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December 08, 2005

Court Withdraws Bank Heist Charges

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News about Ireland & the Irish

BB 12/08/05 Court Withdraws Terrorism Charges
IO 12/08/05 Dublin SF Member Freed On Bail
DI 12/08/05 'An Attempt To Frame Me' - Chris Ward
IN 12/08/05 There Never Was a SF Spy Ring
TO 12/08/05 Shock As Spy Ring Investigation Dropped
SF 12/08/05 Adams - Collapse Exposes Political Policing
SF 12/08/05 Special Branch Managed To Collapse Institutions
DU 12/08/05 Dr Paisley Slams Prosecution Decision
DI 12/08/05 Parties Clash Over 1916 Rising Celebrations
BT 12/08/05 Killer Stone To Meet Victim's Family On TV
BB 12/08/05 Queen And McAleese In NI Meeting
GU 12/08/05 Guardian Profile: Sir Ronnie Flanagan
FF 12/08/05 Opin: McDowell And Harney As State Prosecutors

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4510284.stm

Court Withdraws Terrorism Charges

A man arrested as part of the Northern Bank robbery
investigation has had the charges against him dropped.

Peter Kelly, 30, from Drumboniff Road, Newry, had been
charged with collecting and recording information likely to
be of use to terrorists.

The charges related to his job as a BT technician seconded
to the Department of Finance and Personnel at Stormont.

It had been claimed computers seized at his workplace
contained details of civil servants and prison staff.

At his first court appearance a police inspector claimed
the computer equipment contained the details of 36,000
civil servants, including 3,300 working for the police and
70 prison staff.

'Never charged'

After the charges were withdrawn at Belfast Magistrates
Court, Mr Kelly's solicitor, Niall Murphy, said there had
been "no justification to link his client's name to the
bank robbery".

"He was never charged with any offence in connection with
the robbery," Mr Murphy said.

"The information that he accessed was freely available to
many other people in his workplace."

The solicitor said Mr Kelly would be pursuing his case with
the Police Ombudsman and would issue proceedings against
the chief constable and any other relevant party for
malicious prosecution.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/12/08 13:06:52 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=165280248&p=y65z8x954

IRA Member Freed On Bail

08/12/2005 - 13:07:16

A Dublin Sinn Féin member who was jailed for four years for
IRA membership was freed on bail by the Court of Criminal
Appeal today pending the outcome of a legal challenge to
anti terrorist legislation.

The court freed Niall Binead on his own bond of €1,000 and
two independent sureties of €10,000 each. It also ordered
him to sign on twice a week at Crumlin Garda Sation, to
surrender his passport and not to associate with anyone
convicted of a scheduled offence.

Ms Justice Fidelma Macken said the court was satisfied that
having regard to the changed circumstances in which Binead
will not get an early appeal and in which the Supreme Court
will hear legal arguments which will affect the appeal it
was justified to grant bail to Binead.

Binead (aged 36), of Faughart Road, Crumlin was jailed for
four years by the Special Criminal Court last year after he
was convicted of membership of an illegal organisation on
October 10, 2002. His co accused, Kenneth Donohoe (aged
27), of Sundale Ave, Mountain View , Tallaght, was freed on
bail by the Court of Criminal Appeal last month.

During their trial the court heard that gardaí found a list
of TD's - including three former Justice Ministers - at
Binead's home. Binead is a former secretary of a south
Dublin Sinn Féin cumann and was a close associate of Sinn
Féin TD for Dublin South Central Aengus O'Snodaigh.

The Court of Criminal Appeal adjourned an appeal by the two
men against their convictions last month after hearing that
a challenge has been allowed to the Supreme Court on legal
issues in another case which are similar to issues in their
appeal.

The challenge before the Supreme Court is against the
current practice whereby the defence is unable to challenge
through cross examination the basis of a Garda Chief
Superintendent's belief that someone is a member of an
illegal organisation.

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal on whether the
right to a fair trial under Article 38 of the Constitution
has been infringed by not allowing the defence to challenge
the basis of the Chief Superintendent's belief. The Supreme
Court is expected to hear the appeal early in the New Year.

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http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=9NTHLXD4YGSGX4ZOHONDL1Q39LLDPJSGZSTFRPNCJNTDALOL6Z5FURUSJORE9NTHLF8WBHSJ7QRFOSMAAT2DALOLMT6AJFE8Z2&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=16463&opp=1

'An Attempt To Frame Me' - Chris Ward

By Jarlath Kearney

- 24-year-old Northern Bank employee claims PSNI are trying
to frame him for last year's £26.5m robbery

- Charges against another man in connection with the
robbery to be dropped today

- Senior GAA figure accuses PSNI of 'playing with words' in
relation to Northern Bank-linked raid on Casement Park

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Paul Leighton
yesterday defended his organisation's high-profile
investigation of the Northern Bank robbery – including last
Friday's controversial raid at Casement Park in Co Antrim.

Mr Leighton was speaking at a full meeting of the North's
Policing Board after further allegations that a "senior
intelligence officer" leaked information about the
investigation to BBC journalist Brian Rowan.

Top Antrim GAA official Gerry McClory accused the PSNI of
"playing with words" about the circumstances of the
Casement Park raid.

Claiming that a so-called "community impact assessment" was
conducted during the preparations for the raid, ACC Paul
Leighton also alleged that a "briefing" was given to GAA
officials as the raid began.

"As we approach the anniversary, a 24-year-old male has now
been charged with robbery," Mr Leighton said.

"His detention period was extended beyond seven days for
the first time in Northern Ireland, the first time such
powers have been used.

"The use of these powers was a reflection of the
seriousness and the complexity of the investigation, and
his detention was reviewed by two judges and a high court
judge, all confirming the legality of the application

"As part of that investigation and linked to the arrest and
charge of this person a search of Casement Park took place.
A full community impact assessment was conducted during the
planning of the operation.

"In planning the resourcing for the operation, the fewest
possible resources were committed commensurate with the
task. Officers of the club were contacted as the search
began and part of the briefing they were given included the
information and the likely duration of the task," Mr
Leighton said.

However, Antrim GAA vice-chair Gerry McClory accused the
PSNI of "talking codswallop" and "playing with words".

Criticising the PSNI's overall approach to the Casement
Park raid, Mr McClory told Daily Ireland: "They didn't
consult the GAA about any community impact assessment.
There was no briefing given to officials.

"He is playing with words. I am giving you facts. They
arrived in force to search Casement Park at seven o'clock
in the morning, moving from the side of the road over to
the gates at around 9am when the groundsman arrived, and
then they started searching after that.

"Neither the county chairman, the county secretary, the
county treasurer or myself as acting chairman of Casement
Park Social Club were given any pre-notice of the raid. I
got a call from one of the voluntary staff to say the PSNI
were there to raid and as I was travelling to Casement I
got a call from Chief Inspector Peter Farrar to tell me
there was going to be a search.

"While the officer in charge of the search was courteous
and provided the basis for the raid, the question remains
why they could not have done this differently," Mr McClory
said.

"We had nothing to hide and would have had no difficulty
co-operating, as we did so earlier in the year when they
came to Casement about the same investigation. They talk
about community impact assessment, but they haven't even
bothered to consider the impact this incident could have on
attracting community and business sponsors to Casement
Park," he said.

It also emerged yesterday that information from the
Northern Bank investigation has been leaked to BBC
journalist Brian Rowan.

In a new book published by Brehon Press, Mr Rowan has
claimed that a "senior intelligence officer" divulged the
identities of two people alleged to be central to the
robbery.

Mr Rowan also said that he received details from an
"intelligence assessment" which was used to support PSNI
assertions that the IRA was involved in the robbery.

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http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20051208105147950

Case Collapses: "There Never Was a Sinn Fein Spy Ring Operating from Stormont"

Thursday, December 08 2005 @ 10:51 AM PST
Contributed by: Oread Daily

Three Belfast men who were supposedly at the center of the
spy ring have been acquitted of all charges. The men, whose
arrests led to the collapse of the power-sharing executive,
claimed the case against them had been politically
motivated. The three were arrested following a police raid,
done in the glare of the media, on Sinn Féin's offices at
Stormont on 5 October 2002, when documents and computer
discs were seized.

The accusations plunged Northern Ireland's power-sharing
institutions into crisis, with the Rev Ian Paisley's
Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Unionists, led at that
time by then First Minister David Trimble, threatened to
collapse the executive with resignations.

The British government suspended devolution, embarking on
three years of direct rule.

Following the decision at Belfast Crown Court to drop
charges against Sinn Fein's head of administration Denis
Donaldson, his son-in-law Ciaran Kearney and civil servant
William Mackessy, Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin
McGuinness said the allegation of a spy ring was concocted
in 2002 to destroy political progress at Stormont.

McGuinness said "There never was a Sinn Féin spy ring
operating from Stormont. This was a carefully constructed
lie created by the Special Branch in order to cause maximum
political impact. Its effect politically has been to
collapse the institutions and personally it has damaged the
lives of the four people originally charged and their
families. This operation is as blatant an example of
political policing as you are likely to find.'

Said McGuinness, "Sinn Féin said very clearly at the time
that eventually this case would fall apart. There was no
evidence to sustain it. However that was not the motivation
of those responsible for carrying out this operation. Their
motivation was to collapse the political institutions and
stall further progress on policing change including of
course the transfer of power to locally elected and
accountable politicians.'

"The effect of this operation," he said, "was to stop the
work of the Executive in its tracks. At the time as
Minister of Education I was involved in important work
including the autism centre planned for Middletown and the
review of post primary education.'

He added, "At a policing level very serious questions now
need to be addressed by the British government and the
PSNI. At a political level those who eagerly used this
operation to walk away from the political institutions need
to reflect long and hard on their position."

In a dramatic development, prosecutors told Belfast Crown
Court during an unlisted case that no further evidence
would be put forward and the prosecution was no longer in
the public interest.

Justice Harte said a verdict of not guilty had to be
returned and he told the men they were now free.

A statement from the Police Services of Northern Ireland
(PSNI) reported in the Belfast Telegraph noted, "That
police investigation has concluded. There are no further
lines of enquiry and no individuals are being sought by the
police."

Ciaran Shiels, of the Madden and Finucane law firm which
represented Donaldson and Mackessy, told UTV both men
believed they were the victims of a political operation by
elements within the security forces in Northern Ireland
opposed to political progress.

"Since October 2002 our clients have had extremely serious
charges hanging over them," Shiels said.

"Both of them have vehemently denied the allegations
against them."

Shiels added, "Their arrests had not only serious
consequences for themselves and their families, but also
for the wider community, in the sense that their arrests
led to the fall of the power-sharing executive at
Stormont."

"Our clients are of the clear view that they were victims
of a political operation by elements within the security
forces who deliberately used their position to hamper
political progress in this country." Sources: UTV, Belfast
Telegraph, Ireland On Line, Sinn Fein News

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1916220,00.html

Shock As Stormont 'Spy Ring' Investigation Dropped

By Sam Knight and PA News

The investigation into the alleged spy ring that closed the
Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002 quietly collapsed today
when prosecutors said they were dropping the case against
three men accused of stealing documents for the IRA.

The sudden end to the inquiry was announced at an unlisted
hearing at Belfast Crown Court. After three years of
interviews and evidence gathering, a lawyer for the
Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service said no more
evidence would be put forward and that the case was no
longer in the public interest.

The judge, Mr Justice Harte, said charges were therefore
dropped against Denis Donaldson, Sinn Fein's former head of
administration at Stormont, his son-in-law Ciaran Kearney,
and William Mackessy, a former porter at the Northern
Ireland Assembly.

The end of the case, which is believed to have cost the
Government nearly £30 million after it was forced to
rehouse hundreds of prison service employees after their
addresses were found in Sinn Fein's offices at Stormont,
was greeted with relief, astonishment and some anger in
Northern Ireland. Unionists complained that justice had
once again been manipulated to placate the IRA.

Lawyers for Mr Donaldson, Mr Kearney and Mr Mackessy have
always maintained that the case was politically motivated,
and that the alleged spy ring was created by members of the
security forces in Northern Ireland who wanted to bring
down the power-sharing assembly made by the Good Friday
Agreement.

The widespread belief that IRA operatives were spying at
Stormont, and stealing sensitive information that could be
used in possible attacks against unionist enemies and the
Government, led to the closure of the assembly more than
three years ago. It has not re-opened since.

"Since October 2002 our clients have had extremely serious
charges hanging over them. Both of them have vehemently
denied the allegations against them," said Ciaran Shiels,
who represented Mr Donaldson and Mr Mackessy in the case.

"Their arrests had not only serious consequences for
themselves and their families but also for the wider
community in the sense that their arrests led to the fall
of the power-sharing executive at Stormont.

"Our clients are of the clear view that they were victims
of a political operation by elements within the security
forces who deliberately used their position to hamper
political progress in this country."

A statement issued on behalf of Mr Kearney said there was
never enough evidence to secure a conviction of the three
men, who were arrested after police in riot gear raided
Sinn Fein offices and houses and recovered more than 1,000
secret documents.

"This case achieved its political aim and the prosecution
today closed it but there remains some major concerns which
will be pursued in another forum," said the statement.

Martin McGuiness, the deputy leader of Sinn Fein, called
the case "a shameful episode" and "a damning indictment" of
the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Mr McGuiness said
the PSNI had allowed itself to be steered by anti-
republican members of the former Royal Ulster Constabulary
Special Branch.

"There never was a spy ring operating at Stormont," he
said.

The PSNI maintained today that the IRA did operate a spy
ring at Stormont but acknowledged that there were "no
further lines of inquiry and no individuals are being
sought by the police".

"The background to this case is that a paramilitary
organisation, namely the Provisional IRA, was actively
involved in the systematic gathering of information and
targeting of individuals," the police said.

"Police investigated that activity and a police operation
led to the recovery of thousands of sensitive documents
which had been removed from government offices. A large
number of people were subsequently warned about threats to
them. That police investigation has concluded."

The mysterious decision to drop the case prompted anger
among loyalists. Ian Paisley Jr., justice spokesman for the
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has emerged as the
largest unionist party in Northern Ireland since devolution
was suspended, called it a "whitewash".

"It is quite disgraceful that yet again the judicial
process has been manipulated in order to placate the IRA
agenda. This is a cover-up and whitewash of the worst
type," he said.

In the House of Commons, Nigel Dodds, DUP MP for North
Belfast, called for a Government statement, saying: "This
has caused great anxiety and consternation amongst the
people of Northern Ireland this morning."

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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/12283

Adams - Collapse Of Stormont Case Exposes Political Policing Agenda

Published: 8 December, 2005

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP said that the not guilty
verdicts in the case against three people charged in
relation to what was dubbed 'Stormontgate' prove
conclusively what Sinn Féin have been saying all along
about the case.

Mr Adams said:

"This operation was a blatant example of political policing
aimed at collapsing the political institutions.

"Faceless securocrats subverted the democratic wishes of
the electorate north and south who voted for the Good
Friday Agreement.

"The collapse of this case should now focus attention onto
the Special Branch and those responsible for planning,
carrying out and authorising this entire operation.

"Their activities have continued unabated since then to the
detriment of the conflict resolution process, including of
course the arrest last week of respect Sinn Fein Assembly
member Francie Brolly in a Special Branch smear operation."
ENDS

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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/12284

Special Branch Managed To Collapse Political Institutions

Published: 8 December, 2005

Sinn Féin Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness said that PSNI
Special Branch operation alleging a spy ring in Stormont
exposed as a sham in a Belfast court this morning damaged
the lives of ordinary people through the collapse of the
political institutions.

Mr McGuinness said:

" There never was a Sinn Féin spy ring operating from
Stormont. This was a carefully constructed lie created by
the Special Branch in order to cause maximum political
impact. Its effect politically has been to collapse the

institutions and personally it has damaged the lives of the
four people originally charged and their families. This
operation is as blatant an example of political policing as
you are likely to find.

" Sinn Féin said very clearly at the time that eventually
this case would fall apart. There was no evidence to
sustain it. However that was not the motivation of those
responsible for carrying out this operation. Their
motivation was to collapse the political institutions and
stall further progress on policing change including of
course the transfer of power to locally elected and
accountable politicians.

" The effect of this operation was to stop the work of the
Executive in its tracks. At the time as Minister of
Education I was involved in important work including the
autism centre planned for Middletown and the review of post
primary education.

" At a policing level very serious questions now need to be
addressed by the British government and the PSNI. At a
political level those who eagerly used this operation to
walk away from the political institutions need to reflect
long and hard on their position." ENDS

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

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

Dr Paisley Slams Prosecution Decision

DUP Leader Dr Ian Paisley MP MLA has today said,

"The right thinking people of Ulster will be totally
flabbergasted at the decision taken to drop all
prosecutions on the IRA spy ring at Stormont because after
a three year delay it has been decided that it is not in
the public interest.

This is not a matter of having no evidence or no
corroborating that evidence but is to suit the political
climate and to fulfil demands already made by the IRA and
some time ago agreed.

The NIO is more and more deteriorating into a partnership
with IRA/Sinn Fein and with aiding and abetting them to
forward their aim of the destruction of Northern Ireland.
It is simply amazing that the Secretary of State goes to
America and undercuts all the good work done to get
employment into Northern Ireland by announcing that
Northern Ireland was a failed economy. The Northern
Ireland Office after having insulted the people of Northern
Ireland, having attempted to give an amnesty to terrorists,
are now in the business of ensuring the IRA is not held
accountable for the Stormont spy ring.

What about the people who were compelled by the police to
leave their homes because of that spy ring? Are they to be
treated as those who have no civil and religious liberty?
When the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister are
prepared to take such action then the Northern Ireland
people must accept the clear message that by hook or by
crook the government intend to forward the aims and the
agenda of IRA/Sinn Fein.

I have asked for an urgent meeting with the Secretary of
State and hope to talk to the Prime Minister in the near
future."

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http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=9NTHLXD4YGSGX4ZOHONDL1Q39LLDPJSGZSTFRPNCJNTDALOL6Z5FURUSJORE9NTHLF8WBHSJ7QRFOSMAAT2DALOLMT6AJFE8Z2&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=16466&opp=1

Parties Clash Over Parade Plan For 1916 Rising Centenary Celebrations

by David Lynch

Opposition concerns at the exact format of the 2006
military parade and celebration of the 1916 Rising, which
the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced earlier this year,
were raised in the Dáil yesterday.

The Taoiseach promised that next year's military parade to
celebrate the Rising would be a "state occasion".

He said that the preparations for the military parade must
"involve people of all parties and none".

The government has established an organising committee for
the parade next year and has invited members of other
parties to join the committee.

His reply followed criticism from both Deputy Enda Kenny
(FG) and Deputy Pat Rabbitte (Lab) that the announcement of
the celebratory parade should not have been made by
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis earlier
this year.

"Any ceremony should be a state event. Members from every
party in this house probably have forefathers who were in
the GPO or who took part in the actions in 1916," said
Deputy Kenny.

"Then was it not inappropriate that the event was launched
at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis?"

The Fine Gael leader did add that his party would take part
in the organising committee established by the government
for next year's ceremony.

The Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte criticised the
Taoiseach for announcing the Easter Rising commemoration at
such a "partisan event as the Fianna Fail Ard-Fheis".

He added that he believed that other events in Irish
history such as the meeting of the first Dáil on January
21, 1919, should also be marked.

He also called for a comprehensive list of all those who
died during the War of Independence and the Civil War to be
researched and funded by the state.

In reply, the Taoiseach said that he expected the parade to
consist mainly of the Republic's defence forces as well as
representatives of the defence forces serving abroad.

However, he did not want to go in to too much detail until
the committee was finished its work.

Both Independent TD Finian McGrath and Sinn Féin Deputy
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that the build up to the
commemoration of the 1916 Rising next year would be a
perfect opportunity to allow northern MPs to speak in the
Dáil.

"In the democratic spirit of the 1916 Rising, it is time
that northern political representatives were allowed to
address the southern parliament," said Deputy McGrath.

Deputy Ó Caoláin echoed this point adding that the
celebration of the Rising should go beyond just a military
parade.

"Can I ask the Taoiseach has the exact format been decided
yet? Is it going to be on Easter Monday? Is it going to
happen in Dublin or across the country at different
locations?

The Taoiseach said that all these discussion would be part
of the work of the organising committee.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=672082

Killer Stone To Meet Victim's Family On TV

By Linda McKee
08 December 2005

Loyalist terrorist Michael Stone will come face to face
with the widow and brother of one of his murder victims in
a BBC2 series scheduled for next year.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu will preside over the series which
will document encounters between the perpetrators and
victims of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Stone came to international notoriety in 1988 when he
launched a grenade attack on mourners at Milltown Cemetery.

He later said his primary targets had been Sinn Fein
leaders Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Danny Morrison.

Stone will be confronted during the BBC2 series by the
widow and brother of one of his murder victims, Dermott
Hackett.

Catholic father-of-one Mr Hackett was shot 15 times by the
UDA/UFF as he drove his bread van along the Omagh to
Drumquin Road on May 23, 1987.

SDLP politician Denis Haughey said he believed the
"unreasonable harassment" of Mr Hackett by police may have
made him a target.

In 1989, Stone was sentenced to 684 years in prison for
this murder, five other murders and six attempted murders.
He was later released as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

BBC controller, Roly Keating, said it took a very long time
to persuade people to take part in the programme and
convince them that good could come of it.

"The programmes do not try to achieve a reconciliation, but
at least there is some catharsis," he added.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4508350.stm

Queen And McAleese In NI Meeting

The Queen has held a meeting with Irish President Mary
McAleese for the first time on the island of Ireland.

The meeting at Hillsborough Castle intensified speculation
about the timing of any future visit by the monarch to the
Irish Republic.

In June, President McAleese indicated she would welcome a
visit to the Republic of Ireland by the Queen.

On Thursday, Mrs McAleese said: "It was a very special day
for Anglo-Irish relationships."

A decision on when the Queen should visit the Republic was
not down to her, she said.

"I'm long on record as saying that I would welcome it very
warmly.

"But it's a matter for the two governments.

"Earlier this year, after the Co-Operation Ireland dinner,
it was said then that the two governments were in agreement
that the visit should take place."

The timing of that visit would depend on the "final
consummation of the peace process in Northern Ireland", she
said.

"I think things are developing. Things are going in the
right direction, so the day gets nearer."

Earlier on Thursday, the Queen visited the Belfast Central
Mission which works with the elderly and young people.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrived on Wednesday and
stayed overnight at Hillsborough Castle.

The couple were on a one-day visit and attended separate
engagements in County Down.

The Queen and Duke had lunch with NI secretary Peter Hain,
the NI Lord Lieutenants, NIO Permanent Under Secretary
Jonathan Phillips and Nigel Hamilton, head of the NI Civil
Service.

In Hillsborough, she officially opened buildings housing
Downshire Primary School and the new village community
centre.

During the event, she was entertained by a choir, visited
classrooms and also met a mother and toddler group.

The Queen also unveiled a plaque and planted a tree.

In Belfast, Prince Philip visited the headquarters of the
Duke of Edinburgh award scheme in the south of the city.

Dinner

The monarch and President McAleese have met on three
previous occasions.

In 1998 they attended the unveiling of a peace tower on the
site of a World War 1 battle in Belgium and the following
year the president attended a lunch at Buckingham Palace.

In June this year, both were at a Cooperation Ireland
dinner in London.

At that time, President McAleese said the Irish and British
governments were agreed a visit should take place and the
timing "is for decision by them in the light of the
successful development of the political process in Northern
Ireland over time".

The Queen last visited Northern Ireland in February 2003,
when she unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening of
the Laganside Courts complex.

She and the duke also visited in July 2002 as part of the
celebrations marking her Golden Jubilee.

Since her coronation, the Queen has visited Northern
Ireland on 13 occasions, on 11 of which she was accompanied
by the Duke of Edinburgh.

The duke has visited Northern Ireland a further 24 times.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/12/08 20:27:10 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/story/0,9061,1663262,00.html

Guardian Profile: Sir Ronnie Flanagan

Northern Ireland's former police chief has a tough task
with the new Iraqi force

Rosie Cowan and Owen Bowcott
Friday December 9, 2005
The Guardian

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold/ Mere anarchy is
loosed upon the world"

The celebrated lines from The Second Coming were written
shortly before the second world war by WB Yeats, Sir Ronnie
Flanagan's favourite poet. The former chief constable of
Northern Ireland may well have their resonant theme in in
his mind this month as he enters Iraq.

The man who negotiated a political minefield when taking
the Royal Ulster Constabulary through the Patten reforms -
based on many of his ideas - to its peacetime reincarnation
as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is
reviewing the newly constituted Iraqi police force. His
appointment is a measure of the respect Downing Street has
for Sir Ronnie, who holds two knighthoods, having been
awarded the Knight Grand Cross Order of the British Empire
in 2002 when he left Belfast.

Now head of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
(HMIC), Sir Ronnie is a thoughtful and articulate
communicator in Whitehall and Westminster. Junior officers
always regarded him as one of their own - a rugby-loving,
down-to-earth copper, who grafted his way up the ranks.

Bought up in north Belfast, his father was a trade union
activist and the family's politics staunchly Labour. Like
many Protestants of his generation, he joined the RUC in
the early years of the Troubles. His first night found him
guarding the remains of an RAF recruiting office blown
apart by an IRA bomb. As a commanding officer at the
Shankill Road bombing in 1993 he helped rescuers scour
rubble for survivors.

But his time as chief constable - he was appointed in 1996
- brought criticism. Republicans were distrustful of a
former head of special branch. He angered nationalists when
he forced a disputed Orange Order march down the Garvaghy
Road at Drumcree in 1997.

"When they pushed the parade through, having spent four
days on the barricades, that left a sour taste in the
mouth," recalled local SDLP politician Brid Rogers, who had
many dealings with Sir Ronnie. "It was difficult to get
straight answers. He was charming and plausible but it's
not about charm and plausibility. It's about delivery."

Sir Ronnie left office amid controversy when a report by
the Northern Ireland ombudsman Nuala O'Loan castigated him
for poor leadership over the investigation into the Omagh
bomb, the province's worst loss of life in a single
terrorist atrocity. He rejected her finding that the Omagh
inquiry was grossly mishandled, even declaring in a
television appearance that he would commit suicide in
public if she was proved right. Some suggested he merely
displayed excessive loyalty to colleagues. His final months
were soured by battles among policing board members, a
number of whom tried to persuade him to leave sooner.

Chris Ryder, author of The RUC: A Force Under Fire,
believes Sir Ronnie's role in the transformation of
policing has been underestimated. "He had to go round
reassuring all sorts of people, including police widows. He
had to quell mutinies. No other individual would have had
the trust and authority." Sir Ronnie opposed changing the
force's name to the PSNI but he did not make a stand on the
issue. "His reputation is perhaps tarnished because of
Drumcree and Omagh and by the subsequent atmosphere of
witchhunt," added Mr Ryder, "but when the mists of history
clear the true value of his integrity and contribution will
become clear."

In London, Sir Ronnie settled into the senior job at the
HMIC where he found himself reviewing the Soham murder
inquiry. The Humberside chief constable Tim Hollis, a
former HMIC inspector, was Sir Ronnie's deputy on the Soham
review. "He is one of very few people I regard as truly
inspirational, not only for the professional way in which
he has resolved the most complex issues within the RUC and
HMIC, but also for his honest and raw humanity," said Mr
Hollis. "He is a very warm, pleasant and charming human
being, with no airs and graces. I witnessed the great
sensitivity with which he dealt with all concerned, the
police officers and the families of the murdered girls."

Sir Ronnie has become influential behind the scenes. He is
involved in the debate over the possible merger of UK
county forces into regional police forces. He was always a
keen supporter of the government's enthusiasm for deploying
veterans of the Northern Ireland peace process on peace-
enforcement missions abroad. When at the RUC, he sent a
contingent of officers to Kosovo.

He is understood to be recruiting a team of experienced
investigators to investigate allegations that the Iraqi
force has been infiltrated by local militias and to
recommend necessary reforms. As he is chauffeured around
Basra he may well glance out and recite tracts of Yeats
from memory:

"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/ The
ceremony of innocence is drowned"
----

The CV

:: Born March 25 1949
:: Married Lorraine Nixon in 1968. Has three sons
:: Education Belfast high, Queen's University and
University of Ulster
:: Honours OBE in 1996, knighthood in 1999, Knight Grand
Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 2002
:: Career 1970, joined RUC as constable while still at
Queen's University and made his way up to become chief
constable, 1996-2002; HM inspector of constabulary, 2002;
HM chief inspector of constabulary, 2005. Appointed to
review the new Iraqi police in British-controlled southern
Iraq, December 2005
:: Hobbies Walking, rugby, reading (especially Yeats's
poetry), music (particularly Van Morrison)

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

http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10004200.shtml

Analysis/Comment Last Updated: Dec 8th, 2005 - 17:26:09

Opin: McDowell And Harney As State Prosecutors

By Michael Hennigan
Dec 8, 2005, 17:03

Both the Irish Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and
his political party leader Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister)
Mary Harney, believe that it is proper for a minister to
make detailed charges in a parliamentary reply, against an
individual who is the subject of an ongoing police inquiry
and has not been charged with any crime.

Harney also does not see anything wrong with the Irish
Government lobbying an Irish-American philanthropist, to
end funding of a think-thank, which has the purpose of
reporting on issues of public policy and ethics in public
and corporate life. In a radio interview today, she queried
the right of such an organisation to operate in Ireland.

Consider the outcry if the Bush Administration sought to
close down one of the many US counterparts of the Centre
for Public Inquiry (CPI), which was established last
February, under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Feargus
Flood the former sole member of the Planning and Payments
Corruption Tribunal and a former member of the High Court.

The Irish Government lobbied for the cut -off of funding to
the Centre

On Tuesday, Michael McDowell, accused the Executive
Director of the CIP, former journalist Frank Connolly, of
travelling to Colombia on a false Irish passport in the
company of a known member of the Irish Republican Army
(IRA).In a written reply to a Dáil question, the minister
charged that the visit was connected to that of the so-
called Colombia Three, and was part of what he termed 'a
well-organised sinister enterprise'. He said that Frank
Connolly had entered the Farc terrorist-controlled region
of Colombia in April 2001, along with his brother, Niall,
and a convicted IRA member, Pádraig Wilson.

Niall Connolly and two other Irishmen were detained in
August 2001 at Bogota's international airport after
arriving from a demilitarised zone then controlled by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

On Wednesday, Frank Connolly told RTÉ Radio One News at One
that he had never been to Colombia.

Later on Wednesday, philanthropist Charles Feeney's
Atlantic Philanthropies which had agreed to provide
funding of €4 million over five years to the CIP, announced
that it was cutting off funding.

On RTÉ Radio One News at One today, Mary Harney made her
comments in support of Michael McDowell and the efforts to
close down the Centre for Public Inquiry. When the
presenter Séan O'Rourke put it to Harney that the role of
the CIP was similar to that of newspapers. She waffled on
about the media being different.

Frank Connolly has not been charged with any crime.

It is simply staggering that two senior ministers see
nothing wrong with the levelling of very serious charges
via the device of a parliamentary reply, against an
individual who has not been charged with a crime.

Just weeks ago, the Irish State had to apologise in the
courts to a member of a family that had been terrorised for
more than a decade in the northwest county of Donegal, by
renegade members of the Garda Síochána (Irish police).

Harney said today that McDowell was merely quoting police
information that had been provided to him.

----
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