SAOIRSE32

Belfast Media
28 Nov 2008

Local history expert and North Belfast News columnist Joe Baker held a hugely successful three-day exhibition about war-torn Belfast in the 1940s in the Freemason’s city centre headquarters last week.

Formally opened by Freemason and former District Grand King of Antrim 102-year old, Cyril Quigley, the exhibition offered history enthusiasts the chance to discover more about what life was like at the height of World War 2. On display were hundreds of photographs ranging from wedding snaps through to the total destruction caused during the Luftwaffe Blitz in which over 200 German bombers targeted Belfast.

Also on display were full page newspaper reports on the Belfast Blitz as well as war time propaganda posters both British and German.

“This was a horrific time for many and this exhibition shows the horror of the bombings in Belfast” Joe said.

“We did a lot of research to get the show ready and a big part of our efforts went towards wiping out myths people have about the Blitz in 1941 such as the Germans bombed the Waterworks by mistake because they thought it was the docks.

“The Germans didn’t get it wrong, they did it to destroy the water supply so that when they returned with firebombs there would be no water to put the fires out.”

The Glenravel Local History Project have become extremely well-known for their in-depth research and work in promoting Belfast’s local and factual history.

This latest exhibition took nearly a year to research and features posters from the Imperial War Museum in London and posters from Berlin.

It is the second display in a sequence of three shows, chronicling life in Belfast in the 30s, 40s and 50s.

Joe is now researching material for life in 1950s Belfast and has issued an appeal for any old photographs of life at the time.

Joe and the Glenravel Local History Project will also be running two Horrible History tours tours on Wednesday 3rd December and Thursday 11th December. The tour begins at 6.30pm at Clifton Street Graveyard, Henry Place and finishes inside the abandoned Belfast prison on the Crumlin Road at 9pm. It is not for the faint hearted and is definitely not suitable for children.

At the previous tour on 31st October, Joe says ‘paranormal behaviour’ was caught on camera and other events remain unexplained. Watch the video presentation and see for yourself at http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=qViTfB-Qc4w

The cost per person is £10 payable when booking.

To book your place call 9074 2255 and ask for Joe Baker.

David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent
Times Online
27 Nov 2008

An Irish republican terrorist group has threatened to murder any Catholic community workers found to be co-operating with the police.

The warning has been made by the Continuity IRA, a splinter group of the Provisional IRA, and echoes the campaign waged against people working with the security forces during the 1980s when builders and cleaners were targeted.

It also comes at a time when the threat from so-called dissident republicans has never been higher, according to the independent body that monitors paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland for British and Irish governments.

The Continuity IRA (CIRA) statement was handed to a priest and said that the group would regard any Catholics working in community initiatives involving the police as legitimate targets.

The threat singled out workers from the Ashton Centre in the New Lodge and the Wolfhill Community Centre in Ligoniel, both in North Belfast, where the Continuity IRA is trying to increase its influence. Police officers are finding increasing acceptance in predominantly Catholic areas and have visited the two centres as part of their outreach work.The two groups employ more than a hundred staff, with dozens of young people and pensioners taking part in a range of activities in the centres every day.

Extra security was introduced yesterday to protect more than a hundred children who attend the Ashton Centre’s three nursery groups every day. Similarly, security measures are expected to protect a mother-and-toddler group due to meet today at the Wolfhill Centre.

The Continuity IRA statement said: “These groups such as the Ashton Centre and Wolfhill Centre are not only putting themselves at risk but also their staff.” Claiming that the threat was in response to police harassment of republicans, it said: “There will be no second warning, this threat will only be lifted when the harassment of innocent civilians stops.”

North Belfast was a hotbed of paramilitary activity during the worst of the Troubles, with its patchwork of Protestant and Catholic districts vulnerable to opportunistic hit-and-run attacks.

During the Holy Cross primary school dispute in 2001, when children walked to school under police escort, loyalist paramilitaries threatened to kill Catholic teachers and postal workers in North Belfast.

In July the Continuity IRA threatened to kill Customs & Revenue staff and workers at the Northern Ireland Vehicle Licensing Authority, after accusing them of collaborating with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which has an increasing number of Catholic officers.

Gerry Kelly, a Sinn Fein assembly member and former escaper from the Maze prison, said: “Literally every community group in North Belfast is under threat. These people cannot accept progress. They are threatening children and pensioners. They have no support and no political direction.”

Alban Maginness, a Social and Democratic Labour Party councillor in North Belfast, said that the threat was “dangerously ludicrous”. He said: “It is a measure of the success that the PSNI is having in nationalist communities that the CIRA has reacted in such a hostile and intimidating manner against those engaged in genuine community work.

“These community groups have given great service for many years and do not deserve to be intimidated by unelected, self-appointed bully boys.”

Continuity IRA ‘horrified’ by feud killing and ruled out intimidation

John Mooney
Times Online
**Via Newshound
30 November 2008

A REPUBLICAN terrorist group promised not to harm or intimidate a witness who agreed to testify against one of its members in a murder trial, because it was “horrified and embarrassed” by the killing.

The Continuity IRA (CIRA), which has threatened to murder Catholics who cooperate with the police, instructed its members not to harm Damien O’Neill.

O’Neill had agreed to give evidence against Gerard Mackin, a dissident terrorist convicted in Dublin last week of murdering Edward Burns, 35, another republican dissident, during a feud in Belfast last year.

Mackin, a 26-year-old CIRA member from Whiterock in west Belfast, fled to Dublin after killing Burns in March 2007.

He opted to stand trial in Dublin under the terms of a law that allows suspects to be tried in the republic for offences committed in Britain or Northern Ireland rather than face extradition.

Gardai and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had offered to protect O’Neill, who was shot by Mackin after he witnessed the murder of Burns.

However, police were told that the CIRA leadership had given an undertaking not to harm the witness. O’Neill’s evidence subsequently led to Mackin’s conviction on Friday.

Mackin denied murdering Burns, a 36-year-old father of five, whose body was dumped in a car park in west Belfast. He had been shot in the head.

Another CIRA member, Joseph Jones, 38, was murdered on the same night. He was beaten to death and was barely recognisable when his body was found in Ardoyne. Nobody has been charged over his death.

O’Neill told detectives that Mackin had abducted Burns in a car and then “just walked over and shot Eddie [Burns] in the back of the head”.

Burns, whom the CIRA had suspected of trying to form a breakaway group, had begged for mercy before being shot.

O’Neill said he grabbed the gun and ran away, but Mackin chased him and he tripped. Mackin then shot him in the arm and neck before the gun jammed.

O’Neill managed to stagger to the road where a taxi stopped and took him to hospital.

Burns’s murder provoked outrage among republicans. The CIRA, one of two paramilitary groups not on ceasefire, eventually bowed to public pressure and decided not to intimidate O’Neill if he cooperated with the investigation.

“CIRA’s army council wanted to ‘court marshal’ Mackin but decided to let the police investigation proceed unhindered”, according to a security source.

Gardai later arrested Mackin in Dublin. O’Neill told them he would testify against Mackin but would not travel to Dublin.

The prosecution arranged for the Special Criminal Court to sit in Belfast to hear his evidence.

Mackin is the first person to be convicted by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin for a murder committed in Northern Ireland.

News Letter
29 November 2008

PRISON officers have been warned to vary their routes to and from work because of the threat from dissident republicans.

A motive has been posted on staff boards in Maghaberry jail as fears grow of Real IRA and Continuity IRA attacks.

Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said they had been asked to be “careful and vigilant” by management of the Prison Service.

“We have always been under threat from republicans and from the end of the campaign of the PIRA we have been under continued threat from dissident republicans,” he said.

“Their threat was renewed again this week. It is a worrying time for prison officers who are easy targets - and it is a chaep publicity stunt for dissident republicans.

“we had hopes after the ceasefire that everyone had moved on but these dissidents are not able to move anywhere.”

BBC
30 Nov 2008

Police are taking longer to respond to emergency calls because of the threat of attacks from dissident republicans, the chief constable has said.

Sir Hugh Orde said that in some areas police were having to use armoured vehicles for their own safety.

“These are not people that have some political objective,” he said.

“These people are criminals. They are using a flag of convenience, for want of a better description, to peddle death and mayhem in Northern Ireland.”

Sir Hugh said the dissidents just wanted “to carry on their criminal activities”.

“These are not freedom fighters, so-called,” he said.

Drug dealing tout lured son to death: mum

By Ciaran McGuigan
Sunday Life
Sunday, 30 November 2008

Yehia (Yuk) Shoukri and his brother Andre (right), carry the coffin of their brother Ihab from Holy Trinty Church in North Belfast

A grieving mum — who watched Ihab Shoukri drive her son to his brutal murder — believes the junkie former UDA brigadier escaped justice when he suffered a suspected drugs overdose.

Barbara McCullough has no doubt about the role Ihab Shoukri played in the loyalist feud murder of her son Alan, luring him to his violent death.

And she remains angry that he was never jailed for the horrific murder.

When Mrs McCullough last saw her son Alan in May 2003 he was driving away from her Denmark Street home in a car with Shoukri and UDA brigadier Mo Courtney.

A week later his body was found dumped in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Belfast.

He had been shot in the head, murdered by the UDA in revenge for siding with Johnny Adair in the bloody loyalist feud that saw Adair’s ‘C’ Company flee to England.

Although Ihab Shoukri had been charged with McCullough’s murder, the charge was later dropped.

His partner in the killing, Courtney, eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter during a third murder trial.

Terror godfather Shoukri died in the early hours of last Sunday after collapsing while watching Ricky Hatton’s world championship fight at a house in Newtownabbey. It’s suspected that his addictions to prescription drugs and cocaine contributed to his death.

When she heard of the death last week of the man she believes was responsible for her son’s murder, Barbara McCullough felt no sympathy.

Said Mrs McCullough: “He escaped justice while he was alive and now he will never be brought to justice for what he did to Alan.

“I can still remember that day that they came for him.

“They were sitting there in the car, just in the bay across the street. It was the two of them and Alan got in the back seat.

“I was making the tea when the phone rang and it was Mo Courtney asking Alan if he was ready. He replied, ‘I’ll just get my coat’.

“I could hear his (Courtney) voice telling Alan to get in the car.

“We never saw him again.

“The same two men, Ihab and Mo Courtney, had Alan out the week before at Corr’s Corner for a meal.

“It was just to suck him in and put him off his guard.”

Mrs McCullough — whose UDA commander husband William ‘Bucky’ McCullough was murdered by the INLA in 1981 — feels no sympathy for Shoukri.

“His family is going through what we went through and his mother now knows what I felt like as a mother losing a son,” she said.

She believes that he had been working for years as a police informant.

“There’s always a bit of hope that his role in Alan’s murder will come out yet. It’s always after people die when it comes out what they were actually doing while still alive,” she added.

“When you look back at Jimmy Craig and Tucker Lyttle it was only after they died that it came out they were police informers.

“It won’t bring Alan back, but the truth might give us rest if we ever get it… we can only hope.

“There are other families that he has made suffer.

“There are all those families of kids down the Shore Road he sold drugs to and whose lives he ruined.

“If that was Ihab’s life, then it wasn’t much of a life.”

Shoukri was buried last Thursday. His funeral in north Belfast — for which his brother Andre was allowed out of jail — was delayed after it was the target of a hoax security alert.

Belfast Telegraph
Sunday, 30 November 2008

Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers will press US business leaders for greater investment during a four-day visit to America.

Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness will attend the Fortune 500 dinner in Washington DC today with chief executives from some of the most successful companies.

Later in the week they meet mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and New York city comptroller William C Thompson Jnr.

Mr Robinson said: “This is a very important week for Northern Ireland, over the next few days the Deputy First Minister and I will be meeting with the higher echelons of corporate America.

“We will be delivering the message that despite the global economic downturn that Northern Ireland remains very much open for business.”

He said the Northern Ireland Executive was determined to deliver a vibrant and dynamic economy.

“This trip forms part of our overall objective of ensuring that the damage caused to Northern Ireland by the current economic crisis is kept to a minimum,” he added.

In May US captains of industry visited Northern Ireland to learn of the investment opportunities. Around 150 business leaders representing 90 companies attended the events.

Despite the economic downturn, the falling value of sterling against the dollar could be used to attract funds from across the Atlantic.

Four New York city pension funds are to invest a total of 150 million in the Emerald Infrastructure Development Fund in Northern Ireland.

Mr McGuinness said: “This visit to the US allows us to build on the many relationships and friendships that were established during that (US/NI) conference and establish new opportunities with the leading 500 American companies.”

“The economy remains at the centre of the Executive’s programme and one of the main reasons we are here this week is to remind American companies that we can provide an excellent opportunity for those who want to access the EU market.”

Irish Times
30 Nov 2008

Half of all families in Northern Ireland could be living in fuel poverty, it was claimed today.

The high cost of domestic heating has left people facing a bleak and miserable Christmas, Save the Children added.

The fuel poverty rate among families with children in Ulster is one of the highest in the developed world.

Christine Liddell, professor of psychology at the University of Ulster, who drew up the report, The Impact of Fuel Poverty on Children , said: “The fuel poverty rate among families with children here is one of the highest in the developed world.

“Indeed, when compared to other UK regional areas, Northern Ireland has significantly higher rates. Lone parent families are hardest-hit.

“The human cost for families living in fuel poverty is high.”

The worst affected areas were Belfast and Fermanagh.

For infants, it means a 30 per cent greater risk of being admitted to hospital — and for older children, living in a fuel-poor home increases their vulnerability to respiratory problems.

Adolescents living in cold and damp households are at greater risk of mental health problems.

“Save the Children’s main focus in Northern Ireland is to end child poverty and we are concerned that nearly one in three children is living in poverty,” said Anne Moore, a spokeswoman for the charity.

Irish News
**Via Newshound
27/11/08

A member of the INLA who rammed a Garda car in Dundalk has been jailed for four years.

Paul Kelly (45), of Cedarwood Park, Cox’s Demesne in the Co Louth town, pleaded guilty to membership of the paramilitary organisation.

Detective Superintendent Diarmuid O’Sullivan told Dublin’s Special Criminal Court that the defendant had been seen driving a black Volkswagen Passat during a Garda surveillance operation on December 20 last year.

When members of the emergency response unit tried to stop the vehicle and blocked the road with a patrol car with its blue lights flashing, Kelly rammed the Garda car.

The father-of-five and his passenger were arrested and when the Passat’s boot was searched gardai found a large number of stolen Garda uniforms.

There were six Garda tunics, seven pairs of trousers, two Garda caps, two Garda ties and a fluorescent jacket, all taken from the homes of officers in Waterford and Dublin.

Gardai also found two black bomber jackets with the words “Republican Socialist Movement Dundalk”, two bulletproof vests and an extendable baton.

Mr Justice Paul Butler said Kelly was “clearly an active member of the INLA”.

The judge said the court must take into account that the maximum sentence for membership of an illegal organisation was now eight years and Kelly had expressed no remorse or any indication as to his future conduct.

Belfast Telegraph
Friday, 28 November 2008

A former RUC officer whose arms were amputated after an IRA rocket attack over 25 years ago received an OBE today.

Dr Michael Paterson, 51, has been recognised for his work as a clinical psychologist and contribution to healthcare in Northern Ireland.

Dr Paterson has become an expert at helping victims of trauma leave behind their disturbing memories and rebuild their lives.

He was handed his honour at Buckingham Palace today.

“I’m thrilled to be at the palace to receive my award and have really enjoyed the very special occasion as I’ve been able to share it with my wife Hazel and two of my children, Natalie (21) and Byron (11).”

Dr Paterson is an expert in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, a psychological therapy.

He was in a police car in 1981 when the IRA launched a rocket attack on the vehicle at Suffolk Road, Belfast. Colleague Alex Beck was killed.

He now lives in Belfast working as a clinical psychologist.

By Aine McEntee
Belfast Media
**Via Newshound

The united forces of North Belfast have come out fighting this week against death threats issued to local community workers by the Continuity IRA.

Local people and colleagues of workers in both the Ashton and Wolfhill centres - who were singled out in the statement - have been angered and disgusted by the threats against all North Belfast community groups who work with the PSNI.

A major campaign to have the Continuity IRA threat lifted will kick off in earnest tomorrow with a huge rally near Yorkgate.

The Continuity IRA’s statement released on Tuesday said, “any community organisation in north Belfast who deal with PSNI will be under threat. These groups such as the Ashton Centre and Wolfhill Centre are not only putting themselves at risk but also their staff.”

The statement claimed the threat was issued as a result of police harrasment of republicans in North Belfast over the past six weeks and said there would be “no second warning”.

Director of the 174 Trust Bill Shaw described the threat as “crazy”. His cross-community centre hosted the first North Belfast DPP meeting last week and recently unveiled the results of a policing survey carried out in the New Lodge area attended by a high ranking PSNI officer.

“It’s just crazy,” said Bill. “Elderly people are scared stiff, they want to feel free to phone the police if they’re feeling threatened so to me, this threat is against them as well.”

Bill Shaw said he was angry about the threat as society, as a whole was trying to move forward together towards “something like normality after 30 years of war and conflict”.

“Here is a group that want to drag us into the past. We’re not going to stand for it and any right thinking person would not stand for it,” he added.

At an event last night (Wednesday) honouring interface workers in North Belfast, the Lord Mayor of Belfast called on the dissident republicans to withdraw their threat and called on the community to show their support for their threatened workers.

“The community has to make its voice heard on this and I’m sure they will,” said Tom Hartley.

“These people represent no one, they have no base of support in the area, they are anonymous, whereas community workers are known by all, and work for all. This threat should be unreservedly condemned and withdrawn immediately.”

Vice chair of the Ligoniel Improvement Association (LIA) Tommy Kelly said staff were genuinely worried.

“On behalf of the LIA all I can say is we will continue to work with any statutory body for the betterment of the people,” he said.

The Ashton Centre said it too would not be stopped from carrying out its work and insisted the threats be lifted.

“What we want is the unconditional withdrawal of the threats,” John Loughran said.

Staff believe the threats are credible but it won’t stop them from carrying out their duties, he added.

“We will not be diverted from our mission of building a vibrant and confident North Belfast community. We want to keep a sense of normality, you can’t do any more than that, and people are trying their best.”

Director of the award winning peace and reconciliation centre Intercomm Liam Maskey slammed the threat as “a disgrace”.

“We have been used to suppression for so many years but we are trying to build a new shared peaceful Ireland now and we are not going to lie down with people who don’t have a mandate or people who don’t say where they’re from but claim to represent the people,” he said.

“They have announced war on this community and we won’t stand for it.”

It’s not the first time the Ashton Centre has come under threat. In July 2001 it came under gun attack from loyalists who opened fire on the creche, miraculously no one was injured.

This week extra security was introduced to protect more than a hundred children who attend the Ashton Centre’s three nursery groups every day. Similarly, security measures were enforced to protect a mother and toddler group at the Wolfhill Centre.

North Belfast has suffered disruption in recent months with several bomb alerts in recent months and another two in Stanhope Street and Victoria Parade discovered this week.

In July the Continuity IRA threatened to kill Customs and Revenue staff and workers at the Northern Ireland Vehicle Licensing Authority, after accusing them of collaborating with the PSNI, which has an increasing number of Catholic officers.

This threat against North Belfast workers comes at a time when the threat from so-called dissident republicans has never been higher, according to the Independent Monitoring Committee.