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October 23, 2005

US Urged To Allow SF Raise Funds

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News about Ireland & the Irish

IT 10/24/05 US Urged To Allow SF Raise Funds
EX 10/23/05 Ahern Rules Out Sinn Féin Coalition
IO 10/23/05 Irish-Born Film Producer Adams Dies
II 10/23/05 Life & Times Of Liam Lawlor: Story Of Ireland
IT 10/24/05 Moscow Police Open Inquiry Into Death Of Lawlor
IT 10/24/05 Commissioner For Victims Is Named By Hain
EP 10/23/05 Hain Angers Nationalists With Appointment
IT 10/24/05 Strong Media Presence In Iraq Vital- Carroll
IT 10/24/05 Opin: Sir Reg Highlights Contrasts With DUP
IT 10/24/05 Listowel Bar Closes-Refusing To Serve Traveller
IT 10/24/05 Mourne Mountains Becomea North's 1st Nt’l Park
IT 10/24/05 Medieval Sites On Motorway Route

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/1778595794HM11FUNDRAISE.html

US Urged To Allow SF Raise Funds

Denis Staunton in Washington

Seven congressmen have called on the US state department
to lift its ban on Sinn Féin raising funds in America.

The congressmen, led by Republican James Walsh and Democrat
Richard Neal, said the ban was unfair and could have a
negative impact on the political situation in the North.

"We believe that the Sinn Féin leadership has kept its word
and honoured its commitments. At this critical moment in
the peace process, they should not be penalised for
delivering on their promises. Every political party from
Northern Ireland has the right to fundraise in the United
States. We are simply calling for a level playing field.
The ban that prevents Sinn Féin from fundraising in the
United States should be lifted promptly," they said.

The state department imposed the ban on Sinn Féin last
January in response to Robert McCartney's murder and the
Northern Bank robbery. Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness was
not allowed to raise funds during a visit to the US this
month. The party's president Gerry Adams will visit the
country next month. Political parties in the North will
only be allowed to raise money abroad until 2007 when the
law governing fundraising will change.

The US administration wants Sinn Féin to join the North's
policing board and fundraising permission is a potential
lever to influence it. But the congressmen said the IRA's
abandonment of violence, the decommissioning of its weapons
and last week's International Monitoring Commission report
showed that the Republican movement was on the right track.

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sgCA-HkUu8OG-sgHuTLc4nqWo2.asp

24/10/05

Ahern Rules Out Sinn Féin Coalition

By Shaun Connolly, Political Correspondent

THE Taoiseach last night insisted he would rather go into
opposition after the next election than cut a deal with
Sinn Féin.

Mr Ahern also hinted at modest tax cuts in the upcoming
December budget as he used a slickly managed Fianna Fáil
Árd Fheis as the spring board for a lengthy poll campaign.

He admitted if Sinn Féin kept up its momentum, it was set
to win "a lot more seats" in the Dáil, but gave his
clearest rejection yet of any future pact with them.

"I think if Sinn Féin were to get the vote they presently
have then they will have a lot more seats and that is
inevitable. For us in Fianna Fáil our job is to make sure
that doesn't happen and make sure it isn't our seats," he
said.

The Taoiseach added he would rather sit on the opposition
benches than work with Sinn Féin, insisting the parties
differ on practically every major policy area.

"I can't answer the question about what the situation in
the next Dáil will be. But I can answer the question: 'Will
Fianna Fáil be in a coalition government with Sinn Féin?' -
the answer to that is no," he said.

Though fearful of being squeezed by a resurgent Sinn Féin,
Mr Ahern made it clear the economy will be the main
battleground of the next election as he branded Fine Gael
and Labour high tax parties.

"We don't believe we need to raise any taxes for the
foreseeable future in this country.

"There's not much more room to bring down taxes, but there
might be a bit of room," the Taoiseach told TV3's The
Political Party.

Meanwhile, in his leader's address at the Ard Fheis, Mr
Ahern signalled he was determined to bulldoze through wide-
ranging reform of public services.

He warned trade unions and interest groups like consultants
they would not stand in the way of change.

Clearly concerned the electorate is not seeing improvements
in frontline health services, the Taoiseach admitted there
were serious problems in the system and tried to shift the
blame.

Marking his battle lines for the partnership negotiations
which resume today, Mr Ahern painted his critics as
opponents of modernisation holding Ireland back.

"We are determined to address the issues and to sort the
problems in A&E. We are investing in health, increasing
resources and developing new services, but new resources
must be matched by radical reform and full participation by
all the partners in the health service. It is clear, very
clear that in many accident and emergency units, we have
not yet got it right."

Mr Ahern said he was putting forward a progressive public
service agenda.

"We have no desire to depress the living standards or
cheapen the working conditions of 350,000 public servants.
We want the best for them provided they deliver the best
for society."

Mr Ahern made clear he stood by Health Minister and
Tánaiste Mary Harney despite the battering she has taken
over her handling of the portfolio.

In the most personal part of his speech, the Taoiseach
declared peace in Northern Ireland and prosperity in the
south marked the "birth of a new republic". In echoes of
Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech, Mr
Ahern said Ireland had emerged from the shadow of the
gunman.

"I always believed that dream could come true. Tonight, I
can tell you that it has. The guns are silent and Ireland
is at peace," he said, prompting a standing ovation.

Turning to the thorny issue of transport, Mr Ahern said the
long awaited 10-year plan to get Ireland moving would be
unveiled "in the coming weeks".

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

http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=160129272&p=y6xyz9978&n=160130032

Irish-Born Film Producer Adams Dies

23/10/2005 - 21:54:26

Tony Adams, a producer of many of the films of director
Blake Edwards, including six Pink Panther movies, has died
of a stroke. He was 52.

Adams died on Saturday at Beth Israel Hospital in New York,
said Peter Cromarty, a spokesman for the producer.

Adams was a partner in Hello Entertainment, a theatre
producing company, which develops and produces Broadway
shows.

Born in Dublin, Adams started in films as an assistant to
director John Boorman on Deliverance (1972) and later went
to work for Edwards as an associate producer on The Return
of the Pink Panther (1975).

Among the other Pink Panther movies he produced or co-
produced were The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976),
Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Trail of the Pink
Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) and Son of
the Pink Panther (1993).

Adams also worked on several films starring Edwards' wife,
Julie Andrews, including 10, S.O.B (1981), The Man Who
Loved Women (1983) and That's Life! (1986). He also
produced Julie, a short-lived television series, starring
Andrews, in 1992.

In 1995, Adams co-produced the stage version of
Victor/Victoria, starring Andrews and Tony Roberts on
Broadway. The musical ran for over 700 performances.

He is survived by his third wife, actress Anne Runolfsson,
and four children.

"His passing is a great loss to the film and stage Industry
worldwide," said Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John
O'Donoghue. "I wish to extend my deepest sympathy to Tony's
wife Anne and his family."

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

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article321721.ece

The Life And Times Of Liam Lawlor: A Story Of Modern Ireland

He had 110 bank accounts. He was jailed three times. A
judge once called him a disgrace. Now the death of one of
Fianna Fail's most notorious politicians has,
characteristically, been tinged with scandal. David
McKittrick reports

Published: 24 October 2005

"Liam Lawlor used to breeze into the Dail like he was his
own dual carriageway," a veteran Dublin political
journalist reminisced. "He was a big man - big presence,
burly, with the coat flapping.

"He was a wide-boy, not particularly clever. He'd always
know your name. He knew everybody, it was always hail
fellow well met. But he was a bad guy."

Now the death of Lawlor, who was jailed three times in
relation to corruption, has characteristically been touched
with dispute. He died outside Moscow on Saturday when the
Mercedes in which he was travelling hit a street light.

Yesterday his family protested against media reports that a
woman injured in the incident was a prostitute, saying it
was "deeply shocking and distressing that such hurtful
allegations should be made in this way without checking
their veracity."

It seems that Liam Lawlor's death may, like his life, be
surrounded by controversy. The primary charge against him
is that he helped bring the politics of the Irish Republic
into disrepute by enthusiastically operating the culture of
the backhander and the brown envelope stuffed with illicit
cash.

The secondary charge is that he was so blatant and so
brazen about it. He would be wafted to the Dail in a
chauffeur-driven top-of-the-range Merc sporting an
expensive suit and stylish overcoat. He was one of the
first people to have a car-phone.

He spent large amounts of money in elections, and had
political and business connections in many places. He
exuded money, and did not seem to care that he also exuded
a sense that it was fast-made unexplained money - a quick,
dodgy buck.

His flash ways, and the fact that he lived in a fine house
near the village of Lucan near Dublin, earned him the
nickname of "Lord Lucan". This was a man with 110 bank
accounts spread over many countries: eight of them in
Lichtenstein.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, paid solemn tribute
to Lawlor, in line with the Irish political custom of
refusing to speak ill of the dead. "Liam was an engaging,
witty and a larger than life character," the Irish prime
minister said. "He was also a man with a keen intellect and
strong views that he was never afraid to articulate
trenchantly. He was extremely popular with his
parliamentary colleagues across the political boards."

Yet, just three years ago, Mr Ahern was solemnly and
publicly telling Lawlor in the Dail, the Irish parliament:
"You have let politics down and your position is
untenable."

This was on the remarkable occasion when Lawlor was
temporarily released from Mountjoy jail and conveyed to the
Dail in a prison van. This was so that he could mount a
political defence: the judge warned him not to "disport"
himself in the Dail's bars while he was out.

Reaching new heights of brazenness, he defiantly defended
himself even as, unprecedentedly, the five main Irish party
leaders stood up in turn and called on him to resign his
seat. No vote was needed on the motion: it was unanimous,
and afterwards Lawlor was whisked back to jail.

This political obloquy was matched by judicial
condemnation. One judge who locked him up accused him of
blatantly defying the law, declaring: "That he did so as a
citizen is a disgrace; that he did so as a public
representative is a scandal."

Sending a message which must have worried other political
wrong-doers, the judge intoned: "No one is above the law -
there are no untouchables." Irish voters can be forgiving
of their politicians, even in cases when they regard them
as suspect and less than trustworthy. But the disgrace and
isolation which befell Lawlor was so complete no recovery
was possible: he was briskly de-selected by Fianna Fail.

Ireland has had some senior politicians who have been both
extremely corrupt and extremely skilful: two other Fianna
Fail examples are Charles Haughey and the former foreign
minister Ray Burke. Mr Haughey, who escaped prosecution, is
nonetheless regarded as being in disgrace, having been
exposed as lying by several tribunals. The tribunals caught
up with Burke too earlier this year, when he was jailed for
six months for tax evasion.

The three - Haughey, Lawlor and Burke - seem to have
functioned as cash-hungry individuals rather than as a
tight team. Lawlor, whose political judgement was often
shaky, backed Mr Haughey but then broke with him. Mr
Haughey never promoted him after that, dismissing him as
"an Exocet missile without a guidance system". Nonetheless,
Lawlor's dual membership of the Dail and of Dublin County
Council was to prove most valuable to his financial
fortunes.

Although the scale of wrong-doing which has since been
exposed has shocked some, the fact that it existed had been
pretty much an open secret for decades. A Haughey rival
within Fianna Fail spoke publicly of "low standards in high
places".

Corruption was touched on occasionally in the Irish media
in the 1970s, but legal and other considerations
discouraged full disclosure. There was, in any event, a
popular sense that Haughey and others were go-getters who
could get things done and modernise a once-sleepy Ireland.

And if they should cut a few corners and take a few short-
cuts, it was regularly said, didn't they deserve a bit of
reward if they were transforming the country, to the
benefit of all? Thus, as they say, the dogs in the street
knew about it: but the dogs did not bark, and most of them
did not care.

One of the most obvious, straightforward and most
profitable scams involving Lawlor centred on the expansion
of Dublin, which was developing large new housing estates
and shopping centres in the north and west of the city.

Builders and developers would buy up disregarded pieces of
land, then apply for permission to build houses or shops
there. Liam Lawlor, at the head of a caucus of councillors,
would obligingly fix it so that the land was conveniently
re-zoned.

The value of the land instantly increased dramatically and
fortunes were made overnight. According to one estimate,
the 5,000 acres which were re-zoned in one six-month period
netted their owners some £200m in windfall profits.

The scam was not rocket science:, in fact it was
extraordinarily simple. But Lawlor was blatant about the
whole thing, not having the political sense even to try to
conceal the obvious corruption. He did not trouble to
observe the common decencies of corruption.

Businessmen would sit in the public gallery of Dublin
County Council during meetings watching as Lawlor guided
their applications through. Afterwards some of them and
some councillors would repair to a nearby pub. There, it is
presumed, cash-stuffed brown envelopes would
surreptitiously change hands.

The amounts of money involved, however, became so large
that few envelopes were large enough to hold the bigger
bribes. Chapter and verse on this emerged a few years ago
when a reluctant whistleblower emerged and, under heavy
tribunal pressure, spilled the beans.

This was Frank Dunlop, a senior lobbyist who for years had
been the government's press secretary and who had once
boasted: "I have balls of iron and a spine of steel."

Under threat of heavy legal penalty, however, the metal
buckled and Mr Dunlop came clean, revealing that business
figures had supplied him with a "war-chest" containing
hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay off councillors.

Lawlor's share at one point, Mr Dunlop testified, was
almost £50,000, 40,000 of it in cash.

This was not a victimless crime, because it resulted in the
building of thousands of new homes in vast characterless
areas, often without proper planning, facilities or
infrastructure.

The re-zoning scam was a steady source of income for
Lawlor, but he expanded into "consultancy work" - it is
said he once received £10,000 for a single day's work.

A builder, Seamus Ross, testified to a tribunal how Lawlor
had regularly extracted money from him, repeatedly telling
him about the "good turns" he had done for him.

The builder, who said he had handed over £25,000 in
"political donations," said he was "very unhappy" about
giving him money, saying he had planning applications in
the system and was concerned that Lawlor might use his
influence against these.

He explained: "He would leave you in no doubt that he had
certain powers and would use them against you as well as
for you. I was angry with Liam Lawlor. He was like a
plague, always in your face, making himself friendly."

Again, the work of the tribunals brought such activities to
light in damning detail. But, although Mr Dunlop caved in,
Lawlor would not, maintaining his bluster and vainly
professing his innocence long after his guilt was
universally accepted.

When he was first locked up one newspaper called it "the
day the swagger died and the brass neck vanished". But, in
fact, if he was crestfallen it was only momentary: "You'd
think he'd be mortified about going to jail," said one
observer, "but in fact it was more like water off a duck's
back."

Although his three jail spells ended his political career,
his business enterprises continued in Ireland and abroad.
Travellers reported sightings of him breezing around
Hungary and other countries. But while his experience of
the tribunal system, and indeed of prison, may not have
changed his fundamental character, he has certainly helped
change the system itself.

The work of a range of tribunals has exposed Lawlor,
Haughey, Burke and others, and has recouped more than €30m
(£20m) for the exchequer. But it has taken years and the
cost has been immense, generating much public disillusion
about the whole exercise.

Dealing with miscreants such as Lawlor has cost Ireland
more money than he ever extracted in bribes, sweeteners and
backhanders. Most of the public and most of the politicians
are weary of the whole process and want to see it
curtailed, as quickly as possible. The government has taken
steps to do so, but even so it will all drag on for years
yet.

The irony in all of this is that Ireland today is run by a
government headed by Fianna Fail, some of whose one-time
leading members were up to their neck in the corruption.

Yet Bertie Ahern has successfully won election after
election, being universally viewed as free from his party's
previous bad old habits. Through all of this, Fianna Fail
has remained Ireland's largest party.

Voters seem to have concluded that Bertie Ahern has
successfully put an end to the era of the brown envelope.
Their judgement appears to be that the corruption issue
should now be laid to rest, as a piece of history rather
than the stuff of today's politics.

"Liam Lawlor used to breeze into the Dail like he was his
own dual carriageway," a veteran Dublin political
journalist reminisced. "He was a big man - big presence,
burly, with the coat flapping.

"He was a wide-boy, not particularly clever. He'd always
know your name. He knew everybody, it was always hail
fellow well met. But he was a bad guy."

Now the death of Lawlor, who was jailed three times in
relation to corruption, has characteristically been touched
with dispute. He died outside Moscow on Saturday when the
Mercedes in which he was travelling hit a street light.

Yesterday his family protested against media reports that a
woman injured in the incident was a prostitute, saying it
was "deeply shocking and distressing that such hurtful
allegations should be made in this way without checking
their veracity."

It seems that Liam Lawlor's death may, like his life, be
surrounded by controversy. The primary charge against him
is that he helped bring the politics of the Irish Republic
into disrepute by enthusiastically operating the culture of
the backhander and the brown envelope stuffed with illicit
cash.

The secondary charge is that he was so blatant and so
brazen about it. He would be wafted to the Dail in a
chauffeur-driven top-of-the-range Merc sporting an
expensive suit and stylish overcoat. He was one of the
first people to have a car-phone.

He spent large amounts of money in elections, and had
political and business connections in many places. He
exuded money, and did not seem to care that he also exuded
a sense that it was fast-made unexplained money - a quick,
dodgy buck.

His flash ways, and the fact that he lived in a fine house
near the village of Lucan near Dublin, earned him the
nickname of "Lord Lucan". This was a man with 110 bank
accounts spread over many countries: eight of them in
Lichtenstein.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, paid solemn tribute
to Lawlor, in line with the Irish political custom of
refusing to speak ill of the dead. "Liam was an engaging,
witty and a larger than life character," the Irish prime
minister said. "He was also a man with a keen intellect and
strong views that he was never afraid to articulate
trenchantly. He was extremely popular with his
parliamentary colleagues across the political boards."

Yet, just three years ago, Mr Ahern was solemnly and
publicly telling Lawlor in the Dail, the Irish parliament:
"You have let politics down and your position is
untenable."

This was on the remarkable occasion when Lawlor was
temporarily released from Mountjoy jail and conveyed to the
Dail in a prison van. This was so that he could mount a
political defence: the judge warned him not to "disport"
himself in the Dail's bars while he was out.

Reaching new heights of brazenness, he defiantly defended
himself even as, unprecedentedly, the five main Irish party
leaders stood up in turn and called on him to resign his
seat. No vote was needed on the motion: it was unanimous,
and afterwards Lawlor was whisked back to jail.

This political obloquy was matched by judicial
condemnation. One judge who locked him up accused him of
blatantly defying the law, declaring: "That he did so as a
citizen is a disgrace; that he did so as a public
representative is a scandal."

Sending a message which must have worried other political
wrong-doers, the judge intoned: "No one is above the law -
there are no untouchables." Irish voters can be forgiving
of their politicians, even in cases when they regard them
as suspect and less than trustworthy. But the disgrace and
isolation which befell Lawlor was so complete no recovery
was possible: he was briskly de-selected by Fianna Fail.

Ireland has had some senior politicians who have been both
extremely corrupt and extremely skilful: two other Fianna
Fail examples are Charles Haughey and the former foreign
minister Ray Burke. Mr Haughey, who escaped prosecution, is
nonetheless regarded as being in disgrace, having been
exposed as lying by several tribunals. The tribunals caught
up with Burke too earlier this year, when he was jailed for
six months for tax evasion.

The three - Haughey, Lawlor and Burke - seem to have
functioned as cash-hungry individuals rather than as a
tight team. Lawlor, whose political judgement was often
shaky, backed Mr Haughey but then broke with him. Mr
Haughey never promoted him after that, dismissing him as
"an Exocet missile without a guidance system". Nonetheless,
Lawlor's dual membership of the Dail and of Dublin County
Council was to prove most valuable to his financial
fortunes.

Although the scale of wrong-doing which has since been
exposed has shocked some, the fact that it existed had been
pretty much an open secret for decades. A Haughey rival
within Fianna Fail spoke publicly of "low standards in high
places".

Corruption was touched on occasionally in the Irish media
in the 1970s, but legal and other considerations
discouraged full disclosure. There was, in any event, a
popular sense that Haughey and others were go-getters who
could get things done and modernise a once-sleepy Ireland.

And if they should cut a few corners and take a few short-
cuts, it was regularly said, didn't they deserve a bit of
reward if they were transforming the country, to the
benefit of all? Thus, as they say, the dogs in the street
knew about it: but the dogs did not bark, and most of them
did not care.

One of the most obvious, straightforward and most
profitable scams involving Lawlor centred on the expansion
of Dublin, which was developing large new housing estates
and shopping centres in the north and west of the city.

Builders and developers would buy up disregarded pieces of
land, then apply for permission to build houses or shops
there. Liam Lawlor, at the head of a caucus of councillors,
would obligingly fix it so that the land was conveniently
re-zoned.

The value of the land instantly increased dramatically and
fortunes were made overnight. According to one estimate,
the 5,000 acres which were re-zoned in one six-month period
netted their owners some £200m in windfall profits.

The scam was not rocket science:, in fact it was
extraordinarily simple. But Lawlor was blatant about the
whole thing, not having the political sense even to try to
conceal the obvious corruption. He did not trouble to
observe the common decencies of corruption.

Businessmen would sit in the public gallery of Dublin
County Council during meetings watching as Lawlor guided
their applications through. Afterwards some of them and
some councillors would repair to a nearby pub. There, it is
presumed, cash-stuffed brown envelopes would
surreptitiously change hands.

The amounts of money involved, however, became so large
that few envelopes were large enough to hold the bigger
bribes. Chapter and verse on this emerged a few years ago
when a reluctant whistleblower emerged and, under heavy
tribunal pressure, spilled the beans.

This was Frank Dunlop, a senior lobbyist who for years had
been the government's press secretary and who had once
boasted: "I have balls of iron and a spine of steel."

Under threat of heavy legal penalty, however, the metal
buckled and Mr Dunlop came clean, revealing that business
figures had supplied him with a "war-chest" containing
hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay off councillors.

Lawlor's share at one point, Mr Dunlop testified, was
almost £50,000, 40,000 of it in cash.

This was not a victimless crime, because it resulted in the
building of thousands of new homes in vast characterless
areas, often without proper planning, facilities or
infrastructure.

The re-zoning scam was a steady source of income for
Lawlor, but he expanded into "consultancy work" - it is
said he once received £10,000 for a single day's work.

A builder, Seamus Ross, testified to a tribunal how Lawlor
had regularly extracted money from him, repeatedly telling
him about the "good turns" he had done for him.

The builder, who said he had handed over £25,000 in
"political donations," said he was "very unhappy" about
giving him money, saying he had planning applications in
the system and was concerned that Lawlor might use his
influence against these.

He explained: "He would leave you in no doubt that he had
certain powers and would use them against you as well as
for you. I was angry with Liam Lawlor. He was like a
plague, always in your face, making himself friendly."

Again, the work of the tribunals brought such activities to
light in damning detail. But, although Mr Dunlop caved in,
Lawlor would not, maintaining his bluster and vainly
professing his innocence long after his guilt was
universally accepted.

When he was first locked up one newspaper called it "the
day the swagger died and the brass neck vanished". But, in
fact, if he was crestfallen it was only momentary: "You'd
think he'd be mortified about going to jail," said one
observer, "but in fact it was more like water off a duck's
back."

Although his three jail spells ended his political career,
his business enterprises continued in Ireland and abroad.
Travellers reported sightings of him breezing around
Hungary and other countries. But while his experience of
the tribunal system, and indeed of prison, may not have
changed his fundamental character, he has certainly helped
change the system itself.

The work of a range of tribunals has exposed Lawlor,
Haughey, Burke and others, and has recouped more than €30m
(£20m) for the exchequer. But it has taken years and the
cost has been immense, generating much public disillusion
about the whole exercise.

Dealing with miscreants such as Lawlor has cost Ireland
more money than he ever extracted in bribes, sweeteners and
backhanders. Most of the public and most of the politicians
are weary of the whole process and want to see it
curtailed, as quickly as possible. The government has taken
steps to do so, but even so it will all drag on for years
yet.

The irony in all of this is that Ireland today is run by a
government headed by Fianna Fail, some of whose one-time
leading members were up to their neck in the corruption.

Yet Bertie Ahern has successfully won election after
election, being universally viewed as free from his party's
previous bad old habits. Through all of this, Fianna Fail
has remained Ireland's largest party.

Voters seem to have concluded that Bertie Ahern has
successfully put an end to the era of the brown envelope.
Their judgement appears to be that the corruption issue
should now be laid to rest, as a piece of history rather
than the stuff of today's politics.

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/1024/2612799349HM1LIAMONE.html

Moscow Police Open Inquiry Into Death Of Lawlor

Russian police will this morning open an investigation
into the death of former Fianna Fáil politician Liam
Lawlor, who was killed in a car crash in Moscow early on
Saturday morning. Mark Brennock, Paul Cullen and Chris
Stephen report

A key witness will be Julia Kushnir, a back-seat passenger
who was the only survivor of the crash.

Speaking on his arrival in Moscow last night, Mr Lawlor's
son, Niall, said Ms Kushnir was a 32-year-old mother of two
who worked as an assistant to the partner in the legal firm
that Mr Lawlor used in Prague.

He said he "couldn't believe" press coverage of his
father's death which had claimed the accident occurred in a
red-light district and that Mr Lawlor had just met his
fellow passenger. "I passed the accident site. It didn't
look like any red-light district. It is surrounded by
malls."

Irish diplomats have confirmed the woman travelled to
Moscow with Mr Lawlor from Prague on Friday night. Luggage
belonging to Mr Lawlor and Ms Kushnir was found in the car,
indicating that both were travelling directly from the
airport.

Niall Lawlor said Ms Kushnir, a Ukrainian national, was a
fluent Russian speaker who was to provide interpreting
services for his father.

Earlier Mr Lawlor's family expressed regret and sadness at
the "barrage of inaccurate, reckless and vindictive
coverage" from "certain sections of media" on the
circumstances of his death.

"At this time of mourning it is deeply shocking and
distressing that such hurtful allegations should be made,"
it said in a statement. "The family ask that the media
reflect on their coverage and allow them space to cope with
their loss."

The wrecked Mercedes in which the former TD was travelling
is being kept by Moscow police in a secure compound for
investigation.

Moscow police spokesman Sergei Kovalenko told The Irish
Times that the Mercedes hit a concrete lamppost on the
Leningrad Shosse, a main highway 23 km from the city centre
shortly after 1am.

He said Mr Lawlor (61) died in the crash, along with the
car driver, named as Ruslan Suliamanov.

Mr Kovalenko said the woman, whom he did not identify, had
given a statement to the police and was not under arrest.
No other vehicle was involved in the crash.

A family source said Mr Lawlor flew to Prague on Thursday.
He travelled on to Moscow to meet Russian business contacts
who own property in the Czech capital, and had intended
flying back yesterday.

The bodies of the two men were last night in the morgue at
Shkodnia outside Moscow, awaiting forensic examination
today.

Mr Lawlor's body is expected to be released later today to
his son Niall. His funeral is provisionally scheduled for
Thursday.

His death robs the planning tribunal of a vital but unco-
operative witness. Mr Lawlor was to give evidence in at
least nine separate hearings planned by the tribunal into
allegations of corruption in Dublin planning.

The first, into the rezoning of Quarryvale in west Dublin,
is scheduled to begin next month. Although the start of
hearings may be delayed by legal issues, Mr Lawlor's death
is unlikely to prevent the inquiry proceeding.

Mr Lawlor always maintained the payments he got from
developers were legitimate political contributions or
consultancy fees.

News of his death cast a shadow over the Fianna Fáil
Ardfheis in Killarney. The Taoiseach and Opposition leaders
expressed shock at the death of Mr Lawlor, with Mr Ahern
paying tribute to "an engaging, witty and larger-than-life
character".

The former chairman of the planning tribunal, Mr Justice
Feargus Flood, described him as a "larger- than-life
character who had his own agenda".

Mr Lawlor is survived by his wife, Hazel, three sons and a
daughter.

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/561069799HM11HAIN.html

Commissioner For Victims Is Named By Hain

Gerry Moriarty

The widow of a murdered RUC officer has been appointed
Northern Ireland's first victims commissioner.

Bertha McDougall, who has campaigned for RUC widows, was
confirmed yesterday by Northern Secretary Peter Hain as
interim commissioner for victims and survivors of the
troubles.

The appointment follows on demands for such a commissioner
by the DUP and the choice of Ms McDougall is viewed as a
confidence-building measure for unionists.

Ms McDougall's husband Lindsay, aged 36, an RUC reservist,
was fatally wounded by the INLA in 1981 in Belfast city
centre. He was shot as he was checking a suspicious car on
Great Victoria Street.

The INLA "supergrass" Harry Kirkpatrick said he was the
driver for the killers.

According to the Lost Lives book he named the gunmen as
Gerard Steenson, who was later killed in an internal feud,
and a 22-year-old man from the Markets area of Belfast.

Ms McDougall, who was left with three children to rear,
became active in campaigning on behalf of RUC widows,
setting up the victims lobby group Forgotten Families. She
is a trustee of the RUC George Cross Foundation and played
a pivotal role in improving compensation payments for
widows bereaved before 1982.

She was a primary school teacher and later worked for the
Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment. She has
also worked on cross-community educational projects.

Mr Hain said he was delighted Ms McDougall had accepted the
appointment.

"Her experience in working with victims and victims support
groups will be vital in helping to address the needs of
those who have suffered great personal loss. The government
believes that the needs of those who have suffered so much
over the years must get greater recognition. They must not
become the forgotten people," he said.

"Substantial resources have already been provided to
individual victims and the self help groups on which many
rely for help but I feel that more needs to be done to
recognise all the pain and hurt," he added.

Mr Hain said that legislation to establish a commissioner
on a longer-term basis would be introduced.

He said Ms McDougall would look at key areas relating to
services for victims, funding arrangements in relation to
services and grants paid to victims and survivors groups
and individual victims and survivors. She would also look
at how a victims and survivors forum might be established
to provide a focus for discussion for issues affecting
those who have suffered.

He expected her to produce a report within a year, he said.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200510/818f53e0-475f-42d5-9e93-bb6fb38bcfa9.htm

Hain Angers Nationalists With Appointment

The Northern Ireland secretary has angered nationalists
with the appointment of a new commissioner for victims.

Peter Hain announced the appointment on Monday but was
immediately criticised by the moderate SDLP.

Hain said that Bertha McDougall would be the interim
commissioner for victims and survivors of the 'troubles'
while legislation on a permanent post continues.

He said McDougall was well qualified for the position as
the founder of victims group Forgotten Families and would
produce a report on the needs of victims within a year.

"I am delighted that Mrs McDougall has agreed to take up
this important role," he said.

"Her experience in working with victims and victims support
groups will be vital in helping to address the needs of
those who have suffered great personal loss.

"The government believes that the needs of those who have
suffered so much over the years must get greater
recognition. They must not become the forgotten people.

"Substantial resources have already been provided to
individual victims and the self help groups on which many
rely for help but I feel that more needs to be done to
recognise all the pain and hurt."

However SDLP victims spokesman Patricia Lewsley said the
appointment had been approved by only the unionist DUP.

"It's hard to see how any one victims' commissioner could
have the confidence of all victims," she said.

"That's why the SDLP's emphasises has been on getting a
victims forum where all the different victims' interests
can speak for themselves. That's what government must above
all do.

"If government is serious about parity of esteem for all
victims then it should not be consulting with or seeking
the approval of one political party only for an
appointment.

"That undermines confidence, not just to victims but the
whole of society generally. Playing the concessions game
will only sour politics and take us all away from
reconciliation and working together."

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/2671873399HM3RORYNEWS.html

Strong Media Presence In Iraq Vital, Says Carroll

Christine Newman

Rory Carroll, the Irish journalist released by kidnappers
after 36 hours in Baghdad, arrived home in Dublin yesterday
stating that it was vital there was still a strong media
presence in Iraq.

At a press conference at the airport, Carroll, a Guardian
newspaper journalist, said no story was worth a life so it
was a matter of trying to get the balance right between
security precautions and getting information. He would like
to go back to Iraq at some point but it was not going to
happen in the short to medium term.

Then with the typical humour that marked his answers, he
added that his family would "probably lock him in the
garden shed" rather than let him return.

The Guardian would be holding meetings next week to discuss
how it would now approach Iraq as a story, he said.

Carroll was released on Thursday. He was then taken by
military aircraft from Baghdad to Kuwait from where he flew
on a civilian flight from Kuwait to London Heathrow.

Yesterday, he travelled the last leg home from London to
Dublin. When he arrived at the airport at about 4pm, he was
reunited with his family in a private meeting.

The press conference was packed with media and there was a
notable Garda presence.

Ian Prior from the Guardian, a sports journalist and
friend, orchestrated the event, stressing that there would
be no more interviews afterwards.

Waiting to greet Carroll when he arrived were his mother
Kathy, father Joe and sister Katrina, who accompanied him
to the press conference where members of the media broke
into applause as he entered the room.

Flanked by his parents at the table, Carroll's demeanour
was relaxed and he answered questions at length,
interspersed with light-hearted comments.

He admitted, though, that he was probably still in denial
and the whole thing had not really sunk in yet. He said he
thought being Irish was an important factor in his release.

He forgot nobody in his thanks, including the Irish,
British and Iraqi governments and his Guardian colleagues,
all of whom "had not put a foot wrong" in securing his
release.

He also paid tribute to family and friends and people whom
he did not even know, all over the world, who had been in
touch.

His mother, who gripped his hand throughout, joked that she
thought he forgot her birthday.

He quipped: "Happy birthday, Mum, sadly, they kidnapped
your presents." His father summed up his feelings: "I just
think he's terrific."

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/753763354HM11UUPANALYSIS.html

Opin: Sir Reg Highlights Contrasts With DUP

Despite a good turnout, the mood at the Ulster Unionist
Party conference was downbeat, writes Gerry Moriarty,
Northern Editor

David Trimble arrived at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast on
Saturday morning to cast his vote in the election of Ulster
Unionist Party officers. He then quickly exited the
building, leaving the stage clear for new leader, Sir Reg
Empey.

The post-Trimble era had officially begun. His presence
throughout the day would have left many delegates feeling
uncomfortable.

In any case, Mr Trimble had more wit than to hang around.
As he drove home along the M1 he must have experienced a
sense of a dense, dark cloud lifting - a sense, as he
awaits his seat in the House of Lords, of political and
personal liberation.

However, Sir Reg Empey is still a prisoner of the Ulster
Unionist Party. Like Sinn Féin, this is its centenary year,
but the contrast in the fortunes of the two parties could
hardly be starker. There was little or nothing for Sir Reg
to celebrate on Saturday.

For much of the 20th century the UUP was the unionist
ascendancy party. Now, with just one seat at Westminster,
its role is the minor one. Ian Paisley lords it over
unionism.

Therefore the task for Sir Reg was to convince delegates
that the UUP was still a force to be reckoned with, still
relevant, still capable of influencing the outcome of the
political struggles yet to be decided.

There was a good turnout for the conference, about 500 or
600, so there is still some fire in the belly of Ulster
Unionism; some embers of hope are burning. A number of
fresh, younger faces were also elected to the officer board
to replace some of the old guard.

Lord Rogan also defeated former MP Rev Martin Smyth for the
presidency of the party, heralding the end of the pro- and
anti-Belfast Agreement battles that tore apart the party.

Yet, on the margins of the conference the mood was quite
pessimistic and fatalistic. Delegates, while striving to
keep the Ulster Unionist faith, were downhearted. As one
said, they felt they would be on the back foot to the DUP
for a "generation at least".

In his first conference as leader, the daunting challenge
for Sir Reg was to inject renewed spirit and backbone into
the party. He hardly expected to electrify the delegates -
Ulster Unionists tend to be too staid and conservative for
that sort of stimulation - but at least in his strong
speech he illustrated his political nous and his leadership
capability.

His delivery lacked some oomph, but the content was
interesting, dealing with the issues of the day, and
setting out the beginnings of a recovery strategy.

Centrally, that strategy entails concentrating on the
differences between the UUP and DUP, as outgoing chairman
James Cooper said, creating "clear blue water" between the
two parties.

Sir Reg did so in a manner that David Trimble seldom did or
could: he concentrated on the positive. While the DUP warns
about treachery and subterfuge, it was implicit in the
leader's speech, and indeed from the whole conference, that
unionists believe the conflict is over.

"For republicans who murdered, maimed, bombed and robbed
for 35 years their needless and futile 'war' is at an end.
But, generally speaking, they'll become 'political', just
as others have, and we in the Ulster Unionist Party and the
DUP will have to deal with that reality," he said.

Sir Reg was accused of being ambiguous on loyalist violence
during the Orange Order Whiterock parade and of cosying up
to Ian Paisley. This time he was unequivocal, demanding
loyalists "call it a day", and notably conceding that
"political unionism" played a part in encouraging loyalist
paramilitarism.

He accused the DUP of "blood-curdling speeches" and
"middle-of-the-night mountainside adventures".

There were no encomiums for Mr Trimble at the conference,
but at least Sir Reg, from a party perspective, insisted
that it was UUP policy during the peace process - which
Trimble shaped - that helped persuade republicans to accept
the consent principle.

In reference to the DUP he said, "What our opponents did do
- and they did this well - was sell the lie that it was all
pain for unionists, and all gain for republicans. Our
mistake was that we allowed them to peddle this untruth.

"For them, it was more important to snatch defeat from the
jaws of victory, and blame us for what ensued."

There is however a difficulty here in highlighting genuine
differences between the parties. As Mr Trimble has
identified in the past, the extremes aren't as extreme as
they used to be: Sinn Féin has moved onto much of the
SDLP's territory; and as UUP Assembly deputy leader Danny
Kennedy said on Saturday, the DUP has stolen "some of the
clothes" of the UUP. It's easier now for moderate unionists
to vote for Paisley.

Nonetheless, Sir Reg's strategy is to slowly, step-by-step
try to rebuild the party, stress the UUP/DUP distinctions,
and simply to "hang in" while putting it up to Ian Paisley,
Peter Robinson and their colleagues to deliver now that
they have the reins of power.

"The clock is ticking, and an anxious electorate is waiting
to see if the largest unionist party has more to it than
out-dated catch phrases and backward policies. Our role
will be constructive. To continue the job of rebuilding,
not to undermine or to wreck," said Sir Reg, reinforcing
his argument that - downbeat as Ulster Unionists are - if
the Doc falters, there is a unionist alternative.

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/2784594010HM4PUBCLOSE.html

Listowel Bar Must Close For Refusing To Serve Traveller

Anne Lucey

A bar in Listowel, Co Kerry, has been ordered to close
for two days after being convicted of discrimination when
it refused to serve a member of the Traveller community in
the town.

The temporary closure order is thought to be the first in
Ireland under the Equal Status and Intoxicating Liquor
Acts.

The Mighty Dollar bar in Market Street was found to have
breached the Equal Status Act 2000 as amended by Section 19
of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003, after refusing to
serve Leonard Evans (23), a local settled Traveller in
February 2004. Sentence was handed down on Thursday at
Listowel District Court.

Yesterday Mr Evans, of Liosarda, Listowel, a married father
of two, claimed Travellers were regularly refused service
in bars in the town. He said the situation had worsened
since Travellers staged protests earlier this year. Now
only two bars served Travellers and they did so in limited
numbers.

Vintners spokesmen in Listowel have denied there is a ban
on Travellers in the town's 38 public houses.

Mr Evans welcomed the temporary closure order. "I am
delighted. They [pubs in Ireland] are getting off so
lightly. I have been told this is the first time in Ireland
such an order has been made."

He said a number of cases against bars in Co Kerry were
pending, and he was bringing a case against a restaurant in
the county which refused to serve him a meal at lunchtime.

Judge Aingeal Ní Chondúin ordered the pub to close for two
days within the next 30 days.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/3840934798HM11MOURNE.html

Mourne Mountains To Become North's First National Park

Frank McDonald, Environment Editor

The Mourne mountains are set to become Northern Ireland's
first national park, according to Lord (Jeff) Rooker, the
North's environment minister.

However, he said the aim was not "about ossifying places"
where much of the landscape is still being farmed.

Addressing a Vision For The Future conference in Belfast
organised by the Environment and Heritage Service, Lord
Rooker said Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK
which did not have a national park, and he wanted to "make
a start in the Mournes".

He said access to the countryside was "fundamental" because
"it belongs to us all". There was also a public desire for
national parks, but with local accountability and the
required commitment of additional resources to make a
national park work.

Lord Rooker also said a review of "environmental
governance" in the North was likely to result in the
Environment and Heritage Service, which operates as a
division of the Department of the Environment in Belfast,
becoming an independent agency.

"It doesn't look right to have an environmental agency
that's an integral arm of government," he said, adding that
the restoration of planning powers to a reorganised local
government system in the North was also a "key issue" in
the review.

The Mourne mountains were first designated as an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966. In 1986 this
designation was extended to include their farmed foothills
and the coastline between Newcastle and Rostrevor, Co Down.

The aim was to safeguard the natural beauty, wildlife and
historic heritage of the area where, as the Percy French
song puts it, "the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the
sea", while at the same time promoting its enjoyment to the
public.

In 2002, Dermot Nesbitt MLA, then minister for the
environment in the Northern Ireland executive, announced
that the Mournes were to be considered for designation as a
national park, and a working party was established in 2003
to advance this aim.

The Mourne Heritage Trust, an independent body responsible
for managing the Mourne AONB, wants to see it become a
"Celtic model" national park like Snowdonia in Wales and
the Cairngorms in Scotland, rather than following the more
restrictive English model.

To dispel what its chairman, Dr Arthur Mitchell,
characterised as "myths and rumours" surrounding the
proposed national park, the trust led a study visit by 16
farmers in the Mournes last year to Snowdonia and the
Cairngorms to see how their parks operated.

"We believe that a national park offers significant
opportunities for the sustainable development of
agriculture and the rural communities in Mourne.

"Our view is of an active and ever-changing area, not of an
open-air museum," the trust said in a statement.

The intention in Northern Ireland is that most of the land
in the Mournes will remain in private ownership.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1024/959140621HM2SITESFOUND.html

Medieval Sites On Motorway Route

Elaine Keogh

Nineteen archaeological sites, including a Neolithic
settlement and an early medieval cemetery, have been found
along the route of the next and final stage of the
upgrading to motorway standard of the Dublin to Newry road.

Construction of the 14-km high-quality dual carriageway
route is under way. It is due to open in 2007 to the 25,000
motorists who travel the route each day.

The archaeological testing was carried out by
Archaeological Development Services Ltd (ADS). Final
excavations are almost completed.

An early medieval farmstead or enclosure was located at
Faughart Lower on a small natural rise in the landscape
which, in addition to views over Dundalk bay, gave it what
ADS described as "a commanding position over an ancient
routeway.

"Initial results suggest it is an early medieval (AD 400-
1169) enclosure that had been expanded several times before
being finally used as a cemetery for the wider local
community."

A souterrain or underground passageway measuring 40 metres
was also found. It appears to have been deliberately de-
capped in ancient times and the passageway filled in. The
site is also home to a large number of early Christian
graves, about 700 of which have been identified.

There was a Neolithic settlement in the townland of Plaster
consisting of two rectangular structures, probably houses,
each measuring about 9m (29½ft) by 6m (19½ft).

At Aghnaskeagh there is a cairn, recorded in the Louth
Archaeological Survey as an "unclassified megalithic tomb",
which lies partly in the road-take.

It dates from between circa 4000 to 2500 BC, and while
about 40 per cent of the site lies outside the road-take
and will be preserved in situ, the remaining 60 per cent
which is affected by the new road is under excavation.

The road, which will cross the Border, will cost just under
€122 million and will take traffic from the end of the
Dundalk Western bypass, which opened last month, from the
Ballymascanlon roundabout on the northern fringes of
Dundalk to Cloghue roundabout on the southern approach to
Newry, Co Down.

The discovery of the sites has not affected construction
and councillors in Louth have been told the project remains
on target. Although the link road is not being constructed
as a motorway, it is expected to have a speed limit of
120km/h.

© The Irish Times

----
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