Friday, December 15, 2006

THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......
There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago .
The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime .
By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .

In the absence of any attempt at all , let alone any plausible attempt , to explain the reasons for this extraordinary remand into Garda custody , the presumption must be that there was an ulterior motive on the part of the Gardai for taking this exceptional course of action : that ulterior motive , in the circumstances , could only be that they wanted to delay a medical examination and/or they wanted to construct an alibi which would explain how the accused persons came to be suffering from injury .

In any event there is the difficult case of Osgur Breathnach to answer : he was not placed in a cell with anyone before he was medically examined and removed to the Richmond Hospital and before he was seen by Aidan Browne SC - the evidence of Garda ill-treatment in his case is clear cut , and leads further suspicion to the Garda motives for remanding John Fitzpatrick , Brian McNally , Nicky Kelly and Michael Plunkett into Garda custody , following the preferment of charges in the District Court on the night of Wednesday , April 7 , 1976 .

There is additional reason for concern about this issue arising from the unexplained delay in charging the four accused - as the only evidence against any of them was their self-incriminating statements , there was no reason to delay charging them once they had been assembled together in the Bridewell Garda Station , literally yards from the Bridewell District Court .......
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Veteran Irish Republican , LILY MOFFATT , interviewed.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982 .
By John Doyle .

In 1919 , Lily Moffatt joined Cumann na mBan - " All round here joined when the Tans came . We were taught first-aid by Nurse Anne Horan from Slata . We used to carry messages and we drilled with .303's and colts in the bogs upon Curraghroe , instructed by Brian Nangle and Andy Feeney . They're all gone but myself . We did our drilling up at Nangle's house . We could see the Tans passing along the main road from our house . There was a short-cut through fields near where we lived and I used to help men escape down through the back lanes . "

IRIS magazine - " Did the male Volunteers respect you ? "
Lily Moffatt - " Lord , yes . They were very good , like brothers . They had every respect for us . We used to have dances in houses for funds to help the lads . The terrible thing was that some of them later went Free State and came back and raided us ."

IRIS magazine - " What do you think of women today being on active service in the IRA ? "
Lily Moffatt - " I think the women in the North are great . If I could go with them now I would . We were never asked to shoot or anything like that as girls , but we would have done anything . It's better now that women can take a full part . "
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THE PROVOS AT THE BALLOT BOX .......
By Michael Farrell .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1983 .

Fermanagh-South Tyrone .
Owen Carron (SF) : Elizabeth Flanagan (SDLP) : Davy Kettyles(WP) : Ken Maginnis(OUP).

This constituency has lost a few thousand votes in the Dromore-Trillick area of Tyrone to Mid-ulster , and gained some in Dungannon . The result may be to reduce the already small nationalist majority .

This is the seat that elected Bobby Sands and then Owen Carron - before that it returned Frank Maguire as a republican-leaning Independent . The SDLP has never been strong here and the constituency is the home of tactical voting - nationalists vote for the strongest candidate on their side to keep the Unionist out and vice versa .

The SDLP candidate is not well-known and Owen Carron , the sitting MP , will have no difficulty beating her . He would need about 85 per cent of the nationalist vote to beat the single Unionist candidate , however , and that isn't very likely , although he is playing down the Sinn Fein label and campaigning under the slogan - ' Save the Seat' .

Ken Maginnis , the Official Unionist candidate , is likely to take the seat .

By-Election , April 1981 (Westminster) - Bobby Sands (H-Block) 30,943 / Harry West (OUP) 29,046 .
By-Election , August 1981 (Westminster) - Owen Carron (H-Block) 31,728 / Ken Maginnis (OUP) 29,048 / Seamus Close (Alliance) 1,930 / T. Moore (WP) 1,132 / Others 339 .
Assembly Election 1982 (First Preferences) - All Unionists 27,990 , three seats / Sinn Fein 16,725 , one seat / SDLP 12,000 , one seat / Workers' Party 1,394 / Alliance Party 1,171 .
Next : South Down.......
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