http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/ en Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:50:04 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/images/styles/zen/misc/rss.png http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/ http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57676-Dumbarton-Masonic-4-Case-Dropped&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:21:00 GMT As some of you may remember from last year a ex-member of the Vol. Jim Lynagh RFB from Dumbarton was badly beaten and left paralysed brain damaged unable to walk, talk, move well the boys that done... As some of you may remember from last year a ex-member of the Vol. Jim Lynagh RFB from Dumbarton was badly beaten and left paralysed brain damaged unable to walk, talk, move well the boys that done it have been let off because there wasnt enough evidence and obviously Derek can't make a statment as he is now a prisoner in his own body, heres a news article on it -



http://www.dumbartonreporter.co.uk/n...-case-dropped/


THE case against four men — who were charged in connection with the alleged attempted murder of a man outside Dumbarton’s Masonic Hall — has been dropped.

Almost a year since the shocking attack on Derek Cassels, the Crown Office has decided it will take no further action against Norman Allerdyce, Robert Currie, Craig McLeary and William Wallace.

The assault came during a period of heightened tensions following two out-of-season ‘Orange’ marches through Dumbarton in the space of two months, one which had taken place earlier that day.

This week a Crown Office source told the Reporter: “After a full and careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances, Crown Counsel decided that there should be no further proceedings.” A police source this week said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack. The source added: “We understand the fiscal is no longer pursuing this matter and Strathclyde Police has concluded its investigation.”

The Reporter believes that Mr Cassels, from Balloch, who was 38 at the time of the incident, has been left permanently disabled and shows little sign of improvement.

On the day of the attack, Saturday October 24 2009, The Pride of the Rock Flute Band had organised a march through the town.

Feelings were still raw following on from a much larger march in August, staged by the Provincial Grand Black Chapter of Scotland, which organised 3,000 people from 44 flute bands to descend on Dumbarton town centre.

There were fierce objections on one side and legal challenges on the other before the August march was allowed to go ahead.

The cost of policing the event was put at around £107,000.

A wave of bad feeling engulfed the town, with objectors believing the march should not have been allowed as the Black Chapter had no links with Dumbarton, while those in favour were upset at the way in which organisers had to fight for the freedom of expression to stage it.

These tensions had hardly had time to subside when in October Dumbarton’s Pride of the Rock Flute Band applied to stage a special march to commemorate its 21st anniversary.

Objections were again lodged to try and prevent it and there was discussion of protests being staged.

Then Saturday October 17 — the weekend before the march — Bankhead Orange Halls in Dumbarton’s Broadmeadow Industrial Estate was firebombed.

Fortunately no-one was injured in the terrible attack but community leaders expressed their shock.

Dumbarton councillor David McBride, along with others, believed the incident was a result of the “heightened tensions”.

He was one of the objectors to The Pride of the Rock’s march.

At the meeting to decide if the parade would go ahead, which took place four days before the fire attack, Chief Inspector Gray told the Licensing committee: “We have already received intelligence that there is local opposition and there is probably going to be a protest to oppose the parade.

“However, we can manage this successfully.”

Councillors unanimously voted to allow the parade after a legal officer advised them that if they blocked it then it was “highly likely” a sheriff would overturn the decision, as had happened in August with the Black Chapter.

Band secretary Craig McLeary, one of the men later arrested in connection with the attack on Mr Cassels, said: “I would like to give assurances that the organisers will be meeting with the chief steward and also the police prior to marching starting.”

Indeed, on the day of the march around 70 officers kept order and around 100 spectators watched and the event passed without incident or arrest.

Brian Adam, chairman of the Pride of the Rock Flute Band said: “We were more than delighted with the way it went.

“I didn’t think there would be any trouble.”

However, later that night Derek Cassels was left fighting for his life after being beaten by a mob outside the Masonic Hall at around 9.15pm.

There were claims someone outside had thrown a lit firework into the main hall, which sparked the trouble.

Some Pride of the Rock band members were inside the Masonic Hall at the time.

In the days that followed, religious leaders from both sides of the divide urged calm in the community.

Then on Friday November 6, Norman Allerdyce, Robert Currie, Craig McLeary and William Wallace, who were then aged 44, 39, 29 and 24 respectively, were all arrested in connection with the attempted murder of Mr Cassels.

The four men appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Monday November 9 last year in relation to the assault in Church Street.

None of the men made any plea or declaration.

Police had requested that they were remanded into custody, but they were all bailed pending further investigations following the private hearing.

What definitive account of what happened on the night Mr Cassels was beaten now looks unlikely. ]]> Scotland/Alba Alba Republican http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57676-Dumbarton-Masonic-4-Case-Dropped http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57505-Edinburgh-City-Council-No-complicity-in-war-crimes!&goto=newpost Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:50 GMT Edinburgh City Council has shortlisted Veolia in the so-called ‘Alternative Business Model’ programme. Veolia is in the running for a range of Environmental Services contracts. But Veolia is a... Edinburgh City Council has shortlisted Veolia in the so-called ‘Alternative Business Model’ programme. Veolia is in the running for a range of Environmental Services contracts.

But Veolia is a criminal company deeply complicit in Israel's breeches of international law (see factsheet).

On Aug 10, SPSC received this response from the Council dismissing our report calling for the exlcusion of Veolia. After lobbying the Aug 19th FUll Council meeting, and with the help of the Greens and Labour groups, the Lib Dem/SNP-controlled administration agreed to investigate the issue further. A report is due by December.

Join the campaign to make sure Edinburgh council does not involve us in violations of international law and in human rights abuses!

Email your councillors today to urge them to exclude Veolia and its subsidiaries from all Council contracts:

Sample letter to Edinburgh City Council: boycott Veolia
How to find & lobby your Edinburgh City Councillors to repudiate Veolia
List & Contact Details of Edinburgh City Councillors
If you live outside Edinburgh/Scotland you can express your concerns to:
Councillor Dawe, Leader of the Council: jenny.dawe@edinburgh.gov.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Councillor Cardownie, Deputy Leader of the Council: steve.cardownie@edinburgh.gov.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

http://www.scottishpsc.org.uk/index....&Itemid=200265 ]]> Scotland/Alba Poblachtach Sóisalach http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57505-Edinburgh-City-Council-No-complicity-in-war-crimes! http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57472-Question-for-cairde-members&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:59:56 GMT i have a couple of questions, 1. why is it that 90% of cairde na hEireann's marches are to highlight events that happened in the past? 2. Why does cairde na hEireann not do marches to highlight the current events that are happening all over the 6 counties i.e internment is still very much in existance today as it was in the 70's, republicans are being searched in the street and their homes are still being raided because of their beliefs, i know the media don't give it too much attention. 3. Could cairde na hEireann highlight that the problem still exists ]]> Scotland/Alba republican unity 32 http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57472-Question-for-cairde-members http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57464-Health-inequalities-worst-since-the-Great-Depression-–-with-the-cuts-still-to-come&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:55:18 GMT Inequalities in premature death are as high as they have ever been in this country, and this is before the cuts. The Lib-Con coalition thinks that deep, swingeing spending cuts are the only way to... Inequalities in premature death are as high as they have ever been in this country, and this is before the cuts. The Lib-Con coalition thinks that deep, swingeing spending cuts are the only way to get this country out of its economic hole, but is there any justification for that view? Or is there another agenda at work?
Research published this week in the British Medical Journal looking at inequalities in premature mortality between the richest and poorest areas of the country found that “inequalities in premature mortality between areas of Britain continued to rise steadily during the first decade of the 21st century. The last time in the long economic record that inequalities were almost as high was in the lead up to the economic crash of 1929 and the economic depression of the 1930s… geographical inequalities in mortality are higher in the most recent decade than in any similar time period for which records are available since at least 1921”. By 2007, for every 100 people under 65 dying in the best-off areas, 199 were dying in the poorest” (link).


The research also found that “Recent government interventions have aimed to reduce these inequalities, but, the evidence suggests, to little effect”. This is amply borne out by a report from the National Audit Office earlier this month, looking at the success (or otherwise) at the Department of Health’s efforts to reduce health inequalities in England (link). By way of contextualisation, the report begins by stating that “In the early 2000s, in England, people living in the poorest neighbourhoods, could on average expect to die seven years earlier than people living in the richest neighbourhoods and spend far more of their lives with ill health.”


Addressing health inequalities was something that New Labour made a priority, at least rhetorically. Their target was to reduce inequalities in life expectancy between the poorest areas and the national average by 10% by 2010. The outcome of their efforts has been that:


“life expectancy in spearhead areas has not improved as fast as the whole population and the gap in life expectancy between the two has widened since the baseline by 7 per cent for males and 14 per cent for females. Life expectancy for the whole population now stands at 77.9 years for males and 82.0 years for females”, with the result that inequalities in life expectancy “can still be 10 years or more depending on socio-economic background… In Blackpool, for example, men live for an average of 73.6 years, which is 10.7 fewer than men in Kensington and Chelsea in central London, who reach 84.3 years. Similarly, women in the Lancashire town typically die at 78.8 years – 10.1 years earlier than those in the London borough, who reach an average 89.9 (link).”


One does not need to look too far to find the cause of Labour’s failure. By now there is a good deal of research literature on the ‘social gradient’ of health: that “health inequalities result from social inequalities… the lower a person’s social position, the worse his or her health” (link; see also http://www.iwca.info/?p=10011). As the socioeconomic gradient steepens, so the social gradient of health steepens, something that Labour allowed to happen on their watch (link).


This brings us to the present day pass where Dr Sam Everington –a former deputy chair of the British Medical Association, and now a GP in Tower Hamlets- can state of his patch that “We estimate probably a half of our children are malnourished; vitamin D-deficient, iron-deficient. We have a massive problem right next to the City of London. It’s very similar to what you would find in developing countries in big parts of our communities” (link). That ‘Third World’ conditions should be emerging in London, cheek by jowl with tremendous wealth, simply shouldn’t be possible, but it is happening, demonstrating that “Inner London is by far the most unequal of all regions in England” (link).


Recent research has shown, that the Cockney accent –the accent of working class London- is being forced out of the capital, to surrounding areas like Hertfordshire and Essex (link). This gets called ‘white-flight’, but it’s not solely white-flight anymore, and has far more to do with affordability and economic opportunity than race. With the decline of industry, the rise of finance and its offshoots, and the decline of social housing, the working class is being increasingly priced out of the nation’s capital, with the city becoming increasingly the domain of the wealthy and welfare dependent. And even this latter group will come under increasing pressure once the cuts in housing benefit kick in.


“Slashing spending in the midst of a depression, which deepens that depression and paves the way for deflation, is actually self-defeating”


Will the cuts do anything to reverse the appearance of child malnutrition in London? The Lib-Con coalition and its supporters argue that the cuts are for the patients’ benefit, that the long-term effect will be to purge the economy of waste and inefficiency, restore market discipline, drive down the cost of government borrowing on the international bond markets, lowering long-term interest rates and allowing the private sector to power us back to prosperity.


That’s the justification that is being given, but is there any truth to it? The medicine certainly doesn’t appear to be working in Ireland. Ireland has been undergoing deep spending cuts for almost two years now, yet this week saw the Irish government’s credit rating downgraded by the ratings agency Moodys. The reason given was “the Irish government’s gradual but significant loss of financial strength, as reflected by its deteriorating debt affordability”. As the Financial Times explains, “The country has suffered a dramatic contraction in GDP since 2008, causing a sharp decline in tax revenue. The general government debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 25 per cent before the crisis to 64 per cent by the end of 2009, and is continuing to grow” (link).


The austerity which has helped devastate the Irish economy has not appeared to help one bit: the proportion of government debt in the economy hasrisen, and the Irish government is still paying 5.5% to borrow on the international bond market, compared to around 2.5% for Germany. We see no evidence of Ireland reaping any rewards, from the bond market or anywhere else, for its masochism. As the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has said “It’s almost as if the financial markets understand what policy makers seemingly don’t: that while long-term fiscal responsibility is important, slashing spending in the midst of a depression, which deepens that depression and paves the way for deflation, is actually self-defeating”(link).


Why, then, are the Lib-Cons so gung-ho about making cuts so soon and so deep? As Will Hutton has said of the cuts in store for us, “No country has ever volunteered such austerity” (link). Certainly, no such measures are being planned in the US. What we are seeing in Britain is a rerun of 1929, when the Treasury argued that domestic fiscal deflation is an appropriate method of pulling a country out of recession. In the words of Robert Skidelsky, “The implicit premise of the coming retrenchment is that market economies are always at, or rapidly return to, full employment. It follows that a stimulus, whether fiscal or monetary, cannot improve on the existing situation. All that increased government spending does is to withdraw money from the private sector; all that printing money does is to cause inflation” (link).


Such market fundamentalist thinking is, almost unbelieveably, back in the ascendant after the financial crash. So weak is the left that, in the wake of the worst crisis of capitalism since the 1930s, neo-liberal ideology is coming back even stronger. There is currently a robust debate taking place among economists and academics on how fiscal deficits should be tackled (link), but the Lib-Cons are apparently as unaware of this debate as they are of what’s happening in Ireland.


What is happening is the triumph of ideology over pragmatism, in the name of shrinking and remodeling the state along neo-liberal lines. New Labour were hampered in this quest by their dependence on the public sector unions for finance, votes and their activist base. The Lib-Cons have no such obstacle. In 1929 there may have been the excuse of inexperience. Now, only the most blinkered ideologue can unquestioningly laud the benefits of cutting spending in a recession, and blinkered ideologues it is who are in the Treasury. In 1929 it led to tragedy. In 2010 it will do so again.

http://www.iwca.info/?p=10159 ]]> Scotland/Alba Poblachtach Sóisalach http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57464-Health-inequalities-worst-since-the-Great-Depression-–-with-the-cuts-still-to-come http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57417-SNP-rethink-over-Scottish-referendum-plans&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:21:13 GMT The Scottish government is set to shelve plans for an independence referendum before next year's election.

The bill for a referendum is due to be published, but will not be put to an immediate vote in parliament.

Opposition leaders have described the move as a "humiliating climbdown" for the Scottish government.

However, ministers said the measure would face certain defeat at Holyrood and would instead be a central issue in next May's Scottish elections.

The SNP administration is due to unveil its programme for the final year of the Holyrood session on Wednesday.

The party had pledged to hold a referendum before entering the 2007 election, with a preferred date for the vote of St Andrew's Day on 30 November this year.
'Powerful position'

However, a spokesman for Mr Salmond said: "Tactically, we are deciding whether to introduce a bill to allow the unionist parties to vote it down or rather to publish the bill and concentrate on canvassing public support.

"A new re-elected SNP government will be in a powerful position to secure passage of the referendum, having successfully mobilised the people over the blocking tactics of the unionist parties."

"This climb down is a humiliation for him and embarrassment for his government”

End Quote Iain Gray Labour

It follows a meeting of party MSPs in Perth last week where opinion on the issue was canvassed.

In response to the rethink, Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: "Alex Salmond's bill has turned into a white flag rather than a flagship policy.

"This climb down is a humiliation for him and embarrassment for his government.

"It is the ultimate vanity project to waste millions, publishing a bill on a referendum nobody wants and not even bring it to parliament."
Second question

A Liberal Democrat spokeswoman added: "We welcome the SNP fighting next year's election solely on the grounds of independence.

"Alex Salmond has said that he is now going to do this and this is very welcome territory for us."

Mr Salmond published details of the two-question referendum in February, which would cost about £9.5m, in a draft bill.

The first question would see voters asked if they backed increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

The second question would then ask people if they agreed that "the parliament's powers should also be extended to enable independence to be achieved".

But the proposed bill has been consistently opposed by the Tories, Liberal Democrats and Labour at Holyrood.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11193304 ]]> Scotland/Alba freethepeople1916 http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57417-SNP-rethink-over-Scottish-referendum-plans http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57382-Wosba-sean-treacy-commemoration&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:28:55 GMT West Of Scotland Bands Alliance Saturday 16 October 2010 Assemble 10:30am Woodhead Road West Of Scotland Bands Alliance


Saturday 16 October 2010


Assemble 10:30am


Woodhead Road

11:00am Start



Proposed Route Woodhead Rd, Wiltonburn Rd, Nitshill Rd, Peat Rd, Haughburn Rd



Estimated Number of Participants 100 ]]> Scotland/Alba garfield http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57382-Wosba-sean-treacy-commemoration http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57314-There-is-no-connection-between-Irish-republicanism-in-Scotland-and-catholicism.&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:07:34 GMT Irish republicanism just appeared out of nowhere. It had nothing to do with the catholic church...nothing whatsover and all the individuals who cringeworthy deny what they are are correct.... how... Irish republicanism just appeared out of nowhere. It had nothing to do with the catholic church...nothing whatsover and all the individuals who cringeworthy deny what they are are correct.... how could anyone possibly be born in Scotland and be mixed up with Lithuanian.......sorry......Irish republicanism?

Perhaps some people should be up front and say 'my ethnic identity has got a determining fact in what I believe in?

Personally I am very proud to be an Irish unrepentent republican, regardless of how many pints of lager I have had - I still think I would win in an intellectuall argument? ]]> Scotland/Alba Francis http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57314-There-is-no-connection-between-Irish-republicanism-in-Scotland-and-catholicism. http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57211-SSFPP-10K-Run-Glasgow&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:20:29 GMT The SSFPP would like to announce that at least one of our members will be doing the 10K Glasgow run to raise funds & awareness for Republican POW's, He will be wearing a T-Shirt highlighting Political Status Now campaign.

If you wish to make a donation to the SSFPP or to sponsor our member either see one of our members at most republican events / WOSBA marches or e-mail ssfpp@hotmail.co.uk for more information ]]> Scotland/Alba SSFPP http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57211-SSFPP-10K-Run-Glasgow http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57112-Ballymurphy-Massacre-Port-Glasgow-4th-Sept&goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:37:41 GMT Ballymurphy Massacre ~ Port Glasgow 4th Sept assemble 10am at bogestone community centre, port glasgow proceed down to town centre for rally and speakers. hoping of a very good turn out for... Ballymurphy Massacre ~ Port Glasgow 4th Sept

assemble 10am at bogestone community centre, port glasgow proceed down to town centre for rally and speakers.

hoping of a very good turn out for this,and alot of work has been put into it.

SO IF YOU STAY NEAR BY OR NOT TOO FAR AWAY HOPE YOU WILL COME ALONG, ANY QUESTIONS PM ME.



Internment - indefinite imprisonment without trial - was reintroduced into the North of Ireland on August 9 1971 at 4am. Three hundred and forty people were dragged out of their houses across the Greater Ballymurphy area of west Belfast, many of whom would not be released for years.

Hundreds of homes were wrecked in the process and the entire community was effectively terrorised by the British army.

Later that day, as the full horror of what had just taken place began to sink in, loyalists from the neighbouring Springmartin estate began to form into a crowd to taunt their nationalist neighbours across the road in Springfield Park, shouting slogans such as "Where's your daddy?"

John Teggart, the son of Belfast local Danny Teggart, picks up the story. "The crowd in Springmartin, as the night went on, grew to maybe 400. They had been stoning the houses that back onto Springfield Park and a lot of anxiety was building up," he explains.

"At the top end, most of the houses were getting wrecked and stoned, so people had moved out down to the lower end of the park. A man named Bobby Clarke suggested moving out of the area altogether and started to evacuate the youngest first. He went out on his own across the field with an 18-month-old baby and brought her over to Moyard Park. As he was returning a soldier from the Parachute Regiment shot him in the back.
"Friar Hugh Mullen then phoned the army and told them there was a wounded man on the field and asked their soldiers to stop shooting. He then left the house and, waving a white cloth, went out onto the field to issue the last rites to Bobby. Bobby said he wasn't dying, so Friar Mullen went back towards his house to phone the ambulance, still waving the white cloth. That was when he was shot.

"A young man named Frank Quinn then ran onto the field to help and met a barrage of bullets. He did a heroic act helping his neighbours and he was shot in the back of the head.

"At the same time as this was going on, my daddy and several other people were down the road near the army barracks.
"All of a sudden the paratroopers came out of the main gates of the barracks and started firing at anybody, anybody at all. A young man called Noel Philips was wounded, fell and screamed out. A woman named Mrs Connolly went to help but when she got to him she was shot in the face. The whole left-hand side of her face was taken off with the force of the bullet.
"My daddy was wounded in the leg initially according to eyewitness accounts. He was then shot 14 times whilst he lay out in the open, from a distance of less than 50 yards. They also shot an 11-year-old boy in the groin.

"The soldiers then came out of the barracks in a Saracen (armoured truck) and two soldiers got out, one with an SLR, one with a handgun. The one with the handgun walked up to Noel Philips, who was lying on the field wounded, and executed him with a bullet behind each ear.
"I can say these things with confidence because we have seen the autopsy and there was a 9mm bullet in him from a Browning pistol. This is from experts. And our eyewitness accounts back this up.

"Then there was Joan Connolly. One of the soldiers went round the side of the house and claimed later that he found a woman who was obviously dead. It was later found out that she hadn't been shot once, but four times - in the belly, in the shoulder and the thigh, as well as in the face.
"The other soldier grabbed a man called Gerald Russell from where he was injured behind a pillar and just started shooting him at point-blank range with the rifle. He was shot four times. Then they started piling the bodies into the Saracen, both dead and wounded.

"Joseph Murphy, who had been shot in the leg, was taken in and repeatedly beaten. He died a week later. Because the injuries he received during the beating were so bad, he couldn't be operated on. He died from gangrene.
"The whole of his body was completely black from where he was bruised and he told his wife on his death bed that they shot rubber bullets into his wound as well.

"Davy Callaghan, an ex-navy man, was also taken out of the Saracen. There was a gauntlet of paratroopers waiting for him. He was taken out and held on the ground whilst they took it in turns to kick him severely between his legs. He ended up in hospital with a cage round his lower body.
"Gerald Russell was taken into a room, where he was beaten repeatedly and hit with rifle butts. They actually put the rifle muzzle into one of his wounds and picked him up with it. They then jumped off the bed repeatedly onto him. This was a man wounded four times. He said while he was there, there was a naked man, thrown onto the floor beside him. He says this man was obviously dead or dying. We believe it was Danny Teggart, my daddy. He said what they did to him, bouncing off the beds, they did to my daddy as well. The dead and the wounded were both beaten.

"Six people in the space of around half an hour or an hour were murdered by the paratroopers."
In the two days that followed, another five were killed or were later to die from their wounds - four after being shot and one from a massive heart attack after being subjected to a mock execution.
None of the deaths was ever properly investigated. Military police interviewed their colleagues in the days that followed and those statements were taken at face value by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Those killed were all said to be gunmen.

"From their interviews there are total discrepancies," says Teggart. "They said that Mrs Connolly" - a 45-year-old mother of eight - "was a superwoman, that after dropping her gun she jumped over their heads with a submachine gun and starting firing again. They said she used at least two firearms to shoot them."
In a pattern starting to become depressingly familiar, those reports were then reported as fact in the media. Nor has the official story of events been changed to this day. "The only way it's going to change is through the likes of what we're doing with the campaign.

"Our goal is an independent international investigation, independent of the state. The evidence is there that this was murder, this was a war crime. There were 14 people killed less than six months later in Bloody Sunday by the same soldiers, the same regiment - 1 Para. If Ballymurphy had been dealt with, Bloody Sunday could never have happened."

The campaign has made progress in recent months and now has the full support of both nationalist parties as well as the foreign minister of the Dail. They are also due to meet the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland next month. But perhaps most importantly, the campaign has received important new evidence from the Catholic church.
"They came up with some archives that hadn't been seen before - including a report and witness statements," says Teggart. "One of those reports says that you could indict the paratroopers in Springmartin for shooting dead Frank Quinn."

The Saville inquiry has also boosted the families' confidence and actually recommended that the Ballymurphy killings be investigated.
"You have to remember that Bloody Sunday wasn't an isolated incident. They had already killed 11 people in Ballymurphy before going on to kill 14 in Derry. They then went on to kill five people - three teenagers, the father of the boy shot in the field the previous year and another Catholic priest. This was in May, less than a year later, in the same area just yards from where John McKerr was murdered near the church.
"You would think that every murder should be investigated. But if your loved ones are murdered by the state it's an uphill struggle. You have to almost prove what happened before you even get any investigation, and that's the struggle we're involved in at the moment."
Join the Ballymurphy families' campaign for justice at www.ballymurphymassacre.com






WILL POST PICS AFTER THE MARCH


THANKS ]]> Scotland/Alba PORT GLASGOW FENIAN BHOYS http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57112-Ballymurphy-Massacre-Port-Glasgow-4th-Sept http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57107-Plains-Cairde-na-hEireann-March&goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:37:06 GMT Plains Cairde na hEireann Cumann. McGurks Bar Bombing March For Justice Saturday, October 2nd, 11:30 Assemble 12 Start: This march in Plains is to highlight and remember the Bombing of McGurks... Plains Cairde na hEireann Cumann.

McGurks Bar Bombing March For Justice Saturday, October 2nd, 11:30 Assemble 12 Start:

This march in Plains is to highlight and remember the Bombing of McGurks Bar in The New Lodge on the 4th of December 1971 and to highlight the families campaign for justice for their inocennt murdered loved ones and also the march will high light british collusion.

Bands In Attendence:
...Coatbridge Republican Flute Band
Volunteer Martin Doherty Republican Flute Band
Volunteer Sean McIlvenna Republican Flute Band

Also All Cairde Cummans In Attendence

Special Guest Speaker After The March

March Route:

Assemble Plains community Centre Main Street Plains then on to McLelland Drive, Jarvie Avenue, Wallace Street, Bruce Street, Livingston Drive, West Avenue, Ballochinie Drive, Aberfeldy Avenue, Kintyre Cresant, Ballochinie Drive, East Avenue, Livingston Drive then onto the football park in moffat view for bands, cummans and crowds to assemble for speeches.

Out Of The Ashes ]]> Scotland/Alba Copper1916 http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57107-Plains-Cairde-na-hEireann-March http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57084-Volunteer-Sean-quot-Maxi-quot-Mcilvenna-Commemoration-Parade-Glasgow-2010.&goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:54:14 GMT Volunteer Sean "Maxi" Mcilvenna O'C North Armagh City Commemoration Parade Glasgow
Saturday 4th December 2010 Assemble 11:30am for 12 Shamrock Street Glasgow Parade Ends Royston Hill, Garngad.

Function Afterwards with free soup and sandwiches All Welcome! (Bands or Cummans interested in attending please contact the band.

The band would also like to add we have no plans of disbanding after this or any other parade shortly and will only comment on the topic of the thread our upcoming Commemoration thanks. ]]> Scotland/Alba boyle http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57084-Volunteer-Sean-quot-Maxi-quot-Mcilvenna-Commemoration-Parade-Glasgow-2010. http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57082-Vol-Sean-Mcilvenna-RFB-Glasgow-recruitment.&goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:31:05 GMT Interested in joining one of Glasgow's well known bands?

The Volunteer Sean Mcilvenna RFB has been on the road for 11 years and attended marches covering Ireland, England and Scotland.

The Sean Mcilvenna RFB Like to keep active and attend as many parades and functions, political events they can so we expect members to be committed to the bands aims and expectations.

Full tuition is provided from the flute or the drum or just learning how to march to add to our colour party.

This year has seen us lower the age from 16 to 13 years of age as we see youth is the way forward for the band to continue.

Trial Period

When a new member joins the band they are given time to settle into the band to see if they like the band's set up etc, this is a safe guard for the new member and the bands benefit as it gives the new member the opportunity if they want to stay or move on, without having committed them self to the band.

MEMBERSHIP

Like all bands Volunteer Sean Mcilvenna RFB requires members to function as a band, without them we wouldn't exist so the band is always keen to take in new members, young and old, to preserve and promote the band for the present and the future.

If interested in becoming a member then you can contact us from our website www.vsmrfb.org or email admin@vsmrfb.org

Thanks,
VSMRFB Glasgow. ]]> Scotland/Alba boyle http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57082-Vol-Sean-Mcilvenna-RFB-Glasgow-recruitment. http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57079-Glasgow-City-Council-New-Parade-Proposals&goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:39:23 GMT http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...sgow-1.1051722 Exclusive: Gerry Braiden Share 0 comments 31 Aug 2010 Parades will effectively be banned from Glasgow city centre and the policing costs... http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...sgow-1.1051722

Exclusive: Gerry Braiden

Share 0 comments 31 Aug 2010

Parades will effectively be banned from Glasgow city centre and the policing costs of all demonstrations publicised under groundbreaking new proposals unveiled today.

Other radical plans aimed at reducing the 500 marches a year within the city’s boundaries include encouraging organisers to consider alternatives to processions and insisting on events with 1000 or more participants assembling at and progressing to a public park.

All participants, from the Protestant Orange orders to Irish republican groups and trade unions, will have to march four abreast to allow quicker progress and reduce time and disruption to the public.

“Return” processions, where groups march back to where they started from, could be axed to minimise disruption, while small parades which feed into a main procession could be curbed as Glasgow City Council moves to develop standard routes,

It is also proposed that no-one taking part in a parade shall be allowed to carry ceremonial swords or weapons of any description without permission from the police or city council.

What we have done is try to reach a balance where we protect people’s democratic right to demonstrate; but without overwhelming the rights of the wider community. Councillor Jim Coleman
The plans, which go out to consultation for the next four weeks, will form the core of the city’s policy on parades and processions, which the council wants in place by November.

Strathclyde Police will issue its own report on the rising number of parades within the force area and the associated spiralling costs in the coming weeks.

Parades and processions cost the force around £1.8 million annually, with the policing bill for an individual march ranging from £500 to around £600,000 for the large Orange Order parade in early July.

Strathclyde is facing a financial crisis, with 400 frontline officers being axed in the next 18 months due to cost pressures.

Over the last year, the council has held discussions with a range of parties aimed at pulling together Scotland’s first definitive local government policy on parades, sitting within the framework of existing Scottish and European legislation.

Although parades cannot be banned on cost grounds, the city council intends to examine the impact of “the displacement effect” – when officers are diverted from other duties to staff a procession – when deciding if an event gets the go-ahead. It will also consider if “the containment of risks” places an excessive burden on the police.

The council writes off around £100,000 from the cost to itself from processions but said it plans to pass on “every last penny”. The proposals argue for a presumption against parading through the city centre and claim that “at this critical time for the economy any potential disruption to the city centre is a major factor which must be taken into account”.

Last year, more than 70 parades went through the city centre. A policy of ending all return parades, which usually occur in the evening when many followers are intoxicated by alcohol, would cut by 25% the total number of parades.

Under current legislation the organisers of processions cannot be required to meet the costs of policing but the estimated bill to the police and the number of police hours will be published by the city council “to improve the transparency of the process”.

Organisations, from major bus firms through to the Boys Brigade and the obvious targets of the policy – the Grand Orange Lodge, Apprentice Boys, Grand Black Chapter and Cairde na hEireann have until September 28 to respond.

Councillor Jim Coleman, who is spearheading the policy, said: “We’re looking for considered, pragmatic feedback. It is in the interests of the marching organisations that we make progress, because the current position has become untenable.

“What we have done is try to reach a balance where we protect people’s democratic right to demonstrate; but without overwhelming the rights of the wider community.”

A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland said: “While we remain happy to sit down and discuss our parades in a spirit of co-operation, we are aware of our rights and will not see those rights curtailed in order to satisfy the political will or prejudice of a handful of city councillors.”



Marching: The numbers and the costs


Across 2009-10 there were 497 parades within Glasgow – 124 of which were “return” parades – 252 by the Orange Order, 43 by The Apprentice Boys, 42 by the Black Institute, 27 from Irish Republican groups, 15 from bands and 116 from other organisations. Of these, 72 went through the city centre.


Across 2008-09 there were 340 parades, excluding the main July Orange march in Glasgow, requiring a police presence, which accounted for 19,000 police hours and a cost of £1.2 million. The July Orange parade alone cost £596,000.


Small parades, such as Orange Order church processions, cost around £500 to police. The 2009 May Day parade cost £20,000, a Cairde na hEireann parade the following month cost £34,000, while nine separate Loyalist and Republican processions on May 16 cost £14,500.


From April to August last year, there were 163 parades in just two police divisions, A and B, accounting for 12,000 man hours and at a cost of more than £400,000.


Since former Strathclyde Chief Constable Sir John Orr attempted to get to grips with parades, the number within the force area has gone up. Glasgow hosts more Loyalist and Republican parades than the Belfast and City of Derry council areas combined.


In autumn 2009, Glasgow Household Survey, around two-thirds of residents said they would support a reduction in the number of Orange processions and Republican parades in their local area (67%) and the city centre (66%). Half said they would back an outright ban on parades in the city centre, with only 17% opposing such a ban. ]]> Scotland/Alba AllanCvmdrfb http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?57079-Glasgow-City-Council-New-Parade-Proposals http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?56856-Scotland-s-own-IRA-priest-who-escaped-justice-37-years-ago&goto=newpost Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:35:25 GMT On the evening of 22 March 1973, the deputy chief constable of Glasgow police knocked on the door of the presbytery of Our Holy Redeemer church in Clydebank and asked to speak to Bishop Thomas... On the evening of 22 March 1973, the deputy chief constable of Glasgow police knocked on the door of the presbytery of Our Holy Redeemer church in Clydebank and asked to speak to Bishop Thomas Winning.

In the study of the future Cardinal, the senior officer broke disturbing news: an arrest warrant had been issued for a priest in the Glasgow diocese in connection with IRA terrorist activities.

The revelation this week that a Catholic priest in Northern Ireland, Father James Chesney, got away with the murder of nine people as the architect behind the bombing in Claudy in 1972, finds an echo in the case of Father Bartholomew Burns in Scotland.

In both cases a Catholic priest dispensed with his vows to assist a terrorist organisation while the hierarchy, in the Chesney case, colluded in a cover-up, while in Glasgow they stopped just short.

Born in Sneem, County Kerry, in 1935, Burns, like many Irish priests at the time, was surplus to supply in his native land and so shortly after his ordination in 1960, became a curate, or junior priest, at St Eunan's in Clydebank, where he served for six years, before completing a second six-year stint at St Michael's in Parkhead.

He had not long moved to St Teresa's Church in Saracen Street in Possilpark, then, as now, one of the city's poorest areas when he assisted the IRA.

The story which Winning was told that spring evening was that in Burns' bedroom in the presbytery the priest had stored three cartons, each containing 210 sticks of gelignite, a total of 150lbs, 150 electrical detonators stored in an Aer Lingus bag, and various IRA documents, one headed "Notes for Unit Intelligence Officers" and another "Notes for Command Intelligence Officers", as well as Sinn Fein pamphlets.

Earlier in the day, three people, two brothers from Donegal and a 22-year-old Glasgow girl, Caroline Renehan, the daughter of Sinn Fein's Scottish secretary, had been arrested, but Burns had fled, driven away and then dropped off in the city centre by the parish priest, Fr John Martin.

Winning was stunned. But how, if they successfully arrested three others, did they miss Fr Burns? This was a source of embarrassment to the Special Branch who, during the subsequent trial of the three, admitted procedural errors had taken place.

A surveillance team had tracked Renehan in a white Morris car and brothers James and John Sweeney in a black and yellow Capri to the chapel-house at St Teresa's where they were met at the door by Fr Burns.

A few minutes after they entered, Renehan came back out, collected a case from her car boot and went back inside. Later all four re-emerged and walked to the Capri. The Sweeney brothers were each carrying a white carton, and Renehan had a dark coloured case. Burns then went back into the house while the others drove off.

The driveway was then blocked by plain-clothes police officers and all three were arrested. While Burns witnessed the arrest from the windows of the chapel-house, at no point was he questioned. Concerned that they lacked a search warrant for the house, the Special Branch officers went back to Central Police Station, leaving two officers on a watching brief. They were told not to take action, unless something suspicious took place or anything was removed. Unfortunately, the police officers were not briefed on Burns's appearance, and so, 30 minutes later, when Fr Martin drove off with Burns, no-one intervened.

Winning was asked by the deputy chief constable to contact them if Fr Burns should contact the archdiocese and he readily agreed. In his opinion Burns now had a public duty to face these allegations, but it was not a sentiment shared by his fellow bishops. Bishop James Ward, the senior auxiliary bishop, with whom Winning had a difficult relationship, appeared on the verge of jubilation at Burns's successful escape. "Ward just seemed to pat me on the head and told me not to worry about it," Winning said in 2001.

The Church's attitude towards alternative authorities such as the police had always been distant in Scotland. The ghetto mentality from which the Church was beginning to emerge at the time meant it viewed both police and, particularly, the media, as sectarian and anti-Catholic; any co-operation was minimal and reluctant. In Bishop Ward's view, Burns' escape was a blessing to the Church which had been spared the embarrassment of a trial.

Two days later, Rennie McOwan, press officer for the Catholic Church in Scotland, who was entirely unaware of the events, received a phone call from Jim McQuire, a Catholic journalist on the Scottish Daily Express. McQuire had heard rumours that a Fr Burns was wanted by the police and was seeking confirmation. McOwan agreed to check and was disturbed when Winning confirmed the story. He was more disturbed that Winning had chosen not to inform him straight away and dismissed the bishop's reply that he had been told by CID to tell no-one, by replying: "The police give orders to CID, not the Catholic Church."

An emergency meeting was called between McOwan, Winning and Ward to discuss how to handle the resultant press inquiries.

McOwan recalled: "Bishop Ward began to run the meeting in an autocratic tone, saying: ‘Who are the media to question us? This is none of their business.' I was tired and said that I had received no help from the archdiocese at all. TJ (Thomas Joseph Winning) went white and Ward got extremely angry and said he was willing to handle the matter himself. I then threatened to resign."

It took a ruling by Archbishop Scanlan, from his sick bed (he had pneumonia) to resolve the matter. Ward went upstairs to the Archbishop's private quarters to discuss the situation and returned to explain that Scanlan agreed with McOwan that a brief statement should be issued stating that Fr Burns was suspended for having deserted his diocese and that his whereabouts were unknown. McOwan's next concern was whether Fr Martin would be arrested and charged with aiding a suspected criminal, but Ward, once again, could see nothing wrong with his actions. "He was living in cloud-cuckoo-land" said McOwan.During the subsequent two-day trial of the three accused at Glasgow High Court, Fr Martin said he watched the arrests, had been informed by Burns that the boxes contained gelignite and saw that his fellow priest was "confused, agitated and very, very annoyed". Yet when Burns said he "wished to take the day off to compose himself", Martin said: "I took my car out of the garage and gave him a lift down the road to the Gallowgate, where he said he was going to see some friends. I did not want to know where he was going."

Both James Sweeney and Caroline Renehan lodged a defence blaming Fr Burns - who remained in hiding in Ireland - for the crime, though both were subsequently sentenced to seven and five years respectively. Sweeney's brother, John, was found "not proven" and upon his release he vowed to return to Ireland in search of the missing cleric. An attempt by police to extradite Burns was dismissed by a court in Dublin.

Yet the most disturbing insight into the Church's attitude towards the case occurred a couple of months later. One afternoon, quite by chance, Winning visited Archbishop Scanlan in his office and found that following a request by an Irish bishop, he was in the process of writing a letter of approval that would allow Fr Burns, still a wanted fugitive, to operate as a Catholic priest back in his native Ireland.

"Give him a job?" Winning said to Scanlan. "The guy should be in jail." Scanlan, according to Winning, was quite taken aback by the strength of his feeling and listened as he argued that it was unacceptable for Fr Burns to operate as a priest until he had returned to face the charges. Scanlan was convinced and the transfer was dropped.

Twenty-eight years later Winning said of the case: "I feel very sympathetic towards Ireland as a nation completely independent from England. I could never find a good argument for Britain to be there at all. But the end does not justify the means and you cannot justify terrorism.

A man of God and a man of peace who takes up cudgels and is accused of storing arms and giving financial help to a terrorist organisation has no place in the Church."

Fr Burns never returned to Scotland, and today the Catholic Church in Glasgow said his whereabouts are unknown.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese said: "Bartholomew Burns fled from the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1973, abandoning both the justice system and his parishioners in Possilpark. He did not seek and was not given permission to leave. The future-Cardinal Winning, who was at that time auxiliary bishop of Glasgow, ensured the Church co-operated with the authorities to try to bring him to justice.

"It goes without saying that the Archbishop, and the Archdiocese as an institution, would utterly condemn any activities by a priest which might involve offering assistance or support to a terrorist organisation."

hxxp://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Scotlands-own-IRA-priest-who.6495262.jp ]]> Scotland/Alba Haze http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?56856-Scotland-s-own-IRA-priest-who-escaped-justice-37-years-ago http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?56709-Scots-who-fought-aganst-Franco-remembered-at-Glasgow-ceremony&goto=newpost Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:47:06 GMT Image: http://files.stv.tv/img/articles/193373-scots-who-fought-aganst-franco-remembered-at-glasgow-ceremony-410x230.jpg The sacrifices made by Scottish volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil...

The sacrifices made by Scottish volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War are being remembered at a re-dedication ceremony at a monument in Glasgow.

The statue of La Pasionaria - with the inscription "Better to die on your feet that live for ever on your knees"- commemorates the British volunteers to the International Brigades who fought against Fascism in the war that was fought between 1936 and 1939. Over 2,000 volunteers went from the UK, and over 500 died in the conflict, 65 of whom came from Glasgow.

At part of the International Brigade, the volunteers fought for the democratically elected Republican Government which was eventually overthrown by authoritarian leader General Franco.

The statue, which was installed in the late 1970s on the banks of the Clyde, is in the figure of Dolores Ibárruri, known as La Pasionaria, with her arms outstretched. She was a leading politician, leader of the Spanish Communist Party, and a heroine and leader of the Spanish Republican movement. The sculpture was commissioned by the International Brigade Association of Scotland and produced by Liverpool-based sculptor Arthur Dooley.

The last surviving Scot who served in the war, Thomas Watters, 97, was among those attending the event in Clyde Street. Mr Watters served in the Scottish Ambulance Unit, which worked at the front line on the battlefields of Spain to aid wounded fighters and volunteers from across the world.

Mr Watters was a Glasgow bus driver who volunteered to go to Spain with the Scottish Ambulance Unit during the conflict. In his time during the war he witnessed many horrors, including an incident when German aircraft bombed a village, destroying his vehicle. Last year, 70 years after the conflict, he was awarded dual citizenship by the Spanish government in recognition of his service.

The statue had undergone a £10,000 restoration after its fabric had begun to deteriorate. The work was backed by Glasgow City Council, Glasgow City Heritage Trust, STUC and International Brigades organisations.

Councillor Gordon Matheson said: "With this memorial, we pay homage to a group of extraordinary men and women who, more than 70 years ago, gave up the certainties of their everyday lives to travel to a country in the grip of violent turmoil.

"We remember sons and daughters of Glasgow who stood in defiance of fascism and in defence of democracy and freedom.

"I am proud and humbled to have the opportunity to welcome one of them, Thomas Watters, back to Glasgow today.

"The humanity and courage of a man who not only thinks, 'if I can drive a bus, then I can drive an ambulance - I can help', is awe-inspiring."

Grahame Smith, STUC Assistant Secretary said: "We are delighted to welcome Thomas back to the city of Glasgow and the streets he knew so well before leaving for Spain serving with the Scottish Ambulance Unit, saving the lives of Brigadiers injured in the fight against Franco's fascists.

"In our office we have a memorial to those who left to fight and never returned and many of those who did return are no longer with us.

"Trade unions played a proud role in fighting fascists in the Spanish Civil War.

"We continue the fight to this day. Only last November, a march against the fascist Scottish Defence League paused here for a moment's silence to reflect on the bravery of those who gave so much - and for people like Thomas who seized the opportunity to do something good."

During the march against the far-right Scottish Defence League in 2009, a banner was held aloft with the words 'No Paseran' ("They shall not pass"), a quote from a famous speech by Dolores Ibárruri. Since the Spanish Civil War the words have continued to be used to express defiance to an enemy, particularly one from the political right.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-cen...sgow-ceremony/ ]]> Scotland/Alba Costello39-77 http://www.irishrepublican.net/forum/showthread.php?56709-Scots-who-fought-aganst-Franco-remembered-at-Glasgow-ceremony