News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)

August 25, 2005

Now They Paint Bomb Tots

To Index of Monthly Archives
To August 2005 Index
To receive this news via email, click HERE.
No Message is necessary.
----

News about Ireland & the Irish

BT 08/25/05 Now They Paint Bomb Tots
UT 08/25/05 House Petrol-Bombed In Latest Sectarian Attack
BB 08/25/05 Petrol Bombs Thrown At Officers
SF 08/25/05 SF Comments On Sectarian Attack In N Antrim
UT 08/25/05 Paisley Jr Hits Out At Attack Claims
BT 08/25/05 Anger Over SF 'Claims' Of Trouble
UT 08/25/05 Ex-UDA Chief Adair Refused Bail
BT 08/25/05 Fans 'Sang About Killing Catholics'
BT 08/25/05 Stena Criticised For Rangers Ban
BT 08/25/05 Bigotry Blackens Name Of Supporters, Says Club
BT 08/25/05 Flags Policy Not Working: Police Chief
BG 08/25/05 For 6 Belfast Women, IRA Battle Isn't Over
NL 08/25/05 Donaldson To See IRA Legacy In Colombia
BT 08/25/05 Maginnis Gets The All-Clear
IE 08/25/05 Family To Oppose Screens In Court
DS 08/25/05 Opin Andrew M Greeley: IRA's Struggle Justified
BT 08/25/05 Strategy To Tackle Suicide Outlined
IV 08/25/05 Mowlam Recalled As Peace Architect
BT 08/25/05 Theatre: Curtain Up For Saville

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658446

Now They Paint Bomb Tots

13-week-old Lorcan is hurt in attack by sick sectarian
thugs

By Lisa Smyth
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

SECTARIAN thuggery sank to a new low last night as a 13-
week-old baby became the latest victim of a violent
campaign of intimidation in north Belfast.

Gareth Grew displayed photographs of his son, Lorcan, taken
after the attack, in which he sustained cuts to his leg and
was covered in paint when a paint bomb was thrown through
the living room window where he was lying in his pram.

A petrol bomb was also thrown at the family's Cliftondene
Crescent home.
----

'I can't bring my kids back after this...'

Father's shock at 'attempted murder' on his young family

A SHOCKED father-of-three last night fought back tears as
he told of the horrifying moment when his 13-week-old baby
was injured by hooded thugs - simply because he is a
Catholic.

In images which will disgust people across Ulster, north
Belfast man Gareth Grew displayed photographs of his son,
Lorcan, taken after the attack, in which he sustained cuts
to his leg and was covered in paint.

Mr Grew told the Belfast Telegraph that his wife Catherine
was at home alone with two of their three children when a
gang of hooded men threw a petrol bomb and several paint
bombs at their Cliftondene Crescent home yesterday
afternoon.

He believes the gang wanted to kill his wife as they threw
the petrol bomb directly at her, in front of their son
Fionn (2).

Mr Grew said: "As far as I'm concerned it was attempted
murder - my wife had run to the front door when she heard
glass shattering and a man was at the front gate with the
petrol bomb.

"She begged and pleaded with him not to throw it but he
just threw it over our son's head right at her.

"As well as that, Lorcan was cut by glass and covered in
paint by one of the paint bombs which was thrown through
the living room window where he was lying in his pram.

"This is the second time this has happened and it is all
because we are Catholics - the house was paint bombed the
day after Lorcan was born on May 20 and I had to bring my
wife home that time but we will not be back, you just
couldn't bring children back here after this."

Locals said the attacks are part of a "UDA orchestrated
campaign" but a police spokesman would not confirm this and
said: "Enquiries are at an early stage but we are
considering the possibility of a sectarian motive."

It is believed the gang walked into the street carrying a
crate of petrol and paint bombs shortly after 5pm.

----

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "Police have recovered a number of
unused paint bombs close to the scene and they have
appealed for the assistance of local community
representatives in the area to exercise their influence and
put an end to these attacks."

Sinn Fein councillor Danny Lavery condemned those
responsible tonight.

Mr Lavery said: "Paint and petrol bombs were thrown at
these homes in a purely sectarian attack.

"The paint bombs covered a baby playing in the garden of
one house.

"The family, despite shouting at those carrying out the
attack not to throw the petrol bomb, can only be thankful
it was this device that exploded near the child."

The councillor also called on unionist representatives to
bring their influence on those within the loyalist
community responsible for the attacks.

Earlier community leaders were urged to adopt a long-term
strategy to end tit-for-tat violence in interface areas of
north Belfast.

Sinn Fein councillor Margaret McClenaghan denounced a spate
of attacks on Catholic and Protestant homes by loyalists
and nationalists.

Paint bombs were thrown by youths at several nationalist
homes in the Alliance Avenue and Ardoyne Road area at 11am.

******************************************

http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=64192&pt=n

House Petrol-Bombed In Latest Sectarian Attack

A house was extensively damaged overnight in the latest
petrol bomb attack to take place in the Rev Ian Paisley's
North Antrim constituency.

By:Press Association

No-one was at home at the time of attack in Castle Park in
Ballymoney, which happened between 10.30pm and 11pm.

Police said they believed the attack was sectarian.

The device was thrown through a rear window, causing
extensive damage to the kitchen and smoke damage throughout
the house.

The owner, a man in his 20s, returned at 1am and raised the
alarm.

The incident took place as Sinn Fein prepared to raise the
issue of sectarian violence in the area at a meeting with
Northern Ireland Office Security Minister Shaun Woodward at
Stormont.

The party`s Dublin MEP, Mary Lou McDonald, and North Antrim
Assembly member Philip McGuigan were also due to discuss
violence in north and east Belfast.

In recent weeks, Catholic homes, churches and schools have
been targeted in a spate of petrol bomb, arson and paint
bomb attacks in Ballymena, Ahoghill and Rasharkin in the
heart of the Democratic Unionist leader`s constituency.

Police have also issued Catholic families in Ahoghill with
fire blankets should they be attacked.

Mr Paisley and his son, Ian Junior, an Assembly member for
the area, have condemned the violence.

In their latest statement, Mr Paisley Jnr, who is also a
member of Northern Ireland`s Policing Board, responded to
criticism from Ms McDonald by insisting the DUP`s
opposition to the attacks was unequivocal.

"We have condemned unequivocally this most recent wave of
attacks and we ask anyone with information about the
attacks to forward it to the police and help ensure that
the perpetrators are brought to justice," the North Antrim
MLA said.

"We would challenge Mary Lou McDonald to publicly support
the police, law authorities and the courts in their
attempts to ensure that justice is served upon those
responsible for these attacks."

Nationalist SDLP leader Mark Durkan has also accused the
Ulster Defence Association of orchestrating the violence in
north Antrim and has demanded Government action.

Sinn Fein has called on politicians and the public to
attend a rally later today outside the GPO in Dublin`s
O`Connell Street in support of Catholics and nationalists.

During visits to North Antrim and east Belfast, Ms McDonald
last night insisted the Irish Government needed to
intervene in the face of a sectarian onslaught against
nationalist and Catholic families.

"There have been over 100 attacks by loyalist
paramilitaries against the nationalist communities of
Belfast and Antrim over the last three weeks," she claimed.

"Dublin must not stand idly by while nationalists in Antrim
stand unprotected before the loyalist onslaught.

"I am calling on Dubliners of all political persuasions to
join me in a solidarity demonstration at the GPO tomorrow
and help us maximise pressure on the Government to
intervene."

Nationalist SDLP Assembly member Sean Farren and his
colleague, Ballymoney councillor Malachy McCamphill,
condemned the latest attack.

Mr Farren, a former Stormont finance minister, said: "We
need to have these people taken off the streets by robust
police action.

"There must be no hiding place for sectarian attackers in
either community.

"There must be forthright, non-selective condemnation by
political and community leaders, because too often
sectarian thugs can take silence as condoning their
actions."

Mr McCamphill said he was concerned that sectarian strife
should not spread to Ballymoney.

Sinn Fein`s Philip McGuigan said the latest attack was just
the tip of the iceberg for nationalist communities in North
Antrim.

The North Antrim MLA said: "Pipe bombs, paint bombs,
attacks upon churches, homes and school have become the
norm.

"These attacks have been allowed to become the norm because
of the ambivalence of many unionist political
representatives.

"Whilst nationalist homes come under sustained attack, the
DUP are quite happy to bleat on about the Colombia Three,
rather than dealing with the sectarian campaign around
them.

"I want to reiterate my belief that the DUP and others, who
sit on Forums and Commissions with the leaderships of the
UDA and UVF can help bring about an end to these attacks.
As the largest unionist party, they have an obligation to
face down the loyalist thugs intent on fermenting sectarian
division."

******************************************

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4182836.stm

Petrol Bombs Thrown At Officers

Petrol bombs and other missiles have been thrown at police
during another night of disturbances in north Belfast.

The home of a couple aged in their 70s was one of a number
of houses in Alliance Avenue also targeted by petrol
bombers.

The man was taken to hospital suffering shock after four
devices were thrown.

Rival gangs of youths clashed in the Twaddle, Cranbrook and
Ardoyne areas but there were no reports of any injuries.

Police said up to 30 youths threw paint, golf balls and a
smaller number of petrol bombs at officers in the Brompton
and Cranbrook areas.

The violence lasted about two hours. The police said
community representatives worked with them to restore calm.

Earlier on Wednesday night, three children, including a 13-
month-old baby, were splattered with paint during an attack
at a house in north Belfast.

She was standing at the door with the baby in her arms and
was pleading with them not to do anything

Victim's neighbour

A gang of four youths attacked three homes in Cliftondene
Gardens at about 1730 BST. Loyalists are being blamed.

The children - a girl aged six, a boy under two and the
baby Lorcon Grew - also suffered minor cuts in the
incident.

A neighbour, whose home was also attacked, said the mother
was distraught.

"She was standing at the door with the baby in her arms and
was pleading with them not to do anything," he said.

"But they still went ahead and threw the petrol bomb and
paint bomb.

"Two young children were playing in the garden - one gets
covered in paint and apparently the baby was cut with
glass."

Crate of bottles

Belfast deputy lord mayor Pat Convery said those
responsible on both sides of the divide were sinking to new
lows, targeting the elderly, the sick and mothers with
babies.

"Murder cannot be far away unless we put a stop to it now,"
he said.

Earlier, windows were smashed at a Protestant family's home
in nearby Alliance Gardens.

In the Cliftondene Gardens incident, a petrol bomb hit the
wall of a house, while paint attacks broke windows and
showered a woman with glass.

It is understood the two young boys are related and the
girl is a friend.

The gang escaped on foot leaving behind a crate of bottles
filled with paint. Sinn Fein said they had meant to target
more Catholic homes.

The police said they had recovered a number of "unused
paint bombs" close to the scene and have appealed for local
community representatives to use their influence to stop
these attacks.

Superintendent Gary White condemned the attacks.

Sinn Fein councillor Danny Lavery said Wednesday evening's
attacks were sectarian.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2005/08/25 05:50:27 GMT

© BBC MMV

******************************************

http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/10856

Sinn Féin Comments On Latest Sectarian Attack In North
Antrim

Published: 25 August, 2005

Sinn Féin MLA for North Antrim Phillip McGuigan has this
morning said that last night's sectarian petrol bomb attack
outside Ballymoney is 'just the tip of the iceberg when it
comes to attacks upon vulnerable nationalist communities in
North Antrim'.

Speaking prior to a meeting with Shaun Woodward, Mr
McGuigan said:

"Over the past weeks and months there has been a sustained
campaign of intimidation and terror directed at the
nationalist community in the north of Antrim. Pipe-Bombs,
Paint Bombs, attacks upon churches, homes and school have
become the norm. These attacks have been allowed to become
the norm because of the ambivalence of many unionist
political representatives.

"Whilst nationalist homes come under sustained attack, the
DUP are quite happy to bleat on about the Colombia 3,
rather than dealing with the sectarian campaign around
them. I want to reiterate my belief that the DUP and
others, who sit on Forums and Commissions with the
leaderships of the UDA and UVF can help bring about an end
to these attacks. As the largest unionist party, they have
an obligation to face down the loyalist thugs intent on
fermenting sectarian division." ENDS

Note for Editor:

A Sinn Féin delegation of Mary Lou McDonald MEP, Philip
McGuigan MLA (North Antrim), Cllr Margaret McClenaghan
(North Belfast) and Short Strand representative Deborah
Devenny will meet with British NIO Minster Shaun Woodward
today, Thursday 25th August, at 2pm at Castle Buildings to
discuss the ongoing campaign of attacks on nationalists.

******************************************

http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=64196&pt=n

Paisley Jr Hits Out At Attack Claims

Ian Paisley Jr last night hit out at claims that the DUP
are not tackling head-on attacks against Catholics in the
North Antrim constituency.

Mr Paisley was angered by comments from Sinn Fein MEP Mary
Lou McDonald that local unionist politicians had created a
climate in which loyalists were able to intimidate and
threaten the Catholic community.

Following a visit to the Ballymena, Ahoghill and Rasharkin
areas, the Dublin MEP said: "The Catholics and nationalists
in areas like North Antrim have been discriminated against
at every level.

"It is now clear that nationalists simply won`t stand for
this any longer and the DUP, in particular, in this area,
need to wake up to that reality.

"The DUP sit on the various forums and commissions with the
leaderships of the UDA and UVF."

She continued: "No nationalist believes that the DUP do not
have influence with unionist paramilitaries and no
nationalist believes that they cannot put pressure on to
have this campaign ended if that is what they actually
want.

"It would also serve those politicians in the 26 Counties
(Northern Ireland) well if they travelled here to North
Antrim or to the Short Strand to see exactly where the
threat to the peace process comes from.

"It does not come from the Columbia Three returning home or
any republican activity as they would have people believe.
It comes from the unionist paramilitaries and the failure
of the unionist parties to tackle this issue head-on."

Ms McDonald, who was due to meet Northern Ireland Office
Minister Lord Rooker in Belfast tomorrow to discuss the
attacks, called on Dubliners to take part in a
demonstration in their city tomorrow at the GPO on
O`Connell Street in support of nationalists whose homes
have been attacked.

"Dublin must not stand idly by while nationalists in Antrim
stand unprotected before the loyalist onslaught," she said.

"I am calling on Dubliners of all political persuasions to
join me in a solidarity demonstration at the GPO tomorrow
and help us maximise pressure on the (Irish) Government to
intervene."

In recent weeks Catholic homes and property have been
targeted in North Antrim, with residents in Ahoghill being
issued with fire blankets by police to help them in the
event of an arson or petrol bomb attack.

However there have also been clashes on both sides of the
divide in North and East Belfast, with Catholic and
Protestant properties being attacked.

Mr Paisley said his party`s position on all forms of
violence was clear.

"For any politician to peddle the idea that the DUP
supports or encourages these attacks is outrageous," the
North Antrim MLA said.

"It is also ironic that a Sinn Fein/IRA representative
should feel qualified to lecture the DUP about condemning
violence and intimidation."

Mr Paisley said his party had condemned unequivocally the
recent wave of attacks and had urged anyone with
information about them to forward that to the police to
ensure perpetrators were brought to justice.

"We would challenge Mary Lou McDonald to publicly support
the police, law authorities and the courts in their
attempts to ensure that justice is served on those
responsible for these attacks," Mr Paisley retorted.

"I would also call upon Mary Lou to lend her support to the
law authorities in their pursuit of all fugitives in
Ireland.

"The serving of justice through the courts may be a new
concept to Sinn Fein/IRA but they should note this is how
real democrats measure the effectiveness of the justice
system."

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658466

Anger Over SF 'Claims' Of Trouble

By Ben Lowry
blowry@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

THE Alliance Party has accused Sinn Fein of manufacturing
claims that there was trouble at an east Belfast interface
for political ends.

However, Sinn Fein said the allegation that it had 'made
up' the trouble at Short Strand/Cluan Place on Monday night
was "ridiculous".

And UUP MLA Michael Copeland has confirmed Sinn Fein claims
that they met that night to defuse tensions.

Alliance cllr Maire Hendron said: "The simple fact is that
there was no trouble on Monday... It's therefore quite
wrong of Sinn Fein to claim there was, or that its
representatives played any role in keeping the area calm."

But Sinn Fein's Deborah Devenny said: "What is Mrs Hendron
talking about? At least Sinn Fein were on the street trying
to resolve things."

She said police "did nothing" to clear a loyalist crowd on
the Albertbridge Road on Monday, so she met Mr Copeland to
ease tensions.

And the UUP man confirmed: "I've great difficulty with Sinn
Fein but I agreed to meet them after consultation with
people in area."

******************************************

http://www.utvinternet.com/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=64219&pt=n

Ex-UDA Chief Adair Refused Bail

Former Ulster Defence Association brigadier Johnny "Mad
Dog" Adair was today refused bail by a court.

Adair appeared at Bolton Magistrates` Court last week
charged with harassment and was remanded into custody.

Today, solicitor Andrew Costello made another application
for bail on his behalf, but it was refused and the 41-year-
old was remanded into custody for a second time.

Wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, shaven-headed Adair
spoke only to confirm his personal details at today`s
hearing.

The 41-year-old, who moved to Bolton, Greater Manchester,
in February 2003, denies pursuing a course of conduct
leading to the harassment of Stephen McQuaid and Kerry
Thompson.

He was charged on August 17 this year following an incident
outside a launderette on Halliwell Road in Bolton two days
earlier.

A second man, William Woods, from Bolton, appeared in court
alongside Adair charged in connection with the same
incident. He was also refused bail.

Woods, 37, denies two counts of harassment and one count of
common assault.

Both men will reappear at Bolton Magistrates` Court for a
pre-trial review on September 1.

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658465

Fans 'Sang About Killing Catholics'

25 August 2005

THE son of a woman on board the Stena Line ferry on
Saturday last night described his mother's fear during the
unrest.

Jim McGreevey said his mother had been terrified by the
sectarian behaviour of some of her fellow passengers.

He said she had endured a terrifying journey as football
supporters chanted intimidating and sectarian songs and
refused to tame their behaviour when approached by Stena
Line staff.

"The supporters, they weren't even singing football songs,
it was about killing Catholics, and named Catholics that
have been shot dead," said Mr McGreevey.

"Then one of the Stena Line staff came down and asked them
to be quiet, this seemed to up the ante and they just got
out of control."

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658439

Stena Criticised For Rangers Ban

Ferry line move is an over-reaction to complaints, says MLA

By Deborah McAleese
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

STENA Line was last night accused of over-reacting in its
decision to ban Ulster's Rangers fans from travelling as
foot passengers on its sailings.

Some supporters are now considering boycotting the ferry
company's sailings unless the ban is lifted.

And questions were being raised over Stena Line's decision
to impose the ban now when there have been worse incidents
in the past, as well as how the ban could be monitored.

The firm has now been urged to lift the restrictions and
look at other ways to control problems of disorder going to
and from football matches.

Last night, hundreds of fans from the province travelled to
Glasgow for a UEFA Champions League match.

Supporters travelling by coach and car were still permitted
to travel with the ferry as Stena Line said they are easily
accountable.

The ban was imposed yesterday after a number of complaints
were lodged about the behaviour of Rangers fans travelling
by ferry on their way home from Saturday's Old Firm game in
Glasgow.

It is alleged that supporters were singing sectarian songs.

A number of supporters due to travel to the match were
informed they would not be permitted to travel just hours
before last night's match.

Rangers fan and former north Belfast MLA Fraser Agnew said
he believed Stena Line had over-reacted as supporters have
been accused of worse behaviour in the past.

He said it would be better if the ferry company considered
closing the bar as a lot of the problem is down to alcohol.

He said: "I know it can be intimidating for passengers when
there is a large group of individuals being boisterous
together, especially if they are drinking. But I am not
convinced this is the correct approach, especially as it
would be so hard to monitor."

DUP Rangers supporter, Down District councillor William
Walker, has written to Stena Line asking for the ban to be
overturned.

A Stena Line spokesman said the decision to ban foot
passengers was taken for the "well being of all our
passengers, many of whom are families with children, and
none of whom should be subjected to sectarian or offensive
behaviour."

He added that loutish behaviour will not be tolerated and
as those involved in Saturday's disturbances were foot
passengers, and harder to identify, the ban was imposed.

Meanwhile, a security guard who works in the docks area of
Belfast said he felt Rangers fans were being discriminated
against as Celtic fans had also caused trouble in the past.

Belfast man Donald Black said: "I totally condemn violence
but what's happened is unfair. Last year, the PSNI were
called to the docks at least four times to deal with Celtic
fans fighting on the boats and nothing happened to them."

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658437

Bigotry Blackens The Name Of All Supporters, Says Club

25 August 2005

RANGERS Football Club last night slammed any of its
supporters who damage the club's reputation by getting
involved in sectarian behaviour.

The comments follow a decision by Stena Line to ban all
Rangers supporters travelling as foot passengers between
Northern Ireland and Scotland following the alleged trouble
on Saturday's sailing.

However, in a statement a Rangers spokesman said the club
was "unaware" of the incident on Saturday and had not been
contacted by Stena Line.

"The club vigorously promotes its Pride Over Prejudice
initiative which appeals to fans to show respect and
courtesy to the general public whilst travelling to and
from matches on public transport," the spokesman said.

"It is unfortunate if those who don't participate in
sectarian behaviour also find themselves affected by the
unacceptable behaviour of a minority."

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658501

Flags Policy Not Working: Police Chief

'More robust action needed'

By Sarah Brett
sbrett@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

A POLICE chief warned today that Northern Ireland's flags
policy is not working and demanded more robust action from
a Government Department to tackle the issue.

Acting Chief Superintendent Michael Rankin defended his
decision to remove Tricolours ahead of a loyalist band
parade in Limavady last week and said he would take
identical action if presented with the same potential for a
breach of the peace.

The Divisional Commander for Limavady came in for robust
criticism from nationalists because up to 100 Union and
loyalist flags were left untouched at Edenmore Road, but Mr
Rankin said he would have removed Union Flags if the
situation had demanded it.

"We have removed three paramilitary flags at Edenmore Road
in the last week," he said.

"We are tied to legislation that requires us to remove
flags only if they are paramilitary in nature or if they
are likely to cause a breach of the peace.

"I have dozens of calls during the summer from loyalists
demanding the removal of Irish flags, but I don't take them
down because they are not breaking any laws.

"The public perceive that we are the decision makers on all
flags issues but it's not the case.

"Last week we had a loyalist parade with 22 bands and a
Linfield match on the same night, the potential for the
biggest disorder was leaving the Tricolours up, so we
removed them.

"It gives me no pleasure to send my officers up greased
lamp posts to get flags. There are health and safety issues
there, my officers can refuse to go up if they want."

Mr Rankin accused the Department of Regional Development -
which owns the lamp posts - of refusing to help him last
week.

"The DRD have the equipment, like cherry pickers, to take
them down. If there is a local charity event and somebody
puts a poster on the lamp post the DRD will quickly send
them a letter.

"We contacted them last week and they refused to help."

He said the issue was a community one that required a
combined approach from politicians, community leaders, the
PSNI and the Government.

"The flags policy needs to be examined because it's not
working," he said.

"Where potentially the wrong decision was taken last week,
instead of a bottle being thrown, I believe there would
have been serious disorder and violence - then I would have
been getting it in the ear from every side."

The DRD said today that they had arranged a meeting with
the Limavady police chief for next week.

A spokeswoman said: "Roads Service policy is where
complaints are received and there is no danger to road
users, to gauge community reaction to determine the likely
success of any action that might be taken.

"This is generally done through consultation with local
councillors, other public representatives and the PSNI."

******************************************

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/08/25/for_6_belfast_women_ira_battle_isnt_over/

For 6 Belfast Women, IRA Battle Isn't Over

Victim's sisters, fiancee say threats continue

By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff August 25, 2005

BELFAST -- Last month, when the Irish Republican Army
announced it was ending its 35-year armed campaign, many
people said the sisters and fiancee of Robert McCartney had
won.

After all, by standing up to the IRA after McCartney was
killed by IRA members in a barroom brawl and insisting that
the IRA was no longer the self-appointed protector of
vulnerable Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland, the
five McCartney sisters and Bridgeen Hagans had effectively
said what the IRA had refused to say for more than a decade
since it stopped targeting British forces: Its war was
over.

Sitting in her house in the Short Strand, about a half-mile
from Magennis's pub, where her brother was stabbed to death
Jan. 30, Paula McCartney laughs ruefully when it is
suggested they won.

''If we won, why am I moving house?" she asked. ''Why is
Bridgeen moving house?"

It's a good question, one that hangs in the air like the
chill that has put an end to a brief Belfast summer.

While the IRA's announcement was greeted internationally as
a historic development, the McCartney sisters and Hagans
are more skeptical. They believe the IRA will continue to
discreetly rule the streets of the Short Strand, a
nationalist enclave in East Belfast, and places like it,
intimidating people into silence, and inspiring those who
have hurled obscenities and missiles at the house where
Hagans lives with Robert's two young sons.

For Paula McCartney and Bridgeen Hagans, living in the
neighborhood that produced not only the killers of Robert
McCartney but also the protectors and apologists for those
killers has proved too much a burden.

''I can't live in a place where people involved in a murder
think they are untouchable," Paula said.

For Hagans, it's more than just about her. She has to
consider what's best for her two sons. When her house, just
a few streets away from Paula's, was pelted with stones and
bottles last month, as she and the boys were sleeping, she
knew it was time to go. The abusive, anonymous letter
containing excrement didn't help.

Aside from the overt intimidation, Hagans stared
incredulously one day last month as a well-known IRA figure
marched up to her front door and pushed a brochure about
the local community center through her mail slot. Although
two reputed IRA members, Terence Davison and James
McCormick, have been charged in connection with McCartney's
murder, his family insists there are at least three other
IRA members involved in the killing, and up to 10 others in
the coverup -- including the man who pushed the brochure
through Hagans's mail slot -- who have not been charged.

''If the war is over, why protect them?" Paula McCartney
asks. ''The IRA's words say one thing. Their actions say
another. Their actions keep people silent."

The family is also furious that Davison and McCormick have
been welcomed onto the IRA wing at Maghaberry prison, where
they are awaiting trial. So much, say the McCartneys, for
the IRA's earlier claims that it had expelled members
involved in the killing.


After McCartney, a 33-year-old fork lift operator, was
stabbed to death by IRA men following a barroom row, his
five sisters and fiancee voiced outrage, not only over his
murder but the IRA's elaborate effort to destroy evidence
and intimidate witnesses. The women's insistent demand for
justice gained international attention, and an invitation
to join President Bush at the White House St. Patrick's Day
party, from which the IRA's political allies in Sinn Fein
were pointedly excluded.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who
had welcomed Sinn Fein into the mainstream, snubbed Sinn
Fein leader Gerry Adams and met with the McCartney sisters
and Hagans instead. With their earnestness and Belfast
charm, the women won a legion of admirers in Washington,
and some analysts believe the embrace they received,
combined with the cold shoulder Sinn Fein got, forced the
IRA to make its historic statement last month.

The peace process in Northern Ireland had started and
stalled for more than a decade, in large part because IRA
leaders had refused to explicitly say their war was over.
The McCartney sisters and Hagans said it for them,
insisting that the use of summary violence and intimidation
was no longer acceptable. By saying they wanted their
brother's killers to be investigated by police and
prosecuted in the courts, institutions that IRA supporters
have long rejected as illegitimate, the McCartneys
challenged the very premise for the IRA's continued
existence.

It is still too early to measure the impact the women have
had on ending the bitter civil war known as the Troubles.

Already, some contemporary histories are suggesting that
after battling the British Army to a draw over three
decades, the IRA was brought to its knees by six women from
one of its traditional strongholds.

But it has come at a high price for those women. Paula used
to walk everywhere in the Short Strand. Now she drives,
terrified at the prospect of bumping into her brother's
killers on the footpaths. She dropped out of a women's
studies class at Queen's University, but hopes to resume it
later this year.

Gemma McCartney, a nurse, hasn't been able to return to her
job. Claire McCartney, the youngest, and perhaps the most
sensitive, went back to work as a teacher's assistant last
month, but struggled. At the sandwich shop Donna McCartney
runs, customers notice she's not her same self. Catherine
McCartney, who runs a feminist newspaper, seems the least
daunted.

But the McCartney women and Hagans are soldiering on,
preparing a civil legal case to get the justice they
believe they will be denied in the criminal case against
Robert's killers. In November, they plan to return to
Washington, as guests of Kennedy. They are organizing fund-
raisers to pay for the civil action.

Paula and her husband, Jim, are looking for a house in the
Four Winds area of South Belfast.

Hagans is eyeing a house in Glengormley, in North Belfast.

Unlike the cohesive Catholic neighborhood where they grew
up, both women are moving to integrated neighborhoods,
where there is a mix of Catholics, Protestants, and the
fastest-growing category in the Northern Ireland census,
''neither."

Paula McCartney is selling the family's last tie to the
Short Strand, where the McCartneys have lived for
generations. She doesn't want to run away, but she doesn't
want to stay.

Recently, at the Short Strand festival, a small community
affair, Paula realized it was time to go. ''It was always
great fun. But I looked out there and I saw all these
people in fancy dress, and some of the people involved in
Robert's murder were dressed as clowns. Murderers dressed
as clowns. It's gut-wrenching."

© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.

******************************************

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/story/22255

Donaldson To See IRA Legacy In Colombia

By Gemma Murray Security Correspondent
Thursday 25th August 2005

DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson and members of victims' group
Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR) will travel
to Colombia next month to see the terrible results of IRA
training.

It has also been revealed that disabled victims of Farc
guerrillas are expected to travel to Dublin to make the
Irish government aware of the damage that training can do.

Mr Donaldson said he plans to meet the Colombian government
and victims' groups to give support to their campaign to
have the Colombia Three returned to serve their time.

James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley - who
fled the South American state last December and turned up
in the Republic in recent weeks - were each sentenced to 17
years for training Farc rebels.

Mr Donaldson said: "We hope we can arrange for victims'
groups from Colombia to come to Northern Ireland to tell
their story and to reveal the full extent of how IRA
technology has helped terrorist groups in Colombia wreak
havoc and create misery and mayhem with mortar-type devices
first developed by the IRA.

"These men [the Colombia Three] have been convicted of
serious terrorist offences. It would be a grave injustice
if they did not serve their sentences.

"We are also hoping to build links between victims' groups
in Colombia and victims groups in Northern Ireland so, in
response to international terrorism, we can create a
network of groups who can help support democratic
governments to counter the threat."

William Frazer of FAIR said the Irish government needs to
be made aware of what the three men it is harbouring, and
others, were capable of.

He said the IRA have to now be treated as international
terrorists.

"This is no longer an issue about the IRA wanting a united
Ireland, it is about international terrorism working
together. You can't counter that by staying at home, you
need to go further afield," he said.

Mr Frazer said he had confirmed reports that IRA members
had meetings with ETA, al-Queda and others on Farc
territory.

"They were training Farc on how to use home-made mortars,
but also using remote controls with the telephones," he
said.

"They were also explaining to Farc about the so-called
effect of using urban terrorism rather than rural
terrorism, where they can attack the heart of a town,
slowing the economy down and costing the government
financially.

"In return, we have been told, they were getting drugs and
the opportunity to test different types of weapons
themselves, like the barrack-buster bomb."

Mr Frazer said he believed it was time victims came
together to counter international terrorism."

g.murray@newsletter.co.uk

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658403

Maginnis Gets The All-Clear

Peer tells of relief after health scare

By Noel McAdam, Political Correspondent
nmcadam@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

ULSTER Unionist veteran Lord Maginnis last night told of
his relief on being given the "all-clear" after contracting
deep vein thrombosis on holiday.

The former MP and councillor turned peer now hopes to be
back in Northern Ireland next week after taking ill while
travelling for a family break to Cyprus.

"It was a fairly painful experience, but now I am doing
tolerably well and, God willing, will be home again next
week, " the 67-year-old said.

Lord Maginnis, who has been an insulin-dependent diabetic
for 17 years, said an infection had left him liable to
contracting deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while flying to the
island where he has a holiday home.

"I had cut my toe first, I hit my toe against a stone and
that probably led to the infection so the conditions were
right, when I was flying," he said.

"I was on my back for ten days. But I was given the all-
clear yesterday and hopefully everything will be all
right."

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, most
often the leg and appears to particularly affect air
travellers.

The peer spent ten days in hospital in Cyprus and will
probably have to go back into hospital on his return to the
province.

Lord Maginnis said he believed there was no connection to
the period when he was struck down by the MRSA superbug
following what he described as a "simple" operation on his
leg.

He revealed last year he had been "incapacitated" for 10
months by the "superbug".

The former Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, who lost his
Dungannon council seat in the May elections after switching
wards, said he would be returning to the political fray
immediately on his return.

"There are a number of issues I have been researching and
questions which I have tabled in the House of Lords," he
told the Belfast Telegraph from his bed.

******************************************

http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=16992

Family To Oppose Screens In Court

By Anne Cadwallader
acadwallader@irishecho.com

BELFAST -- The British army has admitted in open court that
it never attempted to hold any inquiry on why soldiers
crushed the Derry-born husband of a U.S. citizen to death
under the wheels of a military vehicle.

Dermot McShane, aged 35, whose wife, Treasa, is American,
was mown down as he sheltered behind a wooden screen during
fierce rioting linked to the Orange Order's blockade at
Drumcree in 1996.

During a preliminary inquest hearing, nearly 10 years after
his death, a Ministry of Defense lawyer admitted that there
had never been a British army board of inquiry into the
killing to establish if soldiers had acted improperly.

At the same preliminary hearing in Derry, lawyers for the
dead man's family said they would vigorously oppose any
application for British soldiers to give evidence from
behind screens.

Solicitor Paddy McDermott said such screenings would be a
"transgression on the openness of the inquiry." He said
lawyers in Derry had already had experience of screening,
during the Bloody Sunday Inquiry where all police officers
were screened.

McDermott said that experience was "unsatisfactory" and
added that the McShane family believed it would be
unnecessary as there was "no threat to anyone and no reason
for it."

Accordingly, he said, the family would oppose any
application for screening "tooth and nail."

The hearing was part of new attempts to begin hearing the
inquest into McShane's death by next February. Up to 40
witnesses are expected to be called during the anticipated
month the hearings will take.

David Hunter, deputy coroner for Derry district, told a
preliminary meeting in the city courthouse on Monday that
he had written to various TV companies who filmed the
disturbances at the height of the Drumcree crisis in July
1996.

As well as receiving a tape from the BBC, he said, he had
received an offer from UTV to go and view whatever footage
they have. RTE is also expected to co-operate.

McShane was killed when a soldier drove at a hoarding
behind which he was sheltering. His American widow, Treasa,
was awarded £8,000 damages in May 2002, after the European
Court of Human Rights found the British authorities had
violated his right to life.

A catalogue of defects in the subsequent inquiry into his
death were also condemned by the court.

The Ministry of Defense and the police said they will need
four months to arrange for witnesses to appear. Hunter said
he would write to all the parties before the end of
September setting out his views on all of the
correspondence.

This story appeared in the issue of August 24 - 30

******************************************

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/opinion/90157.php

My Opinion Andrew M. Greeley: IRA's Struggle Justified

The editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and The New
York Times - the "official" thought molders of the nation -
rarely agree on anything. Recently, however, they managed
to agree on one subject. Both condemned the Irish
Republican Army on the grounds that there was no justice in
its claims.

The violence of the Stern Gang in Israel, the African
National Congress in South Africa, the FLN in Algeria is
apparently OK (at least to The Times), but the IRA does not
have a legitimate cause. Such ignorance of Ireland's
history is intolerable. We should expect better reporting
from both of them.

England had no right to occupy Ireland and exploit and
persecute the Irish people for half a millennium. When it
was finally forced by the original IRA to grant quasi-
independence to Ireland in the early 1920s, it had no right
to carve out a gerrymandered rump state in the North of
Ireland for the descendants of its colonists.

Moreover it had no right to shape that last surviving
colony in Europe (six of the nine counties of historic
Ulster) so that its Protestant inhabitants could oppress
the artificially created Catholic minority. Nor did England
have the right to tolerate for a half-century political,
social, educational and religious persecution of Catholics.

Small wonder that this rule by a "Protestant Parliament for
a Protestant nation" created such social injustice that
there was a violent revolution.

While the IRA claims a vision of a united Ireland - a
vision that is certainly historically justified - it was in
fact fighting the unjust oppression of Catholics in this
lingering relic of English imperialistic colonialism.

I deplore violence everywhere, but the long history of
Ireland's quest for freedom from English domination
demonstrates that it has had to fight for justice every
inch of the way.

Hardly an article about British-occupied Ireland appears in
American papers does not describe the IRA in any other
terms than its claim for Irish unity. Hardly a word appears
about the blatant injustice of the colonial regime.

The IRA finally forced the English government to the
negotiating table. Kicking and screaming, the Protestant
leadership joined the negotiations.

The result was the historic Good Friday agreement that
imposed a complex form of power sharing on the Protestants.
Since then, the Protestant leadership, having failed to
persuade its constituents of the absolute necessity of
power sharing, has torpedoed every attempt to implement the
agreement.

The IRA promised in the Good Friday agreement to disarm
when the other conditions of power sharing had been
established.

The Protestant leadership managed to persuade the world
that the IRA was the barrier to peace when in fact they -
or their followers - were and are the real obstacle.

No oppressive ruling class ever gives up power easily.
Protestants in the North are still not ready to give up
their illusion of a "Protestant" nation. Protestants are
still throwing gasoline bombs into the homes of Catholics
in South Armagh - something The Journal and The Times will
not report.

The IRA ceased fire seven years ago in the hope justice
could be achieved by peaceful negotiations. It has finally
gone the last mile by voting to give up all arms and
disband. Will that satisfy the country's hard-line
Protestants? Based on past performance there is no reason
to think that it will.

The Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, a Catholic priest, teaches at
the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona.
Contact him at agreel@aol.com.

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=658503

Strategy To Tackle Suicide Outlined

By Noel McAdam, Political Correspondent
nmcadam@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

THE Government today spelt out proposals for a detailed
strategy to tackle the scourge of suicide in Northern
Ireland - particularly affecting young males.

A province-wide survey of people who came close to taking
their own lives could help develop a more effective
blueprint, a conference was told.

Health Minister Shaun Woodward also suggested the suicides
issue might be more effectively handled on an all-Ireland
basis - including a possible freephone helpline.

He also spoke, however, of the need for local initiatives
in areas particularly affected by the wave of suicides such
as west Belfast.

His remarks came as experts from the United States,
Scotland and the Republic gathered in Belfast to hammer out
ideas for a new detailed strategy - and were urged to
'think outside the box'.

Around 150 people in the province committed suicide last
year - almost three deaths every week - with most of them
in their 20s.

A special 'task force' the Minister set up is due to
publish an interim report at the end of October - but the
final shape of a full strategy may not emerge until next
year.

The Minister said it must examine whether there are
particular circumstances or factors in Northern Ireland -
such as the background of the Troubles - which could result
in a distinctive approach.

Mr Woodward who was involved in the development of the
Childline initiative said it had been based on a huge
survey of children and young people who had been abused.

"Could we do the same for the prevention of suicide?"

The Minister asked the task force to look at whether the
media could also be involved in launching a survey of
bereaved families and "young people who thought of taking
their lives but either didn't or failed".

But he added a successful strategy was likely to involve
more than extra money and welcomed proposals on an all-
Ireland strategy "because we should leave no stone
unturned".

******************************************

http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishinamerica/news/mowlampeacarchitect-050824.asp

Mowlam Recalled As Peace Architect

By Vinnie O'Dowd

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam died on Friday
morning in a hospice in Kent, England.

Mowlam, 55, who had been treated for a brain tumor in the
1990s, died after never regaining consciousness from a coma
induced by banging her head after a fall. She had dizziness
problems as a result of previous radiation treatment for
the tumor.

The tributes to Mowlam, who was named Northern Ireland
secretary by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1997, and
replaced in 1999, came from all across the political
spectrum in Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S. Blair called her
"one of the most remarkable and colorful personalities" in
the history of British politics.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern said, "Even at her
lowest moments, she always seemed to have enough energy and
enthusiasm to lift an occasion and to inspire those around
her. No matter what the challenge, Mo tackled it with
courage and sincerity. She was a politician and a person
whom the Irish people held in great affection and esteem."

Former President Bill Clinton fondly remembered Mowlam for
her tireless work in promoting the Irish peace process.

"Hillary and I are saddened by the death of Marjorie
Mowlam," he said in a statement on Friday, hours after her
death.

"Mo was an integral part of building a peace process in
Northern Ireland that has endured for over a decade. Her
persistence, toughness and good humor were legendary. All
of us who worked to support peace in Northern Ireland owe
her our gratitude. Hillary and I cherished the times we
spent together and will carry the warmth of her friendship
always."

Former Senator George Mitchell, who served as special envoy
to the North under President Clinton, said that Mowlam was
instrumental.

"Mo Mowlam was an outstanding politician whose warmth and
energy were crucial to the success of the Northern Ireland
peace process."

Mitchell, who chair-

ed the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement, added,
"Mo Mowlam made a major contribution to the peace process
in Northern Ireland at a crucial time when little progress
was being made," he said.

"She contributed energy, enthusiasm and optimism. She
helped reinvigorate the process and bring it to a
successful conclusion. She was an outstanding public
official, a warm human being, very colorful."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy also expressed his appreciation.

"It was a great privilege to work with Mo, and I'm saddened
by her death. I had immense respect for her ability and
dedication to the peace process in Northern Ireland,"
Kennedy said. "She was extraordinarily committed and
effective, and we're closer to a lasting peace today
because of her."

Trina Vargo, president of US-Ireland Alliance, said, "It
was Mo who first committed the British government to
supporting the Mitchell Scholarship program in 1999 and we
are forever grateful for her support. The scholars are
enthusiastic ambassadors for Northern Ireland in the U.S.
and they are one of Mo's legacies."

Vargo citing the personal relationship she had with Mowlam
as "a breath of fresh air."

"I worked with Mo frequently as Senator Kennedy's foreign
policy adviser. She was a breath of fresh air in the
Northern Ireland peace process — straight-talking, no
nonsense and determined to make a positive difference."

Frank Durkan, a New York based Irish civil rights lawyer,
feels that Mo brought balance and equality to the situation
in Northern Ireland.

"She was a great spokesperson for the Catholic minority in
Northern Ireland. She was the fairest person to ever fill
the roll of Northern Irish secretary," he said.

"I had a built-in distrust for all British secretaries of
Northern Ireland before her, but I was gladly surprised by
her and the change she brought to politics in Northern
Ireland. I welcomed the change, her change, from the
blatantly one-sided secretaries that preceded her who
favored the Loyalist agenda."

Father Sean McManus, head of Irish National Caucus in
Washington, D.C., thought Mowlam was the key ingredient to
the success of the Good Friday Agreement.

"Her attitude made the Good Friday Agreement possible," he
said.

"She gave a huge contribution to the Good Friday Agreement.
She convinced Catholics that the anti-Irish, arrogant and
racist attitude had left the British administration in
Northern Ireland, and she made them feel confident of the
position of Northern Irish secretary."

Speaking on a personal level, Father McManus said, "I met
Mo three times and liked her immediately. It was completely
unlike the meeting I had years before with the then
Northern Irish Secretary Sir Patrick Mayhew.

"He had the most offensive arrogant and racist attitude to
Irish people. An attitude that was completely lacking in
Mo. In that meeting with Mayhew I figuratively tore his
head off as a matter of fact."

Bill Flynn, chairman emeritus of Mutual of America in
Manhattan and a long-time campaigner for peace in the North
, express-

ed his sadness at Mowlam's passing.

"Mo Mowlam did a superb job at a very difficult time in the
peace process," he said.

"She seemed to have a greater understanding than most of
the people in that job before her, since she appealed to
people and demonstrated her understanding, but above all I
believe she had guts and common sense."

Larry Downes, president of the New York-based Friends of
Sinn Fein, thinks Mowlam revitalized the peace process.

"I think Mo took a new and refreshing attitude to the
Northern Ireland peace process," he said.

"Even though she was hamstrung by British policy at the
time she made a critical and positive changes to the peace
process during a difficult time. She showed compassion and
enthusiasm for people on both sides of the divide in
Northern Ireland."

******************************************

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=658388

Curtain Up For Saville

After a hugely successful and critically-acclaimed run in
London, the play Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville
Inquiry comes to Northern Ireland for the first time next
month. Mary Fitzgerald talks to the man who edited the
inquiry's transcripts into what critics have lauded a
powerful and moving piece of theatre

By Mary Fitzgerald
mfitzgerald@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
25 August 2005

When it comes to subjects that naturally lend themselves to
gripping theatre, a tribunal is hardly the first thing that
springs to mind. Something to do with all those buttoned-up
lawyers checking notes, sipping water and engaging in
laborious cross-examination - not much room for dramatic
effect there.

Unless, it seems, it's the tribunal that turned into
Britain's longest and most expensive legal inquiry, the
tribunal examining one of the most analysed and
controversial events in Northern Ireland's history - Bloody
Sunday.

What happened in the Bogside in Londonderry on that January
afternoon in 1972, when 13 people died after troops opened
fire, has already inspired numerous books, documentaries
and TV dramatisations. Now it's the turn of the Saville
Inquiry, the tribunal set up to rake through the events of
that day. The day-to-day business of the inquiry has been
transformed into Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville
Inquiry, the latest of the so-called 'tribunal' plays
produced by London's Tricycle Theatre. The production comes
to Belfast and Derry next month.

Before tackling Bloody Sunday and Saville, director Nicolas
Kent had recreated the Hutton Inquiry, the Nuremberg war
crimes trial and perhaps most explosively, the Stephen
Lawrence Inquiry. Earlier this year his production of
Guantanamo transferred to Broadway. For many of the
tribunal plays, Kent has collaborated with Richard Norton-
Taylor, security affairs editor at the Guardian newspaper.

It was Norton-Taylor who distilled the seven-year span of
the Saville Inquiry into a workable piece of theatre,
condensing more than 900 witness statements and 16 million
words into a complex two-hour snapshot of the way the
tribunal played out in Derry's Guildhall.

"I thought it was an obvious choice for this kind of
treatment even though it has been going on for such a long
time and there are so many testimonies and millions of
words to plough through," says Norton-Taylor.

"It was an obvious choice because of the importance of that
day for Britain and Ireland. We're talking about one event,
one afternoon, that had a tremendous and wide-reaching
effect. I hope the way it is presented in the play reminds
people what happened, gives some context and shows the
arguments on both sides. I hope it leads to an
understanding of what happened that day."

The production opened to rave reviews in London. The Times
called it 'devastating' and The Evening Standard
'shocking', while the Independent hailed it 'a necessary
triumph'. The Daily Telegraph's critic enthused: 'A dark
day brilliantly illuminated ... an exceptionally gripping
courtroom drama'.

Those who saw it praised the stripped-down set and script.
Plasma TV screens hang from the ceiling, flashing video
footage and transcripts of evidence. There is little
movement on the spartan stage and when the actors speak, it
is verbatim evidence from the inquiry transcripts, nothing
more, nothing less. Norton-Taylor lets the tribunal's many
witnesses - relatives, soldiers and paramilitaries - speak
for themselves.

"The dramatic effect of some of the testimony speaks for
itself," he says, conceding that the very act of editing
the inquiry transcripts can leave the production open to
accusations of bias and lack of balance.

"We tried to present it as fairly and honestly as
possible," he says.

"The complicated thing is not so much the nature of what
happened but the characters you choose. I chose witnesses
who gave very moving and honest evidence about the killings
of their relatives, or people they were with on the day.
But also witnesses who were sort of vulnerable in a sense
to charges of exaggeration or loss of memory. You've got
the soldiers and also some relatives who said they couldn't
remember what had happened.

"Of course, you're open to criticism that you're editing in
a certain way. I remember police officers telling me I had
been too fair on the cops in The Colour of Justice, the
play we did on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. You're always
going to get that."

The biggest problem with editing though is what gets left
out and why. Perhaps the most curious aspect of the
production is what many here may consider its most glaring
omission - Martin McGuinness' testimony to the inquiry in
which he admitted his role in the IRA in Derry at the time.
McGuinness' evidence is included in the accompanying
programme but why did Norton-Taylor leave him out of the
actual play?

"I did actually edit some of his stuff at the start and
asked Nick Kent whether we should have him as a significant
character. We discussed it and in the end we didn't," he
says. "I agree with that because he didn't offer much in
terms of what he was saying at the inquiry. The evidence of
what PIRA or the Official IRA did that day was not actually
very interesting.

"I don't think the inquiry itself takes the view that he
was a major figure for them. It was good that he said
things at the inquiry that had never been said before, so
it was useful in that sense, but not about the events that
led to the shooting of the civil rights marchers that day."

Norton-Taylor believes the overwhelmingly positive reaction
from London audiences and critics points at a wider hunger
for theatre that wrestles with controversial political
themes.

"There's much more interest now in political theatre and I
think that's because people want to be reminded about what
actually happened when it comes to these kind of historical
events," he says. "People want to understand events that
they may not have followed through public inquiries and
news reports. There's a sense of people wanting a deeper
treatment of this sort of thing. You can draw parallels
between what has happened in these cases and what is
happening elsewhere in the world today.

"The drama critics described the play as very moving but
shocking too. I don't think they had until then quite
appreciated aspects of what the British soldiers had said
and done that day and during the inquiry."

Does he expect an entirely different response in Northern
Ireland, given that the subject matter, particularly in
Derry, is painfully close to home?

"I don't know what to expect to be honest. I hope the
response will be a good one and a fair one. Not a
predictable or divisive one. Of course, I'm expecting a
tougher audience than we had in London. But if we're
questioned by both sides then maybe we're doing something
right."

Norton-Taylor, whose soldier father was once stationed at
Palace Barracks in Holywood, believes there are crucial
lessons to be learned from what happened on Bloody Sunday
and subsequent events.

"The question that remains is what will we learn from this?
Sometimes we don't learn from our mistakes but I hope
Saville will put this into context in his report and talk
about the lessons for the future as much as just going
through the events of that day. The British Army may have a
good reputation but they are extraordinarily fallible and I
think every part of the community should know that.

"Some people are cynical about the whole Saville Inquiry,
expecting that all these years on, with tens of millions of
pounds spent, Saville might come up with a one sentence
answer which will be either we don't know, or each side was
to blame full stop. But I'd like to think the inquiry has
helped in dealing with the legacy of that day."

• Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry opens at
Belfast's Grand Opera House on September 11. It transfers
to Derry's Millennium Forum for two nights on September 16.

----
To receive this news via email, click HERE.
No Message is necessary.
To August 2005 Index
To Index of Monthly Archives
Posted by: Unknown / 7:35 AM
Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?