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November 10, 2005

Row Over SF Collusion Claims

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News about Ireland & the Irish

IO 11/10/05 Row Over Sinn Féin Collusion Claims
BB 11/10/05 Victims Campaign Over 'Amnesty'
DU 11/10/05 Campbell Tables EDM Against Shameful Proposal
IE 11/10/05 Adams Socked: SF Leader Miss Big NY Fundraiser
SF 11/10/05 Irish Govt Should Purchase ‘16 Rising Machine
BT 11/10/05 Opin: Heartache As Justice Redefined
IE 11/10/05 Ahern, Adams Differ On Unity Timetable
DI 11/10/05 Former SF Man's Home Targeted
DI 11/10/05 Mad Dog's Moll
IO 11/10/05 US Ambassador Appeals For Rafferty Information
IN 11/10/05 Strabane Man's Clifftop Fall A Tragic Accident
DI 11/10/05 EU Battle Groups The End For Neutrality
DI 11/10/05 Campaigner Receives New UVF Death Threats
IN 11/10/05 Free Derry Centre Expected To Open Next Summer
IN 11/10/05 Murdered Orangemen Remembered In Book
IN 11/10/05 Father Ted Expert Crowned Mastermind Champion
BT 11/10/05 Novel Tale Of A Man In Love With Mona Lisa
IE 11/10/05 NY Street Bears Iraq Hero Carvill's Name
PB 11/10/05 See Danny O'Flaherty In Newport

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http://www.online.ie/News/News.aspx?newsId=119399

Row Over Sinn Féin Collusion Claims

A bitter row erupted today between nationalists in Northern
Ireland over claims that Sinn Féin had secured legislation
which would cover up the truth about collusion between
members of the security forces and loyalist terror groups.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan was accused of making insensitive
and ill-informed comments after he claimed Sinn Féin had
negotiated an amnesty for rogue members of the police and
British army which would keep them out of jail.

The Foyle MP said yesterday: "That may not bother the
British Government or Sinn Féin.

"It will certainly go down well with the (British ) army's
Secret Forces Research Unit that spearheaded collusion.

"But it will bother victims of state planned murder. They
have not been consulted about a word of this.

"We have seen collusion in the past between the state and
paramilitaries. Now we are seeing collusion on the past
between Sinn Féin and the British government - each helping
the other to cover up their dirty secrets."

His allegations infuriated Sinn Féin Assembly member Alex
Maskey.

"Unlike the SDLP, Sinn Féin has always supported the
victims of state violence and collusion," the South Belfast
MLA responded today.

"Many of our party members were among those targeted,
injured and killed. I have personally lost close friends
and comrades and have been shot myself.

"Sinn Féin continues to stand beside these families as we
have done for years.

"The hypocrisy and barefaced dishonesty of the SDLP in
claiming that we are in collusion with the British
government in covering up the past has caused great offence
to many victims families who I have spoken with today."

Mr Maskey claimed for many years the SDLP dismissed Sinn
Féin's claims that its members targeted by loyalists were
victims of collusion.

He accused the SDLP of also ignoring victims of alleged
collusion when they travelled to Westminster and Stormont.

"Sinn Féin will continue to challenge the British
government for the truth about their activities in our
country and we will continue to support the families in
their campaign for justice," Mr Maskey said.

"The SDLP, on the other hand, will continue to sit in the
British Parliament attacking Sinn Féin and Irish
republicanism while trying to score cheap political
points."

SDLP justice spokesman Alban Maginness stood by his
leader's accusation, insisting the Bill would deny victims
of collusion, state killings and the IRA the truth about
what happened.

"It covers not just Provisionals, but loyalists and people
in the police or (British) army who committed murder," the
North Belfast MLA said.

"Not one of them will do time, and that is what Sinn Féin
has signed up to.

"It is a good deal for Sinn Féin, whose Provo associates
walk scot-free without even having to turn up in court.

"It is a good deal for the British government, which can
close the books on everything from the Finucane murder to
the Dublin/Monaghan bombings without answering awkward
questions.

"But it is a very bad deal for everyone else."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4426010.stm

Victims Campaign Over 'Amnesty'

A victims' delegation has handed in a petition to Downing
Street against proposals to allow fugitives from Northern
Ireland to return home.

It urged the government to justify the "staggering
contradiction" between its proposals for Northern Ireland
and its planned 90-day anti-terror law.

The group was accompanied by DUP MPs who have refused to
back the NI plan.

Aileen Quinton whose mother died in the 1987 Enniskillen
bombing said victims felt it was an "amnesty" to
terrorists.

The proposals, which were introduced in the House of
Commons on Wednesday, cover up to 150 people wanted for
crimes committed before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Their cases would be heard by a special tribunal, but if
found guilty they would be freed on licence without having
to go to jail.

Ms Quinton said the government had under-estimated the
difficulties it would have in passing the legislation.

She read out the text of the letter the group had handed in
to the prime minister.

"We are writing to you to request a meeting face-to-face so
that you can explain to us how you can justify this
legislation," it said.

"You claim that victims are at the heart of your policy in
Northern Ireland. If that is so then you should have no
difficulty in meeting with us."

The DUP MPs who went to Downing Street included Jeffrey
Donaldson, William McCrea and Iris Robinson.

Mr Donaldson said there were no circumstances under which
the DUP would support the law, calling it a "betrayal" of
the victims in Northern Ireland.

He said: "There really is no stomach for this legislation.

"I think there is a real prospect now that it will be
defeated in the House of Commons as well (as the Lords)."

A DUP delegation earlier met NIO minister David Hanson and
reinforced their opposition to the bill.

'Deeply offensive'

Meanwhile, the contentious issue was high on the agenda
when an Ulster Unionist delegation met Tony Blair in
Downing Street on Thursday.

Party leader Sir Reg Empey accused the government of
"rubbing salt mercilessly in the wounds of the victims of
terrorism".

Sir Reg said that the UUP had made it plain to Mr Blair it
would fight the legislation.

He also criticised the "contradiction" of the government in
bringing the Northern Ireland Offences Bill forward on the
same day it had tried to push through powers to detain
terror suspects without charge for 90 days.

The UUP's sole MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon, said the
government's move had been "deeply offensive".

She confirmed, however, that she had voted with the
government in favour of the 90-day detention plan, after
taking adviceon the matter from Chief Constable Sir Hugh
Orde.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/11/10 17:22:05 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.dup.org.uk/

Campbell Tables EDM Against Shameful Proposal

DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has tabled an
Early Day Motion in the House of Commons following to the
Government introducing legislation which will in essence
grant an amnesty to on-the-run terrorists. Speaking about
the motion Mr Campbell said,

"I have tabled this motion to allow members an early
opportunity to register their opposition to this proposed
legislation. The Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill cannot
be justified in any shape or form. This proposed
legislation will not just give the perpetrators of some of
the most heinous crimes in the Province a "get out of jail
free card" but will even render them immune from
prosecution. Any piece of draft legislation which sets
members of the security forces on the same level as IRA
terrorists cannot be described as anything other than
immoral.

The Government has shown total disrespect for the innocent
victims and have made it very clear that they will go to
any length to appease Sinn Fein/IRA. It is high time that
the Government recognised the cross party opposition to
this shameful Bill and realised that by rewarding murderers
in this way confidence within the community has already
been further eroded."

- EDM Below

AMNESTY FOR 'ON-THE-RUNS'

That this House condemns any proposal that would permit an
amnesty in all but name to those persons being sought by
Security Services in Northern Ireland and throughout the
United Kingdom for numerous offences, many for murder and
multiple murder, draws attention to the double standards of
HM Government who, on the same day as announcing such
legislation allowing terrorists to walk free without a
trial or any imprisonment in Northern Ireland, sought to
introduce legislation that could be used to detain suspects
throughout the UK for a prolonged period before any trial.

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http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=17385

Adams Socked

SF Leader To Miss Big NY Fundraiser

By Anne Cadwallader in Belfast and Ray O'Hanlon in New York

Gerry Adams will not be attending this week's Sinn Féin
100th anniversary dinner in New York after being denied
permission to fundraise as part of his U.S. travel visa.

Adams scrapped his U.S. plans Monday after it became
evident that the U.S. government would not move from its
demand that Sinn Féin deliver a positive statement on
policing in Northern Ireland.

As a result, Adams was not in attendance to receive the
William J. Flynn Initiative for Peace Award at the Waldorf-
Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday night.

And although the $500-a-plate Friends of Sinn Féin
fundraising dinner will proceed across town at the Sheraton
on Thursday night, Adams, the star guest, will not be in
the room -- at least not physically.

But he will speak to the sold out event from a big screen
by means of a live satellite feed, the Echo has learned.

Adams is then expected to fly the Atlantic as planned for a
weekend fundraising event in Toronto.

In Belfast, the Sinn Féin president said he was very
disappointed at the decision to restrict his ability to
speak in person to supporters in New York because it was a
fundraising event.

"This is a very amateurish attempt to shoe horn Sinn Fein
into a position on policing. Sinn Fein's position on
policing is already very clear cut," Adams told the Echo.

"When the British government delivers on the commitments it
has made, I will deliver on the commitments I have made.

"The fund-raising will go ahead and it will be a success I
have no doubt but I do not intend to just hang around New
York doing nothing. I have too much work to do."

Adams said he was disappointed at the way the matter had
been handled, particularly by the U.S. special envoy to the
peace process, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss.

He told reporters that if Reiss was responsible for the
visa restriction he had made a "big mistake."

If, however, the decision to restrict the visa to just
travel had been made elsewhere it raised a big question
over Reiss's authority.

The decision to preclude fundraising caused consternation
elsewhere in Sinn Féin ranks, and also in Irish America.

Party general secretary, Mitchel McLaughlin, called the
U.S. position "ludicrous" as the fund raising event in New
York would go ahead anyway even without Adams's presence.

The party's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, called the
decision "misguided" and said it would have a "wholly
negative" effect on politics in Northern Ireland.

McGuinness said the move would be used by anti-agreement
unionists to undermine the progress made this year, and
damage hopes for progress in the months ahead.

By contrast, Ulster Unionist assembly member, David
McNarry, said it was refreshing that Washington was finally
seeing Sinn Féin "for what they really are."

"Sinn Féin has milked naive Irish Americans for too long,"
McNarry said.

Democratic Unionist Party assembly member, Ian Paisley Jr.,
welcomed the decision saying it was "sensible" and showed
the U.S. was prepared to take a tough stand.

"I would encourage them to continue to adopt a tough stance
in their dealings with Sinn Fein/IRA, who have yet to
return the £26 million they stole from the Northern Bank,"
Paisley said in reference to the Belfast bank heist last
December.

Adams, however, said the ruling was "an effort by elements
within the U.S. administration" to get Sinn Féin to change
its position on policing, something which could only be
done by Sinn Féin "and our electorate."

"Our position on policing is very clear. The British
government has agreed to honor certain commitments made on
the policing issue. When they do this I will honor
commitments I have made including going to a special party
ard fheis to deal with this matter," he said.

"The visa position is absurd. I am expected to go to New
York and not attend the most important Friends of Sinn Féin
funding event of the year, an event incidentally that will
go ahead as planned.

"The decision robs me of the opportunity to speak in person
to over 1000 U.S. citizens who have consistently supported
the peace process. They want to hear how we can make best
use of the recent historic republican initiatives to move
the peace process forward," Adams continued.

"I particularly regret that this decision means that I
cannot attend the National Committee on American Foreign
Policy dinner and thank them and their chairperson, Bill
Flynn, for their positive work in the Irish Peace Process
over many years," he said.

Mitchell Reiss expressed disappointment at Adams's decision
not to travel "I very much regret that Mr. Adams will not
be visiting the United States this week. I look forward to
continuing to work with him on all outstanding issues as we
go forward," Reiss said.

The collision between Sinn Féin and the Bush administration
looks, at first glance, like a contretemps involving Adams
and the State Department as represented by Reiss, but
various observers and commentators over the past week have
suggested the additional involvement of the White House-
based National Security Council.

Some reports have suggested that there are figures in the
administration who want to see a complete travel clampdown
on Sinn Féin leaders, despite the recent progress in the
peace process, not least IRA decommissioning and the
effective acknowledgement by Adams that the IRA's war is
over.

Regardless of the forces at work, seen and unseen, Irish
American organizations, activists and political leaders
have expressed criticism and dismay.

"I think it's important that we don't move the goalposts on
Sinn Féin again," said Rep. James Walsh, chairman of the
Friends of Ireland group in Congress.

Walsh, together with fellow Republican Rep. Peter King,
engaged in a bout of last minute phone diplomacy with
Ambassador Reiss -- but to no avail.

Senator Edward Kennedy also expressed concern.

"I agree that Sinn Fein should support the new police
service in Northern Ireland. There should be no question
about that. However, Sinn Fein has recently made impressive
progress toward lasting peace by securing the final act of
decommissioning by the IRA. It would be a mistake for the
administration at this important time to impose this kind
of restriction," Kennedy was reported as saying in the
Boston Globe just prior to the decision by Adams not to
travel.

Rep. Eliot Engel, a member of the House International
Relations Committee, said the State Department was "again"
being short-sighted.

"It would be better to let Sinn Féin and the British
government iron out their differences in negotiations
rather than trying to coerce Sinn Féin by wrongly
restricting Adams's visa," Engel said.

Ned McGinley, national president of the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, penned an eleventh hour open letter to
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

McGinley wrote that the Hibernians noted with "great
concern" that fundraising by the Sinn Féin leadership was
in jeopardy.

"Even in the darkest days when the U.S. government would
not allow Sinn Fein leaders to speak in this country we
received their messages, but we cannot return to that lip
sync of ideas again," McGinley wrote.

"The dissident groups who are opposed to the Good Friday
Agreement are lurking in the wings to step out and take the
role of leaders if the confidence in Sinn Féin wanes," he
warned.

Robert Linnon, national president of the Irish American
Unity Conference, said that Ambassador Reiss's credibility
was "holed below the waterline" and "irreparable damage"
had been done to the image of the U.S. government as an
honest broker.

Reiss, he said, had overplayed his hand and in the process
had undermined future U.S. influence in the peace process.

Fr. Sean McManus of the Irish National Caucus accused the
administration of a "deceitful betrayal."

"Gerry Adams has negotiated in good faith. He's kept his
promises, and now he has been stabbed in the back", McManus
said.

This story appeared in the issue of November 9 - 15, 2005

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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/11923

Irish Government Should Purchase Finger Printing Machine
From 1916 Rising

Published: 10 November, 2005

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has written to the
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern asking that the government urgently
intervene to purchase a finger printing machine used by the
British to take the finger prints of the leaders of the
1916 Rising shortly before their execution.

Mr. Adams said:

"It has recently been revealed that a finger printing
machine, which was used to take the fingerprints of the
executed leaders of the 1916 Rising, is to be auctioned in
England on December 14th. This is an artefact of national
importance. It should not be allowed to remain overseas in
private hands.

"I believe that the Irish government should ensure that
this machine is secured for the state. If necessary the
government should buy it.

"In other countries around the world, particularly those
emerging out of colonialism every effort is made to tell
the story of how freedom and independence was achieved. The
record of successive Irish governments in this respect has
been poor - witness the continuing controversy around 16
Moore Street, or the sell-off of the 1916 surrender note by
Padraig Pearse.

"The Irish government has a responsibility to preserve,
honour and commemorate the men and women who fought and
died in pursuit of freedom and democracy." ENDS

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/story.jsp?story=668807

Opin: Heartache As Justice Redefined

10 November 2005

These are difficult times for everyone who wants to see
Northern Ireland move into a new era, where peaceful,
democratic politics have a chance to take root. It won't
happen without a fresh start, and the government's virtual
amnesty for on-the-run terrorists is part - hopefully one
of the last parts - of a desperately painful process.

In normal circumstances, letting people both accused and
convicted of terrible crimes escape prosecution and
imprisonment would be unthinkable. Yet the situation today
is that the IRA has not been engaged in open, anti-state
warfare for many years and has recently - however belatedly
- declared that its war is over for good. It claims to be
committed to politics and to have destroyed all its
weaponry.

In the aftermath of any civil conflict, there are guilty
people who have managed to evade the law, or who have
simply gone "on the run", fearing a long prison sentence.
As long ago as 2003, the government was discussing their
future with Sinn Fein - and now the outcome of those
negotiations can be seen, evoking wildly different
emotions.

The feelings of the victims, who will never see their
tormentors brought before a conventional court, are not
hard to imagine. Everyone who respects the law is entitled
to be offended, but their sense of outrage is entirely
understandable.

All that the government, and the wider community, can say
to them is that they are in everyone's thoughts at this
painful time. Although the wider picture is that no
resolution to the conflict was possible, without some kind
of amnesty, no one expects them to meekly accept it.

The protests will continue, inside and outside Parliament,
and the government should respond to them. People who have
fallen foul of the paramilitaries, for whatever reason, and
have been sent into exile must be free to return, like the
OTRs. And there is good reason for setting a date by which
applications from OTRs must be made, so that their victims
may have some sense of closure.

Many other aspects of the scheme, in London and Dublin,
give cause for concern. Members of the security forces who
could be accused of collusion will be entitled to the same
treatment, despite their role as upholders of the law. And
the PSNI's £30m cold case review into 1,800 unsolved
murders now appears a waste of time and money, when no
sentences will be served.

In the Republic, an exception will be made for the killers
of Garda Jerry McCabe, because of public opinion. Justice
is being redefined, in the hope that it will eventually pay
political dividends in a devolution settlement, but only
time will tell.

In the meantime - and probably for the rest of their lives
- the victims of terrorism will have to endure the
additional heartache of seeing the guilty walk free.

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http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=17395

Ahern, Adams Differ On Unity Timetable

By Anne Cadwallader
acadwallader@irishecho.com

BELFAST -- Two very differing predictions on the prospects
for Irish unity were given by the taoiseach and the Sinn
Fein president, Gerry Adams, this week -- with the DUP and
the Ulster Unionists reacting in contrasting ways to each.

The taoiseach said during a visit to Belfast that his
"ambitions for this island" were very clear. The agenda of
the Irish Government was the agenda of the Good Friday
agreement.

"There is no other agenda, the constitutional question is
now settled." Many people, he said, "including myself,
aspire to a united Ireland. But it will not happen without
the consent of the people of Northern Ireland."

Speaking to a Sinn Féin 100th anniversary dinner in Dublin,
however, Adams predicted a united Ireland "within my
lifetime." The IRA's pledge to end all violence and disarm
completely had transformed the political landscape, he
said.

Republicans must work with unionists in order to achieve
that goal, he said, and create an Ireland which "involves
the coming together of Orange and Green on the basis of
equality and respect," said Adams.

"Republicanism is about much more than reuniting Ireland.
Republicanism is about equality. There is now the wealth in
this state to make that a reality.

"Republicanism is stronger than at any time in recent
memory," he claimed. "We are moving forward with confidence
and I believe that if we work together we will see a united
Ireland in our lifetime."

"Even though the IRA initiative of formally ending its
campaign and putting arms beyond use occurred only a few
months ago already a debate has started within unionism,"
he said.

"This may take some time to play out but it is positive
nonetheless. And in the 26 counties the other political
parties are facing up to the reality that the political
landscape is being transformed. The old political
certainties are being challenged."

"Those of us who want to see an end to British rule and the
establishment of the republic need to build new alliances,
to devise and develop new strategies and shared positions
and to drive forward the united Ireland agenda in the time
ahead. A key part of this must be a genuine engagement with
the unionist community," said Adams.

Responding to Bertie Ahern's speech, however, senior DUP
member, Gregory Campbell, said the Good Friday agreement
"cannot form the basis of the future relationship between
Northern Ireland and the Republic".

While the DUP, he said, wanted to build "upon the
foundation of mutual respect for one another's
constitutional status," this could not be based "in any
way, shape or form upon the unaccountable cross-border
structures" of the agreement.

There is no way whatsoever, he said, that unionists will
accept the agreement as the basis for a better working
relationship. "The unaccountable nature of cross-border
arrangements, their unnecessary expense and the ridiculous
imbalance between the North/South set up and its East-West
counterpart", had to be radically reformed.

"The greater the willingness of the Republic to respect and
accept the position of unionists and Northern Ireland's
place within the United Kingdom", said Campbell, "the more
the relationship between the two countries can be
normalized."

"If Bertie Ahern genuinely believes that Northern Ireland's
constitutional status is settled then his government should
have no hesitation in creating and maintaining proper
protocols in all dealings between our two countries".

The UUP leader, Sir Reg Empey, was more positive about the
Ahern statement that the constitutional issue had been
"settled". But, he said, "he must back up his rhetoric by
actions".

A good place to start, said Empey, would be to scrap the
notion of speaking rights for the North's MPs in any Dail
setting.

Empey said that Sinn Fein now found itself "being analyzed
by parties in the South." Its "continued growth can no
longer be guaranteed," he said, and the British government
must "stop meeting every one of its insatiable demands."

London must instead, he said, "take heed of unionist
distrust and frustration and seek to introduce measures to
try and rebuild trust and confidence in the unionist
community."

This story appeared in the issue of November 9 - 15, 2005

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http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=OGAS9LLDNTKAGQRFL1VC9NTHLZIZBHSJ7TRFNPOBBOTJBLR9CHVRO94EIOQNBNXI9LLDNBF2TRRIVNNAGRSEARU9CHVRM5K3XG&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=14338&opp=1

Former SF Man's Home Targeted

Anton McCabe

The PSNI has confirmed it is treating a fire at a house
belonging to a former prominent Sinn Féin councillor as
arson.

They have appealed for information from the public.

The house at Creggan Road, Carrickmore, Co Tyrone, belonged
to Seamus Kerr.

A police spokesperson said the fire was discovered at 6.30
on Sunday.

"The fire started on the first floor and the house was
extensively damaged," the spokesperson said.

Kerr was one of the best-known faces in Sinn Féin in the
mid-80s.

In 1983 he became the first Sinn Féin councillor elected in
the North in over 50 years, when he won a seat on Omagh
District Council in a by-election.

In 1985 he became the first Sinn Féin chair of the council.

Relations with some of his Sinn Féin colleagues became
strained, and he parted company with the party in 1988.

Local sources have ruled out a sectarian motive. Kerr could
not be contacted for comment.

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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16357106&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=mad-dog-s-moll--name_page.html

Mad Dog's Moll

EXCLUSIVE: Scot checkout girl falls for UDA thug who beat
up cancer-stricken wife

By Donna Watson

TERROR gang leader Johnny Adair has found a new "Mad
Bitch".

The former UDA commander - known as Mad Dog - was having
romantic dates with twice-divorced checkout girl Linda
McIlroy as he faced charges of battering his cancer victim
wife Gina.

And he is now living with Linda, 42, at her former council
house in Ayrshire.

Gina, who has ovarian cancer, became as notorious as her
husband when she posed for photos in a mini-skirt and
balaclava, brandishing anAK47 rifle.

And a pal of Linda's said: "Linda will be delighted if
people are calling her the new Mad Bitch.

"She seems to think there's something glamorous about being
seen on the arm of a hardman like Johnny Adair.

"He got tickets for the Amir Khan boxing match at the
weekend and she was bragging about it. Linda tells everyone
she was a model in her younger days and although she's
quite hard-faced, her hair and make-up are always
immaculate.

"Playing the gangster's moll suits her down to the ground."

After the court case in Bolton, where Gina and Mad Dog had
been living, it was revealed Adair, 42, had moved to
Scotland. It was reported he planned to establish a new
criminal empire here.

But friends revealed he had already started seeing Linda,
of Stevenston, before he admitted battering Gina in a park
and was sentenced to community service.

One associate said: "He has been living with Linda for
about six weeks now.

"During the court case, he drove down to Bolton whenever he
had to.

"Linda and Johnny are very much an item and they're not
making any secret of the fact.

"There's no way he's trying to keep his head down.
Everyone's saying Johnny should watch out as the police or
the UVF guys in Belfast are keeping tabs on him.

"But he's been keen to let people know he's here. He even
had the gall to walk into a notorious loyalist pub in
Ayrshire to get the message over"The guys across the water
are not happy about it but Johnny thinks he's untouchable."

Gina and her four kids fled Northern Ireland in February
2003 to escape a loyalist feud arising out of the execution
of UDA chief John "Grug" Gregg.

Adair joined them this year after he was released from
Maghaberry Prison, where he was serving 16 years for terror
offences.

Linda, who has a daughter, Michelle, 22, refused to comment
on her relationship with Adair yesterday.

Gina and Adair were married in the Maze Prison in 1997
while he was serving time for directing terrorism.

He was released in 1999 as part of the Good Friday
Agreement and began a reign of terror in the loyalist
Shankill Road area of Belfast.

The couple were believed to have amassed a fortune of more
than £4million through Adair's drugs empire.

But after a bloody internal loyalist feud, Adair was
returned to prison in 2000before being freed again in2002.

His release sparked another feud and he returned to prison
in January 2003.

When Gregg was killed weeks later, it was blamed on Adair's
C Company as Gregg was one of those who had organised
Adair's expulsion from the UDA.

Within days, dozens of Adair supporters were forced to flee
their homes for the UK mainland

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http://www.online.ie/News/News.aspx?newsId=119480

US Ambassador Appeals For Rafferty Information

The US ambassador to Ireland has urged anyone with
information on the Joseph Rafferty murder to co-operate
with gardaí to see that justice is done.

James C Kenny met Mr Rafferty's sister Esther Uzell this
afternoon. Ms Uzell is hoping to meet senior Irish-American
figures when she travels to Washington soon.

In a statement afterwards, the ambassador said the US
embassy will be monitoring the case with interest.

Ms Uzell believes an IRA and Sinn Féin member gunned down
her brother in north-west Dublin in April.

She said senior Sinn Féin members who have information on
the killing had not come forward.

By taking her campaign to the US, she hopes pressure can be
applied on the killer to hand himself in.

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

http://www.irishnews.com/

Strabane Man's Clifftop Fall 'A Tragic Accident'

By Seamus McKinney

DETAILS have come to light of a tragic accident in which a
young Strabane man lost his life.

Mark Collins (30) from Laurel Drive in the Co Tyrone town
died in Letterkenny general hospital two weeks after
falling from cliffs at West End in Bundoran.

A son for former vice-principal of St Colman's High School
in Strabane, Richard Collins, Mr Collins was found lying on
rocks by a passing woman.

Gardai said Mr Collins was air lifted from the beach and
rushed to Sligo General Hospital but was later transferred
to Letterkenny General Hospital where he died on October
22. Details of the tragedy only came to light on Monday.

A Garda spokesman said Mr Collins was able to tell officers
he slipped and fell while walking along the cliffs at
Bundoran where the family have a caravan holiday home.

The area where Mr Collins fell is a notorious danger spot.

There have been calls in the past for railings to be
erected along the cliff edge.

Mr Collins, who was single, worked as a civil servant and
recently celebrated his 30th birthday.

The Garda spokesman said officers investigating his death
were treating it as a tragic accident.

Mr Collins, who was buried in Strabane, is survived by his
parents.

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http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=OGAS9LLDNTKAGQRFL1VC9NTHLZIZBHSJ7TRFNPOBBOTJBLR9CHVRO94EIOQNBNXI9LLDNBF2TRRIVNNAGRSEARU9CHVRM5K3XG&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=14325&opp=1

EU Battle Groups The End For Neutrality

Government minister insists that Irish participation in
battle groups is consistent with foreign policy

DAVID LYNCH

THE prospect of Irish troops one day fighting alongside
British Paratroopers and other NATO armed forces in EU
'battlegroups' is becoming almost certain according to one
leading campaigner for neutrality and peace.

Roger Cole Chairman of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance
(PANA) and member of the Labour Party told Daily Ireland
that Irish troops would now be part of "the Dublin
Fusiliers Mark Two".

Mr Cole was reacting to comments made by Minister for
Defence Willie O'Dea at Baldonnel Airport on Tuesday. The
Minister said that he expected to be in a position to bring
a firm proposal on the battlegroups to the cabinet before
Christmas after he had received further legal advice from
the Attorney General.

Minister O'Dea told reporters on Tuesday that he was
personally in favour of Ireland taking part in the
battlegroups and he did not believe that this participation
would compromise Ireland's neutrality.

"If the Irish Army enter these battlegroups there will then
be cooperation between different groups that include
different nations," Mr Cole told Daily Ireland.

"That means that even if the Irish Army are in a
battlegroup with so-called neutral countries they will be
expected to operate with other battlegroups. There is the
potential, for example that members of the Irish Army will
be fighting alongside British Paratroopers."

Mr Cole said that the general trend of government policy
was towards closer co-operation with NATO and "US
Imperialism".

"This is effectively a regiment of a European Army. Despite
what the government says there is absolutely no need for a
UN mandate for a battlegroup to go into action.

"When Kofi Annan was asked last year at the National Forum
for Europe about whether the battlegroups needed a UN
mandate he did not answer the question.

"This is a very very big issue, it is impossible to
overemphasise how important this is for the future of the
island.

"There is no way you can say that the 26 county state is in
any way neutral. If you take this step in connection with
the fact that hundreds of thousands of US troops have
passed through Shannon on their way to an illegal war for
oil, you can see that we are getting closer and closer to
working with imperialism."

The Green Party's John Gormley TD has raised the issue of
the EU battlegroups in the Dail on numerous occasions.
While sharing many of the concerns expressed by Mr Cole he
said that the Greens would wait until hearing the AG's
advice before taking a stance.

"We have made it clear all along that this is an embroynic
European army. However the Amsterdam Treaty which includes
the provision regarding Peace Enforcement was passed by the
people. And even though I opposed it, I am a democrat and
you have to live with the result.

"However it may have been the case that people were not
completly aware of the consequences of it."

Mr Gormley also added that the Green Party were committed
to the 'triple lock' and would be worried that the EU
battlegroups could undermine that situation.

"The triple lock requires that before Irish troops are
engaged first the government must agree then there must be
a UN mandate, and then finally the Dail must approve."

However Deputy Gormley said that some EU countries were
already engaged with the battlegroups without a UN mandate.
He said that everyone had to await the AG's verdict on how
this would effect Ireland's foreign policy.

Mr O'Dea who made the original comments at the official
unveiling of two new Air Corps' 6.4 million euro
helicopters, said that the AG had just given him advice on
the issue and he had sent a further set of queries to the
AG.

Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea has said that he does not
believe that membership of EU battlegroups would compromise
Irish neutrality. The Minister in a Dail debate regarding
the battlegroups in late September said that they would
work in conection with the United Nations.

"Irelandís participation in such operations is consistent
with its foreign policy commitment to collective security
which recognises the primary role of the UN Security
Council in the maintenance of international peace and
security and its tradition of support for the UN," said
Minister O'Dea.

"This position has been endorsed by the UN Secretary
General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who recognises and supports the
development of EU rapid reaction elements as a key factor
in enabling the UN to respond more rapidly and with greater
authority to emerging crises. During his visit to Dublin in
October 2004, Mr. Annan stressed the importance of
battlegroups and requested Irelandís support for them."

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Victims Campaigner Receives New UVF Death Threats

Raymond McCord says that he won't be intimidated after
being warned by the PSNI that paramilitaries planned to
murder him if he didn't stay away from trial at Belfast
Courthouse

Ciaran Barnes

The PSNI warned a victims' campaigner to stay away from
the trial of a leading loyalist over fears the Ulster
Volunteer Force (UVF) would kill him coming out of the
court house.

Raymond McCord has been a regular visitor to the public
gallery since the trial of Mark Haddock, Darren Moore,
Alexander Wood, James Loughlin and William Loughlin began
on Monday.

Haddock and Moore are accused of attempting to murder
night-club bouncer Trevor Gowdy in December 2002, falsely
imprisoning him and setting fire to his car.

Wood and the Loughlin brothers are charged with conspiracy
to assault Mr Gowdy and causing him actual bodily harm.

When Mr McCord arrived in Belfast crown court he was warned
by the PSNI that the UVF was planning to kill him when he
left, on the eight anniversary of his son's death.

Raymond McCord junior, 22, was murdered by the UVF on 9
November 1997.

Since his death Mr McCord has been a constant critic of the
paramilitary organisation.

In the Dáil two weeks ago Labour leader Pat Rabbitte named
Mark Haddock as the UVF commander who gave the order to
kill Mr McCord junior.

He also claimed Haddock was a RUC Special Branch informer
whose role allowed him to escape prosecution despite
involvement in eight murders.

Mr McCord told Daily Ireland that despite the threats he
would continue to come to court every day to witness
Haddock's trial. He said: "The UVF will not frighten me
into not coming to court.

"I have had more than 20 death threats since I started my
campaign for justice. I am determined that the my family
and the families of those targeted by the UVF get justice."

The trial of Haddock, Moore, Wood and the Loughlin brothers
is expected to last two weeks.

The man they are alleged to have attacked, Trevor Gowdy,
took the stand yesterday to give evidence against them.

He has been in hiding under the witness protection
programme since being attacked three years ago.

Recalling the incident Mr Gowdy told the court that on 20
December 2002 Moore and a third man called at his home to
tell him that Haddock wanted to speak to him, and that he
was to go with them to a social club in the Monkstown area
of north Belfast.

Mr Gowdy refused, but drove himself to the premises. He
said that when he arrived at the club Haddock accused him
of hitting two of his men. Mr Gowdy described how he was
then attacked by Haddock, Moore and the third man.

He said that Haddock shouted at him "that if he had got me
on Thursday night I'd be hanging from a tree".

Mr Gowdy was then subjected to a series of violent
assaults. He said he was struck by Haddock with a baton or
crow bar, and by the third man with a hatchet.

He alleged that he was then bundled into the boot of his
car and stabbed with a knife by Moore before he was able to
escape from the boot.

Mr Gowdy said his attackers then fled from the scene.

The trial continues.

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

http://www.irishnews.com/

Free Derry Centre Expected To Open In Time For Next Summer

By Colm Kelpie

THE CAMPAIGN to establish a landmark museum focusing on the
civil rights era in Derry has taken a step forward with the
new complex being handed over to the Bloody Sunday Trust.

For the past six years, the trust has been working towards
the creation of a museum and archive focusing on one of the
most important aspects of Derry's history.

It was initially proposed that only the first phase, the
Free Derry Museum, would have been completed and ready for
the summer, but the entire centre is now expected to open
next summer.

"This is a top of the range museum. More things are coming
into the development phase all the time and we're working
on better ways of enhancing the material.

"We're finding more ways to make use of audio visual
equipment and we have a lot of stuff to display in a
limited space," Adrian Kerr, one of the backers of the
project, said.

When completed, the first phase of the museum is expected
to cover the history of the Free Derry area, which includes
the Bogside, Brandywell, Bishop Street and Creggan sections
of the city.

It will also look at events such as the Battle of the
Bogside, Bloody Sunday, Internment, 'Operation Motorman'
and the subsequent 'invasion' of the Free Derry area by
British forces.

As the museum develops and further phases are completed, it
is hoped the narrative will be expanded to cover events in
the city's history up to the present day.

This will include a national civil rights archive, complete
with over 15,000 individual items relating to this section
of Derry's history.

The Museum of Free Derry will be housed in Glenfada Park
near Rossville Street in the Bogside.

The site of the complex was chosen because of its proximity
to the original location of many of Derry's most historic
events from that era. The area was one of the main killing
grounds on Bloody Sunday, with two people killed and five
injured directly in front of the museum's new premises.

Despite its later-than-expected opening, organisers are
planning to hold an interim exhibition in the coming
months.

This will focus on the story of Bloody Sunday by developing
the exhibit already present at the Bloody Sunday Centre.

The exhibition will also present a sample of the exhibits
to be housed when the museum officially opens next year.

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

http://www.irishnews.com/

Murdered Orangemen Remembered In Book

By William Scholes

A new book detailing how more than 300 Orangemen were
killed by the IRA during the Troubles has been published in
advance of Remembrance Sunday.

Details of the deaths are included in a chapter in Battles
Beyond the Boyne – Orangemen in the Ranks 1798-2000.

The chapter 'Orangemen in Troubled Times' reports how 304
Orangemen were murdered by the IRA in the past 35 years,
including 148 civilians and 156 members of the RUC, UDR or
Prison Service.

About a quarter of the victims (73) came from Co Tyrone,
with Belfast (67) and Co Armagh (66) also suffering high
numbers of fatalities.

The book also outlines how some of the Orangemen were
killed, including 80-year-old John Johnston, one of five
men murdered in an attack on Tullyvallen Orange Hall in
1975, and George Saunder-son, a primary school headmaster
from Co Fermanagh who was shot dead in front of his staff
and pupils in 1974.

Dr David Hume, the Orange Order's director of services,
said that Orangemen had "suffered more than most" during
the Troubles.

"We estimate that Orange deaths amounted to almost 10 per
cent of the total number of fatalities attributed to the
Troubles and I'm sure those who died will be in the minds
of many Orangemen and their families as they gather to mark
Remembrance Day this week," he said.

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http://www.irishnews.com/

Father Ted Expert Crowned Mastermind Champion 2006

By Staff Reporter

A Galway man's impressive knowledge of Craggy Island and
its eccentric inhabitants has helped him to become the
ultimate quiz champion.

Father-of-two Patrick Gibson won BBC's Mastermind on
Tuesday night, having already scooped the jackpot on Who
Wants to be a Millionaire?

The software developer, whose specialist subject was the TV
show Father Ted, defeated a university lecturer, freelance
translator and three other finalists to take the Master-
mind grand final crown.

Patrick's encyclopaedic knowledge of the antics of Father
Ted, played by Dermot Morgan, pictured, Dougal and the rest
of the Craggy Island cast enabled him to take home the
famous crystal ball, becoming the 28th winner of the title.

His specialist subjects in previous rounds included the
novels of Iain M Banks and Quentin Tarantino films.

The 42-year-old is a member of three quiz leagues near his
home in Wigan, Lancashire. He is originally from Galway and
has also lived in Belfast, where he went to university.

Patrick first hit the headlines last year when he became
only the fourth person to win the top prize on Who Wants to
be a Millionaire?

He used his 50/50 lifeline and then phoned a friend before
correctly answering the £1 million question.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=668812

Novel Tale Of A Man In Love With Mona Lisa

By Eddie McIlwaine
10 November 2005

If Mona Lisa is smiling even more enigmatically than usual
from the copy of the famous Leonardo Da Vinci painting Jim
Swindall is hanging at his Belfast Antiquarian Book Sale in
the Wellington Park Hotel on Saturday, November 12; don't
be surprised.

For there is the kind of link between the mysterious beauty
the artist turned into a classic work of art and the editor
of a 1918 non-political newspaper called The Irishman -
issues of which will be on offer at the fair - that Dan
Brown, who wrote the blockbuster best-seller The Da Vinci
Code, would have loved to have included in his plot.

It is a fact that Herbert Moore Pim, a Protestant born at
University Street, Belfast, in 1883, who eventually became
a Catholic and in the end died a staunch British
imperialist, had a thing about the most celebrated painting
of a woman in the world and whenever possible made his way
to the Louvre in Paris to gaze in awe at Da Vinci's
masterpiece.

Pim was in love with Mona Lisa and her mysterious smile
cast him in a spell that transformed his very being to the
extent that every woman who was allowed to touch his life
had to resemble her.

"He was obsessed with the painting," says Jim Swindall.
"After he first saw Da Vinci's canvas no other woman was
good enough. Any lady he came in contact with was dismissed
unless she was a lookalike."

Pim was aware that the Mona Lisa was the portrait of a
young Florentine woman Monna (or Mona) Lisa who in 1495
married aristocratic Franceso del Giocondo. Da Vinci
painted her between 1503 and 1505 and loved the portrait so
much that he carried it everywhere with him until he was
forced to sell it.

Pim was married to Amy Mollan, one of seven daughters of a
linen merchant who was an elder of Fisherwick Presbyterian
Church, but the marriage was always unhappy for obvious
reasons.

"He would have been entranced by Dan Brown's novel in which
the Mona Lisa figures so prominently in the search for the
Holy Grail," says Jim Swindall. "If Pim were around today
he and Dan Brown would have a lot to discuss. Brown appears
to be absorbed by Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa too and has
become a superstar author on the strength of it."

But there was a grimmer side to Pim, who edited The
Irishman briefly in 1918 for Arthur Griffith, the founder
of Sinn Fein, while Griffith was in prison. As a younger
man he used to write articles making fun of Roman
Catholicism and after his drift to Rome turned his satire
on the Prods.

This Friends' School old boy was a member of the
Conservative Club in London, became a Catholic in 1910 and
later turned to Irish nationalism.

He was sacked from his job with an insurance company in
Belfast in 1915 and imprisoned in Crumlin Road Jail because
of his political activities.

Later Pim was associated in London with Lord Alfred
Douglas, the former friend of Oscar Wilde, in the
production of a magazine called Plain English and this man
of some literary talent and a violent temper was involved
in pursuing at the publication, a strong anti-Semitic line.

Plain English was once sued for libel in a case involving
Winston Churchill which concerned an alleged World War One
plot by Jewish bankers, supposedly uncovered by the
magazine.

In 1931, Pim became a naturalised Frenchman in order to
secure a divorce in France and marry his mistress Mlle
Dussutour, an Italian fascist who presumably looked a bit
like a certain painting.

But by the time of his death in 1950, Pim had returned to
the British fold. He was the author of several long-
forgotten novels, one of which had the Biblical title The
Woman Thou Gavest Me and he also wrote detective stories
and fairytales that were published in The Irishman.

Two of his books, a signed copy of Songs from an Ulster
Valley and Unknown Mortals, will be on offer at the sale.

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

http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=17387

Frank's place

NY Street Bears Iraq Hero Carvill's Name

By Ray O'Hanlon
rohanlon@irishecho

There is a corner in New York City that will forever bear
the name of Frank Carvill.

In a poignant unveiling ceremony last week, the junction of
Woodside Avenue and 59th Street in Queens was named for the
fallen national guardsman.

As a blustery wind and the rumble of subway trains on
elevated tracks combined for a noisy backdrop there was no
mistaking the sense shared by all present that the street
was being named in honor of not just a good man, but also a
hero.

Carvill was killed last year while on active duty with the
New Jersey National Guard in Baghdad when his vehicle was
caught in the blast of a roadside bomb.

His death was a huge loss to the Irish American community
in the tri-state area, one that immediately prompted an
effort to secure his memory by placing his name on a street
in Woodside, where for years he had volunteered his skills
at the Emerald Isle Immigration Center.

In leading the speakers at the unveiling ceremony, held on
Wednesday, Nov. 2, attorney and Emerald Isle chairman Brian
O'Dwyer said that the gathering was in honor of "our friend
Frank Carvill" and all he had done "for our community and
our people."

O'Dwyer said that every day that people came to work at the
Emerald Isle they would now see Carvill's name on the
street.

"This center, where no one is ever turned away, will stand
as a living memorial to Frank Carvill," O'Dwyer said.

Following an invocation from Monsignor James Kelly that
included lines from a Patrick Kavanagh poem, City
Councilman Eric Gioia, who led the legislative effort to
secure the name change, said that a million streets could
be renamed and it would still not be enough to completely
honor Carvill.

"Frank Carvill was a hero, not just to Irish Americans, but
to all Americans," Gioia said.

The actual unveiling was completed by Carvill's sister,
Peggy Carvill-Liguori. Watched by her mother Mary, brother
Danny and her husband Joe, she pulled back a cover and gave
birth to "Frank Carvill Place."

Carvill-Liguori said that while the reason for her family's
presence at the unveiling was a sad one, they were all
thankful for the work and effort that went into
commemorating her brother.

It was important to remember the way Frank lived and not
just the way he had died, she said.

Sean Crowley, president of the Brehon Law Society, said
that Carvill had been a tireless fighter for peace and
justice in Northern Ireland.

Carvill, he said, was the kind of person who would be in
the back row of a photograph, but first into a causes.

"He was always giving to others," Crowley, who was also
representing his brother Congressman Joe Crowley, said.

Brehon lawyer and retied army JAG Corps member, Brigadier
General Jim Cullen, said that Carvill had not just been an
exemplary citizen and exemplary soldier but twice the
citizen and twice the soldier.

"He led by example and never did anything that he would not
do himself," Cullen said.

"We lost so much of ourselves that day on Palestine Street
in Baghdad." Carvill's death on June 4, 2004, was a
tragically ironic end for a man who had worked out of
uniform as a paralegal for the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey, had survived the 1993 attack on the World
Trade Center and had only avoided the 2001 attack because
he had been driving to a meeting in Brooklyn.

After the first plane struck he rushed back to help in
rescue work at the place that would become known as Ground
Zero.

Carvill, who lived in Carlstadt, had been a member of the
New Jersey Guard for 20 years but he had devoted himself to
what friends and admirers agreed was an extraordinary level
of commitment to a variety of Irish causes.

Carvill, who was 51, was a founding member of the Irish
Immigration Reform Movement and was, at the time of his
death, the Emerald Isle center's treasurer.

He was also active in Irish county associations, his family
roots being in counties Armagh and Cork.

As well as being a member of the Cork Association, Carvill
was also first vice president of the Armagh Association. He
was a member of the Brehon Law Society and Ancient Order of
Hibernians Div. 7.

Carvill, who was unmarried, cared for his legally blind
mother at the family home in New Jersey after the death of
his father.

After the unveiling ceremony was complete and those in
attendance had adjourned to the warmer confines of the
Emerald Isle offices, a comrade of Carvill's from Iraq, Ben
Washington, spoke of his lost friend.

Washington said that he did not usually feel comfortable
speaking in public but felt no such problems talking about
Carvill.

There were stories about everyone, Washington said. What
made Frank Carvill different to most was that all the
stories were good and all were true.

One of the true stories, he said, was that Frank Carvill
had let go of a seat on a plane heading out of Iraq.

When he had learned of a fellow soldier who was facing a
family crisis back in the U.S., he immediately gave up the
seat to that soldier, Washington told the hushed room.

This story appeared in the issue of November 9 - 15, 2005

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http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051110/ENT/511100317/1101

See Danny O'Flaherty In Newport

November 10, 2005

Danny O'Flaherty, a Celtic balladeer from New Orleans, will
perform at 7 p.m. Friday at the Newport Performing Arts
Center.

On the road to avoid the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina
and Rita, this musician, storyteller and playwright will
take a break from hosting tours to Alaska, the Caribbean
and Ireland to entertain in Newport at a benefit for the
Newport Lions Club.

O'Flaherty first performed in Newport last year with fun-
filled evenings of song, jigs, stories, history and whimsy.

Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling (541) 265-
2787.

For information about O'Flaherty, go to
http://www.dannyoflaherty.com

--Roy Gault

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