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October 29, 2005

Gerry Adams: The War is Over

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News about Ireland & the Irish

BT 10/29/05 Adams: The War Is Over
BB 10/29/05 Thousands Join In Unionist Rally
BT 10/29/05 Catholic Jobs Shortfall Fear
BT 10/29/05 Cemetery Sunday Row Talks Offered
DI 10/29/05 Collusion Report For '06
SF 10/29/05 Questioning Those Opposing Rep In Oireachtas
BB 10/29/05 'Optimism Over End Of Loyalist Feud'
BT 10/29/05 Adair Walks Free Despite Beating Gina
UT 10/29/05 Larne DPP Member's Car Vandalised
DI 10/29/05 Victims' Fund Boost Welcomed
BT 10/29/05 McCord: What Are You Hiding?
BT 10/29/05 McCausland: The Mother And Son Murder Hunt
BT 10/29/05 Backing In Search For Lisa's Body
BT 10/29/05 Opin: Adams, Rebecca Loos Of World Statesmen?
DI 10/29/05 Opin: Bertie Can Stick His Military Two-Step
BT 10/29/05 Iraq War Critic To Speak At Derry Gasyard Feile
BT 10/29/05 Books: Stevens Still Has Much More To Reveal
BT 10/29/05 Dancing To The Tune Of Hayes And Cahill

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667123

Adams: The War Is Over

Sinn Fein chief finally uses those words

By Andrea Clements and Lisa Smyth
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 October 2005

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has for the first time
explicitly stated that the IRA's war is over.

When asked directly about the group's stance during an
interview on UTV's Kelly Show last night, he used the form
of words that unionists have been demanding for over a
decade.

Mr Adams said: "The war is obviously over.

"The IRA said formally it was bringing an end to its armed
campaign."

The use of the 'war is over' phrase may be seen as bringing
to a close a long episode in political and media duelling
between Sinn Fein on one hand and journalists and other
politicians on the other.

Unionists have for years demanded the IRA, and Sinn Fein,
use the explicit words, and Mr Adams was asked the 'Is the
war over?' question on hundreds of occasions by
journalists.

Also in last night's Kelly show, when presenter Gerry Kelly
went on to ask if there was ever a situation where he could
have made "one phone call to stop one bomb that would have
saved the life of one person", Mr Adams said: "Did we not
bring about a situation where the IRA for the last 11 years
has been on cessation?"

When asked if he was aware of planned bombings, he said:
"No, I wasn't", repeating "never, ever".

The DUP was lukewarm in its response to the 'war is over'
development today, however.

Lagan Valley DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson was sceptical about
Mr Adams's comments.

"It remains to be seen whether the IRA has ended its
campaign of violence and involvement in criminality for
good," he said.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and will make
our own judgments on these matters.

"We have learned the hard way that the words of the Sinn
Fein leadership are often not matched by the actions of the
IRA."

Alliance Party leader David Ford today gave a cautious
welcome to Mr Adams's comments but stressed that more steps
need to be taken before Northern Ireland returns to
normality.

He said: "Mr Adams's comments about the IRA are clearly to
be welcomed, but the concern that I would have is that in
the past, their definition of armed struggle has not
included beatings, kneecappings and other criminal
activities.

"Before we can become a normal society, we need an end to
all criminality on both sides.

"The IMC report, though it showed progress, clearly
referred to a range of criminal activities which is still
going on, not least the exiles and individuals who have
been threatened by the IRA who still cannot come home
safely.

"It is another step forward but there are ongoing concerns
and I hope these are addressed in the immediate future."

East Londonderry MLA John Dallat said: "It's fairly obvious
that the war per se has been over for some time.

"One regret is that statements like this were not made
seven years ago when there was a willingness to share
power.

"Anything that works towards trust and partnership is
welcome, but ending the war has to include all the
associated violence."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4388286.stm

Thousands Join In Unionist Rally

Thousands of people have taken part in a "Love Ulster"
parade in west Belfast.

Community groups, victims' groups, bands and members of the
Orange Order joined the rally which began on the Shankill
Road at 1200 BST.

Organisers said the march was part of a campaign for
unionist unity and represented a "demand to respect the
rights of the unionist community".

Victims' groups, some holding pictures of lost relatives,
led the parade, followed by several bands of Orangemen.

The crowd walked to Woodvale Park where speakers, including
Orange Order Belfast County Grand Master Dawson Baillie,
addressed them.

Earlier this week, NI Secretary Peter Hain met the
demonstration's organising committee.

Afterwards, Mr Hain said he had been assured the event
would be "peaceful and dignified".

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/10/29 14:09:30 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667015

Catholic Jobs Shortfall Fear

29 October 2005

The proportion of Catholics employed by Coleraine Borough
Council remains at least 10% below target, it was revealed
this week.

An Equality Commission report carried out between 2001 and
2004 reveals that while the number of Catholics employed by
the council rose from 30.4% in 2001 to 34.1% in 2004, it is
still sitting below target.

According to the review, in only one out of six different
wage brackets is the number of Catholics above the target
level.

The number of Catholics in the highest earning bracket -
over £22,500 - is 6.2% below target.

Receiving the figures at a council meeting East Londonderry
SDLP Assemblyman John Dallat called for a sub-committee to
encourage more Catholics to apply for council jobs. "We
should take affirmative action and establish a small sub
committee group that would help officers establish where
the chill factors are and to figure out why at this stage
we still have disparities", he said. His proposal was
supported by Sinn Fein councillor Billy Leonard.

"There are some worrying pockets that have to be addressed.
It's not shameful but it must be addressed," Mr Leonard
said.

However a DUP councillor disagreed with the motion.
Councillor James McClure said: "I'm not too sure we should
go down this line of breaking the Coleraine borough into
Catholics and Protestants," he said.

In a recorded vote the motion was lost.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667011

Cemetery Sunday Row Talks Offered

'Fears and concerns can be addressed'

29 October 2005

A Rathcoole man who took part in protests against a
Catholic prayer service earlier this month says he and his
fellow demonstrators "are here and we want to talk".

Mark Wilson, of the North Rathcoole Residents group, hopes
that through "understanding and talking", the issues
surrounding 'Cemetery Sunday' could be addressed.

The annual Blessing of the Graves service at Carnmoney
Cemetery has caused controversy in recent years.

Although 2004's event passed off without incident, previous
years have seen headstones smashed and police targeted by
rioters.

Two years ago parish Priest Fr Dan Whyte, the event's
organiser, was issued with a death threat.

At this year's event, Rathcoole protesters held placards,
which read - 'No Whiterock then no Cemetery', 'No Dignity
for Rathcoole Residents' and 'Cultural Awareness Training
Ha Ha'.

Fr Whyte said some threatened to dig up the dead and
urinate on graves.

Mr Wilson said yesterday: "Our protest has been happening
for the past five years but yet nobody - and I mean nobody
- has ever asked us why we are protesting."

"There was no threat to dig up the dead and urinate on
graves.

"We, the protesters, in no way would let anyone connected
with our peaceful protest, issue these threats. They would
not be speaking for anyone from Rathcoole."

Mr Wilson said the central concern to residents was the use
of loudspeakers, "broadcasting" the service into the
estate.

He also revealed that a petition to ban all loudspeakers
from the cemetery has been signed by over 300 households
and passed to the PSNI and Newtownabbey Council.

He added: "We, the protesters, wish to point out very
strongly that we are not opposed to Cemetery Sunday in any
way. This has taken place for quite a number of years and
never was a problem for the good people from Rathcoole.

"Why the need for loudspeakers blasting out ? for up to one
and a half hours? This echoes around the north end of
Rathcoole, which is a strong loyalist/Protestant area."

"We want people to know our genuine fears and concerns.
Maybe through understanding and talking these issues will
be addressed," he said.

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http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=1XBDALOLO9M2TRRIVVU9ANWPOIA9CHVTWRRKJOQAAOUEBQKACK3AC4QFIR0BARXDALOL64EFURUSHONGEMTEGUKACK33Q852B5&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=13406&opp=1

Collusion Report For '06

Ombudsman's investigations into double murder published in
the New Year

Ciarán Barnes

The Police Ombudsman's report into allegations of collusion
surrounding the loyalist murder of two young Co Armagh
brothers is to be published in the New Year, Daily Ireland
has learned.

Gerard and Rory Cairns were shot dead by the Ulster
Volunteer Force (UVF) at their home in the village of
Bleary on October 28, 1993. Today marks the 12th
anniversary of their deaths.

The UVF gang involved in the Cairns' killings included two
high-level informers – Robin 'The Jackal' Jackson and Billy
'King Rat' Wright.

The guns used in the attack were brought into the North in
1988 from South Africa by Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
and British army agent Brian Nelson. Nelson's handlers had
full knowledge of the weapons importation, but did nothing
to prevent it reaching these shores.

In the moments before the Cairns' killing, the police set
up a series of roadblocks near their isolated home. Gerard
and Rory's killers were able to pass through these
roadblocks unchecked.

It is these major breaches of policing duty which the
ombudsman is probing. Investigators have been looking at
the Cairns' case for almost a year. It was previously
raised by human rights organisations Relatives for Justice
and An Fhírinne.

The dead men's father, Eamonn Cairns, said meetings with
the Ombudsman have been productive.

"The full report on the collusion aspect of my sons'
murders will be completed next year," he said.

"The Ombudsman is about three-quarters of the way through
the case.

"The family is hopeful the report will prove conclusively
that the RUC and British army could have, but failed to,
prevent my sons being murdered."

The pain of Rory and Gerard's murders has never left the
Cairns family.

Their younger brother Liam Cairns, says that in the 12
years since, the family still do not know the true
circumstances surrounding the killings.

He said: "What we do know is there was no investigation at
any time, so we have came to the conclusion there was state
sponsored collusion between the security forces and
loyalist death squads. We as a family are stronger than
ever. What makes us strong is our determination to seek out
the truth."

Mr Cairns said those responsible for killing his brothers
had failed to silence his family. He added: "It is for this
very reason that we want to seek out the truth."

"We will never give up because it is only then that we can
have some comfort from our loss."

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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/11745

McDonald Questions Motivation Of Those Opposing Northern
Representation In The Oireachtas

Published: 29 October, 2005

Sinn Féin National Chairperson and MEP for Dublin Mary Lou
McDonald has today said that there is 'space for everyone
on the ground of Irish republican politics and plenty of
work to be done to achieve Irish unity'.

Ms McDonald made her comments after speaking at the Kerry
Literary and Cultural Centre, Listowel under the auspices
of the John B Keane Festival on the theme: 'Irish
Republicanism 1916-2006'. Other participants include Martin
Mansergh and Dr Diarmaid Ferriter. The event was chaired by
Vincent Browne.

Speaking after the event Ms McDonald said:

"In this the 100th year of Sinn Féin it is clear that Irish
republicanism is more popular now than at any period since
the 1920s. It is about building on that popularity to
create a mass movement for Irish unity and real political
change. It is also about reaching out to others, to our
political opponents through dialogue and discussion.

"The recent decision to establish a committee to
commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising is a very welcome
development. The decision is indicative of the changed
political climate across Ireland. Equally the proposal to
invite MPs from the Six Counties to participate in the Dáil
is a small yet welcome move which should be advanced as
speedily as possible. These proposals are in line with the
recommendations of the all-party Committee on the
Constitution. I find it bizarre that some of those parties
- who were represented on this Committee - are now
desperately trying to find excuses to oppose this
development.

"Far from being incompatible with the Good Friday Agreement
this proposal is an important part of the all-Ireland
agenda at the core of the agreement and is something which
should be supported by all republicans and nationalists.
Such developments are also important to the economic
prosperity of the country and are in the interests of
everyone on this island - nationalist, republican,
socialist and unionist.

"There is space for everyone on the ground of Irish
republican politics and plenty of work to be done. Irish
unity will come about much more speedily if we can build a
broad based coalition to end partition and create an
Ireland of Equals.

"The IRA initiative of September 28th has redefined the
political landscape on the island and created the space for
new momentum to be injected into the peace process. All of
us must seize on this unprecedented opportunity." ENDS

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4387154.stm

'Optimism Over End Of Loyalist Feud'

By Martina Purdy

BBC Northern Ireland political correspondent

A colleague was poring over the News Letter the other day
when he was struck by a headline involving the UVF.

It read: "Water charges a concern for UVF."

"Shurely shome mishtake," he muttered, marvelling that the
UVF - set up to defend the union - was now preoccupied with
this bread and butter issue.

It may indeed be a measure of how far down the road of
peace the UVF has come. While it has some way yet to
travel, the PUP leader David Ervine suggested there was
reason to be optimistic.

Speaking on Inside Politics, he claimed the organisation
was no threat to the wider political situation, that is the
peace process: "Every piece of evidence I have is positive
in respect of the use of violence for political ends," he
said.

Mr Ervine was more vague on the matter of the UVF's feud
with the LVF - which saw the UVF murder four people this
summer.

Loyalists gathering for a Love Ulster rally in Belfast's
Woodvale area may be motivated as much by fear as love,
hence the desire to recapture that elusive grail of
unionist unity

There are grounds for optimism that this chapter is
closing.

There has been a lull in activity since August and Mr
Ervine did not try to scupper rumours that the feud was
about to be ended formally. Indeed, he said there was
reason.

He also paid tribute to Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
for calling for inclusivity and urging that those within
loyalism who want to pay a constructive role be given time
and space to do so.

Mr Ervine contrasted these remarks with what he called the
"finger-wagging" of other nationalists, notably the SDLP.

'Political unionism'

It would appear it is going to take some time for the UVF
to disappear and disarm.

Mr Ervine hinted as much when he suggested the UVF was a
juggernaut that needed to be steered and set down slowly.

It is, said the PUP leader, a matter of confidence. This
may take some time to build, as old fears do not wither
easily.

Loyalists gathering for a Love Ulster rally in Belfast's
Woodvale area may be motivated as much by fear as love,
hence the desire to recapture that elusive grail of
unionist unity.

It is not a treasure Mr Ervine values. In fact, he went so
far as to say he detested it, explaining that it was time
for diversity in unionism and political unionism.

"We need to create a politics that allows that diversity to
grow and stop being afraid and stop being cowed by the
politics of fear," he said.

It is the type of message that the government would dearly
love the DUP leader to deliver. Ian Paisley will be
addressing the annual dinner of his North Antrim
constituency association next month.

Party conference

It is the same event in which he declared he wanted to see
the IRA humiliated and wearing sackcloth and ashes.

Some blamed the speech on scuppering the 2004 power-sharing
deal, although this was always more likely to falter on the
demand for photographic evidence of decommissioning no
matter how nicely the DUP leader asked.

The DUP, interestingly, has moved its party conference to
next February - just after the IMC is due to report.

The party insists, however, this is due to logistics not
politics.

What is certain is the forthcoming DUP annual conference is
going to be monitored extremely closely for the mood music.

Will the DUP leader, in the words of Mr Ervine, lift his
people towards the hills, or encourage them to look at
their boots?

The government remains hopeful that the DUP will do a deal
next year, but it is not only unionists who are not
confident about that.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/10/29 08:58:53 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667038

Adair Walks Free Despite Beating Gina

Assault was seen by 50 playing kids

29 October 2005

Former UDA terror boss Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair walked free
from court last night despite admitting a vicious assault
on his wife.

Adair will be supervised for a year by probation officers
after pleading guilty to beating wife Gina only hours after
he was released from prison in Bolton.

It emerged in court that Adair has a history of domestic
violence against his wife although this is his first
conviction for assault.

After Adair was released from Maghaberry prison at the
beginning of this year he settled in Bolton where his
family and a number of supporters had relocated following a
feud with the mainstream UDA.

Bolton Magistrates Court heard yesterday that Adair (42),
his wife and a number of friends had been drinking in Sam's
bar in Lee Lane, Horwich, on Monday September 26.

They were celebrating his release from custody for a
campaign of harassment against former UDA comrades now
living in Bolton.

At around 6pm, Adair walked home with his wife and a
friend. The couple became involved in an argument as they
took a short cut.

Prosecutor Karen Tonge said: "Witnesses say Adair punched
his wife several times, knocking her to the floor. She was
then punched again to the head and body. And when she he
tried to get up, the defendant prevented her and had hold
of her hair.

"Witnesses say Adair leant on top of his wife and punched
her with alternative arms, using a great deal of force."

The assault was witnessed by a group of 50 children who
were playing football nearby.

Gina Adair did not support the prosecution of her husband
and refused to make a statement but admitted to a police
officer there had been a history of domestic abuse.

Defending Adair, Nick Ross, said his client had drunk a lot
of beer and champagne on the day and was totally ashamed of
his actions.

Chairman of the bench David Bonney sentenced Adair to a 12-
month community order with supervision requirement by the
Probation Service.

He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to his wife.

Magistrates agreed with an application by his defence
counsel to withhold Adair's new address but they refused an
application for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to be served
against him.

Chief Superintendent Dave Lea from Bolton police said:
"This incident is totally unacceptable and assaults of any
type will not be tolerated by Greater Manchester Police,
especially those assaults committed by those with whom you
are entitled to feel safe.

"This attack took place, somewhat shamelessly, in the
middle of a park in broad daylight in front of
schoolchildren playing football close by."

He added: "I would like to stress that we welcome people
from all walks of life into Bolton but we will take robust
action against anyone who chooses not to abide by the law."

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http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=66602&pt=n

Larne DPP Member's Car Vandalised

A car belonging to an independent member of the district
policing partnership in County Antrim may have been
vandalised due to his outspoken comments on drug abuse.

By:Press Association

Terry McCaughan said the damage done to his car outside his
home on Victoria Road in Larne, Co Antrim, may have been
related to his highlighting drug problems in the area.

"We feel that cocaine use is on the up and we feel that
perhaps people in Larne don`t want this highlighted," Mr
McCaughan, who is an independent member of the Larne
District Policing Partnership (DPP), said.

"I`m not the first DPP independent member to be targeted."

A PSNI spokeswoman said a motive for the overnight attack
on Mr McCaughan`s vehicle was being investigated.

Corrosive liquid was poured on to the car, causing damage
to the paint-work, between 8.20pm yesterday and 9am this
morning.

The PSNI spokeswoman appealed to anyone with information to
contact Larne police station.

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http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=RHKZ8WF1XGSGX237CAMAAQ6NFKLAFS6DJQRFL1PAASUECUMFHHVKTRRITI5N9NTHNMLEGGSGX2L24NNAD0SEARP9CHYPTRRITM&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=13417&opp=1

Victims' Fund Boost Welcomed

Nationalist politicans stress money should be distributed
evenly across the board where needed

Zoe Tunney

Nationalist politicians yesterday welcomed a £1.5 million
(€2.2 million) boost for the victims' fund in the North -
but stressed that the money should be shared equally.

Secretary of State Peter Hain revealed the plan yesterday
following the appointment of Bertha McDougall as the
Interim Commissioner for victims.

The fund, which operates as an independent charity, was set
up by the British government in 1999 for projects which
help relatives of people killed in the Troubles and
survivors cope with everyday life.

A total of £7 million (€10.2 million) has been allocated to
date.

Among the projects the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund has
supported include a small grants scheme to help victims and
survivors who are in financial difficulty, education and
training grants, a short break scheme to enable applicants
to get away from their surroundings as well as programmes
for wheelchairs, amputees and those suffering chronic pain.

Mr Hain said the additional funding demonstrated his
government's commitment to victims and survivors.

He also revealed Mrs McDougall would examine funding
arrangements for services and grants in a report on
victims' issues next year.

He said: "In that context, Mrs McDougall will wish to
consider the work of the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund and
the contribution the fund makes to the welfare of
individuals who have suffered as a consequence of the
Troubles.

"I anticipate that the Interim Commissioner will produce a
report by the end of 2006 and that in her report she will
comment on the work of the Fund.

"It is also likely that in completing her study Mrs
McDougall will be informed by an evaluation of the Fund's
work completed recently by independent management
consultants.

"The money I am announcing today will allow the Fund to
continue its work in the interim."

Nationalist politicians and victims' groups were critical
of the appointment on Monday of Mrs McDougall - claiming it
was a sop to the DUP.

Her husband Lindsay, an RUC reservist, was gunned down in
Belfast city centre in 1981 by the INLA.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on victims and truth, North Antrim
MLA Philip McGuigan, welcomed the additional cash but also
urged the British government to address problems faced by
groups trying to access the fund.

"We have been made aware of difficulties that groups have
been facing in accessing the fund and in the distribution
of existing funds.

"The British government need to act to address these
difficulties.

"It is essential that this money gets to where it is needed
and is evenly distributed across the board."

SDLP Human Rights spokesperson Patricia Lewsley said it was
crucial that the British government followed up the new
cash allocation with firm commitments to victims.

"In particular the SDLP wants to see the establishment of a
victims and survivors forum in the North where all the
different victims' interests can speak for themselves," she
said.

"The SDLP will be meeting with the Victims' Commissioner in
the coming weeks to ask for her support in calling for the
government to set up this forum without delay."

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667026

What Are You Hiding?

Murder victim's dad in challenge to ex-RUC men

By Alan Erwin
29 October 2005

The father of a loyalist terrorist murder victim last night
offered to meet police Special Branch officers accused of
protecting the killers.

Raymond McCord said the ex-RUC men who allegedly shielded
paramilitary informers that were involved in beating his
son to death were running scared.

With Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan examining the murder as
part of a widening probe into claims of a massive collusion
plot, it has been reported that officers have refused to be
interviewed.

But Mr McCord challenged them: "What are you frightened of?

"If you don't want to Mrs O'Loan come and talk to me. Give
me the information you have on my son's murder."

His son, ex-RAF operator Raymond McCord Jr (22), was killed
by Ulster Volunteer Force men and dumped in a north Belfast
quarry in November 1997.

Ever since, Mr McCord has claimed Special Branch officers
thwarted the murder inquiry because it implicated two UVF
agents. Mrs O'Loan's two-year investigation into the case
has been stretched to examine up to a dozen other killings.

In the Republic on Thursday a senior politician used
parliamentary privilege to name two Belfast loyalists
allegedly linked to the McCord murder.

Pat Rabbitte, leader of the Irish Labour Party, claimed in
the Dail parliament that Special Branch informer Mark
Haddock and another man were present when Mr McCord was
murdered.

Haddock (39), from Belfast's Mount Vernon district, is
awaiting trial accused of attempting to murder a doorman in
Co Antrim nearly three years ago.

Mr Rabbitte claimed under privilege: "The central
allegation is that Haddock was not charged with any crime
because he was an informer who had to be protected. He was
able to act with impunity, while the police effectively
colluded in his crimes."

The Dublin TD also alleged Haddock was linked to seven
other murders while working as an RUC police informer.

These were: Catholic builders Gary Convie and Eamon Fox in
1994; alleged informer Thomas Sheppard in 1996; Protestant
clergyman the Rev David Templeton in 1997; Billy Harbison
in 1997; former unionist politician Tommy English in 2000;
and David Greer in 2000.

An interim report by Mrs O'Loan's investigation team has
been sent to the Public Prosecution Service. But an
exhaustive dossier has still to be completed, and a
decision has yet to be taken on whether to recommend
prosecutions against any Special Branch officers.

With some of those under investigation vowing not to talk
to the Ombudsman's staff because they believe the probe is
an attempt to demonise them, Mr McCord insisted they had no
right to silence.

"Serving and past police officers have given me information
because they are disgusted with the antics of Special
Branch," he said.

"Murders could have been prevented and they weren't allowed
to be because it would jeopardise informers."

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=667113

The Mother And Son Murder Hunt

Craig McCausland and his mother Lorraine were both
innocents brutally murdered by loyalist thugs 18 years
apart. With nobody brought to justice by the authorities,
their loved ones have now launched a fearless campaign to
expose those responsible. Deborah McAleese talks to the
family who have bravely stood up to the ruthless killers

29 October 2005

There are people out there who know who was behind the
brutal murder of 20-year-old Craig McCausland, gunned down
by the UVF in front of his partner and her two young
children in July.

There are people out there who know who was behind the
vicious killing of Craig's mother, Lorraine, 18 years
previously when she was battered to death with a breeze
block by the UDA and her half-naked body dumped face down
in a stream.

Craig and Lorraine were innocent victims. The loyalist
thugs who murdered mother and son have never been caught.
Those who could help bring their killers to justice have
chosen to remain silent.

But the battle for justice has now begun by the grieving
family left behind.

Disillusioned by the lack of progress in either case, and
angry by the lack of political and Government support,
Craig and Lorraine McCausland's family have launched a
solitary battle to uncover the identity of the murderers
and have them brought to justice.

A website set up to encourage people to share information
with the family – http://www.justiceforcraig.com - has had
around 140,000 hits in less than two months. Despite
hundreds of messages of support those people with crucial
evidence have still failed to come forward.

The family are now determined to bring the murders into the
national and international spotlight in a bid to put
pressure on the government and the PSNI to find Craig -
father to two year-old Dean - and Lorraine's killers.

But what is driving the family who are completely
undeterred by the fact they have declared war on Ulster's
notoriously ruthless killers?

"There is nothing else they can do to us. Eighteen years
ago they took Craig's mother and we didn't say anything
because we believed in law and order - but nobody was ever
caught, even though everyone in the area knew who had
killed her. We have to stand up for Craig and Lorraine now.
When Craig's son gets older we will have to tell him his
father and grandmother were killed by loyalist
paramilitaries. We do not want to tell him that nobody has
been caught," said Craig's aunt and Lorraine's sister,
Cathy McIlvenny.

The family's lives were shattered for a second time in the
early hours of Monday July 11, 2005, when masked men burst
into Craig's house in the Dhu Varren area of north Belfast
and sprayed him with bullets. Craig was due to celebrate
his 21st birthday the following month. His partner, Kathy,
and her two young children, aged nine and six, were at home
when the killers struck. The children watched as their
mother tried in vain to stem the blood from a bullet wound.

Craig had just moved back into the area from east Belfast,
where he had lived for five years, to take care of his ill
grandfather Charles. His grandfather - who had helped raise
him and his older brother, Stewart, since their mother was
murdered - died just nine weeks before Craig's funeral.

Eighteen years earlier on March 8, 1987 - when Craig was
two and his brother was five - their mother Lorraine (23)
was viciously attacked by a number of people, beaten to
death by a breeze block and her half-naked body dragged and
dumped in a stream at the rear of Tyndale Community Centre
in Belfast. She had been left unrecognisable by her
injuries. The UDA were responsible.

At the fore of the campaign for justice is Craig's cousin
Nichola McIIvenny who for months has been harbouring a
painful certainty that her beloved cousin would still be
alive today if he had only gone to Dublin with her for the
weekend as planned.

The pair were supposed to attend the Oxygen music festival
but Craig pulled out at the last minute because he was
unable to secure a ticket. On Monday, as the radio stations
in Dublin broadcast the murder of a young man in Belfast,
Nichola failed to pick up the significance of the news. Her
mobile phone battery had died so her family were unable to
contact her. The Gardai were also trying to search for her
but were unable to locate her.

"I'm glad they didn't find me as I wouldn't have been able
to drive home," she said. "I think I would have had an
accident or something in the car. I last saw him on the
Thursday night before he was shot. I dropped his son off
with him as I had been minding him on Wednesday night.
Craig was in great form as he was so happy to be with his
son.

"Craig was supposed to come to Oxygen with me but he
couldn't get a ticket so he decided to stay with his son. I
truly believe he would still be alive if he had only been
able to get a ticket for Oxygen."

Since Craig's death Nichola has been thrust into the centre
of worldwide media attention being interviewed by Press in
Ireland, the UK, Spain and America. Although being
contacted by reporters almost every day the 21 year-old
remains undaunted by the intrusion into her family's grief.

"I want to take this fight for justice wherever I can. The
one thing that really made us want to speak out was the
public suspicion that Craig must have been involved with
loyalists in some way. The Craig we knew had no
affiliation. He grew up hating them all. The UDA killed his
mother. He knew how his mother had died. He did not have a
violent bone in his body.

"Craig was so happy-go-lucky. He always just wanted to have
a good laugh and party with his friends. He always loved
being the centre of attention. We believe the UVF held a
grudge against him because, when he was about 15, he
refused to join them, and was quite cheeky in his refusal.

"The fight for justice is keeping us going. When that calms
down the true horror of what has happened to this family
for a second time might hit home. We all still think he is
going to come back - the family has lived like that for 18
years after Lorraine was killed."

Knowing that both Craig and Lorraine's killers are still
walking the streets adds further pain to the family's
agony. Cathy was forced to leave her Shankill Road
hairdressing business as she can no longer bear to work in
the loyalist heartland. She said she can't stomach the
thought of Craig's killers or their partners coming into
her salon.

"You find yourself looking at everyone wondering if they
know who killed Craig," she said. "Because of the UVF
backing, people are afraid to stand up to them. Through our
campaign we are trying to get to someone's conscience.
There has to be someone there with a shred of humanity left
and who knows what happened. We just want them to come
forward and tell us through the website. These people need
to know that unless they help us stop this they could be
next - or their children.

"This is the second time we have been through this. I don't
know if we will ever feel better. We only started talking
about Lorraine's death three year's ago when Craig's
grandmother was ill with cancer. She always had that fear
that what happened to Lorraine would happen again. At least
she didn't live to see it happening again."

When Robert McCartney was stabbed to death by republicans
in January, Sinn Fein, under intense pressure, suspended
party members. The family of Craig and Lorraine McCausland
are deeply angry that they have had no contact from
representatives of loyalist paramilitaries and claim they
have been "blanked" by PUP leader David Ervine. "This feud
is being used as a cover up," said Nichola. We want to ask
David Ervine to approach the UVF commander and ask why
Craig was killed and to stand up and actively support us
the way Gerry Gerry Adams did for the McCartney family and
ask the UVF to put the murderers forward. These people have
to be taken off the streets. Politicians should not be
playing politics with Craig's death. They should be helping
us fight for justice."

The family have been touched by the number of messages of
goodwill on their website. One message, from a contributor
from the Shankill, sums up the family's fight for justice
and recognition.

It reads: "This looks like another case where the family
will have to fight hard and long to get justice for a
family member brutally murdered in cold blood. The one good
thing to come out of all of this is that the majority of
people are turning their backs on the UVF. It may take a
while but it will eventually start to affect how these
terrorists operate. Good luck."

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667030

Backing In Search For Lisa's Body

Woodward and Orde join forensics bid

By Debra Douglas
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 October 2005

Chief Constable Hugh Orde and Security Minister Shaun
Woodward are backing calls for a forensic expert being
brought in to investigate the cases of the "Disappeared" to
look into the murder of Lisa Dorrian.

Responding to a request in Parliament from North Down MP
Lady Hermon to encourage the Dorrian family to maintain
confidence in the police investigation, Mr Woodward said
Sir Hugh continued to take an interest in the case.

He said: "He is ensuring that maximum resources are used
and agrees with me and my honourable friends that we should
use forensic experts to help to find Lisa's remains.

"The investigation is ongoing and we can only hope that we
find Lisa's remains before long and bring the perpetrators
of her death to justice."

In July, the Dorrian family, backed by Lady Hermon,
requested that the remit of the forensic expert was
extended to include Lisa's murder.

Both the British and Irish governments agreed to look into
the possibility of doing so but, at present, the
legislation only covers murders that were committed before
the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

But the family are hopeful steps will be taken to adapt the
legislation to include Lisa's case.

It is eight months since the 25-year-old shop assistant
went missing after a party at a Ballyhalbert caravan park.

Despite sea, air and land searches and the subsequent
murder inquiry, her remains have never been found.

It is widely believed individuals linked to the LVF were
behind the killing but detectives have been met with a wall
of silence.

A number of people were arrested in connection with her
murder but all were released without charge.

A police spokeswoman said: "Police remain committed to the
recovery of Lisa's body to help bring closure to her family
and subsequently to bring those responsible for Lisa's
murder before the courts.

"Detectives are in regular contact with the family through
this difficult time and continue to urge anyone with
information to come forward."

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/story.jsp?story=667020

Opin: Gerry Adams, The Rebecca Loos Of World Statesmen?

By Lindy McDowell
lmcdowell@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 October 2005

Gerry Adams - he hasn't gone away you know.

Well, actually he has. The last international sighting of
Gerry was on a recent outing to South Africa. It didn't
make world headlines. It didn't even make local headlines.

The days when Gerry was big box office would appear to be
over. The cameras have moved on. These days Gerry is to the
roll call of important international statesmen what Rebecca
Loos is to the pecking order of mega-celebrity.

His next big planned outing is a trip to the US where among
other engagements he hopes to raise (yet more) money for
the already bursting-at-the-coffers Sinn Fein. But he is
facing potential restrictions on his visa - an indication
of how the US administration's love affair with Sinn Fein
has cooled in recent times.

How different it was for Gerry just a few years ago when he
first embarked on his trophy handshake tours.

After years of not having been in the IRA, Gerry was being
feted and fawned over by the Clintons, the Kennedys and the
compliant wing of the US media who hailed him as statesman,
peacemaker, tree hugger and visionary.

Hardly a day passed when the papers didn't carry pics of
Gerry in yet another seismic handshake with yet another
world figure.

It had reached the stage where he was starting to look like
one of those celebrity fans who collect snaps of themselves
with the stars. "Here's one of me with Bon Jovi.. Here's
one with Cliff Richard...Here's me and Hugo Duncan.."

But the mood has changed from those heady days.

The Florida gun running case, the Castlereagh break-in,
Stormontgate, the Colombia Three, the killing of Garda
McCabe, the Robert McCartney murder, the Northern Bank
raid... taken singly each case was enough by itself to
damage trust in Sinn Fein. But together they have raised
real doubts internationally.

The fallout has undoubtedly impacted on Brand Adams. And it
could get worse..

In recent days a member of the Colombian administration
released a bitter statement after police in Bogota
discovered nine rockets which they believed were to be used
for an attack on the presidential palace.

The official blamed the Colombia Three's training of Farc
guerrillas.

"This shows part of the legacy of our friends from Ireland,
the ones enjoying freedom in Ireland, and whom we hope to
have back here to pay the years in jail they owe us," he
said.

Meanwhile reports that terrorist technology developed in
Northern Ireland by the IRA is now being used by insurgents
in attacks in Iraq (including a recent bombing where
British soldiers were killed), also has wider implications.

That same terrorist technology which has been shared with
those waging war against allied troops in Iraq was
initially funded by - yup -donations from IRA supporters in
the US. Now the grim likelihood is that in the not-too-
distant future it may cost the lives of young American
soldiers.

Or if you want to put it another way, Irish Americans who
sent money to the IRA to fund the killing of our children
may be waking up to the fact that, in effect, they have
financed the very technology that may kill their own kids.

So would it be any surprise if in future there is a cooler
reception for the party that is the political wing of the
terrorist group which perfected and shared that technology?

Especially when they ponder the truth of that old American
phrase which will today have chilling resonance with those
in the US who once donated so generously to the armed wing
of the Irish republican movement. What goes around, comes
around.

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

http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=RHKZ8WF1XGSGX237CAMAAQ6NFKLAFS6DJQRFL1PAASUECUMFHHVKTRRITI5N9NTHNMLEGGSGX2L24NNAD0SEARP9CHYPTRRITM&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/Comment&id=13429&opp=1

Opin: Bertie Can Stick His Military Two-Step

GEARÓID Ó CAIREALLáIN

Driven to the point of despair the crazed journalist pulls
all the hair out of his head and jumps into a bath of icy
water. "In ainm Dé..!" were the last words he ever uttered
before the men in the white coats came to take him away,
thaw him out and lock him up in his padded cell for ever
more…

Seriously, though, it would be worth it, just to get away
from all the amaidí, nonsense and outright balls that this
country manages to extract from that group of mindless,
zero-imagination nerds that we call political leaders.
Sometimes I do despair, I truly do.

So Fianna Fáil are gearing up for the next election.
They've beaten the Provos into the ground, that's fine, no
problem there, managed to get all that decommissioning
stuff sorted out… no guns, no bombs, no Provos… that's all
sound… but we can't have Adams and them fellas running
round telling everybody they are the real republicans, the
only ones interested in the 32 Counties, celebrating 100
years of Sinn Féin when everybody knows that Fianna Fáil
are the real Sinn Féin… and next year it'll be 25 years
since the Hunger Strike and before you know it they'll be
taking the nation off on a merry dance around the GPO to
celebrate a 100 years since 1916, and they'll probably have
a United Ireland by then… THEY WILL ON ME HUMP!!!

There will be no Sinn Féin party outside the GPO at Easter
2016 because Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party – yes,
that's right, the bloody Republican fecking Party, more
republican that that lot of… of gangsters from the North,
more republican than any of that lot anyday of the week,
I'm telling you – Fianna Fáil the Republican Party are
going to hold the only blessed party outside the GPO on
Easter Sunday Twenty bloody Sixteen, or Twenty bloody any
other year either. Mark my words.

And how are Fianna Fáil going to achieve this noble
objective? How are they going to rob Sinn Féin of their day
in the sun, prove to this youthful and multi-cultural
nation just who the real republicans are, win back the
young vote, stick Adams one in the eye and demonstrate that
there is and always has been only one legitimate army in
this country - how are they going to do that? With a
military walk past at the GPO!

Bertie… Aaaaagh!!! How could you get it so wrong? SO DAMNED
WRONG? God, we need a military walk past in this country
like we need a hurricane, a tsunami and an epidemic of bird
flu all in the one week!

For a start, militarism – sham-militarism, paramilitarism
or the GPO military two-step – is not an appropriate means
of remembering and honouring the men and women of 1916. Why
not? Because they were not militarists, that's why not. Do
you not remember, this was the most reluctant bunch of
militant revolutionaries ever assembled in one place.

Yes, they prepared, organised and executed a military
uprising against the British in Ireland, but even the most
intellectually challenged student of schoolboy history
knows these men and women were not militarists. Taking to
the gun and the bomb was their last resort. The resort a
good bit beyond their last resort, in fact.

The leaders of the 1916 Rebellion were poets, teachers,
lawyers, trade union leaders, philosophers, linguists,
cultural activists, Gaeilgeoirí, agitators for women's
rights… and at least one of them was a pacifist. Yes, a
PACIFIST!

You cannot pretend to be honouring the memory of these
people and declaring respect for all they stood for by
bringing hundreds of armed men onto the streets of the
capital city where they spilt their blood to prance up and
down showing off how well they can march in time to the
band and look at all the lovely guns and tanks they have.
Wise-ik, for crying out loud.

Secondly, an armed demonstration is no way to reflect the
mood of the young people of Ireland today. And it's the
young people Bertie is after, the young voters who are
flocking to Sinn Féin at election after election.

Gerry Adams caught the mood of the young people of Ireland
years ago when he declared Sinn Féin to be the party of
peace. Séanna Breatnach caught the mood of the young people
of Ireland two months ago when he declared that the IRA
were to dump arms and cease all activity.

Adams and Breatnach were also re-emphasising the legitimacy
of the IRA and their struggle over a quarter of a century
to end injustice in the Six Counties. They didn't get up on
their hind legs and snidely remark that the Free State army
is the only legitimate army in Ireland and that's why they
and only they will be dancing the light fantastic outside
the GPO every Easter Sunday from now until Lá Sheoin Dic.

Bertie just doesn't get it. Even though republicans
supported the IRA as a legitimate army engaged in armed
struggle as part of the process of creating an independent
Ireland, militarism holds no attraction for them. It never
did. It was only a last resort.

For Bobby Sands it was a last resort, for Diarmuid O'Neill
it was a last resort. For Mairéad Farrell, for all the
volunteers who gave their lives it was a last resort. And
now that the armed struggle is over it can be set aside. No
need to glorify it because the men and women of Óglaigh na
hÉireann – I mean the IRA – carry the pain and the glory in
their hearts and in their souls and in their heads every
day of their lives.

Bertie would better gauge the pulse of the times if he went
down to Shannon and protested at the abuse of hospitality
perpetrated upon this nation by George Bush's soldiers as
they go off to kill and be killed in Iraq, and to drag
their helpless prisoners through to Guantanamo Bay.

He would better gauge the pulse of the times if he used his
power and influence in a governmental crusade to achieve
the aims of the heroes of 1916 – yes, and I mean by
building a proper education system, a health system, by
ensuring fair distribution of Ireland's wealth. By deciding
that within a ten-year period – let's say between now and
Easter 2016 – the government of Ireland will do whatever is
necessary to restore the language of Ireland to the
prominence of a majority, community language as envisaged
by Mac Piarais, Mac Diarmada and others. By committing this
country to a nationhood of muti-cultural diversity and
equality.

Of course Bertie won't do any of the above. The limit of
his imagination is stretched to the GPO military two-step.

And I for one don't care. I don't give a damn. Because
Bertie is right about one thing – the young people of
Ireland are flocking to Sinn Féin, and as far as I am
concerned, the more the merrier.

And following next Easter's GPO military march past – eyes
left and salu-u-u-te - the merrier will just get more and
more…

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=667029

Iraq War Critic To Speak At Derry Gasyard Feile

By Brendan McDaid
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 October 2005

Outspoken MP George Galloway is set to deliver a keynote
lecture on "dirty wars and dirty tricks" at the Gasyard
Feile in Londonderry next week, it was confirmed last
night.

Mr Galloway, founder of the Respect party and one of the
Iraq War's most eloquent critics, arrives in Derry amid
fresh allegations regarding Saddam Hussein's oil for food
programme.

Mr Galloway, who will also be speaking at the Belfast
Festival at Queen's on Thursday, will speak at the Gasyard
Centre on Friday at 7.45pm on the theme of Dirty Wars and
Dirty Tricks: The Corrupting Influence of Occupation.

After the lecture, he will also participate in a Question
and Answer session.

Mr Galloway had been due to speak at the Gasyard Feile in
August but due to the London bombings he was unable to
attend.

He has denied the new allegations that he pocketed money
from Saddam Hussein's oil-for-food programme and lied about
it under oath to the US Senate when he was summoned earlier
this year.

The row continued yesterday when Mr Galloway accused a US
Senate committee of making allegations based solely on lies
and demanded that it clear his name.

The Respect MP was accused of pocketing money from the oil
programme in two separate reports this week, both citing
former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz as a source.

Republican Senator Norm Coleman used interviews with Aziz
as evidence that Saddam's regime granted 23 million barrels
of oil to Mr Galloway and his Mariam Appeal fund.

But the French lawyers representing Aziz told Mr Galloway
in Paris today that Aziz had never made a single statement
incriminating him.

Ron McKay, spokesman for the Bethnal Green and Bow MP,
said: "Aziz is denying he made any statement incriminating
George to Senator Coleman or anybody else.

"Mr Galloway is accusing Senator Coleman of putting
together lying testimony and has demanded that his name be
cleared."

A separate UN-backed report published on Thursday also
alleged the Respect MP received more than 18m barrels of
oil from the regime, and also cited interviews with Aziz.

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/special_interest/story.jsp?story=667096

Books: Lord Stevens Still Has Much More To Reveal

NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED, by Lord Stevens, Weidenfeld &
Nicolson, £18.99

Review by Chris Thornton
cthornton@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 October 2005

John Stevens records that even as he was standing before
the scorched walls and lumps of molten plastic that were
once the offices of his collusion inquiry, an RUC officer
spoke up.

"I suppose you'll have to go home now," the unnamed copper
said. "Because you've lost everything."

He was wrong on both counts. That fire on January 10, 1990,
lost Stevens nothing. In fact it may have gained him quite
a bit, since it was arguably one of the most important
milestones in a career that saw him become the most senior
police officer in the UK.

And he certainly didn't pack it in: 15 years later Stevens
is still investigating collusion in Northern Ireland,
although he is now perhaps in the final phases.

Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington opens his autobiography
with an account of the fire in his team's office at
Seapark, near Carrickfergus.

Perhaps this is done for sheer dramatic effect, but the
episode was clearly more than a good yarn. To Stevens and
many others, it was an illustration of the forces that were
ranged up against him (although the RUC officially
concluded the fire was accidental, Stevens says he was told
within minutes that he had been burned out by the secret
Army unit he was investigating).

It also showed the mettle of the man who was then a
relatively anonymous English cop. The fact that he had
taken the precaution of keeping complete duplicate records
in England illustrated how careful he was; the fact that he
kept going in the face of such determined opposition showed
how diligent he was.

Diligence may be one of the facets of John Stevens'
character that comes through most clearly from his life
story. All autobiographies have to be treated with a bit of
caution - the chief witness is biased, after all - but the
career of the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner in
Northern Ireland would at least bear witness to his
endurance.

There are at least two schools of thought about what
Stevens has accomplished here. On the one hand, there is
the suggestion that his investigation took collusion - the
idea that the security forces helped terrorists kill people
- out of the realm of conspiracy theory and into the realm
of fact.

On the other hand, some suggest that Stevens has failed to
crack the cover-up: that he has failed to land the big fish
behind the conspiracies.

There is, naturally, more support for the former here.
After all, the Stevens investigation uncovered the Army
agent Brian Nelson, and so much of what came afterward
unraveled from that investigation. And he kept uncovering
information that could not be ignored - that's why he has
been repeatedly called back to Northern Ireland over 16
years. Either way, it's hard to argue with the idea that
Stevens stuck with it.

His account of his early career opens up a lost world of
policing in the Sixties - one in which he has no shame in
recalling how he broke his truncheon over an axe-wielding
crook's head.

But it also illustrates why Stevens was a good choice for
casting light on shady anti-terrorism practices. By his own
admission he was not particularly gifted in those early
days - but he worked hard and kept going.

That was an important quality in going up against people
who would burn him out, although ultimately a lot of what
he writes about Northern Ireland is inconclusive and a
little bit unsatisfying. Much of what happened here is
necessarily skimmed over - he had a career beyond Northern
Ireland - but there are some significant gaps.

He does not write, for example, about the controversial
reasons Nelson was not charged with the murder of Pat
Finucane. Nor does he touch on his unsuccessful pursuit of
the journalist Ed Moloney's notebooks. There are only two
mentions of Stakeknife, the Army's IRA agent who remains
the focus of his investigation.

All this - and the fact that he is still investigating the
death of Princess Diana - suggests that this is not the
last volume Lord Stevens will produce. He's not going home
just yet.

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=667006

Dancing To The Tune Of Hayes And Cahill

By Neil Johnston
njohnston@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 October 2005

One of Irish traditional music's most revered partnerships
make their first ever appearance at Festival tonight.

They are the Irish American duo Martin Hayes (fiddle) and
Dennis Cahill (guitar) who are in concert at the Elmwood
Hall (9 pm).

The two musicians, masters of their respective instruments,
are internationally acclaimed for their sensitive and
inovative treatment of Ireland's rich dance tune tradition.

Hayes hails originally from east Co Clare where he grew up
as a member of a famous musical dynasty.

His fiddle playing father, the late PJ Hayes, was leader of
the renowned Tulla Ceili Band, and, by the age of 14, young
Martin had joined him in its distinguished ranks.

His virtuosity was soon to be officially recognised, for he
went on to win no less than six All-Ireland fiddle
championship titles.

In 1985 Hayes moved to the United States, and it was in
Chicago that he first met his present partner, Cahill, a
native Chicagoan whose parents had emigrated from Co Kerry.

They were involved in an experimental jazz rock fusion band
called Midnight Court, which enjoyed some success before
they teamed up together and returned to their traditional
roots.

They have been a musical "item" since, delighting audiences
all over the world with their inventive explorations on
fiddle and guitar of the melody, harmony and rhythms to be
found in Irish music.

"Our allegiance is to the spirit of the moment," says
Hayes. "Our primary wish is that the musical experience is
one which lifts our spirits and those of the audience."

Still on Irish trad, I should add that the aforementioned
Tulla Ceili Band - without Martin Hayes, of course - will
be providing the music at this year's big sets ceili in the
Whitla Hall on Festival's penultimate night.

But back to tonight, and tickets are still available at all
events except the Patrick Kielty and Chris John Jackson
comedy shows, both of which are sold out, as are all nine
performances over the next three days of the children's
special, Oogly Boogly.

Among today's events which are still taking bookings are
the Ulster Orchestra's Halloween concert Chills And Thrills
(Whitla Hall, 3.30) and the BT Talk by leading criminal
barrister Michael Mansfield QC (Whitla Hall, 7.30).

Finally, my pick of tomorrow's gigs are those by award
winning jazz quintet Polar Bear (Spring & Airbrake, 8 pm)
and dobro playing American bluesman Ernie Payne (Elmwood
Hall, 8 pm).

From what I hear, he's a class act.

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