SAOIRSE32

Irish Times
From 20 September 2007

An eerie gallows room greeted visitors to Crumlin Road jail today as the prison threw open its gates for the first time.

Tourists at the imposing centre in north Belfast enjoyed a guided tour, including the cell where the condemned man waited for his punishment and the famous underground tunnel to the courthouse across the road where the sentence would have been handed out.

Former principle prison officer Syd Wolf (89) in the hanging cell in Crumlin Road Gaol

A total of 17 people were killed. Of those, the remains of 15 are still buried somewhere within the grounds of the jail

A foreboding coffin is in a room adjoining the macabre complex. At one stage prisoners survived on gruel and potatoes and had to break stones and unwind ropes to pass long days incarcerated.

Former inmates included UVF leader Gusty Spence, Northern Ireland First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley and IRA bomber Gerry Kelly.

Dr Paisley, imprisoned in 1968 for six weeks after anti-civil rights protests, was known for working in the prison garden.

Mr Kelly, now a junior Sinn Féin minister in the Stormont Assembly, returned to Crumlin Road this week for the first time in almost 30 years. He has a prison record which stretches back nearly 35 years after being jailed for life for his part in the IRA bombing of the Old Bailey in London in 1973.

Sightseers on twice-weekly tours can walk down the pitted concrete of the underground tunnel, which resounded to the footsteps of an estimated 25,000 prisoners brought to and from the courthouse during the Troubles.

A total of £1 million has be been spent on weather-proofing and restoration work which included getting rid of anti-terrorist bomb blast walls, razor wire and bullet proof glass.

By David McKittrick
Belfast Telegraph
Monday 9, June 2008

**See also Bodies to be exhumed from the Crum?

When they demonstrate the working of the gallows in Belfast’s Crumlin Road prison, the trapdoor drops away with shocking abruptness and a sickening thud. Fifteen of the seventeen men who were hanged there are still in the jail. Their bodies lie by the towering perimeter wall in unmarked graves.

Until now, the chilling workings of this notorious prison have remained a closely guarded secret. It does, after all, have a potentially incendiary history. The Rev Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams both did time inside its Victorian walls. So did four of Northern Ireland’s current ministers. Escapes were planned, revolutions plotted and fellow prisoners killed each other on an occasional but regular basis.

This week, however, the dark realities of one of Belfast’s grimmest historical chapters will be on display for all to see. For the first time members of the public will be able to take a tour of the gallows, the anonymous graves and the hangman’s lethal paraphernalia. They will also see the cells which held some of the city’s best-known figures.

The prospect of Crumlin Road becoming a visitors’ attraction will strike many as bizarre. The streets around the prison are the most dangerous in Northern Ireland, long the scene of riots, bombings and assassinations. The Murder Mile has witnessed exceptional turmoil and frequent death. It was where the first petrol-bomb was thrown, and where the first on-duty soldier was killed.

From these deprived and violent areas a stream of men and youths, from Protestant Shankill and Woodvale, from Catholic Ardoyne and New Lodge, joined the ranks of loyalist and republican groups. Many of them wound up in Crumlin Road jail.

The gates are now to be thrown open not simply as a gruesome historical curiosity, but as part of an ambitious blueprint to transform a violent sectarian faultline into a scene of neighbourly co-existence. It will not be easy, yet if there really is to be a new Belfast the problems that immediately present themselves – not least whether the two communities can live together after years of segregation – must be resolved. Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams are much more moderate than they were, but, if the political settlement they reached is to become firmly anchored, there will have to be a measure of accord not just at the top but also at the grass roots.

While all this is a tremendous challenge, it may also be a great opportunity. The jail site, together with an adjoining former army base, makes up a full 27 acres, quite close to the city centre. An imaginative regeneration plan could do wonders for the area and for the city as a whole.

The theory is that a start will be made when the prison doors are thrown open, for although the jail was an epicentre of conflict it is also, paradoxically, viewed by both republicans and loyalists as a shared space. Hundreds from both sides were locked up here, held on remand as they awaited trial in the courthouse just across the Crumlin Road. They were led from cell to dock via a tunnel which visitors will see: hushed, ancient and Dickensian, its eerie atmosphere helps perpetuate the rumours that ghosts roam the jail.

Ghosts or no ghosts, the district is certainly haunted by history. There were “wild outbursts” in 1922, a report stated at the time, “the whole area of the Crumlin Road was affected, the din created was terrific and a reign of terror prevailed”.

Some of the first riots of the more recent troubles also erupted on the Crumlin Road, with hand-to-hand fighting and lethal exchanges of gunfire.

The prison’s growing population of loyalists and republicans, some of whom would become the political leaders of today, could hear the turmoil from their cells. Mr Paisley worked in the prison garden and studied his Bible. Mr Adams recalls aggressive prison officers but concedes that “the grub was far superior to that at Long Kesh, especially the porridge and the custard”.

It was not a safe place. One occupant was Lenny Murphy, leader of a loyalist gang known as the Shankill Butchers. While his men were outside on the Crumlin Road itself killing Catholics with knives, axes and cleavers, Murphy killed a loyalist inside, the only known victim of the Troubles to die by poison.

The prison closed in 1996 after a century and a half of holding paramilitary and other prisoners. Parts of it are crumbling but much is surprisingly sound.

The envisaged regeneration will encompass workspace, shops, leisure facilities and varying types of accommodation for families, singles and the elderly. There will surely be obstacles along the way, but the question now is whether such issues can be settled by dialogue and debate.

It will be a key test of whether the recurring cycle of violence which once created a war zone on the Crumlin Road can be ended. It will show whether, in this conflict-ravaged part of Belfast, a bitter past can give way to a better future.

BBC

The DUP has denied having any deal with the government on backing 42-day detention for holding terror suspects without charge.

The Lagan Valley MP, Jeffrey Donaldson, said talk of a deal was speculation.

The chief constable of the PSNI, Sir Hugh Orde, has also commented on the issue.

Writing in the Sun newspaper, Sir Hugh said “sadly” the day would come when the 28-day limit would not be enough and the authorities had to plan ahead.

Mr Donaldson said his party would make its decision based on principle.

“We will look at the issues on principle because it’s too important to be a matter of horse-trading,” he said.

“We will take a decision based on what we believe needs to be done to ensure that the security services and the police have the powers they need to deal with a continued substantial threat from international terrorism.”

Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said the powers would only be used in exceptional circumstances and was not like internment.

“What Parliament should now consider is what measures should be taken to protect the public before an atrocity happens not when it happens,” he said.

The Conservatives, Lib Dems and up to 30 Labour MPs oppose the plan.

Support of the DUP’s nine MPs could be crucial in Wednesday’s Commons vote.

BBC

NI’s first minister has defended his wife after her controversial comments about homosexuality.

Mr Robinson was appointed Northern Ireland’s first minister on Thursday

On Friday, Iris Robinson said homosexuality was an abomination and urged gay people to seek counselling.

Peter Robinson was speaking during assembly question time when he was asked to reassure the public that he was committed to equality for all.

“There is a legal obligation to ensure that no-one in our society is discriminated against,” he said.

“I have to say that even if there was no legal obligation I would be at the forefront defending anyone who was being discriminated against.

“And I know my colleague the member for Strangford (Mrs Robinson) would be alongside me in that.”

Earlier on Monday, Mrs Robinson, who is an MLA and MP for Strangford, faced fresh criticism over the remarks she made last week on BBC Radio Ulster.

Sinn Féin’s Martina Anderson said: “For a politician of her standing to come out and say what she had said, I think it is most unsuitable.”

Mrs Robinson said gay people should seek counselling

Mrs Robinson went on the radio on Monday morning to insist that she had every right to express her views.

Ms Anderson went on to say that Mrs Robinson should reflect seriously on what she had said and should apologise.

A complaint has been made to the police about Mrs Robinson’s comments.

John O’Doherty, a member of the South Belfast District Policing Partnership, said he has complained to police.

“People like Mrs Robinson need to learn that their comments have consequences,” he said.

This is the second complaint in relation to the Strangford MP’s remarks.

BBC

Culture Minister Edwin Poots has been dropped from the Stormont Executive and replaced by Gregory Campbell.

Sammy Wilson has been appointed environment minister, while Arlene Foster moves to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Mr Poots had been culture minister for just over a year

The reshuffle of DUP ministers follows the elevation of Peter Robinson to first minister.

Mr Poots leaves the executive after just one year, and amid controversy over his support for the Maze stadium.

The project is widely acknowledged as being unpopular with many DUP assembly members

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, as expected, replaces Mr Robinson as finance minister.

BBC NI political correspondent Martina Purdy said the reshuffle could be viewed “as a promotion for both Mr Dodds and Mrs Foster”.

“Mr Wilson’s promotion could prove controversial with environmentalists,” she continued.

“Last year, he was given a green wash award by the Young Greens Society at Queen’s University, in protest at his pro-nuclear vision.”

Jeffrey Donaldson keeps his job as junior minister in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.

Friends of the Earth expressed its “concern” over Sammy Wilson’s appointment as environment minister.

Its Northern Ireland Director John Woods said: “I congratulate Sammy Wilson on his appointment, but I believe it is a mistake.

“Mr Wilson is well known for his sceptical views on climate change.

“It is difficult to see how a minister who holds such views in the face of overwhelming evidence could be a credible protector of our environment.”

North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay said the DUP’s decision to appoint Sammy Wilson as environment minister was “grossly irresponsible” and that the environment would suffer as a result.

Commenting on the overall reshuffle, Traditional Unionist leader Jim Allister MEP said: “While the DUP needs a reshuffle of policy more than a change of personnel, there are aspects of this reshuffle which require comment.

“The increase in triple mandates is bad news for the quality and constancy of the representation of unionism at Westminster. In a year we have moved from three double-jobbing MPs serving also as ministers to five.

“We have recently seen DUP MPs absent from key votes in the Commons on the Lisbon Treaty and the Embryology Bill. No-one can adequately do two, never mind three jobs - MP, MLA and minister.”

In a statement, the Ulster Unionist Party similarly said: “This poses the question, how can they (the DUP’s ministers) possibly attempt to carry out these specific roles to the best of their ability?

“How can they possible justify juggling these varying roles while trying to achieve the best possible outcome for the people of Northern Ireland? People can’t be in two places at once.”

BBC

The man accused of murdering Robert McCartney told police the row in a Belfast city centre bar the night of his killing was a “storm in a teacup”.

Belfast Crown Court heard excerpts of police interviews with Terence Malachy Davison, 51, who denies the murder.

He said a row in Magennis’s bar broke out after a comment which Mr Davison’s partner perceived was made to her.

The accused said he shook hands with Mr McCartney after an “amicable discussion” about the comment.

However, he said a short time later a fight broke out between Mr McCartney’s friend Brendan Devine and the accused’s nephew, Gerard Davison, which then spilled outside.

Terence Davison told police: “People had been hurt on both sides.

“There were no winners and I was just hoping they (Mr McCartney and Mr Devine) would leave the scene and we (Terence and Gerard Davison) could have gone straight to the hospital and everybody wakes up the following morning.”

Mr Davison was later picked out of a identity parade by two witnesses as the man they saw attacking Mr McCartney on the street, however, he consistently denied throughout the interviews he was involved in the murder.

When asked if he had been amongst the group of men seen following Mr McCartney and Mr Devine down Market Street, Davison replied “no”.

He added he “most certainly did not” assault either man in Market Street but left the scene and went to the Royal Victoria Hospital in a car.

As well as the murder charge he also denies affray as do James McCormick, 39, and Joseph Gerard Emmanuel Fitzpatrick, 47.

Mr Fitzpatrick is further charged with an assault on another of Mr McCartney’s friends.

The court was told both Mr Fitzpatrick and Mr McCormick refused to make any comments to police on the advice of their solicitors after they were arrested.

Mr McCartney was beaten and stabbed to death close to the bar in January 2005.

The trial continues.