1169 And Counting.....

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

LOTTERIES AND OTHER HOLD-UPS .......
From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987.

" Yeh'll never believe what they're doing in there ! Honest to God ! " said the taxi driver , " The customers are lying on the floor , Archie Doyle has a gun on them . The staff are lying on the floor laughing ! Jack O' Sheehan is counting the money and Jack Corr is making out a receipt ! Sure the way they're going they won't have that bank robbed for weeks ! "

But that was Uncle Jack for ya ! One of the old sort who confused politics with principles and principles with ethics . Aunt Molly never let up . When the Hospitals' Trust started and the first directors were Joe McGrath and Jack O' Sheehan , Aunt Molly told my mother - " There they are , his ex-comrades , and them being paid more in a week than my fella gets in a year . Joe McGrath and Jack O' Sheehan ! Livin' like princes ! Riding out every morning so as to show the English that anything the old gentry could do , the new gentry can do better ! Sweet God , instead of backing horses , had my poor eejit only learned to ride wan ! "

Ma made excuses . It seemed that she always had to make excuses because Uncle Jack didn't think that Irish aspirations were there to be auctioned - bought and sold , as if every principle had a market value , and every prize a price . " Besides , " said my mother , " charity was never in his line ! " But Aunt Molly had another word for it - and 'charity' wasn't part of it .......
(MORE LATER).

PASSPORTS , PLEASE....... !
The latest passports for investment revelations involve a controversial £10,000 donation to Fianna Fail by US investor Gerry Lindzon .
There are grounds for suspicion that much of the money that changed hands in other deals was never intended for investment in the business but rather a 'facility fee' which accrued to the company for allowing its name to be used .
By Daire O' Brien .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .

'Magill' magazine contacted the 'consultant' involved in the above 'passport deal' , who agreed to speak on the basis of anonymity : he detailed his relationship with a middleman who claimed to be on the political inside track - " At the time (1991) I was involved in organising commercial finance for small business . I was approached by a man who claimed that he had strong political contacts and could organise finance for small companies through the ('Passports For Investment') Scheme . "

The same source says that one of Ireland's largest accountancy and consultancy firms was instrumental in the introduction - " This man claimed he had a 'partner' with access to a panel of wealthy US clients who wished to secure Irish citizenship for tax reasons . He would provide the necessary political 'stance' for the deal to be approved . The proposal was sold to me on the basis that it involved 'discounting' - a nominal £1million investment would be 'discounted' to £250,000 ." The term 'discounting' was a euphemism for facilty fee .

Needless to say , officials in the State Department of Justice would not be told of this creative accounting and the offical documentation would show that £1 million had changed hands . As well as the 'discounted' sum which the investor would pay , the standard fee payable to the middleman was 3.5 % "...on both sides of the Atlantic....... "
(MORE LATER).

THE YOUNGER BREED : TONY GREGORY .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , February 1985 .

The people around Tony Gregory were all local activists , and while most shared common ground on local issues , some , especially Mike Rafferty , had fundamental differences with Gregory on the 'National Question' and related issues : Rafferty subscribes to the pro-loyalist 'two nations' theory which Gregory , as a republican , rejects . With the inner-city as their main plank , it is an issue which has never really threatened to split them .

Tony Gregory's unwillingness to row in behind the Anti-Amendment campaign was greeted by genuine dismay ; when he said he would first have to consult his constituents before deciding his stand , it seemed he was kicking to touch . Despite the criticisms and attacks , he maintained his position , or the lack of one.

On the other had , he threw his weight behind the Nicky Kelly campaign , which soon gathered momentum . Kelly was a member of the IRSP and Tony Gregory well remembered the days of the Sallins mail train round-ups . Indeed , civil liberties are a major issue for him , hence his entering the recent fray over the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act against Dr. Maire O' Shea.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, October 02, 2006

LOTTERIES AND OTHER HOLD-UPS .......
From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987.

Anyway , while Uncle Jack and Jack O' Sheehan and Archie Doyle went to free the bank of its bread , Joe McGrath sat holding a forty-five on the taxi-driver . The others were in the place for what seemed like an age : Joe , despairing of ever seeing them again , was getting a bit edgy . The cabman was even more so , as he had a wedding to attend - " Christ !" says he , " it didn't take as long as that to get rid of the money changers! "

The taxi driver argued with McGrath that one of them should go to the bank and find out what the hell was delaying the robbers : Joe said that if he went the cabby would drive off and leave them where Jesus left those same money-changers , but the cabby asked Joe was he daft - when did he ever hear of a taxi-driver going without his fare ? " Funerals , ok " , said the driver , " nobody ever minded a delay , but folk are touchy about being late for their own weddings . It's all very well for ye people , who do this sort of thing for a cause , but I drive for a living . And I've a reputation to think of , do ya understand .... "

Eventually it was agreed that the driver should find out what was keeping Uncle Jack and the others , while Joe minded the store , so to speak . After a minute the driver returns and his eyes streaming with tears of laughter - " Yeh'll never believe what they're doing in there ! Honest to God ....... ! "
(MORE LATER).

PASSPORTS , PLEASE !
The latest passports for investment revelations involve a controversial £10,000 donation to Fianna Fail by US investor Gerry Lindzon .
There are grounds for suspicion that much of the money that changed hands in other deals was never intended for investment in the business but rather a 'facility fee' which accrued to the company for allowing its name to be used .
By Daire O' Brien .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .

In the early 1990's the owner of a small but successful Irish business was approached by somebody with a proposal . His visitor , a financial consultant with expertise in providing capital for small businesses , claimed that he had the power to deliver to the businessman a cash injection of approximately £250,000 . In return , the businessman would have to issue a share certificate for over £1 million in his business . On the surface , a poor deal - why give £4 worth of equity for every £1 ?

However , as with much pertaining to the Passports For Investment scheme , what you see is nothing like what you get : what actually would happen is that the investor , a US businessman , would be satisfied with a meaningless class of share which would have nothing but a 'peppercorn' value: the Irish business would , to official eyes , appear to be receiving over £1 million and a passport would be issued to the US citizen in return for his apparent munificence and faith in the then slumbering State economy !

The businessman was intrigued : he recalls - " The scheme was sold to me on the basis that the consultant would be able to deliver politically . The application would not be questioned . Obviously I didn't ask the consultant if money was going to be paid to a politician .... " The consultant worked for a well-known Dublin insurance broker which is still in existence as part of a larger group . As things transpired the deal never took place - it was sidelined by political changes and a new media interest in the Passports For Investments scheme provoked by the revelation that former (26 County) Taoiseach Albert Reynolds' family business , C&D Petfoods , had benefited from it.......
(MORE LATER).

THE YOUNGER BREED : TONY GREGORY .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , February 1985 .

When the counting was done , Tony Gregory found himself holding the cards of the next Government (ie State Administration) , and it wasn't long until those seeking a hand were calling to the Gregory HQ at Summerhill Parade : 'Sir' Garret Fitzgerald , Fine Gael , and Charlie Haughey , Fianna Fail , put their cards on the table but , as usual , Haughey took the gamble . Tony Gregory , his brother Noel , Fergus McCabe and Mike Rafferty played for high stakes : the multi-million pound 'Gregory Deal' : funds for the inner-city and a full house for Haughey ! This deal put Tony Gregory into the centre-stage of State politics and left him in a position to topple the State government if the need arose .

But that need didn't arise - for those blissful eight months , Tony Gregory only had to lift the telephone , say the word and pronto ! The job was done ! He had the power . When luck finally ran Garret Fitzgerald's way , Tony Gregory's chips were called in . But still some aspects of the Gregory Deal survived ; the much-needed new housing for the inner-city was already underway .

Gregory came home comfortably in the last election and settled down as an independent Leinster House member . Hardened by his years in Official Sinn Fein and later the IRSP , he knew his influence would be limited . He left Official Sinn Fein when Seamus Costello formed the IRSP , as he admired Costello , but soon became disillusioned with politics within the IRSP . In the mid 1970's he began to build a community base in inner-city Dublin , which led to his election as a councillor in 1979.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Bertie 'The Borrower' Ahern : the man who co-signed most of the 1,615 cheques drawn on the Fianna Fail 'Leaders Allowance' account from 1984 to 1992 - 'The Haughey Years' !
Our Bertie said he had no recollection of a cheque for £25,000 made out to cash and signed by him and Charlie Haughey on 16 June 1989 , the day after the State-wide election : that cheque was discovered in an account linked to Charles Haughey !
Only another 1,614 to go ....

...........meanwhile , as Bertie sifts through the cheque-books , the rest of us can dwell over his fine words in response to the publication of the McCracken Tribunal findings - " We owe it to the least fortunate of our citizens to ensure that public decisions affecting everyone's welfare are taken only on the grounds of equity and the public good , and to ensure that possession of wealth can never purchase private political favours . "
But what's a man to do - the rest of us are not allowed to "purchase political favours" (even if we had a mind to and could afford to do so in the first place!) and asking for them is , apparently , shag-all use as well : following one of his 'conferences' with that other global Statesman , Tony Blair , hapless Bertie was asked if he had raised the issue of British intelligence activities in the Six Counties with Tony Blair ; Blustering Bertie replied - " I have raised with members of the British government , including the British prime minister , many times , MI5 and MI6 . I say , with the greatest of respect , I am usually less wise after I have asked the questions than before ." (Source- 'The Sunday Business Post' newspaper , May 18 , 2003)
Indeed , Bertie . And it suits you to stay like that .

In her book 'Politicians And Other Animals' , Olivia O'Leary recalled how Bertie Ahern explained his Code of Ethics' in a Leinster House reply to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny -
" Deputy Kenny , you and I are around a long time . The code of ethics here is that people get in here , and try to stay in here!"
A 'Code Of Ethics' to please any bank manager . We best leave Bertie alone for now ; he has a shit-load of cheques to sort through.......

Fianna Fail : pictured as they are now , and have been for most of their existence - a political mafia .....
..... but , at one stage , some of their confused members still considered themselves somewhat 'republican' :
On the 16th of February in 1954 (a Tuesday , if memory serves...) , British Lieutenant-General 'Sir' John Woodall was 'entertained' in the Curragh Free State Army Barracks by the Free State Administration - 'Sir' Woodall was given a grand tour of various Free State Army barracks , and was dressed in full British Army regalia as he was followed around by State lackys . He was driven on his 'tour' in a British Army staff car .
Fianna Fail were in power at the time , and the 'Roger Casement Cumann' of that party , based in Kimmage , in Dublin , resigned because of Woodall's visit : in a statement , that Fianna Fail Cumann stated - " The invitation to and entertainment of General Woodall , Chief of the British military forces occupying portion of our national territory , by the Fianna Fail leadership , left us no option but to resign from the Fianna Fail organisation . "
'Sir' Woodall was the then General Officer Commanding the British Army of Occupation at its HQ at Thiepval Barracks , Lisburn , County Antrim .
The issue of "...British military forces occupying portion of our national territory.. " is a taboo issue as far as the political careerists in Leinster House are concerned - it may very well be revived from the back-burner and dusted off now and again but overall it is an embarrassing issue for them , as it reminds them of a time when those that went before them at least put some type of a weak-hearted effort into occasionally reminding those listening that this isle is not completely free of British interference .
That message still goes out today , but not from those in Leinster House . Those sleezebags are soley concerned with enriching themselves financially and will happily , and just as quickly , fleece each other as well as the taxpayer . Their moral compass is buried in their bankbook . They will , no doubt , die rich and comfortable . And , we hope , roaring.......

Friday, September 29, 2006

Newstalk State-wide Radio , 106-108FM.
It began as a Dublin-only talk radio station in 2002 , and has , from today (Friday 29 Setember 2006) commenced broadcasting to the 26 Counties .
Its transmission may 'leak' into the Six Counties ,but it apparently has no licence to broadcast to that part of this island . The operators of this blog were avid listeners from day one but we hardly ever tune in now . The reason ? A few months ago ,the powers that be in Newstalk management decreed that its '086' text number was to be replaced with a '53***' number , at a charge of 30 cent to the texter - a charge payable whether your text is read out or not , although that , to us , is not the point . The listeners were not asked their opinion on an issue which was going to effect them financially - the change was simply implemented overnight .

John from this parish (who incidentally had been invited into the Newstalk studios on two occasions to discuss political developments , and accepted the invites on both occasions) sent an e-mail of complaint to the station management and its presenters within hours of its 'text charge' policy change-over, and same was read on air by Eamonn Dunphy and Sean Moncrieff : Dunphy agreed with the sentiments expressed while Moncrieff sneered at those sentiments and attempted to make light of the issue . Perhaps Mr. Moncrieff can afford 30 cent a text , but not everyone can .

Today , Newstalk Radio 'unveiled' some new slogans - " Your Opinions , Your Call " , " Radio By The People , For The People " , " Interactive Radio - Your Call" and other such like , in a similar vein . Against his better judgement , John sent in two texts (one to Orla Barry and the other to Brenda Power) asking will there be any change regarding the 30 cent text charge in order to attempt to encourage potential new listeners to "interact" with the 'new' station . Neither text was read out , nor did John receive a reply from anyone at Newstalk in connection with his query . Our little boycott continues , only now it has the chance to become a 'bigger' boycott .

LOTTERIES AND OTHER HOLD-UPS .......
From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987.

The bank robbing was a bone of contention with all the relations : going out with the late Joe McGrath and Jack O' Sheehan to collect donations at the point of a revolver , and leaving some bank manager with a receipt signed by either de Valera or Michael Collins on behalf of the Irish Republic - ' When the country takes her place amongst the nations of the earth , then , and not till then , will you get your money...'

Jack could rob a bank as well as McGrath or O' Sheehan , but he didn't have the same head for business : Aunt Molly used to rock with laughter to recall the time four of them , McGrath , O' Sheehan , Archie Doyle and Uncle Jack , rolled up to rob a money shop in Dame Street in Dublin . Jack had been told to 'commander' a car , and the only one in Westmoreland Street that day was owned by a chap who said he would get the sack if the IRA took his motor .

" Well , " says Aunt Molly , " yeh know the soft touch yer uncle was . Good for any ould sob story . Lets yer man get away , so as he wouldn't lose his job , do ya understand ? In those days automobiles in Dublin were as rare as Christians in Belfast . What does he do ? Yer Uncle Jack ? What does he do ? He orders a cab ! Joe McGrath was fit to be tied . Couldn't believe it . Nobody in the history of the trade had ever hired a taxi to rob a bank . McGrath told yer Uncle Jack that he should have shot the other fella , that it would serve him right for not donating the loan of his car to the Cause . Joe always thought that people who didn't want to be free would be better off dead . "

And God knows , patriots haven't changed a great deal.......
(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.

Robbie Dawson (25) was brought to a room in Buswell's Hotel to be examined by a doctor : " A doctor took drawings of the bruises on my leg . They went from my knee to my hip . He wasn't impressed , let me tell you , " said Robbie . The report from the CPT was sent to Leinster House in December - they have been asked to respond to it within six months . Whether it is ever published is entirely within the discretion of Leinster House .

Michael McDowell says he has had "...a quick look.." at the report . " A number of things struck me , but I am not going to comment on them at this stage , " he says . He expects to bring the report to (the Free State) Cabinet between Easter and the summer recess . " The number of claims for damages against the Garda is not an insignificant problem by any means . It is pointless denying that there have been assaults . Gardai in executing the law have to act within it , that is a fundamental proposition . If you can't accept that you should not be in the force at all . "

Fr. Peter McVerry doesn't think "...that every garda is bashing up suspects in stations . But where it does happen , it's not seen as significant . Sadly , there is a culture of silence in the force . Other gardai are not going to rat on their fellow officers . May Day showed that there is a strong sense that the garda no longer see themselves as accountable . "

Grainne Walsh (scroll to Comment #18) feels "...braver.." for the action she took against the gardai - " I always remember when I was at school there was a guy in the class who was bullied . I never did anything about it . I was too scared myself . It is something I will always regret . I can't just turn a blind eye anymore . "
[END of 'THE HEAVY HAND OF THE LAW']
(Next - 'PASSPORTS , PLEASE' : from 1999)

THE YOUNGER BREED : TONY GREGORY .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , February 1985 .

The collapse of C.J. Haughey's Administration in November 1982 was about the worst thing that could have happened to Tony Gregory : barely eight months as a TD (sic - he was then , and remains to this day , a member of the Leinster House partitionist assembly) he was wielding more power than anyone would have believed possible before the election the previous February .

For several years , Gregory and a closely-knit team of inner-city activists had been cultivating a political base ; the issues were stark - massive social problems , compounded by official disinterest .

Back in November 1979 , a local community worker , Fergus McCabe , had been jailed following a housing protest in Gardiner Street , Dublin : at that time , street protests were about the only way of highlighting issues . But Tony Gregory's election in February 1982 changed all that - even if only for a while . He just about scraped in on the fifth count on transfers from Workers Party candidate Michael White , in the Dublin Central constituency.......
(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

LOTTERIES AND OTHER HOLD-UPS .......
From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987.

My Aunt Molly would say about my Uncle Jack - " And there's a strange thing about that man - he never seemed to meet rich people who are good company . Maybe such folk don't exist , but if they do , you'd imagine that , surely , for once in a lifetime , your uncle might share a public house stool with somebody who owes less that himself. " But she was never really bitter about it .

Jack was Jack , and not for anything in the world would he ever be anybody else - except on Friday , after a few jars , when he was Rockefeller! Aunt Molly just thought that it might be nice if the working class didn't always have to mix with people poorer than themselves . It was alright for folk like the Good Samaritan or Antoine Ozanam who founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul : they were rich to begin with , helping the poor was only a kind of slumming . And Uncle Jack's 'outlaws' , our rich relatives , didn't help a great deal . One or other was always stirring the muck .

As one of the 'outlaw' relatives was fond of saying , " Mark you my words , Molly Carr , that fella of yours has more principles than is decent in any man . A union official who does it for nothing ! A bank robber who does it for the Cause ! What sort of an eejit have ya married at all....... " The bank robbery ! Now theres a story.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, September 25, 2006

Sir Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher , Free State Junior Minister of State for Transport , pictured in happier days !

This up-standing example of all that is good within the political elite in this State was born on the 10 March , 1948 , in Burtonport , County Donegal . He was educated in Roshine NS , in Dungloe , then travelled to Luinnagh NS in Gweedore , Donegal and almost finished his schooling in St. Enda's College , Galway before realising it would be unfair to deprive University College Galway of his vast knowledge , so he graced that institution with his presence for a few years !

He worked as a fish exporter before becoming the inheritor of the title 'The Cope' from his grandfather , a founder-figure of the co-op movement in County Donegal . At 15 years of age he joined with like-minded members of the local political elite by throwing his lot in with the local Fianna Fail gang , a move which brought him , today , to the county of Monaghan , to open a by-pass . His fame preceeded him so much that between eight and ten thousand well-wishers turned out to welcome him to the county , no doubt hoping to rub-up against the legend that is Pat 'The Cope' , and perhaps become members of the 'elite' themselves ! Indeed , even the very State car that this champion of the dispossessed travelled in was transformed by having the great mans bum in it into being something which the peasants desired to rub up against . However - there being such a large crowd of fans present , those at the back could not even get close enough to Sir Cope's carriage , never mind the man himself and , there being a severe shortage of laurel leaves to hand , decided to pay homage instead by throwing pebbles at the car , in a quaint display of servitude . Sir Pat then realised he was hungry and was immediately rushed to a near-by hotel for shel.... food .

And that , readers , is the gospel according to Saint Cope. Anyone who claims otherwise is a communist/dissident/malcontent/has a political axe to grind/begrudger/and/or a Blueshirt . And we know where you live......

LOTTERIES AND OTHER HOLD-UPS .
From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987.

No , no regrets . Nor none belonging to me . No anniversaries . Ireland has had more than her fair share of the past . No expecting her to think of the future . Let her catch up with the present . Happenings , not dates , are important in life .

Whenever anybody asked Aunt Molly to buy a Sweepstakes ticket , she'd cluck her tongue and look reproachfully at Uncle Jack , or in his general direction . Mention some fella like the adenoidal compere , Bart Bastable , or tell a story about a winning ticket being flogged by Lucky Coady's , and me poor uncle's name was taken in vain . Lost mass , he did . Always lost mass . Uncle Jack must have lost more mass than Martin Luther!

Aunt Molly used to say - " Don't talk to me about your Uncle Jack ! He's as useful as a hole in a bucket . He'd take a sieve to a well . Like Larry McHale's dog he'd walk a step of the road with anyone . And he never meets anybody but beggars . If he went out with a gypsy he'd come back with a tinker . Never knew anybody but dossers and tramps . 'Molly' , he'd say to me , ' I was in a fella's company tonight and honest to God , how he's not on the stage ! Such gas ! You'd have paid to hear him . An honour to buy him a drink .' " And of course Uncle Jack did . Buy the drink , that is.......
(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.

Dublin North-Central competes for its place at the top of the complaints league with Dublin South Central , which includes Pearse Street , Kevin Street and Donnybrook Garda Stations . Until this year (ie 2003) the Garda Complaints Board compiled statistics to show complaints per head of population . The two Dublin central divisions 'won' hands down ! In 2000 , Dublin North Central had 27.6 complaints per 10,000 people compared to 1.5 in Waterford/Kilkenny .

Less than one per cent of all complaints to the Garda Complaints Board , according to its last report , resulted in a criminal prosecution , although the figures will show an increase this year as a result of the May Day riots: seven gardai are facing charges as a result of clashes with protesters .

In 2001 , almost 200 complaints were passed on to the (State) Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) but because of delays in processing the complaints the vast majority were never acted upon . Summary prosecutions must commence within six months of the date of the offence . Even the Garda Complaints Board itself admits that increasingly it is failing to provide completed investigation files to the DPP within the time limit . In its latest report it acknowledged that "...in these circumstances the right of the DPP to consider whether a member of the Garda Siochana should be prosecuted arising from a complaint has effectively been removed . The situation cannot be regarded as satisfactory....... "
(MORE LATER).

THE STRANGE STATE KILLING OF MAURICE O'NEILL .......
James Gogartys Tribunal reminiscences about the shooting dead of a Garda colleague have resurrected a long-lost story of justice miscarried .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By ANTON McCABE .

Harry White dived through a window into the night and shot his way through a garda cordon : hit twice in the leg , he collapsed in a clump of whins half-a-mile from the house . For two cold October nights he lay wounded under the stars . (Free State) Soldiers scoured the area ; a sympathrtic soldier found him , fed him , got him to shelter and finally escorted him by bicycle to Dublin .

It was October 1946 before Harry White was finally captured on a lonely mountain farm on the Derry side of the Sperrins . Four days later , he was 'released' from Crumlin Road Jail , bundled into an RUC car and driven to a bridge on the Armagh-Monaghan road : a Garda car stopped on the other side , and he was bundled across the border without the slightest pretence of judicial process .

Six weeks later , at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin , he was sentenced to death . Sean McBride was defence counsel . Under cross-examination , a detective admitted he and his companions had fired on three men in the passageway . Of thirty to forty bullets fired in the lane , only two were ever produced - neither of those was the bullet that killed State Detective Mordaunt . Instead , a pathologist claimed that the hole in Mordaunt's skull was too small to have been made by a shot from any of the Gardai's .45 revolvers , despite the fact there was evidence some had weapons of smaller calibre . Evidence was produced that Garda fire had hit targets well away from the lane.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, September 24, 2006

US Marines at Shannon Airport .

In a continuation of the policy in which they hang their back-bones up with their coats in the morning , our 'leaders' in Leinster House profess ignorance of there being anything amiss in facilitating , on Irish soil (Shannon Airport), a foreign army on its way to use force of arms in a resource war in a country it has no business in .

In 1935 , when Shannon Airport was being built , the British government made what was then a secret offer of a £50,000 'gift' (said to be worth about £3 Million in 1994 , when this story was published in 'The Evening Press' newspaper) towards the capital cost of £600,000 , but the offer was refused on advice from senior State civil servants , who advised that the 'gift' was for political reasons. The fact that the 'offer' got that far through the system speaks volumes .

Will future generations be reading of a similar 'offer' from Washington to those worthless , non-productive leeches in Leinster House ?

Friday, September 22, 2006

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 .

If an MI6 agent inside the Garda arranged for another MI6 agent , Captain Fred Holroyd , to meet the head of Garda security , it is a matter of more than academic interest , especially in view of Holroyd's other allegations . The failure to clear the matter up is being viewed with increasing disquiet in (Free State) Government Buildings .

The other part of the Wallace/Holroyd File - the claims of smear campaigns run by MI5 which have been made by Captain Colin Wallace - are not being viewed with the same urgency by the Haughey Government. Colin Wallace served as a civilian 'Information Officer' and later ' Head of Production Services ' , a cover-name for a 'black' propaganda unit at (British Army) Military HQ in Lisburn , County Antrim .

His statements back up much of what Fred Holroyd says , but such corroboration is unnecessary , so detailed are the former undercover man's notes . Neither of them have been contacted by Irish (sic - Free State) security officers in the four years that Holroyd has been making allegations , or since Wallace joined him last December , when he came out of jail after serving a sentence for a manslaughter he says he did not commit . It remains to be seen if the on-going investigation into the entire riddle ordered by Charlie Haughey will change that situation .
[END of 'THE WALLACE AND HOLROYD FILE']
(Next - 'Lotteries and other hold-ups' : from 1987)

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.

Allegations of abuse while in Garda custody are nothing new to Fr Peter McVerry - " I get a substantial number of complaints . It goes in phases , but it is very consistent . The problem is that no one has any way of verifying each individual case ; they are always inconclusive because it is the garda's word against the word of a young person who , more than likely , has a criminal record . Most of the guys here don't complain anymore , because they are afraid they will get a worse hiding the next time , and they know from past experience and the experience of others that it won't go anywhere . "

Fr McVerry believes it is time for Garda management to adopt a "...holistic approach.." in order to see if the same names and stations crop up repeatedly in complaints . " I believe there is substance to most of the complaints I hear - they may be exaggerated , and I may only hear half the story . They may have given the gardai a load of lip , but there are so many complaints coming in , from so many young people , many of whom have no contact with one another , that it is impossible to believe that they are all inventing these stories with a view to blackening the names of the gardai . They have nothing to gain by telling me the story . There is nothing I can do about it . I can't make the complaint on their behalf . "

The same garda stations come up repeatedly , he says , listing off Store Street , Fitzgibbon Street and the Bridewell . They also feature prominently in the annual reports of the Garda Complaints Board . In 2001 , the latest year for which figures are available , there were 143 complaints against the Dublin North Central Division which is made up of Store Street , the Bridewell and Fitzgibbon Street , compared to 47 in the Limerick Division and just 14 in the Roscommon/Galway East Division.......
(MORE LATER).

THE STRANGE STATE KILLING OF MAURICE O'NEILL .......
James Gogartys Tribunal reminiscences about the shooting dead of a Garda colleague have resurrected a long-lost story of justice miscarried .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By ANTON McCABE .

Maurice O'Neill was a quiet man . The IRA had moved him up to Dublin that September . Once , when sent out on IRA business he didn't return till evening. When queried , O' Neill replied - " It is the custom , in our part , to call into every church that you have not been in before and to say a prayer ." The man had been in half the churches in Dublin !

In his last letter , Maurice O'Neill wrote to his father : " I am glad that I am not being reprieved as the thought of the torture I would have to endure in Portlaoise makes me shudder . The IRA prisoners there wear no clothes and have only two blankets to cover themselves . " A fellow Kerryman was in charge of the firing squad . There were only a handful of small and scattered protests .

Harry White had nine lives : on 30 September he had been with Paddy Dermody who was also on the run . Dermody had slipped home to attend his sister's wedding , taking Harry White with him . Armed Gardai stormed the wedding reception at a house near Mount Nugent in Cavan . A Garda inside the house stumbled in front of a window - a colleague of his outside shot him dead . Then Paddy Dermody was killed instantly by a bullet in the back . Harry White was on his own now , in a house which was surrounded by armed gardai , some of whom were coming in . He would have to shoot his way out.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, September 21, 2006

The 'Royals'/UDA golf partners out for a stroll !

One wonders how Mary McAleese can find the time in her busy itinerary to open proceedings at a golf competition especially when , as far as we know , her husband's colleague ,Jackie McDonald , was not present . One also wonders if Mrs McAleese will receive an extra allowance , on top of the €6,613 per week which her spokesperson stated she receives "...for entertainment and personal expenses . The substantial proportion of this allowance goes to meet the cost of food , refreshments and entertainment.." We may yet have to do a collection , readers ......
Incidentally , Mary McAleese did not have an agreed proposer or seconder in 1997 when she sought the nomination for the position of State President from Fianna Fail . As she said herself at the time - " Either of the candidates (Albert Reynolds and Michael O' Kennedy , left , holding a British trinket) could have got rid of me , there and then ; they would have been perfectly within their rights to insist that we follow the rules . That would have been the end of me and I would not have been a threat to whichever one of them was elected . I was very grateful for their generosity ."
Martin McAleese stated at the time , in relation to that same Fianna Fail nomination meeting : " When Rory O'Hanlon (Fianna Fail Chairperson at the time) told us about the new procedure (ie that Fianna Fail were willing to forgo proposer and seconder) , I couldn't believe that Albert had left the door open for her like that . I can only put it down to overconfidence on his part . If I was in his shoes , I'm afraid I would have insisted on party rules being obeyed ."
The McAleese's and their like , in Leinster House and in the Free State Senate , are non-productive leeches that are living beyond our means . They should first be made to apologise to the people on this isle , then forced to reimburse their ill-gotten financial gains and then permanently expelled from Irish soil .

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

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 .

Despite the fact that Fred Holroyd's allegations were not investigated , 'security correspondents' were briefed that the claims that he made on BBC and then RTE were "...being dismissed in Garda Headquarters.." . This week , as the first serious look at those claims is underway , the question of dismissals does not centre on Holroyd's statements , but on those who rejected them .

Included in the file are photocopies of pages from Capt Fred Holroyd's official notebook from that period , mentioning the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings and naming names . None of those named have been interviewed , nor have the RUC been asked to assist in the investigation , although 34 people died and the crimes are still unsolved . By far the most crucial allegation made by Fred Holroyd is that he met Assistant Garda Commissioner Ned Garvey during a trip to Garda Headquarters in April 1975 . Holroyd has a mass of detail in his notebooks about the visit . He was driven to the Border at Kileen on the main Dundalk-Newry Road by his subordinate , Ian Bushell , in an unmarked car along with Detective Inspector Frank Murray of the RUC.

The two men transferred to a Garda car driven by a Garda detective named by Fred Holroyd in his file , which also gives details of how they were escorted by a second Garda car containing other detectives , and covered front and rear by two Irish (Free State) Army Panhards which peeled off from the convoy just before the outskirts of Dublin . According to Holroyd , the visit had been arranged through the 'Badger', who had told Assistant Garda Commissioner Ned Garvey who had "...told Garvey what sort of a chap I was.." : Mr. Garvey has emphatically denied Captain Fred Holroyd's claim about the visit since it was first made on Channel Four TV in the 'Diverse Reports' programme in the early 1980's and through all its subsequent repetitions .

The providing of the names , times and other details in the Holroyd file obtained by G2 six months ago , offered a chance , if desired , to disprove the meeting had take place.......
(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.

Most of Barry Gannon's teenage years were spent in one institution or another : he has two children of his own , a six-year-old and four-year-old girl - their names are tattooed on his hands . He is now 24 and facing a stretch for robbery . " I'm trying to get off the stuff . I try to turn the corner but I always seem to go straight on , " he says .

Gannon claimed that one night in 1999 , after being arrested by gardai in Dublin city centre , he was punched and kicked on his way to the Garda station . Once inside, he claims to have been batoned on the legs , and had his head banged against a wall . He was released at about 4am and returned to the hostel for homeless young men on Whitworth Road , run by Fr. Peter McVerry - " He had marks all over his body and was very distressed, " says the priest . " We brought him to see a doctor who found bruises on his legs and back which were consistent with baton marks . He got a hiding , as bad a hiding as I had ever seen . There was no way he was inventing that distress."

After letters were written to the newspapers , the Garda complaints procedure was speeded up . Fr McVerry believes his arrest should have been captured on CCTV , but as in the case of the Walsh sisters , no footage was ever produced . " They called me in eventually to say they had found no substance to the allegation . They believed the bruising might have occurred before the arrest . It was his word against theirs ....... "
(MORE LATER).

THE STRANGE STATE KILLING OF MAURICE O'NEILL .......
James Gogartys Tribunal reminiscences about the shooting dead of a Garda colleague have resurrected a long-lost story of justice miscarried .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By ANTON McCABE .

Maurice O' Neill and Harry White of Belfast were in a house at 14 Holly Road , in Donnycarney , Dublin , : there was a £5,000 price on Harry White's head . Maurice O' Neill was not a wanted man . At 9.30pm they were tipped off that their 'safe house' was compromised , but finished their game of cards . Unknown to them , armed (Free State) police and soldiers had had the area surrounded from 8pm . Detectives at the door were listening to the last hands of the card game being played .

At approximately 9.50pm , White and O' Neill left by the back door , to pick up their bicycles and slip away down a narrow laneway . Seconds later , Detective Mordaunt and three other armed detectives burst in the front door . Mordaunt rushed out the back in hot pursuit . Armed Officers were posted at both ends of the lane and , as soon as figures appeared at the garden gate , they opened fire . In the darkness , a chaotic fire-fight erupted . Maurice O' Neill might have got away , but turned back when he heard a groan . He ran out of ammunition and retreated into the house , where he was captured .

Harry White escaped through gardens and a house , and hid in undergrowth for a night and a day before reaching another safe house . Detective Mordaunt's body was found , by accident , in a garden on the other side of the lane , in the early hours of the following morning . The detective who stumbled across his corpse was searching for a lost pen . The dead garda detective had not been listed as missing as no role-call had been held .

Maurice O' Neill had only three days to prepare his defence before his 'trial' by military tribunal began on November 2 , 1942 - important information was withheld from his counsel , Sean McBride - the record book showing weapons issued to the police and ammunition expended , plus information showing the targets hit by police shooting.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, September 18, 2006

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 .

No one disputes that Fred Holroyd was what he says he was ; he has documentary evidence of every step in his career , from his rise through the ranks to his association with Craig Smellie , the Secret Service Chief in Lisburn , County Antrim . His allegations are that loyalist gunmen were used to kill and kidnap IRA suspects living south of the Border - with the help of three corrupt Garda detectives - at various times .

Their roles , according to Fred Holroyd , besides supplying information to British Intelligence , were to 'freeze' certain areas , ensuring that there were no Irish (ie 26-County State) security patrols when kidnaps or murders were planned . The names of those three Garda detectives were in the file which Irish (ie 26-County State) G2 Intelligence got last August (1986) , along with times , dates and specific dirty tricks operations , including the murders of John Francis Green and Eugene McQuaid , and the attempted kidnaps of two other men .

Amazingly , no attempt was made to establish the truth or otherwise of Fred Holroyd's claims : no interviews were carried out , nor were any Garda records for the dates and areas in question examined.......
(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.

Normally , solicitor Peter Mullen would not advise clients to take a civil case (against the Gardai) : " The Walsh sisters had huge advantages - they were middle class , well presented , articulate . It would have been a different story if they spoke with an inner-city accent , and had an address in Dublin 1 . It's easy to abuse the weak . The people I represent are more likely to be dispossessed , inarticulate or drug addicts . There are never any witnesses , because what happens takes place after the arrest . In court , you are faced with a Garda who is educated and articulate . The natural instinct is to believe the Gardai . "

Barry Gannon is a classic example : in June 1999 , Fr. Peter McVerry wrote to the newspapers about the then 20-year-old Barry Gannon - the Jesuit priest claimed that Gannon had been beaten up by gardai in Store Street Garda Barracks , having been accused of breaking a shop window in the city centre . A complaint had been made but would "...almost certainly not succeed.." , Peter Mullen predicted . He was right .

From behind the glass partition in the visiting room in Clover Hill prison in Dublin , Barry Gannon explains his life history in a few minutes . One of five children , his father died when he was eight years old . He was on the streets at 11 years of age , on heroin at the age of 13.......
(MORE LATER).

THE STRANGE STATE KILLING OF MAURICE O'NEILL .
James Gogartys Tribunal reminiscences about the shooting dead of a Garda colleague have resurrected a long-lost story of justice miscarried .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By ANTON McCABE .

In evidence to the Flood Tribunal on Tuesday , 2 February , former garda James Gogarty remembered - " I was within six feet of being shot dead , and a comrade of mine was shot dead , George Mordaunt " . Two dark chapters of Irish history briefly touched . The Flood and Moriarity Tribunals are casting light on the under-belly of Irish (Free State) politics in the past two decades , but little light has ever been shone on the dark days of World War Two (or 'The Emergency' , as it was euphemistically termed here) .

Fifteen-hundred Irish Republicans were interned . Five men faced firing squads and a sixth was hanged , after sentence by military tribunal - from which the only verdicts were death or acquittal . Three prisoners died on hunger strike and four individuals were victims of a shoot-to-kill policy .

Garda George Mordaunt died on October 24 , 1942 : on November 12 , 25-year-old Maurice O' Neill , an IRA member from Cahirciveen in County Kerry , was executed by firing squad , even though the prosecution accepted he did not fire the fatal shots . His death sentence was for shooting at police with intent to resist arrest.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, September 17, 2006

From 'VILLAGE' magazine , 7-13th September 2006 -

' Garda Donal Corcoran (left , with baton) who became known as 'Robocop' after he struck protesters with his baton at the 'Reclaim The Streets (RTS)' rally in May 2002 was recently promoted to detective rank . He was acquitted of assault charges arising from the protest , but admitted using excessive force . He is currently being investigated by the Garda Complaints Board for allegedly not wearing an ID number at the RTS rally .'

So there you have it : if you want to 'get ahead' in the Gardai , don't use your head . Use someone else's .

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Annual Eve-Of-All-Ireland Rally -
DATE - Saturday 16th September 2006 .
Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance at 2pm , for parade to the GPO .
Also , on this same Saturday (16th) , Republicans will be holding a 12-hour fast at the GPO in support of Irish Republican political prisoners , from 9AM to 9PM .

Friday, September 15, 2006

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 .

Chief Supt. Hubert Reynolds of the Murder Squad at Garda HQ wants to know why 'Commandant P' was never interviewed by the gardai about his involvement in the Wallace/Holroyd File . Reynolds heads a team which has been told to get to the bottom of the affair - and quick .

He has taken statements from 'Commandant P' and other (State) Army Officers , serving and retired , who might throw light on the subject . But that is only one of the curious things which have been thrown up by the persistent claim made by Fred Holroyd and Colin Wallace on TV , radio and in the press in Britain and Ireland . Their allegations divide neatly into two , but are complementary .

Fred Holroyd was a Captain in the 'Special Military Intelligence Unit' in the North of Ireland and served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the RUC's 'Juliet' Division of Mid Ulster (sic) between 1974 and 1976 . As a bearded undercover man , often operating in disguise , he was well placed to discover what was going on in the RUC Special Branch , local military intelligence , the SAS (who had a troop based at Castledillon near his patch) and MI6 for who he worked secretly as their eyes and ears in that part of the British Army command structure.......
(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.

Vincent Browne owes the Revenue Commissioners £110,000 to last July , with probably the same amount piling up since then , Tony Ryan is still owed another £500,000 and journalists may take cold comfort from the fact that their own paltry debt of £15,000 in owed wages is by far the smallest of Browne's debts . These figures may explain why some of Browne's closest allies are thinking of ratting .

Vincent Browne is presently looking for a consortium of investors to put in £100,000 each , but whether or not the larger-than-life journalist manages to hang in there and become the country's most flamboyant publisher remains to be seen . If he does fail to get an investor , or investors , it will not be for the want of trying .

At one stage in the last ten months , Browne approached people close to Fianna Fail leader Charles Haughey , looking for funds . Possessed of an astute political brain and a manic energy , Vincent Browne himself will survive even if 'The Sunday Tribune' does not !
[END of 'VINCENT BROWNE : PILLARS OF SOCIETY']
(Next - ' THE STRANGE STATE KILLING OF MAURICE O' NEILL' - from 1999.)

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

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).

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Monday, September 11, 2006

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 .

It was a man in the engineering business in Dublin who brought about the examination of the 'Riddle of the Wallace/Holroyd File' : more than 12 years ago he had been an Explosives Ordnance Officer in command of an Irish (Free State) Army bomb disposal team around what the British call 'the Monaghan salient' - that bit of the 26-County State which juts into what they call ' Northern Ireland' (sic) .

When he was'nt defusing Provisional IRA bombs , 'Commandant P' liked to have a drink in a local hotel . One of his social contacts was a man who was to become 'famous' as the 'Badger' - the MI6 agent identified by British Captain Fred Holroyd as a Garda detective .

On August Bank Holiday , Saturday , 1975 , the Badger paid an unexpected call on 'Commandant P's home in Castleknock , Dublin , : with him he had a tall Englishman , a " 'Peter Maynard' of the British Army " - Maynard was , in fact , Captain Maynard , of the RAOC , whom Fred Holroyd has identified as working for the MI6 chief in Lisburn , Craig Smellie.......
(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.

Six months later , after the Walsh sisters had lodged proceedings against the gardai , summonses were served : the girls were accused of assaulting two garda officers !

One of the assaults was said to have taken place on Nassau Street in Dublin , even though they were arrested and taken into custody on Grafton Street : they were also said to be so drunk as to be a danger to themselves and others and , in court , one of the Gardai said that Grainne Walsh was so intoxicated she could not speak or sign her name , even though a copy of her signature was later produced !

The Walsh sisters had been warned by their solicitor to expect a summons , " But it was still alarming , " said Grainne . Nine gardai , including two sergeants , turned up at the District Court to give evidence against them - " Every one told a different story when they took the stand . " In court , one of the two gardai who had arrested the sisters was asked by the judge if the incident had been investigated internally , and he replied that it had . When pressed , he told the court that he had investigated it himself ! The judge threw out the case , describing it as a "...disgraceful.. " day in the history of the police force , and stated that he would have awarded costs if he could , but public policy did not allow it , he said . In the (State) High Court last summer , counsel for the Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne said the force "...regret very much what had happened.."
and acknowledged that both women were of "...unblemished character.. " , and told the court that damages had been paid . However , trouble was to follow over the garda report into the incident.......
(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.

One of the first casualties of Vincent Browne's leadership-style was news editor Don Buckley , who found his editor's swashbuckling behaviour impossible to work under . Buckley left only a few weeks after the relaunch of 'The Sunday Tribune' , and was followed by Eugene McGloin whose contract was not renewed . Joe Carroll , the Diplomatic Correspondent , went to RTE's 'Today Tonight' programme , as did Emily O' Reilly who had previously enjoyed a close working relationship with Vincent Browne .

Others to leave were Deputy Chief-Sub David Quin , who joined the 'Irish Independent', Maggie O' Kane , who went to RTE , and Paddy Prendiville , now with the 'Phoenix Magazine'.

'The Sunday Tribune's celebrated rows are not entirely due to its editor's abrasive manner : most of the journalists are young to middle-aged , with CV's that might have made Special Branch files at some point in the last two decades.......
(MORE LATER).