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October 07, 2006

Adams Wants No Preconditions Ahead of Talks



News About Ireland & The Irish

RT 10/07/06 Adams Wants No Preconditions Ahead Of Talks
BB 10/07/06 SF Calls For On-The-Runs Amnesty
TE 10/07/06 Historic Breakthrough: IRA’s Campaign Declared Over
IT 10/07/06 Ahern And McDowell Holding Clear-The-Air Talks
BT 10/07/06 Opin: Lacking Integrity: Do We Care Any More?

PL 10/07/06 Jerry Lyons, RIP
IM 10/07/06 New Resource Centre For Tara Campaign

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http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1007/northpolitics.html?rss

Adams Wants No Preconditions Ahead Of Talks

07 October 2006 13:33

The Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, has said there should
be no preconditions placed on the political talks due to be
held in Scotland.

Northern Ireland's main parties along with Taoiseach Bertie
Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be
attending three days of discussions in St Andrews next
week.

The talks are aimed at restoring devolved government at
Stormont before the 24 November deadline.

Speaking in Belfast, Mr Adams said the dispute over
allowing the IRA fugitives, the so called 'on the runs', to
return and live openly in Ireland should not thwart the
negotiations in Scotland.

The big issue Mr Adams said, was to get the working
institutions back in place.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/5415102.stm

SF Calls For On-The-Runs Amnesty

The issue of on-the-run paramilitaries needs to be
resolved, Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly has said.

The North Belfast assembly member said the British
government should take action before or during next week's
intensive talks in Scotland.

DUP MP Nigel Dodds has warned any bid to push through an
amnesty for on-the-runs would be a deal breaker.

However, Mr Kelly insists the British government has
promised to enable paramilitary fugitives to return home.

"They have not at any time said they're not going to do it,
but they did make a mess of it when they introduced the
state forces and people involved in collusion and all the
rest," he said.

"That's a difficulty that the British should sort out -
they should sort it out before we get to Scotland but if
not, they should sort it out in Scotland."

Speaking on Friday, Mr Dodds said: "The government needs to
listen loud and clear - if they agree to, propose or
acquiesce in any terrorist amnesty, then the prospects of a
deal to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland
will be destroyed."

The British government has laid down 24 November as the
deadline for a deal to be reached over the restoration of
devolution.

The main parties meet next week in the Scottish town of St
Andrew's for intensive talks.

Published: 2006/10/07 08:35:38 GMT
© BBC MMVI

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http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061007/NEWS/610070315/1020

Historic Breakthrough: IRA’s Violent Campaign Declared Over

After years of negotiations, discord and delay, the
Independent Monitoring Commission has reported that the IRA
has disbanded its military departments responsible for
procuring arms, bomb-making and training volunteers. The
announcement boosts the potential for a lasting peace and
helps to revive plans for a long-awaited Catholic-
Protestant administration in Northern Ireland.

The commission concluded that the IRA no longer had the
capacity to mount a terror campaign and did not want to go
back to the violence which started in 1968.

The report led British Prime Minister Tony Blair to declare
the IRA’s campaign of violence over.

It is a remarkable and historic turn of events because in
the not-too-distant past, the paramilitary organization’s
pledge to put its arms beyond use was shadowed by its
refusal to allow monitoring or to show any proof the
weapons had been destroyed.

The next step is a negotiating summit in Scotland next
week, led by Mr. Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie
Ahern, at which Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist
Party and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams likely will hold
face-to-face negotiations for the first time. It is hoped
that Mr. Paisley can overcome his skepticism about Sinn
Fein’s attitude toward policing, the murder of the British
agent Denis Donaldson and other matters.

It would be a major setback if the two sides cannot strike
a deal. Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahearn have threatened to
dissolve the Northern Ireland Assembly, the 108-member
legislature with the power to elect a Catholic-Protestant
administration, if they cannot come to an agreement before
Nov. 24.

Fully bridging the political/sectarian divide will require
years, and perhaps decades, of small steps on the part of
all parties toward mutual trust.

Still, after many years of terror and violence, and the
deaths of more than 3,600 citizens, the people of Northern
Ireland now see substantial progress toward stability and
peace. By fulfilling its pledge to disarm, the IRA has
moved the nation well along the road toward a power-sharing
government, whereby the country’s future will be determined
in the halls of government, not in the streets.

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2006/1007/breaking14.htm

Ahern And McDowell Holding Clear-The-Air Talks

Last updated: 07-10-06, 11:42

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste will have further talks today in
a bid stabilise a Government rocked by a week of
revelations about Mr Ahern's finances.

The Progressive Democrats leader is seeking a private
guarantee from Mr Ahern that there will be no further
issues that could fuel further controversy.

RTÉ is reporting that the PDs have received information
relating to the Manchester dinner at which Mr Ahern
received €12,000. The issue was further complicated this
week when it emerged that Mr Ahern bought his house from
Michael Wall, who attended the dinner.

The Irish Times reports today that Mr McDowell is seeking a
public apology from Mr Ahern for his failure to inform him
about the circumstances of the house purchase.

Mr McDowell yesterday said the Government had been damaged
by the furore and has been repeatedly baited by the
Opposition for failing to take a stronger line after
claiming in the last general election campaign that the PDs
would act as a Fianna Fáil watchdog.

But he said yesterday that Coalition had "the capacity to
overcome the difficulties which were not of my creation, or
my party's creation".

Senior figures in both parties presented a united front
yesterday but PD TDs are privately worried about the damage
to the party's electoral chances with a maximum of eight
months before the next general election.

Mr Ahern and Mr McDowell attended a function in Dublin
together last night. Mr McDowell told reporters the pair
had "plenty of discussions" but Mr Ahern, who arrived
separately, refused to comment.

However, speaking in Limerick earlier in the day, Mr Ahern
said he would keep Mr McDowell fully briefed about any of
the issues surrounding the controversy and expressed a wish
for the Coalition to remain intact.

"We don't want any change ...We don't want this Government
to break down," he said.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte last evening called for a
general election describing the Government as a "sulk
coalition ... where one partner does not trust or believe
the other".

© 2006 ireland.com

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/story.jsp?story=709191

Opin: Lacking Integrity: Do We Care Any More?

By Lindy McDowell
07 October 2006

All things are relative. That includes standards of
behaviour in public and political life. In the south,
people have understandably been concerned of late about
their loan-taking Taoiseach.

From the perspective of Northern Ireland, some of us have
watched the unfolding drama and debate with not a little
bemusement.

Down there they've got a politician who stands accused of
taking loans.

Up here we have politicians steeped in terrorism.

Does this matter? Does it matter that back when Bertie was
finance minister and fulfilling a speaking engagement in
Manchester, some of our current politicians in Northern
Ireland were actually involved in terrorist activity?

Apparently not. We are assured by Tony Blair that just
because a man has a past, it doesn't mean he shouldn't have
a future.

A glib line that puts those of us with questions about the
need for integrity in public life firmly in our place.

Of course, we could raise the matter of just how valid are
assurances from Tony Blair? After all, he'll go down in
history as the prime minister who infamously lied about
Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction.

The thing is - lying hasn't exactly proved a drawback in
Tony's political career thus far.

But maybe lies are all we expect from politicians these
days.

Let's face it, when the Hungarians recently took to the
streets they were rioting not because their politicians had
told them lies - but because their politicians had (albeit
inadvertently) told them the truth about telling lies.

And where Tony is concerned, it is not the lies and damned
lies about Iraq that could do for him, but the casualty
statistics now coming out of that war and the one in
Afghanistan.

As he prepares to quit the political stage, he's said to be
looking to his legacy.

Will history look kindly on his efforts in Northern
Ireland?

Ironically, both he and the hapless Bertie Ahern are due to
preside next week over the talks between our political
parties in Scotland.

We are told that things are looking good for the process.

By way of encouragement, one "source" even assures a local
journalist that the man who masterminded the Northern Bank
raid for the IRA has now moved into a political role.

Should we be comforted by this revelation?

The IRA scooped £26.5m in that raid. It's a helluva lot
more than Bertie got in loans from his friends. Yet we
expect no tricky questions to be asked of the bank raid
mastermind turned politico.

Meanwhile, the Government is apparently talking about
paying £8m to one branch of the UDA. To put that in
perspective, it's roughly 1,000 times what poor old Bertie
got for his speaking engagement in Manchester.

To put it all in perspective, we don't appear to be
anywhere near as concerned as people elsewhere about
standards and integrity in public and political life. Is
that because we no longer have any?

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_474006.html

Man Honored Heritage By Playing Gaelic Football

By Jerry Vondas
Tribune-Review
Saturday, October 7, 2006

Jerry Lyons' talents as a Gaelic football player were
recognized on the playing fields of Chicago, Cleveland and
New York City.

"Jerry was a good player who had a fine record of being a
sportsman on the playing field," said his wife, Mary Lyons.

Jeremiah Lyons, of Garfield, a retired union laborer, died
on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006, at West Penn Hospital,
Bloomfield. He was 87.

"When I could get away, I often went along with Jerry. It
was fun riding the bus with the players and their wives,"
his wife said. "We made friends in every city that the team
visited."

Gaelic football is often generally described as a
combination of soccer and rugby.

"Dad first played Gaelic football when he was growing up in
County Kerry in Ireland," said his son, John Lyons.

"And even though Dad worked hard at a number of jobs to
raise seven children, he made time to not only play Gaelic
football, but to teach it to my brother, Richard, and
myself and any kid in our neighborhood that was interested.

"When someone would ask Dad why he took so much interest in
the game, he'd tell them that it was his Irish heritage and
that he honored that heritage every time he went out on the
playing field."

Born and raised on a farm in County Kerry, Mr. Lyons was
one of three children of Patrick and Hannah Finnerty Lyons.

In 1948, Mr. Lyons' uncle, Dick Finnerty, invited his
nephew to make his home in Homewood, where he went to work
as a baker for the A&P supermarket.

In 1953, Mr. Lyons married Mary Mullarkey, who had also
emigrated from Ireland. "We met during a Novena at the
former St. Philomena's Church in Squirrel Hill," his wife
said. "It was his kindness that immediately attracted me."

John Lyons recalled the fun he and his siblings had growing
up in an Irish-American home, where the boys were
encouraged to participate in sports and the girls in Irish
dancing. "Even Dad's 6-year-old great-granddaughter,
Kaleigh, is into Irish dancing," he said.

"No matter what the weather was, we all attended the St.
Patrick's Day parade and watched Dad marching with the AOH
(Ancient Order of Hibernians).

"Mom was a great cook," John Lyons said. "We were strictly
a meat-and-potato family. And there was always a pot of tea
brewing in the kitchen."

Mr. Lyons is survived by his wife, Mary Mullarkey Lyons;
seven children, Mary Theresa Lyons, of Verona; Patrick
Lyons, of Morningside; Hannah Lyons, of Oakmont; Jerry
Lyons Jr., of Crafton; Noreen Lyons, of Bloomfield; Richard
Lyons, of Oakmont, and John Lyons, of Bloomfield; 11
grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and a sister, Mary
Lacey, of Ireland.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Richard Lyons.

Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday at McCabe Bros.
Inc. Funeral Home, 5300 Penn Ave., Bloomfield.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m.
Monday in St. Lawrence O'Toole Church, Garfield.

Jerry Vondas can be reached at jvondas@tribweb.com or (412)
320-7823.

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http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78865

New Resource Centre For Tara Campaign

National History & Heritage Press Release
Saturday October 07, 2006 10:34 by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne
TuathaDeDannan tuathade@tuathadedannan.org

Can You Help?

New site http://www.tuathadedannan.org/ has been set up as
a neutral resource centre to provide a space for groups to
exchange information, news, ask for volunteers or help and publicise
events, and for individuals looking for ways to get
involved.

We have started a resource web site to be used in the Save
Tara campaign to get the M3 moved from its current route so
near to the Hill of Tara.

We are former co-ordinating members of the Tarawatch site
but we felt that there were many groups all with the same
aim but different methods and ideas of how to go about it.

We felt that all opinions were valid but that a lot of
energy was going into what people felt should be done
rather than getting things done.

From this we came up with the idea of what we personally
could do, which is a communal site where people do not
become members of any organisation but where people can get
together advertise their sites and their protests. And
where ordinary people could get together to see what is
going on and what they would like to participate in.

We will also do posters for people who want to run their
own event.

We are not a money making site so we any money raised at
events is the responsibility of both the person who runs
the event and the people who attend to ensure any money
collected goes to where they think it does.

The main projects we've started on are 1. Fly the TARA
Banner high... asking people to show the Save Tara or any
Save Tara banner in the most unusual place or to as many
people as possible...

We'll supply a banner but people can make their own.

2. TARA 5000 Years, 1 Vote.
Focused on letting the politicians know how seriously
people take the threat to Tara.

3. Tuatha De Dannan - A resource for Parents and Educators.

We have a forum where people can come up with ideas and if
we have time space and energy we'll implement them.

We have a calendar where the public and groups can put in
events. We will moderate them so we don't have any silly
bugger stuff initially but groups can have their own login.

We also want to have input from other groups on the forum
to allow people to get re-directed from our site to a group
which they think will suit them.

We are not affiliated to any group, just wish to provide a
space where all the various events can be cross-publicised
etc.

Related Link: http://www.tuathadedannan.org

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