17 VICTIMS OF BRITISH JUSTICE .......
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
Unless Annie Maguire is one of history's great mistresses of disguise and deception , she does not fit the bill as a terrorist . She and her husband had left Belfast twenty years earlier and took no interest in Irish politics or the 'Troubles' .
She , her husband and her son Vincent were all members of Paddington Conservative Club : a bust of Winston Churchill stood on her mantlepiece . In the children's bedroom two Union Jacks were pinned on the wall . The family had never been in trouble with the police ; indeed , her son Vincent , one of those jailed , had earlier applied to join the police cadets , and been turned down only because of his eyesight .
The Conlon-Hill trial took place first , and the 'popular' papers carried headlines such as ' Auntie Annie's Bomb Kitchen ' when their statements were read out in court . Even before her own trial , in other words - she had been publicly named as a terrorist . And she was tried before the same judge who put Conlon and Hill into the guinness book of records . With all the defendants pleading not guilty - and all recognising the court , which the IRA at the time did not do - the prosecution case rested on the forensic evidence of nitroglycerine traces .
This evidence was highly controversial : the test - 'Thin Layer Chromtography' (TLC) - had been carried out by an eighteen year old apprentice with only three months' experience . This youth had forgotten to photograph the evidence , as was normally done . The amount of nitroglycerine which he said he had detected was minute - equivalent to one millionth of a grain of sugar . And this amount was so small that it had been destroyed by the test itself meaning that the result could not be checked .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " There is no peaceful way of getting the Brits out of Ireland . There is no constitutional way . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - Now Mr. Morrison and his colleagues in the Provisional political party assure us that there is no other way to remove that British presence other than the 'constitutional way ' . ) We are told to do it by the ballot box . Harold McCusker said in January of last year , whenever he was examining the demographics , the increasing numbers of Catholic school children at primary school level - don't worry if the Catholics get a majority in the six counties , we will just re-partition !
Even if nationalists got into a majority in the six counties and tried to vote it into a united Ireland , we still would not get a united Ireland . The loyalists would merely re-partition ; they did it before - they were going for nine counties and went for six , they can go for three . And unfortunately that's why the IRA exists . The IRA has to fight the Brits , has to wear down the will of the British to remain in Ireland . And I have absolutely no doubt that they will be scccessful in inflicting a political defeat - not a military defeat on the British Army but a political defeat on the British government .
The British will have examined everything - internal settlements , assemblies , constitutional conventions , everything , until their last option : and it will be their last option , because the Brits will not examine it until that day . And that option will be British withdrawal and reunification . "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Fintan MacPhillips's father has since died . His brother Leo says that they both went down to visit him and that he said that he had been beaten . His father suggested that they get a doctor , and they phoned Dr. Quinn and Dr. McGoldrick , but neither doctor was in a position to come to the police station .
Dr McGoldrick said that he had examined people in custody in the station on previous occasions and that he had got "...hassle .." from the gardai . Dr Adrian McGoldrick says he examined a Lou Ginley after he had emerged from garda custody ; he had a broken tooth , his body was bruised and his blood pressure was up . He was afterwards not in a position to take a civil action . However , Dr. McGoldrick gave evidence in the Special Criminal Court at the trial of another man , Seamus Soraghan , who was tried and convicted under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act . According to Dr. McGoldrick , the medical evidence he gave was "... totally disregarded .. " .
It was after that case that he was in a toilet of a pub when a Special Branch man came up to him and said that in future , when he examined IRA suspects , he should see no injuries . Dr. McGoldrick was of the opinion that the Special Branch man might have drink taken and did'nt consider the matter of any relevance . Nonetheless , he took the step of informing the garda authorities of what had happened ; Dr. McGoldrick says that he would not have felt intimidated by this .
He says also that one of the main reasons that he did less of these cases was that he received very little notice when he had to appear in the Special Criminal Court to give evidence and his routine was unpredictable . In the case of Fintan MacPhillips , the doctor says that he was off the weekend , as far as he can remember , and that he was going away on the Sunday . He would therefore not be in a position to do a follow-up examination in the case , as is desirable . One year later , Dr. Adrian McGoldrick moved to Newbridge in County Kildare .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, August 25, 2005
17 VICTIMS OF BRITISH JUSTICE .......
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
Closer examination of the facts surrounding the Guildford and Woolwich bombings raised enough doubts to lead even Sir John Biggs-Davidson , a 'pillar of the Establishment' who does not lightly criticise the courts , to conclude that a miscarraige of justice took place .
Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill , who allegedly confessed to the Guildford and Woolwich bombings and implicated Conlon's Auntie Annie , were later jailed for sentences which stand in the 'Guinness Book Of Records' as the longest ever handed down in Britain - natural life and thirty-five years , respectively .
Yet doubt was cast on this conviction too when four admitted IRA men , on trial for other bombings and killings , said they had bombed Guildford and Woolwich too . This was clearly un-welcome news to the authorities , for when the IRA men were tried they were simply not charged with the Guildford and Woolwich killings .
Why should first Gerry Conlon and then Paul Hill have implicated Annie Maguire ? Patrick Maguire , just out of prison , said last month that he had met both men in jail , and that they told him they would have named anybody to stop the police beating them . The police were certainly looking for a woman bomber at that stage , and may have been pressing for the name of a woman . The Maguire family advance the theory that Gerry Conlon may have named Annie Maguire in the belief that nobody could possibly believe she was a bombmaker .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " Sinn Fein sympathises with the difficulties that the IRA has , and that will always be our position . We're painted as extremists for saying that , but there's one thing about republicans ; republicans speak their minds . Free State politicians won't speak their minds . They won't say , for example , that they don't want a united Ireland . They pretend that they want it . Why don't they get up and say - " We don't want a united Ireland , right , because I don't want to lose my job , I don't want to lose my power and prestige . " All the parties in the 26 counties have a vested interest in the Free State continuing to exist forever .
The problem which the Dublin government has , which the SDLP has , is that they can't guarantee that their approach is going to deliver an end to second-class citizenship and civil rights for the nationalists in the North . Because the achievement of civil rights is directly related to the achievement of national rights . The way to get our civil rights is to get our national rights , which means that Britain has to go , the loyalist veto has to be ended . "
'MAGILL' Magazine : " And the loyalists ? "
Danny Morrison : " The people who are presently tied to loyalism can become whatever political power they want in a new Ireland , nobody wants to drive them out . We don't want civil war , we don't want to create a 'Protestant Republican Army' , we have no interest in any of that ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
In his own words , Fintan MacPhillips , a friend of Stephen Moore , describes what happened him in garda custody -
" I was made to sit down and stand up repeatedly . I was put into a corner and my arm was twisted behind my back . A uniformed garda put his head around the door and it stopped for a while . Between 8.30 and 9 my father and my brother , Leo , came in . I told them they were beating me and said to get a doctor . I was brought back up to the room and got a similar going over again .
Plunkett Taaffe , my solicitor , came in and I told him what had happened . He seemed furious . I made a statement to the effect that I did not want to make a statement now or in the near future . I was brought back to the same room and there was a new fellow there . The first thing he did was to knee me in the groin . He did it again a short time later . Of the three Detectives , one did'nt beat me . My brother and father came back . They said that the doctors could'nt come to see me .
I was photographed on Sunday . My flat in Dublin was also raided . I talked to Plunkett Taaffe on Sunday as well . I was released at 12 noon on Monday . I went to Taaffe and he told me that in the absence of any medical evidence , there was nothing I could do . That it was one word against the other . I was beaten on the Saturday night . I was 21 at the time and working in Dublin . I was arrested once before , two years previously . I was held for four hours . The gardai took all my clothes (the second time) and I got clothes from home . They took books from my flat in Dublin . " .......
(MORE LATER).
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
Closer examination of the facts surrounding the Guildford and Woolwich bombings raised enough doubts to lead even Sir John Biggs-Davidson , a 'pillar of the Establishment' who does not lightly criticise the courts , to conclude that a miscarraige of justice took place .
Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill , who allegedly confessed to the Guildford and Woolwich bombings and implicated Conlon's Auntie Annie , were later jailed for sentences which stand in the 'Guinness Book Of Records' as the longest ever handed down in Britain - natural life and thirty-five years , respectively .
Yet doubt was cast on this conviction too when four admitted IRA men , on trial for other bombings and killings , said they had bombed Guildford and Woolwich too . This was clearly un-welcome news to the authorities , for when the IRA men were tried they were simply not charged with the Guildford and Woolwich killings .
Why should first Gerry Conlon and then Paul Hill have implicated Annie Maguire ? Patrick Maguire , just out of prison , said last month that he had met both men in jail , and that they told him they would have named anybody to stop the police beating them . The police were certainly looking for a woman bomber at that stage , and may have been pressing for the name of a woman . The Maguire family advance the theory that Gerry Conlon may have named Annie Maguire in the belief that nobody could possibly believe she was a bombmaker .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " Sinn Fein sympathises with the difficulties that the IRA has , and that will always be our position . We're painted as extremists for saying that , but there's one thing about republicans ; republicans speak their minds . Free State politicians won't speak their minds . They won't say , for example , that they don't want a united Ireland . They pretend that they want it . Why don't they get up and say - " We don't want a united Ireland , right , because I don't want to lose my job , I don't want to lose my power and prestige . " All the parties in the 26 counties have a vested interest in the Free State continuing to exist forever .
The problem which the Dublin government has , which the SDLP has , is that they can't guarantee that their approach is going to deliver an end to second-class citizenship and civil rights for the nationalists in the North . Because the achievement of civil rights is directly related to the achievement of national rights . The way to get our civil rights is to get our national rights , which means that Britain has to go , the loyalist veto has to be ended . "
'MAGILL' Magazine : " And the loyalists ? "
Danny Morrison : " The people who are presently tied to loyalism can become whatever political power they want in a new Ireland , nobody wants to drive them out . We don't want civil war , we don't want to create a 'Protestant Republican Army' , we have no interest in any of that ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
In his own words , Fintan MacPhillips , a friend of Stephen Moore , describes what happened him in garda custody -
" I was made to sit down and stand up repeatedly . I was put into a corner and my arm was twisted behind my back . A uniformed garda put his head around the door and it stopped for a while . Between 8.30 and 9 my father and my brother , Leo , came in . I told them they were beating me and said to get a doctor . I was brought back up to the room and got a similar going over again .
Plunkett Taaffe , my solicitor , came in and I told him what had happened . He seemed furious . I made a statement to the effect that I did not want to make a statement now or in the near future . I was brought back to the same room and there was a new fellow there . The first thing he did was to knee me in the groin . He did it again a short time later . Of the three Detectives , one did'nt beat me . My brother and father came back . They said that the doctors could'nt come to see me .
I was photographed on Sunday . My flat in Dublin was also raided . I talked to Plunkett Taaffe on Sunday as well . I was released at 12 noon on Monday . I went to Taaffe and he told me that in the absence of any medical evidence , there was nothing I could do . That it was one word against the other . I was beaten on the Saturday night . I was 21 at the time and working in Dublin . I was arrested once before , two years previously . I was held for four hours . The gardai took all my clothes (the second time) and I got clothes from home . They took books from my flat in Dublin . " .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
17 VICTIMS OF BRITISH JUSTICE .......
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
In the 'Auntie Annie' case , Patrick Maguire , his wife Annie , two of their teenage sons , two other relatives and a friend were all jailed . Only Annie herself now remains in prison and although she is due for release next year the momentum of the campaign to clear the names of those found guilty seems to be growing .
The story began in late 1974 , following IRA bombs at pubs in guidford and Woolwich which killed seven people and injured a hundred more . The police picked-up two young Belfastmen , Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill , and interrogated them . Conlon is said to have confessed to bombings , adding that Annie Maguire , his aunt , showed him and others how to make bombs in the kitchen of her London home . Paul Hill is said to have confirmed this .
The police raided the Maguire house , arrested the occupants and searched the place : nothing was found in the search and none of the people would admit to knowing anything about bombs . But forensic tests on the fingernails of six of the people , and on a pair of kitchen gloves used by Annie Maguire , were said to have yielded traces of nitroglycerine . On this 'evidence' , the seven defendants were found guilty of handling explosives .
Patrick and Annie Maguire were sentenced to fourteen years , the judge remarking that he wished he could jail them for life . Annie's brother , Sean Smyth , also got fourteen years . Annie's sixteen year old son Vincent got five years , and her thirteen year old son Patrick got four years . Her brother-in-law , Guiseppe Conlon , and a family friend , Patrick O'Neill , both got twelve years .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " Now , the way to get rid of the IRA is to solve the problem , not try and crack down on the IRA . Because the IRA is popular , it has support , and the Free State government needs to recognise that . Otherwise they would have beaten the IRA twelve years ago . But the IRA continues to exist .
Even if they introduced internment , even if they introduced capital punishment , even if they rounded up everybody , the problem still would'nt go away . They have to face up to the problem - and the problem is that in this country Britain claims that it has the right to occupy a certain amount of the territory on behalf of the national minority , the loyalists . Now , it would be quite different if loyalist politicians were very , very broad-minded , decent people who wanted to share power , give us jobs , give us decent housing - ( ' 1169 .... ' Comment - ...that 'stay if you want , just treat us better' attitude is now in control of Provisional Sinn Fein . Republicans , on the other hand , are opposed to the jurisdictional claim from Westminster over six Irish counties ) as it is the loyalists are sectarian , almost racist - when you consider George Seawright , who was only speaking his mind , he's being an honest man .
Britain is in here with guns , with finances , protecting the national minority , which is screwing and trying to make second-class citizens of us . And what does Dublin do about it ? Dublin , which has a constitutional claim , a territorial claim , over the North , Dublin which claims to be the inheritors of the 1916 men - it does nothing , except collaborate and perpetuate the problem . That is why you get the IRA , out of desperation , raising finances , using the methods that it does , in the 26 counties . And that is the tragedy of the situation . I would prefer that the IRA was handed money from somewhere else , that it did not have to go out and carry out armed raids - it would certainly make life easier for Sinn Fein ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Stephen Moore was again arrested in 1984 . Of a total of three Section 30 arrests , no charges were ever preferred . Neither were any charges brought against Fintan MacPhillips . He and Stephen Moore were friends ; MacPhillips was also arrested on 12 March 1983 , six hours before Stephen Moore . Both were 21 years old at the time .
Fintan MacPhillips was arrested around 12.45 pm that afternoon by two uniformed gardai ; he was taken to Clones Garda Station and his pockets were emptied . He was placed in a cell and a couple of hours later , two gardai interviewed him . They accused him of having been involved in hi-jacking the Post Office van in the North ; he was 'pushed around' slightly and then put back in his cell . Around 5.30 pm he was taken out and photographed and swab tested .
He was put back in his cell and then taken out to a different room . He was interviewed there by two Detectives : in his own words , this is Fintan MacPhillips' description of what happened then ... " A Detective hit me a box on the shoulder and started a tirade of abuse . I was hit in the stomach and there were thumps to the back of my head ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
In the 'Auntie Annie' case , Patrick Maguire , his wife Annie , two of their teenage sons , two other relatives and a friend were all jailed . Only Annie herself now remains in prison and although she is due for release next year the momentum of the campaign to clear the names of those found guilty seems to be growing .
The story began in late 1974 , following IRA bombs at pubs in guidford and Woolwich which killed seven people and injured a hundred more . The police picked-up two young Belfastmen , Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill , and interrogated them . Conlon is said to have confessed to bombings , adding that Annie Maguire , his aunt , showed him and others how to make bombs in the kitchen of her London home . Paul Hill is said to have confirmed this .
The police raided the Maguire house , arrested the occupants and searched the place : nothing was found in the search and none of the people would admit to knowing anything about bombs . But forensic tests on the fingernails of six of the people , and on a pair of kitchen gloves used by Annie Maguire , were said to have yielded traces of nitroglycerine . On this 'evidence' , the seven defendants were found guilty of handling explosives .
Patrick and Annie Maguire were sentenced to fourteen years , the judge remarking that he wished he could jail them for life . Annie's brother , Sean Smyth , also got fourteen years . Annie's sixteen year old son Vincent got five years , and her thirteen year old son Patrick got four years . Her brother-in-law , Guiseppe Conlon , and a family friend , Patrick O'Neill , both got twelve years .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " Now , the way to get rid of the IRA is to solve the problem , not try and crack down on the IRA . Because the IRA is popular , it has support , and the Free State government needs to recognise that . Otherwise they would have beaten the IRA twelve years ago . But the IRA continues to exist .
Even if they introduced internment , even if they introduced capital punishment , even if they rounded up everybody , the problem still would'nt go away . They have to face up to the problem - and the problem is that in this country Britain claims that it has the right to occupy a certain amount of the territory on behalf of the national minority , the loyalists . Now , it would be quite different if loyalist politicians were very , very broad-minded , decent people who wanted to share power , give us jobs , give us decent housing - ( ' 1169 .... ' Comment - ...that 'stay if you want , just treat us better' attitude is now in control of Provisional Sinn Fein . Republicans , on the other hand , are opposed to the jurisdictional claim from Westminster over six Irish counties ) as it is the loyalists are sectarian , almost racist - when you consider George Seawright , who was only speaking his mind , he's being an honest man .
Britain is in here with guns , with finances , protecting the national minority , which is screwing and trying to make second-class citizens of us . And what does Dublin do about it ? Dublin , which has a constitutional claim , a territorial claim , over the North , Dublin which claims to be the inheritors of the 1916 men - it does nothing , except collaborate and perpetuate the problem . That is why you get the IRA , out of desperation , raising finances , using the methods that it does , in the 26 counties . And that is the tragedy of the situation . I would prefer that the IRA was handed money from somewhere else , that it did not have to go out and carry out armed raids - it would certainly make life easier for Sinn Fein ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Stephen Moore was again arrested in 1984 . Of a total of three Section 30 arrests , no charges were ever preferred . Neither were any charges brought against Fintan MacPhillips . He and Stephen Moore were friends ; MacPhillips was also arrested on 12 March 1983 , six hours before Stephen Moore . Both were 21 years old at the time .
Fintan MacPhillips was arrested around 12.45 pm that afternoon by two uniformed gardai ; he was taken to Clones Garda Station and his pockets were emptied . He was placed in a cell and a couple of hours later , two gardai interviewed him . They accused him of having been involved in hi-jacking the Post Office van in the North ; he was 'pushed around' slightly and then put back in his cell . Around 5.30 pm he was taken out and photographed and swab tested .
He was put back in his cell and then taken out to a different room . He was interviewed there by two Detectives : in his own words , this is Fintan MacPhillips' description of what happened then ... " A Detective hit me a box on the shoulder and started a tirade of abuse . I was hit in the stomach and there were thumps to the back of my head ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
17 VICTIMS OF BRITISH JUSTICE .
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
There are two main types of Irish prisoners in British jails - those who say they are members of the Provisional IRA and those who say they are innocent . The recent release from Wakefield Prison of Patrick Maguire will focus attention on the second type .
The phenomenon of prisoners who go on protesting their innocence is virtually unknown in the North of Ireland and the 26 Counties , with the obvious exception of the Nicky Kelly case . Yet in Britain three separate sets of Irish people have been jailed on murder or bombing charges , who for almost a decade have maintained that they were wrongfully imprisoned .
In ten years of reporting in Northern Ireland (sic) , I never found a case where an innocent man or woman was sentenced to imprisonment . There were , of course , many criticisms that could be levelled at the justice system , but locking up the wrong people was not one of them . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - How many of the so-called 'Supergrass Trials' did the author attend ... ? None , apparently ... )
In England , however , serious doubts surround the convictions of a total of 17 people jailed in connection with the IRA bombing campaign of 1974 - six for the Birmingham pub bombings , four for pub bombings in Guildford and Woolwich , and seven in the 'Auntie Annie's Bomb Factory' case .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " Britain has dictated the political complexion of the 26 Counties . It's a neo-colony . You've got them talking , for instance , about 'National Wage Agreements ' - they're not 'national ' , they're 26 counties . The 'nation' stops at Dundalk . You've this attempt to become insular and to try and create a nation out of 26 counties - which is a bigger contradiction than we face . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - ...and now we have Mr. Morrison and his colleagues sitting in , and/or supporting those that sit in , an assembly in this Free State which refers to itself as ' the Parliament of Ireland' : Leinster House . Note that 'Ireland' , for that 'Parliament' at least , "stops at Dundalk.. " . )
Sinn Fein faces massive problems in the 26 counties because obviously if the public considers the institutions of the State as being legitimate , and you're trying to appeal to the public , surely you have to follow suit . And that's a big problem for us , because our republican tradition says that we can't follow suit - and I quite honestly don't know how we are going to overcome the problem , but I just know that , as revolutionaries , as republicans , who have the responsibility to plot a political way forward ... I think that we will do it , but we will do it by degrees . " ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - ...or it could be done by securing the votes of new members ; you know - the 'militant nationaists' we mentioned earlier ... )
'MAGILL' Magazine : " To what extent is Sinn Fein embarrassed by the IRA's activities in the South - the kind of thing that the majority of people disagree with , armed robberies and the like ? "
Danny Morrison : " The IRA , in doing things , has the potential to electorally hurt Sinn Fein . Having said that , the IRA has to do what the IRA has to do . For example , in the abduction of Don Tidey - which obviously arose because the IRA needed finances to wage struggle in the North , it was directly related to the struggle in the North . If Dublin governments were proving to the ordinary people in the Six Counties that there is a constitutional , or a pacifist , negotiable way out of this crisis - well then , surely they would be undermining the IRA ? But they don't do that . They ignore what's going on in the North , they are part of the problem , they have actually perpetuated the problem by collaborating and giving the Brits hope that there can be a repressive method of killing this political crisis . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - "..collaborating and giving the Brits hope ... " - like sitting in Stormont , you mean ? Like stating your intention that you are ...." prepared to administer British rule in Ireland for the foreseeable future ... " , as your colleague Francie Molloy did , in 1999 ? "...revolutionaries.. " , Danny ?)
And so therefore , you have the nationalist people in the North , you have the IRA linked in to their interests and fighting for them - the IRA has to find funds somewhere and it's obvious that it's going to try and raise money in the 26 counties . It's obvious ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Stephen Moore ; two Detectives : in his own words , this is what happened ...
" My solicitor , Plunkett Taaffe , called for a doctor . She came . Examined me . She saw my hair was burnt and the state I was in . She gave me tablets , told me that I should be put back in my cell , that I should'nt be interrogated anymore . I was put back in my cell . A Detective who had hit me earlier came into my cell and he asked me would I see a doctor representing them . I said yes , of course . A doctor came in . Just as he was about to start the examination , I said to him that Doctor Caraher had been in a few minutes beforehand . He did'nt start the examination . He picked up his bag and he left . As far as I'm concerned , he did'nt want to be put in the position of conflicting doctors' reports . When he left , I had no more interruptions . I was left in my cell .
On Monday morning , I was brought out of the cell . My father was at the station . They gave me breakfast . I went to the toilet . I noticed bruising to my groin and left thigh . I immediately called for Doctor Caraher again . She came and examined me . She saw the bruising . After the examination , she left . After she left , they said I could go . They wanted me to sign for my possessions that they had taken , which I refused . They gave me back my watch , my shoes , money , and released me without charge . That was roughly around half ten or that . "
Stephen Moore was in the charge of at least 19 gardai during his arrest and detention . These included eleven Detectives . Some of those who assaulted him he can definitely identify . In other instances , he could , he says , put names to faces if he saw them again . Stephen Moore was never charged with anything . He had spent about 40 hours in custody under Section 30 . The gardai could have held him for 48 hours . He had been arrested once before , under Section 30 - that was during the H-Block hunger strike and around the time Bobby Sands MP died , in 1981 . He was arrested in Clones , County Monaghan , and held for 14 hours .
At that time , the gardai were making widespread arrests under Section 30 . Stephen Moore was not charged with any offence .......
(MORE LATER).
Last month PATRICK MAGUIRE was released from an English jail after serving 10 years for a 'terrorist' crime he insists he did not commit . A wide range of prominent people , from Cardinal O'Fiaich to Sir John Biggs-Davison , believe him .
DAVID McKITTRICK , London Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper , re-examines the evidence .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , May 1984 .
There are two main types of Irish prisoners in British jails - those who say they are members of the Provisional IRA and those who say they are innocent . The recent release from Wakefield Prison of Patrick Maguire will focus attention on the second type .
The phenomenon of prisoners who go on protesting their innocence is virtually unknown in the North of Ireland and the 26 Counties , with the obvious exception of the Nicky Kelly case . Yet in Britain three separate sets of Irish people have been jailed on murder or bombing charges , who for almost a decade have maintained that they were wrongfully imprisoned .
In ten years of reporting in Northern Ireland (sic) , I never found a case where an innocent man or woman was sentenced to imprisonment . There were , of course , many criticisms that could be levelled at the justice system , but locking up the wrong people was not one of them . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - How many of the so-called 'Supergrass Trials' did the author attend ... ? None , apparently ... )
In England , however , serious doubts surround the convictions of a total of 17 people jailed in connection with the IRA bombing campaign of 1974 - six for the Birmingham pub bombings , four for pub bombings in Guildford and Woolwich , and seven in the 'Auntie Annie's Bomb Factory' case .......
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
Danny Morrison : " Britain has dictated the political complexion of the 26 Counties . It's a neo-colony . You've got them talking , for instance , about 'National Wage Agreements ' - they're not 'national ' , they're 26 counties . The 'nation' stops at Dundalk . You've this attempt to become insular and to try and create a nation out of 26 counties - which is a bigger contradiction than we face . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - ...and now we have Mr. Morrison and his colleagues sitting in , and/or supporting those that sit in , an assembly in this Free State which refers to itself as ' the Parliament of Ireland' : Leinster House . Note that 'Ireland' , for that 'Parliament' at least , "stops at Dundalk.. " . )
Sinn Fein faces massive problems in the 26 counties because obviously if the public considers the institutions of the State as being legitimate , and you're trying to appeal to the public , surely you have to follow suit . And that's a big problem for us , because our republican tradition says that we can't follow suit - and I quite honestly don't know how we are going to overcome the problem , but I just know that , as revolutionaries , as republicans , who have the responsibility to plot a political way forward ... I think that we will do it , but we will do it by degrees . " ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - ...or it could be done by securing the votes of new members ; you know - the 'militant nationaists' we mentioned earlier ... )
'MAGILL' Magazine : " To what extent is Sinn Fein embarrassed by the IRA's activities in the South - the kind of thing that the majority of people disagree with , armed robberies and the like ? "
Danny Morrison : " The IRA , in doing things , has the potential to electorally hurt Sinn Fein . Having said that , the IRA has to do what the IRA has to do . For example , in the abduction of Don Tidey - which obviously arose because the IRA needed finances to wage struggle in the North , it was directly related to the struggle in the North . If Dublin governments were proving to the ordinary people in the Six Counties that there is a constitutional , or a pacifist , negotiable way out of this crisis - well then , surely they would be undermining the IRA ? But they don't do that . They ignore what's going on in the North , they are part of the problem , they have actually perpetuated the problem by collaborating and giving the Brits hope that there can be a repressive method of killing this political crisis . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - "..collaborating and giving the Brits hope ... " - like sitting in Stormont , you mean ? Like stating your intention that you are ...." prepared to administer British rule in Ireland for the foreseeable future ... " , as your colleague Francie Molloy did , in 1999 ? "...revolutionaries.. " , Danny ?)
And so therefore , you have the nationalist people in the North , you have the IRA linked in to their interests and fighting for them - the IRA has to find funds somewhere and it's obvious that it's going to try and raise money in the 26 counties . It's obvious ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Stephen Moore ; two Detectives : in his own words , this is what happened ...
" My solicitor , Plunkett Taaffe , called for a doctor . She came . Examined me . She saw my hair was burnt and the state I was in . She gave me tablets , told me that I should be put back in my cell , that I should'nt be interrogated anymore . I was put back in my cell . A Detective who had hit me earlier came into my cell and he asked me would I see a doctor representing them . I said yes , of course . A doctor came in . Just as he was about to start the examination , I said to him that Doctor Caraher had been in a few minutes beforehand . He did'nt start the examination . He picked up his bag and he left . As far as I'm concerned , he did'nt want to be put in the position of conflicting doctors' reports . When he left , I had no more interruptions . I was left in my cell .
On Monday morning , I was brought out of the cell . My father was at the station . They gave me breakfast . I went to the toilet . I noticed bruising to my groin and left thigh . I immediately called for Doctor Caraher again . She came and examined me . She saw the bruising . After the examination , she left . After she left , they said I could go . They wanted me to sign for my possessions that they had taken , which I refused . They gave me back my watch , my shoes , money , and released me without charge . That was roughly around half ten or that . "
Stephen Moore was in the charge of at least 19 gardai during his arrest and detention . These included eleven Detectives . Some of those who assaulted him he can definitely identify . In other instances , he could , he says , put names to faces if he saw them again . Stephen Moore was never charged with anything . He had spent about 40 hours in custody under Section 30 . The gardai could have held him for 48 hours . He had been arrested once before , under Section 30 - that was during the H-Block hunger strike and around the time Bobby Sands MP died , in 1981 . He was arrested in Clones , County Monaghan , and held for 14 hours .
At that time , the gardai were making widespread arrests under Section 30 . Stephen Moore was not charged with any offence .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, August 22, 2005
THE INEVITABILITY OF SECTARIAN COLLISION .......
GEORGE SEAWRIGHT , the tough-talking Scotsman and self-proclaimed "honest bigot" from the Shankill Road , is a DUP member of both Belfast City Council and the Northern Assembly . He is also the politician most closely associated with the Loyalist paramilitaries .
He believes that the rise of Sinn Fein has made an armed confrontation between the forces of Loyalism and Republicanism inevitable .
From 'FORTNIGHT' magazine , May 1984 .
George Seawright (DUP) says what little element of accommodation there had been in the Sinn Fein programme - a federal Ireland - had now "...been wiped right off the sheet of their philosophy in one go . Now when they speak of 'Brits Out!' they can't seriously be referring to the soldiers who came here in 1969 - Protestants would construe it as meaning them . "
And he concludes with a grim warning to his fellow Loyalists : " Provisionalism has its act together . Republicanism is going the direct road , it's got a clear-cut objective one way or the other . Facing that situation , if Protestants dither - and there is an element of confusion among Protestants - if they remain confused and don't get their act together in this generation , then they'll have to face defeat and have to get out of Northern Ireland (sic) . I believe that when they're faced with the enormity of this situation that will be enough to motivate them to get their act together . "
(' 1169 ... ' Comment - this , again , was propaganda from Seawright : the Irish Struggle is not about 'forcing Unionists/Loyalists out ' of the Six Counties - it is about obtaining an end to Westminster's jurisdictional claim over that part of Ireland and the withdrawal of British Army troops from the island . If those , in the Six Counties , that consider themselves 'British' do not want to stay then they will not be forced to . It is their choice . )
[END of 'THE INEVITABILITY OF SECTARIAN COLLISION' .]
(Tomorrow - '17 Victims Of British Justice' : from 1984 .)
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
'MAGILL' Magazine : " Is'nt one major reason for the lack of development of Sinn Fein in the South its ambiguity towards the State , whether the State has to be removed ? "
Danny Morrison : " Owen Carron was badly misquoted in a speech he made in London two years ago , about how republicans have to destabilise the 26 counties . The Free State government has on occasion since then berated us over that statement , which Owen Carron did not make . (' 1169 ... ' Comment - this corrupt State needs not only to be 'destabilised' , but tore asunder and re-built . The career politicians in Leinster House are living beyond the means of the people ; was Morrison of the opinion that the then Sinn Fein leadership would be content simply to 'tweak' the existing system .. ?)
What Sinn Fein has to recognise and I think is recognising is that the vast majority of people in the 26 counties consider the institutions of the State as being legitimate . Now , I don't . But it is not legitimate to attempt to bring down the 26 counties through armed struggle . ( '1169...' Comment - by this definition , then , was the Republican campaign against the Free State in the early 1920's not a 'legitimate' struggle ?) Fianna Fail and Fine Gael , they're trying to change the 26 counties . Fianna Fail would argue for a unitary state - if there is a unitary state the 26 counties ceases to exist , the institutions of the state become new institutions . Fine Gael say they would favour a federal or confederal arrangement - in which case it has to be new institutions .
What I'm saying is that in the course of achieving a united Ireland the 26 counties will naturally change . And it will have to at some stage cease to exist . Now , that's not the same as getting up waving a red flag and saying "We're out to blow youse away " . The ordinary people in the 26 counties will remove the people who are presently in government and in opposition - because of their failures . They will have to go , they will be removed , quite naturally , by the people . It's got nothing to do with Sinn Fein , it's got nothing to do with the IRA .
Having said that , I recognise that the vast majority of people in the 26 counties consider the State and its institutions to be legitimate . I still say that I don't consider it to be legitimate . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - that is not now the position of Provisional Sinn Fein , nor has it been since 1986 . Since that year they have been a constitutionally-registered 'political party' in the Free State .) I consider that the Free State was created by Britain and is still defending what was defended in the civil war ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Stephen Moore ; two Detectives : in his own words , this is what happened ....
... " The Detectives forced me into a metal filing cabinet . They locked the doors . They started banging it and shaking it . It fell to the floor , with me inside . That went on for a few minutes - it was only a few minutes . They opened the doors and I got out . There was a table in the room . The older of the two Detectives continued shouting abuse and the younger one was fiddling about with a piece of paper . I was more or less looking at the fellow who was shouting at me . I felt the younger one putting a piece of paper in my left ear . I know myself that it was a piece of paper that he had rolled up . I honestly thought he was only messing about . I thought he was only playing a trick .
He lit the paper . The moment it was lit , he flicked it out . He did'nt think it would catch alight so quick but at that stage it had burned my hair . The two of them had threatened to throw me out the window . They brought me over and had me at it . There was wire mesh at the front , they could'nt have thrown me out . I knew myself . They continued to hit into my stomach and kicking me in the groin . I called for a doctor continually over the one and a half hour period that I was in there . At that stage they got frightened - I was short of breath . I had bronchitis as a child . I'd been in hospital about a year or two before that . I had pains in my chest . One of the Detectives went out and brought in tea and chicken sandwiches . " You'll be OK ... " , this was the type of shit they were going on with .
They stayed for a few minutes , did'nt do anything to me , and they left then . Next thing , two more Detectives came in - one that I knew very well and the other I'd never seen before . They continued the interrogation . The one that I knew shouted at me and the other slapped me about the back of the head . That went on for about half an hour or so . The next thing I knew my solicitor was there and they asked me if I wanted to see him . 'Course , I said yes . They brought me downstairs and I met Plunkett Taaffe . Broke down . Broke down in front of him . It was'nt the pain of what happened ; it was the relief of knowing that when Plunkett was there at that stage there was a chance that I would'nt be hit again . He immediately called for a doctor ....... "
(MORE LATER).
GEORGE SEAWRIGHT , the tough-talking Scotsman and self-proclaimed "honest bigot" from the Shankill Road , is a DUP member of both Belfast City Council and the Northern Assembly . He is also the politician most closely associated with the Loyalist paramilitaries .
He believes that the rise of Sinn Fein has made an armed confrontation between the forces of Loyalism and Republicanism inevitable .
From 'FORTNIGHT' magazine , May 1984 .
George Seawright (DUP) says what little element of accommodation there had been in the Sinn Fein programme - a federal Ireland - had now "...been wiped right off the sheet of their philosophy in one go . Now when they speak of 'Brits Out!' they can't seriously be referring to the soldiers who came here in 1969 - Protestants would construe it as meaning them . "
And he concludes with a grim warning to his fellow Loyalists : " Provisionalism has its act together . Republicanism is going the direct road , it's got a clear-cut objective one way or the other . Facing that situation , if Protestants dither - and there is an element of confusion among Protestants - if they remain confused and don't get their act together in this generation , then they'll have to face defeat and have to get out of Northern Ireland (sic) . I believe that when they're faced with the enormity of this situation that will be enough to motivate them to get their act together . "
(' 1169 ... ' Comment - this , again , was propaganda from Seawright : the Irish Struggle is not about 'forcing Unionists/Loyalists out ' of the Six Counties - it is about obtaining an end to Westminster's jurisdictional claim over that part of Ireland and the withdrawal of British Army troops from the island . If those , in the Six Counties , that consider themselves 'British' do not want to stay then they will not be forced to . It is their choice . )
[END of 'THE INEVITABILITY OF SECTARIAN COLLISION' .]
(Tomorrow - '17 Victims Of British Justice' : from 1984 .)
THE IRA HAS TO DO WHAT THE IRA HAS TO DO .......
The Sinn Fein electoral wagon is slowing down . As a result , the IRA is likely to begin stepping up its war against the Northern State . GENE KERRIGAN reports from Belfast and also interviews Sinn Fein's DANNY MORRISON on the party's recent successes and failures .
From ' MAGILL ' magazine , September 1984.
'MAGILL' Magazine : " Is'nt one major reason for the lack of development of Sinn Fein in the South its ambiguity towards the State , whether the State has to be removed ? "
Danny Morrison : " Owen Carron was badly misquoted in a speech he made in London two years ago , about how republicans have to destabilise the 26 counties . The Free State government has on occasion since then berated us over that statement , which Owen Carron did not make . (' 1169 ... ' Comment - this corrupt State needs not only to be 'destabilised' , but tore asunder and re-built . The career politicians in Leinster House are living beyond the means of the people ; was Morrison of the opinion that the then Sinn Fein leadership would be content simply to 'tweak' the existing system .. ?)
What Sinn Fein has to recognise and I think is recognising is that the vast majority of people in the 26 counties consider the institutions of the State as being legitimate . Now , I don't . But it is not legitimate to attempt to bring down the 26 counties through armed struggle . ( '1169...' Comment - by this definition , then , was the Republican campaign against the Free State in the early 1920's not a 'legitimate' struggle ?) Fianna Fail and Fine Gael , they're trying to change the 26 counties . Fianna Fail would argue for a unitary state - if there is a unitary state the 26 counties ceases to exist , the institutions of the state become new institutions . Fine Gael say they would favour a federal or confederal arrangement - in which case it has to be new institutions .
What I'm saying is that in the course of achieving a united Ireland the 26 counties will naturally change . And it will have to at some stage cease to exist . Now , that's not the same as getting up waving a red flag and saying "We're out to blow youse away " . The ordinary people in the 26 counties will remove the people who are presently in government and in opposition - because of their failures . They will have to go , they will be removed , quite naturally , by the people . It's got nothing to do with Sinn Fein , it's got nothing to do with the IRA .
Having said that , I recognise that the vast majority of people in the 26 counties consider the State and its institutions to be legitimate . I still say that I don't consider it to be legitimate . ( ' 1169 ... ' Comment - that is not now the position of Provisional Sinn Fein , nor has it been since 1986 . Since that year they have been a constitutionally-registered 'political party' in the Free State .) I consider that the Free State was created by Britain and is still defending what was defended in the civil war ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE INTERROGATION OF STEPHEN MOORE ....... .
On 11 July 1986 , Stephen Moore , from Clones in County Monaghan , accepted £25,000 plus costs to settle an action out of court .
He had sued 'Ireland' and the Attorney General for injuries he had received in garda custody in Monaghan Garda Station in March 1983 .
In that same year , John Milne received £51,900 for injuries sustained at the hands of two named gardai in that same garda station . He was also awarded costs .
Despite the fact that more than £75,000 has been paid out as a result of garda activity in Monaghan Garda Station , no garda has been charged with a criminal offence . In fact , some of the gardai who were accused have been promoted .
Stephen Moore ; two Detectives : in his own words , this is what happened ....
... " The Detectives forced me into a metal filing cabinet . They locked the doors . They started banging it and shaking it . It fell to the floor , with me inside . That went on for a few minutes - it was only a few minutes . They opened the doors and I got out . There was a table in the room . The older of the two Detectives continued shouting abuse and the younger one was fiddling about with a piece of paper . I was more or less looking at the fellow who was shouting at me . I felt the younger one putting a piece of paper in my left ear . I know myself that it was a piece of paper that he had rolled up . I honestly thought he was only messing about . I thought he was only playing a trick .
He lit the paper . The moment it was lit , he flicked it out . He did'nt think it would catch alight so quick but at that stage it had burned my hair . The two of them had threatened to throw me out the window . They brought me over and had me at it . There was wire mesh at the front , they could'nt have thrown me out . I knew myself . They continued to hit into my stomach and kicking me in the groin . I called for a doctor continually over the one and a half hour period that I was in there . At that stage they got frightened - I was short of breath . I had bronchitis as a child . I'd been in hospital about a year or two before that . I had pains in my chest . One of the Detectives went out and brought in tea and chicken sandwiches . " You'll be OK ... " , this was the type of shit they were going on with .
They stayed for a few minutes , did'nt do anything to me , and they left then . Next thing , two more Detectives came in - one that I knew very well and the other I'd never seen before . They continued the interrogation . The one that I knew shouted at me and the other slapped me about the back of the head . That went on for about half an hour or so . The next thing I knew my solicitor was there and they asked me if I wanted to see him . 'Course , I said yes . They brought me downstairs and I met Plunkett Taaffe . Broke down . Broke down in front of him . It was'nt the pain of what happened ; it was the relief of knowing that when Plunkett was there at that stage there was a chance that I would'nt be hit again . He immediately called for a doctor ....... "
(MORE LATER).
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