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July 11, 2005

Security Concern High Over Parade

News about Ireland & the Irish

IT 07/12/05 Security Concern High Over Ardoyne Parade
BT 07/11/05 Reroute Parade, Urge Ardoyne Residents
IT 07/12/05 Teenage Father Killed As Loyalist Feud Deepens
IO 07/11/05 UVF Boss Under Guard After NI Murder
BB 07/11/05 Woman Flees After Intimidation
BB 07/11/05 Police Working To Counter Feuding
IT 07/12/05 Anti-Pope Graffiti Scrawled On Church
IT 07/12/05 IRA Deal On Arms Must Be Demanded – Rabbitte
SF 07/11/05 Rabbitte Completely Out Of Touch With Peace Process
IO 07/11/05 Sinn Féin Denies Republican Link To Murder
BB 07/11/05 Paisley And Blair Talk About IRA
IT 07/12/05 New Attempt To Be Made To Have Five Men Freed
BB 07/11/05 On July 12, 1998: Children Die In Drumcree Protests
IO 07/11/05 Terrorists May Be Plotting In Ireland – McDowell
NF 07/11/05 Bush Terror War Devastates London
IO 07/11/05 NI: Most Would Back Truth Commission
IT 07/12/05 100 Trapped In Heat In Broken Down Dart
IT 07/12/05 Ferry Access To Great Blasket In Dispute
TO 07/11/05 Jim Sheridan To Enter The 'Emerald City'

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/3624286710HM6PARADES.html

Security Concern High Over Ardoyne Parade

Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor

The PSNI, backed up by the British army, is expected to mount
a huge security operation in north Belfast this evening amid
concerns that a return Orange Order parade past Ardoyne
shopfronts could erupt into serious violence.

There are a number of contentious parades in today's Twelfth of
July demonstrations but the main focus of concern is Ardoyne
where a large nationalist protest against the Orangemen and
their supporters is expected this evening.

There are also concerns around this morning's parade by the
Ardoyne shops and also at Whiterock in west Belfast this
morning where Orangemen will march on to the nationalist
Springfield Road.

There is also potential for trouble to flare in other areas
with thousands of Orange Order members and supporters and
hundreds of bands participating in 18 parades throughout the
North.

The largest parade is in Portadown which police hope will prove
peaceful after Sunday's Drumcree parade and protest concluded
without serious incident.

It is expected that the potentially difficult Orange parade in
the nationalist west bank of Derry will be peaceful after
Orangemen and nationalists reached an accommodation.

Tonight's return feeder parade involving, all told, about 400
Orangemen, bands and supporters past the Ardoyne shops is a
major security concern.

Violence erupted there last year when nationalists, who were
separated from the Orange marchers by huge security screens,
fired missiles over the screens. In a second incident, British
paratroopers who were isolated from their colleagues were
attacked by nationalists.

Senior military personnel admitted that the soldiers were
within only minutes of firing on the nationalists at the time.
Leading republicans such as Gerry Kelly and Bobby Storey
intervened to calm the situation.

This year, however, there is no guarantee that provisional
republicans will act in a similar fashion. Sinn Féin
politicians warned that because of the re-jailing of IRA
Shankill bomber Seán Kelly, former IRA prisoners might not be
inclined to maintain some form of restraint on nationalist
protesters this evening.

How tonight unfolds could have wider political repercussions
with some concerns that if trouble erupts it could delay the
IRA issuing a statement on its future intentions. Currently
there is an expectation that the IRA will respond to Sinn Féin
president Gerry Adams's appeal to the organisation to fully
embrace peace and democracy before the end of July. Trouble
tonight could affect that predicted timing.

PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde appealed for calm but
insisted his officers are prepared for whatever eventuality
arises. "I have more than enough resources to deal with
anything I have to deal with," he said.

He urged community and political leaders to use their influence
to try to ensure a peaceful Twelfth. "I don't think it's too
late for any community leader to say 'Let's look at what needs
to be done and how we can comply with the law'," he said.

"My officers and soldiers are in the middle of this. That's a
very difficult place to be. We are more than capable of dealing
with whatever happens. We will do our job, but other people
have to do their job," added Sir Hugh.

Mr Adams also appealed for calm. He said the Parades Commission
had "created an extremely dangerous situation in Ardoyne" and
the Orange Order had been rewarded for refusing to talk with
local residents. Its sole purpose, he said, was to cause
offence. Sinn Féin had been working to ensure the situation did
not "spiral out of control" and he appealed to young people
"not to be provoked".

© The Irish Times

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=652152

Reroute Parade, Urge Ardoyne Residents

By Chris Thornton, Political Correspondent
cthornton@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
11 July 2005

ARDOYNE residents made a last ditch effort today to reroute
tomorrow's key flashpoint marches, citing weekend violence.

As thousands of Orangemen prepared for the culmination of the
marching season, an attack on a house along the route of
tomorrow's disputed parades prompted a request for the Parades
Commission to review their decision to allow the marches to go
ahead.

And Sinn Fein Assembly member Gerry Kelly was due to make the
same argument to Security Minister Shaun Woodward this
afternoon. Mr Kelly said the violence has signficantly raised
tensions.

The annual Drumcree parade - which has routinely been the most
serious security threat during recent marching seasons - passed
off quietly yesterday, as concerns about unrest shifted to
north Belfast.

Marches along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops sparked
violence last month and during last year's Twelfth.

As the residents pushed for the Parades Commission to change
its decision, Sinn Fein said the attack on a Catholic home on
the Crumlin Road and last night's suspected inter-loyalist
shootings - which left one man dead - have signficantly raised
tensions.

More than 100 Orangemen and bandsmen - as well as scores of
supporters - are due to march along the Crumlin Road in the
morning to link with the main parade. They are due to return in
the evening.

Mr Kelly said the commission should accept a compromise
proposal by residents, which would see the parade pass in the
morning but return by another route. He said rerouting the
evening parade "is the only sensible option".

Concerns about tomorrow's parade have been heightened by
republicans saying they would not police protesters to prevent
violence.

Sinn Fein said former IRA prisoners would not attempt to
marshal Ardoyne protesters because of the recent re-arrest of
Shankill bomber Sean Kelly.

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/2745379790HM6NIFEUD.html

Teenage Father Killed As Loyalist Feud Deepens

Gerry Moriarty

Tensions were high at Eleventh Night bonfires and in loyalist
areas of Belfast last night after the feud between the Ulster
Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force left one man
dead and another critically injured.

The UVF was blamed for the murder of a 19-year-old man in north
Belfast early yesterday morning while the LVF was believed
responsible for seriously wounding a man out walking his dogs
in north Belfast less than two hours earlier.

The 19-year-old died after a three-man armed gang burst into
his home at Dhu Varren in north Belfast around 1.30 am
yesterday, according to police. His partner and young baby were
in the house when he was gunned down.

The suspected UVF killers are believed to have escaped in a
blue Peugeot car which was later found burnt-out at Cupar Way
in the Shankill area.

Police believe that this killing was in retaliation for an
attack shortly before midnight which left a man in his 20s
fighting for his life in hospital. He was shot a number of
times in the upper body on the Crumlin Road at Glenbank while
walking his dogs past a loyalist bonfire site.

The LVF was blamed for this shooting, which is viewed as a
revenge attack for the murder in east Belfast on July 1st by
the UVF of Jameson Lockhart, who was known to be associated
with the LVF.

Shortly after the murder of the 19-year-old man, another man
escaped a murder bid. He fled from his house at Woodvale Pass
after jumping out of a window as a masked gang attempted to
smash their way into the house.

A shotgun attack on a home early on Sunday morning is also part
of this latest series of incidents in the feud, police believe.
In that incident one shot was fired into the house at
Silverstream Road in north Belfast.

No one was injured. A few minutes later several shots were
fired on Silverstream Road. One man was arrested and a shotgun
recovered. The LVF is being blamed for that shooting.

The shootings came as little surprise to police as it was
widely known that the LVF was planning retaliation for the
murder of Mr Lockhart. Equally the UVF signalled they would
viciously respond to any LVF attacks.

The murder victim, who has yet to be named, is not known to be
a member of the UVF. If he had any associations with the
organisation they were at a very low level, local sources said.

Last night senior UVF and LVF figures were tightening up their
security as police feared further attacks in this long-running
UVF-LVF feud which sporadically erupts into murderous violence.
Det Chief Supt Phil Wright said he believed all these attacks
were part of the loyalist feud.

He warned vulnerable people to be very careful in their
movements and associations.

The DUP MP for North Belfast, Nigel Dodds, described the
attacks as sickening and appalling. "The ordinary people of
north Belfast do not want this violence."

© The Irish Times
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http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=63771830&p=6377zy3z&n=63772210

UVF Boss Under Guard After NI Murder

11/07/2005 - 17:02:16

A loyalist paramilitary chief was under protection tonight
after rival gunmen in Belfast murdered a teenager and left a
man fighting for his life.

As police swamped the north of the city in a bid to halt
feuding terrorists carrying out more killings, personal
bodyguards were drafted in to watch over the Ulster Volunteer
Force boss.

The move came after four shootings in less than 24 hours
involving his organisation and its sworn enemies in the
splinter Loyalist Volunteer Force.

In one attack, three gunmen broke into a house at Dhu Varren
just before 2am today and opened fire on a 19-year-old man.

The victim, whose partner and their baby were also at home,
died later in hospital.

UVF men have been blamed for the murder.

A light blue Peugeot 405 car thought to have been used by the
killers was later found on fire.

Soon after, a man jumped from the window of a house in nearby
Woodvale Pass as masked men tried to smash their way in.

The retaliation killing followed three earlier attacks blamed
on the LVF.

In the most serious, a man in his 20s was shot several times as
he walked his dogs past a bonfire site on the Crumlin Road.

He was critically injured in the midnight shooting and
underwent emergency surgery.

It also emerged that a mother and child escaped injury early on
Sunday morning when shots were fired into a house on
Silverstream Avenue and at a nearby address.

One man was arrested by police.

The hatred that has festered between the two organisations ever
since UVF men broke away to form the LVF nearly a decade ago
shows no sign of abating.

Several men on both sides have been killed as the mutual
loathing and desire for supremacy sporadically erupts into all-
out violence.

The latest attacks are thought to be linked to a murder in the
city earlier this month.

Jameson Lockhart was gunned down as he sat on a lorry in east
Belfast on July 1.

The 25-year-old victim, who was from the north of the city and
believed to have LVF connections, had been clearing rubble from
the site of a demolished bar when the killers struck.

The detective in charge of the latest murder investigation
confirmed officers probing the Lockhart assassination have been
drafted in to hunt down the killers.

Chief Superintendent Phil Wright said: "I believe all these
attacks are down to the loyalist feud. "They were carried out
by personalities from these organisations.

"We have got detectives and uniformed staff working on this
from the Lockhart murder team."

As loyalists prepared to light bonfires tonight to mark the
beginning of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, the
security forces were attempting to stop further bloodshed.

"I'm sure the public has seen the high visibility of policing
that has taken place. We have put these resources in and I'm
confident we are doing everything we possibly can," Mr Wright
added.

But sources in the area conceded more attacks were almost
inevitable.

"The UVF is on full alert and there is no doubt they will hit
back," one said.

"Their supreme commander has also been given personal
bodyguards – it's that serious."

Police and political representatives urged those with influence
to help calm the situation.

Nigel Dodds, the MP for North Belfast, claimed the public was
sickened by the feuding and called for Security Minister Shaun
Woodward to give police more support.

The Democratic Unionist representative said: "The ordinary
people of north Belfast do not want this violence.

"Shaun Woodward must ensure the police have the necessary
resources to deal with everything they have to contend with
over the next 48 hours and beyond.

"The lesson of history surely teaches those intent on
continuing this violence that it achieves absolutely nothing
and that it is the last thing loyalists want."

Ulster Unionist Chris McGimpsey warned loyalists they were
staring into the abyss.

He said: "Both sides need to take a long look at themselves
before they plunge our community into a feud."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4673327.stm

Woman Flees After Intimidation

A Catholic woman resident in a predominantly loyalist estate in
County Antrim for more than 50 years has moved out after a
campaign of intimidation.

Kathleen McCaughey, who had been living in the Brookfield
Gardens area of Ahoghill, said she felt she had no other choice
but to leave.

"My door was kicked down and I was told to get out within 48
hours.

"Windows broken and paint bombs, petrol bombs then paint bombs
again. I feel wild upset about it," she said.

"I like Ahoghill and I loved it but what can I do, I'm getting
intimidated and threats what else could I do but move."

SDLP councillor Declan O'Loan condemned the intimidation, which
he said culminated with a mob playing mini lambeg drums
picketing her house last week.

"The woman who was forced out of her home had the support of
most of her Protestant neighbours, but they were intimidated
too," he said.

In March, police investigating a firework attack on her home
were attacked with bricks and stones.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/07/11 16:51:55 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4673579.stm

Police Working To Counter Feuding

Police are working to counter the feud between the UVF and LVF,
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has said.

It follows a murder and shooting linked by police to tensions
between the two loyalist paramilitary organisations.

He said an increased security presence had stopped violence in
affected areas and loyalist murders were at their lowest level
for "many, many years".

"We are fixing the problem, but we can only do so much," he
said, adding the public must give them information.

Sir Hugh appealed for calm on the 11th night, the eve of the
Twelfth of July celebrations, which are marked by bonfires in
loyalist areas.

"A large number of resources are being deployed," he said.

"I'll be out with my senior officers surveying the scene and
making sure we do our best to allow people to enjoy the
bonfires without it escalating into violence.

"In this weather, I would appeal to people to keep their drink
down to a minimum it is very hot out there and we need people
to maintain a perspective. Commonsense must prevail."

Loyalist paramilitaries were linked to two gun attacks in north
Belfast in which a 19-year-old man was killed and another
critically injured.

The dead man was shot after three men burst into a house in Dhu
Varren Crescent in the Woodvale area at about 0400 BST. He died
later in hospital.

The other man was shot several times as he walked two dogs on
the Crumlin Road near Glenbank just before midnight.

A short time after the killing, in nearby Woodvale Pass, a man
escaped another apparent murder bid by jumping out the window
of a house as a number of masked men were attempting to smash
their way into it.

BBC Northern Ireland security editor Brian Rowan said the UVF
is believed to have carried out the murder and the LVF to be
responsible for the first shooting.

Loyalist sources have said neither victim was a member of a
paramilitary group.

Chief Superintendent Phil Wright said police were very
concerned by "how tensions have increased" between the rival
loyalists.

"We would appeal for vigilance out there. We would ask people
to be very wary about what's going on, who they see, about what
people are doing and if they have any concerns report any of
that activity to the police," he said.

Detectives have asked for anyone who saw a light blue Peugeot
405 that may have been used by the killers to contact them.

It was found on fire in Cupar Way in the Shankill area a short
time after the fatal attack.

The name of the man who was killed has not yet been released.

The shootings came just 24 hours after an attack on a home in
the nearby Ballysillan district.

Earlier this month, loyalist paramilitaries were blamed for the
murder of a man shot dead as he drove a lorry in east Belfast.

He was Jameson Lockhart, 25, from the Ballysillan area of north
Belfast.

The DUP's North Belfast MP, Nigel Dodds, has condemned the
overnight shooting incidents.

"These events are sickening and appalling. The ordinary people
of north Belfast do not want this violence," he said.

"I appeal for calm and restraint at this very difficult time.
As we approach the 11th night bonfires and the Twelfth itself
it is vital that everyone with any influence uses it to defuse
the situation."

Meanwhile, a man and his family have been forced to leave their
home in Barnagh Park, Donaghadee, after a threat from loyalist
paramilitaries.

It is understood the police informed the family about the
threat on Monday.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/07/11 19:58:13 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/3139641408HM6GRAFFITI.html

Anti-Pope Graffiti Scrawled On Church

Parishioners have condemned the sectarian scrawling of anti-
Pope graffiti on the front door of Harryville Catholic Church
in Ballymena.

The words "f*** the Pope" were written on the front door of the
church in the staunchly loyalist part of the town. Metal
fencing was also painted red white and blue. A major eleventh
night bonfire was held last night just yards away from the
chapel at the King George V Park.

The Church of Our Lady was the subject of a 20-month long
loyalist picket running from 1996 to 1998. Recently there has
been speculation that some loyalists want to re-launch the
protest.

The church voluntarily cancels its Saturday night Mass during
July and August at the height of the marching season.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/3525931161HM6RABBITTE.html

IRA Deal On Arms Must Be Demanded - Rabbitte

Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent

The Government must demand that the IRA's top membership
signs up to a deal to decommission weapons and end paramilitary
and criminal actions, Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte has
said.

Urging the Government not to accept "a weasel-worded fudge"
from the IRA, he said he was disturbed by reports that an IRA
convention may be held to ratify the statement expected in the
coming days, or weeks.

Though official comment from the Government is lacking, senior
figures have been told by Sinn Féin that a statement is several
more weeks away, and that it would be better not to hold a
convention. The holding of such a gathering could see up to 10
per cent of senior IRA figures quitting the organisation,
Martin McGuinness has argued.

Up to now, the Government has insisted that there must be no
ambiguity in the IRA's statement, though there are some signals
from senior figures speaking privately that they accept the
McGuinness argument to some extent, at least.

In April Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams appealed directly to the
IRA membership and those who make up its convention, the
element of the organisation with the power to change its
constitution.

The lack of such ratification, said the Labour Party leader,
would mean that the republican movement is embarking on a new
strategy, which he dubbed Tuas Mark 2 (the Tactical Use of
Armed Struggle), that would be "shrouded in obscurity and
obfuscation".

© The Irish Times

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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/10399

Rabbitte Completely Out Of Touch With Peace Process

Published: 11 July, 2005

Sinn Féin Dáil Group Leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD has
described this afternoon's comments from Labour Party leader
Pat Rabbitte as 'bizarre' and 'totally out of touch'.

Deputy Ó Caoláin said:

"Pat Rabbitte's vitriolic statement this afternoon is bizarre
and shows how out of touch he is in terms of the peace process.
It now seems that his contribution is reduced to responding to
wild speculation in the media. Rather than assisting efforts
to get the peace process back on track he seems to glory in the
difficulties that exist and once again has no positive
contribution to make.

"For the last six months the peace process has been in
freefall. On April 6th, Gerry Adams made an unprecedented
appeal to the IRA to commit itself to purely peaceful and
democratic methods. It is clear that a positive response from
the IRA would have an immediate and enormous impact on the
political situation. It would restart the faltering peace
process; remove from unionists their excuse for non-engagement
and it would put enormous pressure on the DUP to come on board
the peace process for the first time.

"Surely, Pat Rabbitte should be supporting such efforts and not
reverting to the bizarre anti republican netherworld from which
he first emerged."ENDS

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http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=149076842&p=y49x77548

Sinn Féin Denies Republican Link To Murder

11/07/2005 - 16:16:03

The killers of Dublin man Joseph Rafferty had nothing do with
the republican movement, Sinn Féin said today.

Mr Rafferty, 29, who was originally from the south inner city,
was shot outside his home in the Ongar Park Estate, near
Clonsilla, on April 12.

His sister, Esther Rafferty, has said he received death threats
before his murder and that his family believe he was killed by
someone with Sinn Féin and IRA connections.

But today Dublin Sinn Féin chairman Justin Moran said the
people Ms Rafferty believed killed her brother had nothing to
do with Sinn Féin or the republican movement.

"These people are thugs… they are not members of Sinn Féin,
they have never been Sinn Féin election workers," he said.

"What happened to Joseph Rafferty was a brutal, horrific murder
and there have been allegations made that people who are some
way connected to our party are involved in this.

"What I'm saying is these people are not members of Sinn Féin,
I do not know them as members of Sinn Féin, they have never
been involved in the party," he told RTE Radio.

"I would be astonished if this person is involved with
republicans in any way, shape or form," he said.

Ms Rafferty said her brother had been murdered over a simple
row in which he had intervened after his younger sister and
nephew had been attacked by a youth.

She said he was threatened with a visit from the "Ra" (IRA),
and told he would be "got" in the gym or in Ongar Park.

Ms Rafferty said: "We know that the person who has been
identified as murdering Joseph has definitely Sinn Féin/IRA
connections – that has been 100% proved to us."

She said her brother had no connections with the IRA and was
not known to the garda before his death.

"It's still devastating for the whole family to accept that
this can actually happen in the year 2005 an innocent man can
be gunned down literally over nothing.

"He was 100% an innocent man and he should still be here today
and he is not because of someone, because that's they way they
go on," she told RTE Radio.

She said she had been to see Sinn Féin councillor Daithi Doolan
on three occasions before Joseph's death, but he had told her
the people who had threatened her brother were not in the IRA.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4672177.stm

Paisley And Blair Talk About IRA

There can be no negotiation or debate on the need for the IRA
to completely decommission and end criminality, DUP leader Ian
Paisley has said.

He was speaking after a private meeting with Prime Minister
Tony Blair at Downing Street.

Mr Paisley said he had not been shown any IRA statement on its
future intentions, adding that the prime minister also did not
have one yet.

He said the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes, was set up
two weeks ago.

The IRA has been conducting an "internal debate" since Sinn
Fein President Gerry Adams made a call before the general
election for it to "embrace democracy".

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/07/11 12:32:43 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/1576264080HM2GASFIVE.html

New Attempt To Be Made To Have Five Men Freed

Mary Carolan

A proposal which could lead to the release of five men jailed
after they refused to give undertakings not to obstruct
installation of a high pressure gas pipeline in Co Mayo will
come before the High Court on Thursday. The five have been
imprisoned for almost two weeks.

The case was before the president of the High Court, Mr Justice
Joseph Finnegan, on three separate occasions yesterday before
being adjourned until Thursday when new attempts are expected
to be made to have the men freed.

The five men are in prison on foot of an order of April 4th
last which required them and others not to obstruct or
interfere with the entry by the Shell company on to lands for
the purposes of "preparation, construction and installation" of
the pipeline.

Yesterday, it was submitted on behalf of the protesters that
ministerial consent had been given only for preparatory work to
be carried out for the gas pipeline. It was argued no consent
had been given for the actual construction.

On behalf of Shell E&P Ireland Ltd, it was submitted that, at
this point, it is only doing preparatory work.

When the case came before the judge yesterday afternoon, Mr
Patrick Hanratty SC, for Shell, said it proposed to put in a
proviso stipulating that works would be carried out only in
accordance with ministerial consent under the Gas Act.

Peter Bland, for some of the protesters, said the proposal by
Mr Hanratty went some way to meet his clients' concerns. He
asked for time to consider the matter and the case was
adjourned until 10am on Thursday.

Mr Bland also said he would be seeking an injunction
restraining Shell E&P Ireland Ltd from carrying out "any works
of installation" of the gas pipeline through lands at Rossport,
Co Mayo, unless or until such works are authorised by an
appropriate consent pursuant to the provisions of the Gas Act,
1976.

Earlier, one of the five protesters, James B Philbin, said he
wished to be represented by another counsel and also asked for
time.

When adjourning the proceedings, the judge, referring to the
proposed injunction application, said it seemed to him a
ludicrous proposition that a person might come to court seeking
its assistance when they themselves were in flagrant breach of
a court order.

Earlier, when the judge heard that some of the protesters would
be happy to express their regret for disobeying the court order
if it was varied, the judge said that was not the same as
purging their contempt.

In an affidavit, three of those in jail - Phillip McGrath,
James B Philbin and Willie Corduff, all of Rossport South -
said the court order, of April 4th last, appeared to have been
made on the basis that it was lawful for Shell E&P Ireland "to
enter on to our lands for purpose of installing a gas
pipeline". They said the consent given by the Minister pursuant
to section 40 of the Gas Act was limited. The extent of the
limitation was in a letter written on behalf of the Minister
dated July 9th, 2002.

This stated that the approval given to carry out "phase 3
preparatory works" was exclusive to surveying and setting out;
erection of right of way fencing; making of trial holes;
preparation of temporary access points and roads; and
construction of temporary compounds along the proposed onshore
pipeline route.

The consent specified that "no phase 3 works, apart from
preparatory works specified in the approval" were to be carried
out without further specific approval. There was as yet no
consent by the Minister for construction and installation, it
was stated.

The affidavit said the opposition of the three to the pipeline
at Rossport was founded on their concern and conviction that
the installation of the pipeline on their lands would give rise
to a significant risk of explosion and resultant injury to
their families.

They believed the company had wrongfully commenced the
installation works for the pipeline in the absence of a consent
from the Minister.

© The Irish Times

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4672177.stm

1998: Children Die In Drumcree Protests

Three young brothers have been murdered in a loyalist arson
attack in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland.

The boys - Richard Quinn, 11, Mark Quinn, 9, and Jason Quinn, 7
- were asleep in their beds when a petrol bomb was thrown
through a window at the rear of their terraced house at about
0430 BST.

Their mother Chrissie, 29, her boyfriend Raymond Craig, 31 and
a family friend, Christine Archibald, 18, escaped with minor
injuries and are suffering from shock.

The Quinns were Catholics living on the predominantly
Protestant Carnany estate, but they were accepted by the
community and attended a Protestant school. Mr Craig is also a
Protestant.

A fourth brother, Lee, was staying with his grandmother.

Threatening letters

Chief Constable of the RUC Ronnie Flanagan said: "What happened
last night wasn't protest. We believe we're investigating the
sectarian murder of three children."

The attack comes after a week of protests by Orangemen
demanding access to the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road as
part of their annual march at Drumcree church.

Police dispersed a demonstration and barricades on the main
road outside the Carnany estate last night.

Over the past week Catholic and mixed families across the
county have received abuse and threatening letters.

The Orange Order's Co Armagh Chaplain Rev William Bingham
expressed his sorrow to his loyalist congregation: "No road is
worth a life let alone three lives of three little boys."

Local MP and leader of the DUP Ian Paisley has visited the
scene and described the murders as "diabolical" and
"repugnant".

All parties have appealed for calm after six hours of talks in
Armagh broke down yesterday.

Nationalist residents of the Lower Ormeau Road in Belfast have
already announced that they will not block Orange parades as a
mark of respect and the RUC have scaled down their forces.

----
In Context

The boys' funeral took place two days later and was attended by
thousands of Catholics and Protestants.

Afterwards the stand-off over Drumcree dwindled away.

In October 1999 Garfield Gilmour, 25, from Ballymoney was given
three life sentences for murder. He had driven the car for
three - unidentified - UVF men to attack the house. His
conviction was later reduced to manslaughter.

The march at Drumcree Church celebrates the 1690 Battle of the
Boyne. The route along Garvaghy Road has existed since 1807 but
became the focus of inter-sectarian grievances in 1995.

In 1998 an independent parades commission was established but
its decision to ban the march resulted in an attack that
horrified everybody involved.
----

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

http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=9713360&p=97y34x6&n=9713448

Terrorists May Be Plotting Attacks From Ireland - McDowell

11/07/2005 - 16:45:05

Extremist terrorists in Ireland may be plotting atrocities
across Europe, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said today.

Mr McDowell said members of radical terrorist groups may be
basing themselves in Ireland in order to avail of the common
travel area between the state and the UK.

The Justice Minister revealed the State's worries as British
Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed to defeat the terrorists who
inflicted the series of bomb attacks on London.

"In the past there has been evidence that some people in
Ireland, who have an extremist point of view, have been
engaging in logistical support activities for terrorist type
activities in Europe and elsewhere. That is a worrying thing,"
McDowell said.

"It wouldn't be beyond the bounds of possibility that
terrorists would exploit the common travel area in order to
perpetrate acts of terrorism in Britain.

"So it is a matter of very major significance to the Irish
State that there should be the fullest possible cooperation
between the two jurisdictions in respect of this kind of
activity and the fullest possible sharing of intelligence."

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last week revealed that police were
monitoring al-Qaida sympathisers in Ireland as part of a
massive international security operation.

In the aftermath of the London bombings, Mr Ahern said he did
not believe Ireland was under serious threat of attack.

He admitted security services were closely monitoring certain
people in the Republic.

"We take that very seriously, the gardaí work very very closely
with international security and we do watch certain individuals
very, very closely," Mr Ahern had said.

"There are people living in the Republic of Ireland that we
have to attach huge importance to and we do.

"This week underlines that and we do that as part of
international co-operation."

Mr McDowell today confirmed the movements and activities of
several individuals throughout the state were being closely
monitored.

"We are talking about a number of people who are under
surveillance and whose activities are the subject of interest
by the intelligence services of this island state," Mr McDowell
told RTE radio.

"I have been in the closest possible contact with UK and US
intelligence services in relation to this. There is a sharing
of information and close co-operation."

Mr McDowell said he believed bringing in a system of identity
cards based on the continental model would be rife with
problems.

"The issue of ID cards arises in the context of a proposal by
the UK government to introduce some form of ID cards in the UK
and because we have a common travel area. And because we have
citizens in Northern Ireland who are entitled to live there and
be Irish citizens," Mr McDowell said.

"There are issues there that the two governments are going to
have to address," he added.

"There is a balance between security and individual liberties
and privacy issues which just has to be struck in the right
way."

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

http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher221.html

Bush Terror War Devastates London

http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com...

Bush Terror War Devastates London Bill Gallagher July 12, 2005

"The strange thing is it happened in the London underground and
in World War II that was a place of safety and now it's a place
of terror." -- Ray Flood, Vice President, Commonwealth Club,
Warren, Mich.

DETROIT -- The carnage in London brings home, again, the abject
failure of the "war on terror" as President George W. Bush and
his only significant ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
conduct it. They are focusing on the wrong enemy in the wrong
place. Their war in Iraq makes the world less secure and breeds
more terrorists.

Bush and Blair are consistently wrong in their understanding of
who the terrorists are, what motivates them, what their goals
are and the evolving nature of their organizations.

The posture of the American and British governments, relying on
military might as the principal defense against terrorism, is a
manifest failure. We don't spend nearly enough money on
intelligence and developing vital information about terrorist
activities. We must be more creative, shrewd and cunning. We
need better minds, not more machismo.

First, we must recognize that Bush's "flypaper" argument about
Iraq is as wrong as the phony reasons for the invasion.

"We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we
deal with it when it comes to us," Bush said on June 28 in his
feeble attempt to justify the quagmire in Iraq and buttress
eroding public support for his war of choice.

"We're taking the fight to the terrorists abroad," Bush
proclaimed to a Fourth of July crowd in West Virginia, just as
a cell of jihadists was working to take the fight to the
streets of London.

Ray Flood grew up in Southampton, England, and clearly
remembers watching the waves of Luftwaffe bombers flying
overhead as the Nazis brought terror to British cities. I
chatted with Ray as we watched reports on the BBC last
Thursday. We were at the Commonwealth Club, a private pub for
British expatriates. The mood was somber as we saw the deadly
destruction, listened to casualty counts and heard interviews
with the survivors.

We marveled at the stoicism and resilience of the wounded and
the cool competence of the police and emergency response people
working to make order out of chaos and get help for the
suffering.

Ray's sister still lives in the U.K. and he called her when he
heard of the bombings to check on the fate of other relatives
and friends. He was relieved to hear all were well.

Ray compared the summer of 2005 and the horrors of the Battle
of Britain.

"The difference is, during the war you could see the bombers
coming up the river and you knew you could get into a shelter
and get out of the way. But at least you could see what you
were running from. But now you don't know when to run. And when
you are running, you don't know what you're running from.
That's the problem," Ray said with resignation.

Phil Connor, who was born on the Isle of Wight and is the
president of the club, joined us. The Brits were very cordial
to their Irish-American visitor. The fact that my grandfather
and namesake was born in Glasgow and many in my family migrated
to Liverpool facilitated our bonding.

Phil had been on the phone most of the morning, checking on
family and friends. He had suffered a heart attack on the
Fourth of July, but was feeling much better, after shunts were
placed in the muscle. The terror in London outraged Phil, and
he left his home recuperation to meet me at the club. He
understands the murderous simplicity of the bombings.

"It's a soft target because in the underground it's impossible
to maintain total security, because there are so many millions
of people going in and out, in and out, at any given time,"
Phil said. "Because people are so packed and because it's rush
hour, it's going to cause the maximum amount of damage and the
maximum amount of terrorism, which is why they are called
terrorists."

Both Phil and Ray are sure their resolute relatives will endure
and the terrorists will not succeed. But what is it they want?

To destroy western civilization? Collapse capitalist economies?
Seize our territories? Bring Islamic world domination?

Tony Blair and George Bush have similar views and they're both
wrong. On the day of the London bombings, Blair said, "It is
important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realize
that our determination to defend our way of life is greater
than their determination to cause death and destruction to
innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world."

Bush added his usual evil refrain.

"And the contrast couldn't be clearer between the intentions of
those who care deeply about human rights, and those who kill,
those who've got such evil in their hearts that they will take
the lives of innocent folks," Bush said after the London
attacks.

Of course, his own assaults on human rights never occurred to
him, nor did the loss of thousands of innocent lives in Iraq.
Then he solemnly said, "The war on terrorism goes on."

Yes, and with Bush in charge, that war will remain misguided,
unproductive and doomed to failure.

Bush always sees terrorism in well-defined, good-versus-evil
terms. The struggle is a biblical battle between the stewards
and planters of freedom and liberty and the custodians of
tyranny and sowers of evil. It is civilization against the
forces of darkness. In this corner, George W. Bush, the
crusader for righteousness, and in the other corner, Beelzebub
and his Islamic hordes.

"You're either with us or you're with the terrorists," our
cocksure president told the world. Fight the devil my way or go
to hell.

Bush insists on defining terrorism as inextricably linked to
evil regimes (Iraq), evil people (bin Laden and his fabricated
understudy, Saddam Hussein) and, of course, evil organizations,
notably al-Qaeda.

Scott Atran is a gifted social scientist doing pioneering work
that is challenging many of the assumptions about terrorism
George W. Bush holds so dearly. Atran is a director of research
at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris and
professor of anthropology and psychology at the University of
Michigan. I e-mailed him after the London bombing to get his
read on the attacks. He had just returned to Paris from a trip
to London.

Atran said, "What happened in London was not unexpected."

He warned that assigning responsibility for the atrocity may be
difficult, and politicians and pundits rushing to claim al-
Qaeda did the dirty work may be missing the mark.

"Any such claim is misleading," Atran wrote. "Actions are now
executed by self-forming cells that swarm for attack, then
disappear or disperse to form new swarms. Living mostly in the
diaspora, and unconcerned by retaliation against their home
populations, jihadists increasingly connect through the World
Wide Web and more readily harbor apocalyptic visions of global
change."

Atran calls this new model of terrorists "the virtual hand of
born-again jihad." While Bush still insists Iraq is the
forefront in the war on terrorism, Atran doesn't buy it.

"Arguably the greatest potential terrorist threat in the world
today lies with uprooted and egalitarian Muslim young adults in
European cities, who provided the manpower for the 9/11 and
Madrid train attacks, and quite likely for the London bombings
as well," Atran argued.

He has systematically studied suicide bombers and what drives
them. What Atran has learned upsets our conventional
assessments. "Most jihadists have no history of religious
education prior to becoming 'born again' radical Islamists, and
many are well-educated, middle class and married. Most would-be
suicide bombers I have interviewed say they act to restore
dignity to their communities -- real or virtual -- marginalized
by globalization and humiliated by military occupation." He
sees the jihadists as "committed idealists" on a world mission
to "save humanity" -- a notion he traces to the popes who
started the Crusades and a movement that was "secularized
during the French Revolution and retooled by every major and
murderous revolution since."

Atran argues it is nonsense to claim that al-Qaeda and its
sympathizers "have no morality and simply want to annihilate
Western civilization." He says, "Charges of nihilism against an
adversary usually reflect the willful ignorance of those
leveling the charge regarding the adversary's moral framework."

Atran sees European governments handicapped in dealing with
networking jihadists because they are "hidebound to national
territories and politics and to professional hierarchies and
traditional languages."

So how are we coping with global, increasingly decentralized
terrorists?

"Like pounding mercury with a hammer, applying raw military
power likely won't do the trick but only generate more varied
and protean forms of the jihadists hydra," Atran notes.

Robert A. Pape, the author of "Dying to Win: The Strategic
Logic of Suicide Terrorism," wrote in a New York Times op-ed
piece that a strategic goal, rather than Islamic
fundamentalism, is driving al-Qaeda today. Pape sees the desire
"to compel the United States and its Western allies to withdraw
combat forces from the Arabian Peninsula and other Muslim
countries" as the goal motivating the terrorists.

Robin Cook, the Blair government's former foreign secretary,
who nobly resigned because of his opposition to the invasion of
Iraq, spoke to Parliament about the bombings in London.

Cook, who has been consistently correct in his world view,
said, "So long as the struggle against terrorism is conceived
as a war that can be won by military means, it is doomed to
fail. The more the West emphasizes confrontation, the more it
silences moderate voices in the Muslim world."

Cook reminded his colleagues, "President Bush is given to
justifying the invasion of Iraq on the grounds that by fighting
terrorism abroad, it protects the West from having to fight
terrorists at home. Whatever else can be said in defense of the
war in Iraq today, it cannot be claimed that it protected us
from terrorism on our soil."

On our side of the pond, talking heads on the Busheviks'
favorite news channel would never dare mention such disturbing
facts. Instead, the Fox News Channel's Brit Hume focused on the
positive side of the mass murders in London. Why not grab a
bloody quick profit? While dead bodies were being pulled from
the subways and bus, Lord Hume thought about his portfolio and
said on live TV, "I mean, my first thought when I heard, just
on a personal basis, when I heard there had been an attack and
I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank,
I thought, 'Hmmm, time to buy.'" The ignoble Mr. Hume reminds
us of just how civilized we are, and morally superior, as we
fight to preserve our way of life.

by : Bill Gallagher

Tuesday 12th July 2005
----

Bill Gallagher, a Peabody Award winner, is a former Niagara
Falls city councilman who now covers Detroit for Fox2 News. His
e-mail address is gallaghernewsman@sbcglobal.net.

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

http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=184127160&p=y84yz8x3z&n=184128038

NI: Most Would Back Truth Commission

11/07/2005 - 16:10:38

A majority of people would support the formation of a South
African-style truth commission to investigate the years of
bloodshed in Northern Ireland, it was claimed today.

Academics at the University of Ulster and Edge Hill College,
Lancashire also found more than two thirds of young people
backed the move.

Support was found to be stronger among Catholics than
Protestants while the United Nations was voted the most popular
choice to run such a body.

But the vast majority of respondents accepted a commission
might not necessarily uncover the truth.

The authors of the study said it refuted claims there is no
appetite for such a process in the North and that the unionist
community is totally opposed to it.

Dr Patricia Lundy said around 30 truth commissions have been
held throughout the world to deal with issues arising following
a period of conflict.

The University of Ulster sociology lecturer said: "What we can
take from all this is that there appears to be broad, if
cautious, approval that a truth commission would be a good
idea, even if people are not sure it will deliver the truth.

"There is clear opposition to any of the major political actors
involved in the conflict overseeing such a process.

"It is difficult not the draw the conclusion that, if people do
not think a truth commission will get to the truth, then it is
because they lack confidence in the governments, parties,
groups and bodies most likely to be involved in the running of
a truth commission to do so."

More than half (52%) of respondents felt a truth commission was
important for the future, while more than a quarter (28%)
thought it was unimportant.

Among Catholics support for a commission reached 60% but 21%
expressed disapproval.

But only 44% of Protestants signalled broad approval while 34%
said they were against such a move.

Support for a commission was found to be greatest (69%) among
18- to 24-year-olds.

Almost half of interviewees (48%) felt international
organisations like the United Nations should run any truth
commission but more than three quarters (76%) said ordinary
people should decide who runs it.

Among the other options, 92% said they would not trust the
British government to run a truth commission, 89% said they
would not trust the NI Assembly and 97% said they would not
trust the Irish Government.

But the survey also found that 65% of people thought there were
better ways of dealing with the past, suggesting that people
might see a truth commission as only part of the answer.

But Dr Lundy said a commission could play a valuable role in
the future of Northern Ireland.

She said: "Their popularity is based on the claim they can
promote healing, closure and reconciliation and can redress the
wrongs of the past.

"Ireland increasingly looks like the exception that proves the
rule, given the absence of such an official truth-telling
process here.

"What has marked us out from the international norm has been
the piecemeal approach to dealing with the past.

"This has largely been the result of the constructive ambiguity
of the peace process placing a premium on not dealing with the
past.

"Consequently victims' issues have become a site of struggle
and division."

A total of 1,800 people were interviewed as part of the
Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, which was carried out
between October 2004 and January 2005.

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/2958936182HM3HOTDART.html

100 Trapped In Heat In Broken Down Dart

Fiona Gartland

Up to 100 passengers were trapped for 70 minutes on a Dart
near Lansdowne Road station yesterday.

The Dart coming from Howth broke down before it reached the
station at 3pm, blocking the level crossing at Lansdowne Road
and causing traffic tailbacks for over two hours.

On one of the hottest days of the year, at 26 degrees, 500
passengers were forced to wait until the driver ascertained
whether or not the train could be repaired.

Then passengers from the first four carriages were evacuated
through the driver's cab door, which had reached the station
platform.

But 100 passengers in the rear two carriages could not be
evacuated because there were no connecting doors to the front
section. They had to wait for 70 minutes without air
conditioning before station staff could open the doors for
them.

Dublin was not, however, the hottest spot in the country
yesterday. Kilkenny and Claremorris topped the thermometer with
temperatures of 29 degrees. But today promises to be even
hotter. Met Éireann is predicting highs of between 24 and 30
degrees. The weather will remain fine for most of the week but
thundery showers late on Thursday will herald fresher weather
for the weekend.

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0712/3500194319HM5BLASKET.html

Ferry Access To Great Blasket In Dispute

Anne Lucey

A ferry operator in Dingle, Co Kerry, said yesterday his
passengers were prevented from doing a tour of the Great
Blasket island village and lands on Sunday afternoon by
security men employed by the people who own most of the island
property.

The row has sparked worries about future access by boat owners
to the island, which the State and heritage bodies hope will
become a Unesco World Heritage site.

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche announced on Friday
that agreement had been reached with the landowners to buy the
majority of land interests on An Blascaod Mór for €1.7 million.

A detailed management plan envisages a pier for the island and
the conservation of writers' buildings, among them those of
Peig Sayers, Tomas Ó Criomhthain and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin,
along with the provision of a cafe and public toilets.

Tom Hand of Dingle Bay Ferries, which operates the Loch an Iasc
ferry from Dingle harbour to the Great Blasket, said his
boatman, Daithí Mac Gearailt, whose ancestors came from the
island, was prevented from walking up the path to the village
by "four burly security men".

The 12 passengers, of different nationalities, were forced to
return to the mainland without doing a tour of the island and
were extremely disappointed and angry, Mr Hand said.

They were told that only passengers using the Peig Sayers ferry
- owned by the majority property owner on the island, Blascaod
Mór Teo (BMT) - was allowed to visit the island. Passengers
using the traditional Dún Chaoin ferry route were also allowed
on the lands.

A complaint was lodged with the Garda.

Mr Hand said future access was an important issue, given the €9
million investment by the State in the island. "How can one
company have the exclusive right to operate out of Dingle?" he
asked.

However, Peter Callery, secretary of BMT, said island
landowners would not tolerate "a new situation" and wanted the
status quo of the traditional boatmen from Dún Chaoin operating
alongside his company's Dingle harbour boat preserved.

He said landowners were not prepared to tolerate a "free for
all".

An spokesman for the OPW, which has responsibility for
management of the island, said access to the island in the
future was a matter to be considered and resolved by the
implementation group which had yet to be set up.

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.timeout.com/film/news/526.html

Jim Sheridan To Enter The 'Emerald City'

The 'My Left Foot' director is to make a film about Irish-
American gansters in New York.

July 11 2005

Jim Sheridan is to examine the Irish New York Mafia in a
forthcoming picture entitled 'Emerald City'.

The script, which is being written by former assistant district
attorney Lukas Reiter, will look back at the world of organised
crime in the Hell's Kitchen area of the big apple.

Before the 'In America' director can get to work on the period
piece however, Sheridan is in talks to remake the classic Akira
Kurosawa drama 'Ikiru' for DreamWorks.

And if those two projects weren't diverse enough, Sheridan is
also currently working on 'Get Rich or Die Tryin', which stars
Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson as an inner-city drug dealer
attempting to go straight and make it in the rap world.

The MTV-produced rags-to-riches tale is due to hit screens at
the end of the year, and if there's any news on the other two
projects, rest assured you'll hear it first at Time Out.

Chris Tilly

Posted by: Unknown / 11:53 PM
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