THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland....... From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .
The interrogation of the four young men continued all through the night : between 5AM and 6AM the four were returned to their cells - they were in bad shape physically and mentally .
At 6AM they were pulled out of their cells - squads of three men now started the questioning in relays . Cocked revolvers were placed against the stomachs , throats and temples of the youths , and sticks were pressed into their bodies . Hankerchiefs were twisted around their necks , as a cloth soaked in a foul-smelling liquid was pushed against their faces while their noses were held . They were thrown on the floor and held there as the cloth around their neck was woven tighter and tighter , then it would be snapped open and they'd be told to 'confess' .
Then they were beaten around the head and body with rubber truncheons . These beatings continued in different forms throughout all day Wednesday and from midnight to 6AM Thursday morning . They were returned to their cells before being put in solitary confinement . A detective whom they had not seen before rushed into the cell almost immediately after them and acted like a maniac , shouting , as he clawed all over them , " I'm Ovens. I'll haunt you for the rest of your lives..." When this maniac detective left the cell , the young man inside was taken out again.......
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KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !
Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.
Dessie O' Malley worked very hard in government with Charlie Haughey . Charlie wasn't his choice , he said , but one thing is sure - he wouldn't serve in another government with him . And somehow , that's what the PD's are all about - not serving in a government with Charlie Haughey . There , in a nutshell , is the reason for their existance . Forgot all this 'mould-breaking' stuff .
Dessie is now most disturbed about Sellafield, and about the leaks and the lies that have been told : he is against nuclear power , you see . This is quite a turnaround. Anyway - the bus moves on up Molesworth Street , around Saint Stephen's Green and onto the South Circular Road . It stops at a company called 'Leo Laboratories' , waiting for Dessie . He finally arrives and says that he has been here before with the King of Denmark , and says that he has a photo to prove it . But the photo shows him posing with the Queen of Denmark . But no matter . He was here before in any event...
There are a large number of workers in the labs and most of them live locally . Dessie puts on a white coat to 'preswerve sterile conditions' , and gets his photo taken , which is the whole point of the exercise . He is in the building exactly three minutes when he starts looking at his watch - he looks bored . When questioned , he says that he is "...going to do even better that we had thought at the start , believe it or not.." Not . He goes into the workers canteen , where those inside are interrupted at their lunchbreak to shake his hand . " Will you say a few words there , Des.." asks one of his handlers . He does , and included in the words are "...committed to radical changes.." : it is a truth that in this election language has been turned on its head . The word 'radical' coming from Dessie O' Malley does not ring true . By the time the local PD candidate begins to speak , Des has gone out the door . Throughout the day it is the same story - Dessie will
step in to be followed by the local candidate , and then he will leave.......
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THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .......Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .
Irish coroners' courts have traditionally concentrated on the immediate cause of death and nobody in authority , including (Fine Gael's) State Justice Minister Michael Noonan, saw fit to probe any further . The contrast with the British treatment of the Stephen Waldorf Case is outstanding : Mr Waldorf was shot by London police in January 1983 in a case of mistaken identity with a dangerous fugitive . The then British Home Secretary , Willie Whitelaw, took immediate action -
First , he suspended the three police officers concerned , then he made an immediate apology to Stephen Waldorf (who survived the shooting) , then a British Home Office enquiry investigated the incident and passed on a file to the (British) Director of Public Prosecutions - in three days - which is now the basis of a prosecution still pending against the suspended detectives . Also , a statement was issued in the British House Of Commons declaring that the system of issuing firearms to police officers was under review and details of the existing procedures were made public .
What happened in Ireland ? An internal garda enquiry was instituted which took a month to complete its report - it was then forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution's Office where it rested for two months before being passed back to the Commissioner as providing insufficient grounds for a prosecution . One unusual feature of the file , apparently , was that it did not contain the statements of the only two civilian witnesses to the incident.......
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