SAOIRSE32

Breaking News.ie
10/09/2008

Phone records involving a convicted Real IRA member being sued by the families of the Omagh bomb victims should not be used in evidence as it breaches privacy rights, a court heard today.

Counsel for the families want details on calls made and received by Seamus Daly given in evidence in their landmark civil action against five men they accuse of the 1998 atrocity.

But during hearings in Dublin the dissident republican’s barrister Dermot Fee QC objected claiming the records were obtained by the gardai for criminal proceedings and cannot be used in a civil trial.

Daly is being sued by the families for €17.4m along with Michael McKevitt, the alleged leader of the Real IRA, Liam Campbell, said to be his number two, Colm Murphy and Seamus McKenna.

All deny any involvement in the bombing.

“It is a document retained by the guards under the restricted provisions of the Telecommunications Act,” Mr Fee said.

“Is it proper then that they, for the advancement of the plaintiff’s civil case, say we are making that available to you?

“The issue here is a breach of privacy and a breach of rights.”

Brett Lockhart SC, acting for the families, said there was no legal reason for the records not to be used.

Judge Conal Gibbons, who is hearing evidence in the presence of Mr Justice Morgan, who has presided over the case in Belfast Crown Court, asked both parties to put their arguments in writing by the end of the month.

But Lord Brennan QC, acting for the families, said his clients were frustrated over why the procedure was taking so long.

“My clients are listening to it with frank incomprehension,” he said.

Judge Gibbons said he understood the families’ annoyance but that he was doing all in his power to ensure the case moved along speedily.

“I do understand that relatives do find all of this rather baffling at times,” he said.

Daly was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in 2004 after pleading guilty to membership of the Real IRA.

The groundbreaking court case is the first time evidence from a Northern Ireland case has been heard in the Republic of Ireland.

Last December, a Belfast judge cleared Sean Hoey, the only man ever charged in direct connection with the car bomb attack, which ripped through the Co Tyrone town killing 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins.

The case continues tomorrow.

By Conor Macauley
BBC
10 Sept 2008

The trial of the man accused of the £26m Northern Bank robbery has been shown CCTV images of boxes of cash being gathered up.

The boxes, which were located in the bank’s vault, were then collected by the robbers.

Chris Ward, a bank employee from Colinmill in Poleglass, Belfast, denies being the “inside man”.

He is accused of facilitating the massive cash robbery at the Northern’s Belfast headquarters in December 2004.

The families of Mr Ward and a senior colleague, Kevin McMullan, were held hostage overnight.

The two men were then ordered to go to work and load up millions of pounds of cash which was collected by the gang who pulled up in a van outside the bank.

But the Crown claims Chris Ward was in on the conspiracy, and changed a work rota to ensure he was on duty that day.

Footage

On the second day of his trial security footage from the cash centre in the basement of the bank was played to Belfast Crown Court.

It shows Both Mr Ward and Mr McMullan loading boxes containing £100 and £50 in new Northern Bank notes into a lift, before moving it to street level for loading into the gang’s van.

Later, the two men can be seen manhandling two huge steel cages wrapped in heavy black polythene into the lift.

The crown claims those cages were stacked with used notes which were taken away by the gang during a second collection from the street outside the bank.

The court was also shown CCTV footage of Chris Ward walking out of the bank with a sports bag containing £1m in cash, which it is alleged was handed over to the thieves before the main robbery took place to reassure them that everything was going to plan.

The defence took exception to the way the Crown presented its CCTV evidence. It said the picture of Chris Ward walking out of the bank with the bag - which was released to the media at the time - had become the “iconic image” of the robbery.

Defence QC Arthur Harvey said it was open to an interpretation which could be “very damaging “to his client” and that the Crown had selected sequences of CCTV images - concentrating on Mr Ward - which had not given a full picture of the events of that day.

In fact Mr Harvey said, there was CCTV footage of virtually every moment of the day of the robbery. Much of it, he said, showed Mr Ward and Mr McMullan “acting jointly” at all times in the collection and preparation of the cash for the gang.

Access

The trial also heard how police were not able to access important CCTV images from inside the Northern Bank headquarters building for at least two months after the robbery.

The officer responsible for viewing the imagery said there’d been two systems in operation at the bank.

One was a VHS system which officers had been able to get at immediately.

But the other was based on a computer hard drive system which was described as being the size of two filing cabinets.

Police had not been able to get at the images on that system for weeks, the court was told, because it had a problem and was overheating.

BBC
10 Sept 2008

Dissident republicans were attempting to kill a police officer in an attempted bomb attack in Lisburn on Tuesday, police have said.

A “viable pipe bomb device” was found under a 50-year-old woman’s car in the Ballyskeagh area of the city.

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Smyth said it was a case of mistaken identity.

“The actions of this terrorist grouping may have led to very, very serious injury or loss of life,” he said.

“As a member of the police service, I want to reassure the public that we’re doing everything we can to protect them.

“And in instances like this, we will endeavour to a great extent to bring those responsible to justice.”

Police want to speak to the owner of a white Vauxhall Corsa car which was parked at Lambeg Parish Church from Monday evening until Tuesday morning. They say a teenager wearing a baseball cap was in the vehicle.

They also want to speak to a man wearing a high visibility jacket who was also in the Ballyskeagh area.

BBC
10 Sept 2008

Five men have been arrested by police investigating the murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O’Hagan in Lurgan seven years ago.

The arrests took place on Tuesday in Lurgan, Banbridge and Ballykinlar. Searches were also carried out.

Detectives from the retrospective murder review unit of the PSNI were involved in the operation.

Mr O’Hagan, 51, was shot dead as he walked home from a pub with his wife in September 2001.

At the time, the murder was claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name used by both the Loyalist Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association.

Mr O’Hagan had built a reputation for paramilitary and drug-dealing stories.

Police have reissued an appeal for information about the murder and want anyone who can help to contact the retrospective murder review unit.

Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday, 10 September 2008

A convicted Real IRA member accused of the Omagh bomb atrocity told gardai he wanted to see terrorist attacks in England, a court heard yesterday.

Seamus Daly, one of five men being sued by families of those killed in the 1998 massacre, revealed he had rows over the peace process with former allies in the Provisional IRA.

The landmark lawsuit, sitting in Dublin’s Four Courts, heard Daly was being questioned in November 2000 over the car bomb attack on the market town when he opened up about bitter rifts among republicans.

After initially refusing to answer detectives, he said: “The war has to be taken to their own ground, in England.”

Daly is being sued by the families for £14m along with Michael McKevitt, the alleged leader of the Real IRA, Liam Campbell, who is said to be his number two, Colm Murphy and Seamus McKenna. All deny any involvement in the bombing.

Detective Sergeant Dermot Flannery said Daly was being questioned at Monaghan Garda Station after being arrested for possession of explosives.

Referring to transcripts of the interview Mr Flannery said Daly repeatedly responded “no comment”.

But he opened up when asked about what he thought of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. “It’s not going to work,” Daly told gardai.

“I’ve had rows and arguments with the Provos over it.

“It’s a sell-out completely to the men who died on hunger strike and who died on active service.”

Det Sgt Flannery said he asked Daly about the attack on Omagh.

“Wasn’t that atrocity in Omagh shocking?” Mr Flannery asked.

“Well the car bomb is not the way to go anyway,” Daly replied.

“It was a thing of the past.”

Daly, from Co Monaghan, pleaded guilty to being a member of the Real IRA in 2004 and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.

The groundbreaking court case initially opened in the spring before adjourning until yesterday.

Last December, a Belfast judge cleared Sean Hoey, the only man ever charged in direct connection with the car bomb attack, of any involvement.

Garda testimonies are being heard by Judge Conal Gibbons in the presence of Mr Justice Morgan, who has presided over the case in Belfast Crown Court but has no judicial powers in Dublin.

The case continues.

Irish Times
10 Sept 2008

Britain’s 38-year military campaign in Northern Ireland was praised today by the Bishop of London.

Speaking at a commemoration for British armed forces who served in Northern Ireland, Dr Richard Chartres said they helped to keep the “forces of chaos at bay”.

The British military deployment known as ‘Operation Banner’ began in 1969, ended in July 2007 and over its 38-year history saw more than 300,000 military personnel serve in the North.

The Bishop’s comments came as he delivered a sermon to a congregation which included British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Prince of Wales and British Defence Secretary Des Browne.

Before the commemoration ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral, Mr Brown issued a statement saying: “They helped create conditions for the peace Northern Ireland now enjoys and today we salute their courage.

“It is in their honour and for all the people of Northern Ireland that all those committed to the province’s future must work together to ensure a lasting peace.”

The Bishop told the congregation during the hour-long service: “Military intervention can hold the forces of chaos at bay while people learn again how communities with very different histories and aspirations can live together and do business with one another.

“Operation Banner kept that vital part to which a more hopeful future for Ulster could enter.”

More than 1,000 members of the armed forces died during the troubles, with 6,116 wounded. Of those killed, 763 died as a direct result of violence.

Dr Chartres went on to tell those gathered: “The people of Northern Ireland and their community leaders have suffered much. They want to move on now and are at work building a new future.

“Much remains to be done, healing memories, embedding hope but the military phase, Operation Banner, has been brought to a conclusion and we can give thanks for it.”

ITN
Wed Sep 10 2008

**All this and a photo, too.

More than 700 servicemen and women were killed by paramilitaries during the military campaign which was known as Operation Banner.

The Prince of Wales, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup will join veterans

During the 40 years of the Army’s longest continuous campaign, over 300,000 servicemen and women were deployed.

The Prince of Wales, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup will join veterans and their families at St Paul’s Cathedral, in London, for the event.

Also among the congregation will be Defence Secretary Des Browne, former premiers Baroness Thatcher and Tony Blair, leaders of the Opposition and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Operation Banner started in 1969 as sectarian violent unrest escalated and was formally ended at midnight on July 31 last year.

The Prime Minister said in a statement released ahead of the service: “We owe a debt of gratitude to all service personnel who served on Operation Banner between 1969 and 2007, and especially those who gave their lives.

“They helped create the conditions for the peace Northern Ireland now enjoys and today we salute their courage.

“It is in their honour and for all the people of Northern Ireland that all those committed to the province’s future must work together to ensure a lasting peace.”

Ballymena Times
10 Sept 2008

The trial of six people accused of murdering Ballymena teenager Michael McIlveen is to be moved because the courtroom is too small.

Defence teams for each of the accused and prosecution lawyers said a fair trial was not possible because Coleraine court was not big enough.

The judge said the trial will move to Antrim on Monday, but said he was unhappy at the timing of the complaint.

Day 1

A jury has been selected in the Michael McIveen murder trial. The selection took place at the Crown Court in Coleraine on Monday.

Legal sources predict that the case could be one of the longest trials of recent years with estimates for length ranging from 12 to no less than sixteen weeks.

Ballymena teenager Michael McIlveen died on May 8, 2006 as the result of head injuries he received some time on the night of Saturday, May 6 or early in the morning of May 7.

Prosecuting QC John Orr, in a short review of the case for the jury, told Antrim Crown Court, sitting in Coleraine, that the event which led to the teenager’s death began at the cinema and leisure centre at Larne Link.

Mr Orr said on one side was a large group, including the accused, and on the other, Michael and two friends.

“They came from two sides of the divide — the three youths were Catholic — the larger group were Protestants.”

The lawyer added that CCTV captured a conversation between the youths, before Michael and his friends were chased through nearby housing, finally ending up in the car park at the rear of Camerons’ Shop in Broughshane Street.

By the car park was a ‘dog-legged shaped’ alleyway where Michael and one of his friends were attacked, while his other friend managed to escape into the rear of a house.

Mr Orr said that although afterwards Michael and his friend returned home, the schoolboy was later taken to Antrim Area Hospital by ambulance where he died the following day from brain injuries.

The court was packed with prosecution and defence teams and there is widespread speculation that there may well be further submissions for the trial to be moved to a different location.

Six of the seven accused in the case are charged with the murder of Michael McIlveen while all are charged with making an affray and three are charged with the criminal damage of a gate.

The accused are - Paul Henson (18), Condiere Avenue, Ballymena, who is charged with affray and criminal damage.

Christopher McLeister (18), Knock Crescent, Ballymena, who is charged with murder, affray and criminal damage.

Chris Kerr (22) of Carnduff Drive, Ballymena, who is charged with murder and affray.

Jeff Lewis (19), Rossdale, Ballymena, who is charged with murder, affray and criminal damage.

Mervyn Moon, (20) of Douglas Terrace, Ballymena, who is charged with murder and affray.

Aaron Wallace (20), of Moat Road, Ballymena, who is charged with murder and affray.

And, a youth who is charged with murder, affray and criminal damage but cannot be named for legal reasons.

Day two

While on day one of the murder trial, last Monday, September 8, a jury was selected, the second day was taken up with a legal argument and changes to the jury’s make-up.

Two members of the original 12 were excused and two others sworn in, although the alteration failed to change Monday’s ratio of eight women and four men.

The case is being heard before Mr Justice Treacy, sitting at Coleraine Crown Court.

Anglo-Celt
10 Sept 2008

Sinn Fein councillors in Co. Fermanagh have been threatened by a loyalist paramilitary group calling itself the Real UVF. It has been claimed the threat was issued through a local newspaper. Fermanagh South Tyrone Sinn Fein MP, Michelle Gildernew, described the threats as ‘sick’.

This latest event has added to growing tensions in Fermanagh. In recent months dissident republican activity has been on the rise, with a number of attacks on PSNI members in Lisnaskea and Roslea and threats made to civil service staff who co-operate with the PSNI. Both threats are accredited to the Continuity IRA.

Derry Journal
10 Sept 2008

A new scheme to take down almost 700 loyalist flags in Derry has been completed.

The UPRG and PUP completed the new Flags Management Protocol with the assistance of Roads Service, REACT North West and the Conflict Transformation Initiative. The flags have been handed back to the community for re-use during next year’s loyalist marching season.

In a joint statement, David Malcolm, Regional Secretary of the UPRG and the PUP’s Leslie Mitchell, said: “There are less than 50 flags now flying in the city that can be attributed to the PUL (Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist) Community. These are flags that respective communities wanted to be allowed to be removed by themselves.

“Whilst we respect their right, we would also remind them that the longer these flags are left to fly, then the more those who seek to distract from the overall success of the initiative will be in a position to look for negatives.”

The statement added: “We wish to place on record our thanks to all those individuals and groups who supported this initiative and also those who entered into the spirit of this initiative by removing their own flags during the period other flags were removed. We also wish to thank Mr Ken Whiteside of Roads Service who provided the necessary assistance needed to enable the initiative to be completed safely.”

Derry Journal
09 September 2008

Hardline republicans who took part in a protest in Derry on Saturday were told they are “living in a dangerous age” where they face arrest and imprisonment.

Ciaran Cunningham, from the Republican Network for Unity, made the comment at a protest calling for the release of four Derry republicans currently facing IRA membership charges in the Republic.

The protest was organised by the 32CSm and was attended by representatives of the IRSP, Concerned Republicans and the Republican Network for Unity.

Francie Mackey, chairperson of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement called on all republicans who are opposed to the Sinn Féin strategy to work together.

“If we are to challenge the current position of internment by remand then republicans need to be united. The ground work for unity had already been laid. The republican movement can only be unified if the movement is open and honest. There can be no more elitest leadership; no more superficial debates. All policy must be formulated together. Republican unity is the only way forward,” he said.

Ciaran Cunningham told the crowd or around 100 people that they could face arrest for attending the demonstration.

“All of us here are living in a dangerous age. It has been 14 years since the first ceasefire and they still want to shoot us on sight. In the last ten years republican revolutionaries have been painted as heretics. Republicans have been arrested in the past and the evidence offered against them has been that they have attended a protest like this one,” he added.

Londonderry Sentinel
10 Sept 2008

SCHOOLS in Derry are among a group of 15 institutions working to promote a culture of trust and develop paths of reconciliation through education which are to receive grants totalling over £120,000 from the Integrated Education Fund (IEF).

Long Tower Primary School and St Colmcille’s Primary School and Nursery Unit are two of the schools benefiting from the grant programme.

Long Tower’s project Musical Pathways to Friendship will run for one year and was awarded £5,000. The school will work in partnership with Fountain Primary School on the concepts of cultural understanding and mutual appreciation.

The project will enable pupils to develop their self esteem and self confidence and aims to develop and sustain mutually satisfying relationships with the children by valuing and celebrating their cultural similarities and differences.

Meanwhile, St Colmcille’s’ project, Claudy ‘Eco Kidz’, will run for two years and was awarded £7,000. The school will work in partnership with Cumber Primary Claudy to promote a culture of trust and a sense of community between the pupils.

The project aims to develop structures and relationships between both schools that will benefit the wider Claudy community.

During the programme’s first years, funding from the Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation (NIFR) supported the development of the PACT programme, and the IEF has been supported in funding the current round of the programme, PACT IX, by the Department of Education, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and BT.

The allocation of the money is through the IEF’s Promoting A Culture of Trust (PACT) grant programme, to date grants of over £596,000 have been awarded to158 projects involving 359 schools and organisations across Northern Ireland.