Posted by Jim on February 10, 2018
Contrasting views of the North’s Civil Rights Association and how it
relates to where we are as we approach the 50th anniversary of its first
campaign.
‘WE HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE’
By Sinn Fein Chairman Declan Kearney (for eamonnmallie.com)
Billy Nelis was an ordinary man. He was a child of the orange state;
born in 1932.
He and his generation and their parents experienced first hand the
injustice of the northern state.
When the Civil Rights Movement was formed they stood up in their tens of
thousands to support its demands.
Billy died on Friday and his burial yesterday coincided with the 46th
anniversary weekend of the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry city.
That was apposite. He took part in the march and stood in the killing
grounds of the Bogside.
That day in 1972 British soldiers killed 14 unarmed marchers who were
engaged in peaceful protest against internment without trial in the
north of Ireland.
One week previously another anti-internment protest was attacked by
British soldiers on Magilligan strand.
Civil rights protestors had been attacked since the first demonstrations
began.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the famous marches from
Coalisland to Dungannon, and at Duke Street in Derry city.
Infamous images of the RUC beating protestors at Duke Street were
broadcast around the world by the international media.
The Civil Rights Movement gave expression to the popular outrage against
the injustice and discrimination in housing, jobs and right to vote
which were systemic within the northern state.
As the repression of democratic rights intensified alongside the
redeployment of British combat forces and reintroduction of internment,
northern nationalism rose to challenge the actions of the state.
The popular momentum of the Civil Rights Movement swept right across
society, especially in the north, but importantly it also reached into
the southern state.
I have memories as a wee fella attending Civil Rights Movement
anti-internment protests in Toomebridge among other children and people
of all generations. I can remember being sworn to secrecy when being
brought to a location where civil rights leaflets and pamphlets were
being discreetly printed… (and thinking for many years afterwards that
the monks were terrible cooks!)
Years later I upset a very superficial university seminar discussion on
the origins of the Civil Rights Movement by setting out the historic
reality that the civil rights campaign was inspired by the Campaign for
Social Justice, and also directly by the strategic decision of the IRA
and Sinn Fein leaderships at that time.
Through the medium of the Wolfe Tone Society the Army and Sinn Fein
committed to building alliances with other democrats, trade unionists,
communists and many others to demand state reform.
That culminated in the formation of the NI Civil Rights Association, or
Civil Rights Movement in 1967.
The leaderships of both the IRA and Sinn Fein encouraged their activists
to organise and support the Civil Rights Movement.
Veteran republicans like Kevin Agnew and Pat Shivers whom I grew up
knowing well played key roles in developing the Civil Rights Movement in
counties Antrim and Derry.
Kevin’s former home in Maghera is synonymous with the earliest meetings
to establish the Civil Rights Movement.
Republicans recognised the importance of progressive coalitions to
successfully advance the common ground of equality and rights for all
citizens.
Ironically it’s now quite common to hear a revisionist narrative today
which glosses over that.
The role of the IRA and Sinn Fein may well sit uncomfortably with some
but the reality is the SDLP didn’t exist in 1967/’68. Of course the SDLP
is entitled to claim inspiration for its formation from the Civil Rights
Movement but it was only formed in August 1970, after the Civil Rights
Movement was launched by republicans, human rights activists, trade
unionists and other political activists.
Today 50 years on from the Civil Rights Movement, rights are still being
denied in the north of Ireland.
The political and violent opposition which the Civil Rights Movement
faced amidst mounting injustices eventually gave way to political
conflict.
People like Billy, Kevin and Pat understood very well why tens of
thousands of a new generation turned to armed struggle.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement . It
drew a line under the political conflict here by setting out a framework
to enshrine equality, parity of esteem and mutual respect on the basis
of proper power sharing and All-Ireland political institutions in the
form of an international treaty.
In ways the promise and principles of the Good Friday Agreement
addressed what the Civil Rights Movement did not get resolved.
Just as the unionist state opposed the Civil Rights Movement, powerful
sections of political unionism have resisted and pushed back against the
Good Friday Agreement since 1998. Now the Good Friday Agreement faces
its greatest ever threat from the DUP/Tory government alliance, and
their shared support for Brexit and austerity, and opposition to
equality and dealing with the past.
This current political crisis stems from a refusal by the northern state
to embrace the requirements of the Good Friday Agreement.
The Irish peace process is the most important political project in
Ireland.
It came about because northern nationalism and other strands of
democratic and progressive opinion, with the support of Irish America
and the Irish government created the circumstances which led to the Good
Friday Agreement receiving overwhelming popular support of the Irish
people north and south.
Today the progressive and democratic coalitions which led to the Good
Friday Agreement are needed again to defend and implement the Good
Friday Agreement.
As a co-guarantor of the agreement the Irish government has a huge
responsibility to get onto that position.
Irish America also has a very important role to play once more.
The 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement this April should be a
landmark anniversary in the transformation of this society.
That ought to be a shared objective for all democrats and progressives.
During the last three weeks the Sinn Fein leadership has organised eight
meetings across the north of Ireland. Over 1200 from all walks of life
in civic nationalism have attended.
Some who participated were veteran civil rights activists themselves
from that era and many more were the children and grand children of
civil rights activists.
One clear and consistent message came through from each meeting: civic
nationalism wants the political institutions restored but only on the
right terms.
A year after Martin McGuinness’s resignation popular nationalist and
progressive opinion are saying that parity of esteem, the rights agenda,
dealing with the past, equality and mutual respect, and proper power
sharing must be delivered: there can be no return to the status quo.
The reality of financial scandal, and continued denial of rights and
respect by the DUP, supported by the Tories has remobilised northern
nationalism.
There is a new popular momentum within civic nationalism. It is
demanding the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: nothing
less will be acceptable.
We have come full circle. The war is over but there will be no return to
second-class citizenship in this place.
Billy Nelis’ generation refused to accept second class citizenship and
the post civil rights generations have never been more determined and
confident.
They are not going to be put back into the box – they will never again
be pushed to the back of the bus.
‘PEOPLE UNITED DESPITE DIFFERENCES’
By former MP Bernadette McAliskey (for Irish News)
In August 1968 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA)
organised its first march from Coalisland to Dungannon. On February 6
1972, Nicra organised what was effectively its last civil rights march,
in Newry, to protest the State killing of unarmed civilians taking part
in the Derry march on what became Bloody Sunday.
Nicra was formed by people who were members of political parties and
groups who united, despite other differences, to collectively campaign
for basic reforms which they believed would provide basic equality of
citizenship within the political structures of the north.
Founding members were drawn from the Northern Ireland Liberal Party; N.
Ireland Labour Party; Republican Labour Party; Communist Party of
Ireland; Nationalist Party and the various Republican Clubs, which were
the northern membership of Sinn Fein (headquartered in Gardiner Place,
Dublin).
The Nicra ‘strapline’ was ‘non-violent; non-sectarian; non-political’.
At that time there was no Provisional Sinn Fein/IRA, no SDLP, no IRSP,
no Alliance party, no TUV, no People before Profit, no Green Party, no
DUP either. Except for the Unionist party all the political parties
currently making up Stormont are post-Nicra and are a product of the
fragmentation of the Unionist Party on the one hand, the Nationalist
Party and Republican Movement on the other and the emergence of
different political configurations whose starting point is not
necessarily the constitutional status of N. Ireland.
Nicra’s basic agenda was one family, one house; one man (sic), one
vote; one man, one job; an end to gerrymandering (electoral boundaries
which created the housing/ voting problem) and an end to the Special
Powers Act, which effectively criminalised any opposition, however
peaceful, to Stormont policy and practice and to the constitutional
position.
These demands for fair distribution and equal access were so modest
that, while supporting them, the more radical and impatient voices of
youth, including my own, pushed for more through the People’s Democracy
and other small radical/socialist groupings. There was insufficient
housing, so equality of distribution was not, to my mind, enough. There
was insufficient work for decent wages, so distribution of existing work
was not enough.
The response of the N.I. administration at Stormont and of the UK
government in London to the demand for equality of access to democracy;
equality of social and economic opportunity and an end to repression,
was to increase repression in the hope of silencing the demand and to
further reduce the opportunity to effect change through democratic and
due process.
They bear the brunt of historic responsibility for the period between
1972 and 1998. From 1998 onwards responsibility, like power, lies closer
to home and is shared by those with the duty of managing and
administering shared government, a duty they actively sought, negotiated
and seek to maintain, and from which, with deliberation, they seek to
exclude others.
Fifty years on from 1968, emergency legislation remains on the statute
books. People are still imprisoned without fair trial. The housing
crisis – overcrowding, homelessness and social exclusion – are all
greater now than in 1968.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive, created in 1971 to address fair
allocation of Social Housing based on need and to redress the shortage
of affordable homes, has been decimated, starved of resources and
stripped of assets.
There can be no equal opportunity in employment where those in work earn
insufficient wages to adequately feed themselves and their families and
pay rent to an on unregulated private sector or inappropriately
regulated social sector.
An examination of collective conscience on how the damage done over 50
years by the actions of the State and those employed to do their bidding
officially, and as we now know furtively, within the militarist
organisations on all sides of the conflict is to be addressed and truth
and justice extracted from and secured for those who have now girded
themselves with the belt of peace.
Without openness, transparency, accountability and participation in
decision making, leadership becomes no more than the power to control.
Power without accountability becomes corruption.
Those claiming bragging rights from 1968 might reflect with greater
humility on the price paid against the degree of progress made since
that first march and examine their actual contribution to the reality of
2018 – a stagnant, sectarian dysfunctional Stormont making the rich
richer and the poor poorer; a damaged, demoralised and divided
community; justice denied; truth distorted; and controlled management of
conflict and corruption mistaken for peace.
Posted by Jim on
With no sign of a British government solution to the issue of the Irish
border, the European Union is reportedly preparing a draft of the
British withdrawal treaty with the North of Ireland effectively having
status within the EU.
The move comes after Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator warned that
border checks will otherwise be unavoidable under British plans to
leave the EU single market and customs union.
Mr Barnier also warned that agreement on a transition period to smooth
Britain’s exit from the EU was “not a given” — indicating the
possibility remained of a sudden and chaotic introduction of border
controls across Ireland.
Michel Barnier made the remarks after London expressed a new
determination to leave the customs union and the single European
market. The comments also came after unionist hardliner Ian Paisley jnr
of the DUP called on the British parliament to adopt a “no surrender
attitude”.
Unionists remain focused on a potential blame game with the EU over the
introduction of border checks, with the DUP insisting it is only the
the EU which is “brandishing the threat of customs controls”.
Last month, South Down Sinn Fein MP Chris Hazzard warned over the
possibility of civil disobedience and local anger and frustration in
border areas “at even the thought of a customs post going up”.
British officials negotiating in Brussels were told by their
counterparts on Tuesday that while full alignment between North and
South would be the only option included in the withdrawal treaty, there
could be a “sunset clause” included in the legally binding text, which
is expected to be published in about two weeks. That clause would allow
the text on the border to become obsolete if a better alternative for
“regulatory alignment” across the border is found.
Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy again called for a broad alliance across
Ireland to support special status for the North, which he said is now a
“live project”.
“It has been evident for anyone who has examined this matter that the
only way in which a hardening of the Irish border can be avoided is for
all of Ireland to remain part of the single market and customs union,”
he said.
“Anything less risks the imposition of border controls and the
undermining of the Good Friday Agreement – it is therefore now time for
all Irish political parties and the Irish government to unite in
pursuing that goal.”
An official report for the British government found that the North’s
economy faces a potential 12% hit as a result of Brexit. But the East
Antrim DUP MP Sammy Wilson has repeated the unionist and Tory hard line
that Brexit must come at any cost and said the “gloves are off”.
“The blackmailing burghers from Brussels and the cheap political
opportunists in Dublin must meet a tough UK government response,” he
wrote. “In these negotiations, if the gloves are off, it is time we
went into the fray with a no surrender attitude.”
Sinn Fein’s outgoing leader Gerry Adams expressed concern at the
developing standoff and urged more clarity to what he described as the
“fudge” which was negotiated in December.
“The Irish government must urgently seek clarification from the EU
negotiating team on the current state of play with the British,” he
said.
“Specifically, we need to know if the legal language of the draft
agreement will support the North remaining within the single market and
customs union; if the Irish government will support that position; and
will it refuse to accept, as was agreed in December, that there will be
no hard border?
“The Irish government must also demand that the British government
spell out what measures it plans to put in place to ensure that full
regulatory alignment is put in place.”
Posted by Jim on
As he prepares to hand over the reins to Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein
president Gerry Adams has been giving interviews and facing a welter of
last-minute criticism from of his political opponents.
He says his legacy is not an issue which he has concerned himself with,
because he believes he did the best he could.
“I don’t mind. If I thought about it very deeply those people who
detest me will continue to detest me. Those people who admire me will
continue to admire me.
“All I did in the course of the job, I was doing my best. And I think
that is all we can do. I am satisfied I have done my best,” he said.
Much of the media commentary has been speculation about Mr Adams
involvement with the IRA, something he has always denied.
Mr Adams said he first began peace efforts with Catholic priest Father
Alec Reid as far back as 1976 and 1977, several years before he became
the leader of Sinn Fein.
But it was not until 1988 that Fr Reid mediated Mr Adams’ dialogue with
the then SDLP leader John Hume, which led to the IRA ceasefire six
years later.
Mr Adams has said he regrets that it took until 1994 for the first IRA
ceasefire, but accused others of hiding behind a “subterfuge” of moral
denunciations to avoid dialogue.
“I regret the fact anyone was killed, particularly those who were
killed by the IRA. Of course I do,” he said. “All victims deserve the
truth and justice and their families deserve that.
“People will judge me whatever way they want to judge me and I accept
that. I have been very moved by the generosity and grace of some people
who were really hurt in the conflict.
“That has been quite inspirational, to meet people who were prepared to
set aside that hurt for the common good. What we all have to do is make
sure it never happens again.”
He said that when he and Mr Hume eventually met in 1988 they “did what
is just the imperative, the primacy of any process (which) is to talk,
to listen.”
“And out of that came the Hume/Adams principles,” he added.
Mr Adams criticised past British prime ministers who refused to talk to
Sinn Fein during the conflict and called them “the stupid ones.”
“Probably the toughest (prime ministers to deal with) were the stupid
ones who wouldn’t talk.
“If you consider that I was an elected official along with others and
other elected officials wouldn’t talk to us and the British prime
ministers handed over the future … to generals, to military bosses,
to people who brought in collusion, internment, shoot to kill and all
the rest of it and just militarised the situation with all the awful
consequences of that.”
Mr Adams said that John Major had the chance to help bring peace to the
north but failed to do so, while Tony Blair seized the opportunity
“with both hands”.
Mr Adams also said the idea of Irish unity has become more prevalent
since Britain decided to leave the European Union. Mr Adams said
however that he does not believe a united Ireland is inevitable.
“You have to work for it and you have to convince people. But we now
have a very peaceful and democratic way of achieving it,” he said.
Mr Adams added: “That means persuading people that the best way for all
of us on this island is if we govern ourselves. Why do we want English
people to govern us? Why do we want anybody but ourselves to govern
us?”
He said that at the “very core” of Irish unity was “uniting orange and
green.”
“(It’s) about harmony and peace between those two big traditions. And
as we become more multicultural it is also about making space for all
of those other folks out there who wouldn’t be part of the orange and
green tradition. It is about trying to build a tolerant, respectful,
citizens based, rights centred society,” said Mr Adams.
When asked how he would judge himself, Mr Adams replied: “To tell you
the truth, I haven’t thought of that.
“I am a very good dancer, I sing extremely well, I am a half-decent
cook, I have written a wee bit, I like walking, but I’m comfortable in
my own skin and I am surrounded by some wonderful people, a great
family, my wife, people who love me.
“The most important thing in life is friendship and the most important
thing you can give to anyone is time. So I am blessed with friends and
all this time,” he said.
Mr Adams added that he also felt “blessed” to still be alive, having
survived a number of assassination attempts.
“I have escaped a number of attempts to kill me and so on. I have been
blessed by some very incompetent assassins, so there are lots of good
things in life,” he said.
Thousands of Sinn Fein delegates are gathering today at the RDS in
Dublin to acclaim of Dublin Central TD Ms McDonald as his successor.
Sinn Fein’s northern leader, Michelle O’Neill, will also be elevated to
the vice-president position.
Mr Adams is passing on the Sinn Fein presidency after more than 34
years in the post.
Posted by Jim on
January 2018
MARK THOMPSON -RELATIVES FOR JUSTICE-
AOH TOUR FOR VICTIMS’ FAMILIES
Mark Thompson ended a weeklong emergency American tour which generated a new Congressional initiative, five public events and formal proclamations of support by the New York State Senate, Assembly and local governments. Sponsored by the New York State Board Ancient Order of Hibernians, the tour brought together other Irish American organizations, and commitments to help Relatives for Justice and the victims they represent break the deadlock on legacy truth.
The emergency tour was an AOH response to crown moves to give British troopers and constabulary an amnesty, while denying Inquest Courts and Ombudsmen investigators needed funding. Mark Thompson made an emergency appeal for American help, noting that the AOH and Irish-American grassroots had been a driving force behind every American initiative for Irish justice.
Before his first public meeting, Mr. Thompson held the first of several pre- arranged telephone briefings, beginning with Congressman Richard Neal’s office. These briefings would climax in a meeting with Congressman Joe Crowley and a proposal for a new Congressional initiative to support legacy victims.
SUFFOLK
Mark Thompson’s first public address took place at the Suffolk County AOH Hall, in Babylon, Long Island, hosted by New York State AOH President Victor Vogel. AOH officers including Past State President Jim Burke, Suffolk County President Jerry Belmont and Nassau County President Pete Begley packed the hall, alongside relatives of legacy victims. Chris Thompson of the Suffolk County Brehon Law Society, and noted MacBride Principles campaigner Patrick Doherty, now with New York State Comptroller DiNapoli’s office, also attended. Here RFJ received the first of many legislative Proclamations of support for its work, sponsored by New York State Senator Phil Boyle.
New York Freedom-for-all-Ireland Chair, Martin Galvin noted:
“the phrase to get away with murder was literally true of British policy. British crown forces, or their paid agents who colluded and carried out murders, were shielded. Now as Relatives for Justice threatens to use British justice mechanisms to get truth for these victims, the British are starving their own courts, inquest judges and Ombudsman investigations of funding while moving towards pardons dressed up as statutes of limitations.”
MANDATED BY FAMILIES
Mark Thompson began by saying that “Relatives for Justice was mandated to represent hundreds of families in the north whose loved ones, were not alone murdered but then slandered to justify their murders”. He pointed in the audience to relatives of Maura Meehan and Dorothy Maguire, killed by British troops in Belfast in 1971,and to relatives of John Boyle, shot by British SAS troops in 1978.He detailed the circumstances of these killings and the legal cover-up which followed, to explain how the British mistreated hundreds of families .
He said, “now as families get near truth after years pushing against a wall of deceit, the British want to use amnesties and a funding cut-off to lock the door on justice. Victims’ families want(a)no amnesty pardons for British forces,(b)funding for legacy inquests and Ombudsman inquiries, and (c implementation of the legacy mechanisms agreed at Stormont House in 2015”.
He quoted an expression that “when America sneezes Britain catches a cold and we want Irish America to sicken the British with demands for legacy justice”.
MANHATTAN
The next night, Mr. Thompson spoke in mid-town Manhattan at an event co-hosted by Queens, Brooklyn, New York and Bronx AOH.
The crowd included, AOH national officers Jere Cole, Sean Pender Dan Dennehy Jeff Nisler and Tom Beirne, State President Vic Vogel and Treasurer John Manning. Special thanks to Walter Cooper , Jim Sullivan, back from Florida and Parade Committee Chairman Denis McCarthy. Hibernians were joined by Jennifer Frankola of the Brehon Law Society, and Leslie Cassidy of the Irish American Unity Conference.
Here RFJ received a State Assembly Proclamation of support sponsored by Assemblyman Dinowitz and a Bronx Borough Proclamation presented on behalf of the Borough President by Gabriel and Patricia Megahey, friends of long time Bronx resident Liam Ryan. David Tubiolo presented a Proclamation from Westchester County. These Proclamations made special note of RFJ’s work for this American citizen, murdered in his native Tyrone.
This time Mr. Thompson pointed to Malachy McAllister, the proprietor of the Wolfe Tone Pub, who escaped an assassination attempt in Belfast, at the hands of British agents as well as the killing of Liam Ryan in Arboe County Tyrone. He explained the facts of these cases, how the British hid the truth and appealed for AOH and American help.
ROCKLAND
Mark Thompson then traveled to Rockland County for an event at the Hibernian House, arranged by Dermot Moore and co-chaired by Vincent Tyer and John McGowan.
Again Mr. Thompson met relatives and friends of victims killed by crown forces or crown agents. A cousin of Sam Marshall and friends of Rory and Gerard Cairns were in the audience. Mark Thompson started with an explanation of these killings as well as recent developments in the Loughall inquests. He used these specific cases to illustrate, the obstacles that the British have used to stonewall the families in the battle for truth.
One of the most emotional moments came when one relative asked whether the British would ever allow truth about these murders.
Mr. Thompson replied that “the families will never give up, have gained a lot of progress that once seemed impossible and it is important that RFJ and Irish America never give up supporting them”.
The event also included presentation of a Rockland County Legislature Resolution of support by Vincent Tyer, donations to RFJ and was attended by Past National President Brendan Moore.
CONGRESS
Before traveling to Albany, Mark Thompson detoured to Queens and a formal meeting with Congressman Joe Crowley. He was accompanied by AOH members Sean Pender, Bob Nolan, Dermot Moore and Martin Galvin. Here Congressman Crowley agreed to lead a formal Congressional sign-on letter to the British government.
Mr. Thompson then headed to Albany and the AOH Hall in Albany where the prestigious Fr. Murphy award was presented to Ciaran Geraghty, Past NYS FFAI Chair by past State President Tim McSweeney. The event was co-chaired by Dolores Desch and John Levandosky, with National Director Liam McNabb as Master of Ceremonies, State President Vic Vogel piping the dignitaries in and State Vice-President Tom Lambert among a host of State and National officers in attendance.
Here Mark Thompson explained that it was the anniversary of the murder of his brother Peter Thompson. The Thompson family had been laughed at, then threatened when they tried to find out the truth. He explained that that murder, that cover-up and that injustice was the driving force which had motivated him to help form and lead Relatives for Justice, and why he felt so deeply about other families put through the same grief.
PEEKSILL
Mark Thompson’s final public event at the Quiet Man Pub, Peekskill hosted by National Director Dan Dennehy, FFAI Chair Bob Bolbach, County President Brian Duffy, District Director Aidan O’Kelly Lynch and Division President Clive Cronin. Here Mark Thompson said he was overwhelmed at by support he had received night after night, from Irish America and the AOH. He noted again how grassroots Irish-America had spearheaded every initiative to help victims of British rule that had come from America. He found everywhere he had spoken, a tremendous willingness indeed desire to help. He said he victims’ families will be encouraged by the groundswell of support he found in America.
State President Vic Vogel then presented Mr. Thompson with a special plaque, memorializing the five tour events where Mr. Thompson spoke. The State President, who had authorized the tour attended multiple events as did National officers, Jere Cole, Sean Pender and Dan Dennehy.
ISSUES UPDATE
A-New British colonial secretary had never been in six counties
British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Karen Bradley to succeed James Brokenshire to preside over the six counties. Bradley had never even visited the north of Ireland before her appointment. Now she will preside over talks to restore Stormont power sharing despite her lack of interest, much less knowledge of Irish issues. She named former British trooper Kris Hopkins, as a Special Policy Advisor (Spad).Hopkins had survived IRA attacks in Belfast and South Armagh. The appointment was criticized by Mark Thompson of RFJ, who said the selection was made as the “Tory/DUP alliance seeks to push an amnesty for British soldiers through Parliament.”
B-UVF Commander and British Agent Gary Haggerty gets minimum sentence for 5 murders and 202 terror crimes
Former Ulster Volunteer Force loyalist killer and British informer Gary Haggarty, received a sentence in Belfast Crown Court that will free him for a new life under the PSNI/MI5.
The original sentence of 75 years for 5 muders,23 conspiracy to murder and 4 kidnapping counts among 202 terror offenses was reduced to six and one half, allowing Haggarty to walk free to his new life almost immediately. Among the murder victims was grandfather Sean McParland, shot dead in front of his children
two Catholic workman eating lunch on the job, Eamon Fox and Gary Convie, Sean McDermott and John Harbison. Fox’s son Kieran said he was “gutted” by the sentenc. “The man is a serial killer. He was a paid State informer. The RUC knew he was killing at will and let it continue.”
C- Free Tony Taylor calls after 700 days Interned by License
Derry Republican Tony Taylor has now spent over 700 days imprisoned in Maghaberry by order of British secretaries despite repeated calls for his release or due process. Mr. Taylor,a respected Derry Republican was jailed under procedures described as Internment-by-License. He served a sentence for possession of a weapon but was then jailed based on secret information that the British refuse to release to him or his lawyer for defense.
D-Battle to Ban Irish flag from St. Patrick’s Day Parades
While Irish flags are proudly carried around the world and in most of Ireland in St. Patrick’s Day Parades, an announcement was made that the Irish flag would be banned in the strongly Republican town of Strabane on the West Tyrone-Donegal border.
A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council
announced that the Council wanted a “cross-community” event that would be inclusive and promote reconciliation by banning flags.
When Independent Republican Councillor Paul Gallagher protested, he was told that Irish flags have long been excluded from St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Derry, Belfast, Newry and Downpatrick.
Councillor Gallagher challenged the ban at a Council meeting and is asking why British flags can be flown in events funded by unionist dominated councils but Irish flags can be excluded.
In Strabane the ban on Irish flags may rescinded but uncertainty continues as well as the status of the ban in Derry and Newry.
Special Thanks With Apologies
Brothers I want to thank each of you who helped make the Mark Thompson tour so successful. This tour through the events and publicity in Irish-American papers has gotten a great response, not only from those who attended, or read about it, but perhaps most important from the victims’ families in Ireland who welcome our AOH backing in their fight for truth and justice. We are now working on a Congressional letter and other initiatives including ideas for additional tours.
I apologize to everyone whose name is not included.
Please contact me at MGALVINESQ@AOL.COM
Slan,
MARTIN GALVIN
Posted by Jim on
Special Pledge Programming 12noon-2pm
RADIO FREE EIREANN will broadcast a special two hour Pledge Program this Saturday February 10th on WBAI Radio 99.5FM or WBAI.ORG at 12 noon-2pm New York time or 5pm-7pm in Ireland or anytime after the program on WBAI.ORG Archives
Author,retired fireman and story teller BILLY O’CONNOR will talk about his latest book “Da Mick” taking a humorous look at being a New York City Fireman when the Bronx was burning in the 1970s.
Donors who pledge to support the program will get a copy of the book.
LORRAINE TAYLOR,will talk about her husband TONY TAYLOR, a Derry Republican who has now spent more than 700 days Interned -by-license , jailed on British charges kept secret from him or or any solicitor picked by him.
While Irish flags and “England Out of Ireland” banners are a feature of St. Patrick’s Day Parades in New York, Independent Irish Republican Councillor PAUL GALLAGHER, will give a quick update on last week’s story of British attempts to ban Irish flags from St. Patrick’s Day Parades.
JOHN FAY the creator and moderator of NUZHOUND,the daily collection of articles on the north of Ireland will explain why that service may have to close down..
John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co-host.