THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY....... Twenty-six men were convicted on the word of Harry Kirkpatrick. On their appeal against those convictions could well rest the future of the 'Anglo-Irish Agreement'
('The Hillsborough Treaty') . Based on a full transcript of the Kirkpatrick trials , the story of how these convictions were obtained shows why the 'Supergrass System' is a pale shadow of justice.
By Derek Dunne. From 'MAGILL' magazine, February 1986.
Harry Kirkpatrick described how he himself had taken over a house to ambush the RUC - but his description was wrong . He said that his companion on that job climbed into the back yard of the house and opened the door , but that couldn't have happened : there was a wire mesh covering the back yard , and a youth who was repairing a pushbike in that small yard at that time would have seen him or heard some noise , but he didn't.
Kirkpatrick claimed that the alleyway behind the house was blocked off , but that was wrong . The defence team claimed that Kirkpatrick was recounting incidents , of which this operation was one, that he had overheard secondhand. But three men were still convicted of conspiracy on the 'strength' of Kirkpatricks claims.
Three other men were convicted of conspiracy to cause an explosion : Kirkpatrick claimed that he had driven past where a bomb had gone off , that he had seen the damage it caused. But no bomb had been detonated or found in that vicinity , and even the RUC admitted that they had no knowledge of anything like that. Kirkpatrick later changed his story , but those three men still done time.
Five other men were then to be stitched-up by Kirkpatrick over an incident in which a member of the British forces died.......
(MORE LATER).
CIA SLAMS IRISH JUDGE.......
A Dublin District Justice was accused by American embassy intelligence personnel of encouraging left wing agitators and tolerating hostile acts against the United States.......From 'MAGILL' magazine, 'Christmas Special' 1980.
It is doubtful that a file was opened by the CIA on State Justice Robert O hUadhaigh, for this reason : there are indications in the Mairin de Burca file of some of those on whom files have been opened and this does not apply to that State Justice.
Among the papers are some which mention de Burca just in passing - for instance , there are reports on meetings and conferences which she attended and on those reports her name is underlined , as are the names of other people who came to the attention of the 'Emboffs'.
As might be expected , the names marked for special attention contained those that would be regarded as 'the usual suspects' - and a few that the 'political establishment' would have considered to be their own people.......
(MORE LATER).
THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HEROIN IN DUBLIN....... The drugs crisis is one of the major problems facing young people in Dublin today. In large areas of the city it has now reached massive proportions , while in the inner city there is estimated to be a higher percentage of drug addicts and drug abusers than in Harlem in New York . But it has been only recently - 5 years after this epidemic began in earnest - that any notice has been paid to the problem. And even now the Free State government has failed to confront the crisis in a meaningful way . Tony Barry of Na Fianna Eireann has been looking at the issues for 'IRIS' magazine.From 'IRIS' magazine, December 1984.
Tony Barry : "Did that drug pusher have a 'heavy gang' to back him up if an addict defaulted on payments ?"
Noel Sillery: "With most of the drug addicts, they're sort of helpless - the minute they become addicted it's easy enough to intimidate them . They've got absolutely no resistance. So you don't really need heavies to ensure payment.
Anyway the question of debt would hardly ever arise . With the addicts, if they went up to look for a fix without any money there was no way they were getting it. And if they went to the pusher with only half the fix money , they only got half the fix.
Now the addicts themselves had no money to buy the junk , so they either had to go and steal from other addicts , or go snatching handbags , window-shop robbery , house break-ins and/or rob from their own family homes."
(MORE LATER).
