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December 06, 2005

SF Urges Action Over Devolution

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News about Ireland & the Irish

UT 12/06/05 Sinn Fein Urges Action Over Devolution
IO 12/06/05 Searches In Thomas Devlin Murder Inquiry
BB 12/06/05 Man Arrested Over £26m Bank Raid
SF 12/06/05 de Brún Highlights Finucane Case In Australia
BT 12/06/05 Stalemate Feared Over Restorative Justice Plan
BT 12/06/05 Troubles Widows May Face Court Battle
NL 12/06/05 Claims Of Parade Breach Are Rejected By The DUP
NH 12/06/05 Political Policing Continues — Adams
GU 12/06/05 Opin: Adams - Forces Shouldn't Get An Amnesty
BT 12/06/05 Irish Trail EU On Languages
BT 12/06/05 U-Turn Sought Over Plans For Seven Councils
BT 12/06/05 School Transfer Rules Revealed
BT 12/06/05 Tricolour Row Priest Defends Refusal On Funeral

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http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=67977&pt=n

Sinn Fein Urges Action Over Devolution

The British and Irish governments must produce an action
plan for reviving power-sharing at Stormont and also cross-
border institutions, MPs were told today.

As he held a series of meetings in London with MPs and
interest groups, Sinn Fein vice president Pat Doherty said
the political process could not be allowed to drift while
the Rev Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists refused to move
swiftly back into devolved government.

The West Tyrone MP argued: "We are now four months on from
the historic announcement by the IRA in July formally
ending the armed campaign.

"Unionism has had ample space and time to come to terms
with the new political realities created by that
initiative.

"We cannot allow the political process to simply drift
along hoping that the DUP will finally display the
necessary political courage or will.

"The two Governments have an obligation to inject momentum
into this process. We need to see an action plan for the
Governments leading us back into the all-Ireland power-
sharing institutions."

In July the IRA declared an end to its armed campaign and
ordered all units to dump arms.

That was followed in September by the completion of IRA
weapons decommissioning in the presence of General John de
Chastelain`s international disarmament body and two church
witnesses, Catholic priest Father Alec Reid and Methodist
minister the Rev Harold Good.

The British and Irish governments were encouraged by
positive comments on IRA activity in the October report by
the four-member ceasefire watchdog, the Independent
Monitoring Commission.

They are expected to push for fresh talks to revive
devolution early next year if an IMC report in January
indicates the Provisionals are continuing to honour their
peace process pledges.

Mr Doherty said the DUP had in the past stated the only
obstacle to power-sharing was the issue of IRA weapons.

"That issue has been decisively dealt with," the Sinn Fein
MP said.

"It now remains to be seen if the DUP can live up to their
slogan of a new confident unionism.

"So far they have turned away from the difficult business
of taking up ministerial responsibility and delivering for
the people who elect them, preferring instead to stand back
and watch from the sidelines as the direct rule
administration continue to make bad decisions for all of
the people who live here."

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http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=70556260&p=7x55656z

Searches Carried Out In Thomas Devlin Murder Inquiry

06/12/2005 - 08:24:54

Police investigating the murder of a Catholic schoolboy in
Belfast earlier this year have carried out searches in
loyalist areas of the city.

The PSNI said a number of premises in the Mount Vernon and
White City areas were searched yesterday and a number of
items were seized for further examination.

The raids were carried out as part of the ongoing
investigation into the murder of Thomas Devlin, who was
stabbed to death while walking along Somerton Road with
friends last August.

The PSNI has identified two young men who were seen walking
a black-and-white dog as their prime suspects in the case.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4502398.stm

Man Arrested Over £26m Bank Raid

Detectives investigating the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery
have arrested a 35-year-old Belfast man, police have said.

The money was taken from the bank's Belfast headquarters
last December, in a robbery blamed on the IRA.

Meanwhile, a move to release a bank employee being
questioned about the raid failed at the High Court.

Chris Ward was arrested on 29 November, and on Monday a
court gave police another 48 hours to question him.

The application to release Mr Ward, 24, was based on the
fact that he and his solicitor were excluded from part of
the hearing.

Mr Justice Harte upheld the ruling that gave police more
time to question him.

The judge at Monday's hearing, Mr Justice Gibson, asked for
more detail about the areas of questioning the police
wanted to pursue with Mr Ward.

A detective told the judge that the details were pertinent
to the police strategy in interviewing Mr Ward - so it was
given without Mr Ward or his solicitor present.

'Innocence'

Mr Justice Hart said Judge Gibson had used his discretion
properly, and threw out the application to have Mr Ward
released.

After the hearing Mr Ward's solicitor, Niall Murphy, said
his client has stressed his innocence.

"He continues to protest his innocence in Antrim police
station where he has been held for a week and if police
apply for any further extensions they will be strenuously
opposed," he said.

He has now been questioned for longer than anyone else in
Northern Ireland since the law was changed last year
allowing the police up to 14 days of questioning.

The extension was the third detectives have been given to
question Mr Ward, an employee of the bank which was robbed
in December last year.

After the robbery, Mr Ward described on television how he
was held captive in the run-up to it.

Of the 11 people questioned to date in connection with the
raid, three have appeared in court.

Some money seized in County Cork last February was linked
to the robbery, but virtually all of the missing millions
remain unrecovered.

Police on both sides of the Irish border subsequently
blamed the IRA for the raid.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/12/06 12:40:09 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/12260

De Brún Highlights Pat Finucane Case In Australia

Published: 6 December, 2005

Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún has highlighted the case of
murdered Human Rights Lawyer Pat Finucane during her tour
of Australia and New Zealand this week.

Ms de Brún has travelled to Australia as part of Sinn
Féin's centenary celebrations to provide parliamentarians
and community activists a briefing on the current state of
the peace process and to lobby both governments for
continued financial assistance through the International
Fund for Ireland (IFI).

Speaking today Ms de Brún said:

"Over this past year I have met with the Finucane family on
a number of occasions and informed them that I was
committed to assisting the family both at home and at a
European level in order to see a fully independent judicial
public inquiry established into the solicitor's death.

"Having spoken to a number of people here in Australia, I
would be confident that people, particularly those in the
legal profession, will want to speak out about the British
government's attempt to block any hope of a properly
independent public inquiry.

"For years the British Government denied the very existence
of state sponsored murder and its complicity with unionist
paramilitaries in the deaths of citizens in the six
counties. Judge Cory's recommendation that a full judicial
inquiry be held into Pat Finucane's murder has shown up
the British Government's unwillingness to let the family
have the truth. They are actively attempting to block an
independent inquiry as part of the state cover up in the
aftermath of his murder.

"Not only is the case of Pat Finucane being raised here in
Australia, but the families of those murdered as a result
of state sponsored collusion are taking their case to the
European Parliament this Wednesday (7th September). The
demand for the truth is being heard right across the
world." ENDS

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=671919

Stalemate Feared Over Restorative Justice Plan

By Chris Thornton
06 December 2005

Government plans for restorative justice could be heading
for a stalemate today after the most prominent restorative
justice scheme in republican areas said it will not sign up
to the plan until their is an overall settlement on
policing.

Community Restorative Justice Ireland gave a cautious
welcome to yesterday's publication of draft guidelines for
restorative justice, which brings offenders and victims
together to decide on penalties.

The guidelines would see all cases referred to the PSNI,
leading CRJI spokesman Noel McCartney to state: "We will
not be able to actually implement agreed arrangements until
there is an overall political settlement on policing".

But Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson said police
involvement is "not negotiable".

This raised an immediate question mark over how effective
the Government regulations will be if a group is determined
to operate outside them.

The Government does not fund the organisations, so it
cannot withdraw money.

Under the guidelines, the Government will accredit the
schemes, but it is not clear whether any scheme operating
without accreditation would be violating the law.

The Government addressed concerns that the schemes could
bypass the PSNI in the guidelines, saying restorative
justice schemes must have an "unambiguous and appropriate
relationship" with police.

But the SDLP and unionists said they remain concerned about
the proposals.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the proposals could unleash a
situation where "local warlords will be acting as if they
are law lords".

Sinn Fein Assembly member Gerry Kelly accused the SDLP of
peddling myths.

"These schemes have been operating successfully in the
north since 1999 and we have not heard this hysterical
opposition before now," he said.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=671917

Troubles Widows May Face Court Battle

By Chris Thornton
06 December 2005

Two Troubles widows could end up on opposite sides in a
court battle over the appointment of the Victims'
Commissioner.

Brenda Downes, whose husband was killed by the RUC, may
take a case against the Government challenging the
appointment of Bertha McDougall, whose husband was murdered
while serving in the RUC.

Yesterday Mrs McDougall visited the victims' group to which
Mrs Downes belongs, but it is understood the two women did
not meet.

Lawyers for Mrs Downes, whose husband Sean was killed by a
plastic bullet in 1984, have written to the Secretary of
State Peter Hain about the appointment of Mrs McDougall.

Mrs McDougall was appointed to a one-year term in October.

Her husband, Lindsay, was an RUC reservist. He was shot in
the back by the INLA in 1981.

When she was appointed Mrs McDougall said she would "be
treating people equally" as Commissioner.

Several political parties have claimed Mrs McDougall's
appointment was a "political handout" to the DUP. The DUP
said it "supported" her selection.

Mrs Downes, a member of Relatives for Justice, said she
believes the appointment ignored quality legislation.

"It is not an independent appointment and will erode
confidence in the post," she said.

She said the legislation was "about ending the situation
whereby government simply made political appointments and
discriminated against individuals and communities.

"The appointment of Mrs McDougall is clearly politically
motivated and as such the NIO and Peter Hain did not follow
any procedures or processes in line with the law," Mrs
Downes added.

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http://www.newsletter.co.uk/story/24651

Claims Of Parade Breach Are Rejected By The DUP

By Mary Lafferty
Monday 5th December 2005

Claims by Sinn Fein that a loyalist parade entered a
nationalist area of Castlederg leading to violence were
rejected by the district's DUP assemblyman yesterday.

Tom Buchanan said reports that the parade entered an area
prohibited by the Parades Commission were "nothing more
than IRA propaganda".

Mr Buchanan claimed that, contrary to an earlier
determination by the Parades Commission, he had received
written confirmation that the parade was being curtailed to
the route taken last year - which included the Lurganbuoy
Road.

Earlier in the week, the parade was prohibited by the
Parades Commission from entering the Ferguson Crescent,
Killeter Road and Lurganbuoy Road area of the town, causing
fury among the unionist community.

Saturday's fracas erupted when Apprentice Boys returning
from the Lundy Day celebrations in Londonderry attempted to
walk along the Lurganbuoy Road after consulting with
police.

"We walk that part of the route every year and, when we
came to the police blockage, I read the letter from the
Parades Commission which stated we were within our rights
to do so," said Mr Buchanan.

"Sinn Fein are spinning lies that this is a nationalist
area. The majority of people living on this road are from
the Protestant community.

"The police did not overturn the Parades Commission
decision as stated by Sinn Fein, but policed their decision
as was clearly stated in the letter I received."

Condemning the violence in which three policemen received
minor injuries, Mr Buchanan said it was "appalling" and
claimed it was orchestrated by republicans.

But Sinn Fein west Tyrone Assembly member Barry McElduff
accused police of allowing Apprentice Boys to break Parades
Commission guidelines.

"Listening to the people on the ground in Castlederg,
nationalists are very unhappy at the fact that this
loyalist parade was able to enter the Lurganbuoy Road after
a determination had been passed to ban this happening," he
said.

"This is a matter I'll be taking up directly with the
Parades Commission and, indeed, the Irish government
minister, Dermot Ahern.

Three men were arrested following the disturbances.

The men, aged 20, 28 and 33, have been charged with
disorderly behaviour and other offences. They will appear
at Strabane Magistrates Court on December 22.

m.lafferty@newsletter.co.uk

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http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/Irelandclick/arts2005/dec5_political_policing_continues.php

Political Policing Continues — Adams

(http://www.Irelandclick.com)

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said that "political
policing continues unchecked" and must be challenged.

The West Belfast MP was speaking after a series of high-
profile arrests in connection with last year's Northern
Bank robbery and the arrest and release of Sinn Féin MLA
Francie Brolly. Many republicans in Belfast have also been
warned recently about their safety by the PSNI in the
aftermath of files being stolen from British army offices
at Castlereagh last year. Local people have been warned
that their personal details are in loyalist hands.

Mr Adams said that there was widespread anger after the
arrests. Mr Adams that many members of the local community
had been notified of a threat to their safety.

"My own family home was one of those visited," said Mr
Adams.

"In recent days there have been other members of the West
Belfast community visited by the PSNI. The Castlereagh
collusion case is but the latest example of the policy of
collusion and a reminder that it is not a thing of the
past. There have also been political raids and arrests with
the same old pattern of media leaks and misinformation from
the PSNI," he added.

The Sinn Féin President said he believes that there are
those who want the Agreement, power sharing and
negotiations for a new beginning to policing to fail.

"The evidence of the last three years shows that many of
them are still in the PSNI," said Mr Adams.

"Those in the SDLP who accepted too little, jumped too soon
and endorsed the existing policing arrangements which are
not yet compliant with Patten or the Good Friday Agreement
must carry some of the blame.

"They portray the SDLP as getting it right, when
nationalists and republicans are still victims of political
policing and collusion, which is wrong.

"In four years on the Policing Board they have failed to
hold the political detectives to account and they have
failed to end collusion and political policing. In
Westminster two weeks ago their MPs voted for the
reintroduction of 28-day detention orders taking us back to
the days of the old Special Powers Act opposed by the Civil
Rights Movement," he added.

Mr Adams said that there would be no safe haven for
politically motivated policing in the new beginning to
policing that Sinn Féin is determined to achieve.

"In negotiations on policing and justice since the
Agreement, we have made huge progress.

"The core outstanding issue now is the transfer of power on
policing and justice away from London and out of the hands
of British securocrats.

"Only in that way can policing be made democratically
accountable and a new beginning to policing on this island
be attainable," he added.

December 6, 2005
________________

This article appeared first on the Irelandclick.com web
site on December 5, 2005.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1658876,00.html

Response

Opin: It Is British State Forces Who Shouldn't Get An Amnesty

Political opportunists have created the hullabaloo about
on-the-run paramilitaries

Tuesday December 6, 2005
The Guardian

Simon Jenkins' description of Peter Hain as a "colonial
official" is one which Irish nationalists would readily
recognise (We need an ethicist, not a blathering Ulster
secretary, November 25). For 30 years a succession of such
"colonial officials" have run the north of Ireland in an
unaccountable and arbitrary fashion.

But Mr Jenkins then went on to deal with the "on-the-run"
(OTR) issue, which I have direct knowledge of. So let's
begin by getting some facts right. I did not raise this
issue with Tony Blair earlier this year; it was not part of
a quid pro quo deal with republicans; there are not "some
150" people involved, and the IRA is not "still privately
armed" - unless of course Jenkins believes that the
International Independent Commission on Decommissioning and
the two independent church witnesses are lying. Moreover,
the police ombudsman for the north has said there is no
amnesty for republicans in the legislation.

How did this issue arise? The Good Friday agreement is an
attempt to address the causes of conflict and to put in
place a peaceful and democratic alternative. An essential
part of this was the release of all political prisoners,
including those unionist paramilitaries involved in killing
republicans and nationalists.

Immediately after the Good Friday agreement, Sinn Féin
raised with the two governments the issue of the small
number of people on the run. These are people who, if
arrested and convicted, would be eligible for release under
the agreement. Both governments and the SDLP acknowledged
that this was an anomaly which needed to be resolved.

Sinn Féin did not support, propose or accept that members
of the British forces should be part of this process, nor
did we argue for an amnesty. On the contrary, we sought to
ensure that the scheme would not provide an amnesty to
members of British state forces who carried out, or were
responsible for, state killings or collusion. The scheme
published by the two governments four years ago at Weston
Park in 2001 related only to OTRs.

Four years later the OTR legislation has been produced. But
in a piece of political sleight of hand, and with a clear
eye to protecting its own agents, members of the British
state forces are included. Sinn Féin has denounced this and
demanded that the British remove any reference to its
forces.

Why the hullabaloo in the British parliament? One can
understand the emotion on the unionist side, although some
of those who protested so loudly have no problem sharing
platforms with unionist paramilitary killers. But for the
Tories and the SDLP it is down to pure opportunism. The
SDLP especially has belatedly found a concern for the
victims of collusion.

The peace process is more important than political point-
scoring, and the OTR issue is an anomaly which the British
government accepts has to be dealt with. Beyond this, our
efforts have to concentrate on rebuilding the peace process
and getting the institutions re-established. Thanks to the
recent IRA initiatives there is now an opportunity to
achieve this.

· Gerry Adams is the president of Sinn Féin
sfpress@eircom.net

· The Response column offers those who have been written
about in the Guardian an opportunity to reply. If you wish
to respond, at greater length than in a letter, to an
article in which you have featured either directly or
indirectly, please email response@guardian.co.uk or write
to Response, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R
3ER. We cannot guarantee to publish all responses, and we
reserve the right to edit pieces for both length and
content.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=671922

Irish Trail EU On Languages

By Marie Foy
06 December 2005

Senator Maurice Hayes has said Irish people need to learn
other European languages if they are to remain competitive.

Dr Hayes, who is the chairman of the National Forum on
Europe in the Republic, called for a better approach to the
learning of foreign languages in the Irish education
system.

Addressing a meeting organised by the Department of
Education in Dublin, Dr Hayes pointed to a recent
Eurobarometer poll which showed that Irish people trailed
the rest of Europe in their ability to speak a second
language.

Just 41% said they could have a conversation in a language
other than their mother tongue.

"It should be no comfort to us that our nearest neighbour
is at 30%. Our benchmark should be the other, smaller
members of the European Union with an achievement of over
80%," he said.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=671888

U-Turn Sought Over Plans For Seven Councils

Parties urge Rooker to think again

By Noel McAdam
06 December 2005

A clash over the Government's creation of seven councils
across Northern Ireland was on the cards today.

Direct rule minister Lord Rooker was today expected to face
the anger of DUP, SDLP, UUP and Alliance members opposed to
the radical blueprint.

The cross-party council leaders were holding their first
meeting with the Government since the decision to form
seven councils from the present 26 was announced.

In their first salvo against the direct rule team, the
Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) urged
Lord Rooker to think again.

And they were due to demand the minister sets up a joint
meeting with them and party leaders before Christmas to see
if the seven-council verdict can be reversed.

SDLP NILGA vice-president Helen Quigley said: "It is not
appropriate for direct rule ministers to come into Northern
Ireland, albeit for a short-term period, just to simply
split the province.

"We will stand strong and united to prevent this from
happening."

Only Sinn Fein, among the major parties, is in favour of
the seven-council model, a stance which has lead to the
suspension of senior member Francie Molloy, a former NILGA
president, who shares its view in favour of 15 councils.

Today's meeting with Lord Rooker comes after discussions
last week between NILGA and party representatives who
agreed to "work together in the coming months to ensure the
seven-council model is overturned and a more democratic
system is put in place".

NILGA chief executive Heather Moorehead said after the
suspension of Dungannon councillor Molloy, no substitute
nomination was made and no Sinn Fein representative was
present.

Alliance leader David Ford attended, however, along with
DUP MP William McCrea, SDLP MLA Tommy Gallagher and UUP MLA
David McClarty.

Mr McCrea said he feared the £235m projected savings from
the review will not be realised and had been flagged up to
gain public sympathy.

It would also amount to a "carve up" along sectarian lines,
with three unionist-controlled councils in the east of the
province and three nationalist-dominated councils in the
west along with a keenly-balanced Belfast - which would
have the potential to be politically explosive, he added.

Mrs Quigley, a Londonderry councillor, also argued that
Secretary of State Peter Hain's denial that the seven-
council model will not lead to a "sectarian carve-up" was
"scandalous and irresponsible".

"He should take note of the vast majority of opinions and
concerns expressed by citizens at a local level who now
realise that the seven-council model is not practical," she
added.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=671912

School Transfer Rules Revealed

Death knell for academic selection in Ulster

By Kathryn Torney
06 December 2005

Parents and teachers were today told details of the
controversial new schools' admissions criteria which will
replace the 11-plus as the means of entry to Northern
Ireland's most popular post-primary schools.

Secondary and grammar schools will be able to choose from a
menu of criteria which includes the controversial tie-
breakers of random selection and the measured distance of a
child's home from the school.

Education Minister, Angela Smith, also announced, at
Stormont's Castle Buildings, details of a new Foundation
Stage curriculum for children coming into school at the age
of four, a new joint suspension and expulsion scheme for
all schools and a summary report on the responses to public
consultation on the admissions criteria.

Today's long-awaited admissions announcement, which is the
final death knell for academic selection in Ulster schools,
is likely to result in a storm of protest from the pro-
grammar school lobby who have been battling against the
plans.

The non-academic criteria must be used by grammar,
secondary and new specialist schools which are over-
subscribed after the 11-plus test is scrapped in 2008.

The menu of criteria also includes having siblings at the
school and a range of community/geographical criteria.

However, the most controversial are the ones based on
children's home location. It has been argued that using
this as a means of selection would disadvantage children
living in rural areas, could result in neighbourhood
comprehensives and also create a situation where families
opt to move house purely to secure places at the most
prestigious schools, thus putting less well off families at
a disadvantage.

After the last 11-plus tests are held in the autumn of
2008, the transfer of children from primary to post-primary
schools is due to take the form of "informed parental and
pupil choice".

Parents will be expected to choose the school which best
suits their child using information contained in a Pupil
Profile produced by primary schools. The profile cannot be
seen by the post-primary schools.

Where schools have more applications than places, the
admissions criteria will be used to decide which children
to admit.

The consultation on new admissions arrangements for post-
primary schools closed on June 30. Over 14,000 responses
were received.

In September, opposition to the ending of academic
selection in schools was underlined in an opinion poll
commissioned by the Belfast Telegraph.

The survey, conducted by pollsters MORI, found that almost
60% of people in Northern Ireland wanted some form of test
or assessment to be used in the selection of children for
grammar schools.

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=671916

Tricolour Row Priest Defends Refusal On Funeral

Flag 'should not be put on coffin'

By Maureen Coleman
06 December 2005

A priest who refused to celebrate funeral Mass because the
coffin was draped in an Irish tricolour today defended his
stance.

Fr Brendan Beagon, parish priest at the Church of the Holy
Spirit on the Glen Road, removed the flag from the coffin
and replaced it with a pall, saying that it breached the
rules of the Catholic Church.

But the family of the dead man, Billy McDonnell - a
lifelong republican - replaced the flag and refused to
remove it, prompting Fr Beagon to say he could not
celebrate Mass.

Mr McDonnell's funeral went ahead at Holy Trinity Church in
Turf Lodge.

His son Liam said that the body was taken to the Church of
the Holy Spirit on Sunday and that the coffin was draped in
the tricolour at his father's request.

He said that a priest in the church objected to the flag
but relented after the family said they would take the
coffin elsewhere. The priest then continued to carry out a
blessing.

However, when the family returned the following day for
Requiem Mass, the flag had been removed and had been
replaced with a white pall.

Defending his position, Fr Beagon said the family had told
another priest, Fr Tarmey, that they would take the coffin
back to the deceased's home if the flag was removed.

He said that when he was told this, he removed the
tricolour and replaced it with the pall "in accordance with
the provisions of the Liturgical Commission".

"On Monday morning the tricolour had been replaced on the
coffin and the deceased's son, when it was explained that
the proper liturgical covering for a coffin in a church is
a pall, refused to remove the tricolour," he said.

"I then informed him that the liturgical funeral service
could not be celebrated, but that Fr Tarmey would say the
prayers at the graveside. He told me that they would get
someone else to do this."

Bishop of Down and Connor Dr Patrick Walsh said relatives
were asked to respect the right of the Church to regulate
how the funeral Mass should be celebrated.

But he added that it should be celebrated in any case.

"Having explained the regulations and the reason for them,
one would trust that the relatives would accept the
regulations," he said.

"If not, this poses a great difficulty for the priest, but
in the circumstances the funeral mass should be celebrated
so that the deceased will be buried with dignity."

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