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 .
The Remand : The Case Gets Curiouser and Curiouser :
There are circumstances in which accused persons are placed in Garda custody after being charged in the District Court but these circumstances are very unusual , especially in the Dublin area . The reasons generally relate to the lateness of the hour at which the charges are made and the distance from a prison .
Thus if a person is charged with an offence in a remote area and remanded in custody , either by a District Justice or by a Justice of the Peace , then they may be held in Garda custody overnight , pending their removal to a prison the following morning , but this is rarely necessary in the Dublin area . In any event the extraordinary procedure was taken in this case of specifically getting a remand into the custody of two named Gardai - this procedure is virtually unheard of , although provided for under Section 25 of the Criminal Procedures Act 1967 .
In fact during the course of the Sallins mail train robbery trial the issue arose during the cross examination of the station Sergeant of the Bridewell Garda Barracks who was on duty on the night of April 7 , 1976 - he , Sergeant Padden , admitted that he could not recall any other case in which an accused person had been remanded into Garda custody . One of the senior Garda officers involved in the case , Detective Inspector Ned Ryan , was unable to explain during the course of the trial why the remand into Garda custody had occurred at all.......
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BEYOND BREAKOUTS AND SUPERGRASSES .......From 'FORTNIGHT' magazine , October 1983 .
One of the tasks of any ' Anglo-Irish Council' could be the expansion of the Irish (sic - should read 'State') Senate to allow for elected northern representation , thus going some way towards satisfying northern nationalist aspirations * while at the same time ensuring a permanent forum to discuss the possibilities of eventual condominium , joint sovereignty or federalism . ('1169...' Comment * ... "northern nationalists" may indeed 'aspire' to sit in a talking-shop with other suits , discussing the fortunes of their shares etc , but Irish Republicans would view such an 'aspiration' as aiming far too low.)
An all-Ireland economic development body should be set up , perhaps funded by a cross-border co-operation tax raised in Britain and both parts of Ireland (sic - Ireland has only one 'part' as it is a single entity) , which could help to channel capital , both foreign and local , private and public , to the North's areas of greatest need . ('1169...' Comment - in this humble blogs opinion , the " North's areas of greatest need " is to end British interference in that part of Ireland .)
And most immediately something has to be done to end the serious abuses of the North's judicial process which have been brought in * by the use of supergrass 'evidence' ('1169...' Comment * - not " brought in " , but exacerbated by , the use of such 'evidence ' ) - those abuses include convictions on the basis of uncorrororated and highly dubious 'evidence' of self-confessed criminals and perjurers and the use of the 'Bill of Indictment' procedure to avoid supergrass 'witnesses' having to confront those they are accusing at preliminary hearings.......
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THE PROVOS AT THE BALLOT BOX .......By Michael Farrell .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1983 .
FOYLE :
Gregory Campbell(DUP) : John Hume(SDLP) : Martin McGuinness(SF) : Eamon Melaugh(WP) and Gerry O'Grady(Alliance) .
The old Derry constituency had a Unionist majority , but now much of unionist North Derry has been hived off into the new East Derry seat and the solidly nationalist town of Strabane has been taken from Mid-Ulster and added to Derry city to 'make up' Foyle .
It now has a safe nationalist majority and John Hume should win here but if Martin McGuinness increases the Sinn Fein share of the vote it could worry Hume . However , if John Hume is beaten , the SDLP might as well pack up and go home .
Assembly Election 1982 :
(First Preferences) - All Unionists 30,783 , four seats ; SDLP 20,279 , two seats ; Sinn Fein 8,763 , one seat ; Alliance 3,663 ; Workers' Party 974 . Next - Mid-Ulster.......
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