SAOIRSE32

Derry Journal
03 June 2008

The family of a former INLA man crushed to death when run over by a British Army personnel carrier during rioting in Derry almost twelve years ago yesterday thanked the police officer who gave him medical assistance.

On the fifth day of the inquest into the death of Dermot McShane (36), who died on July 13, 1996, at Altnagelvin Hospital, a police officer told the jury how he administered first aid to the fatally injured man as stones, bottles and petrol bombs rained down on police lines at Little James Street on the edge of the Bogside area of the city.

Sergeant Robin Young, who was then based at Strand Road RUC station, said he was a liaison officer attached to a mobile support unit from Lisnaskea in Co. Fermanagh. He said police lines at Little James Street were being attacked on three fronts during what he described as “certainly the worst rioting I had ever seen.”

On the weekend of Mr. McShane’s death, an estimated 1,200 petrol bombs were thrown at police and soldiers who, in turn, fired a reported 946 baton rounds as trouble flared in Derry following loyalist violence at Drumcree and Portadown.

Sgt. Young said that, on the night Mr. McShane was killed, the police were wrongfooted by the rioters. The police tactics for the night were to protect properties in the city centre and he said there was no expectation of the night of violence which occurred. The police witness said he and other police and army officers ordered that an eleven ton Saxon armoured personnel carrier should be used to drive a commercial skip, being used as cover by rioters, back down Little James Street.

Instead, the driver of the vehicle crashed into and ran over a ten foot high wooden hoarding behind which Mr. McShane was hiding and which was being used as a shield by rioters. After the collision, he and other officers ran into Little James Street towards the rioters. There he saw Mr. McShane lying on the ground.

“I removed my protective helmet and bent over him,” he told the inquest. “I put my right ear to his mouth. I could hear his breathing and also smelt alcohol. He had a gaping wound to his right leg which I could see through his torn jeans. Even though the wound was not bleeding profusely, I called for a field dressing. Someone handed me one. I applied the dressing to the wound close to the man’s right buttock. I checked for further injuries and ensured he was still breathing. I could find no deformity of his rib cage. The man occasionally muttered, ‘I was hit by a jeep’.

“I carried out a further examination with the aid of a pen torch. There was no fluid oozing from his ears, his pupil reaction was slow. I took his pulse which was sixty beats per minute and bounding. I turned his head to the left to check his airway was clear. I told him to spit if he was sick again. I then checked his spine but could find no injury. I then asked for a coat to cover him and a member of the public provided me with one which I put over his chest,” he added.

Barrister David Heraghty said that, on behalf of the brothers and sister of Mr. McShane: “I would like to express their appreciation for the efforts you made at the scene when you tried to help, as best you could, Mr. McShane”.

The Coroner, Mr. Brian Sherrard, also thanked Sgt. Young for the assistance he gave to Mr. McShane.

The inquest continues.

Newshound
(John Coulter, Irish Dáily Star)

Ban the booze, go to church, and love thy Catholic neighbour – that’s how the future of the Orange Order should be shaped.

Much of the trouble at Orange parades has been sparked by drunken loyalists.

But the Order cannot play the Biblical Pilate and wash its hands of the yob culture which sticks to Orangeism like a blood-sucking leech.

What the Order needs to control is not the marchers, but Kick the Pope flute bands afterwards.

Perhaps, the Order should stick to solely church parades and hymn tunes? In a bid to give the Order some positive spin, the renowned Unionist historian Dr David Hume – Orangeism’s Director of Services – unveiled his vision of the Order’s future at a banner unfurling in Co Antrim.

By accident or design, Doc Dave performed the honours for Ballycraigy Temperance True Blues – a lodge bearing the ethos of the Protestant equivalent of the Catholic non-boozing Pioneers.

Doc Dave should have gone for the jugular and hammered out the tough-talking message – ban the booze before, during and after all Orange and loyalist band parades.

According to Doc Dave, the Order now boasts some 1,176 lodges across Ireland.

They need to take Doc Dave’s ‘Temperance’ sentiments to heart and ban booze.

Doc Dave is also adamant last 12 July, some 400,000 were either marching or participating in the demonstrations.

The peace process has made 12 July a bigger tourist draw than during the era of the bombs and bullets and sectarian slaughter.

Doc Dave has also noted: “We are encouraging civic leadership among our members.”

Then tell your band members and supporters not to get drunk on 12 July, or any other event, including 11th night bonfires.

“Our institution comprises men of honour” – another notable claim from Doc Dave.

If that’s truly the case, then scrap the flaunting of paramilitary-style flags and bannettes, or emblems glorifying dead terrorists.

It’s difficult for ordinary Catholics, and many Protestants, to get their heads around the notion of ‘men of honour’, when they see Orangemen commemorating organisations such as the Ulster Volunteer Force and Young Citizen Volunteers.

Okay, so Doc Dave will point out the Order is ‘honouring’ those groups from the Home Rule period, and not the death squads which butchered Northerners from both sides.

And how do you also explain ‘men of honour’ to Catholics when they see Orangemen refusing to talk directly to nationalist residents’ groups?

Why did ‘men of honour’ allow terrorist godfathers like King Rat, Billy Wright, mingle freely amongst them at Drumcree?

Why did the Order allow ‘man of honour’ William McGrath, the Beast of Kincora, who formed the vehemently anti-Catholic terror group, Tara, to join its ranks?

How many ‘men of honour’, who turned out to be loyalist terrorists, have been given Orange honour guards at their funerals?

Doc Dave noted: “There will be challenges in the future in terms of membership because there are many other distractions for people.”

The Order should remember the key Biblical advice about taking the beam out of its own eye before removing the mote from someone else’s.

June 4, 2008
________________

This article appeared in the June 2, 2008 edition of the Irish Daily Star.

By Ashleigh Wallace
Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday 4, June 2008

A close friend of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney yesterday revealed he met with senior IRA figures four times in the aftermath of the killing and was advised to “tell the truth” about what happened.

Brendan Devine revealed he met with senior IRA figures including Bik McFarlane and Harry Maguire at several locations in north Belfast in the months following the murder.

Giving evidence from the witness box for a second day at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Devine said he met the IRA on four occasions — the first was at the Sinn Fein centre on the Antrim Road, the second when he was taken to a house in the Ardoyne, the third at a cafe in the Kennedy Centre and the fourth at Holy Cross Chapel.

Under cross examination by a defence barrister, Mr Devine was asked about the meetings and he replied: “I was taken away up the Ardoyne and questioned about that night (of the murder) and I told them what happened and they said to me ‘you do whatever you have to do. Tell the truth.’

“They said at that present stage I had nothing to fear.”

Mr Devine and Mr McCartney had been in Magennis’s bar on the evening of January 30, 2005 when a brawl which broke out in the pub resulted in both men being stabbed.

The trial has already heard the violence erupted after a rude gesture was made in the bar towards a group of woman, one of whom was the partner of 51-year old defendant Terence Malachy Davison of Stanfield Place, Belfast.

After having his throat slit in the bar, Mr Devine left the bar with his friend and as both men made their way along Market Street they were followed by what one witness described as a crowd of men, some of whom were armed with sticks and bottles.

Bleeding heavily from his neck wound, Mr Devine said as he walked to the top of Market Street he turned around and saw two men standing over Mr McCartney who was lying slumped against a fence.

He claimed one of the men in question was “gouging” his friend’s eyes and he later picked out Davison from an identification parade.

He also told the court he was in “no doubt” that a stab wound he sustained to his side was inflicted in Market Street.

Davison is standing trial for the murder of Mr McCartney and of causing an affray on the same date.

James McCormick (47) and Joseph Gerard Emmanual Fitzpatrick (39) have also been charged with affray while Fitzpatrick faces an additional charge of assaulting Ed Gowdy who was also drinking with Mr McCartney in the bar before the killing. All three deny the charges.

Mr Devine said that despite not knowing who Davison or the other defendants were before the murder, he was “100% sure” Davison was the man he saw gouging at his friend’s eyes in the entry.

Telling the court he was “crystal clear” about this friend’s attacker, Mr Devine said: “I picked the guy (Davison) out of a line up.

“All I know is that he was the one that started the argument in the bar and he was the one that was gouging Bert’s face.”

Under cross-examination by Davison’s defence barrister Orlando Pownall QC, Mr Devine was asked about inconsistencies he gave regarding his friend’s attacker’s features.

The witness told the court he was “confused at the time” and was ” traumatised by what I saw, watching Bert die”. He also said he was dealing with “rumours and accusations” and had his own serious injuries to deal with.

McCormick was initially charged with attempted to murder Mr Devine but the charges were dropped and he now faces a single charge of causing an affray.

When he was asked by Mr Pownell about “the man you say who stabbed you getting away with it”, Mr Devine said: “Touch wood somebody else will come forward or there will be a retrial but at the minute he is getting away free — apart from a silly affray charge.” At hearing

BBC

There is increasing optimism that Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness will be formally nominated first and deputy first minister on Thursday.

There has been speculation Sinn Féin would not renominate Mr McGuinness when Ian Paisley stands down.

However, sources have told the BBC the DUP and Sinn Féin are working towards a resolution.

The two governments are expected to remain closely involved to resolve “outstanding issues” in the days ahead.

Earlier, Mr Paisley said he believed Mr Robinson would become first minister.

He said it would be an “evil thing” if anyone “so late in the day would now say no, we’re stopping it”.

Mr Paisley was speaking as he arrived to open a new multi-million pound ferry terminal in Belfast alongside Martin McGuinness.

Sinn Féin is widely acknowledged as being frustrated that the DUP is using its veto to block a range of issues, including the devolution of policing and justice.

Mr McGuinness said he hoped the outstanding issues could be resolved before Thursday.

“What we are dealing with is the need for all sides in this equation to recognise, 18 months on from the St Andrews Agreement, the absolute urgency required to see that agreement fulfilled,” he said.

“Discussions are continuing as we speak. We will continue for as long as it is necessary to see the situation in a fashion that will convince people that there is an urgent desire to have the St Andrews Agreement fulfilled.”

If Sinn Féin refused to nominate a deputy first minister, Peter Robinson would not be able to become first minister.

The two parties would then have seven days to resolve the issue and if they remained deadlocked, the secretary of state would have to step in and call an election to resolve the impasse.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had had talks with the leaders of “all the parties who are in the administration in Northern Ireland”.

“I hope we can move forward tomorrow (Thursday) and that the new first minister will be nominated as will the deputy first minister. I believe that this can and will happen.”

Jim Allister, leader of Traditional Unionist Voice, said he believed that both Sinn Fein and the DUP have too much vested in the present executive and would want to avoid an election.

“Both have too much to lose, particularly the DUP in terms of having to face an electorate who are unhappy with what they did,” he said.

Stena Line’s new Belfast terminal is the most expensive engineering project in the port’s history.

Its official opening is also being attended by Mr Paisley’s Scottish counterpart Alex Salmond.

BBC

The father of Omagh victim Lorraine Wilson has spoken in the High Court about how he had comtemplated suicide after her death.

Twenty-nine people were killed in the Omagh bombing

Godfrey Wilson fought back tears as he gave evidence

“I drove to a local country road and drove like a lunatic hoping a tractor would come out in front of me,” he said.

Five men are being sued by a number of Omagh families over the August 1998 bombing which claimed 29 lives.

Mr Wilson spoke of seeing his daughter’s body in a temporary morgue set up in the aftermath of the bomb.

“She had head injuries. Her right eye was missing and (there was) a tear on the other eye. I took out a tissue and soaked it up and put it in my breast pocket.

“I still have it, that’s the very little I have left of her,” he said.

Mr Wilson also told the court how his family were so overwhelmed with grief that three of them thought about taking their own lives.

“I cried until I had ulcers in my eyes.”
–Godfrey Wilson

Before the bombing the court heard how he worked long hours to provide for his family, but afterwards the entire family struggled to cope with the weight of their grief.

“I must have cried for three months. Sleeping was terrible. I couldn’t get the morgue out my head,” Mr Wilson said.

Questioned by Brett Lockhart QC, for the families seeking justice from Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, Mr Wilson said it was hard to remember the good times before the bomb.

“I can’t see Lorraine’s smiling face because it hurts me that I will never see it again,” he said.