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February 28, 2006

Dublin-Monaghan Bombing Inquiry Breakthrough

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News About Ireland & The Irish

BB 02/28/06 Dublin Monaghan Bombings Inquiry 'Breakthrough'
IT 03/01/06 Leaders Plan 'Roadmap' For Progress On NI
BB 02/28/06 Hain Defends Parades Appointment
IT 03/01/06 McDowell Says Garda Had Well Thought-Out Strategy
EX 02/28/06 Gardaí Were Warned CIRA Would Target Rally
ND 02/28/06 McCain Reform Gets Backing Of Immigrants
UT 02/28/06 Sinn Fein Rejects SDLP CRJ Response
DJ 02/28/06 United Ireland A 'Non-Starter'
IH 02/28/06 'Smoking Encouraged In Pubs'
IT 03/01/06 Beckett Centenary Festival Set For April
IT 03/01/06 1916 Invitation For North's Politicians
IT 03/01/06 Rabbitte Warns About Planned 1916 Parade
SJ 02/28/06 Gerry Adams To Speak At St. John's University, NY
CP 02/28/06 Mount Holly To Host St. Patrick's Parade

(On March 1, 1981, Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands
began a hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern
Ireland; he died 65 days later.)

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4761060.stm

Bombings Inquiry 'Breakthrough'

The commission investigating the Dublin and Monaghan
bombings in 1974 believes it has made a breakthrough.

Patrick MacEntee, the man in charge, has said he has now
received new security documentation, apparently from people
linked to British intelligence.

The Irish government has extended the deadline for the
submission of the report to the end of May to allow him to
pursue his current line of inquiry.

The loyalist UVF admitted the attacks which killed 33
people.

Mr MacEntee's commission was set up last year to
investigate specific aspects of the Irish police
investigation at the time.

Mr MacEntee, one of the Irish Republic's leading
barristers, is believed to have now met one of three people
he had been seeking for some time as part of his
investigation.

It is reported he is hopeful of contacting two others he
wants to interview.

In 2003, another inquiry into the bombings by Mr Justice
Henry Barron said that British intelligence had failed to
cooperate in providing intelligence files about the
attacks.

He concluded that British intelligence links to the
bombings could not be ruled in or out.

The British government has said it has given all the
assistance it can to the inquiries.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/02/28 22:29:33 GMT
© BBC MMVI

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0301/1346715633HM9NORTH.html

Leaders Plan 'Roadmap' For Progress On NI

Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor

01/03/2006

The Taoiseach and the British prime minister are planning
to shortly put take-it-or-leave-it proposals to the
Northern parties.

These could involve the restoration of the Assembly in
shadow form with a subsequent deadline for full
restoration, according to senior London and Dublin sources.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair are becoming increasingly frustrated
at the lack of political progress and are determined to
take the initiative by proposing a "roadmap" for restoring
the Northern Assembly and executive to the parties, sources
said.

Mr Blair, despite postponing a plan to deliver a keynote
political speech in the North last week, remains determined
to inject fresh momentum to the political process and may
now reschedule the speech for April or May, and possibly
before Easter, the sources said yesterday.

"We need to have movement by the summer. Things can't
continue as they are. Peter Hain held [ telephone] talks
with Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair in the past 48 hours, and
there is now an emerging consensus of what needs to be done
to break the political deadlock," one senior source told
The Irish Times yesterday.

The governments have not yet finalised what they are
describing as a roadmap to restore devolution but have
completed a paper on how movement might be achieved, said
one senior source.

One seriously considered initiative is the restoration of
the Assembly initially in shadow form (which Sinn Féin
opposes) but with a set deadline (which the DUP opposes)
for the Assembly and executive to be fully functioning.

This could involve a demand that the executive be fully re-
established before the Assembly elections scheduled for May
next year, or a pledge from the parties that they would
enter a power-sharing executive directly after the Assembly
elections.

In the meantime the Assembly could operate in shadow form
from the autumn.

If the initiative due to be unveiled by Mr Blair is
rejected by the parties or if over a period of time it
becomes clear it cannot work, then the 108 Assembly members
will have their pay and allowances cancelled and the 2007
Assembly elections will also be cancelled, the senior
sources made clear yesterday.

An additional element of this carrot-and-stick approach by
the governments is Dublin and London agreeing that,
notwithstanding the absence of power-sharing, the North-
South element of the Belfast Agreement would continue to be
implemented and also strengthened, said a senior Dublin
source.

A spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said that Mr Ahern and Mr
Blair intended to agree "a joint approach that will give
clear leadership and direction". Minister for Foreign
Affairs Dermot Ahern and Mr Hain had been meeting the
parties, she said, and were "making a full assessment of
the various positions".

© The Irish Times

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4759728.stm

Hain Defends Parades Appointment

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has defended the
appointment of an Orangeman to the Parades Commission after
calls for his resignation.

SDLP assembly member Dolores Kelly called for Don MacKay to
resign after it emerged he had supplied her name as a
referee without consulting her.

In a letter to Ms Kelly, Mr Hain defended the appointment.

"I believe we have the best people to do the job and the
Parades Commission has my full support," Mr Hain said.

"As you know, all appointments to the Parades Commission
were made by me, taking into account the range of skills
and experience that each member would bring to the
commission.

"You asked specifically about Mr MacKay's appointment and I
understand that he has now written to you to explain his
personal position in including you as a referee.

"I hope that this has now provided you with clarification."

Mr MacKay, a former UUP councillor who is now in the DUP,
was appointed last November by Mr Hain.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said Mr Hain's defence of the
appointment was not valid.

"It is not good enough for the secretary of state to stand
back from this.

"The fact is that his officials made clear that they were
impressed by the fact that Don MacKay had Dolores Kelly as
a referee. That is why the appointment is invalid.

"This is not just between the SDLP and Don MacKay, it is
also between the SDLP and Peter Hain. Don MacKay should
resign."

The Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions
on whether or not restrictions should be imposed on
controversial parades during Northern Ireland's marching
season.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/02/28 15:57:30 GMT
© BBC MMVI

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2006/0301/1924669936HM1RIOTS.html

McDowell Says Garda Had Well Thought-Out Strategy

Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent
01/03/2006

The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has made public
the Garda Commissioner's reports to him on last Saturday's
violence in Dublin, in an attempt to show the Garda
response was reasonable and based on a thought-out
strategy.

Both the commissioner in his initial reports, and Mr
McDowell in a Dáil speech yesterday, held back from
accusing dissident republicans of orchestrating the rioting
which resulted in 14 injuries, 42 arrests and extensive
damage to some city centre business premises.

A Garda investigation into the events will examine this
question and report to the Minister later.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy has told Mr McDowell that
the Garda did not expect significant violence and had
therefore planned for a relatively low-key policing
operation. This was not a "seat of the pants exercise", Mr
McDowell said, but was a comprehensive and thought out
policing operation, based on Garda intelligence.

The publication of a detailed account of the commissioner's
preliminary reports is designed to answer criticisms from
some Opposition spokesmen that the Garda got it wrong, and
had not planned properly for the mayhem which engulfed the
city and prevented the planned march commemorating victims
of IRA violence from going down O'Connell Street.

The synopsis of the initial Garda reports was outlined to
the Cabinet yesterday. In a Dáil debate last night on the
rioting, Mr McDowell rejected Opposition claims that the
Garda was at fault for not anticipating the violence. He
said there was no carelessness on the part of the Garda,
nor were they hampered by a lack of resources.

While Mr McDowell did not accuse anyone of directly
organising the violence, he ascribed indirect
responsibility for it to some "so-called republicans". He
said that some "so-called republicans who deny the wishes
of the Irish people for a lasting settlement in Northern
Ireland . . . provide the fuel that helped to ignite naked
sectarianism on the streets of Dublin for the first time in
a long time." He said Mr Conroy would report to him once
the full investigation was complete.

He said there was no lack of resources available to the
Garda on Saturday. "The Garda Síochána had the resources of
the whole force available, but made a well thought through
decision that this was to be a low-key demonstration, that
it was not to be surrounded by a ring of steel." This
approach was based on the professional judgment of the
Garda.

He acknowledged that "it would have been a good idea" to
have gardaí stationed at the piles of building materials on
O'Connell Street which provided the majority of missiles
that were hurled at gardaí. He said gardaí had met Dublin
City Council and the contractors involved six times to
discuss the securing of this material. He acknowledged that
lessons would have to be learned, but said "hindsight is a
wonderful thing".

© The Irish Times

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

http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sg5--S5S-zMMQsgadLjt5C321I.asp

Gardaí Were Warned CIRA Would Target Rally

By Cormac O'Keeffe

GARDAÍ were given an anonymous letter stating that the
Continuity IRA was going to target last Saturday's Love
Ulster rally in Dublin, according to the garda report into
the riots.

Garda bosses also held six meetings with Dublin City
Council to ensure that all building materials on O'Connell
Street would be securely kept behind barriers.

The report said "most of the missiles" fired at gardaí came
from these sites.

It also found a "significantly larger number" of gardaí
were in place for the rally than there normally would be
for a protest.

A summary of the garda report given to Justice Minister
Michael McDowell was published yesterday.

It said: "The intelligence indicated that Republican Sinn
Féin (RSF) and the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
intended to mount a counter-demonstration in the form of a
sit-down protest to stop the Love Ulster Rally proceedings.

"One anonymous letter was sent to the Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the effect that the
rally was to be a target of the CIRA."

The garda report said a "threat assessment" of the event
was carried out based on the "available intelligence" and
the experience of gardaí.

It said the RSF "declined to engage in a meaningful manner"
regarding their counter-protest.

It also found that in meetings, Dublin City Council "agreed
that all building materials would be securely kept behind
barriers and would be secured on the street".

"On the day, the site of the renovations at Upper O'Connell
Street created significant difficulties for the policing of
the hooligan elements that had congregated and joined the
counter demonstration.

"Most of the missiles thrown, with the exception of
billiard/golf balls and two petrol bombs, came from this
site after hooligan elements breached the fencing mounted
by the city council."

The report said that a group of 50 RSF/CIRA members at the
top of Parnell Street were joined by a "large number of
youths from nearby public houses".

It said 348 gardaí were present at the top of O'Connell
Street, including 65 public order, or riot, police. There
were also 39 members of the Special Detective Unit and 58
local plain clothes personnel in the area. The report said
a water cannon was considered, but ruled out.

It said a tactical decision was made not to advance the
rioters past the junction of Henry Street for danger of
pushing them across the river towards the Love Ulster
rally, which had gone by bus to the Dáil.

The report said reinforcements were called "immediately it
became clear that gardaí were facing substantial violence"
and said these, including 47 riot police, arrived within "a
short period".

It said the garda helicopter was not available during the
riots as it had developed technical faults.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/395007p-334908c.html

Got their Irish up

McCain Reform Gets Backing Of Immigrants

By Leslie Casimir
Daily News Staff Writer

In the three years he has lived in this country, Ireland
native Stephen McAlinden has missed the funerals of his two
grandmothers and an aunt.

His plight is shared by millions of fellow undocumented
workers who have made new lives for themselves here by
overstaying visas or tourist permits. They can leave
anytime, but if they try to return, they'll be red-flagged
and barred from returning to their adopted homeland.

"You can't go back home - that's the hardest part about
living here," said the 31-year-old carpenter who lives in
Woodside, Queens, a once predominantly Irish neighborhood.
"You're stuck."

McAlinden and others are pinning their hopes on legislation
proposed by Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who
vied for President in 2000 and could run again in 2008.
McCain's bill would eventually legalize as many as
11million undocumented residents and implement a guest-
worker program.

"We need to have this debate among the American people,"
McCain said during a telephone conference with reporters
last week. "This is a compelling issue."

Today at 5 p.m., the senator will hold a rare town hall
meeting at 101 Sixth Ave. in SoHo to galvanize his
supporters. The move comes as the Senate prepares todiscuss
next month whether to legalize undocumented immigrants,
issue them temporary work permits or simply boot them.

Niall O'Dowd, publisher of the Irish Voice newspaper and
chairman of the new Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform
movement, said tighter security measures following 9/11 are
pushing many of the estimated 40,000 undocumented Irish
immigrants in the U.S. out of the country.

"The Irish neighborhoods are dying - we're in great danger
of losing one of the great ethnic inspirations in New
York," O'Dowd said. "And we can either cry into our beers
or we can do something about it."

O'Dowd said his group which isplanning a march in
Washington on March 8, has the political muscle to make its
case heard in the capital.

Still, McCain and his Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts, face an uphill battle. Last year,
the House passed a bill that would criminalize illegal
immigrants and build more fences along the U.S. border.
President Bush has been pushing for a temporary worker
program that would allow foreigners to work here - but for
a limited time.

"It's hard to see how you can reconcile what the Senate is
likely to do and what the House has done," said Steven
Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration
Studies, a Washington think tank that promotes tighter
immigration laws. "My guess is we won't see a major change
this year."

Originally published on February 27, 2006

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http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=70934&pt=n

Sinn Fein Rejects SDLP CRJ Response

Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly has accused the SDLP of attacking
community restorative justice schemes in a bid to prevent
further policing change.

His comments follow SDLP calls for government funding of
the controversial schemes to be denied until "safeguards"
recommended by the party be put in place.

The North Belfast MLA claimed: "The SDLP`s opposition to
Community Restorative Justice has nothing at all to do with
these schemes or the way they operate.

"Community Restorative Justice is not an alternative to an
acceptable and accountable policing service.

"Such projects are additional to a policing service and now
operate successfully across the world. Indeed the work of
the schemes currently operating here has been praised by
the Oversight Commissioner.

"The SDLP have in effect become part of the policing
establishment and are now determined to prevent the sort of
changes necessary to deliver Patten and deliver an
accountable policing service."

The SDLP`s Justice Spokesperson Alban Maginness earlier
described how the party had "concerns" about the schemes
which he described as a "quasi-police force".

The North Belfast MLA stated: "Restorative justice is a
good idea. The SDLP wants it to work. That’s why we are
insisting that before community restorative justice groups
are funded, they have to cooperate directly with the police
and show that they accept the rule of law. There also has
to be proper training, regulation and inspection, including
a proper independent statutory complaints system. That
means a new legislative system."

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http://www.derryjournal.com/story/8562

United Ireland A 'Non-Starter'

Tuesday 28th February 2006

THE DUP'S William Hay has said events in Dublin this
weekend prove "once and for all that the notion of a United
Ireland is a non-starter".

Alderman Hay made the statement while commenting on a
motion to be discussed at a meeting of full Council this
afternoon calling for a Green Paper on Irish reunification.

The motion is being put forward by Sinn Fein Councillor
Gerry MacLochlainn, stating: "This Council further calls on
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD to give immediate effect to
the Constitution's recognition of the entitlement of every
person born on this island of Ireland to be part of the
Irish nation by legislating for: Six-County representation
in Dail Eireann, the right of people in the Six Counties to
vote in national referenda on articles of the Constitution
and the right in vote in presidential elections."

Alderman Hay accused Colr. McLochlainn and Sinn Fein of
'stirring the pot'.

He said: "What Sinn Fein don't seem to realise is that
there is nothing to achieve by raising issues which serve
only to divide the community. "The events in Dublin
yesterday have only served to highlight that the issue on
an united Ireland is, for Unionists, a complete nonstarter.

"There are no guarantees, indeed no indication, that our
rights and culture would be protected and I would further
add that a growing number of people within the Nationalist
community share those same concerns."

Today's meeting of full Council is set to be
confrontational as Sinn Fein and Unionist parties go head
to head over this issue, and also over a controversial
proposal by Sinn Fein for Derry to officially commemorate
the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

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http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=9080

'Smoking Encouraged In Pubs'

[Posted: Tue 28/02/2006]

ASH Ireland says it is seriously concerned about the
proliferation of smoking rooms in many pubs in Dublin and
around the country.

The anti-smoking group claimed the vintners trade is
demonstrating its determination to encourage smoking, by
circumventing the workplace legislation.

Prof Luke Clancy, Chairman of ASH Ireland, said a situation
is now emerging where 'smoking rooms' are being developed
by vintners in which all customers smoke.

"These rooms are being served by staff in what is in many
cases a toxic carcinogenic reservoir. This runs totally
contrary to the legislation and I urge the Government to
take whatever steps are necessary to put a stop to this
practice."

ASH says when the smoking in the workplace ban was
introduced, some vintners provided outdoor heated areas,
where smokers could leave the premises and smoke if they
wished.

This relatively safe practice for employees, according to
ASH, has now been replaced by blatant abuse of the
legislation.

It says there are now new 'pub lounges' with seating,
ashtrays and big TV screens and a full staff service. This
new practice, it says, is in breach of the legislation and
poses significant health risks to workers.

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0301/566700477HM5BECKETT.html

Beckett Centenary Festival Set For April

Deirdre Falvey, Arts Editor
01/03/2006

"The room was dark and full of people hastening to and fro,
malefactors, policemen, lawyers, priests and journalists .
. ." was the phrase (from Samuel Beckett's Molloy) applied
by John O'Donoghue to a large gathering of artists, actors
and promoters last night as details of next month's Beckett
Centenary Festival were announced.

More than 20 events - theatre, film, visual art,
broadcasting, exhibitions - aim to illuminate Beckett's
drama and prose and his influences on other artists working
in a variety of media. The festival marks 100 years since
Beckett's birth, on Good Friday (April 13th) in 1906.

Philip Furlong of the Department of Arts and chairman of
the Beckett Centenary Committee, introduced the Minister
and Beckett Centenary Committee chairman Michael Colgan, of
the Gate Theatre, who shared memories of working with
Beckett.

"If this festival achieves anything," said Colgan, "I would
like for it to put paid to the myth of Sam Beckett being a
gloomy, humourless, pessimistic pedant. The Beckett I got
to know in Paris in the 1980s was quite the opposite. A man
with a wicked sense of humour which, if it was at anyone's
expense, could only have been his own."

The Gate is presenting nine Beckett plays (simultaneously
with the Barbican in London), and some actors in those
productions travelled to Dublin for the festival launch:
Siân Phillips, who is in Rockaby, and John Hurt, who
reprises his role in Krapp's Last Tape.

Others in the large hall in the restored College of
Physicians in Kildare Street included Edward Beckett,
nephew of Samuel, RTÉ director general Cathal Goan, actors
including David Kelly, Johnny Murphy, Mark Lambert, Nick
Dunning, Alison Doody and Owen Roe, director Michael Caven
and Gaiety MD John Costigan.

The month's celebrations include Beckett's Ghosts, four of
the later plays presented by Bedrock Productions; Dublin
painter Cian McLoughlin's series of large-scale portraits
of actors and an exhibition of photographs of Beckett taken
by his friend, the Irish photographer John Minihan

Kathy Prendergast's sculpture A Dream Of Discipline; and
Mark McLoughlin's video installation The Paradise; an
exhibition about Beckett's life; and Access All Beckett
from Gare St Lazare Players will also be part of the
festival.

There will be an exhibition of Philip Guston's and Bruce
Nauman's work at the RHA Gallagher Gallery, along with
three filmed pieces by Beckett, an installation by sculptor
Michael Warren and an artist's talk by American artist
Robert Gober. Documentaries, archive films and a series
called Directing Beckett, to be presented by the Irish Film
Institute, will tour Ireland, and the Irish premiere of
Morton Feldman's Quartet No 2 will be performed by the
Pellegrini Quartet at the NCH.

American artist Jenny Holzer will project Beckett's texts
on to landmarks in Dublin city centre at night; and an
exhibition, Samuel Beckett: A Passion for Painting, opens
in June at the National Gallery, which will also host a
series of musical events in April.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0301/2179955418HM9RISING.html

1916 Invitation For North's Politicians

Stephen Collins, Political Correspondent
01/03/2006

Northern politicians will be invited to join Ministers,
TDs, the judiciary, diplomats and other dignitaries on the
reviewing stand for the military parade on Easter Sunday to
commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

A Government spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that MLAs
would be included among the groups who would get
invitations to the event. She added that an all-party
steering committee to plan the 100th anniversary of the
Rising will meet for the first time today.

The spokeswoman also said that the Government had yesterday
approved a stamp to commemorate the Battle of the Somme in
1916. The Government also intended to hold a ceremony at
the war memorial in Islandbridge in July to mark the event.

The anniversary of the Easter Rising will be commemorated
by a military parade involving 2,500 personnel,
representing all branches of the Defence Forces along with
veterans of UN service. The parade will also include
members of the Garda Síochána, representing their service
abroad with the UN. A fly-past by the Air Corps is also
planned.

The military parade will start from Dublin Castle and will
pass through Dame Street, College Green and O'Connell
Street. There will be a reading of the Proclamation outside
the GPO and appropriate military honours will be rendered.
The event will be televised live.

The day will also be marked by a wreath-laying ceremony in
Kilmainham Gaol earlier that morning and by a Government
reception at Dublin Castle that evening.

In the Dáil last night Minister for Justice Michael
McDowell said the arrangements for forthcoming celebratory
events in Dublin may have to be considered in the context
of the violence in the city last weekend.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0301/1284754486HM8DLEXAMINE.html

Rabbitte Warns About Planned 1916 Parade

Michael O'Regan
01/03/2006

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte warned about the possible
implications of the planned Easter Rising commemoration,
following the violence in Dublin last Saturday.

"We need to exercise caution in the way in which we plan to
commemorate key events in Irish history, such as the 1916
Rising. Nothing should be done that would give those who
caused such mayhem in Dublin further excuse to vent their
sectarian hatred."

Mr Rabbitte said there was a need to look at practices that
might promote sectarian attitudes, even unconsciously, in
Irish society. "We need to look at new models that could
facilitate the greater integration of children from
different religions. We need to do more for groups like
Educate Together that promote multidenominational or non-
denominational education."

Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe suggested that a
small independent three-person group be established to
examine what happened. This would not be to assign blame,
but to isolate the problems and suggest solutions.

The people he had in mind to form the group, he said, were
Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, perhaps some former senior
political figure, such as Alan Dukes or Nora Owen, and a
current or former senior police officer with experience in
public disorder from outside the State. Mr O'Keeffe said
that any hope that the people of Ireland could make a
gesture of faith to the unionist community, by welcoming
them to Dublin, was utterly usurped by selfish thugs and
ignorant yobs.

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said that as a southern
Protestant he wanted to say to northern Protestants, now
hearing how visitors to Dublin were greeted, that
sectarianism was not a feature of the State.

"It is important that message goes out. But there is a
difference between an absence of sectarianism and a
proactive inclusiveness. I think this State has much more
to do. We have a ceasefire, we have a peace process, but we
are not moving on sufficiently or quick enough." He said
that the Garda felt under-resourced and some members
suffered from low morale.

Seán Crowe (SF, Dublin South West) said Saturday's events
were an absolute disgrace. "Those who took part misused the
name of Irish republicanism and Irish nationalism, but they
were anything but Irish republicans or Irish nationalists
in the real sense. This was a tiny and totally
unrepresentative minority, a mixture of people on the
fringes of micro-political groups, football hooligans and
drink-fuelled opportunists.

"They were a rag-bag who saw an opportunity to create havoc
and took it." He said that while his party profoundly
disagreed with Willie Frazer, it had chosen not to oppose
the march down O'Connell Street, "notwithstanding the fact
that we believe it was deliberately provocative and
insensitively organised".

Tony Gregory (Independent, Dublin Central) said that as a
local representative he felt it was self-evident that the
decision to allow the O'Connell street route to be used was
an error of judgment. There clearly had been a breakdown in
intelligence gathering.

He said that not one address of those charged following the
violence was from his local Dublin Central constituency.
"As of now, any suggestion that the north-inner city was
somehow at least in part to blame was not based on
available evidence."

Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) condemned the
violence but said his party believed the Love Ulster
campaign was a sectarian organisation.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.stjohns.edu/campus/pr_uni_060301.sju

St. John's News

Northern Ireland Political Activist Gerry Adams To Speak At
St. John's University

February 28, 2006
Queens, N.Y. -

Sinn Fein Leader to Make Only University Appearance on U.S.
Tour, March 14

St. John's University will welcome Northern Ireland
political activist Gerry Adams to its Queens campus, where
he will address "The Irish Peace Process -- An
International Model for Conflict Resolution,” during a
public forum to the university community at 4 p.m. on
Tuesday, March 14.

Adams’ week-long tour will first stop at St. John's (the
only university on his four-city schedule) and move on to
Washington, D.C., Buffalo, N.Y. and Holyoke, Massachusetts
to participate in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade
celebration.

Adams, president of Sinn Fein, the only political party to
have seats in the parliaments of both Northern Ireland and
the Republic of Ireland, travels to the U.S. each year to
coincide with St. Patrick's Day and speak on behalf of
political issues that affect his homeland.

"We are very fortunate to have Mr. Gerry Adams speak at St.
John's," said Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President of
St. John's University. "Mr. Denis P. Kelleher, chairman of
our Board of Trustees, secured Mr. Adams’ appearance. He is
a well-known activist and vibrant keynote speaker who will
share his opinions on peace with our University community."

Sinn Fein is the largest group in the Republican wing of
Irish nationalism. For the past 22 years, Adams has been
president of Sinn Fein; the third-largest party in Ireland
by vote share, although the entire island only votes
together at European elections. Sinn Fein recently
displaced the previously dominant nationalist Social
Democratic and Labour Party in national elections. It is a
much smaller political force, in electoral terms, in the
Republic of Ireland.

Adams will appear at a pre-speech press conference at 3
p.m., prior to the public forum, at the St. John’s
University School of Law located on the Queens campus.

All media RSVP for the press conference should be directed
to Myrna Carrera in the St. John's University Office of
Media Relations by calling (718) 990-1621 or e-mail
inquiries to carreram@stjohns.edu .

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

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS01/60228004/1006&template=printart

Mount Holly To Host St. Patrick's Parade

MOUNT HOLLY -- The Burlington County, New Jersey Ancient
Order of Hibernians, Major Tommy McGuire Division, will
host its annual St. Patrick's Day parade at 1 p.m. Saturday
in downtown Mount Holly.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a non-profit
organization committed to promoting Irish culture and civic
and community works.

Phil Haines, Burlington County County Clerk, will be the
Grand Marshall and master of ceremonies.

The parade will include seven traditional Irish pipe and
drum and/or string marching bands, Irish dance and cultural
groups, veterans, police, civic and historical
organizations and Miss St. Patrick -- Jill Foster of Browns
Mills.

The one-mile parade will start at the Fairgrounds Plaza, a
shopping center on High Street. It will follow High Street,
then turn right on to Washington Street and then a right on
to King Street, ending at the Court House Tavern.

Spectators are asked to donate canned or non-perishable
foods, which will be given to a food bank. Collection boxes
will be situated at the beginning and end of the parade
route.

Published: February 28. 2006 11:07AM

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