Poots.

The proposed stadium has been designed by HOK Sport, the company which also designed Wembley.

Slides illustrating the ultra modern arena will be shown to the committee before being put on display.

In July, Mr Poots told the committee the stadium business case should be ready for the autumn.

The deadline passed, but now the BBC understands both the business cases for the stadium and the entire Maze site should be with Finance Minister Peter Robinson by the end of this week.

In both cases, senior civil servants have recommended the Maze goes ahead.

But, unless the plan gets the backing of the DUP assembly party Mr Robinson will find it virtually impossible to proceed.

Plans to retain an H-Block and the prison hospital as a Conflict Transformation Centre have led to a lack of DUP support for the project.

The GAA, IFA and Ulster Rugby have all confirmed they would play at the stadium and have all signed a document estimating the minimum number of supporters they would hope to attract there annually.

The plan is for a 35,000-seater stadium for soccer and rugby, and the provision of more seats for GAA fans.

Belfast Telegraph

By Chris Thornton
Thursday 13, December 2007 - 08:06]

Campaigning dad Raymond McCord has been turned down for the Victims’ Commissioner’s job a second time - this time because he doesn’t have experience running an office.

Mr McCord was rejected without an interview earlier this year, and again this month after First Ministers Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness decided to allow new applications.

The first Ministers decided in October to seek more applications for the £65,000-a-year post, which was first advertised back in January.

Mr McCord’s first application for the job was turned down because officials said he did not demonstrate enough awareness of the Troubles - even though his son was murdered by the UVF, he was attacked and threatened repeatedly by loyalists, and his complaint to the Police Ombudsman led to a significant report on collusion.

They also said he did not have the necessary media skills - despite running a decade-long campaign to keep his son’s case in the spotlight.

This time the steelworker was rejected solely on the basis of his office experience.

“Why all of a sudden am I aware of the Troubles and able to deal with the media?” Mr McCord asked.

He said he did not believe office management skills should be an important requirement for the job.

“Victims want someone who knows what it’s like to sit and cry at night over a lost son or brother or mother,” he said.

And he said office management did not appear to be a requirement when Interim Victims Commissioner Bertha McDougall was appointed as a political favour to the DUP. It was later declared illegal, although the Government is appealing.

“I don’t know what experience Bertha McDougall had of office management, but I understand she had people to run her office. She was picked for the job because the DUP wanted her,” McCord said.

“As far as I’m concerned the NIO and the Office of First and Deputy First Ministers have shown utter contempt for victims.

“This is not about glory or money. This is something I believe in. I was invited to the White House on the victims’ issue but I’m not even fit to get an interview.

“The people who are shortlisted are going to be interviewed by Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley. I believe this is wrong.”