SAOIRSE32

Irish News
By Marie Louise McCrory West Belfast Correspondent
08/04/08

THE brother of one of the Disappeared has told of how he will never give up hope of finding the dead man’s remains as he marks the 30th anniversary.

Today Kieran Megraw is making a fresh appeal for information about his 23-year-old brother Brendan, who went missing from his Twinbrook home on the outskirts of west Belfast in 1978.

Brendan Megraw was one of nine people to disappear, having been killed by the IRA.

The remains of only four have been recovered so far.

Kieran Megraw said his family still lived with the pain of losing his brother every day.

He wanted to find his brother’s remains to bring him home and lay him to rest.

Brendan Megraw was last seen by his pregnant wife on Saturday April 8 1978.

He had spent the morning shopping with his mother Brigid in Belfast city centre before leaving to go home.

Kieran Megraw said his brother had been met by “eight or nine men” when he returned home.

“After a brief discussion Brendan said he would go with them and he told his wife he would be back,” Kieran Megraw said.

“His wife phoned us to tell us Brendan was missing.”

In May 1999 the Megraw family received information about him.

Details came to light on the same day that the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains was set up.

“The IRA issued a statement admitting they had taken him,” Kieran Megraw said.

“We were told Brendan’s remains were in Oristown in Co Meath.

“There have been two digs in 1999 and in 2000 and nothing was found.”

Kieran Megraw said the disappearance of his brother had been “very painful” for the family.

He said there was also regret that his brother’s remains had not been found before their mother died six years ago.

“You always have hope it can be resolved and the group of experts working on it is the best approach,” he said.

“I would appeal to anyone who has any information to give it to the confidential phone number or post it.

“All the political parties are supporting the search. All we are concerned about is finding Brendan’s remains.”

Sandra Peake – chief executive of Wave, which supports individuals and families affected by the Troubles – backed Kieran Megraw’s appeal.

“We are keen to urge anyone who can provide help or support to the commission to do so,” she said.

Information about the remains of the Disappeared can be passed in confidence to the commission by calling 00800 5558 5500 or by writing to ICLVR, PO Box 10827, Dublin 2.

Irish News
By Suzanne McGonagle and Stephanie Mc Guckin
08/04/08

An inquest into the “horrific and brutal” death of a murder suspect in jail has found he was killed by fellow LVF prisoners who believed he was co-operating with police.

David Oliver Keys (26) was found strangled in his cell just days after being remanded in custody charged with the shocking killings of Damien Trainor and Philip Allen in Ponytzpass, Co Armagh.

Coroner John Leckey said yesterday he had been “murdered in a particularly brutal and sadistic way”.

A postmortem examination revealed that Keys had died from strangulation before being hanged in the LVF wing of the Maze Prison on March 15 1998 in an apparent bid to make his death look like a suicide.

Belfast Coroner’s Court also heard that he had been assaulted before being strangled and that his wrists were slit afterwards.

Mr Leckey said the injuries suffered by Keys, from Highfield Gardens in Banbridge, showed “the sheer brutality of the attack”.

An investigation by the prison found that the victim had requested to be put on the LVF wing after being charged with the murders of Catholic man Damien Trainor and his Protestant friend Philip Allen.

The lifelong friends had been shot dead as they drank together in the Railway bar in Poyntzpass earlier that month. Keys was suspected of being the loyalist killers’ getaway driver.

The prison report found that inmates on the block had agreed to the move and there was “nothing to indicate that Keys would have been at risk by entering this wing”.

John Middlemiss from the PSNI Legacy Inquiry Unit told the inquest that letters were sent to 32 people on the wing at the time of the

murder requesting them to provide evidence to the inquest.

However, he said the vast majority had not replied, while others refused to give evidence or claimed to know nothing about the murder.

No former prisoners gave evidence yesterday.

Mr Middlemiss said it was his opinion that Keys was murdered by fellow prisoners.

He confirmed that after the loyalist had admitted his part in the double murders, he had provided police with information about the

investigation, adding that it was “a very fair assumption” that this had led to his death.

A jury yesterday unanimously found that Keys had been murdered by other prisoners on the LVF wing.

It also found that there was nothing more the prison service could have done to prevent his death.

Mr Leckey said it was “one of the most horrific and barbaric murders that occurred in the course of 30 years of violence and what made it more unique was that it occurred in prison”.

Derry Journal
8 April 2008

A CLAIM that the lives of six IRA Hunger Strikers including Derry men Michael Devine and Dungiven’s Kevin Lynch could have been saved by a British deal has finally been dispelled.

A former blanket man from County Derry has hit out at claims in Belfast newspapers in recent weeks claiming that he was witness to a deal six weeks after the death of another Derry hunger striker Patsy O’Hara.

Blanket man Richard O’Rawe has sparked controversy in the past year by claiming in his book that the British government had offered a deal in early July 1981. He claimed the British ‘deal’ would have met three of the five IRA demands and claimed the offer was shouted to him, in Irish, by fellow prisoner Brendan McFarlane.

McFarlane has consistently denied the claim, saying an offer was made but that this offer did not amount to a deal and fell short of what the prisoners were demanding at the time.

Last week O’Rawe repeated his claim in the ‘Irish News’, this time quoting a cellmate backing him up.

However, the ‘Journal’ has learned that the former cellmate was County Derry man Colm Scullion.

And yesterday Mr Scullion told us: “I wrote to the ‘Irish News’ to complain about the article because it quoted Richard O’Rawe saying that he had been, in some way, vindicated by his cellmate at the time. The letter has not appeared as yet. I believe the article is a reference to me because I was on the blanket and shared a cell with Richard at this time during the hunger strike in July 1981.

“What is being said is untrue. There was no deal. I agree with Richard that there was certainly an offer which Richard was made aware of by Brendan McFarlane who was a few cells away. I didn’t hear anything like what Richard is saying. We all desperately hoped that there would be a deal. Unfortunately, the British government refused to stand over or verify what it was offering. It refused to send any of its representatives into meet the hunger strikers and tragically Joe McDonnell died and his death was followed by five more of our comrades.”

Mr Scullion insisted there had never been any deal, only an offer which the British failed to follow up or discuss. And he was in no doubt as to who he believed was to blame for the deaths of all ten hunger strikers, including the six who died after the so-called ‘offer’.

“Mrs Thatcher and her government were responsible for their deaths,” he said.

The alleged incident has been the subject of continued controversy since O’Rawe’s claims emerged 25 years after the hunger strikes.

Derry man Brendan Duddy was working through his Foreign Office contacts to broker a deal.

In a TV documentary on BBC last month he sobbed as he read out a letter sent to him by the first hunger striker to die Bobby Sands.

O’Rawe claims three of the five demands were met on July 5, two days before the death of a fifth hunger striker Joe McDonnell.

He insists that it offered that IRA inmates could wear their own clothes, have remission restored and enjoy more visits and letters.Work could include education, though free association in the wings would be banned.

O’Rawe claims McFarlane shouted what was offered out to him. They spoke in Irish, he claimed, so that prison officers could not understand the conversation.

However McFarlane vehemently – and now Scullion - deny any such conversation took place.

Republicans had insisted in July 1981 that a government official would stand over any offer as the IRA/INLA had called off a hunger strike in 1980 before any meeting took place, only to find the British had reneged on the deal.

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Date: 9ú Aibreán/ April 2008

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In this issue:

1. Hunger Strike account ‘vindicated'’
2. New trial of UDA accused begins
3. Loyalist march goes ahead despite wave of protests
4. Under 50% of nationalists say RUC/PSNI ‘doing good job’
5. 26-County Minister criticised by hospital group
6. Anti-Lisbon campaigners make case
7. Tara campaigners appeal at EU level
8. 30,000 health staff to vote on industrial action
9. HSE closes Alzheimer’s respite beds
10. Priest attacks ‘distasteful’ Bill
11. US aircraft’s landing at Shannon to be investigated
12. Serious limitations in stroke services costing lives, says report

1. Hunger Strike account ‘vindicated'’

A FORMER IRA prisoner claimed on April 1 that he had been “totally vindicated” after a man who shared a cell with him confirmed his account that people who are now senior Provisionals rejected a deal in 1981 which could have saved the lives of hunger strikers. Richard O’Rawe said a former cellmate’s confirmation that he had heard a conversation he shared with Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane to brief him on a British offer of a deal, “totally verifies my version of events”. Richard O’Rawe attracted criticism from former comrades for suggesting that some hunger strikers may have been sacrificed for political gain. His claims were made in his book Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-Block Hunger Strike, which claimed that a deal was offered by the British government to end the Hunger Strike before the fifth man had died. He said that on July 5, after the first four prisoners including Bobby Sands had died, Danny Morrison, director of publicity for Sinn Féin at the time, visited the OC
of the IRA in Long Kesh, Brendan McFarlane, to brief him on a British offer of a deal. Richard O’Rawe said Brendan McFarlane returned to the block after his meeting and passed a communication to him detailing the offer which they both then agreed to accept. In his book Richard O’Rawe alleged the IRA leadership outside the jail did not believe the deal was enough. Three days later a fifth hunger striker, Joe McDonnell, died. Five more men were to die on hunger strike before the protest ended. The claims caused controversy in Provisional circles and were denied by senior figures. Brendan McFarlane strongly contested any such conversation took place or that any deal ever existed. However, journalist Eamonn McCann said new evidence had become available from a former-prisoner who shared a cell with Richard O’Rawe and heard his exchange with McFarlane. “Richard isn’t a liar. He told the truth in his book. I heard what passed between Richard and Bik [McFarlane],” the former cellmat
e is quoted as saying. “I remember Richard saying, ‘Ta go leor ann’ [There is enough there] and the reply ‘Aontaim leat’ [I agree with you]. There’s just no question that that happened.” Richard O’Rawe said the new evidence was “total vindication” of his claims. “My cell mate says that its true and that he heard what I have said,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned its done and dusted and we can’t go back on that but I hope that more will come forward now and again verify what I have said in the past. “I’m no liar. This totally verifies my version of events; it removes all particles of contention.” Richard O’Rawe said he believed those who rubbished his claims would “be keeping their heads down now”.

2. New trial of UDA accused begins

SIX MEN, including well known loyalist Ihab Shoukri, have gone on trial for a second time at Belfast crown court. The six deny being supporters of the UDA and face a total of 11 charges between them. They were arrested after an RUC/PSNI raid on the Alexandra bar in north Belfast in March 2006. The court was told a substantial amount of loyalist regalia was seized in the raid, including a speech allegedly written by Shourkri. The UDA vowed never to disband in the speech. Also found was a video of a UDA show of strength set to Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory”. Shoukri, 34, faces charges of UDA membership, including assisting, arranging, or managing a meeting of the loyalist death-squad. The prosecution allege the men were involved in a rehearsal for a show of strength by the UDA. Last week, Mr Justice Gillen aborted the original case and ordered a retrial. He said case papers given to him contained certain details “which may be adverse” to some of the accused. As a result, he said,
he was stepping down “in the interests of justice”. The trial which began on April 7 is expected to last two weeks.

3. Loyalist march goes ahead despite wave of protests

LOYALIST marchers paraded through Inverness in Scotland on April 5, despite their presence being condemned by councillors and churchmen.About 180 members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry Inverness and Campsie Club staged the hour-long march through the city centre, accompanied by two bands from Glasgow and officials from the Six Counties. The event was organised in consultation with Highland Council and Northern Constabulary. In March, the council’s Inverness city committee was unanimously against the march, which will be the second in succession in the city. However, it could not stop it going ahead unless it could show the risk to public safety outweighed freedom of expression, according to the European Convention on Human Rights. John Holden, an Inverness councillor, said: “It’s the wrong message to be sending out from the capital of the Highlands, an area that has no problem whatever in relation to sectarianism.”These people should reconsider their decision and go back home.”

4. Under 50% of nationalists say RUC/PSNI ‘doing good job’

LESS THAN HALF of nationalists believe the RUC/PSNI is doing a good job, a survey found on April 4. According to the Perceptions of Crime study by the British Government’s Northern Ireland Office, only 48 per cent of nationalists believed the British Colonial police were doing a good job, compared to 67 per cent of unionists. Unionists were more likely to express confidence in the force and its accountability arrangements, and only 44 per cent of those asked were happy with the British criminal justice system, the Northern Ireland Office’s study found. Other findings included:
- Three-quarters of those who responded felt crime levels in the Six Counties had increased in the preceding two years, similar to that during the last survey in 2005 but lower than earlier years.
- Anti-social behaviour was more likely to be a concern in Belfast, among victims of crime and those living in rented housing. (more…)

Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent
The Guardian
Thursday April 10 2008

The Real IRA bomb makers who constructed the device that caused the Omagh atrocity built 28 similar bombs and mortars within a six year period from the massacre, Belfast high court heard yesterday.

Some of these devices were used to blow up commercial targets in England, the civil action against five suspected Real IRA leaders was told.

Northern Ireland’s top forensic scientist also revealed to the court that some of the victims who died in the August 1998 attack could have been exposed to a 1,000C fireball.

Giving evidence on the third day of the trial, Denis McAuley, a forensics expert, identified up to 28 other bomb and mortar plots in Northern Ireland, England and the Irish Republic between 1998 and 2004 in which components from the same manufacturers’ batch had been used.

The timer used in the devices’ power units had identical factory, product and date codes to the one that set off the Omagh bomb, the court was told.

The Forensic Science Northern Ireland expert gave a detailed account of how the explosives were constructed and the dissident republican strikes either side of Omagh where they were used.

The court was shown a mark 19 timer power unit, the type used to trigger the bomb at Omagh and a series of other attacks.

Lord Brennan QC, who is representing some of the Omagh victims’ families, asked McAuley why the timer knob used to set the detonation time would have no markings to assist those planting the bomb.

He replied: “I would suggest the person causing this event isn’t particularly interested in a very specific time.”

McAuley also revealed that the 500lb bomb packed into the boot of a Vauxhall Cavalier car would have caused three separate types of lethal injury: blast, thermal and fragmentation.

On the thermal injuries, McAuley said: “Anyone in the vicinity of the device would be exposed to that high temperature and would sustain extreme burns. You could be talking well in excess of 1,000C.”

The families of those represented in Court No 2 are suing five men they claim were central to the Omagh bomb plot. They are convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, and Seamus McKenna, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. All five deny having anything to do with the explosion on August 15 1998 in which 29 men, women and children died.

The case continues.

BBC
9 April 2008

North Belfast loyalist Ihab Shoukri has pleaded guilty to being a member of the UDA at Belfast Crown Court.

Ihab Shoukri pleaded guilty to be in the UDA

Shoukri and five other men were arrested at a bar in March 2006. The court was told they were involved in a rehearsal for a UDA show of strength.

Four of the others also admitted charges ranging from UDA membership to supporting the organisation. One man remains on trial.

The five have been released on bail and will be sentenced at a later date.

Shoukri, 34, from Westland Drive, admitted being a member of the UDA on between 31 January and 3 March 2006.

He also pleaded guilty to charges that on 2 March 2006 he “professed to belong” to the UDA and he supported the terror group by “assisting in arranging or managing a meeting on behalf of the UDA”.

Alongside Shoukri in the dock was 36-year-old Gary McKenzie, from Clare Heights, Belfast, who also admitted being a member of the UDA and supporting the organisation.

Alan McClean, 21, from Westland Drive, pleaded guilty to supporting the UDA in that he assisted in arranging or managing a meeting on behalf it.

Earlier, 50-year-old Alexandra Bar owner John Davis, of Glebe Manor Glengormley, admitted aiding and abetting the support of a proscribed orgainsation, while on Tuesday George McHenry, 40, of Ardoyne Road, admitted supporting the terrorists.

Samuel Todd Robinson, 39, of Arosa Crescent, Belfast, denies a charge of UDA membership.

All six men were arrested at the Alexandra bar in York Street in March 2006.

BBC
9 April 2008

One of the Omagh bombers grinned as the car carrying the device was parked at the scene, the High Court has heard.

A woman who caught his eye also claimed he looked calm and relaxed and said the two men who got out of the car looked like soldiers.

The court hearing evidence in a civil action was also told 180 fragments from the car were recovered from victims.

Five men are being sued by relatives of some of the families of the 29 people killed in the 1998 atrocity.

Ruth Buchannon told the High Court she was parked on Market Street when the bomb vehicle pulled up in front of her, half a car length away.

She said the two men in the Cavalier got out quickly, making her think they were in a hurry.

‘As the men stood on the footpath the passenger caught eye contact with myself and grinned at me.’
Ruth Buchannon
Witness

They were both neat, with the one on the passenger side the more handsome.

Her statement, read by Brett Lockhart QC, for the families, said: “They were approximately six to eight feet away from me as they stood in front of my car.

“As the men stood on the footpath the passenger caught eye contact with myself and grinned at me. He looked calm and relaxed.”

The driver, however, appeared to have a serious expression, the court heard.

Ms Buchannon said she left Omagh before the bomb exploded.

Earlier, Northern Ireland’s top forensic scientist Denis McAuley told the hearing the piece furthest from the scene of the Real IRA attack was found 300 metres away.

Giving evidence on the third day of the trial in Belfast, Mr McAuley identified up to 28 bomb and mortar plots in Northern Ireland, England and the Irish Republic between 1998 and 2004 with components from the same manufacturers’ batch.

Questioned by Lord Brennan QC, for the victims’ families Mr McAuley confirmed 13 skip loads of debris was sifted through in the aftermath of the bombing.

Fragments located on the bodies and clothing of the dead and injured, some up to eight inches long, included twisted and ragged metal, plastic, wood and wire.

A piece of booster tube was discovered up to 180 metres from the vehicle, while a part of bodywork attached to the seat belt was located at a mill about 300 metres away.