THE WALLACE AND HOLROYD FILE .......These files are now coming under the scrutiny of the 'authorities' . Heads will role . But whose ?
From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987 .
'British Army ' Captain Peter Maynard , later 'Major' , told 'Commandant P' he had no fears for his safety in Ireland , showing him a long-barrelled Walther pistol in a shoulder holster . Then , as 'Commandant P's wife served tea and sandwiches , the two visitors got down to brass tacks . Peter Maynard asked the Irish (Free State) Army Officer to supply him with intelligence about IRA arms-running routes : 'Commandant P' asked the Badger if his Garda superior knew of the approach . He said he did .
The (Free State) Officer then told his visitors that in that case there would be no harm done if he kept himself on the right side of things and told his superiors : the two visitors left quickly and there was no further contact about the proposal , although 'Commandant P' continued to bump into the Badger during the course of his duties . Later that afternoon , 'Commandant P' telephoned a senior officer and told him of the incident - he was ordered to report it in writing when he returned to camp on Tuesday , the first day after the Bank Holiday. He did so .
In the normal course of events , the report should have reached Lt Col Paddy Cusack , then Command Intelligence Officer , Eastern Command (of the State Army) , from where it would have been directed to G2 Intelligence at GHQ in Parkgate , Dublin . Where that report has gone , and why it was not acted on , is one of the central mysteries of the Riddle of the Wallace/Holroyd File . Last week , 'Commandant P' came forward to tell his story again , after seeing Capts. Holroyd and Wallace on UTV : now retired and running an engineering business in Dublin he is still puzzled about why he was never interviewed by gardai about the incident . He is not the only one.......
(MORE LATER).
THE HEAVY HAND OF THE LAW .......Allegations of Garda brutality only hit the headlines intermittently . But the problem may be much more widespread than most people imagine . Last year out-of-court settlements of cases involving members of the Garda cost the taxpayer over €1 million . What's going on ?
From 'MAGILL' magazine , April 2003 .
By Mairead Carey.
It took Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne another six months to prepare a report on the incident for the (State) Minister for Justice , Michael McDowell : but the Minister has since sent that report back .
" I got an inadequate report , late , " Michael McDowell told 'MAGILL' magazine , " it did'nt explain the circumstances in which gardai instituted District Court proceedings without seeking the authority of their superiors . I did'nt receive any adequate explaination as to why that happened , so I asked for a second report . " He still has not received it , but says he will wait for as long as it takes .
Shortly after the incident , Grainne Walsh was contacted by a garda who said he was investigating the complaint - " It was 10 o'clock on a Friday night . He asked me to confirm my name and address and phone number , and said he would ring again . But that was the last I heard of him . " The gardai involved are still on the beat , according to Grainne Walsh - " I have seen them around Grafton Street and my heart stops , but they don't recognise me at all . I don't believe the gardai have any intention of doing anything about it . If they had , the same guards would not be in the same job , five years later . I'm sure they are just laughing....... "
(MORE LATER).
VINCENT BROWNE : PILLARS OF SOCIETY .......
Vincent Browne is the nearest thing to Robert Maxwell that Ireland has got - in style , if not in scale .
From 'PHOENIX' magazine , 1985.
The avuncular political correspondent of 'The Sunday Tribune' , Gerry Barry , was a student union radical in the 1960's , and Paul Tansey would have had mutual friends with ex-Workers Party leader , Mairin de Burca , in the past . All in all , a volatile lot . And while Vincent Browne could bully the tiny handful of journalists working for 'MAGILL' magazine , causing cringing editor Colm Toibin weekly nervous breakdowns , he finds the stronger 'Sunday Tribune' union chapel a constant irritation .
NUJ negotiators are now seriously worried that the latest outbreak of hostilities with Vincent Browne are motivated by his realisation that the newspaper cannot get a new backer . They fear he has provoked a row in order to scapegoat the NUJ for a liquidation that is inevitable anyway . An alternative scenario is that Browne has got a backer , or backers , but that his wage projections are way below those currently under negotiation with the NUJ .
Browne's immediate cash-flow problems are daunting . Extra advertising revenue from the Christmas period will keep the newspaper going for another fortnight or so , a deadline which will coincide with the ending of Gordon Colleary's funding commitment of £100,000 over six months .......
(MORE LATER).
